delivered by Christ and his Apostles But here is a great difficulty to be removed as to the written Word How can we be certain we have it if not by Tradition and if Tradition be so uncertain how can we be made certain by it that we have that written Word which the Apostles delivered For might not that fail in this as well as the Creed And then what security can we have for our Faith In Answer to this I shall shew 1. What Advantage things that are written have as to the certainty of conveyance above things meerly committed to Memory and Tradition 2. What Advantage the Scriptures have above any other things committed to Writing as to the certainty of their conveyance 1. As to the Advantage things written have above those committed to Memory and Tradition only Which will appear by these things 1. It was the way God himself made choice of where the Reason for Tradition was stronger I mean as to the Ten Commandments which were short and plain and easie to be remembred and very agreeable to the Sense and General Interest of Mankind yet the Wise God who perfectly understood the Nature of Man would not leave the Ten Commandments to an Oral Tradition but God delivered to Moses Two Tables of Stone written with the Finger of God and on them he wrote the Ten Commandments What a vain and superfluous thing were this if Oral and Practical Tradition were infallible But God 's own pitching upon this way after so long a Trial of Mankind in the other is a Demonstration of the greater certainty of it if we suppose that God aimed at the benefit of Mankind by it 2. When Religion was corrupted among the Jews the only way of restoring it was by a written Book of the Law As we find in the case of Josiah's Reformation which was made by the Book of the Law which was found in the House of the Lord. This was the Rule by which Hilkiah the High-Priest thought it necessary for Josiah to go by and not by any Tradition left among them concerning the Law which God had given by Moses 3. This was that which our Saviour appealed to in all his Disputes search the Scriptures saith he to the Jews not run to your Traditions for those were then very corrupt especially about the Messias as that he was to be a Temporal Prince c. which was then a dangerous and fundamental Mistake and therefore Christ apâ—eals from them to the Scriptures And they are they which testifie of me Had ye believed Moses ye would have believed me for he wrote of me but if ye believe not his Writings how shall ye believe my Words And our Saviour severely checks the Pharisees for regarding their own Traditions more than the written Law And yet they pretended to an Oral Tradition down from Moses as the Jews do to this day and none are more grosly deceived than they 4. The general Sense and Experience of Mankind agrees herein that all matters of consequence are more certainly preserved by Writings than by meer Words There is no Invention hath been more valued by the wiser Part of Mankind than that of Letters because it is of such excellent use for conveying the sense of our Minds at a distance to others All men have so great a Mistrust either of the capacity or memory or fidelity of others that what they would have done with security they commit to Writing And whatever we truly understand of the Ages before us we are beholden to Writing for it all those memorable Actions and Institutions either of Philosophy or Religion which were not written are long since buried in Oblivion without possibility of a Resurrection But where they have been committed to Writing they are preserved after so many Ages and by it we certainly know the History of the Patriarchs and the strange Revolutions that happened from the beginning of the World By it we converse with the wisest Persons of former times and are able to justifie the Scriptures by the concurrent Testimonies of other Writers By it we are enabled to interpret Prophecies and to make plain their Accomplishments which without it we could never make out Yea by it the Wisdom of those is preserved for the benefit of Mankind who thought fit to write nothing themselves as Socrates and Pythagoras but their Disciples took care in time to write their Doctrines So that we have the general Consent of the wisest Part of Mankind that Writing is a far more certain way of conveyance than meer Tradition 2. And especially in our case where there are so many particular Advantages as to the Holy Scriptures above any other Writings 1. From the special Providence of God with respect to them for since it is agreed by all Christians that these were written by Divine Inspiration it is most reasonable to believe that a more than ordinary care would be taken to preserve them And therefore to suppose any Books of Scripture to be lost which contained any necessary Points of Faith is a great Reflexion on Divine Providence For if God watches over his Church he cannot be supposed to let such Books be lost which were designed for the universal and lasting Benefit of his Church 2. From the mighty Esteem which the Church of God had always for them for they built their Hopes of Heaven upon the Promises contained in them The Book of Scripture was their Evidence for their future Inheritance the Foundation of their Hope and Rule of their Faith their Defence against Assaults and Temptations their Counseller in cases of Difficulty their Support under Troubles and their surest Guide to a happy Eternity and therefore the Primitive Christians chose rather to endure any Torments than basely to betray it and give it up to their Enemies 3. From the early disputes that were about them Which shews that they were no Invention of After-times nor were brought into the World by Stealth and Art for they endured the greatest shock of opposition at first while the Matters of Fact concerning them were the most easily proved And having passed the severe Scrutiny of the first Ages when so many counterfeit Writings were sent abroad the following Ages could have no Reason to call their Authority in question 4. From the general Consent of divided Churches about them It might have pleased God to have kept his Church from those unhappy Breaches which have been in all Parts of the Christian World but the East and the West the North and the South can all bear Testimony to the sad Divisions of Christendom and those of many Ages standing But yet we have this considerable Advantage by them that we can have no Reason to mistrust a conspiracy where the several Bodies are so much divided 5. From the great internal Satisfaction which the Minds of good Men have concerning them and which no other Writing can pretend to give For here we read of the Promise of Divine
