other innumerable Excellencies that adorn'd his Person and might sufficiently recommend him to the World He did'n't act like a Tyrant who by the Help of a prevailing Party takes Occasion to violate the known Laws of the Land in which he lives nor like a Robber who comes with Armed Men against them who innocently pass by the King's High-Way about their necessary Affairs or like a Wealthy Man who by the Help of Bribes induces Persons to come over to his Interest whether by right or wrong or like many others that might easily be mention'd whose Proceedings do manifestly deserve our Censure but like one who came to teach an ignorant and degenerate World what Thoughts they shou'd entertain of God and how they might so regulate their Morals as to maintain an humble and familiar Correspondence with his Blessed Majesty And as for Themistocles and several other Persons who gain'd a more than common Reputation and did real and extraordinary Service to their Native Country this must be said to draw a Shade over their greatest Glory that ev'ry Thing seem'd to smile on their just and honourable Attempts and as it were pave the Way for their glorious Victories and immortal Triumphs But as for our Blessed Saviour besides what I have already said which upon the first View one wou'd think was enough to have eternally conceal'd or shamefully fully'd the Name of the greatest Heroe that the World cou'd ever boast of the ignominious Death which he suffer'd on the Cross if he had had the fairest Character wou'd have giv'n his Followers just Cause to suspect him of being a vile Impostor if we may give any Credit to our Adversaries or at least have drawn a most dismal Veil over the few bright and entertaining Scenes of the most Aweful Tragedy that was ever acted CHAP. XXVIII AND 't is Matter of Wonder that our Saviour's Disciples who in the Judgment of our Enemies were not Eye-Witnesses of the Truth of his triumphant Resurrection and saw nothing but what was common and ev'n contemptible in his Person shou'dn't be afraid to imitate him in his Sufferings to encounter the most imminent and threat'ning Dangers and leave their Native Country to publish the Doctrine which their crucify'd but blessed Lord had taught em For I believe that no Person who laying aside his Prejudice examines these Matters duely will say that they wou'd ever have undergone the Fatigue of Ttinerant Preaching if they had not been fully perswaded of the vast Obligations that lay upon 'em both from Reason and Gratitude not only to conform their Manners to the holy Precepts of the Christian Religion but also to do what lay in their Power to bring many others under the same honourable and happy Bonds when as Matters went at that Critical Juncture they were sure to incur the Displeasure of the Heathen World who were zealous for their ancient Laws and Customs and cou'dn't endure the least seeming Innovation especially with respect to the pompous Ceremonies of their religious Worship But all these Difficulties were light and trivial in the Esteem of those who had Courage not only to prove to the Jewish Nation that our Blessed Saviour was frequently and expresly foretold by their own Prophetick Oracles but also to make it appear to others as Occasion offer'd that this very Person was the true Messiah who was crucify'd but t'other Day and willingly and ev'n chearfully laid down his precious Life for the whole Race of Men after the same manner tho' with unspeakable Advantage in which some others have sacrific'd all that 's near and dear to 'em for the good of their Native Country to free it from a raging Pestilence a threat'ning Famine or some violent impending Tempest that greatly endangers Ships and puts a Stop ev'n to Navigation which is so convenient and necessary for promoting an advantagious Trade into Foreign and very distant Parts For there are some secret Reasons in Nature which very few understand why the Death of one virtuous Man who readily suffers the greatest Evils that can possibly befall him for the real and perhaps lasting Welfare of the Place of his Nativity shou'd destroy or at least severely check the usurp'd Power of those infernal Daemons who are the Cause of Plagues Famines Storms and the like evident and great Disorders which frequently happen in the World And I wou'd fain know of them who don't believe that our Saviour dy'd for the general Benefit of the humane Race whether they won't give easie Credit to many Histories that are extant both of the Greeks and Barbarians which furnish us with frequent and remarkable Instances of Persons who have freely laid down their Lives for the publick Good and whose Death has been happily instrumental to purge away those threat'ning and grievous Calamities that infected Cities and perhaps whole Nations or whether on the Supposition that these are Matters of Fact it be in the least improbable that one cloath'd with humane Nature shou'd be nail'd to a Cross to destroy the Works of the Devil who before did often and too successfully exercise a Tyrannical Power over the Bodies and Souls of Men. Our Saviour's Disciples observing these Things and many Others of the like Nature with which in all Probability their prudent and indulgent Master thought fit to acquaint 'em and being fill'd with the Spirit of God for they were not inspir'd with their unusual Courage by the Virgin which the Poets speak of but by the true Wisdom of God they made haste Thro' the wide World their Fame to spread Hom. Il. Lib. 5. v. 2 CHAP. XXIX BUT 't is Time to return to the Jew whom Celsus personates who says That the Virgin Mary being big with Child was divorc'd by her Husband the Carpenter for committing Adultery with one Panthera a Soldier and being got with Child by that scandalous Wretch Let us see therefore whether the Inventors of this Story don't give a false and