^A'//,.; :^- -^rR f .J r^ S:^■ THE REASONABLENESS AND CERTAINTY O F T H E Chriftian Religion. Vol. I. By R O B E R T J E N K I N, D. D. ktc Lady Margaret's Profeffor of Divinity, and Mafter of St. John's College in Cambridge. The Sixth Edition, Correded. LONDON, Printed for J.J. and P. Knapton,J. Brotherton, J. Hazard, W. Meadowes, T. Cox, W. HiNCHCLlFFE, S. BiRT , R. WlLLIAMSON , W, BlCKERTON, T. ASTLEY, S. AuSTEN, L^ GiLLivER, and R. WiLLocK. 1734. '.. .-^N ABLE TO THE Right Honour EARL of EXETER. May it pleafe Your Lordship, H E general Decay and Con- tempt of the Chriftian Reli- gion amongfi- usy has made me think ^ that I could not better employ the Le'tfure, which, by Tour Lordfhifs Favour, I enjoy, than m ufing my befi Endeavours tojhgw the Ex- cellency and the Certainty of h. And what I have done, is here humbly p re- fintedtoTourLordJJjip, as of Right, and upon many Accounts, it ought to Iq. A z ■ the The Epistle The Honour and the SathfaBion which 1 have often had to hear Tour Lord/hip [peak m the behalf of Religion and Virtue^ encourage me to hope^ that a Performance^ though btitfuch as this^ upon that SubjeBj may obtain Tour Acceptance. And the Name only of a P erf on of Tour Lordfh'ip's Honour and Learnings and Knowledge of the Worlds may perhaps be of more ad- vantage to the Caufe I undertake^ than a- ny thing I have been able to write. Religion may feem by Defcent , and as it were^ by Inheritance ^^ to belong to Your Lordjhifs Care : The Wifdom and Piety of Tour Great Ancefior^ appear to dijlant Ages in the Reformation y which^ through the BleJ/ing of God^ was in fo great a meafure^ by his means eftablijhed in this Kingdom. And I have with joy often thought y that I could obferve the Spirit and Genius of my Lord Treafurer BuRGHLEY, now exertwg it felj more than ever in Tour Noble Family. Frotn whence^ methinks^ we may pre f age Hap- pinefs to the Nation , and may yet expeH to fee a true Senfe of Religion revive^ and may hfpe^ that even in our Days^ Chri- kej^ ftianityy Dedicatory. Jiiamty , amon^o^fi Engliflimen , /hall he more than a Name^ which is every where fpoken againft. An eminent Virtue is a Publick Good : There is a power fid and commanding Force in Great Examples^ to countenance Virtue and difcourage Vice and Prof anenefs y to ^rnake Irreligion appear^ as it is^ hafe and contemptible in the World \ to degrade ity and thruji it down^ among the lower and untaught part of Mankind, Much is not to he expeBed from the Schools and from the Gown^ under fuch Contempt and Dif- couragement. But the Great and the Ho- nourable have it in their power to do great things \ things worthy of Them/elves^ and for the advancement of God"^ s Glory. Per- fons of High Birthy and both by Nature and Education fitted for the Higheji Un- dertakings , whofie Virtues fhall fiourifih with their Tearsj and add New Lufire to their Hereditary Honours^ may yet regain a due efieem to Religion^ and adorn the Gofpel of Chrift. This is a proper Object for the Amhttion of generous afiptring Minds to exprefs their Gratitude to him who has placed them fio much above the refl of the A 3 World', The Epistle World \ and when they find themjelves happy now ^ to dtfdatn to mm at any thing lefs than everlafting Happmefs here- after. To be m'tferable after Happ'mefs^ is an aggravation of Mtfery : bat to re- ceive Eternal Bleffmgs , as the Fruiis and Improvement of fuch as are Tempo- raly is the Privilege of thofe whom God has been pleafedto difiinguiflo from others hy his Mercies^ and who diftingmfh them- f elves by a liegard to his Honour and Service. All that know Bu r g h l e y , (and who ts there almofl that doth not know it 7) are furprifed with Wonder and Delight^ io obferve what Art can do^ and to be- hold the Splendour and the Magnificence of foreign Countries in our ozvn : But the Glories and Rewards of Virtue fhall con- tinue -, when Burghley it felf and the World fJoall be no more ; and will m.ake Death but a Paffage and an Advance- ment from one Palace^ from one Honour-^ to another ; and a Removal only from the uncertain Riches and imperfeB Felicities of this Life ^ to the Manftons of Eternal Bltfs m Heaven. That Ded I c A T o R r. T'hat thefe my Endeavours may prove hut m any meajure fervkeable to the Ends of Religion andViytue^ and therelyto the Glory and Happtnefs of your Honour able Family^ tn this and a better Worlds isy My Lo R D , the unfeigned Defire and Prayer of. Your Lordship's Moft Humble, and Mod Obedient Servant and Chaplain, R. J £ N K 1 N. A4 THE iP R E F A C E. I AM fenfible, that the Publicati- on of a Treatife of this nature, will be liable to Exceptions, from thofe for whofe iife and Benefit it is chiefly defigned, who will be ready to lay hold of all Pre- tences, to avoid the being convinced of what they have fo little mind to believe. They will be apt to fay,^ That if the Truth of Religion were fo certain , and fo evident, as it is main- tained to be, there could be little Need of fo many Difcourfes upon this Argument , for it is no Sign of Certainty , that though fuch Num- bers of Books are publiflied of this kind, which fo many Men of Learning and Parts have writ- ten upon the Subjeft; yet others, it feems, are not fatisfied in their Performance, but are continually offering fomething new upon it. They will likewife objedi:. That many of the Profeflbrs and Minifters of Religion, do not live as if they believed rhemfelves; at kali, not as if they u The PRE FACE. they were fo very certain of what they teach; and that if there were fo great Certainty, there never could be fo many Unbelievers, bux ! all who heard of it, muft needs be convinced^ by fuch Evidence. I fhall therefore flieM^ here, That the Number of Books written on this Sub- jed:, doth not prove the Uncertaimy of Reli- gion, but rather the contrary : and that the ill Lives of Men is no Argument againft the Reli- gion they profefs. And then I fliall enquire how it comes to pafs, that a Religion which carries fo plain and convincing Evidence along with it, fhould yet by too many be difbelieved , or difre- garded. I. To the Firft thing, it might be fufficient to iay, That the Number of Writers is a great Confirmation of the Truth of our Religion; fince as many as have undertaken the Proof of it, have always agreed in the main Evidence, and differ only in Method, or in the Manage- ment of particular Arguments : and though all have not written with equal Strength and Clear- ^nefs ; yet there is not, I believe, one Author,' but has brought fufficient Argum.ents to confute the Adverfaries of Religion. They are pleafed indeed, to think otherwife : but they may at leaft take notice, how obvious it is, that if this Objedion prove any thing, it muft prove, that there is no fuch thing as Certainty in the World; becaufe there is no Art nor Science, concerning which divers Treatifes are not daily publifhed. But are therefore the Natures of Virtue and Vice uncertain? Is it the lefs certain, whether Juftice, Temperance, and common Honefty,..bQ Virtues; The P R E F A C E iii Virtues; or whether Murther, Adultery, and Theft, be Crimes -, becaufe Laws are made, and Sermons daily preached concerning thefe things? Or can any Man doubt, that thele Crimes often meet with fevere Punifnments even in this V/orld, tho' Men will take no Warning by never fo ma- ny Examples, but have need of continual Advice and Exhortation to keep them from the Ccmmif- fion of them? Is there the lefs Certainty in the * Mathematicks , becaufe Euclid^ Apollcnius, and innumerable others of all Ages and Nations, have put forth Books and Syftems of Mathematicks in feveral Forms and Methods ? When many write upon the fame Subjedl, it is an Argument of the Excellency and Ufeful- nefs of it ; not that they are diffiitisfied in what has been already faid by others, but that they think, more may be faid, or that fome things may be proved more clearly, in another Method, with more Advantage to fome Capacities, and with greater Probability of removing the Scruples of fome Men. It is, undoubtedly, very fit, that all neceffary Dodlrines, upon which the Eternal Happinefs or Mifcry of Mankind de- pends, fliould be treated of in all kinds of Ways and Methods; and they cannot be too often difcourfed of, nor by too many Men , that no Objedlion may remain unanfvver'd, nor Scruple unobferv'd. Though a little may be fufficient, upon a plain Matter, to Wife Men; yet too much cannot be faid upon a Subjedt, wherein all Men are concerned: And it is the great Af- furance of the Truth of Religion, and Charity to iv The P R E FACE. to the Souls of Men, that has engag'd fo many Authors in this Caufe. Belides the Primitive Fathers and Apologifts, Men of the greateft Learning and Abilities in latter Ages have undertaken this Subjedt, hav- ing made it their Study and Bufinefs, to confi- der the Grounds of our Holy Religion. And I think few v^ill pretend to more Judgment to difcover Truth , or to more Integrity to declare it, than divers Authors; who have had no par- ticular Intereft or Profeffion in reference to Reli- gion, but were under only the common Obli- gations of all Chriflians ; which if they had va- lued as little as fome others, they could with as much Wit and Learning have appeared in the Caufe of Irreligion , as any that ever undertook it. Many of the moft eminent in all Profeffi- ons and Callings have been the mofl zealous Af- fertors of Religion; as I might fhew by particu- lar Examples which are in every Man's Memory. Indeed, I believe, few Men have fo vain an O- pinion of themfelves, as to think they underftand their feveral Studies and Profeffions better than many Perfons who have given undoubted Evi- dence of their unfeigned Belief of the Chriftian Religion. Men of the greateft Sagacity and Judgment have not been moved with fuch Objedions as others fo much ftumble at ; but have liv'd and died the Glory of their Age, and an Honour to their Religion; fuch were the Learned Prince of Mir an did Of^^ and that Learned French Nobleman Mornaus ; fuch were Grotius, 'b'w Matthew Hale ^ Dr. J^Villis -, and many befides, both of our own and other Na- tions. The P R E ¥ A C E. V tions. I (hall mention but one more, who in- deed was fo eminent, that I fcarce need menti- on him, for he muft be already in every Rea* der's Thoughts; I mean, the Honourable Mr. Boyle, who was as inquifitive, and as unwilling to be impofed upon, and knew as much of Na- ture, perhaps, as ever any Man, not infpired, did; and had withal as ftedfafl a Belief, and as aweful Apprehenfions of Reveal'd Religion 3 which he endeavour'd to eftablifli and propagate, not only by his own Writings, but by the Labours of others, which he engaged and rewarded by his Laft Will and Teftament. 11. But Men do not always live anfwerably to what they profefs to believe. It were heartily to be wifhed, that there had never been any oc- cafion given for this Objedlion : For though it be very inconfiderable in it felf, yet it does, I believe, the moft Mifchief of any ; becaufe Men naturally govern themfelves more by the Exam- ple than by the Judgment of others, or even than by their own Reafon. But if we will judge aright, the Example of one Man, who lives ac- cording to the Doftrines of Religion, ought to be of more Weight with us, than the Example of never fo many, who live contrary to their Profeffion. Becaufe when Men profefs one thing and aft another , their Aftioas are furely as little to be regarded as their Profeflions. And if we will not believe their Profeffion againfl their Aftions , why fliould we regard their Ex- ample againft their avow'd Principles and Pro- feffion? It is in all other Cafts efteemed a o;ood Argument for the Truth 6f any thing, v^^hen Mea VI The PRE FAC E. Men confefs it againft themfelves. And the Motives and Temptations are vifible , by which they are led afide from their own declared Faith and Judgment; this Pleafure, or that Profit, is the Caufe of it, which every Man can point to. But when he, who lives conformably to his Principles, denies himfelf, when he lofes and fuf- fers by it, he muft needs be in great earneft; whereas the others are apparently brib'd, to for- fake that in Pradtice, which , notwithftanding, they cannot but own in the Theory and Prin- ciples. This was an old Prejudice againft Philofophy, That the Philofophers did not obferve their own Precepts. But it was rejeded by wife Men, as no Argument againft the Truth and Ufefulnefs of Philofophy. It is a great Objedion againft the Men, but fure it can 'be no Argument againft the Things themfelves, that they are difregarded by thofe who underftand their Worth, and pre- tend to have a due Value and Efteem for them. And whoever renounces the Faith, or takes up Principles of Irreligion, becaufe of any ill Pra- dices of others , too plainly declares either that in Truth and Sincerity he never had any, or that he is very willing to part with his Religion. All Men make fome Pretence to Reafon; and thofe Men moft of all, who are fo apt to decry Religion upon this account. That many who profefs to believe it, do not always live up to its Rules and Inftrudions : But they do riot con- fider, in the mean time. That Men generally adt as much againft Reafon as againft Religion ; and that therefore this Objedion, if it can fignifie any The P R E FA C E. vii any thing, muft banifh all Reafon and good Senfe out of the World. If there be no True Religi- on, becaufefo fewpradlife it as they ought; there can be no True Reafon neither , becaufe the Lives of fo many Men contradid: it. And fome, perhaps, would be contented, that there fhould be no True Religion, rather than that there fnould be no True Reafon ; becaufe then they muft be no longer allowed to be able to reafon againft Religion. But if the Truth and Reality of things depend upon the Pradtice of Men, then the fame Reli- gion may be true and falfe at the fame time ; it maybe true in one Age, and falfe in another; or true in one Country, and falfe in the next ; and muft be more or lefs true or falfe, in the fame proportion, as the Lives and Manners of its Profeffors are more or lefs virtuous or vici- ous. Indeed this is fo unreafonable and unjuft a Prejudice againft Religion, though it be grown a very common one, that methinks every Man fhould be afhamy of it; efpecially Men of Rea- fon, who fcorn fo much, in all other Cifes, to depend upon the Practice and Authority of o-' thers. And it is hard to believe, that Men who think at all , can think as they fpeak, when they make ufe of this Objedion. Will any Man fup- pofe, that Temperance doth not preferve Health, tho* he fhould fee his Phyfician run into Excefs ? Or, that Poifon will not kill, tho* the Man who tells him fo , and advifes him againft it, be fo defperate as to take it himfelf ? But as abfurd as this Objedion is in it felf, it ismoft of all abfurd, when it is urged againft the viii The PRE FA C E. the Chriftian Religion 5 of which we are afluredj that one of the Twelve who firft preach 'd it^ was an Apoftate , and a Traitor: And our Saviour declares, that many who had preached and wrought Miracles in his Name, ihould be at laft rejefted by him, Matt, vii. 21. And therefore, for any to make this Cavil againft Chriftianity, is only to (hew, that they do not confider it, or will not remember the plaineft and mofl: remarka- ble Points of it. III. The Caufes of Unbelief amongft Chrifti- ans, notwithftanding the cleareft Evidence for their Religion, are too many to be here recount- ed : But I fliall mention fome of the Chief of them. 1. Vicious Men are very unwilling to believe that Religion to be True , which is fo diredly contrary to their whole Courfe of Life, and to all their Inclinations and Deiires; but they are very ready to catch at any Cavils and Preten- ces againft it. The Lives of too many Chri- ftians have brought a Scandal, though a very unjuft one, upon the Religion which they pro- fefs : And Men who find themfelves more inclin- ed to do as they fee them do, than as they hear them acknowledge they ought to do, make no fufficlent Enquiry into the Principles of Reli- gion. 2. Divers Men have had a ftrange Ambition to fay fomething new upon every Subjedl they treat of; and in order to that, have fet them- felves, with all their Skill and Power, to con- tradi(ft and overthrow what has been faid by o- thers, that they might make way for their owa The P R E F A C E. ix own Opinions \ or fo to refine upon the Notions of others, that they might appear New, and of their own Invention : which has made inconfi- derate Men conclude, that we are always to feek in our Docflrine, and have no fixed Principles: Whereas Men of Learning and Judgment know, that commonly what is with fo much Oiienta- tion propofed and recommended to us for New, has been confidered and rejeded of old, though not, perhaps, in the very terms, yet in the Senfe and Subftance of it; or elfe it is fome True Do- ctrine under a different Form and Manner ofEx- preflion. The Improvements which have been made in Philofophy, this laft Age, afford a real and great Advantage towards the Proof and Efla- blifhment of Religion in Mens Minds; and yet there are few things which have bee::n more a* bufed to the Difhonour of it. For when Men find it convenient to give fome Vent to the Philofophical ^^umour, they bethink themfelves of a fit Subjedl for it to difcharge it feif upon; and, this muft be fomething Great, and fome- thing that is very New and Surpn-ing ; and there is nothing which anfwers all thefe Quali- ties fo well as a New . ccount of the Origins of the Univerfe, and then the Hiftorv of the Creation in Gene lis , as well as the World it felf, muft undergo all the Alterations which, they are pleafed to impofe upon ic, that it may per- fedlly fubmic and comply with their New Hypothefis. If this Fancy fhould hold, New Syftems of the World will be as common as New Romances: They muft pardon me the Ex- VoL. I. a ' preilion j X 77:?^ PREFACE. preffion; for Des Cartes himfelf, among his Friends, gave no better Name to his Syftem; which was the nrft Ground and Occafion to all the reft. And nothing is more eafie with a Philofophical Wit, than to build or deftroy a World: But it is to be hoped, when they have wearied themfelves with New Contrivances, they will let us have our Old World again. In the mean time, thefe Men, who have too much Philofophy to have no Religion, put dangerous Weapons into the Hands of thofe , who have neither the one nor the other ; and know not how to ufe them but to do mifchief. And there is nothing fo plain, but it may be rendered diffi- cult and obfcure to many Men, by long and fub- tile Difputes. If great numbers of Men fhould write concerning the Sun's Heat and Light, and Motion for many Years, and every one fhould ftill contradid: all that went before him, and ftrive to fay fomething New and Strange upon the Subjed:; the laft, for ought I know, might pretend to prove, that perhaps there may be no Sun at all: Which indeed, is no more than what the Scepticks have faid. And this IniBdelity and Scepticifm concerning God , and his Providence, and Revelation, muft end in the Scepticifm of our very Senfes, if thefe Principles be purfued in their dired: and unavoidable Confequences. Others have been too bold with the Myfte- ries of Religion, and have pretended to explain them fo far, as if they would endeavour to pre- fent us with a Religion v/ithout all Myftery, by which at the fame time they have expofed Them- felves to reproach, and Religion to the Scorn of The PRE F A C E. xi of fuch as are glad to take all Occafions to fliew their Good-will to it. The evident and declared Defign of the Socinians, is, to retain no My- fteries, but by forced Interpretations of Scripture to expound them all to their own^ that is, to a new and abfurd Senfe; and it is but too plain, that there is a combined Defign carried on be- tween Them and the Deifts, who are content- ted to pafs for Chriftians, with a Diftindlion, and •'without a Myftery: Anti-T^riiiitarian is a milder Word than Anti-Chriftian^ and Unitarian is but a different Name for Deijl. Another fort have been very laborious in find- ing out Myfteries, where there are none j and under a pretence of reducing the plaineft Do- (Srines to clear Principles, have only amufedand confounded Men in the true and obvious Notions of them. Thus the Duties of Love to God, and to our Neighbour, are plain in themfelves, and are as plainly fet down in the Scriptures: And to raife abftraded and metaphyfical Speculations upon fo plain Texts, is only to tell us what we know before, in other and lefs intelligible Terms, or elfe to fall into the nice and rafli Difputes of the School-men, or into the Enthuliaftick Heats of the Myjftical Divines ; which can have no Tendency to the Peace or Edification of the Church, but gives an occafion to the Adverfary to blafpheme. 3. A third Caufe of Infidelity, has been the Raflinefs of fome Criticks. For if any thing re- lating to Religion has been once called in que- ftion, by Men who have got themfelves a Name, by writing more boldly than wifer Men have a 2 done. xii The PRE FA G E. done, the Authority of fuca Men fhall bethought a fu fficient Anfwer to all the /arguments that can be taken from any thing which they are pleafed to diflike. Criticifm, when it falls to the Share of a prudent Man^ is, without doiibr , a neceffary and mo(l valuable Part of Le-irning : But it muft beconfefs'd, that there is hardly any thing more impertinent , than an impertinent Critick. It is a great thing, if it be well con- fidered , to fet the Bounds, and fix the Territo- ries of Learning, to adjudge to every Author his own Works, and fay, that this Book, or perhaps fome fmall part of a Book fliall be his, and the reft he flhall have nothing to do withal. This is no trivial Matter, nor of fmall Confe- quence, and ought not to be at the Pleafure of any one who has a mind to be taken notice of, for contradicting the received Opinion, and be- ing more confident than others. And the lefs Occafion there is for thefe Criticks, the more Danger there is from them ; for if there be no Work for them, they will be apt to make them- felves Work : And what Author will be. able to fiand before Men, whofe Bufinefs and Ambi- tion it is to find fault ? But though the Jurifdi- ction of Criticks be very large and abfolute ; yet, I have taken care not to come under it, but have purpofely avoided infifting upon any Authorities which have Yallen under their Difputes, unlefs it be, perhaps, in fpeaking of the Sibyls-, but there I have the Confent of the befl Criticks, befides evident Reafon, on my fide, fo far as I am con- cerii'd for them. 4-A ne P R E FA C E, xiii 4. A Pretence to Miracles and Prophecies, without Reafon or Ground for it, in behalf of fome particular Errors, has weaken'd the Belief of the True Miracles and Prophecies: And whilft laborious Endeavours have been ufed to fliev7, that the Chriftian Religion cannot be true, unlefs thofe Dodlrines be true, which have no Foundation in it; the quite contrary has hap- opened to w^hat in Charity we muft fuppofe thefe Authors defign'd: for inftead of owninp- their Religion to be true, Men, who are convinced of the Weaknefs of their Pretences, have taken them at their Word, and have been forv/ard to grant them, that there is no Religion true, and therefore not theirs. 5. I fliall fhew at large, in due time, That the many Differences and Difputes in Relio-jon, are no Prejudice to the Truth and Certainty of it; but they are, notwithflanding, a great Scan- dal and Temptation, and a great Hindrance to the Salvation of Men, efpecially as they are commonly managed; whilft by all imaginable Arts and Means, Men of different Parties and Opinions ftrive to run down their Adverfaries. Thofe who are concerned, would do well, I iliould think, to confider what Mifchief may enfue, through the imprudent and unchriftian Manage- ment of Difputes, even in a right Caufe, which has no need of fuch Methods ; and therefore they are the lefs excufable , who ufe them in defence of fuch a Caufe. If we would convince or perfuade Men in any other thing, we never are. wont to think it a proper Expedient, to ufe them ill, and give theni hard Words : And is a 3 rough siv The PREFACE. rough Ufage proper only for the Propagation of the Dodrines of the Gofpel, and of a Religion of Peace, and Meeknefs, and Charity? I know what Examples may be produced to countenance this Pradice ; but thofe great Au- thors have Excellencies enough for our Imitati- on, we need not imitate their Faults. Our Bleff;;d Saviour, indeed, himfelf, and his Apo- jftles, did not always forbear fevere Language; but then they fpoke with a divine Power and Authority, and knew how to fpeak to r'u Hearts as well as to the Ears of Men, and fully per- ceived when this was the laft and only Remedy to be ufed; they could ftrike dead with their Words, and were infallible in the Ufe of fuch Expreffions as were proper for the prefent Oc- cafion, either to comfort or to terrify Sinners, or awaken them to Repentance. There is no doubt, but a feafonable Reproof or Rebuke, though it be very fevere, may be not only con- fident with Charity, but may alfo be the Ef- fedl of it; and if ever we may fpeak with the Power and Authority, as well as in the meek- nefs and gentlenefs of Chrift ^ we muft do' it when the Truth of the Chriflian Religion is called in queftion, and that by Chriftians. We live in an Age in which Men think they have done a great thing, and enough for them to va- lue themfelves upon, if they can but ftart abold Objccftion againft the Scriptures, though it have never fo little Senfe in it. We have fufficient Warrant to treat thele Men as they deferve :. for the Apoftles were commanded (according to a Cuftom. in ufe among the Jews) lofiake off the The P R E F A C E. xv dujl of their feet, againfl fuch as rejetted their Doftrine: And the leaft we can fay to them, is to let them know, that if they will not be- lieve, we are forry for it, but cannot help it, and that they will have the Worft of it. Mr. Hobbes himfelf will allow , that an Atheiil ought to be banifhed as a publick Mifchief, and fcarce any Terms can be too fevere for thofe who openly aportatize from the Religion in which, they have *been baptized, and blafpheme that Holy Name by which they are called. We muft not fo de- bafe the Gofpel of Chrift, as to feem to beg their Approbation, which, I am fure, we have little need of, in the prefent cafe. I am far from thinking any thing fmall or inconfiderable, in which the Honour of God, and the Truth of Religion is concerned ; but certainly a great Di- ftindlion is to be made between them from whom we differ in particular Points, tho' of great Mo- ment and Confequence, and thofe who reject the Whole. Our chief Zeal and Strength (liould be employ 'd againfl the Common Enemies, who delight in our Quarrels, 'and fport themfelves with the mutual Wounds we fo freely give one another. 6. We have a fort of Men amongft us, who from hence have taken occafion to make it their whole Bufinefs both by their Difcourfes and Writings, to laugh all Religion and Morality out of the World : Which- has made our very Wit to degenerate , though this be the only thing for which thefe Men feem to value them- felves^ and our Poems, \Nixh all their foft Num- bers, and flowing Style, tp be far from defer- a 4 . ving xvi -The PREFACE. ving Commendation : For this way of Writing is as much againft the Rules of Poetry, as a- gainft thofe of Virtue j and they can never an- iwer it to their own Art, whatever they may do to their Confciences 3 but ought to be cen- fured for being ill Poets, as well as ill Men. A iine Saying, a foft or bold Expreffion, or a pret- ty Character ! Is this all we have in Exchange for our Reafon and Religion , which thefe Men have fo labourioufly decry 'd ? Some of the beft Poets of our Age have been fo fenfible of the Diflionour hereby done to God , the Diflervice to Mankind, and the Difgrace to fo noble an Art, that they have employ 'd their Genius a better way. But the extravagant Raillery a- gainft Religion has been the more licentious, and the more frequent, not only becaufe it has met with Applaufe from fo many, who are none of the wifeft part of Mankind, but becaufe it is the eafieft way of Wit, flowing fo naturally from the very Temper and Inclination of cor- rupted Minds j and any fmart Reflexion may ealily be taken from another Subjedl:, and ap- ply 'd here with i\dvan:age, becaufe it looks more extravagant and daring, and furprizes for no other Reafon, but for the bold irreverent ufe of it. What is there in Religion, if it were un- true , that can feem ridiculous? What, in the awful Majefly of the Lord of Heaven and Earth, that can pro oke the Laughter and Mockery of any but Fools and Madmen? It is not cb ious to conce vfcs 'why it fhould be thought a greater Argurneiii of a Man's Parts, to revile his God, fhan his Piincci i-o ipeak Blafphemyj than it is to The P R E F A C E. xvii to fpeak Treafon ; or why the Wit fhould atone for the Crime more in the one cafe than in the other. But the Truth is, a very moderate iLare of that will ferve the turn in both caks. Pro^ duce your Caufe , faith the Lord ; bring forth your jlrongReafons, faith the God of Jacob. y. And indeed, from the Wit and Drollery of fome, others have taken the Confidence to pro- ceed to Arguments, but they are very far from *being either ftrong or plaufiblej for 1 never in my Life obferved fo much Difingenuity, fo vain an Aifedation of Learning, and fo groundlefs a pretence to Reafon, as in thefe Men. The Ex- travangancies of Cardan are known to all that ever heard of him: The Luft, and Pride, and bafe Flattery of Va7iinus , is every where vili- ble. Aut IDeus eft ^ aut Vaninus^ is fuch an Expreffion, as no Man befides ever ufed in a Dialogue of himfelf And Mr. Hobbes'2, Love of Singularity, and Spirit of Contradidlion, is evi- dent from his own Confeffion ; my late Lord Clarendon, who knew him well, has acquaint- ed the World both with the Temper and De- fign of the Man , and with the Errors of his Writings. But I fball come down lower, and examine a little the Arguments of later Writers, who would take it ill, if it ihould be thought that they have not retained and improved all the profound Reafonings of their Predeceffors in Irreligion, which we may exped: to find abridged in a Book bearing the Tide of "The Oracles of Reafon, a Rhapfody of LetterS;, and fome fmall Trafts of divers Men? Put xviii The PRE FA C E. But here I need not much concern my felf with what is taken out of the Authors of Reli^ gio Medici, and of the Archaokgice Philofo^ fhica-, becaufe thefe Authors, notwithftanding thofe ObjecSlions, profefs an unfeigned Belief of Revealed Religion, in thefe very Books, though the Tranfcriber did not think fit to acquaint his Reader with fuch Profeffions, for fear of bringing an Antidote with his Poifon : But fince thofe Objeftions were fo far from having that effeft'upon the Authors themfelves, all that they can ferve for, is to fhew, that they can make a Deift of none but a weak or an ill Man. I refer the Reader to the Preface of Religio Medici, to (hew how difingenuous it is to quote any thing from that Book, as the fix*d and ma- ture Thoughts of Sir Thomas Brown, But as if this had not been Difingenuity enough, we have him brought in, faying the quite contrary to what v/e find in his Book. - How all the Kinds of Creatures ^ (fays Sir Thomas) not only in their own Bulks , but with a Compete?2cy of Food and Suflenance , anight be preferved in one Ark , and within the Extent of Three hundred Cubits^ to a Reafon that rightly examines ' it, will appear very feajible. Thus it is both in the Book it felf, and in the Annotations upon it; but our ^ Tranfcriber has made the Author fay quite contrary, that this will not appear ve- ry feafible. What is tranfcribed likewife from the fame Author's Book of '^ Vulgar Errors, is » Relig. Med. Part. i. § 22. b Oracles of Renfcny p. 5. c Fulmar Err on, 1. v. c. 4. not The P R E F A C E. xix not fairly cited , and no notice is taken , that this learned Author has a whole Chapter, in that very Work, concerning ^ the Temptation of Eve by the Serpent ; where that is cleared, which was "^before brought only as an Objeftion, and tran- fcribed by Mr. Blount, How the Tranflator has dealt with the Author of Archceologice Philojb^ pbiccCy I have not his Book by me to examine, Jie is living to vindicate himfelf. One thing I have obferved, that Mr. Blount aiTures us , that ^ thh learned Author doth as flrenuoufiy ajirfn, as 'tis pojfible^ that the World had a Beginning about Six thoufand Tears Jince -, , whereas the Tranflation which this Gentleman fends Mr. Gildon^ with his Letter, fays, §That to prefcrihe the Divine Crea- tion Jo /hort an Epochs, as the li?nits of Six thoufand Tears ^ 'tis "what he never durji. Now, either Mr. Blount or the Tranflator are miftaken in their Author, and I rather think the latter muft miftake him. For whenever the World had been created, there muft have been a time when it had exifted but Six thoufand Years; and then the -Shortnefs of ih^ Epoch a might have been objeded, as v/ell as now. So that there was no Poflibility of preventing this Objedion, un- , lefs the World could have been Eternal; which was likewife impoflible, from the Nature of Time, which being fucceffive, neceiTarily im- plies a Beginning; and as this Author, by his Tranflator, fpeaks in that place, we cannot 'l.Ibid. p. 9. cibid.l. I. c. I. ^ Oracles of Rcafon, p. 3* g kid. P. 73. form XX The PREFACE. form to our felves any Idea of a thing created from Eternity, But what is cited out of either of thefe Authors, will fall under fome of the Heads that are to be treated of in another Book which I defign upon this Subjedl; I fhall there- fore here only fingle out fuch Particulars as are the proper Notions and Conceits of our Deifts, and of which I had no Thought or Occalion to Ipeak elfewhere. ^ Mr. Blount will have the Prophecy of fa^ coh^ concerning the Scepter'' s not being to de- part from Judah , till the Coming of Shiloh, to have been firft applied to the MeJJiah by the Cahbalijls in the time of the Maccabees^ and not to have been expounded of David's Line, till the Reign of Herod, at leaft not generally; for here he is not fo politive, as a Man might have been in a thing purely of his own Inven- tion. But doth he bring any Proof or Probabi- litv for what he fays ? No , it is mere Conje- 6lure, contrary to all the moft ancient Expofi- tions of the Jewiili Writers. But the Jews had a Cabbala, and the Pharifees hated Herod, and the Herodians flattered him, and Jofephus flat- tered Vefpafian ; and therefore from fome Cir- cumfl:ances fuperficially framed and put together, he will needs gather the Uncertainty of this Prophecy, and conclude , that it is contradicted by others , without any Confideration had to what fo many have faid to reconcile them. la the fame place, he fays, that the Jews reckon the Book of Daniel among their Hagiographa Mbid p. 1 60. or 7he F R E F A C E. xxi or Sacred^ but not Canonical Books, But * Joje^ fhus magnifies the Prophet Daniel as the moft eminent of all the Prophets; or at leaft inferior to none: And Father Simon^ to whofe Writings I fuppofe this Gentleman was no Stranger, might undeceive him in this matter; his Words are thefe, ^ No'vi quidem Jiidaos de germand vocis iU litis (Cetuvim) fignijicatione inter fe ?wn convenire ; etji omnes Jentiant Cetuvim^ feu Hagiographos non *miniis divinos ejfe & cano^iicos, qudm reliquos njete- ris injtrumenti libros: And he plainly proves his Affertion. The fame ^ Gentleman tell us , that Jofephus confeffes, That he durjl not prefume to com- pare the Nation of the Jews with the Anti- quity of the moji ancient and infallible Wri- tings of the /Egyptians^ Chaldceans and Phce- nicians. For which he refers his Reader to yofephus contra Apion. lib. i. where he will find the quite contrary; for fofephus makes it his bufinefs to confute the Heathen Hiflorians, and to vindicate the Jewifh Antiquities againfl them, and to fhew how they contradift them- felves and one another, in what they relate of the fews different from the Scriptures. And yet ^ this notorious Miftake is again repeated by ' our Author; which any one may confute, that will but look into Jofephus, The Defign of his firil Book againfl Apion^ is, to prove the Truth of the fewijh Antiquities againft the GreekSy from the Writings of the Mgyptians^ Fhccnici- * Antiq. 