to the minds of men besides that tranquillity and calmness of spirit that serene and peaceable temper which follows a good conscience whereever it dwells it were enough to make men welcom that guest which brings such good entertainment with it Whereas the amazements horrours and anxieties of mind which at one time or other haunt such who prostitute their Consciences to a violation of the Lawes of God and the rules of rectified reason may be enough to perswade any rational person that impiety is the greatest folly and irreligion madness It cannot be then but matter of great pity to consider that any persons whose birth and education hath raised them above the common people of the World should be so far their own enemies as to observe the Fashion more then the rules of Religion and to study complements more then themselves and read Romances more then the sacred Scriptures which alone are able to make them wise to salvation But Sir I need not mention these things to You unless it be to let You see the excellency of your choice in preferring true Vertue and Piety above the Ceremony and Grandeur of the World Go on Sir to value and measure true Religion not by the uncertain measures of the World but by the infallible dictates of God himself in his sacred Oracles Were it not for these what certain foundation could there be for our Faith to stand on and who durst venture his soul as to its future condition upon any authority less then the infallible veracity of God himself What certain directions for practice should we have what rule to judge of opinions by had not God out of his infinite goodness provided and preserved this authentick instrument of his Will to the World What a strange Religion would Christianity seem should we frame the Model of it from any other thing then the Word of God Without all controversie the disesteem of the Scriptures upon any pretence whatsoever is the decay of Religion and through many windings and turnings leads men at last into the very depth of Atheism Whereas the frequent and serious conversing with the mind of God in his Word is incomparably useful not only for keeping up in us a true Notion of Religion which is easily mistaken when men look upon the face of it in any other glass then that of the Scriptures but likewise for maintaining a powerful sense of Religion in the souls of men and a due valuation of it whatever its esteem or entertainment be in the World For though the true genuine spirit of Christianity which is known by the purity and peaceableness of it should grow never so much out of credit with the World yet none who heartily believe the Scriptures to be the Word of God and that the matters revealed therein are infallibly true will ever have the less estimation of it It must be confessed that the credit of Religion hath much sufferd in the Age we live in through the vain pretences of many to it who have only acted a part in it for the sake of some pâ—ivate interests of their own And it is the usual Logick of Atheists crimine ab uno Disce omnes if there be any hypocrites all who make shew of Religion are such on which account the Hypocrisie of one Age makes way for the Atheism of the next But how unreasonable and unjust that imputation is there needs not much to discover unless it be an argument there are no true men in the World because there are so many Apes which imitate them or that there are no Jewels because there are so many Counterfeits And blessed be God our Age is not barren of Instances of real goodness and unaffected piety there being some such generous spirits as dare love Religion without the dowry of Interest and manifest their affection to it in the plain dress of the Scriptures without the paint and set-offs which are added to it by the several contending parties of the Christian World Were there more such noble spirits of Religion in our Age Atheism would want one of the greatest Pleas which it now makes against the Truth of Religion for nothing enlarges more the Gulf of Atheism then that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that wide passage which lies between the Faith and Lives of men pretending to be Christians I must needs say there is nothing seems more strange and unaccountable to me then that the Practice of the unquestionable duties of Christianity should be put out of Countenance or slighted by any who own profess and contend for the Principles of it Can the profession of that be honourable whose practice is not If the principles be true why are they not practised If they be not true why are they professed You see Sir to what an unexpected length my desire to vindicate the Honour as well as Truth of Religion hath drawn out this present address But I may sooner hope for your pardon in it then if I had spent so much paper after the usual manner of Dedications in representing You to your self or the World Sir I know You have too much of that I have been commending to delight in Your own deserved praises much less in flatteries which so benign a subject might easily make ones pen run over in And therein I might not much have digressed from my design since I know few more exemplary for that rare mixture of true piety and the highest civility together in whom that inestimable jewel of religion is placed in a most sweet affable and obliging temper But although none will be more ready on any occasion with all gratitude to acknowledge the great obligations You have laid upon me yet I am so far sensible of the common vanity of Epistles Dedicatory that I cannot so heartily comply with them in any thing as in my hearty prayers to Almighty for your good and welfare and in subscribing my self Sir Your most humble and affectionate servant Iune 5. 1662. ED. STILLINGFLEET THE PREFACE TO THE READER IT is neither to satisfie the importunity of friends nor to prevent false copies which and such like excuses I know are expected in usual Prefaces that I have adventured abroad this following Treatise but it is out of a just resentment of the affronts and indignities which have been cast on Religion by such who account it a matter of judgement to disbelieve the Scriptures and a piece of wit to dispute themselves out of the possibility of being happy in another world When yet the more acute and subtile their arguments are the greater their strength is against themselves it being impossible there should be so much wit and subtilty in the souls of men were they not of a more excellent nature then they imagine them to be And how contradictious is it for such persons to be ambitious of being cryed up for wit and reason whose design is to degrade the rational soul so far below her self as to make her become like the beasts
there may be clear perception where the object its self is above our capacity Now whatever foundation there is in nature for such a perception without comprehension that and much more is there in such things as are revealed by God though above our apprehension For the Idea of God upon the soul of man cannot be so strong an evidence of the existence of a being above our apprehension as the revelation of matters of faith is that we should believe the things so revealed though our understandings lose themselves in striving to reach the natures of them and the manner of their existence Secondly that which is the only foundation of a scruple in this case is a principle most unreasonable in its self that we are to imbrace nothing for truth though divinely revealed but what our reason is able to comprehend as to the nature of the thing and the manner of its existence on which account the doctrine of the Trinity Incarnation Satisfaction and consequently the whole mysterie of the Gospel of Christ must be rejected as incredible and that on this bare pretence because although many expressions in Scripture seem to import all these things yet we are bound to interpret them to another sense because this is incongruous to our reason But although Christianity be a Religion which comes in the highest way of credibility to the minds of men although we are not bound to believe any thing but what we have sufficient reason to make it appear that it is revealed by God yet that any thing should be questioned whether it be of divine revelation meerly because our reason is to seek as to the full and adaequate conception of it is a most absurd and unreasonable pretence And the Assertors of it must run themselves on these unavoidable absurdities First of believing nothing either in nature or Religion to be true but what they can give a full and satisfactory account of as to every mode and circumstance of it Therefore let such persons first try themselves in all the appearances of nature and then we may suppose they will not believe that the Sun shines till they have by demonstrative arguments proved the undoubted truth of the Ptolomaick or Copernican hypothesis that they will never give credit to the flux and reflux of the Sea till they clearly resolve the doubts which attend the several opinions of it That there is no such thing as matter in the world till they can satisfactorily tell us how the parts of it are united nor that there are any material beings till they have resolved all the perplexing difficulties about the several affections of them and that themselves have not so much as a rational soul till they are bound to satisfie us of the manner of the union of the soul and body together And if they can expedite all these and many more difficulties about the most obvious things about which it is another thing to frame handsome and consistent hypotheses then to give a certain account of them then let them be let loose to the matters of divine revelation as to which yet if they could perform the other were there no reason for such an undertaking for that were Secondly to commensurate the perfections of God with the narrow capacity of the humane intellect which is contrary to the natural Idea of God and to the manner whereby we take up our conceptions of God for the Idea of God doth suppose incomprehensibility to belong to his nature and the manner whereby we form our conceptions of God is by taking away all the imperfections we find in our selves from the conception we form of a being absolutely perfect and by adding infinity to all the perfections we find in our own natures Now this method of proceeding doth necessarily imply a vast distance and disproportion between a finite and infinite understanding And if the understanding of God be infinite why may not he discover such things to us which our shallow apprehensions cannot reach unto what ground or evidence of reason can we have that an infinite wisdom and understanding when it undertakes to discover matters of the highest nature and concernment to the world should be able to deliver nothing but what comes within the compass of our imperfect and narrow intellects And that it should not be sufficient that the matters revealed do none of them contradict the prime results or common notions of mankind which none of them do but that every particular mode and circumstance as to the manner of existence in God or the extent of his omnipotent power must pass the scrutiny of our faculties before it obtains a Placet for a Divine revelation Thirdly it must follow from this principle that the pretenders to it must affirm the rules or maxims which they go by in the judgment of things are the infallible standard of reason Else they are as far to seek in the judgement of the truth of things as any others are They must then to be consistent with their principle affirm themselves to be the absolute Masters of reason Now reason consisting of observations made concerning the natures of all beings for so it must be considered as it is a rule of judging viz. as a Systeme of infallible rules collected from the natures of things they who pretend to it must demonstrate these general maxims according to which they judge to be â—ollected from an universal undoubted history of nature which lies yet too dark and obscure for any to pretend to the full knowledge of and would be only a demonstration of the highest arrogance after so many succesless endeavours of the most searching wits in any society of persons to usurp it to themselves especially if such persons are so far from searching into the depths of nature that they suffer themselves very fairly to be led by the nose by the most dogmatical of all Philosophers and that in such principles which the more inquisitive world hath now found to be very short uncertain and fallacious And upon severe enquiry we shall find the grand principles which have been taken by these adorers of reason for almost the standard of it have been some Theories which have been taken up meerly from observation of the course of nature by such persons who scarce owned any hand of providence in the world Now it cannot otherwise be conceived but that these Theories or principles formed from such a narrow inspection into the natures of things must make strange work when we come to apply those things to them which were never looked at in the forming of them Whence came those two received principles that nothing can be produced out of nothing that there is no possible return from a privation to a habit but from those Philosophers who believed there was nothing but matter in the world or if they did assert the existence of a God yet supposed him unconcerned in the Government of the world Whence come our Masters
is in the work of Grace So that according to this opinion there must be immediate inspiration as to that act of faith whereby we believe any one to have been divinely inspired and consequently to that whereby we believe the Scriptures to be the Word of God Secondly Doth not this make the fairest plea for mens unbelief For I demand Is it the duty of those who want that immediate illumination to believe or no If it be not their duty unbelief can be no sin to them if it be a duty it must be made known to be a duty and how can that be made known to them to be a duty when they want the only and necessary means of instruction in order to it Will God condemn them for that which it was impossible they should have unless God gave it them And how can they be left inexcuseable who want so much as rational inducements to faith for of these I now speak and not of efficacious perswasions of the mind when there are rational arguments for faith propounded But lastly I suppose the case will be cleared when we take notice what course God hath alwayes taken to give all rational satisfaction to the minds of men concerning the persons whom he hath imployed in either of the fore-mentioned cases First for those who have been imployed upon some special message and service for God he hath sent them forth sufficiently provided with manifestations of the Divine power whereby they acted As is most clear and evident in the present case of Moses Exodus 4. 1 2 3 4 5. where Moses puts the case to God which we are now debating of Supposing saith he that I should go to the Israelites and tell them God had appeared to me and sent me to deliver them and they should say God had not appeared unto me how should I satisfie them God doth not reject this objection of Moses as favouring of unbelief but presently shews him how he should satisfie them by causing a miracle before his face turning his rod into a Serpent and God gives this as the reason of it vers 5. That they may believe that the Lord God of their Fathers the God of Abraham the God of Isaac the God of Jacob hath appeared unto thee It seems God himself thought this would be the most pregnant evidence of Gods appearing to him if he wrought miracles before their faces Nay lest they should think one single miracle was not sufficient God in the immediate following verses adjoyns two more which he should do in order to their satisfaction and further verse 21. God gave him a charge to do all those wonders before Pharoah which he had put into his hand And accordingly we find Pharoah presently demanding a miracle of Moses Exodus 7. 9. which accordingly Moses did in his presence though he might suppose Pharoahs demand not to proceed from desire of satisfaction but from some hopes that for want of it he might have rendred his credit suspected among the Israelites Indeed after God had delivered his people and had setled them in a way of serving him according to the Laws delivered by Moses which he had confirmed by unquestionable miracles among them we find a caution laid in by Moses himself against those which should pretend signs and wonders to draw them off from the Religion established by the Law of Moses And so likewise under the Gospel after that was established by the unparallel'd miracles of our Saviour and his Apostles we find frequent cautions against being deceived by those who came with pretences of doing great miracles But this is so far from infringing the credibility of such a Testimony which is confirmed by miracles that it yields a strong confirmation to the truth of what I now assert For the doctrine is supposed to be already established by miracles according to which we are to judge of the spirits of such pretenders Now it stands to the greatest reason that when a Religion is once established by uncontrouled miracles we should not hearken to every whiffling Conjurer that will pretend to do great feats to draw us off from the truth established In which case the surest way to discover the imposture is to compare his pretended miracles with those true and real ones which were done by Moses and Christ and the ground of it is because every person is no competent judge of the truth of a miracle for the Devil by his power and subtilty may easily deceive all such as will be led by the nose by him in expectation of some wonders to be done by him And therefore as long as we have no ground to question the oertainty of those miracles which were wrought by Christ or Moses I am bound to adhere to the doctrine established by those miracles and to make them my rule of judging all persons who shall pretend to work miracles Because 1. I do not know how far God may give men over to be deceived by lying wonders who will not receive the truth in the love of it i. e. those that think not the Christian Religion sufficiently confirmed by the miracles wrought at the first promulgation of it God in justice may permit the Devil to go further then otherwise he could and leave such persons to their own credulity to believe every imposture and illusion of their senses for true miracles 2. That doctrine which was confirmed by undoubted miracles hath assured us of the coming of lying wonders whereby many should be deceived Now this part of the doctrine of the Gospel is as certainly true as any of the rest for it was confirmed by the same miracles that the other was and besides that the very coming of such miracles is an evidence of the truth of it it falling out so exactly according to what was foretold so many hundred years since Now if this doctrine be true then am I certain the intent of these miracles is to deceive and that those are deceived who hearken to them and what reason then have I to believe them 3. To what end do these miracles serve Are they to confirm the truths contained in Scripture But what need they any confirmation now when we are assured by the miracles wrought by Christ and his Apostles that the doctrine by them preached came from God and so hath been received upon the credit of those miracles ever since Were these truths sufficiently proved to be from God before or no If not then all former ages have believed without sufficient ground for faith if they were then what ground can there be to confirm us in them now certainly God who never doth anything but for very great purposes will never alter the course of nature meerly for satisfaction of mens vain curiosities But it may be it will be said It was something not fully revealed in Scripture which is thus confirmed by miracles but where hath the Scripture told us that anything not fully revealed
