over all Christians both Clergy and Laity in such a District governing and directing them all in Religious Affairs and exercising certain Spiritual Powers of an extraordinary future Influence in order to the preserving and inforcing the Belief and Practice of the Christian Religion Such Customs and Actions as these in all which every Bishop must himself have bore a Share must needs be infallibly known to those Bishops assembled at Nice who were of Age enough to remember for so long together as Fifty Years which may easily be supposed of several of them And it may with as much reason be allowed That these very Bishops might have Fifty Years before their Meeting at Nice convers'd with those who could have as distinctly remembred what was done for Fifty Years further backward as they could remember what had happen'd since the Time we supposed they convers'd with them from whom they might have been certainly inform'd That all the foremention'd Matters of Fact had continued the same for Fifty Years before they could have an immediate Knowledge of them themselves And moreover those who gave them this Information could have assured them That they never saw or heard of any Body that lived since their Time who knew it otherwise and this with the same Allowance as in the former Case will carry the Thing Fifty Years higher still And so far I think however uncertain Tradition is justly accounted in the Conveyance of Doctrines and Opinions the Tradition of such notorious Matters of Fact as these so easily observed so constantly present so general and so concerning may be fully relied upon To make this plainer by a like Instance in our Country just about 150 Years ago Edward the Sixth is reported to have been King of England and the same History which tells us so which I will suppose to be but just now written acquaints us That in his Time the Christian Religion was generally professed through all this Nation and much after the same manner it is now But particularly that the same Scriptures were acknowledg'd and the same Religious Customs and Vsages obtained which are before mention'd in the other Case viz. Baptism and Communion Observation of the Lord's Day Ministration of Priests Government of Bishops c. just as they are at this present The Truth of all which we might be very well assured of if there were no History or other Monuments of what was done in the Reign of King Edward the Sixth extant down from his Time to this because by the former Supposition there have been a great many Persons who during the Course of their Lives computed at no uncommon length might have convers'd with those who liv'd in King Edward the Sixth's Time and also with those who are now Living and at such Ages of their several Lives in which they may well be suppos'd capable of remembring and judging of what they saw and heard From which intermediate Persons so many as are now Living and convers'd with them which I believe are a great many may have had sueh certain Information of the state of Religion in this Nation during the Reign of that King that they cannot possibly call in question And if all these agree in their several Reports without concerting with one another the Evidence of the same Matters of Fact they thus agree in will be as strong with respect to us who enquire these Things of them and much stronger than to any of them themselves in particular who have not made the same Observations concerning the Agreement of others before them 'T would be no unreasonable Supposition to imagine That there are some now Living who have immediately convers'd with those who lived in Edward the Sixth's Time but these are so few and of so unusual an Age that I shall not insist upon a Proof that might be made that way But the other Case I have mention'd is easy and common and lies open to every Body without a particular Computation of Time Upon which I shall further observe That those whose Testimony is allow'd sufficient for the Form and Kind of Religion professed in England under Edward the Sixth are so far as that Period reaches as good and capable Witnesses of the Condition of its Being with respect either to its Original then or any considerable Alterations or Intermissions in it at any time since Whether the Christian Religion was first introduced into this Country by Edward the Sixth or any Body else in his Time all the Inhabitants of it having immediately before been Jews Heathens or Mahometans or whether it had been receiv'd and professed here before he came to the Throne must have been equally known and in like manner conveyed down by those from whom we derive the other Matters of Fact with which this is supposed cotemporary And if any considerable Changes in the main Branches or general and publick Vsages of it such as are before instanced in or any Intermissions either of the whole Profession or of some of those publick Customs and Manners of Worship or Discipline should have happen'd at any Time since these being more remarkable Facts than the uninterrupted Continuance of the same state and form of Religion and falling later than the first Date of what we allow to be distinctly known and remembred must be granted to be as easily and surely delivered down to us as those Things which are acknowledg'd to fall earlier and yet came safe to our Hands Now to apply all this to the former Case These Bishops in the Council of Nice who came from such or such a particular Province of the Roman Empire might be as fully assured That the Christian Religion was professed 150 Years before in that Province in the same Manner founded upon the same Scriptures and attended with the same Customs as it was at the Time of their assembling at Nice as we of this Country can be assur'd That our Religion Scriptures and Religious Customs are the same now that they were in the Reign of Edward the Sixth King of England What particular Christian Customs I mean in both Instances has been sufficiently expressed already but what those Scriptures were which I suppose the Nicene Bishops unanimously acknowledg'd for the Word of God and Rule of their Faith and believed to have been written by the First Apostles and Disciples of Christ and consequently to have been the same 150 Years before they met in Council as they were then has not yet been declared and by what was done in the Council does not certainly appear But I think there is no manner of Reason to doubt but they were the very same which now go under the Name of the New Testament For whether the Council of Laodicea which was the first that made any Canon concerning the Books of Scripture was before this Council of Nice as some imagine or about Forty Years after as others more probably conclude we have Arguments and Authorities enough to convince us That all the Books
