Death of another St. Augustin's Complaint of Tully's Works may be the â—ust Impeachment of all the voluminous Discourses of Philosophers that the Name of Christ is not to be found there There is nothing in them of the exalted Morals of our Great and Perfect Lawgiver of the great Mystery of Godliness manifested by a Redeemer and of the Knowledg of Jesus Christ and him crucified Yea in the account which the Philosophers give of the ordinary Moral Vertues and Vices they are very wavering and uncertain He that is acquainted with the Writings of the Chief Moralists among them knows that they frequently confute themselves their way is to set up their Wise Man and then soon after to pull him down which made an understanding Person declare that the Stoicks Wise Man †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plutarch de Contradict Sâ—oicorum is no where to be found upon Earth yea and that he never was in being He is a Chimera a Fiction made up wholly of Paradoxes Riddles and Impossibilities so that there is nothing real in their Description of him but their Pride and Conceit The false and erroneous Conceptions which these and other Moralists had concerning Vertue and Vice we have in several Particulars laid open in the preceding part of this Discourse and it is that which ‖ De vero cultu cap. 17. Lactantius long ago hath very largely proved viz. that the Philosophers mistook Vertue for Vice and Vice for Vertue I remember the excellent * Praefat. ad Ethic. Des Cartes compares the Moral Writings of the Heathens to Splendid and Magnificent Palaces built upon Mud and Sand. They extol saith he Vertue to the Skies and prefer it before all other things but do not sufficiently explain to us the True Nature of it or lay the ground of it right nay oftentimes that which is called Vertue by them ought rather to be stiled Vice Now these ill Foundations cannot but be followed with as bad Superstructures and both of them will promote vitious Practices in Mens Lives So that upon this account we might conclude the Pagan Philosophers were very defective in shewing the way to Happiness for how could they do this so long as they were not able to build Men up in True Godliness and to make them really better But their greatest Blemish was that which I have already mentioned viz. their Ignorance of the way of Life and Salvation by Iesus Christ. They knew not that there is no other Name under Heaven given among Men whereby they must be saved They understood not that in the great and universal Deluge of Mankind this is the only Ark we can be safe in They were unacquainted with the Mystery of Faith and Justification and the absolute necessity of the Assistance of the Holy Spirit and other such Divine and Saving Truths the Discovery of which is peculiar to the Christian Religion which is the only true Philosophy For this Name you may observe it bears in the Writings of the Antient Fathers Thus Iustin Martyr speaking of the Christian Institution hath these words concerning it †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dialog cuÌ„ Tryph. Philosophy truly is the greatest Good and most acceptable to God it being that alone which leads us and commends us to him and they are really holy who apply their Minds to this Philosophy And he tells us that he found this to be ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ibid. the only certain and useful Philosophy So the Barbarous Philosophy with Clemens Alexandrinus is the Christian Religion or the New Testament composed by those whom the Greeks stiled Barbarians This according to Isidore is * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epist. l. 4. the New and Evangelical Philosophy and sometimes it is called by him the †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epist. l. 5. Heavenly Philosophy And in several other Fathers this is the word for Christianity and the Doctors and Eminent Professors of the Christian Church are stiled ‖ Sozomen Eccl. Hist. l. 5. c. 12. Philosophers in opposition without doubt to those among the Pagans who boasted of this Title Thus I have attempted to shew how the Apostle's words are to be understood I have let you see what those things are which were blameable in the Greek Philosophy and why the Apostle cautions against it I have particularly discovered how this Philosophy was abused of old and thereby became most prejudicial to Christianity and how the Professors of it did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is the word here used forcibly carry away and make a Prey and Booty of too great a part of the World by it Whence it is that the Apostle here couples Philosophy and Vain-Deceit together A Discourse on 1 S. Iohn Ch. 3. v. 8. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the Works of the Devil Wherein is shewed what the Works of the Devil are I Will enquire into these words not that they contain any Difficulty in them but because I would lay open the full and compleat Meaning of them for though I grant that by the Devil's Works is in the general meant all Sin and Vice as is evident from the foregoing Verse He that committeth Sin is of the Devil yet I conceive there is something more Particular intended here by these words Some Particular Works are to be understood wherein the Power Subtilty or Malice of that Evil Spirit are more signally exerted and therefore are Emphatically here call'd the Works of the Devil And this is that which I now design to offer and I will be the larger in insisting on it because it is of very Great Moment and is not like some other Subjects which I have treated of before that are Controversial and Disputable and likewise because I see this is not taken notice of by Commentators First Superstition is a remarkable Work of the Devil and without doubt is meant here This is a Reverencing and Adoring at a venture as those Religionists at Athens did who erected an Altar to an Vnknown God It is a yielding of unreasonable and groundless Homage and to define it more generally it is attributing in a religious way more than is due to Things or Persons It is in this large sense a vain and groundless Fear where no Fear i. e. no true cause of Fear is And on the other hand it is a fond and unwarrantable Expectation of those things from created Beings which they cannot afford us and which they were never designed for The Evil Spirit took care to employ the Minds of Pagans about these Matters that he might thereby divert them from Objects of a better Nature and take off their Thoughts from True Religion and the Divine Author of it and that he might hold them in a constant dependance on himself whilst he perswaded them that these Foolish Fears and Hopes should be of singular use and advantage to them Hence of Old they had their Lucky and
step to Idolatry which of all his Works may justly be stiled his Chief Master-piece It is true the wisest of the Pagans asserted One God and knew that there were not Different Deities but the generality of them thought and believed otherwise and the Philosophers themselves complied with these Vain Worshippers and so confirmed the People in their Error Nothing is more evident than that the greater part of the World heretofore declared for a Multiplicity of Gods The Idea of God like some great Mirror was broken in pieces by the Heathens and in every one of these they saw a Deity or fancied they did so Every Attribute of God was a Distinct God But this was more pardonable they proceeded to worship the Heavenly Bodies and ascrib'd Life and Divinity to them Nay they ransack'd for Gods and Goddesses below as well as above they found them in the Earth and in the Deep as well as in the Heavens The Number of these Deities had reached to thirty thousand in * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hesiod's Time and they were almost as many more afterwards for if Varro's Computation be right there were above that Number of Gods and Goddesses worshipp'd by the Europeans alone Nor would one way of worshipping them serve their turn There were as many various Rites and different Sacrifices as there were Deities the Solemnities which were performed to one would not suffice another Nothing forsooth would please Ceres but a Sow nothing would serve Aesculapius but a Cock and the most acceptable Offering to Neptune was a Bull. The Pagans fancied that one God delighted in this Oblation and another in that and therefore to be sure to please them they had Particular Services and Diversities of Worship for them Egypt was the most fruitful Soil for this it furnish'd the rest of the World with Gods The Grecians who afterwards stock'd the Romans took the Names of their Gods their Temples their Altars their Images and most of their Superstitious Ceremonies from that Country as * In Euterpe Herodotus testifieth And with him agrees †Lib. 22. c. 43. Ammianus Marcâ—llinus who positively tells us that all Idolatry came from Egypt And ‖ Lib. 17. Strabo and others acquaint us that All sorts of Living Creatures were worshipped by the Inhabitants of that place That Sheep and such-like Animals had Divine Respect paid to them is attested by the most Ancient and Undoubted Annals of Holy Scripture for it is said in Gen. 46. 