obscure Account of the Matter and whether by all that they have to say they are able to overthrow the Doctrine of our Saviour's miraculous Conception by the over-shadowing of the Holy Ghost For so surprizing a Passage as this is might very easily be falsify'd and 't was possible they might deny the Truth of it tho' they were inwardly convinc'd that our Saviour was not conceiv'd in the common Way of humane Generation And methinks it wou'dn't have been incongruous at all that they who didn't believe or rather wou'dn't acknowledge the Miracle shou'd invent a Fiction to serve their malicious and base Design But to invent one that was so far from having a plausible Appearance that 't was a great and notorious Untruth was to discover their Weakness to them who are able to distinguish Truth from Falsehood For do's it stand to Reason that one who was so useful to the World in general and express'd a most tender Concern both for the Greeks and Barbarians that they might reform their Manners from a Sense
the same kind with what is perform'd by a Power that is Truly-Supernatural and Divine And if such wonderful Things ev'n in the Judgment of Celsus are done by the Assistance of Infernal Spirits may we not rationally suppose that Things that are much more unaccountable may be easily done by the immediate Assistance of the Ever-Blessed God Shall every Thing that is evil be found among Men and every Thing that is truly-good be banish'd from the World I think there 's much more Reason to lay down this as a General and most Excellent Maxim that where-ever there is any real Evil under the Disguise of some real Good the opposite Good must at least be equal to it with Respect to its Degree And thus we may strongly argue from Miracles wrought by the Help of Magick to such as are perform'd by the special Assistance of the Great GOD himself We must either deny that any Good or Evil is to be found in the World or on the Supposition of the latter must allow the former and perhaps if we grant the former we must affirm the latter or at least on the Supposition of any real Evil must allow an equal Proportion of that real Good to which the real Evil is directly opposite He that will assert the one without granting the other seems to me to talk at the same mad Rate with one who confessing that there are such Things as Sophisms or false Shews of Reason shou'd deny that there 's any such Thing as true Logick in the World which is widely different from em So that I say if we grant that there is such a Thing as Magick which has so great an Influence upon wicked Daemons as to engage 'em to lend their ready and joint Assistance to those who profess that Art it naturally follows that Almighty God is oblig'd in some Sense to exert his Power in Performing such Miracles as carry with 'em a convincing Evidence of the Truth they were design'd to attest The next Thing I take it that we have to do under this important Head is to examine into the Life and Conversation of those who pretend they have a Power to produce super-natural Effects and to enquire whether the wonderful Operations they perform do any way tend to the Temporal and Eternal Advantage of the Souls of Men and we must carefully distinguish between Magicians who hold a Correspondence with the Devil and those happy Persons who are fill'd with the Holy Spirit of God whose Divine Impressions they experience both on their Souls and Bodies who consult the true and best Interest of Mankind and endeavour to make Men Proselites to the most Excellent Religion that was ever reveal'd by a God Now if an Enquiry of this Kind be necessary to distinguish true Miracles from those which are false to prevent us from making Miracles where there are really none and engage our Assent to the Truth of 'em when the Finger of God may very plainly be discover'd then we shall find that the Miracles which were wrought by Moses and our Blessed Saviour were owing to an Extraordinary Appearance of the Power of God since they were Solemn Seals by which the Truth of the Jewish and Christian Religion was confirm'd each of which we know was embrac'd by a considerable Body of very Wife and Virtuous Men. Besides how cou'd Moses's Law which forbids the Jews to worship Images and teaches 'em to raise their Minds above all created Beings and fix 'em on the Eternal God the Great Creator and Sovereign Disposer of the Universe I say how cou'd such a Law derive its Original from the Horrid Practice of Magicians And since 't is a Jew that Celsus personates I wou'd humbly desire him to resolve the following Question How comes it to pass that you who firmly believe that the Miracles which Moses wrought were perform'd by the Extraordinary Assistance of the Spirit of God and endeavour to defend 'em against those who say that the Wife Men of Egypt did strange Things by the Help of Magick can't be prevail'd with to acknowledge that our Blessed Saviour perform'd his Miracles by an Immediate Assistance from Above but are so strangely fond of Imitating the Egyptians whom you know to be your sworn and irreconcileable Enemies For if we may be allow'd to judge of Miracles by the Event and argue in Favour of YOUR JVSTLY-CELEBRATED MOSES from his being rais'd up by Almighty God to be the HONOURABLE FOUNDER of the Jewish Polity I am sure we may say far more in Commendation of our BLESSED SAVIOVR since the imperfect Moses isn't worthy to be nam'd with the HOLY and SPOTLESS JESUS For as for Moses 't is obvious to remark that he found ready to his Hand such Persons among the Posterity of Abraham as liy'd in a Religious Observance of Circumcision that initiating Rite and many approved Customs which were handed down by Tradition from Father to Son and he knew very well that they were in a great Measure dispos'd to receive his useful Instructions and practise his wholesome Precepts