offered himself a Sacrifice upon the Cross was made a Curse died was buried rose again and is sat down at the right hand of God that thereby he might redeem us from our Iniquities and from the Curse of the Law be a propitiation for our Sins and reconcile us to his Father through his Blood that our Trespasses might not be imputed to us but that by his Obedience we should be made righteous That he might become the Mediator of a new and better Covenant between God and Man than that which God made with the People of Israel when he brought them out of the Land of Egypt and that he might abolish the Law of Commandments contained in Ordinances and break down the middle Wall of Partition between Jew and Gentile that so both might be united in one Building of which Christ was the chief Corner Stone and all of us be Members of one Body or Church of which Christ is the Head That he might be an Advocate with the Father when we sin and make continual Intercession for us that so upon our Confession and Repentance God might forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness And lastly That he might obtain a Kingdom and by that means spoil Principalities and Powers triumphing over them destroy the works of the Devil and put all Enemies under his feet and that when Death the last Enemy is destroyed he might raise the Dead and judge the World Part of which he has already performed and the rest he does and will hereafter fulfil The most remarkable matters that occur in the New Testament concerning the Nature Condition and Circumstances of Mankind are these Adam was the first Man Adam was first form'd then Eve the first Man Adam was made a living Soul the last Adam by which is meant Christ was made a quickening Spirit which two different Expressions are distinguish'd as Natural and Spiritual Earthly and Heavenly by one Man Sin entered into the World and Death by Sin and so Death passed upon all Men for that all have sinned Adam was not deceived but the Woman being deceived was in the Trangression notwithstanding she shall be saved in Child-bearing if they continue in Faith and Charity and Holiness with Sobriety Death reigned from Adam unto Moses even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam 's Transgression who is the Figure of him that was to come A Man is the Image and Glory of God but the Woman is the Glory of the Man notwithstanding which all that are of the race of Mankind are stiled and accounted in the Scriptures sinners ungodly enemies of God dead in trespasses and sins servants of sin and corruption Children of the Devil by nature Children of Wrath of whom it is said further That Sin dwelleth in us and reigneth in our Mortal Bodies that when we would do good evil is present with us and we find the Flesh lusting against the Spirit and a Law in our Members warring against the Law of our Mind and bringing it into Captivity to the Law of Sin The Jews are represented as subject to Ordinances and a Law which had only a shadow of good things to come and as in bondage to weak and beggarly Elements and all other Nations are reckoned as Aliens and Strangers from the Covenants of Promise having no hope and without God in the World This is the state of Mankind considered without relation to Christ but by Christ we are cleansed from our sins we are made free we are justified by Faith in him and by his righteousness we are saved But the advantages which accrue to Mankind by the means of Christ and the change that is made in our Condition by him will be more fully understood from these following passages As by one Mans disobedience many were made sinners so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous as sin hath reigned unto death so shall Grace reign through righteousness unto Eternal Life by Jesus Christ Cursed is every Man that continueth not in all things that are written in the Book of the Law to do them the Man that doth them shall live in them but this being impossible 't is evident that no Man is justified by the Law in the sight of God if there had been a Law given which could have given life righteousness should have been by the Law but the Scripture hath concluded all under sin that the promise of Faith by Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe In many things we offend all but if we repent and are baptized and believe and shew our Faith by our Works and persevere unto the end we shall be saved but if we believe not the Truth and have pleasure in unrighteousness and repent not of the evils we have committed we shall be damned Those that have embraced and obeyed the Gospel of Christ are said to have put off the Old Man with his Deeds and put on the New Man which is renewed in Knowledge after the Image of him that created him Thus through Christ only we are to expect Salvation there being no other Name given under Heaven whereby we might be saved which Salvation if we neglect we shall be condemned by God at the last day when he comes to judge the World in Righteousness by his Son whom he has appointed Judge of the quick and dead Then shall we be raised from the dead by Christ and receive every Man according to his Works As in Adam all died so in Christ shall all be made alive and since by Man came Death by Man came also the Resurrection of the dead The dead shall be raised incorruptible their mortal corruptible Bodies shall put on immortality and incorruption and those which are alive at the coming of Christ shall be changed in a moment at the last Trump As we have born the Image of the earthly Man Adam so we shall also bear the Image of the heavenly Man Christ Then shall they which have done evil be condemn'd to everlasting torment and misery and they which have done good shall be rewarded with everlasting joy and happiness in the presence of God and his holy Angels This is the substance of what is taught and proposed to the Faith of Mankind in the New Testament which I have express'd as near as ever I could in the very language of Scripture as my design plainly obliged me to do The other Branch of the Gospel or Doctrine of Christ which concerns the Practice of a Christian and may properly be stiled Christian Morality consists of such rules and measure of Action as every one that believes in Christ is obliged to conform his life to and without which his Faith is dead and vain he is still in his sins and he must expect the Wages of them Eternal Death The principal Heads of Christian Duty are these To love God and the Lord Jesus Christ with all our heart and with all our power to honour praise
and worship God in Spirit and in Truth with purity of heart and intention to submit our Wills to his and to aquiesce in all the dispensations of his Providence with the utmost resignation of Mind and Judgment possible To love our Neighbours as our selves to do unto all Men as we would they should do unto us to forgive and love our Enemies to bless and pray for those that despightfully use us and persecute us to do good against evil and to endeavour as much as in us lies to live peaceably with to do good unto and to promote the Salvation of all Men. To deny our selves and to mortifie all our Lusts and Affections to take off our Affections from things on the Earth and set them upon things above and to have our conversation in Heaven to live chastly and soberly in this present World avoiding all manner of excess and intemperance to bridle our Tongues to take care that we offend not in word and to bring every thought into Captivity to the Law of Christ to think lowly of our selves with all humility preferring each other to humble our selves in the presence of God and when we have done all that we can to say we are unprofitable Servants to take up the Cross of Christ and not only to bear Afflictions patiently but to glory in them and rejoyce that we are thought worthy to suffer These and all other the particular Duties derived from them we are required constantly and sincerely to endeavour to perform without a willful allowance of our selves to offend in one point or to do evil that good may come of it and whenever we have transgress'd any of these Rules of Life prescribed us to act by we are immediately to break off our sins by repentance All which we are obliged to do for the Glory of God in pure obedience to his Word and Command in love and gratitude for all the Mercies we receive from him and in hope and expectation of enjoying Eternal Happiness and escaping Eternal Misery in another life and upon no other