pimple any the most trivial thing with a word speaking or the touch of the hand Upon this Arnobius challengeth the most famous of all the Heathen Magicians Zoroastres Armenius Pamphilus Apollonius Damigero Dardanus Velus Iulianus and Baebulus or any other renowned Magician to give power to any one to make the dumb to speak the deaf to hear the blind to see or bring life into a dead body Or if this be too hard with all their Magical rites and incantations but to do that quod à rusticis Christianis jussienibus factitatum est nudis which ordinary Christians do by their meer words So great a difference was there between the highest that could be done by Magick and the least that was done by the Name and Power of Christ. Where miracles are truly Divine God makes it evident to all impartial judgements that the things do exceed all created power For which purpose we are to observe that though impostures and delusions may go far the power of Magicians further when God permits them yet when God works miracles to confirm a Divine Testimony he makes it evident that his power doth infinitely exceed them all This is most conspicuous in the case of Moses and our blessed Saviour First Moses he began to do some miracles in the presence of Pharaoh and the Aegyptians turning his rod into a Serpent but we do not finde Pharaoh at all amazed at it but sends presently for the Magicians to do the same who did it whether really or only in appearance is not material to our purpose but Aarons rod swallowed up theirs The next time the waters are turned into blood by Moses the Magicians they do so too After this Moses brings up Frogs upon the Land so do the Magicians So that here now is a plain and open contest in the presence of Pharaoh and his people between Moses and the Magicians and they try for victory over each other so that if Moses do no more then they they would look upon him but as a Magician but if Moses do that which by the acknowledgement of these Magicians themselves could be only by Divine Power then it is demonstrably evident that his power was as far above the power of Magick as God is above the Devil Accordingly we finde it in the very next miracle in turning the dust into Ciniphes which we render lice the Magicians are non-plust and give out saying in plain terms This is the finger of God And what greater acknowledgement can there be of Divine Power then the confession of those who seemed to contest with it and to imitate it as much as possible After this we finde not the Magicians offering to contest with Moses and in the plague of boyles we particularly read that they could not stand before Moses Thus we see in the case of Moses how evident it was that there was a power above all power of Magick which did appear in Moses And so likewise in the case of our blessed Saviour for although Simon Magus Apollonius or others might do some small things or make some great shew and noise by what they did yet none of them ever came near the doing things of the same kind which our Saviour did curing the born blind restoring the dead to life after four dayes and so as to live a considerable time after or in the manner he did them with a word a touch with that frequency and openness before his greatest enemies as well as followers and in such an uncontrouled manner that neither Iews or Heathens ever questioned the truth of them And after all these when he was laid in the grave after his crucifixion exactly according to his own prediction he rose again the third day appeared frequently among his Disciples for forty dayes together After which in their presence he ascended up to heaven and soon after made good his promise to them by sending his holy Spirit upon them by which they spake with tongues wrought miracles went up and down Preaching the Gospel of Christ with great boldness chearfulness and constancy and after undergoing a great deal of hardship in it they sealed the truth of all they spake with their blood laying down their lives to give witness to it Thus abundantly to the satisfaction of the minds of all good men hath God given the highest rational evidence of the truth of the doctrine which he hath revealed to the world And thus I have finished the second part of my task which concerned the rational evidence of the truth of Divine Revelation from the persons who were imployed to deliver Gods mind to the world And therein have I hope made it evident that both Moses and the Prophets our Saviour and his Apostles did come with sufficient rational evidence to convince the world that they were persons immediately sent from God BOOK III. CHAP. I. Of the Being of God The Principles of all Religion lie in the Being of God and immortality of the soul from them the necessity of a particular Divine revelation rationally deduced the method laid down for proving the Divine authority of the Scriptures Why Moses doth not prove the Being of God but suppose it The notion of a Deity very consonant to reason Of the nature of Idea's and particularly of the Idea of God How we can form an Idea of an infinite Being How far such an Idea argues existence The great unreasonableness of Atheism demonstrated Of the Hypotheses of the Aristotelian and Epicurean Atheists The Atheists pretences examined and refuted Of the nature of the arguments whereby we prove there is a God Of universal consent and the evidence of that to prove a Deity and immortality of souls Of necessity of existence implyed in the notion of God and how far that proves the Being of God The order of the world and usefulness of the parts of it and especially of mans body an argument of a Deity Some higher principle proved to be in the world then matter and motion The nature of the soul and possibility of its subsisting after death Strange appearances in nature not solvable by the power of imagination HAving in the precedent book largely given a rational account of the grounds of our faith as to the persons whom God imployes to reveal his mind to the world if we can now make it appear that those sacred records which we embrace as Divinely inspired contain in them nothing unworthy of so great a name or unbecoming persons sent from God to deliver there will be nothing wanting to justifie our Religion in point of reason to be true and of revelation to be Divine For the Scriptures themselves coming to us in the name of God we are bound to believe them to be such as they pretend to be unless we have ground to question the general foundations of all religion as uncertain or this particular way of religion as not suitable to those general foundations The foundations of all
but give them in the lump to the main question without fitting them to their several places they do more disservice to the main of the battel by the disorder of their forces then they can advantage it by the number of them 3. Another great pretence the Atheist hath is that religion is only an invention of Politicians which they aw people with as they please and therefore tell them of a God and another world as Mothers send young children to school to keep them in better order that they may govern them with the greater ease To this I answer 1. Religion I grant hath a great influence upon the well-governing the world nay so great that were the Atheists opinion true and the world perswaded of it it were impossible the world could be well governed For the Government of the world in civil societies depends not so much on force as the sacred bonds of duty and allegiance which hold a Nation that owns religion as true in far surer obligations to endeavour the peace and welfare of a Nation then ever violence can do For in this case only an opportunity is watched for to shake off that which they account a yoke upon their necks whereas when mens minds are possessed with a sense of duty and obligation to obedience out of conscience the rains may be held with greater ease and yet the people be better managed by them then by such as only gall and inrage them So that I grant true religion to be the most serviceable principle for the governing of civil societies but withal I say 2. It were impossible religion should be so much made use of for the governing of people were there not a real propensity and inclination to religion imprinted on the minds of men For as did not men love themselves and their children their estates and interests it were impossible to keep them in obedience to Laws but doth it follow because Magistrates perswade people to obedience by suiting Laws to the general interest of men that therefore the Magistrates first made them love themselves and their own concerns So it is in religion the Magistrate may make use of this propensity to religion in men for civil ends but his making use of it doth suppose it and not instill it For were religion nothing else in the world but a design only of Politicians it would be impossible to keep that design from being discovered at one time or other and when once it came to be known it would hurry the whole world into confusion and the people would make no scruple of all oaths and obligations but every one would seek to do others what mischief he could if he had opportunity and obey no further then fear and force constrained him Therefore no principle can be so dangerous to a state as Atheism nor any thing more promote its peace then true religion and the more men are perswaded of the truth of religion they will be the better subjects and the more useful in civil societies As well then may an Atheist say there is no such thing as good nature in the world because that is apt to be abused nor any such thing as love because that may be cheated as that religion is nothing but a design because men may make it stalke to their private ends Thus we see how the Atheist by the force of those principles on which he denyes a God must be forced to deny other things which yet by his own confession are apparently true So I come to the third Proposition which is That we have as certain evidence that there is a God as we can have considering his nature When we demand the proof of a thing our first eye must be to the nature of the thing which we desire may be proved For things equally true are not capable of equal evidence nor have like manners of probation There is no demonstration in Euclide will serve to prove that there are such places as the Indies we cannot prove the earth is round by the judgement of sense nor that the soul is immortal by corporeal phantasmes Every distinct kind of Being hath its peculiar way of probation and therefore it ought not to be at all wondered at if the Supreme and infinite Being have his peculiar way of demonstrating himself to the minds of men If then we have as evident proofs of the existence of God as we can have considering the infinity of his nature it is all which in reason we can desire and of that kind of proofs we have these following For 1. If God hath stamped an universal character of himself upon the minds of men 2. If the things in the world are the manifest effects of infinite wisdome goodness and power 3. If there be such things in the world which are unaccountable without a Deity then we may with safety and assurance conclude that there is a God 1. That God hath imprinted an universal character of himself on the minds of men and that may be known by two things 1. If it be such as bears the same importance among all persons 2. If it be such as cannot be mistaken for the character of any thing else 1. I begin with the first whereby I shall prove this character to be universal because the whole world hath consented in it This argument we may rely on with the greater security because it was the only argument which retained the Deity in the ancient School of Epicurus which could he have thought of as easie way of evading it as he thought he had found out as to the Origine of the universe he was no such great friend to the very name of a God as to have retained it as an Anticipation or Prolepsis of humane nature And this argument from the universal consent of the world was that which bore the greatest sway among the Philosophers who went by nothing but dictates of natural light which they could not so clearly discover in any things as in those which all mankind did unanimously consent in Two things I shall make out this by 1. That no sufficient account can be given of so universal a consent unless it be supposed to be the voyce of nature 2. That the dissent of any particular persons is not sufficient to controul so universal an agreement 1. That no sufficient account of it can be given but only by asserting it to be a dictate of nature In so strange a dissent as there hath been in the world concerning most of those things which relate to mankinde in common as the models of government the Laws they are ruled by the particular rites and customs of worship we have the greatest reason to judge that those common principles which were the foundations on which all these several different customs were built were not the effect of any positive Laws nor the meer force of principles of education but something which had a deeper root and foundation in the principles of nature
ORIGINES SACRAE OR A Rational Account of the Grounds OF Christian Faith AS TO THE TRUTH AND Divine Authority OF THE SCRIPTURES And the matters therein contained By EDWARD STILLINGFLEET Rector of Sutton in Bedfordshire 2 Pet. 1. 16. For we have not followed cunningly devised Fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ but were eye-witnesses of his Majesty Neque religio ulla sine sapientia suscipienda est nec ulla sine religione probanda sapientia Lactant. de fals relig cap. 1. LONDON Printed by R. W. for Henry Mortlock at the sign of the Phoenâ—â— in St. Pauls Church-yard near the little North-door 1662. To his most Honoured Friend and Patron Sr. ROGER BURGOINE Knight and Baronet Sir IT was the early felicitie of Moses when exposed in an Ark of Nilotick papyre to be adopted into the favour of so great a personage as the Daughter of Pharaoh Such another Ark is this vindication of the writings of that Divine and excellent Person exposed to the world in and the greatest ambition of the Author of it is to have it received into your Patronage and Protection But although the contexture and frame of this Treatise be far below the excellency and worth of the subject as you know the Ark in which Moses was put was of bulrushes daubed with slime and pitch yet when You please to cast your eye on the matter contained in it you will not think it beneath your Favour and unworthy your Protection For if Truth be the greatest Present which God could bestow or man receive according to that of Plurarch 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 then certainly those Truths deserve our most ready acceptance which are in themselves of greatest importance and have the greatest evidence that they come from God And although I have had the happiness of so near relation to You acquaintance with You as to know how little You need such discourses which tend to settle the Foundations of Religion which you have raised so happy a Superstructure upon yet withal I consider what particular Kindness the souls of all good men bear to such Designs whose end is to assert and vindicate the Truth and Excellency of Religion For those who are enriched themselves with the inestimable Treasure of true Goodness and Piety are far from that envious temper to think nothing valuable but what they are the sole Possessors of but such are the most satisfied themselves when they see others not only admire but enjoy what they have the highest estimation of Were all who make a shew of Religion in the World really such as they pretend to be discourses of this nature vvould be no more seasonable then the commendations of a great Beauty to one vvho is already a passionate admirer of it but on the contrary vve see how common it is for men first to throw dirt in the face of Religion and then perswade themselves it is its natural Complexion they represent it to themselves in a shape least pleasing to them and then bring that as a Plea why they give it no better entertainment It may justly seem strange that true Religion which contains nothing in it but what is truly Noble and Generous most rational and pleasing to the spirits of all good men should yet suffer so much in its esteem in the world through those strange and uncouth vizards it is represented under Some accouting the life and practice of it as it speaks subduing our wills to the will of God which is the substance of all Religion a thing too low and mean for their rank and condition in the World while others pretend a quarrel against the principles of it as unsatisfactory to Humane reason Thus Religion suffers with the Author of it between two Thieves and it is hard to define which is more injurious to it that which questions the Principles or that which despiseth the Practice of it And nothing certainly will more incline men to believe that we live in an Age of Prodigies then that there should be any such in the Christian World who should account it a piece of Gentility to despise Religion and a piece of Reason to be Atheists For if there be any such things in the World as a true height and magnanimity of spirit if there be any solid reason and depth of judgement they are not only consistent with but only attainable by a true generous spirit of Religion But if we look at that which the loose and profane World is apt to account the greatest gallantry we shall find it made up of such pitiful Ingredients which any skilful rational mind will be ashamed to plead for much less to mention them in competition with true goodness and unfeigned piety For how easie is it to observe such who would be accounted the most high and gallant spirits to quarry on such mean preys which only tend to satisfie their brutish appetites or flesh revenge with the blood of such who have stood in the way of that ayery title Honour Or else they are so little apprehensive of the in ward worth and excellency of humane nature that they seem to envy the gallantry of Peacocks and strive to outvy them in the gayety of their Plumes such vvho are as seneca saith ad similitudinem parietum extrinsecùs culti vvho imitate the walls of their houses in the fairness of the outsides but matter not vvhat rubbish there lies within The utmost of their ambition is to attain enervatam felicitatem quâ permadescunt animi such a felicity as evigorates the soul by too long steeping it being the nature of all terrestrial pleasures that they do 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by degrees consume reason by effeminating and softening the Intellectuals Must we appeal then to the judgement of Sardanapalus concerning the nature of Felicity or enquire of Apicius what temperance is or desire that Sybarite to define Magnanimity who fainted to see a man at hard labour Or doth now the conquest of passions forgiving injuries doing good self-denial humility patience under crosses which are the real expressions of piety speak nothing more noble generous then a luxurious malicious proud and impatient spirit Is there nothing more becoming and agreeable to the soul of man in exemplary Piety and a Holy well-orderd Conversation then in the lightness and vanity not to say rudeness and debaucheries of those whom the world accounts the greatest gallants Is there nothing more graceful and pleasing in the sweetness candour and ingenuity of a truly Christian temper and disposition then in the revengeful implacable spirit of such whose Honour lives and is fed by the Blood of their enemies Is it not more truly honourable and glorious to serve that God who commands the World then to be a slave to those passions and lusts which put men upon continual hard service and torment them for it when they have done it Were there nothing else to commend Religion