1. X. c. 7, ^ » Caftigat. ad Opiifc. Kaad Voflii, p. 238. \ Oracles of Eeajoriy p. 2 2 1 , I Anima Mundi, p. 25. a?is xxii The P R E F A C E. arts and Chaldceans, Jofepbus fays, He won- ders at thofe, who think that the Greeks alone ought to be regarded in Matters of Antiquity\ whereas there was nothing to be found among them of Ancient Date : Their Cities, their Arts, their Laws, were but of late Original, and their Hiftories later than all thefe. But the Greeks themfelves confcfs, that there were very ancient Accounts of former times among the Egypti- ans, the Chaldceans^ and the Phoenicians 'y ^^'^ For I omit^ fays he, for the prefent to put our Na- tion into the Niimher with them. This is far e- nough from a Comparifon j for he doth fhew foon after, that the Jews had taken as much Care in the writing and preferving their Anti- quities, as thefe Nations, or any other, could poffibly do. But it had not been to his purpofe to mention x^a^Jews in that place with the reft: becaufe he brings his Argument from the Con- feffion of Foreign Hiftorians, who were acknow- ledged by the Greeks to be of much greater Au- thority in things of this nature, than they could pretend to themfelves. n A little before, having tranflated fomething out of Ocellus Lucanus^ to prove the World E- ternal, this Gentleman thus fubjoins, Now it is 'very much ^ that this Author ^ Ocellus Lucanus, who, for his Antiquity ^ is held to be almojt Con- temporary with Mofes, (if not before him) foould havefo different a Sentiment of the World's Be- gi?ming^ from that which Mofes hadi methinks, if Mofes his Hijiory of the Creation , and of n Oracles of Re af on, p. 218. Adam*5 The P R E FA C E. xxiii Adam'i being the fir ft Man had been a general received Opinion at that time-. Ocellus Lucanus, iioho was Jo ancient and fo eminent a Philojhpher^ Jhould not have been altogether ignorant thereof. But what (hall we fay ? \i Ocellus Luc anus was not fo ancient, but of no Antiquity in comparifon oi Mojes'y then, methinks, this Author might have fpared his Pains and his Inferences. And of what Antiquity Ocellus Lucanus was, isfhewn * by Ludovicus Nogarola, who tranflated this Piece of Ocellus Lucanus into Latin, and publifh'd ic with his own Obfervations upon it. For he makes it appear, from Plato, that the Anceflors of this Ocellus being banifti'd from Troy^ un- der Laomedon, came to Myra, a City in Lycia-, but Laomedon was the Father of Priamns, in which time, as every body knows, happened the Deftrudtion of Troy-, and J air was then Judge of Ifrael, about three hundred Years af- ter they had been in Poffeffion of the Promijed Land, He farther fhews, from Lucian, that Ocellus Lucanus was a Scholar of Pythagoras \ who lived , fure , long enough after Mofes , to fave our Author's Criticifm, or to expofe it. Indeed, the beft Account we have in Hea- then Antiquity, agrees exaftly with the Hi- ftory of Mofes, concerning the Creation of the World, o Arijiotle himfelf was not fatisfied in his own Doftrine of the Eternity of the World; and he Pconfefles, that all the Philofophers afferted the Creation ; ^ he fays, it was efteem- ^ Grot, de Verit. Annot. ad c. 7. J. i. P Ariiiot.de Ccelo. 1. u c.io-, iMecgphyf, I. i c. 3. ed y.xiv The P R E F A C E. ed a very ancient Dodlrine, and thought by fome,^to be the Dodrine of the moft ancient Theo^gifts, That it was formed out of Water: It is certain, that ' Tbales, the firft Greek Philo- fopher who treated of thefe things, one of the Seven Wife Men of Greece, and the Wifeft of them, in Tidlfs Judgment, taught, That God formed all things out of Water : Which Noti- on, Ho?j2er^ as well as Inhales ^ was 'fuppofed to learn from the Egyptians, The fame Gendeman has obferved, 'That the Epicurean Deijls labour to have to their Vices imputed rather to a Superiority of their Reafon above that of others, than to a Servitude of their Reafon to their own Pafjions^, which JhewSy Vice is 7iaturally efieeyned a bafe and low thing. This is tranfcribed from ^ Mr. Boyle^ without any menrionof him: Mv, Blount, itfeemshada mind to give himfelf the Honour of the Obfervation. It is but too plain, that this was his own Cafe, as his unhappy Death declared. Thisj I think, is fufficient to fhew, how little this Book deferves the vain Title of The Oracles of Reafon: it will be hard to meet with any Book, which has left right to fo high a Pretence. ' I fliall take notice but of one thing more, and that is, ^ Mr. Gildon% Attempt to prove the Materia- lity of the Soul; his Arguments are as unlikely to prove it, as moft I have feen: but I fliall fliew the Notion to be abfurd in it felf, and impoffible to be maintained. ^ TuU. de Nat. Deor. 1. i. DeLcgib. I. 2. ^ Plutarch, de Ifid. & OJir. ''t Oracles of Reafon, p. 93. ^ StykofScriptUfe,^. i-y, 3c Jbid. p, 187. The The P R E FA C E. xxv TheEflence of all Matter mull: be the fame, whether Extenfion, or any thing elfe, be affign'd as the Eflence of it; and though we may be ignorant of the Eflence of Matter, yet we know it cannot be Eflcntial to it to think : For then all Matter would necefl!arily think. But the Difference in the feveral forts of Matter can be only in Accidents, that is, in Bulk, Reft, Motion, Situation, and Figure, none of which c^n render Matter capable of Thought. For if a different Bulk of Matter could produce Thought in it, and the Subtile Matter fhould be able to Think and Reafon, though the Grofs cannot; then the Parts of a Stone would think, when It is ground to Duft; though when they are joyned and compared together, they make up a Body, as unlikely to think, as any thing we can imagine. If Re/t could caufe Matter to think, a Stone would be the moft thinking Creature in the World. If Motion could caufe it, then that which moves with moil quicknefs would think mofl, as Fire, and the Sun, and Stars :^ but Motion is only a fucceflive Change of Place, and there is no Reafon why Matter (hould think in one Place, rather than in ano- ther; or why it fliould think, when it is moved in a Right Line, or in a Circle, or in any Curve Line, rather than when it lies ftill. Again, There is no Reafon why Matter fliould be. able to think, or not think, according to its Situa* tion or Pofition ; why it fliould think in the Brain, rather than upon the Trencher; or when it is digefted, and reduced to Animal Spirits, ra- ther than when it is in a mor,e compacted Sub- fiance, and has a different Relation to the pares Vol.!, b of xxvi The PREFACE. of Matter about it. Laftly, If any fort of Fi- gure could produce Thought, Stones muft cer tainly think, as well as the beft of us; and fo, in- deed, might any thing elfe: for what Body is there that may not fubfiil under all Varieties of Figure ? Neither can any lucky Conjundure of all thefe together produce a Power and Faculty of Think- ing. For, imagine what Bulk, Reft or Motion, Situation and Figure you can , to meet together, they are all alike uncapable of fo much as one Thought; fince there is nothing in the Na- ture of any of thefe Accidents or Modifications of Matter, but it is as far from any Power of Thinking, as Matter it felf is; and therefore Thinking can no more arife from a Combinati- G» of them together, than it can proceed from the amaffing together of Matter. All the Acci- dents, but Motion, have nothing Adlive or O- perative in them, but are only Matter under different Modes and Relations. And Motion, whatever the Figure, or Bulk and Contexture of any Body may be, can be bue motion flill; and fuppofe what Contexture or Modifications you will ; what is Motion, under all Determinations, CoUifions and Combinations , but change of Place? And, how can change of Place produce Thinking, under any Variety of Contexture in the Particles of Matter? Free-will is impoffi- ble to be accounted for by Matter or Motion, as Epicurus found , who was therefore forced to have recourfe to his Declifiationes Atomorum ; for which he is fo juflly expofed by "Tully. For ineither can Matter determine its own Motion noi* The P R E FA C E, xxvii nor can Motion determine it felf, bur muft be determined by fomething External ; whereas all Men find it in their power to determine them- felves by an inward and voluntary Principle. It is true, indeed ^that the Soul , in its Ope- rations, depends very much upon the Tempera- ment of the Body : yet the Soul , even in this State, has Thoughts, w^hich have no Relation to phe Body , or any material Thing ; as Thoughts of God and Spirits, its own Reflex Thoughts, or Confcioufnefs of its own Operations. And if it were now capable of no Thoughts, but fuch as have fome Dependence upon the Body; yet this can never prove, that the Soul it felf is Material, or that Matter Thinks. A Man writes with his Pen, and cannot write without one; Is it therefore his Pen properly that writes, and not the Man ? The Body isthelnflrument of the Soul , in its Operations here ; and as the In- ftrument is fit or unfit, fo much its Operations be more or lefs perfedl. But it is jlrange ^ that the chief Part of its PooiiU be of fuch a Nature^ that we can form no Idea of it. We may form an Idea of it, though but an imperfedl one: And do we not know, that the Eye, the nobleft Part of the Body, can- not fee it felf, but imperfedly, and by Reflexi- on? And let any Man try, . whether he can forni a better Idea of a Material . Soul , than of an Immaterial one. But this Writer, by Idea feems to mean a Material Idea^ or Imagination; and we cannot, indeed, form a Material Idea oi an Immaterial Spirit. Yet, after all v/hich he, or any Man elfe, has faid, the Nature of thq Soul b 2 " is xxviii The PREFACE. is as clearly underftood , as that of the Body ; and there is nothing encumbred with greater Difficulties than Extenfion, if that be the Ef- fenfe of Matter; and if that be not, it is as hard ftill to know what the Effence of Matter is. The Inftance which he brings of BruteSy is eafily anfwered, Whether they can think, or nor. If they cannot, the Objedion falls of it Iclf ; If they can, I fiionld rather fuppofe, that their Souls may be annihilated, or may tranfmi- grate and pafs from one Brute to another, than that the Souls of Men muft be Material, that the Souls of Brutes may be Material too. Another Gentleman, of late, has afferted, ^' That it IS impoffible for us, by the Conternplati" en of our own Ideas , without Revelation , to difcover whether Omnipotency hath not given to fome Syjiems of Matter , fitly difpofed , a Power to perceive or Think ; and. That there is a PoJJibility that God may ^ if he pleafes fuper-add to Matter a Faculty of T'hinking : which is what he like wife calls a Modification cf Thinkings or Power of T!hinhng. But it feems not intelligible, how God fhould fuper-.add to Matter this Faculty, or Power, or Modifica- tion, of Thinking, unlefs he change the Nature of Matter, and make it to be quite another thing than it is , or joyn a Subftance of another Na- ture to ir. But the Queflion is. Whether a Fa- culty of Thinking can be produced out of the Powers and various Modifications of Matter? y A/r. Lock\f hiumane Un,h:rjhuiding, 1. 4. c 3. k G. Utter to /^'f Z>/./?'^/)i?/Worcellcr, p. 66. And The PRE FA C E. xxix And we can have no more Conception, !io\v any Modification of Matter can produce Think- ing, than we can, how any Modification of Sound fliould produce Seeing: all Modifications of Mat- ter are the fame, as to this Point; and Matter may as well be made no Matter by Modifying, as be made to Think by it. This is juft as if a Man fliould maintain, That though all Immaterial ^Subftances are not extended and divifible, yet fome of them may poflibly be, or Omnipotence may fu- per-add to them a Faculty of Extenfion and Divi- fibility: for Immaterial Subftances may become divifible and material by the fame Philofophy, by which we may conclude, that Matter may Think; vyhich is the fame thing as to become immate^ rial, and to furpafs all the Powers and Capaci- ties of Matter, He ^ urges, that there may be Capacities in Matter, which no Man can con- ceive, fince that Gravitating Power , which Sir Ifaac Newton has. proved to belong to all Bodies, would before have been thought incredible. But there is nothing in this Power above the Nature of Matter, any more than there is in Motion. For Gravitation is only a determinate Mode of Motion: and it is very eafie to con- ceive, that Matter is as well capable of one De- termination of Motion, as of another 3 fince Matter is herein onlyPaflive, and not Aftive, or enabled to move voluntarily, and detei^mine K felf, as humane Souls do. 'That, which is capable of any one Determination of Motion, niay^be capable of all kinds of Determinati- ^ Reply to the BifiQp of WorceikrV 4,jzc'cr to his Sewid Let- ter, p. 404, ^c. ■ . b 3 on J XXX ne PRE F /i C E. on; but that, which may be determined all ways may not be capable of determining it felf any one way. Matter muft ever remain un- capable of Thinking, unlefs it could change its Nature, and become Immaterial, and then it would not be Matter, which would think, but fomething elfe. And it is of little Ufe or Confequence to enquire, what Omnipotence can do by a Super- addition of Faculties to Matter; when between thofe, who prove the Soul to be immaterial, and fuch as fuppofe it to be ma- terial, the only Queftion in Difpure is, not what a Divine Power can effedt, (for thefe Men are unwilling to grant any fuch Power prefiding o- ver Matter) but whether a Faculty of Thinking can be produced out of Matter by any Modifir cations, or any Changes and Determinations of Motion. But tho' I have , upon this occafion, mentioned this Gentleman here; yet it would be a great Injury done him, to rank him with the Authors of The Oracles ofReaJon. There is preiix'd to thefe Pieces, an Account of the Life and Death of that unhappy Gentle- man, Mr. Blount ^ with pretence to vindicate his Murtlier of himfelf, becaufe his deceafed Wife's Sifter refus'd to be married to him; by all the Topicks and Arguments of Reafon and Philofophy. Which is fuch an Undertaking, as I am confident was never heard of before, to prove, that a Man may very gravely and philo- fophically kill himfelf, if a Woman, whom he ought not to marry, will not be his Wife. Ic is ftrange to fee, that Men fhould think it fit to vent fuch things, as thefe in the Face of the World^; The P R E F A C E. xxxi World: but this difcovers the Reafon and Phi- Ipfophy of thefe Men, and is^ fie Preface to fuch a Book. T'his JVifdom defcendeth not from Above, Behold the Men in their Principles and Practices, the demure Pretenders to humane Reafon, and moral Virtue, and the Enemies of Reveal'd Re- ligion. We are fallen into an Age, in which there are a fort of Men who have fhewn fo great a Vorwardnefs to be no longer Chriftians, that they have catch'd at all the little Cavils and Pretences againft Religion j and, indeed, if it were not more out of Charity to their Souls, than for any Credit Religion can have of them, it were great Pity but they fliould have their Wifh: for they both think and live fo ill, that it is an Argument for the Goodnefs of any Caufe, that they are againft It. It was urged, as a Confirmation of the Chrlftian Religion , by TertuUian, that it was hated and perfecuted by Nero, the worft of Men: And I am confi- dent, it would be but fmall Reputation to ir, in any Age , if fuch Men (hould be fond of ir. They fpeak evil of the things they underftand not; and are wont to talk with as m-uch Con- fidence againft any point of Religion, as if they had all the Learning in the World in their keep- ing; when commonly they know little or no- thing of what has been faid for that -againft which they difpute. They feem to imagine, that there is nothing in the World, befides Reli- gion , that has any Difficulty in^t; but this fliews how litde they have confidered the Na- ture of Things, in which .multitudes of Obje- b 4 • dlions xxxii 7he P a E F J C E. Aliens and Difficulties meet an obferving Man in every Thought. And after all, Religion has but one Fault, (as they account it) which they have been able to difcover in it, and that is, that it is too good and virtuous for them ; for when they have faid all they can, this is their great Quarrel aga'ttfi: it, and (as it has been truly obferved) no Charity lefs than that of the Religion which they defpife, would have much Care or Confideration for them. Thus have fome Men diilionour'd Religion by tlieir Lives ; fome by an Affedation of No- velty 5 fome by invalidating the Authority of Books relating true Miracles and Prophecies, and others by forging falfe ones : Some again, by their too eager and imprudent Dlfputes and Contentions about Religion, whilft from hence others have taken the Liberty to ridicule ir, and to difpute again ft it, but fo as to expofe them- felves, whilft they would expofe Religion. And thus has the cleareftandmoft neceflary Truth been obfcured and defpifed, whilft it has been betray'd by the Vanity and Quarrels of its Fjiends, to the Scorn and VVeaknefs of its Enemies. However, in all their Oppoiition and Con- tradidlion to Reveal'd Religion, I find it affert- ed by thefe Men, that Atheifm is fo abfurd a thing, that they queftion whether there ever were, or can be an Atlie[ft in the World. I have therefore here proved, from the Attributes of God , and the Grounds of Natural Religion, that the Chriftian Religion muft be of Divine flevelationi and that this Religion .is certainly true. The P R E FA C E, xxxiii true 5 as it is, that God himfelf exifls which is the plainefl Truth, and the mod univerfally acknowledged of any thing whatfoever. And becaufe there is nothing fo true or certain, but fomething may be alledg'd againft it, I fhall be- fides difcourfe upon fuch Heads as have been moft excepted againft : In which I fliall endeavour to prove the Truth, in fuch a manner as to vin- /licate it againft all Cavils ; though I fhall not take notice of particular Objections, which is both a needlefs and indeed an endlefs Labour; for there is no End of Cavils: But if the Truth be well and fully explain'd, any Objeftion may receive a fufficient Anfv^er, from the Confidera- tion of the Dodlrine againft which it is urged, by applying it to particular Difficulties ; as one Right Line is enough to demonftrate all the Va- riations from it to be crooked. It is very eafy to cavil and find fault with a- ny thing; and to ftart Objedions, and alk Qiieftions, is even to a Proverb efteemed the worft Sign that can be of a great Wit, or a found Judgment. Men are unwilling to believe any thing to be true, which contradids their Vices; and the weakeft Arguments, with ftrong Inclinations to a Caufe, will prove or difprove whatever they have a mind it Ihould. But let Men firft pradtife the Virtues, the moral Vir- tues, which our Religion enjoins, and then let them difprove it, if they can : Nay, let them difprove it now, if they can, for it ftands in no need of their favour ; but for their own fakes, let them have a car^ of miftaking Vices for Ar- guments, xxxiv The P R E FA C E. guments, and every profane Jeil: for a Demon- ftration. I wifh they would confider, whether, the Concern they have, to fet up Natural againft Reveal'd Religion , proceed not from hence, that, by Natural Religion, they mean no more than juft what they pleafe themfelves, or what they judge convenient in every Cafe and Occa- lion: Whereas Reveal'd Religion is a fixed and determin'd Thing, and prefcribes certain Rules and Laws for the Government of our Lives. The plain Truth of the matter is, that they a re for a Religion of their own Contrivance, which they may alter as they fee fit; but not for one of Divine Revelation, which will admit of no Change, but muft always continue the fame, whatever they can do. Unlefs that were the cafe , there would be little Occafion to trouble them with Books of this kind ; for the Argu- ments brought againft the Chriftian Religion, are indeed fo weak and infignificant, that they rather make for it ; and it might well be faid, as M. Pafchal relates , by ^one of this fort of Men , to his Companions , If you continue to difpute at this rate, you will certainly make me a Chriftian. I ftiall venture, at leaft, to fay of this Treatife, in the like manner as he does of his, That if thefe Men would be pleafed to fpend but a little of that time, which is fo often worfe employed, in the perufal of what is here offer 'd, I hope that foi?ieihing they may meet withal, may fatisfie their Doubts, and convince them of their Errors. But though they Ihould defpife whatever can be faid to them, yet there are others, befides the. The P R E F A C IL xxxv the profefs'd Adverfaries of Reveal'd Religion, to whom a Treatife of this nature may be fer- viceable. The Truth is, notwithftanding the great Plainnefs of the Chriftian Religion, I can- not but think, that Ignorance is one chief Caufe why it is fo little valued and elleemed , and its Dodtrines fo little obey'd: A great part of Chri- (lians content themfelves with a very flight and imperfed: Knowledge of the Religion they pro- /efs ; and are able to give but very little Rea- fon for that, which is the mod reafonable thing in the World; but they profels it rather as the Religion of their Country, than of their own Choice; and becaufe they find it contradids their fenfual Defires, they are willing to believe as little of it as may be ; and when they hear others cavil and trifle with it, partly out of Ig- norance, and partly from Inclination, they take every idle Objection , if it be but bold enough, for an unanfwerable Argument. Whereas , if Chriftians were but throughly acquainted with the Grounds of their Religion, and finc^rely dif- pofed to believe and pradtife according to them, they would be no more moved with thefe Ca- vils, than they would be perfuaded to think the worfe of the Sun, if fome Men (liould take a Fancy to make that the Subjedl of their Raillery. To have the more doubtful and wavering Thoughts of Religion, becaufe it is expofed to the Scorn and Contempt of ill Men, is as if we fliould defpife the Sun for being under a Cloud, or fuffering an Eclipfe ; not knowing that he retains his Light, and Religion its Excellency ftlU, though we be in Darknefs 3 the Light may be XXX vi Ike P R E F A C E. be hid from us, but can lofe nothing of its own Brightnefs, though we fuffer for want of it, and lie under xhtfiadow of death. The Confideration of the Grounds and Rea- fons of our Religion is ufeful to all forts of Men : For if ever we would be ferioufly and truly Religious, we muft lay the Foundation of it in our Underftandings, that, by the rational Convidlion of our Minds, we may, (through the Grace of God affifting us) bring our Wills to a Submiffion, and our Affedions to the Obedience of the Gofpel of Chrift; and the more we think of, and confider thefe things, the more we iliall be convinced of them, and they will have the greater Power and Influence in the Courfe of our Lives. For though the Truth of the Chri- ftian Religion cannot, without great Sin and Ig- norance, be doubted of by Chriftians; yet it is a Confirmation to our Faith, and adds a new Life and Vigour to our Devotions, when we re- coiled: upon what good Reafons we are Chrifti- ans ; and are not fuch by Cuftom and Education only, but upon Principles which we have throughly confider*d, and muft abide by, unlefs we will. re- nounce our Reafon with our Religion. And what Subjed can be more ufeful, or more worthy of a rational and confidering Man's Thoughts? rhefe things, which are now made matter of Cavil and Difpute, will be the Subjed: of our Contemplation, and of our Joy and Hap- pinefs to all Eternity in the other World. We fliall then have clear and diftind Apprehenfions of the Means and Methods of our Salvation, and ftiall for ever adniire and adore the Divine Wifdom,- 7he P R E h A C E. xxxvii Wifdom, in the Condud: and Difpofal of thofe very Things about which we now are moft per- plexed. But I find my ielf concerned to fubjoin to this Preface, already too long, fomething in Defence of that which will firft occur to the Reader in the following Treatife. For in the Opinion of a learned Writer, whatever , has been or can be faid concerning the neceffity of a Divine Revela- tion, may be eafily confuted in very few Words. He confefTes, that there is great ground of hope and Probability, that God may vouchfafe fome Revelation of his Will to Men; but he fays, that yet it does not from hence at all follow, that God is obliged to make fuch a Revelation: For then it muft needs have been given in all Ages , and to all Nations^ and might have been claimed and de^ manded as of fujlice, rather than wifit for and defired as oj^ Mercy and condefc ending Goodnefs. To which I anfwer , that my Reafoning does not proceed upon the Juftice of God only, but principally upon his Mercy, and jointly upon the Confiderarion of his Honour, his Holinefs, and all the Divine Attributes. But I know no- thing in the World, which any Creature can claitn or demand as of ftridl Juftice from God. St. Paul in his Epiftle to the Hebrews tells them, God is not unrighteous to forget your Work and Labour of Love, which ye have ft: ewe d towards his Name, in that ye have miniftred to the Saints, and do minifier, Heb. vi. lo. But did he thereby warrant ^ them to claim and demand as ofjujlice a Reward due to their Charity? . To xxxviii The P R E FA C E. To claim and demand any thing of God is Lan- guage unknown in Scripture, and allowable nei- ther according to Revealed nor Natural Religion. The Juftice of God is indeed underftood with reference to his Creatures, and is implied and concerned in all his Proceedings with them. But, if we may prefume to fay, that God is o- bliged to do, or not to do any thing ; the Ob- ligation is not to his Creatures, but his own In- finite Perfedions oblige him to a6t , or not to ad, in fuch cafes. He muft ad confiftently with his Juftice and Mercy, and every other Attribute, that is, confiftently with himfelf, and fultably to his own Divine Nature. If we be- lieve not , yet he abideth faithful , he canfiot deny him/elf 2 Tim. ii. 13. But will any Man therefore claim and demand of him, as ofju- Jiice to keep his Word, and perform his Pro- mife? God is declared in Scripture to ad for his own fake, for his Name fake, and for his Word and Promife fake, Ifa. xliii. 25. xlviii. 9. FfaL cv. 42. AEls xiii. 23. And his Creatures are fecure in his Infinite Juftice and Veracity, and Honour and Goodnefs j but none can plead, any llight or demand ]u{lice of him, upon any ac- count , which would be Blafphemy to imagine. We could therefore argue with no Certainty con- cerning Divine Revelation , or any other Blef- Cng to be vouchfafed to us, if we could be af- fured of nothing from him, but what we can in ftrid Juftice demand. But from the Confidera- tion of the Divine Attributes, and of the Condi- tion of Mankind, we have the greateft Reafon not only to hope, but aflbredly to conclude, that The PRE FA C £, xxxix that God would not leave Men wholly deftitute of Revelation. Nor muft this needs have been given in all Ages and to all Nations, For as to its univerfal Reception , it was fufficient , that Revelations ftiould be made to fuch Perfons, and m fuch Ages and Nations, as might befl communicate them to other Nations and Ages of the World. And I have, I prefume, fufficiently proved, that ty a peculiar Providence in the Conduft of the Patriarchs, and the Difpenfation of the Law, and the various State and Condition of the chofen People-, all Nations have been the better for the Informations and Inftruftions delivered down to them from the firfl Progenitors of Mankind, to whom Revelations were vouchfafed ; and divers Rites and Dodlrines of Revealed Religion have been preferved among the moft remote and bar- barous Gentiles. But as to particular Ages and Nations , the Knowledge and Profeffion both of Revealed and of Natural Religion muft be different, according to the different Capacities and Abilities of Un- derftanding , and the Tempers and Difpofitions of Mind, in thofe, who had the Opportunities of receiving and of communicating to others, the Truths of Religion. God has been pleafed frequently to declare, what Natural Reafon may fuggeft, and every Days Experience teftifie; thac he deals not with Mankind according to the Severity of ftridt and abftradled Juftice. And fince every other Attribute perfuades and pro- mifejs, and Juftice it felf does not forbid a Reve- lation, but rather direfts and appoints it; the Argument xl The PRE FA C E. Argument from the divine Attributes is as ftrong and cogent in this, as in any other Cafe, where we have no divine Promife or Declaration. Since God as neceffarily adls in Conformity to his o- ther Attributes, as to his Juftice ; I am convinced, that a divine Revelation is neceffary, not becaufe it might have been claimed and demanded as of Ju/lice', but expeded and aflured from his Mer- cy, his Righteoufnefs, and every other Attribute. THE THE CONTENTS ^^^^^^^^"^^^S^^^ PART I. CHAP. I. tthaf/rom the Notion of a God, it necejfarily folh'W^ that there muft be fome Divine Revelation, THE Being of a God, evident to Natural Reafon, p. 2, 3. nat there are wicked Spirits, Enemies to Mankind , p. 4, &c. 'T^he miferahle Condition of Man, without the Divine DireBion and AJfiftance, and that God would not leave him without all Rejnedy in this Condition, p. 7, The Judgment of St. Athanafius in the cafe, ^ p. u. CHAP. The Contents. CHAP. II. ^heWay and Manner by "which Divine Revela- tions tjtay be Jiippofed to be delivered and pre- ferved in the World, ^he Manifeflations of God^s ordinary Providence infuf- fic'ient^ and therefore fome extraor dinar 'j way of Rev e- latxon^necejfar'^^ p. 14, if. 1'he Ways of extraordinary Revelation, either immediate Revelation to every parti- cular Perfon *, or to fome only^ with a Power of Miracles and Prophecies to enahU them to communicate the Di- vine Will to others y p. 15. I. It could not he requifite that GodJJjoidd communicate himfelfby immediate Reve^ ' Jation'4o every one in -particular, ibid . II. Prophe- cies and Miracles are the rnofi fitting and proper means for God to difcover and reveal himfelfto the World by^ p. 2\, I, Concerning Prophecies, ibid. 2. Con- cerning Miracles, p. 26. III. Divine Revelations muft he. fuppofed to be preferved in the World by Writings^ p. 33. IV. T^hey 7nuft be of great Antiquity, p. 34. y Aheymufi he. fully publijh'd and promulged, ibid- PART II. C H A P. I. "ihe Antiquity of the Scripture^. TH E Jnti^uity of the Scriptures, a Circumfiance very confidcrahle to prove them to be of Divine Revela- tion, p. 35,36". ^bey give an account of Divine Re^ velations made from the beginning of tht World, p. ^6. What Mofes relates of lhi}igs before his own time is cc,rtainly true -, and muft have been difcovered to be Uljc^ if it had been fo, P-375 3^• C H A P- The Contents. CHAP. II. T'be Projhulgatidn of the Scriptures, I. In the fir ft Ag^s of theWorU\ the Revealed Will of God was, known to all Mankind^ P - 45 • I^- Infucceed- ing Ages there has ftill bee nfuficient Means and frequent Opporliinitiesfor all Nations to come to the Knowledge ofit^p.^cj. I, The Law of Viofts did particularly * provide for the Inftru^ionofMther Nations in the Re- vealed Religion^ ibid. 2. The Providence of God did ■ fo order anddifpoje of the Jews, ■ that other Nations had frequent ppportunities of becorninginftruoled in the true Religion, p. j^,i Teftimonies of the Heathen concerning the Jews, and their Religion^ p. 95. There have ever been divers Memorials and Remembrances of the True Religion among the Heathen, p. ibo. Of the Sibylline .Oracles, p. 106. The Gofpel had been preached in China ^;?^ America, before the late Difcoveries,^, 113, 1 1 4. The Confeffions both of P rot eft ants and Papifts, as to this matter, p. 119. Chriftians, in all Parts of the World, p. 1 21, '.A'Se^ called, The Good Followers of the Mefllah^/ Conftantinople, p. 122. Though great Part of the World are ftill Unbelievers, yt there is no Nation but has great Opportunities of being convert- edy p, 12S, The cafe of particular Perfons confidered, p. 129, CHAP. III. Of Mofes and Aaron. The Sincerity c/Mofes in his Writings, p. 1 3 2. He was ■ void of Ambition, p. 135. Aaron and He had no con- trivance between themfelves to impoje upon the People, p. 136. c 2 CHAP. The Contents. # CHAP. IV. Of the Pentateuch. the Pentateuch written by Mofes, p. 137. ^^^ F^^^ Impartiality vif.ble in thefe Books, p. 138. I'he Book ^/Genefis an Introduction to tbe reft^ ibid. The prin- cipal Points of the Hiflory of the Jews, cojifefs'd by the Heathen, p. 139, 140. CHAP. r. Of the PrediBions or Prophecies contained in the Books ofMoks. The Promife of the Meflias, p. 141- 1'he Predi^ions of Noah, ibid. 1'he Promifes made to Abraham, p. 142. 57?^ Prophecies of Ih^c, ^c, p. 144. 0/Jacob, ibid. 0/BaIaam, p. 145. O/Mofes, p. 146, &:c. C H A P. VI. Of the Miracles wrought by Mofes. I. the Miracles and Matters of Fa5i contained in the Books of Mofes, as they are there related to have been done, were at firfl fuficiently attefled, p. 153. II. 1'he Relations there fct down, are a true Account of the Mi- racles wrought by Mofes, and fuch as we fnay depend upon, p. 167. For,{\^ The fe things could not be feign- edhy Mofes and Aaron, and others concerned with them in carryi?ig on fuch a Bcfjgn, ibid. (2.) The Miracles could not be feigned, nor the Books of Mofes invented i/r falfified by any particular Man, nor by any confede- racy or combination of Men, after the death c/ Mofes, p. 169. (3.) The Pentateuch could not be invented norfalfified by the joint confent of the whole Nation^ either in The Contents. in Mofes'i time^ or after it^ p. 182. Of what confe- quence the Proof of the Divine Authority of the Penta- teuch is towards the -proving the reft of the Scriptures to be of the fame Authority^ p. 1 8 8. CHAP. vir. (yjafliua and the Judges:, and of the Miracle: and Prophecies under their Government. ^ Jofliua, the Author of the Book under his Namey^. 189. The Book ^/Judges written by Samuel, p. 190. The PFaters of Jordan divided, p. 191. The Males circum- cifedat the fir [I coming into Canaan, and thereby difabled for War, contrary to all humane Policy^ p. 192. The Walls of Jericho thrown down, and the Prophecy concerning them, ibid. The Integrity P-.232. Judas himf elf gave Teflimony to it^ • p. 234- "I^he Prophecies concerning the Birth of the MefTias The Contents. MefTias, fld^iyS^n'hm^ p. 238. T/7 &c. PART III. I Hat there is no other Divine Revelation^ but that contaified in the Holy Scriptures Old and New Tefl anient^ P- 334• C H A P. I. Tl he Novelty of the Heathen Religions, The Pretences £?