is concern'd Before Christ's Death and after his Resurrection we discern'd him to be a true Man even by the Sense of Feeling And in many other things which happen'd this Sense was interested as in the Earthquake at Christ's Passion and in the shaking of the House where the Apostles were met and in sundry other Occurrences Thus our Senses have been exercis'd and employ'd about the Matters which belong to the Word of Life i. e. Christ who is called the Word and the Life and here ver 2. he is called the Eternal Life which was with the Father Or by the Word of Life are meant the things relating to the Gospel which sheweth us the way to eternal Life For the Life was manifested viz. by Christ's assuming our Flesh and conversing with Men on Earth and the Grace of God in the Gospel hath appeared and manifested it self to all Men by his coming And we have seen it and â—ear witness And again that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you By all these ways the Doctrine of the Gospel is cleared and manifested and proved to be true We have found it to be so by the Testimony of our Senses and accordingly we preach we proâ—laim we testify we declare these things to you and not only to you but to all the World that they may be ascertained of the Truth of the Christian Religion and come into the same Fellowship with us and heartily imbrace the Gospel Thus the Apostles tho divinely inspired appeal'd to the rational Evidence of Sense for they knew that this was satisfactory to all sober and intelligent Men and that the highest Evidence that can be desired for Proof of Matter of Fact is the Testimony of those Persons who were Eye and Ear-witnesses of it and that if the Testimony of the bodily Senses by not allowed there is no Certainty of Religion or of Divine Revelation by which Religion was convey'd for this was by the Ministry of the Senses especially Hearing and Seeing Nay the Veracity and Faithfulness of God may justly be call'd in question if you take away this Evidence for how can we attain to Truth unless God communicates it to us But how can he do that if our Senses being rightly disposed viz. when the Organ is sound the Medium fitly qualified and the distance of the Object duly proportion'd be deceived if when we are really perswaded that we see and hear such things we do not see them or hear them Must we not hence conclude that God deludes us and that in a Matter which concerns his Glory and our own Happiness and consequently that his Sincerity and Truth are impaired Into this Blasphemy must they needs run who deny the Truth of the Senses given us by God And upon this it will follow that there are no credible Ear or Eye-witnesses and so no certain Testimony of Matter of Fact If the Evidence of our Senses be not to be made use of and allowed as authentick then all the Passages recorded in the New Testament concerning Christ's Birth Life Miracles Death Resurrection and Ascension are of no Credit For these are to be proved as other Matters of Fact are by Testimony of Witnesses who heard or saw those things In short if our Senses be false the whole Gospel is a Lie and a Cheat for ought we know For it is impossible we should have any assurance of the truth of any thing there unless God hath given Men Senses which are capable of discerning one thing from another and unless the Persons likewise who attested those things from the Verdict of their Senses were Men that might be credited And this is the present Case which we are concerned in as I shall make evident by the next Particular 2. The Testimony of the Apostles and other Christians who lived when our Saviour was upon Earth andâ— heard and saw the things done by him is the Testimony of credible Persons and consequently is an unquestionable Proof of the Truth and Reality of those things which they attest That they were credible Persons will appear if you consider 1. They had sufficient Means to acquaint themselves certainly whether the things which they attested were true or no. This is the main thing which is to be cleared and therefore I will chiefly insist on this That they were furnished with sufficient Ability to know what they related methinks should not be denied by any one who considers that they were no Fools or Children they were not mad or senseless they had a share of Understanding as well as others and their Ears and Eyes were as good as other Mens The things which they related might evidently be known by them being Objects of common Sense and of general Cognizance Can there be any reason then to think that these Persons were not competent Judges as well as others of these Matters But as they were naturally capable of judging in these things so I will make it evident that they had all Means and Opportunities of informing themselves throughly concerning those things which they delivered Some of them were Eye-witnesses others Ear-witnesses of what they report and sometimes both or else they certainly informed themselves of the truth from others who saw or heard those things What St. Luke professeth of himself is true of all the Evangâ—lical and Apostolical Writers they had perfect understanding of all things from the very first Luke 1. 3. As for the four Evangelists two of them Matthew and Iohn were of the number of the Apostles who were Persons particularly chosen out by Christ on purpose to be Eye-witnesses of his Actions and some have infer'd from Acts 1. 21 22. that it was a necessary Qualification of an Apostle to be an Eye-witness It is certain that these two forenamed Persons were such They lived with their Master and were present at his Miracles and saw what they writ The latter of these especially was made more than ordinarily conscious to Christ's Words and Actions and was his Familiar and Intimate The other two Evangelists were not Apostles but they inhabited and convers'd in the same Regions where Christ did these things and at the same time when he acted them Herodotus Plutarch and other Historians writ of things done in former Ages and afar off in other Countries and Kingdoms which makes their Relations to be suspected sometimes But these Men lived in the Places and Times where and when the things were done and therefore they could easily attain to a true and impartial Account of them I cannot say with Iâ—rom that St. Mark and St. Luke did not see our Saviour but I grant that most of the things related by them were not within their own sight or hearing Yet this is certain that they receiv'd what they writ from those who were both Ear and Eye-witnesses St. Mark was a Disciple of St. Peter who was intimately acquainted with Christ's Actions and could inform him concerning every Particular of his Doctrine Life
cogent Reasons to perswade us that they truly and faithfully delivered down to us those things This I will make good from the Consideration 1. Of the Persons that transmitted these things 2. Of the Evidence of the Cause First as to the Persons I will consider both their Lives and their Deaths Their Lives are sufficient proofs of their Integrity in delivering the Scriptures of the New Testament to us and of their confident belief of the Truth of all that is contain'd in them The Primitive Christians lived after another rate than we do now They did not wrangle and quarrel as we do they did not â—ight and devour one another as the manner of too many is of latter times but they were remarkable for their mutual Love and Concord for their Humility Meekness and Condescension to one another and they were admired for their Gravity Sobriety Self-denial and Patience they were eminent for their Piety towards God and their Innocent and Righteous dealing with all Men. The Ministers practised what they preached and the People were ambitious to imitate their Preachers and both were singularly Good and Virtuous This was it which gain'd so many Proselytes to Christianity in those first times this brought them to a perswasion of the Truth and Reality of Christ's Doctrine Therefore when Origen had excellently proved the Truth of Christianity to Alexander Severus that noble Emperor ingenuously confessed that he was more convinced of the Truth of that Religion by the humble and loving carriage of Christians than by all Origen's Arguments The exemplary and blameless Conversation of those Primitive Professors argued that the Doctrine and Principles of their Religion were real and certain For how can it enter into any sober Mans thoughts that such holy and upright Men true followers of the Apostles and Disciples of Christ would have constantly confessed and owned the Christian way unless they had been throughly convinced of the Truth of it and that it was the very same which was confess'd and acknowledg'd by the Apostles themselves These Holy and Godly Men made Conscience of a Lie and counted it a heinous Crime to falsify yea they esteem'd it no less than a damnable Sin to disbelieve or misreport those things concerning Christ and the Christian Doctrines They were really perswaded in their Minds that their Salvation lay at stake that their Eternal Welfare or Everlasting Ruin were concern'd in these things And can you imagin then that they would report them falsly and impose upon the World by delivering things which were counterfeit Again as the Lives so the Suffering and Death of the Saints in the Primitive Days and in the succeeding Ages are an undeniable Argument of the Truth of what was deliver'd to them and of what they conveyed to us They underwent the most exquisite Pains and Torments with ineffable Courage and Constancy and nothing could prevail with them to renounce the Christian Religion insomuch that when the Pagan Adversaries in those days would express any thing to be impossible they did it thus Ye may sooner make the Professors of Christ quit their Mastersâ— Doctrine This was a thing not to be effected for those Persons first of all forsook their worldly Goods and then parted with their Lives to hold fast their Religion This patient Suffering and undaunted Dying of so many thousands is an unquestionable Proof of the Truth of Christianity For those enlightned and sanctified Men would never lay down their Lives to maintain a Falshood and to perpetuate a Lie No they knew whom they believed in and for whom they suffer'd and that made them so couragious We may conclude then that the Christian Doctrine is confirm'd by the Blood of those Worthy Men those expiring Saints did testify the Truth of Christianity and therefore they are stiled Martyrs Secondly The Evidence of the Cause is an impregnable Argument of the Reality and Truth of these things which I am speaking of There is this following heap of Evidences 1. A great Presumption arising from just Causes and Circumstances yea and from a multiplicity of them which in all Courts of Judicature is of considerable weight and value with understanding Judges This first but lowest sort of Evidence the Christian Church since our Saviour hath not been destitute of for there were never higher Presumptions in any Cause under Heaven than there were in this But we need not mention this when we have 2. The Notoriety of the Facts i. e. when the things in trial are openly and commonly known when they are avouched by publick Fame and the universal Vogue of Men. And that this was the case of Christianity ever since Christ left the Earth cannot be denied by any Man of Modesty and Truth 3. The Succession of Christians and Churches in the World is a plain Proof that they verily believed those things which made them Christians and Churches Hereupon they deliver'd to us those Writings which they receiv'd from the Hands of the Evangelists and Apostles by their transmitting them to Posterity they shew that they believe them to be sacred and certain Verities 4. The Succession of Bishops and Pastors is an other Evidence for it was their Office to read publickly the Scriptures of the New Testament and to preach the Doctrines contain'd in them and consequently to own them to be Truth which is a good Motive to us to do the same 5. The frequent Disputes which Christians in all Ages have held with those who opposed the Scripture and Christianity are no mean Testimony in this Cause 6. To these may be added the famous Writings of the Christians in the several Centuries their Apologies Dialogues Sermons Homilies Orations Commentaries Histories All which proclaim their serious and firm Belief of what they have convey'd down to us 7. All Christian Churches have deliver'd to us certain Symbols or Articles of Belief which they reckon'd to be the Standards of Evangelical Faith and Truth 8. The Constant Communion of the Church and the publick Worship of God in the solemn Assemblies of Christians ever since the days of the Apostles the setting apart a Day for that Worship the reading of the Scriptures at such times the instructing the People out of them the celebrating the Lord's Supper the constant custom of openly rehearsing and proâ—essing the Christian Belief the Prayers and Praises offer'd to God in the name of Christ the yearly Commemoration of the Birth Death and Resurrection of our Saviour the Sacrament of Baptism which acknowledgeth the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost 9. The sundry Decrees and Canons of Synods and Councils held in the Christian Churches Lastly the many Laws and Edicts of Christian Emperours and Princes in defence and confirmation of our most holy Religion These and all the rest before-named are clear Proofs and Evidences that the Evangelical Writings which contain the Doctrine and Actions of our blessed Lord were rightly and truly convey'd to us and that we are in possession of the same Faith and
Loretto and by St. Iames at Compostella I could shew that the Miracles of the Papists are question'd by themselves their Truth is doubted of by Cajetan de Concept Virg. Espencaeus in 2. Tim. 4. and others of that Communion 9. We may with Reason suspect the Roman Miracles because our Religion was proved and confirmed by Miracles long before It is not requisite they should be repeated and reiterated afresh There is no more need of New Miracles than there is of New Revelations They were wrought to confirm the Truth which we hold at this day therefore since we have the same Truth that was confirmed by those Miracles of old what need is there of any farther Confirmation Lastly the Popish Miracles are no True Miracles because they are exerted to maintain a false Religion for such is that of the Church of Rome consisting of damnable Doctrines Superstition Idolatry and all manner of Ungodly Lewd and Prophane Practices We cannot think then that God will by Miracles attest and allow of such Abominations If then they still insist on the Miracles wrought by some of them among the Indians as they pretend I say this that if it can be proved they were done among those Infidels it was to confirm the Christian Religion not the Popish Thus you see that these Boasters of Miracles and who make them a Note of their Church are found to be but Pretenders and can lay no claim as they are of that Church to those Miracles which are Real Geâ—uine and True and which only are the certain Testimonies of the Truth of Christianity Which brings me to the 3 d and last thing I undertook viz. To evince that these Miracles are and ought to be look'd upon as an Infallible Testimony of the Truth of Christianity To these Christ himself appealed as a Proof of his Divinity and Messiahship Mat. 11. 4 5. To that Question Art thou he that should come or do we look for another the Answer was Go and shew those things which you hear and see the Blind receive their Sight the Lame walk C. So when the Iews were earnest with him to declare who he was If thou be the Christ say they tell us plainly Iesus â—nswer'd them The Works which I do in my Father's name they bear witness of me John 10. 24 25. These are a sufficient Attestation of my Divine Authority Therefore he saith in John 15. 24. If I had not done amongst them the Works which no other Man did they had not had Sin i. e. their Unbelief had been no Sin for if those Works were not a Proof of my Divine Commission they were not bound to believe me But on the contrary those miraculous Works being undeniable Evidences of his acting by a Power from Heaven it was a grievous and damning Sin to disbelieve him So the Apostles when their preaching the Gospel was opposed and contradicted thought they sufficiently disproved the Gainsayers by shewing that Iesus of Nazareth whom they preach'd was a Man approved or demonstrated of God among them by Miracles and Wonders and Signs which God did by him in the midst of them as they themselves also know Acts 2. 22. Christ's Miracles were a Demonstration of the Truth of his Doctrine and consequently of that of the Apostles because it was the same Thus St. Paul argues the Truth of Christianity from the miraculous Indowments and Gifts of the Apostles and declares to the Hebrews that it is extreme dangerous to neglect that Doctrine and that Salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord himself and was afterwards confirmed unto them by them that heard him God also bearing them witness both with Signs and Wonders and with diverse Miracles and Gifts of the Holy Ghost Heb. 2. 3 4. Here is the just Method of the Progress and Proof of the Gospel here is first the Author and Founder of it the Lord Christ Jesus who at the first began to speak and deliver it Secondly the Evidence of its delivery it was confirmed by them that heard it i. e. by the Apostles who were Ear-witnesses of this Divine Doctrine Thirdly the Truth and Certainty of the Apostles Testimony concerning Christ and his Doctrine God bore them witness with Signs and Wonders and with diverse Miracles which are as great a Confirmation of what they deliver'd as can possibly be desired Yea Miracles have been always accounted such even by those who were not very forward to imbrace our Saviour and his Doctrine The Common People when they had seen the Miracles that Iesus did could say this is of a Truth that Prophet that should come into the World John 6. 14. This was the reasoning of the Man that was born blind and was restored to his sight Since the World began was it not heard that any Man by his own Power opened the Eyes of one that was born blind If this Man were not of God were not assisted with an infinite Power he could do nothing of this nature Iohn 9. 32 33. And not only the simple and illiterate but the wise and learned argued after this manner Nicodemus a Ruler of the Jews came to Christ with this Acknowledgment we know that thou art a Teacher come from God for no Man can do these Miracles that thou doest except God be with him John 3. 2. Here he confesses it as a known Truth that Miracles are sufficient to attest a Person or Doctrine to be from God and consequently they are good Arguments of the Truth of what our Saviour taught and they prove him to be the Messias And the Chief Priests and Pharisees could say this Man doth many Miracles if we let him thus alone all will believe on him John 11. 47 48. This strongly implies that Miracles are able to create Belief and so unawares they acknowledg that the Miracles which Christ and the Apostles wrought are good evidence that their Doctrine was from God and that it was to be believed and imbraced The Iewish Rabbins in their Writings speak much of the Miracles the Messias shall do which is an Argument that those Men were really perswaded that Miracles are a Proof of a Divine Commission and that they are to seal the Truth of God This was the very Notion and Sense of the Pagan World as is plain from that Passage recorded in the Acts of the Apostles chap. 14. 8 11 12. When Paul cured a certain Man at Lystra impotent in his Feet being a Cripple from his Mothers Womb who never had walked the People of the place seeing this Miracle presently lifted up their Voices saying the Gods are come down to us in the likeness of Men. Their natural Reason dictated to them that this was done by Divine Power and could not be done otherwise The Workers of Miracles are by these poor Heathens reputed as Gods St. Paul was taken by them for Mercury he that could give motion and nimbleness to the Lame Man of Lystra was thought to be the God with