that perish If now the weight and consequence of the subject and the too great seasonableness of it if the common fame of the large spread of Atheism among us be true be not sufficient Apology for the publishing this Book I am resolved rather to undergo thy censure tben be beholding to any other The intendment therefore of this Preface is only to give a brief account of the scope design and method of the following Books although the view of the Contents of the Chapters might sufficiently acquains thee with it How far I have been either from transeribing or a design to excusse out of the hands of their admirers the several writings on the behalf of Religion in general or Christianity in particular especially Mornay Groâ—ius Amyraldus c. may easily appear by comparing what is contained in their Books and this together Had I not thought something might be said if not more fully and rationally yet more suitably to the present temper of this Age then what is already written by them â—thou hadst not been troubled with this Preface much less with the whole Book But as the tempers and Genius 's of Ages and Times alier so do the arms and wâ—npons which â—â—theists imploy against Religion the most papular pretences of the Atheists of our Age have been the irreconcileableness of the account of Times in Scripture with that of the learned and ancient Heathen Nations the inconsistency of the belief of the Scriptures with the principles of reason and the account which may be given of the Origine of things from principles of Philosophy without the Scriptures These three therefore I have particularly set my self against and directed against each of them a several Book In the first I have manifested that there is no ground of credibility in the account of ancient times given by any Heathen Nations different from the Scriptures which I have with so much care and diligence enquired into that from thence we may hope to hear no more of men before Adam to salve the Authority of the Scriptures by which yet was intended only as a design to undermine them but I have not thought the frivolous pretences of the Author of that Hypothesis worth particular mentioning supposing it sufficient to give a clear account of things without particular citation of Authors where it was not of great concernment for understanding the thing its self In the second Book I have undertaken to give a rational account of the grounds why we are to believe those several persons who in several ages were imployed to reveal the mind of God to the world and with greater particularity then hath yet been used I have insisted on the persons of Moses and the Prophets our Saviour and his Apostles and in every of them manifested the rational evidences on which they were to be believed not only by the men of their own Age but by those of succeeding Generations In the third Book I have insisted on the matters themselves which are either supposed by or revealed in the Scriptures and have therein not only manifested the certainty of the foundations of all Religion which lye in the Being of God and Immortality of the soul but the undoubted truth of those particular accounts concerning the Origine of the Universe of Evil and of Nations which were most lyable to the Atheists exceptions and have therein considered all the pretences of Philosophy ancient or modern which have seemed to contradict any of them to which mant ssae loco I have added the evidence of Scripture History in the remainders of it in Heathen Mythology and concluded all with a discourse of the excellency of the Scriptures Thus having given a brief view of the design and method of the whole I submit it to every free and unprejudiced judgement All the favour then I shall request of thee is to read seriously and judge impartially and then I doubt not but thou wilt see as much reason for Religion as I do THE CONTENTS BOOK I. CHAP. I. The obscurity and defect of Ancient History THE knowledge of truth proved to be the most natural perfection of the rational soul yet error often mistaken for truth the accounts of it Want of diligence in its search the mixture of truth and fâ—lshood Thence comes either rejecting truth for the errors sake or embracing the error for the truths sake the first instanced in Heathen Philosophers the second in vulgar Heathen Of Philosophical Atheism and the grounds of it The History of Antiquity very obscure The question stated where the true History of ancient times to be found in Heathen Histories or only in Scripture The want of credibility in Heathen Histories asserted and proved by the general defect for want of timely records among Heathen Nations the reason of it shewed from the first Plantations of the World The manner of them discovered The Original of Civil Government Of Hicroglyphicks The use of letters among the Greeks no elder then Cadmus his time enquired into no elder then Joshua the learning brought into Greece by him page 1 CHAP. II. Of the Phoenician and Aegyptian History The particular defect in the History of the most learned Heathen Nations First the Phoenicians Of Sanchoniathon his Antiquity and Fidelity Of Jerom-baal Baal-Berith The Antiquity of Tyre Scaliger vindicated against Bâ—chartus Abibalus The vanity of Phoenician Theology The imitation of it by the Gnosticks Of the Aegyptian History The Antiquity and Authority of Hermes Trismegistus Of his Inscriptions on Pillars transcribed by Manetho His Fabulousness thence discovered Terra Seriadica Of Seths Pillars in Josephus and an account whence they are taken pag. 25 CHAP. III. Of the Chaldean History The contest of Antiquity among Heathen Nations and the ways of deciding it Of the Chaldean Astrology and the foundation of Iudicial Astrology Of the Zabiâ— their Founder who they were no other then the old Chaldees Of Berosus and his History An account of the fabulous Dynastyes of Berosus and Manetho From the Translation of the Scripture history into Greek in the time of Prolomy Of that translation and the time of it Of Demetrius Phalereus Scaligers arguments answered Manetho writ after the Septuagint proved against Kircher his arguments answered Of Rabbinical and Arabick Authors and their little credit in matter of history The time of Berosus enquired into his writing co-temporary with Philadelphus pag. 40 CHAP. IV. The defect of the Graecian History That manifested by three evident arguments of it 1. The fabulousness of the Poetical age of Greece The Antiquity of Poetry Of Orpheus and the ancient Poets Whence the Poetical Fables borrowed The advancement of Poetry and Idolatry together in Greece The different censures of Strabo and Eratosthenes concerning the Poetical age of Greece and the reasons of them 2. The eldest historians of Greece are of suspected credit Of Damastes Aristeus and others of most of their eldest Historians we have nothing left but their names of others only the
away the rational grounds of faith and placing it on self-evidence Of the self-evidence of the Scriptures and the insufficiency of that for resolving the question about the authority of the Scriptures Of the pretended miracles of Impostors and false Christs as Barchochebas David el David and others The rules whereby to judge true miracles from false 1. True Divine miracles are wrought to confirm a Divine testimony No miracles necâ—ssary for the certain conveyance of a Divine testimony proved from the evidences that the Scriptures could not be corrupted 2. No miracles Divine which contradict Divine revelation Of Popish miracles 3. Divine miracles leave Divine effects on those who believe them Of the miracles of Simon Magus 4. Divine miracles tend to the overthrow of the devils power in the world the antipathy of the doctrine of Christ to the devils designs in the world 5. The distinction of true miracles from others from the circumstances and manner of their operation The miracles of Christ compared with those of the Hâ—athen Gods 6. God makes it evident to all impartial judgments that Divine miracles exceed created power This manifested from the unparalleld miracles of Moses and our Saviour From all which the rational evidence of Divine revelation is manifested as to the persons whom God imployes to teach the world pag. 334 BOOK III. CHAP. I. Of the Being of God The Principles of all Religion lie in the Being of God and immortality of the soul from them the necessity of a particular Divine revelation rationally deduced the method laid down for proving the Divine authority of the Scriptures Why Moses doth not prove the Being of God but suppose it The notion of a Deity very consonant to reason Of the nature of Idea's and particularly of the Idea of God How we can form an Idea of an infinite Being How far such an Idea argues existence The great unreasonableness of Atheism demonstrated Of the Hypotheses of the Aristotelian and Epicurean Atheists The Atheists pretences examined and refuted Of the nature of the arguments whereby we prove there is a God Of universal consent and the evidence of that to prove a Deity and immortality of souls Of necessity of existence implyed in the notion of God and how far that proves the Being of God The order of the world and usefulness of the parts of it and especially of mans body an argument of a Deity Some higher principle proved to be in the world then matter and motion The nature of the soul and possibility of its subsisting after death Strange appearances in nature not solvable by the power of imagination pag. 360 CHAP. II. Of the Origine of the Universe The necessity of the belief of the creation of the world in order to the truth of Religion Of the several Hypotheses of the Philosophers who contradict Moses with a particular examination of them The ancïent tradition of the world consonant to Moses proved from the fonick Philosophy of Thales and the Italick of Pythagoras The Pythagorick Cabbala rather Aegyptian then Mosaick Of the fluid matter which was the material principle of the universe Of the Hypothesis of the eternity of the world asserted by Ocellus Lucanus and Aristotle The weakness of the foundations on which that opinion is built Of the manner of forming principles of Philosophy The possibility of creation proved No arguing from the present state of the world against its beginning shewed from Maimonides The Platonists arguments from the goodness of God for the eternity of the world answered Of the Stoical Hypothesis of the eternity of matter whether reconcilable with the text of Moses Of the opinions of Plato and Pythagoras concerning the praeexistence of matter to the formation of the world The contradiction of the eternity of matter to the nature and attributes of God Of the Atomical Hypothesis of the Origine of the Universe The World could not be produced by a casual concourse of Atoms proved from the nature and motion of Epicurus his Atoms and the Phaenomena of the Universe especially the production and nature of Animals Of the Cartesian Hypothesis that it cannot salve the Origine of the Universe without a Deity giving motion to matter pag. 421 CHAP. III. Of the Origine of Evil. Of the Being of Providence Epicurus his arguments against it refuted The necessity of the belief of Providence in order to Religion Providence proved from a consideration of the nature of God and the things of the world Of the Spirit of nature The great objections against Providence propounded The first concerns the Origine of evil God cannot be the author of sin if the Scriptures be true The account which the Scriptures give of the fall of man doth not charge God with mans fault Gods power to govern man by Laws though he gives no particular reason of every Positive precept The reason of Gods creating man with freedom of will largely shewed from Simplicius and the true account of the Origine of evil Gods permitting the fall makes him not the author of it The account which the Scriptures give of the Origine of evil compared with that of heathen Philosophers The antiquity of the opinion of ascribing the Origine of evil to an evil principle Of the judgment of the Persians Aegyptians and others about it Of Manichaism The opinion of the ancient Greek Philosophers of Pythagoras Plato the Stoicks the Origine of evil not from the necessity of matter The remainders of the history of the fall among the Heathens Of the malignity of Daemons Providence vindicated as to the sufferings of the good and impunity of bad men An account of both from natural light manifested by Seneca Plutarch and others pag. 470 CHAP. IV. Of the Origine of Nations All mankind derived from Adam if the Scriptures be true The contrary supposition an introduction to Atheism The truth of the history of the flood The possibility of an universal deluge proved The flood universal as to mankind whether universal as to the earth and animals no necessity of asserting either Yet supposing the possibility of it demonstrated without creation of new waters Of the fountains of the deep The proportion which the height of mountains bears to the Diameter of the earth No mountains much above three mile perpendicular Of the Origine of fountains The opinion of Aristotle and others concerning it discussed The true account of them from the vapours arising from the mass of subterraneous waters Of the capacity of the Ark for receiving the Animals from Buteo and others The truth of the deluge from the Testimony of Heathen Nations Of the propagation of Nations from Noahs posterity Of the beginning of the Assyrian Empire The multiplication of mankind after the flood Of the Chronology of the LXX Of the time between the flood and Abraham and the advantages of it Of the pretence of such Nations who called themselves Aborigines A discourse concerning the first plantation of Greece the common opinion propounded and
rejected The Hellens not the first inhabitants of Greece but the Pelasgi The large spread of them over the parts of Greece Of their language different from the Greeks Whence these Pelasgi came that Phaleg was the Pelasgus of Greece and the leader of that Colony proved from Epiphanius the language of the Pelasgi in Greece Oriental thence an account given of the many Hebrew words in the Greek language and the remainders of the Eastern languages in the Islands of Greece both which not from the Phaenicians as Bochartus thinks but from the old Pelasgi Of the ground of the affinity between the Jews and Lacedaemonians Of the peopling of America pag. 533 CHAP. V. Of the Origine of the Heathen Mythology That there were some remainders of the ancient history of the world preserved in the several Nations after the dispersion How it came to be corrupted by decay of knowledge increase of Idolatry confusion of languages An enquiry into the cause of that Difficulties against the common opinion that languages were confounded at Babel Those difficulties cleared Of the fabulousness of Poets The particular ways whereby the Heathen Mythology arose Attributing the general history of the World to their own Nation The corruption of Hebraisms Alteration of names Ambiguity of sense in the Oriental languages Attributing the actions of many to one person as in Jupiter Bacchus c. The remainders of Scripture history among the Heathens The names of God Chaos formation of man among the Phaenicians Of Adam among the Germans Aegyptians Cilicians Adam under Saturn Cain among the Phaenicians Tubalcain and Jubal under Vulcan and Apollo Naamah under Minerva Noah under Saturn Janus Prometheus and Bacchus Noahs three sons under Jupiter Neptune and Pluto Canaan under Mercury Nimrod under Bacchus Magog under Prometheus Of Abraham and Isaac among the Phaenicians Jacobs service under Apollo's The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from Bethel Joseph under Apis. Moses under Bacchus Joshua under Hercules Balaam under the old Silenus pag. 577 CHAP. VI. Of the Excellency of the Scriptures Concerning matters of pure divine revelation in Scripture the terms of Salvation only contained therein The ground of the disesteem of the Scriptures is tacite unbelief The Excellency of the Scriptures manifested as to the matters which God hath revealed therein The excellency of the discoveries of Gods nature which are in Scripture Of the goodness and love of God in Christ. The suitableness of those discoveryes of God to our natural notions of a Deity The necessity of Gods making known himself to us in order to the regulating our conceptions of him The Scriptures give the fullest account of the state of mens souls and the corruptions which are in them The only way of pleasing God discovered in Scriptures The Scriptures contain matters of greatest mysteriousness and most universal satisfaction to mens minds The excellency of the manner wherein things are revealed in Scriptures in regard of clearness authority purity uniformity and perswasiveness The excellency of the Scriptures as a rule of life The nature of the duties of Religion and the reasonableness of them The greatness of the encouragements to Religion contained in the Scriptures The great excellency of the Scriptures as containing in them the Covenant of Grace in order to mans Salvation pag. 599 ERRATA PAge 11. l. 15. r. existence p. 17. l. 28. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 21. l. 19. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 22. l. 21. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 27. l. 14. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 31. l. 2. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 35. l. 16. r. 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The obscurity and defect of Ancient History The knowledge of truth proved to be the most natural perfection of the rational soul yet error often mistaken for truth the accounts of it Want of diligence in its search the mixture of truth and falshood Thence comes either rejecting truth for the errors sake or embracing the error for the truths sake the first instanced in Heathen Philosophers the second in vulgar Heathen Of Philosophical Atheism and the grounds of it The History of Antiquity very obscure The question stated where the true History of ancient times to be found in Heathen Histories or only in Scripture The want of credibility in Heathen Histories asserted and proved by
convince them of that which they believed already For we never read among all the revolts of the people of the Iews that they were lapsed so far as totally to reject the Law of Moses which had been to alter the constitution of their Commonwealth although they did enormously offend against the Precepts of it and that in those things wherein the honour of God was mainly concernd as is most plain in their frequent and gross Idolatry Which we are not so to understand as though they wholly cast off the worship of the true God but they superinduced as the Samaritans did the worship of Heathen Idols with that of the God of Israel But when the revolt grew so great and dangerous that it was ready to swallow up the true worship of God unless some apparent evidence were given of the falsity of those Heathen mixtures and further confirmation of the truth of the established religion it pleased God sometimes to send his Prophets on this peculiar message to the main instruments of this revolt As is most conspicuous in that dangerous design of Ieroboam when he out of a Politick end set up his two calves in opposition to the Temple at Ierusalem and therein it was the more dangerous in that in all probability he designed not the alteration of the worship it self but the establishment of it in Dan and Bethel For his interest lay not in drawing of the people from the worship of God but from his worship at Ierusalem which was contrary to his design of Cantonizing the Kingdom and taking the greatest share to himself Now that God might confirm his peoples faith in this dangerous juncture of time he sends a Prophet to Bethel who by the working of present miracles there viz. the renting the Altar and withering of Jeroboams hand did manifest to them that these Altars were displeasing to God and that the true place of worship was at Ierusalem So in that famous fire-Ordeal for trying the truth of religion between God and Baal upon mount Carmel by Elijah God was pleased in a miraculous way to give the most prâ—gnant testimony to the truth of his own worship by causing a fire to come down from heaven and consume the sacrifice by which the Priests of Baal were confounded and the people confirmed in the belief of the only true God for presently upon the sight of this miracle the people fall on their faces and say the Lord he is God the Lord he is God Whereby we plainly see what clear evidence is given to the truth of that religion which is attested with a power of miracles Thus the widdow of Sarepta which was in the Country of Zidon was brought to believe Elijah to be a true Prophet by his raising up her son to life And the woman said to Elijah Now by this I know that thou art a man of God and that the Word of the Lord by thy mouth is truth So we see how Naaman was convinced of the true God by his miraculous cure in Iordan by the appointment of Elisha Behold now I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel by which instances it is demonstrable that either the faith of all these persons was built upon weak and insufficient grounds or that a power of miracles is an evident confirmation of the truth of that religion which is established by them For this we see was the great end for which God did improve any of his Prophets to work miracles viz. to be as an evident demonstration of the truth of what was revealed by him So that this power of miracles is not meerly a motive