and in an instant to knock off their Fetters and bid them be free but he makes use of all the gentle and effectual Methods of Perswasion not only by his Words but by his own Example that they might learn by him to despise this World who had so little in it and to prepare for that from whence he came where their Happiness should be unconceivable and without End III. The third Principle is That no such particular Favour of God is to be expected as long as his Displeasure is so just against Mankind for Sin and no effectual Means used to remove it The truth is the whole Scheme of the Gospel turns upon this Point whether God be really displeased with Mankind for their Sins so as to need a Reconciliation For if all that the Scripture so often expresses concerning the Wrath and Displeasure of God against Mankind for Sin be only figurative and hyperbolical Expressions then the whole Design of the Gospel must be given up as a meer Scheme for if God be not really displeased there is no need of Reconciliation if no need of that then there can be no need of Christ's coming to reconcile us to God and if he did not come for that End we have no Reason to believe the Scripture which affirms it over and over And I do not think any stronger Argument can be brought to prove a thing than that the most emphatical Expressions are so often applied to that purpose by such Persons who used all Sincerity and Plainness So that this matter as to the Scripture is clear if any thing can be made so and if nothing can I cannot see how it is possible to have a written Rule of Faith since all Writings are capable by Ambiguity of Words and Phrases by the different Use of Particles and Transposition of Letters and Syllables of very different Interpretations But this is not my present Business which is rather to consider the Natural Sense and Reason of Mankind as to this matter We cannot in Reason suppose any such Passion in an infinitely perfect being as that which we call Wrath and Anger in Men. For that is a violent Perturbation arising from Surprise and Indignation but there can be no Disorder or Surprise in a Being of infinite Wisdom Therefore Wrath in God must suppose two Things 1. A just Cause of Displeasure given by us 2. Such a just Displeasure following upon it as will end in the severe Punishment of Offenders if it be not removed Now whether there be a just Cause of Displeasure or not must depend upon the Natural Differences of Good and Evil. And it is impossible that any one who exercises his Reason can judge amiss in this Matter Not that all the Differences of Good and Evil are equally clear for all Propositions in Mathematicks are not so but it is sufficient to our Purpose that the general Principles are so and the greater Instances so that no Man can think that he acts as much according to Reason in one as the other And can any one of common Sense imagine God to be as well pleased with him who blasphemes his Name and despises his Service and hates Religion as with one that fears and Honours him and endeavours to please him Can he be as well pleased with him that assassines his Parents as with him that obeys them With him that robs and defrauds his Neighbour as with him that relieves him in his Necessities With him who subdues his disorderly Passions as with him that gives way to them With him who is cruel inhuman and persidious as with him that is faithfull and just and compassionate These are but some of the Instances of the Differences of Good and Evil but they are so plain and notorious that a Man must renounce the common Principles of Humanity who doth not own them And to say there are no such Differences because there have been Mistakes and Disputes about some things accounted Good and Evil is as absurd as to say there is no Difference between Day and Night because in the Twilight it is hard to distinguish them But if there be such a real Difference in the Nature of Humane Actions and God be a strict observer of them he being a God of infinite Holiness and Justice cannot but be offended with Mankind's wilfull Omission of what they know to be good and Commission of what they know to be evil But here we must distinguish between God's Displeasure against the Actions and against the Persons who commit them The former is a necessary Consequent upon the Evil of Sin and can never be removed for God is irreconcileable to Sin But those who commit Sin are his Creatures and therefore capable of Mercy and Forgiveness There is always a Desert of Punishment following upon Sin but there is no inseparable Connection between the Sin and the Punishment for the great and wise Governour of the World acts not by Necessity of Nature in punishing Sinners but by the Methods of Wisdom and Justice And if the saving of Sinners upon their Repentance can be made agreeable to these such is the Mercy and Goodness of God to his Creatures that there is great Reason to hope for a Reconciliation For although God be displeased he is not implacable although he be justly provoked to punish Sinners yet there is no absolute Necessity that he should nor any irreversible Decree that he will do it and therefore notwithstanding this Displeasure of God there is a way still left open for Reconciliation which leads to the next IV. The fourth Principle is That if God be thus displeased with the Sins of Mankind and yet there is a Possibility of Reconciliation between God and them he alone is the most proper and competent Judge on what Terms this Reconciliation may be obtained For being both the offended Party and the supreme Governour he hath the sole Right on both Accounts of fixing those Terms and Conditions upon which he will forgive Sins and receive the Offenders into Favour It is a vain thing for any to argue from one Attribute of God against another Some are apt to flatter themselves that God will easily forgive Sins because he is mercifull but they ought to consider that he is just and holy as well as mercifull and there is as much ground to fear that he will not forgive because he is just as there can be to hope that he will because he is mercifull And thus it is impossible for a considering Man to satisfie his own Mind as to God's forgiving his Sins unless he be some way assured from himself that he will do it And therefore a particular Revelation in this Case must be made if God designs to bring Men to Repentance by the Hopes of Forgiveness But meer Repentance can never make any satisfaction to God for the Breach of his Laws Suppose a Sinner come to himself and is heartily sorry that he hath offended God so many ways and with