account or prospect whatsoever these being the only true Ends and Motives of Human Action and the only Grounds of Duty and Obligation We have considered the Character of Jesus Christ and taken a short view of the Gospel or Religion he taught and recommended to Mankind In the next place let us see who and what sort of Men they were that first believed in him who assisted in the publishing and propagating his Gospel and who they were that opposed the Establishment of it and persecuted Christ and all that bore Testimony to him Those that were any ways concern'd in the receiving publishing and propagating the Gospel of Christ were John his Forerunner his Twelve Apostles other Apostles and Disciples and such as were particularly set apart for the Ministry and Common Believers John who is stil'd The Forerunner of Christ and one that was to prepare the way before him was born of Parents who were righteous before God and walked in all the Commandments of the Lord blameless his Conception and Birth were attended with many extraordinary Signs and Wonders then it is said of him That he grew and waxed strong in Spirit and was in the Desarts till the day of his shewing unto Israel and his Rayment was of Camels hair and his Meat was Locusts and wild Honey afterwards he came Preaching in the Wilderness of Judea saying Repent ye for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and many were baptized of him in Jordan confessing their sins all he Preached to and baptized he acquainted with the Character and near approach of Jesus Christ whom in a particular manner he preferr'd to himself and and by that means satisfied them that he was not the Christ which before they doubted of Little more is recorded of his Preaching or Discourses but only some particular advice to some Persons that enquired of him what they should do and his reproof of the Multitude that came to him and of Herod for which last he was put in Prison by him and afterward beheaded He did no Miracles but the Austerity of his Life the Authority of his Preaching and Baptizing and the Holiness of his Conversation made him lookt upon by all People as a Prophet Jesus Christ says of him that he was more than a Prophet and even Herod himself that beheaded him fear'd him while alive and observ'd him and when he heard him he did many things and heard him gladly knowing him to be a just Man and a holy The Twelve Apostles were all of them Persons of a low Rank and mean Occupations all the time they followed Christ they seem'd not to be fully acquainted who he was or what he design'd several of his Discourses they understood not but wondered what the meaning of them should be they were several times by their Master reproach'd for want of apprehension and knowledge in the Scriptures after the plain Discourses he had made of himself to them and for want of Faith and Courage notwithstanding the many Miracles and mighty Works he had done before them and they themselves had done by his Commission they lookt upon him as a Temporal Messiah or Deliverer who was to restore the Kingdom again to Israel and they had several little Contests among themselves who should be greatest in the Kingdom they fancied their Master came to establish they acknowledg'd him to be the Christ the Son of God but they seem'd not to have rightly understood what they said when he was apprehended to be put to death one of them betrayed him all the rest were offended because of him and fled but one of them that return'd after him solemnly deny'd him and immediately repented and he that betrayed him repented and hang'd himself After his death we find some of them bewailing themselves as disappointed in all the hopes and expectations they had conceived of him and when it was reported that he was risen again none of them would believe it till they saw him themselves and one of them was more remarkably incredulous in this point than the rest till he had received the satisfaction he desired But after the Ascension of Christ and the choice of another Apostle in the room of him that had hang'd himself we find the Twelve Apostles maintaining a different Character from what they had in their Master's life-time Now they appear perfectly instructed in all things concerning Christ whatsoever before seem'd strange to them either in his Actions or Discourse is all unriddled and the Scriptures which before were difficult to be understood are now made plain and manifest And as their Knowledge is enlarg'd their Faith is strengthened no doubts or distrusts are now entertain'd but they Preach the Gospel of Christ with Authority and full Assurance insomuch that we find many more converted at their Preaching than at Christ's they are endued with new Powers which they had not whilst their Master lived and which did not shew forth
themselves in Christ their whole lives are taken up in Travelling and Preaching and labouring with their hands to maintain themselves their whole Business and Design is to persuade People to embrace the Gospel of Christ many are their Troubles and Sufferings upon this account all which they undergo very chearfully and never shew the least sign of fear or regret for any thing that happens to them they never decline an opportunity of Preaching the Gospel or converting People to the Belief of it upon any prospect of danger whatsoever and no Power or Authority of Rulers and Governors no severity of Persecutors can discourage them in their Work The other Persons concern'd in the Ministry and Propagation of the Gospel of Christ by whatever Names and Offices distinguished whether Apostles Disciples Deacons Pastors Teachers Prophets Evangelists and Presbyters Bishops or Rulers so far as we know any thing of them by the Scriptures were all of them very near of the same Character with the Twelve for meanness of Birth and Education simplicity of Manners Steadiness of Faith and adherence to the Doctrines they taught Piety and Devotion Self-denial and Disinterestedness Constancy and Resolution under continual Sufferings and a chearful preference of a future expectation in another Life to all considerations whatsoever which this World could afford But one of them named Paul is represented to us under some particular Circumstances which make his Character very different from that of the rest He was Educated in all the Learning of the Jews at the feet of one of their greatest Doctors and by some passages we find in the Epistles ascribed to him we collect that he was acquainted with the Heathen Greek Authors he was at first a zealous Enemy of the Christian Doctrine and a fierce Persecutor of all that called upon the Name of Christ but being in an extraordinary manner call'd by God and by several wonderful Signs and Appearances converted to the Faith of Christ he became a zealous Preacher of the Gospel had a larger and fuller Commission of Apostleship granted to him than any of the Twelve was exercised with a greater variety of Afflictions for the sake of the Gospel laboured more abundantly in the establishment of the Christian Religion in the World and writ more for the Confirmation of those in the Faith whom he had converted The generality of the first Common Believers who were not call'd to the Ministry were of the lowest sort of the People and several of them scandalous and notorious Sinners before their Conversion but some there were of the better and richer sort and some Rulers and Priests that believed in Christ though but a very few that we read of The Character of which Believers after the Ascension of Christ and first Sermons of the Apostles was this That the Multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own