not of Human Race And further it is remarkable that this People endeavour'd in the Emperor Adrian's Reign to restore and reedifie their Temple but were forced to desist from it And afterwards when Iulian out of hatred to the Christians set them about that Work as they were laying the Foundation an Earthquake shatter'd all they had done and Fire flash'd out of the ground wherewith many thousands of the Iews were destroyed as is testified not only by several Christian Writers but by Ammianus Marcellinus who was a Heathen But by the way it may be observ'd when the Christians built a Temple in the same place they were not molested but finish'd it and made it the Patriarchal Seat and flourish'd five hundred years till the time that Ierusalem was taken by the Saracens This Iewish People now have neither Temple nor Priest Altar nor Sacrifice their Rites and Ceremonies are ceas'd their Tribes are confounded their Prophets are extinct they have no certain State or Commonwealth no Laws no Prince no Governor of their own they are scatter'd over the face of the whole Earth and are a despised and loathed People This cannot but be thought to be the just Iudgment of God upon them for their murdering of Christ. And there cannot be a more visible Evidence of the Truth of Christianity than this viz. the Destruction of the Iewish Poliâ—y and the miserable Dispersion of that People for these sixteen hundred years It was observ'd by the Enemies of the Iews heretofore how they prosper'd above all other People They are a certain sort of Men saith an Historian who tho they have been often diminished yet they have so increas'd that they have been too hard for the Power of the Roman Laws and they have almost arrived to the Confidence and Liberty of making Laws for the rest of the World But this singular Providence of God towards the Iews is long since changed and they have been through many Ages the remarkable Example of Divine Justice and Vengeance such as no Story can parallel Tully is not to be regarded when speaking of the Iews he saith That Nation doth sufficiently declare by its being conquered and made Tributary and by being reduced to the utmost Servitude how dear it was to the Gods He speaks this after his Pagan manner But Sulpitius Severus who was a better Judg of Religion and of the Issues of it speaking of the Destruction of Ierusalem by Titus and of the dispersion of the Iews thereupon gives us this Remark This last overthrow of the Temple and Captivity of the Iews whereby they are banished from their Country and are daily seen to be scatter'd over the whole Earth are a Testimony to the World that this Punishment hath befallen them for no other cause than for laying their wicked hands upon Christ for when at other times this People were deliver'd to Captivity for their Sins they never underwent that slavery beyond seventy Years But now these Persons who were the Dear Off-spring of those that were the Darlings of God Almighty the Beloved of the Lord his Chosen People his peculiar Charge and the singular Care of Heaven have been for sixteen Centuries forsaken of God and all Men and are the very Offscowring of the World This utter Extermination of the Iews is an unanswerable Argument against them and shews that they lie under the Curse of God for their rejecting the Saviour of the World and for putting to Death the Messias Two of their Rabbies seriously pondering this Argument urged upon them by Luther were convinced of their gross Error and Sin and were the day after baptized at Wittenberg in the face of the whole University And truly this must be said that the total dispersion of the Iews can never in all its Circumstances be reconciled with the Providence of God his Goodness Wisdom and Promises if they continue the People of God still and are in favour with him For can it be imagined that God would leave his Beloved People so long and wholly disown them Is it worthy of God and agreeable to his Wisdom and Mercy which are interested in the Salvation of Men to let the True Religion so they count Iudaism fall to the ground and be utterly abolished and to set up another a False one so they reckon Christianity to be in its place This is plain and convincing I think It is harsh and incredible that the God of Order and Righteousness should deal thus that he should cause this Confusion in the World and throw down and even break in pieces a Religion which is the only True one according to them It cannot enter into any Reasonable Mans mind that God would let his own Religion and People be thus confounded It is evident therefore that the Iewish Religion was but for a time and that the Christian Religion was to succeed that and that this is the True Religion likewise that God sent this severe Punishment on the Iews for their refusing of Christ the True and Only Messiah and for their Opposing and Persecuting and at last Crucifying this Holy One. Thus the Christian Religion is attested and vouched by the dreadful Plagues and Iudgments on the Persons and Nations that opposed it Vengeance hath pursued the Enemies of the Gospel Lastly from the Excellency of the Christian Religion and of all the Principles Doctrines and Truths that belong to it I gather the Reality and Certainty of it This is another Divine Testimony which might be enlarg'd upon Never was Holiness so strictly urged as now never was there an Institution that was so Heavenly and Sublime as this never was there any that directed Men to such Noble Ends and afforded them such Joys and Solaces Wherefore it cannot proceed from any but God A Religion that so immediately leads to him must needs come from him Since Christianity doth fit us for Heaven we have Reason to believe that it came from thence But because I had occasion to insist largely upon this Particular when I undertook to assert the Divine Authority of the Scriptures and afterwards when I demonstrated the Excellency and Perfection of them I will say no more of this last Argument of the Truth of Christianity And thus you see the firm Basis of it These arâ— the Testimonials to prove the Truth of our Religion and that it is a Dispensation different from all the rest These are the Proofs whereon we found this Oeconomy and there is no other evidence that a Reasonable Man can desire I say no other becausâ— here are all kinds of Evidience Christianity is proved by the Witness of credible Men and by the Attestation of God himself It is proved by Natural and Supernatural Arguments by Reason and by Faith We have the Certainty both of Human and Divine Testimony which may be call'd a Demonstration for a thing is demonstrated when it appears that there is an absolute Impossibility that the thing should not be thus
by mere Opinion or by Matters of an indifferent Nature We live in an Age wherein Men talk and discourse much concerning Religion and yet the Generality of them have less Religion than any Age ever had Why Because they place Religion in Words and Pretences in some peculiar Sets of Opinions and in a meer external Shew of some Performances that relate to Devotion But in that happy Kingdom which we look for Substantial Religion will take place and the only Standard of it shall be True and Solid Piety Thirdly A greater Measure of Grace shall be bestowed on the Christian Church more of that Divine Spirit Not in the Sense that some mean that Extraordinary Gifs and Supernatural Endowments shall be confer'd and that the Outward Teachings of Man shall cease and become useless But I mean thus that the effectual Power of the Holy Spirit shall be seen in making Men better which indeed is the grand Design and Office of the Holy Ghost and therefore shall take Place in that happy Time The most admired and glorious Gifts are mean and base in respect of Real Goodness and Holiness i. e. a hearty Love of God and his Ways and an upright Life resulting from it Therefore we may infer that by a more abundant Communication of the Spirit these shall be advanced in the World In the Golden Age of Christianity there shall be a mighty Power and Efficacy on Mens Minds exciting them to worthy and noble Actions causing them to be zealous for Religion and to act with Vigour and Concernedness and to overcome all Difficulties that lie in their way and in a Word to design and bring to pass Great Things for the Honour of the Supreme Being and the Good of the World Fourthly IESUS shall then in a more eminent Manner be exalted his blessed Undertakings for our Redemption and Salvation his Merits and Perfect Righteousness shall be more than ever esteem'd admir'd and extoll'd This shall be a more especial Time of magnifying and celebrating the meritorious Transactions of our Lord Christ for the Saving of Mankind Which must needs produce a very high Degree of Holiness in Mens Lives for there is not a more genuine Source of it than the Consideration of what Christ hath done and suffer'd for us There is not a more effectual Spring of True Obedience nor a more powerful Motive to it than the Free and Unmerited Love of God the Father through his beloved Son Iesus Wherefore now the Reformed World shall exercise itself more and more in this true Way that leads to Purity and Holiness viz. a perpetual valuing and prizing the Grace of God in the Gospel through the Blood of the New Covenant This hath not been sufficiently done hitherto yea it hath been shamefully neglected in all Ages of Christianity Therefore now it shall be performed with great Zeal and Application by all the Inhabitants of the New Ierusalem Though their Works and Obedience shall exceed all that went before yet they shall not presume to rely upon them Though their Lives shall be more strict and blameless than ever yet they shall entertain no Opinion of their own Worthiness but confide wholly in the Spotless Obedience of the Lamb of God and they shall attribute all to Iesus and his Holy Spirit Lastly to heap up many Things together in those blessed Days there shall be no New Religion but New Hearts that is more enlightned more warmed and more sanctified There shall then be a continual Striving to excel one another in laudable and vertuous Actions Religion and Piety shall be Fashionable and Goodness and Holiness shall be esteemed most Honourable All Perfidiousness and Fraud all Lying and Falshood shall cease and Truth and Sincerity Integrity and Open-heartedness shall universally prevail Swearing will then be of little Use unless it be as a meer Act of Solemn Worship and owning a God for where there is no distrust of one another where 't is known that Persons deal Truly and Uprightly Oaths are not needful to attest or confirm what they say In those Days Men shall conciliate an assent to what they speak they shall perswade others of the Truth of what they assert or promise by plain Words and by an honest Life Briefly all-sinister and base Designs all unworthy Aims and vitious Ends shall be laid aside and the Glory of the Great God and of his Son Iesus Christ shall be the main Thing which shall influence upon their Lives If it be demanded How this great Change shall be wrought I answer It shall be done by the powerful Aids and Assistances of Heaven which shall be vouchsafed to Men in a very plentiful Manner Hereby they shall be inabled above their own Abilities and Strengths to subdne their Lusts to conquer their Vices and in the most exact manner to conform their Lives to the Rules of the Gospel If you further ask What outward instruments and Means God will make use of to accomplish this Great Work I conceive it shall be effected by Active and Zealous Governors For we cannot but take Notice that Persons of that Character have been raiâ—'d up continually in order to great Revolutions and Alterations in Church and State as is evident in the Examples of Cyrus Alexander the Great Constantiâ—â— the Great Charles the Great and the Electors of Saxony And in the beginning of our REFORMATION in this Land what strange Things did a Resolute and Couragious King bring to pass Much more may be effected here and all the World over by God's inspiring the Hearts of some Christian Kings and Princes with Valour and Resolution especially by adding Goodness and Holiness to these by blessing them with a real Sense and relish of Religion in their own Minds and Consciences Being thus qualified what is there too hard for them to accomplish What may not be expected from Governors of this Character Wicked Rulers are the greatest Mischief and Plague of the World and accordingly it hath been Satan's Stratagem throughout all Ages to procure such Magistrates as will abett and further his Design i. e. that will patronize all Vice and Wickedness and if it be possible establish it by a Law This hath been the Cause and Sourse of that horrid Deluge of Vice which hath broken in upon all Cities and Countries and miserably overspread them Therefore I infer that when God will vouchsafe to stem this mighty Torrent he will set up some Eminent Persons in High Places who by their powerful Laws as by so many Walls and Ramparts shall effectually stop its impetuous Course I question not in the least but that those Words in Rev. 20. 4. I saw Thrones and they sat upon them and Iudgment was given unto them refer partly to this they signify to us that Power and Authority which shall be at that time Evil-doers shall be call'd to an Account and punish'd according to their Offences and the Earth shall in a manner be cleared of all wilful and stubborn Criminals This
should content us that the thing it self is undeniable viz. that the Evangelical Oeconomy is not yet perfect that great things are yet to be done that though our Blessed Saviour shall not descend from Heaven till the Day of Judgment for I am none of those that dream of his Personal Reign upon Earth yet by his Spirit he shall come and Reign here a Thousand Years and advance Christianity to its utmost heighth At which time all â—ntichristian Doctrines and Powers shall be exploded and destroyed the Fulness of the Gentiles shall come in the Dispersed Iews shall be gather'd and imbrace the Faith of Christ Universal Righteousness and Holiness shall prevail and the Peaceable and Philadelpâ—ian Spirit shall be infused into all Churches so that they shall be of one Heart and of one Mind This â—uture Kingdom of Christ this Happy part of the Evangelical Dispensation is not unworthy of our Assent and Belief However I have entertained my self and the Reader with an Idâ—a of the Delightful and Happy State of Christianity here on Earth If it be not adjusted to Truth though no Man alive I am sure can prove it is not yet it shall remain as a Testimony of my Hearty Desires and Wishes that the Gospel may flourish in a Higher Degree than ever it yet did that Christianity may be the Religion of the whole World and that all Mankind every where may know the True God and Iesus Christ whom he hath sent and that knowing him they may Universally practise his Law and do his Will and that they may all be United and Cemented together in the Bond of Peace and Love CHAP. XXII The Last part of the Evangelical Dispensation under the loosing of Satan out of his Prison Who are Gog and Magog Not only the Mahometan but the Roman Power shall be revived The Last Days before the End of the World shall be extremely Wicked They shall be exceeding Perillous and Calamitous Christ comes to Judgment The Conflagration of the World succeeds this whatever some have suggested to the contrary A Particular Answer to a late Writers Arguments on this Subject It is observed how he resembles Origen A plain Exposition of those Words Nevertheless we look for New Heavens and a New Earth wherein dwelleth Righteousness A farther Proof from the same Chapter The Nature and Design of the Final Conflagration The Summ of the whole preceeding Discourse I Am unwilling to go off from this Pleasant Scene especially to one that is so Black and Melancholick as that which follows But the uncontrollable Wisdom and Providence of Heaven leads us to it and therefore we must be obsequious to their Conduct I proceed then to the Fourth and Last Part of the Evangelical Dispensation namely that which immediately preceedeth the Coming of Christ to Judgment For I have shew'd before that it hath had its Infancy and Childhood its Youth its Manhood or Full Growth and now come its last and feeble Years Wherefore I call this the Old Age of Christianity for now it miserably Declineth and grows Weak and Decrepid Now the World degenerates again and in a short time it becomes very Wicked and Impious For we are expresly told that when the Thousand Years are expired Satan shall be loosed out of his Prison Rev. 20. 7. The Wicked shall again assaâ—lt the Church for we must know that the World shall not through all the time of the Thousand Years be free of the Ungodly Race of Men. The Tares i. e. the Children of the Wicked One are to grow up till the Harvest Mat. 13. 30. and that will not be till the End of the World as the same Infallible Teacher hath told us Every Individual Person shall not be Vertuous and Good Heaven only being the place where there are no Sinners but there sâ—all remain and spring up at last upon Earth some very Bad Men out of which Brood afterwards as soon as Satan shall be set at liberty and come to hatch them there shall arise a Deadly Generation of Vipers a Cursed increase of the most profligate Sinners who will be set upon Mischief and will invade and wast the Church and make it their work to Deceive and Seduce the Nations or rather Satan who sets them on work is said here to do it v. 8 9. He shall go out to deceive Nations which are in the Four Quarters of the Earth Gog and Magog to gather them together to Bâ—ttel the number of whom is as the Sand of the Sea And they went up on the breadth of the Earth and compassed the Camp of the Saints about and the beloved City The plain General meaning of which Words is this that as of Old God's People the Iews were beset on the North and South with Gog and Magog their implacable Enemies who are meant but not exclusively of others in the 38. and 39. Chaâ—tâ—rs of Ezekiel so the Saints at that time shall be environ'd with their's who will prove no less Restless and Implacable And the more â—articular and Abstruse meaning is this that the Race of the Turks shall be those that shall cause this Disturbance for these are meant by Gog and Magog for the old Gog and Magog were Scythians as is Universally agreed by the Learnedest Commentators on Gen. 10. 2. where we find that Magog was one of the Sons of Iaphet who was the Father of the Getae Massagetae Scythians Sarmaritans and their Neighbours the Tartars from whom it is generally asserted that the Turks first Sprung Iosephus is positive that Magog was the Father of the Scythians and tells us that Magogae was the Name that the Scythians were anciently known buy among the Greeks We learn from Pliny who often gives a better account of Places than of Manners and is very exact in some parts of his Geography that Magog and Scythopolis were Coincident Names of the same Place Therefore there is reason to think that Gog and Magog in this place of the Apocalypse are the Turks and Mahometans who are as â—â—is generally acknowledg'd descended of the Scythians And these are that Stock of People who 〈◊〉 so Molest and Persecute the Saints of the Most High after the expiring of the Thousand Years And it is not unlikely that the Papal Beast will begin to lift up his Horn again I do not mean that any of those individual Persons who acted before shall now appear for they are secured The Beast as well as the False Prophet is in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone v. 10. But there shall be those that shall revive the old Roman Tyranny and Superstitions and shall join their Forces with those of the Mahometan Faction Both these Parties shall arise and shew themselves soon after the thousand years are ended And the Prince of the Infernal Daemons who had been imprison'd and chain'd up all that space shall be Head and Commander of them and gather them to Battle Their Numbers shall be exceeding great even like the Sand of
IOHANNES EDWARDS S. T. B. ΠΟΛΥΠΟΙΚΙΛΟΣ ΣΟΦΙΑ A Compleat HISTORY Or SURVEY Of all the Dispensations and Methods OF RELIGION From the beginning of the World to the Consummation of all things As represented in the OLD and NEW Testament SHEWING The several Reasons and Designs of those different Administrations and the Wisdom and Goodness of God in the Government of his Church through all the Ages of it In which also The Opinion of Dr. Spencer concerning the Jewish Rites and Sacrifices is examin'd And the Certainty of the Christian Religion demonstrated against the Cavils of the Deists c. By IOHN EDWARDS B. D. LONDON Printed for Daniel Brown Ionath Robinson Andrew Bell Iohn Wyat and E. Harris M. DC.XC.IX To the Right Honourable IOHN Lord SOMMERS Baron of Evesham Lord High Chancellor of England My Lord WE every day behold the Lawyers and Physicians the Philosophers the Historians the Poets and all Professors of useful Arts presenting their several Performances to your Lordship not only as a Judg but as their Common Patron Why then may not those of our Order presume to approach your Lordship with their respective Offerings and hope for a kind and favourable Reception Especially seeing you have let the World know by sundry illustrious Instances what regard you bear to that Function and those of that Character They all admire your capacious and universal Genius which has given you a profound insight into Theological Studies as well as all others Westminster-Hall has now another Hale that is one who is a Divine a Lawyer and Philosopher and skill'd in every Science Your Lordship every day atchieves great and brave things and with a Spirit that is such You oblige the Good and win upon the Bad and please all Men by the Methods of an unstain'd Integrity Which brings to my thoughts that Observation of my Lord Coke that he never knew any Excellent Iudicious Lawyer but was a faithful honest man Pref. to the 2 d Part of Reports But lest this should look too much like Panegyrick which I know is offensive to your Lordship's Modesty and lest I should obscure and tarnish the Splendour of your Lordship's Vertues and Excellencies by an imperfect representing of them I will here check my self and add no more on this Theme which is so inviting and charming Permit me only to lay these Papers at your Lordship's Feet and humbly to beg of your Lordship that you would be pleased to exercise that Equity and Favour to which your present Province and High Office prompt you and then I shall not wholly despair of your Lordship's Acceptance of this poor Oblation and of your suffering me to have the Honour to profess my self My Lord Your Lordship 's most Humble and Obedient Servant Iohn Edwards THE PREFACE I Have undertaken a Great Work viz. to display all the Transactions of Divine Providence relating to the Methods of Religion from the Creation to the end of the World from the first Chapter of Genesis to the last of the Revelation For I had not met with any Author that had undertaken to comprise them all and to give us an account of them according to their true Series nor had I ever lit upon a Writer either Foreign or Domestick who had designedly traced the particular Causes and Grounds of them or settled them on their right and true Foundations Wherefore I betook my self to this Work resolving to attempt something tho it were only to invite others of greater skill to go on with it and to add the finishing Stroke to it I acknowledg this Essay to be very mean and unworthy of its Noble Subject but however this I will say in its behalf and that with great truth that though I have done but little yet I never met with any that hath done so much on this Theme whether â—e have respect to the full Enumeration of the â—economies or whether we speak of the Reasons and Grounds of them But more especially as to the Last Oeconomy I have been very curious in the Distribution of 〈◊〉 several Parts though I have I confess â—â—â—â—ented therein from most Writers but I have â—â—deavour'd to treat those with Candor and Reâ—â—ect who differ in this matter from me For it 〈◊〉 certain that in this case Liberty of Writing is 〈◊〉 reasonable as that of Thoughts I shall not 〈◊〉 angry with any Man for not being of my Opinion â—â—out the State of the World before the Close of 〈◊〉 I leave every Man to his own Conjectures and I desire to be left to mine I do not ask any â—ne whether he thinks Jansenism and Quietism â—â—ll make way for any Change of Religion in France Spain or Italy or whether they will be â—â—ite rooted out of those Countreys I do not ask â—hether the Moscovite who seems to be no longer â—â—â—zen but is entring upon Action is like to have 〈◊〉 hand in such Revolutions as will end at last in 〈◊〉 alteration of Religion in the North-East I 〈◊〉 not enquire whether the French Lillies will â—â—read themselves further and take Root in any Protestant Soil And all other the like Queries â—â—hich may be occasion'd by the present Occurrenâ—â—s in the World I wholly dismiss and trouble 〈◊〉 my self or my Reader with the resolving of 〈◊〉 In treating of this Last Dispensation I 〈◊〉 as to the main and substantial Strokes of it 〈◊〉 my self close to the Bible I have positively 〈◊〉 nothing but what is plainly founded on Divine Revelation as deliver'd to us in the Writings of the Prophets and Apostles and even there I have not presumed to fix any certain Time Those Halcyon Days which I treat of may commence in part very soon and blaze out of a sudden or they may be stifled and smother'd till many lusters of Years are expired I verily believe the Thing it self but it is the highest arrogance to determine the Season This is all I have to say by way of Preface Errata to the first Volume PAge 24. l. 10. read sex P. 27. l. 4. r. it in P. 59. l. 15. for Tho r. But. P. 107. l. 1. r. and he P. 124. l. 23. r. seem'd to run P. 158. l. 2. r. Mincaâ— or P. 169. l. 26. for and r. had P. 177. Margin r. Philo de P. 179. l. 19. put the Comma after thus P. 188. l. 26. r. Cherub P. 194. l. 12. after not insert that all this is significant P. 201. 1. 22. r. but the latter P. 217. l. 4. r. his P. 235. l. 9. r. of any l. 15. after meant insert not of the flesh of those Animals but. P. 289. l. antepen r. as almost all P. 332. l. 9. after Gospel add tho it was in part under the other Dispensations P. 350. l. 10. for you r. them THE CONTENTS OF THE First Volume CHAP. I. THE great Advantage of the present Vndertaking A general Distribution of the Work The State of Innocence The Folly of the Praeadamitick Opinion The solemn Consultation of the
