This B Q'O K was given, i8/?<^. ^ ^ By the Associates Of the late Rev. Dr. BRAY, To the Lending Library Of //•/^A-J frrte^yf^ct'^ , In the County of -r^^J t-r tk^^ ^ And Diocefe of ^/^ jd^ ijOi^irt.^ ^, 6 I Eftabliflied by the Associates, i^ffjf, \ L 1 B R A^ R Y llK TIIK Theological Seminary, PRINCETON, N. J. OtSC ^O^C^ Divisir: .S7/r//' • ^^(5" f Section ^ ^'^"/■- ,..<2:.A,1 . No, . ^.-Vv^"^' y tif 1r CHRISTIANITY Juftiiied upon the Scripture Foundation. BEING A fummary View of the Controverfy between Christians and Deists. In TWO PARTS. In which the Subjed Matter of the Gofpel Reve- lation is vindicated againft Objed:ions ; and the Evidence for the Truth of the Chriftian Religion briefly ftated. Preached in feveral Sermons (but now digefted into one continued Difcourfe) for the Lecture founded by the Hpn. Robert Boyle, Efq. in the Parifh Church of St. Mary le Bow, in the Years 1747, 1748, 1749. BY HENRY STEBBING, D. D. Chancellor of the Diocefe of Sarum, and Chap- lain in ordinary to his Majelty. LONDON, Printed for C. Davis, over-againft Grays-Imi- Gate, Holborn. MDCCL. To the Right Honourable Richard Earl of Burlington^ Sole furviving T R U S T E E for the LECTURE Appointed by the Hon. ROBERT BOYLE, Efq. This Difcourfe is infcribed. By his Lordfhip's Moft obedient humble Servant, Henry Stebbing. (v) PREFACE. I Committed thefe Papers to the Prefs, more that I might not difappoint the ufual Expeda- tions of the Public, than for any Opinion that I have improved upon what has been faid upon the Subject by the many able and learned Writers that have gone be- fore me. I have no Difcoveries to boaftof ; but if, v^^hilft I am tread- ing a beaten Path, there fhould be any thing in the Method and Com- pofition of the Work that may pleafe the Reader ; and if I have given any Affiftance to make com- mon thinors better underftood: I fliall reach the utmoft Bounds of my vi PREFACE. my Expe6tation ; and flatter my- felf that I have done a public Ser- vice, at a time when every Help is wanted to check the Growth of Infidelity. I think that the proper Work of a Defender of Christianity is, to to defend it upon the foot that Chr'tjl taught it, that is, upon the foot of Natural Religion. Natural Religion is and mud be the Founda- tion of all Religions ; and in this Senfe Jefus Chnft was a Teacher of Natural Religion, as he required the Pradice of it. But his Message was Pardon and Reconciliation to Sinners, which is the proper Subjed: of his Revelation. With this I fetout ; and, the common Princi- ples of Natural Religion fuppojedy I write PREFACE. vii i write as to thofe who, thus far inftru^ted, want only to be inform- ed, what it is that the Gofpel pro- pofes, which natural Light cannot open to us. In fetting this forth I have made ufe of Scripture Autho- rities; but in this I have paid a due regard to the Direction of the honourable Founder, which is, not to enter into Contefts upon any Points in which Chriftians of diffe- rent Communions or Perfuafions differ among themfelves; but fo far only appealed to Scripture, as is neceflary to fhew, that the Doc- trines I am defending are the real Do6trines of Chr'tjl and his Apo- flles ; and not Do&ines of my own Invention. In anfwering the Objedions againft Chriftianity, inftead of ran- a 4 facking viii PREFACE. facking the many Books lately pub- lifhed by Unbelievers, and follow* ing particular Authors in their par- ticularMethods of reafoning (which would have made this Work te- dious and lefs inftrudlive) I have delivered my own plain Senfe as I had digefted it in my Mind, from what 1 have formerly read and confidered upon this Subjed-. I do not pretend (which would be great Prefumption) to have cleared up all Difficulties in the Chriftian Scheme ; but I hope I have an- fwered all Objedions, which, as a Chriftian Preacher, I am concerned to anfwer ; either by fhewing, that there are no real Difficulties in fuch Objedions ; or if there are, that the Chriftian Religion is no more con- cerned in them than Natural Reli- I gion PREFACE. ix gion is. Natural Religion has its Difficulties as well as Revealed ; and they are much of the fame fort. It is therefore a juft Demand upon thofewho believe in a God and a Providence, though there are DifB- culties which they cannot clear; that they accept the Gofpel (fup- poling it fupported by fufficient Evidence) with the fame Allow- ance. Ifuppofe, that every one who beHeves a God, whilft he fees Dif- ficulties in accounting for the va- rious Methods of his Providence, does it upon this general Principle, that the common Appearances of Nature are a much better Evi- dence for his Exiftence, tJian thofe Difficulties (which may arife mere- ly from the narrow Limits of the human Underftanding) aretolhew the X PREFACE. the contrary. If this fhoiild turn out to be the Cafe with refped to Revelation (as 1 truft it will) we are then upon a Par ; and it will be quite abfurd, whilft you admit the one with all its Difficulties, on account of the fame or like Dif- ficulties, to rejed the other. In the fecond part of this Work, where I lay together the Evidence of the Truth of Chrift's Miffion, Dr, Middle TON, in his Introduc- tory Dtfcourfe and Free Enquiry^ has furnifhed me with feme Em- ployment. Thefe Pieces, as to their profefled Intention and De- fign (which is to fliew that there were no Miracles wrought after the Times of Chriji and his Apo- ftles) are out of my Subjedt. But as PREFACE. xl as the Dodor, in managing that Argument, has advanced feveral general Pofttions^ which in their Confequences impeach the Autho- rity of the New Teftament, he fo far fell within my Province ; and fo far only have I concerned my- felf with him. As my Appointment was limited to a certain Period which I could not exceed, and my Subjed com- prehends a Variety of Matters ; I was obliged to be very fhort upon each particular Point. But if what I have faid is plain and con- vincing, Brevity, I hope, will not be thought a Fault; and in what- ever Light this Book may ftand in the Opinion of Unbelievers ( with whom, 1 am afraid, lit- 4 tie xii PREFACE. tie good is to be done) if the doubtful and wavering may be eftablifhecj by it; or the ferious, but lefs inftruded Chriftian, who wants only to be enabled to give Reafon of the Hope that h in him^ may re- ceive any Satisfadion from it ; I fhall think my Pains well employ- ed. ERRATA. Page 78. lin. 1. inftead of becaufe they are immate- rial, read, fuppofwg them SubJIances of a diJlinSt Na^ iure, endued with Powers and Faculties, that have (ef- fentially) no Dependance upon the organical Body, Pag. I2y. lin. penult, in the Note, for Dialogus read Dialog. Pag. 128. lin. 21. for 5«j read But. Pag. 159. lin. 15. for Pharifee read Pharifee's. Pag. 241 . lin. 6. for Majler xt^d Maker. Pag. 249. lin. 5. tranfpofe thofe for thefe, and vice verfd. Pag. 251. lin. 10. after ceafe, inftead of a Point of Interrogation put a Colon. Pag. 255. lin. II. inftead of Corruption read corrupti- ble. Pag. 316. lin. 6. for Judea read Judah. Ibid, lin. antepenult, for LaJilytQdA Befidei. Pag. 443, lin, ^> dele tfj zi/^//. ( i ) CHRISTIANITY juftified upon the Scripture Foundation, PART I. SHEWING The Credibility of the Gospel, H O E V E R offers any thing as of Ufe or Advantage to Man- kind, he has a Right to fet forth his own Pretenfions 5 and according to the Reafon, Importance, and Cre- ^, „ dibility, of the Matters propofed, ofjcjus Chriji and the Evidence a Perfon gives fi^ forth from. of his Abilities and Capacity to ^'''P^''''' bring them to Effedlj he v^^iil deferve or not defervethe public Attention. It is accord- ing to the full Force and Virtue of this Maxim (univerfally admitted in all cafes) A that 2 I'he Pretenfwm of Jefus Chriji that I purpofe to confider the Pretenfions of Jesus Christ, in order to determine the grand Queftion between Us and Unbeliev- ers j " Was he a Prophet fent from God 5 *' and are his Dodlrines and Precepts to be *' received as the Will and Lav^^ of God r'* I fliall confider, I fay, firft, \\\q JiibjeB Mat- ter of his Dodrine ; or what it is that he propofes to us for our Acceptance, and of what IJfc or Importance it is, regard being had to the Happinefs of Mankind, or the wife Ends of God's Providence, fo far as they may appear to human Reafon. I fhall coniider, fecondly, the Credibility of this Doctrine in itfelf or in its own Nature ; whether it be fuch as recommends itfelf to our Acceptance if fupported by proper and fufficient Evidence of its coming from God ; or whether there is in it any luch Contrariety to the natural Didlates of our Reafon, as will juftify us in reje(5tingit •a^uncapable of Proof. If there is no fuch Contrariety, then, 3dly, itdiallbe coniider- ed, what l^ejiimony God has given to Jefus Chrijiy and whether it be fuch as ought to convince and fatisfy reafonable Men. This Diftribution of tlie following Work will take fef forth from Scripture, 3 take in all necefHiry Queftions, and bring the Difpute to a regular Conclufion. For thus it may be argued. TheWifdom of God does nothing in vain. Therefore if the Gof- pel, as to the fuhjeSi Matter of it, be of no Importance, it cannot be from God. Again. Nothing that contradicls the Reafon of Man can be from God j becaufe the Rea- fon of Man, fo far as it goes, istheWifdoni of God imparted or communicated to Man, and God cannot contradict himfelf. It is neceffary therefore that both the Import- ance of the Gofpel, and its Confonancy to the Principles of natural Light, be made appear, in order to come at this previous Concluiion, that the Gofpel jnay poflibiy, or probably, be from God. But that it adually is fo, it is the I'ejtimony that God has given to Jefiis Chrijl, that muil: fliew ; and if it does iliew it, the. Reafon of Man has nothing farther to demand, in order to make Faith a reafonable Convidion. As to the firfl: Queftion, ** What is the ^'fubjcSi Matter of Chrifl's Dodrine, or " what is it that he propofcs to us for our " Acceptance ?" You mufl take the An- A 2 fvver 4 7he TreUnJlom of Jefus Ckriji fwer to it from Chrift himfelfj or thofe whom he commiffioned to publifii his Doc- trine to the World : You can have it no where elfe. If the Queftion was, What is the Law of England^ muft it not be fet forth from our Law-books and Statutes ? What then does Chrift fay ? The Son of Man (meaning Himself) is come to fav^ that which was loft ; that is, loft Mankind: Forfoitisfaid, John in. 17. God fent his Son into the World that the World through him might be faved. This is the great, diilinguiihing Character of Jefus Chrifi, that he is the Saviour of the World j and for the full Explanation of it J it will be neceffary to (hew from the New Teflament, how and in what Senfe Man- kind were lojl^ and how and in what Senfe they are faved by Chriil ; for thefe PointSj once particularly explained and undeiflood as laid down in thefe Writings ; both the fuhj Col Matter of the Gofpel and the Import- cncc of it, will be fully underftood, which were the Points to be cleared, under this firil head of our Enquiry. St» fet forth from Scripture, ^ St. Paul then tells us, that whereas Man in his firft, original, State, was created to Immortality and Happinefs^ Adam, by tranfgreffing the Law of his Creator, brought Death and Mifery upon himfelf and all his Pofterity. Thus, Rom. v. 12. By one Man Sin entered ifito the World and Death by Sin^ andfo Death pajfcd upon all Men. And i Cor. xv. 22. In Adam all die. This agrees with the Hiftory of the; Old Teftament, to which thefe Paffages moft evidently refer. For there it is faid, that God put the Man 'whojn he had formed into the Garden of Eden — and commanded htm /ayi?jg^ of every Tree of the Garden thou 7naye/i freely eat ; but of the Tree of th^ Knowledge of Good and Evil thou fiall not eat of it J for in the Day that thou eateji there-^ (f thou Jhak Jiirely die^ Gen. ii. 8. 16, 17^ The Event (liews the Meaning of this Threatning to have been, not that Adam Should inftantly die, bat that he (hould be- come mortal ; which fuppofes him to have been created immortal. But Adam finned and became mortal, he and his Poficrity then in his Lovns, as the Event alfo Ihewed, A 3 and 6 I'he Pi^etenfions of J ejus Chrijl and the Apoftle farther enforces, Rom, v. J 7, 18. By one Mans Offence Death reigned —-Bythe Offenceofone 'Judgment came upon all Men, Adam lived his appointed Time, and then returned to the Duji from whence he was taken. Gen, iii. 19. But by God's Appointment he did not die till he had fown the Seeds of Generations to come, who be- ing born in his Corruption, followed him (as it was natural to be expeded) in the Ex- ample of his Difobedience. The very firft- born Son of Adam was a Murderer ; and as Men multiplied upon the Face of the Earthy Tranfgreffions multiplied with them, and at laft prevailed to that Degree, that // re^ fented the Lord that he had made Man on the Earthy which brought on the Flood that deftroyed them j all but Noah and his Fa- mily, who, by the fpecial Providence of God, were preferved alive, to raife a new World out of the Ruins of the old one. All I (hall fay of this fecond Race of Men is, that they grew by degrees as bad as the fir ft. Idolatry (that foul Monfter, fertile of every thing that is odious to God) foon lifted up her head, and fpread Corruption and Jet forth from Scripture, j and Wickednefs over the whole Earth. St. PWhath faid no more than what all Hi- ilory confirms, when fpeaking of the Gen- tiles he tells us, that they were become vain in their Imaginatio7is ^ and had changed the Glory of the uncorruptible God^ into an Image made like to corruptible Man^ and to Birds ^ and four footed Beafs, and creeping things, Rom. i. 21, 23. Idolatry was the prevailing Sin of the World ; and as falfe Notions of the Deity naturally produce a wrong Behaviour, fo it was here. For, as the Apoflle goes on, ver. 24. God gave them up to Uncleannefs — unto vile Afe^lioni — to arebrobate Mind — to Fornication, Co- vetoufnefsj Murder, Deceit, and all kinds of Wickednefs. Nor was the Cafe much better among the Jews ; for though by the very Inftitution of their Republick, they were tied down to the V/orfliip of the one true God, yet (as their Hiftory lliews) they frequently revolted from him to the Service of Idols. And though their great Prophet and Leader, Mofes, had very flrongly en- forced the natural Law in all its Branches, yet were they greatly defedive in Duties of the moral kind, fuppoling (as it ihouldieem) A 4 thcvt 8 'The 'Pretenfmm of J ejus Chrijl that great Panduality and Exadnefs, in ri-. tual Performances, would make good the Defect J for which they are feverely reprov- ed by St. Paul^ Rom. ii. 17. Behold! thou art called a Jew, and rejlejt in the LaWy and makejl thy Boajl of God, and art confi- dent that thou thyfelf art a Guide of the BHndy a Light of them which are in Dark" nefs—Thou therefore that teacheft another, teachefi thou not thyfelf ? T^hou that preacheft a Man fljould not fie al, dofi thou fteal? Thou that Jdyefi a Man fhould not commit Adul- tery, doft thou commit Adultery t Thou that abhorreft Idols, dofl thou commit Sacrilege ?• Thou that make/i thy boajl of the haw, through breaking the haw difloonourefi thou God f For the ISlame of God is blafphemed among the Ge?itiles through you. Here then you fee in all Mankind a ge- neral Revolt from the Law of God. Some gave away his Glory to the Workmanfliip of his Hands. Others, who knew God, ierved their own Lufts and vile Affedions ; and fuch was the Extent of this Corruption, that the Apollle pronounces abfolutely (without Exception or Referve) All havt^ finned fef forth from Scripture. 9 Jinned, and come jhort of the Glory of God — there is none righteous'^ no not one, Rom. iii. 10. 23. And it is to be obferved, that he does not treat this Revolt as an excufable Cafe, bat as what rabjedcd them to the juft Judgment of God. As to the "Jews, they had a written Law, acknowledged and admitted by themfelves, againft which they were Sinners ; in confequence where- of the Apoftle reprefents them, as treafur- ing up to themfelves Wrath againji the Day ' of Wrath, and Revelation of the righteous "judgment of God, who will render to every Man according to his Deeds. Rom.ii. 5, 6. And though the Ge?itiles had no Law written Upon Tables of Stone, as the "Jews had ; yet they had a Law written in their Hearts, God had manifefted his own Being and Per- fedion in the Works of the Creation, as it faid, Chap. i. verfe 19, 20. That which may he known of God is manifeft in [or a- mong] them, for God hath fnewed it unto them. For the invifible things of hint from the Creation of the World, are clearly fen, being under jlood by the things that are made, even his eternal Power and Godhead-, fo that they are without Excufe. And in the I o l^he Prete?7fions of Jefus Chrifl the next Chapter he fays, that when tJoe' Gentiles which have mt the Law [meaning the written Law] do by Nature the things C07itainedin thehaw^ thefe having not the Law are a Law unto the mjelves^ which fiew the Work of the Law written in their Hearts^ their Confcience aljb bearing wit- nefs^ arid their %houghts the mean while ac- ciifmg^ or elj'e exciifing^ one another^ Rom. ii. 14, 15. It Is very true (and the Apoftle here di- rectly charges it upon the Gentiles) that in fad both the true Knowledge of God, and alfo of the natural Law, was in a great meafure loft among them. But this he conliders as (chiefly) the Effed of their own wilfuU Corruptions, and fuppofes, that God had given fuch Evidences of himfelf by the Works of the Creation, and flamped fuch legible ImprefTions of Good and Evil, Right and Wrong, in the Hearts of Men, by the Reafon and Underdanding which he had given themj that, had they been ho- neftiy confuked and attended to, they would have direded them to another kind of Be- haviour. God muy well be fpoken of as having fet forth Jrom Scripture. n having manifefled^ or Jhcwed himfclf to the Gentiles^ if he vouchfafed them that Light which (if rightly ufed) ivould have made him manifeft, though (for lack of Care and Attention) the far greater Part of Mankind were very grofly miftaken in their Notions concerning him and his Worfhip. At leaft it is certain, that amidft all the Corruptions that prevailed in the Gentile World, there was a Foundation left for more Religion and Virtue than was com- monly pradifed ; otherwife I do not fee how the Apoftle will be juftified in pronouncing f hem without Excufe, You have now the Scripture Account, in what Senfe Mankind was lo/l. Under the Forfeiture of t^ifeand Immortality through the Sin of Jdam ; and moreover, through their own perfonal Sins and Corruptions, pbnoxious to God's Wrath and Condemna- tion. The next thing propounded was to (hew in what Senfe (according to the fame Scripture) Mankind is faved by Jejus Chrift. The moft natural Conception is, that as Immortality was loft in Aicwi, it is reftore4 to 12 The Prekfijicns of^cfm Chriji to us again, in Chriji: That as, by Sin, we are obnoxious to Wrath and Condemnation; in him we have Remiffion, and Reconcilia- tion with God. This isfaving that whu:^ was loft in the full Extent of the Exprefli- on ; and this is the true State of the Cafe. For what fays Chriji F / am the Door ; by Tsi^ if any Man enter he Jhall be faved. — I AM COME THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE IjITe, John. X. g J lo. Again, f 27, 28. My Sheep hear my Voice ^ and they follow jjie, a?2d\ GIVE UNTO THEM ETERNAlLiFE. And at Chap. xvii. f 2. Chrifi declares, that God had given him Power over ad FlejJ:)^ that he should give eternal Life to as many as jhould believe in him. But how does Chriji give eternal Life? Not by difannulling the Law of Mortality (which fiill remains to be the Lot of all the Sons of Adam) but by the Resurrec- tion FROxVi the Dead. For fo fays Chriji himfelf ; '^his is the Will of him that fent me^ that every one that feet h the Son, ,and believeth on him, ?nay have everlast- ing Life j and I will raise him up at the loft Day, John. vi. 40. And it is well to be obferved, that this abundant Grace and 4 fet forth from Scripture. 13 and Favour of God towards lofl: and finful Man, is fet forth by our Saviour as the Fruit or EfFe6l of his Death and Sufferings. I'he Son of Man came not to be tninijiered unto J but tominijler^ and to give his Life A RANSOMyor man)\ Matt. xx. 28. This Doiflrine (at firft fuccinflly delivered by our hord Chriji) is largely iniifted upon and ftrongly urged by his Apoftles, 'and particularly by St. Paul^ from whom I fhall cite thefe few following Paffages to ferve in- ftead of many. Since by Man came Deaths by Man came alfo the RefurreBion from the Dead : For as in Adam all die, even fo in Chriji J]:all all be made alive, i Cor .xv. 21,22. And Rom. v. 11, 12. We joy in God thro* our Lord fefus ChriH, by whom we have now received the Atonement. Wherefore as by one Man [Adam] Sin entered into the World, and Death by Sin, and fo Death fajfed upon all Men — Here the Apoftle flops fliorts, and leaves this, or fomething to this EfFcdl, to be fupplied. — Even fo by one Man [Jefus Chrift] Sin and Death foall be dejiroyed. For thus it follows ; as by the Offence ofone^ Judgmeut came upon all Men 14 ^h^ Pretenfions of Jcfus Chrifl Men to Condemnation ; evenjb by th'6 PviGHTEousNEss of Cm the FREE Gift came upon all Men unto Justification.-^ T^hat as Sin hath reigned unto Deaths even fo might Grace reign through Righteot/piefs unto eternal hife^ by "Jefiis Chrifi our Lord. ^ 1 8. 21. All this ioiplies ih^t Chrifl hath reftored to Mankind what v/as loft by A- dam's Tranfgreffion : Reftored (I fay) by his offering himfelf as a P.ansom for us all. All (fays he) have finned^ and come fiort of the Glory of God ^ being jujlified freely by his Grace ^ through the Redemption that is in fefus Chriji ; wlmn God hath fet forth to be a Propitiation thro" Faith in his Bloody "—for the Remijjion cf Sins that are pajl, Rom. iii. 23 25. One Thing yet, fundamentally material^ is to be taken notice o^^ viz. that this Grace and Favour of God in fejus Chri/l^ belongs to thofe, and to thofe only, who being obe- dient to the heavenly Call, feall return back to the Law from whence they have fvverved, and ferve God by true Pv^epentance. The fabjed: Matter, of the f^reaching of John the Baptift, who was fent to prepare the fet forth from Scripture, 1 5 the Way for Chrifty was Repentance. Repent ye^ for the Kmgdom of Heaven is at Hand. — And new alfo the Ax is laid unto the Root of the 'T'ree ; therefore every T^ree which bringeth not forth good Frint^ is hewn down^ andcafl into the Fire, Matt. iii. 2. 10. yefus hlmfelf began with the fame Lellbn, Chap. iv. 17. and declares it to be the End of his coming to call Sinners to Repen- tance, Chap. ix. 13. And to this End it was that he chofe his Apoflles, and fent them forth into all the World, that Re- pentance and Remifjion of Sins fioiild be preached in his Name among all Nations, Luk. xxiv. 47. What our Lord appointed them to, that the Apoflies punctually exe- cuted J they went out every where, preach* ing that Men fhould repent and believe the Gofpel, offering the Hope of eternal Life to thofe who (hould obey, and threatning eternal Condemnation to the Difobedient* From this (hort and general Account of the Gofpel, we fee plainly that Chriftianity prefuppofes Natural Religion, and ftands upon it as its. Foundation. For if all had finned I 6 "fhe Vretenfiom ofjefus Chri^ Jiiined a?id come Jhort of the Glory of Gcj^ there mufl: have been a Law by which all Men were originally bound ; for where there is no Law there is no TranJgreJJion. Therefore fuch Principles as thefe, that there is a God and a Providence — that there is a natural, efftntial Difference between Right and Wrong — and that Man is a moral and accountable Agent, are Principles which Mankind are prefumed generally to have been infl:ru(5ted in, antecedently to the preaching of the Gofpel ^ and the Apoftles treat Mankind as if they had been, or might have been^ fo inPiruded. For they no where fet themfelves forth as offering the iirit Notices of God to his Creatures, but re- fer to him as having already manifefled him- felf by the Works of the Creation i nor do they treat the natural Law, as a Law want- ing any obligatory Force, which the Au- thority of God, fpeaking in and by them^ was to fupply j but they charge Mankind diredly with being Sinners againft it, and being held under Condemnation merely as having aded againil that Senfe of Good and Evil, which every Man mud feel who hath not corrupted himfelf by evil Habits^ and fef forth from Scripture, tj and given himfelf a Nature that God never gave him. The Truth is, that the Belief of the Deity mud ftand upon natural Evi- dence, and can ftand upon nothing elfe. For thofe fupernatural Manifeftations which prove a Revelation, prefuppofe the Being of God as evident from the common Ap- pearances of Nature, or they are of no Force. If you believe that there is a God, Miracles will prove his Power and Prefence to fuch or fuch particular Purpofes : But if you can account for common Appearances without a Deity, you may as well account for uncommon Appearances without him too J there being nothing more in the one to prove a God, than there is in the other. In like manner, as to the naturalL^wj Reve* lation may approve, and confirm what Reafon didates, as every true Revelatioii does and muft : But it cannot chanee the Natural Law fo as to make it any other Thing than what it is initfelf, nor can it offer any thing that is in its Nature more excel- lent ; for he that fulfils the whole Moral Law, adts fully up to the Dignity and Per- fedion of his Nature. The Natural B Law 1 8 T'he Fretenfions of "J ejus Chriji Law may be imperfectly underftood, or the Natural Law may be neglect- ed ; but fuppofing a Man in all Points to fee what is right, according to the Situa- tion and Circumftances in which Nature places him, and to adl agreeably to fuch Apprehenfions ; he will be the very Crea- ture that God intended he /bould be. The moil; perfedt of created Beings can do no- thing more. 't> But the Cafe, as we have feen, was other- wife. All were Sinners ; and this it was that opened the Way for the Work of the Gofpel, which (in the Scripture Ac- count) was and is to ferve as an Instru- ment to reftore the Obedience of the Na- tural Lavv, and Mankind, who had depart- ed from it. For though God bad not left himfelf without Witnef's ; Men had blinded their Eyes, and did not fee the Evidences of his Power and Godhead. Though they liad a Law written in their Hearts^ their Lufts and Paffions, which had gained the Dominion over them, had greatly effaced thofe natural Characters. To all this the Gofpel Jet forth from Scripture, 1 9 Cofpel offers a Remedy ; and the Reafon- ablenefs and Fitnefs of this Remedy, and the Grounds upon which it ftands, is what 1 (hall undertake, in thefe Difcourfes, to juftify againft Unbelievers j leaving the Principles of Natural Religion (as Chriji and his Apoftles did ) to reft upon their own natural Evidence. In order to this, it will be necefiary to have the general Plan of Chriftianity, which I have now laid be- fore you, perpetually in View, and trace it minutely through all its feveral Parts ; there being fcarce one of them which, in its turn, has not been excepted againft. If thefe Exceptions fliall appear to be weak and inconclufive, and the Gofpel be found to be in itfelf credible, we fliall then be properly prepared to proceed to the Evi- dence; to which every reafonable Man will find himfelf concerned to pay all dtie Attention, fince, fuppoiing it fl^ould come out to be full and fufficient, the Dignity and Importance of the Gofpel will be vili- ble to all the World. If there be any thing that becomes the Goodnefs of the Su- preme Being, it is (by Ways fuitable to his Wifdom) to put his Creatures into a Capa- B 2 city 20 The Fretenfiom of Jcfus Chriji city of being acceptable to himfelf j and the moft carelefs Man upon Earth cannot furely think it an indifferent Matter, whe- ther he embraces the Offers of God's Mer- cy, to his eternul Happinefs, or rejedtS them, to his everlafting Condemnation. Let us confider, then, whether the Method propofed by the Gofpel, and which has ah'eady been laid before you, be, in the Nature of it, a Method fuitable to the Wifdom of God. By which my Mean- ing is not, to inquire, whether there is no- thing in the great Work of our Redemp- tion, but what our Rcifon fully and per- fectly comprehends. It is granted there are many things in it which are beyond human Comprehenfion ; and the Apoftie confeffes as much, when he calls the Gof- pel the Wifdom of God i?i a Myjlery *. But the Point is, whether, fo far as we do know and under ftand of what the Gofpel pro- pofes, there is any ]ufl: Reafon to find Fault j or whether there be any Thing which bears a Contrariety to our natural Notions or Conceptions of Things. If there is no- thing of this Sort, we ought to be flitisiied : I Cor. ii. -. for fet forth from Scripture. 2 1 For to (demand it as a Condition of our be- lieving the Gofpel, that it propofes nothing that human Reafon cannot fathom, is in EfFedt, and by Gonftrudtion, to make hu- man Wifdom the Meafure and Standard of the Wifdom of God. For if it be granted that the Wifdom of God may fee Reafons for many Things, which the Wifdom of Man, by the Force of its own natural Ope- rations, cannot j the Conclufion muft be, that our not comprehending the R.eafon and Fitnefs of what he propofes as the Objedt of our Faith, can be no Objet^iion againfl: our believing it ; unlefs you will fay, that God has no Right to demand our Reli- ance upon his Veracity, but is bound, in all the Ways of his Providence with regard to Mankind, to explain the Reafons of his Proceedings ; which is a moft grofs Im- peachment of almoft every Perfedion of his Nature, and nothing (hort of denying him to be God. If God made :^nd governs the World, it is very certain that he does not thus a6l in many Cafes : For fearch the in- finite Variety of natural EfFed:s, and fee how few of the Caufcs lye within our Reach. And if the Reafons of Things lye hid in B 3 the ZZ T'be Prefenjjonsof JefusChriJl^ &c. the natural World, how likely is it that they (liould do fo in thofe kind of Provi- dences which concern the moral Conduct of Men, and the Methods of bringing thern to that Happinefs which is to be the Re- ward of that Virtue which conlifls in pay- ing him Honour, and Reverence, and Truft, and a filial Obedience ? Such Objedors as thefe, therefore, have no Right to be heard j nor (that I may take notice of it once for all) (hall I admit any Exception to the Gofpel as legitimate and pertinent, which holds as flrongly againft Natural Re- ligion, the Truth of which the very Quef- tion fuppofes, and is admitted in the Argu- ment by thofe with whom alone I am con- cerned. If a Man is an Atbeift^ let him fay fo, and we muft go another Way to work. But if any ferious and religious Perfon finds a Difficulty in reconciHng thefe Things to Reafon, to fuch I (hall apply myfelf, and endeavour to give the beft Sa-i- tisfadion to their Doubts that I am able. Gfihe Fall I n^uft begin with the Hi/lory cud its Con- of the Fall^ and its Confequences \ fcquemes. £qj. ^j^Jj. j^ ^j^^ Foundation of the Doctrine Of the Fall and its Confequences. 23 "DodinnQoi ihtRedemption^ and if the Found- ation itfelf cannot ftand, the Superftrucfl- ure muil: neceflarily fall to the Ground. The Hiftory is to be found in theThiid Chapter of the Book of Genejis^ in which there are two Things of principal Account, ^uiz. the Temptation^ and ihtSentence.hstoih&Tejjjpf- ation^ it was by the Serpent firft feducing the Woman to eat of the Fruit of the forbidden Tree ; which Circumftance is diftin6lly vouched by St. Faid^ 2 Cor. xi. 3 . / fear led by any Means ^ ^i /i?^ S e R P e n t beguiled Eve through his Subtilty, /b your Minds JJjould be corrupted^ &c. which Unbelievers are wont to look upon as a very ridiculous Story J and fome Chriftians (it {hould feem) have been fo ill reconciled to it in its obvi- ous and literal Senfe, as to turn the whole into Allegory. Thofe who beft like this Way of interpreting, are welcome to it ; for the Truth of Chriflianity is not at all concerned in the Queftion. li Mofes wrote this as an Allegory, St. Paul may alfo be fuppofed to have referred to it as an Allegory; fpr he does not explain how he underftood it. But as my own Judgment inclines to the literal Senfe, I fliall undertake ta B 4 j^ftify ^4 Of the Fall and its Cojifequences, juftify the Hiftory in the literal Senfe j which will be placing the Difpute upon a Bottom, which, I conceive, Unbelievers will judge to be the faireft ; becaufe the having Recourfe to Allegory has the Ap^ pearance of avoiding Difficulties inftead of aniwerins them. It is well underflood, I prefume, that thofe who take this Hiftory in the literal Senfe, do not fuppofe that it was the mere brute Animal that tempted Eve, but the Serpent actuated by the Devil. The Author of the Book of V/ifdom fays, that through the Envy of the Devil came Death into the World, Chap, ii, ver. 24. And it fhould feem to be in AUufion to this very Hiftory, that our Saviour ^ fays of the Devil, that he was a Murderer from the Beginning, John viii. 44. and that St. John calls the Devil, the old Serpent which deceiveth the whole World, Rev.xii. 9. Thefe Paffages may ferve as Evidence to (hew it to have been the Senfe of the Jewifi Church, that the D^i?// tempted Eve -, and will any one pre- '' Of our Saviour's Senfe of this Matter fee more in f:he learned Bifhop of ii;77i/(7«'j Appendix, p. 21. 1 ' tend Of the Fall and its CoJifequences. 2 5 tend to fay that this is incredible ? Will you undertake to {hew, againft the Autho- rity of Scripture, that there is no fuch Be- ing as the Devil ? Or can you fettle the Li- mits of his Power ? Suppofe then this to have been the Cafe, that the Devil tempt- ed Eve ; and that he did it, not by afllim- ingthe Form of a Serpent, but (as the Hi- flory feems plainly to carry it) by making ufeof a real Serpent, as his Organ or Inflru- ment ; there will then, in the whole Sto- ry, be no more of Figure than this one (which is a very cotnmon one) the Inftru- ment put for the Agent. The Scripture Language runs — the Serpe?itfaid^ (o or fo : and fo we talk every Day — the Poppet /aid this or that ; when the Speech is not the Speech of the Machine^ but of the Man be- hind the Curtain. But the great Difficulty is to account how the Woman could be deceived by fuch an Inftrument. Some have fuppofed, that Eve miftook the Serpent for fome heavenly Meflenger ; and to make way for thisNotion haveoblerv- cd, that before the Fall the Serpent was not that frightful Creature it is now, but mild and 26 Of the Fall and its Confequences. and gentle ; not crawling and winding about upon the Ground, but lofty, and going up- right upon his Feet. Or elfe, that he was a flying Serpent, having Wings, and (hin- ing brightly like Fire. The Scripture men- tions ^/;2g-, fiery Serpents, which are call- ed Seraphim, the very Name given to the higheft Order of Angels ; whence it is conjedured, that thefe Angels appeared to Men in the Formof thofe Serpents. The Devil therefore (fay they) madeufe of fome fuch Serpent, that he might refemble one of the moil: illuftrious Angels, which mov- ed Eve the more readily to attend to his Difcourfe ; taking him to be one of the heavenly Seraphims, which fbe had feen fometimes in fuch fplendid Form, attend- ing upon the divine Glory ^ That the Serpent was debafed as to his outward Form after the Fall, the Scrip- ture very plainly fuppofes. Becauje thou haft done this, thou art ciirfed above all Cat- tie, and above every Beaft ef the Field \ up- ' See Biihop Patrick, and tl)e Authors of Vnhxyf. Hiji. on Of the Fall and its Confequenca. 27 on thy Belly fialt thou go^ and Dufl fualt thou eat all the Days of thy Life, Gen. iii. 14. What his Form was before, is a Thing quite uncertain. That he did not crawl upon the Ground, is clear; for to fay, upon thy Belly shalt thou go, implies, that till then he did not go upon his Belly ; and 2.3 iTriy&tog ^fjtav ^hiott tS cx^vni] Jhall he dijfolved, &c. where he will have the o/x/et [the Houfel to fignify the grofs Body ; and the (rji?v(^ [the Tabernacle'] to mean that thin, ?L\ry Ve- hicle, which he fuppofes to be the inward Integument of the Soul. But I fee no Ground for this Interpreta- tion. It is an odd Defcription of the animal Body, to call it the Houfe of the cx.'^vQ'. It is as if you fhould call a Man's Houfe the Houfe of his Shirty or the Houfe of his Coat. Befides, this Interpretation ill agrees with what follows, ver. 4. IVe that are [iv ru o-xjjvh] in the Tabernacle^ do groan, being burdened &c. An Ex- preflion which well defcribes the State of tlie Living whilft the Soul is cloathed in this earthly Body ; not of the Dead, when it is uncloathed and covered only with the airy Vehicle. And yet, according to this Notion, the Dead as well as the Living are Iv tw (r>t>iv«. It remains then that we underft^nd the (rx»fv@- (as our Tranflators underftood it) to fignify the grofs, earthly Body, which St. Peter calls (r)t)j'ywjua, a Word of the fame Import, and which is alfo Tabernacle in our Tranf- * Intelle^. Syji. p. 8 1 9 . 4'° Edit . ficiently Of the Immortality of the Soul, 77 ficiently founded in Scripture, I fhall enter no farther into the Confideration of it, but go on to fomething which, I forefee, may be urged in the way of Objedtion to the foregoing Argument, 'uiz. That it reaches to Brutes and other Animals, as well as to Men. For thefe have in them the Breath of Ufe ^ i thefe have Self- motion, Senfe, and Will ; and, in a certain Degree, Rea- fon too : And if thefe are not the Proper- ties of mere Matter, but fuppofe an imma- terial Principle, it will follow, that they too have immaterial Souls. I admit the Con- cluiion. Brutes, ^c. have immaterial Souls as well as Men, and for the fame Reafons. But if you would go on, and charge it as an Inconvenience upon this Dodtrine, that therefore the Souls of Brutes are immortal too, this Conclufion will not follow. For 1 do not argue, that becaufe the Souls of Men are immaterial, therefore (abfolutely) they are immortal j but that lation, 2 Vet. i. 13. Our earthly Houfe of the Taberna- cle ; is the fame Thing as if it had been faid. Our earthly Houfe which is a Tabernacle j or, the earths jJnTabernacle in which wE dwell. ' Gen, vii. 15. b" alibi. becauie yS Of the Immortality of the Sozd. becaufe they are immaterial, therefore thejr may be immortal j or, at moft, that, natu- rally, or without fome Ad of God inter- vening, befides the mere Dilfolution of the Body, they are fo. But the Certdnty, in Point of Fa6l, that the Souls of Men are immortal, I lay upon the Scripture Evi- dence ; and to make Way for this Evidence, I have undertaken to fliew (and, I hope, I have fully proved) that the Dodrine is, in the Nature of it, credible ; and if you will accept of the fame Conclufion in refpecft of the Souls of Brutes, you are welcome to it. Their Souls, as well as the Souls of Men, may live in a feparate State, for any thing that the mere DifTolution of their Bodies will infer to the contrary ; and had the Scriptures declared that they would, there v/ould have been the fame Reafon for our Belief in refpedl of the one as in refpedt of the other. But as the Scriptures fay no- thing of the Souls of Brutes, whether they are or are not immortal -, I determine no- thing politive on either Side of tlie Que- ftion. They may live in a feparate State, either in other Bodies, or out of Bodies ',^ or they may be deftroyed when thefe Bo- dies Of the Immortality of the SouL 79 dies die, as having ferved the full End of their Creation. For though the mere Dif- folution of the Bodies in which they relide will not deftroy them -, God may deflroy them by an A(5l of his Power, who, as he hath formed animal Bodies to laft but for a determinate Space of Time, may in like manner determine the Exiftence of the Souls by which thofe Bodies are animated, to the fame Period, if it feemeth good to his infinite Wifdom. We have purfued the Argument fo far as to have fliewn it credible, that this prefent State is not the laft State of Man, but that there may be a State after this, in which we (hall live (at leaft in Soul) to be either happy or other wife. We may now ad- vance to the next Step, which is to ihew, that there is fomething in Nature and Rea- fon which prepares us to exped: fuch a State. We may, in the firft: place, form no light Prefumption from the Infufficiency of this World to complete the human Hap- pinefs. It feems reafonable to think, that God hath fuited the State of every Species of Beings to the Nature which he hath im- parted 8o Of the ImmortaJhy of the Soul. parted to them ; and, for ought we can tell, he hath done fo in refpedl of all the Crea- tures below us. All inanimate Bodies are furnifhed with Powers fuited to the Effeds they are intended to produce, in the Works of Providence. All the various Tribes of Animals have Faculdes and Pro- penfities th^tcorrefpond to the prefent State of their Exiftence j which, fofar as we are able to judge, fills up the whole Meafure of their Defires. Give a Horfe his Eafe and his Provender, and he thinks of nothing farther. He knows no Want if he feels no Pain. But Man launches out into Fu- turity J is ever driving forward to extend his Enjoyments 3 and never comes at that Period where he can fay, that there is (ab- folutely) nothing left for him to wifh ; no- thing beyond his prefent Acquifitions, which if he had, he would be ftill better pleafed. Happinefs is what we all covet, and it ever feems to us incomplete, and, our Defires and Cravings only confidered, it really is, and muft be fo. But it fhould feem, that if God had intended us only for this World, he would not have implanted in I Of the Immortality of the Soul. 8 1 in us thofe Propenfities which the World itfelf is not able to fatisfy. But the ftrongeft Argument arifes from God's moral Government, as it concerns the Diftribution of Good and Evil. We have before faid, that God, as fovereign Lord of the Univerfe, was originally at Liberty to affign to Man any Degree or Duration of Happinefs that he thought fit. But it is neverthelefs true, that when he had determined him to a State of Being, in which his very Nature made him account- able to his Creator ; he at the fame time made himfelf, in fome fort, accountable to his Creatures, who, if they owe him Ho- mage, have an equitable Right to expecft that their Happinefs fhall bear Piopor- tion to the Value of their ObediencCj ?s their State may be confidered comparatively widi refpeil to the State of other Beings of the fame Rank and Order. But this is not feeri in this World. Good Men are not always better provided for than bad ones, but many times a great deal worfe ; at lead it appears to us fo to be. But it may rea- fonably be expe(5ted, that God will at fome F ^ Time 82 Of the Immortally of the Soul. Time or other juftify himfelf to all reafon- able Creatures, by making it plaia and vifible, that Happinefs follows Virtue as its proper Reward ; and this will then, and can then only appear, if when this mortal Life (hall have an End, in which all Things happen alike to all^ another State of Being fliall take place, in which Virtue (hall be fo much the more eminently re- warded, as it has been left undiftinguifhed in this. As to the Punifliment of bad Men, I purpofely referve what I have to fay to it, to another Place, where the Subjed will be more properly handled. But the Argu- ment, as thus ftated, leads diredly to a future State for good ones ; the Thing that the Dodlrine of the Redemption (which I am now explaining) iingly points at : For Redemption is Redemption to immortal Happinefs, But let it be obferved, that this Argument will not go fo far as to afcertain to us Immortality. The Retribution of a future State may be an eternal Retri- bution } but the mere Notion of a Retri- buuon does not involve in it the Notion of Eternity j Oj the Immortality of the Sout, 83 Eternity ; becaufe a temporary Retribution may ferve to juftify God's Providence, for any thing that we can tell to the contrary* One Stage of Being after tliis^ of like, or even lefs Duration, would perhaps fet all Inequalities right* It is very true that we can fee no Caufe why God flhould deftroy good Men, when he has once taken them to their Reward, and perhaps probable Rea- fons might be thought of to (hew, that he will not ; but, I think, that Certainty in this Cafe muft ftand upon fome higher Principle.