when 't was he under God who brought 'em out of Egypt and the Laws he gave 'em had the Stamp of a Divine Authority as You your self acknowledge But Our Saviour making in some Sence a much greater Attempt introduc'd a Religion that was in a Manner new and caus'd it to gain Ground continually in Spite of all the rooted Prejudices of a different Education And if 't was highly necessary that Moses shou'd convince not only the Sanhedrim but also the Common People among the Jews of the Truth of his Doctrine by confirming it with those Miracles which the Scriptures gives us an Account of there was at least equal Reason why our Blessed Saviour shou'd take the same Method to prove the Divinity of his Mission since the People did naturally eagerly and very justly expect Signs and Wonders in such extraordinary Cases Nay 't was evidently necessary he shou'd work far greater Miracles than Moses to wean the bigotted Jews from their Humane Traditions and prove by Dint of Argument and plain Appeals to Sense and common Observation he was a Person who was TRULY-DIVINE and in a far more noble Sence than any of their Ancient and JUSTLY CELEBRATED Prophets And how was it possible that he shou'd be otherwise when the Manifest Design of the Glorious Prophecies under the Old-Testament-Dispensation was obscurely to reveal him under the Character of the TRUE MESSIAH And what Celsus's Jew objects against the Christians may every Whit as well be urg'd by him to the Prejudice of the Authority of Moses Viz. That Our Blessed Saviour was guilty of the most Notorious and Vile Imposture The Jew breaks out into the following Exclamation O the Force of Truth He himself acquaints us as your own Writings inform us that many shou'd come who wou'd perform the same Miracles that he wrought himself and on that very score O horrid Impudence he has the Face to charge 'em with
cursed Hands in the bloody Death of our Blessed Lord. Celsus therefore might every Jot as well have granted that our Saviour knew what Accidents wou'd befall him and yet have talk'd with the highest Contempt of his Divine Praescience as grant that he was capable of working such Miracles as he wrought and at the same Time affirm that he was a Notorious and Vile Impostor And he might with all his Learning have shown that the Augurs and Auspices foretold Future Events by the Flying of Birds and by the Intrails of Beasts But he was loth it seems to make this Concession whereas he do's in some sort acknowledge that our Saviour wrought many Miracles and yet asserts he did 'em by the Help of Magick Phlegon was much more ingenuous who in the 13th and 14th Book of his Chronicon acknowledges that our Saviour foretold Future Events and says they exactly answer'd his Prediction tho' I observe that he seems sometimes to confound our Blessed Lord with the Apostle Peter And as it were in Spite of Prejudice he draws this natural Conclusion That since the Founder of our Holy Religion and many of his Followers were able to foretell many future and remarkable Events at so great a Distance of Time which exactly answer'd their Predictions we must suppose that they were acted by a more than Ordinary Power Then Celsus says That our Saviour's Disciples not being able to conceal those Things which were expos'd to Publick View thought that the best Game they had to play was to give out that their Master foresaw a long Time before all the Accidents that did afterwards befall him But either he didn't know or at least seems to be ignorant that our Blessed Saviour us'd the following Words to his Disciples All ye shall be offended because of me this Night which Mat. 26. V. 31. we know happen'd accordingly and was no false Prophet when he said to Peter Before the Cock crow thou shalt deny me thrice Ibid. V. 34. Now if they hadn't been Men of undoubted Integrity but had design'd to impose on our Credulity by false Narrations they wou'd certainly have discover'd so much of Worldly Policy as to have said nothing at all of Peter's Denying his Blessed Lord whose Cause he had so resolutely promis'd to maintain and never to have mention'd the Offence which ev'n some of the Disciples took at the mean Condition in which our Saviour condescended and thought fit to appear and if these Things which seem to represent the Followers of our Blessed Lord to a great Disadvantage were not related in the Gospels how cou'd Celsus or any other Person have tak'n Occasion from thence to cast a Reproach on our most Holy Religion But they were not unwilling that latest Posterity shou'd be acquainted with their Failings since they were well assur'd that this wou'dn't in the least hinder the happy Progress of the Everlasting Gospel or give the Reader any just Occasion to be guilty of the like Irregular Practices What Celsus adds is ridiculous to the last Degree The Disciples got this publish'd says he to secure the Reputation of their Master and 't is as if to prove that a Man is just I shou'd instance in several Acts of Injustice that he has done or to prove that he 's free from Passion I shou'd shew that he has been guilty of Murder or to prove that he 's immortal shou'd expose his dead Body to View and after all put People off with this frivolous Pretence that he foresaw whatsoever shou'd befall him But here 't is apparent that he grosly misapplies the Instances which he 's pleas'd to produce For there 's no Absurdity at all in supposing that our Blessed Saviour shou'd propose himself to us as a Bright Example of Moral Virtue and yet teach us to sacrifice our Lives and all that 's dear to us for the Sake of the Religion we embrace Consider also that the Death which he suffer'd is of General and Universal Advantage as I think I have sufficiently prov'd already And tho' Celsus do's fondly imagine that it makes very much for the Cause which he espouses that we don't deny