34. that a Shepherd is an Abomination to an Egyptian viz. because the Egyptians did not kill or eat Sheep or such-like Animals but look'd upon them as Sacred Hence Moses saith * Ex. 8. 26. Shall we sacrifice the Abomination of the Egyptians before their Eyes and will they not stone us i. e. If we sacrifice Sheep or Oxen Creatures that they worship and abominably idolize they will be incensed against us They abhorred the Iâ—ws because they were generally Shepherds and fed upon that sort of Animals and used them in Sacâ—ifice And this it is probable was the reason why when Ioseph entertainâ—d his Brethren at Dinner they did eat asunder because it was an Abomination to the Egyptians to eat Bread with thâ— Hebrews Gen. 43. 32. For as Oâ—kelas here adds the Hebrews eat those Animals which the â—gyptians worship And for this Cauâ—e the Israelites lived apart in the Land of Goshâ—n And besides they were not permitted to Sacrifice all the time they were in Egypt as appears from those words of God to Moses Exod. 9. 13. Let the People go that they may serve me i. e. that they may Sacrifice unto me as appears from Ch. 10. 25. which implies that they were not permitted to Sacrifice before and the Reason was because the Egyptians would not let them kill and offer in the Fire those Animals which they had so great a regard for and even Deified So besotted were these Gentile Adorers that not only Irrational but Inanimate Creatures were deified by them You might have seen the Greatest Men to whom others bowed and did lowly obeisance prostrate themselves to Stocks and Stones to Wood and Brass and Iron shaped into Gods and by the Art of Masons Carpenters and Smiths made Deities This was the Idolatry which obtain'd so much in the World this was the Capital Enormity of Mankind this was the Main Guilt which they were polluted with as * Principale crimen generis humani summus 〈◊〉 reasons De Idololar cap. 1. Tertullian call'd it Our Learned Dr. Hammond thinks this is meant by the Apostle in Rom. 8. 20. The Creature was made subject to Vanity for he takes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the Gentile World and Vanity for Idolatry as this is called very frequently in the Old Testament The Heathen World was every where enslaved subjected to this Vile Sin though not willingly i. e. as this Author expounds it the Devil forced them to it otherwise he would not be appeased But this gross Folly and Madness was soon disgraced and discountenanced by the introducing of Christianity and even in Egypt the Mother and Nurse of all Idolatry where Garlicks and Onions no very fragrant Deities had Veneration paid them and Cats and Crocodiles were good fashionable Gods where they worship'd all things in Nature where every thing living or dead was a Deity even here this Prodigious Idolatry was destroy'd by Christ's Coming for upon on St. Mark 's preaching there and at Alexandria especially Images were soon demolished the Counterfeit Gods were thrown away and the only True God Father Son and Holy Ghost were worshipp'd with an unanimous Veneration At Rome it self and even in Nero's Palace and in all the Territories belonging to the Roman Emperours there were some to be found who discover'd their hatred and detestation of Idols and adored the True God in Spirit and in Truth But the Pagan Worship had got such deep rooting in the Hearts of Men and had by long Custom and Prescription so gained their good Will and Approbation that almost four Centuries of Years had passed after Christ's Incarnation before it could be universally extirpated and the True Worship of God become the Religion of the Roman Empire Constantine the Great made the first remarkable and generous Essay towards this Glorious Work in his Reign it was that Idolatry received its greatest mortification and he was succeeded by many Worthies that imitated him Let all the Images be pluck'd up from their Seats was * In Cod. Theodos. l. 16. Tit. 11. Honorius's Constitution and by the Edict of Theodosius and Valentinian the Idol Temples were all demolished and Idolatry every where in their Dominions destroyed and all False Gods discarded Thus the Blessed Work went on with great Life and Vigour being set forward by Royal Hands and those Hands being strengthned by the Son of God Therefore the Pious Father said well * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Lib. de Incarnat Verbi Dei When the
Hebrew Scholiast upon it and some of the old Rabbins acknowledge and as the Application of some passages in this Psalm to Christ in the Writings of the New Testament plainly sheweth This Name Shiloh is as it were commented upon For you find him here first represented as a Saviour He shall â—ave the Children of the needy v. 4. He shall deliver the needy when he crieth the poor also and him that hath no helper He shall spare the Poor and Needy and shall save the Souls of the Needy v. 12 13. Nothing could be more expressive than this of the Salvation wrought by Christ Iesus for poor distressed helpless Sinners Secondly He is described as a Peace-maker The Mountains those places which used to be haunted with Robbers and wild Beasts shall bring Peace to the People v. 3. This Blessing shall be conferred on those places where it was wholly a Stranger before and therefore shall be the more welcome And in v. 7. you read of abundance of Peace in his days and the Duration of it is answerable to its Plenty for it â—hall last till there be no Moon as the Hebrew hath it till the Heavens and Earth and the whole Fabrick of the World be dissolved In the third place to compleat his Character it is added that he shall be Prosperous and Happy He shall break in pieces the Oppressor v. 4. He shall be a great Victor and Triumph over all his Enemies especially over Satan the Great and Unsufferable Oppressor of Mankind This is also signified in that Metaphorical Language v. 6. He shall come down like rain upon the mowen Grass as showers that water the Earth i. e. in plainer terms The Subjects of his Kingdom shall grow and increase thrive and flourish Therefore it follows immediately In his days shall the Righteous flourish v. 7. And then in several Verses together you have the Prosperity and Happiness of his Kingdom decyphered He shall have Dominion from Sea to Sea They that dwell in the Wilderness shall bow before him and his Enemies shall lick the Dust. All Kings shall fall down before him All Nations shall serve him And he shall live i. e. according to the ‖ 2 Sam. 16. 16. 1 Kings 1. 31. Eastern stile he shall prosper and Men shall be blessed in him All Nations shall call him blessed Likewise in that other noted and famous Prediction concerning Christ in the 53 Chapter of Isaiah all these three significations of the word Shiloh meet together The Prophet recounting the admirable Benefits and Advantages of our Saviours Passion for that it is spoken of Him is evident from Matt. 8. 17. and Acts 8. 