/ //j^ Egyptians to Antiq^ilty examined^ P- Z^S- Of the Chaldasans, p. 337. Of the Chine- Vol. f. d C H A V. The Contents. CHAP. II. Of the Defe^ in the Fromulgation of the Hea- then Re!igio7is. The Heathen Religions never extant in Books to he puh- lickly read^ p.. 3 4.6. Every Country had its peculiar Deities. They prevailed only by the Temporal Power, Though the Heathen inore in number y yet the Religion cf Chrifiians more promulged^ p. 3 46, 3 47 . CHAP. III. Of the DfeB of the Prophecies and Miracles of the Heathen Religio/ts. Of the Oracles cf the Heathen, p. 348. That they were uncertain- a?id ambiguous^ ibid. But they could not be all counterfeit., P- 350. The Ceffation of Oracles gradual P-35I. Their Miracles never wrought to confirm any found and iifeful Doctrine., p. 354. The Confeffions of the Falfe Gods^ when they were adjur'd h Ohrifiansy p. 355- CHAP. IV. The Defe^, in point ofDoSirine^ in the Heathen Religions, The Theology of the Heathen abfitrd^ p. '^S^- Their Re- ligious l^Vorfhip wicked and impious., p. 359. Human Sacrifces cuflomary in all Heathen Nations ^ p. 360, 6<:c. No body of Laws, nor Rules of Good Life^ pro- posed by their Oracles, p. ^6^. but Idolatry and If^ickednefs approved and recom7nended by^ them^ p. CHAP. The Contents, CHAP. V. Of the Philojhphy of the Heathen. The Heathen Philofophy very defe5five and erroneous^ p. ^6y. IVhatever there is in Excellency of the Pbilofo- ;pby of the Heatheny is owing to Revelation^ P- 379- If the Heathen Philofophy had been as certain and as excellent as it can he pretended to he^ yet there had ^ been great need of a Divine Revelation ^ P- 3 87, CHAP. VI. l^he Novelty arid Defedt in the Promulgation of the Mahometan Religion^ p. ^n;^. CHAP. vir. The want both of Prophecies and Miracles in the Mahometan Religion^ p. oqa. CHAP. VIII. The Alcoran isfalfcy abfiird^ and immoral^ ?• 396* CHAP. IX. Of Mahomet. That he was LufifuU Proud ^ and Cruel^ appears from the Alcoran it jelf^ p. 400, ^c. PART The Contents, P A R T IV. C H A *P. I. THat there is as great Certainty of the T^ruth of the Chr^Jlian Religion y as there is of the Being of Gody p. 403. CHAP. il. ne Refolution of Faith, he Scriptures confidered^ (i.J As Hijlorically true^^oj, (2.) As to their Do^rine^ which co?2cerns Eternal Sal- 'vation, p. 408. From both thefe Conjiderations^ it fol- lows that they are infallihlj True^ p. 409. In many Cafes^ there is as much caiife to believe what we know frotn others^ as what we fee and experience our felves^ p. 410. And thm it is in the prefent Cafe^ concerning the Refolution of Faith, p. 413. The Evidence of Senfe^ and of Hu?nan Teftimony in this cafe^ compared^ p. 415. The Certainty of both idthnately refolved in- to the Divine Veracity, &c. p. 416. An Ohjeofion from John xx. 29. a^ifwer'^d, p. 415. The Truth of the Chrijlian Religion-, . evident evm to a Demonftration, p."4i8. T K E THE Reasonableness and Certainty O F T H E Chriftian Religion. B O O K I Part I. N Dlfcourfing of i]it Reafonahle?iefs ani Certainty of the Chnft'ian ReUgion^ I fliall ufe this Method: I. I Ihall fhew. That from the Notion of a God, it necefTarily follows, that there muft be fome Divine Revelation. II. I fhall enquire into ti\z Way and Manner by which this Re- velation may be fuppos'd to be delivered and preferved in the World. III. I fhall fhew, That, from the No- tion of a God, and the Nature and Defign of a Di- vine Revelation, it follows. That the Scriptures of the Old and New Tefcament are that Divine Revela- tion. IV. That no other Books or Doctrines what- foever can be of Divine Revelation. V. I fhall from hence give a Refokition of our Faith^ by fhewing. That We have the lame Evidence for the Truth and Divine Authority of the Scriptures, that we have for the Being of God himfelf-, becaufe^ic follows, from the Notion of a God, both that there mull of neceHity Vol. I. B.' be z The Reafonabknefs and Certamty be foir.e Divine Revelation, and that the Scriptures are that Divine Revelation. VI. Plaving done this, I fhall, in the lall place, endeavour to clear fuch Points as are commonly thought moft liable to excep- tion in ih'* Chriilian Religion •, and ihall propofe fome Confiderations, which may ferve to remove fuch Obie6lions, and obviate luch Cavils as are ufu- ally raib'd againft the Holy Scriptures. CHAP. I. "^ hat from the Notion of a God, it necefarilyfoL lows that there mufi he fome Divine Revelation. IN the firfl place, I fhall fhew how reafonable and neceflary it is to fuppofe, that God fhould reveal himfelf to Mankind: And I fhall infill the rather up- on this, becaufe it is not ufually fo much confider'd in this Controverfy, as it ought to be -, for if it were, it certainly would go very far towards the proving the Divine Authority of the Scriptures-, fince if it be once made appear, that there muil be fome Divine Revela- tion, it will be no hard Matter to prove, that the Scrip- tures are that Revelation : For if it be proved, that there mud be fome Revealed Religion, there is no other which can bear any Competition with that con- tained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Tefta- ment. My firfl Bufmefs therefore fliall be to fhew, from the Confideration of the Attributes of God, and of the Nature and State of Mankind, that, in all rea- fon, we cannot but believe, that there is fome Re- vcakxl Religion in the World. There is nothing more evident to Natural Reafon, than that dicrc mull be fome Beginning, fome Firfl Principle of Being, from whence all other Beings pro- ceed. And nothing can be more abfurd, than to ima- gine of the Chrtjlian Religion. gine that That wonderful Variety of Bjings in the Heavens, and Earth, and Seas, which all the Wifdom of Man is not able, in any meafure, to underlland, or thoroughly to fearch into, fhould yet be produced and continued for fo many thoufand Years together, with- out any Wifdom or Contrivance \ that an unaccount- able Concourfe of Atoms^ which could never build the leaft Houfe or Cottage, fhould yet build and fuitain the wonderful Fab rick of the whole World ; that when ♦the very Lines in a Globe or Sphere cannot be made without Art, the World itfelf, which that is but an imperfe6i: Imitation of, fliould be made without it ; and that lefs Skill fhould be requir'd to the forming of a Man, than is necelTary to the making of his Pidure *, that Chance fhould be the Caufe of all the Order, and Fortune of all the Confcancy and Regularity in the Nature of Things •, and that the very Faculties of Reafon and Underftanding in all Mankind, fhould have their Original from that, which had no Senfe or Knowledge, but was mere Ignorance and Stupidity. This is fo far from being Reafon and Philofophy, that it is down-right Folly and Contracliclion. From a Being therefore of infinite Perfedlion mufl proceed all things that are befides, with all their Per- fedions and Excellencies, and among others, the Vir- tues and Excellencies of Wifdom, Jultice, Mercy and Truth, muft be derived from him, as the Author of all the Perfections of which the Creatures are capable. And it is abfurd to imagine, that the Creator and Governour of the World, v/lio is infinitely more Jufl, more Wife, and Good, and Holy than aay Creature can be, will not at lafl reward the Good, and punifh the Wicked. For, Shall not the Judge of -all the Earth do right ? Is it to be fuppofed, that the Wife and Good God would create Men only to abufe themfelves and one another ? To live a-while in Sin and Folly here, and fome of them in the moft extravagant and brutal Wickednefs, and then go dov/n' to the Grave, and fo B 2 there 4 The Rtajonablenejs and Certamty there fliould be an end of them for ever ? What is there worthy of the infinite Wifdom of God, in fo poor a Dcfign as this ! Doth not the Voice of Na- ture it fclf teach us, and has it not been the general Bcdief and Expedation of all Ages and Nations, that tlie profpcrous Sinner, who is fubtle and powerful to do Mifchicf, muft fuffer in another World, for what he has done amifs here? And, that all is not to pafs away with us in Sport and Extravagance, in Laughter and Noife, in Riot, or in Violence and Cruelty, as feme Men are willing to believe •, as if the World were made for the Wicked, and they to abufe it ? It appears likewife from the common Belief and Experience of Mankind, that as there is a God of infinite Goodnefs and Holinefs •, fo there are wicked and malicious Spirits, which are ever contriving the Mifchief and Ruin of Men. For befides the Evidence of this from Scripture, which we muft be allowed here to alledge in the Nature at leaft of an Hiilory, it is Polly to imagine that all the Oracles and Prodigies of the Heathens could be mere Forgeries, and that there was no Ground nor Foundation for fuch a Belief, as uni- verfilly obtained in all Nations and Ages of the World, and for the Cuftoms and Practices which followed up- on this Belief, that there are 'Damons^ or Spirits, of an evil and malicious Difpofition and Power. I Ihall inilance only in the unnatural Cruelties which the Heathen World, even the Greeh and Romans theni- felves, were continually put upon, by the Inftigation of thefc malicious and wicked Spirits. For the Hea- then Nations offered up Multitudes of innocent Men and Women, and even their own Children, in Sacri- fice to their Falfe Gods-, which is as fure an Evidence that tliere arc fuch Beings, which required thefe Cruel- ties from them, as it is, that there are Tyrants and Perfecutors, when they caufe innocent Men to be mur- thcred, and Children to be torn from the Arms of their Parents, and (lain in their Sight. And tho' the Domi- of the Chriflian Religion, j Dominion of Satan be now rcflraincd by the over- ruling Power of the Gofpel, we have as great Evi- dence from all Plifbory that there are fuch Beings as Devils, as we have for any other Matter of Fad what- foever. There have been indeed many talfe Stories concerning Spirits, as well as in other Matters of Hi- ftory : But does this prove that there are none true ? Or could the Hiflorians of all Times and Places be per- petually impofed upon, or confpire to impofe upon ^others ? If we may credit Authors of as high Efteem as any human Hiflory can afford •, Men of good Learn- ing and true Courage, and of little Inclination to be- lieve Things of this Nature, have been Witneffes of Apparitions. I inllance in '^ D'lon^ Brutus^ ^ Curtius^ Riifus^ and Athenodorus the Philofopher. When Dion and Brutus^ Men famous for Philofophy, not prone to Fear, but of great Conftancy of Mind, became fo con- cerned, that they acquainted others with v/hat they had feen ; this, as ' Plutarch remarks, is a mighty Argument for the Truth of this Doftrine. There is no ancient Hiilory but gives fome Inllance or other of ,thefe Things •, and all the modern Hiftories of Heathen Nations are full of fuch Relations as confirm this Truth to us •, and even among Chrillians, thofe who have by unlawful Arts put themfelves under the Power of wicked Spirits , have been convinced that there are fjch Beings •, which is proved, not only by the publick ConfefTions of Witches in all Nations, but by the private ^ Acknc'iioledgjnents of divers learned Men ^ both Phyficians and others, who have made Attempts to difcover the Truth of this Matter, in different Pla- ces, and ivere Perfons 7ieither timorous nor fuperftitious. But the Apparition of Spirits is Preternatural ; and therefore, that Good Spirits, who live in perfect Obe- f Plut. in Dion, k Brut. ^ Plin. Epift. I- 7. ad Suram. ^ In Dion, initio. ^ See Mr. Boyle's Exccllencv of Theo- logy, ^c. § I. and Dr, CafaubonV PrcB'cc to Dec of Spirits. B 3 ■ diencc , L^ ^ -— ■ 6 The Reafonablenefs andCertmnt^ dience to the Divine Will, and in confonnity to the Order of their Nature, fliould appear, is now no more to be expe(51:ed than any other Miracle: But there are frequent Apparitions of Bad Spirits in Coun- tries where the Chriftian Religion is not received ; and where it is received, they appear to fuch as are willing to come under their Power, but very rarely to others. And if the Devil, after fo much Human Blood as he has caufed to be fpilt in his Sacrifices, and after fo many Oracles and Impoftures, can yet per- fuade fome Men, that there is no fuch Being ; this is one of his fubtilef: Stratagems of all, and proves how great Power, tho' in a different kind and manner, he (liil rewi'.js over the Minds of Men. Since therefore i: is mod certain, that there is a Being of Infinite Power, and Wifdom. and Juftice, and G'odnefs*, and that there is likev/ifc a malicious cruel Spirit, ever watchful and induftrious to abufc and deltroy Mankind: it is highly : afonable to be- lieve, that a Being of fuch Infinite Perfecflions, after he had created Man, would communicate himfelf to him, would {^^x. him a Rule by which he ought to live, and prefcribe him Laws whereby he might anfwer the Ends of his Creation, and attain to that Happinefs which he was made capable of, and defigned for by his Maker. We cannot fuppofe, that the God of all Good- nefs and Wifdom would create Man, and then leave him to himfelf, to follov/ his own Inventions, and to live at random, without any Law or Direction, to frame his Adlions by, and to be expofcd to all the AfTaults of an implacable fubtle Enemy, without any Caution and Inftrudion given him, or any Help and AfTiflance afforded for his Defence. Man^ m his In- nocence, was not thus to be left to himfelf.- And we have all the rcaibn in the World to believe, tho' we had not the exprefs Word of Scripture for it, that the God of Infinite Goodnefs would not difregard this corrupt State of Mankind, but would ufe fome Means- of the Chrijitan Rehgton. Means to reclaim them from the Error of their Ways^ to bring them to a Knowledge of themfclves, and of the Divine Majefty, to inform them of their Duty, and direct them to Happinefs. How Man became fo prone to all Evil, we can know only by Revelation ; and therefore fmce the Notion of the Pre-exiftenceof SoulsisgroLindiefs, (as I fhall here- after prove) thofe who rejed: all Revelation, mull fuppofe, that Man was firft created in the ftate of Sin and Mifery ; which is a very heinous Imputation upon the Goodnefs and Juitice of God : But to fuppofe him placed \x\ this Condition, without all Help or Re- medy, is to charge God ftill more foolifhly. But how Men became fo., is not here the matter of Enquiry ; it is evident, that Man is of himfelf in a miferable and helplefs Condition-, and confidering the great Ig- norance and Wickednefs which have been from the Fall of our Firft Parents vifible continually in the World, and ftill reign in it ; confidering, I fay, the notorious Wickednefs and grofs Ignorance of Men, which, from the earlieft Records of Antiquity, have continued down to our own Times-, nothing is more reafonable than to think, that a Being of Infinite Perfedion would take fome Care to rectify the Miftakes, and reform the Man- ners of Men. Can we believe it confifrent with Infinite Tfuth, never to manifeft it feif in the World, but to fufter all forts of Men, of all Nations, to be expofed to all theDefigns and Delufions of Impoftors, and of fedu- cing and apoftate Spirits, without any fuificient means afforded them to undeceive and refcue themfelves?'C;iii we fuppofe, that God, of Infinite Majefty and Po#er, and who is a Jealous God, and v/ill not give his Homier to another^ fhould fuffer the W^orld to be guilty of Ido- latry -, to make themfclves Gods of Wood and Stone? Nay, to offer their Sons and their Daughters unto De- vils, and to commif all manner of W^ickednefs in the Worfliip of their Faife Gods -, and make Murther, and Adultery, and the worft of. Vices, not only their B 4 « Pradice 8 The titajoyiablenejs ayid Certainty Practice, but their Religion ? Can we imagine, that the True God would behold all this, for fo many Ages, among fo many People, and yet not concern himfelf to put a Stop to io much Wickednefs, and to vindicate his o^m Honour, and rellore the Senfe and Pradlice of Virtue upon Earth ? I fhall, in due Place, prove at large, That Mankind have in all Ages had the greatefl NeccfTity for a Reve- lation to direct and reform th6m •, and, That the Phi- lofophers themfelves taught abominably wicked Do- ctrines, who yet were the beft Teachers and Inllru- elors oi the Pleathen World. And we have no true Notion of God, if we do not believe him to be a God of infinite Power, and Knowledge, and Holinefs, and Mercy, and'l'ruth ; and yet we may as well believe there is no God at all, as imagine that the God of Infinite Knowledge lliould take no Notice of what is done here below \ that Infinite Power fhould lufier it feif to be affronted and defpifed, without requiring any Satif- fadlion •, that Infinite Holinefs fhould behold the whole World lie in Wickednefs, and find out no Way to re- medy it V '.and that Superftition and Idolatry, and all thcTyranny of Sin and Satan, for fo long a time, fhould enflave and torment the Bodies and Souls of Men, and there fliould be no Compafilon in Infinite Mercy, nor any Care over an erroneous and deluded World, in the God of Truth. Would a wife and good Father fee his Children run on .in all manner of Folly and Extravagancy, and take no care to reclaim them, nor give them any Advice, hut leave them wholly to themfelves, to purfue their own Ruin ? And if this be unworthy to fuppofe of Na- tural Parents, how much- more unreafonable is it to ima- gine this of God himfelf, whom we cannot but reprefent to ourfclves, as beholding our forlorn Eftate with all the (Compafllons of the tendereft Father or Mother, with--- put the Weaknefs and Infirmities that accompany them jn Human Parents ? How unreafonable is it to enter- tain - of the Chrijitan Religion. 9 tain fuch a Thought of Almighty God, Infinite in Goodnefs and Mercy, as to fufped: that he would fuf- fer Mankind to make themfelves as miferable as they can, both in this World and the next, without put- ting any Stop to fo fatal a Courfe of Sin and Mifcry, or interpofing any Thing for their Direction, to fhew them the Way to efcape Deftruclion, and to obtain Happinefs ! The Fall of our Firft Parents is known to us only by Revelation, and therefore is not to be ta- Jcen into Confideration, when we argue upon the mere f*rincip!es of Reafon. But I confider Mankind, as we find it in Fa6b (fetting afide the Advantages of Re- velation) Wicked, and abandoned to Wickednefs, in the fnares of the devil ^ taken captive hy him at his ivilly unable to ixjork out their own falvation ; loft and un- done, without Power or Strength, without any Help or Remedy. And in this State of the World, however it came to pafs, is there no Reafon to believe that In- finite Goodnefs fhould take fome Courfe, and not dif- regard all Mankind lying in this Condition ? The great Argument of the Scofters of the laft Days, St. Peter tells us, would be this. That all Things go on in their conftant Courfe, and that God doth not meddle or concern himfelf with them. Where is the promife of his coming ? for fine e the fathers fell afleepy all things continue as they ix;ere froin the creation^ 2 Pet. iii. 4. And if no Promife had ever been made, they would have had fome Reafon in their Arguing. For that which rendered the Heathen without Excufe, was. That they did not make ufe of the Natural Knowledge that they had of God, to lead them to the Knowledge of his Revealed Will, which they had frequent Oppor- tunities of becoming acquainted withal, and had many Memorials of it amongft them in every Nation : But, they did not like to retain God in their knowledge. And this is the Force o^ St. Paul's Argument,^^?^ xvii. and Rom. i. (unlefs this latter Chapter were to be underftood, as Dr, Ha?n??iond interprets it, of the Gnoflick Hereticks:) That lO TheReafonahlenefs and Certainty That the Gentiles ought not to pervert and ftifle thofe Natural Notions which God had implanted in their Minds, but from the Law of Nature to proceed to find out the Written Law; and for this- Reafon, the Bounds of the Habitation of other Nations were de- termined and appointed by God, according to the num- ber of the Children of Ifrael, that they might feek the Lord^ and might be able to find and difcover the True Reli- gion and Way of Worihip among that People to whom he had revealed himfelf, I)^?^^. xxxii. 8.^/^. xvii.26,27. They might have been lefs vicious than they were, without the Knowledge of a Revelation ; and therein tliey were inexciifable, that tho' they could not free themfelves from the Power of Sin, yet they might not have given themfelves fo wholly up to it, as to be- come excluded from the Grace and Salvation to be obtained by the Revealed Will of God. And when God has revealed himfelf, all who will not ufe the Means, and by a due Improvement of their Reafon endeavour from Natural Religion to arrive at Reveal- ed, become inexcufable for their Negligence and Con- tempt of God, and the Abufe of thofe Talents and En- dowments which God has bellowed upon them. For when God has once given Men warning, and direcfted them in the way of Salvation, and they will not regard it •, they mufl be wilfully ignorant if they will not confider, that one day is with the Lord as a thotifand years^ and a thoufand years as one day *, and it is an Ar- gument of his Patience and Long-fufFering, that he doth not bring fpeedy Vengeance upon a difobedient and rebellious World : l^he Lord is not flack concerning his Fromife (as fl)?ne men count flacknefs) hut is long- fuffering to us-ward, not willing that any JJjould peri/h^ but that all [hoidd come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. Now this is very well confident and exceedingly agreeable with all . the Divine Pcrfcdions, that he Ihould give Men warn- ing of the Evil and Danger of Sin, and afterwards leave them of the Chr'tjiian Religion. 1 1 them to their own choice, whether they will be Righ- teous and Happy, or Wicked and Miferable ; and then that he fhould not take the firft Opportunity to punifh them, nor lay hoki of any Advantage againft them, but give them time for fecond Thoughts, and fpace for Confideration and Repentance : But if they ab'^.fe fo much Patience and Loving-kindnefs, that he fhould at lad come upon them, when they lead think of him, with a mighty and terrible Judgment, and with a fadden and unexpeded Fury. But to ftand by arfd look on unconcern'd, and then to take Men upon fuch a Surprife, without giving them any Notice of it before-hand, is a thing impofTible to be accounted for, and can never be reconciled with the divine Attri- butes. Sz.Athanafius^ infills at large upon this Argu- ment, and carries it fo far as to prove the Neceiiitv of the Incarnation of the Son of God from it. He urges. That it would have been unworthy of the Goodnefs of God to fuifer all Mankind to be deilroyed by the Fraud and Malice of the Devil, or by their own Fault and Negligence; and that it had been more confiftent with his Wifdom and Goodnefs, never to have created Men, than to have fuffered them thus to perifh : " An " Earthly King (lays he) when he has planted a Co- '^ lony, v/ill not careleQy fuffer his Subjects to become '^ Slaves to a Stranger, or to revolt from him ; but ne *' will, by his Proclamations, admonilh them of their *' Duty, and often- times will fend Meffiges to them by " his Friends ; and if there be a NecefTity for it, will go " to them himfelf, to awe them by his Prefence, and *' recal them to their Obedience. And (as he there " adds) " fhall not God much rather be fo mindful of *' his Creatures, as to ufe fome Means to reclaim them *' from their evil Ways, and regain them to his Ser- " vice; efpecially when they muft be utterly undone *' forever, urdefs he take care of them? • S. Athiiju de Incarnatione Verbi Dei. ' l^l. Cyril IX "The Reafonahlenefs and Certainty * St. Cyril of Jlesandria fpeaks to the fame Pur- pofc. "It was necclTary, (fays he) it was necefliiry, *' that the good God Ihould lave thofe, who were loll, *' and defeat the Malice of the Devil." And after- wards, *' What then flioiild the Creator of the Uni- "• verfe do? Should he leave all Men under the Power ♦^ of impure Daemons? And fufier the Devil's Malice '^ to difippoint his ovm Drfigns ? Should he not '' ftrcrch forth his faving Hand to thofe who were '' down ? Should he not reclaim thofe who were en- *' fnared in the groffeft Wickedneis ? Should he not '* enlighten the Minds of thofe who were in Dark- *' nefs ? Should he not call back thofe who were ^' gone aftray ? How then could he be Good, if *' when without the leafb Trouble, he could effe6lu- *-*• ally do all this, he had yet had no Regard for us ? '' Why did he at firfl bring Men into Being and Life, *' if he would extend no Mercy towards them in this *' miferable State?" It is plain then, that tho' wt had never heard of fuch a Thing as a Miracle, or a Prophecy, or of Re- calcd Religion •, yet from the Confideration of the State of the World, and the great Ignorance and Cor- ruption of Human Nature, it would be reafonable to cxped tliat God fliould fome Way make known his Will to Mankind 5 and we cannot reconcile it to his Attributes, nor conceive how it fhould be confiftent v/ith them , for him to be an unconcerned Speftator of fo much Folly and Wickednefs, without taking any Care to remedy it. God cannot be obliged to force Men to obey his Commandments, and comply with his Will, but rather to leave it at their own Choice, whether they will be Happy or Miferable: But it was necefliiry to propofe the Terms of Salvation to them. ' Contra JulJan. I. -8. c. p. 278, 279. Edit. Lipf. In eandem eti- ani icnccntiam Thcodotus Ancyra^ Epifc Homil. iii'Couc Ephef. ha bi:. C. T. 5. coi. 1026. to of the Chrtfitan Reltgiori. 13 to offer them their free Choice, to let before them Life and Death, BlelTings andCurfings, and fo to leave the Obflinate without all Excufe. And this is all which I am here concerned to prove. That it is realbnble to fuppofe, that God would re- veal himfelf to Mankind, and that it is not conceiva- ble how it fhould be confiilcnt with the divine Attri- butes for him not to do it. To own the Being of a God, and yet to deny a Providence, is fo great an Ab- fiydity, that none of the Philofophers, but Epicurus^ were guilty of it ; and this was look'd upon, in him, as amounting to the Denial of the Divine Exiftence. And to grant both the Being and the Providence of God, and yet to confine the Divine Care and Provi- dence to the Bodies only, and Outward Condition of Men, and to imagine, that the Spiritual and Immortal Part of Man is difregarded or negledled by him, is no lefs an Abfurdity than wholly to deny his Provi- dence or his Exiftence •, becaufe this is to deny the moft confiderable and ineftimable Part of Providence, which concerns our Souls , and our Eternal State % and therefore it is, by confequence , to deny the At- tributes of God, and to rcprefent him not as he is in himfelf, but Unwife, Unmerciful, and Unholy. To fay that there is no fuch thing as a Divine Revelation, is no better, in effed than Atheifm: For whoever can be of this Opinion, muft believe only the Being of fuch Gods as Epicurus owned, that never concerned themfelves with Human Affairs ; which was only, in other words, to fay that they were no Gods at all. It has therefore been the conflant Belief and Opi- nion of all Nations, that their Gods did in fome.way or other reveal themfelves to Men ; and tho' fo great a Part of the World have worfhipped Falfe Gods, and have been miftaken as to the particular Revelations, which they received for Divine, yet it mufc proceed either from Ancient Tradition , or from the Reafo- fiablenefs of the thing it felf, or from both, that all the 8 14 Tha Reafonableviejl and Certainty the World fliould expecl that the Divine Being fhould by fome means communicate himfelf to Men and de- clare his Will to them. C H A p. 11. T^he Way and Manner by which Divine Revela- tions may be Jiippojed to be delivered and pre- Jerved in the Wojdd. MAnkind had fo corrupted themfelves, that the Will and Laws of God could not be effedually made known to them, but by fome extraordinary way of Revelation. God had manifefted himfelf in the Creation of the World, and by the Prefervation of all things from the Beginning, according to their feveral Natures : For the invijible. things of him^ from the creation of the worlds are clearly feen^ being under- flood by the things which are made^ even his eternal Power and Godhead, Rom. i. 20. But Men had corrupted themfelves even in the plaineft and moft fundamental Points of all Religion, and a6i:ed againft all the Didates of Natural Reafon, in worfhipping the vileft Parts of the Creation, rather than God himfelf, and, in con- tempt and defiance of Him, had ^tl up tv&n four-footed heafts and creeping things inftead of Gods. How then could the Power and Authority of God be afTerted, but by fome extraordinary Way of Revelation ; fmce the ordinary and conftant Methods of God's revealing and manifcfting himfelf by his Providence, in the Pre- fervation and Government of the World, had been fo far perverted and abufed, as that Men were feduced to the WorlTiip of any thing, or of every thing, rather than of God.? Mankind had neither the Will nor Abi- lity to rcrbrm themfelves, and had by tlieir own fiult brought themfelves under an utter Incapacity of being reformed of the Chnfltan Reltgion. . i y reformed but by fome extraordinary Revelation. Na- tural Reafon might have taught them to be lefs Wic- ked, but nothing could make them Righteous but a Revelation ; and the grofs Errors and Crimes, which thewifeft Men had fallen into, fliew the Neccfr]ty of an extraordinary Revelation from God, to indrud and inform the "World. And the Ways of extraordinary Revelation are but thefe two, either an immediate Revelation of the Divine Will to particular Perfons j gr a Power of working Miracles, and of prophefying and foretelling future Events beftowed upon fome, to convince others that they are infpired, or come with a Commiffion from God, to inftrud: them in what he has revealed, either by himfelf, or by the Meflage of Angels. I. But it cannot feem requifite, that God fhould immediately infpire , or make an immediate Revela- tion to every particular Perfon in the World : For cither he mud fo powerfully influence their Minds and Affections, as to take away their Choice and Free- dom of acting, which would be to offer Violence to Humane Nature ^ or eife Men would, for the mod part, have gone on in their wicked Courfes dill, and would have denied God in their Lives, though their Underftanding were never fo clearly and fully con- vinced of his Will and Commandments, as well as of \i\s Eternal Power and God-head, For, as St. Paid tefti- fies, the Heathens themfelves were not ignorant of the Being of God; but zvhen they knew God, they glori- fied him not as God. No Man can be more certain of any Infpiration which he can receive, than he is of the Being of that God from whom he receives it-, and therefore he who denies the Being of God, mufl, by confequence, deny the Truth of any fuch Infpiration, uniefs it have that powerful Impulfe upon his Mind, as both to convince him and force him to an Acknow- ledgment at once of the Being of God, and of the O- peration of his Spirit upon his Soul. And it is hard to 1 6 The Reafonablenefs and Certainty to conceive how any Infpiration, which doth not over-rule the Will and Aficdions, as well as convince the Underftanding, lliould be of more Efficacy upon the Minds and Lives of fuch Men, than the Notion of a God is. For if Men can fo ftifle the Notion of a God in their Minds, as to doubt whether there beany God or no, or at lead to a(5l as if there were none ; no Reafon can be given why they might not as well ad againfl any Convidion which they might receive by Infpiration, or any other way of immediate Reve- lation, (unlefs it had an irrefiftible Effed upon them) and either take it all for Fancy and Delufion, or elfe fo harden themfelves againfl it, as not to be reclaimed by it : And of this we have Balaam for an Example, who, notwithflanding the Revelations he received from God, loved the wages of unrighicoufnefs^ 2 Pet. ii. i^. But, above all Men, the profane and obflinate Un- believers can have leaft Reafon to exped that God Ihould vouchfafe them an immediate Revelation. ^ The Jews have obferved, that the Spirit of Prophecy reft- ed only upon Men of regular and pure AfFedions, of gentle, and meek, and trad^^ble Difpofitions. For the Lord zviil he found of them that tempt him not^ and Jheweth h'lmfelf to fuch as do not difirufl h'lm^ for froward thoughts fe par ate from God : into a malicious foul IVifdom Jhall not enter y nor dwell in the body that is fuhje5l unto fin. For the holy Spirit of difcipline will flee deceit, and remove from thoughts that are without underftanding, and will not abide when imrighteoufnefs cometh in, Wifd. i. 2, 3, 4, 5. And. to the fame purpofe '^ P/.?f/^ fpeaks. And for this reafon, -^VtnJ ofeph had the Interpretation of Dreams revealed to him, ' the Word of the Lord is faid to try him, or to purge, to clear, and juftifie him; it being evident, that, God would not in that manner g Maimon.dc Funrlamcnt. Lcgis, c. 7. § i. ^ Quis rerumdivinarumHxres fit. Pi>/A>, p.404. * See /^r. Hammond, qu Vh\. cv. 19. infpire of the Chrtfttan Religion. i/ Infpire one who had been guilty of the Crimes which Jofeph was accufed of. It is not to be imagined that God Ihould farther reveal himfelf to all kich in par- ticular, by an immediate Infpiration, who have re- jeded all the Manifeflations which he has made of himfelf, in the Creation and Government of the World •, but, that he would referve thcfc immediate Revelations, as peculiar Favours, to his faithful and obedient Servants. God has fometimes, indeed, made ufe of wicked Men, Balaam^ Caiaphas^ &c. as his In- ftruments both in Prophecies and Miracles, to fhew that they are at his Difpofal, and proceed from his Bounty, not from any Worth or Merit of Men *, and that he can over-rule the Defigns and Intentions of the word of Men, and make them ferviceable to him, even againft their Will , whenever he pleafeth : But then thefe are peculiar Cafes, in which thefe Gifts were afforded for particular Ends, and for the Benefit of others , and the Men themfelves were never the better for them. But as for the Difobedient, St. Paul acquaints us how, in the general Difpenfations of his Providence, God dealt with them-, God gave them over to a reprobate Mind^ Rom. i. 28. And he there fets down a Catalogue of thofe Sins which were the Confequence of this Reprobation. The Apoftle all along main ta iris, that they had fo much Knowledge of God, as to render them without Excufe \ and that they would make no Improvement of it, to the attain- ing the Knowledge of the Laws of Nature firft, and then of his Revealed Will •, and it was the juft Judg- ment of God, to give them up to their own hearts lufts^ to abandon them to the Tyranny of their Sins, fmce they would take no Notice of his Works, and would not abide his Counfels : And it muft needs have been high- ly inconfiitent, to fend immediate Revelations, or af- ford particular Infpiration to all fuch Men as are there defcribed. God'^s Spirit will not always Jirive with ?nan ; but he withdraws his ordinary Grace from thofc that Vol. L C abufe 1 8 The Reafonabknefs and Certainty abufe it, and therefore it can never be prefumed he fhould confer higher Favours upon them. If Men will believe upon reafonable Motives, they have fufficient Means of Salvation allowed them ; but if they will not believe without fome immediate Re- velation , they are never like to have that in this World, but in the next God will reveal himfelf with Terror and Vengeance upon all the workers of iniquity. God doth, both by Nature and by Revelation, pro- vide for the Neceflities, for the Welfare and Happi- nefs, but never for the Hunaours and Peevilhnefs of Men ; and thofe who will not be faved, but according to fome new Way and Method of their own Invention, mull be miferable without remedy. I doubt not but the greateft Infidels would own, that if Chrift fliould perfonally fpeak to them in a Voice from Heaven, or appear to them upon Earth, and grant them that Conviftion which he once granted to St. "Thomas^ or St. FauU they would believe in him, as thefe Apoftles did. But they would do well to confider what Rcafon there can be, why fo much Favour fhould be fhewn to thofe who rejedl with Scorn and Derifion all the Ten- ders of Grace, and Means of Salvation; and what Obligation God can be under, to fave them in fuch a manner as themfelves Ihall prefcribe, who will not be faved in his Way , and according to the Terms of the Gofpel. And if God fhould vouchfafe to make fome immediate Revelation of himfelf to thefe info- lent Offenders, and Blafphemers of his Name and Au- thority ; how can we be aifured, that they would be converted? Would they not rather find out fome Pretence to perfuade themfelves that it was no real Revelation, but the effecfb of Natural Agents, or of Melancholy, and of a diflurbed Imagination? For thofe who have fo long not only rejedled (that were a modefl thing) but derided and reviled Mofes and the Prophets, nay, the Apoftles, and our Saviour him- felf, "joould 7\ot belirjey thovgh one JImdd rife from the dead^ of the Chrlfttan Religion. 