that our Saviour suffer'd in the most notorious and shameful Manner yet this is for Want of knowing the SACRED MYSTERIES that are contain'd in the Passion of our BLESSED LORD as St. Paul observes and the several Predictions which are left upon Record by the Inspired Prophets concerning this difficult and important Affair Besides he seems not to know that there was a Celebrated Heretick who deny'd that the Sufferings of our Saviour were real This made him say You don't pretend that his bitter Passion was only in Appearance but without mincing the Matter you hold that he suffer'd in a strict and proper Sence For our Parts we think 't is a Notorious Heresy to maintain that our Saviour's Sufferings were only in Appearance since we must then affirm as the necessary Consequence of the fore-mention'd false and dangerous Position that his Resurrection as glorious as we suppose it to be was a meer Deceptio Visus For he that really dyes if he rises again must be really ris'n and on the contrary he that dy'd but in Appearance can only seemingly rise But because Infidels endeavour to expose the Doctrine of the Resurrection of our Saviour to the last Degree of Prophane Contempt I shall take Occasion to mention here what Plato relates of Er the Son of Armenius Plato's Common Wealth l. 10. who at the End of twelve Days rose out of his Tomb and told several remarkable Transactions that to his certain Knowledge had pass'd in the World of Spirits And I might mention the Story which Heraclitus tells of a Woman who continu'd a considerable Time without any Sign of Life which I think do's evidently and not a little serve my present Purpose since 't is with Infidels I 'm now engag'd And many pregnant Instances might easily be produc'd from History of Persons who have appear'd the Day after their Decease Is it then any Wonder at all that one who in the whole Course of his Life did so many Actions which nothing short of a Divine Power cou'd possibly enable him to perform who wrought Miracles to attest the Truth of his Doctrine which were so surprizing and so open to the View of his most implacable Adversaries that Celsus himself has not the Face to deny that they were true in Fact tho' indeed he ascribes 'em to the Power of Infernal Daemons I say is it any Wonder at all that so Divine a Person as our Saviour was shou'd have something that was remarkable in his Death and that his Holy Soul having freely and ev'n chearfully left his Body for a Time shou'd return to it as soon as ever it had perform'd the entire Duty of a Disunited Spirit Our Saviour has the following Words No Man takes it from me speaking of his Life but I lay it down of John 10. V. 18. my self I have Power
return him a proper and sufficient Answer I have resolv'd to examine every Material Article tho' I cannot observe so strict a Method as I wou'd but am forc'd so far to comply ev'n with the Folly of my Adversary as to trace him thro' the Labyrinth of his confus'd Discourse Let us see then what he has to offer against the Descent of the Holy Spirit on our Blessed Saviour in the Resemblance of a Dove CHAP. XXXVII THE Jew whom Celsus personates directs his Discourse to our Saviour in the following Words You pretend says he that a Bird appear'd to you at your Baptism but can you produce any credible Person that was present to see it Or heard the Voice from Heav'n by which you say you were declar'd to be the Son of God besides your self and if we may take your Word another Person of the same pityful Class But before I return him a direct and full Answer I must beg Leave to make one Remark that 't is very difficult and in some Cases impossible to give evident and undeniable Proofs of the Certainty of undoubted Matters of Fact Suppose any One shou'd say there never was such a Scene of Action as the Trojan War grounding his bold Affirmation on the seeming Impossibility of some of the material Circumstances which attended it and not conceiving how there shou'd be In rerum natura such a Person as Achilles is represented to us the Son of Peleus and Thetis the Goddess of the Sea or Sarpedon the Son of Jupiter or Ascalaphus and Jalmenus the Sons of Mars or Aeneas the Son of Venus how cou'd we convince him of his gross Mistake when so many Fables being interwoven with the Body of the History are so readily and so universally believ'd Or suppose any Person shou'd call into Question the Story of Oedipus and Jocasta and Eteocles and Polynices their Sons by reason of what is confidently related concerning the Sphinx a certain Monster that was half a Virgin how cou'd we demonstrate that the whole Account is true I might say the same concerning the second Theban War which was continu'd by the Posterity of them who had lost their Lives in the first tho' that be more free from the Appearance of Fiction than the former Story and concerning the Return of the Heraclidae to Peloponnesus and I might instance in many other Things of the like Nature which are recorded in the Histories of the Greeks But he who reads 'em without a Tincture of Prejudice and with a sincere Desire that he may not be deceiv'd will judge how far he is requir'd to yield his ready and firm Assent what Passages he must take in an Allegorical Sence and what he must reject as being writ in Favour of some particular Persons and will endeavour to find out the true and full Meaning of those who were the Original Authors of these Stories which the Greeks who are a learned Nation do so generally believe I wou'd lay down this Praeliminary with respect to the entire and amazing History of our Saviour's Life as 't is impartially related in the Gospels and I don't mention this as if I wou'd have the more intelligent and learned Sort of People to take Things on trust but to shew that the Reader has great Need of Candor joyn'd with a severe Application and must