32 35. tells us That he hath born our Griefs and carried our Sorrows v. 4. i. e. He underwent the Punishment which we should have suffered which is farther expressed in the next Verse He was wounded for our Transgressions he was bruised for our Iniquities Whereas we should have been wounded and bruised punished and tormented for our Sins He was pleased out of infinite Kindness to take the Recompense of our Sins upon himself and to bear them on the Cross and thereby to free us not only from the Guilt of Sin but from all the Miseries which were consequent upon it What is this but to be a Saviour Wherefore it is added With his stripes we are healed v. 5. By the Sufferings of Christ ‖ Sanati sumus Vulg. Lat. we are made whole and saved Thus he was a Saviour But the same Inspired Prophet acquaints us in the same Verse that he was a Peace-maker the Chastisement of our Peace was upon him i. e. by his Meritorious Sufferings our Peace with God was purchased our Reconciliation with the incensed Majesty of Heaven was procured Yea it is not unworthy of our notice that the Hebrew word which we render Peace is in the plural Number to intimate to uâ— that whatever Pleas and Accusations are against us they are all though never so many silenced by Christ our Advocate our Mediator our Reconciler our Peace-maker Farther the Peaceable Nature of Christ is set forth in those words As a Sheep before her Shearers is dumb so he opened not his mouth v. 7. He bore all Hardships Reproaches Injuries yea and the Cross it self with a humble Silence and Submission ‖ Isa. 42. 2. He did not cry nor lift up nor cause his Voice to be heard in the Street This is the Character of the Mild the Gentle the Peaceable Iesus In the next place he is represented as Prosperous When thou shalt make his Soul an Offering for sin he shall see his Seed he shall prolong his days and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand v. 10. That is his whole Design and Undertaking for the Salvation and Redemption of Mankind for this is the Pleasure of the Lord shall be Successful There shall be a Happy Effect and Issue of all that he hath done and suffered he shall see and rejoyce in his Seed that numerous Race of Holy Converts of Believers and Regenerate Persons who are added to the Church He shall see of the Travel of his Soul and shall be satisfied v. 11. He shall delight himself in the Blessed Effect of his Labours he shall acquiesce in the Fruit of his Sufferings viz. The Salvation of his Chosen Therefore will I divide him a Portion with the great c. v. 12. Which is a Comparison taken from the Practice of Great Conquerâ—rs who after the Victory is over share in the Rich Spoil So that this expresseth the Compleat Victory and Triumph of Christ over all his Enemies Thus he is every ways the True Shiloh for Salvation Peace and Prosperity which are all contained in that Appellation belong to him Whence we may gather that this One Title comprehends in it All the Glorious Names that are given to Christ either in the Old or New Testament together with all his 〈…〉 and all the Admirable Effects 〈…〉 his Passion These all center in this One Name which the Holy Ghost hath made choice of on purpose as the most Comprehensive Word to express the Glorious Nature and Properties of the Messias Yea I doubt not but the Holy Patriarch Iacob had this Name revealed unto him from Heaven and being immediately inspired by the Holy Ghost he divulged it to the World You see then that I had great reason to prefer this Derivation of the word Shiloh viz. from Shalah before any others and to commend it as the True and Native Signification And because the Extent and Latitude of this word have not been observed by Expositors there was a necessity of my insisting and enlarging upon it that I might thereby display the full Import of the word designed here by the Holy Spirit and that it might plainly appear that this Name which God hath given his Son is a Name above every Name But after all that I have said concerning this so remarkable Eâ—ymology and Denotation of the word
Day-Star from on High even before it actually visited us and blessed our Horizon darted such a Light into the World that they were inabled to discern tho in an imperfect manner the gross Fooleries of that Superstitious Religion which was among them And when the Glorious Light of a Saviour and Redeemer shined forth unto a perfect Day when the Son of God manifested himself in the Flesh then the dark and dismal Night of Superstition wholly vanished in many parts of the World and the Follies which they once embraced grew odious and abominable And it is most certain that the Principles and Maxims of Christianity do eminently overthrow the fond Surmises and frightful Observations of Superstitious Men. Nothing indeed could do it so effectually as the Gospel for now under the Evangelical Oeconomy and Christian Dispensation our Adoration is confined and determined and we know whom we Worship and therefore the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Gentiles can have no footing here And as for the Dread of Future Occurrences Christianity hath utterly removed it by the Right Apprehensions of things which it blesseth us with and by teaching us to place Religion in that which is truly Religion It effectually extirpates all Superstition by stifling the Principles of Enthusiasm and Fanaticism by suppressing False Fears and Childish and Groundless Terrors by superseding all Fantastick Devotion by putting an end to all Foolish Rites and Idle Ceremonies all Superfluous and Needless Observances which proceed from a Causless Timorousness in Religion and from False Representations of God and his Worship All this we owe to the Truth and Doctrine revealed by Iesus Christ For though considerable Discoveries were made by some Wise and Serious Persons among the Heathens as well as Jews yet this was nothing in comparison of what followed when the Laws of Christ prevailed in the World And particularly as for Divinations and Sooth-sayings wherein a great part of the Gentile Religion consisted as they were reckon'd to be Fanciful and Groundless things and not founded on any True Reason and Bottom even by some of the Pagans themselves as you have heard so they are much more rejected confuted and bafled by Christianity which is our Reasonable Service and requires nothing of us but what is just and accountable and every way correspondent to the Dictates of our Rational Nature This acquaints us that all those Superstitious Omens are really what some of them were called by the Pagans themselves Bruta Fulmina Insignificant Flashes meer Mormoes to fright Children and Fools things that have no other Existence than Imagination actuated by the Devil the Author of Delusion especially of all Superstitious Cheats which Christ Iesus came to discover and destroy Secondly It is reasonable to understand by the Works of the Devil the Pagan Oracles which were so famous of old at Delphos and in other parts of Greece as the Trophonian Oracles at Thebes and Lebadia both in Boeotia and those other more remote ones in Lybia and Egypt and other Countries where were these Habitations of the Devils those Dens of Satan who loved to be enquired of and courted by the ignorant and besotted Pagans I know there are some who think there was nothing of the Diabolical Spirit in these Oracles but that they were only for Gain Caelius Rhodiginus professeth himself to be of this Opinion but yet before he ends the Chapter where he asserts it he ingenuously confesseth That * Lect. Antiq l. 2. c. 12. this Business was not altogether managed without some correspondence with and help from the Devil And there is a * Sir Tho. P. B's Essays Gentleman of late very much concern'd and moved because we attribute it to him The setting up of Oracles saith he was merely for the Interest of the Priests and that was all They were a Iuggle to get Money and Repute especially among the reat Men and Princes Therefore he concludes That they are Superstitious Christians who think they were from the Devil But who sees not the Vanity of such an Inference as this as if the Oracles could not be from the Devil and yet for the Priests Interest too These are no ways inconsistent and therefore whilst this Gentleman makes one exclude the other he uses a Fallacy but no Argument I deny not but there was Interest in the case yea double Interest that of the Devil as well as the other of the Priests I grant him that Oracles were a Iuggle but a devilish one and he must acknowledg the same if he pleases to remember that there were sometimes such things foretold by them as could not possibly be foreseen and known by Humane Skill But the Knowledg and Sagacity of the Evil Angels might reach them because these Invisible and Active Spirits can fly up and down the World with infinite swiftness and inform themselves of all Occurrences whatsoever and are present at the most private Consults and have learn'd by long Experience and Observation to dive into the Designs of Men and to see the very Disposition and Tendency of Causes before they begin to act Besides that they are always caballing together and holding Correspondence with one another so that it