thing as Idolatry in those days but that its date was afterwards and therefore it must be meant of Religious Invoking of God and the solemn use of it There are others who though they are satisfied that the word is to be rendred began not prophaned yet understand what follows according to Aquila's Translation and therefore read the whole thus Then men began to be call'd by the name of the Lord i. e. Seth and Enos for their great Piety were the first that had the honour as it were of a Divine Appellation whence they that were their Offspring were call'd the Son of God or they were call'd by Gods names i. e. they were reputed and celebrated as eminent Worshippers of God as his profess'd Servants and Votaries But this seems to be a forc'd Interpretation and is built upon a wrong Translation of the words The plain and genuine meaning both according to the Original the Seventy and other Versions which are held to be most exact is this that though Adam Abâ—l Seth and others had called on God in their Houses and Families long before this time yet now they met together publickly and the Rites of Religion which God had appointed them were fixed Here is the first Infancy of the more visible Church Now Holy Assemblies are set up and perhaps as Cain then built Cities so Enos built Temples or Places for Divine Worship Sacrifices were setled before Now the way and manner of invoking God aright are established Or if you will take Calling on the Lord as a general expression for Religion then the meaning is that in the time of these holy men the true VVorship and Service of God begun to flourish openly Though Cain and his Seed liv'd atheistically and prophanely yet those of the Family of Seth and Enos promoted all Piety and Virtue they generally â—eared God and walked uprightly and Religion was in great esteem among men There seems to have been a Law under this Patriarchal Period not to marry with Infidels This is implied in Gen. 6. 2. The sons of God saw the daughtâ—rs of men and they took them Wives of all that they chose The children of Seth were joyned in wedlock with the wicked posterity of Cain which we have reason to think was forbidden them because this is reckon'd as the great sin which provoked God's wrath and brought the devouring flood v. 3. Here it may be taken notice of that whereas Marriagâ— the joyning of one Man and one Woman only had prevail'd hitherto by virtue of the Primitive Order and Institution in Gen. 2. 24. now at the latter end of the Adamick Dispensation Polygamy began to be introduced Lamâ—ch took unto him two Wives Gen. 4. 19. and was the firâ—â— person that transgress'd against that Conjugal Law I find a very Reverend and Worthy person â—avourable to him and thinks his â—arnest desire of seeing that Blessed Seed which was promis'd to Eve might induce him to take more Wives than one hoping by multiplying of his posterity some or other of thâ—m might prove so happy as to produce that Seed This is a very Learned and Pious Account of the Original of Polygamy Here I might mention the Seven Precepts which the Iews much talk of and say wâ—re given by God to the sons of Adam and Nâ—ah before Moses's time But Rabbi Maimon is more distinct and â—aith six of these Precepts were given to Adam and those that immediately came of his loins and so they fall in under this Patriarchal Dispensation and afterwards these six with another added i. â— of Abstaining from blood were delivered to Noah and his Sons Of the Seventh I am not to speak in this place it belonging to the Noacâ—ical Dispensation but it is proper to give you some account of the other Six Both the Talmuds and other Writings of the Hebrew Doctors recite them in this order the first Precept was of Iudgments of Politick and Civil Government of Administration of Justice in publick Tribunals and Courts of Judicature and that those who offended in the kinds after named ought to be severely punished The Second was of Cursing the most Holy Name or Blasphemy that God's Name is not to be prophaned The Third was of strangâ— Worship or Idolatry that they should not worship Idâ—ls The Fourth is of uncovering of Nakedness or unlawful Copulation as Adultery Incest and the like that these are absolutely unlawful The Fifth is of shâ—dding of Blood or Homicide The Sixth is of Thefâ— and Rapine Clandestine or open stealing taking away what is anothers that none of these are to be practised Those that would see these Precepts largely commented upon may consult the Learned Seldâ—n who hath almost fill'd a whole Volume with them That which I am to inquire into at present is whether it be reasonable to give credit to the common Assertion of the Iews who say that these Precepts were given by God himself to Adam and the Patriarchs before Noah First I might take notice that the Iews agree not fully about the number of the Precepts given to Adam for though Seven generally be said to be the number of them yet there are those who dissent here and so in some sort bring the giving of the Precepts as well as thâ— number of them into question Secondly We read no where in Genesis nor in any of the inspired Books afterwards that any of these Precepts were given by God to Adam or his immediate children We meet with nothing like them before Noah and Moses and therefore we cannot with any certainty and confidence assert that God deliver'd these before that time I know it is said and that by the Learnedest that all Facts are not mention'd in the Bible the Scripture refers to some as known and acknowledg'd though no where expresly recorded Thus these Precepts are refer'd to in Acts 15. 20. But I answer though one thing done at this time and another at another may be omitted in Scripture-History as Adam's observing the Seventh day and God's Injunction about Bloody Sacrifices c. yet it is folly to think that a Whole Body of Precepts should be given to Adam and his Sons and that they should be openly divulg'd as the Iews say there was a formal Promulgation of them and yet not one of them be mention'd nor so much as hinted at in the History which purposely treats of those things Credat Iâ—daâ—â— c. And as to what some say that these Precepts are referr'd to in the Decree of the Apostolical Council at Ierusalem it is but a surmise and there is no real ground for it only the matter or substance of two or three of those Precepts is there enjoyn'd as we find in some other places and that is all Thirdly Not only the Writings of Moses and other books of Holy Writ were silent concerning the giving of these Precepts but Ioseph the Learned Iewish Antiquary who comments upon the Mosaical Writings and is wont to insert
of Life that they might find out and discover things the more successfully and deliver to Posterity the things which they invented It is Iosepâ—'s opinion that God indulg'd the Autediluvians a long Life that they might study the Stars and find out the Nature Motion and Influence of the Heavenly Bodies for they could not attain to a Certainty and an Experience of these things without this And he adds that the Great Year comes not about till the period of 600 Years wherefore it was requisiâ—e they should live so long at least But whether we admit of this particular Conceit of his or no it is certain that Astronomy and other Arts could not be attain'd at first in a short time Long Observation was necessary for this purpose frequent and repeated Experiments being the great Basis of most Arts. These therefore could not be accomplish'd and perfected but by a large term of Years The persons who lived to a great age were able to convey and entail Knowledg more effectually than wâ— can now only this is to be said that wâ— have some other ways and advantages of promoting Knowledg which they had not 3. Their long Lives were serviceable to a higher and a nobler purpose viz. for the retaining and preserving of Religion and the true Worship of God in a more intire manner for 't is to be remembred that there was no Scripturâ— then and therefore Religion could not be more advantageously spread and propagated than by a saâ—e Tradition And that this was especially aim'd at and designed by the Wisdom and Providence of God is evident hence that as soon as the matchless Treasure of Religion was deliver'd and secured to the World by committing the Law to writing the Age of Man was presently stinted and reduced to a set Period This shews that one reason why the Dimensions of Mens Lives were far longer in those days than they were afterwards was that Religion might be the more surely kept up they having no Written Laws at that time Therefore these Living Laws for such were the long-lived Patriarchs were requisite whereby the Will of God was communicated with great ease and advantage to all men This could be done even by Four Persons for the space of 2000 Years and more for Adam's Auditor was Methuselah whom Noah succeeded and taught Shem and he those of his Age even till the Year of the World 2160 or thereabouts So compendious a way this was of instructing the World and upholding Religion in it But of this I shall speak afterwards 4. Another ground of the Long Lives of the Patriarchs before the Deluge was their Healthful Temper wherein they much exceeded others that follow'd them For tho we need not assert as some have done that the Earth was not situated before the Flood as it is now that there were no Summers and Winters but that there was a perpetual Equinox all over the World yet this we may with good reason hold that there was a greater Equality of Heat and Cold in those days and as the consequent of that there was a more constant and uniform Temperature of Mens Bodies For we cannot but think that there was a great change caus'd by that Universal Deluge which cover'd the Earth this could not but damp and chill the Air and thereby exceedingly affect Mens Bodies and contribute towards the shortning of their Lives But before this general Inundation they were healthful and lived a long time And this Account which I give le ts us see that this was not a peculiar Donation to those Persons only whom Moses mentions but that it was vouchsafed to all that lived in those early times 5. I might add that their Food was purer and wholesomer than that of the following Ages The Fruits of the Earth came up more kindly before the Deluge than afterwards for we cannot but conceive that they were endamaged by the briny Waters of the Seas which were let loose on the Ground By this means the products of the Earth were not so nutritive as befoâ—â— not so adjusted to the Constitutions and Tempers of Mens Bodies and thence the Plenitude of Years was abated 6. Their Health and Long-living may be ascrib'd to their Temperance and Moderation for their Diet being more simple and plain consisting wholly of Herbs and Plants and such like Products of the Ground they were not tempted to that Excess which prevail'd afterwards when several sorts of curious and delicatâ— Dishes were allow'd them Hereupon follow'd Wantonness Intemperance Luxury and Riot and by these the Hale Temper of Mens Bodies was impair'd and Diseases bred and their Days shortned But as long as they continu'd sober and temperate they werâ— bless'd with a sound Constitution they were strong and vigorous witness what you read in Gen. 5. 32. Noah was fivâ— hundred Yâ—ars â—ld and bâ—gat Shem Ham and Japhet I could adjoin in the next place that it is very probable they had greater Skill in Physick than there was afterwards tho they had seldom occasion to make use of it The Professors of the Spagyrick Art do indeed tell us that the Longevity of the Patriarchs is to be attributed to their Skill in Chymistry for it is of that Antiquity they say but it is to be question'd whether there was any such thing at that time we may rather content our selves with this belief that they understood well the Nature of Herbs and Plants and had more Time and Opportunity to study their Qualities and Operations than Men since have and thence perhaps they made especial choice of such of them as were great Strengthners of Nature and upheld the Life of Man Again their quiet and contented way of living contributed much to the lengthning of their Lives They were generally free from Care and Distraction they understood not the Intrigues and Perplexities which vain Men are now plagu'd with In those Golden Times there was more Simplicity and Honesty Men were satisfied with a little and could live at a cheap rate But afterwards the World was disorder'd Mens Desires and Wishes grew immoderate and extravagant and their Days were worn out with Troubles and Vexations This is the best Account I can give of the Long Lives of the Patriarchs of the first Ages and of the shorter Term of Years of those that succeeded them The Third Patriarchal Dispensation or the Abrahamick Oeconomy began with Abraham and continued till the giving of the Law by Moses which was 430 Years Ex. 12. 41. Gal. 3. 17. The Person from whom this Period hath its Denomination was a Chaldâ—an by Birth and lived in Vr the chief City of Chaldâ—a In this Idolatrous Country it is probable he was partly infected with the Vicâ— of the Place and thence perhaps he is said to be Vngodly Râ—m 4. 5. But tho he was not wholly free from the impious Practice of Idolatry which then reâ—gn'd in the World yet he retain'd his Integrity as to the main and would not suffer himself to
in that way which was most acceptable to him This religious and spiritual walking denoteth as the bodily one generally doth continued Motion Progress Acquaintance Converse Friendship And to walk before God implieth that the Persoâ—s who do so consider that they are in God's Presence and therefore do nothing but what is pleasing to him The walking before God after this manner denominates a Man perfect that is it is the only Persection which he is capable of in this Life We see then what it was that made this a peculiar Dispensation The Law of Grace or Covenant made with Adam and confirmed to Noah was renewed to Abraham with special and peculiar Promises to him and his Seed with singular Ingagements on their part Here were new Discoveries and Manifestations concerning the Messias viz. That he should be of the Seed of Abraham and consequently of the Nation of the Iews and that tho he should spring out of the Herbeâ— Stock yet he should be an Universal Saviour and all Nations should be capable of receiving benefit from him and of being blessed by him and that they should all be justified by Faith as we have ground to infer from what is said of Abraham in Gen. 15. 6. He believed in the Lord and he counted it to him fâ—r Rightcousnâ—ss and from the Apostle's Comment on it in Gal. 3. 8 9. And then this is peculiar to this Period that whereas hitherto there had been no diffâ—rence of any Countries and Nations of Men now there is a palpable difference made For as God chose a Person out from the rest of the World so he will now make of him a great Nation and People which shall be differenced from the rest of Mankind God seeing the World generally running into Idolatry and all sorts of Wickedness set up Abraham's Seed to stem the Torrent of Vice to keep up Religion pure and entire and to maintain the true Worship of God upon the Earth The Church before was not separated and gathered from the rest of the World but was in common with it as to Place and Stock till Abraham's time But now it is distinguish'd from other Nations and it is confined to one Race of People among whom there shall constantly be some religious Men who are true and living Members of the Church and of whom at length the Messias the Lord of Righteousness shall come according to the Flesh. This Stock and Posterity of Abraham were called Hebrews but what occasion'd this Name first of all is disputable The Iewish Antiquary and from him several others have thought that the Hebrews were call'd so from Heber the Son of Salah the Father of Peleg Others think it more reasonable to assert that they had their Name from Abraham I do not mean it in St. Augustin's sense i. e. Hebrai quasi Abraâ—â—i which was the Opinion of this Father at first but afterward he retracted it and adhered to the foremention'd one But I mean this that this Name of the Hebrews as several have been induced to believe is derived from Gneber transiit viz. from the passing of Abraham and others with him from Vr in Chaldea through Mesopotamia into Canaan Thence this Patriarch is called and that emphatically Abram the Passenger Hagnibri Gen. 14. 13. We translate it Abram the Hebrew But the Septuagint who well understood the true derivation of the word render it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Passenger or the Traveller The Reader may take his choice of these two Opinions viz. whether the Hebrews were call'd so from Heber or from Gâ—ibri But to speak freely tho I have no Author on my side I do not see why they might not have their Name from both i. e. from Heber and afterwards from Abraham For 't is certain that the Iews were the Progeny of that worthy Man Gneber or Heber and therefore from him might originally be call'd and he may be said to be the Father of the Hebrews But it is as certain that Abraham was also the Father of them and we cannot but acknowledg that his leaving his Country and travelling into Canaan where afterward his Posterity settled were most famous and remarkable Occurrences and might deservedly give him the name of Gnibri the Traveller whence the denomination of the People descended from him is Hebrews In this Name is recorded the Rise of that Nation viz. from Mesopotamia whence the Father of them came And you may observe that it is particularly and signally mention'd by God himself Iosh. 24. 2. that he led him over Euphrates to go to Canaan and therefore I am inclin'd to think that from this Epithet tho not wholly I say from this Epithet given to Abraham because he left his own Country and passed over Eâ—phrates and so came travelling to Palestine the Posterity of Abraham took their Name and were call'd Hebrews Afterwards they were callâ—d Israelites from Iacob whose Name was chang'd into that of Israel and Iews from Iudah Iacob's Son Some think this last Name did not prevail till the Kingdom upon Solomon's death was divided into Iudah and Israel But I see no footsteps of its prevailing then for these People are not called Iews but once in the Old Testament before the Captivity viz. in King Ahaz's Reign 2 Kings 16. 6. Which howâ—ver confutes that of Iosephus that they were first call'd Iews when they return'd from the Captivity in Babylon That they might be known to be a peculiar People they were distinguish'd from all others by the bloody Badg of Circumcision which was another thing that contributed towards the making this a new Dispensation It is true this Rite was instituted first with relation to Abraham's particular Person for in my judgment the best Account is given by Iustin Martyr of the primary reason of this practice viz. because Abraham believ'd in God even when he was aged and unâ—â—t for Generation and when his Wife was decrepid and barren he then believ'd I say that he should be a Father of a Child for that reason God gave him a Sign of this nature viz. the Circumcision of the Foreskin of that part of his Body which then through Age was useless as to Procreation but through Faith became otherwise But there are other Reasons secondary ones and some of them mystical which have reference not only to Abraham but the People descended from him 1. Circumcision was intended and appointed to be a Character of Genealogical Sanctity a special Mark of distinction between the People of God and Infidels between the true Worshippers and Idolaters between the holy Seed and the Profane in short between the Seed of Abraâ—am and the rest of the World Therefore all the forty Years the Israelites were in the Desert they did not make use of this distinguishing Mark because then they had no converse with other People and so there was no need of an external Note of distinction to discriminate them from other Nations 2. Circumcision
the most Solemn Offices of Christianity to be in pure Imitation of a Pagan Usage for he saith Christ in Celebrating the Holy Sacrament of his Supper refer'd to the Custom of the Barbarous Scythians and other Savage Nations who used to drink Blood at their making of Covenants and Bargains thence it is said This Cup is my Blood of the New Testament drink ye all of this This was the highest and most daring result of his â—ormer Notion But I hope the Learned Doctor before he left the World corrected his Error and entertain'd other thoughts of these things and therefore I will not press them any further especially because I discours'd of this matter somewhat freely when I made it my business to prove that many of the Pagan Rites and Customs in Religion as well as in Secular Affairs were borrow'd from the Iews and their Sacred Usages which is directly contrary to what this Author asserts viz. that the Rites and Ceremonies injoyn'd by God himself to the Iews were of Pagan Extraction I might here mention that some others have fallen into the same or the like Notion and have made use of it to ill purpose Our English Socinians approve of this Doctrine that God complied with the Idolatrous Nations in the Sacrifices and other Rites which he instituted And some of the Antienter Racovians run up higher and refer the method of Man's Redemption and Salvation to the Usages of the Pagan World Thus a noted Man among them tells us that God sent Christ into the World in compliance with a Custom that was very prevailing viz. that those who were eminent and celebrated for their Virtue and their serviceableness to Mankind were after their death Canonized as 't were and placed in Heaven as an inferiour kind of Deities and those that wanted their help used to implore it and make them their Mediators Even so God exalted Christ who had been an Excelleâ—t and Useful Person and made him a kind of God And as noted a person of our own seems to have imbibed the same Doctrine for he asserts that a greâ—â— part of the Iewish Religion which was instituted by God himself seems to have been a plain condescension to the general apprehension of Mankind i. e. the Heathen world as he explains himself afterwards concerning the way of appeasing the offended Deity by Sacrifices Nay he makes the Incarnation of Christ and his Suffering of death to be a condescension to the Pagans who he saith loved a visible Deity and had a great esteem of Sacrifices especially of human Sacrifices and used to Deiâ—y their Benefactors aâ—d Heroes That is very strange which he gives as Reason why Christ was incarnate that Men viz. the Gentiles who were much given to admire Mystâ—riâ—s in Religion might have one that is a Mystery indeed So that all was direct compliance with the Gentiles and according to this Writer the way of Salvation of Mankind is derived from the impious Customs of the Heathens But his more Particular words which are almost too harsh to be mention'd I shall have occasion shortly to represent to the Reader in a more proper place 4. The Ceremonial Law and other Mosaick Usages were prescribed the Iewish people because these were fit and proper for them at that time because they were most suitable to their present Geniuâ— and Disposition Thus the Apostle in Gal. 3. 24 c. very handsomely illustrates the nature of this part of the Legal Dispensation The Law was our Schoolmaster saith he Here is Moses with a Rod in his hand We were instituted and educated saith the Apostle under the Pedagâ—giâ— of the Law for being but in our minority we were not capable then of a higher Institution and Instruction But this fitted and prepared us by degrees for the reception of that other and this Schoolmaster of the Law serv'd as an usher to the Gospel But saith the Apostle in the next verse After that Faith i. e. the time of the Gospel is come wâ— are no longer under a Schoolmaster we are then no longer under the lash of the Law our state and condition do not require it And God is pleas'd to administer things wisely according to the condition and circumstances we are under And this Apostle by another fit Allusion in Gal. 4. 1 c. sets forth the nature of this Oeconomy which he had spoken of before The Heir as long as he is a child differeth nothing from a servant though he be Lord of all buâ— is under Tutâ—rs and Governors until the time appointed of the Father Even so we when we were children were in bondage under the elements of the world but when the fulness of the time was come God sent forth his Son c. In which words St. Paul compareth the Iudaical Law to a Tutor or Guardian under whom the Heir doth not enjoy that freedom of a Son which afterwards he is to come to This saith he was the case of the Iewish people they were but Minors and Pupils and so stood in need of a Tutor i. e. one that is appointed to take care and have the charge of those who by reason of their insufficient age and understanding cannot look to themselves The Ceremonial Law was the Iews Guardian whilst they were under age this sowr Governour and Overseer kept them in and curb'd them and on that account was very useful to them at that time But the Apostle seems here to recur to his former comparison of the Law to a Schoolmaster when he adds that the Iews as long as they were Children were in bondage under the Elements of the world The Iews were then got no further than their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 their First Elements they were but conning their Alphabet Their Sacrifices and Circumcision were as it were so many plain Letters in Blood and there were other Fair and Legible Characters but there were few of the common Iews so good Proficients as to Spell out of them any thing of a future and higher Concernment These and their other Rudiments were sutable to the mean Capacity and Non-age of the Iewish Church when they were in this State such a low and mean Dispensation as this was good enough for them Diversity of Ages calls â—or diversity of Actions and Behaviour and consequently for diversity of Laws Parents rule Children after another manner than when they arrive to any ripeness of Years and are capable of Discourse So God ordereth his Church that is fit for it at one time which is not at another Israel was a Child Hos. 11. 1. that was the state of the Iews when they were call'd out of Egypt And the Apostle uses the same Expression as you have heard Now when the Iewish Church was in this lower Form the First Rudiments were most agreeable to that condition these Beginners were to be used to their Letters God dealt with that People according to their Weakness and Shallowness Wherefore we may