penetrate if I may so say into the very Spirit of the Authors if he wou'd take their Writings in their true Sence and utmost Latitude I answer then in the first Place that if the Person who rejects the Account that 's giv'n of the Spirit 's appearing to our Saviour in the Resemblance of a Dove was a Follower of Epicurus Democritus or Aristotle there wou'd be some plausible Ground for his Incredulity because then I confess he wou'd observe his Character CHAP. XXXVIII BUT Celsus with all his Wisdom seems to me to have quite forgot that all this while he was speaking in the Person of a Jew whom we must suppose to yield a firm Assent to many Passages in the Prophets that wou'd sooner be liable to shock our Reason than any Thing related in the History of which I am now discoursing For one might ask this pretended Jew who wo'n't believe that the Holy Spirit appear'd to our Blessed Saviour in the Resemblance of a Dove Pray Sir how will you be ever capable of giving evident and undeniable Proof that God spoke to Adam Eve Cain Noah Abraham Isaac or Jacob as your Scriptures do plainly assert he did And to set History against History I wou'd address this Jew after the following Manner Dear Sir you can't be ignorant that Ezekiel who is one of your own celebrated Prophets has these very Words The Heavens were open'd and I saw Visions of Ezek. i. V. 1. God and he adds This was the Appearance Ezek. i. V. 28 of the Likeness of the Glory of the Lord and he said to me Now if those Things that are related of our Saviour must be acknowledg'd to be false because as you think they have not sufficient extrinsick Evidence to recommend 'em to the World since you affirm They were seen and heard by no Person but himself and another of the same pityful Class Have we not more Reason to suspect that Ezekiel impos'd upon us when he said that the Heav'ns were open'd to his View And tho' the Prophet Isaiah says I saw the Lord sitting upon a Throne high and lifted up above it stood Isa vi V. 1. the Seraphims each one had six Wings Pray Sir what rational Assurance have you that he really saw this entertaining and amazing Sight You believe that these Things are true and come from the Spirit of God who neither can be deceiv'd nor will deceive us and are perswaded not only that the Prophet saw 'em but also that he was Divinely-inspir'd when he committed these Things to Writing But I ask which of these three is it most fit we shou'd believe Ezekiel Isaiah or our Blessed Saviour The two former did nothing that deserves to be compar'd or ev'n mention'd with what the latter has done whose Power was not only most gloriously display'd when he appear'd and dwelt on Earth but shines with a happy and remarkable Lustre at this Distance of Time in the Conversion and exemplary Reformation of those who believe in God thro' him And that all those wonderful Effects which we frequently see are owing to his infinite Power I infer from hence that as he said and as constant Experience may convince us the sincere Labourers are few in a Mat. ix V. 37. comparative Sence and yet the Harvest of Souls is great that is vast Numbers ibid. V 38 are every where almost continually brought into God's Threshing-Floor if I may so say I mean the visible Church This I say to a Jew not as if I had the least Design to derogate from the Honour which I am sensible is due to Ezekiel and Isaiah for that wou'd be very inconsistent with
as being deriv'd from no other than a Divine Original And since 't is a pretended Jew who calls in Question the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon our Saviour in the Resemblance of a Dove one might well demand who is it that says thus in Isaiah's Prophecy Now the Lord God Isa xlviii V. 16. has sent me and his Holy Spirit which Words are ambiguous and may either signify that the Father and the Holy Spirit sent our Blessed Saviour or that the Son and Spirit were both sent by the Father the latter of which two Interpretations seems to me I confess to be true and genuine and because our Saviour was sent first and then the Holy Spirit that the Prophecy might be fulfil'd the Accomplishment of which was reserv'd for Future Ages for that Reason among others I judge it is that Things are related as they are by the Evangelists CHAP. XL. AND since Celsus's Jew do's in some sort acknowledge that our Saviour was baptiz'd by John the Baptist I wou'd produce the Testimony of a Famous Author who liv'd quickly after I mean Josephus who in the 18th Book of his Jewish Antiquities says That John the Baptist was invested with Authority to baptize and promis'd Remission of Sin to them that came to his Baptism The same Author tho' he don't believe that our Saviour was the true Messiah and when he enquires into the Cause of the Taking of Jerusalem and the Destruction of the Temple don't ascribe this grievous and surprizing Calamity as he ought to have done to the Crucifixion of our Blessed Saviour yet is fore'd to make some slender Approach to Truth and to acknowledge that 't was a remarkable Judgment which God sent upon the Jewish Nation for killing James the just who was Brother to Jesus who is call'd by the Name of Christ and was without doubt a very virtuous and pious Man This James was the same Person St. Paul that sincere Follower and eminent Apostle of our Blessed Lord tells us that he went to visit because he was the Brother of Christ which Title was proper for him not so much by Reason of their being in a peculiar Sence of the same Flesh and Blood as on the Account of the admirable and manifest Agreement both of their Doctrine and their Morals If then the fore-mention'd Author says That the Destruction of Jerusalem was owing to the Barbarous Death of James the just how much more Reason is there to believe 't was really and principally owing to the Crucifixion of our Blessed Saviour