but they had all things common neither was there any among them that lack'd for as many as were Possessors of Lands or Houses sold them and brought the prices of the things that were sold and laid them at the Apostles feet and distribution was made to every Man according as he had need In other places it is said of them that believed That before they were Servants of Sin but after they had obeyed from the heart that Form of Doctrine that was delivered them they were made free from sin and became the Servants of Righteousness that in times past they walked according to the course of this World fulfilling the desires of the flesh and mind but now being created in Christ Jesus unto good Works did walk in them that some of them who were before Fornicators Idolators Adulterers Abusers of themselves with Mankind Thieves Covetous Drunkards Revilers and Extortioners were washed and sanctified by the Name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God many of them that believed came and confess'd and shewed their Deeds many also of them which used curious Arts brought their Books together and burnt them before all Men. But in process of time when the number of Believers encreased tho' the greatest part of them manifested their Faith by their Works turn'd from the Vanity of Idols to the Living God renounced all the hidden Works of Sin and Darkness and were ashamed of those things in which before they took pleasure yet Offences and Heresies did spring up among Christians notwithstanding all the care of those that first planted the Churches and those that afterwards presided over them and some there were that walked disorderly that Preached Christ out of Envy that taught other Doctrines than what they had received that turn'd after Satan that loved this present World that put away Faith and made Shipwrack of a good Conscience but these bore no proportion to the numbers of the Faithful whose Faith and good Works were spoken of throughout the World Such were the first Publishers and Believers of the Gospel of Christ And the Persons who endeavoured to discourage the Belief and oppose the Establishment of it by all the means they could but especially by Contemning Disgracing Reviling and Persecuting those who were any ways concern'd in maintaining or propagating this new Religion were among the Jews their Kings Governors Chief Priests Elders and Chief of the Jews as also the Scribes Pharisees and Saducees who were the Men of greatest Learning and Authority in the Jewish Nation some of which are represented as very wicked Men and notorious Hypocrites and others as disbelievers of a Future State And among the Gentiles the Magistrates Rulers and Chief of the Cities Philosophers Sorcerers Craftsmen for Idolatrous Shrines and certain lewd Fellows of the baser sort most of which were stirred up and moved to what they did by the Jews that lived among them This is the shortest and plainest account I could give of the Subject of the New Testament or the Matters contained in that Book which are such as every Body that reads it will find there and consequently must subscribe to the truth of the Representation however he may doubt of the reality of the Original The next thing to be considered in the New Testament is the Way and Manner in which the several Matters before mention'd are there related with such other circumstances as referr to the Form or Composition of the whole Book and the several parts of which it consists Now 't is plain to any Man that reads over the New Testament with the same care attention and impartiality as he does another Book that it was not all writ by the same Person at one continued time but by several Persons at different times and upon different occasions and that in general 't is writ with great plainness and simplicity of Stile without Art or Affection and with many extraordinary Marks of Sincerity and Truth But to be more particular the four first Books called Gospels
and from the Testimony of others concerning them yet are the Accounts they give us of such a Nature and Writ at such Times that 't is impossible they should ever have been believed if they had not been true from whence it follows That the History of the Scriptures must be true and the Doctrines they contain given by Divine Inspiration though the Persons that Recorded the wonderful Works and Revelations of God were not Divinely assisted in the same manner in the Writing as they themselves or others they write of were in the first Preaching and Publishing the Will of God As to the remaining Objections to Scripture viz. Ridiculous and Improbable Stories absurd Laws and Injunctions Impertinent Reasons and Arguments low and unartful Expressions All those will admit of one common Answer and are easily and justly accountable for from our Ignorance of the Language in which the Scriptures and especially those of the Old Testament were writ Ancient Customs and Vsages in speaking and acting and the Temper and Circumstances of the People where the Things were said and done The Wisdom of all Laws and Institutions is to be judg'd of by the Temper and Circumstances of the Persons for whom they were made particularly at the Time when they were made The Eloquence and Propriety at all Discourses and the Force and Weight of Arguments depend likewise upon the Character of the Persons the Discourses were directed to or intended for and their peculiar Disposition and Circumstances at such and such Times Ridiculous and absurd are arbitrary and relative Terms and vary according to the different Notions of the Persons that use them there being several Things which to some appear absurd and ludicrous which considered by others in different Circumstances appear proper and grave From these Considerations might all the particular Things objected under the forementioned Heads be answered as a great many of them have been already were we throughly instructed in those Matters which are absolutely necessary in order to make any Judgment upon the Things in question which at this distance from the first delivery of them is in several Cases impossible But in defect of such Information as is necessary to give a clear and particular Account of all the Passages of Scripture excepted against by Prophane and Cavilling Men 't is sufficient to say in general what has been before unanswerably proved that all the principal Matters of Fact Recorded in the Holy Writings upon which the Certainty of the Revelation and the Obligations of the Religion therein contained are founded are beyond all exception true for the Authority of these will bear down and over-rule all other seeming difficulties that occur in Scripture which are not manifestly inconsistent with the first Principles of our Knowledge upon which all our Faith as well as Reason is grounded There are several Relations of Things in the most approved Books which I should not believe so readily if they were not supported by the Authority of the rest But when I have unquestionable proof of the Veracity and Wisdom of the Writer in some things I can easily believe other things which he says must be true and wise though they seem to me foolish and untrue And therefore when I am certainly convinced 't is God that speaks by Infallible Signs and a great part of the Discourse appears to me worthy of God I cannot doubt but all the rest must proceed from God and be worthy of him though it would not appear so without this support Had the Bible came down to us with all the exceptionable Stories and Expressions put together without the other parts of it I could not have perceived it belonged