19 dead. They might be terrified, perhaps, for the pre- fent, but they would foon ftifle thofe Apprehenrions with their accuftomed Arguments for Atheifm and Infidelity. I hope to prove, in this Difcourfe, That all but Atheifts muft be convinced of the Truth of the Revelayons delivered down to us in the Old and New Teflament, if they will but take the pains to confider them ; and Atheifts could never be convinced of any Revelation whatfoever : For Men muft firft be- lieve that there is a God, before they can believe that Ke reveals himfelf either to themfelves or others^ But befides their being inetfedual, and never to be expelled by fuch as this Conceit muft be calculated for; this Suppofition, of inimediate Revelations to every Man in particular, would fill the World with continual Impoftures and Deluflons. For if every one had a Revelation made to himfelf, every one might pre- tend to others what he pleafed •, and we knew, from. the Example of the Prophet, Whowasfentto prophefie againft the Altar o{ Bethel^ that a Ma^i may be deluded by the Pretence of a Revelation made to another, a- gainft an exprefs Revelation made to himfelf; and we may conclude that this* would often happen, from what we every day experience: For if Men can be per- verted by the Arts and Infinuations of others, againft their own Reafon and Judgment, they might as well be prevailed upon to adl againft a Revelation made to them, tho' Revelations were as common and familiar a thing amongft Men, as Reafon it felf is. So that immediate Revelations to every particular Man would have been needlcfs and fuperfluous •, they would have been unfuitable to the Majefty and. Ho- nour of God s and they would have been, incfiedual to the Ends for which they muft be fuppofed to be de- figned, and would have given many more Pretences to Impoftures than there are now in the World. But there were many Confiderations, even in a wicked World, to move tke Compafiions of Inhiiite C 2 Mercy 2 O The Reajonahlenefs and Certamty Mercy towards Mankind : Though all were under the Dominion of Sin, and unable of themfelves to be- come righteous, yet fome were more wicked than others •, great Numbers of Men were carried away to commit heinous Impieties, through their own Igno- rance, and the Example of others •, and .though the licathen were never without Excufe, yet they were chiefly inexcufable, becaufe God had always a Reveal- ed Will, to the Knowledge of which, he would by fome Means or other have brought them , if they had lived according to their Natural Knowledge of him, and of their Daty towards him-, and though the Heathen had many Opportunities of becoming ac- quainted with the Revealed V7ill of God, yet much Allowance was to be made for the Times of Ignorance before the Gofpel. God was pleafed to reveal him- felf from time to time •, and at lail, by the Gofpel, in a more wonderful and evident Manner than ever he had done before, and to afford Men fuller means of Conviftion, and greater Meafares of Grace to comply with it, and work out their own falvation. And God has made thcfe Revelations of his Will, by enduing certain Men with a Power of Prophefying, and Work- ing Miracles, who were to declare his Will to others, and to certify the reft of the World that it was in- deed liis Will and Commandments which they deli- vered. And this was the moft proper Method^ and moll worthy of God. For, as I have proved, God would not create Mankind, and then take no farther Care of them ; fince, in the State of Innocence, they better de- ferved his Care, and have ever after ftood in fo much need of it, and could at no Time be happy, either in this World or the next, without it: And it cannot with any Reafon be objeded, by thofe who have ne- ver fo great a Mind to cavil at the Terms and Means of Salvation by the Gofpel, That God Ihould apply himfelf to every Perfon by a particular Revelation-, both of the Chrijlian Reltgton. ii both becaufe fo much Condefcenfion and Indulgence would be ill beilowed upon thofe who have fo little deferved it ; and becaufe it would have no better effed than Prophecies and Miracles have had towards the Converfion of Men •, but a very ill one, in af- fording Pretences to all Sorts of AiTipoftures : And where two feveral Means are alike fuitable to any End, no Man, furely, will prefume to prefcribe to Ai-. mighty God, and fay, that he ought to have ufed cme rather than the other *, much lefs when one is in- convenient, and the other the only proper Means to be ufed. II. I proceed therefore to fliew. That Prophecies and Miracles are the moft fitting and proper Means | for God to difcover and reveal himfelf to the World | by. It is evident, that they are not accompanied with | thofe Inconveniences, with which immediate Revela- tions would have been ; there is no Prophecy, nor j Miracle, but it has the defigned Effe6l upon many '^ Perfons •, the Majefty and Honour of God is not expofed to the Scorn of every profane and obilinate Offender ; and there is as effectual Care taken to pre- vent Impollures, as pofTibly could have been. And as Prophecies and Miracles have none of t\\ phets, in divers Ages, and ditierent Places, all teach- ing the fime Doctrine, and tending to the fame End and Defign in their feveral Revelations, and that End is the Difcouragement of all Wickednefs, and the Maintenance ot all Virtue and true Religion , thefe Prophecies have all that can be requiiite to affure us that they are from God -, and God, by fuR"ering them to be fulfilled, and to pafs fo long in the World, un- der his own Name, and with all the Charadlers of his Authority upon them, has given us all poflible Af- furance that they are his, and engaged us, in Ho- nour to his Divine Attributes, to believe that they really are by his Authority. And the Certainty of Prophecies being thus groun- ded upon the Divine Attributes, befides the dired: Evidence which they afford to whatever is delivered by them , t'ley add an undeniable Confirmation to thol^ Miracles which have been foretold , and are wrought at the Time, and in the Manner, and by • the 2 6 The R eafonablenefs and Certamty the Perfons foretold by the Prophets ; and the Pro- phecies likewife receive as great a Confimation from fuch Miracles. For Prophecies and Miracles^ which are fingly a fufficient Evidence of Divine Revelation, do mutually fupport and confirm each other j and hereby we have all the AlTurance that can be expeded of any Divine Revelation: And therefore, as Pre- fhecy is in it felf a mod fitting and proper Way of Revelation *, {o^ in con jundlion with Miracles^ it is the mofl certafn Way that can be defir'd. 2. The Suitablenefs and Efficacy of Miracles ^ to prove a Divine Revelation. It is an extravagant Thing to conceive, that God fhould exclude himfelf from the Works of his own Creation; or, that he fhould eftablifh them upon fuch inviolable LawSg as not to alter them upon fome Occafions, when he forefaw it would be requifite to do it: For un- jefs the Courfe of Nature had been thus alterable, \t would have been defeftive in regard to one great End for which it was defign'd ; viz. it would have fail'd of being ferviceable to the Defigns of Pro- vidence upon fuch Occafions. The fame infinite Wifdom v/hich contrived the Laws for the Order and Courfe of Nature, contrived them fo, as to make them alterable, when it would be neceifary for God^ by fufpending the Powers, or interrupting the Courfe of NcUure, to manifeft his extraordinary Will and Power •, and by the fame Decree by which he at firft ellablifhedthem, he fubjecced them to fuch Alterations, as his Wifdom forefaw v/ould be necefiary. We can as little doubt, but that He who made the World, has the fole Power and Authority over ;t ; and that nothing can be done in it, but by his Dire6lion and Influence, or at Jeaft by his Permif- iion •, and that the Frame and Order of Nature which he at firft appointed, can at no Time be al- Kr'd, bet for great Ends and Purpofes. He is not given of the Chriftian Religion. given to change, as Men are, and can never be dif- appointed in his Eternal Purpofes and Defigns. But when any thing comes to pafs above the Courfe of Nature, and contrary to it, in Confimation of a Revelation , which , for the Importance and Excel- lency of the Subje(5]: of it, and in all other Refpeifls, is mod worthy of God, we may be fure that this is his doing ; and there is fliil farther Evidence of it, if this Revelation were prophefy'd of before, by Pro- phets who foretold that it fhould be confirm'd by Miracle. As, when Men born blind, receiv*d their Sight ; when others were cured of the moll defperate Difeafes, by a Touch, or at a Diftance -, when the Dead were raifed , and the Devils caft out ; thefc were evident Signs of a Divine Power and Prefence, which gave Teflimony to the Do6lrine delivered by thofe by whom fuch Miracles were wrought, and the Divine CommifTion and Authority was produ- ced for what they did and taught. For what could be more fatisfadory and convincing to Men, or more worthy of God, than to force the Devils them- felves to confefs and proclaim his Coming ? to caufe the mofl infenfible things in Nature to declare his Power , by giving way , as it were , and ftarting back in great Confufion and Diforder , at his more immediate and peculiar Prefence, to inform Men that the God of Nature was there } This gave Teflimony to the Things reveal'd, and challenged the Belief of all Men, in a Language more powerful than any Human Voice, whilil God fhew'd forth his Glory, and made known his Will, by exercifmg his Sove- reignty over Nature, in making the whole Creation bow, and tremble and obey. AJl which was per- form'd according to exprels Prophecies concerning Chrift, that there might be a vifible Concurrence both of Prophecies and Miracles in Teflimony of hirh. And this Difpenfation of Miracles was admi- rably fitted to propagate that Religion which con- cem'd ^^ ^ 2 8 The Reafonablenefs and Certainty cerned the Poor, as well as the Rich, the Unlearned, as well as the Learned. Miracles were fuitable to the Simplicity of the Gofpel, and to the univerlal Defign of it : For they are equally adapted to a- waken the Attention, and command the Aflent of Men of all Conditions and Capacities ; they are obvious to the mofl Ignorant, and may latisfy the Wifeft, and confute or filence the Cavils of the moft Captious and Contentious. And this is what all the World ever expedled. That God fhould reveal himfelf to Men, by working fome- what above the Courfe of Nature. All Mankind have believed, that this is the Way of Intercourfe between Heaven and Earth-, and therefore there never was any of the falfe Religions, but it was pretended to have been confirmed by fomething miraculous. We may appeal to the Senfe of all Nations for the Authority of Miracles to atteft the Truth of Religion : For whenever any Thing happened extraordinary, they al- ways imagined fomething fupernatural in it ; they expe(5led that Miracles fhould be v/rought for the Proof of any Thing that had but the Name of Reli- gion ; and no falfe Religion could have gained Belief and Credit in any Age or Nation, but under the Pre- tence of them. The only Dil^culty therefore will be, to know how to diilinguilh True Miracles from Falfe -, or thofe which have been wrought for the Confirmation of the True Religion, from fuch as have been done, or are pretended to have been done, in behalf of Falfe Religions. But here it mufl be obferved, That it is not necef- fary, in this Controverfy, that we fhould be able to determine what the Power of Spirits is, or how far it extends , and what Works can proceed only from the immediate Power of God : It is fufiicient that we know, that God prefides over All; that Good Spirits ad in conltant Subjedion and Obe- dience of the Chrijitan Rehgton, 29 dience to him ; that Evil Spirits a6t for evil Ends ; that Good Spirits will not impofe upon Men, and that he will not fuffer the Evil to do ir, under any Pretence of his own Authority, without affording means to difcover the Delufion. And the Queflion here is not concerning any ftrange Work whereof God is not alledged to be the Author, but concern- ing fuch as are wrought with a profefied Defign to eftablifh Religion in his Name. Suppofe then that there have been many Wonders wrought in the World, which exceed all Human Power, and which yet we know not to what other Power to afcribe : This makes no Difficulty in the prefent Cafe; becaufe here, not only the Works themfelves, but the Defign and Ten- dency of them is to be confidered. For Inftance, Whether the Miracles reported to have been done by Vefpafian^ were true or falfe, by a Divine or a Dia- bolical Power, they are of no Confequence to us ; he eftablifhed no new Dodlrine, and pretended to no Di- vine Authority, but doubted the Poflibility of his working them : And fuppofing them true, and by a Divine Power, the moll that can be faid of them, is, that as God mentioned Cyrus by Name to be the De- liverer of the Jews, fo he might by Miracle fignalize this Prince who was to deftroy them. But the Mi- racles' of our Saviour and his Apoftles were wrought with this declared Purpofe and Defign, That they were to give Evidence to the Religion \vhich they were fent from God to introduce, as neceflary to the Salvation of Mankind. Having premifed this, I muft refume what was be- fore obferved concerning the Means by which- falfe Prophecies might be deteded. It has been already- proved from the Notion of a God^ that there muft be fome Divine Revelation -, and it has been fliewn that Prophecies and Miracles are the moil fit and proper way -of Revelation, and that Way which Men have ever expedcd to receive Revelations by. If then there have 3 o The Reafonahknefs and Certainty have been Falfe Prophecies and Miracles, they mufl be fuppofed to have been either before , or at the fame time, or after thofe Prophecies and Miracles by which the True Religion was delivered ; if before, or at the fame time , then the fame Divine Wifdom and Goodnefs which obliges God to reveal his Will to Mankind, muft oblige him to take care that the Impoftures of thofe Falfe Prophecies and Miracles by fome means might have been difcovered. But there is crreat Reafon to believe, that true Revelations Ihould be°firft made to Men, before God would fuffer them to be tempted with falfe Ones •, and if the falfe were after the true Revelations , then the true Revelations themfelves are that by which we ought to judge of all others. But to fpeak more particularly of Miracles which are the prefent Subject. It is inconfiflent with the In- finite Truth, and Honour, and Goodnefs, and Mer- cy of God, to fuffer Man to be deluded by falfe Mi- racles, wrought under a Pretence of his own Autho- rity, without any PolTibility of difcovering the Impo- flure : And therefore if we Ihould fuppofe, there had pafs'd any Time before the Difcovery of his Will to Mankind, he could not fuffer Men, but through their own Fault to be impofed upon by fuch Miracles \. but either by the falfe and wicked Dodrines which they were brought to promote and eitablifli, as Idolatry, Uncleannefs, Murthers, ^r. or by fome other Token of Impofture, they might have been undeceived : And both in the Old and New Teftament God has given us Warning againft falfe Miracles, Deut, xiii. i. Mat, xxiv. 24. Gal. i. 8. 2 Theff, ii. 9. fo that we may be afTured, that we are to give no Credit to any Miracle that can be wrought to confirm any other Do6trine than what we find in the Scriptures ; and if we can but be certify'd, that they were true Miracles which gave Teftimony and Evidence to them, we need concern ourfelves about no other. And ofthe Chr'ifiian Religion. 3 i And the Miracles by which the Scriptures are con- firmed and authorized mull be true ; bccaufe there is no precedent Divine Revelation v^hich they contra- did:, nor any immoral or falfe Dodrine v/hich they deliver, nor any thing elfe contained in them where- by they can be proved to be falfe : And in this Cafe, that which all the Wit and Underftanding of Man cannot prove to be falfe, muft be true, or elfe God would fuffer his own Name and Authority to be ufur- ped and abufed, and Mankind to be impofed upon in a thing of infinite Confequence, without any Pofli- bility of difcovering the Impofture, which it is con- trary to the Divine Attributes for him to permit ; but either by the Works themfelves, or by the End and Defign of them, or by fome Means or other, the Ho- nour, and Wifdom, and Mercy of God is concerned to deted all fuch Impoflures. If Miracles be wrought to introduce the Worfhip of other Gods, befides him, whom Reafon, as well as Scripture, alTures us to. be the only True God \ if they be done to feduce Men to immoral Dodlrines and Pradlices •, if they be perform- ed to contradidl the Religion already confirmed by Mitacles, in which nothing of this nature could pof- fibly be difcovered •, if never fo aftonifhing Miracles be wrought for fuch ill Defigns as thefe, they are not to be regarded, butrejedled with that Conflancy which becomes a Man who will afl according to the Prin- ciples of Natural Reafon and Religion. But when Miracles were perform'd, which, both for the End and Defign of them, as well as for the Manner and Circumftances of their Performance, had all the Credi- bility that any Miracle could have, if it were really wrought by God's immediate Power to confirm a Re- velation ; if thefe Miracles have been foretold by Pro-^ phecies, (as, on the other fide, the Prophecies were fulfilled by the Miracles) if they were done publick- ly before all forts of Men, and that often, and by many Men fuccefTively, for divers' Ages together, and all 8 3 1 The Keajo-nablenejs and Certainty all agreed in the fame Dodrine and Defign ; if nei- ther the Miracles thcmfelves, nor the Doftrines v/hich are attelled by them, can be difcovered to have any Deceit or Defedl in them, but be moil excellent and divine, and moft worthy of God; in fuch a Cafe we have all the Evidence for the Truth of the Miracles, and of the Religion which they were wrought^ to eftabliili, that we can have for the Being of God him- felf. For if thefe Miracles and this Religion be not from God, we mud fuppofe either that God cannot, or that he will not fo reveal himfelf by Miracle to the World, as to diflinguifii his own Revelation from Impoflures ; both which Suppofitions are contrary to the Divine Attributes •, contrary to God's Omnipo- tence, becaufe he can do all things, and therefore can exceed the Power of all Finite Beings -, and con- trary to his Honour, and Wifdom, and Goodnefs, becaufe thefe require both that he Ihould reveal him- felf to the World, and that he fhould do it by Mi- racles, in fuch a manner, as to make it evident which is his Revelation, But if he both can and will put fuch a Diilindion between Falfe Miracles and True, as that Men ihall not, except it be by their own fault, be feduced by falfe Miracles •, then that Religi- on which is confirmed by Miracles, concerning which nothing can be difcovered to be either im.pious or falfe, muft be the True Religion. For we have feen, that there muft be fome Revealed Religion, and that this Religion muft be revealed by Miracle •, and we have the Goodnefs, and Truth, and Juftice of God engaged , that we fhould not be impofed upon by falfe Miracles, without being able to difcern the Im- pofture : And therefore that Religion which both by its Miracles, and Doctrine, andWorfhip, appears to be Divine, and could not be proved to be falfe, if it were fo, mult certainly be. true*, becaufe the Goodnefs and Honour of God is concerned, that Mankind, in a Mat- ter of this Con fcquence, fhould not be deceived, with- out of the Chrtfi'tan Religion. 3 3 out their own Fault or Negledl, by Impoftures vented under his own Name and Authority. Upon which account, the Sin againft the Holy Ghoft, in afcribing the Miracles wrought by Chr'ift^ to Beelzebub^ was fo heinous above all other Crimes •, this being to rejed tht utmoft Means that can be ufed for Man's Salva- tion, and in Effed to deny the Attributes and very Being of God. The Sum of this Argument is. That though Miracles are a moft fit and proper Means to prove the Truth of Religion, yet they are not only to be confidered alone, but in Conjundion with other Proofs ; and that they muft neceflarily be true Mira- cles, or Miracles wrought to eftablirfi the true Reli- gion, when the Religion upon the account whereof they are wrought cannot be difcovered to be falfe, •either by any Defe6l in the Miracles, or by any other Means, but has all the Marks and Charaders of Truth. Becaufe God would not fuffer the Evidence of Mira- cles, and all other Proofs, to concur to the Confirma- tion of a falfe Religion, beyond all PofTibility of dif- covering it to be fo. III. How Divine Revelations may be fuppofed to be preferved in the World. It is reafonable to fuppofe, that Divine Revelations fhould be committed to Wri- ting, that they might be preferved for the Benefit of Mankind, and delivered down to Poflerity, and diat a more than ordinary Providence fhould be concerned in their Prefer vation. For whatever has been faid by fome, of the Advantage of Oral Tradition, for the Conveyance of Dodlrines, beyond that of Writing, is fo notorioufly flinciful and drained, that it defer ves no ferious Anfwer. For 'till Men fhall think it fafefl to make Wills, and bequeath and purchafe Eftates by Word of Mouth, rather than by Inftruments in Wri- ting, it is in vain to deny that this is the bed and fe- cureft Way of Conveyance that can be taken : So the common Senfe of Mankind declares, and fo the Expe- rience of the World finds it to be in Things which Vol. I. D Men 3 4 T'^^ Reafonablenefs and Certainty . Men take all poflible Care about j and it is too mani- feft, and much to be lamented, that Men are more foiicitous about Things Temporal, than about Eternal *, wliich affords too evident a Confutation of all the Pre- tences of the Infallibility of Oral Tradition, upon this Ground, That the Subje6l-Matterof it are things upon which the Eternal Happinefs or Mifery of Mankind depends. Befides, the Obligations and the Motives are the fame to tranfmit, with all Care and Faithfulnefs, the Terms of Salvation to Pofterity by Writing, that they would be, if they were to be tranfmitted by Oral Tradition : The only Difference is, that Writing is the furefl Way of Conveyance ; not that it wants any Ad- vantage, which can be pretended by Oral Tradition. And the Lord /aid unto Mofes, write this for a memorial ina Book^ Exod.xvii. 14. Now go ^ write it before them in a Tahle^ and note it in a Book^ that it 7nay be for the time to come^ for ever and ever^ Ifa. xxx. 8. IV. It is requifite that a Divine Revelation fhould be of great Antiquity : Becaufe, upon the fame Grounds that we cannot think that God would not at all reveaf himfelf to Mankind, we cannot fuppofe that he would fuffer the World to continue long under a State of Cor- ruption and Ignorance, without taking fome care to remedy it, by putting Men into a Capacity of know- ing and praftifmg the Duties of Virtue and Religion. V. Another Requifite of a Divine Revelation^ is, that it fhould be fully promulged and publifhed to the World, for the general Good and Benefit of Man- kind, that it may attain the Ends for which a Reve- lation muft be defigned* THE THE Reasonableness and Certainty ^ O F T H E Chriftian Religion. Part II. S ^^ fe ROM what has been ah-eady difcourfed, it appears, that thefe things are requifite in a Divine Revelation : I. Antiquity, II. Promulgation. 111. A fufficient Evi- dence , by Prophecies and Miracles , in Proof of its Authority* IV^ The Do6lrines delivered by Divine Revelation mull: be Righteous and Holy^ confiftent with the Divine Attributes, and fui table to their Condition to whom it is made ^ and every way fuch as may anfWer the Defign of a Revelation. C H A P. I. T'he Antiquity of the Scriptures. AS it is evident from the Divine Attributes, that God would not fo wholly negled Mankind, as to take no care to difcover and reveal his Will and Commandments to the World i ' fo, when there was D 2 fo 36 The Reafonahltnefs and Certainty ib great a NecefTity of Divine Revelation, in order to the Happinefs of Mankind, both in this World and the next, it is not to be believed that he would defer it fo long, before he made known his Will, as 'till the Date of the firfl Antiquities amongft the Heathen. It cannot be denied, that fome Books of the Scripture are much the Ancienteft Books of Religion in the World ; for it were in vain to pretend that the Works in this Kind (or indeed in any other) of any Heathen Author, can be compared with the Pentateuch^ tor Antiquity. And the Antiquity of thefe Books is one confidcrable Circumftance, whereby we may be convinced that they are of Divine Revelation. For if God would not fufFer the World to continue long in a State of Ignorance and Wickednefs without a Reve- lation,, we may conclude, that he would not fuffer the Memory of it to be loft ; and therefore a Book of this Nature, which is fo m.uch the ancienteft in the World, being conftantly received as a Divine Reve- lation, carries great Evidence with it that it is Au- thentick. For the firft Revelation, as hath been pro- ved, is to be the Criterion of all that follow •, and God would not fuffer the ancienteft Book of Religion in the World to pafs all along under the Notion and Title of a Revelation, without caufing fome Difcovery to be made of the Impofture, if there were any in it ', much lefs would he preferve it by a particular and fignal Providence for fo many Ages. It is a great Argument for the Truth of the Scriptures, that they have ftood the Teft, and received the Approbation of fo many Ages , and ftill retain their Authority , though fo many ill Men, in all Ages, have made it their Endeavour to difprovc them : But it is ftill a farther Evidence in behalf of them, that God has been pleafed to ftiew fo remarkable a Providence in their Prefervation. The Account we have of Divine Revelation, in the Writings oi Mofes^ is from the Creation of the World ; for of the Chrtjhan Religion. 37 for he relates the Intercourfe which from the Be- ginning pafTed between God and Man ; and this might be delivered down , either by Writing or by Tra- dition, 'till Mofes\ Time. For Methufelah living with Adam^ and Sheyn with Methufelah^ Ifaac with Shem^ and Afnram the Father of Mofes living with the Patriarchs , the Sons of Jacob , the Hiitory of the Creation, and of the Manifeflations which God had been pleafed to make of himfelf to their Fore-fa - others, could not be unknown to that Age : Such a Pofterity could not but be zealous to preferve the Memory of fo great Honours and Bleffings ; and their living in Gofben^ feparate from the Mgyp- tianSy did much contribute to the Prefervation of their Antiquities •, for there they lived in Expeda- tion of a Deliverance, and of feeing the Prophecies fulfilled, that were made to their Fore-fithers con- cerning it. The famous Predidion made to Alprr^ bam^ Gen. xv. 16. could not be forgotten in fo few Generations ; for the coming out of Myypt , was, as it was there foretold it Ihould be, in" the Fourth Generation, reckoning from Ifaac ^ the firil of the promifed Seed , to Mofes exclufi vely , Exod. vi. 16, 18, 20. Mofes feems to refer to fome Things that happened neai* the Beginning of the World, as well known in his own Time, as Gen, iv. 22. where he fiys, The Sifler of Tubal-Cain was Naa7?iah : For no probable Account can be given, why Naamah fhould be mentioned, but becaufe her Name was then well known among the Ifraelites^ for fome Reafon v/hich it doth not concern us to be acquainted with, but which ferved to con- firm to them the reft of the Relation. Some have delivered, that Naa7nah, by her Beauty, enticed the Sons of God ^ or the Pofterity ofSefh, to commit Idolatry, Ge/2. vi. 2. And fo, Ge??. xi. 29. we read, that Haran was the Father of Ifcab^ as well as of Mile ah \ and Gen» xxxvi. 24/ This u^as that An ah D 2 ' '•'■ thai 3 8 The Reafonablenefs and Certainty that found the Mules (or the * Hot-Baths, or that fell upon tht ^ E?nins^ or Giants, mention'd, Deut, ii. lo, II. however the Word he underftood) in the wilder- nefs^ as he fed the Afjes of Zibeon his Father, In the Catalogue of the Kings of Edom , none of their Wives are mentioned, but the Wife of Hadar^ and we are told, that her Name was Mahetabel^ and that fhe was the Daughter of Matred , the Daughter of Merahab, Gen. xxxvi, 39. Why fuch Particularity, but becaufe thefe Names were then famous? Thefe, and fuch-like Particulars, mufl have been preferv'd and commonly known among the Ifraelites^ and were therefore inferted to ferve as Epocha's, and Notes of Remembrance, for the better underilanding the reft of the Hiftory. The Story and Manner of Life of Nimrod was convey'd in a Proverb ; Wherefore it is faid ^ Eveji as Nimrod the mighty Hunter before the Lord^ Gen. x. 9. The Remembrance of Abrahajn's, offering up his Son , was retain'd both by the Name of the Place, and by a Pi-ovcrbial Saying, And Abraham called the name of that -place Jehovah- jireh: as lit is f aid to this day ^ .In the mount of the Lord it fhall he feeny Gen. xxii. 14. And there is no doubt to be made , but that there were other the Jike Rem.embrances of the moft Remarkable Tranf- adions. Reafons are affign'd of the Names of Adam and Eve^ of Cain, ^ndSeth^ and Noah, of Mel- chifedek^ of Abraham and Sarah, and Ifaac and Jacob, The Names of all the Patriarchs imported fome- thing remarkable in their Signification, and were defign'd to preferve the Remembrance of what had come to pafs. The Names of Places likewife were appointed for Memorials, Gen. xix. 22. xxviii. 19. ^xxi. 49. xxxii. ^o. And the Sepulchres of the » Inter p. Vulgat Invenit Aquas Calidas. ^ ^ InveniiGignntesin SolitudinCy Chald. Paraph. '0$ Iv^ey to 'U^h>» ci TA tjjjfcij LXX. Interpr, '' Dead of the Chrtjitan Religion. .39 Dead were hiftorical Monuments for the Information of Poflerity. Abraham purchafed Macpelah for a Burying-place ; and when Jacob bury'd Rachel near Bethlehem^ he ereded a Pillar to her Memory, Gen. xxiii. 17. XXXV. 20. It may perhaps feem ftrange to fome Readers, that the digging of Wells fhould be particularly taken notice of, and that the Names given them fhould be fo carefully recorded by Mo- fes^ Genef. xvi. 14. xxi. 31. xxiv. 62. xxv. 11. xxvi. 20, 21, 33. But as Wells in chofe Countries were more rare, and of more neceflary Ufe and Be- nefit, than in colder and moifter Climates ; fo they ferv'd as fo many Memorials to Poflerity , of what had betallen their Fore-fathers, and the Names of them fland regifler'd by Mofes^ in Confirmation of the Truth of what he wrote. But the Flood being the greatefl Epocha of Time, the Hiflory of this IS above ail deliver'd with moil Exadnefs : The Dimenfions of the Ark, the Height of the Waters, and not only the Year , but the Month and Day, when the Waters were brought upon the Earth ; and when it became dry, are punctually fet down, Gen, vi. 15. vii. II, 20. viii. 13, 14. Jofephus has prov'd, that Authors of all Nations agree, that in ancient Times Men liv'd to the Age of about a Thoufand Years -, and fome are known to have liv'd to a very great Age in latter Times. But however, it had been more ferviceable to Mofes^s Purpofe, if he had had any other Defign but Truth, that Men fhould not have been fo long liv'd. For when he had fo much Scope for his Invention, (if it had been an Invention of his own) he would, never have fix'd the Creation of the World at the diflance of fo few Generations from the time in which he wrote, but would ratlier have made xh.^ Generations of Men more , and their Lives iliorter , that fo he might the better have concealed his Fidions in ohfcure and uacertain Relations, which' mull be fuppos'd to D 4 be 40 The RtaJonablenefsandCertamt^ be delivered through fo many Hands down to that Age. Of the Ten Patriarchs before the Flood, all but Noah lived foon enough to fee Adam and the o- ther Patriarchs their Progenitors ; and Noah himfelf was old enough to know all of them, but Adam^ Seih^ and Enoch. The Diflance of Time from the Flood to Mofes was more than it is from the Conqueft to the prefent Age, but half of this Time Noah himfelf was living: And therefore allowing for the greater Length of Mens Liv^es in thofe Ages than in ours , the Time when Mofes wrote cannot be computed at fo great a Diflance from the Flood, as we are at from the Reformation, But is it podible to make any Man of tolerable Senfe, amongft us, believe that Henry VIII. was the nrfl King of England ? That there was a Deluge in his Time whicn fwept away all the Inhabitants of this Ifland, and of the whole World befides, but fome feven or eight Perfons, and that all whom we now fee were born of them? And yet this, as ridiculous as it feems, is no more abfurd than Mofes's Account of the Creation and the Flood, muft have been to thcfe of his own Tinie, if it were falfe. For it is very reafonable to think, ^sjofephus in- forms us, that Writing was in ufe before the Flood: And it is not improbable, as fome have conjectured, that the Hiflory of the Creation, and the reflof the Book of Gene/is, v/as, for the Subflance of it , delivered down to Mofes's Time in Verfe, which was tlie moft eafy to be remembered, and the mofl an- cient of all Sorts of Writing, and was at firfl chiefly nfcd for Matters of Miflory, and confiiled of plain Narration, withoqt much of Art or Orna#yient. We read of Inflrumentil Mufick, Gen. iv. 21. before the Flood •, and Vocal Mufick being fo much more Na- tural than Inilrumcntal, it is likely that Poetry was of as great Aiuiquity, both in their Hymns and Prai- fe^ of God, and as a Help to their Memories, which are " of the Chrifiian Religion. .41 are the two Ends to which Mofes applies his own Songs or Poems, Exod. xv. Deut, xxxii. If it be though' , that there was no Writing before the Flood, becaulc there is no Account of the Invention of it, though the Inventors of other inferior Arts be men- tioned 5 tiiis rather proves tlie contrary, and that it was coeval with Mankind, or was the Invention of Adam. It is not probable, that in fo long a Life, he ihould find out nothing for the ufe of himfelf and his ^ofterity, tho' no Invention be attributed to him ; and Writing is fo necefTary, that the World could very ill fubfift without it for between Sixteen and Seventeen Hundred Years. The Grecians^ and other Nations, have recorded the firft Inventors, as they fuppofed, of Letters, as thofe who beft deferved a Memorial in Hiflory. But "" Pliny is of Opinion, that theJffyrian Letters, by which we are to underftand the ancient Hebrew^ or Samaritan Charadlers, have been from the Beginning of the World. And fince there is no other Mention amongft the ancienteil Jewijh Writers, but that they were before the Flood, fome of them aJfo afcribing them to Adam^ this implies that they were of the greateft Antiquity, and the Time of their Invention is no more known than that of Ploughing and Sowing, and other necelTary Arts, which were from* the Beginning of the World. But though it fhould be fuppofed, that before the Flood they had not the fame Conveniencies for pre- ferving the Remembrance of Things pall, which we have had fince, yet Things of this Nature could never Ipe impofed upon the - Generality of Men ; and if they had lefs means of conveying Things pad to Po- fterity, they had fewer Things to convey ; and all their Hidories being concerning the Anceftors of their own Families , they ^yere eafily remembered \ and Jiowever fhort and imperfet^, they could not be fo c Plin. Hid. 1. 