would gather that he lived not in the time of any of the Holy Patriarchs or of Moses for then it could not be said that he had not his fellow in the earth But this Inference is of no weight because it is most probable that this is spoken of that particular Countrey wherein Iob lived as the Earth is sometimes taken in that restrained sense in Scripture So that the meaning is there was no man like him in the Land of Uz for the Hebrew word Eretz is the same in both places He was the most eminent Saint in that Region of the World That which we observe at present is that he was so tho he was no Israelite tho he was not of the Holy Seed Notwithstanding this he was a Worshipper of the True God and a Righteous Person In Chap. 31. you may hear him making a solemn Protestation of his Integrity as to many grand things of Religion and particularly his abhorrence of Idolatry ver 26. Indeed the greatest part of the Book is a Testimony of his singular Faith Patience and Piety Whereupon St. Augustine saith thus of him I doubt not but it was particularly order'd by Divine Providence that we should learn from this one Person that even amongst other Nations there might be those who lived according to God and pleased him and belonged to the Spiritual Ierusalem Iob's Friends likewise may be reckoned among the Gentiles for Eliphaz the Temanite was of Esau's lineage Gen. 36. 11. and Bildad the Shuite was of the posterity of Shuah the Son of Abraham by Keturah Gen. 25. 2. and Elihu the Buzite was of Buz the Son of Nahor Gen. 22. 21. As Iob sacrificed for his Sons Chap. 1. ver 5. so Eliphaz did for himself and his two friends Iob 42. 8 to appease God's Wrath and all of them shew'd themselves Religious and Pious persons For tho they were faulty as to their misrepresentation of Iob sometimes yet they were in their designs upright and intended only to justifie God and to assert his Providence and to check Sin and Wickedness where they thought they espi'd them And it is not unreasonable to think that Iob and his Companions who were Persons of such eminent Goodness and moreover were Rich and Wealthy Men and of great Authority in the Land of Vz for as Iob himself was a Great Man a kind of King in that Countrey so his three friends were Men of Power and Eminency and are call'd Kings by the Author of the Book of Tobit used their Wealth and Authority for the promoting of Religion among the Inhabitants of that place and so it is probable that there were several that feared God there and consequently that the Church was not confined to one Nation but that God revealed himself in a saving manner to other Countreys Of this we have further proof for as there were these Religious People in Canaan and Arabia or Idumea so in other places some of those that were Vncircumcised were acquainted with the True Religion Abraham's Brother Nahor and his Family tho they dwelt in Mesâ—potamia an Heathenish Countrey and which Abraham left for that reason were not strangers to the True God and his Worship tho they mix'd it with some Superstition thus in Gen. 24. 31 50. the Language of Labaâ— and Bethuel shews that they had a good Sense of Religion and knew and worship'd Iehâ—vah If we pass to Egypt we shall find there that the Midwives that were Natives of that Countrey for such they are deservedly thought to be by the Learned Iewish Historian and Antiquary and tho they are call'd Hebrew Midwives ver 15. yet the Reason of that Denomination was because as it is explain'd in the next verse they did the Office of Midwives to the Hebrew Women and from several circumstances in that part of the Sacred History we may gather that they were of the Egyptian Nation and not Hebrews feared God Exod. 1. 17. and gave a remarkable Testimony of it and accordingly were rewarded by God for it ver 21. Hagar who was originally an Egyptian was honoured with Divine Apparitions and favoured by God in a particular manner Gen. 16. 10 11 13. And afterwards when the Iewish Nation and Church were set up by God other persons and people were not excluded from his Grace and Favour Ruth was a Moâ—bite of the Race of the Daughters of Lot but was converted to the Belief of the True God and her Virtue and Piety were so signal that the Holy Spirit hath recorded them in an intire Book Our Saviour takes notice that the Prophet Elias was sent to the Widow of Sarepâ—a who was a Gentile a Sidonian Luke 4. 26 but shew'd her self a very Good Religious Woman and believed in the God of the Patriarchs Naaman the Syrian was a Proselyte he sacrificed to the God of Israel alone and carried Earth with him out of Iudea to build an Altar a Kings 5. 15 17. and without doubt he propagated the true Religion and Knowledg of God in his own Countrey Ebedmelech an Ethiopian Chamberlain or some such like Great Officer to King Zedekiah was a Patron of the Prophet Ieremiah and a Man of singular Zeal and Piety and was therefore eminently favour'd of God Ier. 38. 7. 39. 16. It is not improbable that Hiram King of Tyre was a Prosolyte 1 Kings 5. 7. And such we have reason to think the Queen of Sheba was 1 Kings 10. 9. Nebuchadnezzar was of this sort and became a Convert as may be partly collected from Dan. 3. 28 29. Dan. 4. 34 c. And it may be Cyrus who is stiled by God his Anointed Isai. 45. 1. may be reckon'd in this number But tho there may be some doubt as to these latter yet it is certain that the rest and several others that might be named in Gentile Countreys were Proselytes to the true Faith In prosecution of which Subject it may be further observ'd that God sent Hebrew Prophets to the People of other Nations Isaiah Ieremiah and Ezekiest prophesied almost to all Nations Obadiah to the Idumeans and Ionas was dispatch'd to the people of Ninive the Metropolis of Assyria who believ'd and repented at Ionas's Preaching This shews that God was kind to Them as well as to the Iews and that they had the True God and his Will in some measure discover'd to them before otherwise they would not have been so capable of understanding the Divine Message when it came to them and of behaving themselves sutably to it For it is not to be question'd that the Ninivites Repentance was true it proceeding as some of the Antients of the Christian Church have observ'd from a true Faith Ion. 2. 5. Mat. 12. 41. Their Fasting and Humiliation were so eminent that the Abyssine Church keeps yearly a Fast of threeday in remembrance of it And I find it is the Comfortable Note of Rabbi Kimchi questioning why the Book of Ionas was rank'd among the Holy Scriptures it making no mention
of Israel as all other Prophets do but being wholly directed against the Ninivites who were Heathens and Strangers to the Commonwealth of Israel This Book saith he was written to shew that God is merciful to those that repent of what Nation soever they be This Example makes it evident that the Gentiles were not wholly rejected altho as to the greatest part they were but that many of them were accepted of God Yea it seemeth to be plain from Mal. 1. 11. that the Getiles worshipp'd God no less than the Iews The words are in the present time in the Original and therefore ought to be so meant that some of the Gentiles in those days had the true Worship of God among them in one part or other of the whole World he was Adored and Served The History of the Iewish Nation and of God's care of them was the thing chiefly designed in the Old Testament and therefore it cannot be expected that it should treat of other Nations and give a particular account of what was done there But it makes mention as you have heard of some Holy Persons among them and without doubt there were many more tho not spoken of The Gentiles were not deserted of God but taken notice of by him and encouraged The Visible Church did not altogether consist of Abraham's Family and Kindred but many others that were not of that Stock were true Members of it Especially among the neighbouring Nations several were converted to God by the Preaching of the Israelitish Prophets and in part receiv'd the Iewish Religion and by the Iews were call'd Proselytes These properly belong to the Gentile Dispensation because they were first Gentiles but converted from their Gentilism to the Knowledg and Worship of the True God These Proselytes or Converts were of two sorts 1. The Proselytes of the Gate as the Iews stiled them because they lived within the Gates of Isreal and they held free Commerce and Trade within their Houses the same with the Strangers within their Gates Exod. 20. 10. Deat 14. 21. They were those Heathens that abandoned their Pagan Superstition and Idolatry and receiv'd the True Faith and acknowledg'd the True God but were left to their liberty as to Circumcision Therefore this Rank of Proselytes remain'd Uncircumcised neither did they observe the other Mosaick Laws and Rites but were only tied to the keeping of the Seven Precepts supposed to be given to Noab's Sons as Maimonides and other Learned Writers among the Iews inform us These tho they were no Idolaters yet because they were Uncircumcised were not permitted to worship in the same Court of the Temple with the Iews but in a distinct Place by themselves therefore call'd the Court of the Gentiles and tho they went to the Iewish Synagogues yet they had a distinct Apartment there There were many of these Proselytes among the Iews every where in their Cities Of these you read in the New Testament where they are call'd Devout or Pious or Religious Men or Worshippers for the Greek words signifie any of these I conceive the Roman Centurion of Capernaum who built the Jews a Synagogue Luke 7. 5. was one of these Cornelius a Captain of the Italian Band Acts 10. 2. was another Proselyte of this sort i. e. a Gentile Worshipper of the True God but not Circumcised or counted a Member of the Church of the Iews And such a one it is likely was the Ethiopian Eunuch mentioned in Acts 8. 27. who came to Jerusalem to worship And such was Lydia of Thyatira who worshipped God Acts 16. 14. And hither may be referr'd those devout men out of every Nation under Heaven Acts 2. 5. and thâ—se that feared God Acts 13. 16 26. These were Proselytes from among the Gentiles And these it is likely are meant by the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Acts 9. 29. 11. 10. for tho this be the name for the Grecizing Iews who read the Scriptures in the Septuagint's Version and pray'd and did other Religious Offices in Greek whereas others perform'd them in Hebrew yet here by Heltemists we are to understand those that were converted to the Jewish Religion from Gentilism But tho they had renounced the Heathen Worship yet they had not receiv'd all the Jewish Ceremonies and Laws 2. There were another sort of Prâ—selytes call'd the Prâ—selytes of Rightâ—eousness or of the Covenant These were of a far higher degree than the former for they were Gentiles converted wholly to Iudaism and were initiated into the Jewish Church by Baptism and Circumcision and were tied to keep all the Mosaick Law and worshipp'd in the same Court of the Temple with the Natural Jews and so became every way Iews unless in respect of their Birth and Nation These in the New Testament are simply and absolutely call'd Proselytes Thus Persons of other Nations besides that of the Jews imbraced the True Religion and Worship and were accepted of God and obtain'd his favour Here then is the Gentile Oeconomy Not but that the Nations were generally sorsaken of God and given up to Idolatry and all manner of Wickedness and Prophaneness which the Apostle took notice of when he said God in times past suffer'd all Nations to walk in their own ways All Nations i. e. all those Kingdoms which were erected after the Flood viz. the Assyrian or Babylonian Monarchy which began soon after the Flood under Nimrâ—d the Son of Cush the Sicyonian Kingdom and the Old Germans who began at the same time with the Assyrian Monarchy next the Egyptian Empire under Cham and his Successor Misraim or Osiria About the same time began the Argives Kingdom under Inachus their first King Then the Kingdoms of Bactria and Iudia another Grecian Kingdom viz. the Athenian about the middle of the Chaldean Empire then the Lacedemonian or Spartan Dinasty the Kingdom of Italy the Lydian Corinthian Tyrian Macedâ—nian Dynasties besides the Persian whose King upon the expiring of the Assâ—rian Empire became Head of the Second Monarchy which is the boundary of the Sacred History of the Old Testament These were all left by God to themselves and Idolatry prevail'd among them all they worshipp'd the Sun Moon and Stars yea all kinds of Beasts tho never so base and contemptible Nay Worshipping of Devils was a common practice with them Thus God suffer'd the greatest part of the World to walk in their own ways until the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ Thus they were as the Apostle speaks of the Gentiles without God in the World till he came into it But yet even then when they were addicted to Idolatry which is also to be observed in this Oeconomy of the Nations God left not himself without witness Acts 14. 17. He led them to the knowledg of himself by the Book of Nature they had sufficient light of God and Religion i. e. to teach them some general Duties of Virtue and Goodness and to instruct them in the Nature and Attributes of God
Israelites yet they were as good as taken in as to other Clauses of it and as to the Effence and Substance of it viz. the Spiritual Mercies couched in it Thus they were comprehended in the Covenant of Life and Salvation for all of what Nation soever were Partakers of the Benefits of it upon their believing and repenting Not only Iews but Gentiles were interested in it In the full Meal and Provision which God made for his own People the Israelites some Portions some Fragments fell besides the Table which others gather'd up This is God's Administration to the Gentiles and I make it a particular and distinct Dispensation tho I see those who reckon up the different Dispensations of Religion omit this The Reason I suppose is because this Gentile Dispensation is mixed with the rest of the Dispensations Because it was concurrent with the Patriachal and Mosaical Oeconomies and was not a thing by it self they took no notice of it But notwithstanding this it is a peculiar Dispensation and a very remarkable one too as the Premises may convince us And at last our Blessed Saviour perfected this Dispensation for a little before he left the World he enjoyn'd the Apostles to go and teach all Nations Mat. 28. 19. to Evangelize the Goyim the Nations for so the Iews call'd all People besides themselves to propagate Christianity throughout the whole World And accordingly we read that when the Apostles had continued some time at Ierusalem after Christ's Ascention only some of them now and then slepping abroad to confirm the neighbouring Churches that were lately planted they issued out with one consent into several Countries where by their Travels they spread the Gospel as effectually as David and Solomon did the Hebrew Tongue the one by his numerous Conquests the other by his prosperous Fleets and Commerces so that even in St. Paul's time the Gospel was Preached to every Creature under Heaven Col. 1. 23. Thus at length the Gentile Dispensation was swallow'd up of the Evangelical one which now I will particularly speak of CHAP. XI The Christian or Evangelical Oeconomy It agrees with the former Dispensations of Grace as to the Designation of the Messias As to the way of Salvation As to the Conditions and Qualifications of it This corroborated by the suffrage of the Antient Fathers It differs from the Mosaick Oeconomy or Law as to the Author in some respect As to the Actual Discovery of it As to the Clearness of it As to its Spirituality As to its Extent As to several Circumstances that relate to the Conditions of Salvation which are largely enumerated As to the Motives of Obedience The Doctrine of the Socinians viz. that there were no Promises of Eternal Life under the Old Testament confuted As to the Perfection of its Pattern As to its Helps and Assistances This Query Whether Christ added any new Laws to those which were before under the Old Testament resolved in several Particulars It is proved against the Socinians that Prayer was commanded under the Law How Love is call'd a New Commandment THe Christian or Evangelical Dispensation is next to be treated of God having at sundry times and in divers manners spoken in times past hath now in these last days spoken unto us by his Son Heb. l. 1 2. He was pleased to reserve the utmost Completion of all the Promisâ—s made to the Patriarchs and the Iews till this time Now by Christ's coming we have the perfect Accomplishment of them all Christianity comprehends all the other Dispensations and is the Upshot of them all This is called the Revelation of the Mystery which was kepe secret since the World began but now is made manifest Rom. 16. 26 27. and the Mystery of Christ which in other ages was not made known unto the Sons of Men but is now revealed unto his holy Apostles and Prophets by the Spirit Eph. 3. 4 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is properly he that brings forth and distributes that which was before laid up This is agreeable to the Oeconomy which we are now to discourse of the great Things which were hidden and treasured up before are now brought forth and discovered and communicated to the World This is that Dispensation which brings Everlasting Righteousness with it this is the Highest and Noblest Exertment of the Covenant of Grace and all the Mercy and Pardon which former Generations found were on the sole account of this Period This Dispensation of the Messias is represented by Iohn Baptist and by Christ himself to be the most Glorious State that hath yet appeared in the World or that ever shall appear for Christianity as most perfect includes all the Laws before named and all the ways of Discovery that can be made 1. I will shew the particular Nature of this Dispensation and how it differs from the others 2. I will shew why this Evangelical Dispensation took not place in the World before 3. I must particularly and directly prove the Truth and Certainty of this Oeconomy and of the Christian Religion 4. I will discover to you the several Degrees of this Dispensation All which Particulars are of great use for the right understanding of this last Administration of Religion 1. I will display the particular Nature and Quality of this Oeconomy this new Oeconomy of the Gospel Here I will let you see 1. That as to the main it agrees with all the other Oeconomies of Grace viz. from the Restoration of Adam 2. That tho as to the main it agrees with all the foregoing Dispensations yet as to sundry particulars it differs from them First all the Dispensations agree in the main i. e. 1. The Divine Designation or Appointment of the Messias reach'd to them all This Lamb was slain from the foundation of the World Rev. 13. 8. His Sufferings and Death were decreed from all Ages Christ was crucified from the beginning even from Eternity For tho some interpret this place as if it alluded to the Murder of Abel the first holy Person that was slain and as if it took in the rest of the Martyrs in after Ages the Lamb here signifying the whole Succession of Saints who were innocent and spotless in their Lives and invincible in their Deaths and so Christ as well as others may be said to be slain from the foâ—ndation of the World because there was at First even at the Beginning of the World this Example of the Wicked's murdering the Just yet this must be look'd upon as a forced Interpretation of the words for in the stile of Scripture excepting those places where the Sense must needs be restrained and limited because of the subject matter from the foundation of the World is as much as from Eternity as is plain from Mat. 25. 34. Inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the World and from Ioh. 17. 24. Thou lovedst me before the foundation of the World for from the foundation or before the foundation are here