to God without many wonderful Signs to confirm it and I should have been very distrustful of the Signs but when I am throughly convinced of the Authority of a Testimony nothing but a downright Contradiction would shock my Belief Did Twelve Men of known Integrity to me affirm they heard an Ass or Serpent Speak or any such thing as is Recorded in Scriture I should believe them without any manner of Scruple or Hesitation and according to the Nature and Importance of what was said I should judge it proceeded either from the secret force of Nature or from Evil Spirits or from God If therefore we are satisfied by undeniable Arguments that the Substance and Principal parts of the Scripture-History are true and consequently that the Bible is the Word of God it necessarily follows that all the questionable Places of it are capable of such a Solution as is very consistent with the Wisdom and Designs of God and with all the Principles of our Reason though we should not be able to give it And indeed such Answers have been already made to several things which seemed most liable to Exception that 't is very easie to conceive how those that are yet unanswered might be Solved were we furnished with all the Knowledge requisite for such a Performance But it has not pleased God to give us such Light and it does not seem Repugnant to any thing in the Divine Nature to deny it us and therefore the Difficulties of Scripture as well as those of Natural Providence may be a proper Exercise of our Faith but are a very unjust and unwarrantable ground of Infidelity since in both he has vouchsased us such plain and certain Manifestations of himself as cannot be darkned by all that infinite abyss of Knowledge which is veiled and concealed from us I shall not therefore concern my self any further to give a particular Answer to the many minute Objections that are made to Scripture because if the Authority of the Holy Writings depended upon the Force or Invalidity of these Objections in order to prove the Truth of those Writings every one of them must be distinctly and satisfactorily Answered and that is plainly impossible by reason that they cannot all receive their proper Solutions without a through insight into the whole compass of Humane Knowledge which no Man or Generation of Men is capable of and without such a Penetration into the Ways and Designs of God as is not attainable but by Revelation But if it be urged that there are some particular Objections which do of themselves without the assistance of any other Arguments overthrow the Credit and Authority of the Scriptures these having been never yet alledged 't is time enough to give an Answer to them when the whole Cause is put upon that Issue But besides all this a particular Answer to all or any Objections is a needless trouble because the proof that has been given of the Christian Revelation is sufficient to Establish the Authority of it notwithstanding any Objection that can be made to the Books of Scripture which I shall endeavour more fully to make out under the next General Head of Discourse IV. Forurthly then I shall shew the Sufficiency of such a Proof as has before been given by Matters of Fact to induce us to
to him and Expounding the Scriptures of the Old Testament in such a manner that all that heard him were astonished at his Vnderstanding his Doctrine and Answers His usual way of Teaching the People that believed on him and reproving the Scribes and Pharisees and others that were unbelievers and sought occasion to find fault with what he said was by Parables which were such familiar Resemblances of or Allusions to the common and most observ'd accidents of Life as were more easily apprehended by ordinary Capacities better attended to and remembred and not so liable to Censure and Misinterpretation as plain and proper expressions of the same Truths that were delivered this way would have been But sometimes he both taught and reproved openly without any disguise or reserve and some of his Parables were such as were not understood even by his Disciples till he was pleased in private to shew them the meaning of them and acquaint them with the reason of this part of his Conduct His Answers to those that accused him of any crime as of eating with Sinners breaking of the Sabbath Blasphemy and the like or that sought to entrap him in his Discourse and to find matter of Accusation against him were very surprizing and unexpected and such as always silenced and disappointed his Enemies His Exposition of some parts of the Scriptures of the Old Testament and the Inferences he draws from them seem'd wholly new to all the Jewish Teachers and Expositors that heard him and yet we do not read that they confuted or so much as opposed either his Comments or his Arguments And in fine his whole Behavior and Conversation were so carefully and wisely ordered that though he was constantly watch'd and observ'd by cunning and malicious Men of different Opinions Designs and Interests yet no Man was ever able to convince him either of Sin or Ignorance as is manifest from the Answers he gave to those who Censured or Despised him or thought to puzzle him by difficult Questions and from the whole Process against him when he was condemn'd to die Thus lived Jesus Christ a perfect Pattern and Example of the Religion he established in all Holiness and unblameableness of Conversation shewing in all the Actions of his Life recorded of him an entire Submission and Resignation to the Will of God and exceeding great Charity and Compassion towards Men. And the same reason for which he came into the World and was obedient to the Law of Moses for which he published his Gospel and upon that account endured the Contradiction and Persecution of Sinners was that also which made him lay down his Life and submit to all the Indignities and Torments that accompanied it the only Cause Motive and End of all these Actions and Sufferings of Christ was the love of Mankind As he came into the World to save Sinners so he gave his Life a ransom for many To free Men from Eternal Misery render them capable of Eternal Happiness and to direct and assist them in the way of Salvation was his sole Work and Design These are the largest and most remarkable lines in the Character of Jesus Christ the first Author of that Religion we profess and defend In the next place I shall endeavour to give a short draught or representation of his Doctrine or Gospel or as we now call it The Christian Religion so far as it is plainly delivered in the Writings of the New Testament But all Religion as every one know consisting of Faith and Practice things to be believed and things to be done in consequence of such Belief I shall first consider the Christian Faith and afterwards what concerns the Practice of a Christian The sum of the Christian Faith is to believe in One God such as he is in the New Testament set forth to us and in Jesus Christ his only begotten Son our Lord according to the History and Character before given or whatever else the Scriptures say of him and by Faith in him accompany'd with a Sincere Vniversal and Persevering endeavour of Obedience to the Rules and Laws prescribed by him and a hearty Repentance for the Sins and Frailties we do at any time fall into to expect eternal inexpressible Happiness or in case of Infidelity or Disobedience attended with Impenitency to be assured of suffering Eternal inexpressible Misery in another Life The particular Doctrines which give us an account of these things more at large may be considered under these three Heads God Christ and Man The God proposed in the New Testament to be