of credibility or a probable inducement to remove prejudice from the person as many of our Divines speak but it doth contain an evident demonstration to common sense of the truth of that religion which is confirmed by them And thus we assert it to have been in the case of Moses the truth of whose message was attested both among the Aegyptians and the Israelites by that power of miracles which he had But herein we have the great Patrons of Moses our greatest enemies viz the present Iews who by reason of their emnity to the doctrine of Christ which was attested by unparalleld miracles are grown very shy of the argument drawn from thence In so much that their great Dr. Maimonides layes down this for a confident maxime 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Israelites did not believe in Moses our Master for the sake of the miracles which he wrought Did they not the more shame for them and if they did the more shame for this great Rabbi thus to bely them But the reason he gives for it is because there may remain some suspition in ones mind that all miracles may be wrought by a power of Magick or Incantation Say you so what when Moses confounded all the Magicians in Aegypt and made themselves who were the most cunning in these things confess it was the finger of God and at last give out as not able to stand before Moses might one still suspect all this to be done by a Magical power Credat Iudaeus Apella non ego This is much like what another of their Doctors sayes whom they call the Divine Philosopher that Elisha his raising the child to life and curing Naamans leprosie and Daniels escaping the Lions and Ionas out of the Whales belly might all come to pass by the influence of the stars or by Pythonisme Very probable but it is most true which Vortius there observes of the Iews nibil non nugacissimi mortalium fingunt ne cogantur agnoscere virtute ac digito quasi ipsius Dei Iesum nostrum effecisse miracula sua All their design in this is only to elevate the miracles of our blessed Saviour and to derogate all they can from the belief of them Hence they tell us that nothing is so easie to be done as miracles the meer recital of the tetragrammaton will work wonders that by this Ieremiah and our Saviour did all their miracles It is well yet that he did more then one of their own Prophets had done before him but where I wonder do we read that ever the pronouncing of four letters raised one from the dead who had lain four dayes in the grave or by what power did Christ raise himself from the dead which was the greatest miracle of all could his dead body pronounce the tetragrammaton to awaken its self with But Maimonides further tells us that the miracles which Moses wrought among the Israelites were meerly for necessity and not to prove the truth of his Divine commission for which he instanceth in dividing the red sea the raining of Manna and the destruction of Corah and his complices But setting aside that these two latter were the immediate hand of God and not miracles done by Moses yet it is evidence that the intent of them was to manifest a Divine
of reason to tell us that the soul cannot subsist after death without the boay from what Philosophy was this derived certainly from that which was very loth to acknowledge the immortality of the soul of man And any one who strictly observes the close coherence of the principles of the Peripatetick Philosophy will find very little room left for an eternal being to interpose its self in the world and therefore some have shrewdly observed that Aristotle speaks more favourably of the being of God in his Exotericks then in his Acroamaticks which all that know the reason of the names will guess at the reason of I demand then must the received principles of Philosophy and those short imperfect Theories which were formed more from tradition then experience by the ancient Greeks be taken for the standard of reason or no If they must we may soon forsake not only the sublimer mysteries of the Trinity Divinity of Christ Resurrection c. but we shall soon shake hands with Creation Providence if not immortality of souls and the Being of God himself If these things be disowned as the standard of reason let us know what will be substituted in the room of them and what Laws our faith must be tryed by Are they only Mathematical demonstrations or the undoubted common notions of humane nature which whosoever understands assents to them let any of the forementioned mysteries be made appear to contradict these and we will readily yield up our selves captives to reason But in the mean time let no jejune unproved hypotheses in Philosophy be set as Iudges over matters of faith whose only warrant for that office must be Stat pro ratione voluntas Let the principles we proceed by be first manifested to be collected from a most certain and universal inspection into the nature of all beings let the manner of process be shewed how they were collected lest they labour with the common fault of the Chymists of establishing hypostatical principles from the experiments of some particular bodies which others do as evidently refute and lastly let it be made appear that these principles thus collected will serve indifferently for all beings spiritual as well as material infinite as well as finite and when this Task is exactly performed we will make room for Reason to sit upon the Bench and bring the Scriptures as the Prisoner to its Bar. Fourthly According to this principle what certainty can we have at all of anything we are to believe who hath fixed the bounds of that which men call reason how shall we know that thus far it will come and no further If no banks be raised against it to keep it in its due channel we may have cause to fear it may in time overthrow not only the Trinity Incarnation Resurrection of the dead but all other articles of the creed too What prescription can be pleaded by one sort of men for reason more then for another One will not believe this article of his faith because against his reason and why not another reject another article on the same pretence for whatever the ground of unbelief be if it be but baptized by the name of reason it must by this principle pass uncontrouled if a sullen Philosopher shall tell us that the notion of an immaterial substance contradicts his reason as much as the Trinity doth theirs and that the Universe is nothing else but a Systeme of bodies by what Artifice will our Masters of reason purge away all that black choler that so clouds his mind that he cannot see the notion of a spirit through it And such one will make a hard shift but he will reconcile his opinion with Scripture too and therefore why should he be bound up to mens explications of Scripture when there is no necessity that he can see of understanding it in any other way then his own If another should come and tell us that we must be all Anthropomorphites and that otherwise the Scripture were not intelligible shall not this man put in for reason too Nay lastly if another shall come and speak out and tell us Religion is but a device of subtle men that all things come to pass through chance that the world was made by a fortuitous concourse of Atoms and that all are fools which are not Atheists and that it is impossible to apprehend the Being of a God and therefore by the same reason that they reject some mysteries of Religion he rejects the foundation of all because an infinite being is incomprehensible whither now hath our Reason carried us while we pâ—etend to reject any thing as divinely revealed meerly on that account that it is above our reason But it may be replied On what account then do we reject the Doctrine of Transubstantiation and the ubiquity of the body of Christ as repugnant to reason if we do not make reason judge in matters of faith I answer 1. We reject these opinions not only as repugnant to reason but as insufficiently proved from Scripture whereas we here suppose it not being our present business to prove it that the several doctrines of the Trinity Incarnation Resurrection of bodies c. are only rejected on that account that though Scripture seems to speak fair for them yet it is otherwise to be interpreted because supposed to be repugnant to reason 2. Those doctrines before mentioned are eminently serviceable to promote the great end of the Gospel and are inlaid in the very foundation oâ— it as that of the Trinity and Divinity of Christ but these we now mention are no ways conduceable to that end but seem to thwart and overthrow it and transubstantiation establisheth a way of worship contrary to the Gospel 3. All the foundation of transubstantiation is laid upon ambiguous places of Scripture which must of necessity have some Tropes and Figures in them but the doctrine of the Trinity is not only contained in plain Scripture but is â—videnced by visible appearance as particularly at the baptism of our Saviour 4. There is far greater ground why we should reject Transubstantiation and ubiquity as inconsistent with reason then that they should the Trinity on this account because the grounds of reason on which we reject those opinions are fetâ—hed from those essential and inseparable properties of bodies which are inconsistent with those opinions now these are things within the reach of our understandings in which case God himself sometimes appeals to reason but it is quite another case when we search into the incomprehensible nature of God and pronounce with confidence that such things cannot be in God because we cannot comprehend them which gives a sufficient answer to this objection The substance then of this discourse is that whatever dâ—ctrine is sufficiently manifested to be of divine revelation is to be embraced and believed as undoubtedly true though our reason cannot reach to the full apprehension of all the Modes and circumstances of it So that as to these sublime
them that believe In my name shall they cast out Devils c. This power then in the Primitive Church had a twofold argument in it both as it was a manifestation of the truth of the predictions of our Saviour and as it was an evidence of the Divine power of Christ when his name so long after his ascension had so great a command over all the infernal spirits and that so evidently that at that time when the Christians did as it were Tyrannize over Satan so in his own territories yet then the greatest of his Magicians had no power to hurt the bodyes of the Christians which is a thing Origen takes much notice of For when Celsus saith from Diogenes Aegyptius that Magick could only hurt ignorant and wicked men and had no power over Philosophers Origen replies first that Philosophy was no such charm against the power of Magick as appears by Maeragenes who writ the story of Apollonius Tyaneus the famous Magician and Philosopher who therein mentions how Euphrates and an Epicurean 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 no vulgar Philosophers were catched by the Magick of Apollonius and although Philostratus disowns this History of Maeragenes as fabulous yet he that thinks Philostratus for that to be of any greater credit is much deceived of whom Lud. Vives gives this true character that he doth magna Homeri mendacia majoribus mendaciis corrigere mend one hole and make three but saith Origen as to the Christians this is undoubtedly true 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This saith he we are most certain of and have found it by experience true that those who according to the principles of Christianity do worship God over all through Iesus and do live according to the Gospel being constant in their solemn prayers night and day are not obnoxious to the power of any Magick or Devils whatsoever Now then if the Devil who had then so much power over others had none upon the true followers of Christ and if in stead of that they had so great a commanding power over the Devil even in things which tended most to his disadvantage not only dislodging him out of bodies â—â—t out of his Idolatrous Temples what can be more evident then that this power which was so efficacious for the overthrowing the Kingdom of Satan must needs be far greater then the power of Satan is For it is an undoubted Maxime in natural reason that whatever is put out of its former place by force and violence is extruded by something stronger then its self for if the force on either side were equal there could be no disposses sing of either if any thing then be cast out of its former possession unwillingly it is an undenyable proof there was some power greater then his who was dispossessed Now we cannot conceive if there be such malignant spirits as by many undeniable proofs it is evident there are that they should willingly quit their possessions to such a doctrine which tends to the unavoydable ruine of their interest in the world if then the power of this doctrine hath overthrown the Devils Kingdom in the world whereever it hath been truly entertained it must necessarily follow that this power is far above the power of any damned spirits Now what folly and madness was it in the Heathens to worship those for Gods which they could not but see if they would open their eyes were under so great slavery to a power above them which could make them confess what was most to their disadvantage in the presence of their great adorers Neither ought the many counterfeits and impostures which have been in the world in this kind since the establishment of Christian Religion among the advancers of particular interests and designs make us suspect the truth of those things which were done in the first Ages of the Church of Christ. For first it stands to the greatest reason that the strongest arguments for the truth of a Religion ought to be fetched from the ages of its first appearance in the world if then the evidence be undoubted as to those first times we ought to embrace our Religion as true whatever the impostures have been among those who have apparently gone aside from that purity and simplicity of the Gospel which had so great power Then secondly if all that hath been done in this kind of ejecting Devils where Christianity is owned be acknowledged for impostures one of these two things must be supposed as the ground of it either that there was no such thing as a real possession by the Devil or else there was no such thing as a dispossessing him If the first then hereby will be seen a confirmation of our former argument that where Christianity is owned by the power of that the Devil is more curbed and restrained then where it is not or else is much over-run with ignorance and superstition Of the latter the ages of the Christian Church from the 10. Century to the beginning of the 16. current are a clear evidence Of the first all those who have been conversant in the places where Paganism or gross Idolatry do yet reign will bring in their creditable testimonies how tyrannical the power of the Devil is yet among them If it be not so then where careful endeavours have been used for retriving the ancient pâ—rity of Christian doctrine and worship we ought to impute it to the power of him who is stronger then Satan who whereever he comes to dwell doth dispossess him of his former habitations If the second then be entertained as the ground of concluding all things as impostures which are accounted dispossessions of Satan viz. that he never is really dispossessed then it must either be said that where he is once seized there is no possibility of ejecting him which is to say that the Devil hath an absolute and infinite power and that there is no power greater then his which is to own him for God or else that God suffers him to tyrannize where and how he will which is contrary to divine providence and the care God takes of the world and of the good of mankind or else lastly that those persons who pretend to do it are not such persons who are armed so much with the power of Christ nor possessed with such a due spirit of the Gospel which hath command over these infernal spirits And this in the cases pretended by the great Iuglers and Impostors of the Christian world the Popish Priests have been so notorious that none of their own party of any great faith or credit would stand to vouch them And we have this impregnable argument against all such Impostures that the matters which they by such actions would give an evidence to being so vastly different from if not in some things diametrically opposite to the first delivery and design of the Christian faith it is inconsistent with the way used for the confirmation of Christian Religion in the first publishing of
it to attest the truth of such things by any real miracles For so it would invalidate the great force of the evidences of the truth of Christianity if the same argument should be used for the proving of that which in the judgement of any impartial person was not delivered when the truth of the doctriâ—e of Christ was confirmed by so many and uncontrouled miracles But hereby we see what unconceivable prejudice hath been done to the true primitive doctrine of the Gospel and what stumbling-blocks have been laid in the way of considerative persons to keep them from embracing the truly Christian faith by those who would be thought the infallible directors of men in it by making use of the broad-seal of Heaven set only to the truth of the Scriptures to confirm their unwritten and superstitious ways of worship For if I once see that which I looked on as an undoubted evidence of divine power brought to attest any thing directly contrary to divine revelation I must either conclude that God may contradict himself by sealing both parts of a contradiction which is both blasphemous and impossible or that that society of men which own such things is not at all tender of the honour of Christain doctrine but seeks to set up an interest contrary to it and matters not what disadvantage is done to the grounds of Râ—ligion by such unworthy pretences and which of these two is more rational and true let every ones conscience judge And therefore it is much the interest of the Christian world to have all such frauds and impostures discovered which do so much disservice to the Christian faith and are such secret fomenters of Atheism and Infidelity But how far that promise of our Saviour that they which believe in his name shall cast out Devils and do many miracles may extend even in these last ages of the world to such generous and primitive-spirited Christians who out of a great and deep sense of the truth of Christianity and tenderness to the souls of men should go among Heathens and Infidels to convert them only to Christ and not to a secular interest under pretence of an infallible head is not here a place fully to enquire I confess I cannot see any reason why God may not yet for the conviction of Infidels employ such a power of miracles although there be not such necessity of it as there was in the first propagation of the Gospel there being some evidences of the power of Christianity now which were not so clear then as the overthrowing the Kingdom of Satan in the world the prevailing of Christianity notwithstanding force used against it the recovâ—ry of it from amidst all the corruptions which were mixed with it the consent of those parties in the common foundations of Christianity which yet disagreâ— froâ— each other with great bitternâ—ss of spirit though I say it be not of that necessity now when the Scriptures are convâ—yed to us in a certain uninterrupted manner yet God may please out of his abundant provision for the satisfaction of the minds of men concerning the truth of Christian doctrine to employ good men to do something which may manifest the power of Christ to be above the Dâ—vils whom they worship And therefore I should far sooner believe the relation of the miracles of Xaverius and his Brethren employed in the conversion of Infidels then Lipsius his Virgo Hallensis and Asprecollis could it but be made evident to me that the design of those persons had more of Christianity then Popery in it that is that they went more upon a design to bring the souls of the Infidels to heaven then to enlarge the authority and jurisdiction of the Roman Church But whatever the truth of those miracles or the design of those persons were we have certain and undoubted evidence of the truth of those miracles whereby Christianity was first propagated and the Kingdom of Satan overthrown in the world Christ thereby making it appear that his power was greater then the Devils who had possession because he overcame him took from him all his armour wherein he trusted and divided his spoils i. e. dispossâ—ssed him of mens bodies and his Idolatrous Temples silenced his Oracles nonplust his Magicians and at last when Christianity had overcome by suffering wrested the worldly power and Empire out of the Devils hands and employed it against himself Neither may we think because since that time the Devil hath got some ground in the world again by the large spread of Mahometism the general corruptions in the Christian world that therefore the other was no argument of divine power because the truth of Christianity is not tyed to any particular places because such a falling away hath been foretold in Scripture and therefore the truth of them is proved by it and because God himself hath threatned that those who will not receive the truth in the love of it shall be given up to strong de'usions Doth not this then in stead of abating the strength of the argument confirm it more and that nothing is fallen out in the Christian world but what was foretold by those whom God employed in the converting of it But we are neither without some fair hopes even from that divine revelation which was sealed by uncontrouled evidence that there may be yet a time to come when Christ will recover his Churches to their pristine purity and simplicity but withall I think we are not to measure the future felicity of the Church by outward splendor and greatness which too many so strongly fancy but by a recovery of that true spirit of Christianity which breathed in the first ages of the Church whatever the outward condition of the Church may be For if worldly greatness and ease and riches were the first impairers of the purity of Christian Religion it is hard to conceive how the restoring of the Church of Christ to its true glory can be by the advancing of that which gives so great an occasion to pride and sensuality which are so contrary to the design of Christian Religion unless we suppose men free from those corruptions which continual experience still tells the world the Rulers as well as members of the Christian society are subject to Neither may that be wonderd at when such uneveness of parts is now discovered in the great Luminaries of the world and the Sun himself is found to have his maculae as though the Sun had a purple feaver or as Kiroher expresseth it Ipse Phoebus qui rerum omnium in universo naturae Theatro aspectabilium longè pulcherrimus omnium opinione est habitus hoc seculo tandem fumosa facie ac infecto vultu maculis prodiit diceres eum variolis laborare senescentem I speak not this as though an outward flourishing condition of the Church were inconsistent with its purity for then the way to refine it were to throw it into the flames of persecution but that