is probable what one of them knows the whole Herd of them is acquainted with and that in a few Moments time Hence hence it is that the Oracles spoke such shrewd things sometimes which it is impossible to give an account of unless we assert that this Office was set up and maintain'd by those Invisible Demons for 't is certain that the most Cunning and Subtilest Priest of them all could never have foretold those things Again there is ground to believe that these Ill Spirits were Managers here because we are ascertain'd from those who describe the Manner and Circumstances of the delivery of the Oracles that there was something more than Man in it The Place was fill'd with amazing Noise and Horrour loud Shrieks and Howlings were heard and sometimes the Temples were torn with Thunder-claps the Earth trembled and quaked and so did the Priests these now appeared with erected Hair with distorted Eyes with foaming Mouths and unusual but frightful Voices they beat and knock'd their Breasts with an Inhumane Fury they raged and raved and ran about like possessed Persons as indeed they were The Subterraneous Demons whom they consulted and dealt with put both the Earth and their Bodies into this Motion and Disorder This looks like the truest Cause of them and therefore we have good reason to assert that those Pagan Priests were acted by those Evil Spirits who generally brought them their Intelligence and help'd them to give Answers And this was done if I may be permitted to offer my Conjecture in imitation of the Celebrated Oracle of Vrim and Thummim and of the Divine Inspirations and true Prophetick Spirit which the Holy Scripture speaks of for 't is certain that the Infernal Spirits did in many Particulars emulate the things and practices which were in
they must needs offer Humane Sacrifices to their Daemons And it is strange to see how this Vile Usage spread it self and prevail'd among all Nations That it did so among the Old Grecians is testified by several Authors * Virgil. Aeneid 2. Diodor Sicul. Prophane and †Euseb. Praep. Evang. lib. 6. Ecclesiastical Particularly we are told by ‖ De Abstin lib. 2. Porphyrius that the Lacedemonians used this Cruelty and sacrificed a Living Man to Mars The rest of the * Suid. in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Grecians did the same or the like Yea this Practice was Authorized by the Oracle it self which ordered the Greeks to Sacrifice Agamemnon's Daughter to Diana to appease her Goddessship The Persons thus Sacrificed were call'ed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Purgatory or Expiatory Oblations to which some Criticks have thought the Apostle alludes in 1 Cor. 4. 13. where he saith that himself and the rest of the Christians of that Time were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Devoted Accursed Abominable in the Eyes of the World and destined for Slaughter Among the Trojans likewise Sacrificing of Humane Blood was in use as we learn from Homer and Virgil. So among the Persians Men and Women were usually kill'd in Sacrifice to Mithra However ever great †* J. Mart. Apol. 2. Tertul. de Praescript Suidas in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Torments were to be undergone by all that were entred into the Rites of their Worship No less than fourscore kinds of Punishments they were to suffer first That the Africans and particularly the Carthagenians sacrificed Children to their Gods is attested by sufficient * Diodor. Siculus Justin Tertul. Apol. c. 4. Minutius Felix Lactantius lib. 1. c. 21. Euseb. Praep. Evang. 4. Writers Nay †In vitâ— Pelopidae Plutarch tells us that those amongst them that had no Children bought some of poor People to Sacrifice them This was the Practice of the * Heliodor l. 9. Ethiopians †Evag. Eccl. Hist. l. 6. c. 33. Saracens ‖ Mela l. 2. c. 1. Scythians * Porphyr de Abstin Phoenicians and †Curt. Hist. l. 4. Tyrians Our Neighbours the Ancient Gauls and Germans as Casar de Bello Gall. l. 6. relates were guilty of this Bloody Folly Nor were the Old Inhabitants of this Island where we live free from this Wild and Extravagant Practice The Britiâ—h Druids held that the Wrath of their Gods could not be appeased in some Cases but with the Life of Man and accordingly as * In Nerone Dio Cassius and †Annal. 14. Tacitus report the People of this Isle led on by their Priests frequently offer'd these Barbarous Sacrifices Thus you may be satisfied from divers Authors and many more than I have named for this I own to be a brief Collection made from them as I see * Vossius de Idololat l. 2. c. 5. Selden de Dis Syr. Syntag. 1. c. 6. Grotius de Satisfact And in Deut. 18. 10. Dr. Stillingfleet of Christ's Satisfaction Others have done before me that the Custom of Sacriâ—icing Men did almost universally obtain in the World Nothing was more common with them than to offer up an Innocent Person to the Gods in time of some Imminent Danger to pacify their Wrath and remove the Publick Calamity This Example of Devilish Cruelty was very frequent among the Pagans before our Saviour's Coming and a while after But as soon as Christianity had got any footing in the World it began to disappear After Christ had offer'd himself a Sacrifice on the Cross and his Holy Religion was propagated this Custom of Sacrificing Men ceased in a great part of the World It is true this Cruel and Tyrannical Sway of the Evil Spirit is not yet wholly destroyed The Sacrificing of Children to the * Hackluiâ— Purchas and others Devil was in use not long ago among the Americans We read of the Dreadful and Astonishing Apparitions of Satan to the People of Florida and Brasil and other Countries where Paganism is still in its Meridian These Devil-Worshippers complain that he cuts and tears their Flesh and miserably torments their poor Carcasses Indeed those that give an Account of the Americans and Indians as Acosta and others do constantly take notice that flashing and cutting their Bodies are usual in their Worship But it is to be hoped that this and all other Acts of Cruelty will at last be abandoned when the Christian Faith shall arrive among those Bloody Men. We are to bless God that there are any Effects of it already in those parts of the World and to pray that there may be yet a larger and more vigorous Influence of the Laws of Christianity which are against nothing more than Cruelty and Bloodshed Secondly The Bloody Spectacles of the Gladiators were no small Instance of the Devil's Empire in the Pagan World which delighted in Slaughter and made it one of their Publick Sports to see Men kill one another upon the Theater It was usual not only to expose Men to fight with Beasts and at last to be torn by them but they kept others to fight with their own Kind and to dispatch one another Of the former of these speaks that Pious Bishop Salvian * In Spectaculis primum deliciarum genus est mori homines impleri serarum alvos humanis carnibus cum circumstantium voluptate conspicientium laetitiâ De Gubernat lib. 6. In those Spectacles saith he the main thing that pleased them was to feast their Eyes with the slaughter of Men and to see Wild Beasts gorge themselves with Humane Flesh and that with an incredible Satisfaction and Delight This was the Lot of some Condemned Malefactors and of some that were taken Captive in War These who had fought with Men were now compell'd to fight with Beasts and so to lose their Lives And some think that the Blessed St. Paul was put upon this sharp Service at Ephesus for they take that to be the meaning of his words when he saith He fought with Beasts at Ephesus 1 Cor. 15. 32. i. e. not with Wicked Men as it is generally interpreted who are Irrational and Savage Creatures and Men only in Shape but really with Wild Beasts with whom he was condemned to fight for his Life this being the Punishment inflicted on him This is the Interpretation which St. Chrysostom and St. Ambrose give of the words and it will not seem strange if we duly consider these following things 1. When there is a plain and express place of Scripture 't is not safe to evade it by flying to Metaphors Which is the Case here St. Paul saith he fought with Beasts and we may very well understand it in the plain and obvious Sense of the Words wherefore we are to chuse this Literal Sense before a Metaphorical one Especially if we consider 2. That this was in those Times and afterwards an usual Punishment inflicted on the Christians * Tertul. Apol. c.