believed in is represented as a Spirit Invisible Incorruptible Eternal that is that was and is to come Almighty that knoweth all things and yet whose Judgments are unsearchable and his ways past finding out Creator of the World and all things therein who upholdeth all things by his Power in whom we live and move and have our being of whom and through whom and to whom are all things Most Holy Just Righteous and Perfect who is to be worshiped in Spirit and in Truth and with purity of Heart no respecter of Persons of great goodness and forbearance and yet who will render to every Man according to his deeds to them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for Glory and Immortality Eternal Life but to them that do not obey the Truth but obey unrighteousness indignation and wrath of whom it is further said That he is the Father the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and our Father a Title he is frequently and peculiarly distinguished by all over the New Testament That he sent his Son into the World to die for us and by him reconciled us to himself That the Sins of Ignorance he winked at but that now at the appointed time when Christ came into the World he calleth all Men every where to repent That at sundry times and in divers manners he spake in times past by the Prophets but in these last days hath spoken unto us by his Son whom he hath appointed Heir of all things by whom also he hath made the World that he foreknew predestinated and Elected some in Christ and adopted them for Sons to be Heirs of Salvation and to obtain a Heavenly Inheritance all which are said to be Sanctified by the Spirit of God who is often called the Holy Ghost or Spirit and the Spirit of Christ and of the Son in several places of Scripture is joined together with the Father and the Son and frequently talk'd of as a Person acting after such and such a manner as God is in other places represented to do and many of the same Titles Characters and Attributes are ascribed to him as are ascribed to the One Only Supreme God The principal things that are taught us in the writings of the New Testament concerning Christ besides what we have already mentioned in his History and Character are That he came into the World took upon him the nature of Man was obedient to the Law
Council of Nice one of the most remarkable Events that ever happen'd in the World 3. The calling of this Council does plainly inferr that Constantine look'd upon the whole Roman Empire to have been at that time generally Christian The Persons summon'd the Places from whence they came the occasion of their Meeting do all prove this For the Persons of which the Council was compos'd were most of them Governors and Teachers of large Churches and Congregations they came out of all the greater and lesser Provinces and from the most Populous and Considerable Towns under the Roman Government and the reason of their coming was to give their Opinion concerning a particular Doctrine which did suppose an antecedent Belief of the whole Christian Scheme 4. The whole behaviour of this Council of Bishops while they sat together and the business they did there is a certain proof not only that they were Christians and that the Christian Religion was publickly and generally profest in the Places from whence they came but that they all agreed in some common Faith and that the Christian Religion profess'd in the several Places from whence they came was every where the same without any other variation than what was grounded upon the different Conception of some Articles by particular Persons which were allowed by all alike in some general Terms or different application of some general Rules about such Matters as Christians were by the whole tenour of their Religion left at liberty so to apply 5. The reason of this general Agreement of all Christians separated so far from one another in place and never before this time united under one common Head or Governor was as we find by what pass'd in this Council a firm and constant Belief that such and such Books which they all had amongst them were written by the immediate Followers and Disciples of Christ and contained a true Account of his Life and Doctrine and a full Scheme of their Religion What ever was in any of these Books they lookt upon as Obligatory and such they esteemed the Authority of these Writings That they were not upon any Account in the least Passage of them to receive any Addition Diminution or Alteration whatsoever In the Decision of the present Controversy before them these were appeal'd to on both Sides and the Authority of them allowed by all and the particular Canons they made were founded upon the general Rules and Orders of Discipline laid down in these Scriptures 6. As we find by what was done in this Council concerning the Matter of Faith they came to settle That all the Bishops there assembled were acquainted with several of the same Books of Scripture which we now have under the Name of the New Testament and that they were perswaded they were delivered down to them from the Apostles as a Rule of their Faith So by several of the Canons they made we are assur'd That in all the several Places from whence they were assembled the Customs of Baptism and the Communion were universally and constantly used That the First Day of the Week was observed as a Day set a-part for Religious Services which were chiefly Prayers and Reading the Scriptures That there were a great many Men in a particular Way and Manner appointed for the Performance of Religious Offices in the Name and Presence of the People And that some of these did in a more eminent Degree preside over all other both Religious Officers and common Christians in such a District under the Title and Style of Bishops Now the Truth of this Relation concerning the Council of Nice and the State of the Christian Religion at that Time being supposed in the next Place I shall undertake to prove That the Christians we find in Nero's Time were of the same Faith and Religion with those that lived under the Reign of Constantine and consequently That all the principal Matters of Fact now recorded in the New Testament were generally believed at and immediately after the Times in which they are said to happen and so continually down to the Council of Nice This I shall endeavour to make out First From the constant Tradition of such a Belief together with many sensible and infallible Effects of it From the Neronian Persecution to the Council of Nice is about 260 Years which is so short a Period That 't is hardly possible to imagine the Tradition of so important a Fact as the general Profession of the Christian Religion in any considerable Country or Nation should in the main Branches and Substance of it be defective or corrupted within that Time though there were no other remaining Monuments of it but what were obvious to every Man 's own Observation at the Meeting of this Famous Council And therefore since the Christians of this latter Period did look upon it as a certain Truth delivered down to them That the Christians who lived in Nero's Time professed the same Faith they did as 't is plain from the Account before given of their Religion they must we may very well conclude That the Matter of Fact was really so without further Proof But to remove all Doubts and Objections so general a Conclusion as this may be apt to create the Truth and Credibility of the Tradition shall be more clearly made out in the following Manner Several of those who were present at the Council of Nice might of their own certain knowledge be fully satisfied That for Fifty Year