— -But let me add one Obferva- tion more, which is, that neither does this Argument determine, whether good Men (hall have their Reward in the Body or out of the Bodyj becaufe a Retribu- tion may be underftood equally, upon either Suppofition. If it were fuppofed that the Soul, after its Separation from the Body, exifts inaStateof Inadivity, or Infen- fibility, till the Refurrecftion unites it again to the Body, then to receive its Reward 5 or if you fuppofe that it iaimediately enters upon its Reward, in a State of feparate Ex- iftence, never to be again united to the Body} the Difficulties upon Providence F 2 that 84 Of the Immortality of the Soul. that arife from the unequal Diftribation of Good and Evil in this Life, will be equally anfv/ered. But Chriji hath joined both Ways together, and put good Men in Pof- feflion of their Reward, immediately after Death, in a State of feparate Exiftence, fully to be completed afterwards, when the End of all Things {hall come, and the Body (hall be raifed from its Duft to im- mortal Life. It may be fuggefted perhaps, that the Dodrines of a feparate State, and of the Refurredion of the Body, ftand not well together ; for that the one takes away all Ufe or NecefTuy of the other : And if you coniider the next World, {imply under the Notion of a State of Retribution, in refpedt of the Good or Evil done or fuifered in this Life, fo indeed it will appear. But you are to remember, that the piecife End or Purpofe of the Refurre Of the Sacrifice of Chrijl. g^ iervance ? A wicked and prefumptuous Son might make fuch Ufe of his Father's Kindnefs in fuch a Cafe ; but no one will pretend to fay it is a right Behaviour. Having removed this Calumny from the Doctrine under Confideration, we may now proceed to (hew the Confiftency of it with natural Reafon j in order to which, thefe three Things are to be premifed, as plain and evident, viz. I. That this Doctrine does no Injury to Cbrijl ; for what he did, he ^\di freely and willingly. So St. Paiily i Tim. ii. 6. He GAVE himfelj a Ranfom, So alfo Chri,^ himfelf, fohn vi. 51. /give my Flejh for the Life of the World. His Blood, there- fore, was his own free Gift, not forced from him by Conftraint j and that you may not think he gave what he had no Right to beftow, he tells us. Chap. x. 1 8. Hay down my Life of my s elf ; / have Power to lay it down^ and I have Power to take it again-, this Command-' ment have I received of my Father. In human Tranfadions, if one Man (liould of- Qz fer 100 Of the Sacrifice of Chrifi, fer to lay down his Life, to indemnify an- other, he would offer more than he has a Right to give : But when the Tranfadion lies between God and Man, he, being Lord of Life, creates a Right to give, by the Acceptance of what is offered. This was Chrijrs Cafe, in offering himfelf as a Ranfom for the World. God approved, God accepted, it j which Acceptance, had he been a common Man, would have fanc- tified the Gift ; much more when it is con- fidered, that as well he who offered, as he who accepted, was Lord of Life, as will be (lievvn in the Sequel of this Argument. 2. This Dodlrine cancels no Obligation on the Part of Man, in any Point where natural Duty is concerned. For, as I have faid before, the Grace of Pardon is not conneded, abiblutely, to the Sacrifice of Chri/i, but to the Sacrifice of Chrifi , under the Qualification of Repentance in them timt believe. Needs mufl it be fo 1 For the Gofpcl fuppofes us Sinners again ft God, and declares us under Condemnation becaufe w*e sre Sinners. This is confenting to the na- tural Obligation of the Law. But had Chrift Of the Sacrifice of Chrif. i o i Chrift undertaken, by his Death and Suffer- ings, to loofen the Bands of the Law, it would, in effe(5l, have been denying this Obligation ; for what naturally binds, no Authority can poffibly unloofe. The Law then ftands in full Force, though God is merciful, in forgiving the Breaches of it j and the Sacrifice of Chrift neither does nor can do more, than qualify us to be fit Ob- jeds of this Mercy. 3. This Dodlrine fuppofes no transferring of Guilt, or Merit, from one Perfon to an- other. Our Sin does not become Christ's Sin, by his undertaking the work of our Redemption ; nor is his Righteoufnefs in any proper Senfe fuppofed to be our Righ- teoufnefs. Each Perfon retains his proper, efl^ential Character ; He righteous, and We Sinners. But the Cafe is, that he, though righteous, condefcended to be treated as if he had been a Sinner ; and that we, though Sinners, are treated as if we were righteous. This is the Meaning of thofe Pafi^ages in Scripture, where Chrif is faid to be MADE Sin for iis^ 2 Cor. v. zo, to BEAR our Sins, i Pet. ii. 24. and we to G 3 be 102 Of the Sacrifice of Chrift. be MADE righteous by him ; the Meaning, I fay, of thefe, and other fuch hke Paffages, is no other than this, that Chriji, by his Suf- ferings, took away the Puniihment due to our Sins, and that by his Righteoufnefs, in thus fulfilling the Purpofe of his heavenly Father, our Repentance fliali avail to Jufti- licaticn. Thefe things premifed, we may nov^^ pro- ceed to the fingle Point remaining (and upon which the whole Weightof the Diffi- culty reds) what Relation of Congruity there is between Chriji's Sufferings, and the Remiflion of the Sins of Mankind. It is to be underflood as agreed on both Sides, that it is fuitable to the Good- nefs of God to forgive Sin ; but the Que- Hion is, Upon whatTerms ? We fay, Upon the Terms of Repentance, conjoined or connected with the Sacrifice of Chrift, by, or in coniideration of which, God is pleaf- ed to accept it : But an Unbeliever may afk. What Force, what Virtue is there in Chrift' s Sacrifice, that Repentance might not as well haye been accepted with- out it ? Of the Sacrifice ofCbriJi. 103 In order to give an Anfwer to this Que- flion, it will be neceflary to confider, what is the proper End of Punifhment 3 and whether there is any thing in the -Sacrifice of Chrift^ that bears a material Relation to that End. Now the proper End of Pu- nishment, mofl certainly, is not the Afflic- tion, or Mifery of the Tranfgreilbr j but the fecuring to the Law its Dignity, and Authority. This is fo true, that, fliould the Forefigbt of thePunifliment prevent Tranf- greffions ; the Intention of the Law would be anfwered infinitely better, than by Mil- lions of Executions againft evil Doers. And it is obvious to common Senfe, that in Cafes where the Legiilator thinks fit to re- mit the Punifhment which the Law pre- fcribes ; the Dignity and Authority of the Law will be much better preferved, if the Legiflator demands fomething in the way of Compensation, than if he remits the Punifhment, upon the fingle Conlideration of the Offender's Submiffion. If, in any State, the Legiflatoi; fliould make it a con- ftant Rule, to remit the Punifliments due to civil Crimes, upon fuch cafy Terms, it G4 would 1 04 Of the Sacrifice of Chrifl. would (in efFefl) be fuch a Relaxation of the Law, that no Government could long Hand under fuch an Adminiftration. There- fore, in well ordered Commonwealths, Pa- niriiment, ordinarily, follows the Offence, and Pardons are reflrained to particular Cafes ', and in thofe Cafes, I conceive, the Reafon upon which the Pardon is ground- ed, is not the mere Submillion of the Of- fender } but it is (or ought to be) fome con- current Circumrtance, which makes the abating the Rigour of the Law, in thofe Inftances, expedient for the public Good, which is the fupreme Rule for all civil Adminiftrations. The granting Pardons to Delinquents is, in mofl Commonwealths perhaps, an Adt of free Grace j but it is not neceffary that it fhould be fo. If a Man has forfeited his Life to the Law, the Magiftrate (for any thing that there is in the general Nature of the Thing to hinder) may very juftly de- mand of him, to ' redeem it by a Sum of 'The Law of Alofes allowed this in one Cafe. See ^,xcd. xxi. 30. Money j Of the Sacrifice of Chri/i. 105 Money ; and in that cafe it would be the fame thing, whether the Offender pays it himfelf or fome other Perfon pays it for him. For the Money being paid (ratione T)eli5ii) on the Score of the Offence, the Law has its Compenfation. To come nearer to the Cafe yet : What if, inftead of demanding a Ranfom by Money, the Magiftrate fhould declare, that he would not remit the Offence, unlefs fom^e body elfe would voluntarily confent to fuffer the Law in his ftead ? Though this would be requiring a Condition (ordinarily) im- pradicable, and which in juftice could not be complied with, becaufe a Man has not a Right over his own Life, as he has over his Money; yet, fuppofingthat a Man had fuch a Right, and that the Condition were accepted and performed, this being done, on the Behalf of the Offender, ratione De- liSiiy the Law again would have its Com- penfation J and in both thefe Cafes, it is clear, that tnore is done to fecure the Dig- nity and Authority of the Law, than would have been done, if the Magiffrate had granted a free, unconditional Pardon. This jo6 Of the Sacrifice ojChrtJt, This fhews then, that, in order to create a Relation between the Punifhment and its proper End, it is not neceflary that it fliould be infli(fted personally upon the Offender 5 but that the inflicting it upon his Substitute, willanfwer to the fame Ef- fed:, where the Legiflator fees wife and weighty Reafons fo to inflid: it. The End of Puniiiiment (as I faid before) is to pre- ferve the Law from Contempt i and fo far is it from Truth, that it can have no Force or Virtue in order to this End, unlefs the Punifhment falls upon the Offender 5 that it may have its Ufe, even when (mo- rally fpeaking) no Offence at all has been committed. A Brute Creature is not (mo- rally) capable of an Offence 3 and yet, when God had fandified Mount Sinai for the Place of his more immediate Abode, he gave this Law to Mofes : Tbou fialt jet Bounds to the People round about it, faying^ 'Take heed unto yoiirfehes that ye go not up into the Mount, or touch the Border of it ; ^hojoever toucheth the Mount jlmll fiircly be put to Death — ^xh ether it be Beast or Man, it fjalhiot live, Exod. xlx. 12, 13. 1 Another Of the Sacrifice of Chift, 1 07 Another Law, not unlike to this, we have Chap. xxi. ver. 28, If an Ox gore a Man or a Woman that they dicy the Ox JJjall be j'urely ftoned. And by our own Laws, if a Man is flain by Misfortune, the very Inftru^ ment (whatever it be) that caufed his Death, is forfeited. Thefe Inflances {hew, that the Ufe of Punifliment hath no neceflary Relati- on to any antecedent moral Behaviour \ and therefore not (precifely)to the antecedent mo- ral Behaviour of the Perfon that fuffers it, fuppofing him to be a moral Agent, If you except againft thefe Laws, the Refolution is plain and eafy. The Mount was facred by the more immediate Prefence of God ; and the Life of a Man is facred, as being made af- ter the Image of God -, of which thefe Ex- amples were intended as publick Notices, thereby to preferve to facred Things their due Reverence. And if the Reverence that is due to God's Perfon and Laws, may properly be guarded by demanding a Com- penfation, in the Life of a Brute, or upon the Property of a Man innocent, and even io-, norant of theFadt, for which the Compen- fation is made ; I defire to knowaReafon why it may not, with the farr^e Propriety, be io8 Oj the Sacrifice of Chrifi, be guarded, by demanding and accepting the fame in the Perfon of a Substitute ? A Subflitute cannot be lefs concerned in an Offence than a Beaft, or a Machine, or the innocent Owner of them is ; and if a mere accidental Mifchief, in which there is (morally) nothing either good or evil, owes fomething to the Law by way of Compenfation ; how much more a wilful, deliberate Tranfgreffion ? It is upon this Foundation that we are to place that general Law of God, given by Mojes to the "Jews^ in which he declar- ed, that he would 'uifit the Iniquity of the Fathers upon the Children. With the Jus- tice of this Law I have, at prcfent, nothing to do J but the Ufe of it, no doubt, lay in this, that it was a conftant {landing Admo- nition to the JewSy how jealous God was of the Honour of his Laws, the Tranfgref- fion whereof would be attended with Mif- chief, not only to the Guilty, but to their Children of many Generations, and even to whole Kingdoms and Nations. Canaan was laid under a Curfe for the Sin of Ham^ Gen. ix. 25. The People of 7/f/7f/ peri (lied for the Sin oi David, 2 Sam. xxiv.15— 17. r^ .uh^/r Jchan Of the Sacrifice of Chrijl, 109 Achan and his Sons were puniflied toge- ther for the Father's Wickednefs, Jojhua vii. 24. Jlhab'i Sin was remitted as to himfelf upon his Humiliation, and the Punifliment laid upon his Son, i Ki?2gs xxi. 29. And we have another remarkable In- ftance in David (in the Matter of Bath- fjeba) upon whofe Humiliation and Re- pentance the Prophet faid, l^he Lord hath put away thy Siji ; thou /halt not die j how- beit^ becaufe by this Deed thou haji given great Occafion to the 'Enemies of the Lord to blafphemey the Child that is born unto thee fhall furely die, 2 Sam. xii. 13, 14. The Latin Verfion renders it (more clofely to the Original) Dominus transtulit peccatufu tuum^ the Lord hath transferred thy Sin [i. e, the PuniQiment of it) from thee to thy Son ; and the Reafon exprefly alligned for it is, left, if God ihould remit the Sin without this Compenfation , he might feem to fet the Authority of his Laws at too low a Price. I do not expedl that Unbelievers fhould fubfcribe to the Reafonablenefs of thefe Proceedings, upon the Authority of the Old Tef- tament, confidered as a divine Revela- tion, 1 i o Of the Sacrifice of Chrift. tion. I recite the Fads only as the Hi<- flory records them, leaving the Reafon of the Cafe to reft upon the Confiderations already laid before you. And yet there is this Weight in thefe Inflances j that they are full Evidence that, in the Senfe of a wife Legiilator, and a great Nation, the Notion of VICARIOUS Punishments, is not fo abfufd a Thing as fome Men are de- iirous to reprefent it. " But why do I fpeak of the Jews ? All Nations were full oi it. There is a famous Inflance recorded by fe- veral ancient Hiftorians, and cited by Gro- tiusy in ZaleucuSy vv^ho, when his Son flood convided of Adultery, and by a Law of his own making ought to have been de* prived of both his Eyes ; refufed the Re- queft of the hocrians^ who were defirous that the Punifhment Ihould be remitted^ and having put out one of his own Eyes^ ordered that his Son fliould lofe one of his. The learned Author joins in thofe high Commendations which all Antiquity give of this Ad of Zaleucus^ with this judicious Exception, 'uiz. That Zdcucus was mif- taken, in common with the reft of the Heathens, in fuppoling that he had any fuch Of the Sacrifice of Gmji, 1 1 1 ilich Right over his own Body. But at the fame time he obferves (and very juflly) that this Inftance fully proves, that in the Scnfe of Antiquity, there was no Impropriety, that one Man (iiould, in certain Cafes, bear the Punifhment due to another's Offence. Thofe who would fee more Examples from Antiquity, to the fame Purpofe, may con- fult the *" fame Author : But that which a- boveall Things (liews theUniverfality of this Notion, is, the univerfal Ufe of expia- tory Sacrifices, in which the Lives of Beafts (and fometimes human Creatures) were offered up to the Gods by way of Compenfation for Sin. And . though this Pradice was blended with great Superfli- tionand Impiety, yet it carried with it a ta- cit Confeflion, and Intimation to Mankind, that Sin was odious and ofFenfive to the Dei- ty, and that fomething, befides the Humi- liation of the Sinner, was necelTary to ob- tain Remiffion. The Application of thisRcafoning to the Matter before us, is fo plain and obvious, that it needs only to be very briefly men- f De Satisfaif. Chr'ijily Cap. iv. tioned 112 Of the Sacrifice of Chrijl, tioned to you. All Mankind flood as Sin^ ners before God, and as fuch obnoxious to Death. God in Mercy was pleafed that the Punidiment fhould bcremitted 5 but, to pre- ferve the Honour due to his Laws and Go- vernment, demands it as a previous Con- dition, that yefus Chriji^ to be made mani- fefl in due Time, {hould be offered up as a Sacrifice. Where is the Abfurdity of this ? Was it not fit that God Ihould (hew Mercy in fuch a Way, as to give full Proof to his Creatures, that he would abate nothing of the Reverence due to his fove- reign Authority ? Is not the Compenfation required, that Proof? Or would this Point have flood in the fame Light if no Com- penfation at all had been required ? You may fay, if you pleafe, that a Compenfa- tion was not neceffary in this Cafe, and it fhall be admitted Vv'ben you can prove it. But to fay that there is no Force^ no Virtue^ in requiring a Compenfation, to fliew the Kate that a Legiflator fets upon his Autho- rity, is againft common Senfe. I admit, that in Cafes of this Nature there ought to be fome vifible Proportion belv/een the Of- fence and the Compenfation required. If a Man Of the Sacrifice of Chrtfl. 1 1 ^ a Man (hould be guilty of Treafon, and the Magiftrate ihould fet a trifling Sum upon his Head, he would expofe his Au- thority to Contempt ; upon which Prin- ciple, I conceive, it is, that the Apoftle fays, It is not pojjible that the Blood of Bulk and of Goats fhould take away Sins, Heb. X. 4. There is not that Dignity in fuch Sacrifices, as to make them a fit Compen- fation for the Sins of Men. Such Sacri- fices were indeed accepted under the Law ; but to what Efe^ f Not to the purging of the Confcience, but to the purijying of the Fiejh. This partial, temporary Remiffion was but the Shadow of that full and per- h^ Remiffion, which the Gofpel holds forth to us ; and for the Shadow of a Re- miffion, the Shadow of a- Compenfation might well ferves for fuch, and no more, was the Blood of Bulls and of Goats. But as the fame Apoftle obferves. Chap. ix. ver. 23*. If the Patterns of Tubings in the Heavens were purged with thefe Sacrifices, it was necejjary that the heavenly T'hings Themselves ffiould be purged with BETTER Sacrifices than thefe. Such was the Sacrifice of Christ, which alone H /; 114 Of the Sacrifice of Chri/i. is able tofaveto the utter moft all that come unto God by him ^ Chap. vii. 25. But how io ? may fome one afk. If one Man only had finned, the Life of another Man might have been admitted as a full Compenfation. But what Proportion is there between the Life of one Man and the Sins of the whole human Race ? The Queftion is pertinent, and the Anfwer is fhort J Chrijl was not a mere Man, but the Son of God made Man. It is under this Character, that this Epiftle to the He- brews (the principal Subje(ft of which is his Prieftly Dignity) introduces him with great Solemnity, Chap. i. ver. 1,2, 3. God, who at fundry Times, and in divers Manners fpake in time pajl unto the Fathers by the Prophets, hath in thefe lajl Days Jpoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appoint- ed Heir of all Takings, by whom alfo he made the Worlds. Who being the Brightnefs of his Glory, and the exprefs Image of his Per- fon, and upholding all T'hings by the Word of his Power, when he had by himself PURGED our Sins, fat downon the Right Hand of the Majefty on high. This is he of Of the Sacrifice of Chrifl, 1 1 ^ of whom St. fohn writes, in the firft Chapter of his Gofpel, ver. i . In the Be- ginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God — • all Things were made by him, and without him was not any Thing made that was made — And THE Word was made Flesh and dwelt among us. And hath not Chriji^ though born of a Woman, and in that Senfe the Son of Man, often called himfelf THE Son of God ? Hath he not faid of himielf, Before Abraham was ^ lam ? John viii. 58. 1 and my Father are one "? Chap. X. 30. 1 am in the Father and the Father in me? Chap. xiv. i r. I catne down from Heaven to do the Will of him that fent me t Chap. vi. 38. The Son of Man came down from Heaven and is in Keaven ? Chap, iii, 13. It is upon thefe Characters (which, in refpedt of that Nature which he had from the Beginning, befpeak him to be nothing lefs than the very essential God) that the Scripture places the Value of Chri/l's Sacrifice. As to what Unbe- lievers may objed to the Dodrine of Chri/l's Divinity, I fhall in due time confi- der it, fo far as I am at prefent concerned H 2 in T f6 Of the Sacrifice of Chrifi. in it. But, the Doctrine admitted, nobody can fay that, fuppofing God was determin- ed to accept of a Compenfation for the Sins of Mankind, the Sacrifice of Chrijl was not a Compenfation proportionable ; for it has in it all the Value, all the Dig- nity, that any Compenfation can have. And furely it mufl be an illuftrious Exam- ple to Mankind (which no thinking Per- fon can overlook) how great was that Love by which we are redeemed, at fo high a Price 5 how great that Wrath againfl Sin, which was not to be put away without fo rich a Sacrifice. So the Scripture teaches us to reafon. In this was manife/ied the Love of God towards us^ becaufe that God fent his only begotten Son into the World, that we might live through him^ i John iv. 9. And our Saviour ; God s o loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son, John iii. 16. This is fpeaking after the Manner of Men. If a Father gives up the Life of his Son to the Good of his Country, it is a great Inftance of Love, becaufe Love is hereby feen to prevail againft fatherly Affedion : And though God the Father, being void of all Paflion, hath not what we Of the Sacrifice of Chrifi. 117 we call the Bowels of a Father, and could not therefore feel that Relu(5lance, and Uneafinefs, which earthly Parents feel on fuch Occafions, yet, fince Chriji was a Per- fon in Rank and Dignity immediately next to himfelf, it yields exadly the fame Con- ilrudlion. The Condefcenfion was infi- nitely great, and therefore the Love pro- portionable. He made himfelf of no Re- putation, fays the Apoflle, and being found in the Fafiion of a Man^ he h umbled himfelf^ Phil. ii. 7, 8. In this lies the Strefs of the Argument ; and an Argument it is of the greateft Force, to beget in our Minds the moft full and perfed: Reliance upon the divine Goodnefs, whilft our Be- haviour is fuch as qualifies us for it ; as on the other hand, to convince us what we are to expedl if we defpife the Riches of his Grace, and when he hath faved us, we will not be faved. For be that f pared not his own Sony but delivered him up for us all^ bowfiall he not with him aljo freely give us all Things F Rom. viii. 32. And the Argu- ment will be as cogent if you put it the other Way, thus. He that [pared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how H 3 (hall 1 1 S Of the Sacrifice of Chrift, fhall he fpare Us, if we negledt fo great Salvation ? Heb.n. 3. Whether God could not have faved Mankind in any other Way than this ; or whether the Account 1 have given of this Difpenfation, comes fully up to the Views and Intentions of his Providence j what Mortal fhall pretend to fay ! What I would prove (and what, I trufl, I have proved) is, that there is a plain and vifible Rela- tion in Reafon and common Senfe, between Chriji's bearing the Punishment of our Sins; as our Vicar and Substitute, and the End of Punifliment, when it is confidered as inflidled upon the Tranfgref- fors themfelves j as it does Honour to the Majefty and Authority of God, and fets be-, fore Us (whom he therefore faved from Death, that he might alio refcue us from Sin and Corruption) as in a lively Pidure (of far more Force than naked Precept) the ftrongeft Teftimony that can be given, both of his Goodnefs and his Severity ; the one, to encourage us to hope well, the other to keep us from Prefumption. But we are to remeriiber that the fame Gofpel, which Of the Sacrifice of Chrifi. 1 1 9 which declares this Method of Salvation, declares it alfo to be a Mystery ; and there is in it fomething To great, fo awful, fofar exceeding every thing that we know of human Things, that one would moft naturally fuppofe, that there are Reafons that lie hid in the Bofom of Providence, then to be made manifeft, when the whole Scene of Things, as they refped: God's univerfal Government, comes to be laid open, and the feveral Parts of it compared together. St. Paul tells us, that NOW we know in part, and fee through a Glafs darkly, i Cor. xiii. 12. And what is there in this Confeffion, that can give juft Caufe of Offence ? What if you cannot fearch to the Bottom of this Myftery, will you therefore rejedt it as incredible ? By what Rule of Proceed- ing in other Cafes can this be juftified ? We muft all confefs (and by almoft every Action of our Lives, every Day do confefs) that human Wifdom hath its certain Li- mits beyond which it cannot go. And how ftrange a Thing is it, that, when we fee Wonders in almoft every Part of the Creation, we fhould find it hard to believe, H 4 tha( 120 Oj the Sacrifice of Chrifi, that there may be fomething in the Work, of our Redemption too, that is of too high a Nature for human Minds to compre- hend ! There is certainly as much Senfe in turning Atheift, becaufe we cannot ac- count for the Works of the Creation, as there is in rejeding the Gofpel, becaufe we cannot underftand the whole Work of our Redemption j and it is to be appre- hended, that the fame perverfe Turn of Mind that leads to the one, prepares the Way for the other.— Here then my Pro- vince ends, and it will be fit that I clofe up this Argument. We have now carried our Enquiries from the fnit State of Man in Paradife, to the laft Ad of our Saviour's Life. We have fhewn the Lofs of Immortality by Sin, and its Reftoration by the Relurredion from the Dead, through the Propitiation of 'J ejus Chrtft^ who was made a Sacrifice for Sin, and hath purchafed eternal Re=r demption for us. The Redemption (as we have faid) belongs to thofe, " who, " being obedient to the heavenly Call, fhall *f return back to the Law from whence *^ they Of the Sacrifice of ^hrijl, 121 ** they have fwerved, and ferve God by true " Repentance." But they that (hall rejed theGofpel are ytt under theCurfe; and Jhall he punifmd 'With ever lofting Deftruc- iion, from the Prefence of the Lord^ when he Jhall be revealed from Heaven wrth his *mighty Angel Sy in faming Fire^ taking Ven- •geance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gofpel of our Lord Jefus Chri/iy t Their, i. -8, 9. This EVERLASTING PUNISHMENT decreed againft the Difobedient and Re- fradory, is what we properly term the "Sanction of the Law of Chnfl-, the Severity of which gives great Offence to Unbelievers; upon what reafonable Grounds we are in due Time to confider. But pre- vioufly to what is to be offered upon this Head, it mufl be enquired, whether the Law be in itfelf jufl 5 and whether we arc furnifhed with proper Encouragements, and fuitable Afliftances, to qualify us to ful- fil it. For if in all, or in any of thefe re- fpe(fls, the Gofpel fhould be found defccH:- jve, the Severity of the Sandtion cannot ftand with Reafon and Equity. Let 122 Of the Equity of the Law ofChriJ. OftheEqui- Let US begin then with thjc iyoftheLavj ^^^ which is wdl fet forth of Lhrtjt, as ' to theMsiitet in thofc few, but comprehen- ^Z"^'^- five Words of the Apoftle, 7//. ii, II, 12. T^he Grace of God which bring- eth Salvation, hath appeared unto all Men f teaching us, that denying Vngodlinefs, a7id worldly Lujis^ we floould live foberly^ righ- ieoufly, and godly, in this prefent World, This is the great Burden that Unbelievers complain of : This, the Rock of Offence, up- on which many ftumble and fall. I do not pretend to decide upon particular Cafes ; but I think I fl:iall not pafs an uncharitable Judgment, if I fay, that there would be much lefs Fault found with the Gofpel Evidence, if many had not an irreconcile- able Averfion to its praiftical Rules and Pre- cepts. If Cbrijl had offered a Religion to the World that fliould have left full Scope and Liberty to fenfual Appetite ; though, to wife and coniiderate Men, fuch an In- dulgence would have been an Objedlion againil: it not to be got over -, yet, with thofe who are well enough contented that there ftiould be Religion, but are not wil- ling Of the Equity c/^^he Law of Chriji, 123 ling it (hould coft them much (which, I am afraid, are the greater Part of Mankind) the Gofpel would have found Admittance upon very eafy Terms. But to talk to Men of a fenfual Turn of Mind, of reftrain- ing Appetite, and contradicting Flefti and Blood, this is like pulling out a right Eye, or cutting off a right Hand. Such as thefe will difpute every Inch ; and, as it is natu- ral for them, under this kind of Byafs, to require more Evidence than the Gofpel has (or it is fit it fhould have) to give ; no wonder that, in proportion as their Virtues leave them, their Faith alfo fails them. If a Man has Virtue, his Faith would be the greateft of Comforts to him. But Faith, and a Confcience that flands condemned by a Law admitted by one's felf, are trou- blefome Companions, and cannot long hold together. Let us try, then, to eafe the Gofpel of this Prejudice, fo fatal to Millions, and yet of fo httle Weight, if IVIen will attend to Reafon. My general Obfervation is, that whatever there may be in this Difficulty, it can with no fort of Juftice be charged upon I 124 ^f the Equity of the Latv ofChrifi. upon Chriftianity fpeclally : For the Gof- |)cl does not make the Difficulty, but finds it. If yefm had never preached, or been preached to Mankind, they would have had Appetites, and a Law^ within themfelves to reftrain thofe Appetites ; as St, Ptf?//fpeaks, Jiom. ii. 14. For when the Gentiles which ijave not the Law, do by Nature the ^Things contained in the Law ; the/e having not theLaWy are a Law unto themJeheSj &c. Right and Wrong are not of arbitrary Ap- pointment, but founded in the Nature and Conftitution of Men and Things. Now if there is naturally a Law declaring Right, there muft, of courfe, be a Law declaring a Reftraint of Appetite within the Limits of that Right. And what more does the Gofpel fay ? We are bidden to abfiainfrom fiejhly Lufts — to mortify our Members — to crucify the Flefh with its AffeBions and Lu/is, and the like. What does all this mean ? That Appetite is never to be gra- tified ? No furely ! For God hath made nothing in vain. If he bath given us Ap- petite, there muft be feme Ufe of Appetite, and therefore, fome proper Way of grati- fying Appetite. All, then, that the Gofpel can Of the Equity of the Law of Chriji, ii^ can mean, is, that we fiiould deny Appe- tite when it would carry us beyond our natural Limits j which is referring us to the natural Law, as our proper Rule in fuch Cafes. The Gofpel enjoins moral Duties ; it no where defines them. It commands us to be fober, juft, and tem- perate ; it does not explain what Sobriety, Juftice, and Temperance are, but refers to them, as things well known andunderftood by the Light of every Man's Mind. A very evident Proof, that, in this refped, the natural Law, and the Law of the Gofpel are one and the fame. It was neceflary to take notice of this, that Men may fee what is the true Con- ilrudion of this Prejudice ; and to what Lengths it will carry them, if purfuedto its utmoft Confequences. It will not ferve them to lay afide the Gofpel. They muft give up with it Natural Religion too ; which, perhaps, is what many do not well conlider at firft fetting out. Their Leaders tell them, that, when they are once rid of the Gofpel, they have nothing elfe to do but io follow Nature, This, they fay, is Natural 126 Of the Equity of the Law of Chriji. Natural Religion j and they would fay well if they meant honeftly. But what is fol- lowing Nature f Do you mean being go- verned by Appetite ? If you do not j what do you gain by laying afide the Gofpel ? If you do J how comes being governed by Appetite, to be the fame thing with follow- ing Nature ? Is nothing natural to Man but Appetite ? Is not Reafon juft as natu- ral ? If this is the Cafe ; to follow Appetite againft Reafon, is not following Nature, but ading againft Nature ; for to diredt is the natural life of Reafon. It is not fo when Reafon controuls Appetite ; becaufe, to be indulged without Limits is not the natural Ufe of Appetite. Appetite was given to excite and move to fuch Adions as are fuitable to our natural Wants ; as Hunger to excite us to eat ; Thirfl to ex- cite us to drink j both which are neceffary to the Support of the animal Life. But thefe Things have their Limits affigned them by Nature, beyond which if we go, the verv End of them is perverted j and what (hould reftrain us within thefe Li- mits, but Reafon ? This fhews, that to re- ftrain Appetite within the Bounds that Reafon Of the Equity of the. Law of Chrifl. 127 Reafon prefcribes to it, is the true, natural State of a Man, as diftinguifhed from a Brute ; and in this muft Natural Religion confift, if you are in earneft that there is , any fuch thing. Now, this Principle ad- mitted, the Bounds of Appetite will lie juft where the Gofpel has placed them, whe- ther you receive it, or whether you receive it not. For the Gofpel forbids no Indul- gence of Appetite which Reafon allows, but is (as I have before faid) thus far, and in this refped, the very La wjof Nature itfeif. This fliews then the MIflake of thofe, who fancy, that, in refped: of fenfual Indul- gence, Chrifiianity is a " feverer Law than the Law of Nature. But the more effec- tually to confute this Prejudice, let us enter a little more diftindly into the particular ° Trypho the Jew pretended, that the Law of Chriji is fuch high-ftrained Morality as to be impra6li- cable ; Tfxwv ij rx ev tw Atyofjiivai 'EuocyyuKlu 7ffaoafyihi/.(iQx B-uvfAOi^ci arug kf ^ty»K» i7rt',»ixou- . ctvTX. Vid. Jfi/fifJ. Mart, cum Tryph. dialogus, p. 32. Ed. Jebb. Heads 1^8 Of the 'Equity of the Law of Cbrtft. Heads of the Chriftian Dodrine in this refpe(fl. Thefe are (chiefly) colIe6led to- gether by our Saviour himfelf, in his Ser- mon on the Mount, which we find record- ed in the fifth, fixth, and feventh Chapters erf" St. Matthew's Gofpel ; and from thence I fhall feledt fuch Points as feem moft liable to Exception. The firfl concerns the Intercourfe be- tween the Sexes ; upon which it is pretend- ed, that the Law of Chriji is a heavy and unreafonableReftraint. But upon whatRea- fons is this Complaint grounded ? Chrifi has not forbidden Marriage, though fome of his Followers have ; and his Apoftle recom- mends it as honourable among all Men. But the Fault may be, that the Gofpel infifts upon Marriage as previous to this Com- merce y and will not fuffer Men and Wo- men to range together like Herds of Cattle. ' Bus is it not moft evident to common Senfe, that the very Diiference between the na- tural State of Men and other living Crea- tures, points out a different Way of adling in this Cafe ? The Beafts are left to propa- gate their Kind as it may happen. For why ? Of t Joe Equity of the Law ofChriJi, 129 why ? God feedeth and cloatheth the Cat- tle by an Adt of his Providence, without any Labour or Forecaft of their own j and what do the young ones want, but the Milk of the Dam for a little Space, which Nature herfelf ftretches forth to them with a liberal Hand ? Man is born a Creature <]^ulte helplefs \ and Years muil: pafs, before he will be able to provide himfelf with the commonNecefTaries of Life. And as he is in- fufficient for his own natural Wants, fo he is alfo for his own Inftrudion in that kind of Behaviour, which is proper to him as a reafonable Creature, fent into this World, not to live and die like a Brute, but to be the Servant of God, and an ufeful Member of human Society. From this Circum- ftance in the Condition of Man (peculiar to himfelf) originally flows the Duty of Pa- rents towards their Children -, who, by the common Law of Nature, are bound to do that for them which they are not able to do for themfelves. And this Care, whether it concerns the Wants of the Bo- dy, or (which is a Matter not of the lowefl Coniideration) the Improvements of the Mind, is alike incumbent upon both Pa- I rents ; 130 Of the Equity of the Law of Chrifi . rents ; becaufe they have both the fame na-* tural Relation to their Children* From hence then arifeth this Precept of Nature, reftraining this kind of Com- merce, 'VIZ, That it (hould never be car- ried on in fuch a Way as hinders Procrea- tion, and minifters merely to carnal Appe- tite 3 or introduces an Uncertainty of Pro- perty in the Offspring ; or which fuppofes an Inattention to that Care, which Nature hath laid upon Parents towards their Chil- dren. And farther ; as every Perfon that is born into the World, has a natural Right to the Means of Prefervation, from the Parents firft, or, if they fail, from the So- ciety in which they are born j this gives to Society fo far an Intereft in this Cafe, as to have a Right to know between whom this Commerce is intended to be carried on, and to have fuch Intention previoufly de- clared by fome publick Form j that, in cafe Parents (hould be negligent in the Care of their Children, the Community (which flands next in charge) may underftand to whom to have Recourfe for Redrefs ; that the innocent and helplefs may not be left to perifli, Of the Equity of the Laiv ofChrifl. i 3 i perifh, df the Burden of them be caft upon thofe who have no Obligation to maintain them. And when fuch Forms are fettled by publick Authority, to carry on this Commerce in Contempt of it, is an Adt of Defiance to Society, and confequently an Offence to God, the Author of Society. FroiTl thefe Principles of natural Right, which are plain and eafy, I fliould hope the Queftion may be fo far determined, as that Concubinage out of the Bounds of lawful Wedlock, will be thought to haVe no Pre- tence to plead Privilege by the Law of Na- ture J the ill Effects of which to Society are fo fenfibly felt, that all Societies think themfelves concerned to guard again ft it. Even in "" Heathen Nations it palTed not i£ov* oi-TrloiAivto ^)i m voju/jiAov Cfi fjtyjra?^r,nliov, f^Lys Epif^letus, Enchir.xWn. This is a Difcourage- ment of Fornication, not an abfolute Prohibition ; and it is certain (and this PafTage fhews) that the Civil Laws of the ancient Heathen States tolerated it under certain Regulations ; not becaufe it was confidercd as void of all moral Turpitude (for, had this been the Cafe, tiiere would have been no room for the Advice 1 2 without 132 OJthe Equity of the Law of Cbrifl, without Reproach ; and in how ill Re- pute it was in the moft ancient Times, we may learn from the Hiftory of Judahy recorded Ge?t. xxxviii. who, when he had defiled his Daughter in Law, whom he took for a Harlot, behaved as one who flood condemned by his own Confcience j and that follows, jw»j fAivloi, l7r«;^0»jf ylva irr? p^ow^asvoi? • fjLii^l eAg^xToco?, ^c. but) becaufe it was thought proper to manage what could not thoroughly be cur- ed : Upon which Principle, publick Stews are to'erat- ed in fome Chriftian Countries at this Day. If a Wo- man loft her Character in this refpedt, it was the Ruine of her Fortunes. ^od fecunda e'l dos erat Per lit. Pro virgine dari nuptumnonpotejl. Ten Adelph. A61. iii. Seen. 2. And therefore, to debauch the Daughter of a Freeman was looked upon as a very high Offence. An paulum hoc ejfe tibi videtur, virginem Vitlare civem ? Eun. Aa. v.Sc.2. See alfo Adelph. Ad. iii. Sc.5. But foreign Women were allowed to keep Houfes of publick Refort : And yet, to frequent , fuch Places was looked upon as a Fault, which ( like diforderly Behaviour of other kinds) might be excufed in young Men j not as a thing to be juftified. Non eji jiagitium — Adolefcentulum Scortari^ neque polar e j non eJl neque fores Effringere. Adelph. hSi. i. Seen. 2. would Of the Equity of the Law of Chrift. 