understood it Can we imagine that a meer Man knowing himself to be such should assume this to himself and yet God to bear witness to him not only by Miracles but by a Voice from Heaven wherein he was called his beloved Son in whom he was well pleased Could God be pleased with a mortal finite despicable Creature as the Jews thought him that assumed to himself to be God and maintained and defended it among his own People in a solemn Conference at a very publick Place in one of the Portico's of the Temple And this he persisted in to the last For when the High Priest adjured him by the living God to tell whether he were the Christ the Son of God for he no doubt had heard of the Result of this Conference in Solomon's Porch Jesus said unto him Thou hast said St. Mark more expresly Jesus said I am And this was the Blasphemy for which they put him to death as appears by the Evangelists So that this ought to be a Dispute only between Jews and Christians since it was the very Point for which they condemned him to death And in his last most divine Prayer just before his Suffering he owns the Glory which he had with the Father before the World had a Being And now O Father glorisie thou me with the glory which I had with thee before the World was Was this nothing but the Glory which God had designed to give him This is so far from being peculiar to Christ that it is common to all whom God designs to glorifie and takes away the distinction between the Decree and the Execution of it 2. As to the Apostles the Reason we believe their Testimony is that they were Men of great Sincerity and Plainness and of great Zeal for the Honour and Glory of God And according to this Character let us examine what they say concerning Christ Jesus He that was most conversant with him and beloved by him and lived to see his Divinity contested by some and denied by others is most ample in setting it forth in his Admirable Sublime and Divine Introduction to his Gospel Which all the Wit of Mankind can never make tolerable Sense of if they deny Christ's being the Eternal Son of God and it is he that hath preserved those Conferences with the Jews wherein he asserts his own Divinity St. Paul was a Stranger to him while he lived but at the same time when he was so zealous to perswade the Gentiles to the Worship of God and not of Creatures he calls him God over all blessed for evermore And when he saith that the Eternal Power and God-head are known by the Creation of the World he attributes the Creation of all things to Christ applying to him those words of the Psalmist Thou Lord in the beginning hast laid the Foundation of the Earth and the Heaven the Work of thy hands Which cannot be understood of any Metaphorical Creation And after the strictest Examination of Copies those will be found the best which have that Reading on which our Translation is grounded And without Controversie great is the Mystery of Godliness God was manifest in the Flesh. So that God's being manifest in the Flesh is made a great Part of the Mystery of Christianity But here arises a Difficulty which deserves to be consider'd i. e. If there were nothing in the Christian Doctrine but the Way of Saving sinners by the Doctrine and Example of Christ there would be little Objection to be made to it since the obtaining Eternal Life is certainly the best thing can be proposed to Mankind and the Precepts of Christ are Divine and Spiritual plain and easie to be understood and agreeable to the Reason of Mankind but many other things are imposed on Men as necessary to be believed concerning Christ Jesus as to his Divinity Incarnation and the Hypostatical Union of both Natures which perplex and confound our Understandings and yet these things are not only deliver'd as Mysteries of the Christian Faith but the Belief of them is required as necessary to the Salvation of Sinners whereas if they are revealed they are no longer Mysteries and if they are not revealed how come they to be made Articles of Faith The Scripture knows of no other Mysteries of Faith but such as were hidden before the Revelation of them but since they are revealed they are plain and open to all Men's Capacities and therefore it is a great Injury to the Plainness and Simplicity of the Gospel to impose such incomprehensible Mysteries as necessary Articles of Faith and it is abusing the Credulity of Mankind to make such things necessary to be believed which are impossible to be understood But those who have ever loved to deceive and abuse the rest of the World have been always fond of the Name of Mysteries and therefore all such things are to be suspected which come under that Name For all such Points which will not bear Examination must be wrapt up and reverenced under the Name of Mysteries that is of things to be swallow'd without being understood But the Scripture never calls that a Mystery which is incomprehensible in it self though never so much revealed This is the main force of the Objection which I shall endeavour to remove by shewing 1. That God may justly require from us in general the Belief of what we cannot comprehend 2. That which way soever the Way of Salvation by Christ be explained there will be something of that Nature found in it and that those who reject the Mysteries of Faith run into greater Difficulties than those who assert them 3. That no more is required as a necessary Article of Faith than what is plainly and clearly revealed 1. That God may justly require from us in general the Belief of what we cannot comprehend It is to very little Purpose to enquire whether the Word Mystery in Scripture be applied to such particular Doctrines whose Substance is revealed but the manner of them is incomprehensible by us for why may not we make use of such a Word whereby to express things truly revealed but above our Comprehension We are certain the Word Mystery is used for things far less difficult and abstruse and why may it not then be fitly applied to such matters which are founded on Divine Revelation but yet are too deep for us to go to the bottom of them Are there not Mysteries in Arts Mysteries in Nature Mysteries in Providence And what Absurdity is there to call those Mysteries which in some Measure are known out in much greater unknown to us Altho' therefore in the Language of Scripture it be granted that the word Mystery is most frequently applied to things before hidden but now revealed yet there is no Incongruity in calling that a Mystery which being revealed hath yet something in it which our understandings cannot reach to But it is meer cavilling to insist on a