7. c. 56. cym Harduin. No^ dcfec- 4 i The Reafonablenefs andCertamt^ defe(^live , as that Men Ihould generally be fo grolly ignorant as to fwallow fuch Impoftures: They had One Day in '^^Ytn piirpofely fet apart for the Praife and Worfhip of God, and the Commemoration of his Mercies vouchfafed to Mankind ; a-nd they, who had Proverbial Remembrances of Nimrod^ the third from Noah^ could not be ignorant of Noah himfelf, and of the Flood in his Time. In fo few Generations of Men as had paft, by reafon, of the long Lives of the Patriarchs, it was impof- fible for Mofes to impofe upon thofe of his own Age in things fo memorable as the Creation of the World, and the Flood , and the Deftrudion of Sodo?n and Go- morrah^ &c. But when, fo long after the Flood, the Sons of Noah were difperfed into fo far diflant Places of the Earth, and their Manners and Cuftoms were different, and their Lives ihorter, it became neceffary, that a true and lading Account of thofe things fhould Hand recorded in a Book of infallible Credit and Au- thority, for the Benefit of future Ages, left, in pro- cefs of time, the Remembrance of them fhould be- come obfcure and confus'd , and fabulous Stories fhould be impofed upon the World for Truth, ia. Matters of fo great Importance. For it has beenob- ferv'd by divers learned Men, that the mofc ancient Hiflories, as well as the Philofophy and Theology of the Heathens , contain many things concerning the Creation of the World, the fir ft Propagation of Man- kind, the Flood, and other Particulars ; which have io plain an Agreement with v/hat we read in the Book of Gencfis^ that they are fuppofed to be lakeo out of it ; but they are obfcur'd arxi difguis^d undes* other Names and Characlers, to conceal from whence tliey were originally taken, and to gain them the bet- ter Acceptance amongft thofe for whofe Uie the Books containing them w^ere defxgn\i by their Authors. And when the Remembrance of God's Dealings withpalt Ages began to fail, iind the Waysof Hunmne Convej- of the Chriji'mn Religion. 4 3 ance were fo uncertain, it was requifite that fome in- fallible Account fhould be given of God's Difpenfa- tions, and his Communications of himfelf in the firft Ages, which mighr be tranfmitted down to JPoIterity, pnto the End of the World. C H A P. 11. ^he Promulgation of the Scriptures, THE End and Defign of a Revelation from Hea- . ven , muft be foi* the Good of Mankind , and therefore it was neceffary, that it fhould be known and promulg'd in the World ; and that Revelation which had been known to mod Nations, and fartheft divul- ged, carries another Evidence of its Divine Authori- ty. ^ For, fince it is neceifary, there fhould be fome Divine Revelation, it is likewife neceffary, that it fhould be fufficient to the Ends for which it was de- fign'd \ and it was revealed, not to be conceal'd, or confined to a few Perfons, but to redlify the Miftakes, and regulate the Manners of Men •, and therefore that which, has been moil known, and fartheft propagated, we have Reafon to think to be a True Revelation. If every thing t\{t concur to prove it true, the very Promulgation of it is a confiderable Evidence in proof of its Divine Authority: Becaufe it is not to be fup- pofed, that God would either fuffer his own Reve- lation to be fo ftifled and fupprefs'd, as to become of little or no Ufe and Benefit to the World, or that he would permit falfe Revelations to be more known and divulg'd ; either of which would very ill confift with the Intention of Revealing his Will to Mankind. It has been already proved. That it is not to be ex- pefted that God fhould reveal himfelf to every Man m 44 TheReafonablenefs and Certainty in particular, and it could not be requifite, that he ihould afford a conftant and {landing Revelation in all Nations of the World. For if Mankind be fuffici- ently provided for in the Neceffaries of Salvation, this is all which in Reafon can be expedled from a Juft and Good God to finful and perverfe Man. If Men be put in the ready Way of Salvation, and have fuffici- ent Means allowed them to attain it ; all beyond this is the mere arbitrary Effeft of Infinite Goodnefs, and depends wholly upon the good Pleafure of God, be- ing more than we could promife our felves from his Jullice, or, by Reafon, forefee from his Mercy it felf. And his Wifdom fo orders and difpofes the Ef- feds and Emanations of his Mercy, as to render them confiftent with his Juflice and Honour, as he is Go- vernor of the World. And if, in the firfl Ages, Revelations were fre- quent, and generally known amongft all Mankind, 'till by their own Fault and Negled they were with- holden from them •, it was the great Mercy of God, afterwards , to continue to thole Nations , who had defpifed and rejected him, an Opportunity of know- ing his Will revealed to others : And this God was plea fed to do, by appointing a chofen Seed, and fe- lecling to himfelf a peculiar People, to bear his Name before the Nations ; and, by the various Difpcnfations of his Providence, he fo difpofed of that People, that all Nations might be inftrudled in the Things revealed and delivered to them. Firjl then, I lliall fliew. That in the firft Ages of the World, the revealed Will of God was known to all Mankind. Secondly^ That in fucceeding Ages there have flill been fufRcient Means and frequent Opportunities for all Nations to come to the Knowledge of it. I, In of the Chr'tft'tan Religion. . 45 I. In the firft Ages of the World, the Revealed Will of God was known to all Mankind. And here we muft have Recourfe to the Hiftory of the Bible ; fince it is acknowledged, by all learned Men to be fo much the ancienteft Book which can give us an Ac- count of Religion, in the World. For unlefs we will rejedl all Hiftory, and believe nothing related of An- cient Times, we muft take our Accounts from fuch Books as treat of them : And 'till by the Method propofed, I have proved the Bible to be of Divine Authority, I lliall alledge it only as an Hiftorical Re- lation of Things paft •, in which refped:, it would be unreafonable to deny it that Credit which is allowed to other Books of that Nature. And this is all that is now defired, in order to the clearing of what 1 am at prefenr upon , which is to fhew. That nothing re- quifite to a true Revelation is wanting to the Scrip- tures j and therefore, that they have been fufficiently promulged and made known to the World. In the Beginning of the World, God was pleafed to create but one Man, and one Woman, and to peo- ple the Earth from them ; which muft exceedingly tend both to the Prefervatipn of Order and Obedience amongft Men, and to the retaining of the Knowledge of dajlj^and of his Ways and Dealings with the firft Parents of Mankind. But if Multitudes had been created, and the Earth had been peopled at once, the natural Effed of this had been Ambition and Strife, Confufion and Ignorance : For as the Inhabitants of the World multiplied, fo did all Sin and Wickednefs encreafe •, though all defcended from the fame Parents, and thefe Parents lived to fee many Generations of their Off-fpring, and to inftrucft and admonifti them ; which, if any Thing could have done it, muft have kept up a Senfe of God and Religion amongft Men. Adam himfclf performed the Office of a Father, a Prieft, and a King., to his Children •, and the Office and Authority of thefe three defcended upon the Heads 4<5 T'he Reafonablenefs and Certainty Heads of Families , in the fe\^eral Generations and Succeflions of Kingdoms amongfl his Pofterity : For that the fame Perfon was both King and Prieft in the earlier Ages of the World , we learn from the beft Antiquities of other Nations, and it was fo likewife amongil the ^ Hebrews^ 'till God appointed an Order and Succeflion of the Priefthood in one Tribe : and therefore Efau is fly led a Profane Perfon^ for felling his Birth-right, becaufe the Prieilhood went along went it, Heh. xii. 1 6. By all the Accounts we have of the World before the Flood, we are affured, that God was pleafed, at firfl, to afford frequent Communications of himfelf to Mankind ; and even to the Wicked , as to Cain^ whofe Punifhment it afterwards was, to be hid from the Face of the Lord, and driven out from his pre- fence^ Gen. iv. 14, 16. And when the Wickednefs of Men had provoked God to drown the World, he re- vealed this to Noah^ and refpited the Execution of this Judgment an Hundred Years ; and Noah^ in the mean time both by his Preaching, and by preparing an Ark, warned them of it, and exhorted them to Re- pentance : by preparing of an ark to the faving of his houfe^ he condenmedthe worlds Heb. xi. 7. And he was a preacher of right eoufnefs to the old Worlds 2 Pet^ii^%. In our Tranflation we read, the eighth Perfon^'' a Preacher of Righteoufnefs. ^ But it is rendered by fome-, and perhaps more exa6lly, the eighth Preacher of Righteonf nefs^ implying that there were feven before him. How- ever he made it his Bufmefs, for above an Hundred Years together, to forewarn the wicked World of their approaching Ruin; which he did by all the ways 'Omnefque primogenitos 'Noe, donee facer dot 10 fungeretur Aaron, fuijfe Vontifices (Hebrai tradunt.) Hieronym. Qusellion. feu Tradit. Hebraic, in Gencf. « 'Oy^oot N&)e ^^Kouoriwvta xtj^vkx t^vh»^t, o^avum Juftitis PrsC- concm Noc, Erafm. Vid. Jud. if 14' and of the Chr'tji'tan Religion. 47 and Means that a Wife and Great Ma*n could con- trive, proper for that End. Noah lived after the Flood, Three hundred and fifty Years, Gen, ix. 28. and it was between One and Two hundred Years before the Divifion of Tongues, and the Difperfion of the Sons of Noah. And when all the Inhabitants of the Earth were of one Language, and lived not far afunder, Noah himfelf living amongft them ; the Judgment of God upon the wicked World, in overwhelming them with the Flood ; his Mercies to Noah and his Family, in their Prefervation, when all the reft of the Word perifhed-, and the Com- mandments which God gave to Noah at his coming out of the Ark, with his Promifes and Threatnings repedively to the Performance or Trangreffion of them, muft be well known : and the Sin in building the Tower of Babel , for which the Univerfal Lan- guage was confounded, and the Race of Mankind di- fperfed, could proceed from nothing but the height of Prefumption and Perverfenefs. After the Confu- fion of Languages, and the Difperfion of Mankind, they could not on the fudden remove to very diftant and remote Places, by reafon of the unpafTable Woods, and Defarts , and Marlhes , which , after fo vaft an Inundation, muft be every where to be met with, to obftfudl their PafTage in thofe hot and fruitful Coun- tries, when they had lain uninhabited for fo many- Years. This we may the better underftand, from the flow Progrefs which was made in the Difcoverics of the TVeft- Indies, For the Spaniards^ in thofe Places where they found neither Guide nor Path, did not enter the Country ten Miles " in ten Years. And in thofe Ages they could not but be ill provided, either by their own Skill, or by convenient Tools and In- ftruments, with fit means to clear the Country which they were to pafs ; and they were likewife unprovi- » ' ■ ■ I I >m «■ I I ■ ■ ! I ■!< f See Sir IF. Rawkighy 1. i. c. 8. § 3, ' ded 4^^ 7^^^ Reafonablenefs andCeytamty ded of Veffels to tranfport any great Numbers of Men, with their Families, and Flocks and Herds of Cattle, which were for many Ages their only Riches, and ab- folutely neceflary for their Sufterlance : For Naviga- tion had never had fo flow an Improvcm-at in the World, if it had fo foon been in that Perfection as to enable them for fuch Tranfportations. And as for thefe Reafons, the Difperfion oi Noah\ Pofterity over the Earth muft be gradual, and many Generations muft pafs, before the remoter Parts of it could be inhabited-, fo the feveral Plantations muft be fuppofed to hold Correfpondence with thofe to whom they were neareft allied, and from whom they went out •, they muft be fuppofed to own fome fort of Dependence upon them, and pay them fuch Ac- knowledgements as Colonies have ever done to their Mother-Cities. It is natural to fuppofe that they firft fpread themfelves into the neighbouring Countries; and (as ^vc Walter Rawleigh has obferved ) the firft Plantations were generally by the Banks of Rivers, whereby they might hold Intelligence one with ano- ther •, which they could not do by Land, that being overfpread with Woods, and altogether unfit for tra- velling. And the great Affinity which is obfervable between the Eaftern Languages, proves that there was a continual Correfpondence and Commerce main- tained between the feveral Nations, after the Di- fperfion. All which , confidering the great Age that Men lived to in thofe Times, muft, without a very grofs Negled and Contempt of God, preferve a true No- tion of Religion in the feveral Parts of the World : For ISloah himfelf lived Three Hundred and Fifty Years after the Flood •, his Sons were not foon difper- fed; their Difperfion was gradual, and they held a Correfpondence after their Separation, and lived long to educate and train up their Children in that Know- ledge of God. which they had received and been in- ^ X ftruded of the ChrijUan Rehgton, 49 ftrudled in themfclves ; and befides, they had little elle to difcoiirfe upon, but fuch Things as would ne* ceflarily lead them to it : The Hiftory of their own Nation and Family is that which Men are naturally mofl fond of; and in thefe Ages the Particulars could be but few, and thofe very remarkable, and almoft: within the Memory of fome yet living -, and every Occurrence mufl bring to their Remembrance wnat they had heard, and had been taught concerning God, and his Dealings with them and their Fore- fathers. Moreover, there was the fpeclal Hand of God, and a particular Over-ruling Providence, in the Difper- fion and Divifion of Nations: For, when the moft High divided io the Nations their Inheritance^ when he feparated the fons of Adam, hefet the hounds of the peo- ple ^ according to the number of the children of Ifrael^ Deut. xxxii. 8. He determined the hounds of their ha- litation^ that they Jhould feek the Lord ^ if haply they might feel after him^ and find hi?n^ A6ls xvii. 26, 27. This was the reafon of the Divifion of the Nations^ according to the 7mmher of the children of Ifrael^ who are filled, a Pectdiar Treafure^ a Kingdo?n of Priefis^ and a holy Nation^ Exod. xix. 5, 6. There was a particular Regard had to the Number of the Chofen Seed, that they might bear a fit Proportion to the reft of Mankind, and might be as fo much Leaven to the whole Mafs, as a quickening and enlivening Principle to excite and maintain due Apprehenfions of God, and his Vf orfhip and Service in the World: And this is the Reafon given, why Polygamy was permitted them : That they who were the peculiar People of God, and were to- teach .his Command- ments to the reft of the World, might fufficiently en- creafe and multiply. For though it appears by our Re- gifters, ^ that here more Males are born than Females, g See Graunt en the Bills of Mortalitj^. Vol. I. E ' V> J o The Reafo^mbknefs and Certainty to a confiderable Difproportion, and that therefore Polygamy amongft us would not tend to the Multi- plication of Mankind, but rather to the contrary ; yet in Judaa it might be otherwife ; or the Captive vVomen, whom they were permitted to marry, might raife the Number of Females above that of the Males ; or their perpetual Wars might lefTen the Number of Males to a degree beneath the Females. However, this is the Reafon alledg'd by learned Men, why Po- lygamy, which was not permitted from the Beginning, ihould be allowed the Ijraelites ; for indeed it was of great Confequence, that they fhould multiply fo as to have a due Proportion to the reft of the World ; and for the fame Reafon , the furviving Brother was to raife up Seed to the Deceafed. Barrennefs was a Re- proach •, and to die Childlefs a Curfe *, and a nume- rous Off-fpring, a BlefTing, fo often promifed, that it is evident, that many Difpenfations of the Divine ^ Providence depended upon it. And the better to revive and keep up a Senfe of Religion amongft Men, thofewho were moft eminent for Piety were employed to be God's Heralds and EmbafTadors to the reft of the World, as the whole People of Jfrael are appealed to as his IFitneJJes^ Ifai. xliii. 12. and xliv. 8. The Jews have a Tradition, ^ That Abraham , refufmg to worfhip the Fire , the God of the ChaldcBans^ was thrown by them into it, and was delivered out of it by Miracle : And therefore they underftand it, not that he went forth from Ur of the Chaidees^ as it fignifies a Place, but from the Fire of the Chaldees ♦, Ur in the Hebrew Tongue fignify- ing Fire, But we have no need of Recourfe to fuch Traditions : This is certain, Abraham wasfent, by God's Command, out of Chaldcea into Canaan ; and there he had no iix'd or fettled Habitation, but joiirnied^ going h S. Hieron. Qua^ft. in Genef. S. Auguft. Qiia:ft. in Genef v. qu, 25. on of the Chrtjhan Religum. 5 i on ft'ill towards the Souths Gen. xli. 9. 'till a Farrfine happening in that Country, tlie Piovidcnce of God fo difpofed of Things, that he and Lot went into Mgypt, And when he was there, lie was by a very remarkable Accident taken great notice o[' by Pharaoh himfelf. For Pharaoh admiring the Beauty of Sarahs Ahraharn^s Wife, takes her into his Houfe •, for which great Plagues were inflicted on hini and his Houfhoki: And Pharaoh perceiving the reafon of it, fends hiin away, with his Wife, and all that he had. By this It became notorious to Pharaoh and his Princes, that Alraham was under God's peculiar Gire and Provi- dence, and that therefore it concerned them to regard what he profefTed concerning Religion, and the Wor- fhip of God. Ahimelech likev/ife, King o{Gerar^ fent and took Sarah : Upon which God appeared to him in a Dream, and declared to him that Abraham was a Prophet, and that he Ihould pray for him \ and this Ahimelech to\d. to all his ferv ants ^ Gen. xx. 7, 8. And he calls upon God, by his Name Jehovah^ ver. 4. which fliews that he had knowledge of the True God. Ahtv Abraha?n and Lot were returned into Canaan from jEgypt •, upon' fome Difagreement between their Herds-men, they parted from each other. Lot going towards Sodo7n^ and Abraham to the Plain of Mamre in Hebron, And it came to pafs, that there was War between nine Kings of that Country, four being Con- . federate on the one fide, and five on the other. But the King o{ Sodom ^ and his Confederates being defeat- ed in Battle, Lot, who dwelt in Sodom, was, with all his Goods, carried away by the Enemy : Of which, w\\tn Abraham was inform'd, he armed his Servants, and with no more than Three hundred and eighteen Men, gained a fignal Vi6lory, retook I^ot, and brought him back, with all his Family and Goods. And at his Return he is met by the King of Sodo?n , and by Mekhizedek King of Salem , who being the Prieft of ^z ' , the J I The Reafonablenefs and Certainty the 7nojl high God^ in a moil folemn Manner blelFed Abraham^ who gives him the Tenth of all his Spoil : Which whole Aflion mufl needs render Abraham mightily renowned in all that Country. So much Mercy did God extend to the Canaaniies^ who, after they had filled up the Meafure of their Iniquities, were to be rooted out, to make way for the Ifraelites to poflels their Land -, that Abraham^ and Lot^ and Mel- chizcddk^ and their Families, were appointed as Mo-- nitors and Inflruclors to them in the Ways of Righte- oufnefs and Piety : And when all this was ineffec- tual to their Amendment, Sodom and Gomorrah were deflroyed by a moft miraculous and vifible Judgment, with Fire from Heaven, after God had declared, at Abraham'^s Interceflion , that if there had been but Ten Righteous Perfons in thofe Cities, he would have flived the reft for their Sakes. Lot^ with his Family only, efcaped this dreadful Judgment j and his Wife looking back, out of Fondnefs for the Place fhe had left, was turned into a Pillar of Salt •, which were fo ftrange and fo remarkable Judgments, that it muft be a prodigious Obftinacy in Sin, not to be reclaimed and brought to an Acknowledgment of God's Power and Authority by them. The Moabites and the Ammonites were defcended from Lot^ and therefore it muft be tlirough their great Sin and Negligence, if they did not retain a true No- tion of Religion. They had Poffeffion given them of the Land they dwelt in, by God himfelf, by whom the former Inhabitants, a wicked and formidable Race of Giants, were deftroyed before them, as the Ca- 7iaanites afterwards were before the Children of Ifraely Deut. ii. 9, 19, Our Saviour was defcended from Ruth the Moabitefs, And the Ammonites • are diftin- guiflied from the Heathen, Ezek, xxv. 7. But as Abraham has the peculiar Charadler given him of, the Friend of God^ and the Father -of the Faith- ful \ of the Chrijiian Religion. j 3 _fd \ fo his Power and Influence was very great. He is faid, ' both by Jufthu and Nicolaus Damafcemis^ to have been King o( Bamafcus \ and the latter farther adds, that in his own Time the Name of Abraham was famous in that City, and that a Village was nomi- nated from him , being called Abraham's Houfe, or Palace, He was a mighty Prince among the ctyddren of Hetb^ and was refpefed as fuch by them, Gen, xxiii. 6, 10. The ^ Oak o'i Marnre was had in great Devo- don by the Heathens. The ^ Religion of the ancient Perfians^ is filled in the Eaft, the Religion of Abra-^ ham •, and the Book which contains it, the Book of Abraham \ and the Indian Brahman , or Brahaman , are fuppofed to derive their Name from him. "" Areiis King of the Lacedceinonians ^ in his Letter to Onias the High-Priell, fays, that it was found in TVritingy that the Lacedaemonians and the Jews were Brethren y and that they were of the Stock of Abraham. The Sa- racens^ and other Arabians^ were defcended from Abra- ham ; and Circumcifion , which was pradifed by fo many Nations, being a Seal of the Covenant, and a Rite of Initiation, muit be fuppofed to have fome No- tion of the Covenant it felf comm.unicated together with it. For there is no Probability that Circumcifion, ufed, as a Religious and Myfterious Rite, could have any other Original among Heathen Nations, than from Abraham •, and the only Reafon brought to^ prove that it had another Beginning amongft them, is, be- caufe it was ufed upon a Natural Caufe, and varied in the Time of Adminiftration : But the Time might happen to be changed by fome unknown Accident •, and it was always, I think, ufed upon a Religious Account at firil, whatever Natural or Moral Caufes might be likewife affigned ': And fuch the Jews themfelves were ' Juftin. 1. 36. c. 2. Nic. Damaf. apud Jofeph. Antiq.l. i. c 8. k 'Hieron. de toe. Hebr. ' Hyde's Hift. Rdig. vet. Pen. c 2. «» X Mac. xii. 20, 21. jofeph. Antiq. l' 12.. 5. E 3 w^ont 5 4 T'^^ Reajonahlenefs and Certainty wont '^to afiign, as well as that of their Religion •, and it is polfible, that in fome Places, the Religious Caufc of its Obfervation might be forgot, and the Natural or Moral only rctain'd. Befidcs the other Sons of Abraham , which were many, Ifaac and IJImiael muft have been very initru- mental in propagating the True Religion \ and we can fuppofe none educated under Abraham^ or belonging to him, but they muft have been well qualified for that pur].x)fe , and muft more or lefs retain the Im- preflions they had received from him \ this being the Character " which God himfelf gives of Abraham , / ]?nC'W him^ that he I'Vill co?nmand his Children and bis Hoiijhold after him^ and they -fljall keep the IVay of the Lord^ Gen. xviii. 19. The Jews made particular mention of the Care which both Abraham and Sarah took in inftrucfhing Profclytes •, and "* Maimonides writes, that Abraha?n left a Book behind him upon that Subject. JJhmael was the Son of an JEgyptian Mother, Gen, xvi. i. and his Wife was an /Egyptian : His Sons were Twelve in Number, and of great Power, being ft y led Princes^ and their Dominions were of a large Extent, Gen. xxv. 16, 18. Ifaac was to marry none of the Daughters of Canaan^ but one of his own Kindred •, and a Mefienger is fent into Mefopo- tamia^ to bring Reb ekab ivom thence, God direfting and profpering him in his Journey : Which Alliance ^nd Afliniry renew'd with the Chahhrans^ could not fail of a good Effed:, for the Prefervation and Advancement of Religion in thofe Countries. But a Famine being again in the Land , Ifaac removes to Abi??ielech King of tlie Philiftines^ unto Gerar^ and by him the Beauty o{ Rebekah was admired, as Sarah's had been by Pha- raoh in ASgypt, and here by Jbimelech : But tho' he " Pliilo de Circiimcif. Maimon. More Nevoch. Par. 3. c. 49. Lu- dolf. Hiit. ^filthiop. lib. 3. cap i n. 3. o Dc Ido[o]at. c. I. ^ 9. had of the Chrijhayi Religion, j y had faid fhe was his Sijler^ (as Abraham faid likewiie of Sarah) meaning in that Latitude of the Word uliiai in thofe Countries, whereby Women were called the Sillers o{ all to whom they were nearly related-, yet the Providence of God fo ordcr'd it , that no At- tempts fhould be made to her Difhonour, but the King of the Philiftines had a great Regard and Reve- rence for Ijaac and his Wife : the BlelTing of God was vifible in all his Undertakings; he became much ^mightier than the Philifiines^ and therefore they envy'd him •, which occafioned his Remove to Bc'crJJjebay whithci' Abwielech, with his Friends and Attendance, came to enter into a ftrich League and Covenant with him, profefTing that thty faw certainly that the Lord (that is, Jehovah the True God) was with him^ and declaring him to be the blejpd of the Lord^ Gen. xxvi. II, 14, 16, 26. And for the lame reafon, the P/?///- ftines had formerly defired to make a Covenant with Abraham^ faying, God is with thee in all that thou dofi^ &c. Gen. xxi. 22. Efau^ at the Age of Forty Years , marry'd two Wives of the Daughters of the Hittites, Gen. xxvi. 34. which , tho' it griev'd Ifaac and Rebekah., who would have had him marry with their own Kindred, yet mull give the Hittites farther Opportunities of ac- quainting themfelves with the Religion and V\''orfliip of the Hebrews -, but he marries befides a Daughter of. JJhmael^ Abraham's Son, Gen, xxviii. 9. which con- firmed and ftrengthen'd the Alliance between the true Believers. Efau was the Father of the Edomites,, and of a numerous OfF-fpring of Dukes and Kings, Gen, xxxvi. 9, 31. And according to the Cuftom and Defign of the Book of Ge.nefts\ the Generations de- fended from Efau had not been fo particularly fet down, unlefs they had retained the Knowledge and Worfliip of the True God. This was Mofcs's MefTage to "the King of Edo7n : I'hus faith thy Brother Ifrael, Thou knozveft all the Travel that 'hath befallen us, how E 4 our 5 6 The Reafonablenefs and Certainty our Fathers went down into Mgypt^ and we have dwelt in Mgyp a long t'lme^ and the Egyptians vexed us and mr Fathers^ and when we cried unto the Lord^ he heard our Voice^ Numb. xx. 14. The Edo7nites^ as well as the Moahites and Ammonites^ were put into PoflefTion of their Country, by the fame Divine Power by which the Ifraelites became pofTeffed of the Land of Canaan^ and the Ciiildren of Ifrael were not to meddle with them, Deut. ii. 5. Jacob is fent to Padan-Aram^ to take to Wife one of the Daughters of Lahan^ and with him he abode twenty Years, Cen, xxxi. 38. And all which he took in hand profpered fo, that ther-e was the vifible Power and BlefT^ng of God in it, as Lab an confefled, Gen, XXX. 27. Jfaac was not to leave the Land of Cajiaan^ but was forbid to remove into Mgypt^ when there was a Famine in the Land, Cen, xxvi. 2. And he was not upon any Account to return into Chaldcea^ or to go out of Canaan^ Gen. xxiv. 6, 8, 'Qwt Jacob went out of it, when there were enough of Abraham's Houfe befides to keep up a Senfe of the true Religion among the Canaanites. Afterv/ards God manifefted himfelf to the Mgyp^ tiajis^ by a various and wonderful Providence ; for the fojourning of the children of Ifrael^ who dwelt in AEgypt was four hundred and thirty Tears^ (Exod. xii. 40.) 'till at lafl, by Signs and Wonders, and dreadful Judg- iTients: By Judgments upon their Firft-born and upon their Gods^ Numb, xxxiii. 4. they were brought out from thence *, and the Nations heard the fame of |t, and all the Earth was filled with the glory of the Lord , Numb. xiv. 15, 21. Thus Chalda:a and Mgypt , the moft famous and flourifhing Countries, in thofe Ages of the World, had the true Religion brought home to them by the Pa- triarchs , who were fent from Place to Place to fo- journ, to be a Pattern and Example to the reft of -Mankind, And Men who travelled fo far, and con- vcrfed of the Chrtfi'tan Reltgton. . 57 verfed with lb many Nations, and were fo zealous for God's Honour, and had fuch frequent Revelations, and the immediate Direction of God himfelf, in moft of the Anions of their Lives, and who were fo Great and Powerful, and fo Numerous, mull needs mightily propagate Religion v/here-ever they came, and leave the Idolaters without Excufe ; and it cannot be doubt- ed but that they had great Succefs in all Places ; for even out of JEgyp^ where they endured the greateil JH[ardlhips, and were in fuch Contempt and Hatred, yet a mixed ?nzdtUtide 'went up alfo with them^ befides the nTitivtlfraelites^ Exod. xii. 38 p. And as Cbaidceci and Mgyp were famous for Learn- ing and Commerce, and proper Places, by their Si- tuation, from whence the Notions of Religion might be propagated both towards the Eaft and the Weft, to other Parts of the World ; fo I muft again ob- ferve, that God's Mercy was particularly manifefted towards the Qanaanites before their Deftruftion : The Example of Melch'izedek^ who reigned among them, and the fojourning oi Abraham^ and Lot^ and Ifaac^ and Jacobs not to mention I/hinael and Efau^ with their numerous Families, afforded them continual In- vitations, and Admonitions for their Inllrudion and Amendment; efpecially the Judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah , and the miraculous Deliverance of Lot^ was enough to ftrike an Awe and Terrour in- to the moft Obdurate. But when they would not make any due Ufe of thefe Mercies, when they per- filled ftill in their Impieties, and proceeded in them till they had filled up the Meafure of their Iniquities; God made them an Example to others, after they would take no Warning themfelves ; yet flill execu- ting bis judgments upon them hy little and little^ he gave the?n place of repentance^ not being ignorant that they P Et etiam Peregriai multi, ex quibus ducentru quadraginta My- .jiades afcenderunt cum illis, largyjouatB- in. Exod. .xii. jS. 'were 5 8 The Reafonablenefs and Certainty 110 ere a naughty generation^ and that their malice ims bred in the7n^ arid that their Cogitation would never he chan- ged^ Wifd.xii. lo. How much the true Religion prevail'd by thefc Difpenfations of Providence , among other Nations be (ides the Hebrezvs , we have an illuftrious Inftance in Job and his Friends , who were Princes in their feveral Dominions. They had Knowledge of the Fall of the Angels, Jobiv. i8. and of the Original Cor- ruption of Man , which is exprefs'd with this Em- phafis, that he cannot be clean^ or righteous, who is lorn of a woman ; becaufe by Eve''s TranfgrefTion, Sin came into the World, Job xiv. i. xv. 14. andxxv. 4. Ada7n is mentioned chap. xxxi. 33. The Refurreclion is defcrib'd chap. xiv. 12. And it appears that Revelations were vouchfafed to thefe Nations , chap, xxxiii. 1 5. Job is mention'd as a Prophet, Jain. v. 10, 11. It •appears, that the Fundamentals of Religion were known Dodrines amongfl them , and are therefore mention'd both by Job himfelf , and by his Friends, in as plain Terms as may be, and as fully as can be expected in a Book which is Poetical , the Nature whereof requires that known things fhould be allu- ded to, but not fo particularly related as in Hiftory. And there is no doubt but the Propagation of Reli- gion, in other Parts of the World, would be as evi- dent, if the Scriptures had not occafionally only, and in the courfe of other things, but of fet purpofe trea- ted of this Matter; as we may gather from, the Foot- fteps to be found in Heathen Authors, of what the Scriptures deliver to us, and from the feveral Allufi- ons and Reprefentations in the Rites and Ceremonies of their Religions, exprefTing, tho' obfcurely and con- fufedly, the chief Points of the Scripture-ilory, as has been ihewn by divers learned Men. It muft be remember'd, that the Patriarchs built Altars wherever they came, to which' they , with their numerous Followers reforted to ofe Sacrifice and . of the Chrtfimn Relioton. jp and call upon the Name of the Lord^ Gen. viii. lo. xii. 7, 8. xiii. 4, 18. xxvi. 25. xxxiii. 20. xxxv. 7. which publickand Iblemn WoiTnip rendred their Piety very oblervable and exemplary. And it may with great Probability be concluded, that not only the Prieft, but the Place and Time for Divine Worlliip were appropriated and Itated from the beginning, in- afmuchas Cain and Abel brought their Offerings, at the fime time , at the end of days to the fame Place, to Adam^ to be prefented by him to the Lord in Sa- crifice. For fo fome of the ancient Jewifh Expofitors explain this PafTage concerning Cain and Abel. 2, In fucceeding Ages, after the giving the Law, when the Jews , by their Laws concerning Religion and Government, may feem to have been wholly fe- parated from the reft of the World , and the Divine Revelations confin'd to one Nation , there ftill were fufficient Means and frequent Opportunities for all Nations to come to the Knowledge of the Truth. And here 1 ihall Hiew, 1. That the Law o^ Mofes did particularly provide for the Inftruftion of other Na- tions in the Reveal'd. Religion, and that the Scriptures give frequent Commandment and Encouragement con- cerning it. 2. That the Providence of God did fo order, and difpofe of the Jczvs in their Aftairs, as to offer other Nations frequent Opportunities of becom- ing inftruded in the true Religion, and that Multi- tudes of Profely tes were made of all Nations. I. The Law oi Mofes 6\d particularly provide for the Inftru(fl:ion of other Nations in the Reveal'd Re- ligion, and the Scriptures give frequent Command- ment and Encouragement concerning it. The "Stran- gers or Profelytes , amongft the Jews , were of two forts y for either they were fuch as became Circum- cifed, and obliged theinfelves to the Obfervation of the whole Law of Mofes ^ who were ftyled Profelytes of Righteoiifnefs^ or of the Covenant \ or they were fuch 6 o The tieajmablenefs and Certainty fuch as believed in the True God, and profeiTed only to obferve the Precepts given to Noah^ which com- priled the Subflance of the Ten Commandments ; and thefe were called Profelytes of the Gates^ becaufe they were permitted to live amongfl them , within their Gates ; thefe are the Strangers in their Gates^ mentioned Deiit, xiv. 21. who might eat of fuch Things as the Jfraelites themfelves were forbidden to eat of. If any would be Circumcifed, and undertake the Obfervation of the whole Law, they had full Liberty, and the greatefl Encouragement to do it. At the firft Inftitution of Circumcifion , not only Abraham and his Seed, but his whole Family, and all that were bought lijith money of any Stranger^ were to be circum- cifed. Gen. xvii. 12, 27. And at the Inftitution of the PaiTover, the Stranger is commanded to obferve it, as well as the Natural Ifraelite, Exod. xii. 19. God made no Diftincflion in the Inftitution of both thefe Sacraments, between the Jews, and thofe other Nations that dwelt amongft them, and were willing to con- form themfelves to the Obfervation of the Law ; but firft to Ahrahajn , when he appointed Circumcifion , and then to Mofes^ when the Paffover was inftituted, particular Order is given concerning Strangers or Pro- felytes^ who would betake themfelves to them, one law Jhall he to him that is home-born^ and to the f ranger that fojourneth among you^ Exod. xii. 49. Deut. xxix. 11. And as the receiving the Seal of Circumcifion was an Admiffion into Covenant with God, and implied an Obligation to obferve the whole Law, and a Right to the Privileges of it, which was confirmed and renewed by their partaking of the Paflbver -, fo it is to be ob- lerved, not only that God did in general admit Stran- gers and Aliens to the fame Worfliip with the Jews^ but that throughout their whole Law frequent Men- tion is made of them, and Care taken for their Recep- tion and Behaviour : For though what is but once laid in Scripture , is a fufficient Proof of the Will and Pleafurc of the Chr'tftian Religion. 