an heroickfreedom of spirit appears in these words what magnanimity and courage was there now in that person who durst in the face of this Court tell them of their murder and that there was no salvation but by him whom they had crucified Well might they wonder at the boldness of the men who feared not the same death which they had so lately brought their Lord and Master to Neither was this singly the case of Peter and Iohn but all the rest of the Apostles undertook their work with the same resolution and preparation of Spirit to under go the greatest hardship in the world sor the sake of the truths they Preached And accordingly as far as Ecclesiastical history can ascertain us of it they did all but Iohn and that to make good the prediction of Christ suffer violent deaths by the hands of those who persecuted them meerly for their doctrine And which is most observable when Christ designed them first of all for this work he told them before hand of reproaches persecutions all manner of hardships nay of death its self which they must undergo for his sake All that he gave them by way of encouragement was that they could only kill the body and not the soul and therefore that they should fear him only who could destroy both body and soul in hell all the support they had was an expectation in another world and that animated them to go through all the hardships of this Where do we ever read of any such boldness and courage in the most knowing Philosâ—phers of the Heathens with what saintness and misgiving of mind doth Socrates speak in his famous discourse suppoâ—ed to be made by him before his death how uncertainly doth he speak of a state of immortality and yet in all probability Plato set it forth with all advantages imaginable Where do we finde that ever any of the great friends of Socrates who were present at his death as Phaedo Cebes Crito and Simmias durst enter the Areopagus and condemn them there for the murther of Socrates though this would be far short of what the Apostles did why were they not so charitable as to inform the world better of those grand truths of the being of God and immortality of souls if at least they were fully convinced of them themselves Why did not Plato at least speak out and tell the world the truth and not disguise his â—iscourses under feigned names the better to avoid accusation and the fate of Socrates how doth he mince his excellent matter and playes as it were at Bo-peep with his readers sometimes appearing and then pulling in his horns again It may not be an improbable conjecture that the death of Socrates was the foundation of the Academy I mean of that cautelous doctrine of withholding assent and being both pro and con sometimes of this side and sometimes of that for Socrates his death had made all his friends very fearful of being too dogmatical And Plato himself had too much riches and withall too much of a Courtier in him to hazard the dear prison of his soul viz. his body meerly for an aethereall vehicle He had rather let his soul flutter up and down in a terrestrial matter or the cage it was pâ—nt up in then hazard too violent an opening of it by the hands of the Areopagus And the great Roman Orator among the rest of Plato's sentiments had learnt this too for although in his discourses he hath many times sufficiently laid open the folly of the Heathen worship and Theology yet he knows how to bring himself off safe enough with the people and will be sure to be dogmatical only in this that nothing is to be innovated in the religion of a Common-wealth and that the customs of our Ancestors are inviolably to be observed Which principles had they been true as they were safe for the persons who spake them the Christian religion had never gained any entertainment in the world for where ever it came it met with this potent prejudice that it was looked on as an innovation and therefore was shrewdly suspected by the Governours of Common-wealths and the Preachers of it punished as factious and seditious persons which was all the pretext the wise Politicians of the world had for their cruel and inhumane persecutions of such multitudes of peaceable and innocent Christians Now when these things were foretold by the Apostles themselves before their going abroad so plainly that with the same saith they did believe the doctrine they Preached to be true they must believe that all these things should come to pass what courage and magnanimity of spirit was it in them thus to encounter dangers and as it were court the slames Nay and before the time was come that they must dye to seal the truth of their doctrine their whole life was a continual peregrination wherein they were as so many Iobs in pilgrimage encounterd with perills and dangers on every side of which one of the most painful and succesful S. Paul hath given in such a large inventory of his perils that the very reading of them were enough to undo a poor Epicurean Philosopher and at once to spoil him of the two pillars of his happiness the quietness of his mind and ease of his body Thus we see what a hazardous imployment that was which the Apostles went upon and that it was such as they very well understood the diâ—â—iculty of before they set upon it Secondly We cannot find out any rational motive which could carry them through so hazardous an employment but the full convictions of their minds of the undoubted truth and certainty of the doctrine which they delivered We find before that no vulgar motives in the world could carry them upon that design which they went upon Could they be led by ambition and vain glory who met with such reproaches where ever they went and not only persecutions of the tongue but the sharper ones of the hands too we never read of any but the Primitive Christians who were ambitious of being Martyrs and thought long till they were in the flames which made Arrius Antoninus being Proconsul of Asia when Christians in multitudes beset his tribunal and thronged in to be condemned say to them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 O miserable people had not ye wayes enough to end your lives at hâ—me but ye must croud for an execution This was a higher ambition by far then any of those mancipia gloriae those Chamaeleons that lived on the breath of applause the Heathen Philosophers ever reached to who were as Tertullian expresseth it homines gloriae eloquentiae solius libidinosi unsatiable thirsters after the honour and eloquence of the world but the Spirit of a Christian did soare too high to quarry on so mean a prâ—y When the more sober heathens had taken a stricter notice of the carriages and lives of the Preachers of the Gospel and all
the Gospel of Christ which did so easily demolish these strong holds and captivate the understandings of men to the obedience of Christ. To which purpose Arnobius excellently speaks in these words to the Heathens Sed non creditis gesta haec Sed qui ea conspicati sunt fieri sub oculis suis viderunt agi testes optimi certissimique auctores crediderunt haec ipsi credenda posteris nobis haud exilibus cum approbationibus tradiderunt Quinam isti fortasse quaeritis gentes populi nationes incredulum illud genus humanum Quod nisi aperta res esset luce ipsa quemadmodum dicitur clarior nunquam rebus hujusmodi credulitatis suae commodarent assensum An nunquid dicemus illius temporis homines usque adeò fuisse vanos mendaces stolidos brutos ut quae nunquam viderant vidisse se fingerent quae facta omninò non erant falsis proderent testimoniis aut puerili assertione sirmarent Cumque possent vobiscum unanimiter vivere inoffensas ducere conjunctiones gratuita susciperent odia execrabili haberentur in nomine Quod si falsa ut dicit is historia illa rerum est unde tam brevi tempore totus mundus ista religione complet us est Aut in unam coire qui potuërunt mentem gentes regionibus dissiâ—â—ae ventis coelique convexionibus dimotae Asseverationibus illectae sunt nudis inductae in spes cassas in pericula capitis immittere se sponte temeraria desperatione voluërunt cum nihil tale vidissent quod eas in hos cult us novitatis suae possit excitare miraculo Imo quia haec omnia ab ipso cernebant geri ab ejus praeconibus qui per orbem totum missi beneficia patris munera sanandis animis hominibusque portabant veritatis ipsius vi victae dedërunt se Deo nec in magnis posuëre despendiis membra vobis projicere viscera sua lanianda praebere The substance of whose discourse is that it is impossible to suppose so many persons of so many Nations to be so far besotted and infatuated as not only to believe a Religion to be true which was contrary to that they were educated in but to venture their lives as well as estates upon it had it not been discovered to them in a most certain and infallible way by such who had been eye-witnesses of the actions and miracles of Christ and his Apostles And as he elsewhere speaks Vel haec saltem fidem vobis faciant argumenta credendi quod jam peromnes terras in tam brevi tempore parvo immensi nominis hujus sacramenta diffusa sunt quod nulla jam natio est tam barbari moris mansuetudinem nesciens quae non ejus amore versa molliverit asperitatem suam in placidos sensus assumpt â tranquillitate migraverit quod tam magnis ingeniis praediti Oratores Grammatici Rhetores Consulti juris ac Medici Philosophiae etiam secreta rimantes magisteria haec expetunt spretis quibus paulò ante sidebant c. Will not this perswade the world what firm foundations the faith of Christans stands on when in so short a time it is spread over all parts of the world that by it the most inhumane and barbarous Nations are softned into more then civility That men of the greatest wits and parts Orators Grammarians Rhetoricians Lawyers Physitians Philosophers who not have for saken then former sentiments and adhered to the doctrine of Christ. Now I say if the power of education be so strong upon the minds of men to perswade them of the truth of the Religion they are bred up under which Atheistically disposed persons make so much advantage of this is so far from weakning the truth of Christianity that it proves a great confirmation of it because it obtained so much upon its first Preaching in the world notwithstanding the highest prejudices from education were against it If then men be so prone to believe that to be most true which they have been educated under it must argue a more then ordinary evidence and power in that religion which unsettles so much the principles of education as to make men not only question the truth of them but to renounce them and embrace a religion contrary to them Especially when we withall consider what strong-holds these principles of education were backed with among the Heathens when the doctrine of Christ was first divulged among them i. e. what plausible pretences they had of continuing in the religion which they were brought up in and why they should not exchange it for Christianity and those were 1. The pretended antiquity of their religion above the Christian the main thing pleaded against the Christians was divortium ab institutis majorum that they thought themselves wiser then their fore-fathers and Symmachus Libanius and others plead this most in behalf of Paganisme servanda est tot seculis fides sequendi sunt nobis parentes qui secuti sunt feliciter suos their religion pleaded prescription against any other and they were resolved to sollow the steps of their ancestors wherein they thought themselves happy and secure Caecilius in Minutius Felix first argues much against dogmatizing in religion but withall sayes it most becomes a lover of truth majorum excipere disciplinam religiones tradit as colere Deos quos à parentibus ante imbutus es timere nec de numinibus ferre sententiam sed prioribus credere So Arnobius tells us the main thing objected against the Christians was novellam esse religionem nostram ante dies natam propemodum paucos nâ—que vos potuisse antiquam patriam linquere in barbaros ritus peregrinosque traduci And Cotta in Tully long before laid this down as the main principle of Pagan religion majoribus nostris etiam nulla ratione reddita credere to believe the tradition of our Fathers although there be no evidence in reason for it And after he hath discovered the vanity of the Stoical arguments about religion concludes with this as the only thing he resolved his religion into mihi unum satis erit majores nostros it a tradidisse It is enough for me that it comes by tradition from our fore-fathers Lactantius fully sets forth the manner of pleading used by the Heathens against the Christians in the point of antiquity Hae sunt religiones quas sibi à majoribus suis traditas pertinacissime tueri ac defendere persiverant nec considerant quales sint sed ex hoc probat as atque veras esse confidunt quod eas veteres tradiderâ—nt tantaque est auctoritas vetustatis ut inquircre in eam scelus esse dicatur The English is they accounted tradition infallible and knew no other way whereby to find the truth of religion but by its conveyance from their fore-fathers How like herein do they speak to those
so much to be wondered at that the eloquence and reason of the Philosophers should prevail on some very few persons but that the mean and contemptible language of the Apostles should convert such multitudes from intemperance to sobriety from injustice to fair dealing from cowardise to the highest constancy yea so great as to lay down their lives for the sake of vertue how can we but admire so divine a power as was seen in it And therefore saith he we conclude 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That it is so far from being impossible that it is not at all difficult for corrupt nature to be changed by the Word of God Lactantius excellently manifests that Philosophy could never do so much good in the world as Christianity did because that was not suited at all to common capacities and did require so much skill in the Arts to prepare men for it which it is impossible all should be well skilled in which yet are as capable of being happy as any others are And how inefficacious the precepts of Philosophy were appears by the Philosophers themselves who were far from having command by them over their masterless passions and were fain sometimes to confess that nature was too head-strong to be kept in by such weak reins as the Precepts of Philosophy were But saith he what great command divine precepts have upon the souls of men daily experience shews Da mihi virum qui sit iracundus maledicus effrenatus paucissimis Dei verbis tam placidum quam ovem reddam Da cupidum avarum tenacem jam tibi eum liberalem dabo pecuniam suam plenis manibus largientem Da timidum doloris ac mortis jam cruces ignes taurum contemnet Da libidinosum adulterum ganeonem jam sobrium castum â—ontinentem videbis Da crudelem sanguinis appetentem jam in veram clementiam furor ille mutabitur Da injustum insipientem peccatorem continuo aequus prudens innocens crit In which words that elegant writer doth by a Rhetorical Scheme set out the remarkable alteration which was in any who became true Christians that although they were passionate covetous fearful lustful cruel unjust vitious yet upon their being Christians they became mild liberal couragious temperate merciful just and unblameable which never any were brought to by meer Philosophy which rather teacheth the art of concealing vices then of healing them But now when Christianity was so effectual in the cure of those distempers which Philosophy gave over as beyond its skill and power when it cured them with so great success and that not in a Paracelsian way for them to relapse afterwards with greater violence but it did so throughly unsettle the fomes morbi that it should never gather to so great a head again doth not this argue a power more then Philosophical and that could be no less then divine power which tended so much to reform the world and to promote true goodness in it Thus we have considered the contrariety of the doctrine of Christ to mens natural inclinations and yet the strange success it had in the world which in the last place will appear yet more strange when we add the almost continual opposition it met with from worldly power and policy Had it been possible for a cunningly devised fable or any meer contrivance of impostors to have prevailed in the world when the most potent and subtile persons bent their whole wits and designs for suppressing it Whatever it were in others we are sure of some of the Roman Emperours as Iulian and Dioclesian that it was their master-design to root out and abolish Christianity and was it only the subtilty of the Christians which made these persons give over their work in despair of accomplishing it If the Christians were such subtile men whence came all their enemies to agree in one common calumny that they were a company of poor weak ignorant inconsiderable men and if they were so how came it to pass that by all their power and wisdom they could never exterminate these persons but as they cut them down they grew up the faster and multiplyed by their substraction of them There was something then certainly peculiar in Christianity from all other doctrines that it not only was not advanced by any civil power but it got ground by the opposition it met with in the world And therefore it is an observable circumstance that the first Christian Emperour who acted as Emperour for Christianity viz. Constantine for otherwise I know what may be said for Philippus did not appear in the world till Christianity had spread its self over most parts of the habitable world God thereby letting us see that though the civil power when become Christian might be very useful for protecting Christianity yet that he stood in no need at all of it as to the propagation of it abroad in the world But we see it was quite otherwise in that Religion which had Mars its ascendant viz. Mahometism For like Paracelsus his Daemon it alwayes sat upon the pummel of the sword and made its way in the world meerly by force and violence and as its first constitution had much of blood in it so by it hath it been fed and nourished ever since But it was quite otherwise with the Christian Religion it never thrived better then in the most barren places nor triumphed more then when it suffered most nor spread its self further then when it encountered the greatest opposition Because therein was seen the great force and efficacy of the doctrine of Christ that it bore up mens spirits under the greatest miseries of life and made them with chearfulness to undergo the most exquisite torments which the cruelty of Tyrants could invent The Stoicks and Epicureans boasts that their wise man would be happy in the Bull of Phalaris were but empty and Thrasonical words which none would venture the truth of by an experiment upon themselves It was the Christian alone and not the Epicurean that could truly say in the midst of torments Suave est nihil curo and might justly alter a little of that common saying of the Christians and say Non magna lâ—quimur sed patimur as well as vivimus the Christians did not speak great things but do and suffer them And this gained not only great râ—putation of integrity to themselves but much advanced the honour of their Religion in the world when it was so apparently seen that no force or power was able to withstand it Will not this at least perswade you that our Religion is true and srom God saith Arâ—â—bius Quod cum genera poenarum tanta sint à vobis proposita Religionis hujus sequentibus leges augeatur res magis contra omnes minas atque interdicta formidinum animosius populus obnitatur ad credendi studium prohibitionis ipsius stimulis â—xcitetur Itane istud non divinum sacrum est