133 would (if the thing fhould be known) be condemned by the common Voice of Man- kind. He had left in her Hand a Pledge for her Reward ; and when he fent to re^ deem it, and the Woman was not found ; But if Whoredom was not reckoned among the Flagl- tia, the heinous Offences, it was an Offence, and is here treated as fuch ; for who will fay that Riot and Drunken- nefs (which are here likewife excufed) are not Breaches of the natural Law ; or were not then fo efteemed ? The Commonnefs of this Vice made it lefs minded, as it does now ,• but ftill it was a Difgrace, and no body, but the moft abandoned, cared to be feen in it. y^n ea quoque dlcetur hujus, fi una hac dedecori eji Parum ! Heauton. ASt. ii. Seen. 2. Amavit ; at id clam. Cavit ne unquam Infamies Earesfibiejfet. Andr. Ad ii. Seen. 6. And fo ftrong was the Senfe of the natural Turpitude of this Practice, that even their wicked Theology could not efface it. When the young Rake was boafl- ing to his Companion of an amorous Adventure, and faying, that he found in his Miftrefs's Chamber the Pic- ture of Jupiter coming down to Danae in a golden Shower ; he makes this Remark, Ego Homuncio hoc non facer em ? Ego vera illud feci. Eun. A6t. iii. Seen. 5-. But Men never quote great Examples to juftify them- felves, unlefs they arc confcious that the pubh'c Vojce is againft them. I 3 he 134 OJ the Equity of the Law of Chriji, he forbids all farther Enquiry after her faying, Let her take it to her, left we be ASHAMED, ver. 23. And in the Cafe of Dinah J whom Hamor defiled, the Sons of yacob give this Reafon for the defperatc Revenge they took j Should he deal with our Sifter as with an Harlot ? Gen, xxxiv. 31. The common Interpretation here is, that Hamor p offered Violence to D/- nah ; and the learned Selden % and others after him, have obferved, that unlefs this had been the Cafe, there would have been no juft Ground for the Quarrel j becaufe (as the Jewijh Dodors teach) before the Law of MofeSy the Right of Nations was not violated by a Man's having Commerce with a fingle Woman, provided it were by her free Confent, and no civil Law in- tervened. But this ill agrees with the Speech of Jacob's Sons ; For to compel a ' But the Words in the Original imply nothing of Violence. The Verb which is rendered he took, is often applied to marrying lawful Wives. And the other Verb, which is tranflated defiled, is only a modeft Word for having had carnal Knowledge of a Woman, 1 De Jur. Nat. Lib. vii. cap, 5. Woman O/ the Equity of the Law of Chriji. 135 Woman by Force is not dealing with her as with an Harlot ^ but ufing her a great deal worfe -, and, as the Refentment of thefe two Brothers did not difpofe them to palliate the Offence, it is probable, that, if this had been the Cafe, they would have ipoke of it in ftronger Terms, This, how^ ever, fliews, that a Harlot in thofe Times was an infamous Charader ; and fo the Rabbles in effed; confefs, when they fay, that though Dinah did not confent, and therefore was no Harlot, ** yet, in confe- " quenceofthisTranfa^tion, (he would have " paffed as fuch among the Hivites,'* and that this was the Reafon of the Anger and Revenge of her two Brothers : This An- jfwer, I fay, admits, that in thofe Times an Harlot was an infamous Chara<-ter, as the other Cafe (hews, that having Concern with a Harlot was infamous : For Mai- monides deferves no Regard, who pretends, that when Judah faid, Let her take it to her, lejlwe ^^^ ashamed, no more is meant than that, ** in Matters of this kind, even " though they are lawful, we ought not " to fpeak but with Modejly :" For if what he lays down be true, that in thofe Days I 4 ^* Commerce 1 36 0/ the Equity of the Law of Chrijh " Commerce with a Whore was as Com-i ** merce with a Man's Wife ; and the " Wages ofan Harlot, as the Portion which *< was given to a Wife when fhe was put ** away by Divorce:" If, I fay, this fcan- dalous Affertion was true, there could furely have been no Breach of Modefty, lijudtih^ when the Woman (whom he knew not then to have been his Daughter in Law) was not found, had made further Enquiry after her, to take back the Pledge which he had left in her Hand, and to pay her the Price (lie had contra(5led for. Both In- flances then come fully up to our Purpofe 5 the one fhewing, that Jacob thought he had difgraced himfelf by having Commerce ' with an Harlot -, and the other, that the Sons of Jacob looked upon Hamor^ in that Intercourfe with their Sifter, whilft they were yet unmarried, as having brought a Difgrace upon their Family. If you fay, that this was not from any natural Turpi- tude that there was in this Sort of Com- merce, but becaufe it was an Offence a- gainfl, the civil Laws of thofe Countries 5 it will nothing help you ; becaufe it ought to be prefumed, that fuch Laws were not • mere Of the Equity of the Law of Chrijl. 1 3 7 mere arbitrary Conftltutions, as about Things in their own Nature indifferent, but founded upon Conviction, that fuch Liberties with unmarried Women were Violations of the original Law of Nature. Let Maimonides himfelf be heard upon this Point ; who, fpeaking of the Reaion why this Liberty was reftrained by the Law of Mofes, fays it was, " becaufe by Whore- ** dom Families are confounded and de- *' ftroyed, and their liTues are by all Men ^' treated as Aliens — than which nothing ** can be worfe for them and for their Pa- ** rents." That " for preventing the many *' Brawls and Quarrels, Fightings and " Bloodfhed" to which Whoredom leads the Way, " and that the Diftindion of ♦* Families might be preferved, both " Whores and Whoremongers are con- • ^ demned ; and no other Conjundion per- <* mittcd, but with a Man's own Wife pub- *' lickly married '." Thefc are Reafons which eternally hold, and which fuit all Nations and People, as well as the jfews ; which it is ftrange that this Rabbi fliould ' See Pafr. on Deut. xxiii. ly. and SeUen, Ds Jur, ]\cit. Lib. V. Cap. 4. not 4 138 0/ the Equiiy of the Law of ChHft. not have feen, or, if he did fee it, it is a^ ftrange that he fhould have given fo loofe an Account of the Morals qf the ancient Times, in this Particular. It is however admitted, that among th? yews all Commerce, but with a Man's own lawful Wife, was forbidden. And the Law indeed is very exprefs as it flands Deuf, xxiii. 17. There Jhall be no Whore oj the Daughters oj Ifrael, nor a Sodomite [or, as the Word maybe tranflated. Whore-? monger] of the Sons of Ifrael. And again, Levit. xix. 29. Donotproftitute thy Daugh- ter to caufe her to be a Whore, left the Land fall to Whoredom J and the Land become full of Wtckednefs, Agreeably to which ; the Prophet feremiah, when he would repre- fent a very wicked and corrupted State of the Jewijh Nation, gives it as one Part of his Defcription, that tbey affembled them- felves by Troops in the Harlots Houfes, Jer. V. 7. I fo much the rather take notice of this, becaufe it is cuftomary with Unbe- lievers, on this Head, to fet the Law of God at Variance with itfelf ; the Old Tef- tament againft the New. But, however they 0/ the Equity of the Law ofChnft. 1 39 they may differ as to fome Points, by and by to be mentioned, it is certain that this vague, promifcuous Commerce, of which we are now fpeaking, and by which nothing js meant but the gratifying a prefent, brutal Appetite, is as direidtly condemned by the Law oi Mo/es, as it is by the Law of Chrifl. Solomon^ no doubt, wrote accord- ing to the Maxims of the Difpenfation he was under j and where do you find ftronger Warnings againft this Vice than in his Book of Proverbs f The PafTages are too well known to need repeating, — But what then ? you will fay. Do we not, as well before as under the Law, read of Men's having Concubines as well as Wives ? Had not Jl- hraham^ Jacobs David, Solomon, and others, their Concubi7ies ? And is this Pradice any where reprehended as criminal ? Very true. But thefe Concubines were not Harlots, but Wives ; and fo they are frequendy called in Scripture. So Keturah, who is reckoned among Abraham's Concubines, Gen, xxv. 6. (and is called fo, 1 Chron. i. 32.) is at the firft Verfc of the fame Chapter flyled his Wife, The fingle Point of Difference between a Wife and a Concubine is inti- mated 1 40 Of the Equity of the Law ofChrift. mated in his Hiftory, ver. 5, 6. where it is faid, that Abraham gave all that he had zinto Ifaac, but unto the Sons of the Concu-^ bines which Abraham had (viz. of Ha gar and Keturah) Abraham gave Gifts^ and fent them away. The IfTue by the Wife had greater Privilege, in refpe(5t of the In- heritance, than the Iffue of the Concubine ; and the Wife herfelf had greater Privileee in refpeft of Dowry, and Rank in the Fa- mily ^ Bat in nothing did they diifer in which the Marriage Bond was effentially concerned. For even in the Cafe of a Con- cubine, the Man was bound to provide for her and her Children, and llie to be faithful to his Bed ; in which Point if fhe tranf- greffed, llie was looked upon as an Adul- trefs. This appears from feveral Cafes recorded in Scripture. Reuben ^ lay with Biihahy his Father s Concubine ^ Gen. xxxv. 22. which Jacob cenfures as wicked and * Ccncuhina^ apiid Hebraeos, Stupri aut Lege aut Infamia, non tencbatur, cum a Matrefam'ilids tan- tum D'lgnitate difcaret, et eo quod liberis ex ea natis Jus non effetfucccdendi patribus in rebus foli. Grot. in Matt. V. 32. * See the fame Cafe mAbfolom^ 2 Sam. xvi. 21, 22. inceftuous ; Of the Equity of the Law of Chrijl, 1 4 1 incelluous 5 for (he was his Wije. Chap. XXX. 4. and xlix. 4. The Levite's Con- cubine is faid to hsiVQ played the Whore (igmn/i him, Judg. xix. She was therefore his fFfe ; and as fuch (he is fpoken of in the Sequel of the Hiftory. For he is called her Hufband in the next Chapter, ver. 4. and her Father is called his Father- in- law, in this Chapter, ver. 47. So true it is, what Selden fays, that a Concubine in thofe Days differed from a Wife, nomine tenus dim- taxat, aut faltem dignitatis tantum min-oris ratione — yugalem autem contraBum nodimi- que, utrique eundem ipfum fuijje ", that is, " in Name only, or, at leaft, in refpedl of ** inferior Dignity only ; but that the " Marriage Bond, in regard to both, was " the fame." "* Ibid. Lib. vii. Cap. 5. And the HebrewWovii which we tranflate Concubme^ agrees with this Account. For PiUgeJh is uiijally deprived from Palag^ to divide^ and Ijha^ Woman^ or JVife. So that Puegejl) is, as it were, a halfW\iQ^ or a Wife of a middle Condition. In fome refpedls differing from a Wife eminently (o called, in others the fame; as has been above explain- ed. The i^z Of the Equity of the Law ofGhfiJt, The Objedtion then at laft comes to this ; that anciently Men had more Wives than one : And this Liberty is indeed re- trained by the Gofpel. For St. Paulfdys^ To avoid Fornication let every Man ha^e his own Wije, and let every Woman have her own Hujhandy i Cor, vii. 2. For a Wo- man to have more Hulbands than one at once, Vi^as always unlawful; and the A- poftle very plainly puts both Man and Woman upon the fame Foot in this re- fped, without Difference or Diftindion. The like Reftraint is implied in thofe Words of our Saviour^ Matt, xix. 9. Whofoever fiall put away his Wife, except it be for Forfiication^ and fl^all marry another , com- tnitteth Adultery ; and whofo tnarrieth her which is put away, doth commit Adultery, As this is a direct Prohibition of Divorce (ex- cepting as is elfewhere in the fame Law excepted, of which hereafter) fo it implies under it, I fay, a Prohibition of Polygamy ; for no Reafon can be given why a Man's marrying a fecond Wife, after having di- vorced the firii, fhould be Adultery, but this J that the Right of the iirft Wife-ftill fubfifling, Of the Equity of the Law ofChriJl. 143 ilibfifting, notwithftanding the Divorce (which our Saviour confiders as a mere Nullity) fuch a Man would, of courfe, have two Wives at once ; and to treat this as Adultery, is in effed: declaring the fecond Match to be unlawful. Here then arifes a Queftion : How comes Chriji to forbid what the Law of Mofes allowed ? And let our Saviour himfelf give the Anfwer.. Mofes, becaufe of the Hardnefs of your Hearts ^fiiffered you to put away your Wives ; but from theBeginning it was not jo. For have ye not read, that he which made them at the Beginning, made them Male and Female, and faid. For this Caufejhall a Man leave Father and Mother y and jhall cleave to his Wife^ and they ^wainfiall be one Flejh f Where- fore they are no more 'twain, but one Flejh, What therefore God hath joined together let not Man put afunder^ ver. 4 — 10. The Anfwer will alike ferve to both of the Points in Queftion ; and no doubt it was our Saviour's Intention to fay, that neither the putting away a Man's Wife (excepting as before) nor having more Wives than one at once, is agreeable to the original Inftitu- tion of Marriage. But how fo ? you will ^ afk. 144 0/* ^^^ Equity of the Law of ChriJI, afk. Either thefe Things agree with the Natural Law, or they do not. If they do j why does Chri/l' fay, From the Beginning it was not fo f Or what Ground will there be for his Prohibition ? If they do not j how does it fland with God's moral Go- vernment, that Mojes (hould have Juffered them ? Can God, confidently with the Perfedion of his Nature, at any time dtf- penfe with the Natural Law ? To this my Anfwer is, that thefe Things do indeed con- fift with the Natural Law ; but they fo confift with it, as not to reach to the Per- fedion of that State^ which was originally intended by Providence ia making Man Male and Female. The vague, promif- cuous Commerce (as I have heretofore ob- ferved) croffes the tirll: and principal End of Marriage ; either as hindering Pro- creation ; or as introducing an Uncertainty of Property in the Offspring ; or as fuppof- ing an Inattention to that Care, which Na- ture hath laid upon Parents towards their Children. This therefore never was, nor ever can be permitted. But none of thefe Things can be objected to the Pradice of having more Wives at once than one, which perfectly Of the Equity of the Law ofChrift, 145 perfedtly well conlifting with the Certainty of Property, and competently well with the parental Care, might therefore ^(for Reafons of Providence) be permitted. And yet becaufe there are manifeft Inconveni^ encesin this State, to which that of one Wife to one Man is not liable, this Prac- tice might again bejeflrained, the Reafons ceafing upon which the Permiffion was grounded. The like may be faid of Di- vorce. For a Man's putting away his Wife introduces no Uncertainty of Property as to the Offspring already born j and though it be true, that in confequence of the Se- paration, the parental Care which Nature hath bound equally upon both Parties, de- volves upon one 5 yet the fuppofed Ground of Divorce brings this Matter much to the fame Reckoning. For a Man may as well (and perhaps better) provide for his Children by his own fole Induftry, as in Company with an unequal Yoke-fellow. But though thefe Things are tolerable, flill they are Deviations from the original Plan intended by Providence. Fro}}i the Beginning it was notfo. It is faid in the K Book 146 Of the Equity of the Law of Chr if . Book of Genefs^ that God created Man Male and Female ^ that is, he gave one Woman to one Man, Chap. i. ver. 27. Of other living Creatares this is not faid. They are only bid to be fruitful and multiply ; and there might at firfl have been more Fe- males than Males, for any thing that the Hiftory (hews to the contrary. But one plain Diftindion there is between Man and other living Creatures, w^hich is, that as they, both Male and Female, v/ere creat- ed out of the Earth, or Waters, the Man was made out of the Dufl of the Earth, ancj the Woman taken out of the Subftance of the Man ; to denote that clofe and inti- mate Union intended between Man and Vv^ife, which, between the Male and the Female in other kinds of Animals, neither was, nor could be intended. Upon which the Hiftorian makes the Remark cited by our Saviour, Therefore fJjall a Man leave his Father and his Mother ^ andfiall cleave vnto his Wife^ and they flmll be cue FUfj ; i. e. they iliall be as one Fiefn j wjiich ex- cludes both Multiplicity and SeparatioUy Gen.ii. 24. Confult Of the Equity of the Law ofChrifi. 1 47 Confult Nature in its firft and moft lim- pie Motions, and you will find it agrees with this Appointment. The natural Paffioii dire(5ts itfelf to one, as diftinguidied from all others of the fame Sex j and even when Men indulge themfelves the Liberty of hav- ing more Wives than one, the AfFedLion commonly fettles in one. Whence this Provifion in Nature (of which we find no Footfteps among the Brutes) but to (hew that one Woman to one Man is our proper, natural State ? Again 3 the conjugal Affec- tion is obferved to grow and improve by Years, unlefs checked by fome irregular Pafiion, efpecially if Children are born, the great Cement which holds Man and Wife together. And what does this fliew lefs, than that as the Children have a Claim upon their Parents, that never dies till the Rela- tion ceafes j fo the Relation between Man and Wife (upon which this other Relation is founded) fhould never ceafe, till the Hand of Providence puts an End to it ? And as the natural Workings of human Pafiions bed correfpond with this State, fo Providence has fet aflrong Guard about it, by the na- K 2 tural 1 4S OJthe Equity of the Law of Cbriji. tural Want which the Man and the Wo- man have of each other's Affiftance. Brute wants not the Help of Brute, for Food, or for Raiment, or for any other Comfort of Life. If there are Exceptions to this Rule, they are of very ihort Continuance, and then Nature unites them together by a kind of Marriage. We fee this in many Crea- tures of the feathered Kind, where the Male attends the Female to feed and pro- ted her, during the Time of her hatching her young. But Man and Wife conftantly want each other's Help. The Woman wants the Man for Maintenance and Pro- tection J and the Man wants the Woman, prudently to difpenfe to the Ufes of his Family what he providently gathers : To be the Partner of his Cares and of his Com- forts; his Help and Companion through every Stage of Life. And with how much a purer Stream the Bleffings of the conjugal State will flow, when Aifedtion is not di- vided among many, but united in one, a Very little Refledion upon human Nature, or Obfervation of what commonly pafles in the World, will ferve to (hew. But Uiough thefe Coniiderations prove this to be Of the Equity of the Law of Chrift. 149 be the moft perfedt State, they will not prove that a State lefs perfecft may not be difpenfed with. God knows what is beft for Man much better than he knows it himfelf J and if he will purfue the Method that fimple, uncormpted Nature points out to him, he will find the Benefit of it. Whenever he ads otherwife there is always fomething wrong in the Caufe ; as in the Matter now before us. For (except- ing the Want of IfTue) what but mere Wan- tonnefs of Appetite can lead a Man to co- vet more Wives than one ? What, to defire a Separation, but ill Behaviour in one Party or the other, or in both ? But if, for want of a proper Government of themfelves. Men difqualify themfelves for enjoying the Bleffings of the married State, in that Perfedion Vv^hich Nature intended they fhould enjoy them ; this indeed is a great Reproach to their Condudt ; but neither the Wifdom nor Juflice of Providence will fufFer any Impeachment, if, to avoid, it may be, worfe Evils, they are not pre- sently called to ftrid:er Difcipline, fo long as the principal Ends of Marriage are pre- ferved, and that brutal, lawlefs Indulgence ^ 3 is 1 50 Of the Equity of the Law of Chriji. is reftrained, which, in the noblefl Part of God's Works, would deflroy the very Pur- pofe of his Creation. When it was that Polygamy firfl began to be in Ufe, or upon what Occafion it was introduced, we have not Evidence e- nough in Hiftory to inform us. Adam^ it is certain, had but one \¥ife ; Noah and his Sons, when they went into the Ark, had each but one " Wife ; and in this whole Period between the Creation and the Flood, there is but one Inftance upon Record, of gny Perfon's having more than one Wife, and that is hamech, who was a Defcend- ant from Cain^ and (as it may be pre- fumed) no very good Man. In the Time of Abraham it feems to have been cuftom- ary. His Brother Nahor had two Wives, that is, a Wife and a y Concubine. He himfelf had two, And that this was not peculiar to liis Family the Hiflory of Abi- milech fhews ; for he had a ^ Wife, at the Time when he fent and took Sarah with Intent to make her his Wife. One cannot =^ See Gen. vii. 13. ? See Gen. xxii. 24. t Chap. XX. v?r. 1 7. read 0/ the Equity of the Law of Chriji. i^\ read this Part of the facred Story without obferving, in what Deteflation the Sin of Adultery was held in thofe Days. God threatens nothing lefs than Deftrudtion to Abimelech and his Houfe, unlefs he reflor- ed to Abraham his "Wife. Abimelech con- fefles the Juilice of the Sentence in refpevf?" of the Sin, but pleads his Innocency in that he knew her not to be a married Woman, nor had indeed defiled her. With like Se- verity the Law of Mofes was formed, by which it is ordered, that both the Man and the Woman fliould be put to Deaths Levit. XX. lo. And this is all, I hope, that is needful to be faid upon this Vice, which, though common in Pradice, is fo flagrant a Violation of natural Right, that none but the moft abandoned will pretend to juftify it. But Polygamy, it is certain, was not looked upon as a Crime in thofe Days ; nor, ftrictly fpeaking, was it fo. For there was no politive Lav/ of God which forbad it ; and in the Nature of it, it is fomethlng of the middle kind, neither lim- ply and abfolutely unlawful, nor yet fit to be encouraged. Nor do we find that God ever bsftowed upon it any Marks of his K 4 Appro- 152 Of the Equity of the Law ofChriJf, Approbation. The Old Teftament records the Pradice ; but of the Fitnefs or Unfit- nefs of it nothing at all is faid. When Na- than the Prophet reprefented to David the great Mercies of God towards him, in or- ,der to raife in him a Senfe of his Ingrati- tude, he tells him indeed, that God gave him his Ivlafiers Houfe^ and his Majiers Wives into his Bofom, 2 Sam. xii. 8. but the Text does not fay, that David took Sauls * Wives to be his Wives, nor are we obliged to underftand by it any more than this, that they came into his Pofleflion with the reft of his Subftance ; which fl:iews the high State to which Providence had raifed him, and this was all that the Prophet intended to fliew. Nor are we IQ think othervt'ife of Divorce : For though the Law in Deuteronomy^ Chap. xxiv. ver. I . When a Man hath taken a Wife — and fhe find no Favour in his Eyes — let him ^'^rite her a Bill of Divorcement^ &c, though, J fay, this Law carries with it the Style of a Precept, yet our Saviour treats » We read of but one Wife that Saul had, Jhi' nQ^^rtp tlie Daughter of Ahimaaz, i Sam. xiv. 50. And yet this PafEige feems to import that he had f^- Of the Equity of the Law of Chrijl. 153 the putting away a Man's Wife, as a Mat- ter of Sufferance only, and not as a Matter of Command ; and rightly. For the Law refers to the Practice as '' already fubfifting ; and (not defining whether it was right or wrong) only provides, that in cafe any Per- fon fhould put away his Wife, he (hould do it in the Manner here directed. It is to be confefled, that he who gives a Law to regulate any Pradice, muft be under- flood, in the grofs, as confenting to that Pradice ; and this, no doubt, is what our Saviour meant, when he told the jfews^ that Mofes suffered them to put away their IVives. There is a Senfe in which God fuffers Things diredly criminal, as when he does notpunifh for them, or when he does not give the Authors of them any fpecial Call to Repentance 5 in which Senfe Paul and Baniabas are to be underflood, when they fay, that God fuffered all Na- tions to walk in their own ways, Adls xiv. 1 6. God cannot confent that Men fliould be wicked ; and therefore this was only a Suf- ferance of Connivance, as St. Paul calls it, ^'f^^ixvii. 30. The I'imes of this J^iwrarm ^^S^^Ld^it, xxi, 14. xxii, 13. zn^Numb. xxx. 9. 1 54 Of the Equity of the Law ofChrift. God WINKED at. But the prefcribing to the yews the Manner how they lliould put away their Wives (of which we find no Inftance in any Cafes fimply unlawful) fhews, I fay, that the Sufferance in this Cafe was a Sufferance of Confent. But Confent does not always imply Approba- tion. A Father may confent that his Son fliould do many Things that he does not like, left, if he fliould refufe, he might do fomething bad ; and this was the Cafe here. Mofes for the Hardness of THEIR He ARTS Juffered them to put away their tVives. If it fliould be alledged, that the great Diftindiion with which God treated ^^^r^- ham and hisFamily, (liews that he approved their Behaviour in having feveral Wives at once ; the Confequence will go a great deal too far. For it will as well fhew that he approved their Behaviour in other Refpeds, in which yet, it is certain, he neither did nor could approve it. Will you lay that God approves Diffimulation, becaufe both Abraham 2.vi^ Ifaac praiftifed it with Abime- kch f Or is Fraud and Faldiood therefore 3 f^g''t* OJ the Equity of the Law of Chrijl .155 right, becaufe Jacob pradtifed it in obtain- ing the Blefllng from his Brother Efau ? But the Truth in thefe Cafes is, that as the Diftindtion paid to Abraha??t and his Fa- mily was not merely for their own Sakes, but to ferve fome great and general Ends of God's Providence, which they might have been, and were, qualified to ferve, though liable to many perfonal Failings j God was not obliged, in confequence of this Diflindion, to take any fpecial Notice of fuch perfonal Failings, or to call them to a Reformation, farther than as other Reafons of Providence made it proper for him fo to do j which Reafons are not fixed and unchangeable, as the moral Precepts are, but fubjed to Variation, as the State and Circumftances of the World vary. Now, if this is true in Things morally bad, it is much more fo in Things of a middle Nature, /. e. not flridly right, but tolera- ble; and this muft be faid, that though (the original Intention of Marriage confi- dered) Polygamy was an Abufe, yet it was more tolerable in thofe Days than it would be now, and there might (incidentally) have been a Convenience in fufFering it. We fee 156 Of the Equity of the Law ofChriJi. fee from the Scripture Hiftory, that the World was very thinly inhabited in Abra- ham s Time. For when he came firft into the Land of Canaan, and dwelt there as a Stranger, we find none of the old Inhabi- tants of that Country, challenging him as having invaded their Property ; and when his Brother Lot and he had lived fo long near each other, that there began to be a Want of Room, and a Contention arofe between their Herdfmen, Abraham pro- pofed a Separation, and faid to his Brother^ Is not the whole Land before thee f If thou wilt take the left Hand, then 1 will go fo the right ; or if thou depart to the right Hand then I will go to the left, Gen. xiii. 9. And as the World was then unacquainted with thofe Arts of Living which Luxury has fince intraduced, and Men fubfifted only by Hufoandry and feeding Cattk, they might with great Eafe to themfelves, and with no Inconvenience to their Neighbours, maintain large Families. There can be no doubt but that the Indulgence of Poly- gamy very much contributed to the fpeedy Execution of that Promife made to Abra- ham^ thiX he /liould be the Father of man^ ' Nations^ Of the Equity of the Law of Chrift. 1 57 Nations, and that his Pofterity fhonld come back again to inherit the Land wherein he was then but a Sojourner. Ja^ cob went down into Egypt, with his Sons by all his Wives, which were a large Fa- mily ; and when they had the Land of Gofhen affigned them for their Dwelling (where, it may be prefumed, the fame Li- berty was taken) when the Time appoint- ed drew near, their great Increafe opened the Way to their Deliverance. But what- ever were the Reafons why this Pradlice was permitted in thofe Days (with which perhaps we are not perfedly well acquaint- ied) they make no Change in the Nature of it as right or wrong, but leave it juft as they find it. The Refult then is this ; that Polyga- my and Divorce, not being iimply and abfo- lutely unlawful, God might allow them, for a Time ; and yet, the married State un- der thefe Circumftances falling fhort of that Perfedion which Providence intended from its firft Inftitution, he might, when it fliould become feafonable, again reftrain them, And it would indeed be very ftrange 158 Of the Equity of the Law ofChrifl. ftrange if we fhould deny that Power to the fupreme Legillator, which every State or Kingdom exercifeth by civil Authority. The Roman Laws did not allow of more Wives than one ; nor the Grecian % ordi- narily at lead. No doubt becaufe it was found inconvenient to Society, for Men to have a Multiplicity of Wives. And certain it is, that Inconveniences there are. For, befides that the Affairs of private Families will be beft carried on, when the Wife^ bellowing herfelf entirely on the Hufband, receives the equal Return of his whole Heart and Affedion, the Allowance of Po- lygamy (as a very great Writer obferves) will in Time have this Confequence, that *^ the nobler Families will (by too great a *' Number of Children) be reduced to Po- " verty ; the meaner to Beggary ; and the " State oppreiled with an idle Swarm of " the bafer Populacy ^y This Reafoning fuppofes, that the Pradice of Polygamy contributes to the Multiplication of the Species, more than fingle Marriages j and unqueflionably it does, upon Suppofition ' See Pufendorff De Jur. N. & G. Lib. vi. c. i. § 14. ''Id. ibid. § 19. that Of the Equity of the Law ofChrifi. 159 that there are Women enough to fupply each Man with feveral Wives. But whe- ther there is that Difproportion between the Number of each Sex, ordinarily born into the World, as will fupport this Pradice in Perpetuity, may juftiy be made a Que- ftion ; and if there is not. Civil Govern- ment will find it neceflary to reftrain it fome where, left it run into Intercommu- nity, of all Evils, in this kind, the moft intolerable. In refped of Divorce, it will be necef- fary to confider, how far it is reftrained by the Law of Chrift. By the Queftion which the Pharifee put to our Saviour, Matt. xix. 3. it (hould feem, that it was cuftomary at that Time, among the Jews, for Men to put away their Wives by arbi- trary Will and Pleafure ; for they afk, Is it lawful for a Man to put away his JViJe for EVERY Cause ? It is very natural to fuppofe, that this Queftion was raifed upon the Law of Mofes^ Deut. xxiv. i. which (fays ^ Selden) the Jewip Doctors inter- • See Uxor Hab,* Lib. iii, cap. 22, 23. & Puffend. Ibid. preted j6o Of the Equity of the Law of Chrifi. preted varioufly ; fome holding that a Man ought not to put away his Wife, unlefs upon fome Difcovery of Bafenefs or Tur- pitude ; whilft others maintained, that any Diflike taken againft the Woman, was e- nough tojuftify a Divorce. And it is to be confefled, that the Law leaves Handle e- nough for fuch Difputes j for thus it runs, Whe?i a Man hath taken a Wfe and mar^ ried her, audit come to pafs that fie find no Favour in his Eyes, becauf he hath found fome lJnclea?inefs in her, then let him write her a Bill of Divorcement, &c. The Law, you fee, appoints no Judge between Man and Wife, but leaves every Man to his own Difcretion ; and it not being didinclly fpe- cified of what Sort this Uncleannefs fliould be, here was room left for every one to put av/ay his Wife who had no Mind to keep her. Let us now attend to our Saviour's Anfwer, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the Beginning made them Male and Female ^ &c. — What therefore God hath joined together let not Man put a- funder. In which Anfwer it is evident, that without entering at all into the Que- (tion, in what Cafes the Law oiMoJes did or Oj the Equity of the Law of Chr ijl, 16 1 or did not allow of Divorce, our Saviour impeaches the Law itfelf j and fo the jfews underflood him, as appears by their Anfwer : PFby did Mofes then command to give a Writing of Divorcement ^^ Which is as if they had faid, — " You feem to fay, tkit " Divorce is in no cafe allowable : But " why then did Mofes allow it ?" Our Saviour anfwers, Mofes ^ becaufe of the Hard-^ nefs of your Hearts^ fuffered you to put away your V/ives^ but from the Begiiming it was not fo. Here our Saviour again im- peaches the Law, and in efPe(5l declare?, that Mofes^ for the Hardnefs of their Hearts, allowed a Liberty in this Cafe which was not agreeable to the original Infiitution of Marriage, to which original Inftitution it was his Intention to recall them ; and then he goes on to Oiew, in what Cafes He allowed thofe who would be his Difciples, to put away their Wives j And I fay unto you^ Whofoever fiall put away his Wife., except'it be for Fornication^ &c. In which Words he correds the Ge- nerality of his firft Anfwer, and fliews them that it was not to be underflood without L Exception, 1 62 Of the Equity of the Law ofChriJ, Exception, and yet with fuch Exception, as would ftill leave a confiderable Diftinc- tion between his Law and the Law oiMoJes. This will be farther evident from what is faid upon the fame Subjedl, Chap. v. ver. 31.7/ hath be 672 /aid, Whofoever Jhall put away his Wife^ let him give her a Writijig of Divorcement 'y But I say unto you, ^hat whofoever fiall put away his Wife, faving for the Caufe of Fornication, &c. Here our Saviour places his own Law, and the J^aw of Mofes, in the way of Oppoii- fition to each other ; and the neceffary Con- flrudion is, that the one allowed a Liberty in the Matter of Divorce, which the other alloweth not. Let us now confider where the Diftinc- tion lies. And if you underftand the Caufe of Fornication in our Saviour's Law, to mean Unfaithfulnefs to the Marriage Bed, it will be very plain. For undoubtedly the Law of Mofes allowed of Divorce in Caufes of an inferior Nature. The Words are — If fhe find no Favour in his eyes, becaufe he hath found fome Uncle an n ess in her-, whicli Of the Equity of the Law of Chrifl. 1 6 3 which defcribes fome Caufe of Diflike on the Part of the Wife, not a Violation of the Marriage Contrad ; which, had it been the Thing intended, would have been exprelTed in much ftronger Terms. And it fhould be remembered, that by the Law oiMoJes Adultery was punifhed by Death, and therefore ftands excluded from the Caufes of Divorce. By the natural Law, Adultery is a juftifiable Caufe of Separa- tion ; and Chr'ifi in his Anfwer fhews, that what the natural Law direds to in fuch Circumftances, he had no Intention to con- troul. But then it mufl farther be obferved, that as our Saviour refers himfelf to the ori- ginal Inftitution of Marriage, for his Deter- mination upon the Matter of Divorce, it muft by equitable Conftrudion be under- flood, that in excepting the Cafe of Adul- tery, he has, virtually, excepted all Cafes that ftand within the fame Reafon ; that is, all in which there are Impediments that will not confift with the firft and principal End of Marriage. But if you carry your Exceptions farther, and interpret the Caufe of Fornication, fo as to include every kind of ill Behaviour which may give juft Caufe L2 of 164 Of the Equity of the Law ofChrtJl, of Offence (as Mr. Selden ^ feems to have done) you will indeed leave little room for Unbelievers to objedl again ft the Severity of Chriji's Law ; but then you will find it hard to fupport the Diftindion between the Law of Chrijl and the Law of Mofes. For if the Law of C/'r//? allows of Divorce for every Caufe of Offence, the Lav/ of Mo/es could do no more, and fo Chrifi and Mo/es will be agreed ; which is contrary to the whole Tenor of our Saviour's Difcourfe upon this Subject. Taking the thing then in this Light (in which, I think, I have the befl Autho- rities to fupport me) viz. That whereas the Law oi Mofes, and of all other Nations, allowed Men the Liberty to put away their Wives, for lower Caufes of Diflike, yefus Chriji forbids his Followers to put away their Wives, except in the Caufes which crofs the firft and principal Intention of Marriage ; Where, I afk, is the Fault ? Will you fay that it is not better for Man and Wife to corred: thofe lelTer Faults in themfelves, which make them difagreeable fibid. to 0/ the Equity of the Law of Chrifl. 165 to each other, than to diflblve the matri- monial Bond ? An Adulterefs, by the very Ad, for ever forfeits all Right to her Huf- band's Confidence, without which one great End of Marriage, which is the afccrtaining the Hufband's Property in the Offspring, is deftroyed ; and there may be Impedi- ments of other kinds 5 which in the Nature of things are not corrigible. But every Per- fon, that will take the pains for it, may bridle thofe Paffions which lead to Offen- ces of an inferior kind j which will pre- ferve thofe Bieffings to the married State, that Providence originally intended, and mend the whole moral Charatler. There are indeed fuppofable States of the World, when this is not ordinarily to be expeded, and in that Cafe Wifdom will dire(ft to abate fomething in the Rigour of one Law (in the Nature of it difpenfable) to preferve due Reverence to others of equal, or of greater Importance ; and our Saviour inti- mates, as has afore been obferved, that this was the Cafe under the Legal Difpenfation, and the Reafon why Mofe$ fuffered them to put away their Wives. God himfelf, no doubt, bed knows to what State of things, L 3 what i66 Of the Equity of the Law ofChriJl. what fort of Difcipline is befl fuited, and therefore it would beabfurd to difpute with our Saviour the Truth of his Obfervation. But if it was ever proper to call Men to Order in thefe Points, furely it was under that Difpenfation, whofe End is to bring in univerfal Righteoufnefs j to clear the na* tural Law from thofe Corruptions which Ignorance had introduced, and to advance it to its original Perfedion. And He fure- ly had full Right to be the Minifter of fuch a Reformation, who came with Motives to enforce, and with Afliftances to fupport the Obedience of his Law, far fuperior to all other Teachers or Lawgivers that had gone before him. It is, I confefs, but too vi- fible from common Obfervation, that this Reflraint of the Liberty of Divorce as ill agrees with the Spirit of fome Chriftians, as it did with the Spirit of the Jews or Heathens. But let fuch blame, not the Law, but themfelves. The Law fhews them their true Intereft if they will follow it J if they will not, it is more reafonable that they fhoqld bear the ill Confequences pf it themfelves, than that the Hands of Providence fhould be for ever tied up from, 4 offering Of the Equity of the Law ofChrifl. 167 offering fuch Regulations as are ufeful in refpedt of the general good, to ferve which, if Mankind will ad reafonably, this Re- ftraint is unqueftionably calculated. It may bear hard in fome particular Inflances, as, more or lefs, all good Laws do and will. But thefe Evils are better borne, than a Re- medy attempted, by indulging a Liberty that can never be generally wanted, but in Times of general Corruption, and which, in Concert with other Species's of Licen- Tioufnefs, will help to haften the Ruin of Families and of Kingdoms. A great Wri- ter before quoted fays, that " one may " reckon among the chief Caufes of the " Decay and Corruption of the Roman " State, their too frequent Practice of Di- " vorces, either upon flight Pretences or ** none at all j which wasfo great, that, as " Seneca reports, many Ladies of Emi- *' nence and Quality reckoned their Years, " not by the Number of Confuls, but of " their Hufbands, and were divorced in *' hopes of marrying, and married in hopes ** of being divorced \" And how near an Alliance a Referve in this Point has with the national Virtue, may be feen from ^Pvfend. ibid. ^21, ^ 4 what 1 68 Of the Equity of the Law ofCbrifl, what the fame and other Writers have ob- ferved, viz. That though the Roman Laws did not forbid Divorce, Hiftory affords no In fiance of the Pradice of it, till above five hundred Years after the building of the City. I have not thought it needful to be very particular in fetting forth the Inconvenien- ces either of Polygamy or Divorce, which are to be met with in almofl every Writer upon this Subject ; and which indeed every one's own Thoughts will readily fuggeft to him ; And let it always be remembered, in confidering thefe Points, that thefe In- conveniencies eflentially adhere to the States themfelves, and do not arife from ill Con- du6tin the Parties concerned, as the Incon- veniences on the other fide ordinarily do ; which makes a very confiderable Difference in the two Cafes. But I judged it very ne- ceffary to be difiind upon thefe Subjeds, being fenfible that great Prejudices againft the Gofpel have arifen from the feeming Severity of this Branch of Chriji's Law ; and an unreafonable Severity (poffibly) it will appear to many, if it be confidered as founded WdT^'/y on the Authority oiChriji, For though it cannot be doubted but that . God Of the Equity of the Law of Chrijl. 