whose Divinity is so frequently attested by so many large and united Bodies of Men that consist of such Persons as have left their vicious Practices devote themselves to the Service of their great Creator and liberal Benefactor and in all their Actions have a most serious Regard to his Honour and Interest in the World And tho' the pretended Jew shou'd make no Apology for the Prophet Ezekiel and Isaiah since we meet with Passages in their Writings and in the rest of the Prophets which are no less strange I am sure than those which are related in the Gospels concerning our Blessed Saviour viz. That the Heavens were open'd and that he heard a Voice from thence I shall endeavour to shew that all who believe an over-ruling Providence acknowledge there have been praeternatural Visions and such wherein future Events relating to the Affairs of humane Life have been more clearly or more obscurely represented to the warm Imagination I say I shall endeavour to shew that the Assertors of Providence acknowledge that such Visions have been seen by Persons in their Sleep and that 't is no difficult Matter to conceive upon this Hypothesis that the same Impressions may be made on the Imagination when a Person is awake Whether they be design'd by God for the private Benefit of some particular Persons or to promote the spiritual Advantage of Mankind in general and as in our Sleep tho' there be nothing to strike upon our Sense of Sight or Hearing yet we strongly imagine that we see such Objects and hear such articulate Sounds when 't is our rational Faculty that 's all this while at Work and undergoes these various and strange Sensations So there 's no Absurdity in supposing that the same Thing might happen to the Prophets when we read that the Heav'ns were open'd to 'em that they saw strange Sights and heard the Voice of the great God himself For my Part I don't suppose that the visible Heavens were open'd and in a literal Sence were cleav'd asunder to give the Prophet Ezekiel an Occasion for writing as he do's And I am fully satisfy'd that they who read the Gospels with any Measure of Judgment won't understand our Saviour's Vision in the gross Sense of the Words of Scripture tho' I am not a little sensible that the ignorant Sort of People who at every Turn and to support an idle Whimsy of their own will allow the Frame of Universal Nature to be shak'd from off its Hinges and imagine that so vast and compact a Body as that of the Heavens was rent in two will be offended with any Discourse in Divinity that do's in the least interfere with the literal and most obvious Sence of Scripture But one who dives to the Bottom of Things will find that according to the Account we have in Holy Writ there is a certain Divine Knowledge which none but a few happy Persons have as Solomon says Thou shalt find the Knowledge of the Lord Prov. ii V 5. and that the several Branches of it are such as follow viz. A Sight adapted to the Contemplation of Objects that are beyond the Sphere of unassisted Nature such as Cherubims and Seraphims a Hearing suited to the Perception of Sounds vastly different from those which are form'd in the Air a Tast that can relish the living Bread that came down from Heaven a Smell that can distinguish that Heavenly Perfume of which the Apostle speaks when he says We are unto God a sweet Savour of Christ and a Touch of which 2 Cor. ii V. 15. St. John speaks when he says Our Hands have handl'd of the Word of i. John i V. I. Life The Blessed Prophets therefore being Partakers of these Divine Sensations and seeing hearing tasting and smelling in a Way that is perfectly supernatural we must understand these Things in the same Sence in which we must take that Place in Ezekiel where he 's said to have eat the Book that was deliver'd him In this Sence it was that Isaac smelt the sweet Savour of the Divine Garments of his Son and pronounc'd this Blessing upon him See the Smell of my Son is as the Smell of a Field which the Lord has bless'd And after the same Manner our Saviour touch'd the Leper which I think must be understood of a Spiritual rather than a Corporeal Touch that he might not only cleanse him as some think from his bodily Distemper but chiefly that he might
present and narrow Capacity he might have shock'd their Faith in him as the SON of the LIVING GOD. And I leave any one to judge whether this be not the most natural Sence of the following Words I have yet many Things to say unto you but ye John xvi V. 12. can't bear 'em now For there were several Explications to be giv'n of the Law with Respect to its Spiritual Meaning which ev'n our Saviour's Disciples at that Time were not duely dispos'd to hear because they had been born and bred among the Jews and since their Religion consisted very much of those Things which were Types and Shadows of the Gospel-Dispensation I 'm inclin'd to think that 't is upon that Account that our Saviour makes Use of the following Words When the Spirit of Truth is come he will guide you into all Truth as if he had V. 13. said he shall lead you into the true and full Sence of those Things viz. Types and Figures which you were conversant with and whereby you imagin'd you paid God the true Worship which was due to him and requir'd by him And the fore-mention'd Promise which our Saviour made to his Disciples was abundantly fulfill'd to the Apostle Peter when the Spirit of God shew'd him in a Vision all Sorts of Animals Birds and Four-footed Beasts and creeping Things and said to him Rise Peter kill and eat And indeed at that Juncture of Time he was so fond of his former Religion that he return'd this Answer ev'n to the Voice which he heard from Heaven Not so Lord for I have never eaten any Thing that is common or unclean But at length his Understanding was enlighten'd as appears from the following Words What God has