seek for satisfaction as ever for granting that a Divine power is seen in one and not in the other he must needs be still dissatisfied unless it can be made evident to him that such things are from Divine power and others cannot be Now the main distinction being placed here in the natures of the things abstractly considered and not as they bear any evidence to our understandings in stead of resolving doubts it increaseth more for as for instance in the case of the Magicians rods turning into scrpents as well as Moses his what satisfaction could this yeild to any spectator to tell him that in the one there was a Divine power and not in the other unless it were made appear by some evidence from the thing that the one was a meer imposture and the other a real alteration in the thing it self I take it then for granted that no general discourses concerning the formal difference of miracles and wonders considered in themselves can afford any rational satisfaction to an inquisitive mind that which alone is able to give it must be something which may be discerned by any judicious and considerative person And that God never gives to any a power of miracles but he gives some such ground of satisfaction concerning them will appear upon these two considerations 1. From Gods intention in giving to any this power of doing miracles We have largely made it manifest that the end of true miracles is to be a confirmation to the world of the Divine commission of the persons who have it and that the testimony is Divine which is confirmed by it Now if there be no way to know when miracles are true or false this power is to no purpose at all for men are as much to seek for satisfaction as if there had been no such things at all Therefore if men are bound to believe a Divine testimony and to rely on the miracles wrought by the persons bringing it as an evidence of it they must have some assurance that these miracles could not come from any but a Divine power 2. From the providence of God in the world which if we own we cannot imagine that God should permit the Devil whose only design is to ruine mankind to abuse the credulity of the world so far as to have his lying wonders pass uncontrouled which they must do if nothing can be found out as a certain difference between such things as are only of Diabolical and such as are of Divine power If then it may be discovered that there is a malignant spirit which acts in the world and doth produce strange things either we must impute all strange things to him which must be to attribute to him an infinite power or else that there is a being infinitely perfect which crosseth this malignant spirit in his designs and if so we cannot imagine he should suffer him to usurpe so much tyranny over the minds of men as to make those things pass in the more sober and inquisitive part of the world for Divine miracles which were only counterfeits and impostures If then the providence of God be so deeply engaged in the discovering the designs of Satan there must be some means of this discovery and that means can be supposed to be no other in this case but some rational and satisfactory evidence whereby we may know when strange and miraculous things are done by Satan to deceive men and when by a Divine power to confirm a Divine testimony But how is it possible say some that miracles should be any ground on which to believe a testimony Divine when Christ himself hath told us that there shall arise false Christs and false Prophets and shall shew great signs and wonders in so much that if it were possible they should deceive the very elect and the Apostle tells us that the coming of Antichrist will be with all power and signs and lying wonders How then can we fix on miracles as an evidence of Divine testimony when we see they are common to good and bad men and may seal indifferently either truth or falshood To this I reply 1. Men are guilty of doing no small disservice to the doctrine of Christ when upon such weak and frivolous pretences they give so great an advantage to infidelity as to call in question the validity of that which yeilded so ample a testimony to the truth of Christian religion For if once the rational grounds on which we believe the doctrine of Christ to be true and Divine be taken away and the whole evidence of the truth of it be laid on things not only derided by men of Atheistical spirits but in themselves such as cannot be discerned or judged of by any but themselves upon what grounds can we proceed to convince an unbeliever that the doctrine which we believe is true If they tell him that as light and fire manifest themselves so doth the doctrine of the Scriâ—ture to those who believe it It will be soon replyed that self-evidence in a matter of faith can imply nothing but either a firm perswasion of the mind concerning the thing propounded or else that there are such clear evidences in the thing it self that none who freely use their reason can deny it the first can be no argument to any other person any further then the authority of the person who declares it to have such self-evidence to him doth extend its self over the mind of the other and to ones self it seems a strange way of arguing I believe the Scriptures because they are true and they are true because I believe them for self-evidence implyes so much if by it be meant the perswasion of the mind that the thing is true but if by self-evidence be further meant such clear evidence in the matter propounded that all who do consider it must believe it I then further enquire whether this evidence doth lie in the nâ—ked proposal of the things to the understanding and if so then every one who assents to this proposition that the whole is greater then the part must likewise assent to this that the Scripture is the Word of God or whether doth the evidence lie not in the naked proposal but in the efficacy of the Spirit of God on the minds of those to whom it is propounded Then 1. The self-evidence is taken off from the written Word which was the object and removed to a quite different thing which is the efficient cause 2. Whether then any persons who want this efficacious operation of the Spirit of God are or can be bound to believe the Scripture to be Gods Word If they are bound the duty must be propounded in such a way as may be sufficient to convince them that it is their duty but if all the evidence of the truth of the Scripture lie on this testimony of the Spirit then such as want this can have none at all But if â—astly by this self-evidence be meant
of Rambam or R. Moses Maimon It is said that the King of Persia desired of him a sign and he told him that he should cut off his head and he would rise again which he cunningly desired to avoid being tormented which the King was resolved to try and accordingly executed him but I suppose his resurrection and Mahomets will be both in a day although Maimonides tells us some of the Iews are yet such fools as to expect his resurrection Several other Impostors Maimonides mentions in his Epistle de Australi regione One who pretended to be the Messias because he cured himself of the leprosie in a night several others he mentions in Spain France and other parts and the issue of them all was only a further aggravation of the miseries and captivities of the poor Iews who were so credulous in following Impostors and yet such strange Infidels where there were plain and undoubted miracles to perswade them to believe in our blessed Saviour as the true Messias We freely grant then that many pretended miracles may be done in the world to deceive men with but doth it hence follow that either there are no true miracles done in the world or that there are no certain rules to distinguish the one from the other But as Origen yet further replyes to Celsus as a Woolf doth very much resemble a dog yet they are not of the same kind nor a turtle Dove and a Pigeon so that which is produced by a divine power is not of the same nature with that which is produced by Magick but as he argues Is it possible that there should be only deceits in the world and magical operations and can there be no true miracles at all wrought Is humane nature only capable of Impostures or can none work miracles but Devils Where there is a worse there may be a better and so from the impostures counterfeits we may inferr that there are true miracles wrought by a divine power otherwise it were all one as to say there are counterfeits but no Iewels or there are Sophisms and Paralogisms but no lâ—gitimate demonstrations if then there be such deceits there are true miraclâ—s too all the business is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 strictly and severely to examine the pretâ—nders to do them and that from the life and manners of those that do them and from the effâ—cts and consequents of them whethâ—r they do good or hurt in the world whâ—ther thâ—y correct mens manners or bring men to goodness holinâ—ss and truth and on this account we are neither to reject all miracles nor embrace all pretâ—nces but carefully and prudently examine the rational evidences whereby those which are true and divine may be known from such which are counterfeit and Diabolical And this now leads us to the main subjâ—ct of this Chapter viz. What rules we have to â—roceed by in judging miracles to be true or false which may be these following True Divine miracles are wrought in confirmation of some Divine Tâ—stimony Because we have manifested by all the precedent discourse that the intention of miracles is to seal some divine revelation Therefore if God should work miracles when no divine Tâ—stimony is to be confirmed God would set the broad Seal of heaven to a blank If it be said no because it will witness to us now the truth of that Testimony which was delivered so many ages since I answer 1. The truth of that Testimony was sufficiently sealed at the time of the delivery of it and is conveyed down in a certain way to us Is it not sufficient that the Chartâ—r of a Corporation had the Princes broad Seal in the time of the giving of it but that every succâ—ssion of men in that Corporation must have a new broad Seal or else they ought to question their Patent What ground can there be for that when the original Seal and Patent is preserved and is certainly conveyed down from age to age So I say it is as to us Gods Grand Charter of Grace and Mercy to the world through Iesus Christ was sealed by divine miracles at the delivery of it to the world the original Patent viz. the Scriptures wherein this Charter is contained is conveyed in a most certain manner to us to this Patent the Seal is annexed and in it are contained those undoubted miracles which were wrought in confirmation of it so that a new sealing of this Patent is wholly needless unless we had some cause of suspicion that the original Patent it self were lost or the first sealing was not true If the lattâ—r then Christian Religion is not true if the miracles wrought for confirmation of it were false because the truth of it depends so much on the verity and Divinity of the miracles which were then wrought If the first be suspected viz. the certain conveyance of the Patent viz. the Scriptures some certain grounds of such a suspicion must be discovered in a matter of so great moment especially when the great and many Societies of the Christian world do all consent unanimously in the contrary Nay it is impossible that any rational man can concâ—ive that the Patent which we now rely upon is supposititious or corrupted in any of those things which are of concernment to the Christian world and that on these accounts 1. From the watchfulness of Divine providâ—nce for the good of mankind Can we conceive that there is a God who rules and takes care of the world and who to manifest his signal Love to mankind should not only grant a Patent of Mercy to the world by his son Christ and then sealed it by divine miracles and in order to the certain conveyance of it to the world caused it by persons imployed by himself to be recordâ—d in a language fittest for its dispersing up and down the world all which I here suppose Can we I say conceive that this God should so far have cast off his care of the world and the good of mankind which was the original ground of the Grant it self as to suffer any wicked men or malignant spirits to corrupt or alter any of those Terms in it on which mens eternal salvation depends much less wholly to suppress and destroy it and to send forth one that is counterfeit and supposititious instead of it and which should not be discovered by the Christians of that age wherein that corrupt Copy was set forth nor by any of the most learned and inquisitive Christians ever since They who can give any the least entertainment to so wild absurd and irrational an imagination are so far from reason that they are in good disposition to Atheism and next to the suspecting the Scriptures to be corrupted they may rationally suspâ—ct there is no such thing as a God and providence in the world or that the world is governed by a spirit most malignant and envious of the good of mankind Which is a suspicion only becoming those Heathens among
that when a Divine testimony is already confirmed by miracles undoubtedly Divine that new miracles should be wrought in the Church to assure us of the truth of it So Chrysostome fully expresseth himself concerning miracles speaking of the first ages of the Christian Church 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Miracles were very useful then and not at all useful now for now we manifest the truth of what we speak from the Sacred Scriptures and the miracles wrought in confirmation of them Which that excellent author there fully manifests in a discourse on this subject why miracles were necessary in the beginning of the Christian Church and are not now To the same purpose St. Austin speaks where he discourseth of the truth of religion Accepimus majores nostros visibilia miracula secutos esse per quos id actum est ut necessaria non essent posteris because the world believed by the miracles which were wrought at the first preaching of the Gospel therefore miracles are no longer necessary For we cannot conceive how the world should be at first induced to believe without manifest and uncontrouled miracles For as Chrysostome speaks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It was the greatest miracle of all if the world should believe without miracles Which the Poet Dante 's hath well expressed in the twenty fourth Canto of Paradise For when the Apostle is there brought in asking the Poet upon what account he took the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the Word of God his answer is Probatio quae verum hoc mihi recludit Sunt opera quae secuta sunt ad quae Natura Non candefecit ferrum unquam aut percussit incudem i. e. the evidence of that is the Divine power of miracles which was in those who delivered these things to the world And when the Apostle catechiseth him further how he knew those miracles were such as they pretend to be viz. that they were true and Divine his answer is Si orbis terrae sese convertit ad Christianismum Inquiebam ego sine miraculis hoc unum Est tale ut reliqua non sint ejus cente sima pars i. e. If the world should be converted to the Christian faith without miracles this would be so great a miracle that others were not to be compared with it I conclude this then with that known saying of St. Austin Quisquis adhuc prodigia ut credat inquirit magnum est ipse prodigium qui mundo credente non credit He that seeks for miracles still to induce him to faith when the world is converted to the Christian faith he needs not seek for prodigies abroad he wants only a looking glass to discover one For as he goes on unde temporibus erudit is omne quod fieri non potest respuentibus sine ullis miraculis nimium mirabiliter incredibiliter credidit mundus whence came it to pass that in so learned and wary an age as that was which the Apostles preached in the world without miracles should be brought to believe things so strangely incredible as those were which Christ and his Apostles preached So that by this it appears that the intention of miracles was to confirm a Divine testimony to the world and to make that appear credible which otherwise would have seemed incredible but to what end now when this Divine testimony is believed in the world should miracles be continued among those who believe the doctrine to be Divine the miracles wrought for the confirmation of it to have been true and the Scriptures which contain both to be the undoubted Word of God To what purpose then the huge outery of miracles in the Roman Church is hard to conceive unless it be to make it appear how ambitions that Church is of being called by the name of him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved For had they received the Love of the Truth of the Gospel they would have believed it on the account of those miracles and signs and wonders which were wrought for the confirmation of it by Christ and his Apostles and not have gone about by their juglings and impostures in stead of bringing men to believe the Gospel to make them question the truth of the first miracles when they see so many counterfeits had we not great assurance the Apostles were men of other designs and interests then Popish Priests are and that there is not now any such necessity of miracles as there was then when a Divine testimony revealing the truth of Christian religion was confirmed by them Those miracles cannot be Divine which are done now for the confirmation of any thing contrary to that Divine testimony which is confirmed by uncontrouled Divine miracles The case is not the same now which was before the coming of Christ for then though the Law of Moses was confirmed by miracles yet though the doctrine of Christ did null the obligation of that Law the miracles of Christ were to be looked on as Divine because God did not intend the Ceremonial Law to be perpetual and there were many Prophesies which could not have their accomplishment but under a new state But now under the Gospel God hath declared this to be the last revelation of his mind and will to the world by his Son that now the Prophesies of the old Testament are accomplished and the Prophesies of the New respect only the various conditions of the Christian Church without any the least intimation of any further revelation of Gods mind and will to the world So that now the Scriptures are our adaequate rule of faith and that according to which we are to judge all pretenders to inspiration or miracles And according to this rule we are to proceed in any thing which is propounded to us to believe by any persons upon any pretences whatsoever Under the Law after the establishment of the Law its self by the miracles of Moses the rule of judging all pretenders to miracles was by the worship of the true God If there arise among you a Prophet or a dreamer of dreams and giveth thee a sign or a wonder and the sign or the Wonder come to pass whereof he spake to thee saying Let us go after other Gods which thou hast not known and let us serve them thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that Prophet or that dreamer of dreams for the Lord your God proveth you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Whereby it is plain that after the true doctrine is confirmed by Divine miracles God may give the Devil or false Prophets power to work if not real miracles yet such as men cannot judge by the things themselves whether they be real or no and