It is not necessary that there should be a Formal Abrogation of the Ceremonial Law because when the Reason of a Law ceases the Law it self ceaseth But yet it is shew'd from sundry Places in the New Testament that the Ceremonial Law is formally and expresly abrogated We are assured of the Truth of the Christian Religion from Humane Testimony The Testimony of the Outward and Bodily Senses is made use of and appealed to in the New Testament as an Argument of the truth of Christianity St. John's Words 1 Ep. 1 Chap. 1 2 3. ver commented upon There is no Certainty in Religion espâ—cially in the Christian if the Testimony of Sense be not allow'd of The Apostles and those who heard and saw the things done by our Saviour were Credible Persons The four Evangelists and other Writers of the New Testament were Competent Witnesses of what they relate Their Personal Qualities which are particularly reckon'd up render their Testimony worthy of all acceptation The Christians that succeeded them faithfully deliver'd things to us Their Lives are a proof of their Integrity Their Sufferings and Death are an undeniable Argument of their testifying the Truth to us An Heap of Evidences that we are not imposed upon by them The very Jews bear witness to the Truth of Christianity The manner of their Congratulating our Saviour at his riding into Jerusalem particularly consider'd Heathens attest the Truth of the Christian Religion So do Infernal Spirits 111. I Am to shew the Truth and Certainty of the Christian Oeconomy and therein of the Christian Religion And here first we must grapple with the tenacious and stubborn Iew for his Dispensation being so Antient and Authentick he is loth to quit it I must prove therefore before I go any further that it is nulled abrogated and superannuated We need not say much of the Iudicial Law It is the Ceremonial one which makes Iudaism properly and is the most opposite to the Christian Administration The Iudicial Laws so far as they make for Peace and good Order in the Government and so far as they are sutable to the present State of Affairs may be observed still but then they oblige not as part of the Mosaick Law but as they are good Rules of Government in themselves But the main Part of the Iudicial Law is not at this Day practicable amongst the Iews themselves they being dispersed and no longer in a Body that Law cannot be made use of and consequently doth not oblige them And any one may see plainly that that Polity and Government was not to last for ever as they foolishly dream For it was not fitted for the Tempers of all People not proper for all Countries but was in most things calculated for the Iewish Meridian only and for the present Circumstances that People were in at that time and therefore it is evident that it was to be changed afterwards I do not lay any stress on what may be observed of the different Manner of delivering the three Laws Moral Ceremonial and Iudicial but only let it be an occasion to suggest to us a right Notion concerning the different Nature of them The Ten Commandments or Moral Law was delivered on the top of the Mount in the face of the World as it were to signify that it was of universal Influence and obliged all Mankind But the Ceremonial Lâ—w was received by Moses in private in the Tabernacle which may hint to us that it was of a peculiar Concern it belong'd to the Iews only it was to cease when the Tabernacle was down when the Veil of the Temple was rent And as for the Iudicial Law it was neither so publickly and audibly given as the Moral Law nor so privately as the Ceremonial which may intimate to us the Nature of that sort of Law it is of an indifferent kind and may be kept up or not according as its Rules sute with the Place and Government It is then the Ceremonial Law wherein the Religion of the Iews as distinct from other People chiefly consisted which I am ingaged more especially to speak of at present The first thing that I will undertake is this to shew that the Mosaick Oeconomy was not designed to be perpetuated but that it was to be changed and to give way to the Evangelical one If this be proved it is a good step towards the main Point viz. the Truth of the Evangelical Oeconomy 1. That the Mosaick Dispensation was not to last always is clear from the many Promises in the Old Testament of inlarging Religion and of extending the Church to the uttermost parts of the World Which is no ways consistent with the Mosaick Oeconomy for according to the Law all the Males were to assemble at Ierusalem and to worship there thrice a Year But when upon the Messias's coming all Nations were to imbrace the true Religion how was it possible for the remotest Nations of the World to come and sacrifice at Ierusalem and constantly to meet there at solemn Feasts Ierusalem could not hold them the Temple would be too little for the Worshippers This is a Sign that God intended not to confine his Church to Iudea but that he designed a Religion which should be Universal and oblige the whole World According to the Law Sacrifices were to be no where but at Ierusalem But it is said in Isa. 19. 19 23. There shall be Altars and Sacrifices to the Lord in Egypt and Assyria and in Mal. 1. 11. From the rising of the Sun even unto the going down of the same my Name shall be great among the Gentiles and in every place Incense shall be offer'd unto my Name and a pure Offering Therefore the City of Ierusalem was not to be the only Seat of solemn Worship and Sacrifice but upon the coming of the Messias Oblations were to be all the World over God saith of his Church which is his House that it shall be called a House of Prayer to all Nations Isa. 56. 7. Mark 11. 17. That is the Church shall be open to all without respect of Persons or Countries which must needs be and was always acknowledged a Prophesy concerning the spreading of Christianity and its being imbraced by some of all Nations under Heaven Therefore it is said by the same Evangelical Prophet in the last Days all Nations shall flow unto it Isa. 2. 2. So in Isa. 56. 3 4 5. we find that Strangers and Eunuchs Persons uncapable by the Mosaick Law of being of the Communion of the Iewish Church shall be admitted into it And that is yet more remarkable which you read in the same Prophet Chap. 66. where after it was plainly foretold that the Gentiles should have a Holy Church and that there should be an Offering to the Lord out of all Nations ver 20. this is added in the next Verse I will also take of them for Priests and for Levites saith the Lord. Observe it there shall be Priests and Levites taken from the
Religion which Christ himself founded and deliver'd to his Apostles and Disciples The Tradition of these things is true and certain and we may safely rely upon it For tho the Authority of divine Truth depends not wholly on the Testimony of the Church for then the Authority of the Scripture would not be Divine but Humane and consequently not the Word of God but of Man yet the Church doth yield its Testimony to the Scripture and that Testimony or Tradition is a good Ground of Belief For Tradition is one way of communicating Matters of Faith and Fact to us By it we have them transmitted to us but this is neither the grand Motive nor the Rule of our Faith yet it is the Medium or Channel to convey the Belief of such things to us and we are to use it and prize it as such and to thank God that we have this among other Means to establish us in the Truth of the Gospel Hitherto I have consider'd the Testimony of Friends I will shew you in the next place that even Strangers and Enemies viz. Iews and Heathens bear witness to the Truth of Christianity First as for the Iews if Christ had not been thought by them to have been some extraordinary Person yea to be of the Holy Ghost miraculously why did they not prosecute Mary for an Adulteress The Sin of Adultery was severely punish'd by their Law and it was a very reproachful Crime You may be sure they would have urged this hard to the disgracing of the Son through the Mother But tho Ioseph denied him to be his Son and consequently she fell under the Law yet you read no where that the Iews made use of this against her which sheweth their tacit approving of Christ and that his Birth was extraordinary and divine Suidas tells us that Christ was chosen one of the Priests of the Temple at Ierusalem upon the death of one of the two and twenty for his singular Piety and excellent Doctrine Iosephus his Testimony of Christ is well known and St. Iohn Baptist his forerunner is made mention of by most of the Hebrew Writers with exceeding Praise and Admiration of his Holiness But I will conâ—ine my self to those Instances which are recorded by the Evangelists St. Luke observes that when he taught in their Synagogues he was glorified of all Luke 4. 15. And in the following Verses he subjoins a particular Instance of his preaching in one of their Synagogues at Nazareth and then adds all bare him witness and wonder'd at the gracious Words which proceeded out of his Mouth ver 22. Even some of the Jewish People who believ'd not in Christ cried out he is a good Man John 7. 12. Others said of a truth this is the Prophet ver 40. And others this is the Christ ver 41. And the Jewish Officers who were sent by the High Priests to lay hands on him admired his wise Deportment and excellent Discourse and freely declared that never Man spake like this Man ver 46. No one ever spoke Matters of greater moment and concern and with that Simplicity and Plainness that Authority and Efficacy which he did When Herod harangued the People they cried out It is the Voice of God But it was only the flattering Voice of the Multitude which made his such Here it was otherwise it was the real Voice of the true God and his very Enemies attest the unparallel'd Efficacy of it Christ was confessed and owned by the Iews in a most signal manner when he rid into Ierusalem on an Ass and when they strewed the way with Palm-branches and when all the People applauded him and treated him as some great Conqueror or mighty Prince Mat. 21. 8 c. For they were wont to congratulate the coming of such Persons to a place after that manner So the valiant Simon was receiv'd after his Military Success 1 Mac. 13. 51. So the Old Grecians in their Olympick Games after Victory wore wreaths of Palms as a reward of Conquerors And sometimes they bore the Branches of Palm-Trees in their Hands as the Emblem of Victory because the Branches of this Tree grow streight and stately as the Hand extended and tho they be loaded with much weight yet they bear up against it and shoot upwards Hence it was that this Honour of bearing Palm-branches and sometimes Branches of other Trees besides the Palm was given to Princes in Triumphs Thus Heliodorus saith that Hydaspes the King sent before him Harbingers of his Victory shaking Boughs of Palm in token of it Hence he that was generally applauded and received publickly with the Acclamations of the People was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because they did not only strow Boughs but Leaves and Flowers in his way which sort of Honour was stiled 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nor were they contented with this sign of Favour but they used to affix on the Doors of great Men the Boughs of Palm especially which Honour Lucian takes notice of telling us that green Palm-branches were set up at the Doors of the Rhetoricians Many more Testimonies might be alledged to this purpose And I could add also that this bearing of Branches was used in the Worship of the Pagans it being a Testimony of Honour to their Gods How fitly then did it come to pass by the over-ruling Hand of Providence that the Messias who was truly God and King was receiv'd by the People with Palm-branches He came in this triumphant manner into Ierusalem and was saluted with Cries of Hosanna and with that Gratulatory Benediction Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord John 12. 13. to testify that his Kingdom was come that he was to be victorious over Death and Hell and that he was to be a mighty Saviour and Deliverer I will briefly add two or three other Testimonies of the Iews Caiphas the High-priest prophesied of Christ John 11. 50 51. One of the Thieves on the Cross if he were a Iew which some have question'd acknowledg'd Christ and cleared him This Man saith he hath done nothing amiss Luke 23. 41. And even Iudas who betrayed our Saviour confess'd his Innocency I have sinn'd in betraying innocent Blood Mat. 27. 4. Secondly Heathens bear witness to Christ and the Truth of the Christian Religion He was acknowledg'd and ador'd by the wise Men that came from the East Tho he was condemn'd by Pilate yet he was first acquitted by him he declaring that he found no fault in him at all John 18. 38. And his Wife sent to him when he was on the Bench to have nothing to do with that just Man Mat. 27. 19. When a Title was to be set over the Cross Pilate wrote Christ the King of the Iews and would not alter it tho he was told of it Iohn 19. 22. The Centurion who had at that time the Sheriffs place and was to see the Execution perform'd when he saw
what happen'd utter'd these words Truly this was the Son of God Mat. 26. 54. He being a Pagan did not mean that Christ the Person who then suffer'd was the Son of God by eternal Generation It is not the same Testimony with that of St. Peter concerning Christ of a Truth thou art the Son of God Mat. 14. 33. nor of the Disciples we believe that thou art Christ the Son of the living God Mat. 16. 16. But he meant he was a brave and excellent Person a holy and good Man unworthy of that which he underwent one who had deserved nothing of what he suffered And that this is the meaning is plain from St. Luke who relateth this Passage of the Centurion thus certainly this was a righteous Man Luke 23. 47. So he explains St. Matthew Pliny a Heathen Governour under the Roman Emperour speaks honourably of the Christians and he hath left a particular Testimony of their fair and peaceable Demeanour as well as of their early Devotion in a Letter which he writ to Trajan The Publick Archives at Rome and the known Writings and Monuments of the Heathens preserv'd the Memory of many notable things relating to Christ. Therefore Tertullian in his Apologies for the Christians often appeals to these and bids them consult the Censual Tables and other publick Records which testify of those things In brief Profane History relateth many things of our Saviour his Person his Actions his Death the Prodigies that accompanied it the great Changes made by that Religion in the World and many other things appertaining to it of which I shall largely speak in another place Thus God directs the Hearts of Enemies to testify the Truth of the Gospel And certainly this sort of Testimony is very considerable and convincing The Confession of Adversaries is ever look'd upon as such this is deservedly thought to be authentick Nay I could proceed further and shew you that the Infernal Spirit who is emphatically stil'd the Adversary and hath shew'd himself the most implacable Enemy of Christ and his Cause hath yet born witness to the Truth of them Our Saviour is attested by Satan the Devils acknowledg and confess him to be the Son of God Mat. 8. 29. and at another time they confess they know who he is the Holy One of God Mark 1. 24. The very impure Daemons set forth the Praises of Christ's Followers Acts 16. 17. These Men say they are the Servants of the most high God who shew unto us the way of Salvation We read that one of the Pagan Oracles owned the Child Iesus and if that were true which some think that the Sibyls were acted by an Evil Spirit there is further proof that the Devil bears Testimony to the Holy Iesus and that that lying Spirit voucheth the Truth of the Gospel But here I must confess I have digressed and not observed the Bounds which I set my self for I propounded to speak only of Humane and Divine Testimony The former I hope I have finish'd to the satisfaction of sober and considerate Persons I have evinced the Truth of Christianity by all these Proofs and Evidences viz. by the attestation of our Senses by History by Tradition by Tongues and Pens by Speeches and Writings by the Church and the World by Friends and Enemies and by all things that prove any other Relations or give Evidence concerning any other matters of Fact So much concerning Humane Testimony which is able to create in us a Moral Certainty and the strongest Humane Faith imaginable and which is very serviceable to sit and prepare us for the Divine Testimony which I am next to speak of CHAP. XV. All the ways of Divine Revelation under the Mosaick Dispensation were made use of under the Christian one Voices The Testimony of Angels Visions Dreams The Holy Spirit The fulfilling of the Prophesies of the Old Testament is an irrefragable Argument of the Truth of the New Testament Prophesies concerning the Birth of our Saviour Isa. 7. 14. cleared from the Cavils of the Jewish Expositors It is shew'd how these Words may have reference to something in King Ahaz's Days and yet belong to Christ's Birth Prophesies in the Old Testament that relate to Christ's Life and Actions Others that refer to his Sufferings and Death Some that foretel his Resurrection and Ascension Other more general Predictions concerning him Several prophetick Passages concerning the Branch proved to be spoken of Christ. The Hebrew Word for the Branch is refer'd to in the New Testament The two Zacharies agree The Iews Objection viz. that the Messias was to be another kind of Person than what Jesus of Nazareth was answered Another Objection viz. that the Messias was to bring universal Peace answer'd A third Objection of the Iews viz. that their Sins have hindred the Messias's coming at the promised time answer'd The Objection raised from 2 Sam. 7. 13. removed by clearing the sense of the Text. Other extravagant Fancies concerning the Messias caus'd by their mistaking the Prophesies of the Old Testament concerning Christ's coming The Conclusion that all the Prophesies concerning the Messias are fulfil'd in Jesus and consequently are a demonstration of the Truth of Christianity IN the next place then the Christian Oeconomy and the whole Institution of the Gospel are confirmed by Divine Testimony We are certain that the Christian Religion is from God and consequently is undoubtedly true because it is attested 1. By all the ways of Divine Revelation used heretofore 2. By the fulfilling of all the Prophesies of the Old Testament 3. By the exerting of Miracles 4. By the strange and stupendous prevailing of the Gospel 5. By the Judgments which God inflicted on the Enemies of it First I will shew that by all the ways whereby God spoke under the Mosaick Dispensation he spoke likewise under the Christian one and this being after that it will at the same time convince the Iâ—ws that their Dispensation is abolished and confirm Christians in the belief of the Divine Authority of the Dispensation which they are now under The Revelations I say under the Gospel are of the same kind with those before I will reduce them to these following Heads 1. The Jews had their Bath Kol i. e. an Audible and Articulate Sound or Voice from Heaven and so have we Christians Our Saviour had this Divine Testimony thrice first at his Baptism Lo a voice from Heaven saying This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased Mat. 3. 17. God the Father again by a Voice bore witness to him when he was on the Mount with Peter Iames and Iohn and was there transfigured Mat. 17. 5. Mark 9. 1. Behold a Voice out of the Cloud which said This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased hear him Of which you will find St. Peter speaking in Epist. 2. Ch. 1. v. 17. And thirdly at his Passion when he was praying to his Father there came a Voice from Heaven and testified that his
they would have been found out 5. Miracles were done in all parts of the World and not confined to Iudea only The Acts of the Apostles relate what Miracles they exerted in several Countries where they went and afterwards the whole World was visited by one or other of them and yet we never read that they were proved to be Impostors But on the contrary we are credibly informed that their Miracles were owned and approved of not in one place only but in all places where they came 6. These Miracles were wrought these Cures were done and the strange Languages were spoken amongst them for many years together whereas what is counterfeit holds not long 7. These Miracles were not control'd and check'd by any greater as the Wonders of the Egyptian Sorcerers were by Moses You may observe that those Magicians could not plague Men and Cattel with Boils they could not restore the Waters to their former quality tho they could gather the Frogs together yet they were not able to kill them They could not counterfeit the Miracle of Fleas and Lice tho they did those of the Serpents Blood and Frogs Here was some restraint the Devil was overpower'd But that was not all They had not been suffer'd to effect so much as they did but that Moses was there ready to countermand them and to baffle their Delusions They turned the Rods into Serpents but Moses's Rod devoured theirs i. e Moses's true Serpents devour'd the Magicians counterfeit Ones But Christ and his Apostles wrought Miracles and there was none to countermand them which shews that they were real Miracles Thus true Miracles may be known by their manner and circumstances Again These may be known to be such from the Ends and Designs which Christ and his Followers propounded to themselves in exerting them First True Miracles are always for the Confirmation of the Truth but seeming and counterfeit Ones are wrought on purpose to maintain some false Doctrine Therefore if a Pretender to Miracles teacheth any thing derogatory to Providence and to the Nature of God and Religion we must look on him as an Impostor for Miracles that are true never contradict the Divine Testimony and the Truth recorded in Holy Writ This then you must know that as Miracles confirm a Doctrine so they are authorized by the Doctrine We must not rest in Miracles alone but to the Word and to the Testimony we must appeal Christ saith the Works I do bear witness of 〈◊〉 John 5. 36. but he adds ver 39. 〈◊〉 thâ— Scriptures they are they which testify of me By this then we may ascertain our selves of the Authority of those Miracles which our Saviour and his Apostles wrought when they were upon Earth They were done to attest a Doctrine which as it contradicted no part of Moral Religion nor the natural Notions of Reason so it was conformable to the written Word of God and all the Truths in the Old Testament In the second place True Miracles tend to the overthrowing of Satan's Kingdom in the World they never confirm and abet Sin and Prophanation in those that do them or in any one else As we observ'd before from Deut. 13. 1. that God some times permits false Prophets to work Signs and Wonders among his People so the Verses following tell us how we may know them to be lying Wonders viz. if the Prophet makes use of them to entice Persons to gâ— after other Gods and to serve them If the Signs and Wonders were intended to seduce them to a false Worship to perswade them to Idolatry and forsaking the true God they were not to be credited they were to be look'd upon as no true Miracles but counterfeit ones For it is not a sufficient proof for the truth of Miracles that they are for attesting the Orthodox Faith unless they also uphold a Holy Life In the third place Our Saviour's Miracles were such as were beneficial to others and was for the good of Mankind He procured Food for Multitudes of Persons when they were almost â—amished he cured the Lame and the Blind he ejected troublesom Devils out of Mens Bodies he relieved the most impotent and distressed But the Signs and Wonders which are done by Impostors are rather harmful than advantageous It is not unworthy of our Remark what was partly suggested before that the Egyptian Magicians turn'd the Water into Blood but they could not reduce it to its Nature again they brought up Frogâ— but they could not clear the Houses of the Egyptians of them They could bring Plagues but they could not remove them And it may be observed also of Impostors that if what they do is not harmful yet it is oftentimes fruitless and unprofitable it is vain and trifling and fit only to entertain fond and scrupulous Minds But here it may be objected that all Christs Miracles were not beneficial for his â—ursing the Fig-â—ree Mark â—1 14. and his sending the unclean Spirit into the Gaderens Swine Mat. 8. 30. were not so As to the first viz. Christs cursing the Fig-tree it was a Symbolical Act figuring the Judgment of God against the unfruitful Religion of the Jews and being thus consider'd it was of great use and benefit Some indeed have thought it strange that our Saviour should do thiâ— when he himself saith the time of Figs was not yet v 13. as if it were unjust to blast the Tree for not bearing Fruit before the time of bearing was come but they mistake the meaning of those words which is no other than this that it was not the time of Figs with that Tree but it was with others The year was not unseasonable for Figs but this Tree bore nothing but Leaves therefore our Saviour dealt thus with it This I take to be the plainest and clearest Interpretation of the Place and then the Objection vanishes for who will be concern'd at the witâ—â—ring of a Barren Tree I know there are other Solutions of the place but none of them seem to me to be genuine That of Episcopius is not to be allowed of viz. that when Christ cursed the Figtree and said the 〈◊〉 of Figs 〈◊〉 not yet he did not know that it was not time of Figs. A learned Writer of our own hath this peculiar Notion that Christ look'd for Figs and yet saith thâ— time of Figâ— is not yet because he look'd not for any Figs that he thought could be ripe and fit to eat that Spring it being about that time but he look'd for those that grew the last Summer and had hung on the Tree all Winter But tho Iudâ—â— was a very fruitful Country and had in it several things different from other Soils yet it is to be question'd whether there were Fig-trees in the Field of this nature and whether the Jewish Writings which this Author refers to speak of this sort of Fruit. Besides if this Tree bore Figs as the Author supposes it is not material whether they were old or