169 God hath Authority to reftrain the natural Rights ofMenif he fees fo fit, andadually hath done fo in lefler Matters, the better to fecure the Obedience of the moral Law in greater Inftances, as will be hereafter fhewn ; yet I conceive it would be no eafy Matter to fhew a Reafon why he fhould oblige a Man to keep a Wife whom he does not like, if in the Nature of the thing it was juft as right to put her away j or why he fliould confine him to one Wife, if it made no Difference as to the Natural Law whether he has one or many. I have there- fore endeavoured to fhew, that thefe Laws concerning Polygamy and Divorce have a much higher Original, and are indeed the Natural Law itfelf in its PerJeSiion ; which is placing thefe Laws upon the very Foun- dation upon which Chrift himfelf has pla- ced them, who does not refer them to his own fole Authority, but to the original In- flitution of Marriage. — From the Begin- ning IT WAS NOT so. It is now time that we proceed to fome Matters of another kind : And the next Branch of our Saviour's Law that will pro- L 5 perly 170 Of the Equity of the Law of Chrijl, perly fall under our Confideration, is that which concerns our Conduct in reference to thofe who offer Injury to us, and from whom we have received Injury. In re- Ipedt of the firft, our Saviour lays down this Rule : Te have heard that it hath been faidy An Eye for an Eye^ and a Tooth for a Smooth. But I fay unto you, that yerefiflnot Evil; but whofoever Jhall fmite thee on thy right Cheeky turn to him the other alfo. And if any Man willfue thee at the Law and take away thy Coat, let him have thy Cloak alfo. Matt. v. 3 8 — 40. In refpecfl of the fecond, this ; Te have heard that it hath been faidy ^houjhalt love thy Neighbour, and hate thine Enemy. But I fay unto you. Love your Ene- inies j blefe them that curfe you j do good to them that hate you ; and fray jor them which defpite fully ufe you and perfecute you, ver. 43, 44. Thefe are looked upon diehard Sayings, by the angry and revengeful, as the Laws concerning Marriage are, by the voluptuous and intemperate. But I {hall prove, that neither in thefe Points has Chrijl advanced any thing as of general Obliga- tion, but what the natural Law contains. To Of the Equity of the Law of Chrift. lyi To begin with the firft, Ref/i not Evily bcc. It will be neceflary, in order to come at the true Meaning of it, to confider the Nature of the Law to which it ftands op- pofed J which is that Law commonly called the Lex talionis^ or Law of Retaliation appointed by Mofes^ of which we find mention Deut. x'lx. i6 — 21. and in fe- veral other Places. If a falfe Witnefs rife up againfi any Man^ to tejiify againjl him that which is wrong ; then both the Men between whom the Controvcrjy is Poall ft and before the Lord, before the Priejts and the 'Judges — and if the Witnefs be a falfe Witnefs — then f jail ye do unto him as he had thought to have done unto his Brother — Life fhall go for Life, Eye for Eye, 'Tooth for T'ooth, Hand for Handy Foot for Foot. We are to ob- ferve, that this Law gave no Permiflion to private Revenge 3 for the Matter was to be brought before the fudges^ who were to give Sentence as they iliould find Caufe. For this Reafon the Law of Chrift not to refift Evil (which here (lands in Oppofition to what Mofes appointed) can have nothing to do with private Revenge j but mud relate to 172 Of the Equity of the Law ofChriJl. to Punifhment obtained by legal Methods. There would have been no fort of Propriety in faying, " Mofes appointed Offenders to "be fo or io punifhed by the Sentence of " the Law ; but 1 fay unto you, let no " Man caufe another to fuffer for Injury ** committed, without the Sentence of the " Law/' This advances nothing : For the Law of Mofes admitted not of private Methods of Retaliation, any more than the Law of Chrijl. But the Anfwer will come with great Appofitenefs and Force, if you will fuppofe our Saviour to have fpoken to this Effed ; "I know that by Mofes' s LavV *' you may demand an Eye for an Eye, and " a Tooth for a Tooth. But I fay unto " you, decline all Methods of Retaliation, *' patiently fuffer whatever Indignities or ** Wrongs ye may fuffer for my Sake j nor " feek Redrefs from human Tribunals." With this Interpretation, what follows per- fe6lly well agrees. Whofoever Jhall fmite thee on thy right Cheeky turn to him the other alfo, And if any Man will fue thee at the Law, and take away thy Coat, let him have thy Cloak a fo. And who foever Jhall compel thee to go a Mile, go with him twain. Thefe 0/ the Equity of the Law of Chrijl. 173 Thefc Expreffions import a perfedl Fajjive^ nejs under every kind of ill Treatment; and there are other Dired:ions in Scripture which come up to the fame Meaning. Be- hold I fend you forth as Sheep in the midfl of Wolves -y be ye therejore wife as Serpe?its, and harmlefs as Doves j Matt.x. 16. And ver. 23, When they perjecute you in this City^ fee ye into another. They were to take all prudent Precaution to avoid Mif- chief J but if it overtook them, they had no- thing elfe to do but to fee from it. They were not to refijl j they were not to im- peach in Courts of Juflice. Theie two lafl Diredtions, I confefs, make part of a Difcourfe which Chrifl is faid to have fpoken to his twelve Apoflles, when he fent them forth to preach j whereas the Law now in Queftion, was given to all his Difciples. But this Circumftance, I think, will make no material Difference in the Argument. For the whole Number of Chrifi's Difciples was then but fmall ; and (probably) mod of them fuch as were af- terwards to be fent forth to preach the Gof- pel i and there will be nothing forced and X unnatural 174 Of theEquify of the Law ofChriJl, unnatural in fuppofing that our Saviour's Difcourfe might (in fome parts of it) have a fpecial Relation to their Condudl, conli- dered in the Capacity of fuch as were to be the Inftruments of propagating the Gofpel throughout the World ; which common Senfe would eafily diffcinguidi from thole Precepts which were of iiniverfal and per- petual Obligation, when the Reafons upon which the Speciality was grounded, fliould be at an End. And it may farther be very juftly faid, that the Cafe of all the firfl Cbriftians was alike in this Refpecft. They were all to be the Examples of patient Suffering, and reftrained from having Re- courfeto the common Methods ofRedrefs, that the Power of God might be the more vifibie in their Prefer vation. When ye Jhall be brought bejore Kings and Rulers for my Ncune's Sake — fettle it in your Hearts not to meditate before what ye Jlmll anfwer. Tor 1 will give you a Mouth and V/ifdom, Lilik-e xxi. 12. 1 5 that is, /, by my extraor- dinary Tower and Pre fence with you, W// give^ &c. And this, they are told, was to be /or a Tellimony^ Matt. x. 18. Luke xxi. 13. And as they were to depend upon God's Of the Equity of the Law of Chrljl. 1 7 ^ God's extraordinary Providence for Pro- tedion againft the Malice of Men j fo they were allb (without any Forecaft of their own) to depend upon it for the common Neceffaries of Life. Provide neither Gold nor Silver nor Brafs in your Purfes, nor Scrip for your fourney^ neither two Coats^ neither Shoes J nor yet Staves^ Matt. x. 9. Grotius hath rightly obferved, that when they are forbidden to carry Staves^ the Meaning is, that they fhould have no more Staves than what they carried in their Hands for the Conveniency of Travelling ; juft as when they are forbidden to carry Shoes, the Meaning is, that they {liould carry no more than they had on their Feet ; for it is not to be fuppofed that they travelled bare- foot. Accordingly, in the Account which St. Mark gives of this Matter, our Saviour allows each of them a Staffs but nothing elfe. Take nothing for your 'Journey^ fave a Staff only, C\\:\}^. vi. ver. 8. But Weapons of Defence they were to have none ; Gold or Silver they were to have none j Bread or Change of Garments they were not to have. In all Infiances in which any of thefeThings could be ufeful or neceiliry, they were to rely 176 Of the Equity of the Law of Chrifl. rely upon God only to provide for them, as in his Wifdom it (hould feem moft ex- pedient. This meek, pajjlve Spirit, in bearing Injuries, was one of the grand Charad:erif- tics of the Meffiah, as foretold by the Pro- phets. He fjalhiot cry\ nor lift upy nor caufe his Voice to be heard in the Street , Ifai. xlii. 2. I gave my Back to the S miters^ and my Cheeks to them that plucked off the Hair^ Chap. 1. 6. He was oppreffed a7jd he was affiled ^ yet he opened not his Mouth, He is brought as a La?7ib to the Slaughter , and as a Sheep before his Shearers is dumb^fo he opened not his Mouth, Chap. liii. 7. Our Saviour's w^hole Life anfwers to this De- fcription. In all his Sufferings he was per- fectly paffive, and rebuked his Difciples when they would have had Recourfe to violent Methods of Defence, Matt, xxvi. r2. And how congruous was it, that thofe who under the Power of his own Spi- rit were fent forth to fini(h the Work which he had begun, fhould be enjoined the fame Behaviour ? They were enjoined it ', nor in vain. They fuffered Indignities of Of the Equity of the Law of Chrift. \jj of all kinds ; but where do we ever read of their driving, or fightings or impleading in Courts of Juftice ? Chrift told them, that they rtiould be brought before Governors and Kings for his Sake. This they could not help ; but they were to bring no Man thi- ther I nor do we find they ever did. For though St. Paul appealed to Ccefars fudg^ ment Seat ; it was not till after he had been apprehended oftheyews, and brought before Fe/lus the Roman Governor, who to do the yews a Pleafure^ afked him, JVilt thou go up to yerufalem^ a?2d there be judged oftheje things ? Ads xxv. 9. The yews were his Accufers y he was not their Accufer, Judged he mufl be fomewhere, which he refufeth not, but appeals to the proper Judge. Taking then the Law in Queftion to haveaj^^aWRefpedt to the State of Chrifti- anity, when the Gofpel was firft to be publidied to the World, and when the miraculous Power of God, in the Prefer- vation of its firft Profeflbrs, was to ftand as one part of the Evidence of its di- vine Authority ; Placing ( I fay ) the Law in this Light, it will, in the very M Letter 17^ Of the Equity of the Law of Cbri/f, Letter of it, (land clear of all reafonabk Exception. For where is theFault, that Cbn^ fhould reftrain thofe from ufing the common legal Methods of Defence, whom he had taken under his own extraordinary Care and Protedion ? Here was, it is true, a Reftraint upon natural Liberty ; but they had more than an Equivalent for it. But if you will fuppofe this Precept to be a Law which concerns all Chriflians, there will then be a Neceffity of underftanding it with due Qualifications j not as abfolute- ly forbidding the Ufe of legal Remedies in cafe of Injuries, but as reftraining that Li- berty within certain Bounds, as Reafon and good Senfe, direded by Juftice and Chari- ty, (hall require •, that is (in other Words) the Law of Chriji muft receive its Inter- pretation from the natural Law, and con- fequently will be one and the fame with it. The Reafon is, becaufe an abfolute Prohi- bition of legal Remedies, in effed, fuper- fedes the Magiftrate's Office, and deftroys the Rights of Civil Society, which we are very fure it was not our Saviour's Intention to do. Render Unto Ccefar the Thmgs -which are Cafars, was his Maxim. To pay Tribute when demanded, ^was his Pradice j ^ whicV Of the Equity of the Law ofChrif, lyg which is a virtual Acknowledgment of the Rights of Civil Society. And v^hen a cer- tain Man faid to him, Mafier^ fp^^k to my Brother, that he divide the Inheritance with me -J his Anfwer was, Who made me ^ Judge or Divider over you? Luke xii. 13, I4» Which Anfwer admits, that there were proper Judges in fuch Q2S.t^fomewhere^ and denies only that his Office extended to any fuch Matters. His Apoftle, St. PW, is full and ftrong in this Point, as you may fee at large, Rom. xiii. i^ — 7. and T^tt, iii. 1. And St. Feter, i £/>. ii. 13, 14. Bub- mit yourfelves to every Ordinance of Man for the Lord^s Sake ; whetJjer it be to the King asfupreme j or unto Go-vernors as unto them that are fent by him, J or the PuniJJj- ment of evil Doers, and for the Praije of them that do welL But though all this implies, that Appeals to the Magiftrate are lawful and fit, upon a general View of the Cafe, yet Circumftances may make it im- proper in particular Cafes. We have i^cn the Reafon (if the Interpretation I have given be admitted) why our Saviour forbad his Apoftles making fuch Appeals againft their Perfecutors ; and for like Reafons we. find St. Paul Warning the Corinthians, for M 2 haling 1^0 Of the Equity of the Law of Chrift. haling each other before HeathenTribunals, in Difputes between themfelves. What is lawful may not always be expedient. This is as true now in Multitudes of Cafes as it was then. But it is to be obferved, that when Prudence interpofes to prevent Ap^ peals to the Magi ft rate, it is not Chrift ^ or his Law, that reftrains Natural Right, but it is the Natural Law itfelf that fufpends its own Execution. Let us go on then to the fecond Branch of our Saviour's Rule. Te have heard that it hath beeiifaid, Thoufialt love thy Neighbour and hate thine Enemy. But I fay unto you ^ Love your E?2emies j ble/s them that curfe you ; do good to them that hate you s and pray for them that defpitefully vfe you and perfeaite you. It is to be remarked, that the Oppolition here lies not between Mofes and Chrift but between Chriji and the corrupt Interpreters of Mofes. Mofes faid "Thotifialt love thy Neighbour. But Mofes never faid, Thoufmlt hate thine Enemy ; as the following Paffages fully prove, T'hou fhalt not avenge nor bear any Grudge againfl the Children of thy People, but thou pmlt love thy Neighbour as thyfelf-—And ij a iitra?iger 0/ the Equity of the Law of Chr ift, 1 8 1 Stranger fojourn with thee in your Landy ye fhall not vex him j but the Stranger that 4welleth with you, jhall be unto you as one born amongfiyoUy and thou jhalt love him as thyfelf Levit. xix. i8. 33. 34. Again, "Exod. xxiii. 4, 5. If thou meet thine Enemy's Ox or his AJs going ajir ay, thou fiah furely bring it back to him again. If thou fee the Afs of him that hateth thee, lying under his Burden, and wouldefi forbear to help him ; thou fialt furely help with him. With aU which that Precept of the wife Man well agrees. If thine Enemy be hungry, give him^ Bread to eat ; and if he be thirjly, give him Water to drink, Prov. xxv. 21. We fee hence, that there is one and the fame Spi- rit in the Law of Mofes and in the Law of Chriji, and both are but the Tranfcript of the original Law of Nature. To hate any Perfon implies a Difpofition to do him Mif- chief, and to repay one bad Turn by an- other ', which is a Breach of the natural Law. Some of the heathen Philofophers juftified Revenge ; but one of the * witell of them hath faid, Q ^^, ^S' d^iz^f^ivovocv^ Ta^iKeiv ; ** It is not lawful even for him 'J that is ill treated to treat another ill." And I Socrates, In Plat. Critone. M 3 Reafon 1 82 Of the Equity of the Law of Chrifl. Reafon is clearly on his Side. For though the Law of Nature allows of Self- Defence, and every Wrong done, naturally calls for Punifhment to be inflii7/t'^"[atany time] without Witnefl [that He is to be worfl:iipped] in that he did GOOD, and gave us Rain from Heaven and fruitful Of the 'Equity of the Law ofChrijl, 199 fruitful Seafons^ filling our Hearts with Food and Gladnefs. God challenges our Obedience, as he is our Creator and Pre- ferver. In him we live and move and have our Beings fays St. Paul to the Athenians^ A6i$ xvii. 28. But it is fuppofed that our Creation is a Benefit to us^ for had God created us not to Happinefs but to Mifery, he could have challenged no Obedience from us ; a Notion fo deeply rooted in the univerfal Senfe of Mankind, that the an- cient heathen Polytheifm was founded en- tirely upon it ; for thofe falfe Gods were always worfhipped under the Charadler of Benefactors. It will appear (I think) from thefe Con- fiderations, that the abfolute Difmterefied- nefs of Virtue is a mereFidion j and that thofe who place Religion upon this Bottom, however feemingly they may make it a Compliment, in reality fap the very Foun- dation upon which it ftands. For li Law and Authority are not difinterefted things, (as has been proved) it will follow, that nei- ther can Virtue (which hath Reference to Law or Authority) be a difinterefted thing. N 4 Virtue, zoo Of the Equity of the Law ofChrifl. Virtue, is Obedience to God as the fupreme Legiflator. The Authority of God there- fore muft firft be eftablifhed before you can exercife Virtue ; for to treat that as Autho- rity which is not Authority, is abfurd. But you cannot eftablifli the Authority of God without confidering him. as your Benefactor, nor can you therefore exercife Virtue with- out a View to Benefit ; and whether the Benefit is aheady received or lies in Pro- fpe(fl, it makes no Difference fo long as Be- nefit is admitted as the Foundation of your Condud:. A Benefit received is a Reward in tiand. It is not ihtnfimply a Regard to our ow^ Benefit or Advantage, that difparages our Conduct, and deftroys Virtue ; but it may indeed, and will be, deflroyed by wrong Motivesy and attending to flender Advan- tages, when our Thoughts ought to be di- reded to higher things. This is frequently the Cafe in human Life, and from fome Inftances of this Kind (ill applied) I fuppofe that the Objedion may have taken its Jlife. If a Man gives a Sum of Money to relieve the Poor, not with a benevolent Mind, Of the Equity of the Law ofChrifi. 201 Mind, but out of Vanity and Oflentation ; or if he does his Neighbour a good Turn, with no other View than the fecurii^p- as good or a better to be done to himfelf ; the one is not Charity, the other is not Friend- ship, and neither of them is Virtue. And is not the Reafon plain ? The Cafes fuppofe the Thing not done which Virtue direds fhould be done. For the Law of Charity or Friend(hip is, not to do an Ad: fimply beneficial to another, but to do it with a benevolent Mind. It is the fame thing if^ in any other Inftance, a Man does the ex- ternal Ad which the Law prefcribes, not out ofrefped to the Authority which com- mands it, but conlidering it as an Inftru- ment ufeful to fome temporal Advantage. But the Fault in this fort of Condud lies not in this, that a Man ads bv Motives of Benefit to himfelf; but in this, that he ads by Motives of his own chufing, againft the Spirit and Intention of the Law ; which, as it implies a Preference of lefTer Advan- tages to greater, is Folly, and as it carries with it a Negled of the Authority of the fupreme Legiflator, is Iniquity into the Bargain. But furely there can be nothing wrong 202 Of the Equity of the Law of Chrtjl. wrong in attending to thofe Motives which the Law itfelf propofes -, or if there be, it fails equally upon the Legiflator. For if it is inconfiftent with the Virtue of a Man to Jook for a Reward, it muft be as inconfiftent with the Wifdom of God to offer one j and this is the Point that the ObjeiSion drives at. But vain is the Attempt, unlefs it can be fliewn, that Authority cannot be reafon- ably exercifed or fubmitted to, if any body is to be the better for it j which is a Contra- di(5lion to common Senfe, and deftroys (as has been fliewn) all Law and Government in the World. The Truth of the Cafe then feems to be this J that in refpedl of all Advantages that offer a Difparagement to the Law, Virtue is, and mufl be, a difinterefted thing ; for what difgraces the Law, muft alfo be a Dif- grace to the human Conduifl. And of tliis kind are all the Advantages of this World, when they come to ftand in Competition )vith the Rewards of a Life to come. I do not think that temporal Advantages, merely as fuch, are an improper Foundation for Religion. For the ^6%^^ were under a Co- venant 0/ the Equity of the Law of Chriji, 263 venant with God, eftablifhed upon the Foot of temporal Promifes ; and the Obe- dience which they paid in view of thefe Promifes, was undoubtedly a reafonable Ser- vice, as it was Obedience paid upon Mo- tives propofed by the Legiflator himfelf. But if, inftead of attending to thefe Pro- mifes, and waiting for the Accomplifh- ment of theni from the Hand of Provi- dence, they (hould any of them have fet up Motives of their own, and a6led upon theViews of prefent Intereft, or Ambition, or Vain-glory (of which Sort of Condud the Pharifees were remarkably guilty) this would have been placing their Obedience upon a wrong Bottom, and would have dellroyed its Value in the Sight of God. And this muft ever be the Cafe under every Religious Difpenfation, where the Law is externally complied with, but with- out Attention to the Authority of God, and the Promifes upon which the Law is efta- blifhed. But to lay it down univerfally, that in ferving God a Man ought abfolutely to diveft himfelf of all Regard to his own Happinefs, is a very great Abfurdity. I fan think of no other Reafon worthy of God 204 Of the Equity of the Law ofChrif. God why he fent us into Being, than this, that he might communicate to us of his Happinefs. If then Happinefs is God's End in refpedt to Man, it muft be Man's End in refpedt to himfelf and his own ow^n Conducft ; and he that thinks he can fhew a better, reproaches infinite Wifdom as adting unwifely. Upon this Principle, I cannot help thinking, that it is fo far from being an Objection to the Gofpel, that it propofes a Reward to well-doing, that it would have been an Objedion to it (not to be anfwered) if it had propofed none. For a Syftem that propofes Virtue as its End, ought to admi- nifter the Means that are necefFary to fup- port Virtue, of which a Reward to well- doing is the fir/l and chief St. PWfeems to have been of this Opinion, Heb. xi. 6. where he fays. He that cometh to God mufi believe that he is, and that he is a Re- warder of them that diligently feek him 5 which is telling us in efFed, that you may as reafonably expedl Religion in one that denies the. Being of a God, as in one that denies his Providence in rewarding Virtue. And 0/ the Equity of the Law of Chriji, 205 And the thing is plain ; for though the Ideas of Right and Wrong are as diftinder perpetual Temptations, from the Motions of natural Appetite, and the Solicitations of the Devil and his Inftru- ments ; let us now confider what Helps the 2 20 Of the 'Equity of the Law ofChrift, the Gofpel provides to ftrengthen and fup- port us under them. The firft of thefe is the Promife of the Holy Ghoft ; 1 will pra^ the Father, and he Jhall give you another Comjorter^ that he may abide with you for ever, Johnxiv. i6. AndSt. P^w/, fpeak- ing of the whole Body of faithful Chrifti- ans, fays, they are aholy Temple in the Lord^ an Habitation of God through the Spirit^ Eph. ii. 2 !,22. And iq many other Places of Scripture, Chriflians are reprefented as the Temple of God, or, the Temple of the Holy Ghoji, which dwelleth in them ; which kind of Expreffipns denote a fpecial Pre- fence of the Holy Ghoft in the Hearts of good Men, to be thqr Support and Com- forter. There is great Propriety in this, that as Nature leaves us under the Empire of the wicked One, Grace (hould confign us to the Protection of God's holy Spirit. And it is a full Anfwer to the Objedlion that God fuffers the Devil to tempt us, that he, by his own Prefence, will guard ys againft his Temptations, and enable us tQ tread him zmder our Feet, Rom. xvi. 20. And what can an Unbeliever have to fay againft this Dodlrine but this, that we our- felves feel not the Operations of the holy ~ ~ Spirit, Ofth Equity of the Law ofChnfl, 221 Spirit, (o as to be able to diftinguifli them from the natural Operations of our Minds ? It is true ; we feel not the Operations of the Spirit, whether good or evil 5 but this does not prove that there are no fuch Operations. The Body grows or decays j attains a healthy or a fickly Conftitution, by the Operations of natural Caufes ; and yet we feel not thefe Operations within our- felves, nor know any thing of them but by their Effects. And why may not the Spi- rit work in the fame imperceptible Manner thnt natural Caufes do ? It is fuppofed in this Account, that the Spirit operates in fuch a Manner as is perfedtly confident with the natural Liberty of Man ; that is, fo as not to offer any Violence to the Will (which v/ould be to deftroy the very No- tion of moral Agency) but only to move or incline it. And this agrees with what the Scripture fays ; for as the Devil may be refijied^ fo may the Holy Ghojl, Ads vii. 5 1 . And therefore St. Paul, though he tells us, that it is God that ivorketh in us both to will and to do j yet exhorts us at the fame time to work out our own Salva- lion with Fear and T^rembling^ Philip, ii. 12, 13. la 2 22 Of the Equity of the Law of Chrif, In the next place we may and ought to reckon among the Helps and JJJiJiances to Virtue, the Injiitutions and Ordinances of the Gofpel ; by which the Difciples of Chrift are held together as one vifible Soci- ety, under the publick Profeffion of his Faith, and a joint Communion in the Dif- penfations of his Word and Sacraments. Unbelievers are wont to complain of thefe as arbitrary Laws ; and arbitrary they are in this Senfe, that their whole Force and Virtue, as Laws, depends upon the Will of the Lawgiver. But if they would have us to underfiand, that they are Impofitions of mere Will, without regard to Ufe or Propriety in refpedl of the Perfons upon whom they are impofed j St. Faiil inftru6ls them better, Eph, iv. 1 1 , ^c. where fpeak- ing oiChrift's conftituting a vifible Church, and that he gave jome Jpofiles^ and fome Prophets, and Jome Evangelijls, &c. he tells us, it vjjisfor the perfeSfwg the Saint Sy for the edifying of the Body oj Chriji, till we all come, in the Unity of the Faith, and oj the Knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfeB Man, unto the Meafure of the Stature oj the Fulnefs of Chrijl ; that is (as the Apoftle prefently Of the Equity of the Law of Chrijl. 223 prefently explains himfelf) that we may not walk in the Vanity of our Minds ; that we mdiy put off the old Man, which is corrupt , according to the deceitful Lulls, and being re- newed in the Spirit of our Minds, put on the new Man, which, after God, is created in Righteoufnefs and true Holinefs. It is true, that all pofitive Laws are a Reftraint upon natural Liberty : And who will pretend to fay, that God hath not a Right to do that which Civil Authority does every Day ? Wife Magiftrates will not impofe Laws wantonly j but for Ends fubfervient to the publick Good : And it is for publick Benefit that God hath appointed the Gofpel Ordinances, to wit, that being eftablifhed in the Faith of our Lord and Saviour fefus Chriji, we may attain to that Sobriety, Righteoufnefs, and Godli- nefs, to which our Faith engages us. And moft true it is, that he who religioufly and confcientioufly obferves the Law of Chrijl, in thefe refpeds ; by commemorating him frequently in partaking of the Sacrament of his Body and Blood ; by giving due Attend- ance to Prayer, to Meditation, and to the liearing and reading his Word ; lives in a State of perpetual Difcipline, by which 4 Confcience i24 Of the Equity of the Law ofChrifl, Coniclence is always kept awake to reproach and condemn him when he doth evil, and to put him upon that vigorous Oppofition tb Flefh and Blood, which is neceflary to carry us through the Temptations of the World, which never can prevail but when Confcience fleeps, andthofe Confiderations which (hould fupport our Virtues, grow faint and languid upon the Mind. This Principle, that the Ordinances of the Gofpel (land in the rank of Means and Helps to Virtue, ought carefully to be at- tended to ; becaufe if it were fo, that they were intended to ferve usinftead of Virtue, or were held in more account than a good Life, they were very juftly to be condemn- ed. But though Unbelievers are very apt to reprefent them in this Light, and care- lefs or partial Chriftians may miftake their true Meaning ; the Gofpel itfelf is perfed* ly clear in this refpedt. We know with what Severity Chrijl reprehends the Jews for laying more Strefs upon the external Ap- pointments of their Law than v/as fit and reafonable. Matt, xxiii. 23. JVo unto you. Scribes and Pharifees, Hypocrites, for you pay 7ythe of Mint, and Anife, and Cummin, and have omitted the weightier Mat- TilRS Of the Equity of the Law of Chrift, 225 TEKS of the Law^ 'Judgment^ Mercy ^ and Faith. We fee here that moral Duties have the Preference given them to Matters of fimple Inftitution j and that the doing one, whilft the other were neglected, availed no- - thing, but to their greater Condemnation. And this was true, not only in refpedt of theie lefler things, the tything Mint, and Anife, and Cummin, but alfo in refped: of thofe which were of the higheft Account, their Sacrifices (/. e. in refpedt of their whole Ritual Law put together) as their Prophets had often ^ warned them. Agree- ably to this Notion, that moral Duties are the weightier Matters of the Law, our Saviour decides (and the Prophets before him had decided) that in Cafes where both kinds of Duties cannot (land together, pofi- tive Appointments mufl give way to moral Duties, and not moj^al Duties to them. Go ye (fays he to the Jews) and learn what this meaneth, I will have Mercy, and not Sacri' fee. Matt. ix. 13. and Chap. xii. 7. from Hofeah vi. 5. It appears by the Cafes to which our Saviour applied thcfe Words, that as the Word Sacrifice is here ufed to ex- * Ifaiah i. 10 — 18. Arms v. 21, t^c. P prefs 226 Of the Equity of the LawofChriJl. prefs not only Sacrifices and Oblations of all kinds, but alfo each Circumftance and Article of Worfliip, with the feveral Ob- fervances appointed by the Law ; fo the Word Mercy takes in the whole Compafs of moral Duties ; and the Senfe of the Paf- fage is, that where the Law cannot be ob- ferved in refpedt of both, the former muft give way to the latter, as to the more wor- thy "". What was true under the Legal Difpenfation, is as true under the Evan- gelical, for the Reafon is the fame in re- fpe and it is probable, that the Voice and the Appearance ordinarily accom- panied each other, as they are reprefented to have done in the Cafe of Mofes. It may feem perhaps difficult to underftand, how God (hould have manifefted himfelf to the firft Man in his moft early State, when, naturally, he could not have the Knowledge of Language, and when all Nature was to bim new and furprizing. But as it is cer- tain, that if God had never revealed him- felf 272 Of the Poffibility: felf to the fir ft Pair, they would by De- grees have found out a Language for them- felves s fo there is as little room to doubt, but that he, by his Power, might fupply to them that Knowledge in an Inftant, which their Pofterity were to come at gra- dually, by Ufe and Experience j and that the Symbols of the divine Prefence might have been attended with fuch peculiar Cir- cumftances of Majefty and Terror, as would convince them, that he who appeared and fpake to them, could be nothing lefs than the Author of their Being, But to return to Mofes's Story. There were two things which God had to do. The firft was to convince Mofes himfelf, that it was He \n\\o fpake to him ; and this was tlie Ufe of the Miracles of the burnwfr o BuJ!}^ and the Voice that iffued from thence ; the other was to furniih proper Evidence, to convince the People that God had fent him ; and this was not yet pro- vided for. For had Mofes gone immedi- ately to the People, and only reported what he had i^^n and heard at the Bufh, it is likely they would not have believed him. of Revelation in general. 273 Mqfes himfelf felt this Difficulty, and therefore faid to God, Behold they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my Voice % for they will fay ^ The Lord hath not appeared Unto thee. Chap. iv. ver. i . And what fol- lows immediately, {hews him to have been in the right ; for the Lord faid unto him, What is that in thine Hand ? And he faid, a Rod. And he faid, Cajiit on the Ground ; and he caf it on the Ground, afid it became a Serpent j and Mofes fed from before it. And the Lord faid unto Mofes, Put forth thine Hand, and take it by the Tail, And he put Jhrth his Hand ajid caught it, and it became a Rod in his Hand. That they may BELIEVE (fays the Text) that the Lord God of their Fathers — hath appeared u?ito thee, ver. 2—^5. The Meaning is, that what he had now done in the Pre fence of God, that he (liould alfo perform in the Sight of his Brethren, who would by this, and fuch like Proofs, be convinced that God had fent him. So it follows, ver. 17. And thou fait take this Rod in thine Hand, wherewith thou fait do Signs, And at ver. 30, we read, that Aaron fpake all the Words which God hadfpoken to Mofes, and S did 274 Of the Poffibility did the Signs in the Sight of the People ^ and the People believed — and bowed the Head andworfiipped. Aaron did the Signs, but it was at the Command of Mofes^ whofe Rod he bore, and to whom God had made him his Spokcfman to the People^ as we fee, ver. 14, 15. The Truth of thefe Fa6ts (as I have be* fore faid) fuppofed ; let us now fee how the Evidence arifes, to prove to the People that Mofes came to them by the Authority of God. And the firfl and principal thing to be attended to is, that the turning the Rod into a Serpent was not, properly fpeak- ing, the Ad; of Mofes, but the Adt of that fuperior Being, in whofe Name Mofes was fent, which fuperior Being is now fuppofed to be God. This is evident to common Senie. For Mofes did no more than cafl his Rod upon the Ground ; and there is certainly no natural Connection between cafting a Stick upon the Ground, and its becoming a Serpent. So when Mofes put his Hand into his Bofom and it came out le- prous ; this Effedt was not the Ad of Mofes, but the Ad of God j there being nothing at of Revelation in general, 275 at all In the Gircumftance of a Man's put- ting his Hand into his Bofom, and taking it out again, as to its being leprous or jiot leprous. In both Cafes, what Mofes did was introdudllve of the Miracle ; in nei- ther of them the proper efficient Caufe, And this is univerfally true of all Mira- cles, which, though in form of Language or Expreffion they are often given to Men as the Authors or Workers, becaufe Men do fome Adl or other in confequence of which the Miracle follows, yet are indeed, and muft be underftood to be, the Work of fome fuperior Power. And therefore, though God here fays io Mofes, Thou f halt take this Rod in tJmie Hand, wherewith THOU SHALT DO Signs; and though it is likewife faid of Aaron, that He did the Sig?is in the Sight oj the People ; yet, in other Places, the Language runs with more flrid Propriety, and God takes the Work to Himself ; as particularly Chap. iii. ver. 20. 7 will fir etch out my Ha?id, and fmite Egypt with all my Wonders, which I WILL DO /« the mid/i thereof. Many Paf- iages there are to the fame Purpofe, which every one will obferve for himfelf in read- S 2 ing 276 Of tht PoJfTbility ing this Hiftory, and which it would there* fore be fuperfluous to fet down. This then being the Cafe, the Refolu- tion will ftand thus j that the Ifraelites were to believe that God had fent Mojes, becaufe when he came to them in his Name, and delivered a Meffage as from him, he, by his Hands, or in confequence of certain Ads by him performed, vi^rought Miracles in their Sight. If Mofes had not come in the Name of God, to deliver fome MelTage as from him, the Miracles would have had no Meaning. They could have proved nothing becaufe there was nothing to be proved. If he had thrown down his Rod in their Sight, and it had become a Ser- pent ', if he had put his Hand into his Bo* fom, and it had come out leprous ; if he had fmote the Waters, and they had been turned into Blood j if he had done thefe things, I fay, and all that you read of be- fides, and said nothing j they would have wondered, they would have been aftoniflied, but nothing could they have underftood. But when there was a plain, intelligible MelTage, delivered as from God, the of "Revelation in general. 277 the Miracles which followed, and which are fuppofed in the Argumeijt to have been the Work or the Ad of God, were the fame Evidence to the IJraelites that Mofes was fent from God to deliver that MelTage, as what Mofes faw and heard at the burning BuQi was to him, that God fpake to him. The fingle Difference between the two Cafes is, that the Voice by which Mofes re- ceived the Meffage, was miraculous 5 that by which the IJraelifes received it, was human. But this makes no Difference at all in the Evidence j it being to all Intents and Purpofes the fame thing, whether I fpeak my Mind myfelf, or by any figni- ficant Ad: or Token fhew my Affent to what another Perfon fays fpr me. If you fhould think fit to afk, Where was the Signifca?icy of the Miracle as a T^oken^ to (hew that God was confenting to the Meffage which Mofes delivered ; I an- fwer, It lay in the Connexion of the Miracle with the Meffage j of which no reafonable Account can be given, without fuppoling that it was intended to give Teftimony to what Mofes faid. The Confirudioa is S3 jafl 278 Of the Pcffibility juft the fame, as when a Man fets his Hand and Seal to a Writing drawn up by a Scribe ; which nobody does, who does not mean to be underftood as fignifying thereby, that what the Writing contains is his Adt and Deed. To what end could it ferve, that God (hould turn a Rod into a Serpent ? Was it merely to rajfe Wonder in thofe who fav/ it ? If even this could be fuppof- ed } yet why by the Intervention of Mofes? Why jujl at that ^ime^ when he was pre- tending a Commiffion from him ? A Man may write his Name to {hew his Skill in Writing j or ftamp his Seal upon Wax to fiiew the Art of the Engraver : But he would not chufe to make fuch Experiments upon a Deed of Conveyance, when a piece of blank Paper would ferve as well. Whatever kind or Species of Miracles you fuppofe, the Reafoning will be the fame. Miracles are as various as are the Effed:s of natural Operations j and inftead of turning a Rod into a Serpent, Mofes, might, if God had fo pleafed, have raifed a dead Man to Life, or reflored a fick Man to immediate Health and Soundnefs, by the Word of Command ; Or he might have performed <^ fome of Revelation in general, 279 Tome Wonder of the hurtful kind, as he afterwards did many, when Pharaoh flight- ed his Meflage, and refufed to let the Peo- ple go. In Cafes of this fort it may be fuggefled (and it often has been fuggefted) that all that the Miracle (liews is, that God intends fome Hurt, or fome Benefit, to the Perfons concerned j but that nothing certain can be concluded as to God's Will in refpedt of any Dodrine which the Perfons commiffioned to work fuch Miracles (hall fliall deliver as from God. I make no queftion but God may work Miracles merely for the Benefit or for the Punifh- ment of thofe who are the Subjed: of them ; and, for ought we can tell, he doth it every Day. But if this is all, the Queftion will yet remain unanfwered — Why by fuch or fuch Hands ? Why by MofeSy or Chriji^ or Paul^ when there are a Variety of other Tnftruments before him ? This Circumftance, I fay ; this ConneSlion of the Miracle with the Men and their Pretenfiom^ is not accounted for, nor can it be accounted for otherwife, than by fup^ poling that the Miracle is intended to give Credit to fuch Pretenficns, and to S 4 make 28o Of the FoJJibility make the Aft or Declaration of Man equi- valent to the Adt or Declaration of God himfelf. By the Help of the foregoing Obfcrva- ftions, we naay be able to give a fliort and fatisfadtoryAnfwer to a conimon Objedion, againft' the Evidence of Miracles to fhew the Will of God, which is, That " a Man ** empowered to work Miracles, being na- " turally a free Agent, is at liberty to ufe '■' fuch Power well or ill, by annexing it *' either to Truth or to Falfhood, as he (hall *« think fit." I do not think that any Argu- ment will lie from what a Man may do in refpedt of his natural Powers, to what he may do in refpeft of fupernatural Powers, if there are (properly fpeaking) any fuch Powers in Man. For the natural Powers of Man were given to anfwer the Ends of Providence in refpedl of Man's natural State ; and thefe Ends not only will admit but do require, that he (liould be left to his natural Liberty to ufe fuch Powers well or ill, as he fliall think fit. Bat the fuperna- tural Power in quefiion is underftood t;o be given to anfwer a fupernatural End, that is, of Revelation hi general. 28 j is, to declare the Mind or Will of God in Points which fall not within the Compafs of natural Knowledge. And with this End it is manifeftly inconliftent to fup- pofe, that a Man endued with fuch Power Ihould be left at Liberty to ufe it well or ill, to eftablifh Truth or Falfhood as he thinks fit. The natural and neceffary Prefumption in this Cafe is, either that God will not grant the Power of working Miracles to a Man who, he knew (and know he mufl) would abufe that Power ; or elfe that he would immediately withdraw it, to his Shame and Confufion, whenever he fliould prefume to declare any thing in his Name, which he had not given him in CommifTioii to declare j in like manner as a fovereign Prince would certainly recall an Embaflador who fhould exceed the Limits of the Powers granted him. But the ihovt Anfwer is this. The Power of working Miracles is not a Power inherent in Man as his natural Powers are. Man does fome natural Ad: upon which the Miracle is attendant (as Mojci did when he threw his Rod upon the Ground) but the Miracle (as has been (hewn) is the Work of a fuperior Being, which 282 Of the PoJJibility which faperior Being is now fuppofed to be God. The Queftion therefore is, not how Man may ufe his Power, but how God will ufe his ; and to fay that God will ufe his Power to give Credit to a Lye, is great Madnefs and Impiety. The Conclufion then is this, that when a Perfon, pretending a Commiffion from God, (hall declare any thing in his Name, or as from him, and Miracles are wrought in fupport of fuch Pretenfions j fuch Mira- cles (fuppofing them to be the Work of God) are Evidence of his Will as declared by fuch Perfon ; and God does as truly re- veal himfelf to and by fuch Perfon, as one Man reveals himfelf to another when he fpeaks, or writes, or does any other Adt whereby his Will, Intention, or Determi- nation is known or underftood. How the Cafe will ftand, when intermediate Beings are called into the Queftion, v/ill be confi- dered hereafter. At prefent I am only giv- ing a general Idea how it may be poffible for God to make known his Will to Man- kind in Points, which fall not within the reach of natural Knowledge 3 in order to prepare oj Revelation In general. 285 prepare the Way to the Evidence for Chrift's Miffion, to which I now haflen. As we took the Pretenfions of ^^ Evi- Chriji from his own Dod:rines, cbrUVsMlf- as they are recorded in the New fwn in gene" Teftament by thofe who were ^^^' his firft Difciples and Followers ; it will be as reafonable to take the Evidence of his Miffion alfo from himfelf j a general Ac- count of which we have, Matt. xi. 2 — 5. where we read, that when 'John had heard in Prifon the Works ofChrift, he fent two of his Difciples^ and f aid unto him. Art thou he that Jhould come, or do we look for another ? To which fefus anfwers ; Go andjhew John again thofe things which ye do hear ajtd fee : The Blind receive their Sight, and the Lame walk j the Lepers are cleanfed, and the Deaf hear ; the Dead are raifed up, and the Poor have the Gofpel preached wtto them. Our firft Remark mufl: be upon the Baptift's Queftion, Art thou he that SHOULD COME? Which implies, that SOMEBODY WAS to come. For the under- ftandin<^ 284 ^^^ Evidence ftanding of which we muft obierve, that the yews had in their Hands the ^ooks of the Old Teftament, which they had received from their Fathers as the Oracles of God : And from thefe Books they had been taught to exped:, that fome great Prophet was to come, whom they called the Messiah or Christ. This Opinion was fo common at the Time of our Saviour's Appearance, that it was in every one's Mouth. A poor Woman of Samaria could fay, 1 know that THE Messias Cometh^ which is called Christ : When he is come he will tell us all things^ Johniv. 