religion lie in two things that there is a God who rules the world and that the souls of men are capable of subsisting after death for he that comes unto God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that seek him so that if these things be not supposed as most agreeable to humane reason we cannot imagine upon what grounds mankind should embrace any way of religion at all For if there be not a God whom I am to serve and obey and if I have not a soul of an immortal nature there can be no sufficient obligation to religion nor motive inducing to it For all obligation to obedience must suppose the existence of such a Being which hath power to command me and by reason of the promisâ—uous scatterings of good and evil in this life the motives engaging men to the practice of religion must suppose the certainty of a future State If these things be sure and the foundations of religion in general thereby firmly established it will presently follow as a matter most agreeable to reason that the God whom we are to serve should himself prescribe the way of his own worship and if the right of donation of that happiness which mens souls are capabâ—e of be alone in himself that he alone should declare the termes on which it may be expected For man being a creature endued with a free principle of acting which he is conscious to himself of and therefore not being carried to his end by necessity of nature or external violence without the concurrence of his own reason and choice we must suppose this happiness to depend upon the performance of some conditions on mans part whereby he may demonstrate that it is the matter of his free choice and that he freely quits all other interests that he might obtain the enjoyment of it Which conditions to be performed being expressions of mans obedience towards God as his Creator and Governour and of his gratitude for the tenders of so great a happiness which is the free gift of his Maker we cannot suppose any one to have power to prescribe these conditions but he that hath power likewise to deprive the soul of her happiness upon non-performance and that must be God himself But in order to mans understanding his duty and his obligation to obedience it is necessary that these conditions must not be locked up in the Cabinet Council of Heaven but muâ—â— be so far declared and revealed that he may be fully acquaâ—ted with those terms which his happiness depends upon else his neglect of them would be excusable and his misery unavoidable Had man indeed remained without offending his Maker he might still have stood in his favour upon the general terms of obedience due from the creature to his Creator and to all such particular precepts which should bear the impress of his Makers will upon them beside which the whole volume of the Creation without and his own reason within would have been sufficient directors to him in the performance of his duty But he abusing his liberty and being thereby guilty of Aâ—ostacy from God as is evident by a continued propensity to sin and the strangeness between God and the souls of men a particular revelation is now become necessary that mankind may thereby understand on what terms God will be pleased again and by what means they may be restored into his favour And lastly it not agreeing with the free and communicative nature of Divine goodness which was the first original of the worlds Creation to suffer all mankind to perish in their own folly we must suppose this way for mans recovery to be somewhere prescribed and the revelation of it to be somewhere extant in the world So that from the general principles of the existence of God and immortality of the soul we have deduced by clear and evident reason the necessity of some particular Divine revelation as the Standard and measure of religion And according to these principles we must examine what ever pretends to be of Dâ—vine revelation for it must be suitable to that Divine nature from whom it is supposed to come and it must be agreeable to the conditions of the souls of men and therefore that which carries with it the greatest evidence of Divine revelation is a faithful representation of the State of the case between God and the souls of men and a Divine discovery of those wayes whereby mens souls may be fitted for eternal happiness A Divine revelation then must be faithful and true in all its narrations it must be excellent and becoming God in all its discoveries And therefore all that can with any reason be desired for proof of the Divine authority of the Scriptures will lie in these three things First That the foundations of religion are of undoubted certainty or that there ie a God and that mens souls are immortal Secondly That the Scriptures do most faithfully relate the matters of greatest antiquity therein contained which do most concern the history of the breach between God and man Thirdly That the Scriptures are the only authentick records of those Terms on which happiness may be expected in another world I begin with the first of them which concerns the existence of God and immortality of the soul both which seem to be supposed as general Prolepses in the writings of Moses and as things so consonant to humane nature that none to whom his writings should come could be supposed to question them And therefore he spends no time in the operose proving of either of these knowing to how little purpose his writings would be to such who denyed these first principles of all religion But beside this there may be these accounts given why these main foundations of all religion are no more insisted on in the first books of the Scripture which contain the originals of the world First Because these were in the time of the writing of them believed with an universal consent of mankind In those more early dayes of the world when the tradition of the first ages of it was more fresh and entire it is scarce imaginable that men should question the Being of a God when the history of the flood and the propagation of the world after it by the Sons of Noah and the burning of Sodom and Gomorrab were so fresh in their memories as having been done so few Generations before them And by what remains of any history of other Nations in those elder times men were so far from Atheism that Polytheism and Idolatry were the common practice of the world as is most evident in all relations of the antient Chaldeans Aegyptians Phaenicians and other Nations who all supposed these two principles as well as those who served the true God And in all probability as men are apt to run from one extream to another Polytheism was the first occasion of Atheism and Idolatry of irreligion And thence we finde the
wisdom disposing of them Tully tells us of a speech of Aristotle to this purpose If we could suppose persons to have lived in some caverns of the earth and to have enjoyed every thing there of pleasure and riches or whatever it is which we think makes mens lives happy and had never been abroad upon the surface of the earth but had only had some obscure report of an Infinite power and Being and that afterwards these persons should by an opening of the caverns wherein they were come abroad into these parts of the world and should suddenly behold the earth Sea and the Heavens and observe the vastness of the clouds and violence of winds and behold the bigness beauty and influence of the Sun and how the day depended upon his presence and upon his withdrawing should view the face of the heavens again as it were the second course of nature the order and ornament of the Stars the varieties of the light of the moon their rising and setting and their fixed and immoveable courses they could not hold from believing there was a Deity and that these were the effects of his power So vastly different are the free and natural emanations of our souls from that which we force and strain out of our selves by distorting and wringing those free principles of reason which God hath given us When a few sorry experiments and some arbitrarious Hypotheses must make us form other conceptions of things then the Majesty order and beauty of them do naturally suggest to us We see when once we can but abstract our minds from those prejudices which continual conversation with the world brings upon us by that speech of Aristotle how readily our minds will frame an excellent commentary upon those words of the royal Psalmist The Heavens declare the glory of God and the Firmament shews his bandy-work To which purpose likewise those words of the excellent Orator himself in another place are very observeable Quid est enim verius quam neminem esse oportere tam stultè arrogantem ut in se mentem rationem putet inesse in coelo mundóque non putet aut ea quae vix summâ ingenii ratione comprehendat nulla ratione moveri putat quem verb astrorum ordines quem dierum noctiumque vicissitudines quem mensium temperatio quemque ea quae gignuntur nobis ad fruexdum non gratume esse cogant hunc hominem omninò numerare qui decet What monstrous arrogancy would it be in any man to think there is a mind and reason in himself and that there is none in the world Or to think those things are moved without reason and understanding which all that he hath is scarce able to comprehend Neither can he deserve the name of a man from whom the observation of the courses of the stars the succession and order of seasons and the innumerable benefits which he enjoyes in the world does not extort gratitude towards that Being which ordered all these things What a low opinion then had those more resined and generous spirits who went only upon principles of pure and undistorted reason of those mean and ignoble souls which were inclined to Atheism especially then when Religion was so abused that it was true of the wisest of them what one said of Erasmus Magis habuit quid fugeret quam quid sequeretur they knew what to avoid but not what they should embrace And vet when they saw so much into the folly and superstition of Heathen worship they saw the greatest reason still to adhere to the belief of a Deity as may be clearly seen especially in the second of those excellent Dialogues of Tully de natura Deorum Where this particular argument to prove a Deity from the admirable contrivance of the works of nature is managed with a great deal of â—loguence and reason and by particular enumeration of most considerable parts of the Universe So unbecoming a late Philosopher was that reason of his why he waved the argument from the consideration of the world to inferr a Deity because the ends of God are unsearchable as flowing from his Infinite wisdom For what though God may conceal some things from men which he intends and are of no concernment for man to know must therefore of necessity those ends of his be unsearchable in his works of Creation which referr so immediately to the advantage of lfe and tend so much to the veneration of the Deity Nay the peculiar use and serviceableness of many parts of the Universe especially of Animals and chiefly of man is so evident that this hath been the main argument which hath induced some otherwise Atheistical enough to acknowledge and adore a Deity And although the Epicureans be lamentably puzzled to give any tolerable account of many other appearances in nature yet they nowhere discover so much weakness and ignorance as when they come to discourse De usu partium about the contrivance of the parts of mans body Whose opinion is thus briefly delivered by Lucretius Nil ideo quoniam natum'st in corpore ut uti Possemus sed quodnatum'st id procreat usum i. e. that no-parts of mans body were designed for that use which they are imployed for but the parts by chance fell into that form they are in and men by degrees brought them to their present use and serviceableness An opinion at first view so strangely unreasonable that we cannot think Epicurus should have ever embraced it had it not unavoidably followed upon his Hypothesis of all things in the Universe resulting only from a fortuitous concourse of Atoms According to which he supposed in man a different configuration of parts would happen from the various agitation and concretion of those little particles which at first run together in the fashion of a man and because that man had in him a more florid and vivacious spirit made up of the most subtile and moveable Atoms thence motion came into the several parts suitable to the different conformation of them And because those Atoms of which the soul is composed are capable of sensation thence it comes to pass that it sees in the eye hears in the ear and smells in the nostrills This is the most which is made of the opinion of Epicurus by the late sedulous vindicator of him which yet himself calls intoleranda opinio and it will appear to be so not only as contradicting what God himself hath delivered concerning man but what reason its self will easily suggest from the consideration of the several parts of mans body It must be confessed there were some Philosophers elder then Epicurus who were much inclined to this opinion as Democritus Empedocles Anaxagoras and others yet we find those who more narrowly searched into the natures of living creatures were thereby brought to acknowledg a divine providence which with a great deal of wisdom did order the several parts of animals and adapted them to their peculiar
an opinion doth and is sufficiently derided and refuted by Pomponatius himself Now then it being an acknowledged principle in nature that every thing continues in the course it is in till something more powerful put it out if then such things have been in the world which have been real alterations of the course of nature as the Suns standing still in the time of Joshua then there must be something above matter and motion and consequently that there is a God CHAP. II. Of the Origine of the Universe The necessity of the belief of the creation of the world in order to the truth of Religion Of the several Hypotheses of the Philosophers who contradict Moses with a particular examination of them The ancient tradition of the world consonant to Moses proved from the Ionick Philosophy of Thales and the Italick of Pythagoras The Pythagorick Cabbala rather Aegyptian then Mosaick Of the fluid matter which was the material principle of the universe Of the Hypothesis of the eternity of the world asserted by Ocellus Lucanus and Aristotle The weakness of the foundations on which that opinion is built Of the manner of forming principles of Philosophy The possibility of creation proved No arguing from the present state of the world against its beginning shewed from Maimonides The Platonists arguments from the goodness of God for the eternity of the world answered Of the Stoical Hypothesis of the eternity of matter whether reconcilable with the text of Moses Of the opinions of Plato and Pythagoras concerning the praeexistence of matter to the formation of the world The contradiction of the eternity of matter to the nature and attributes of God Of the Atomical Hypothesis of the Origine of the Universe The World could not be produced by a casual concourse of Atoms proved from the nature and motion of Epicurus his Atoms and the Phaenomena of the Universe especially the production and nature of Animals Of the Cartesian Hypothesis that it cannot salve the Origine of the Universe without a Deity giving motion to matter THE foundations of religion being thus established in the Being of God and the immortality of the soul we now come to erect our super structure upon them by asserting the undoubted truth and certainty of that account of the world which is given us in the writings of Moses Which beginning with the world its self leads us to a particular consideration of the Origine of the Universe the right understanding of which hath very great influence upon our belief of all that follows in the Word of God For although we should assert with Epicurus the Being of a Deity if yet with him we add that the world was made by a casual concourse of Atoms all that part of Religion which lies in obedience to the Will of God is unavoidably destroyed All that is left is only a kind of Veneration of a Bâ—ing more excellent then our own which reacheth not to the government of mens lives and so will have no force at all upon the generality of the world who are only allured by hopes or awed by fears to that which of their choice they would be glad to be freed from Besides what expressions of gratitude can be left to God for his goodness if he interpose not in the affairs of the world what dependence can there be on divine goodness if it be not at all manifested in the world what apprehensions can we have of Gods infinite Wisdom and Power if neither of them are discernable in the Being of the world And as the opinion of Epicurus destroys Religion so doth that of Aristotle which attributes eternity to the Universe and a necessary emanation of it from the first cause as light comes from the Sun for if so as Maimonides well observes the whole Religion of Moses is overthrown all his miracles are but impostures all the hopes which are grounded on the Promises of God are vain and fruitless For if the world did of necessity exist then God is no free agent and if so then all instituted Religion is to no purpose nor can there be any expectation of reward or fear of punishment from him who hath nothing else to do in the world but to set the great wheele of the Heavens going So much is it our concernment to enquire into the true Original of the world and on what evidence of reason those opinions are built which are so contrary to that account given of it in the very entrance of the Bâ—oks of Moses Wherein we read the true Origine of the world to have been by a production of it by the omnipotent Will and Word of God This being then the plain assertion of Moses we come to compare it in point of reason with all those several Hypotheses which are repugnant to it which have been embraced in several ages by the Philosophers of greatest esteem in the world Which may be reduced to these four 1. Such as suppose the world to have existed as it is from all eternity 2. Such as attribute the formation of the world as it is to God but withall assert the praeexistence and eternity of matter 3. Such as deny any eternity to the world but assert the Origine of it to have been by a casual concourse of Atoms 4. Such as endeavâ—ur to explain the Origine of the Universe and all appearances of nature meerly by the Mechanical Laws of the motion of matter I begin with those who asserted the eternity of the world as it is among whom Aristotle hath born the greatest name who seems to have arrogated this opinion to himself for when he enquires into the judgment of the Philosophers who had writ-before him he sayes of them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all the Philosophers asserted that the world was made though some one way some another And were this true which Aristotle-saith it would be the strongest prejudice against his opinion for if the world had been eternal how should it come to pass that the eldest Philosophers should so readily and unanimously embrace that opinion which asserted the production of the world Was it not a strong presumption of the Novity of the Universe that all Nations to whom the Philosophers resorted had memorials left among them of the first Origine of things And from hence it is observable that when the humour of Philosophizing began to take the Greeks about the XL. Olympiad when we may suppose Thales to flourish the beginning of the world was no matter of dispute but taking that for granted the enquiry was out of what material principle the Universe was formed of which Thales thus delivers his opinion in Tully aquam dixit esse initium rerum Deum autem eam mentem quae ex aqua cuncta fingeret wherein he plainly distinguisheth the efficient from the material cause of the world The prime efficient was God the material principle water It is a matter of some enquiry whether the first