all malicious and mischievous purposes They were plain honest Men who did not these things for vain Gloty and Applause for Credit and Repute in the World not out of Pride Arrogance or Ostentation And it is as clear that they did not act for worldly Gain and Profit otherwise they would not have left all and followed Christ. It is to be consider'd also that the Persons who wrought these Miracles were Just and Charitable Holy and Good Men and even by the confession of their Enemies they lived well and were of exact Conversations whereas false Boasters of Miracles were infamous for some Vice or other and by this it might be known and discerned that they were Cheats Thus from the consideration of the Manner and Circumstances of the Miracles recorded to have been done in the New Testament and likewise of the Ends and Designs of them and of the Quality of the Persons who did them we may conclude that they were True and Real Miracles Thus you may distinguish between the Wonders wrought by the Infernal Spirits Magicians Antichrist and all sorts of Impostors and those Wonders and Miracles which were done by Christ and by his Apostles and other Christians in the next succeeding Ages of Christianity Thus you may know the former to be Lies and Forgeries and the latter to be the sole effects of Divine Power By virtue of the Premises we may also correct the Lies and Blasphemies of those Wretches who have defamed the Miracles of Christ and his Followers The Pharisees could not deny the Miracles themselves and so afterwards Porphyrius Celsus Hierocles Trypho Iulian did not deny the Reality of those Miracles recorded by the Evangelists they confess'd the Matter of Fact and pretended not to boggle at it But tho they acknowledged these things to have been really done yet they maliciously calumniated them It was most impiously said by the Pharisees in our Saviour's time that he did his Miracles by Belzebub the Prince of the Devils And it hath been ever since constantly affirmed by the Iews that Christ wrought those great things by Magick Art Or others of them to mitigate this attribute his working of Miracles to the Cabalistick Art for they hold that in the Hebrew Letters Points Accents Numbers Names the signification of the greatest things is contained even the Nature of all things Divine and Human By this all Wonders are wrought Moses and Elias and Elisha did all by virtue of this Hebrew words include in them all Proprieties of things and those that are skill'd can tell all things by them especially the knowledg of the Virtue of the Tetragrammaton is effectual to produce the greatest Wonders in the World and by the Power of that Name Christ they say did all his Miracles The Calumny of Pagans against Christ's Miracles was something like this as we learn from an Antient Writer who acquaints us that the sense of the Heathens was that Christ was a Sorcerer and performed all by clandestine Arts that he stole from the Mysteries of the Egyptians the Names of some powerful Angels and made use of the most abstruse and mystical Rites of that People for the effecting of his Miracles Celsus as we learn from Origen against him attributed the Apostles Miracles to Magick and pretended that they had Magical Books from Christ to that purpose Iulian declared that St. Paul was the most skilful Magician that ever was and St. Peter according to him was addicted to that Art as we are informed by Cyril of Alexandria Books 3 9. Vaninus Pomponatius Cardan and others Atheistically disposed impeach not Christ of Diabolical Magick for perhaps they holding no God deny all Devils but they declare that his Miracles were done by natural Magick Some imputed the Miracles of the Apostles and other Christians to the force of their Imagination to their exalted Fancy Thus Avicenna a great Arabian Philosopher and Physician was of the opinion that an Intense Thinking operated all At other times they assert that Christ wrought all his Miracles by the virtue of the Stars and the Heavenly Positions or by the Power of Herbs and Plants or of Precious Stones or by a particular Temper of his Body made to heal that is his Body was composed of some particular Ferments the effluvia whereof restored the Temperament of debilitated parts envigorated the Blood dissipated all heterogeneous Ferments and so the Cure was wrought But any unbiassed Person may perceive that all these are mere Fetches and Artifices to give some colour to their Atheism and to uphold their obstinate prejudices against the Divinity of Christ and the Authority of the Christian Religion For from what hath been said before it is evident that the Miracles mention'd in the New Testament surpass all finite Power not only that of Man but of all other Creatures And therefore it is plain that the wonderful Things by which Christ did prove his Divinity and the Truth of the Christian Religion they being Works not only above but against Nature and consequently are not effected by a created Being And as for those who ascribe Christ's Miracles to Diabolical Magick our Saviour himself hath answer'd them long ago Every Kingdom divided against it self is brought to desolation And if Satan cast out Satan he is divided against himself how shall then his Kingdom stand Mat. 12. 25 26. Christ as appeared by his Doctrine and all his Actions design'd the overthrow of Satan's Kingdom therefore it cannot be believ'd that Satan would joyn with Christ to ruin himself which certainly he must do if he helped him to work Miracles which were the great Confirmation of the Christian Religion Besides Magical Cures and other such Operations were always done with Charms and Spells with the use of Herbs and Drugs with much Ceremony and ridiculous Words and Actions But our Saviour's Miracles were effected without any of these they were simply and plainly performed which evidenceth that they were no Magical Prizes It might be added that Diabolical Wonders do not use to be done by Men of Holy and Godly Lives who are Enemies to the Devil and all his Works And such was our Blessed Master and such were his Apostles therefore it is impossible that their Miracles should be from a Diabolical Power and that they should do those Wonders by familiarity with Evil Spirits The cursed Daemons will never help and favour such Persons as they were The other Objections and Cavils scarcely even according to the judgment of some Persons who are no Friends of Miracles deserve any Reply All sober Men who are not affected with the Dreams and Dotages of the Iews look upon the pretence of the Hebrew Alphabet or even of the Tetragrammaton as a mere Sham as having no shew of Reason or probability to support it For to say that Christ turn'd Water into Wine by the help of some Constellation or that St. Peter was enabled by the Stars to walk safely upon the Waves are assertions that are
the winged Feet But the Reason assigned in the History why St. Paul was taken for Mercury is because he was so excellent a Speaker Barnabas said little or nothing and so pass'd with them for Grave Iupiter who had his Interpreter And this was St. Paul he was Mercurius a good Spokesman indeed one of an admirable Tongue that could perswade the Lame to walk and a Cripple to use his Feet However these ignorant Heathens were mistaken as to their making Gods of Men yet in the main they were in the right viz. that that miraculous Healing argued Divinity and that none could do such things but those who are authorized by Heaven And as this is the sense of Mankind so indeed it must be thus in the very nature of the thing it self for what is above created Power proceeds from God and what is from him is to some great end and purpose worthy of him thus Miracles exceeding the Power of Nature are the Attestation of God himself and are design'd to evidence that Truth and to authorize that Doctrine which is from God which are very great and excellent Ends and becoming the Author of them Accordingly the Miracles which Christ and his Apostles wrought were intended to confirm and establish the Gospel which they preach'd and to demonstrate to the World that that Gospel is true For God would not throw away Miracles much less would he use them to confirm a false Doctrine We may be assured of this that God's infinite Wisdom and Goodness would not give up the World to such an unavoidable Deceit as such a Multitude of Miracles would lead Men into if they were used to attest an Imposture to confirm a Lie If I cannot know the Messias to be sent of God when he raised the Dead wrought all other sorts of Miracles and rose himself from the Dead I have no possibility of knowing who speaks from God or whether I am deceived or no or whether there be any truth and reality in things or no. This then we may build upon there being Truth in the World Miracles undeniably point us to it for they being a Testimony from God they cannot attest Falshood but must necessarily direct us to and confirm us in that which is true Our Christianity being founded on Miracles cannot but be of divine Allowance it is impossible but that it should be from God Christ and the Apostles could not have had Power to work true Miracles if their Doctrine had not been true for God would not and cannot maintain a Lie by a Miracle for then he is no God We cannot then expect a more convincing Evidence of Divine Authority than this viz. that our Saviour spoke great and excellent things and that he wrought Miracles to confirm what he said What would you have more It was necessary that he should confirm the Truth of his Doctrine by his Miracles and now they are wrought there is a necessity in order to our being Christians that we heartily believe them I say Miracles were necessary for confirming the Gospel because the Gospel was look'd upon as a thing new and unheard of as you may remember the complaint of the Athenian Philosophers against St. Paul was that he delivered a New Doctrine and brought strange things to their Ears Acts 17. 19 20. They were long accustomed to other Notions and so there was a vast Prejudice on their Minds Wherefore Miracles were necessary to gain Credit to the Christian Faith and to bring them off effectually from their former Sentiments Again many things in the Gospel were above the flight of Humane Reason and on that account were not easily entertain'd which made it requisite that they should be declared to be true by extraordinary Signs and Wonders Likewise because the Persons who preach'd and profess'd the Christian Religion were poor inconsiderable Men it was necessary that they should bring Credentials from God to attest what they deliver'd When they shew'd this Seal this broad Seal of Heaven none could question their Commission Besides the World was then full of Idolatry and false Religions which could not be rooted out but by such a strange and unusual way as this viz. the working of Mighty Signs and Miracles even such as outvie the Power of Nature and the Pranks of Magicians Lastly the Mosaick Law and Oeconomy having been before establish'd by Miracles it was neeessary that the Evangelical Law and Dispensation should be attested in the like manner God himself had constituted several things before which now were taken away by Christ therefore he taking them away ought to shew his Authority which he did by working of uncontroulable Miracles And to shew that the Law was to give place to the Gospel he and his followers wrought far greater Miracles than any that were done before to attest the Mosaick Religion Therefore he told the Jews that he did among them the Works which none other Man did John 15. 24. And as they were greater so they were more in number than those of Moses and the Prophets which was also necessary to take away all scruple from Mens Minds and to beget in them a hearty and full Belief of Christ's Doctrine For this was the end of their being wrought viz. to confirm the Belief of the Gospel and to ascertain Men even us at this day that God himself bears witness to what Christ and his Apostles delivered The use of these Miracles I say extends to us and to all Ages of the Church tho we saw them not yet their Virtue comes down to us All the Miracles done by our Saviour and his Apostles are as forcible and convincing now as if they were done in our Days they are still and ever will be an infallible Proof Evidence and Demonstration of the Truth of Christianity To shut up this head if the Christian Religion be founded on the Mighty Miracles of our Lord and his Apostles the Scripture is true and our Religion is true but if these are not take notice to confound the Folly and Sottishness of such Supposers it is the greatest Miracle of all if I may so say that Christianity was receiv'd and believ'd without Miracles So much concerning the Divine Testimony of Miracles CHAP. XVII The wonderful prevailing and spreading of Christianity another proof of the Truth of it Some of the learnedest and wisest Jews converted to Christianity A Catalogue of knowing and learned Pagans in the five first Centuries that abandoned Gentilism and embraced the Christian Religion Remarkable Instances of the Power of the Christian Truth The virtue of the Gospel far exceeds that of Philosophy Examples of great and rich Men converted to the Christian Faith This prevail'd against the rage of the most powerful Persecutors The more the Gospel was oppress'd the more it flourish'd and prosper'd in all Nations Examples of God's remarkable Judgments on the Enemies of Christianity especially on the Nation of the Jews This latter insisted upon and shew'd to be an Argument of
Plain Evident and Undeniable Let us then be sensible of the Goodness of our Condition and of the Eligibility of it before that of those who lived before this fulness of time came Whereas the Jewish and Gentile Religion were defective and corrupted and Ignorance and gross Mistakes had invaded Mens minds and the True Worship of God was enervated and destroy'd by Atheism and Superstition God was pleased to restore and new model Religion and to give Men a perfect and exact Rule whereby they might reform their Lives and be conducted to Blessedness And this is the Christian Institution which every way surpasses both Judaism and Philosophy it discovers the most absolute Worship of God and dictates the most accurate Precepts of Morality and directs us to the only Means of Salvation This is the sole Prerogative of Christianity and we owe it to the immediate Revelations and Disâ—overies made by God himself Most Men that stile themselves Christians know little or nothing of the Excellency and Preheminence of the Dispensation that bears that Name But let us endeavour to be of the Number of those who both understand and admire the superlative Excellency of the Christian Oeconomy which we are under 2. Let us not only understand and admire it but let this most Blessed Dispensation stir up our most thankful Resentments Behold with grateful minds how our Condition is unspeakably better than that of the Persons who lived under other Dispensations and particularly than that of the Iews who were under the Dispensation which was immediately before ours We have cause to thank the Merciful Lord of Heaven and Earth that our Lot is cast into such Times that we were reserved for this Best of Dispensations that we are blessed with a most Excellent and Worthy Religion a Religion that is in it self Reasonable and every ways adapted to our rectified Faculties and enlightened Minds a Religion that hath the most lively Principles to actuate and inform us the compâ—eatest Rules to guide and direct us and affords us the most effectual and powerful helps to Virtue and Godliness a Religion that holds forth the dreadfullest Punishments to deter us from Vice and assures us of the Highest Rewards to animate and as it were to bribe us to Virtue a Religion that comprehends in it all the Excellent Things which the most improved Philosophers talk'd of and innumerable more not to be parallel'd by any Model of Religion whatsoever a Religion that contains nothing in it but what is of great Moment and Importance and is admirably serviceable to the best and most advantageous Purposes Let us account it an unspeakable Mercy and Favour that we are the Disciples of so worthy and excellent an Institution Let us laâ—d the Divine Goodness that we have these Infallible Oracles to guide us that we are taught of God and that Iesus Christ is our Instructer This is sufficient to raise our Esteem and Value of this Dispensation By this we have the Advantage of all that went before us and this it self is the greatest Advantage For now the Word hath been made Flesh and hath pitch'd his Tabernacle on Earth and hath dwelt amongst us and all the Benefits and Privileges of his Coming are offered to us It seemed good to God to confer this singular Honour upon Vs We see Christ's Day and hear his Gospel we have the Completion of all the Mosaick Types and Representations and all the Prophecies and Promises are fulfill'd before our Eyes We cannot complain that our Religion is harsh and difficult like that of the Iews for all those troublesome Observances are removed and no burdensome Service no intolerable Homage is required of us Our Service is perfect Freedom wherefore we are engaged to stand fast in the Liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free Now since the Woman the Church is clothed with the Sun she hath the Moon the old Mosaick Laws and Ceremonies which shined with a faint and borrowed Light under her feet Let us disregard those old dark Types and Shadows in comparison of the clear Light of the Gospel and let us heartily bless God for so great and matchless a Mercy as the New Dispensation of Christ Jesus 3. I infer as the Meliority of our Condition so our greater Obligation to Holiness and strictness of Life Old things are pass'd away and behold all things are become New under the Gospel-Dispensaâ—tion Let not our Lives be the only exception to it Let the Manners of Christians speak the Transcendency of the Gospel above Philosophy Let us live better than the wisest Heathens in as much as our Rules of Living excel theirs Let it never be said that the Behaviour of Pagans outstript that of Christians and that the Gentile Religion made better Men than the Gospel doth It is true the Pagan Moralists spoke highly against Vice and always rhetoricated in their Declamations against it but the Business of Christians is to live those Great things which they discours'd of Let there be observed not only a great Elogium of Virtue in our Words and Professions but let us take care that all Men may read the Excellency of our Religion in our Lives and thereby discern plainly the vast difference that there is between a Christian and a Philosopher Let us urge it on our Minds and Consciences as our indispensible Concern to yield impartial Obedience to our Master's Commands and to govern our Lives by the unerring Rules which he hath given us Let us not bear the Noble Title of Christians without the true Badges of Christianity Let us not prophane this Name by acting contrary to it Either let us lay aside this glorious Character or do things worthy of it We have a Holy Religion therefore our Conversations should be so too Here our Saviour's words are to be remembred Vnless our Righteousness exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees of the most strict Pretenders to Judaism as well as Philosophy unless we live more Heavenly Lives and under a greater Sense of Religion we must not expect to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven we shall never attain to Happiness For the Gospel-Oeconomy requires greater strictness than that of the Law as well as of any other Dispensation because the Means of Grace and the Methods of Salvation are much more powerful now and we ought to find and feel that Power in us Let us then think speak and live as those who have such clear and plain Discoveries of God's Will such Divine and Heavenly Truths made known to us with a prospect of such glorious Things hereafter as may effectually encourage us to embrace those Truths and to frame our Actions according to them How shameful will it be that so admirable a Religion should produce nothing but empty Shews and Formalities fair Words and goodly Appearances that it should make us Christians only in Title and Profession and leave us worse than Infidels in our Manners Is our Religion the best why are not we