be put to death Therefore his Daughter was no Cherem no Execration no Devoted Wretch This Law of Cherem or Anathema gave the Jews no License to turn Assassines and Cut-throats and to take away the Lives of their own Children Of which * De Iure Nat. Gent. l. 4. c. 11. Mr. Selden and other Learned Men were so convinced that upon this very account they assert and think they prove that Iephthah did not offer up his Devoted Daughter in Sacrifice But by their leave all that they prove hence is this that he should not have done it Besides this sort of Vows called Cherems was to be made by particular Warrant from God who is Lord and Disposer of Life and Death and can Sentence and Devote to Dâ—struction whom and what he pleaseth But we read of no Warrant that Iephthah had to Vow the Death of his Daughter much less to proceed to Execution therefore it was direct Murder to put her to Death And particularly as to Sacrificing her that was a most Inhumane Horrid and Barbarous Act and expresly forbid of God and hated by him Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God thou shalt not burn thy Sons and thy Daughters in the fire as the Heathens used to do to their Gods For every abomination to the Lord which he hateth have they done Deut. 12. 31. For Iephthah then to Vow the Sacrificing of his Daughter was so far from being according to the Law and Acceptable to God that it was an Abomination to him Yea some of the very Pagans themselves thought such-an Act as this to be Unlawful Thus * In vit Pelopidae Plutarch tells us that Agesilaus being commanded in a Dream to Sacrifice his Daughter refused to do it and that when Pelopidas in a Vision was bid to Sacrifice a Virgin he look'd on it as a Severe and Impious Command Agamemnon it is true Sacrificed his own Daughter but even a Prophane and Atheistical Poet could blame him for it crying out against his * Tantum religio potuit suadere malorum Lucret. l. 1. Superstitious Religion as the ill Motive which prompted him to so vile a Practice Yea it is probable that This is the very Instance which I am now treating of Iphigenia was Iephthah's Daughter for the Greeks mistook Iphigenia for Iephthigenia which plainly signifies the Daughter of Jephthah And Agamemnon was mistaken for Iephthah for he being a known Man in the Trojan Wars which were in Iephthah's time as the Masters of Chronology have agreed it was easie for the Poets to take one Warlikeman or Great Captain for another and to represent the History of Iephthah under the Name of Agamemnon as I shall shew at another time it was the common use of the Poets to disguise Passages of Sacred History with Fables and Prophane Names particularly as for this Sacrificing of his Daughter it being so Remarkable but yet so Infamous an Act it is certain that it was spread abroad and known among the Nations and could not but be abhorred by all Persons of Sobriety and Reason So far is it from being allowed by a Particular Law of God as some pretend Again There are Others who that they may effectually prove the Lawfulness of this Fact tell us it was done by the particular Instinct of the Holy Spirit that Iephthah was immediately stirred up by God to Atchieve this singular Enterprize which in others would have been unlawful * Epist. ad Iulian. St. Ierom of old seem'd to be of this mind and Peter Martyr afterwards was enclined to think the same but he presently corrected himself And truly no less could be expected from him for it is a very near approach to Blasphemy to say that so Wicked a Perpetration was by favourable Instinct from God himself especially when he hath so particularly forbidden it as you heard in the former particular Indeed from what I delivered there this Bold Opinion is sufficiently confuted for if Sacrificing his Daughter was downright Murther and was a Breach of Moses's Law and of the Law of Nature then it is intolerable Folly and Presumption to plead for the Lawfulness of it Moreover if there had been here a Divine Impulse or a Particular Command from Heaven as in the Example of Abraham who was bid to do what he did and that for Trial only he would not have rent his Cloaths and been troubled but he would have likewise check'd his Daughters Sorrow as well as his own by declaring that his Resolution to Sacrifice her was from a particular Dictate which he received from Heaven Thus we have reason to reject the Opinion of those Men who hold that Iephthah sinned not in Sacrificing his Daughter for neither of the Arguments which they alledge have any Truth and Reality in them there was no Express Law of God nor any Divine Instinct in the case Wherefore we may safely and confidently aver with the Great Iewish Antiquary before cited That * Antiq. Iud. l. 5. c. 9. the Sacrifice which â—ephthah offered was not lawful nor acceptable to God but that on the contrary it was Unlawful and Sinful And so most of the Antient Fathers of the Church who have spoken of this do assert But here we may be thought to be reduced to a great streight in maintaining this Post for if all Humane Slaughter was forbid by God and is against Nature and is utterly Unlawful and Vicious how came Iephthah to commit this Fact What made him act so Strangely What could be the Motive to so Horrid an Enterprize If it was so Gross an Enormity how can we think this Great Man this Judge with his High Priest and Priests about him yea and the whole Sanhedrim to advise him could be guilty of such a Vile and Notorious Crime as this Here then I am to give an Account why and whence it was that Iephthah acted thus Extravagantly and as it may seem profligately and I hope it will not be offensive if I take liberty to dissent from the generality of Writers in this matter For though I agree with those who hold that Iephthah sacrificed his Daughter and that he did very ill in it yet I differ from them in the Ground and Occasion of it which is the thing I will now insist upon and for which I chiefly designed this Discourse They attribute it to the Corruption of that Age telling us that very Strange and Exorbitant things were done in those days as the Book of Iudges expresly relates And moreover they add that Iephthah herein followed the Examples that had been before him for Humane Sacrifices were commonly offered by the Heathens that dwelt in Palestine Deut. 12. 31. Their Sons and their Daughters they burned in the fire to their Gods and particularly we read that the Ammonites offered their Children to Moloch in the Flames Nay it cannot be denied that this Horrid and Bloody Idolatry was practised by some of the Israelites a little before Iephthah's
Entrails are broken and displaced was as wide from the purpose as Bath is from Ierusalem What is this to the bursting asunder in the midst and all the Bowels gushing out and that by falling head long Was it ever known that the stopping of the Breath the mere hindring of Respiration procured such an Effect as this viz. A total Exenteration No. It is to be ascribed to another Cause and I have assigned what it is Thus the seemingly different Accounts of Iudas's Death are reconciled which could not possibly be done in that way which Expositors generally have taken 2. This Exposition which I have presented you with is an undeniable Proof and Demonstration of that which I suggested in the entrance into this Discourse viz. The Remarâ—abâ—eness and Singularity of this Execrable Traytor 's End Of all the Criminals Recorded either in Sacred or Prophane Story there is none equal to this Iudas and therefore it was fitting that the Recompense of his black and foul Demerit should be as Matchless as that it self And this we see accomplish'd in the Wonderful Manner of his Death Or rather it was not a Single Death but a Complicated one which is the thing that makes it so Strange and Observable The first thing he attempted was to abandon himself to excessive Melancholy When he reflected on his Fact he was overwhelmed with Vexation and Despair It is impossible to relate or to imagine the Horrours of his Soul and the Tortures of his Conscience which he underwent on this occasion This only we can say That this Load was so Great and Pressing that it even choak'd and smother'd his Vitals it strangled and stifled his Spirits and almost bereav'd him of Life To compleat this fully he proceeded yet farther and willfully hanged himself that he might be freed from his present Misery although this did but let him into greater The Memory of this more effectual Strangling of himself the everlasting Badge and Infamous Memorial of his Guilt remains still in his Name * From Iscarab Strangulatio Lud. de Dieu in Matt. 10. 