Word if the Thing it self be granted The chief thing therefore to be done is to shew that God may require from us the belief of such things which are incomprehensible by us For God may require any thing from us which it is reasonable for us to do if it be then reasonable for us to give assent where the manner of what God hath revealed is not comprehended then God may certainly require it from us Hath not God revealed to us that in six days he made Heaven and Earth and all that is therein But is it not reasonable for us to believe this unless we are able to comprehend the manner of God's production of things Here we have something revealed and that plainly enough viz. that God created all things and yet here is a Mystery remaining as to the manner of doing it Hath not God plainly revealed that there shall be a Resurrection of the dead and must we think it unreasonable to believe it till we are able to comprehend all the Changes of the Particles of Matter from the Creation to the General Resurrection But it is said that there is no Contradiction in this but there is in the Mystery of the Trinity and Incarnation It is strange Boldness in Men to talk thus of Monstrous Contradictions in things above their Reach The Atheists may as well say Infinite Power is a Monstrous Contradiction and God's Immensity and his other unsearchable Perfections are Monstrous Paradoxes and Contradictions Will Men never learn to distinguish between Numbers and the Nature of Things For three to be one is a Contradiction in Numbers but whether an Infinite Nature can communicate it self to three different Subsistences without fuch a Division as is among created Beings must not be determin'd by bare Numbers but by the absolute Perfections of the Divine Nature which must be owned to be above our Comprehension For let us examine some of those Perfections which are most clearly revealed and we shall find this true The Scripture plainly reveals that God is from everlasting to everlasting that he was and is and is to come but shall we not believe the Truth of this till we are able to fathom the Abyss of God's Eternity I am apt to think and I have some thoughtfull Men concurring with me that there is no greater Difficulty in the Conception of the Trinity and Incarnation than there is of Eternity Not but that there is great Reason to believe it but from hence it appears that our Reason may oblige us to believe some things which it is not possible for us to comprehend We know that either God must have been for ever or it is impossible he ever should be for if he should come into Being when he was not he must have some Cause of his Being and that which was the first Cause would be God But if he was for ever he must be from himself and what Notion or Conception can we have in our Minds concerning it And yet Atheistical Men can take no Advantage from hence because their own most absurd Hypothesis hath the very same Difficulty in it For something must have been for ever And it is far more reasonable to suppose it of an Infinite and Eternal Mind which hath Wisdom and Power and Goodness to give Being to other things than of dull stupid and senâ—eless Matter which could never move it self nor give Being to any thing besides Here we have therefore a thing which must be owned by all and yet such a thing which can be conceived by none Which shews the narrowness and shortness of our Understandings and how unfit they are to be the Measures of the Possibilities of things Vain men would be wise they would fain go to the very bottom of things when alass they scarce understand the very Surface of them They will allow no Mysteries in Religion and yet every thing is a Mystery to them They cry out of Cheats and Impostures under the Notion of Mysteries and yet there is not a Spire of Grass but is a Mystery to them they will bear with nothing in Religion which they cannot comprehend and yet there is scarce any thing in the World which they can comprehend But above other things the Divine Perfections even those which are most absolute and necessary are above their Reach For let such Men try â—heir Imaginations about God's Eternity not meerly how he should be from himself but how God should coexist with all the Differences of Times and yet there be no Succession in his own Being I do not say there is such Difficulty to conceive a Rock standing still when the Waves run by it or the Gnomon of a Dial when the Shadow Passes from one Figure to another because these are gross un-active things but the Difficulty is far greater where the Being is perfect and always active For where there is Succession there is a passing out of not being in such a duration into being in it which is not consistent with the absolute Perfection of the Divine Nature And therefore God must be all at once what he is without any Respect to the Difference of Time past present or to come From whence Eternity was defined by Boethius to be a perfect and complete Possession all at once of everlasting Life But how can we form any Conception in our Minds of that being all at once which hath such different Acts as must be measur'd by a long Succession of Time As the creating and dissolving the Frame of the World the promising and sending the Messias the declaring and executing a general Judgment how can these things be consistent with a permanent Instant or a Continuance of being without Succession For it is impossible for us in this Case as to God's Eternity to form a clear and distinct Idea in our Mind of that which both Reason and Revelation convince us must be The most we can make of our Conception of it is that God hath neither Beginning of Being nor End of Days but that he always was and always must be And this is rather a necessary Conclusion from Reason and Scripture than any distinct Notion or Conception of Eternity in our Minds From whence it evidently follows that God may reveal something to us which we are bound to believe and yet after that Revelation the Manner of it may be incomprehensible by us and consequently a Mystery to us Hath not God revealed to us in Scripture the Spirituality of his own Nature That he is a Spirit and therefore will be worshipp'd in Spirit and in Truth For that is a true Reason why Spiritual Worship should be most agreeable to him Now if we could have a clear distinct 〈◊〉 Notion in our Minds of God's Spiritual Nature we might then pretend that there is nothing mysterious in this since it is revealed But let such Men examine their own thoughts about this Matter and try whether the utmost they can attain to