25. hT\^Luke iii. 15. we find all Men miijing in their Hearts ofjohn^ whether hewere the Christ or no. This Character J ejus (in his Anfwer to the Wo- man) challenges to himfelf; I that /peak unto thee a m H e, John iv. 26. It is in fupport of this Charader, therefore, that he muft be underflood as appealing to the Books of the Old Teftament, when he fays to the Jews^ John v. 39. Search the Scrip- tures^ for in them ye think ye have eter- nal Life^ and they are they which teflijy 0} me ; that is, which teftify of me that I am THE Christ. We df Chrift' s MiJJion in general 285 We fee now the Meaning of the Ba- ptift's Queftion, Art thou he that fiould come ? That is, « ' Art thou the Chrift ? " Art thou that great Prophetj which tJie " Scriptures forefhew ; or, of whofe Com* »* ingthe Scriptures fpeak ?" Our Saviour gives no dired Anfwer to the Qaeftion, but refers to the Evidence of his Miffion, and leaves him to judge for himfelf ; which is the fame thing as if he had afTerted his Charadter in the moftexprefs Terms. AikI what was the Evidence ? This — the Blind receive their Sight, and the Lame walk ; the Lepers are clean) ed, and the Deaf hear j the Dead are raifed up, and the Poor have the Gofpel preached to them. To cure Dif- eafes (as Chrijl did) without the ,Ufe of natural Means ; to raife the Dead to Life^ to which no natural Means are equal ; thefe are Works of the miraculous kind : Mira^ cles therefore fland as one Part of the Evi- dence. But io preach to the Poor, hath no- thing in it that is miraculous. This muft be defcriptive j that is, it muft point at fome Part of C/jr/z^'jCharader, which the Scrip- tures give as the Charader of the Prophet that ^86 i'he Evidence that was to come j and by challenging to himfelf this one Part of the Character, he is to be underftood as challenging the whole i which, in efFed, he doth when he appeals to the Scriptures, as teftifying of him. For the Scriptures could not tejlify of him, otherwife than hyforefiewing what was accompliJJjed in him. To the Evidence oi Miracles ^ therefore, Cfjriji adds the Con^ currence of Prophecy : And necejjary to the Evidence this Concurrence is ; not becaufe it is univerf^illy true, that Evidence from Miracles cannot be good, without the Con* currence of Prophecy : For Revelation muft have a Beginning fomewhere j and wher- ever it begins^ it muft (land upon Miracles iingly. Prophecy, in the very Notion of it, is prior to the Event to be accomplifli- ed, or to every Perfon or I'hing it fore- ihews ; but no Revelation can be prior to tht fir Jl : And therefore Evidence from Mi- racles there muft hQfomeivhere, in the Na- ture of it full and complete, abftra<5ted from all Coniiderations of Prophecy. If Prophecy had faid nothing of Chri/iy nor Chriji appealed to the Prophets, he would not have wanted Prophecy to fupport his Miffion. of ChrifTsMiJion in general. 287 Miflion. Miracles might have been fuffi- cient without it. But fince the Scriptures did forefhew a Prophet that was to come, and fince Jefits claimed to be that Prophet ; it is abfolutely neceffary that this Claim (hould be made good ; otherwife his Miflion cannot be eftablifhed. And how is this Claim to be made good ? Why, by the very Method which our Saviour pre- fcribed to the Jews^ and by no other ; that is, by fearchhig the Scriptures. We have the fame Scriptures now that they had then, and what they do, or do not fay concern- ing the Prophet which was to come, is a Queftion of Fadl, of which our Senfe and Reafon qualifies us to judge, and which therefore cannot be decided by Miracles, but muft be determined by its proper na- tural Evidence. Let us therefore confult the Old Teftament, and fee what Notices we can find there of a Prophet that was to come. I (hall take this Matter up from the Beginning, and carry the Enquiry down* ward through every Age to the Conclufion of Prophecy. The '2qS Of the E vidence from Prophecy. OftheEvt- The Hiflory of the Bible, ProphecT ^^°"^ ^^^ Creation to the Flood, is exceeding fhort, and affords but one Prophecy to our Purpofe, but that a very material one, and the Foundation of all the reft. It is contained in the Sentence which God paffed upon the Serpent, im- mediately after the Fall ; And I will put Rnfnity between thee and the Woman, and between thy Seed and her Seed, it shall BRUISE THY HeaD, AND THOU SHALT BRUISE HIS Heel, Gen. iii. 15. When we come to the Times of Abraham we read, that God faid unto him. Get thee out of thy Country, a?id from thy Kindred, and from thy Father's Hou/e, unto a Land that Iwill fiew thee^ and I will make of thee a great Nation, &c. and in thee shall ALL Families of the Earth be BLESSED, Chap. xii. i — 3. The fame Promife we tind made to Ijaac, Gen. xxvi; 4. And in thy Seed J}:)all all theNatiofjs of the Earth be bleffed. By which we perceive, that the Promife made to Abra- ham did not belong to him perjonally, but to his Seed 3 as it is here given not to I/aac perfonally. Of the Evidence from Prophecy, 289 perfonally, but to his Seed, I lay thefe two Prophecies together, becaufe they throw Light the one upon the other. For if you underilood the Promile, that the Seed of the Woman (hould brnfe the Ser^ penfs Head, to mean, that by her Seed Mankind fhould gain a Vi5io?'y over the Serpent, in the Reftoration of that Happi- nefs to which they were created, and which was now loft by Tranfgreffion j you will have Reafon to underftand what was after- wards faid to Abraham, that in him all the . Families of the Earth (or, as it is exprelTed Chap, xviii. 18. all the Nations of the Earth) Jldoiild be blejfed, as conveying the fame Promife. And, on the other hand, if you thus underftand the Promife made to Abraham, it will be a Key to open to you the true Interpretation of the original Promife, made to the Woman's Seed in the Sentence denounced upon the Serpent : And hard, and, in truth, impofiible it is to find any found Senfe for either of the Pro- mifes than this. To interpret the Expref- fion of bniifmg the Serpent's Head merely in a literal Senfe, and as it may be appli- cable to the brute Animal only, gives (as T the 290 Of the Evidence Jrom Prophecy, the learned ^ Author of the life of Prophecy has ol^ferved) a Senfe of no kind of Import- ance, and utterly difagreeable to the So- lemnity of the Tianfadion then on foot* And how are we to underftand this, that j^braham was to be a BleJJing to all the Na- tions of the Earth ? When God made him this Promife, he told him (as we have feen) that he would make of him a great Na- tion ; and upon his fecond Appearance (of which we have an Account at the 7^^ Verfe of the fame Chapter) he promifes to give the Land of Canaan to his Seed, But this did not make him a Blefling to all Nations ; for what was the reft of the World the bet- ter for Abraham's temporal Greatnefs, or by his Pofterity's inheriting the Land of Canaan f The Seed of Abraham, when they came to take Poireffion of Canaan, were a Scourge and a Terror to many Na- tions : To whom they were a Blefjing, I cannot tell ; but for certain they were not a Bleffing to all the World ; and yet all the World had an Intereft in this Promife. But if you will call in the Help of an eafy, Sig- nificant Metaphor, and fuppofe the bruifmg of the Serpent's Head by the Woman's Seed "Dr. Sherkck. to Of the "Evidence from Prophecy. 291 to denote (as I have faid) the ViEiory which the Woman's Seed fhould obtain over the Serpent j this v^^ill contain a Senfe fuitable to the Importance of the Subjed", and pro- per to fupport the Hopes of our firft Parents in their loft Condition. And if you fuppofe ' the fame Promife conveyed to Abraham and his Seed j we (hall eafily fee how he was a Bleffing to all the Nations of the World : For as the Vidtory obtained by the Serpent over our firft Parents was a Ciirfe upon all their Pofterity ; fo the Recovery of this Lofs, by the Woman's Seed being vidtorious over him, muft: be a Blejfmg to all their Pofterity ^ ' It may be very fit to be obferved here, that the Reality of this Prophecy hath no Dependance upon the literal Interpretation of the Hiftory of the Fall. You may think as you pleafe of the precife Nature of Adarris Sin, and of the Serpent^ and his Difcourfe with Eve ; but the Sentence of God which followed the Tranf- greflion, muft be underftood as fhewing the realEffeSit of it. To Adain God fays Curfed is the Ground^ &c. To Eve In Sorrow Jhalt thou bring forth Children, &c. Thefe are real Punijhmcnti which are feen and felt j and the Hiftory afTigns the Caufe of them. Now, for the fame reafon that the Sentence againft the Man and Woman muft be und 'rftood as declaring a real Curfe ; the Sentence againft the Ser^ penty in which it is faid that the (Voman's Seed fhould T 2 This 292 Of the Evidence from Prophecy, This Promife made to Abraham^ and then to Ifaac, we afterwards find fettled in Jacob, to whom God likewife fays, In thee and in thy Seed Jhall all the Families of the Earth be blejfed. Gen. xxviii. 14. This opens to us the Meaning of what his Father Ifaac faid to him, when he gave him his lafl Bleffing ; Let the People ferve theCy and Nations bow down to thee ; be Lord over thy Brethren, and let thy Mother s Sons bow down to thee. Ciirfed be every one that curfeth thee, and blejfed be he that blejjeth thee, Gen.xxvii. 29. The Scripture places this in a prophetic Light, and as a Prophe- cy we are to underftand it. For Ifaac^ when he gave the Bleffing, fuppofed that he had given it to Efau, and not to facob ; and if he had meant only to exprefs his own Hopes or Wifhes, when he found out his Miftake, it is natural to think, he would have recalled it. But he felt (we are to fup- pofe) the Power of God upon his Mind, and being fenfible that God could not be deceiv- ed, and that his Purpofe muft fland, inftead bruife his Head, muft be underftood as declaring a real Bleffing. The Queftion only is, what this real Bhjfmg is ; and if you take the Interpretation above ; the Language (as I have faid) will be metaphorical^ but there will be no Allegory, of Of the Evidence from Prophecy. 293 of recalling the Bleffing, he moft folemnly confirms it, Ihave blejjedhim, yea and HE SHALL BE BLESSED, VCr. 33. It IS vifible that the Words, — cur fed be every one that curfeth thee, mid blejfed be he that blef- feth thee, are the very Words which God fpake to Abraham, when he made the ori- ginal Promife, Gen. xii. 3. A very ftrong Prefumption that Jacob was now put in Abraham's Place. And though Ifaac does not fay (what I find no where faid but by God himfelf) in thee Jhall all the Nations of the Earth be blefjed ; he fays what mani- feftly implies it : Let People ferve thee, and let Nations bow down to thee ; be Lord over thy Brethren, and let thy Mother s Sons bow down to thee. It will be fhewn when we come lower down, that the Meffah is cha- rad:erized as one who was to rule over all Nations -, and the Promife of being a Blef fug to all Nations is fo confiderable a thing, that wherever it palTes it naturally gives the Pre-eminence ; and where we find the Pre- eminence, there we are to look for the Pro- mife. Noah gave it to ^hein by giving him the Pre-eminence. Bleffed be the Lord God of Shem, and Canaan fl:all be his Servant^ Gen.ix, 26. Here God is ftyled empha- T 3 ^tically. 294 Of the Evidence from Prophecy. tically, or by way of Eminence, the God of Shem j and fo he is afterwards ftyled, the God of Abraham, the God of Ifaac, and the God of Jacob. But why the God of Shem, and not the God of Japhet f Or why the God of Ijaac, and not the God of IJh- mael F Or why the God of Jacob, and not the God of Efau f Why this Diftindion, I iay, but becaule the Promife of that Seed which was to be a BlefTing to all Na- tions, was limited to them, excluUve of the others ? For in any other refped: there was no Difference. This then ferves to explain the Bleffing afterwards given by Jacob himfelf to his Son Judah, in which the Promife is conveyed in like Terms. Judahy thou art be 'whom thy Brethren JJ^ail praije 3 thy Handjhall be in the Neck of thine Ene- mies J thy Father's Children jhall bow down hejore thee. Gen. xlix. 8. God did not ap- pear to Jiidah as he had done before to Jfaac, and confirm to him the Promife, that in him all tlie Nations of the Earth Hiould be blefTcd ; for this Method of Commnni- cation with the feveral Heads of Families, which was carried on during the Time of their (ojourning in the Land of Canaan, ceafed when they went dcwQ into Egypt, and 0/ the Evidence from Prophecy. 295 and God fpake to them no otherwife than by his Prophets. In this Quality we con- fider Jacoby and Jofephj the latter of which prophefied (as the former alfo had done) of the Return of the Ifraelites back to CajiaaUy but fays nothing of the Promife of the Bleffing to all Nations. Here there- fore we mufl: leave that Promife to reft up- on the Head of Judah^ till we come down to the Time of Mofes ; for from hence, dur- ing their whole Stay in Egypt ^ Revelation was fufpended. Whether that Seed by which the Bleffing was to come, was one or more, the foregoing Prophecies do not fay. But we fhall find Reafon enough hereafter to fix it in one Person, and I think that yacob has fo fixed it in the Letter Part of his Prophecy, the Sceptre J}:al I not depart jfom yudah, nor a Lawgiver from between his Feet, until Shiloh CD?7ie, and unto him fiall the Gathering of the People be. Gen. xlix. 10. In interpreting the foregoing Prophe- cies I have followed the Senfe of the learn- ed Writer before-mentioned, to whom I muft refer thofe who defire farther Satisfac- tion. But if this is right, it is clear that Prophecy thus far bears Teftimony to Jefm T4 Chrijl, 296 Of the Evidence Jrom Prophecy, Chrijl^ who has taken upon himfelf the very Character that Prophecy gives to the Seed that was to come, viz, the bruifing the Serpent's Head^ the triumphing over Death by raifing us from the Dead, and rejloring to the whole human Race the Bleffing ojf eternal Life, that was forfeited by Tranf- greffion. — To go on therefore with our Enquiry. The next Prophet that appeared after the Death of Jofeph was Moses. Bat he was not that Seed in whom all the Nations of the Earth were to be bleffed, but the Minifter of that Part of the Cove- nant in which God had promifed to give the Land of Canaan to Abraham's Pofte- rity, as appears from the Account himfelf gives of his own Miflion, in the third Chap- ter of the Book of Exodus. I have Jiirely feen the AffliEiion of my People that are in Egypt — and am come down to deliver them •^^and to bring them up out of that Land-^ unto the Place of the Canaanites and the Hit tit es J Sec. — Come now therefore, and I will fe?id thee unto Pharaoh, ver. 7 10. This was the End of Mofess Miffion, and to this End his Law had relation. But as Chrifi hath told us, that he came not to DESTROY the Laiv, or the Prophets, but ts FULFIL Of the Evidence from Prophecy. 297 FULFIL them (Matt. v. 17.) it isneceffary, in order to juftify his Appeal to the Old Teftament, to (hew that his Eftablifnment correfponds with what the Law and the Prophets have fet forth. And this will car- ry us to confider a little more diftindtly what was the Nature and Conftitution of Mofess Law, and what the Prophets have fpoken concerning it ; which I {hall do before I proceed any farther in the general View of Prophecy. When the Ifraelites went down into Egypt, they were the Worftiippers of the one true God, the Lord Jehovah, and of him only. This Worfhip was not loft during their Stay in Egypt, but much cor- rupted by the idolatrous Worfliip of the Egyptia?ts. y*?/^//^ exprefly charges it up- on them, that their Fathers ferved [other] Gods in Egypt, fofld. xxiv. 14. Ezekiel gives the fame Account, Chap. xx. 8. and xxiii. 3. 8. And Mofes fuppofes it when he fays, Theyfiall no more offer their Sacri- fices unto Devils, after whom they have gone a whoring, Levit. xvii. 7. This then having been the Cafe, that they were even now corrupted by Idolatry, and in danger of being more fo by mixing with the idola- trous 298 Of the Evidence Jrom Prophecy, trous Nations, whom they were going to difpofiefs J fome ftrong Remedy was necef- fary to purge them from this Corruption, and to preferve them from future Mifchief. To this Purpofe the Law was given, to make them God's own Peculiar^ a Nation feparated, by Rites and Ordinances of his own Appointment, from every Nation un- der Heaven. This appears from thofe Words of Mofes^ which ftand at the Foot of the whole Catalogue of the ceremonial and political Laws of the Jews, Deut. xxvi. 16 — 19. where he fays, ^be Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do thefe Statutes a?2d "JudgfJients — 'Thou haft avouch^ ed the Lord this Day to be thy God — a?td the Lord hath avouched thee this Day to be HIS PECULIAR People — that thou may- eft be an holy People u?ito the Lord thy God. Accordingly the Law forbids all Communion with the idolatrous Nations, whom they were commanded to deflroy, but they were to make 7io C(roenant with tiicm, neither make Marriages with than j th'j Daughter thou JJ^alt not give unto bis Sony nor his Daughter Jhalt thou take unto thy Son j for they will turn away thy Son from following tne^ that they may ferve other God$ Of the Evidence from Vrofhecy. 299 Qods — But thusfiallye deal with them. Te fiall dejlroy their Altars and break down their Images^ Sec.-— for thou art an holy People unto the Lord thy God-, the Lord thy God hath chofen thee to be a special Veovly. unto himfelf above all People that are upon the Face of the Earth. Deut. vii. The Law of Mofes then having been ap- pointed as an Inftrument, whereby to fepa^ rate the Ifraelites from all other Nations ; one thing is very plain, which is, that it could never have been intended as the Law by which all Mankind muft be faved. It is farther manifeft, that this Law being re- lative to the intended Separation of the If- raelites from other Nations, and appointed for its fake, it muft be underftood as expir- ing of courfe, when that Separation was to have an End. And that this Separation was not always to laft. Prophecy is clear and exprefs. For Malachi fays, From the Rifng of the Sun even unto the Going down of the fame, my Name Jhall be great among the Gentiles, and in every Place In- cenfe fl^all be offered unto my Natne^ and a pure Offering ; for my Name jhall be great among the Heathen, faith the Lord of 3 00 Of the 'Evidence from Prophecy, Hofis, Mai. i. 1 1. The Jews were God's Peculiar y as they were feparated from all other Nations to the Profeffion of his true Religion and Worfhip. Wherefore, when all Nations were to be called to the Profef- fion of God's true Religion, Separation and Peculiarity could no longer ftand j and fuch a State of things this Prophecy forefhews. For whereas by the Jewijh Law their Of- ferings and Sacrifices were appointed to be brought to OTie Place, viz. the Tabernacle, or the Temple 5 it is here faid, that in every Place Incenfe fliould be offered unto God's Name j meaning, not the material Incenfe, but the Incenfe of the Heart, which is here called a pure Offering, Accordingly we may obferve, that Prophecy fpeaks of an- other Covenant that was to come, different from that which was made at Mount 6*/- nai. Behold the Days come, faith the Lord, that I will make <3 new Covenant with the Houfe oflfrael, and with the Houfe of Ju- dah, NOT ACCORDING TO the Covenant' which I made 'With their Fathers, when I took them by the Hand to bring them out of the Land of Egypt— But this fiall be the Covenant that I will make with the Houfe oflfrael — / will put my Law in their in- ward Of the Evidence from Prophecy. 301 ward ParfSy and write it in their Hearts^ and I will be their God, and they JJoall be my People-— for I will forgive their Iniquity, and I will remember their Sin no more^ Jer. xxxi. 31 — 35. The Difference between this new Covenant and that which was given by Mojes, can hardly be miftaken. It was not a Law of external Rites, as Mofes*s Law was j but a Law of inward Purity and Holinefs. It was not a Covenant for car- nal Purification, or Remiffion as to le- gal Purpofes or Effeds^ but it was a Co- venant of full and perfedt Reconciliation, which Mofes*s Law was not. Add to this, that Prophecy exprefly foreftiews the Cef- fation of the Mofaic Law. The Ark of the Covenant was the Center of the fewifi Worfliip J yet Jeremy foretells the Abfence and utter Abolition of it. In thofe Days they fiall fay no more, The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, neither JJoall it come to mind, neither fmll they remember it, neither Jhall they vifit it, neither jhall that be done any more, Jer. iii. 1 6. Daniel foretells the Cefja- tion of the Sacrifice and the Oblation, Chap. ix. ver. 27. and David the Change of the Levitical Priefthood j for he fpeaks of a Frieft that was 10 arifc, not according to ihe 302 Of the "Evidence from Prophecy, the Order of Aaron^ but after the Order of Melchifedeck, Pfal. ex. 4. This Point will be farther cleared when we come to open the Charader of the Mef- fah2.% defcribed by the Prophets. In the mean time, the Correfpondence of all this with Chrift's Pretenlions is moll: plain and vifible ; who offered himfelf as theMinifter of the Law of Righteoufnefs, and the Co- venant of Reconciliation ; and declared the whole Law oiMofes 2&concluded\n himfelf. *The Hour cometh (fays he to the Woman of Samaria) when ye fhalhieither in this Moun- tain, nor yet at ferufalem, wor/hip the Father j that is, when the true Worfliip of God fhall not be confined to this or that particular Place or Country, but extended to all Places alike, as the following Verfe fhews. ^he Hour cometh and now is, when the true Worjlnppersfoallworjhip the Father in Spirit and in 'truth ; for the Father feek- eth fuch to worjhip him, John iv. 21. 23. If all are true JVorfiippers of God who wor- jhip him in Spirit and in truth, it will fol- low, that the true Worfhip can have no- thing farther to do with the Law or its Ap- pointments ; Of the Evidence from Prophecy, 303 polntments ; but all fuch true Worflilppers mufi: be accepted, of whatever Place or Country they be. And this is what St. Peter exprefly afferts, Adls x. 34. God is no Pefpe6ler of Per fins, but in every Na- tion he that fear eth him andworkethRigh- teoufnefs, is accepted. How exactly does this agree with what I have juft now cited from the Prophet Malachiy In every Place Incenfe fh all be offered unto my Name, and a pure Offering ! How perfcvflly does the Covenant eftablifhed by Chriji corre- Ipond with feremiah's new Covenant ; I will put my Law in their ijiward Parts^ and write it in their Hearts ! Thus hath ChriJI (fuppofing him authorized of God to be the Publifher of this new Covenant) fidfilled the Law. But it cannot be faid that he dejlroyedit; anymore than it can be faid of any Perfon, that he deftroys a Garment that is worn out and unfit for \J{c', or that he deflroys a Houje when it falls down by its own Weight. And now we will go on with the Hiftory of Prophecy, to fee how it correfponds with the Suppofition, that he was the Perfon ap- pointed 3 3 04 Of the "Evidence from Prophecy. pointed by God to introduce this new Co- venant. That a great Prophet was to arife* after Mofes^ he himfelf bears witnefs. For thus God fpeaks to him, Deut. xviii. 1 8, 19. / will raife them up a Prophet Jrom among their Brethren like unto thee^ afidwill put my Words in his Mouthy and whofoever *will not hearken unto my Words which hefiall /peak in my Name^ 1 will require it of him. This Prophet, we fee, was to be one of their Brethren : Therefore of the Seed of facob^ in whom the Blejjing of Abraham relied, as has been fhewn above ; and from whofe Family, Balaam about the fame time prophefied, that a Star and a Scepter iLould arife 3 or (as it is expreffed a Vcrfe or two after) one that fliould have Domi- nion. From this time we hear no more of the Promife, till after the Settlement of the Ifraelites in the Land of Canaan^ and the kingly Government was fet up, when we find an everlafling Kingdom eftablifhed in the Family of David: For thus God fpeaks to him by the Prophet Nathan ; When thy Days be fulfilled , and thou fhalt fleep with thy Fathers, I will fet up thy Seed after thee which fiall proceed out of thy Bowels, Of the Evidence from Prophecy. 305 Bowels y andlwilleftablijh his Kingdom — for EVER. 2 Sam.vll. 12, 13. It will be re- membered, that among the Sons of facob^ Judah (from whom David fprang) had the Pre-eminence ; this therefore was confirm- ing the Promife to fudah. And that Da^ vid underftood it in this Senfe, is clear from what we meet with i Chron. xxviii. 4, 5. where, referring to this Promife made to him by Nathan, he fays ; The Lord God of Jfrael chofe me bejore all the Houje of my Father, to be King over Jfrael for ever : For he hath chofen fudah to be the Ru- ler ; and of the HouJe of fudah the Houje oj my Father j and among the Sons . of my Father he liked Me to make me King over all IJrael j and of all my Sons he hath chofen Solomon my Son to ft upon the Throne of the Kingdom of the Lord over Ifrael. This Paffagei.has a manifest Reference to the Promife made to Judah, Gen. xlix ji^ 8. fudah, thou art^ he whom thy Brethren jhall praife j tby Hand jhall be in the Neck of thine Enemies ; thy Father s Children jhall bow down before thee ; and it is plain that Da- vid here confiders this Preference given to Judah, as the Reafon why God chofe him U and 3o6 Of the Evidence from Frdphecj, and his Son Solomon to be Ruler over If- rael j which was challenging to be yudah'i Heir in refpe(5l of this Promife. But this Promife (as has been fliewn above) compre- hends the Promife of that Seed which was to be a BkJJing to all Nations ; which is indeed the principal Part of it ; for as to the Inheritance of the Land of Canaan^ all the Sons of Jacob had a Share in it, al- though the reft were to fubmit, and did now fubmit, to Judah^ as Subjects to their temporal King. It is neceffary therefore to underftand that the Kingdom of the Re^ deemer was now fettled in the Family of David ; and this will beft agree with the Style and Title of an everlafling Kingdom, which is here and in other Places given to it. The temporal Kingdom of David was but of {hort Continuance when com>^ pared with many other Kingdoms in point of Duration, and has long ago had its Pe- riod. But his Jpiritual Kingdom, or the Kingdom of the Redeemer, knows no Pe- riod : For it {hall continue to the End and- Confummation of all things. But Of the 'Evidence from Frophec^. 307 But of what Nature the Kingdom efta- blifhed in David was, we (liall beft learn by laying together fome other Paffages of Scripture which relate to the fame Subjedt. If we look into the Context we (hall find, that David's Intention to build an Houfe for the Habitation of the God of Jacob oc- cafioned this Promife by Nathan. But this Work, by the exprels Appointment of God, was referved for Solomon^ who, when he brought up the Ark into the Temple which he had built, thus addreffes himfelf to God ; Arifcy O Lord, into thy Rff, thou and the Ark of thy Strength — For thy Servant Davids Sake turn not away thi ' Face of thine Anointed. The Lord bath J'worn in Truth unto David, he will not turnjrom it ; Of the Fnat of thy Body will I jet upon thy Throne. — For the Lord hath cbofcn Zi- on^ he hath defired it for his Habitation, This is my Reft for ever, here will J dwell^ '■ for I have defired it. — There will I make the Horn of David /o bud, / have ordained ahKi,!"^ for mi?te anointed. P/al.xxxn. 8, & feq. There is no Paflage in David's Life, but the Promife made to him by A^^- U 2 than. 3o8 Of the E'vtdence Jrom Prophecy, tharij which contains any fuch Oath as is here mentioned. This therefore muft be the Paffage referred to. And what docs So- lomon expert in confequence of this Pro- mife ? Why, that a great Prince fhould arife in after times, whom he ftyles the anoint- ed, /. e. the Messiah, and a Bud from the Horn of David. I fay, in after times was this great Perfon to come ; for the Language runs in the future Tenfe, I'here WILL I make the Horn of David to bud. To ftrengthen this Interpretation let it be obferved, that the fame Perfon is fpoken of both by Ifaiah and Jeremiah^ under the Title of the Branch, which we know is only a Bud expanded to its full natural Growth. Ifaiah prophecied above a hun- dred Years after the Death of Solomon ; and he, fpeaking yet of times to come, fays, T^here fdall come forth a Rod out' of the Stem ofjeffe, and a Br Aiicu fhall grow out of his Root Sj and the SPIRIT of the Lord fhall rejl upon him — with Right eoufnefs fhall he judge the Poor, and reprove with Equity for the Meek of the Earth ^ a?2d he fhall fmite the Earth with the Rod of his Mouthy and with the Breath of his Lips fhall he flay the Of the Evidence from Prophecy. 309 . the Wicked. Ifaiahxi. i — 5. And a little- lower in the fame Chapter, In that Day . there poall be a Root of Jefe^ which Jhall Jf and for an Enjign of the People ; to itjhall the Gentiles feek, and his Refl fiall be glo- . rious. Again, Chap. ix. ver. 6, 7. Vnto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given ; and the Government fi all be upon his Shoul- der ; and his Name JJjall be called. Wonder- ful, Counfellor, T^he mighty God, The ever- lafting Father [or the Father of the Age] T^ he Prince of Peace. Of the Increafe of his Goverjiment and Peace there fiall be no Endy . upon the Throne of David, and upon his King- dom, to order it and to efiablifi it with judgment and with fuflice from henceforth even for ever. Once more. Chap. Iv. ver. 3,4, 5. / will make an everlasting Covenant with you, even the sure Mercies of David. Behold I have given him [i. e, the Heir of this Promife] for a Witticfs to the People ; a Leader and Commander to the People. Behold, thou Jhalt call a Nation that thou knowefl not, and Nations that knew not thee, ftjall run unto thee, becaufe of the Lord thy God, and for the holy One of Ifrael. Now hear what feraniah fays, U 3 who 3 lo Of the Evidence from Prophecy, who prophefied yet later than Ifaiah. Be- hold the Days come^ faith the Lordy that I willraife unto David a right eom Branch, and a King foall reign and profper^ .and foall execute 'Judgment and jufice in the Earth ; and this is his Name whereby he Ihall be calledy THE Lord our Righteousness. Jcr. xxiii. 5, 6. There is no one who reads thefe PafTages, who will not perceive, that they all relate to one and the fame Perfon, to wit, the Branch that was to fpring from David^ and to be the Heir of the everlafting King- dom : And from the feveral Particulars here mentioned we may be able to fix hi^ Charader. For i . He was to be a Prophet as well as King. The Spirit of th Lord fiall reft upon him. And in this the Cha- rader agrees with v/hat God faid to MofeSy J will raife them up a Prophet from among their Brethren^ &;c. 2. He was to be our Righteousness, i, e. he was to work for us Peace and Reconciliation with God ; a Charader by much too great for ^ny mere temporal Prince, and which fuits that Seep only which was to bruije the Serpent's Of the Evidence from Prophecy, 311 Serpent's Head, 3. He was to be the Au- thor of a new Covenant, by which both yews and Gejitiles lliouid become the Peo- ple of God. He fhallfiandfor an Enjign of the People^ tQ if fiall the Gentiles feek — thou fhalt call a Nation that thou knoweji not^ and Natmns that knew not theCy Jhall turn unto thee. 1 will give thee (fays the fame, Ifaiah Chap. xHx. ver. 6.) for a Light to the Gentiles^ that thou may^ efi be my Salvation unto the End of the Earth, And this again agrees with the Promife made to Abrahajn, In thee fhall ^11 the Families of the Earth be blefj'ed. It was in virtue of thefe Promifes, that it became fo fixed a Point among the Jews^ in our Saviour's time, that no one called it in queftion, that the MefTiah was to be of David's Race ; and thofe who received Jefus as the Meffiah, received him as the Branch promifed to David, as appears from Zechariah's Prophecy upon the Cir^- cumcifion of John the Baptifl, Luke i. 68, 69. 78. Bleffed be the Lord God of Ifrael^ for he hath vifited and redeemed his Peo' U4 pie-. 3 1 2 Of the Evidence from "Prophecy, fie ; and hath raifed up an Horn of SaU vat ion for us in the Houfe of his Servant David, as he Jpake by the Mouth of his holy Prophets, which have been fmce the World began — to give Knowledge of Sal- vation unto his People, through the Re- mijion of their Sins ; through the tender Mercy of our God, whereby the Day-fpring from on high [or the Bran ch]^'^?/^ vifited us, to give Light to them that fit in Dark- nefs and in the Shadow of Death, to guide our Feet into the Way of Peace. This pro- phetic Speech contains the principal Cha- raders of David's Branch, as given by the old Prophets, viz. his being to us the Author of Redemption and Salvation, and his [peaking Peace, and giving Light to the Gentile World ; to (hew us how exa6tly the Spirit of Prophecy agreed with itfelf, both in the earlier and later times of the fewtJJo Church. — ^But let us return again to the ancient Prophets, and fee what can be gathered farther to flrengthen our Savi- our's Pretenfions to be the Perfon foretold by Prophecy. JDaniel Of the Evidence frofn Prophecy, 313 'Dajiiel was cotemporary with yere^ miah, and- piophefied at the time of the- Babylonifi Captivity. He fpeaks of a Messiah yet to come, who was to make Reconciliation for Iniquity, andbring in EVERLASTING RIGHTEOUSNESS ; who was to confirm the Covenant, and caufe the Sacrifice and the Oblation (/'. e. the yewijh Sacrifices, with that whole Oeco- nomy which depended upon them) to ceafe ; and thereby break down that Wall of Par- tition which ftood between Jew and Gen-' tile, to make of both one People, Dan. ix. 24. After the Return of the Jews from the Captivity, Zechariah prophefies of a King of jerufalem, who was to come, juji and having Salvation, who (hould fpeak Peace unto the Heathen ; whofe Do- minion {hould be — unto the Ends of the Earth, Zech. ix. 9, 10. After him Hag- gat foretells one to come, whom he ftyles the Desire of all Nations, Hag.iu 6. And laftly Malachi, of one whom he /tyles the Lord whom ye seek, and THjE 314 Of the Evidence from Fr&phecy. THE Messenger of the Covenant whom ye delight in, who was to purify the Sons of Levi, that they might offer unto the Lord an Offering i"^ Righteous- ness, Mai. ill. I, &a Of W;?/^, by the fame Writer, PfaL Ixix. 2 1 . His meek and patient Suf- fering under all thefe Indignities^ by Ifaiah, Chap. xlii. ver. 2, 3. and Chap. 1. 6. and Chap, liii. 7. The cafting Lots upon his Garment, by the Pfalmifl, Pfal. xxii. 18. It is to be confefled, that feveral of thefe Prophecies now referred to had, in their primary Intention, refpe(fl to fome nearer Events in vi^hich they received their Com- pletion. But they are not for that to be rejeded, as not forefhewing fejiis Chrijl, For when it is confidered, that the Pro- phets under the Law were fo far Minifiers of the new and better Covenant, as to fore- fliew its future Accomplifliment (of which the many Prophecies already produced, and which fpeak of the MefTiah and of him ONLY, is undeniable Proof) it is not at all unreafonable to be fuppofed, that the Spi- rit by which thefe Prophets were direded, (hould, in fimilar Matters, have had the more diftant as well as the nearer Events in X 3 view, 326 Of the Evidence Jrom Prophecy . view, and have made ufe of fuch Ex~ preflions as are defcriptive of both ; and there is the highefl: Probability that this was the cafe, when ever Prophecies run in fuch Terms, as are more ftridly and htcrally applicable to the more diftant Event than to the nearer, in which they are fuppofed to have had their primary Completion. Thus when Jfaiah fays, Behold a Virgin JJjall conceive and bear a Son, and jhall call his Name Immanuel ; though the firft Intention of this Prophecy wag to {hew, that a Son fhould be born to the Pro- phet of a Woman, who was a Virgin at the time when the Prophecy was given, and this to be a Sim to the Houfe of Da- vid, that God would be with them, and fpeedily deliver them from the Hands of Rezin King of Syria, and Fekah King of IJrael, who had combined together for their Deftrudion j yet when we fee the Soi> of David himfelf, the Heir of the ever- lafting Covenant, who is in the moft com- plete Senfe Immanuel, or God WITH us, born of a Woman who had not known Man (which is literally and properly to be born of a Virgin) one can fcarce help con- cluding. Of the Evideficefrom Prophecy, -^zj eluding, that this Event was not only in- tended, but the thing principally intended, by the Spirit of Prophecy. Again ; when the Pfalmift fays, All they that fee im laugh me to fcorn^ they Jljoot out the Lip, and jloake the Head^ f^y^^^i ^^^ trujied in God that he would deliver him^ let him de- liver him feeing he delighted in him — they pierced my Hands and my Feet — they gave me Gall for my Meat, and when I was thirjly they gave me Vinegar to driiik — they part my Garment among them, and caft Lots upon my Vefture j what can we think of it ? It does not appear from any part of Davids Hiftory, that He fufFercd fuch things, but Chriji, we know, did. You will fay, perhaps, that thefe are but figu- rative Expreffions, importing great Indig- nities and Calamities. Be it fo. But how ,came David to chufe fuch Figures, among the great Variety that might poffibly have occurred to his Mind, as literally exprefs what Chrift afterwards fufFered ? Did this happen by chance ? You will be the lefs difpofed to think fo when you conlider, that David is treated in Scripture as the Repre- fentative of Cbrijl, and that is faid of Da- X 4 vid 328 Of the Evidence Jrom Prophecy, iiid which could not be true of David, but was verified in Chri/i. Thus, Hof. iii. 5. In the latter Days IJrael jhall return and feek David their King. Jer. xxx. 9. T^hey .JJjall ferve the Lord and David their King, whom I will raife up unto them. Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24. I will Jet one Shepherd over them, even my Servant David — and David Jhall be a Frince over them. All thefe Prophets lived long after David \ and therefore in all thefe Places the Word jD^- fL'zV.' mud mean the Mefliah, who was yet to fpriiig from David, Now if David means Chriji, why may not the Sufferings of Da- vid mean the Sufferings of Chriji ? Or if other Prophets fpake of ChriJl in the Per- fon of David ', why might not David fpe2ik of ChriJl in his own Perfon ? This Obfer- vation will juflify the Application of many PalTages in the Book of Pfalms to ChriJl'$ Hillory, aiid in particular that famous Paf- fage in the xvi^'' Pfalm, ver. 9, jo. which the Writers of the New Teftament have treated as a Prophecy of ChriJl' s Refurrec- tion : therefore my Heart is glad, and my Glory rejoiceth ; my Flejh aljo Jloall reji m Hopy\ For thou wilt not leave my Soul in Of the Evidence from Prophecy. 329 tn Hell ; neither wilt thou fuffer thine holy One to fee Corruption. Upon which Words St. Peter thus reafons, A6is ii. 29, 30, 3 i. Men and Brethren y let me freely Jpeak unto you of the Patriarch David, that he is both dead md buried, and his Sepulchre is with us unto this Day j therefore being a Prophet, and knowing that God had fworn with an Oath to hitn, that of the Fruit of his Loins ^ according to the Flejh, he would raife up Chrifi to ft on his throne ; he feeing this before, fpake oftheRefurreBion ^/Christ, that his Soul was not left in Hell, neither his Flefj did fee Corruption. To the fame Purpofe (but more briefly) St. Paul, Ghap. xiii. ver. 36, 37. David, after hehadferved his own Generation, by the Will of God, fell onjleep, and faw Corruption ', but he whom God raifed again, faw no Corruption. And if David fo defcribed his own Sufferings^ as at the fame time to forefhew the SuiFer- ings of Chriji ; why might he not fo de- fcribe his own Hopes, as at the fame time to forefliew the Refurredion of Chrifi ? There is this Reafon (I fay) to fl:iew that he did foj that in no other way of Inter- pretation J JO Of the Evidence from Prophecy, pretation will the Senfe come up to the fuU Strength of the Expreffion. What has been faid of fecondary Pro- phecies may as well be applied to Types ^ in refpedof v/hich thtLaw itfelf was nothing lefs than a Prophecy of Chriji j and is fo reprefented by our Saviour himfelf, Matt, xi. 13. All the Prophets, and the Law prophefied until John. The ancient yews very well underftood the Manner of fpeak- jng by Types and Similitudes, as may be proved by a Variety of Examples. I will mention but one, the Inftitution of the Pajf- over, which, in the feveral Circumftances of its Appointment, was a Type of their Deliverance oiit of the Land of Egypt. Now if things pqft may be reprefented by Types; why not, as well, things to corned Or if the Prophets did forefhew many E- vents relating to the temporal Covenant by Types and Similitudes (which is a Fad: not to be difputed) why might not otherMatters or Events which pertained to the fpiritual Covenant be forefhewn in the fame manner ? The temporal Covenant was, in the Nature of it, the Introduction to a new and a better Hope^ Of the Evidence from Prophecy, 331 ^ope, which flood as its End and Comple- tion J and when we confider the feveral Appointments under the Law, and fee in many of them a manifeft Refemblance to what happened under the Gofpel Difpen- fatioft; what can we conclude, but that the one was intended to fhadow out the other ? Let any one read the Ceremonial of the Scape Goat^ which was to be performed yearly upon the great Day of Expiation, when the Prieft was to make an Atone- ment for the Sins of all the People, as it ftands Levit. xvi. 21, 22. He is there or- dered to take two Goats, and prefent them before the Lord, Upon the Head of one of them the High Prieft was to lay his Hands, and confefs over him all the Iniqui- ties of the Children of Ifrael — putting THEM UPON THE Head of the Goat. After this he was to be let loofe into the Wtldernefs, and it is faid, the Goat Jhall BEAR UPON mm. all their Iniquities unto a Land not inhabited. Let any one, I fay, read this, and compare it with what Jere- miah fays the Mefliah fhould do, viz. that hefhould bear our Griefs, our Sorrows, pur Iniquities-, and that God would lay UPON 332 Of the Evidence from Prophecy. UPON HIM the Iniquities of us all; and let him try whether he can perfuade him- ielf, that nothing was meant by this, but a mere Ceremony, The like may be faid of the Pafchal hamb^ and in (hort of all the bloody Sacrifices under the Law \ the Reafon of which it will be very difficult to explain, without fuppofing them to have been intended as Types and Shadows of that great Sacrifice^ that was to be oifered up for the Sins of the World. Apd when it is perceived in thefe and in other Ap- pointments of the Law (and the Event will always fhew it) that there was a typical Meaning in them referable to the Gofpel Difpenfation, they will be as truly Prophe- cies of Chrijiy as Prophecies exprelTed by Words and Sentences are. But as the Compafs allov/ed me is but narrow, I have not time to enter minutely into thefe things, but muft refer fuch as defire farther Satisfadion, to thofe who have written profefledly upon the Subject of Prophecy ; from whom I have taken juft io much as I judged fufficient for my pre- fent . Purpofe, which is to (hew, th^f throughout Of the Evidence from Prophecy. 