6 r Pleallire of God in any Matter -, yet when a Thing i^ often mentioned, and every where inculcated, it is an Evidence to us, that God would have the more Notice taken of it, and has laid the ftridieil Obligation upon all to obferve it. But we find exprefs Mention made of the Stranger , at the Appointment of the Yearly Feaft of Atonement, Lev. xvi. 29. The Stranger was obliged to bring his Sacrifice to the Door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation •, and in the Prohibi- tions of eating Blood, he is particularly forbidden it, cSap. xvii. 8, 9, 12, 15. All the Laws relating to Marriage, and concerning unlawful Luft, are equally enjoined the Stranger and the Ifraelite., chap, xviii. 26. He was to be ftoned, if he gave any of his Seed unto Moloch^ chap. xx. 2. And he was obliged to all the fame Laws concerning Sacrifices, chap.xxn. 18. And was to be ftoned for Blafphemy \ and for Murther, Hurt, or Damage, the Law made no Difference be- tween Strangers., and Native Ifraelites, Te /hall have one manner of law., as well for the St?'a?tger^ as for one of your own country \ for I am the Lord your God, chap, xxiv. 16, 22. The Sabbath was appointed to the «S'/r^;/^^r within their Gates, Exod, xx. 10. and xxiii. 12. Lev. XXV. 6. Deut. v. 14. And the Feafts of Fen- tecoft, of Tabernacles, and of Atonement, as well as the 'PafTover, were enjoined him, Deut. xvi. 11, 14. Lev. xvi. 29. The Feaft of Tabernacles is reftrained to the Ifraelites horn. Lev. xxiii. 42. only as to their dwelling in booths feven days. The Stranger was to hear the Law read in the Solemnity of the Year of Releafe, chap. xxxi. 12. And the Covenant is ex- prefsly made with the Stranger, chap. xxix. 12. Joflj. viii. 33, 35. ■ . _ And as the Strangers or Profelytes were thus joined, in the very Defign and Inftitution of the Law, with the Native Ifraelites therhfelves, as to all the Ads and Privileges of Religious Worftiip, when once they had received Circumcifion, though they were not obliged to 6 1 The Reafonablenejs and Certainty to be circumcifed, but were left to their Liberty, un- der no Obligation, but toworfhip the True God, and obferve the Precepts of Noah -, fo God had a par- ticular regard to them in their civil Statutes and Or- dinances , to free them from Oppreffion , and every thing that might give Strangers any Difcouragement from living amongll the Ifraelltes^ and becoming Par- takers of their Religion with them : Thou Jh alt neither vex a fir anger ^ nor opprefs him •, for ye were fi;?:angers in the land of JEgypt^ Exod. xxii. 21. Jlfo thoufialt not opprefs a fir anger \ for ye know the heart of a fir an- ger ^ feeing ye were fir angers in the land of ^Egypt, chap, xxiii. 9. It feems, one Reafon of their being fo long detained in Mgypt^ was to teach them Huma- nity and CompafTion to Strangers : Thou JJjalt not op- frefs an hired ferv ant that is poor and needy ^ whether he he of thy brethren^ or of thy ft rangers that are in thy land within thy gateSy Deut. xxiv. 41. And care is ta* ken of the Stranger, that he be not brought into want, or fuffered to perifh in his Diftrefs ; for the Gleanings of the Harveft and of the Vintage were his portion: Thou fh alt leave them for the poor and the ftr anger : I am the Lord ^ Lev. xix. 10. and xxiii. 22. All manner of Kindnefs and Affedlion is in moil exprefs and ample Terms commanded towards all Strangers : And if a ft ranger fcjourn with thee in your land^ ye fh all not vex him : But the ft ranger that dwelleth with you fuall he unto you as one h or 71 amongft you ^ and thou Jh alt love him as thy -felf *, for ye were ftr angers in the land of i^gypt, / am the Lord your God^ Lev. xix. 33, 34. And Mofes^ repeating the peculiar Favours which God had bellowed upon the Children of Ifrael^ put them in mind, that God loveth the ftranger^ in givi7ig him food and rai- ment. Love ye therefore the ft ranger •, for ye were ft ran- ger sin the land of JEgypt^ Deut. x. 18, 19. ThzTVidow^ the Stranger^ and the Fatherlefs^ are ufually mentioned together in Scripture, as being jointly the Care of God^s more peculiar Providence , and he recommends them -to of the Chriji'ian Religion. 6^ to the Charity of his People. And to opprefs the Stranger isreckon'd thehighefl Aggravation of Wick- ednefs ; T^hey jlay the widow and the Jlr anger , and murther the fatherlefs \ 'jet they fay ^ ne Lord /hall not fee^ neither Jhall the God of Jacob regard it^ Pf il. xciv. 65 7. ^he People of the land have ufed opprejjion^ and exercifed robbery , and have vexed the poor and needy ; yea^ they have opprejfed the fir anger wrongfully^ Ezek. xxii. 29. And to the fame purpofe, Fjal. cxlvi. 9. Jer, vii. 6. and xxii. 3. Zech, vii. 10. MaL iii. 5. Particular Provifion was made in the Law, for the- Dwellings of Profelytes, Lev. xxv. 29. And if a man fell a dwelling-houfe in a walled City^ then he may re- deem it within ii whole year^ after it is fold., within a full year may he redee^n it, And^ if it he not redeemed within the fpace of a full year^ then the houfe that is in the walled city fhall be eftablifJocd for ever to him that bought it., throughout his generations ^ it fhall not go out' in the jubilee. For which Law , Philo Judceus affigns this Reafon , That the Profelytes might not be delli- tute of Houfes: For the Cities (fays he) when the Land was divided by Lot, were not divided among the Tribes, but were built afterwards •, the firfl Ha- bitations being in Villages : And therefore, by this Law, Houfes in Cities were fecured to the Profelytes dwelling in the Land. What he fays of the Cities, muft be underftood only of the greateil part of them; for it is certain , that the Ifraelites entered upon the PofTefTion of Cities and Houfes already built, Deut.vi, 10. Jo/h. xxiv. 13. Though their Bond- men and Bond- women were not to be of the Native Ifraelites., but of the Heathen^ that were round about them, and of the Strangers thd^t dwelt amongll them, Lev. xxv. 44. yet an Ifraelite might fell himfelf to a Stranger., and become his Ser- vant : But he might be redeemed again, either by him- felf, or by his near Kinfman, and was to be releafed at the Year of Jubilee, f 47. The Cities of Kefuge were 64 'The Reafonable:ieJs and Certatnt^ were provided for the Stranger and the Sojourner, Nunih. XXXV. 15. JoJJj, XX. 9. The Judges were par- ticularly commanded to execute righteous and im- partial Judgment to the Stranger, Det^t. i. 16. A Caution is given, that neither the Edoviites nor the Mgyptidns were to be abhorred by them, but their Children were to be received into the Congregation of the Lord, in the Third Generation \ that is, after an Edomite or Mgyptian had lived anion gft them as a Profelyte of the Gates^ their Children of the Third Generation might be capable of Circumcifion, and be admitted to the Obfervation of the whole Law, chap. xxiii. 7. Ruth^ was a MoaUtefs : And though the Ammonite and Moahite were for ever^ that is, by a perpetual Decree, excluded, even to the Tenth Gene- ration, from the Congregation of the Lord, by reafon of their Inhumanity to the Ifraeliles, at their coming out of ^gypty f 3. yet neither were they of the pre- ceding Generations debarred from becoming Profelytes cf the GateSy and undertaking the Obfervation of the Precepts of Noah. A Promife is made, that the Strangers fhall rejoice in the good Things of the Land, chap. xxvi. 1 1. And the Ifraeiites are threatened, that upon their Difobe- dience, the Stranger fhould be more profperous than they, chap, xxviii. 43, 44. King Solomon, at the De- dication of the Temple, makes fuch particular- Men- tion of the Stranger, in his Prayer, as fliews both the Defign of building it, and of all the Jewilli Worfhip, to be fuch as that other Nations might ihare in it, and withal, he foretels what the Event fhould be : More- crcer, concerning a fir anger that is not of thy people Ifrael^ but cometh out of a far country , for thy Jiame^s fake\. (for they fljall hear of thy great name, and of thy ftrong hand, and of thy firetched-oiit arm ) when he fhall come and pray tozuards this houfe : Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place, and do accordi?ig to all that the f ranger calleth to thee for : that all people of the earth may kno'U) 4h^ of the Chrijhan Religion. . 6^^ thy name^ to fear thee^ as do thy people IfraeU cLnd that they ?nay know that this hoiife which I have built is called by thy name^ i Kings viii. 41, 42, 43. 2. Chron. vi. 33. This was the houfe of Prayer for all people ^ Ifa. Ivi. 7. Mar. xi. 17. And the Prophets, in their Prophecies concerning the Return of the Jews out of their Captivity in Babylon^ and in their Predictions of the Mejjias^ did not omit to infer t peculiar Expreflions of God's Love and Favour to Strangers and Profely tes, to fhew that the Promifes did extend to them, as well a*s to the Native Jews themfelves, Ifa, ivi. 3 . Ezek. xlvii. 22, 23. From all which, it is evident, that Strangers were equally capable of the Privileges and Advantages in the Jewifh Worfliip , as the Jews themfelves were ; and that they were debarred of very little in their Civil Rights •, and all Encouragement imaginable was given to Strangers to come and dwell amongfl the Jews. The Law joins them together with the Natural Ifrae^ lite,, both in the Curfes it denounces, and in the BlefTings it promifes ; it feverely threatens all that fhould opprefs or defraud them ; it commands the fame Charity towards them, as towards thtFatherlefs and Wido^v,, the greatefl Objecls of Human Compaf- fion, and of the merciful Care and Providence of God : And the Prophets, with the utmoft Severity, rebuke iL^^Jews,, for any Oppreffion or Abufe of them. The Profelyte^ Vyftro, not excluded from their Sacrifices , their Prayers and Sacraments ; and if they refufed to take upon them the Obfervation of the whole Law \ yet they had free Leave and great Encouragement to live amongfh them , believing only in the True God , and obeying thofe Precepts which were given to all the Race of Mankind after the Flood. They might ' ihare in all. the Rites of their Religious Worfhip, and were invited to do it -, but if they would not fubmit to this, yet they were not therefore rejeded, but might partake of their Civil Privileges, and live under the Vol. I. F ' Protec- 66 The Reafonabknefs and Certainty Protedion of their Government : And it is obfervable, that where the fame Laws are repeated in feveral Pla- ces of Scripture, the Slranger is nowhere omitted; but what relates to him, is conftantly repeated with the reft, as a necefiary and effential Part of the Law. So that never any Government had fo particular regard for Strangers, or was fo peculiarly contrived for their Encouragement to live under it. Other Governments, as thofe of Sparta and Chi?ia , have been fo jealous of Foreigners , that , by their Original Conftituti- on, they have forbid any Dealings with them, and would not fuffer them to abide in their Cities. And the Romans had fome Laws to the fame efFed: -, which '^ Tully indeed fays was an i?ihu7nan thing, and it was the Caufe of the Bellum Sociale^ or the War raifed a- gainft the Romans by the feveral States of Italy. The Freedom and Privilege of a Citizen of Rome., was purchafed at a great Price, AEls xxii. 28. Of this ' Df^, as well as St. huke.^ informs us , fpeaking of the Times of Claudius \ and in their Leagues with ^ divers Nations , the Romans inferted this exprefs Condition , That none of them fliould be made Free of the City. And it appears from ^ Plutarch^ that the Freedom of the City of Rome was not obtained in C/V 15. jtmei ^ — of the Chriftian Religion. 7 y fiines forty Years, Chap. xiii. i. And ftill it was be- caufe they had done evil in the fight of the Lordy that they were given up into the Hand of their Enemies : and upon their Repentance , a Deliverance was wrought for thtm^Beiit. xxx. i. i Sain. xli. lo. ^^r. iii. 7. And when they were fo often and for fo long a time fubdued by their Enemies round about them, for their Idolatries, and other TranfgrefTions ; and then a- gain, upon their Repentance, were refcued from their Pppreffions by Gideon^ and Jeptha^ and Sampfon., all rais'd up for that purpofe; this mufl give great Occa-. fion and Opportunity to all the bordering Nations to know and confider that Religion, the Obfervation or Negle6l whereof had fuch vifible Effeds upon its Pro- feffors : for under their Affliction, and in the time of their Repentance , the Ifraelites declared the Caufe of their Mifery, and made known the Power of their own God, and the Vanity and Sinfulnefs of Idolatry : And therefore their being fo often and fo long time under the Oppreflion of their feveral Enemies, was a merci- ful Providence to the Nations who had them in Subje- d:ion, as well as for the Punilliment and Amendment of the Ifraelites themfelves. What good Ufe was m.ade of thefe Methods of the Divine Providence doth not appear to us, but, in all probability, it had a good EffeS upon very miany \ as we find it had in one re- markable Inflance of a little Maid, who being taken Captive, was the Occafion of the Cure of Naaman^s Leprofie, and of his Converfion to the Worfbip of the True God, Vv^ho before was known to him by his Name Jehovah^ 2 Kings v. 1 1 . The Prophet Eiifija was well known by the Syrians to be a Prophet, and Ben-hadad fent to enquire of the Lord, by him, chap, viii. 8. Rahfijakeh fpeaks in the J^-ix;; Language, and pretends a CommiiTiori from the Lord, that is, from Jehovah^ the God of the Jews^ when he came agiiinfl JerUfaleniy Ifa. xxxvi. lo^ ii. God himfelf appeals to the Knowledge of Sennacherib King of yljfyna ; Hafk 7 6 The Reafonablenefs and Certainty Haft thou not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient tif?ie, that I have formed it, Ifa. xxxvii. 26. And Rabbi Shemaiah and Rabbi AUalion are ^ faid to have been Profelytes of Right eoufnefs, of the Pofterity of Sennacherib. The Prophet Obadiah is probably thought to have been a Profelyte of Idum^a ^ Pha- raoh Necho, King of ^gypt, alledges God's Command, when he came to fight againft Carchemifh, 2 Chron, XXXV. 21, 22. But our prefent Enquiry is not fo much what the Effect was, as what Means were afforded of Salva- tion : For though it be requifite that the True Re- vealed Religion fhould be publifhed to the World; yet it is not neceffary in order to prove the Truth of a Religion, to fhew that obilinate Men have taken no- tice of it, fo far as to confider and believe it ; becaufe it is not neceflliry th.it God fhould force his Laws up- on Men, but only tnat he fhould difcover them, and afford Men fufficient Means to know them, and be- come the better for them. To proceed then : The Philiftines were in a won- derful Confternation , when they underftood that the Ark was brought into the Camp, i Sam. iv. 7, 8. And when it was taken by them, it was more terrible to them, than the Enemy, if he had conquered them, could have been. They were tormented with Difeafes and Plagues, whercfoever the Ark was carried ; and their God was fo little able to help them, that he fell down before it, and was broken in Pieces *, whereof they retained a Memorial in the Worfliip of him ever after, in not treading upon the Threfhold of Dagon, in Ajhdod, becaufe he had loft the Palms of his Hands, by filling upon it, i Sam, v. 4, 5. And the Manner of fending back the Ark, with the Trefpafs- Offering prefcribed by their Priefts and Diviners, at "" ■ I. , .. . I, I I W ^ Lightfoot Harm. Luke iv. i :;./>. 612. . ^ Munli in Abdias. c. i . Sixt. Senenf. Bibiiothec. 1. i . the of the Chriflian Religion. 77 the Demand of the L.ords of the Philiftines was a ma- nifefl Atteftation to the Power of the God of Ifrael : Wherefore then (Hiid they) do ye harden your hearts^ as the Mgyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts ? When he had iirotight wonderfully a?nong them^ did he not let the People go^ and they departed^ i Sam. vi. 6. The Philiftines^ at lafb, received a miraculous Overthrow by Thunder, i Sayn. vii. lo. And thefe were fo re- markable Judgments, that they muft be left without all Excufe, who did not forfake their Idolatries, and hirn to the Living God, who had thus manifefted himfelf amongfl them. The Urim and "Thummim "" was confulted upon any- great Undertaking, whereby God returned his An- fwer, and oftentimes, before the Battle, gave AlTu- furance of Vidory. "^ Jofephus fays, the Anfwer was returned, by the fhining of the Stones in the High- Prieft's Breaft-Plate, in fuch a Manner, as that it was vifible to all the People flanding by ; and that many of the Heathen, who had been Witnefles to it, called it the Oracle. The miraculous Vi6lories of Saul^ and Jonathan^ and David ^ and David's Stay with Achifh King of the Philiftines at Gath ^ and the Favour and Confi- dence which he gained with that King, gave the Ca- naankes ftill repeated Opportunities and Motives to Converfion and Repentance ; and we may obferve Achifh^ in Difcourfe with Z)^'7;zW, nientioning the Name of the Lord, or Jehovah., and fwearing by his Name, I Sam. xxix. 6. V/hich fhews the infinite Mercy and CompafTion of God towards this People devoted to Deflrudion, in that he would not take them -away fuddenly, but by little and little, giving them Space for Repentance ; and turning that, which might feem " Judg. i. I. /7;;.j' XX. 1 8, 23, 26. i Sam. xviii. 6. and xxiii. g. ^Wxxx. 7, i'. w Jofcph. Anticj. 1. 3. c. 9. to 78 The Reafonablenefs andCerta'tnty to rafh Judges a hard Fate, into a means of Salvation both to themfelves and others. David extended his Conquefl far and near, and was renowned throughout all thofe Countries: And the fame of David went out into all lands \ and the Lord brought the fear of him upon all Nations^ i Chron. xiv. 17. And when God had delivered him out of the Hand of all his Enemies, he makes this Refolution, "Therefore I will give thanks unto thee^ Lordy among the Heathen , and will fing Praifes unto thy 'Name , 2 Sam. xxii. 50. Pfal. xviii. 49. Declare his glory a- Qnong the Heathen^ his wonders among all people. Say a- mong the Heathen , that the Lord is King^ Pfal. xcvi. 3, 10. And when the Ark was brought with great and folemn Joy, from the Houfe of Ohed-Edofn^ the Pfalm of Thankfgiving on that Occafion has the fame Exprefiions ; Declare his glory ariiong the Heathen^ his marvellous Works among all Nations, Let the- Heavens he glady and let the Earth rejoice^ and let Men fay amo7ig theNationSy the Lord reigneth^ i Chron. xvi. 24, 31. He knew this to be the Defign of God, in the Difpen- fations of his Providence •, and accordingly he made this Ufe of it, with fo good effedl, that in the be- ginning of Solomon's^ Reign , the Strangers or Profe- lytes in the Land were found to be an hundred a?id fifty thoufand , a7td three thoufand and fix hundred^ 2 Chron. ii. 17. who were alP Men fit to be employed in the building of the Temple ; and the reft muft be fuppofed very much to exceed that number, reckoning both Sexes, of all Ages. In Solomon^ Reign, the Kingdom of Ifrael became yet more famous and flourifhing ; Hiram King o^Tyre held crreat Correfpondence with him: And Kimchi^ and after him Dr. Lightfoot ^ underftands by 2 Chron. Avry?, Numsravit omnes viros profelytos- y Ughttoot Chorograph. Decad,. of the Y/orld : For all his Wives were made Profelytes V\ *" before he married them (as Sampfon\ likewife had > been) though afterwards they not only fell away to \ their former Idolatries, but feduccd Solofnon himfelt into them. The Gentiles were fo forward to become ProfelyteSy ^ in the Reigns of David and Solomon^ that their Sin- cerity became fufpefed ; and the Jews tell us , that the Sanhedrim would admit no Profelytes^ in the Days of David^ left they fliould be induced to it by Fear ; nor in the Days of Solo?non^ left the Glory of his King- dom fhould have been the Motive to them to profefs the Religion of the Ifraelites, Neverthelefs , great Numbers were received privately by Baptifm, the Sanhedrim neither rejecting nor admitting them. c Maimonid. dc Profclyt. § 15, 1 6. ^ Akimonid. ib. Jt of the Chnft'tan Religion. . 8 1 It is the Obfervation of 'Tbeodoret^ and of St. Je-rom^ upon Exek. v. 5. that God placed Jerufalem^ the Seat of the Jew'ijh Government, in the midft of the Na tions, that it might be a Direction to the Heathen in Matters of Religion ; from whence, as from the Centre, Light might be communicated to the farther Parts of the Earth. But the Diviiions and Calamities of the People of Ifrael^ the Deftru6lion of their City^ and Difperfion of their whole Nation, contributed as jnuch to the Propagation of Religion, as their great- eft Profperity could do. The Divifion of the Ten Tribes, after the Death of Solomon^ and the Eredion of the Kingdom of Ifrael^ diftind; from that of Jiidab^ with the many Leagues and Wars which thefe two mighty Kingdoms had with the Kings of jEgypt^ and Syria^ and Babylon^ and with other Nations, could not but exceedingly con- duce to the divulging the True Religion in the World, and give Opportunity to the Prophets to declare their Prophecies, and work their Miracles among the Hea- then^ as we find they did in many Inflances. One of the greateft Cities of the World was converted by Jo-^ nah\ Preaching. Upon the Failing and Prayer of Je^ hojhaphat ^ a very numerous Army of Moabites^ and Ammonites^ and other Nations, according to the Pre- didiibn of Jehaziel^ deftroyed one another: And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of thofe countries , when they had heard that the Lord fought againft the ene^ mies of Ifrael^ i Chron. xx. 29. Hezekiah being di- ftreffed by Sennacherib^ prayed to God for Deliverance out of his Hand -, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God^ even thou only : And his Prayer was anfwered, not only in the Deliverance, but in the manner of it; which was fo v/onderful, that all muft know, and be aftonifhed at it ; for that very Night the Angel of the Lord went out^ and fmote in the canrp of the AJJyrians an hundred fourfcore and five thou- fand^ 2 Kings xix. 19, 35. Whi'ch was the fulfilling Vol. I. '' G • of 8 I The Reafonablenefs and Certainty of the Prophecy of Ifaiah^ deliver'd to Hezekiab, in a MefTage to him from God, in Anfwer to his Prayer : And Sennacherib returned to Nineveh and there fell by the Sword, as the fame Prophet had foretold, and never came before Jemfalem^^ 7, 33, 37. And after- wards Ambaffadors came from the King of Babylon to enquire of the Wonder , or Miracle , that was wrought in the recovery of Hezekiah from his Sicknefs, I Chron. xxxii. 31. And at laft, the Captivity of the Jews for feventy Years in Babylon^ made their Religion almoft as well known there, as in Jerufalem it felf. Je- remiah had foretold the Captivity of the Jews , and the Conqueft of all the adjacent Couutries , fo long and fo plainly, before-hand, that all the neighbouring Nations mufl be fenfible of it, as Nebuchadnezzar him- felf alfo was ; for which reafon, he gave a ftridt Charge concerning Jeremiah^ to Nebuzaradan the Captain of the Guard, who declares the reafon of their Captivity to be, their Sins againft the Lord, ox Jehovah^ Jer.xl. 3. And, as the Jews fay, he became a Profelyte, Their Enemies were fenfible of the Caufe of their Deftru- ftion : neir adverfaries faid^ we offend not , hecaufe they have finned againft the Lord, the habitation ofju- fiice^ even the Lord the hope of their Fathers, Jer. 1. 7. God profefles, that he had a regard to the Honour of his Name among the Heathen, in his Mercies vouch- fafcd to the Children of Ifrael, or elfe he had utterly confumed them, Ezek. xx. 9. xxxvi. 22, 23, 36. And the Judgments upon the feveral Nations prophefied againft, were to this End, that they might know him to be the Lord, Ezek. xxv. 7, 17. xxvi. 6. xxviii. 22, 23,24. xxix. 6. XXXV. 9. xxxvi. 23. xxxvii. 28. lam a great King, faid the Lord of hofts, and my Name is dreadful among the Heathen, Mai. i. 14. l^\itjews, in their Captivity, are commanded to make an open De- claration againft the Heathen Gods *, and becaufe they underftood not the Chaldee Tongue , the Prophet Je- remiah fupplies them with fo much of the Language a^ of the Chr:(imn;Reltgton. 8 3 as might ferve them for that purpofc: i'hus JJoall ye fay unto thcm^ Jer. x. 1 1, Th.it is, '^ Ye (liall fpeak to them in their own Language, and in the Words, which I now fet down to you, to bid defiance to their falfe Gods. Thus did he fulfil his CommiiTion and Cha- racter, who vfdi'ifan^lified and ordained a Prophet unto the nations^ Jer. i. 5. And Jeremiah was put to Death in Mgypt^ and Ezekiel in Babylon^ for appearing againil the Idolatry of thofe Places. During the Captivity , ' Jehoiachim was reconciled to the King of Babylon f^ and in great fivour with him : His 'Throjie was fet above the throne of the kings that were with him f;z Babylon, 2 Kings xxv. 28. T\\^Jews were commanded to take Wives for them^ and for their Sons, that they might be encreafed there ^ and not diminifhed^ (Jer. xxix. 6.) And they were not only confiderable for their Number , but were in great Efteem, and in Places of great Honour and Truit i and their Religion was extolled and recommended by publick Edi(5ls to all under that vafl Empire. The Almighty Power of God was manifefted by Miracles^ and by the Interpretation of Dreams and Prophecies ♦, and his Majefty and Honour .was acknowledged and pro- claimed in the moil publick and folemn Manner, throughoutall the Babylonian Empire, at the Command of Princes , who were Idolaters, and were forced to it by the mere Convidlions of their own ConfcienceSj wrought in them by the irrefiilible Power of God, JD^/z.chap. ii, iii, iv, v, vi. Daniel had acquainted Cyrus (as Jofepbus fays) with the Prophecy of Ifaiah^ in which he was fo long be- fore mentioned by Name: Hov/ever, the Lord ftirred up the Spirit of Cyrus^ by this or fome other means, to *» Lingua Arameea d'lcunt Interprctes Prophetam idcirco lociituTJi (JJe^, quia Judao} cnm Chald^is difputantes Jtre?nias injlruebat, quo* tnodo iis refpondtndum ejjtt Lingua Chaldaica- Aoravcnel. de Cap. Fidei, c. 20. G 2 * accom- 84 The Reajonablenejs and Cert amty accomplifli the Prophecy which had been delivered both by Ifaiah and Jeremiah^ concerning the Reflora- tion of the Jews^ after a Captivity of Seventy Years : And Cyrus fent forth his Proclamation, declaring that he had received his Kingdom from God , with a Charge to rebuild the Temple at Jerufalem^ 2 Chron. xxxvi. 23. And this Decree o^ Cyrus was reinforced by D^mi and y^r/^x/ : He remitted the Tribute of every feventh Year, in which, by their Law, they were obliged not to fow their Ground ; ^ which was afterwards remitted to them likewife by the Romans: He granted the Jcws^ who in great Numbers lifted themfelves in his Army , the free Ex- -j- Cic.pro Archia. p. 31; 4. § 6. 8 Diodor. Sic. 1. 17. *» Plut. de Fortun. Alex. Orat. i. 'Id. in Vit. Alex. k ^id fibi volunt in mdiis Barbarorum Regionibus Graca urhes ? ^dd inter Indos Perfafque Macedonicus Jermo ? Sen. Conlbl. ad Helv. I Hiil. Nat. 1. i 2. c. 25. "^ Jofeph. Antiq. 1. ii. c. ulc. ^ Ibid. 1. 14. c. 17. ' G 4 ercife 8 8 The Rtajonablenefs and Certainty ercife of their Religion, and promifed to grant the iame to the Jews of Babylon and Media •, and thofe of Safihallat's Fadion, who followed him into Mgypt^ he placed in Thehais, HecatcBus^ who lived m Alexander'' %T\mt^ wrote** 3 Book concerning the Jews^ in which he took No- tice of their great Zeal for their Law ; which he proves b/ tnis Inftance, That when Alexander repaired the Temple o^ Belus at Babylon^ his Soldiers, who were Jews^ could by no Means be brought to help forward that Work j and at lall the King excufed them. He related, that Hezechias the High-Prieft of the Jews^ a Venerable Man of about Sixty fix Years of Age, of great Prudence and Experience, and withal very eloquent , whom, he knew and had con- verfed with, was one, amongft others, who followed Ptclemceus Lagi, after the Battle at Gaza, in which he overcame Demetrius Poliorcetes. He mentioned like- wife, t\i^t Mofollamusd, Jew, marching with him, when the reft made a Stand, by reafon of a Bird, the Stay or Flight whereof, the Augur faid, was to be a Di- rection to them in their March, fhot that Bird in the Sight of them all, and defended what he had done, by Argument. And indeed, the Jews wanted neither Zeal, nor Wit, nor Courage, upon every Occafion, to appear in behalf of their own Religion, againft the Superftitions and Idolatries of the Heathen. This Pook of H-;cata:us was extant in the Time of Jofephus, who refers his Reader to it, and remained till ^ Eufebius^^ Time, who cites a large PalTage cut of it, in which is related this Af5lion of Mofollamus. And Jofephus appeals to the Letters of Alexander the Greats and of JPtole7na;us Lagi, and the Kings of AEgypt his Succef- fors, in Favour of the Jews, o Jofeph. contra Ap. 1. i. p. 1048. ^ifr. P Euleb. Prsepar. Evang. 1. 9. c. 4. Iff Eufebius, /je is called Mo- fomamus b^ a Mijiake. The Hcirtzu Name Melhullam is in the LXX. Hofbllam, I Chron. ix- 7, cs'f. ^ When of the Chrijuan Religion. 89 When PtolemcBUs Lagi '^ took Jerufakm^ he trans- planted ilitjews in great Multitudes into j^gypt^ put- ting m.^iiy of them into his Garrifons, and allowing them eci'jal Privileges with the Macedonians j by which Encourag-ment, many, befides thofe whom he tranfported, voluntarily went to dwell there. And the C ntiv.\<^ of that Nation, fet at Liberty by Ptole^ 7n(E: s Phiiaddphus^ were 120000. And befides the fignal Favours jmd Honours bellowed upon the Jezvs, by PtrAcfnceus Philadelphus (who like wife caufed the Holy Scriptures to be tranllated into the Greek Tongue, wliich was an exceeding great Furtherance to the Pro- pagation of Religion) ' Seleucus Nicanor granted rhem the Freedom of Antiocl\ and of the Cities which he had founded in Afia^ and the Lower Syria ; and thefe Privileges remained to them 'till Jofephus^s Time, after all which the Jews had done to deferve to be deprived of them. Antiochus the Great fent forth his Letters and Edicts, which are to be i^tn in ^ Jofephus^ in Favour of the Jews^ more efpecially in what related to their Reli- gious Worfhip. And Seleucus^ Son to this Antiochus^ after his Father's Example, out of his own Revenues, bore the Cofl belonging to his Sacrifices, 2 Mac, iii. q, Antiochus Epiphanes himfelf, at laft, under the aveng- ing Hand of God upon him, for all his impious Cru- elties, acknowledged himfelf puniihed for his Sacrilege and other Mifchiefs committed at Jerufalem^ i Mac. vi. 12, 13. and 2 Mac/\x, 17. Antiochus Pius^ when he' befieged Jerufalem^ * not only granteci a Truce for Seven Days , during the Feaft of 'Tabernacles^ but fent rich and noble Pfefents for Sacrifices ; and a Peace being concluded upon ho- nourable Conditions, with regard particularly to Re- ligion, Joannes Hyrcanus accompanied A?itiochus m ^ Jofeph. Antiq. 1. 12. c. i, 2. r Ibid. c. 3. ^ Ibid. I Ibid. J. 13. c. 16. Plutarch. Apophthegm, p. 184. Edit. Par. his 9 o The tieajonablenefs and Certainty his Parthian Expedition ; and the Feaft of Pentecoft falling the Day after the Sabbath^ Antiochus ftopt his Army thofe two Days, for the fake of the Jews, The LacedcBmonians claimed ^ Kindred with the Jews^ and ^ are fuppofed to be partly defcended from Abraham by Hagar or Kethura^ and partly from the Canaa7ntes^ who fled for fear of Jojhua^ and both * They and the Athenians and Romans enter'd into Leagues with them, which from time to time were continu'd and renew'd. Jofephus mentions a Pillar then fbanding at Alexandria, containing the Privileges ' granted to the Jews by Julius Ccefar^ ^ whofe Death was much lamented by that People. ^ A great part of the City beyond the i'lber was inhabited by Jews , and moft of them had the Freedom of the City granted to them. ^Bio obferves, that they prevail'd fo far as to make Laws for themfelves. And when no other Re- ligion was tolerated, except thofe eftablifh'd by the I^aws of the Empire, the Jews only had Allowance for a free Exercife of their Religion even in Rome it felf; and for this and many other Edicts and Decrees of the Senate in favour of the Jews^ Jofephus ^ appeals to theTables of Brafs then extant, and preferv'd in the Capitol and other Places, in which they were engra- ven : ^ Moil of which Decrees are wanting in theprinted Editions of Jofephus, but are inferted in the MSS. Co- pies, and in the Old Verfion, tho' very imperfed. V 1 M.1C. viii. xii. xiv. 2 Mac. xi. "^ Ger. VoiT. de Idolol. 1. i. c. 13. ^ Jofeph. Antiq. 1. 13. c. 9. I. 14. c. 16. Juilin. 1. 36. c. 3. y Jofeph. contra Ap. 1. 2. * Suet, in Jul. Csef. c. 84. ^ Philo. de Legat. ad Caium. *> Dio. 1. 36. <^ Jofeph. Antiq. 1. 14. c, 16. I. 16.0.4,^, 10. 1. 19. c. 4, 6. d If. Voir, de Sibyl). Orac. p. 43. liliac Voffius had dtfigrCd to pub- lip them : ^hey are lately puhliJJj*d by Gionovius under this Title -, Dccreta Romana & Afiatica pro Juda^is ad cultum Divinum per Afiae MinorLs Urbes fecurc obeundura , ab Jofepho colleda in lib. XIV. Archsolog. (td. male interverfa & expuiK^la in lucem publicam utilita- temque reftituta. The of the Chrtjhan Religion. The Su^erings and Martyrdoms under i\\t Macca^ hees ^ and the Refolution and, Conftancy which they fhew'd upon all Occafions, in defence of their Religi- on, render'd the Je-juS renowned over all Nations : And befides, their Conquefls wtre very confiderable j and the Advantages which accrued to Religion by rea- fon of them. In the time oVJohannes Hyrcanus^ *" all Idiim^ca embraced the Jewijh Religion. Ariftobulus having conquer'd great part oi Iturcca., caufedall their JVlales ^ to be circumcis'd, and to obferve the Law of Mofes^ as Straho teflifies. Under Alexander Jamiceus^ ^ the Jews took twelve Cities from the Arabians^ and became pofTefs'd of many Cities in Syria Jdumcea^ and Thosnlcia^ all which they brought over to the Profef- fion of their own Religion, and demolifh'd Fella for refufing to embrace it. The ^ Tempb built by Sanhallat^ for Manajjes^ who had marry 'd his Daughter , was an occafion of the Samaritans leaving their Falfe Gods. * Jofe^hus^ ' Em- ■phanins and "f 'T^hcophylaui clear them from the Impu- tation of Idolatry \ and ^ that they now are either I- doiaters or Saddinees^ is a Calumny of the Jews. The Zeal of the Scribes and Pharifees^ though they were Hypocrites, did exceedingly conduce to the Propaga- tion of their Religion ; for they compajfed fea aral la7td to mak'e one Profdyte , and fo far they were to be com- mended ; but then they made him two- fold more the child of hell than themfehes^ Mat. xxiii. 15. Yet (till they taught the necefTary Points of Doclrine, tho' in Hypo- crify, and with the mixtures of Superflition. Our Savi- our commands his Difciples to obferve and do what they hid them ^ but not to do after their JVorks. And it was re- quir'd of the fathers of tlie Sanhedrin^ ^ that they « Jof. Ant. 1. 