there being no prevalency at all in any one particle above another in bigness or motion it is manifest that this universal matter to whom motion is so essential and natural will be ineffectual for the producing of any variety of appearances in nature for nothing could be caused by this thin and subtile matter but what would be wholly imperceptible to any of our senses and what a strange kind of visible world would this be From hence then it appears that there must be an infinitely powerful and wise God who must both put matter into motion and regulate the motion of it in order to the producing all those varieties which appear in the world And this necessity of the motion of matter by a power given it from God is freely acknowledged by Mr. Des Cartes himself in these words Considero materiam sibi libere permissam nullum aliunde impulsum suscipientem ut plane quiescentem illa autem impellitur à Deo tantundem motus five translationis in ea conservante quantum abinitio posuit So that this great improver and discoverer of the Mechanical power of matter doth freely confess the necessity not only of Gods giving motion in order to the Origine of the Universe but of his conserving motion in it for the upholding it So that we need not fear from this Hypothesis the excluding of a Deity from being the prime efficient cause of the world All the question then is concerning the particular manner which was used by God as the â—fficient cause in giving being to the world As to which I shall only in general suggest what Maimonides sayes of it Omnia simul creata â—rant postea successive ab invicem separata although I am somewhat inclinable to that of Gassendus majus â—st mundus opus quam ut assâ—qui mens humana illius molitionem possit To which I think may be well applyed that speech of Solomon Then I beheld all the work of God that a man cannot finde out the work that is done under the Sun because though a man labour to seck it out yea further though a wise man think to know it yet shall he not be able to sinde it CHAP. III. Of the Origine of Evil. Of the Being of Providence Epieurus his arguments against it refuted The necâ—ssity of the belief of Providence in order to Religion Providence proved from a consideration of the nature of God and the things of the world Of the Spirit of nature The great objections against Providence propounded The first concerns the Origine of evil God cannot be the author of sin if the Scriptures be true The account which the Scriptures give of the fall of man doth not charge God with mans fault Gods power to govern man by Laws though he gives no particular reason of every Positive precept The reason of Gods creating man with freedom of will largely shewed from Simplicius and the true account of the Origine of evil Gods permitting the fall makes him not the author of it The account which the Scriptures give of the Origine of evil compared with that of Heathen Philosophers The antiquity of the opinion of ascribing the Origine of evil to an evil principle Of the judgment of the Perâ—â—ans Aegyptians and others about it Of Manichaism The opinion of the ancient Greek Philosophers of Pythagoras Plato the Stoicks the Origine of evil not from the necessity of matter The remainders of the history of the fall among the Heathens Of the malignity of Daemonâ— Providence vindicated as to the sufferings of the good and impunity of bad men An account of both from natural light manifested by Senecâ— Plutarch and others IT being now manifest not only that there is a God but that the world had its Being from him it thence follows by an easie and rational deduction that there is a particular band of Divine providence which upholds the world in its Being and wisely disposeth all events in it For it is a most irrational and absurd opinion to assert a Deity and deny providence and in nothing did Epicurus more discover the weakness and puerility of his judgment then in this Indeed if Epicurus had no other design in asserting a Deity then as many ancient Philosophers imagined to avoid the imputation of direct Atheism and yet to take away all foundations of Religion he must needs be said to serve his Hypothesis well though he did assert the Being of an excellent nature which he called God while yet he made him sit as it were with his â—lbows folded up in the heavens and taking no â—â—gnizâ—nce of humane actions For he well knew that if the belief of Divine providence were once rooted out of mens minds the thoughts of an excellent Being above the Heâ—vens would have no more aw or power upon the hearts and lives of men then the telling men that there are Iâ—wels of inestimable value in the Indies makes them more ready to pay taxes to their Princes For that Philosopher could not be ignorant that it is not worth but power nor speculation but interest that rules the world The poor Tenant more regards his petty Landlord then the greatest Prince in the world that hath nothing to do with him and he thinks he hath great reason for it for he neither fears punishment nor hopes for reward from him whereas his Landlord may dispossess him of all he hath upon displeasure and may advantage him the most if he gains his favour Supposing then that there were such an excellent Being in the world which was compleatly happy in himself and thought it an impairing of his happiness to trouble himself with an inspection of the world Religion might then be indeed derived à relegendo but not à religando there might be some pleasure in contemplating his nature but there could be no obligation to obedience So that Epicurus was the first sounder of a kind of Philosophical Antinomianism placing all Religion in a veneration of the Deity purely for its own exâ—â—llency without any such mercenary eye as those who serve God for their own ends as they say are apt to have to reward and punishment And I much doubt that good woman whom the story goes of who in an Enthusiastick posture ran up and down the strects with emblems in her hands fire in the one as she said to burn up Heaven and water in the other to quench Hell that men might serve God purely for himself would if she had compassed her design soon brought Proselites enough to Epicurus and by burning Heaven would have burnt up the cords of Religion and in quenching Hell would have extinguished the aw and fear of a Deity in the world Indeed the incomparable excellency and perfection which is in the Divine nature to spirits advanced to a noble and generous height in Religion makes them exceedingly value their choice while they disregard what ever rivals with God for it but were it not for
the Indians were in darkness while the Bacchae enjoyed light which circumstances considered will make every one that hath judgement say as Bochartus doth ex mirabili illâ— concentu vel coecis apparebit priscos fabularum architectos e scriptoribus sacris multa â—sse mutuatos From this wonderful agreement of Heathen Mythology with the Scriptures it cannot but appear that one is a corruption of the other That the memory of Iâ—shua and Sampson was preserved under Hercules Tyrius is made likewise very probable from several circumstances of the stories Others have deduced the many rites of Heathen worship from those used in the Tabernacle among the Iews Several others might be insisted on as the Parallel between Og and Typho and between the old Silenus and Balaam both noted for their skill in divination both taken by the water Num. 22. 5. both noted for riding on an ass 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Lucian of the old Silenus and that which makes it yet more probable is that of Pausanias 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which some learned men have been much puzled to find out the truth of and this conjecture which I here propound may pass at least for a probable account of it but I shall no longer insist on these things having I suppose done what is sufficient to our purpose which is to make it appear what footsteps there are of the truth of Scripture-history amidst all the corruptions of Heathen Mythology CHAP. VI. Of the Excellency of the Scriptures Concerning matters of pure divine revelation in Scripture the terms of Salvation only contained therein The ground of the disesteem of the Scriptures is tacite unbelief The Excellency of the Scriptures manifested as to the matters which God hath revealed therein The excellency of the discoveryes of Gods nature which are in Scripture Of the goodness and love of God in Christ. The suitableness of those discoveries of God to our natural notions of a Deity The necessity of Gods making known himself to us in order to the regulating our conceptions of him The Scriptures give the fullest account of the state of mens souls and the corruptions which are in them The only way of pleasing God discovered in Scriptures The Scriptures contain matters of greatest mysteriousness and mest universal satisfaction to mens minds The excellency of the manner wherein things are revealed in Scriptures in regard of clearness authority purity uniformity and perswasiveness The excellency of the Scriptures as a rule of life The nature of the duties of Religion and the reasonableness of them The greatness of the encouragements to Religion contained in the Scriptures The great excellency of the Scriptures as containing in them the Coveâ—ant of Grace in order to mans Salvation HAving thus largely proved the Truth of all those passages of sacred Scripture which concern the history of the first ages of the world by all those arguments which a subject of that nature is capable of the only thing leâ—t in order to our full proving the Divinity of the Scriptures is the consideration of â—hose matters contained in it which are in an especâ—al maâ—neâ— said to be of Divine Revelation For those historical pâ—ssages though we believe them as contained in the Scripture to have been Divinely inspired as well as others yet they are such things as supposing no Divine Revelatiâ—n might have been known sufficiently to the world had not men bâ—en wanting to themselves as to the care and means of preserving them but those matters which I now come to discourse of are of a more sublime and transcendent nature such as it had been impâ—ssible for the minds of men to reach had they not been immediately discovered by God himself And those are the terms and conditions on which the soul of man may upon good grounds expect an eternal happiness which we assert the book of Scriptures to be the only authentick and infallible records of Men might by the improvements of reason and the sagacity of their minds discover much not only of the lapsed condition of their souls and the necessity of a purgation of them in order to their felicity but might in the general know what things are pleasing and acceptable to the Divine nature from those differences of good and evil which are unalterably fixed in the things themselves but which way to obtain any certainty of the remission of sins to recover the Grace and Favour of God to enjoy perfect tranquillity and peace of conscience to be able to please God in things agreeable to his will and by these to be assured of eternal bliss had been impossible for men to have ever found had not God himself been graciously pleased to reveal them to us Men might still have bewildred themselvs in following the ignes fatui of their own imaginations and hunting up and down the world for a path which leads to heaven but could have found none unless God himself taking pitty of the wandrings of men had been pleased to hang out a light from heaven to direct them in their way thither and by this Pharos of Divine Revelation to direct them so to stear their course as to escape splitting themselves on the rocks of open impieties or being swallowed up in the quicksands of terrene delights Neither doth he shew them only what shâ—lves and rocks they must escape but what particular course they must steâ—re what star they must have in their eye what compass they must observe what winds and gales they must expect and pray for if they would at last arrive at eternal bliss Eternal bliss What more could a God of infinite goodness promise or the soul of man ever wish â—or A Reward to such who are so â—ar from deserving that they are still provâ—king Glory to such who are more apt to be ashamed of their duties then of their offences but that it should not only be a glorious reward but eternal too is that which though it infinitely transcend the deserts of the receivers yet it highly discovers the infinite goodness of the Giver But when we not only know that there is so rich a mine of inestimable treasures but if the owner of it undertakes to shew us the way to it and gives us certain and infallible directions how to come to the full pâ—ssession of it how much are we in love with misery and do we court our own ruine if we neglect to hearken to his directions and observe his commands This is that we are now undertaking to make good concerning the Scriptures that these alone contain those sacred discoveries by which the souls of men may come at last to enjoy a compleat and eternal happiness One would think there could be nothing more needless in the world then to bid men regard their own welfare and to seek to be happy yet whoever casts his eye into the world will find no counsel so little hearkned to as this nor any thing which is more generally looked on
substance of our Religion Imitation of him in his goodness and holiness by our constant endeavours of mortifying sin and growing in grace and piety In his grace and mercy by our kindness to all men forgiving the injuries men do unto us doing good to our greatest enemies In his justice and equity by doing as we would be done by and keeping a conscience void of offence towards God and towards men The first takes in the dutyes of the first the other the duties of the second Table All acts of piety towards God are a part of Iustice for as Tully saith Quid aliud â—st piet as nisi justitia adversus Deos and so our loving God with our whole bearts our entire and sincere obedience to his will is a part of natural justice for thereby we do but render unto God that which is his due from us as we are his creatures We see then the whole duty of man the fearing God and keeâ—ing his Commandements is as necessary a part of Iustice as the rendring to every man his own is 2. They are most reasonable for us to perform in that 1. Religion is not only a service of the reasonable faculties which are employed the most in it the commands of the Scripture reaching the heart most and the service required being a spiritual service not lying in meats and drinks or any outward observations but in a sanctified temper of heart and mind whâ—ch discovers its self in the course of a Christians life but 2. The service its self of Religion is reasonable the commands of the Gospel are such as no mans reason which considers them can doubt of the excellency of them All natural worship is founded on the dictates of nature all instituted worship on Gods revealed will and it is one of the prime dictates of nature that God must be uniuersally obeyed Besides God requires nothing but what is apparently mans interest to do God prohibits nothing but what will destroy him if he doth it so that the commands of the Scriptures are very just and reasonable 2. The encouragements are more then proportionable to the difficulty of obedience Gods commands are in themselves easie and most suitable to our natures What more rational for a creature then to obey his Maker all the aâ—fficulty of religion ariseth from the corruption of nature Now God to encourage men to conquer the difficulties arising thence hath propounded the strongest motives and most prevailing arguments to obedience Such are the considerations of Gods love and goodness manifested to the world by sending his Son into it to die for sinners and to give them an example which they are to follow and by his readiness through him to pardon the sins and accept the persons of such who so receive him as to walk in him and by his promises of grace to assist them in the wrestling with the enemies of their salvation And to all these add that glorious and unconceivable reward which God hath promised to all those who sincerely obey him and by these things we see how much the encouragements over-weigh the difficulties and that none can make the least pretence that there is not motive sufficient to down-weigh the troubles which attend the exercise of obedience to the will of God So that we see what a peculiar excellency there is in the Scriptures as a rule of life above all the precepts of meer Moralists the foundation of obedience being laid deeper in mans obligation to serve his Maker the practice of obedience being carried higher in those most holy precepts which are in Scripture the reward of obedience being incomparably greater then what men are able to conceive much less to promise or bestow The Excellency of the Scriptures appears as they contain in them a Covenant of grace or the transactions between God and Man in order to his eternal happiness The more memorable any transactions are the more valuable are any authentick records of them The Scriptures contain in them the Magna Charta of Heaven an Act of pardon with the Royal assent of Heaven a Proclamation of good-will from God towards men and can we then set too great a value on that which contains all the remarkable passages between God and the souls of men in order to their felicity from the beginning of the world Can we think since there is a God in the world of infinite goodness that he should suffer all mankind to perish inevitably without his propounding any means for escaping of eternal misery Is God so good to men as to this present life and can we think if mans soul be immortal as we have proved it is that he should wholly neglect any offer of good to men as to their eternal welfare Or is it possible to imagine that man should be happy in another world without Gods promising it and prescribing conditions in order to it If so then this happiness is no free gift of God unless he hath the bestowing and promising of it and man is no rational agent unless a reward suppose conditions to be performed in order to the obtaining it or man may be bound to conditions which were never required him or if they must be required then there must be a revelation of Gods will whereby he doth require them And if so then there are some Records extant of the transactions between God and man in order to his eternal happiness For what reason can we have to imagine that such Records if once extant should not continue still especially since the same goodness of God is engaged to preserve such Records which at first did cause them to be indicted Supposing then such Records extant somewhere in the world of these grand transactions between God and mens souls our business is brought to a period for what other Records are there in the world that can in the least vye with the Scriptures as to the giving so just an account of all the transactions between God and men from the foundation of the world Which gives us all the steps methods and wayes whereby God hath made known his mind and will to the world in order to mans eternal Salvation It remains only then that we adore and magnifie the goodness of God in making known his Will to us and that we set a value and esteem on the Scriptures as on the only authentick Instruments of that Grand Charter of Peace which God hath revealed in order to mans Eternal Happiness FINIS De Isid. Oâ—â—â— Sect. 1. Gen. 1. 31 Sect. 2. Protrept p. 63. Gen. 1. 26. Sect. 3. In Cratylo In Gen. 2. 19. Oedip. Egyp Tom. 2. Class 2. cap. 1. Sect. 4. Sect. 5. Object Answ. Sect. 6. Sect. 7. Sect. 8. Act. 17. 23. Sect 9. Sect. 10. Sect. 11. De 〈◊〉 c. 1. Sect. 12. De nat Deor. l. 1 c. 63. Sect. 13. Apad Orig. c. Cels. l. 4. p. 174 179 Sect. 14. Sect. 15. Sect. 16. Sect. 17. Lib. 1. bâ—st p. 10. Ed.