4. Dr. Lightfoot Hor. Hebraic in eund loc Iscariot which was given him as our Learned English Rabbi thinks after his Death or as others Conjecture before it with a Prospect of this direful Fact It is farther remarkable in this Singular Instance of Gods Vengeance that this Traytor 's hanging himself was not as he intended it his last Punishment This Miserable Criminal fell head-long before he was altogether deprived of Life and Sense from the place of his Suspension and his almost Breathless Carcass shook out his loathed Soul and his Bowels together by a Fall This Evisceration is very remarkable for 't is emphatically said his Bowels yea all his Bowels gushed out St. Luke speaks here like a Physician as he was and means by * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hesych 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the usual Acception of that word among those of that Faculty all the Viscera of the middle and lower Ventricles the Heart and all the other Inwards belonging to both these This sets forth the Rarity and Wonderfulness of this Judgment this calls upon us to take special notice of iâ— Let me observe to you that in his being thus wholly disbowelled we may plainly read the Punishment of a Traytor For not only with us but other Nations Eviscerating hath been part of the just Penalty inflicted on such Malefactors Moreover I might take notice of St. Luke's other word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we have not fully translated when we English it he burst asunder for it properly signifies such a Rupture as is accompanied with a Noise and therefore in the Vulgar Latin Version 't is rightly rendred crepuit This Terrible Crack which attended Iudas's Fall was so loud that it was heard at a great distance And accordingly we read in the next Verse That this was known unto all the Dwellers in Jerusalem It is no wonder saith our * Hâ—â— Hâ—bâ— in 〈◊〉 Christian Rabbi that this sudden and violent Explosion of all his Entrails made such a mighty and horrid Sound for the Devil who had entred Bodily into him and had inhabited there three days now broke forth And upon this violent Eruption of that Evil Spirit a great and amazing Noise was heard such as must needs affright the Neighborhood For though â— do not approve of the Learned Doctor 's Interpretation of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which he takes in a Passive Signification wholly and tells us that Iudas was snatch'd up by the Devil into the Air and there strangled by him whereas 'tis expresly said he went which is an Active word and shews that what immediately follows was a proper act of his own whence I have reason to gather that he strangled and hanged himself that he was a Felon of himself that he willfully procured his own Death yet I do verily believe that the other Act of the Tragedy was immediately by the Devil's Procurement This Infernal Daemon struck him down to the Earth and Hell together whither his Body was enclining And truly he might justly have his last and fatal end from the Devil 's own Hand who was immediately stirred up by this Diabolick Spirit to commit that cursed Fact Thus all the Circumstances of this Miserable Caitiff's End make it Stupendious that we may be convinced of this Great Truth that this was a Notorious and Exemplary Punishment and designed by God to be Peculiar and Remarkable Here were several Deaths met together in this One Horrid Example that we may be invited to observe and admire the Extraordinary Hand of Providence in it and that we may take notice how God hath inflicted a Judgment worthy of such a Miscreant that this Unusual and Unheard of Manner of his Death may appear to be the just Desert of his unparallelled Villany namely his Betraying of Innocent Blood even that of the Lord of Life and Glory One way of Death was not thought sufficient for him and therefore his cursed Life was torn from him by many viz. by Macerating Grief by Violent Hanging and Strangling himself by a sudden Precipitation by a Disruption of his whole Body and by an Effusion of all his Entrails As to what is suggested by a * Gronov. Exercit. Academ late Writer that he was not buried but cast into the place destined for the Carkasses of Beasts and all manner of Filth and Dung and that the throwing his Dead Body into this Barathrum where he was burst asunder is meant by his falling head long I cannot apprehend any ground for this Conjecture and therefore I cannot insert it as a Remarkable Attendant of his Death and as part of that Severe Judgment which befell him here I have gone as far as the words of the Evangelists have authorized me in explaining of which I have fully set forth the Tragical End of this Hypocritical Actor in Religion this Mock-Disciple this Apostle in Masquerade this Execrable
or Distracted at certain times and that as it is usual with such Persons they were worse when the Moon increas'd Therefore the Arabick Version of the forenamed Place in St. Matthew is very remarkable He hath a Devil and he is exceedingly vexed in the beginnings of the Full Moon as much as to say the Devil and the Disease met together and the former was the Author of the latter Or we may say the Impure Spirits chose to enter into those crazy and Diseased Bodies when they were most disposed to Illness by the powerful Influence of the Moon This is no Argument that they were not really possessed with the Devil but it is a plain Proof of the contrary and of something else viz. that Satan doubled his Malice vexing and tormenting them at a time when they were least able to bear it As for the Reasons why such vast Numbers of Men were thus visited when our Saviour was on Earth these may justly be assigned it was an Age much given to Magick and Inchantments and the calling up of Spirits was a frequent thing in those Days Besides Divine Providence might so order it at that very juncture of Time for an Occasion of the more Glorious Cures It might happen by the Particular Disposal of the Almighty that thereby it might appear to the World that Christ had Power over the Devils and could when he pleased dislodg those Mischievous Spirits and rescue Mankind from their Tortures The Reality and Greatness of his Soveraignty over those Infernal Powers were to be demonstrated by those Atchievments Moreover it may rationally be thought that the Devils would be most busy then when Christ came into the World and would be more interessed to disturb and torment Mankind because they saw their Kingdom was going down and Christianity was to be exalted in the World Now therefore it was time for the Messias to exert his Miraculous Power and behold as an effect of it the Devils submitted to him and at his Command presently quitted the Bodies which they had taken possession of One Person among the rest was a famous Instance of this sort out of whom a Legion of Devils was ejected by Christ's Holy Exorcism With one Word he vanquish'd whole Regiments of the Kingdom of Darkness he routed Armies of Infernal Daemons I remit you to the Evangelical Records where you have abundant proof of the casting out of these Hellish Spirits not only by our Saviour himself but by his Disciples who as you read came to him with these words in their Mouths * Luk. 10. 17. Lord the Devils are subject to us this being an Effect of that Mighty Power which Christ had invested his Followers with Luke 9. 1. And therefore †Contr. Cels. l. 3. Origen rationally infers that Christ's Power was â—ivine because at his Name the Devils left the Bodies of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And this was a thing not unusual in those very Days in which this Father lived as well as before We are ascertain'd that the ordinary Christians merely by their Prayers and Invocations ejected those Spirits and made them confess what they were That they had this Power in Iustin Martyr's Days who flourish'd in the middle of the Second Century appears in his known Dialogue with Trypho where he expresly saith The Devils tremble at the Name of Christ and being adjured by that sacred Name they become subject to us That they did the same in Irenaeus's Time which was some few Years after is cleer â—rom his * Lib. 2. cap. 58. Writings And the same Miraculous Gift continued till Tertullian at the end of the second Century as is evident both from his Apology and his Book to Scapula And St. * De vanit Idolorum Cyâ—rian testifies the like of his Time about the middle of the 3d Century So Minutius Felix and Lactantius relate how the Christians controuled the Evil Spirits and tell us that not only their Words and Commands but their bare Presence shut the Mouths of the Possessed and made the miserable Ghosts quake and tremble Yea Gregory Nazianzen in the next Age gives this Testimony †Orat. Apologeâ— The very Devils at this time tremble when Christ is call'd upon neither is the Power and Virtue of that Name diminish'd and impaired by our Sins And if I designed to expatiate I could derive it lower and also shew you that these and other Christian Writers commonly appeal to the Pagans concerning the Truth of these things and alledg this Ejection of Devils as a great and undeniable Proof of the Authority of the Christian Religion as certainly it was But I add no more having said enough for my purpose which was to make it appear that among other Works of the Devil Christ destroyed This in particular Fouâ—thly Is there not reason to think that St. Iohn refers here to what Christ did when by his Coming he rooted out Magick and Sorcery Dealing with the Devil either by Practising Witchcraft or Consulting with those that did and the like Works of the Black Art which the Cursed Spirit taught the World These were the Devil 's Opera which he shewed of old and got so much by whereby