13. c. 17. -^Ibid.l. 13.0.19. S Ibid. 1- 13. c. 23. 1. 14. c. 2. ^ See Mr. Mcad'i Dijcourje i 2. * Jofeph. 1.9. 'Epiphan. Hxr. 9. § 2. f ///Joh. ^ F.'Simon'j Suppl. to Leo (?/'Modeiia. ^Li^htt. Exercit.. m I Cor. xiii. i.p. ^Z^, Ihould 9 i The Reajmabien^fs and Certainty Ihould underiland many Languages, that the Sanhe- drln might hear nothing by an Interpreter ; which qua- lified the Sc7-ihes and Pharifees^ who afpired to that Dignity, to be the better able to make Profelytes, The Jews were difperfed over all the World, but chiefly feated themfelves in Rojne and Aie^andria^ and Antioch^ the three principal Cities of the Empire •, in all which they had great and peculiar Privileges. In Alexandria they had Magiilrates of their own, "" and lived under a peculiar Government by themfelves. In -^gypi they had a Temple " like that of Jemfalem^ built by Onias^ which * drew mighty Numbers of the Jews thither, and continued lor the Space of three hundred and forty three Years, till the Deilrudion of Jerufalem by Titus, And after the Building of that Te?nple^ the Bahyloman Talmud fays, that ° the Jews in Mgypt were double the Number of thofe that came out from thence under Mofes, Never any other Nati- on had fuch various Changes and Revolutions, to mix them with the reft of the World •, and never any Peo- ple were fo induilrious and zealous, and fo fuccefsful in the Propagation of their Religion. They had their Synagogues 2Lt Athens ^ Corinth^ Ephefus ^ Thejj'aloni- ca^ and in all the Chief Cities of Greece^ A5ls xvii. I, 17. xviii. 7. xix. 8. They had their Profeuchcr^ and their Synagogues for Divine Worfhip, and for Reading and Explaining the Scriptures ; which .Men of P all Religions were admitted to hear, in all Places where-ever they dwelt •, and in the Synagogues the Scriptures were read in the Greek Tongue, which was the moft univerfU Language then in the World. Some have affirmed, that as much of the Scriptures as was written in ^olomoyi\ Time, was then tranflated into the Syriac Tongue \ and there is little doubt *" Jofeph. Antiq. 1. 14. c. 12. Philo in Flacc. " Jofeph. Bell. Jud. 1. 7. c. 30. * Hieron. in -Dan. xi. o Lightf. Harm. p. 205. ' p Aas xiii. 42. •» but of the Chnjitan Religion. ■ 93 ^ but that at leail part of the Bible was tranQated into Greeks before the Time of Alexander the Great : But the Verfion of the Septuagint became foon difperfed into all Hands, which was made at the Command of Ptolemcsus Philadelphus ; to whom likewife, and his Father, ^ Ariftobidus dedicated an Expofition of the Law of Mofcs. The Jezvs in their Kalendar appoint a Fafl upon the Eighth Day of the Month fehet^ which anfwers to our Twenty Sixth of Dece^nber^ be* c^ufe the Law was then tranflated into G?rek at the Command of this King, and ^ they add, that there was Darknefs all over the World for Three Days upon that account. But this muft have been a Con- trivance of the Jews fince the Propagation of the Gofpel, when they found this Tranflation cited againfl them, and were urged by Jujlin Martyr and orhers with its Authority. The Jews of Alexaf^dria kept a Day of Rejoicing, in Remembrance of this Tranfla- tion, ^ in Pbilo's Time, and " Jofephus fpeaks with Ap- probation of the making it. But ^ when the Jews fent Men purpofely chofen, into all Countries, to blafpheme Chrift and his Religion, and inferted Im- precations upon Chriftians into their Forms of Prayer ; it is no wonder, that they fhould appoint a Fafl in De- teflation of a Tranflation, which proved fo happy an Inflrurnent in the Converfion of many to Chriflianity. By all thefe means , vail Multitudes of Profelytes were made to the Jew'ijh Religion in all Parts of the World. What Numbers there were at Rome of this Religion, we know from the Roman Poets and Fliflo- rians •, and we have as good Evidence of the fpread- ing of it in other Places. Not to repeat what' has been already related, nor to mention particular Per- q Juft.ApoI.-2. Clem. Alex. Strom, i. Eufeb. Prscpar. Evang. 1 9. c 6. 1. 13. c. I 2. ' Eufeb. Eccl. Hilt. 1. 7. c. ulr. f Scali^ Ifagog. t Phil, cle Vit. M^f. 1. 3, « Jofe;h. Antiq. J. 12. c. 2. w jy^, DJal. I fons P4 '7^^^ Reafonablenefs and Certainty fons of the greatcil Note and Eminency, nor parti- cular Cities, as Damafcus^ befides thofe already men- tioned, "" where it more remarkably prevail'd, it is e- vident what Numbers of Perfons , in all Nations, profefs'd this Religion, from the incredible Treafures which Craffus found in the Temple of Jerufalem^ be- ing Ten Thoufand Talents, amafs'd there by the Sums of Gold fent from all Places by the Jews, and fuch as became Profelytes to their Religion : And for the Truth of this, Jofepbus cites Straho^s Authority, who fays, ^ that the Jews were every where difper'd, and every where gain'd Men over to their Religion •, and that in Alexandria they had their Ethyiarchce^ or pro- per Magiftrates, by whom they were governed. And another Proof of the Multitudes o'i Profelytes made to the Jeijc'ijh Religion, may be had from the great Numbers affembled* at their Pajfovers^ and at the Feafts of Pen^ tecoft^ out of every Nation under Heaven. Thus mightily prevailed the Religion of the He- Ireijcs^ till their City and Temple, by a Divine Ven- geance , as Jofepbus often confefles , was dellroy'd ; and the Law '^ it felf, with the Utenfils of the Tem- ple, was carried among the Spoil in Titus^s Triumph. And when the Jewifb Religion had its full Period and Accomplifliment , the Chriftian Religion , which fuc- ceeded in the room of it, and was prefigured by it, foon fpread itfelf into all Corners of the Earth, and is at this Day preach'd among all Nations. But before I proceed to confider the Propagation of the Chriftian Religion , it may be requifie, I. To produce fome Teftimonies of the Heathen, concern- ing the Jews and their Religion. II. To Ihew, That there have been always remaining divers Memorials ^ Jofeph. deBcll. Jud. 1. 2. c. 25. y Joleph- Antiq.l 14. c. 12. Vid. Phil, in Flacc. & de Le- - gatione ad Caium. 2 Joleph. de Bell. Jud. 1. 7. c 17. JSfs ii. 5. a Ibid. c. 24. p;ig. 979. of the Chnfiian Religion. . 9 5^ of the True Religion among the Heathen. III. To confider the Authority of the SihylUne Oracles. I. As to the Teftimony of Heathen Authors, it were no more an Objedlion again ft what has been al- ledg'd, though they had taken no Notice of the Hif- tory of the Jews , than it can be fuppofed to be an Objedion againft the Truth of the taking of 'Troy^ or the buflding of Rome ^ that the Scriptures make no mention of either of them : Nor than it can inva- lidate the concurrent Teftimony of Hiftorians, con- cerning the Antiquity and Fame of fyre^ that " Homer makes no mention of it, tho' he often takes occafion to extol its Neighbour City ^idon. The Greek Hi- ftbrians were fo ignorant of Foreign Affairs , as " Jo- fephus has obferv'd, that Epho?'us^ one of the beft of them, thought Spain to be but one City •, and neither Herodotus nor Thucydides, nor any Hiftorian of their Times, made any mention of the Ro?nans. The Ro-^ man Authors are but of a very late Date, in compa- rifon : And the Greeks , befides their Ignorance in Antiquity, and in the Affairs of other Nations, are known to have been a vain People, who defpifed all befides themfelves, accounting them '^ Barbarians^ and taking little notice of Ro7ne it felf before they fell un- der its Power. Nothing more memorable ever befei the Romans than the taking of their Cities by the Gauls : this happened, fays "" Plutarch^ if we may credit their Chronology, which is fo confufed in things of much later Date, a little after the Year CCCLX, from the h\x\\d'm^o{ Rome. He thinks an obfcure Report of this went as far as Greece -, for which he cites Hera- elides Ponlicus, an Author of no Credit, as he\ con- feffesj and Ariftotle ^ who faid that Lucius preferved ^ Strabo lib. 1 6. '0/m,>)^(^ ^e ah f^efmrtM t»j$ iv^a", ^ Jofeph. contra Ap. 1. i. ** Nos quoque diditant barhnroSy ^ fpurcius nos, quam nllos^ OpicoS fpptUatione fcedant Cato Maj. apud Plin- liiil. Nat, 1. 29. c. 7. ^ Plutarc, in Camil, the ^6 The Reafonablenefs and Certainty the C]ty •, tho' the Prccnomeyi of Cai?iillus was Mar- cus, and not Lucius : Which is an evident Argument how little the ancient Greeks knew of Rome. * Pliny obferves, that 'Theopbrajlus was the firft that wrote any Thing, with ExaClnefs of the Ro7nans, and that Theopompus^ before whom no Author had mentioned them, only faid, that the City was taken by the Gauls \ and CUtarchus^ who next took any Notice of it, faid only, that an EmbafTy was fent from thence to Alexan- der ; but Arrian ^ proves that none was fent. The Af- fairs both of the Romans and Carthaginians^ before the fecond Punic War, were but little known to the Greeks : For which Reafon ^ Polyhius found it requifite in his Two firft Books, to give an Account of the preceding State of Romey before he entred upon the Hiftory of that War. Yet many of the Heathen Writers, as Jofephus fhews, have made famous Mention of thtjews •, though others have given a wrong and malicious Account of them^ whom he proves to contradid one another, and fome- times themfelves. Some, again, have omitted the Mention of the Jews^ though they had never fo much Occafion for it : Of which he gives a remarkable In- ftance in one Hieronymus^ who though he were Go- vernor of Syria , and wrote a Book of the Succeffors cf Alexander^ and lived at the fame Time with Heca- tcBUS^ both being contemporary v^it\\ Alexander \ yet never vouchfafed to fpeak of the Jews^ of whom He- catcBus wrote a particular Book. The general Silence in relation to the Jews^ in the Hiftories of Alexan- der's, Life which are now extant, could proceed from nothing but Envy and Ill-will ; fince it is incredible, that a People fo very confiderable as the Jews., fhould be the only Nation, whom he over-looked, without requiring the leaft Submifllon from them. But Pliny f Plin. Hill. 1. 3. c. 9. g Arrian. dc Expedit; Alex. 1. viii. c. 15. *> Polyb. 1. I . init. '-to of the Chrtjltan [ieltgion. 97 ' to whom we owe divers Things, omitced by the proper Hiftorians, informs us of ylUxander^ being ia Judcea, Bemetrlus ^ Phalareus wrote an Hiftorical Account of the Kings of the Jews. The Works of HecatcFMS^ of Demetrius^ and of many other Greek Au- thors, are now loft, which were written concerning the Jevjs^ the Fragments whereof are ftill to be feen in Jofephus^ Clem. Aley:a7idrinus^ EufeVius and others. Of thofe whofe Works remain, Herodotns^ relating the Vidory of Pharaoh Necho., m the Battle at Megid- ^, calls Jerufalem^ Cadytis -, by a fmall Variation, as ^ Dr. Lightfoot has obferved, for Kedo/J.w^ that is, the Holy City ^ the ufual Denomination of that City. *" Herodotus likewife faying, that Circumcifion was u- fed by the Syrians in PalcBJline^ muft mean the Jews : for " all others there were uncircumcifed : Tho' whea he fays, that they acknowledged themfelves to have received it from the jEgyptians^ this fhews, how much he was mifinformed concerning them, and how juft- ly the Ignor*ance of Herodotus in Things relating to the yEgypiians^ is by ** Scaliger afcribed to the Partiality of the ^Egyptian Priefts, from whom he had his Infor- mations : For they concealed all that was difgraceful, and told him nothing, but that which was for the Glory of their own Nation. And this Obfervation may well be applied to other Inftances, befides that, which gave Scaliger the Occafion to make it ; and to other Hiftorians^ befides Herodotus, It is ^ probable , that. Circumcifion was introduced by J ofeph into ^- gypt. The Colcht are thought to have received it from the Ten Tribes difperfed throughout thofe Countries, and the yEthiopians from the Pofterity of Abraham by ^ Akxmdro Magna rei ibi (injud^d) agente. Plin. Hift. lib. 12. c. 2:;. '^ Jofcph. contra Ap. 1. i. Clem. Alex. Strom, i. ■^ Lightf. Chorog. on St. Mark, c. 3. § 6, vid. Prldeaux Hid. O. and N. T. p. 57. in Herod. 1. 2. c 104. o Jofeph. contra Ap. 1. i. *» Scalig. Not. in Grxc. Fragin. p. 1 1 . P GiQl. Ep. 327. Vol. I. H Kelnra 98 The Reafonabknefs and Certa'wty Ketura. All the 'i Nations , of whom we have any Account that they obfervM Circumcifion, were either in the Neighbourhood of Pal^ftine^ or had fome Affi- nity or Communication with the Hebrews. ' Straho mentions Mofes and the ancient Jews with Commen- dation : He fays , that many, in honour to the Di- vine Majefliy, went out of yEgypt with Mofes, rejedt- ing the Worfhip of the JEgyptians and other Nations, inafmuch as Mofes inftructed them , that God was not to be worfhipped by any Image, and that he would reveal himfeif only to the Pure and Virtuous. He obferves , that Mofes had great Succefs in the efta- blifhment of his Government, and the Reception of his Laws among the neighbouring Nations , and that his SuccefTors, for fome Ages, purfued the fame Me- thods, being Juft, and truly Religious. Which Words, ' Ifaac Cafauhon remarks, deferve to be written in Let- ters of Gold. ^Diodorus Siculus names Mofes among the chief Law-givers of ancient Times. " Cadmus Milefius and Acufilaiis Argivus , the two ancienteft Greek Hiftorians, lived but a while before the Perfia?i Expedition into Greece. We have but four Greek Hiftorians remaining, who wrote before the Reign of Julius Ccefar \ and in the fir ft of them, Herodotus, we find PafTages relating to the Jews •, but Thucydides and Xenophon confining themfelves to particular Hi- ftories, could have no occafion to take notice of them : And Polyhius^s Hiftory is moft of it loft, who, ^ Muharum ex quadam parte Gentium^ ^ maxime qua 'Judaa Talajlinaque confines junt , tijque hodie populi circurnciduntur^ iff pracipue jEgyptii iff Idumai^ Jmjnonita; iff Moabit,^, iff omnis Re- gio Sarrecenorumy qua habitat in folitudine ■ cum prater jEgyp- tiosy Idumaos, Ammonitas ^ iff Moabitas, Hifjnaelkns in folitudine comrnor antes ^ quorum pkru?nque pars circumcifa efl ; omnes alia Nat to- nes in tot orbe incircumcifa fint'carne. Hieron. in Hierem. ix. 25. ' Strab. 1. 16 s Comment, in Strab. ib. ^ Diod, Sic.l. i. ^ Jofeph. contr. Ap. 1. i.fub.inic. • I in of the Chr'ijlian Religion. pg in his ''Sixteenth Book, not only mentioned the /ezvs, but faid of Jeriifale7n^ that much was to be fpoken of it, efpecially by reafon of the Fame of the Temple^ which he deferred to another opportunity. But we fee, the next general Hiflorians, Diodorus Skulus^ and Strabo the Geographer, mention them with Honour. Trogus Fompeius feems to have been one of the firfl learned Romans that ever undertook to write a Latin Hiftory ; for the " ancient Hiftories v/ritten by Ro- mans even of Confular Dignity , concerning Roman Affairs , were in the Greek Tongue : ^rogus was the firfl, at leaft, that attempted an Univerilil Hiftory in the Roman Language, and he lived but in Auguftus''^ time. He fays fo much Truth of the Jews^ that his Miftakes are the more excufable \ fmce from an Epi- tome only of fo great a Work, it cannot be known from whence they might proceed. From his Mi- ftakes we may conclude, that he had not his Informa- tions from the Jews^ and therefore did not write par- tially in favour of them. He ^ attributes their prof- perous and flourifhing State to a Mixture of Juftice v/ith Religion in their Government. He gives a very high Character of Jofeph^ {'^ijivig^ that being through Envy fold by his Brethren to foreign Merchants, who carried him into Mgypt^ he foon became very dear to the King ; that he was the firil that underftood the Interpretation of Dreams, that he foretold a Famine many Years before it happened, and preferved M:^ypty by advifing the King to provide Stores of Corn againft the time of Famine ; and that there had been fo much Experience of the Truth of his Anfwers, that they feem'd to be given rather by a God than by a Man. ^ Plmy fays, Jerufalem was the moft famous City; not wjofeph. Aiitiq. 1. 12. c. 3. » Juftin. Prsef. Dion. Hali- car. J. 1 . y Jullin. I. 36. c. 2. « Plin. Nat. Hiftv J. 5. C.I 4. H 2 only lOO The Reafonablenefs andCerta'mty only of JudcBa^ but of the whole Eaft. ^ Tacitus him- felf gives this Teftimony of the Jews^ That they wor- fliipped the Supreme , Eternal , Immutable Being. ^ Bion CaJJius fpeaking to the fame Purpofe, fays, that many had written of the God of the Jews^ and of the Worlhip which they paid him. But above all, Varro^ "" the learnedeft of the Romans^ much approved their Way of Worfhip, as being free from that Idolatry which he could not but diflike in the Heathen Religion. And it is generally agreed by all, that the Religion of the Jews was received all over the World ; and, as ^ Se- neca exprefled it, Viofi vi3forihus leges dedenint. 11. There have been always remaining divers Me- morials and Remembrances of the True Religion a- mongft the Heathen. The. Flood of Noah and the Ark ^ were generally taken notice of by Heathen Hi- florians ; and the Account of the Flood of Deucalion was ^ plainly tranfcribed from that of Noah. * Jove is a plain Depravation of the Word Jehovah-^ and Bio- dorus Siculus faid , ^ that Mofes profefled , that he re- ceived his Laws from the God l^tw, which is another Variation from it, or from Jah^ which is a Word often ufed in the Old Teftament. But both the Fathers and the Modern Criticks generally derive Jao from the ^ Tetragrajnmaton. And this proves the Antiquity of the Heathen Tradition concerning the True God ; fmce the Jevjs of latter Times would not fpeak the Name themfelves, much lefs communicate it to others. Apollo Clarius being confulted to know who the God Jao was *, anfwered. That he is the Supreme God of All, (as ' Macrobius informs us from Cornelius Laheo : ) » Tacit. Hift. 1. 15. b Dio. 1. 37. ^ S. Aug. Civ. Dei, 1. 4. c. 31. ^ Ibid. 1. 6. c. II. * Jofeph Antic]. 1. i. c. 4. Eufeb. Pnnep. 1. 9 c. 1 2. * Lucian. de Dea Syr. & in Timon. Plut. de Solert. Animal. * Mercurius, Jovis, J for they preferv'd themfelves free from all Idolatry after their Captivity in Babylon, But hov/ever hated and contemned chey might be ; yet the fame Authors who acquaint us with it, exprefs their own fenfe, rather than the fenfe of the reft of Mankind ; for at the fame time they tell 'US, that they gained every-where Profelytes. The Greeks were likewife ever defpifed by the Romans^ but ever imitated \ and v/e have now an Example of a neighbour-Nation , which is generally both imitated and fpoken againft. There dkn be no other reafonable Account given of the Agreement of fo many other Nations with the Jews^ in their Rites and Cuftoms ; but that thefe Nations, in the times of Solomon^ or fome time after, during the fiourilliing Eftate of the Kingdoms of Judah and Ifrael , or perhaps after the Captivity, and fmce the Difperfion of the Hebrews^ had conformed thenr^elves to them. ^ Ntunenius the Fythagorcean wrote, x}^2,ijannes {whom '^ Pliny calls Jaynnes) and Jambres^ the chief of the Magicians of jEgppt, by their Sorceries , withftood Mofes the Leader of the Jews^ a Man moft powerful in his Prayers to God. P" Apud. Eufeb. Praepar. Evang. 1. 9. c. 8. 1 PUn.Hift, 1. 30. c. I. H4 ATra- I04 The Reajonablenefs andCertahtt^ A Tradition, of the Manner of the Paffage of the Jfraelites through the Red Sea^ was retained among the People of Heliopolis^ related by *■ Artapanus. Mi- racles were fometimes wrought among the Heathen^ by the Invocation of the God of ^ Abraham^ Ifaac ^ and Jacob ; and thefe and other Hebrew Names, as Zebaoth and Adonai ^ were commonly ufed by the Gentiles^ in their Incantations and Exorcifms, which they retained by Tradition, though they knew not XXit Meaning nor Original of them. The Names of Seraphhn and Cherubin^ of Michael and Gabriel^ were alfo ufed to the like Purpofes, as Pfellus fays in his Expofitions of ■ Zoroafter's Oracles. " Pliny fays, the Words ufed on fuch Occafions were foreign and inef- fable ^ and the fame Character he gives of the Punick Tongue, which differed but little from the Hebrew. And "" Porphyry himfelf produced feveral Oracles af- cribing the true Wifdom and Knowledge of Religion to the Plebrews. ^ On the Gold Coafl of Guiney there is a kind of Tryal by a bitter Water, like the Tryal of Jealoufy enjoined by the Law of MofeSy Numb. V. 1 7. and feems to be a Remainder of it. "^ And in the adjacent Countries, they circumcife their Chil- dren, and reft one Day in Seven ; tho' without any Senfe of God, or his Worfhip. In the Kingdom of ^ Kachemire are fevei-al Marks of Judaifm. ^ One who relating that Circumcifion , the Water of Jealoufy , and other Rites, are in Ufe with the Inhabitants of the Gold Coaft of Guiney., fays that feveral Europeans affert, that the Negroes ftill retain many Laws and Cuftoms which favour of Judaifm^ and acknowledges p " «.i I III . .11 i » . I ■ « Apud. Eufeb, Praepar. 1. 9 c. 27.. f Orig. contra Celf. J. i. & 4. Vid. Grot, ad M,itth. xii. 27. Beavd'ola, Atcuauiv iv rcXelctt'; otpptjToc f^evlec. Fr. Patric. ^oroartr, Orac. « Plin. Hift. 1. 5. Procrm. lib. 28. c. 2. ^ Apud Eufeb. Pra^p. Evang. I. 9. c. 10. y Damp. Voyage, •Vol. 2. 2 Varen. de Diverf. Gent. Rejig. ' » Bern, jyiemoir. Tom. 4. ^ Bofman Letr. 10, 12, 18. tha^ of the Chrtfiian Religion. loy that there are divers other Ufages among them, which feem the fame in EfFedl, as well as in Name, with fuch as occur in the Old Teflament •, declares himfelf notwithitanding to be rather perfuaded, that they had all thele from tht Mahometans: When, at the fiime time he takes Notice, among the reft, of their marrying the deceafed Brother's Wife : But where is this en- joined by the Law of Mahomet P Thofe who firft travelled into China^ "" found Hebrews there, who called themfelves Ifraelites^ but knew not the Name of ^ews \ they were difperfed in divers Provinces , and read the Pentateuch in the Hebrew Tongue, in their Synagogues, without Points. The People of Bengala retained the Name of Adam •, and in Madagafcar they ** had the Names of Adam^ Eve^ and Noah. So that there is no Nation but has ftill had fome Memorials of Revealed Religion. The Obfervation of Nezv Moons^ Years of Jubilee^ and Ctrcuvicifion^ was found among the Americans^ and an infinite number of Cere- monies and Cuftoms (Hiys ^ Acofta ) which refembled the ancient Law of Mofes. They had likewife ^ a Tra- dition of Noah^s Flood, Hornius acknowledgeth ^ that the Name of Jofeph was in Ufe among the Americans^ and that they frequently mentioned the Word Alleluia in their Songs, and ufed Circumcifion ; and he fhews, that in their feveral Languages they have many Words from the Phcenician or Hebrew Tongue. * In the Reign of Darius Hyfiafpes about five hundred Years before the Incarnation of our Blefled Saviour, Zoroa- Jler appeared in the World, in whofe Books are con- tained many Things taken out of the Old Teftament; a great Part of the Plalms of David, the Hiftory of c Trigaut. de Chrift. Exped. apud Sinas, 1. i. c I2. ^ Voyage de Jean. Struvs, 7'or/7. i. « Jof. Acoita Hift. 1. 5. c. 27. 8cl 6. c. 2. f Ler. Hill Navig. in "Braf. c. 16. Pet. Mart. Dec. 6. c. 4. 8 Horn, de Orig. Airi-ric, Pr?cf. & I. 2. c. 10. & 1. 4. c. 15. ^ Hyde, de Relig. Vet. Perfarum. Pride^ux. Hill. O. an4 N. T. the io6 Tloe Reafonablenefs and Certainty the Creation and Deluge, the Mention of Adam and Eve , of Abraham , Jofeph , Mofes , and Solomon. He pretended to reduce Religion to the Purity in which Abraham taught and pradbifed it. The Name of A- hraham has for many Ages been in great Veneration among all the Seels of Religion in the Eafi^ fuppofed to have its Rife from the Ifraelites in their Difperfion after their Captivity. The Book of Zoroafter is (till extant, and had by thofe of his Sed yet remaining in Perfia , in the fame Veneration as the Bible is with Chriftians. And it has been fhewn by Clem. Alexan- drinus ^ by Eufeblus and "Theodoret ^ and by Modern Authors, that the Philofophers had generally fomc Knowledge of the Religion of the Hebrews (as it was particularly affirm'd by Numenius the Pythagoraean,) that the Brachmans alfo of India^ were not unacquaint- ed with it, and that the Laws of the wifeft Heathen Nations were taken from the Laws of Mofes. All which would have appeared in many more and plainer Inftances, if the Greeks had been more ingenuous and fincere ^ if it had not been their Cuftom to ^ derive the Names of Places from fome Hero of their own Invention ; if they had not ' kt up falfe Infcriptions ; if ^ Plagiarifm had not been a common thing among them ; and if in their Hiftories they had not changed the Names of Perfons and Places to conceal their Thefts. IIL The Oracles afcribed to the Sibyls are fo plain and fo particular, that if they fhould be admitted for genuine, not only the Revelations made to the Jews^ but all the Myfteries of the Chriftian Religion^ muft be fully difcover'd to the Heathen : But their Plain- nefs has been the Caufe why their Authority has been J' Oi (Alt ^viccXeysiv tx TrccvTX e^eAov??^, ^'C Paufan. Phocic p. 322. * £< S'ecc>^i)^4 roi'7rif(}cf.(4.fjLoCy ib. p. 355. ^ToKi ft£v yct^ $10-4. Porphyrius apud Eufeb. Praepar. Evang. 1. lo.c 3. much of the Chr'tfiian Religion. 107 much quefdon'd *, which yet ought not wholly to be rejedled, fince the Sibylline Oracles were preferv'd in the Capitol , till the Reign of Honor'ms^ when they were burnt by Stilico : and it is not to be imagined, that Juftm Martyr^ and other Chriftians , would cite Oracles which were in the poflelTion of thofe againft whom they cited them, unlefs they had been able to make good their Authority. This is a Subje(5]: which hasexercifed the Pens of many learned Men. I ihall Jiere fet down what appears to me moil probable upon the Queilion, as briefly as I can. I. It is evident from Virgil^ that in the Verfes of the Sibyl of Cuma^ the Birth of fome Great Perfon was foretold •, and from 71///)?, tliat this Perfon was to be a King : though both in l^ully and Firgil the Pro- phecy be mifapply'd to a wrong Perfon. The fourth Eclogue of Firgil contains the Senfe of the Sibyl j, and however it were defign'd by him , is in moft tilings much more applicable to our Saviour^ than to the Per- fon whom he defcribes. In Catiline^s Confpiracy , Lentulus flatter'd himfelf with the hopes of being a King , from ^ the Sibylline Oracles. And from the fame Oracles, as well as from the Scriptures, it is probable the Expectation of a King , who fhould arife out of Judea , which both Suetonius and I'acitus mention, "" was fprea(J throughout the Eaft, What "Tully fays [/f/?. 2. de IDivin.'] in difparage- ment of this Oracle, is not much confiderable in the cafe-, becaufe that whole Book is written with a de- fign to difparage all Divination in general : For be- ing an Academic, as he profefTes throughout his-Books of Philofophy, he ackncwledg'd no more of any part of their Religion, than was juit ncceflary to comply with the Laws, as he owns himfelf in divers places. However, from him it appears that a Sibylline Ora- 'Tull in Catilin. Orat. 3. Sailiut Bell. Catilin. « Tacit. Hilt. 1. 5. Sue^on. in Vcipal". c, .4. cle I o 8 The Reafonahlenefs and Certainty cle was alledged to the Purpole there mentioned ; and that being in Favour of Ccsfar^ and of Monarchy, if there had been no other, was Caufe enough for ^ully to rejedl it, and turn it to Ridicule ; who, " when this Oracle was applied to Ptolemy King of Mgypt^ had another Opinion of it. 2. Though the Verfes of the Sibyl of Cuma were burnt with the Capitol, A. U. C. dclxxi. yet Virgil exprefsly naming Cuma^ this Sihyrs^ Verfes mull be flill remaining, or fuppofed to be fo ; unlefs what he writes became fome Way or other known before the burning of the Capitol, and was delivered afterwards down by Tradition. Tully quotes Sibylla Erythrcoay [lib, I. de Divin.] and if he mean the fame Sibyl m the 2^ Book, Martianus Capella fays, ° that Sibylla E- rythrcea and Ctunana were the fame. And in the Search which was made for the Sibylline Oracles in Italy^ and in all other Places where there was any Probabi- lity of finding any Remains of them, after the Burn- ing of the Capitol, it is likely her Verfes might be re- covered. For P Valerius Maximus fays, that M, Tul- lius (as he calls him, not Attilius) was put to Death by Tarquinius, for fuffering Petronius Sabinus to tran- fcribe the Sibyl^s Verfes ; and whether they were dif- perfed in divers Copies before it were difcovered, fo as not to be fupprelTed, it is not known. "^ Auguftus caufed a diligent Search to be made for the Sibylline Verfes, in all Places where they were fuppofed to be preferved, and thofe which were judged to be genuine, he ordered to be kept with great Care. This was a- bout eleven Years before the Birth of Chriil-, and from hence Virgil feems to have contrived his Poem. But if they were the Verfes of fome other Sibyl, which went under the Name of the Sibyl o^ Ciwia^ after hers were » Qaemadmodum homines Religiofi Sibyllse phcere dixcrunt. Cic. Epift ad Famil. L. i. Ep. 7. o Martian. Capcl. Nupt. Philolog. 1. 2. P Val. Max. I. i. C, I. *i Tacit. Annal. 1. 6. Sueton. Aug. c 31. burnt of the Chrijitan Religion. 109 burnt with the Capitol, it is not much material ; how- ever, the Romans certainly thought they had the O- racks of the Ciiman Sibyl : For, as La^antius fays, ' they allowed the Verfes of all the other Sibyls to be copied out and publifhed, though they would not fulfer thofe of Cuma to be read, but by Order of the Senate. Notwithftanding all this Care, they could not keep them concealed •, for we meet them often quoted by Heathen Authors. Indeed, the Oracles in the Capitol ^ were only Copies taken from Originals which were ^eft in thofe Places, from whence the Romans had their own Copies tranfcribed ; and the Originals might be read, and other Copies taken, how carefully foever the Romans kept their own. 3. It being known that the Sibylline Oracles con- tained Things which concerned the Kingdom of the Mejfias^ and the Verfes themfelves being in divers Hands, this gave Occafion to fome to make many more Verfes, under the Name of x.\\t Sibyls^ relating the whole Hiftory of our Saviour, i^c. But if the Sibyls Verfes had been all burnt or loft, or if they had been kept fo clofe, that no Body could poITibly come to the Knov/ledge of them, without Leave from the Senate, there could have been no Pretence for any Impollure, nor would the Chrifbians ever have alledged them as genuine. Celfus objecfls only, 'That many Things were added to the Verfes of the Sibyls. Not that they were all Counterfeit, or that the Chriflians had no Means of coming by the True : Which was an Ad- vantage that an Adverfary much lefs fubtle than Celfus would not have omitted, if there had been any Ground for it. Origen replies. That it was a malicious Accu- fation, arid that he was able to bring no Proof of it, by producing ancient Copies more genuine than thofe which the Chriftians made Ufe of ^ Blondel aro-ues *■ Laflant. de falsa Relig. c. 6. Sc Epit. c. ^. ^ Dionyf. Halicarn. 1. 4. Feneftella apud La^ant. ihid. I Origen. contra Ceir. 1.7. » Lib. 1. cap. 18, very no The Reafonablenefs and Certainty very well, that it had been the greatefl Rafhnefs and Imprudence imaginable , and mofl deflrudlive of the Defign at which they aim'd , the Eftabliihment of Chriftianity , for the Fathers to cite Books, which the Heathen were fure could never come to their Knowledge, and which thofe, to whom they cited them, knew to contain no fuch things as they pre- tended to produce from them. " When this, fays *' he^ is as impudent and fenflels, as iffomej^ze?, from *' Writings lately forged, full of Criminal Acufati- *' ons againft the Saviour of the World jfhould *« maintain to the very Faces of Chriflians, that he *' found them in the NewTeftament, that the A- *' poflles were the Authors of them, and that the *« Church having always had them in her Cuflody, ** had concealed them." He fays, '' That this and *' much more to the fame purpofe, any Man of com- *' mon Reafon might eafily perceive, and th^t Jujlin ** Martyr would have obferv'd if, if he had confider'd *' things with more Calmnefs." But what is there in all the Writings of Juftin Martyr , that difcovers his Want of Calmnefs, or rather, that does not fhew him to have been confiderate, learn'd and prudent? He * is effedually vindicated from the Miflake , with which he has been charged, concerning the Statue e- reeled at Rome , of Simo?i Magus : and a ^ probable Account has been given, that not by his', but by fome Tranfcriber's Miflake, Herod \% made contemporary with Ptolemceus Philadelphus, However, every candid Reader mull acknowledge, as well that Juftin Martyr could not be fo far ignorant of the Age when Herod liv'd, as that it was impolTible for fo obvious Incon-* veniencies , as Blondel mentions , to efcape the Obfer- vation of Juftin or any of the Fathers, or almoll of any other Man. If Juftin Martyr were Void of all •» Tillemont. Memoir. Eccl. Tom. 2. Part. i. p. 340. 3' Grabe not. in Apoi. i . r* r Senfe ' 9 • I of the Ch rift tan Reltgton. Ill Senfe and Modefty, would the reft have purfued the fame Courfe of Folly, only to make themfelves ridi- culous and odious by his Example : They were neither impudent nor ftupid Men, and that which could pro- ceed from nothing, but a mixture of Impudence and Stupidity, can with no Reafon or Juftice be charged upon them •, and therefore they muft be allow'd to have cited the genuine Verfes of the Sibyls. And if the Sibyls had delivered nothing relating to thefe Matters, why fhould any one counterfeit Verfes in -^heir Name, rather than under the Title of any other Oracle ? There muft be fome Ground and Foundation of Truth, to give any Opportunity or Pretence to the counterfeiting of it: And the Prophecies of the Sibyls concerning Chrift ^ muft be the Occafion of all the ad- ditional Prophecies which were fal fly afcrib'd to them. 4. Ifaac Vojfjius thought that great part of thefe O- racles werecompos'dby the Jezvs. And indeed, Pau- fanias fays, "^ one of the Sibyls was by the Jews called Sahha\ the fime, I fuppofe, who is mentioned by * Milan •, and by Siddas^ faid to be defcended from Noah^ and named Sambethe^ called the ChaldcBan^ and by fome the Hebrew^ and alfo the Perfian Sibyl ; whom *}• Alexander ab Alexandra calls Sibylla Judcea ; though % Jofephus cinno^ a Sibyl concerning the Tower of i^^x- ,hel^ gives no fuch Account of her, but rather fuppofes the contrary. Which Pafilige islikewife cited hy ""The- ophilus Antiochenus , and is ftill extant in the Sibylline Books. But if thefe were only Heathen Oracles, yet there is reafon to believe that the Predidions concerning Chrift were very plain , though not fo particular as thofe now fet down in the Sibylline Books •, both be- caufe the Heathen having but few Oracles of this na- * Paiifan. inPhocic. p. 328^^ * ^lian. 1. 12. c. 35. t Alexand. ab Alex. I.3.C. 16. t Jofeph. Antiq.l. i. c :. » Ai Autolyc. lib. 2. Sibyl, lib. 3. ture. 112 The Reafonablenefs and Certamty ture, and fo many of a quite contrary Nature, it was the more necefTary that thefe fhould be plain ; and be- caufe we find, that when God, in his infinite Wif- dom, faw it fitting to reveal himfelf to others, he did it in as plain a Manner, and fometimes in a plainer, than he did to his own People in any one Prophecy. Thus Bahamas, Prophecy is as plain as any Prophe- cy of that Time at lead ; and our Saviour difcovered himfelf more plainly to the Woman of Samaria, than he had yet done to any of his Difciples, John iv. 26. Not to mention the Dreams of Pharaoh and Nebu- chadnezzar^ or the MefTage of Jonah to the Nineviles, And as Balaam, an Inchanter or Sorcerer, delivered a true and famous Prophecy of Chrift, and the Devils were forced to confefs him to be the Son of God ; fo it is reafonable to believe, that God might ordain, that thefe celebrated PropheteiTes, whofe Oracles were other- wife the Devil's Inftruments to promote his Ends, fhould foretel our Savioi^r's Coming : And yet St. y^u- guftine afTures us, ^ that the Sibylla Eryihrcea, or Cumana, had nothing of Idolatry in her Verfes •, but fpoke fa much againft it, that he believed her to belong to the City of God. 5. The Difference which there is between Virgil's Fourth Eclogue, and the Tranflation of it into Greek, in Conftantine^s Oration, is rather an Argument /^r tho. Authority of the Sibylline Oracles, than againft it. For *" Conftantine was wont to compofe his Orations and Epiftles in Latin, and they were tranflated into Greek by fome whom he employed in that Service : And the Author of the Tranflation tranflated only what was properly Virgil's •, but when he came to what was by Virgil borrowed from the Sibyl, he wrote down the Ori- ginal Greek, nor tranflating the Variations which Virgil had made from it, to apply the Prophecy to his own Subjefl. »i • I- . III. . . ■ ^ I -I ,1 I . I ^ ■ n *» Auguil. Civ. Dci.l. i8. c. 23. ^ Eufeb. Vit. Coiill. I. 3. c. 13. It of the Chrlfimn Rdigion. 