backward the Christian Religion had been the same it was then in the Countries from whence they came That all this Time they had had the same Scriptures among them That these Scriptures had constantly been read both in publick and private and as far as fell within humane Cognizance as constantly and in the same manner believed and esteemed as they appeared then to be That the Ceremonies of Baptizing and Communicating had been always universally used at such Times and upon such and such Occasions That these and several other Religious Performances as Reading the Scriptures Prayers Exhortations c. had been constantly practised in publick when Christians were assembled together That Meetings or Assemblies for these Purposes were very frequent That besides other occasional Times they always observed the First Day of the Week as a Portion of Time which they thought themselves obliged to set a-part for the Performance of Religious Duties and especially in Publick That there were a constant Succession of Men by certain Ceremonies peculiarly appropriated to the Discharge of some Religious Offices which they did not think it Lawful for others not so distinguished to be concern'd in That it was the particular Business of these Men to teach and instruct the rest in the Knowledge of the Christian Religion and exhort them to a steady and exact Submission to the Rules of it That there were some of these styled Bishops who were by some different Marks of Distinction known from the rest of their Brethren and presided
Tradition Another Set of Testimonies which Eusebius furnishes us with in behalf of the Christian Tradition are Relicks Buildings and other such like Monuments several of which were remaining in his Time and seen by him himself such were Christian Burying-Places and Sepulchres with the Names of Christians upon them particularly those of Peter and Paul Statues and Pictures particularly the Statue of the Woman cured by Christ of the Bloody Flux Pictures of Christ Peter and Paul in colours These were all seen by Eusebius himself as was likewise the Episcopal Chair of James at Jerusalem several Christian Libraries and several Christian Temples before they were pull'd down and destroyed by the Order of Dieclesian These and many other such like Monuments remaining in Eusebius's Time whether all the Particular Traditional Reports concerning them were true or false might easily be perceived upon view or divers other ways be known to be Ancient and whatever Age they were of they must be good proofs of the Belief of the Men of those Times and consequently of the truth of Christianity so far as we are now concern'd to prove it But the Tradition of Christianity from its first Original down to the Council of Nice with all the principal Matters of Fact upon which it is built is further and more especially secured to us and the truth of all the foregoing Testimonies confirm'd by Books and written Records vast Numbers of which of different Kinds and different Ages written by several Men of different Countries Characters Designs and Religious Persuasions were extant in Eusebius's Time a great many of which were generally known multitudes of Copies of them being dispersed throughout the World and several of these Writings were carefully preserved in particular places and either never communicated further by any Transcripts or Copies to remaining there to be seen in their Primitive State after Transcription Now all these Writings of what kind soever they are whose Authority is made use of for the establishing the Christian Faith I shall rank under certain distinct Heads in order to shew what sense and weight they have in the proof of what they are brought to maintain The several Books and Writings then to be considered are Copies of the Holy Scriptures viz. of the Books of the Old and New Testament Publick Acts and Records belonging properly to Societies and not to particular Authors Genuine Writings of profess'd Christians who by reason of their common Agreement in some certain Doctrines of Christianity are Styl'd Orthodox Books writ by Hereticks who were Men of particular Opinions different from those commonly received by other Christians Jewish and Pagan Books containing such Things as have Relation to Christianity Forged and Supposititious Writings of uncertain Authors which do some way or other concern the Christian Religion As to Copies of the Scriptures found in the hands of Christians in Eusebius's Time I have these Things to observe that they were then multiplyed to so great a Variety that hardly a Christian Family was without some of the Books That they were Translated into several different Languages That in those Countries where the Translations were of common use a great many Copies in the Original Language were preserv'd That in most of the great Cities and Episcopal Churches there was a Copy in the Original Language more ancient than the rest from whence the other Copies were taken and Translations made That such Copies as these might not only by Tradition but by several intrinsick Marks be known to be ancient and their Age pretty nearly determined That upon comparison there was a very great Agreement betwixt these ancient Copies preserved in several very distant and remote Churches That such care had been taken in Transcribing and Translating from them that the differences found between any Copies either of the Originals or Translations were very inconsiderable That all Christians thought themselves concern'd to preserve the Jewish Canon of Scripture as well as the New Testament and therefore Copies of the Old Testament in the Original Tongue and Translations of it into several Vulgar Languages were multiplied carefully Transcribed and kept together with those of the New That upon a diligent search into the Matter it was found that besides those Copies of the greatest part of the Books of the New Testament which were alike to be met with in all Christian Churches there were others received in some Churches and by a constant Tradition then vouch'd to be as early and of as great Authority as the rest From all which I think I may safely inferr That the Writings of the New Testament were as early as they are pretended to be and that the Christian Religion had its Original in Judea at the time assigned it which being less than 300 Years before Eusebius and the Books of the New Testament which give an account of the Christian Religion and plainly suppose an antecedent Propagation and Establishment of it in a great part of the World being writ some time after the first Publication Eusebius or any other Person of his Age who throughly examined the Matter concerning the Copies of the Scriptures then received must needs be satisfied from this Consideration only that the Books of the New Testament had as early a Publication in the World as is now ascribed to them and consequently that the Christian Faith was somewhat earlier and the same then as it is in these Books represented to have been This will further be made out from the next sort of Writings to be considered viz. Publick Acts and Records belonging properly to Societies and not to particular Authors such were Catalogues of Bishops Decrees of Synods Letters from Churches and Societies of Men general Records of remarkable Matters particular Acts and Monuments of Martyrs Psalms Hymns Creeds and Forms of Prayer The most famous Churches especially those constituted by Apostles kept the Succession of their Bishops with great care laid up in their Archives recording their Names and days of their Death in a pair of writing Tables This Eusebius tells us was the Custom of the Primitive Christians and these Tables he assures us he diligently examined and he was very exact in the Account he took of them as particularly appears from what he says concerning the Church of Jerusalem viz. That he found from Old Records fifteen Bishops with their Names who had succeeded in that Church from the Apostles to the Siege of the Jews in Adrian 's Time but could not find preserved in Writing the space of Time each Bishop spent in his Presidency over that See The like diligence and exactness are observable in the Account he gives of the Succession of Bishops in several other Churches most of their Names being set down and the times of their several Succession Presidency and Death punctually determined and Reasons given why he could not speak with the same certainty of the rest omitted There were likewise extant in his Time a great many Canons and Decrees made by several Councils and