so too If it surpasses all others why do not our Lives exâ—el those of others If we have so Holy a Doctrine why do we not reduce it to Practice If our Religion be so excellent why do we not obey its Laws and why do we not discern the Advantages we have above all others to do well and worthily If in the Apostle's time the night was far spent and the day was at hand i. e. the times of Ignorance were gone and the Gospel was come then surely now the night is vanished and it is broad Day and we are obliged to walk as Children of Light I pray seriously consider of the great Change of Affairs in Religion by the Coming of our Saviour remember that it is now unspeakably Advanced and Exalted in so much that that which was reckon'd Religious and Pious in the Jewish Oeconomy is not accounted the same in this great Alteration of things If you weigh this you will be convinced that you are obliged to a stricter Life and Behaviour than what would have served under the Mosaick Law At that time Men stumbled and stagger'd they made imperfect Discoveries of Truth and of their Duty they could not see distinctly and they were excusable because the Medium was defective the Judaick Shadows and Mists hindred their sight But the Day-spring from on high hath visited us all is clear and conspicuous all Truths as well as Duties are plain and intelligible all the parts of our Religion are fixed and determined we cannot mistake unless we will and if we are Vitious it is not from Ignorance but our wilfulness and stubborness But we who have this redundant Light are concerned to walk worthy of it and to conform our Lives and Manners to it Certainly this is our proper Duty and we must first extinguish our Reason before we can disown this to be our Interest It is absolutely undeniable that a greater accuracy of Life a more exact Course of Virtue is required of us than of those who lived under the former Dispensations and were unacquainted with the Laws of Christianity A Pagan Historian tells us that those who piously embraced the Christian Faith were presently put into a State free from Sin However he understood it it is certain that Christianity ingageth men to cleanse themselves from all filthiness of the Flesh and Spirit and to perfect Holiness in the fear of God to act according to the admirable and matchless Rules of so Transcendent a Religion and to live according to that great measure of Grace which is vouchsafed them A Pious Writer of the primitive times speaking of the Profession of Christianity and displaying the true Nature of it lets us know what was then judg'd to be the genuine Efficacy and Power of it viz. it s being effectual to root out all unlawful Anger Evil-speaking Licentiousness Lust Covetousness and to implant the contrary Virtues and Graces of the Spirit And in another place he sums up Christianity in short thus It consists wholly in this to live without wickedness and defilement On which account it is observed by him that Morality came short of Christianity it had not that Power and Energy on Mens minds that this hath It smooth'd their Tongues but reform'd not their Lives Or if it in some measure reform'd their outward and publick Actions yet their more retired and private ones were not taken care of and their Principles were unsound and corrupt But this is the singular Benefit of Christianity that it doth not only rectifie Mens Principles but teaches them to order their Conversations aright A Christian is not only a Knowing Man whence Clement of Alexandria gives him the name of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in his Stromata but he is one of a holy Life and Practice as that Excellent Person characterizes him his Manners are answerable to his Knowledg This then is the Catholick Concern of us all to add to our Knowledg and Profession of the Christian Truth a Holy and Religious Life that our Behaviour may speak the Excellency and demonstrate the Efficacy of the Evangelical Principles that it may be seen that those who are bless'd with true and right Perswasions live better than the deluded and erring World If we excel Hereticks Pagans and Jews in the Orthodoxness of our Opinions it is fit we should also surpass them in the Eminency of our Actions as one of the Antients religiously speaks Let us not dare to hold the Truth in unrighteousness but let our hearts be mightily affected and our Lives wholly govern'd by the great Truths of the Gospel by the indispensible Laws of Christianity 4. Let us assure our selves that if we live not thus the final Doom of us Christians will be more intolerable than that of all other Men. You know who said it Light is come into the World for in respect of the times of the Gospel all the World before was in Darkness but Christ Iesus brought Light with him a Light so Great so Powerful that tho we shut our Eyes never so hard yet it glares through our very Eye-lids but he adds This is the Condemnation that notwithstanding this Light is come Men love Darkness rather than Light they wilfully indulge themselves in the ways of Sin and mind not the Discoveries which are made by the Gospel This this is that which shall Condemn them for as their Means are greater so their Accompts will be higher Their Reckonings will bear proportion to their Receipts their Final Sentence will be adjusted to their present Helps and Advantages according to that of our Saviour If I had not come and spoken and spoken so plainly so evidently so powerfully to them they had not had sin but now have they no cloak for their sin John 15. 22. That this is little thought of in the World we may gather from the Behaviour of Men. How Strangely do they forget themselves and their Duty the End both of their Creation and Redemption They run counter to all the Undertakings of Christ Jesus they confront all his Designs and labour to undo all that he came to do They disparage the Wisdom of God in finding out the way of our Salvation they despise his Goodness in offering them the Means of being happy They uphold and maintain that which Christ came to destroy for whereas the purpose of his wonderful Manifestation was to beat down Satan's Kingdom they set it up as fast as they can Which is a plain contradicting of Heaven and a bidding defiance to the Almighty He that views the Lives and Manners of Men at this day and takes notice of their open Prophaness and Debauchery would be apt to perswade himself that they really think that Christ's Coming into the World was for no other end than to indulge them in their Follies and Vices and to give them a Licence to be as lewd as they pleas'd So fond and groundless are the Imaginations of a great part of the World
as to the Knowledge of the Arts and Sciences but is still impregnating and is still teeming with them And shall we think that as to Religion only there is a Decay There is no Ground for such a Surmise Shall Divinity which is the great Art of Arts remain unimproved Shall we think that all Knowledge but that which is the best of all increases and prospers No we can prove the contrary and thence entertain Hopes of greater Increases yet to come The First Christians as hath been observed did not understand some Parts of their Religion and the Nature of it so well as they did afterwards or so well as it shall be understood They were not exact in Points but Lived better than now The Ancient Writers such as Clement of Alexandria Origen Athanasius Ierom Augustin Chrysostom Hilary Ambrose Theodoret Theophylact and the rest have done excellently towards the explaining of the Holy Scriptures but the Moderns especially since the Reformation have wonderfully added to them And yet the greatest Harvest of Truth is yet to come not for discovering any New Doctrines but for explaining the Old ones and penetrating further into difficult Places of Scripture Who sees not what a vast difference there is between these and the former Times in point of Divine Knowledge How little was there of it heretofore among those who ought to have had a large Stock of it I mean the Clergy whose Ignorance in the Holy Scriptures and in the Doctrines of Christian Theology was scandalous and even ridiculous Indeed some of them were versed in School-Divinity but this was for the most part so far from making them more knowing in the Useful and Practical Doctrines of Christianity that it rather darkned and confounded them In the former Days of Popery Hebrew and Greek the Languages in which the Bible was wrote were meer unintelligible Jargon to the Generality of Church-men And as for the People their Ignorance and Blindness were yet grosser and they were not suffered to make any Enquiry into Religion Then that Politick Maxim prevail'd Keep Men in Ignorance and thereby enslave them It was an unpardonable Crime for Men to think their own Thoughts much more to speak or write them Ramus having published some new Notions of Logick and particularly against Aristotle who was at that time in great Credit was murder'd among the Calvinists in the Parisian Massacre The poor Man was a Martyr for Logick it is no wonder then that so many were for Divinity There was no liberty for Scruples in those peremptory Times for the Roman Doctors cut out Mens Belief and then forced it upon them A strange kind of Casuists that solv'd all Controversies in Religion as Alexander did the Gordian-Knot by the Sword by meer Violence Thus Mens Souls and Bodies were injur'd the former were blinded the latter enslaved They might be truly said to be bound in Chains of Darkness But we by the Divine Blessing are free'd from that Ignorance and Bondage which we owe to the Reformation whereby that Darkness was dispell'd and that Vassallage removed And now we are no longer tied up in the dark we both see and walk and we daily make progress in Divine Learning An undeniable eviction of which are the Discourses and Writings of those of the Reformed Churches especially of Divines for from these we may gather the vast Improvements in Sacred Knowledge They generally argue with close Reason they talk great Sense they shew a deep Insight into the Inspired Writings they cloath their Matter with fit Words they use an intelligible and easy Method they are happy in applying of Divine Truths in brief their Notions are amended and all the important Doctrines of Christianity are more plainly and clearly delivered than before And the Peoples Knowledge is proportionable they hear with Judgment they discourse with Understanding they try the Spirits whether they be of God they are able to confute Gain-sayers In the Countries where Protestantism hath taken good Footing there is scarce any difference between the Clergy and Laity in the knowledge of the Chief and Practical Points of our most Holy Religion These are understood by the inferior and most ordinary People as well as by Gentlemen Mâ—rchants and Tradesmen yea the other Sex study read and discourse of them Thus humane Minds are enlightned and enfranchised The Elastick Power is restored to them they act without Restraint and fill the Earth with Knowledge and Truth Judge now whether the World grows old and decays and is sunk into a degenerate Posture Say rather that it is much amended and is like to be improved yet further in future Times For from what hath been already we may infer what shall be afterwards We see Divine Knowledge and Learning have been continually in the Increase allowing only for some Interruptions that were violent and lasted not long and yet we are sensible they are not come to the Full whence therefore we reasonably conclude that there are to be farther and greater Augmentations in succeeding Ages And where the Knowledge of Divine Things prevails there Religion will get sure Footing and Vertue and Piety will be powerfully advanced and the Church edified and inlarged These are the Grounds I lay of that Expectation which I have of a more compleat and improved State of the Christian Church here on Earth before the Conclusion of all Things But because our Thoughts and Reasonings concerning this matter may be shallow and vain or too daring and presumptuous I will build my Hopes and Belief of that more perfect State of Christianity on the Testimony of the Holy Scriptures I grant that some are too forward to press Texts to this purpose they are wont to alledge several Plâ—ces in the Old and New Testament which have nâ— relation to this Matter Especially those that 〈◊〉 for Christ's Personal Reign on Earth quote 〈◊〉 out of every Book of the Bible several Passages which they interpret in Favour of their Opinion Whereever they find the Word King or Kingdom if they respect the Messias and the Times of the Gospel they presently snatch at them and apply them this way in the mean time over-looking the Kingdom of Christ which hath been all this while under the Gospel and is spoken and prophesied of so often in the Sacred Writings But though they are to be blamed for this that they strive to make all Scriptures speak their Opinion and accordingly force them to do it yet it is most certain and undeniâ—â—le that this Future State which I am now speaking of is foretold in many Places of Scripture in plain and intelligible Terms and particularly in some of those Places where Christ is mentioned as a King and his Administration under the Gospel is called a Kingdom But first I will produce some other Texts where this New and Last Dispensation is spoken of It is probable that this is meant by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mat. 24. 3. thâ— Consummation or End of the Age i. e.
Innocent Christians This is sufficient to confute that Opinion Therefore Others hold the Thousand Years began under Constantine the Great when coming to the Empire he caused the Persecutions to cease and set up Christianity as the Religion of the Empire which was about the Year of our Lord 310. and they ended at the rise of the Ottoman Empire and with â—the Papacy of Boniface the Eight who made the Sanguinary Laws against the Waldenses and Albigenses which was about the Year 1300. Thus thought those Great Men Willet Forbes Napier Grotius Hammond And Brightman likewise seems to hold that the Reigning of the Saints and the Binding of Satan were from Constantine the Great to the beginning of the Fourteenth Century of thereabouts But this could not be the time of the Saints Reign for we read in Rev. 12. That the Woman viz. the Church as soon as she should be delivered was to be in the Wilderness a State of Distress how then could she Reign which denotes her Prosperity And she was to be in this State for the space of 1260. Days i. e. Years This began according to Mr. Brightman from the time that Constantine the Great was taken up to Heaven for he is the Manchild caught up to God v. 5. and to him the Context referreth Now reckon from the Death of that Emperour which was A. D. 337. till the time that the 1260. Years are expired and you will find that the Thousand Years ended later than he had set them for instead of ending in 1300. they could not according to this Computation have their Period till the Year of Christ 1597. Here you see one Prophecy of the Book of the Revelation is so interpreted as to thwart another which is an Argument that his Calculation is not right And indeed what Considerate Person can believe that the Thousand Years of Christ's Reign and of Satan's Imprisonment are part There hath been nothing yet that hath look'd like it When was Satan so bound that he seduced not the Nations Or when was he loosed again so that we may discern the palpable difference between either Do we not know that when the Ten noted Persecutions were expired yet others were raised against the Servants of God in this Period And all this time either Old Heresies were revived or New ones invented Therefore I infer that the time of the Thousand Years is not yet come when the Angel is to cast Satan into the Bottomless Pit and to shut him up and set a Seal upon him that he should deceive the Nations no more And as for Gog and Magog who were to appear soon after Satans being loosed where are they at this time If by those are meant thâ— Pope and Turk then they make the date of Popery and Turcism to be before Satans loosing and the expiring of the Thousand Years of the Saints Reign which is an Absurdity which they would willingly avoid Mr. Brightman hath an odd fancy of his own that though the Reigning of the Saints a Thousand Years be their Reigning all the Thousand Years in which the Devil was bound i. e. from Constantine the Great to the Year 1300. yet there is another Reigning a Thousand Years viz. from the Year 1300. till a Thousand Years after that be expired But if there be any good ground for this it is in this 20th Chapter of the Revelation where the Thousand Years of Christ's Reign are spoken of expresly and no where else But here it is manifest that the Reigning and the Binding are in the same Thousand Years for it is said v. 7. When the Thousand Years viz. of Christ's Reign expresly mention's in the verse immediately before are expired Satan shall be loose out of his Prison Therefore the Reigning of Christ and the Binding of Satan shall both expire together which proves also that they both began together the same Thousand Years including both The Opinion then of Mr. Brightman and others that the Thousand Years of Christ's Reign are past hath no Foundation at all but is a mere imaginary and precarious Assertion And yet this Assertion was taken up and believed by very Learned and Pious Men the cause of which I apprehend to be this they were prejudic'd against the Doctrine of the Old Millennaries and look'd upon it and that justly as a Groundless and Scandalous Opinion and thereupon were willing to resolve the Thousand Years into some past Time rather than into any that is to come and thereby quash'd that fond conceit of a Personal Reign This was an ill method they took but their great dislike of the other Opinion occasion'd it and therefore they are on that account excusable But if they had rejected what is amiss in the Doctrine of the Chiliasts and had retain'd what is true in the General viz. that there shall be a Future State of the Christian Church which shall be every ways better than its former one they had taken the right Course and had asserted a Truth which is founded on the Sacred Scriptures Thence any Unprejudiced Person may inform himself that the Thousand Years are so far from being past as some have thought that they are not yet come Only to assure us before hand that there shall be such a thing the Christian World hath had some foretasts of it already I cannot positively say with some that the Thousand Years began at the Reformation and that Luther was the Angel that had the Key of the Bottomless Pit and bound the Devil I cannot fix the beginning just here because Wickliff Ierom of Prague and Iohn Huss and several others before Luther did something of this Nature they in some measure restrain'd Satans Power and Jurisdiction by Converting many Persons from the Papal Impieties So that if we say Babylon began to Fall in those Times and mean no other than this that those forenamed Worthies made way for it I grant the Assertion to be true but it is to be remember'd that I am not now treating of the Preparatives and Forerunners of the Blessed Millennum but of that Determinate State and Time it self I grant that at the Reformation the Souls of those that were Beheaded for the Witness of Iesus and for the Word of God might truly be said to Live they were as it were raised from the Dead When Luther and the rest of God's Faithful Servants appeared and were active in Restoring and Reforming Religion the Holy Apostles and Martyrs and all the Primitive Professors of the True Faith were then as it were revived and came upon the Earth again This is a Forerunner and Pledge of that which is call'd the First Resurrection this is a Previous assurance of the Millennary Reign or Christ here on Earth in that Sence which I have before explain'd Mr. Mede's Conceit that the Thousand Years of Christ's Reign shall not begin till the Day of Iudgment is not worthy of so Learned a Person and is confuted from what you Read in this Chapter so