cleans'd call not thou common And after that Instructive Vision the Spirit of Truth leading Peter into all Truth acquainted him with those Things which he cou'dn't bear while our Saviour was present with him in the Flesh But I shall have Occasion hereafter to speak of those who adhere to the litteral Sence of the Mosaick Law CHAP. III. MY Business at present is to shew that Celsus betrays his wretched Ignorance in representing a Jew addressing himself to those of his Native Country who were converted to the Christian Faith in the following Words What 's the Matter my dearly beloved Country-men that you have renounc'd the Law of your Fathers For how can they be said to renounce the Law of their Fathers who severely blame Persons for not adhering to it Tell me says the Apostle ye that desire to be under the Law do ye Gal. iv V. 21. not hear the Law For 't is written that Abraham had two Sons and so on to those Words Which Things are an Allegory And how can they be said to renounce the Law of their Fathers who are continually making mention of it as if they were proud of shewing the honourable Regard which they still pay to it and argue after the following Manner Say I these Things as a Man 1. Cor. ix V. 8. or says not the Law the same also For 't is written in the Law of Moses thou shalt not muzzle the Mouth of the Ox that treads out the Corn. Do's God take Care for Oxen Or says he it altogether for our sakes For our sakes no doubt this is written And how confus'd is Celsus's Discourse and how do's it want ev'n a plausible Appearance to recommend it to the World when he talks after the following Manner Some of you says he have forsak'n our Excellent Religion under a Pretence of giving Allegorical and Mystical Explications of the Law Others of you are great Admirers of a spiritual Sence as you are pleas'd to term it and yet are diligent Observers of those outward Ceremonies which make so considerable a Part of the Religion which we embrace There remain some others who adhere to the literal Sence of Scripture thinking that Abundance of spiritual Matter is wrapt up in the very Letter of the Law and profess that Jesus of Nazareth was the Person who was foretold by the Jewish Prophets and at the same Time observe the Precepts of Moses and the Traditions of their Ancestors But how cou'd it be expected that Celsus's Jew shou'd give us a true and clear Account of Matters of this Nature since in the Sequel of his Discourse he mentions several very great and notorious Heresies And there were some Jews who turn'd their Backs as he says upon the Creator of the Universe and didn't know that the believing Israelites did live in the strict Observance of the Law of their Fathers For his Design was not to act the Part of an impartial Enquirer into Truth who readily submits to the Evidence which it carries with it but to vent his Malice and right or wrong to make a Vigorous Opposition to the Christian Religion and as he vainly thought to expose it to the highest Contempt imaginable CHAP. IV. THE Jew continues his Discourse 'T was but t'other Day says he that we severely punish'd the Person who led you aside like a Company of silly Sheep and by Consequence 't was very lately and on a sudden that you renounc'd the Law of your Fathers But to this I have already return'd a sufficient Answer What he adds I confess carries with it a much greater Force With what Face says he or Colour of Reason can you despise those Sacred Rites which not long agoe you held in very great Esteem and especially when the Law of Moses is the Foundation on which the Doctrine of your Jesus is built as you your acknowledge That the Christian Religion is founded on the Jewish Law and Prophets as well as upon Christ and his Apostles is what I readily confess But we must also consider that they naturally lead us to the Mistery which was hid from Ages but is now made manifest Eph. iii. V. 9. by the Appearance of our Blessed Saviour And we don't despise the Law because we have a clearer Revelation but instead of that have the greater Veneration for it and endeavour to shew what Depths of Divine Wisdom there are ev'n in the Legal Dispensation which the Jews themselves know little or nothing of And why shou'd we think it strange that the Gospel shou'd be founded on the Law of Moses when our Saviour speaking to those that refus'd to believe in him has the following Words Had ye believ'd Moses ye John v. V. 46. wou'd have believ'd me for he wrote of John v. V. 46. me but if ye believe not his Writings how shall ye believe my Words And the Evangelist St. Mark begins his Gospel thus The Beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God as 't is written Mark i. V. 1. in the Prophets Behold I send thy Messenger before thy Face which shall prepare thy Way before thee intimating to us that the Gospel is founded on the Scriptures of the Old Testament it self I can't conceive therefore what Celsus's Jew proposes to himself
that for that Reason he had abundance of Enemies and when he was stript as it were of his Humane Body did converse with Naked Spirits in the Infernal Region to make Converts of those that were capable of being duly wrought on by his powerful Ministry and thereby of answering the DEEP DESIGNS of his ETERNAL and VNIVERSAL LOVE What Celsus's Jew adds is I think very ridiculous If says he after you have tamely suffer'd your to be led aside like a Company of prodigious Fools you think you need no other Apology than a few Pityful Arguments in your own Defence Pray why mayn't all those Scoundrels and Villains that like your JESUS have been publickly executed according to the just Demerit of their Crimes be accounted Persons who had the Broad-Seal of Heav'n But nothing in my Mind can be more clear than the wide Difference between the Exemplary Sufferings of our Blessed Saviour and the