333 throughout the whole Old Te (lament there are Notices given of a great Prophet to come, who fliould bring Salvation to all Nations and People; and that thefe Notices do all of them centre in our Lord Jefus Chrift. But it will be objeded, that though Prophecy in many refpeds agrees with the Charader of Chrift, yet in fome refpeds it doth not agree ; for I. Thofe fame Prophets, which forefiiew that under the Kingdom of the Meffiah the Gentiles (hould be called in to be the Peo- ple of God, do alfo forefliew the Reffora^ tion and Re-ejiablifljment of the 'Jcwifid Nation, who are to be recalled from their feveral Difperfions, and be made again one People under Mejjiah their King. Thus If at ah y Chap. xi. after he had fliid, I?i that Day there jhall be a Root of Jejfe, which floall ft and for an Enfign to the Peo- pie, to it fljall the Gentiles feek — prefeiitly adds^--^«^ it ftjallcome to pafs in that Day^ that the Lordfiallfet his Hand the fecond time to recover the Remnant of his People 'which 3 j 4 Of the Evidence Jrom Prophecy, which Jhall be left, from Affyfia, and from Egypt y and jrom Pathros, and from Cujhj Scc.-^^and /hall ajfemble the Outcajis oj If- rael, and gather together the difperfed of yiidahfrom the four Corners of the Earth, So likewife Chap. xlix. ver. 6. thefe two Events are joined together in the fame Pro- phecy J It is a light thing that thou /houldeji be my ServaJit^ to raife up the Tribes of Jacob, and to rejlore the Preferved of If- rael : I will alfo give thee for a Light to the Gentiles, &c. So again, Jeremiah, Chap, xxiii. ver. 5 — 9. Behold the Days cojne, faith the Lord, that 1 will raife unto David a righteous Branch, ^c, in his Days Judah foall be faved, and Ifrat] fiall diall fafely—and theyjhall no more fay, 1'he Lord liveth which brought up the Children cflfrael out of the Land of Egypt -, but The Lord liveth which brought up, and which led the Seed of the Houfe of If rael out of the North Country, and from all Countries whither I had driven them, and they Jhall dwell in their own Land. But moft fully the Prophet Ezekiel, Chap, xxxvii. ver. 21 — 26. Behold I will take the Children of Ifrael Jrom among the Heathen — and will gather Of the Evidence from Prophecy. 3^5 gather them on every fide ^ and bring them into their own Land 3 and I will make them one Nation in the Lajtd — and one King JImU be King to themjill — they JJjall not any more defile themfehes with their Idols — but Iwill fave them out of all their Dwelling-places, wherein they have finned^ and will cleanfe them., fo jhall they he my People and I will be their God. And David my Servant [i. e. the Meffiah] foallbe King over them, and they Jljall have one Shepherd-, they JJjall alfo walk in my fiidgments^ and obferve my Statutes and do them .5 and they fiall dwell in the Land that I have given unto 'Jacob my Servant, wherein your Fa- thers have dwelt, and they fjall dwell there^ in, even they and their Children, and their Children s Children, for ever ; and my Ser- vant David fiall be their Prince for ever. Thefe Paflages (and more there are in the Old Teftament to the fame effedl) are very exprefs ; and that the Jews imderftood. them as containing the Promile of a tem- poral Reftoration, is manifefl from the Queftlon which the Apoftles put to our Saviour, ABs i. 6. Lord, wilt thou at this time RESTORE again the Kingdom to Israel ? 336 Of the Evide?2ce from Prophecy, Israel ? But nothing at all of this hath happened. 2» Prophecy forefhews fuch a State of Peace and Tra?2qmllity under th& Kingdom of the Meffiah, as we or our Forefathers have never feen. Thus the Pfalmift, In his Days [z. e. in the Days of the Meffiah] fiall the Righteous fourijh^ and abundance of Peace fi long as the Moon endareth, PfaL Ixxiik 7. So Ifaiah^ Chap. ii. ver. 4. He [the yiti^idh'lfiall judge among the Nations , and rebuke many People ; and they fhall beat their Sivords i?ito Plough-fiareSy and their Spears into Pruning-hooks, Nation fhall not lift up Sword againft Nation, neither fhall they learn War any 7nore, Again, Chap. xi. ver. 6. T^he JVolf fl^all dwell 'with the hamh^ and the Leopard fiall lye down with the Kid 5 and the Calf and the young Lion, and the Failing together, and a little Child fhall lead them j and the Cow and the Bear f^all feed', their young ones fhall lie down together -, atid the Lionjhall eat Straw like the Ox ; ajid thefuckiiig Child fhall play on the Hole oj the Afp -, and the weaned Child Jhall put his Hand upon the Cockatrice Den ; • Of the- Evidence from Prophecy . 337 t)en ; they Jhall not hurt nor de/iroy in all my holy Mountain ; for the Earth jhall be fid I of the Knowledge of the Lord, as thelVa* ters cover the Sea. To all this the Anfwer is fliort and plain, viz. That though thefe Prophecies have not been accomplished by any thing we have yet feen, nothing hinders but that they may hereafter be accomplifhed. Here are two great Events plainly connected to- gether by Prophecy, viz. the Coming in of the Fulnefs of the Gentile s^ and the Rejlo- ration of the Twelve Tribes of Ifrael, and the />^^fm^/(? times are to be fubfequent to thefe Events. For thus Ifaiah, It Jloall come topafs in thelaft Days, that the Moun- tain of the Lords Houfe Jloall be efiabltfi- ed in the 'Top of the Mountains — a?id all Nations jhall flow unto it 'y and many "People jhall go and Jay ^ Come ye, let us go tip to the Mountain of the Lord, to the Houfe of the Godoffacohy and he will teach us of his Ways, and we will walk in his Paths ; and he jhall judge among the Nations, and jhall rebuke many People '^and then it \Y was 3 3 S Of the Evidence Jrom Prophecy, was that they (hould l^eat their Swords into Plow-fiareSj and their Spears into Pruning- hookSy &c. Now as it is only faid, that thefe things (hall happen in the laji Days [/'. e» under the Kingdom of the Meffiah] but no particular Period of that Kingdom is marked out by Prophecy, we are at liber- ty yet to wait for their Accomplifhment, and fo much the rather, becaufe the fame Spirit of Prophecy, under the New Tefla- ment, dir^Bs us to exped it. It is evident (as I have juft now obferved) from the Que- flion which the Apoftles put to our Saviour, that they (in common with the reft of the yews) expeded the Re/ioration of the King' dom to Jjrael. And what fays our Saviour in anfwer ? It is not for You to know the Times or the Scafons which the Father hath put in his own Power. Ads i. 7. In which Words Chrijl doth not fay, that there fliould not be any fjch Reftoration j he rather fup- pofes that there yZjoz//^, and only tells them, that the Time when was not a matter fit for them to enquire after. But St. Paul is ex- prefs, that a time (hall be when the Ful- NEss of the Gentiles fliall come in, and 4 ALL Of the ^'didence from Prophecy. 339 ALL Israel fiall be faved. Rom. xi. 25, 26. This Time we have not yet feen j but *'Ages to come may fee it j and as, whenever thefeEvents (hall happen, theywill introduce a great Change in the Face of things ; that fuch a general State of Peace and Tranqui- lity will not thereupon enfue, as willjuftify thofe Defcriptions which the Prophets have given, is certainly more than Unbelievers are able to prove. Whether this Rejio- ration of the Kingdom to Jfrael will be a temporal Government under the MefTiah, or whether the flourilTiing State of the Church after their Converfion, is only ad- umbrated to us in the Writings of the Pro- phets under the Images of Temporal things, is a Queftion about which we mufi: be con- tented to be ignorant, till the Event explains it ; and fince we have feen fo many Pro- phecies already verified in Chriji^ there is all the Reafon in the World to believe, that the reft will be accompliflied in God's due Seafon. Upon the whole then, I hope I may have leave to conclude, that Chrili is juftified in Y 2 ' his 340 Of the Evidence from Prophecy, his Appeal to the Scriptures, as tejlifying of him. Recoiled, for your Eafe, the princi- pal Points of the Evidence. Thus j We find from the Beginning a Promife made, thkt the Seed of the Woman fhould bruife the Serpent's Heady we find alfo a Promile made to Abraham, repeated ioIfaaCy then to Jacob, and at lad refting in jiidahy that in their Seed, all the Families of the Earth fhould be bleffed. What the briiifing of the Serpent' s Head by the Woman s Seed means ; and how or in what Senfe the Seed of Abraham was to be a BleJJifig to all Na- tions, the Promifes themfelves do not ex- plain ; but as the Work of Jefus Chrifi (born of a Woman, and of the Seed of A- braham, through Ifaac, Jacob, and Judah) in reftoring Immortality to all Mankind, which was loft by that Tranfgrefiion into which our firft Parents, feduced by the Ser- pent, fell, and thereby triumphing over the Serpent, who had triumphed over the whole Race of Adam -, as, I fay, this great Work is perfectly well defcribed by thofe Expref- fions, and we fee nothing elfe of fufficient Imoortance Of the Evidence from Prophecy. 341 Importance to which they can be applied j we thence conclude, that this was the thing intended. When we come down lower, we find the Senfe of Prophecy perfedly correfpond- ing with this Interpretation. Mofes was fent of God to the IJraelifes, and fufficient- ly declares the End of his Miffion to be, not to be a Blejfmg to all Nations^ but to bring the Sons of 'Jacob out of Egypt ^ where they were held in Bondage, and put them into PofTeffion of the Landof Ctf«^^;/, according to the Tenor of the Covenant made with Abraham, The Promife therefore of a BleJJing to qll Nations was not accompli {li- ed in Mofes^ but remained to be accomplifh- ed in fome other Perfon yet to come j and upon whom can we fo naturally fix our Eyes, as upon that Prophet whom Mofes exprefly foretells God would rafe up to the Israelites from among their Brethren^ i. e, of the Seed oi Jacob ? David was the Son oi Jacob by Judah, to whom the Promife of the BleJJing to all Nat:o?is was limited ; and to him a Seed, a Branch was pj-omikd, y 3 who 342 Of the Evidence from Prophecy-, who was to have an everlafting Kingdom > and to be the Author of a new Covenant (fo called indiftinction from the Covenant given by Mofes) in which all Natmis had an Intereft. This Promife could not be aq- complifhed in Solomon ^ nor in any of the Kings that fucceeded him, to the time of the Captivity ; for they were the Prophets who prophefied about that time, who fpake of this Seed as yet to come; by various Names indeed, but under the fame Cha- raBerSy viz. of one who was to gather both Jews and Gefitiles into one, to make Re- conciliation for Iniquity, and to be God's Salvation unto the Ends of the Earth. Here then we find that Seed which was to be a Bleffmg to all Nations at the E?id of the Old Teftament, which we find at the .B^*- ginning of it fet forth in his proper Charac- ter ; and if you afk the T^ime when he was to appear, it is fo pinned down by Prophecy that there is no miftaking it. It was to he after Seventy Weeks of Years were expired ; it was to be whilfl the fecond Temple was (landing, and before the Diflblution of the Jewtjh Commonwealth. Within this Period Jesus Of the Evidence from Prophecy. 343 JesusChrist came and anfwered the pro- phetic Charad:efs of him that was to come, in every Particular, This is the Argument, in fliort, which I am willing to fubmit to every candid, impartial Judge. One thing you mufl have obferved (and I am not unwilling it (hould be obferved) viz. that the clear underftand- ing of thefe Prophecies is owing to the E- vents in which they have been accomplifh- ed ; which is what St. Peter means, when he limits the Obfcurity of Prophecy by the following Words, until the Day dawn ^ and the Day- Star arife in your Hearts^ 2 Pet. i. 19. Before the Event all Prophecy is obfcure. When the Event happens, and we can compare it with the Prophecy, Pro- phecy grows clear and plain. But the Senfe which arifes upon this Comparifon, is not lefs the true Scnfe becaufe the Event helps us to make it out. For the Event does not create the Senfe, but finds it ; and it is in this, as it is in all other Cafes ; if we do but know a Writer's Meaning, it is of Y 4 no 544 Of the Evidejice from Prophecy: no Confequence, as to any Ufe that may be made of it, how we come by it. To make fome Ufe then of what has been faid, it is an unconteft^d Point, that, tbefe Prophecies were not given out after the Event ; for the latefl of the Prophets Hved long before J ejus Chrijl ; and fome of them were older than Mofes. The Prophecies themfelves were publickly known, and had been received among the yews, as the Orar cles of God, from the Time of their Deli- very. Now from hence it will follow, that the Coming of J ejus Chrijl was foreknown either by the Prophets, or by that Spirit which diredled the Prophets, and declared it by their Mouths. Take it which way you pleafe. Prophecy will be a Miracle di- fiin6t from the Miracles wrought by Chriff; himfelf, and concurring with them to efla- blirti his Authority, upon Suppolition that the Miracles wrought by Chrijl are fo cir- cumftanced, as to be a juft, legitimate Evi- dence of a Prophet's Miffion ; I fay, upon this SuppofJion Prophecy will be Evidence for Chrijl^ but not elfe y if for no other Rca- fon Of the Evidence from Prophecy, 345 fon yet for this, that it was one of the Cha- radters of the Meffiah, that he was to be a Prophet^ and confequently to give the pro- per Evidence of a Prophet's Miffion. But it may be added (and it is very neceffary to be obferved) that the Prophecies of the Meffiah to come could have been no Evi- dence for Chrijiy without fqme public At- tejlationov\ the part of God that Pie was the true Perfon among the Variety that ipight poffibly have made the fame Preten- lions. During the Time of Chrift's Mi- niftry, any Perfon of the Family of David, and born at Bethleem, might have pre- tended that he was the promifed Seed j and in fuch a Cafe, if neither the one nor the other had wrought Miracles, nothing could have been concluded in favour of either. But Chrijl coming in the Power of God^ left no room for Competition -, and it ap- pearing that the prophetic Charaders agreed in him, it made the Evidence full and com- plete that THIS was He. Therefore we juayobferve, that our Saviour in his An- fwer to the Baptift's Qaeftion, who fent to know whether he was the Chriff, appeals to 346 Of the Evidence from Prophecy, to his Miracles in the firft place, as without which his Appeal to the Prophets could never ftand. Go andjhew 'John again thofe things which ye do hear and fee ; ^he Blind receive their Sight y and the Lame walk ; the Lepers are cleanfedy and the Deaf hear 5 the Dead are raifed up. Matt. xi. 4, 5. And this was the Method which the Apoftles followed in treating with the Jews, whom they fent indeed to the Prophets, to be in- truded that Jefus was the Chrijl -, but not without putting them in mind that he was a Man approved of God among them, by Miracles^ and Wonders ^ and Signs, which God did in the midfl of them ; particularly infifting upon his RefurreBion from the Dead, whereof they were fent to be Wit- neffes throughout the World, and which was the Epitome and Compendium of all the reft. Confult for this the A5is of the Apoftles^ Chap. ii. ver, 22, & fe^, and in feveral other Places. You fee then how both Parts of the Evi- dence hang upon each other. Chrift could not be received upon the foot of his own Miracles, Of the 'Evidence from Prophecy, 347 Miracles, without (hewing in himfelf the Charadlerof the Prophet that was foretold. He could not challenge to be received upon the Evidence of Prophecy, without the Evi- dence of his own Miracles. It was not that there was any internal Defedt in either kind of Evidence that the other was to fupply ; but it was that Circum (lances externally were fuch, that witliout the Concurrence of both, neither of them could properly be applied. In other Words ; without Chrift's own Miracles the Evi- dence of Prophecy would have (lood imc07i- neSied with his Pretenfions ; and without the Concurrence of the prophetic Charac- ters, his Appeal to Prophecy could not have' been juftified. And therefore both kinds of Evidence were neceflary. I have ftated this Matter as clearly as I am able j and there are two oppodte Errors which hereby (land refuted. I. One is the Opinion of thofe who think, that " the Application of the moft ?' dired and exprefs Prophecies, has not of «' itfelf 34^ Of the Ei>idenceJrom Prophecy. " itfelf the Nature of a diredl or pofitive ** Proof; but can only be a Jine qua non y " an Application of certain Marks, without " which no Perfon could be the promifed ** Meffiah." In other Words j " that the ** Application of dired: and exprefs Prophe- " ciesto Chrijiy is nothing but fuch aCon- " gruity of Marks or Characters, as removes " all ObjeBionSj by which an Adverfary ** would endeavour to prove that he was " not He '^." Surely this cannot be the Scripture Notion ! For will any one fay,, ^ I was furprizsd to find fo able a Writer as Dr. Clarke fallen into this Notion. And yet the Words here recited are his own^ as they fland Evid. of Nat. and Rev. Rel. p. 259. ed. 6. The Reafon he gives for his Opinion is no other, than what has been obviated above; viz. "Many were of the Seed of Abraham, *' of the Tribe of Judah^ and of the Family of David^ " and born in Bethleem of Judea, and fuffered, and " were cut off ; and yet neither any nor all of thefe *^ Characters could prove any Man to be the Meffiah ; " but the wantof any one of them would prove, that any *' Man was not he.'* I know not who thefe inany were. But the FaiSt admitted, it is true that neither any, nor all of thefe Charadlers put together, are Evidence of C/;r//?V being the MefTiah, feparatefiom his Miracles ; JDUt, his Miracls^s fuppofed, they becmie Evidence, as has 1,'^;L that Of the Evidence from Prophecy. 349 that a Man is a Witnefs for him, becaufe he has nothing to obje£f againft him ? But our Saviour fays, that the Scriptures teftif^ of him. The Greek is fjia^v^m ; the very- Word which he ufes when, fpeaking of his own Miracles, he fays, * The Worh which I do in my Father's Name ^ they bear WITNESS ofrne^ and is indeed a Word of that Force, that the moil diredt and pofitive Evidence is not to be exprefled by any ftronger Term. been explained. I cannot therefore fubfcrlbe to what the Dodor fays^ upon the Queftion put by our Saviour, Lukexx'iv. 26. Ought not Chri/i to have fuffered ihefe things, &c. viz. that this " is not proving from *' his Sufferings that Jefus was the Chrijt, but remov- *' ingthe Objection, by which fome were apt to infer " from his Sufferings, that he could not pofTibly be the «^ ChriJ}.'" For by what Authority does he fay this ? For ought that appears to the contrary, our Saviour, in appealing to the Prophecies concerning the Suffer- ings of the MefTiah, meant to take the full Advantage of them to himfelf, and therefore to cite them as Evi- dence, if in the Nature of the thing they are fuch, as, under the Circumffance above fuppofed, they have been proved to be. ' Johnx. 25. 2. The ^ r o Of the Evidence from Prophecj^. 2. The other is the Error of thofe who firft grounding the Senfe of Prophecy on Chrifi's Authority , as a divine Interpreter^ afterwards bring Prophecy back as Evi- dence in fupport of Chrift's Miffion ; which is certainly a bad way of reafoning. For to fay, ** I believe Chri/l to be a true Prophet, ** on the Evidence of his Miracles ;" and again, ** I believe that the Prophecies are " truly applied to C/6r//?, becaufehe v/ho is *' true hath fo applied themj" quite de- ilroys the diftinSl Evidence of Prophecy, and refolves the whole into the Evidence of Miracles. In this way of reckoning Chriji will eftablifh the Senfe of Prophecy, but Prophecy cannot eftablidi his Authority. Prophecy therefore, in order to make it a diftind: Evidence, muft have a Bottom of its own to ftand upon j as in ordinary cafes to qualify a Man to be a Witnefs, he muft have fomething of his own to fay. If two Men (hould come into Court to give their Evidence, and the fecond {hould fay no more than what he has upon the Autho- rity of the firft i there would be but one Witnefs. Of the "Evidence from Prophecy, 351 Witnefs. And fo if Prophecy had no other Senfe but what it borrowed from Chrifi'i Interpretation -, the Witnefs would be but one. It is neceffary therefore, I fay, that Prophecy (hould contain a Senfe, which, when the Prophecies come to be compared with the Events, will appear to point at Chrijij by common Rules of Interpretation, and feparate from any Ufe or Application made by him or by his Apoftles ; and this is the Senfe which I have been endeavour- ing to lay before you. I am well aware, how ready Unbelievers are to find fault with the Chriftian Interpretation of Prophecy 5 and to fay that it is mere Guefs-work^ ar- bitrary Applications of dark Paflages to E- vents which the Authors never thought of: For which there will be always this Handle, that the Language of Prophecy (landing (as it needs muft) now^ juft as it did when Prophecy was at fir ft given ; ge- neral, undetermined, pointing at fomething hereafter to come, but not (precifely) fay- ing what ; any one that pleafes may lay—* yefus Chrijl is not exprefly mentioned, and how, then do you know that he is intend- ed ? 2^2 Of the Evidence from Prophecy. ed ? But this notwithftanding, no reafori- able Man will fay, that there is no Ufe of CharaSfers. We nfe them every Day in Multitudes of Inftances ; and CbaraSiers will fometimes mark a Man out fo certain- ly, that you can no more miftake him than if he had been fpoken of by Name. Is it not then ftrange and amazing, that in a Succeffion of fome thoufands of Years, there fliould be a Series of Characters found in the Old Teftament, all of them by eafy and natural Interpretation agreeing in one Man; that one Man giving fuch Proofs of a divine Miffion as Chriji gave ! For my own part, I think it impoffible to ac- count for this, without fuppofing that the Hand and Counfel of God was concerned in this thing, from the Beginning to the End; or, if thofc who are other wife mind- ed, will fliew an Example parallel to it in all Hiftory, I will give up the Argu- ment. And now having fully confidered ihtfirji Part of the Evidence for Chriji' s Miilion, the Evidence from Prophecy ; I am led to the Of the Evidence from Miracles, 3 5 j . Xhtfecond^ the Evidence from his Miracles, But as a Conclufion to this, I will beg leave to remark, that as Prophecy is Evidence tp eftablifh the Authority of ChrijVs Miffion % fo the Accomplifhment of Prophecy in Chrifi fully eftablifhes the Authority of Prophecy ; as fhewing both that the ancient Prophecies have been faithfully recorded and tranfmitted to us, and are indeed the Pidlates of that Spirit to whom alone future Contingencies are open. And this yields a ftrong internal Proof of the Authority of the Books of the Old Teftament in gene- ral ; which fince they are found to be true in fo material a Point, it is reasonable to conclude, that they are fo in the whole. We are now come to the Of the Evi- fccond Branch of our Saviour's "^Z" ^T Miracles. Evidence, his Miracles. ^he Blind receive their Sight, and the Lame walk ; the Lepers are cleanfed, and the Deaf hear ; the Dead are raifed up. For the particular Hiftories of thefe Works, I mufl refer to the Books of the New Teftament, ^hich are in every body's Hands. The Z Queftions 354 Of the EvideiKe from Miracles. Queftions that arife upon the Subjedt arc thefe two, viz. i. Whether fuch Works Were really wrought as the Hiftory records. 2. Whether, fuppofing them to have beea Vv^rought, they are a juft and legitimate Evidence ofCbriJi's Million. I {hall begirt with the laft j becaufe, unlefs it can be proved that they are fuch Evidence, it will be Lofs of Time and Labour to en- quire whether they are or are not truly re- corded. In the firft place then, it is clear, that thefe Works are truly of the miraculous Icind. For there is nothing more remote from the common Operations of Nature, than railing dead Men to Life. And though Difeafes c^yq often curable by natural Means, yet all are not, nor a?2y by fuch Means as Chrijl ufed ; as by a Word fpeak- jng, by a Touchy and the like. It is clear ii^ the next place that Chrifi appealed to thefe Miracles, and offered them as Evidence^ to fhew that he came from God. T^he Works that I do in tny Father's Name they bear witnefs of me. John x. 25. The Queflion therefore vvill be, By what Power were thefe Of the Evidence from Miracles. 35^ thefe things done ? If you fay, By the Power of God, the Evidence muft be admitted. For it has been already ihewn, that Mi- racles, wrought by the Power of God in fupport of a declared Miflion from him, are as truly a -Teftimony from God, as any Man s Declaration by "Word of Mouth, or under his Hand and Seal, are /jts Tp- ftimony. But here it will be demanded, How are we aiTured that thefe were the Works of God, and not of iomtifttermediate Agent ? An Author ^ of great and deferved Repu- tation hath, in treating upon this Subject, laid it down as his firft Principle, that none but God can work a Miracle^ i. e. by his own natural Power ; and if this could be made good, the Queftion would be brought to a very ftiort IfTue. For upon this foot the Conclufion would immediately follow- er//? came in the Name of God, and 'Dr. Fleetwood^ Lite Bifliop of Ely^ in his Ejfay on Miracles^ followed herein, very lately, by Mr. Le- moine, in his Treatlfe on Miracles^ in which Book he Jias Ihewa much Good-fenfe and Learning. Z 2 wrought 35^ Of the Evidence from Miracles, wroughtMiracles, tojuftify his Pretenfions ; therefore he was fent of God. Bat this Opinion feems to me to be attended with infuperable Difficulties, and founded upon very infufficient Grounds. The general Reafon afligned for it is, that " the Law of ** Nature being fettled by divine Power, ** can beunfettled bynolefs?." Nottodif- pute this Point, I anfwer, that a Miracle inay be wrought, where no Law of Nature is un fettled. For Inftance. It is a Law of Nature that the Earth draws all Bodies to-^ wards it, that are within the Sphere of its Attradion j and that if a Stone lies upon the Ground, there it will reft, till it is removed by fome external Force, fuperior to that Force by which the Earth draws it to itfelf. I afk then ; When I take a Stone in my Hand, and lift it up from the Ground, what Law of Nature is un fettled ? Plainly none. For the Stone, whilft it is in my Hand, ftili retains its gravitating Power j and the reafon why it is lifted up, is be- caufe the Force of my Hand ejfceeds that Force by which the Stone gravitates to- 8 Page 5. wards Of the "Evidence from Miracles. 3 yj wards the Earth. All this therefore is ac- cording to the Law of Nature. Would not the Cafe be the fame, fuppoling a Spirit^ or invijihle Being, fliould lift up this Stone ? Exadly. Will you fay then that no Spi- rit but God hath naturally Power fufficient to lift up a Stone from the Ground, which a Man or a Child can lift up ? It would be abfurd. And yet though there is no Mira- cle in my lifting up a Stone with my Hand ; fhould I only give the Word of Command and fay. Stone, be thou lifted up, and fome Spirit fhould inflantly take it up, and fuf- pend it high in the Air ; it would be a Miracle of the fame kind with that men- tioned by our Saviour, Matt. xvii. 20. If ye have Faith as a Grain of Muflard Seed, ye JJjall fay unto this Mountain, Remove hence to yonder Place, and it f: all remove^ There is no Law of Nature unfettled, when a Spirit lifts up the Stone, any more than when a Man lifts it up j and yet, I fay, here is a Miracle wrought j becaufe though the Stone is lifted up according to the ha'ws of Nature, its being lifted up at the Command of a Man, is not according to the Courfe of Nature. Z3 What 358 Of the E'videfice Jrom Miracles, What is true in one Cafe may be as true; in Multitudes of Cafes more (for who knows how far the natural Powers of intermediate Beings may extend ?) and therefore fetting this Principle alide as unfafe to build upon, let us try to come at the Evidence in fome other way. The Inconveniency^ which is apprehended to arife from admitting, that other Beings befides the fupreme may natu- rally have the Power of working Miracles, is J that upon this foot you can never know^ whether God be the Author of the Mi- racle or not, nor, confequendy, whether' the Do<5trine, in confirmation of which fuch Miracle is wrought, hath the divine Atteftation. *' For (fay they) you could " not know I came from, and was fent byj *' fuch a Prince, by my bringing his Seal " along with me ; if other People had the " fame Seal, and would lend it to others «' to ufe as they faw fit ^" But this fort of reafoning (plaufible as it may feem) is really of no Weight. For, to apply the * Page 6. '&"■ Objedion Of the Evidencefrom Miracles, 3^^ Objection to the Cafe of our Saviour Chfiji', let us fuppofe, that, natural Power only confidered, all the Miracles wrought by him might have been the Work of fome intermediate Being. This is granting to Unbelievers all that they can afk, and more perhaps than in reafon they can de- mand. For though it be true, that inter- mediate Beings (their natural Powers confidered ) may work Miracles ; it will not hence follow, that they can work ALL Miracles. Some Effedts may be within the reach of created Powers, others may not j and whether mar2y of Chrifl's Miracles may not be of this latter fort, is a Point that will be confidered by and by. But for Argument fake (i fay) let the thing be granted, that, natural Power only confidered, all the Miracles done by Jefus Chriji might have been the Work of fome created, intermediate Being j flill do I not fee how this Conceilion hurts the Evidence. For what fort of Being do you fuppofe fhould have wrought them ? Intermediate Beings are either good or eviL A good Being it could not be, unlefs you Z 4 fuppofa 360 Of the Evidence jrom Miracles, fuppofe that he did thefe Works at the Command, and by the Authority of God. For Chriji came in the CharadVer of God's Prophet ; declared he was fent as the Mef- fenger of his Will to Mankind j and in fup- port of this Chara6ter he wrought his Mi- racles. If this Pretenfion was not true, Chrifl was guilty of a high Ufurpation, and of great Impiety j in which no good Being can poffibly be fuppofed to make himfelf a Partner. If C br iji hzd come in 710 Charader j the enabling him to work Miracles might have been confidered as a thing indifferent, neither commanded nor forbidden, but iimply permitted. But to vouc/j for an Impofior ; for one that faljly pretends to come in God's flead ; is a high and flagrant Offence which no honefl Man can be guilty of. If therefore the Miracles of Chrifl be fuppofed to have been the .Works of fome^W Being, it muft needs be that fuch Being knew him to be what he pretended to be, and had God's Warrant and Authority for what he did j which brings the Matter to the fame point as if God had wrought them by his own immediate Hand \ for every Man does what Of the Evidence from Miracle i, 361 what is done by his Subjiitute for that Pur- pofe. And if you fay, it was not a good but an evil Being that wrought thefe Mi- racles, you will find it as hard to fhew a Reafon why he fhould do it. The unbe- lieving yews had fome fuch Notion as this ; for when Chriji caji out Devils , they faid he did it by Beelzebub the Prifice of the Devils, But what fays our Saviour ? Eve^ ry Kingdom divided againft ttfelf is brought to Defolation ; and every City or Houfe di^ vided againfl itjelf Jhall not jland. And if Satan caft out Satan, he is divided againfl bimfelj ; how then Jhall his Kingdom Jland ? Matt. xii. 25, 26. Our Saviour does not fay that Satan (his natural Power confider- ed) could not caft out Satan. He rather fuppofes the contrary. For Beelzebub was the Prince of the Devils ; and every Prince is prefumed to have Power over his own Subjedts. But he (hews the Abfurdity of fuppofing that he would caft them out ; be^ caufe in fo doing, he would have aded to the Deftru(5tion of his own Kingdom. The Argument is very natural and familiar ; cal- culated to work Convidlion in the moft common Apprehenfions 5 that no Power can 562 C>fthe Evidence from Miracles, can reafonably be fuppofed to work to its own Deftrudion. And this may be faid of all Miracles, the viiible Tendency of which is to promote Truth, and Virtue^ and Goodncfs ; They cannot be the Work of the Devil, becaufe they operate to the Subverfion of his Dominion j for it is by Sin that the Devil rules in the Children of JDifobedience. Such were all the Miracles wrought by Jefus Chrijl ; and therefore it hurts not the Evidence, if it be fuppofed that the Devil or his Agents (their natural Power coniidered ) might have wrought them, fo long as it appears that they could have no Reafon or hiducement to work them, but Caufe to the contrary; juft as it would not hurt the Evidence from my Seal, though other People had the fame 5 upon fuppofition that it was againft the In- tereft of every Man in the Kingdom to make ufe of it except myfelf. But this is not all we have to fay. For fuppofing it true, that evil Beings not only- had the natural Power to do the Works of Chrijl^ but alfo that they were difpofed to have made ufe of that Power j ftill the Que- ftion Of the Evidence from Miracles, 36^ ftion will be, Whether it can reafonably be fuppofed, that God would \i2,st fuffered it ? For as all natural Powers are of God, they muft be exercifed in dependance upon him, and fubjedt to his Reftraint and Controul. And I fay, that as God always can^ fo he always naill reftrain the natural Powers of evil Beings, fo far as to leave a very plain and vifible Diftin6lion between his true Prophets, and thofe who falfly pretend to his Authority; becaufe the contrary Sup- polition will indeed leave no room for the ufe of Miracles, and confequently will de- ftroy the fingle Method by which God can at any time manifeft himfelf to the Sons of Men, in Matters which fall not within the reach of natural Knowledge. I do not fay, that God cannot fufFer a falfe Prophet tb work a Miracle, or Miracles ; nor is it ne- cefTary to fay fo in order to fave the Ufe of Miracles. It is enough to fay, that if he does fufFer an Impoftor to work Miracles, he will not, he cannot, leave himfelf with' out Witnefs, to all who will attend and are defirous to know his Will. It is rightly obferved in the Objedion, that you could not 364 Of the Evidence from Miracles. not know I came ** from, ahd was fent by^ ** fuch a Prince, by my bringing his Seal ** along with me, if other People had the ** fame Seal, and would lend it to others to ** ufe as they faw fit." But is not the Dif- parity between the two Cafes vifible ? When a Prince lends his Seal to be ufed in com- mon, he puts it out of his own Power ; and under this Circumftance the Seal can be no Evidence. But God is every where, and at all times prefent, to all created Be- ings 5 and therefore to make the Cafes par- allel, you mufl fuppofe this Prince (in the Comparifon) (landing at every Man's Elbow that is difpofed to make ufe of his Seal, ready and able to retrain it, under fuch or fuch Circumftances. In this cafe you may fuppofe him to give out as many Seals as you pleafe, and the Evidence (when fuch Circumftances appear) will be the very fame. The Refult then is, that Miracles as fuch, or Miracles7$w/'/y and ahfolutely con- fidered, are not Evidence of a Prophet's Miffion i but Miracles fo or fo circumjia?i- ced. Of the Evidence from Miracles. 365 ced. The Nature of the Dodrine taught may be fuch as will fhew an Impoflor ; as when it contradicts common Senfe, over- throws the Principles of natural Religion, or of any prior Revelation fufficiently eftablifli- ed. Under thefe or any of thefe Circum- flances, no Miracles can be admitted as Evidence ; becaufe we are fure that God cannot ad: in Oppoiition to himfelf % and confequently if Miracles are wrought ia fupport of fuch Dodtrine, they muft be the Work of fome evil Being, and not the Work of God. But put the Cafe, that the Dodrine as to the Matter of it is indifferent^ that is, fomething which Natural Reafon, or any prior Revelation, neither warrants nor contradids ; in this cafe, I fay, Miracles will eflablifh fuch a Teacher's Miffion, provided no one fets up any contrary Pretenfion fupported likewife by the Teftimony of Miracles : Becaufe if Miracles are not to be admitted as Evidence, when nothing ap- pears to hinder, they are never to be received, and it will be impoflible for God to reveal iftimfelfj which is abf^urd to be fuppofed. 4 The 366 Of the Evidence Jrom Miracles, The Cafe would be the lame, if twQ Perfons (hould arife, pretending each a Commiflion from God, of contrary Import the one to the other, and Miracles fhould be wrought in favour of both j unless, in refpedt of Power, there {hould appear a Superiority of the one above the other. For here would be two Witnefles attefting contrary Fa^s, and fupported by equal Au- thority 5 in which cafe it will be impoffible to know which to believe. But if there fhould be a visible Superiority of Power An the one above the other -, this would fufficiently diftinguifli the true Pro- phet from the falfe ; as in ordinary Cafes a Superiority in Chara6ler, as to Knowledge and Probity, will point out the trueWit- nefs : For fo far as a Man ftands diftin- gui(hed from another, fo far he ilands without a Rival. From thefe Principles this general Conclufion will arife, viz. That if any Perfon falfly pretends to a Com- miilion from God j God will either not fuffer Miracles to be wrought at all to give Credit to his Pretenfions 5 or if, for Reafons pf his Providence, he fhould fuffer evil Beings Of the Evidence from Miracles, 367 Beings to work a Miracle or Miracles, he will defeat them by the Evidences of a su- perior Power ; which to all Intents and Purpofes is the fame thing, as if he had not permitted Miracles to have been wrought by fuch evil Beings. This Princi- ple agrees with our natural Conceptions of the fupreme Governor of the World ; who js as much concerned in Honour to guard the Subjeds of his Kingdom againft Im- poflures of this kind, as any earthly Mon- arch is to expofe the Villain who (hould forge his Seal, and ufurp a Commiffion that was never granted him. And as this Prin- ciple is founded in right Reafon, fo it cor- refponds with Fa5l and Experience-, as I fhall now fliew , by examining the Preten- iions of Mofes and oijefus Chriji^ by thefe Rules. As to the firfl ; Mofes was fent (as we have fhewn) to bring the Children oilfrael out of Egypt, and to fettle them in the Land of Canaan. In order to this, he had two things to do after he was himfelf fa- tisfied that God had revealed himfelf to bim. One was to convince the Ifraelites his 368 Of the 'Evidence from Miracles, his Brethren, that God had fent him and appointed him to be their Deliverer : The other, to oblige Pharaoh to let them go. The firft End was obtained by the Signs which he did in the Sight of the People, previoufly to his going unto Pharaoh ; for fo the Hiftory fays, The People believed, and bowed their Heads and worjhippcd, Exod. iv. 30, 31. Thus far Mojes had no. Competitor ; and his Commiflion therefore flood unimpeached upon the foot of his Miracles. But the lafl: Point was ftill to be provided for ; and to this Purpofe he goes in unto Pharaoh^ and fays, Thus faith the LordGod of Ifraelj let my People go. Chap. V. ver. i. Jt is very neceffary to be obferved, that Pharaoh did not queftion the Truth of what Mofes faid, when he told him (as it is mentioned ver. 3.) that the God of the Plebrews had met with him, and charged him with this Meflage j but he dis- putes the Authority of the God of the He- brews, to command him to let the People go. Who is the Lord, that I Jhould obey his Voice to let Ifrael go? I know not the Lord^ neither will I let Ifrael go. ver. 2. Mofes now executes his Commiffion, by working Of the Evidence from Miracles. 369 Working Miracles in the Sight of Pharaoh^ and his Servants ; not fo much to convince them, that he came by the Authority of his own God (of whom the Egyptians knew nothing) as to fhew them that the God, in whofe Name he came, had both Authority to command, and Power to en- force whatever he fhould command ; for thus the Hiftory reprefents the Cafe : I?i this thoujimlt KNOW that lam the Lordy Chap^ vii. ij.