he pleas'd and gratified and at the same time bubled the easily deluded People Not to attend to the perverse Folly of those mere Matter-Men who disown Spirits and consequently deny a God as well as Devils for they will rather profess Atheism than acknowledg any such Rank of Beings Not to gratify these Gross Atheists so far as to take notice in this place of what they are wont to say in Defence of their Mad Opinion I shall take it for granted that Magical Operations properly so call'd are the Works of the Devil and that he was the first Founder of them designing and endeavouring thereby to bring Men under his Dominion and so far as he can effect it in the Minds of Men to exclude God and his Providence out of the World This questionless was his Design and was never doubted by the Ancient Christians as appears not only from * Magi non tantum sciunt daemoâ—es sed etiam quicquid miraculi edunt per daemones faciunt illis aspirantibus infundentibus praestigias edunt c. Adv. Gentes Arnobius but several other Primitive Writers though some of late so extraordinarily civil to him that they will not impute the Practice of Magick to his Assistance Good Men they are afraid to slander the Devil But from the History of several Ages we are certainly informed that there was nothing more usual thâ—n to make a Compact with Satan which the Mâ—gicians and Wizâ—rds effected with maâ—y direful Câ—remonies And when there was not a Foâ—mâ—l League with the Devil yet there was a Communication with him because the Persons gave themselves into his Hands by their immoderate Curiosity by their affecting to know more than was fitting or by an impatient coveting after Wealth and Riches or by a
7. 2 Chron. 11. 15. Isa. 13. 21. 34. 14. And 't is likely this worshipping of Satyrs was a piece of Devilish Idolatry which they learnt and brought from * Diodor. Sic. l. 1. Egypt where 't was practis'd But this we are certain of from a more sure word as you heard that the Devils themselves were adored by them And concerning the Gentiles Worship the Apostle is peremptory 1 Cor. 10. 20. The things which the Gentiles sacrificed they sacrificed to Devils and not to God Whereas the Greeks used to call the Victims or Beasts which they offer'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Apostle on the contrary plainly stiles them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 things sacrificed to Idols 1 Cor. 8. 1 4 7. 10. 19 28. In which places Idols are no other than Diabolick Spirits which inhabited in those Idols But Christ by his coming soon put a Period to this Hellish Usage When the Devil was so impudent as to make that offer to him All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me he presently rebuked the bold Spirit by alledging what was written not only in the Law but in all Mens Hearts that they should worship the Lord their God and serve him only And by the whole System of his Heavenly Doctrine he built up this Truth and pull'd down the Contrary and all the least Tendencies to it After our Saviour left this Earth his Apostles and Followers managed the same Work and endeavour'd by all means to run down this Cursed Project of the Devil viz. of his being worship'd As a particular Effect of their Care to baffle this Design we read that the Primitive Christians solemnly vowed at their Baptism to renounce the Devil and all his Works By which * De Spectac c. 4. saith Tertullian is principally meant Idolatry yea and the worst kind of Idolatry a giving Divine Honour and Worship to those that are Devils and not Gods a Sin very common at Christ's Coming into the World the greatest part of it at that time living in this Vile Practice therefore â—aith this Father this was made a chief part of the Baptismal Vow that the Proselytes and Converts to Christianity should in a solemn manner bid Defiance to that detestable Enormity of the Heathens Conformably to this our Learned †Dr. Hammond Pract. Cat. l. 6. Sect. 3. P. 375. Catechist in reply to that Question What is meant by the Devil and all his Works answers thus Certainly the principal thing here renounced is the False Gods i. e. Devils which the Heathen World did worship so universally before Christ's Time and against which the Catechists who prepared all for Baptism did first labour to fortify their Disciples and are for that Cause called in the Ancient Church Exorcists as those that cast out these Devils Very near a-kin to This is that which is added next in the Solemn Vow at Baptism viz. The renouncing the Vain Pomp and Glory of the World For that word Pomp in its Original meaning refers to the Idolatrous Shews of the Heathens it properly signifying sending of some thing and carrying it up and down to be seen and exposed so that hereby are denoted those Splendid Sights and Stately Processions in use of old among the Heathens at which Solemn Times the Images the Thrones the Ornaments and all the Habiliments as also the Oblations and Sacrifices which were to be offer'd to their Gods were carried openly through the Streets and Honour was done to these false Deities The Ancient Fathers of the Church very strictly caution'd their Flock against these Devilish Customs and particularly when they admitted Converts into the Church by Baptism they took care to fortify them against them Hence may be observed the Antiquity of the Form and Office of Baptism which our Church makes use of at this Day The solemn Renuntiation of the Devil and his Works and of the Pomp and Vanity of the World is as old as Primitive Christianity Yea some Learned Men have thought that the Apostle St. Peter alludes to it in his 1 Epist. Chap. 3. v. 21. and that the Answer of a good Conscience there refers to the manner of Interrogation and Answer used in Baptism But this by the by That which you are chiefly to take notice of is that whereas the Wicked Ghosts and Daemons were ambitious of Divine Adoration it pleased God so to bless and succeed the Christian Religion that in a short time this wicked Usage wore away this cursed Work of the Devil came to nought the Christian Faith being by the wonderful Providence of Heaven â—â—opagated so universally through the World Sixthly I conceive that by the Works of the Devil are meant here especially those Sins which have most of his Image upon them and wherein Men more immediately and directly resemble that Accursed Spirit those Works which the Devil chiefly tempts Men to and which he himself is observed to practise most As first Malice and Envy are the proper Guise and Character of Devils for these lapsed Spirits being irrecoverably damned themselves are fired with Revenge and Malice against all Mankind being thrust down from Heaven they endeavour to hinder us from coming thither Wherefore Envy which is a Grieving at the Good and Welfare of others Sporting with Mens Infirmities Exposing them to Obloquy and Disgrace Delighting in the Miseries of those we affect not Rejoicing at the Evils which befal others these have all an Impress of the Devilish Spirit on them Our Saviour pronounced concerning the Pharisees whom he found to be Envious and Malicious that the Works of their Father they would do plainly giving us to understand that these Vices are more eminently Diabolical But the Laws of Christianity strictly enjoin us * 1 Pet. 2. 1. to lay aside all Malice and Envy and command us to †Rom. 12. 15. rejoice with them that rejoice to weep with them that weep and ‖ V. 10. to be kindly affectioned one towards another and to delight in the Welfare and Happiness of our Brethren Again Rage and Passion Bitter Strife and Contention may be justly ranked among the Devil's Works Schism and Faction are from him who was the first Mutineer and Rebel against Heaven and ever since delights in Wars and Tumults and loves to ruffle and embroil the World and raise Tempests and Storms in it But Christ Jesus our Blessed Peace-maker and Reconciler came to remove all Grounds of Difference and to introduce Universal Love and Charity And Christianity it self is furnish'd with Peaceable and Healing Principles and offers all the Motives and Incentives to it imaginable The Laws of Christ are fully set against all undue Passion and Choler and there are in no Institution whatsoever so severe Prohibitions of this Diabolical Temper * Ephes. 4. 31. Let all Bitterness and Wrath and Anger be put away from you †V. 26 27. Let not the Sun go down on your Wrath neither give