Parts of a Man but not the Power of moving them And where God by his Grace doth recover Mankind to a new Life yet there are such Remainders of the former Deadness upon us as makes us unable to do that which we most desire to do and do fail in the Manner of Performance where we are sincere as to our Purpose and Design But will God lay these moral Defects or Infirmities of our corrupt Nature on us as wilfull Sins now under the Gospel God forbid I do not question God's Right to command us all that which is just in it self and he hath given us Faculties to do but I consider him as a gracious Lord towards a decayed Tenant of whom if he be willing to pay what he is able he will not exact the uttermost Farthing As a compassionate Commander to a wounded Soldier who is willing to accept what Service he is able to do although he fails in many Points of his Duty As the good Samaritan which poured in Wine and Oil into the Wounds which he had not made and diseharged the Debt which he had not contracted If God were not infinitely gracious and mercifull there were little hopes for us to avoid Punishment but since he is pleased to deal with us upon the Terms of a new Covenant we have reason to hope that he will not charge Involuntary Neglects and Moral Disabilities upon us as Sins of Omission 2. There are Duties of External Worship and Service owing to God and how shall we know when the Omission of these becomes a Sin to us For these are not always necessary and sometimes we may be hindred from them To answer this I lay down these Rules I. A constant or habitual Neglect of those Duties which God hath appointed for his Worship and Service cannot be without a Sin of Omission because that must arise from an evil Temper and Disposition of Mind When it comes from a Contempt of God and his Service it must be a Sin because the Reason of it is a very great one When it comes barely from a careless indifferent slothfull Temper which is glad of any Excuses for the Neglect or Omission of them it argues very little Sense of Religion or Regard to God and his Service when they are so ready to find an Excuse for their Fault But some are ready to justifie themselves in such a Neglect as though all the outward Worship of God were meer Ceremony and only a decent way of entertaining the People with some outward Pomp and Shew of Devotion towards a Divine Majesty I am afraid such hardly mention a Divine Majesty but in a Complement however we are willing to believe that they do own such a Being but they think it a vain thing to serve him as though he could be moved by our Prayers to him or Praises of him We do not deny that God is infinitely above all our Services But is that a Reason why we should not serve him in the way he requires it from us He doth not want our Services but we want his Favour and Blessings and can we expect them when we slight that little Service in comparison of the time he allows for other Imployments which he expects from us If we had nothing but the Light of Nature to direct us we should conclude it very reasonable that Mankind should own their Creator by some outward and publick and stated Ways and Times of Worship For this is no more than natural Justice to own our Maker and Benefactor and can it become less necessary when he hath declared himself pleased with the Performance of them and made great Promises to those who call upon him But this say they is the greatest Difficulty of all to understand what Effect our Prayers can have upon the Eternal Counsels of Heaven since they are already fixed and cannot be reversed by our Prayers As great as this Difficulty is the true Point of it is only this Whether we are to believe and trust the frequent and repeated Promises of God altho' we are not able to comprehend how the Efficacy of our Prayers is taken in as a necessary Condition towards the Execution of God's Eternal Purposes For if they are Conditions as the Scripture often tells us then we may easily understand what is meant by the Efficacy of Prayers and as to the manner of reconciling such contingent Conditions with God's Eternal Purposes it is a Difficulty which will afford perpetual Matter of Dispute but ought no more to hinder us from plain Duties than a Man should be from going a necessary Journey till he be satisfied whether the Earth moves about the Sun or the Sun about the Earth II. Whether the Omission of such publâ—ck Duties of Divine Worship be a Sin or not depends very much on the Reason and Occasion of it For if it be a wilfull Neglect it doth imply a Degree of Contempt and that cannot be without Sin And that is a wilfull Neglect when nothing but an Act of a Man 's own Will hinders him from serving God in publick I do not mean only at the very time but if he hath by some former Act of his Will brought an Incapacity upon himself that want of Power doth not excuse when the Impotency arises from a voluntary Act of his own If it be intended on purpose to hinder it is as wilfull in its Cause as if there were no such Impediment For although the actual Impediment be the immediate Cause of the Omission yet it is the Design and Purpose which makes it wilfull But if Persons by an Act of Providence without their own Fault be hindred from the Worship of God as by long Sickness no one can say that this Omission is wilfull and therefore cannot be accounted a Sin But if a Person by his Intemperance and Debauchery hath brought himself into an Incapacity of attending on the Service of God we cannot say that the actual Omission was wilfull but we may justly say that the original Cause was so and that it cannot excuse the Omission II. But besides the Duties which we owe to God there are such which we owe to one another which cannot be omitted without Sin But here the stating of the Case seems yet more difficult since there is not so plain an Authority to oblige nor such a Relation to each other as we stand in to God And besides the Circumstances of humane Affairs are oftentimes so intricate and perplexed that it is very hard for Persons to know their Duties and much more to practise them But there are certainly such Duties which we owe both to the Publick and to one another and it may be of some Use to us to understand the force of the Obligation and what those are which cannot be Omitted without Sin 1. As to the Publick and concerning that we may take Notice of two Rules 1. Those Duties cannot be omitted without Sin which cannot be omitted without Prejudice to the publick Good