-^that thou mayeji know that there is none like unto the Lord our God^ Chap, viii. 10. — that thou may eft know that there is none like me in all the Earth — and in very deed for this Caufe have I raifedthee upyjor to SHEW in thee my Power, and that MY Name may be declared in ALL the Earth, Chap. ix. 14, 15, 16. Thefe Paffages fhew (I fay) that the Reafon of God's working Miracles by the Hand of MofeSy in the Sight of the Egyptians^ was to make manifeft his Power; and to convince them and all the World, to whom the Fame of thefe Tranfadtions ihould come, that though of thofe who were called Gods there were many^ and Lords many, yet in him alone the fovereign Authority refted, and that he was in Power A'a fuperior 3 7° Of the Evidence from Miracles, fuperior to them all. When therefore Aaron cajl down his Rod before Pharaah and bejore his Servants^ and it became a Serpent^ what does Pharaoh ? Why, he called the wife Men^ and the Sorcerers, 'who did in like manner with their En- chantments. For they caft down every Man his Rody and they became Serpents. Chap. vii. ver. II, and 12. Here now began a Competition, But what was the Point to be decided ? Some flate it thus ' : " Mofes •* wrought Miracles to prove his divine " Commiffion ; the Magicians, on the *' other hand, worked Miracles, to prove •' that Mofes was an Impoftor, and not lent *' of God," and hereupon they afk, Which are we to believed But do you not perceive that the Cafe, as thus ftated, contradids thelliftory? If when Mofes wrought Mi- racles to juftify his Miffion, fome other Perfon had arifen, pretending likewife to a Commiffion from God of contrary Import to Mofes s Meflage, and had wrought Mi- racles in juftification of fuch Pretenfion ; this would have created a Difficulty, and it ^ See Dr. Clarke, who thus dates the Cafe [Evid.of Nat. and Rev. Re/, p. 227. Ed. 6.) but not with his ufual JidgmenU might Of the "Evidence from Miracles. 37! might reafonably have been afked, " Which " are we to believe ?" But this was not the Cafe. The Magicians, we will fuppofe (for it is not our Bufinefs at prefent to contefl that Point) wrought Miracles as well as MoJ'es 'y but they took upon themfelves no CharaBer ; they pretended to no Commif Jion from the God of the Hebrews-, they had no Mejjage to deliver as what their Works were to confirm. There was therefore no Competition between Mofes and the Magi- cians, whether he was or was not an Im- poftor J but between Mofes and the Magi- cians (or the God of Mofes and the Gods of the Magicians) which of them had the greater Power 5 and how abfurd would it betoaik, " Which are we to believe, Mo" ^^ feSy or the Magicians ?" when the Magi- cians had nothing to fay ! It is very material to be obferved, that the Magicians took the fingle Method that could have given a reafonable Satisfadion in this Queftion. For they did not under- take barely to work Miracles ; but to do the 'uery Works which they faw done by Mofes, Mofes turned his Rod into a Ser- A a 2 peni ; 372 Of the Evidence from Miracles. pent ; fo did they. Mofes turned Water into Blood ; fo did they. Mofes brought Frogs upon the Land of Egypt j the Magi- cians did the fame. But here their Power was at an End, and they could go no far- ther. If the Magicians had wrought as many Miracles as Mofes did, and they had been Miracles of another kind; it would have left the Queftion undecided. Fop who, among the great Variety of Miracles that may be thought of, can certainly tell, which of them requires the greater Degree of Power? Who, for Inftance, can tell which is eafier j to reftore a blind Man to Sight, or to turn a Rod into a Serpent j to turn a Rod into a Serpent, or Water into Blood ; or to turn Water into Blood, or to bring up Frogs ? Upon thefe and fuch like Points, much Difpute may be raifed. But when they attempted the very fame Works that Mofes did, and ^tx^ flopped in the At- tempt j this was Evidence to the moil com- mon Underftanding, that their Power was refrained, and that the God of Ifrael, in whofe Name Mofes wrought, was fuperior t,o the Gods of the Egyptians, and to the Gods of the Nations round about them. Itakc Of the Evidencefrom Miracles. 373 I take this to-be the true Refolution of this Cafe j and upon the whole it appears, that (the Fads admitted) M?- fes^s MiiTion flands firmly eftabliflied upon ' his Miracles ; becaufe, in refpe(5t of his Authority as a Prophet of the true God, he had no Competitor. The Magicians did not pretend to be Prophets of the true God ; and had they come in the Name of any falfe God (of which yet we read nothing) this would have been confefling themfelves as ading by the Power of evil Beings, and their Miracles would have deferved no At- tention. Let us then proceed to the Cafe of J ejus Chrijij who came in the Name of the true God, as Mofes had done before him, with a MefTage of much greater Im- portance, and works Miracles to juftify his Pretenfions. Here again the fame Objedioiv recurs — " there were others who wrought " Miracles as well as Chriji ; and in Oppo- " fition to Chriji.'* — Very well. Who were they ? and what were they ? Did they come in the Name of God, as Chriji did ? Did they deliver any other Meflage than Chriji delivered ? And did they do the A a 3 Works 27^ Of the Evidence jrom Miracles. Works of Chriji in Juftification of their Pretenfions ? Shew me this Cafe, and I will give up the Evidence. But no fuch Cafe appears. There are two Inftances to be met with in the New Teflament, that may pofTibly be in lifted on 3 Simon and Ely mas. Thefe are both ftyled ^ Sorcerers, but it does not appear that they took upon them- felves any other Character. But what were their Works ? Did they do the Works of Cbrifi -^ No. Simon plainly confefles himfelf inferior to the Apoftles ; for he y/ONDERED, beholding the Miracles and Signs which were do?ie. And when he Jaw, that through the laying on oj their Hands the Holy Ghoji was given, he offered them Money, faying. Give me alfo this Tower ^ Sec. ver. 18. Of£/)';;/jj wereadnomore, than that he withfiood Paul and Barnabas, feeking to turn away the Deputy [Sergius Paulus] from the Faith, But Eaul re- biiked him and fmote him with Blindnefs (ver. 1 1 .) in like manner as his Predeceffors jn the Trade of conjuri7ig were, in com- mon with the reft of the Egyptians, fmitten yvith Boils, Exod. ix. 11. Thus far then Qhrifl and his Apoftles ftand clearly diftin- ^ See /Ms viii. 9. and Chap. xiii. 8. G;ui{hed Of the Evidence from Miracles. 375 guiflied from all falfe Pretenders. But what /hall we £iy to thofe falfe Chrifls and falfe Prophets, who, our Saviour fays, Ihould arife in after times, and fiew great Signs and Wonders^ Matt. xxiv. 24. Why, the fame that I have faid to the reft. If they took upon themfelves the Charader of God's Prophets in Oppofition to Chriji, and if they wrought Miracles to juftify their Pretenfions (all which you are at liberty to fuppofe) ftill one neceffary Mark was want- ing, they did not do the Works of Cbriji. They could not fay of themfelves as he faid ofhimfelf, The Blind receive their Sight ^ and the Lame walk ; the Lepers are cleanf- ed^ and the Deaf hear j the Dead are raijed up. If you deny this, and fay they did thefe Works, (hew me their Hiftory as well attefted as C/jr//fj Hiftory is, and I will believe it. But if they did them not (which I take to be very certain, for other wife we fhould have heard more of them) the Reafon muft have been, becaufe they could not do them j for the JVill to deceive was not wanting. And thus if you examine the Cafe of all the Pretenders that Hiftory can furnifti fince the Days of Chrij}^ you will A a 4 find 376 Of the Evidence Jrom Miracles. find them all defedtive in fome Mark or other that is effential to the Character of a true Prophet. If they came in the Name of God, they wrought no Miracles ; or if they wrought Miracles, they either pre- tended to no Commiffion from God, or confefTed an Inferiority to the true Prophets whom they oppofed. The firfl was the Cafe of Mahomet ; and one or the other of the two lafl was the Cafe of all the Miracle- workers, that have appeared either in the Heathen or in the Chiiftian World, fo far as their Hiftories deferve Credit. But we have no occafion to difpute Fa5ls, They may ALL of them be admitted without any Im peachment of Chriji's Miflion, whom we do not receive as ourTeacher and Lawgiver, barely becaufe he wrought Miracles ; but becaufe he came to us in the Charad:er of God's Meffenger, and wrought Miracles in fupport of this Character, in which he fhewed fuch a Superiority of Power, as fufficiently diftinguifhed him from all Im- podors. The Argument then is plain and con- vincing, thus-— There is no Efefe(5t on the part Of the EA)idence from Miracles. 377 part of the Miracles of Chrifly who was in Power fuperior to all that ever oppofed him. There is no Defed in the Matter of hifi Revelation, to bar the Evidence of Mi- racles, his Dodrine not contradidling either the Principles of natural Reafon, or any prior Revelation fufficiently eftablifhed. Not the firft, becaufe his Laws are either , the Law of Nature itfelf, or fubfervient to it ; and the feveral Points offered to our Bcr- lief, though fome of them are above the Power of Reafon to explain, are in no In- ftance a Contradidion to Reafon. Not the iecond, becaufe there was no prior Revela- tion fufficiently eftabllfhed, except the Jew- ifh and Patriarchal^ of which the Chriftian Revelation is, not the Defiru5lion, but the Completion, His Miracles therefore are to be admitted as Evidence of his divine Mif- fion, as Mofes's are, for the fame Reafon, to be admitted as Evidence of his divine Mif- fion : For in none of thefe refpeds did Mo- fes differ from Chrijl, unlefs we may except this one (certainly not to his T>if advantage) that he indeed had (properly fpeaking) no Competitor. Let 378 Of the 'Evidence from Miracles, Let us try then, if we can carry the Ar- gument a little farther. I have hitherto argued upon the Suppofition, that, natural Power only con fidered, all the Miracles wrought by Chrijl might have been the Work of fome intermediate Agent ; which (as I have before obferved) is a Point that may very reafonably be called in queftion. For it is very certain that fome of our Sa- viour's Miracles were of that fort, that (fo far as we are able to judge) they could not be the Work of any other Power, than that by which the Heavens and the Earth were made. What is raifing a dead Man to Life, but doing the very thing which God did at the Creation of the World, when he breathed into the fluggifh Clay the Breath of Ltife^ and Man became a living Soul ? What is multiplying Bread to fatisfy the Hungry, or turning Water into Wine, but a Species of that plaftic Power, which out of the fame common Mafs of Matter formed all that Variety of natural Subftances that we fee about us ? If you fee caufe to think (as fome Philofophers have thought) that God made the World by intermediate Agents J Of the Evidence from Miracles . 379 Agents ; you may with as good Reafon fay, that the Miracles of Chriji were done by intermediate Agents. But this Opinion, whether true or falfe, makes no Difference in the Argument. For though it fhould be admitted, that the World was not made by God immediately, but by fome inter- mediate Power ; ftill it is fuppofed that his Wifdom and Counfel was concerned in the Work J and if the fame Hand by which the World was framed and fafhioned, was likewife employed in bearing Teftimony to the Author of our Redemption ; it will bear no Queftion, whether the Wifdom and Counfel of God was not alike concerned in both. It tnay feem perhaps to be an Objedion againft this, that, if the Bible Hiftory is to be credited, fuch Works as we are now fpeaking of have been performed, even by thofe who confefTedly were not fent of God. We fee no Difference between that Power which can raife a dead Man to Life, and that which can turn a Stick into a Serpent ; nor between that Power which can turn Water into Wine, and that which can turn Water 380 Of the 'Evidence from Miracles, Water into Blood j yet the Magicians of Egypt did both. But, in the firfl place, I do not think it to be a clear Point that the Magicians did either. I have hitherto^^^- fofed indeed that the Magicians really did what they 2Xtfaid to have done, becaufe, as yet I have had no Occafion to enter into this Qacftion. But it may very well bear a Difpute, v^hether thefe Feats of the Ma- gicians were real Miracles, or were not rather Impojlures^ or Delufiom, in which they made a fliew of doing what they re- ally did not. It is thus that moft Chriftian Writers underftand the Cafe ; and thus that the Author of the Book of Wifdom treats it. Chap. xvii. ver. 7. where he calls thefe Feats the Illusions of Art magic. Magic and Sorcery are in the general Notion of them Arts of Impofture ; and the New Teftament as well as the Old confiders them in this Light. Simon was a Sorcerer, and of him it is faid, that he bewitched the People of Samaria ^ giving out that he was fome great one ^ ; the manifefl Cha- racter of a Cheat. That he was no Worker of Miracles feems plain ; for if he had been fuch Of the Evidence from Miracles, 381 fuch he would not have wondered "wh^n he faw the Miracles and Signs which were done by the Apoftles 5 nor offered them Mo- ney to give them the fame Power. Simon then was a vain Pretender, who did fome ftrange things, to deceive the Multitude > and as Elymas bears the fame Charadier, no doubt he was of the fame Stamp. But to return to the Magicians of Egypt, I do not think that the Language of the Scripture is Reafon fufficient to lead us to think, that they really wrought the Works which were wrought by Mojes. It is faid, that the Magicians did so, or in like MANNER, with their Inchantmenfs — that their Rods became Serpent s^^^-^nd that they Brought up Frogs upon the Land of Egypt . But is there a more common Form of Speech, than to fay of Impoflors, that they do what they onXy feem to do ? It will not be expedted, I fuppofe, that I fliould explain how, or in what manner, the Magi- cians impofed upon Pharaoh and his Ser- vants. I cannot explain how a common Jugler performs his Leger de main ; and yet I know him to be a Cheat. And this may very 382 Of the Evidence from Miracles, very eafily be conceived in tlie prefent Cafe, that fomething the Magicians might do in Imitation of what was done by Mofes, that paffed with many for the fame thing ; and this, for ought I can perceive, is all that the Scripture Language necelTarily implies. But be it admitted that the Magicians wrought real Miracles ; that they turned Rods into Serpents, Water into Blood, and multiplied Frogs as Mofes did ; the Queftion will ft ill remain — by what Power ? Thofe who are of this Opinion commonly have Recourfe to the Power of evil Beings, of which yet the Hiftory is wholly filent. I ftiould rather chufe therefore to fuppofe, with Bifhop Fleetwood^ that if thefe were true and real Miracles, they were wrought by the fame Power that wrought in Mofes^ that is, by the Power of God ; the more efFedually to expofe the Pretenfions of the Magicians, who fufFered a more fignal De- feat in being baffled in their future At- tempts, after having performed fome great things, than tliey would if they had per- formed nothing. Nor let it be faid, that in this way of refolving the Cafe we make God a Liar ; for the Miracles attejled no- thing. Of the Evidence from Miracles. 383 thing, becaufe the Magicians (as I have be- fore obferved) pretended to nothing but to fhew their Power. God wrought the Mi- racles, as we now fuppofe, and left the £- gyptiam to their own Conclufions j and what could they conclude upon the Upfliot of the whole Matter but this, that great indeed was the God of the Hebrews^ who, when the Gods of their Country (as it is to be prefumed they thought ) had by the Hands of the Magicians performed Won- ders, in all human Apprehenfion and Judg- ment the ^rf^/^, did, by the Hand of his Servant MofeSy manifeft a Power fuperior to them all ? I have faid thus much to (hew, that we have no Evidence from the Scripture, that fuch Works as Chrijl wrought, could {ma- ny of them) have been performed by any Power lefs than the fupreme, or (which is all one) other than that Power, which at firft framed the materal Syftem. And I believe it will be impoffible to find an In- ftance of fuch Works, performed by any, excepting the Mefiengers of the true God, in any well attefted Hiilory. Or if you fliould find 3 % Of the Evidence from Miracles, find fuch Inftances,you may ftill (poffibly) be at Liberty to fuppofe fuch Miracles to have been wrought by the Power of God, in like manner as the Miracles wrought by the Magicians (if really fuch Miracles were wrought) have been fuppofed to have been wrought by the Power of God. But thofe who are not fatisfied with this Argument, may fecurely reft themfelves upon the Principles above laid down, viz. that God fets the Bounds to all natural Powers, be- yond which they cannot go ; that he can*' not be unfaithful to himfelf or to his Creai' tures, but will always fhew a plain and vi^" fibleDiftin6tion,in point of Power, between'^ his true Meflengers and thofe who falfly pretend a Commiflion from him 5 and that fuch Power appeared in Chrift^ as no Pro- phet, falfly pretending to God's Authoritj^ in Oppofition to him, ever equalled. So that upon the whole, I muft take the Li- berty to conclude, that the Miracles oije- fus Chrijly fi^PP^f^i them wrought^ are ^' full, legitimate Evidence of nis Mifliori. We are come then at laft to the point of FaB \ Were thefe Miracles wrought, or were Of the 'Evidence from Miracles. 385 were they not ? For the Decilion of which Queftion, the Appeal lies to the Authority of the New Teflament ; as the Proof of Mofes's Miracles refts upon the Authority of the Old. It cannot be reafonably ex- peded, that I (hould enter into a particular Defence of the Authenticalnefs of thefe Books, which has employed the Learning of many Ages. Let it fuffice to fay, in ge- neral, that it ftands upon the fame Bottom by which the Authority of all ancient Writings is fupported, njiz. the public Re- ception of them as the genuine Writings of the Authors whofe Names they bear, in a conftant Succeffion through all Ages from the times in which thofe Writers lived. Of the Books of the Neiv Teftament it (hould be obierved, that their early Difperfion into different Nations, and Tranflation into va- rious ancient Languages (a Circumftance almofl: peculiar to thefe Books) are Evi- dence, not only of their coming down to us uncorrupted, but likewife of their great Fame and Reputation, as Pieces of genuine Hiftory, containing a true Narrative of real Fads, and not as romantic Tales forged by Impoflors, to deceive the credulous Part Bb of 386 0/ the Evidence Jrom Miracles. of Mankind. Inftead of faying more to this Matter, I (hall recite to you what has been well faid upon it by a late Writer, who cannot be fuppofed, at leaft to be overmuch, bigotted to Chriftian Principles. " The «* Authority of thefe Books (fays he) does *' not depend upon the Faith of — any par- *' ticular Set of Men ; but on the general «« Credit and Reception which they found " not only in all the Churches, but with *' all the private Chriftians of thofe Ages, ** who were able to purchafe Copies of <' them : Among whom, though it might *« perhaps be the Defire of a few to corrupt, '' yet it was the common Intereft of all, *' to preferve, and of none to deftroy them. " And we find accordingly, that they were '' guarded by all with the ftridleft Care, fo "^ as to be concealed from the Knowledge *' and Search of their Heathen Adverfaries, " who alone were defirous to extirpate " them. After fuch a Publication tbere- " fore, and wide Difperfion of them from «* their very Origin; it is hardly pofTible *' tliat they fhould be either corrupted, or " fuppreifed" or counterfeited by a few, of «« what Charader or Abilities foever ; or "that Of the "Evidence from Miracles. 387 * that according to the natural Courfe of *• things they fhould not be handed down " from Age to Age, in the fame manner " with the Works of all the other ancient ** Writers of Greece and Rome ; which " though tranfmitted through the Hands of •* many profligate and faithlefs Generations " of Men, yet have fuffered no Diminu- " tion of their Credit on that account : For " though in every Age there were feveral " perhaps, who, from crafty and felfiQi ** Motives, might be difpofed to deprave, " or even to fupprefs, fome particular " Books ; yet their Malice could reach ** only to a few Copies, and would be re- " ftrained therefore from the Attempt, or " corrected at leaft after the Attempt, by *' the greater Number of the fame Books, " which were out of their reach, and re- " mained ftill incorrupt. Befides all this, " there were fome Circumflances peculiar " to the Books of the New Teftament, " which infured the Prefervation of them <' more eiFed:ually than of any of the other *' ancient Books whatfoever j the Divinity <* of their Charader, and the religious Re- " gard which was paid to tbem, by all the Bb2 <* Se^s 3S8 of the Evidence from Miracles, *' Secfls and Parties of Chriftians j and ** above all, the mutual Jealouiies of thofe «« very Parties, which were perpetually " watching over each other, left any of " them fhould corrupt the Sources of that ** pure Dodrine, which they all profefTed ^* to teach and to deduce from the fame " Books. — It was not in the Power there- " fore (concludes he) of any Craft to im- " pofe fpurious Pieces, in the room of thofe " genuine ones, which were adually depo- " fited in all Churches, and preferved with " the utmoft Reverence in the Hands of fo " many private Chriftians'." This FaiTage contains, I think, the full Import of what is offered, and reafonably offered, by Chriftian Writers, to (hew, that the Books of the New Teftament, as we now have them, are the genuine Writings of the feveral Authors whofe Names they bear ; and confidering their Characters, and that they were moft of them Apoftles of y^- Jiis Chriji^ who attended him in his Miniftry 5 one would be inclined to think, that a fair Prefumpiion will lie from hence, that his ^ Middlstons Free Inquiry^ Uq, p. I90. Miracles Of the Evidence from Miracles. 389 Miracles as by them reported are truly re- corded : For in all ordinary Cafes, unlefs fpecial Reafbns appear to queftion the Fi- delity of an Hiftorian, his Hiftory finds eafy Credit when he writes of things done in his own times, and of which he himfelf pretends to have had a perfonal Knowledge. But an Unbeliever perhaps will, without much Difficulty, admit the Genuinenefs of the Books, and yet difpute the Truth of the miraculous Fads therein recorded, up- on fuch Arguments as thcfe— ^' We (hould *' diftinguifli between things totally different " from each other -, between Miracle and " Nature ; the extraordinary Ads of God, ** and the ordinary Tranfadions of Man ; " to fufpend our Belief of the one, while, " on the fame Teftimony, we grant it freely " to the other ; and to require a different " Degree of Evidence for each, in propor- *' tion to the different De2;rees of their Cre- " dibility "^Z' Again ; " we (liould fufpend " our Aflent to Reports of a miraculous ♦' kind, though atteftcd by an Authority, <' which might fafely be trufted in the Re- *< port of ordinary Events ''-." Once more 3 "^ Ibid. p. 231. * Ibid. p. 219. B b 3 «' the 390 Of the Evidence from Miracles, «* the Hiftory of Miracles is of a kind totall/ " different from that of common Events j " the one to be fufped:ed always of courfe, " without the ftrongeft Evidence to con- " firm it ; the other to be admitted of courfe, " without a flrong Reafon to fufped: it. '* Ordinary Fa6ts related by a credible Per- " fon, furnifh no Caufe of doubting from " the Nature of the thing j but if they be '* ftrange and extraordinary, Doubts natu- " rally arife, and in proper lion as they ap- " proach towards the Marvellous, thofe ** Doubts will ftill increafe and grow ftrong- " er ; for mere Honefty Will not warrant " them } we require other Qualities in the *^ Hiftorian ; a Degree of Knowledge, Ex- " perience, and Difcernment fufficient to «' judge of the whole Nature and Circum- ** fiances of the Cafe j and if any of thefe " be wanting, we naturally fufpend our Be- *' lief. A weak Man indeed, if honeft, '* may attefl common Events as credibly as " the wifefl ; yet can hardly make any Re- " port that is credible of fuch as are miracu- ** lous ; becaufe a Sufpicion will aKvays ** occur, that his Weakuefs and imperfedl <« Knowledge of the Extent of human Art '' had Of the Evidence from Miracles. 391 ** had been impofed upon by the Craft o£ " cunning Juglers °." I make no queftion, but that every Unbeliever thinks ' he has a Right to coniider the Apoftles of Chrift as weak Men j and will it not then be very na- tural to fuch a one to reply to a Chriftian, when he appeals to the New Teftament to prove the Miracles of Chrtfl^ in feme fuch manner as this ? viz. We receive your Hi- flory fo far as it contains an Account of common Events ; but fo far as it contains a Hiftory of Miracles we rejed it. Is it not thus that we muft diftinguifh in reading all common Hiftories, unlefs we will fufFer ourfelves to be impofed upon ? " There is <* not afingleHiftorianof Antiquity, whe- " ther Greek or Latin^ vv^ho has not re- •' corded Oracles^ Prodigies^ ProphecieSy " and Miracles — ^Many of thefe are at- ** tefted in the graveft manner, and by the <* graveft Writers, and vv^ere firmly believed " by the Populace at the time ; yet it is ** certain, that there is not one of them " which we can reafonably take to be ge- " nuine. — For Example, Dio?iyftUs of H<7- ** licarnajjus is efteemed one of the moft °Ibld. p. 217. B b A *' faithful 392 Of the Evidence jrom Miracles. ** faithful and accurate Hiftorians of Antl- <* quity. We take his Word without fcru- « pie — in his Account of the Civil Affairs ^^oiRome-y yet we laugh at the fictitious " Miracles which he has interfperfed in it, ** [as when] in the War with the Latins " he tells us, how the Gods Caflor and Po/- " lux appeared vifibly on white Horfes, «' and fought on the Side of the Romans^ ** who by their Affiftance gained a complete *' Vidory— — We admit the Battle and *' the Vidory j and take the miraculous ** part to be, what] it certainly was, the ** Fidtions of the Commanders or Per- " fons interefted. —Thus in the Narra- *' tive of the Martyrdom of St. Folycarp^ " the point of Hiftory is, that he was con- ^* demned to Death at Smyrna^ of which " he was Bifhop, and there adually burnt at " tlie Stake, for his Profeffion of theChri- " flian Faith. We have no doubt there- " fore of his Martyrdom, yet may rea- " fonably paufe at the Miracles which are " faid to have attended it," p &c. By this Diftindion, the Author fancies that he has faved the Credit of ancient Hi- P Ibid. p. 218 221. ftory Of the Evidence from Miracles. 393 ftory, whether Ecclefiaftical or Civil, whilfl: he has referved to himfclf a Liberty to re- jed (or to fufpedl at lead) all Accounts of miraculous Events in either. But, I think, he is miftaken. For a miraculous Event may have all the Advantages of external Proof, that the mod common Event has ; and if, this notwithftanding, it may be treat- ed as falfe or fufpicious, I fee not vi^hat there is in Hiftory that can be depended upon. But whatever there be in this, it is certain that the Argument lies as ftrong againftthe Gofpel as againft any other Hiflory ; for why may not an Unbeliever go on and fay, — " Thus alfo in the Narrative of the ** Ads o^Jefus Chriji, the Points of Hi- " flory are, that he took uponhimfelf to be ** a Prophet, and inftituted a new Religion, ** for which he was cruelly put to death by ** the yews, Thefe Fads, and whatever ** other ordinary Occurrences are recorded ** in his Hiftory, we admit. But we paufe ^ at the Miracles which are faid to have " been wrought in his Favour, either when « he was living or after he was dead ; for *' they were, weak Men that recorded them, **^ and a weak Man can hardly make any "Report 394 Q/" ^^^ Evidence from Miracles, *' Report that is credible, of fuch Events as " are miraculous." In anfwer then to this Objedion I re- ply; I. That extraordinary ox miraculous 'E-' vents are, in the Nature of them, or as to the PoJJibility of their Exiftence, as credible as ordinary ; that is to fay, it is as eafy to conceive, that God hath Power to work a Miracle, and that in certain cafes It may be reafonable and jit for him fo to do \ as that he fhould execute any ordinary Adt of his Providence. For as io Power, it is clear that he that at firfl eftablifhed the Courfe of Nature, can as eafily alter the Courfe of Nature : And if you fay, that though God has Power to work Miracles, it is not cre- dible that he ever will work them ; you muft then ftiew it to be incredible, that God {hould upon any account alter the eftablifhed Courfe of things (which I take to be impoflible) and particularly you muft {hew (which is equally impoffible) that it is incredible that God fhould at any time make any fupernatural Revelations of his Will J becaufe granting the Credibility that God may make fuch Revelations, you muft of courfe admit the Credibility of his work- Of the Evidence from Miracles. 395 ing Miracles, without which no fuch Re- velations can be made. Whereas there- fore the Objedion fets forth, that " Miracle «< and Nature ; the extraordinary Adts of " God, and the ordinary Tranfacflions of " Man, are things totally different,' and thence infers, that we are '* to fufpend *' our Belief of the one, while on the ^^fame Teflimony we grant it freely to ** the other ; and to require a different De- " greeof Evidence for each, in proportion " to the different Degrees of their Credibi- *' lity ;" the Conclufion is manifeflly wrong. For this Reafoning fuppofes, that Miracles as fuch are lefs credible, than ordinary E- vents, which is not true ; for, in their Place and Order, they are both equally credible ; that is, it is juft as credible that God fliould work Miracles in Teflimony of his Pro- phets, as that he fhould fend Rain and fruitful Seafons for the common Suflenance of Life. Extraordinary Events are fup- pofed, in the very Notion of them, to be lefs frequent than ordinary; but they are not therefore lefs credible. It is as credible that the Plague may be in London as that the Small Pox fhould be there. And yet the former is not near io frequent as the latter. 2. A 396 Of the Evidence from Miracles, 2. A Man's Senfes are to himfelf 2.% good Evidence of a Miracle as of an ordinary Event, that is of a Fad varying from the common Courfe of Nature, as of a Fad correfponding to it. I fay, of a FaB ; be- caufe the Fa5i is the only thing that can be judged of by Senfe : Not of the Tower by which that Fad is produced ; which is a Matter of Reafon and Speculation. The FaB then being fuppofed miraculous, a Man's Senfes, I fay, are as good Evidence of the Reality of fuch Fad, as they are of any ordinary or common Event. When I fee a Monjier^ and when I fee a natural Birth, my Eyes are as good Evidence in the one cafe as in the other ; and fo it is when I fee a Man cured of Blindnefs or Lamenefs, whether it be done by natural Means or in a way that is fupernatural. Therefore when I doubt of a matter that lies before me, be it ordinary or extraordinary, the Doubt muft be, not whether I am to believe myEyefight or not, but whether lam or am not feme way fo deceived, as to think I fee what I really fee not. If I fee (or think I fee) a Man at a Diftance whom I prefume to Of the Evidence from Miracles, 397 to be in another Place, 1 may reafonably doubt, whether the Grounds of my Pre- fumption of his being elfewhere be good, or whether it be he or fome body very Hke him ; but I can doubt of nothing elfe. So if I fee an Apparition ; I may doubt whe- ther what prefents itfelf to me has any real Exiftence, or whether the Appearance is not raifed by fome Diforder in the bodily Organ. But fuppoling it clear, that I fee what I think I fee, I can no longer doubt whether the thing exifts ; and this is true in all Cafes ; for ordinary or extraordi- nary can make no Difference. Therefore 3. A Perfon's Veracity fuppofed, his Re- port of an ^x/r^or^/Wry Event is as good Evidence as his Report of an ordinary one, upon Suppofition that there is Reafon fuffi- cient to believe, that he himfelf neither was nor could be impofed upon. Without this Circumftance, the Teftimony of an honeft Man, even in ordinary Matters, is not to be depended upon. If a Man (hould tell me that he was at fuch a Battle, and that ten thoufand Men were flain on both Sides, it would be no Evidence, unlefs I faw Rea- fon 3 9 8 Of the Evidence from Miracles, fon to believe that he was qualified to judge of the Number of the Slain. In like man- ner, if an Hiftorian fhould fay in general Terms, that he faw fuch a one reftore a blind Man to Sight byfpeakinga Word; I muft alfo be fatisfied, that he was qualified to know that the Man was blind, and that he afterwards faw, or it will not fuffice. But the proper Circumftanccs fuppofcd in each Cafe, the Evidence in either will be equally good. 1 think the Objedtion allows this. For it fays, that *< the pnere Honefty [of the « Relator] will not warrant [the Belief of *« Miracles]" — True j nor the Belief of any thing elfe that I know of. But why? The Reafon follows— 5' We require other «' Qualities in the Hiftorian ; a Degree of *< Knowledge, Experience, and Difcern- *' ment, fufficient to judge of the whole " Nature and Circumftances of the Cafe ; <* and if any of thefe be wanting, we ne- " ceffarily fufpend our Beliefs." Right again ; but what if none of thefe Circum- ftances are wanting ? Have we not then 5 Ibid. p. 217. leave Of the Evidence from Miracles, 399 leave to fay that the Evidence is good ? Yes ; but it is faid, that when a vi^eak Man reports a Miracle, v^^e can never be certain that he was rightly qualified to judge of the Matter by him reported j becaufe " a Sufpi- .*< cionwill ALWAYS occur, that his Weak- '* nefs and imperfed Knowledge of the Ex- ** tent of human Art, had been impofed ** upon." This is calling in a Circum- flance that hath nothing to do in the Que- ftion. What if a Man knows not the Ex- tent of human Art 5 has not every one Ex- perience and Difcernment enough to know (for Inftance) whether his Neighbour is blind or lamej or when a Cure in fuch Cafes is wrought, is it not as eafy for him to know that it was done by a Touch, or by a Word's fpeaking, as that it was done by natural Applications ? There appears then to be no Foundation for the Affertion, that ** the fame Authority that may be " trufted in the Report of ordinary EventSy " may not be trufted in the Report of eX' *' iraordiiiary ones." You cannot (with Safe- ty) truft a Man in his Report of the moft common thing, unlefs his Teftimony be properly circumftanced. And if it is fo ' circum- 400 Of the Evidence from Miracles, circumftanced that you cannot reafonably deny him Credit, when he reports things of ordinary Occurrence ; why is it not as rea- fonable, with the fame Circumftances, to believe the fame Man, when he tells you of extraordinary Matters ? True it is that Mankind (generally) are not fo readily dif- pofed to believe Reports of extraordinary things, as they are to believe Reports of or- dinary ones. For we are very apt to con- lider a thing as impofjible, the like to which we have never feen or heard : And hence it is, that Reports of fuch Matters are ad- mitted with Difficulty, though fupported by the beft Authority. Common Events, on the other hand, reconcile themfelves io us by their Familiarity j and the Reports of thefe (efpecially when they are not intereft- ing) we are ready to admit upon the flight- eft Grounds. But furely it is very abfurd to lay that down as a Rule of Judgment, which is the mere Eifedl of human Weak- nefs and Partiality, and the very Reafon why we are fo often miftaken or impofed iipon. If any one (liouid (according to our Author's Rule) " admit oj courfe the «« Report of common Events, ^without a ^^frong Of the Evidence fiom Mi fades, 40 1 ^^Jirong Rea/bn to fufpeSi them ;" in what a Multitude of Inftances mufl he be de- ceived ? For how many Reports do we hear every Day, which though falfe, we have yet no Reafon to fufpedt ? He would as furely (though not fo often) be in the wrong, fhould he refufe to admit Reports of extraordinary things, though fupported by the fame Authority upon which he ad- mits common Fa(fts. Ordinary and extra- ordinary are fuch in refpeft only of our own Knowledge and Experience ; and do you think it reafonable to rejed: common Au- thority, unlefs the Matter attefted falls in with your own Obfervation ? Thofe who have themfelves never been in foreign Coun- tries, have nothing but common Autho- rity to acquaint them with the great Va- riety of Plants and Animals, of which we knew nothing here. And yet to queftion fuch things, though attefted by the graveft Witnefles, would furely be a moft fenfelefs Scepticifm. Infhort ; it is with things or- dinary and extraordinary as it is with things inter efiing and not interefting. We are, and ought to be, more fcrupulom upon what Grounds we believe, in the one Ca(e, than in the other. If a Perfon of Credit C c (hould 402 Of the Evidence Jrom Miracles, ftiould tell you, that fuch a one (a common Acquaintance) was dead ; you would pof- libly believe him without Hefitation. But if the fame Man {hould tell you, that your Father, or your Friend is dead ; you would be apt to make flrid Enquiry, upon what Authority he reports it. But the Reafon of this is, that in this latter Cafe you want to be fure that you have the proper Evi- dence J not, that the fame Evidence will not do in hth . The Refult is this -, that in things which are to be received upon Teflimony (of which fort are all Faold of every thing that looks fair and plaufible Of the Caufes of Infidelity, 455 plaufible on the other Side. It may help to explain this Matter, to look a little into the Condud of the fews^ upon our Saviour's coming to them. The Character he took upon himfclf was that of their MeJJiah^ i. f, of that great Prophet, who, in confequence of ancient Predidlions recorded in their Scriptures, was to come ; and the Hiftory of that Age {hews, that in the general Opi- nion of that Nation, the Time of his Ap- pearance was near accomplifhed, when Chrift came in the Flefh. This was a Cir- cumftance favouring his Reception. But againft it lay this great Prejudice -, that, as they had been taught to underftand the an- cieot Prophecies, the Charadler of the Pro- phet that was to come, did not agree with the Chara6ler of Chri/i. They expedled a Prophet that (hould immediately refiore the Kingdom {i. e. the temporal Government) to Jfrael ; that fhould gather them from among all the Nations where they were difperfed ; that {hould break the Roman Power by which they were held in Subjedion , and make them Lords of the whole Earth. But Chrifi plainly told them, that his King- dom was not of this World, Pie had neither Ff4 Honour 45^ Of the Caufes of Injidelity, Honour, nor Wealth, nor Power, to offer to his Followers, but Ignominy, and Po- verty, and Perfecution, for the Gofpel fake. Here then was a general Prejudice, which threw in whatever could court the Pride and Ambition of Men, as a Weight againfl the Gofpel Evidence. And how did this Prejudice work ? Why, though Chrijl did thofe things among them that no Man ever yet did (even Mofes^ in whom they trufted^ not excepted) yet they would not believe. It did not blind their Eyes not to fee the Mi- racles s but it blinded their Underftandings fo, that in them they did not difcern the Power and Finger of God. When Chriji caft out Devils, they confefs the Fadlj but their Anfwer is, 'This Fellow doth not caft out Devils, but by Beelzebub the Prince of the Devils. This was the only Handle that their Prejudices could lay hold of. The Works they faw, and could not deny them. But whether thefe Works were the Effedt of a divine, or of a diabolical Power, this was a Point that Reafon and Judgment was to decide j and here their Paffions and Prepoffeffions proved too hard for their \J\\~ derflandings. So again, when Jefus had opened 4 . Of the Caufes of Infidelity. 457 opened the Eyes of the Man that was born blindj and cured the Woman that had been bowed together by a Spirit of Infirinity for eighteen Tears ; what do they obje(ft ? Why, this Man is not of God, becaufe he keepeth not the Sabbath Day, John ix. }^ 16. Thefe Cures, the Hifcory tells us, were wrought on the Sabbath. What then? Why, therefore the Works were not the Works of God. So they reafoned. But our Saviour fhewed them unanfwerably, from their own allowed Pradice in other Cafes, that fuch Works as thefe would well confift with the Religion of the Sabbath. Doth not each of you, on the Sabbath, loofe his Ox [or his Afs from the Stall^ and lead him away to watering ? Or, ifafi Afs or an Ox fall into a Pit, will he not ftraitivay pull Mm out on the Sabbath Day ? And they could not anfwer him again to thefe things. Luke xiii. 3^ 5. Chap. xiv. f 5, 6. But though he flopped their Mouths, he could not mend their Hearts. They had no Mind to be convinced, and therefore the flighteft Pretences fatisfied them ; as you will fee from another Inftance. For when, to the Amazement of all the People^ he had by 45^ Of the Caufes of Infidelity . by a Word fpeaking cured a Man with a withered Hand ; when he had loofened the Tongue of the Dumb, and opened the Eyes of the Blind, tertain of the Scribes andPharifees anfwered, f^yi^S-> Majler^ we mDould fee a Sign from thee. Matt. xii. lo. 22. 38. What Sign did they want? They had feen a withered Hand made whole ; a blind and dumb Man fee and fpeak j and yet they ftill call out for a Sign, that is, a Sign from Heaven, as it is exprefled, Matt.x\\. ver. i. and Zz//('^ xi. 16. Mi- racles, undoubted Miracles, would not do, unlefs they were Miracles of their own chufing. Thefe (liuffling Excufesof the yewsna.