just Execution of those who have been condemn'd as Impostors or punish'd for some scandalous Crime And sure I am that no Man can shew with any Colour of Reason that a Person can ever be reclaim'd from the most notorious Crimes or indeed from any Immorality by the Help of Magick Then the pretended Jew comparing our Saviour with a Company of High-way Men says That by a Parity of Reason a Person may have the Impudence to say that such a High-way Man instead of being a Person of so infamous a Character was no less than a GOD because forsooth he acquainted his cursed Crew before-hand that he shou'd shortly suffer all those grievous Calamities which in the Event did befall him To this I answer in the first Place that our Believing our Blessed Saviour to be the True Messiah is not meerly or chiefly founded on his Fore-telling the dreadful Sufferings to which he was expos'd and which for our sakes he readily underwent In the second Place I acknowledge that the Holy Scriptures acquaint us that tho' our Saviour was GOD as well as MAN yet He was number'd with the Transgressors that Barabbas a Robber was releas'd and our Saviour crucify'd and plac'd between two Condemn'd Malefactors And I grant that if our Saviour's Disciples bore any Resemblance to Thieves and if 't was known in the Memory of Man that Persons of that infamous Character did readily expose themselves to the greatest Contempt and Scorn and the worst Treatment that Humane Wit and Malice cou'd invent and if they can rationally be suppos'd to do all this from a just Regard to the Glory of GOD and the Holy Precepts of our BLESSED REDEEMER then I confess Celsus wou'd have had some Ground for his bold and most prophane Comparison But our Saviour who laid down his precious Life as a Sacrifice for the Sins of Men and his sincere Disciples who by their unparallel'd Sufferings bore an Honourable Testimony to the Truth of his most Excellent Doctrine and were the only Persons whose bare Religion ever brought 'em into Trouble underwent the most violent Persecutions from their Enemies without the least Colour of Reason and contrary to the Known and Fundamental Laws of Humanity CHAP. XXVII NOW observe how Celsus renders himself ridiculous by what he says of the sincere Followers of our Blessed Lord During the greatest Part of his Life Says he they convers'd with him in a Femiliar Manner and seem'd to listen to the Instructions which he gave 'em but withal were so cunning that when they saw he was condemn'd to dye they wou'd neither dye with him nor for him and were so far it seems from putting in Practice that wholsom Doctrine which their Master had taught 'em viz. Chearfully to encounter the greatest Difficulties and Dangers and to be ready ev'n to dye for the sake of their Religion that they shamefully deny'd him and didn't envy any Martyrs the imaginary Honour of laying down their Lives for the Cause of Christ Here Celsus takes the Hint from the Gospels and aggravates some Faults of the Disciples with a Design no doubt to expose the Christian Religion to Contempt not considering they were just enter'd into the School of Christ nor mentioning one Syllable of their Recovery from their grievous Falls which was so remarkable that they preach'd the Gospel boldly and suffer'd abundance of Ill-treatment at the Hands of the Jews and had the Courage to welcome and ev'n defy Death in its most horrid Shapes I perceive he didn't care at all to take Notice of what our Saviour foretold to St. Peter When thou shalt be old thou shalt stretch forth thy Hands Nor of those John 21 V. 18 V. 19. Words This spake he signifying by what Death he shou'd glorify God He says not one Word of St. James the Brother of St. John nor of the latter and seems to be ignorant that Herod kill'd John the Baptist with the Sword because he bore Testimony to the Truth of Christ Nor do's he do St. Peter and the rest of the Apostles so much Justice as to mention their flaming Zeal in spreading the Gospel of our Saviour and to give us an Account how They departed from the Acts 15 V. 41. Presence of the Council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer Reproach for his Name wherein they vastly exceeded all that is related in the Histories of the Greeks concerning the Courage and Constancy of their justly-admir'd Philosophers So that we plainly see that from the very Infancy of Christianity they who embrac'd it were effectually taught by it to despise the gaudy Vanities of the present Life which the greatest Part of Mankind imagine to be so charming and agreeable and to have the sincere Desires of their Souls most vehemently carry'd out after another Life which is far more excellent and in a word is every way worthy of a GOD. I can't conceive how Celsus can be freed from the Charge of willful Imposture in the following VVords All that your pretended SAVIOVR cou'd do says he was only to get ten wicked Mariners and Publicans to publish his Doctrine to the World and Iwas more than he cou'd do after all his big Pretences to convince ev'n those credulous Animals of its Truth For 't is plain ev'n from the open Confession of the Jews that not only ten Persons were overcome by the Divine Efficacy of his Doctrine nor a Hundred nor a Thousand but at one Time four Thousand and at another Time a much greater Number and that he wrought upon 'em to so great a Degree that they forlow'd him into Desarts which alone were capable of containing those vast Numbers of Persons that thro' him did believe in GOD and where they reap'd great Benefit from his Exemplary Life and Engaging Conversation I confess the frequent Repetitions which Celsus makes do almost force me to be guilty of wretched Tautology and make me as impertinent as himself For if I didn't in some Measure tho' sorely against my Will comply with his way of Writing perhaps some weak Persons