of Reason and there is less of time and Deliberation and Contrivance in the one than in the other But when Anger goes inward instead of breaking forth when it gets to the Heart it then degenerates into Malice and Revenge and then it hath the greatest Aggravations going along with it 3. As to the manner of Committing If it be committed Presumptuously it is so much the more aggravated And that consists in these things 1. The lowest degree of Presumption is when a Sin is committed of set Purpose not only with Deliberation but with Contrivance Design and Resolution Thus by the Law a Man was said to kill his Neighbour Presumptuously when he lay in wait to do it Thus the Psalmist opposes presumptuous Sins to those which are committed through Ignorance or Inadvertency And where there is a Will bent and set to commit Sin there must be an inward and secret Contempt of God and his Laws as Nehemiah expresses the presumptuous sinning of their Forefathers They dealt proudly and harden'd their Necks and hearkend not to the Commandments and refused to obey So that where there is obstinacy and wilful Continuance in Sin there Men are said to sin Presumptuously If it be done with open Contempt and Defiance to God and his Law This the Scripture calls sinning with a high Hand and such who do are said to reproach the Lord and to despise the word of the Lord. This saith Maimonides is beyond sinning out of Inclination or from the Power of evil Habits or Custom but it is with a malicious Design to bring the Law of God into Contempt and Dishonour And this in respect of the Gospel is the sinning wilfully which the Author to the Hebrews speaks of whereby they tread under foot the Son of God and count the Blood of the Covenant an unholy thing and do despite to the Spirit of Grace Which implies a malicious Design to reproach the Gospel 2. As to Infirmities with respect to our present State the meaning is what those failings are which are consistent with a State of Grace and Salvation now under the Gospel To resolve this we have but one certain Rule that is whatever failings are consistent with the Terms of Salvation are allowed for Infirmities by the Gospel And so Infirmities are opposed to such Sins as put those who commit them out of the State of Grace and Salvation If God were so strict under the Covenant of Grace as to require perfect and unsinning Obedience there could be no allowance for Infirmities because even those are a breach of the Law of God and a Deviation from a perfect Rule And if God should be exact to mark all Irregularities or whatever is done amiss who can stand before his Tribunal The best Men in the world have reason to pray with the Psalmist Enter not into Judgment with thy Servant for in thy sight shall no Man living be justified For if God were so severe to make no Abatements for Failings and Imperfections it were impossible for Mankind to be saved But what then doth the Gospel mean with all its Promises of Salvation and the hopes it gives of eternal Life If Christ's own Disciples were in a State of Salvation there must be an allowance made for Infirmities and Imperfections which we find them often charged with in the History of our Saviour What meant their vain and eager Disputes about Superiority and Pre-eminence and that at the most unseasonable time when they were at Table with him just before his Suffering Lord what a time was this for them to contend who should be accounted the greatest What meant that passionate Zeal in James and John to call for Fire from Heaven to consume the Samaritans when they knew it was not a particular dis-respect to our Saviour which made them so rude but the common Quarrel between the Samaritans and the Jews How many Errors and Mistakes were they liable to even while our Saviour taught them and those about very weighty Points as the Nature of his Kingdom the necessity of his Death and Resurrection What Fears and Dejections and disorders were they all under upon our Saviour's apprehension though but a little before they had all resolved to die with him rather than forsake him What was there now under all these Infirmities which made these Disciples to be in a State of Salvation Nothing certainly but their hearty and sincere Love to Christ which they manifested before by their constant adhering to him and afterwards by continuing to serve him So that our Rule in this Case is That whatever is consistent with the Love of Christ and with a sincere and constant endeavour to do his Will will be allowed for Infirmities under the Gospel i. e. for such Irregularities which are consistent with a State of Salvation To make this Rule more useful we must consider 1. What Failings are not consistent with it 2. What sort of Failings are consistent 1. What Failings are not consistent And those are of three kinds 1. Such as come from an habitual Carelessness or a general Neglect of our Duty with respect to God and another World When Persons do not regard what Duties they omit or what Sins they Practise it is impossible they should have any true Love to God or to their own Souls For the first thing which springs from thence is a Care to please God without which there is no Salvation But there are too many in the world who regard no more than how to live easily and pleasantly in it a fair Estate and Reputation and therefore avoid great and scandalous Sins and the gross Neglect of God's publick Worship but never mind inward and secret Sins such as evil Habits the violence of Passions the vanity of their Minds being carried away with the pleasing Temptations of a deceitful World without serious considering or looking into their own Temper and Disposition which may be very vain and sensual and therefore unfit for Heaven though they be not remarkable for Profaneness or any gross Impiety But the Gospel requires a spiritual Temper and Disposition of Soul to qualifie Persons for Heaven and where ever that is there will be a constant Care to avoid being overcome by the Temptations of an alluring and sinful World 2. The habitual Practice of any known Sins such I mean as the Scripture saith Those who commit them shall not inherit the Kingdom of God And as to these St. James his Rule is Whosoever shall keep the whole Law and yet offend in one Point he is guilty of all This seems to be very severe Doctrine now under the Covenant of Mercy but we are to consider that by one Point he doth not mean any one Act of sin for he saith afterwards That in many things we offend all but he means any one sort or kind of known Sins It was a common Doctrine among the Jews that if a Person were remarkable for keeping