the Manifestation of the Son of God upon the Earth and to his Holy Institution which promotes Tender-heartedness and Pity and condemns whatever is Savage and Bloody But the Slaughter and Murder of Souls are the worst and highest Cruelty the Main Work and Business of that Implacable Enemy of Mankind Those Cursed Spirits being fallen themselves from God indeavour the Apostacy of all Mankind and this they do by drawing Men into Error and by tempting them to Sin and Wickedness They are as busy in debauching Mens Minds by Erroneous Opinions and False Doctrines as they are in any other Design and they get as much by it for by corrupting Mens Understandings and Notions they prepare the way for all other Mischiefs to ensue Heresies are of the Devil and lead to him and therefore Polycarp knew what he said when he call'd Marcion that Arch-Heretick the first-born of Satan But the inveigling to Practical Error which is no other than Vice gives him chiefly his Denomination of Tempter and consequently those who allure others to Vice those who entice them to Evil Courses are to be call'd by no softer Terms than those of Murderers and Devils for Tempting i. e. drawing others to Sin is properly the Work of the Devil this is that which he constantly practiseth and takes so much delight in But the Blessed Founder of Christianity is a Saviour and Lover of Souls who thus expostulated when he was on Earth What is a Man profited if he shall gain the whole World and lose his own Soul or what shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul This Jesus was Loving and Kind-hearted and submitted to a painful and ignominious Death to give an undeniable Demonstration of his Compassion to the Souls of Men. He ascended the Cross and shed his Blood there to convince the World how Tender he was of their Immortal Concerns and Everlasting Welfare And let me speak a Great Word He would even now leave all his Glories and die once more for Man if it were necessary for the procuring of his Happiness Lastly Carnality Lewdness and Vncleanness may fitly be stiled the Devil's Works It is well known that these prevailed even in the most Solemn Rites and Devotions of the Pagans As the Poets represent the Gods Lewd and Lascivious so the most Serious Authors tell us of the Impure and Filthy Sacrifices the Villanous and Beastly Rites performed to them They relate the Obscene Feasts of Bacchus and Priapus of Flora and Venus and acquaint us that they kept their Lupercalia or Festivals of Pan in running up and down naked behaving themselves in that lewd manner which cannot be named without injuring chaste and modest Ears Of the Eleusinian Solemnities in Honour of Ceres and Proserpina we have some Account from * Adv. Valentin Tertullian and the Religious Ceremonies of Isis were as lewd and obscene saith †De Isid. Osir. l. 1. Plutarch It is certain that Lewdness and Wantonness were the very Ingredients of their Worship and their very Temples were Stews Arnobius makes it his Business in his fifth Book to shew how obscene and unchaste how immodest and shameless their Rites and Ceremonies their Stories and Relations of their Gods were In brief Vncleanness hath been so eminently confirmed to be the Work of the Devil that the Foul Fiends have sometimes assumed Bodies to act it in as ‖ S. Augustin de civ Dei lib. 15. Bodin contr Wier some have thought But Christ coming in the Flesh destroyed even the Deeds of the Flesh he chose to be born of a Pure Virgin that he might give a Pattern of Spotless Purity in the World and the Design of his Holy Institution was to Sanctify Mens Bodies and Souls and to fit them for the unstained Pleasures of another Life Thus I have finish'd my Task having largely and particularly shew'd you what the Works of the Devil are either such Works as are done by that Evil Spirit or such Vices and Practices in Men as more nearly approach to the Devilish Nature and Temper and I have at the same time proved that our Saviour and his Religion do overthrow and destroy these Works of the Infernal Spirit I will only add a Critical Remark on that manner of Expression in the Text 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that he may loose our English Word it is likely coming from thence or dissolve c. for that is the exact rendring of the Word This supposes Bonds and Fetters We were in Durance and Captivity we were shut and lock'd up * Isa. 42. 7. in the Prison-house we were under the Power of Satan and Dominion of Sin but the Merciful Iesus came to rescue and redeem Mankind to knock off their Fetters and to set them at Liberty For this purpose the Son of God was manifested and for this only He came not as the Iews fondly imagined concerning their Messias to be a Great Earthly Monarch to wage War and to beat the Romans out of Iudea and to make his People Rich and Wealthy and to promote them to great Honours This alas was a poor Design and not worthy of the Messias but he came to effect a thing of greater Moment even of Universal Concern and that which is more Noble and Glorious than all Worldly Empire and Soveraignty He came to free his People from the Tyranny of Satan to vanquish the Prince of Darkness who had enslaved all Mankind Or this Word gives us a true Notion of our Saviour's Design thus The Devil had corrupted Man had been the great Instrument at first of depraving his very Nature and ever since he hath made it his Work to debauch Mens Minds and Manners and by all ways imaginable to render them like unto himself Hereupon the Son of God was sent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that he might dissolve defeat undo these Works of the Devil This is the short and plain Account of the Grand End of Christ's being manifested in the World of his Incarnation Doctrine Life Sufferings Death and all his Undertakings whatsoever it was no other than this to undo to annul all that the Devil had done in the World Christ's task was to pull down what Satan had built up to untie to untwist all his Knots and Intrigues to baffle all his Plots and Contrivances to unravel the Inchantments of the Evil Spirit to break the Snares of Satan and to destroy the Destroyer FINIS ERRATA PAge 3. line 27. read Iunius P. 68. l. 22. prefix the Figure 7. P. 77. l. 10. r. in the Margin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 P. 118. towards the bottom the Parentheses are misplaced P. 127. l. 20. r. a Mem for a Teth. P. 171. l. 7. r. Nun for Caph. P. 217. l. 26. dele †P. 270. l. 8. after Writer add with others P. 272. l. 13. r. were P. 275. l. 2. after dieth make a Period P. 290. l. 13. r. signifies l. 24. for Arrows r. Rods l. 31. after Tribes add for it is certain that the Iews and other Nations mutually borrowed from one another P. 291. l. 3. after Israelites add as well as these aped them P. 318. l. 23. insert are P. 337. l. 15. r. Christianity's Books printed for Jonathan Robinson at the Golden-Lion in St. Paul's Church-Yard THE Holy Bible containing the Old Testament and the New with Annotations and Parallel-Scriptures To which is annexed The Harmony of the Gospels as also a Reduction of the Jewish Weights Coins and Measures to our English Standards And a Table of the Promises in Scripture By Samuel Clarke Synodicon in Gallia Reformata Or the Acts Decisions Decrees and Canons of those famous National Councils of the Reformed Churches in France Wherein are contained 1. A most faithful and impartial History of the Rise Growth Perfection and Decay of the Reformation in that Kingdom with its fatal Catastrophe upon the Revocation of the Edict of Nants in the Year 1685. 2. The Confession of Faith and Discipline of those Churches 3. A Collection of Speeches Letters Sacred Politicks Cases of Conscience and Controversies in Divinity determined and resolved by those grave Assemblies 4. Many excellent Expedients for preventing and healing Schisms in the Churches and for re-uniting the dismembred Body of divided Protestants 5. The Laws Government and Maintenance of their Colledges Universities and Ministers together with their Exercise of Discipline upon Delinquent Ministers and Church-members 6. A Record of very many illustrious Events of Divine Providence relating to those Churches The whole collected and composed out of Original Manuscript Acts of those Renowned Synods A Work never before extant in any Language In two Volumes By Iohn Quick Books printed for Jonathan Robinson at the Golden-Lion and John Wyat at the Rose in St. Paul's Churchâ—Yard A Practical Exposition on the Ten Commandments with other Sermons By the Right Reverend Father in God Ezekiel Hopkins late Lord Bishop of London-Derry An Enquiry into the Constitution Discipline Unity and Worship of the Primitive Church that flourished within the first three hundred Years after Christ. Faithfully Collected out of the Extant Writings of those Ages By an impartial Hand In two Parts Books printed for John Everingham at the Star in Ludgate-street near the West end of St. Paul's Church-Yard MIscellaneous Essays By Monsieur St. Euremont Translated out of French With a Character by a Person of Honour here in England By Mr. Dryden The Divine Art of Prayer Containing the most proper Rules to pray well With divers Meditations and Prayers sutâ—ble to the Necessities of Christians useful in every Family To which are annexed seasonable Prayers for Souldiers both in their Majesties Army and Fleet. Monarchia Microcosmi The Origine Vicissitudes and Period of Vital Government in Man For a further Discovery of Diseases incident to Humane Nature By Everard Maynwaring M. D. Books printed for John Wyat. THE Christian Virtuoso shewing That by being addicted to Experimental Philosophy a Man is rather Assisted than Indisposed to be a Good Christian. By the Honourable Robert Boyle Esq Experimenta Observationes Physicae Wherein are briefly treated of several Subjects relating to Natural Philosophy in an experimental way To which is added A small Collection of strange Reports By the same Author