often made use of where the Battel of Gog and Magog and their Defeat are mentioned Who doubts that these Enemies of Christ and of his Servants shall be subdued before the Day of Judgment And if so then Christ's Reign all which time his Enemies are subdued and disappear and the Last Judgment cannot be the same I may add that according to Mr. Mede's Opinion the Day of Judgment shall be before the General Resurrection which will hardly be allowed by any thinking Persons And in this very Chapter you will find that this latter hath the Priority of the other v. 12 13. And 't is no other than what the Apostle St. Paul asserts in 1 Cor. 15. 28. He shall deliver up the Kingdom to his Father viz. after the Resurrâ—ction which he had been speaking of all along before How then can he be said to come and Reign on Earth after he hath delivered up the Kingdom But yet we may understand this Writer in the fairest Sence and so we ought to do all Authors and then his Opinion is not to be disliked for largely speaking the erecting of Christ's Kingdom in the 1000. Years Reign may be call'd the beginning of the Last Iudgment and it is represented so in Dan. 7. 9 13 22 26. For with the Kingdom of Christ on Earth there is as it were a Iudicature set up and Sentence passes according to the different Qualities of the Persons that are found at that time The Enemies of God and Religion shall then be openly animadverted upon but the true Worshippers of Iesus all the Sincere Professors of Christianity shall be Favour'd Advanced Rewarded Thus the Millennary Reign and the General Iudgment are Contemporary or at least we may suppose some part of the Thousand Years Reign to be included in the General Judgment Thus it is if we take it in the Latitude as Mr. Mede seems to do but is cannot strictly be reckon'd as part of the Millennium for this Chapter expresly tells us that it shall be after is I saw a great White Throne and him that sat on it and I saw the Dead Small and Great stand before God and the Books were open'd c. v. 11. 12. There is no reason then to defer the Reign of Christ to that Time But it is more agreeable to Reason and Revelation to assert that it is not very far off that the Time is approaching when this Millennary State shall Commence when there shall be a greater Progress on the Gospel than ever yet hath been when the Church shall be wonderfully Advanced and Christianity shall arrive to its Maturity and Perfection Christ Iesus shall not visibly come in Person as some have fondly imagined but he shall come and Reign in the Spirit he shall Rectifie the Disorders that have been in the Christian World he shall throw down all False Worship and establish the True and he shall raise the Christian Dispensation to its utmost Perfection CHAP. XX. The Millenary Reign is attended with the Destruction of Antichrist i. e. Papists and Mahometans This proved from several Passages in Scripture How the Papal Antichrist shall be destroy'd by the Spirit of God's Mouth Another Attendant of the Reign of Christ upon Earth is the Conversion or Fulness of the Gentiles An Objection answered A twofold Calling or Conversion of the Gentiles Partial and Total The Parable in Luk. 14. speaks of this latter The Occasion and Manner of this Conversion The Progress of Arts and Sciences hath imitated the Motion of the Sun The like is observable of Religion The General Conversion of the Jews is a third Concomitant of the Reign of Christ. Whether the Jews shall be fixed in their own Countrey again The Author's Iudgment concerning the Texts of Scripture which are alledged to prove the National Conversion and Return of the Jews Lev. 26. 38 39 c. is meant of the General Return of that People In Deut. 30. 1 c. there is a Primary and a Secondary meaning The latter applied to the Ten Tribes The future Restauration of the Jews proved from Isa. 11. 11. from Isa. 60. from Hos. 3. 4 5. from Amos 9. 14. from Zech. 12. 10 c. from Luk. 2. 30 31. from Luke 21. 24. from 2 Cor. 3. 14 c. from several Passages in Rom. 11. What is meant by all Israel The 26 27 28 and 29 Verses particularly consider'd and shew'd to be Arguments for the Complete Conversion of the Jews The 7. Rev. 4. speaks of this The Occasion Manner and Means of it both ordinary and extraordinary enquired into BUT to pass from these Generals to a Particular Account of this Period of the Evangelical Oeconomy this Glorious State of Christ's Church which shall be before the Consummation of all Things comprehends in it these Things 1. The Destruction of Antichrist 2. The Fulness of the Gentiles 3. The Calling of the Jews 4. Universal Righteousness 5. Universal Peace These are the Five Things which are to be expected yet to come and which constitute the Heighth of the Christian Dispensation I. I begin with the Destruction of Antichrist For that it is probable is the first Thing which will be effected when the Thousand Years begin By Antichrist I mean the Church and Polity of Rome and the Impostures of Mahomet The latter is the Eastern and the former is the Western Antichrist For as the Roman Empire was made up of the Western and Eastern Dominions so proportionably Antichrist or the Antichristian Power signally so styled which was to succeed in the room of the Roman Emperours consists of both these Great Powers viz. The Papacy in the West and the Mahometan Usurpation in the East It is well known that both these had their Rise together and it is probable they shall fall together To speak of the latter first Mahometism hath been in the World above a Thousand Years but it must in due time have its Period the Cross shall triumph over the Crescent If it be ask'd Where there is any particular Place of Scripture that mentions this Catastrophe I answer That according to my Apprehension leaving every one to judge as they please the 38 th and 39 th Chapters of Ezekiel plainly foretel the Saracens and Turks invading the Holy Land and then their Destruction and Extirpation It is a most Eminent and Remarkable Portion of Scripture though little taken notice of but whoever will be pleased to consult the Whole with great Seriousness and Intensâ—tness of Mind they will be induced I question not to join with me in this Perswasion That this notable Prophecy hath respect to the Times of the Chiliastick Reign of Christ when the Turkish Infidels the right Gog and Magog with their Adherents shall endeavour by all means to oppose it and in order to that shall appear with a mighty Force against the People of God viz. against the Iews who at that time shall be looking towards the Messias and shall be ready to own Iesus to be
perhaps may be the Meaning of 1 Cor. 6. 2. Do ye not know that the Saints shall judge the World I offer it to be considered whether we may not interpret it thus Do you not know that there shall be a time when there shall be a Christian Magistracy in the World and that especially when Christianity is coming to its Height there shall be such Godly Rulers and Iudges as shall reform all Things that are amiss in the World And this great Sway and Authority shall make way even for their judging of Angels Afterwards v. 3. I am far from abetting in this Discourse the wild Fancy of those Enthusiastick Spirits who make the Reign of Christ on Earth inconsistent with that of Kings and Princes who at the same time that they set up King Iesus pull down all others Their Fifth-Monarchy brooks no Crowned Heads But they forget that in the same Place where the Evangelical Prophet saith Behold a King shall Reign in Righteousness meaning Christ and this Kingdom which I am now discoursing of he adds And Princes shall rule in iudgment Isa. 32. 1. Though it is said the Scepter shall depart from Iudah when Shiloh first comes yet neither then nor afterwards is it to be taken out of the Hands of Christian Princes Their Monarchy and Christ's Kingdom are not incompatible Yea I am so far from giving any Allowance to this sort of Men that I confidently aver Christ's Kingdom whereof I am speaking shall be set up and maintain'd by the Kings and Rulers of the Earth Christianity shall arrive to that excellent Pitch by the Assistance of the Civil Magistrate by the Incouragement which shall be given to it by the Secular Powers There is Ground for what I say for we are expresly told that those who formerly gave their Kingdom to the Beast shall afterwards hate the Whore and shall make her desolate c. Rev. 17. 16 17. These great Things shall be effected by Monarchs Princes and States entirely devoting themselves to the publick Good and Welfare and to the Glory of Him who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords The Builders of that Ierusalem shall hold the Trowel with one Hand and the Sword in the other They shall at the same time Rear this happy Structure and severely Punish those who endeavour to hinder them till at last by sharply Animadverting on all Wickednesses and Enormities these be driven out of the World and Universal Piety and Righteousness come in their room Again This great Work shall be promoted and advanced by the help of Spiritual Pastors and Teachers whose Care and Faithfulness whose Courage and Zeal are as requisite in this present Affair as that of the Civil Magistrate The Rulers and Guides of the Church shall then shew themselves true Lovers of Souls by not refusing any Labour of Love for their Peoples Good they shall preach the Word be instant in Season out of Season reprove rebuke exhort with all Long-suffering and Doctrine they shall Watch in all Things do the Work of true Evangelizers make full proof of their Ministry They shall discharge their Holy Function with all Mildness and Clemency with all Tenderness and Compassion and yet with all Fervency and Vigour They shall let all Men see that they make the Honour of God and the Saving of Mens Souls the Grand Design of their Ministry And it is not without great reason that I mention both these great Orders of Men Magistrates and Ministers for it is absolutely requisite that they go hand in hand towards the accomplishing that Great Work which I am discoursing of Moses and Aaron must befriend each other Zerubbabel and Ioshua must join in building the Temple The great Hinderance of the Improvement and Increase of Christianity hath been the disunion of these Two The Temporal Rulers and Spiritual Overseers have not concurr'd in the promoting the same Religious Designs The Secular and Ecclesiastical Powers have frequently been divided among themselves and thereby have retarded and impeded the Common Good But it shall not be so in those happy Times there shall be no disagreement between Ecclesiastical the State and Church no opposition between the State and Civil Laws The Spiritual and Secular Officers shall be so far from being an Impediment to one another in their particular Charges that they shall make it their Business to promote the respective Cause and Interest of each other If Phocas and Boniface held together and thereby wrought such horrid Mischiefs in the World it is certain we may experience as great and notable Effects of a contrary Nature from the unanimous Concurrence of pious Governours in the Church and Commonwealth When they mutually advise and consult with one another and act jointly for the Advancement of Religion and Godliness as in the Times of Constantine the Great Theodosius Valentinian Gratian when they strive with great Ambition and no other Ambition who shall be most serviceable and beneficial to the Christian Community this will be found to be the true Method for the propagating and establishing of Religion in the World And seeing Religion is the only unshaken and lasting Basis of Kingdoms it is the Concern of thâ—se Two Ranks of Persons to agree to advance this above all Things whatsoever They are to remember that even Civil Politicks are best guided by this Conduct and that if a Nation or Council exclude this in any of their Laws and Constitutions they can't be said to be Wise and Politick For what is disagreeable to Religion is unsafe dangerous and extremely Impolitick To be short all lies in Rulers both of Church and State both Spiritual and Civil These as I apprehend will be the special Instruments which God will imploy to work that happy and wonderful Change When God pleaseth to send such Princes and Leaders as Zerobbabel such Priests as Ioshua such Teachers and Scribes as Ezra the Building of the House of God will soon be finished Such Great and Noble Spirits being sâ—t on work will easily bring it to perfection The Gospel will be completely established Christianity will be universally propagated and Evangelical Righteousness will prevail every where in the World Yea All of us are capable of promoting this great Work more or less and therefore we ought to make it our Concern Our earnest and constant Prayer should be that this Kingdom may come and prevail and prosper that Antichristianism wheresoever it is and under what Shape and Guise soever it appears may be demolished and destroyed that the Infidelity of Iews and Pagans may have a period that Vice and Immorality Irreligion and Prophaneness may be trod down and that the Contrary may be set up and advanced in all the Regions of the World And we are obliged to set forward this blessed Design not only by our Devotions but our Endeavours and to hasten the actual Prevailing of it in our Lives and Practices that Iesus may be seen to Reign among Men and that Christianity may be
the same Or suppose this Phrase from the foundation of the World doth not denote Eternity yet it is enough for our purpose that Christ the Lamb of God was slain from the beginning of the World for from thence we may gather that it was designed and appointed to reach to all following Generations 2. The way and method of Salvation was the same under all the Dispensations of Grace for Christ instructed his Church in all Ages the Gospel was preached to them aâ— well as to us Heb. 4. 2. All the Patriarchs and Prophets and Holy Men of past ages arrived at Heaven and Happiness by the Conduct of this great Guide Iesus Christ the same yesterday 〈…〉 day and for ever are words appliable to Christ nor only as he is King and Priest but also as he is Prophet and Teacher of his Church Which Sacred Office he hath faithfully performed in all Ages and there hath been no Time since the Church was founded but he hath been the Instructer of it The Covenant of Grace was made first of all with Adam in Paradise and God hath from Age to Age renewed that Covenant to his Church and the Grace of God in Christ was common to the Antient Patriarchs and Iews with us So that from the Fall of our first Parents to the end of the World the way of Expâ—ation and of obtaining Salvation hath been is and shall be the same viz. by Christ and by his Merits The Virtue of his Death altho he actually died long after commenced with the first Promise made to Adam The Socinians oppose this and generally hold that the Godly who lived before the time of the Messias were not saved by Him they assert that they knew nothing of it and that there were other means of being saved under the Old Testament than there are under the New But this is a Doctrine deservedly exploded by all Persons who are of the Orthodox Faith and who own the True Christian Religion They all agree that the same way of Salvation hath always prevailed that all who were saved under the Old Testament were saved by Virtue of Christ's Death and Satisfaction There was Justification under the Law tho not by it or by virtue of it Those that believed with their whole hearts on God and faithfully serv'd him were justified and obtain'd Remission of their Sins and Eternal Life by that Grace which was couched in the Law i. e. promis'd in the Messias and figured and represented by the obscure Types of the Law By virtue of the Grace to be exhibited by Christ even those who were before his arrival were saved This is the Doctrine which St. Peter preach'd Acts 15. 11. We believe that through the grace of the Lord Iesus Christ we shall be saved even as They i. e. the Fathers before Christ as is clear from the foregoing verse The Holy Men then were acquainted with the Substance of this Covenant viz. the Promise of Restoration by Christ and consequently the Old Testament Saints were saved by him Thus we are told by another inspired Author that by means of Christ's Death there was Redemption for the Transgressors that were under the first Testament Heb. 9. 15. For tho the Redemption of Mankind was not actually wrought by him till he died on the Cross yet the Virtue and Benefit of it were in all Ages as the Sun spreads its light and illuminates our Region before its glorious Body appeareth above the Horizon 3. As to the Conditions and Qualifications on our part all the Dispensations of Grace were the same All substantial Duties towards God and Man are the same now that they were then Even Faith in the Messias is as antient as that Promise on which it was first founded that the Blessâ—d Seed should break the Serpents head Gen. 3. 15. They who lived before Christ's Incarnation conâ—ided in this Promised Deliverer by whose Merit they hoped to be reconciled to God Faith in Christ was a Duty under the Old Testament because there were Promises concerning the Messias then as is evident from Luke 1. 72. and what were these Promisessor but to be credited and relied upon Therefore it is recorded that Abraham Believed Rom. 4. 3. Gal. 3. 6. And our Saviour witnesseth that Abraham rejoiced to see his day and he saw it and was glad Joh. 8. 56. The Reason was because as the Apostle saith God preached the Gospel to Abraham Gal. 3. 8. and discovered the Messias to him The just lived by Faith in Habakkuk's time Hab. 2. 4. which by the Apostle is applied to the Evangelical Faith in Rom. 1. 17. Gal. 3. 11. Therefore when Socinus tells us that Faith in Christ was not comprehended in the Mosaick Covenant and when one of his Scholars confidently avers that it is a gross Error to think that the Fathers under the Old Testament believed in Christ to come and were justified by that Faith we know whence to confute these bold Men. That the Evangelical Righteousness and Justification were in the Old Testament is clear because the Apostle brings Examples of this free Justification out of the Old Testament Rom. 4. 3 6 c. That Salvation by Faith in Christ was no New thing is evident from other places as Acts 10. 43. To him give all the Prophets witness that through his Name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins And Rom. 3. 21 22. The righteousness of God withâ—ut the Law is manifested being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Iesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe Aâ—d St. Peter 1 Episâ— Chap. 2. ver 6. proves that Chrisâ— is the foundation whereupon all the Saints are built from Isa. 28. 16. Behold I lay in Sion a chief corner-stone elect precious and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded From all which it may be undeniably infeâ—'d that under the Law they believed in Christ for Justiâ—â—cation and that the Fathers before Christ were saved by Faith in him and in a word that all from the beginning of the World have been Justified and Saved the same way viz. for Christ's Merits and upon the Gospel-terms of Sincere Faith and Obedience and of persevering in the same unto the end Thus in respect of the Designation the Way and the Efficacy of Salvation the Evangelical Dispensation differs not from the preceding ones This the Antient Fathers speak of particularly they defend the Antiquity of Christianity and prove it to be as old as Moses yea as Adam Iustin Marâ—yr reckons Abraham and Elias but he goes too far when he reckons Heraclitus and Socrates among Christians in answer to that Objection that those were Christians only that lived within a hundred and fifty Years This Pious Father in another place argueth from the Antiquity of the Christian Religion and the Authors of it That Religion which hath the best Authors and is oldest is
the truest saith he They were Fabulous Poets and Dissenting Philosophers that were the Authors of Gentilism but both of them are ridiculous whereas the Doctors and Authors of Christianity are Prophets divinely inspired and those even in the first Ages of the World That the Christian Religion is the First and most Antient is designedly shew'd by Eusebius in his Evangelical Preparation and again in his Ecclesiastical History he maintains that the way of Religion and Piety preached by Christ was no Neâ— and Strange thing More particularly it is maintain'd by 〈◊〉 that Abraham's Faith and Ours is the same and this is asserted by other Fathers Christianity was on foot always in the Woâ—ld It was not only under the Dispensation of the Law but it was the Religion of the Old Patriarchs and of those before the Flood and of our First Parents for the Christian Religion is the Revelation of God's Will concerning the Redeeming and Saving of Man by Christ Iesus Now this Religion was in being presently after the Fall of Adam Then and ever afterwards there was no way of Salvation but this viz. by Jesus the Messias Indeed we may in some Sense say it was all along a Gospel-Dispensation This is that which was from the Beginning 1 Joh. 1. 1. The Truths of Christianity which the Apostles preach'd were the first Truths The Doctrine and Duties taught in the New Testament are the same in substance which were deliver'd to the Servants of God in the most Antient Ages Secondly tho the Christian Dispensation agrees with the foregoing Dispensations of Grace as to the main yet it differs from them all and more especially from the Mosaick and Legal Oâ—conomy as to sundry things As Loving our Brethren is said by St. Iohn to be an Old Commandment and yet a Nâ—w One so the Gospel Dispensation is both Old and New in different respects I have shew'd in what respect it is the former now I will make it appear also that it is the latter i. e. that it differs on several accounts from the former ones 1. It differs as to the Authâ—r Not as if there were another Author but this I mean that the Author was not the same in 〈◊〉 respect i. e. he was not Incarâ—ate before The Son of God was not then the Son of Man he had not assumed 〈◊〉 This 〈◊〉 therefore is New and Peculiar on the account of Christ's Incarnation He now appear'd in Human shape It is worth our notice that this Appearing of Christ is signally and eminently call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Dispensation by the Antient Christians Sometimes it is barely stiled so and at other times with some Additions as the Dispensation according to the flesh the Dispensation of the Word according to Man the human Dispensation the Dispensation of the Manhood the Dispensation of the Mediator the Glorious Saving Dispensation Bâ—iefly not only Christ's Incarâ—ation but the whole Mystery of our Redemption by him and whatever he was pleas'd to submit and condescend to in his human Nature â—or the good of Mankind is call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the Greek Fathers and is said to be understood and taken 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And some of the Latin Fathers likewise may be observed to use the word Oeconomia in this Emphatical way as Hilary in his 9th Book of the Trinity and 't is said by St. Ierom that the Hereâ—icâ— Apollinaris introduced the half Oeconomy of Christ i. e. he did in a manner deny the Assumption of the human Nature in Christ. And you may further remark that this word is very singularly applied to the Administration of the Gospel by St. Paul in several places which was the occasion it is probable of the Fathers using it in that way he calls this the Dispensation of the fulness of Time Eph. 1. 10. The Mystery of Salvation was decreed by God from Eternity but he chose out a fit and convenient opportunity to dispense and exert his Eternal Counsels and this is here in an eminent manner call'd the Dispensation in the full and complete time The Apostle also calls it the Dispensation of the Grace of God Eph. 3. 2. and the Dispensation of God Col. 1. 25. and barely a Dispensation 1 Cor. 9. 17. It is no wonder then that Christ's Coming in the flesh is more emphatically call'd the Dispensation and the Incarnate Dispensation which makes it a peculiar One and different from all the rest 2. It differs from all other Dispensations because now is the Actual Performing and Fulfilling of that which was only foretold and promised under the other Oeconomiâ—s The Law was a shadow of things to come Col. 2. 17. The Hebrews have no Present Tense the Iewish Dispensation look'd forward to what was to be accomplish'd aftâ—â—wards But the Christian Dispensation looks backward and hath an eye to what is alâ—eady done and finished The Saints before the time of the Gospel were saved by Christ that was to come but the Saints since are saved by Christ that is already come There is this different Aspect in these Dispensations 3. The Evangelical Administration is distinguish'd from the others as to this that they were dark and â—bscure but this is plain and clear they abounded with mere Shadows and Representations but this presents us with a distinâ—t knowledg of the things themselves which were shadowed forth The Salvation by Christ and his whole Undertaking Birth Life and Death were obscurely and mystically delivered under the Law It is granted that that Proposition of St. Peter There is no other Name under heaven given among men whâ—reby wâ— must be saved was no less true before the Birth and Coming of Christ in the flesh than it is now since his Coming but it was not so manifestly reveal'd as it is since God led Israel by a Cloud they were entertain'd with Shadows mystical and dark Representations that is they were undiscernable by the vulgar sort of Persons who had not time or opportunity to search into them and whose minds are taken up with gross and inferiour matters And as for those Holy and Good Men amongst them who saw through these Shadows and grasp'd at the very Substance they could not at that distance understand the things concerning the Messias which we now have a perfect notice of The Mosaick Rites were but an imperfect delineating of that which the Gospel gives us a lively Pourtray of Which is the meaning of that 〈◊〉 of the Evangelist The Law waâ— by Moses but Grace and Truth came by Iesus Christ Joh. 1. 17. The gracious Dispensation of the Messias under the Gospel is a True Real and Substantial thing opposed to the Mosaick Shadows and Resemblances Thus you will find Truth opposed to Typâ—s and Figures in Dan. 7. 16 19. Heb. 8. 2. 9. 24. Truth then came by Jesus Christ not as Truth stands in opposition to Falshood and Lies but to Types and