Mysterious Doctrine of the Resurrection although artificially couched by wayâ— of Insinuation and Address 1. It is not a vain thing to suppose it because God had Promised it For no Tradition of Fathers no Conjectures of Philosophers no Power of Nature could be a sufficient Foundation to build such an Article of Faith upon nothing short of the Promise made of God 2. It is not a new thing started by him to disturb and perplex the Minds of Men it was a Promise made to our Fathers i. e. it was involv'd and implied in the great Promise of the Messias and the Happiness to come by him which was not with Respect to this World but the World to come the full and compleat Enjoyment whereof must suppose a Resurrection of the dead 3. It is not an unreasonable thing which appears by S. Paul's putting it to them in such a manner Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you that God should raise the dead Wherein the Apostle hath shew'd us the true Method of asserting and defending the Mysteries of the Christian Faith viz. not to undertake to demonstrate things by natural Reason which are uncapable of it but first to prove them to be of Divine Revelation and then to shew that there is no Objection from Reason which can make that Revelation incredible And this I shall endeavour to make out as to the Subject here mentioned and that 1. In General with respect to the Doctrine of the Resurrection 2. More particularly 1. As to the Resurrection of Christ 2. As to the Resurrection of the Dead at the great Day 1. In General as to the Doctrine of the Resurrection It is no unreasonable Method of proceeding with Mankind to suppose some general Principles agreed on before we undertake to prove particular Doctrines For when we go about to reason at all we must suppose the Foundations of certainty without which it is to no purpose to undertake to convince any Man of any thing When we prove that there is a God we must suppose something that is without our selves in the Frame of this visible World and from the order of Causes the variety of Effects the nature of successive Beings we justly infer that it could not be always just as it is and therefore it will be produced by a Being Superiour to it whose Power must be Infinite as giving Being to that which had none and disposing things in such a manner as we see them For as nothing can be without a Cause so it is most unreasonable to suppose that which once was not should put it self into Being or a blind and unactive Cause should produce such admirable Effects An infinite Power being then necessarily supposed as to the Production of the World it cannot be unreasonable to apply it to a particular Effect although above the power of natural Causes if it be such a one as is agreeable to the infinite Wisdom of God It is an unreasonable thing to suppose any absurd Doctrine to be true because God's Power is infinite For he doth not imploy his Power but in a way most agreeable to his Wisdom and his Wisdom is discovered in the suitableness of the End and the clearness of Divine Revelation It is as possible for God now to raise the Dead as at the great Day but we have no reason to believe it because it doth not now answer the great End of the Resurrection which is in order to an eternal State Therefore altho' there be an equal Possibility in the thing yet there is not an equal Credibility because this doth by no means come up to the declared Purpose of God's raising the Dead which is of very great moment for Mankind to believe and expect If I could believe it possible for the Body of Christ to be in ten thousand places at the same time which I cannot yet if it were not to attain some great and spiritual End which cannot be carried on another way I have the same reason to think it incredible as I have to believe that God will not imploy his infinite Power as often as a Priest shall think fit by repeating the words of Consecration And we never find in the whole History of Scripture the infinite and miraculous Power of God tied to a certain Form of words and that to no spiritual End viz. either for the Conviction Conversion or Sanctification of Mankind to which other means more proper and agreeable are appointed But in the Case of the Resurrection of the Dead our Saviour hath sufficiently declared the End and Design of it to be such that we may justly suppose that if God will imploy his infinite Power it would be for such a Purpose The hour is coming saith Christ in which all that are in the Graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth they that have done good unto the Resurrection of Life and they that have done evil unto the Resurrection of Damnation Can we imagine the Power of God to be imployed for a more suitable End to the Design of his Providence than this It is not to make them capable of acting over again all that Folly and Vanity and Vice which they live in now it is not meerly to shew his Power over all the scattered Atoms of our Bodies and that he can when he pleases fetch them of their secret Repositories and dispose and unite them so as to make the same Bodies it is not to convince then the unbelieving part of Mankind when they see that effected which they before thought incredible for they who will not believe now upon the Evidence which God hath given so as to prepare themselves for that great Day shall then be forced both to believe and tremble Altho' then we do own that without God's infinite Power we look on the Resurrection as impossible yet this ought to be no disparagement to the Doctrine since the End of it is such as doth so fully agree with the Wisdom and Design of Providence It 's true the ancient Fathers who discoursed much to the Heathens upon the Argument of the Resurrection which they thought one of the most incredible Parts of the Christian Doctrine do make use of many comparisons and Similitudes from natural Causes and Effects But we are not to look on them as strict Proofs but as handsome Illustrations being designed to take off the Scorn and Derision with which the Heathens entertained the Doctrine Thus they speak of a Diurnal Resurrection viz. Of the Day dying into Night and being buried in Darkness and in the Morning springing out of its Grave of Obscurity and Silence with a fresh Glory and Splendour of an Annual Resurrection when the Trees begin to have a new Life in them and the precious Liquor which shoots up into the withered Body and Branches and so brings forth new Leaves and Flowers and Fruit. But after all we know that such a Revolution of Days and Nights and the several Seasons of the