- turally bring to mind the like Pretences made ufe of by modern Unbelievers, whofe Manner is to avoid what directly afFeds the Evidence, and to confront the Gofpel by morediilant and remote Concluiions, When you appeal to the Scriptures in proof of Cbrift's Miracles j they will tell you in the [ grofs that they are Fables. Afk them the Reafon ; they trouble not themfelves with this J but they have abundance of Reafons Of the Caufes of Infidelity, 459 Reafons (fuch as they are) to fhew that the Gofpel could not be from God. As for Inftance — that it was not publifhed fo foon^ or tofo many as they think it (houldt-^that it was not propagated in a Way that they approve — that it contains certain Matters that they do not underftand j and the Hke. There is juft as much Senfe and Pertinency in fuch Argum«Qts as thefe, as there was in the yewijh Objedion about breaking the Sabbath. But we fee, in both Examples, that when Men are fully bent not to believe a thing, and only want fome colourable Pretences to excufe themfelves, a very fmall Matter will ferve. The moft idle Exceptions (hall outweigh the cleareft and moft fubftantial Proofs, As the Jews had their Prejudices againft the Gofpel, fo had the Gentiles theirs ; but they were of another fort. The Difference is thus flated by St. Paul, i Cor. i. 22. ^he Jews require a Sign, and the Greeks, Jeek after Wifdonu To the one the Crols of ChriH was a Stumbling-block, to the other the preaching of the Gofpel was FooU iJJmefs. As the Jews expe(5ted a mighty Monarch 460 Of the Caufes of Infidelity. Monarch in their Meffiah, they looked that he (hould come attended with all the Pomp and Terror of Power ; with Thun- derings and Lightenings ; with Voices and Appearances from Heaven, as their Law was delivered upon Mount Sinai. To them therefore the low and humble Con- dition of Chriji was a Rock of Offence, The Gentiles had been bred up in the Schools of their Philofophers j and with them the Apoftles fell under Contempt, becaufe they did not reafon and difpute as their Philofophers were wont to do. But there was yet a greater Caufe of Dilguft than this, and that was the dired Oppo- iition there was, between the Dodrines of theGofpel and the Maxims and Pradices of the Heathen World, which was every where over-run with Idolatry and Licen- tioufnefs. Read once more what St. Paul fays of them, Rom.i. 23. and following Verfes. Tbey changed the Glory of the un- corruptible God into an Image made like to corruptible Man ; and to Birds, and four- footed Beafts^ and creeping things. Where- fore God alfo gave them up to Uncle annefs through the Lujls of their own Hearts^ to dijhonour OfiheCaufes of Infidelity. 461 dijioonour their Bodies between t he mf elves — And even as they did not like to retain God in their Knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate Mind, to do thofe things which were not convenient, being filled with all Un- righteoiifnefs. Fornication, Wickednefs, Co- vetoujhefs, Malicioufnefs — and fo on. Do you wonder that the Gofpel, which con- demns all thefe Abominations, and teaches us to deny TJngodlinefs, and worldly Ltijls, and to live foberly^ righteoujly, and godly, in this prejent IVorld, (hould be rejed:ed by many who were vouchfafed the Offer of it by the Miniflry of the Apoftles ? Great was its Light } great was its Evidence, as it appeared in the mighty Works wrought by their Hands. But what lignifies Light to thofe who have not Eyes to fee ; or Evi- dence to thofe who have not Hearts to un- derfland ? As there is nothing that draws Men ftronger than fenfual Appetite; it muft of courfe be the ftrongeft Biafs againft any Religion that ftands in its Way, and offers to call them back to Rule and Order. Befides that, brutifli Habits in a great meafure unqualify us for Thought and Reflection -, whilft at the fame time they keep 462 Of the Caufes of Infidelity, keep us more awake, and attentive to every thing that gratifies Flefh and Blood j and even thofe vi-'ho think, v^^ill find out Ways to baffle their Underflandings, and mak6 them fide and fall in vv^ith the Stream of their Paffions. The Jews pretended, that yefiis wrought Miracles by the Power of the Devil : The Heathens, no doubt, had their Subterfuges too, to fhelter them from the Force of what they faw done by the Hands of the Apoilles, which the falfe Philofophy that then prevailed could very eafily furnifh. And therefore St. Paul warns the Chriftians of thofe times, to beware left any Man f polled them, through Philo- fophy a7id 'vain Deceit ; after the Tradition of Men 'y after the Rudiments of the World. Col. ii. 8. The Maxims of worldly and true Wifdom often run acrofs j and when they do, the worldly Wifdom is too apt to prevail, as there is always that in if which flatters our Pride, if not our fenfual inclinations. This is the Foundation of what St. Paul fays, I Cor. i. 26. Not many wife Men after the Flefh, not many mighty, not many noble , % are Of the Caujes of Infidelity. 463 are called. This is the Reafon why Chrijl applied not himfelf to fuch, but to the Poor^ and to the Meek, and to the Lowly ; who being lefs under the Influence of worldly Interefts, were the better prepared to receive his Dodrine. Thofe who draw this Con- dud: of our blefTed Saviour into an Objec- tion againft the Gofpel, and infinuate, as if it implied a Confcioufnefs within him- felf, that the Proofs he had to offer in fup- port of his Pretenfions, were fuch as would not ftand a fair Trial, greatly miftake the Matter. If we knew nothing of thofe Proofs, there would be fome Colour for the Objedion. But the Evidence which Chrifi gave, was well known both to great and fmall ; and we are not now a(hamed to fay what it was. He had the Power of God vifibly attending his Miniftry in Signs and Wonders. This was a reafonable Evi- dence. But a reafonable Evidence muft have reafonable Men to confider it, or it will work nothing. Chriji therefore did no more in this, than what every wife Man would do in the faireft, honefteft, Caufe in the World j he fought impartial, dif- mterefied Judges ; which the wife (as they were 464 Of the Caufes of hifidelity, were then efteemed) and the mighty^ and the noble ^ generally were not ; as indeed, in fuch Cafes, they very feldom are. But to return to my Subjedl. It appears from the whole, that accepting the Gofpel or rejeding it, is a Matter in which human Liberty is properly concerned j without which Suppofition, as Faith could chal- lenge no Reward, fo neither would Unbe- lief render us juftly liable to Condemnation. A Man cannot fin in judging or believing as the Evidence appears to him. This is not an Ad: of Choice. But he may fin by acarelefs or wicked Mind, which keeps the Evidence out of Sight, or reprefents it in a falfe Light j becaufe no Man is carelefs or wicked, but by the Ad of his own Will. It is not at all furprizing, that if this was the Cafe of many in the Days of Chri/i and his Apoftles, it fhould be the Cafe of more in thefe late Ages. For human Na- ture is always the fame ; human Paflions ever work to the fame Ends ; and Prejudice will ever be more fecure and undillurbed, in proportion as the Accidents of Time fur- nidi out a greater Variety of Coverings, un- der Of the Caiifes of Infidelity, 465 der which to hide and conceal it. Thofe who lived in the time of Chriji and faw his MiracleSj had but one Point to confi- der J Were fuch Miracles an Evidence of his divine Million ? But now another Queftioh may arife ; Were fuch Miracles ever wrought ? We fee not the Miracles wrought, as they did. We believe them upon the Authority of the Scripture Hi- ftory, againft which Pretences of various kinds are not wanting, which may ferve the Purpofe of thofe who love to find fault, and are not difpofed to confider things in an impartial and equitable Light. In this State of the Cafe, when the Evidence of Faith has palTed through many Hands, and has been conveyed down to us through a long Succeflion of Ages ; Learning and ' Good-fenfe will be neceflary to the forming a right Judgment in thofe who are defirous to fee to the Bottom of it. But Learning is, like other Inflruments, ufeful or hurt- ful according to the Hands into which it falls. The fame natural Parts ; the fame ' fame acquired Kuowledge, which qualify one Man to defend the Truth, will qualify another to traduce andexpofe it ; and whe- ther they (hall be employed this way or G g that 4^6 Of the Caufes of Infideliff: that v/ay, will always depend upon the Temper and Difpoiition with which Men enter upon fuch Enquiries. Thus it muft for ever be, except in thofe Cafes, where the Weaknefles and the Paffions of Men are nothing interefted ; or where things are made fo plain as to leave no room for Dif- pute or Contradiction. The Evidence for Chriftianity is not of this fort, we confefs j which, furely ! can be no Reproach to our Faith, confidering how few things there are that are capable of Demonftration. In the Affairs of common Life we fland not upon fuch high Terms. We feldom in fuch Cafes confider what is ftridly pojjible or impojfible^ but what is moft certain, or what is mojl probable, according to the common Rules of judging, which our Ex- perience and Obfervation have taught us. Let us but preferve this Spirit in our religious Enquiries, and we fhall find enough to fa- tisfy us. Reafonable Men will think this to be reafonable Advice ; but it is not to be expeded that thofe (hould liften to it, who from a fecret Difguft, and Difaffedion to Religion, are defirous to make the moft of every Objedion that can be raifed againft it- For 0/ the Catifes of Infidelity, 467 For the Reafons I have offered it is natu- ral to exped:, that when Vice and Immo- rality greatly prevail in any Age, Infidelity will keep an even Pace vv^ith it. 'Tis then we are to look to hear the Scriptures vili- fied, and the loweft Artifices made ufe of to bring them into Difrepute ; which may afford a proper Caution, firfl, to ferious Chriftians, who mean well, but do not fee a great way into the Reafons of their Faith, and may be fcandalized when they obferve Men of Parts and Learning treating the Gofpel with Indifferency or Contempt. Let fuch as thefe conflder the Spirit of theTimes in which they live ; let them obferve the Men and their Communications, and if they find their Pradlices to be bad, they will fee little Caufe to rely upon their Judgments in fuch Matters as thefe. I do not take up- on me to affirm, that every Unbeliever is an immoral Man -, nor does our Saviour fay it. He flates the Fadl as it generally was^ and as Experience fhews it generally to be. No Man fhould be condemned rafhly j but when we fee the Caufes before our Eyes, we have a Right to judge of their EfFedts, and to fuppofe, that when a Man ads againft Reafon, he may judge and deter- G g 2 mine 468 Of the Caufes of Infidelity* mine againfl it too. Ail Vices are not no- torious J and where there are no open, im- moral Pradices, there may be fecret Cor- ruptions and Foibles, pot lefs apt to miflead Men in their Judgments. If a Man is not debauched in his Morals ; he may be vain 5 he may be proud , which commonly breeds an Affedation of Novelty, and a Difdain to think in the common Road. This Dif-^ eafe of the Mind is incident to the befl Un- derftandings, and is fo much the more dangerous in its Confequences, as it oft- times lurks under a Condud: feemingly cool and diiinterefted. By Pride the Angels fell 'j by Pride the firft of Men j and what Wonder is it that it (hould be a Snare to his Pofterity ? who, when they afpire to be knowing asGoD, will find himin none of his Works, whether of Redemption, or of Creation 1 Laflly j without the Sup- poiition of any thing that is culpable, there may be fomething in the natural Frame^ and Caft of the Mind, that may lead fome into peculiar Ways of thinking upon certain Points , who may judge ex^ tremely well in other Matters ; as is. feen to a very great Degree in Cafes of Madnefs. But neither this, npr any of the foregoing Obferva- 4 Aferious Addrefs to the Detjls. 469 Obfervations, are offered as if they would at all help to decide the Merits of the Caufe between Chriftians and Unbelievers; but only to (hew, that if we ourfeli^es are fatisfied in the Reafons of our Faith, we {hould not be difcouraged, though we fhould obferve feme even of the great- eft Charaders for their Parts and Learn- ing, entertaining different Sentiments ; be- caufe there will always be room to fufpedt, that the Judgments of fuch may not be de- termined by the mere Force of Truth, with- out any Intermixture of human Weaknefs or Pafiion to give the Mind a wrong Turn. The other fort of Men to whom ^ ferkus I would apply myfelf(iflcan be f^^{^;^ heard by fuch) are Unbelievers themfelves, wholliould not confider it aS an indifferent Matter, whether they accept the Gofpel when offered, or whether they wilfully ftjut their Eyes againft the Truth. The Gofpel was intended for a Benefit to Mankind ; but then it was intended like- wife for the Glory of God -y and therefore it is not offered to us in fuch a way, as to leave it to our Difcretion whether we will ufe the Benefit, or whether we will negled Gg3 it^ 470 Aferiom Addrefi to the DeiJIs. it J but under an Obligation to embrace the Means vouchfafed for our Salvation, upon pain of Condemnation for our Difobedience. This Confideration makes the accepting or not accepting the Gofpel, when it is offer- ed, to be a very ferious thing j and en- titles it to a fair hearing : And this I v^^ill venture to fay to thofe, who are cool and difinterefted in their Enquiries, and have a true Concern for the Interefts of Natural Religion J that if they will coniider the Gofpel Revelation as an Inftrument of Pro- vidence to reform the Corruptions of Men, and to aflift and promote the Pradice of real Virtue in the World ; they will find in it fuch Marks of Wifdom and Goodnefs, as will be fufficient to turn their Prejudices the other way, or at leaft to cure that Un- wilhngnefs to believe, which has ever been the ftrongeft Obftacle againft its Reception. A fliort Review of the chief Points of the Gofpel Dodlrine, and the external Appoint- ments in which the Prad:ice of Chriftians is concerned ; will place this Matter in a very clear and fatisfadory Light. In what State Mankind was v/hen Cbnfi came, we have before fet forth. Under Sin Aferiom Addrefs to the Deijis, 471 Sin and Condemnation -, Idolatry and Wickednefs every where prevailing. See now what Steps were taken to reftore Man- kind, and to recover loft Virtue. The firfl was to declare the Forgivenefs of all paft Offences, on the Condition of Repentance. This was a very neceftary Point to begin with : To make Men fecure that their Re- pentance fhould be accepted. For if Man- kind was to be reformed, there muft have been fome proper Encoiirageme?it to them to reform j which there could not have been, had there been no Hopes left fronn Repentance. If a Man is fo much over- whelmed in Debt, as to fee no Poflibility ofefcaping a Gaol j what Spur will there be left for Induftry?— But what occalion was there for the Gofpel (may fome one afk) to give Mankind this Security ? Doth. not every one's Reafon tell him, that God will accept of repenting Sinncs ? It is very natu- ral for thofe who have been bred up under the Gofpel Light, by which revealed Truths are fo familiarized to the Underftanding, that they pafs with them for pure, natural Principles, to afk this and many fuch like Quellions. Reafon no doubt will fhew us, G g 4 that 472 u4 ferious Addrefs to the Delfts. that without Repentance no Man can be acceptable to God ; and there can be as little doubt, that thofe who fee into the Error ^ of their Ways, and change their Courfe of Life, fhall find Mercy before our great and merciful Judge. But how far this Mercy will extend, is another Queftion. What the Gofpel offers is a full and ple- riary Remi(llon of all Sins, or a Reftitution to our fiift orio;inal Privileges ; of which O Of there is no Man of common Senfe who would not v/ifh for fome better Security^ than mere natural Principles can give him. If a Man had offended an earthly Sove- reign, and forfeited his Life or his Eftate, ^y the Laws of his Country ; which would he chufe ? To be left to reafon upon the Clemency of his Prince ; or to have his Par- don fealed by the Royal Authority ? The Cafes are alike. For whatever Hopes un- afiiiied Reafon may adminifier, that God will accept of Repentance, as a full Equi- yalent to that Obedience which we ought to have paid j flill they are but Hopes. But the Golpel is the Seal of our Foigivenefs, authorized by God himfelf ; which leaving no room for Doubt or Diflrulf, tiikes off every A ferhtis Addrefs to the Dei/is. 473 every Weight that {hould check our grow^ ing Refolutions. There can be no doubt but that Men's Endeavours to do well, will, where there is nothing elfe to hinder, always bear Pro- portion both to the Certainty and the Ex- tent of the beneficial Confequences, that offer themfelves as an Encouragement to Virtue. Confider then what the Benefit of our Acceptance is ; or what the Gofpel offers as the Fruit of our Repentance. It is not a fimple Acquittance from the Impu^ tation of Guilty and from whatever P«- 7i7fiment God might think fit to inf^id upon lis as Sinners; but it is the Promife of eternal Life ; of being raifed again to an incorruptible State ; to live for ever with him in Joy and Blifs unfpeakable. Can natural Light fliew us any fuch Fruit of Repentance as this ? I deny not that Rea- fon gives ftrong Notices of a future State, where a juft and proper Diftindion (hall be made between good and bad Men ; and that many of the ancient Philofophers be- lieved this Doctrine. But the weak Prin- ciples by which they fupported it ; and the doubtfuL 474 Aferious Addrefs to the Deifls, doubtful, uncertain Manner in which fome of the wifeft of them expreifed themfelves, very plainly fhew, that as this Notion was not taken up at firft merely upon natural Principles, fo fome farther Help was want-* ing to make it a fure, and ftable Principle of Conduct. I can ealily fee a great Fit- nefs in fuppofing, that God will rev/ard the Good and puniih the Bad in another World ; becaufe I do not obferve, that he does it with any Degree of Exadnefs in this. But I fee no Neceffity of fuppofing, that in order to juftify himfelf to his Crea- tures, God muft repay the little Good we do with an eternal Reward. But to judge rightly of the Ufefulnefs of the Gofpel, we fhould confider, not what was necelTary to a few only j but how it is calculated toferve the Bulk of Mankind. Be it admitted, that fome few of the wifeft and moil: confiderate might, and did, by the Ufe of their Reafon, difcover fuch Evi- dences of a future State, as proved effedual to fupport a common Virtue ; how fhould the common People come by thefe No- tions ? It is plain that they could not have reajoned Aferiotis Addrefi to the Deifts. 47^ reafbned themfelves into this Belief (a Work for which they are by no means qualified) they mu ft have had it by Authority^ as in fa(3: they had. Their Philofophers taught it ; their Legiflators encouraged it ; and fo they took it up by Education and Cuftom, as the Bulk of Mankind does almoft every thing elfe. Now^ when Notions are left to reft upon Authority, their Influence will be greater or lefs in proportion to the Weight of that Authority upon which they are re- ceived. And this will open to us a very confiderable Difference between the State of Religion, as it fubfifted under the mere Guidance of natural Light, and as it flood when the Gofpel appeared. The Heathens believed a future State upon the Authority of their wife Men ; the Gofpel offers it to our Belief upon the Authority of God. There' is in all Cafes a great Difference be- tween divine Authority and an Authority merely human ; but the Authority of the heathen Philofophers was much weakened by the Difagreement in their Sentiments among themfelves. Some believed a future State 'j others denied it ; and thofe who doubted, and would fatisfy themfelves, had DO J^y6 A ferious Addrefs to the DeiJIs, no other way of doing it, than by decid- ing upon the Merits of their Reafonings ; which very few were qualified by their Ca- pacities to do. But Cbriji and his Apoftles came with the viiible Marks of the Power of God attending their Miniftry, and de- clared in his NatJje^ that he had appointed a Day tn vjbich he would judge the World ; which Evidence, at the fame time that it wrought Convidion, awakened Mankind alfo into Attention and Reverence, when they faw, in thefe mighty Works, the God of Heaven and Earth, as it were, prefent among them. Take thefe things together, and you will perceive, that nothing could be better fuited to reform a corrupted and degenerate World, than the preaching of the Gofpel y before which Idolatry and Superftition va- nifhed, like Darknefs at the Rifing of the Sun, long before heathen Princes were con- verted, and aided its farther Growth and Jncreafe by the Sanations of Civil Autho- rity. Now let us fee, what Methods the divine Providence hath provided, that the Gofpel thus eftablilhed (hould be propa- gated Aferious Addrefs to the Dei/is. ^.yyt gated to future Ages, to ftand as a Harriet againft Vice and Corruption, and to convey the Benefit of its faving Influence to Gene- rations yet unborn. In the firft place, God hath given us hh WRITTEN Word } which is a Handing Call to Repentance, upon the Motives of a Life to come. As Men were Sinners againft the firft Law j fo, it was forefeen that they would be Sinners againft the fe- cond J nor was it fuitable to the Frailties and Imperfe(Sions of human Nature to ex- pert otherwife. And therefore the Offers of Acceptance upon Repentance, are made to extend to all Tranfgreftions, future as well as paft. Great Condefcenfion ! And yet not more than the Wifdom of God faw fit and proper for us. Of this amazing Inftance of God's Love to Mankind, and his Unwilling?2efs that any jhould perijh^ the Scriptures are our Charter ; in which Chri[i and his Apoftles being dead, do yet Jpeak to us ; and {hew the Power of God in Signs and Wonder Sy wrought for the Confirmation of hit Word. Nor are the Scriptures ufeful only as they contain the 47^ -^Jertom Addrefs to the Deijis, Evidences of our Faith j but as they are a Rule of PraSiice plain and eafy to be un- derftood by all. Our natural Notions of Right and Wrong are, to a ferious, atten- tive Mind, as plain a Direcftion in ordinary Cafes, as any written Law can be. But Vice and Corruption may pervert Reafon and defile natural Light, as it heretofore did in the heathen World j infomuch that the Philofophers of old found it necellary to ajjiji Reafon ; to deduce moral Duties from their firft Principles ; and {hew their Alliance with the real Happinefs of Man- kind. This was all they could do ; and no doubt it had veiy good Effeds upon many. But the Gofpel takes a much nearer Courfe ; and fends ail away with this fhort and plain Anfwer, Thus it is written — God hath /aid it. The Philofophers wrote ma- ny ufeful Books of Morality 5 but they wanted Authority, by which alone, the lefs capable (which are always the far greatefl) Part of Mankind are to be kept right ; which would very fenfibly be felt, if we (hould take away the Bible from the common People, and give them the Ethics of Arijiotk^ or Cicero^ in their (lead. To make Aferious Jddrefs to the Deijls. 479 make fuch Writings ufeful and inftrudive, you mufi: give them Underflandings as well as Books. But every one that is not a di- rect Idiot, may underftand the ten Com' jnandmenfs, and fuch eafy and familiar LefTons as he finds in the New Teftament ; and if he is taught to believe, that thefe are the Word of God, he wants nothing elfe (fo far as Authority can go) to enforce the Pradtice of them. But here perhaps a Queftion may be be moved j How can the common People receive a rational Conviction, that the Scriptures are the Word of God ? Can they enter into thofe Arguments which are moved among Men of Letters, concerning the Authors and Authority of thefe Books ? Noj nor is it needful that they (hould. Thofe who think that God cannot grant a . Revelation worthy of himfelf, unleft it be of that fort, that all who are to have the Benefit of it, fhall fee its Evidence in the full Extent and Compafs of it ; may afk fuch Que ft ions. But this is laying a Foun- dation upon which no Religion, whether revealed or natural, can poffibly ftand. The Heathens, as I have before obferved, be- lieved 4^0 A ferious Addrefs to the l)eijts. lieved a future State ; and without this Be- lief there can be no fufficient Security for the Prailice of Virtue-. But upon what foot was this Doctrine received among the common People ? Do you think they were all Philofophers, and able to deduce it from natural PrincipleSj as the Philofophers did ? No 5 they took it (as they did a great many other things) upon the Credit of the current. National Senfe. Should Chriflianitybe lofl, and Heathenifm again revive, the Cafe muft again be the fame* Some few might be able to reafon them- felves into Religion ; but the far greater Part mull: take it upon Truft. There is no Difference in this refped between Chri- flianity and other Religions. As the Hea-^ thens had ihrnjirjl and leading Principles^ which they took upon the Authority of common Conjlmt, fo have the Chriftrans theirs J and fo have the ProfeiTors of eve- ry Religion in the World as well as they. It is. upon this Authority that the Scriptures are (generally) received am.ong us, as the Word of God. Few can fhew the -Reafons why they ought to be fo re- ceived J but all hear and underftand the common j^ ferious Addrefi to the t)eijls. 48 1 common Voice, which does and muft ferve inflead of Evidence, to thofe who are not qualified to look any farther. The Faith of fuch, no doubt, is lefs complete and per^ fe:pe6t, that any Atten- tion ihould be paid to the preaching of the Oofpel. But 1st us take the Cafe as it •"^ 3 to profcjjed Chriftians. 489 flands among ourfelves, where it is well known and underftood, that all iramoral Pradices are condemned by the Gofpel ; and confider what Notion the ignorant and lefs intruded will mofl naturally entertain, when they fliall obfei ve thofe who pretend to underftand and to have confidered Chri- ftianity, and perhaps may magnify it much in their Dil'courfes, running counter to its Rules and Precepts, in their Lives and Con- i/erfations. There are few (as I have be- fore obferved) who take up Religion as the Refult of Judgment and Enquiry. We are bred up to it as we are to Arts and Sciences; and what we take u^^xhtik implicitly from our Parents, and Inftru6lors, we retain af- terwards, for the greater part, more in Re- liance upon the publick Voice and Opinion, than upon any Convidion of our own, founded upon a clear and full Sight of the Evidence. This is no Refiedion upon Religion, nor indeed upon Mankind j be-r caufe in the Nature, and Conflitution of things, otherwife it cannot be. All Men are not qualified for Enquiries of this kind ; and, comparatively fj-ieaking, perhaps few gre. Men of Education and Lcifure may do 490 A ferious Addrefs do much for themfelves ; but thofe who are born to the laborious, or bufy Employ- ments of Life, mujt take their Religion from the common Inllrudion, or they will have none. And yet, after all, the Gofpel muft ftand or fall by its Evidence. Thofe who receive it, not feeing its Evidence, do it upon a Prefumption, that there is Evi- dence feen and known to thofe who are qualified to judge of it. But how will it weaken this Prefumption, when a Man (I fay) fhall obferve thofe upon whofe Judgment he relies, talking indeed the com- mon Language of Believers, but living as if they had no Religion at all ? " Are you '^ in earned (may fome one afli) when *^ you tell me, upon the Authority of the " Gofpel, that eternal Wrath is prepared " for Sinners ; and will you yet make *' yourfelf a Tranfgreffor of the Law ? «< Why do you read me this LefTon but to *' reform my Life r Do you believe it, and *' will you not reform your own ? Is it not " of more Concern to you to fave yourfelf, <' than it is to five me ?" Upon this fort of Realbniag Mankind is apt ioprejlwie, that bad Livers are not heartily convinced of the Truth to profejfed Chriftiam. 49 1 Truth of Religion, though out of Cuftom and Comphance with the World they may make an outward {hew of it. I do not fay that the Prefumption is right ; and, I truft, it very often fails. For we fee in other In- ftances, that Mens Perfuafions and their Pradtices are not always of a Piece. If there is any thing plain to common Senfe and Experience, it is this; that badCoarfes are the high Road to Beggary and Mi- fery. Yet we have Rakes and Spendthrifts, We cannot, therefore, certamly concludCj that a Man has no Faith becaufe he has lit- tle Virtue. But it is a Handle that thofe will always be ready to lay hold of, who want to excufe themfelves from believing j and they are all who love Darknefs ratber thanLight', the loofe, the idle, and the vain; who ftrengthen themfelves in Numbers, and having no Judgment of their own, or not caring to make ufe of any, will natu- rally lay the greatefl: Weight on the Side that mod favours their fenfual Inclinations. But if fuch Examples do not make Men diredly Unbelievers, they certainly will produce in many great Carelejlnefs of Be- haviour; 492 A feriom Addrefs haviour ; which is another way of defeat- ing the Purpofe of the Gofpel. There can be no Queftion, but that as the Rule of every Man's Condud is the Law of God j fo the proper Motive of his Adtions is, a Senfe of Duty to God, under the Views of thofe Rewards and Punifhments, which he hath referved for good and bad Men at the great Day of Recompence. And wherever thefe Principles lay faft hold, and become the prevailing Subjedl of our Thoughts, bad Examples can do no Harm. But becaufe thefe things lie at a Diftance, and are therefore too apt to be overlooked j the good Providence of God hath, as a pre- fent Aid to our Infirmities, thrown many Rubs and Checks in the forbidden Paths of Life, confpiring with our future Hopes and Expectations, and mutually affifting to keep us within our proper Bounds. Of this fort, among many others, is the Senfe of Shame ^ which every Man feels v/hen he does things notorioufly bad ^ and than which there is not a ftronger Barrier again ft Vice, till, by frequency in finning, the Mind is hardened and grows to be infenii- ble. It is to be feared, that many obferve a decent to projeffed Cbrifiims, 493 a decent Behaviour, more from the prefent Difgrace to which their Vices will expofe them ; than through the Apprehenfions of what is to come hereafter. Even this im- perfect Virtue is better than none. It is a good Step to Religion, if it be not Religion itfelf. If a Man keeps himfelf free from bad Habits, virtuous Inclinations will na- turally follow ; as the good Seed that is fown, will grow up and flourifh, when the Ground is kept clear from Weeds and Rubbifh. But a bad Example (fo far as it goes) takes oft the Reflraint of Shame. For what is Shame, but that Difguji which a Man feels within himfelf, from the Pre- fumption that he ftands condemned by thofe who are WitnciTcs of his ill Beha- viour ? And can you be pre fumed to con- demn another for what you allow in your ownfelf ? If in common Eflimation all Ac- tions were alike, nobody would be afhamed of any thing that he does ; and this would appear to be the Cafe, fhould Mankind ge- nerally ad as if there ivas no Diftinclion. Every bad Man does what in him lies to bring on this wretched State of things. The Vices of Nations are the Vices of Indivi- dualj. 494 A ferious Addrefs duals ; which fpread like a Contagion from- Houfe to Houfe, till they fill every Corner of the Land. And when bad Men are thus left free from all Reflraint, and Vice has obtained as it were the piiblick Sanc- tion J the few good ones that are left are borne down, as by a mighty Torrent j and what are we to think of the Gofpel when this is the Cafe ? Or what of thofe, who by firft breaking down the Banks, and running out of their proper Inclofure, draw Multitudes after them, like Herds of Cattle, to their own Deftrudion ? Our Saviour has decided their Cafe in very fo- lemn Terms, Matt, xviii- 7. Wo unto the World becaufe of Offences ; for it 7mift needs be that Offences come ; but wo unto that Man by whom the Offence cometh—it were better for him that a Milfione were hanged about his Neck^ and that he were drowned in the Debth of the Sea. — I'ake heed that ye defpife not one of thefe little Ones—for the Son of Man is come to fave that which was loji. Our Saviour calls his Difciples, little Ones j fuch they were in all worldly Eltimation. Low in their Circumftances snd Stations j little in their Knowledge an4 to profejfed Chrijlians. 495 and Experience of human Things. And iuch are the Bulk of Believers in all Ages. The more apt therefore are they to be fcan- dalized, and run into bad Courfes, when they fee their Betters lead the Way before them. But they are not to be defpifed j for the Son of God came to fave them as well as the reft. And therefore to the young and to the ignorant ; to the weak and un- experienced ; we fhould be the Patterns of of good things, even for their Weaknefs and their Infirmities fake ; otherwife, their Sins will be our Sins, and fo reckoned at the Day of Judgment. In many things we of- fend all \ and would we fearch and examine ourfelves, and fee how the Reckoning ftands, only as it lies between God and our own Confcienccs ; we llvall find it heavy enough, and fee Caufe to cry out, with David, O ckanfe thou me from my fecret Faults! But fcandalous Offences fhouW make us tremble. For who knows whom they may corrupt, whom they may per- vert ? And how fad an Account fhall we have to give, when, together with our own Sins, the Sins of Numbers fliall be laid to oiir Charge ! There is no reckoning how far 496 Aferious Addrefe far the Influence of a bad Example reaches, Dor what are the worft of its EfFeds ; for the Seeds of Corruption once fown, work unfeen and unobfferved ; and the moft melancholy Confideration of all is, that when the Mifchief is done, it may never be capable of Reparation. There is no way of making Reparation for Sin but by true Repentance ; and when a bad Man, who has been an Example of Vice, becomes an Example of Repentance too, he has done hisutmofl:. But we (hould confider, that, generally fpeaking, Men are more prone to follow bad Examples than good ones ; and that many may be hurt by our Vices, who will know nothing of our Reforma- tion, or if they do, will nothing profit by it. And what a mortifying Refledion muii it be to a Man, when he comes to re- cover from his Vices, and to entertain a ferious Senfe of Religion, to confider, that by one bad Part of his Life he has done that Mifchief, for which all that remains of it, be it ever fo long, may never m.ake a futficient Amends! The to profejjed Chrijiians. 497 The Refult is this, that every one that .nametb the Name of Chrijl^ fliould depart from Iniquity^ and ftudy to adorn his Doc- trine in all things^ by a Behaviour fuitable to his Profeffion. The greater Influence his Station and Character gives him, the ftronger will the Argument hold him ; for the EfFeds will always bear a Proportion to it. No Man is fo mean as not to be con- fiderable to certain Perfons, and on certain Accounts J and therefore the Argument reaches to all. But a bad Life is worft in thofe who ftand diftinguifhed from the common Rank of Men by a Superiorit)r in Birth and Fortunes, or in Wifdom, or in Authority, and Pre-eminence j becaufe thefe are they from whom the Bulk of Man- kind take their Maxims. For this Reafon our Saviour gives it in particular Charge to his firft Difciples, who were to be the Inftruments by which .the Gofpel was to be fpread over the Face of the Earth, to let their Light fo flnne before Men, that they might fee their good Works ^ and glorify their father which is in Heaven. Te (fays he) are the Salt of the Earth j but if the Salt I i has 49^ ^ fifious Addrefs has lojl its Savour^ wherewitb fiali it be falted ? It is thencejortb good for nothiitg but to be cafl out^ and to be trodden under jootofMen. Matt. v. 13. 16. Meet it is that we confefs, 'with Fear and T^rembjiiig^ how juilly founded are the publick Ex- pe(5lations, that we, who by our Office are the Preachers of Right eoujnefs^ {hould be the 'Examples of it too. And meet it is that every Man for himfelf, befides the common Obligation he is under from his Chriftian Profeffion, to a fober and godly Converfa- tion, fliould likewife ferioufly ]ay to heart, what kind of Behaviour the particular Cha:- radter and Situation he bears in Life more efpecially enforces ; that our Virtues may ihine in their full Proportion and Beauty. This would bring Religion into Credit and Efteem j and ftir up a noble Emulation, which {hall moft excell in every thing that is virtuous and praife- worthy. But ifthofe who are to be Patterns to others, (hall do ill themfelves ; it is not to be expeded, that the reft of the World fliould do better. I will add one thing more, which is, that 2in immoral Life in thofe who believe to profejjed Cbrijiians. 499 the Gofpel, not only brings it into Difgracc with others, but, in the long run, makes it contemptible even to themfelves. The State of a Chriftian, when his Condud: is fuch as will give him a jufl: Foundation for Hope and Truft in God, is a moft defira- ble thing. But when he fees nothing but the Sentence of God againft himfelf, it is of all States the moft miferable. How fliall a Man change the Profpe6i ? By Repent- ance ? Yes. But Repentance is the Re- Itoration of the moral State. He that re- pents, from an immoral becomes a moral Man, and then the Promifes of the Gofpel are open to him. But fuppofe he does not find a Heart to repent. What muft he do then ? Why, he muft either lay afide his Faith ; or he muft contrive fuch Softenings and Palliations of the Law, as will render his Faith dead and fruitlefs. The Force of Education is ftrong, but it is not irrefift- ible. We find it hard to lay afide thofe Opinions which we have been bred up in; but it is to be done if we will take pains for it : And this, I am afraid, is too common a Cafe, that in proportion as Men grow bad in Pradice, they grow bad in Principle I i 2 too. j;oo Aferkui Addrefs too. Few fet out with irreligious Princi- ples at firft. They fin to gratify their Paf- fions, without giving thenafelves the Trou- ble to think of Confequences. But when their Vices begin to make them uneafy, they are drawn off by Degrees. Their In- clinations naturally beget Hopes favourable to themfelves ; and thefe Hopes grow into vehement Frefumptlons^ ox fettled Opinions ^ as Reafon, difturbed by Paffion, grows un- faithful to itfelf, and by Difufe and Mif- application contradts every Day more and more an Unaptnefs to compare and lay things together. It may be as difficult to explain the Manner, how the Underftand- ings of Men are warped to fee things in a falfe and deceitful Light, as it is to explain how a ftrait Limb grows diftorted, or how the whole Body degenerates from a robuft to a fickly Conftitution. But of the Rea- lity of the thing we can as little doubt. There are diftempered Minds as well as di- ftempered Bodies ; and a corrupted Heart ^s naturally makes an unfound Head, as a foal Stomach produces Indigeftions. This to profeff'ed Chrijiians, 50 1 This (hould teach all who have fuch a Value for their Religion as to be defirous to keep it ; to take Care of the firft Begin- nings of Vice. When Elijha had told Ha- zael, that he (hould kill his Mailer, he anfwered like a Man aftonifhed, Is tloy Ser- vant a Dog^ that he Jhould do this thing ? 2 Kings viii. 13. But he did it; and Thoufands come to that in the Progrefs of Vice, which at firft fetting out they would have thought of with Abhorrence. It is {hocking to a Mind that has been formed by Education to virtuous Principles, at firfl hearing, to be told, that there is no God, or no Providence, or no future Reckoning ; but if he gives himfelf a Loofe to Vice, he will foon be reconciled to fuch Maxims ; and what then (hall fave him ? We know there is no Salvation for Sinners but by Re- pentance, the Motives to which every true Believer has within himfelf. But if a Man thinks that he is to die like the Beaji that ferijheth^ he will very confidently think, he has a Right to live like them too ; and every Argument you can offer to bring him to better Courfes will be vain and fruitlefs. To 502 Aferious Addrefs To conclude now in a very few Words. We have feen the direct Oppofitlon that im- moral Pradices bear to the fundamental Interefts of the Gofpel, and to every reafon- able Expedation of thofe who are wiUing to be faved by it. Let us therefore caji off the Works of DarJmefs^ and let us put on the Armour of Light j remembring that DeJlruBion will be the End of all ungodly Men, who turn the Grace of God into Lafcivioufnejs. And what does this De^ firuBion mean ? Not that Paradife of Fools a State of Annihilation^ but everlafting De- Jirudiion from the Fre fence of the Lord, and from the Glory of his Power, when he fiall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angels, to be glorified in his Saints, and to be admired in all them that believe, and in flaming Fire to take Vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the Gofpel of our Lord Jefus Chrift, 2 ThelT. i. 7— 11. Publick and folemn Adminiftrations of Juf- tice naturally ftrike the Mind with Awe and Terrror ; and no Man on fuch Occa- fions can hear the Sentence of Death come forth from the Mouth of an earthly Judge, I without to profejjed Chrijlians. 503 without feeling fuch Impreflions, as will make him fearful to offend. Is there any Image to be taken from human things, that can fully reprefent to us the awful Solem- nity of that Day j when God, furrounded with his heavenly Hofl, (hall come forth to judge the World ; and when all People, Nations, and Languages, fummoned by his dreadful Voice, fhall appear in one grand Aflembly before him ; to receive each Man his Doom, the Good to inherit the King- dom prepared for them, and the Bad to be* thrown down headlong into that fiery Gulf, which is prepared for the Devil and his Angels ! We never can but once have the Experience what it is to fall into the Hands of the living Gody but from lefler things' we may make fome Eftimate of greater ; gnd it is certain, that the dulleft Imagina- tion can frame no Idea of the great Day of Accounts, that will not rife incomparably higher, than the very warmeft Sentiments we can feel from the Experience of any thing of the like fort that we fee and know about us. It is for this Reafon that bad Men obftinately fhut their Eyes againft it. They cannot bear the Sight of it. And if by 504 ^ ferious Addrefs^ &c,, by the fame kQi they could tye up the Hands of Juftice, and defeat the Purpofes of God, there might be fome Senfe in it. But what fay you? Will you blind-fold yourfelf and be daflied in Pieces, becaufe you cannot ftand the Shock of the dread- ful Precipice that lies before you, which if you would but fufFer yourfelf to fee, it would make you keep your Diftance and prevent the Mifchief ! Affuredly the Pefign of Providence (and a gracious Delign it is) in opening to us the End of bad Men, is to warn us of our Danger, that, knowing the Tower of his Wrath^ we may order our Steps aright. Happy for us if thefe Warn- ings will fuffice, and we will not delay to be convinced till it is too late to take Warn- ing ; and that Experience which alone will convince us, determines our State to Mifery without Redemption. FINIS. ■a^/9 \