Senses or first obtain Credit among those who lived afterwards without any proof of their being done or believed before And if we suppose the Christian Morality Entertained and Established in the World without the present History we have of it the Forgery of that afterwards would have been wholly unnecessary and the difficulty of getting such a Forgery believed much greater From hence then it plainly follows that there could never have been such a state of things in the World as we now perceive if all the Principal Parts and Substance of the Christian History as it is at present generally believed were not true and had some time or other really happen'd out according to the Relation we find given of them This does likewise further appear from the way and manner in which those Books that contain this History are Written where we find so many extraordinary Marks and Characters of the Simplicity Integrity and undesigning Humility of the Writers their hearty Belief of what they wrote themselves and their great Zeal and Concern for the Good of Mankind as plainly shew them to have been Influenced not only by the force of well-attested Truth but by some extraordinary and more than Humane Impressions 3. These are in short the Reasons we have to believe the Truth of the Christian Religion The Validity and Force of which I shall endeavour to make out more fully under the Third Head where I am to shew the Sufficiency of the Proof that has been given of the Christian Matters of Fact from the Nature of Things upon which the certainty of all Matters of Fact as well as other Truths is ultimately founded Now the chief and immediate Reason of believing most Facts being taken from the Nature of Man and there being nothing we are so well acquainted with as the common Original Capacities and Powers Inclinations and Aversions of Mankind and consequently their Ends and Motives of acting it will be easie to shew from hence that the proof of the Christian Religion before given is not only sufficient to determine our assent to it but does in Evidence and Multiplicity of Conviction far exceed the Proof any other Matters of Fact are capable of In the first place then let us consider why we believe any Matter of Fact which never fell within our own particular and immediate Cognizance Why do we so firmly believe the Story of Julius Cesar and William the Conqueror that there is such a place as Italy or China c Now the reason of this upon examining our selves we shall find to be because a great many Men have acquainted us that there were formerly such Persons who did such and such Things and that there are now such Places in the World c. which Men were competent Judges of what they tell us had sufficient Opportunities of knowing the Truth themselves no Motives conceivable that could dispose them to lye to others and are contradicted by no body of equal Authority with them these are all the grounds of Credibility upon which Matters of Fact are generally believed and no further Characters of Truth are required by one that is satisfied of these But we have all these Reasons to believe the Common Matters of Fact related in the New Testament in the fullest Force and Extent of them and several other besides as the Incapacity of the Witnesses to deceive if they had been disposed to do it the greater Motives they had not to say what they did than to say it if it had been false and the greater Motives other Persons had to contradict them if they could have been disproved Let us examine all these Characters of Truth and see how far the Proof of the Christian History exceeds that of other Matters of Fact and how far the supposed Falshood of it notwithstanding these Characters is consistent with that certain Knowledge we have of Humane Nature As to the first Character required for the Proof of Matters of Fact the Number of the Witnesses there never was certainly so vast a Multitude of Persons all unanimously agreeing to assert the Truth of so great a variety of Matters of Fact as there is in the Case before us because the Progress of Christianity was so swift that we cannot suppose more Persons could have been acquainted with the History and Doctrines of it in so short a time and there never was such industrious Care taken to propagate the Belief of any other Facts and Opinions that we ever read of It is likewise as certain that the whole Multitude of the first Publishers and Professors of Christianity were as competent Judges of the Matters they bear witness of as 't is possible for any Man to be of any thing else whatsoever We will only suppose now that Christ and his Apostles and Disciples pretended to such Things as are Recorded of them in the Scriptures and consequently to believe their own Pretences and that all others who profess'd the Gospel of Christ did declare their Belief of all those Things which are related as said or done by Christ and his Apostles And surely a Man may infallibly know his own Thoughts and Imaginations he can tell whether he believes such or such a Thing or no or at least he can be certain that he thinks or fancies he believes it and if there be any Intercourse or Communication betwixt Men one Man may know that another pretends to believe or do a Thing whether he really believes or does it or no. If a Multitude of Men can be deceived in such Judgments as these concerning themselves and one another 't is evident that there is no such thing as Knowledge at all If therefore it must be allowed that a vast Multitude of Persons did pretend to believe all those things that they are said to believe in the New Testament it necessarily follows from hence that they did really and truly believe them or else they pretended to believe what they certainly knew to be false But that they did not pretend to believe what they knew to be false will evidently appear from these further Reflections upon Humane Nature First then 't is certain that every Man must act for some End or Motive and here is no End or Motive conceivable that could determine any of the first Publishers or Professors of Christianity to pretend to believe those Facts which they knew to be false All the Ends and Motives we can imagine any Man to act upon in such a Case we have reckoned up before and we find that if we put our selves into the same Circumstances with those first Witnesses of Christianity it would have been impossible for us to have been influenced by any of them to make the same pretences being infallibly assured at the same time that they were utterly false and groundless from whence we conclude that neither did they since all Men are so made and contrived as to be determined by the same general Motives though according to the difference of