raised from the Dead even by him doth this Man stand here before you whole Could any thing be spoken with more Freedom and Plainness than this The Person whom ye crucified God hath raised from the Dead and thereby hath demonstrated your Wickedness and Folly he whom ye slighted and killed even now he works Miracles among you for by him doth this Man stand here before you whole Could any thing be more provoking to them than this Why was not the Matter at first examined And if there had been any occasion to suspect them never were men more concerned to lay open an Imposture than these were Why were not other Witnesses produced against them and the whole Contrivance then laid open to prevent any farther mischief But like guilty Men they durst not go farther into it only they endeavoured to stop their mouths and charged them not to speak at all or teach in the name of Jesus But this would not do their Business for they answered They could not but speak the things which they had seen and heard After this we find them brought before the Council again and then they severely rebuked them for breaking their command to which the Apostles answered with great Temper and Constancy We ought to obey God rather than Man and immediately tell them the same things The God of our Fathers raised up Jesus whom ye slew and hanged on a tree And we are his Witnesses of these things No wonder that it follows that when they heard it they were cut to the heart for nothing is so cutting as a true Charge of Guilt when Persons cannot answer it nothing can be more uneasie than to be told of it And instead of examining the Matter farther they take Gameliel's Counsel and let them alone This I the rather insist upon because the Matters were then fresh the Persons were alive who were most concerned to disprove them and the Apostles urged them before that Council which had not long before contrived and porcured the Death of Christ and took great Care to prevent the taking away of the Body when it was in the Monument And now Why should it be thought by any a thing incredible that God should raise the Dead When there were such early and such constant Witnesses of it who offered the Proof of it to all sorts and wrought Miracles to confirm their Credibility What can the most incredulous Mind suggest towards the taking away the force of their Testimony There are but two ways to do it 1. To suppose them honest and well meaning Men who were deceived by their own Fancies 2. To suppose them cunning and designing Men who went about to deceive the World with what they did not believe themselves 1. To suppose them deceived themselves All that hath been suggested in this Cavilling and Sceptical Age to this Purpose is that the Scripture it self owns that some good Men have been deceived in the same manner as Abraham and Lot taking the Angels for Men and believing that they did eat But I will make it plain that there was a vast Disparity in the Case For 1. Here was a true and real Body without Dispute for it is not denied that Christ did really suffer on the Cross and was dead and buried But what became of the true Body of Christ In the other Cases either there was no real Body at all but the Angels assumed such Matter for the time which had all the appearances of Humane Bodies in speaking walking and eating or if the Bodies were real yet we read nothing as to any such Circumstances of dying and being buried as there are about Christ's Body And there are some remarkable Circumstances as to the Body of Christ which ought to be observed 1. That there was infallible Proof that he was really dead by the Testimony St. John gives of his seeing the Soldier pierce the Pericardium with his Launce which all agree to be a mortal and incurable Wound if there had been Life before and he adds it because there were then some who denied that he really died on the Cross. 2. That his Body was laid in a new Sepulchre cut out of a Rock which is taken notice of by three Evangelists because it was not liable to any suspicion of Practises by his Disciples as to the conveying away of the Body by any other way than by the mouth of the Sepulchre 3. That the mouth of the Sepulchre was closed up with a Stone which was Sealed and had a Watch set to Guard it so that here was all imaginable Care taken to prevent any taking away the Body out of the Sepulchre 2. The Proofs as to the Truth of Christ's individual Body after the Resurrection are quite of another Nature from those of the Angels appearing to eat with Abraham and Lot for this was a sudden Action of theirs and not the main thing intended by them It was only to introduce the Message they had to declare but in the Case of our Saviour the great business was to assure them of the Truth of his Resurrection Therefore it is said That he shew'd himself alive after his Passion by many infallible Proofs being seen of them forty days Among these Proofs St. John insists upon his shewing them his Hands and his Side but this would not satisfie Thomas but he must thrust his Hand into his Side Could there be greater Proof of the same Body than this So that either we must give over all Evidences and Proof of the same Body or we must allow that it was given in the Case of Christ's Body And nothing but obstinate Infidelity can make any objection against the way of Proof supposing the Matter of Fact to be true as the Evangelists relate it 2. But if that be not allow'd then they must be charged with a Design to deceive and abuse the World To which I shall only say at present these two things 1. That endless Sufpicion is a very unreasonable thing where there is no Foundation for it as none can be assigned as to the Apostles either as to this World or another since they declare no hopes of recompence hereafter and no Compensation to be expected here 2. That some Proof of Sincerity must be allow'd and they offer'd the fairest and that is the true Reason why Christ appeared to them and not to his Enemies 1. The Disciples themselves were asraid of being deceived this way and therefore could not be convinced till by many infallible Proofs as St. Luke calls them they were satisfied it was the real Body of Christ. If it had been only a sudden and transient Appearance there might have been some cause to have suspected it but this was so far from it that he conversed among them forty days at several times he shew'd them his hands and his feet his flesh and bones and the very holes in his side which the Spear had