113 It is well known, that tiie Ancients took as great a Liberty as this in their Tranflations^ and it was the more allowable, when there could be no D-fign or Likelihood of Deceit in the Tranfiation of fo famous a Poem as that Eclogue of Virgil, This was but to point out the Alterations which Virgil had made, and to fhew how eafily thefe Parts of his Poem might be fupplied from the Original Greek : And perhaps this was a known Tranflation of that Eclogue which had been made with this Defign. It were no difficult Matter, to Anfwer all the O- ther Objedions which are wont to be brought a- gainil the Sibylline Oracles , fo far as the Notion here propofed is concerned in them. For though the Books which we have now, contain manifefl Falfifica- tions and Forgeries j yet there muft have been fome- thing real, to give a Pretence and Countenance to fo many elaborate Forgeries of this Nature, and that was the Sibylline Oracles mentioned in Tully^ Salluft^ Virgil,, &c. We may therefore conclude, that the True Religion received a con fiderable. Promulgation from thefe Oracles,, which ferved to awaken in the Gentiles an Expedation of a King to be born in 'Judcea, K\ foon as the Gofpel appeared in the World, like the Riling Sun, it diffufed its Divine Light and In- fluence into all Parts of the Earth •, its Propagation was it felf a Miracle, and anfwerable to that miracu- lous Power of Languages, and other Means by which it was accomplifhed. 'Tertullian acquaints us, ^ that it was foon propagated beyond the Bounds of the Ro- man Empire ; he fpeaks of the Northern Parts of Britain. One, who was mod capable of knov/ing , St. Clement,, his Fellow-labourer, acquaints us, ^ that ^ Tertul. adv. Judasos, c. 7. ^ K)»^y| yevo^ev®- £v re rrj UVxlo^.-fi, KCCl £V TVi ^VO-Hy l . -... KBCl tTT I TO Tf^/M.* TSJ5 Sv(riUi t?\Bm. Clem. Rom. Ep. i. c 5. Vol. I. I St. 114 ^^^ Reafonablenefs and Certainty ^t, Paul went as far as the Weft , according to the Geography of thofe Times, extended. Which fhews, that he accomplifh'd his Intention {Ro7n. xv, 24, 28.) of going to Spain, And it is probably fuppos'd, that he landed in Britain , and made fome flay here in his PafTage. And we know it receiv'd as early a Pro- pagation in other Places more remote, being preach- ed by St. Bartholo77iew ^ to the Indians^ by St. 'Thomas to the Parthians,, and to the Scythians by St. Afidrew, ^ St. Thomas preached likewife to the Indians^ and St. Matthew to the Perfians, In ^ general we are told, that the Apoflles preached to the Perfians^ Ar- menians^ Parthians, Scythians , Indians , and Britans , to ' the Indians, ^Egyptians, and ^Ethiopians, that they preached ^- not only to all under the Roman Empire, bur to the Scythians, the Sarmatians, the Indians, the ^Ethiopians, the Per/tans , the Seres , (Chinefes) the Hyrcanians , the BaElrians , the Britans , the Cimhri, the Germans, and in fhort to all Nations. The Eunuch Treafurer to Candace Queen of ^Ethiopia , being con- verted and baptized by St. Philip, returned and preach- ed the Gofpel there : whereby ^ St. Cyril of Jerufalem obferves, that Prophecy of the Pfalmift was fulfilled, ]Ethio^\2i Jhall foon ftretch out her hands unto God, Pfal. Ixviii. 3 1 . In St. Auguftin'^ time, "" the Chriftians were more numerous in all the known Parts of the World, than the Jews and Heathens together. " Theodoret fays, that but very few Gentiles, Three or Four, in comparifon, continued in their Infidelity, and that they valued themfelves upon being fingular , and not led away with the Multitude : And we have reafon to believe, that the Zeal of the Apoflles, and their immediate f Eufeb. Hift. L3.C. I. &1. 5. CIO. Socr. 1. i.e. 19. g Ambrof. in Pfal. xlv. ^ Eufeb. Dem. Evang. I. 3 . c 7. * Theodoret. Tom. i . in Pfal . cxvi. ^ Id. Tom. 4. Serm. 9. 1 Catech. 17. »" St. Aug. deUtilit. Crcdendi, c.7. n Theodoret. in Pfal. Ixv. 7. Difciples of the Chri/iian Religion. i ^ y Difciples and Followers, had carried the glad Tidings of the Gofpel farther , than either Ambition or Ava- rice it fclf,* 'till of late Years , had made any Difco- veryi which Tertullian likewife fufficiencly intimates. ° Le Coinpte thinks, that St. nomas in Perfon, or by his Followers , propagated the Gofpel in China , be- caufe the Indians had then great Dealings with the Chinefes^ to whom ^ he fays, almofb all India was Tributary. And the Chrillian Religion, which had anciently been preached throughout the Eaft^ received *an additional Propagation under Ta?nerlane , in the beginning of the Fifteenth Century. For that migh- ty Prince , who conquered the Mufcovites , brought China under his Power, and by his Viclories over the Turks ^ eftabliflied the Greek Emperor in his Domi- nions, and fubdued Mgypt^ had with him many Chri- ftians fkilful in feveral Arts and Sciences, whom he brought from all Places where he had been with his Armies, or who had been recommended to him. Axalla a Genoefe^ who had been bred up with him, was a Chriftian^ and in great Favour and Authority under him. The Chriftians were his bed and chief- eft Soldiers , upon whom he moft relied ; he repofed as much Truft and Confidence in them, as in his Na- tural Subjedls, and more than in the moft zealous Mahometans, He gave out Orders all over his vaft Empire, that Chriftians Ihould have the free Exercife of their Religion, and that Chrift ftiould be honoured and reverenced by all Men \ and the Chriftian Wo> Ihip was daily performed in his Army. This Em- peror had in his Dominions many Countries, where the Inhabitants were all Chrijiians, and he-, com- manded that the Chriftians fhould be every where ufed with as much refpedl and elteem , as thofe of the Mahometan Religion. All which is ^ related in c Le CoupieV Memoirs, p. 346. ^ Hiji. /Tamerl. by Sandlyon. c 2, 7. I 2 ' the 1 1 6 The Reafonabknefs andCertainty the moft authentick Account that has been publifh- ed of the Life of this great Emperor. The Crofs was found to be in Ufe amopg the Chi-^ tiefes^ by thofe who firft went from Europe "^ into China ; and a Bell was feen there, which had Greek Chara6lers engraven on it : And thofe who honoured the Crofs were in fo great Numbers in the Northern Provin- ces, that they gave Jealcufy to the Infidels. The Chriftians there were called Ifai^ from the Name Jefus : And from the Chaldee Books which were found upon the Coafts of Malabar^ it appears that St. Thomas preached the Gofpel in China ^ and founded many Churches there. The PalTages which prove this, may be feen in Trigautius and Semedo^ tranflated out of thofe Books. Nicolas de Conti ' faith of the Chineje^ that when they rife in the Morning, they turn their Faces to the Eaft^ and with their Hands joined, fay, God in 'Trinity keep us in this Law, The Gofpel was preached in China^ ^ by fome who came fvomjudc^a, and feem to have been Monks, ^. D, Dcxxxvi, as it appears by a Marble Table e- redled yf. D. dcclxxxii, and found ^, D. mdcxxv. This Monument contains the principal Articles of the Chrillian Faith, written both in Syriack and in Chinefe Charadiers -, the Subflance of the Infcription may be feen in Le Co?npte^s Memoirs^ and the whole is tranflated by Semedo. Hornius * indeed rejeds this Infcription (which was likewife produced by Kircher) as counterfeit ; but without any Caufe, that I can perceive : For if it were a. Fraud, there is no reafon to think that we fliould not find all the Points of Popery infer ted in it. jlndreas Mullerus^ in his O- pifcula Orientalia, has fet down the Original, with a New Tranflation and a Paraphrafe and Comment 1 Trigaut. de Chrift. Expedit. apud Sinas, 1. i. c. ii. Alvar. Se- medo Hift. of C/jI?ia, Part. i. c 31. ' Purch. Part. i. 1. 4, c. 16. ^ Le CompteV Memoirs^ p. 348. Semedo ib, « Horn, de Orig. American. I 4. c. 1 5. Upon of the Chrlfltan Religion, . 117 upon it, wherein he examines what Kircher had ob- lerved from this Infcription in Favour of the Romifh Dodlrines. Oforius writes, " that the Brachmans believed a Tr/- 7iity in the Divine Nature, and a God Incarnate to procure the Salvation of Mankind ; and that the Church of St. nojjias was elleemed moft Holy a- niong the Saracens^ and other Nations, for the Re- port of Miracles wrought there. The Gentiles of Indoftan "" retain fome Notion of the 'Trinity^ and of the Incarnation of the Second Per- fon, though corrupted with fabulous Stories. The People of Ceylon ^ do firmly believe the Re- furre5lion of the Body, The ^ Talapoins of Siarn have their Convents and Chaplets, and there are generally both ^ Monks and Nuns among the Gentiles of the Eaft- Indies, As the Fabulous Deities of other Hea- then Nations were framed upon corrupt and abfurd Allufions to feveral Hillorical Truths in the Old Teftament •, fo the Sia??ifes feem to have contrived their Religion by a profane Mixture of the Myfteries of Chridianity with their own impious Fancies: For they ^ report of Thevetat^- that he was the Author of a Schifm in Religion, and that for his Enmity to his Brother Sojnmonacodofn^ he is puniHied in Hell, by being hung upon a Crofs, with Nails pierced through his Hands and Feet, and his Head crowned with Thorns. And this is made a great Objection by their Priefts againft our Religion, that the Chriftians are the Difciples of Thevetat. "" Their God Sofnmonaco- dom is faid to have been born of a Virgin , and his " Hieron. Ofor. de Rebus Eman. Lufitan. Regis, I. 2. * Continuat. of Bernier''s Memoirs. Tom. 3. y Capt. Knox's Hi/i . of Ceylon, Part. 3. c. 5. "^ Loubere de Royaume de Siam. Tom. i. Part- 3. c. 17. Voyage de Siam. des Peres Jef. Vol. i. 1. 6. - Theven. Trav. Part. 3. c. 36. Bernier. Memoir. Tom. 3. b Voyage de Siam. ib. ^ ILl'^, 1 3 t Mother's 1 1 1 J ' I I 11. II 8 The Reafonablenefs and Certamty ^ Mother's Name in the Book written in the Balie Tongue , which contains the Myfteries of their Re- ligion , is Maha Maria , which fignifies the Great Mary : tho' it is as often written Mania or Maria ; and thefe Books do likewife relate , that his Father was King of Ceylon. This Inconfiftency fhews, that they have mixt the Chrifiian Myfteries with Fables and Traditions of their own. The Indians in America ^ worfliipped a God , who, they faid, was One in nree and Three in One. They baptized ^ their Children, and ufed the Crofs in Bap- tifm , having a great Veneration for th^ Crofs, and thinking it a Prefervative againft Evil Spirits •, they believed the 8 Refurre6lion of the Body •, they had Monafteries, Nunneries, Confeflbrs and Sacraments;- And the Mexicans^ "^ in their ancient Tongue, called their High-Priefts Papa^s., or Sovereign Bilhops, as it appears by their Hiftories. It is a remarkable Relation which Lerius gives ' of the People of Brafil., That when he had difcourfed to them concerning Religion , and endeavoured to perfuade them to become Chriftians; one of their ancient Men anfwered. That he had declared excel- lent and wonderful Things to them, which put him in mind of what they had often heard from their Fore-fathers •, That a long wWle ago , many Ages before their time, there came a Stranger into their Country, in fuch a Habit, and with a Beard, as they fiw the French wear, (for thefe Americans have none) who preached to thern in the fame manner, and to the fame effecfl, as they had now heard him do -, but that the People would not hearken to him. Upon which L^mi obferves, that Nicephorus writes, That St. Matthew preached the Gofpel to Cannibals ; and d Loubere, ib. p. 24. « Jof. Acoll. Hilt.l. 5. c. 28. f Pet. Mart. Decad. 4. c. 8. &Decad. 8. c. 9. S Lerii Navigat. in Braf. c. 16. ^ Acoll. 1. 5. c. 14, 23, 24, 2?. J Lerius Navieat. ib. * he- ^ //^d* Chriflian Religion. 119 he thinks it not improbable, that fome of the ApoflJes might pafs into America^ that the Sound of the Gofpel might^^ into ail the Earth. And it is obfervable, that he found many Words in the Brafilian Language taken out of the Greek Tongue. Hornius ^ owns, as every Man elfe mufl do, that con- fiders it, that there are manifefl Tokens of the Rites aad Dodrines both of the Jewifi and Chriftian Reli- gion among the Americans^ as of Circumcifion^ Baptifin^ the ^rinity^ the Lord's Supper^ &c. but then he is for ^bringing the Jeivs and Cbriftians thither his own way, and will have the Jews come in company of the Scy- thians ; and the Chriftian Rites to be brought in with the ^urks and X^^tars^ or from Japan and China : Though he likewife approves and confirms the Rela- tion which Powel and Hackluyt give of a Colony tran- fplanted into America^ by Madoc^ from Wales, Several Ufages which are obferved to be among the Natives, by the Mifllonaries, both in the Eaft and fVeft- Indies^ and to have a near Refemblance to their own Rites, feem to prove that there have formerly been Chriftian Monks amongft them, rather than that this pro- ceeds (as the MilTionaries imagined) from an Ambition that the Devil has to Ape, as they fay, what is done in God's Service •, or that we may conclude , as fome Proteftants have done a little too haftily, that this it felf is a fufficient Argument, that the Devil is the Au- thor of fuch Rites, becaufe they are found amongft his Worfhippers. If we confider the vaft numbers of Monks, in ancient Times, in the Earftern Parts of the World, who were Men of an active and 2nde£>t!- gable Zeal, it may well be fuppofed, that fome of them might find the way into thofe Countries which have been but lately difcovered to the reft of the World. k Horn, de Orig. Americ. I 3. c. 2. & I.4. c. 35* 1 4 It I2Q The Rt^afon abknefs and Cenaint^ It is evident from the unanimous Teilimony both of Proteftants and Papfts^ that there are manifeft To- kens, in all Parts of tne World, that the Chrifiian Religion has been preached amongfl them. And it mufr, in common Juilice, be confened, that the latter JViifTionaries have preached the Gofpel among the In- dians with great Zeal and Succeis. A King ot Ceylon ^ received Baptifm , and was very zealous to bring over his Suojeds to the Ciiriilian Faiih ; and one of their moll learned Men became a Ciiriitian at the fame Time \ but the King was depofed by his Idola- trous Subjects. Some ot tiie Kings of Congo "" have been converted : One "" of whom, Alpbonfo, deflroy- ed all the Idols, and propagated the Chriftian Faith with great Zeal : He fent his Sons, Grandfons and Nephews to Portugal to Itudy •, T v. o of them were afterwards Bilhops in their own Country. The King o{ Monomotapa ° reigning yf. Z). mdcxxxi, was a Chri- ftian, P Bernier computes the Number of Chriftians in the Kingdom of Bengale^ at between Thirty and Forty Thoufand, And m Japan ^ A, D. mdcxiii, there were Four hundred Thoufmd Chriftians, who were all deftroyed ' by the Perfecution raifed, through the Covetoufnefs of fome Butch Merchants, and their rnalicious Plots and Contrivances, to engrofs the Trade of thofe Iflands to themfelves. And indeed, by the Accounts which we have of thofe Parts, the Lives of the Europeans have been fo fcandalous, and fo contra- ry to their Religion, that befides the Guilt of the Sins themfelves, they have a great deal to anfwer, for that that Hindrance which they have thereby given to the Progrefs of Chriftianity among thofe poor People , ' Tavern. Voyages deslndes, 1. 3. c. 4. ' »" Varen. de diverfis Gent. Relig, Tavern. Voyage de Perfe, c 14, $t Ofor. de rebus Eman. 1. 3, 8, 10. n Faria's Portng. Afia. Tom. i. Part. i. c. 3. o Tavern, ibid. P Memoir. Tom. 4. ^ Ibid. • Varen* de Relig. in Regno Japon. c. u» who^ of the Chrijitan Religion, 121 who have generally fhewn a good Inclination and For- wardnefs to be inftrucled •, and in Times of Perfecu- tion, both from Mahometans and Idolaters^ even Chil- dren have born all Sorts of Torments *" with wonderful Courage and Patience. Several Kings oi Japan ' have been converted. And in China^ many of their principal Mandarines^ or Go- vernors, have been eminent for their Zeal in the Chri- ilian Religion ; and though the Chinefes are naturally ^very timorous and cowardly, yet in all Times of Per- fecution, they have been obferved to continue firm and Itedfafb in the Faith. We are told, that the Mo- ther, the Wife, and the Eldeft Son of the Emperor of Chbia^ were formerly converted, and that there is lately an Edi6t published in Favour of the Chriftian Religion in Cbina^ that a Prince of the Blood is be- come a Chriftian , and that the Emperor himfelf has caufed a Church to be ereded in his Palace, and lodges the MilTionaries near his own Perfon. And in the fFeJi-Indies^ Cortes wrote to the Emperor, That the People of Mechoachan " fent to him for an Ac- count of his Religion, being weary of their own, for its cruel and bloody Rites. It is obfervable. That Chriftianity has been ftill profefTed in thofe Parts of the World where there has been moft Learning and Commerce -, where tr.ey have been mod able, and have had moft Opportuni- ties to inftrud: other Nations. To which end, the vaft Extent fir ft of the Greeks and Latin^ and Syriack^ and fince of the Ferfick , and Sclavonian , and Arabick Tongues, has been very advantagious •, the Scriptures of the New Teftament being written in the firii, and tranflated into all the reft. And though, by the Jult •^MafFei Hift. Ind lib. i6. t Varen. de Japan, c. 6. Semed. Hi/}. ^ China, part. 2. Bell. Tartar. Le Compte, p. 4S0. " Jof. Acoit. 1. 5. c. 22. and 11 z The KeaJ'onableneJs andCertatnty and Wife Providence of God, Mahometans and Idola- ters have been fuffered to poflefs themfelves of thofe Places in Greece^ Afia^ and Africa^ where the Chrillian Religion formerly moft fiourifhed •, yet there are ftill fuch Remainders of the Chrijlian Religion amongil them, as to give them Opportunity to be converted ; and when their Sins fhall not hinder, to reflore the Gof- pel to thofe Countries, as before. For, by Mr. Berewood's Account , "^ in the Dominions of the Turk in Europe , the Chriftians make two third parts at leaft of the Inhabitants *, and in Cofiftantinople it M^, he reckons above Twenty Chrijlian Churches, and above Thirty in Theffalonica^ where the Mahometans have (or had) but Three Mofques. * The Greeks have twenty fix Churches within the Walls of Con- Jiantinople^ befide fix in Galata , and as many of the Wefiern Chrifiians of the Roman Communion. "" 'Phi- ladelphia^ now called Ala-Jhahir , has no fewer than twelve Chriftian Churches. ^ The whole Ifland ofChio is govern'd by Chrijlians^ there are above thirty Latin Churches, and more than live hundred Greek, And in fome other Iflands of the Archipelago there are none but Chrifiia:is. Which, by ^ Sir P^2^/ RicatU^s Account of the prefent State of the Ottoman Empire, has not been without very conliderable Effe « Riciut'i Uiil.. of the Ottomaa Eitfure-j I s, c, it^iSo of the Chrtjltan Religion, 123 the good Followers of the MelTiah , and fome have fuf- fercd Martyrdom in maintainance of this Doftrine. And the Turkijh Soldiers , in the Confines of Hun^ gary and Bofnia , read the Gofpel in the Sdavonian Tongue. ^ Bernier writes , that in Mogul , though the MifTionaries make fome Progrefs among the Gen- tiles , yet they do not in ten Years make one Chriftian "^ of a Mahometan : But he fays, that the Great Mogul, Jehan Gu'ire ^ Grandflither o{ Aiircng-Zebe ^ confenced that Two of his Nephews fliould be Chriftians \ and declares, that the Mahometans have venerable Thoughts of our Religion; that they never fpeak of C/6r//?, but with great Reverence •, that they never pronounce the Word Ayfa^ i. e. Jefus , without adding that of Azaret^ which fignifies Majefty ; that they agree with us, that he was miraculoufly born of a Virgin- Mother, and that he is the Kelum-Allab ^ and the Rough-Allah^ the Word of God', and the Spirit of God. All which is no more than the Alcoran teaches them, nor than the Mahometans of Per/ta and Morocco profefs to believe. ^ The Perfian Mahomet ants re^ ceive among their facred Books , ih^Pentateuchy the Pfalms, all the Books of the Prophets, and the Four Evangelifts : And the Reading thefe Books of Scrip- ture, has been the means which God has been pleafed to make ufe of for the Converfion of many Perfons of great Eminency. In the Kingdom of Morocco^ they receive the Bocks of Mofes^ the Pfahns^ and the four Gofpels , and obferve the Peilival of St. John ; ' tho' in the Gofpels they follow the falfe Glofles of Sergius 2iX\<^ the Alcoran. '^ Sir Thomas lioe obferves, that the Great Moguls ErharSha^ .gave the Mifilonaiies all manner of Encouragement and Affiftance , witii full Liberty to all forts of his Subje(^]:s to become Chriftians^- even to his vivn Court and Bloody and that • Memoir. Tom. 3. ^ Sanfon. Royaume de Perfe. c Relation de i'Empire de Maroc. par Mr: dc S. Olon. ^ Lett.Oaob. 30.1616, neither 124 ^^^ Reafonablenefs and Certainty neither Jehan Guire, to whom he was fent EmbafTa- dor, nor any of all the Seds in his Kingdom, uttered any difrefpedful Words of Chrijl^ as they did not forbear to do of Mahomet ; which^ Hxys he, is a won- derful fecret working of God's "Truths and worth ohferving. It is alfo obferved lately by a " learned Author, that the Chrijlians had better Terms from Mahomet himfelf, than any other of his Tributaries ; and that there is no Mahometan Country where the Chriftian Religion is not elleemed the bell, next their own ^ and the ProfefTors of it accordingly ref])eded by them, before any other Sort of Men that diifer from them. In /Lnca^ befides the Chriftians living in Mgypt^ and in the Kingdom of Congo 2ind Angola^ the lilands upon the Weftern Coafls are inhabited by Chriftians s and the vaft Kingdom of Habaffia, or Ahaffinia^ fuppofed to be as big as Germany^ France^ Spain^ and Italy^ taken together (according to Mr. Brerewood's Com- putation) is pofTeffed by Chriftians. And 'till Ms than Two hundred Years ago. Nubia ^ a Country of a great Extent, lying between the Mquator and the Northern Tropick^ continued, as it's believed, from the Apoftles Times, in the Chriftian Religion. In Afia^ he fays, moft part of the Empire of Ruffia, the Coun- tries of Circajjia and Mengrelia, Georgia, and Mount Libanus, are inhabited only by Chriftians, befides the Difperfion of them into other Parts, under the Deno- mination of Neftorians, Jacobites, Marionites, and Ar- menians, the laft of which are a People exceedingly addifted to TrafHck % and have great Privileges grant- ed them by the Turks, and other Mahometans-, they are found in Multitudes in moft Cities of great Trade, and are more difperfed than any other Nation but the Jews. ^ Their Patriarch of Moful, or Babylon, is faid to have had more than a Thoufand Bifhops under e Dr. Pridcaux'j Life ^/Mahomet. ^ BrerevvoodV Enquir, c. 24. S Otto Frilingenfis Chron. 1. 7. c 31. vid. Morin. de Syr. Neflorianorum Ordinat. ^ ^ ninij of the Chr'tfltan Rehgion. j 25- him, and is therefore ftyled Catholicusy or Univcrllil Bifhop. The Jacobites are reported to be difperi'd into Forty Kingdoms. In the Promontory extending itfelf into the Indian Sea, are the Cbrijlians of Saint 'I'homas : So call'd, becaufe firft converted by him, who is believ'd to lie buried at M^/i^/?(?/yr, and tliey have continued in the Chriilian Religion from his Time. It muft be confefs'd, that in Mengrelm^ and other Countries, the Doctrines of Religion arc much corrupted, and their Practice very diiierent from ihe Profeflion of Chriftians ; but however, they retain the Gofpel among them •, and it is every Man's own Fault, if he make not a good Ufe of thofe Means of Salvation, which God in his Providence has affoided him. Of late, the New Tejlament, in the Malayan Tongue, which is fo famous throughout the Eaft, and Grotius\ excellent Book of the 'Truth of the Chriftian Re- ligion^ in Arahick, have been Tranflated and Printed at the Charge of the Honourable Mr. Boyle ; and the firft difpers'd over all the Eaft-Indies where the Ma- layan Language is ufed -, and the latter, into all the- Countries were Arahick is fpoken. He alfo contri- buted to the ImprefTion of the New Tefiament and Catechifm, which was made by the Turkijh Company, in the Language of the Turks, The New Tefia^ncnt was Printed in the Malayan Tongue, by Order of the Dutch Eafl- India Company, in Latin Characters, A. D, 1668- And a ^ Tranflation of the Four Evangelifts, and the A^s of the ApoflleSy and the Pfaljns, into that Tongue, has been Printed by the Dutch ^ in Malayan Cha- radlers, who have likewife appointed a Sermon to be preach'd once a Week at leaft, in their Colonies ; and the Church built for this Ufe in Batavia is call'd the Malayan Church. ' The New Tefl anient was long ago Printed in the Japonefe Tongue. ^ And Grotius's ^ William MainftonV Malayan Granmar^ MS. i Purch. Pilgr. Pc. i. L4. c. i. * Grot, ad Voir. Epili librg de Satisfa(ft. -prefix. Book ji6 'The Reafonahlenefs a?jd Certainty Book of the Chriftian Religion had been tranflated into the Greek and Per/tan Tongues, in his Life- time. The G of pels , and the j^^Js of the Apofiles , tranflated into xht Malayan Tongue, were reprinted at Mr. Boyle's Charge at Oxford, mdclxxvii. In America y it is notorious, that the Chriftians are fufficiently nume- rous; and have fufficient Opportunities to inftru6t the Natives, if they were but as careful to improve them to fo good an End, rather than in purfuit of their own Gain. The whole Bible tranflated into the Indian Language, was ordered to he printed, by the Comniijfioners of the United Colonies in New-England. And at the Charge, and with the Confent of the CorpO' ration in England for the Propagation of the Gofpel a- mongfl the Indians in New-England , was printed at Cambridge, A. D. mdclxiii, and dedicated to King Charles II. by the CommifTioners of the United Co- lonies. The Proceedings and Succefs of the Society for the Propagation of the Gofpel in foreign Parts, which was incorporated A. D. mdcci, are to be feen in the Books publiihed by order of that Society. The Sum of all is this: Before the Flood, Revela- tions were fo frequent, and the I^ives of Men fo long, that no Man could be ignorant of the Creation, and of the Providence of God in the Government of the World, and the Duties required towards him. And in the firlt Ages after the Flood, God's Will revealed to Noah, and the Precepts given to him at his coming out of the Ark, mufb be well known to all the fur- viving World *, and as foon as the Remembrance of them began to decay, and Men to fall into Idolatry, Abraha?n and the other Patriarchs, were fent into di- vers Countries, to proclaim God's Commandments, and to teitifie againft the Impiety of Idolaters, where- ever they came. For , to publifh the Reveal'd Will of God, and make it generally known in the World, God was pleas'd to chufe to himfelf a peculiar People, and to fend them firlt out of Mefopotamia into Canaan^ and^ of the Chrtfitan ReUgton. 127 and , upon occafion , back again into Mefopotamia ; and then feveral times into Mgyp \ and from thence, after they had dwelt there fome Hundreds of Years, into Canaan again •, at what tim.e he appointed them Laws, admirably fitted and contrived for the receiving oi Strangers and Profelytes. After many fignal Victo- ries, and after other Captivities, they were carry'd away Captive to Babylon^ and were ftill deliver'd and reilor'd by a wonderful and miraculous Providence, and had vaft numbers of Profelytes in all parts of the 4cnown World, and many Footfteps and Remainders of the true Religion are found in the rem.oteft Parts of the Earth. And when , by the juft Judgment of God upon the Jews^ for their Sin in rejecting the Mefflas ^ they were rejeded by him, from being his People , they were difpers'd throughout the World, for a Teftimony to all Nations, that Mofes and the Prophets deliver'd no other thing than what God had reveal'd to them ; fince they continue to maintain and alTert thofe very Books , which plainly foretel all that Ruin and Deftruflion that has befallen them for their Infidelity and Difobedience •, and ftill remain a diftinct Nation, according to an exprefs Prophecy, (Jer, xxxi. ^6, ) notwithftanding their many Difperfions for fo many Ages. They are a {landing Evidence, in all Parts of the World , of the Truth of the Chr'ifiian Religion^ bearing that Curfe v/hich their Fore-fa- thers fo many Ages ago imprecated upon themfelves and their Pofterity , when they caus'd Chrift to be crucified. And the Gofpel has, by its own Power and Evidence, manifefled it felf to all People difpers'd over the face of the whole Earth. To which might be ad- ded , That the Mahometans owning fo much of the Religion Reveal'd both in the Old and New Teftamenr, afiibrd fome kind of Teftimony to the Truth of it, in thofe vaft Dominions of which they are pofTefs'd. All the moft remarkable Difpenfations of Providence, in the feveral Changes in the World, have had a parti- cular IZ 8 The Reafonablenefs and Certainty cular Influence in the Propagation of the True Reli- gion. Cyrus ^ Alexander the Great ^ divers of the Roman Emperors, and of latter Times, 'Tamerlane^ and feve- ral other Princes, were great Favourers of it •, and the word of Men, and the moil unlikely Accidents, have contributed towards the Promotion of it. If" it be objected, T^hat notzmtbftanding all which has teen f aid ^ great fart of the World are Unbelievers, Let it be confidered, I. That there is no Nation but has great Oppor- tunities of being Converted ; and it is evident, from what has been produc'd .concerning the Chinefe and the Americans themfelves, that the Cbriftian Religion had been preach'd among them -, tho' the Knowledge of it was loft, through their own Fault, before the late Dif- coveries of thofe Parts of the World. And as Cbrift came into the World in the fulnefs of time , fo, in the fulnefs of tijne^ that is, at the moft fitting Seafon, he reveal'd himfelf to the feveral Nations of it. God, who is infinitely gracious to all, and knows the Hearts and Difpofitions of all Men, might defer the Rello- ring his Gofpel to the Chinefe^ for inftance, 'till that very Time when he faw them beft prepared for it : And it is remarkable. That the Difcovery of the In- dies happened about the Time of the Reformation ; that thofe poor People might have the Purity, as well as the Truth of Religion, if Chriflians had been as little wanting to them in their Charity, as God' has been in the Difpofals of his Providence. He ftays^ *till they have filled up the ineafiire of their- iniquities^ before he punifhes a People : And for the fame Rea- fons, of Mercy and Goodnefs, he waits for the moft proper Seafons to impart his Revealed Will to them ; and to have it preached to them before, would be only tp increafe their Condemnation : And it is not only Juft, but Merciful, for him to with-hold the Know- ledge of his Revealed Will from thofe who he forefees ■ Would reject it, and abufe the Opportunities which fhould of the Chriftian Religion. 129 fliould be offer'd them, to the Aggravation of their own Guilt and Punifhment. Efpecially if it be obferved, 2. That as to particular Perfons, we have Reafon to believe, that God, who by fo wonderful a Provi- dence has taken Care that every Nation under Heaven might have the True Religion preach'd in it, and who has the whole World at his Difpofal, and orders allTnings with great Regard to the Salvation of Men; we have abundant Caufe to think, that he would, by fome of the various Methods of his Providence, or tven by Miracle, bring fuch Men to the Knowledge of the Truth, who live according to their prefent Knowledge, with a fmcere and honeft Endeavour to improve it. When St. Feter was by Revelation fent to Cornelius^ he made this Inference from it. Of a truth I perceive that God is no refpeEler of perfons ; hut in every nation^ he that feareth him^ and worketh righte- oufnefs^ is accepted with him^ A6ls x. 34, 35. From whence, what lefs can we conclude, than that every Man, in any Part of the World, v/ho is fmcerely good- and pious in the Pra6lice of his Duty, fo far as it is known to him, fhall rather, by an exprefs Re- velation, have the reft difcover'd to him, as in the Inftance of Cornelius^ which gave Occafion to-thefe Words of St. Peter; than he fhall be fuifer'd to perilli, for want of a true Faith, and fufficient Knowledge of his Duty ? And it is Juft with God, to punifh thofe Heathens who fm without any Revealed Law, for their Sins againft Natural Reafon and Confcience, and for neglecting to ufe and improve their Reafon, and to embrace the Opportunities aifordeci them of be- coming Chriftians. We may likewife be certain, that befides Natural Reafon and Confcience, God, in his Goodnefs, is not v/anting to afford fuch Inward Motions and Convidions of Mind to fuch of the Heathen as are not wilfully blind and ftupified by their Vices, as may prepare them for the Reception of the Gofpel, which, by his Providence, he gives them Vol. I. K . , fo 130 The Reafonablenefs and Certainty fo many Opportunities of becoming acquainted withal : And if once they do .difcern the Defedls and Faults of their own Religions, which are fo grofsly againfl Na- tural Reafon and Confcience, they may make enquiry of Chriftians^ concerning their Religion, as fome of the Americans did of Cortes's •, and the Chriftians (fome of them at leaft) however negligent they be in propa- gating it , would never refufe to inflrud: them in it. And it muft be remembred , that among thofe who have not received the True Religion, yet many Points are taught and believed, which had their Ori- ginal from Revelation, as is evident, not only of the Mahometans^ but of feveral Heathen Nations ; which Points are fo many Steps and Preparatives towards the Reception of the whole Truth, if they be not wanting to themfelves in purfuing them in their immediate Tendency and Confequences. I fhall not fay, that the Merits of Chrift, and the -Salvation of the Gofpel, do extend to thofe who die under Invincible Ignorance of it, having in the Inte- grity of their Hearts, lived according to the bell of their Knowledge : I believe rather, that God fuffers no Man fo qualified and difpofed, to remain in invin- cible Ignorance. But it is fufficient to vindicate God's Juftice and Goodnefs, that all Nations have had fuch Opportunities of coming to the Knowledge of the Truth ; and great Allowances may be made at the Lafl Day, for the Ignorance and unhappy Circum- ftances of particular Men. It was well faid, That when God hath not thought fit to tell us how he will be pleafed to deal with fuch Perfons, it is not fit for us to tell him how he ought to deal with them. But if it be difficult for us now, to think how it will pleafe God to deal with the Heathen -, it would be a thoufand times more difficult to conceive how the gracious and and merciful God could Govern and Judge the World, if all Mankind were in the Hate of Heathens^ without any Divine Revelation. What oj the Chrtjttan Reh^ton. 131 What will become of the Heathen^ as to their E- ternal State, is not the Subjcd; of this Difcourfe, nor doth it concern us to know •, fome of them will have more to plead for themfelves, in point of Ignorance, than others can have ; and they are in the hands of the merciful Creator and Saviour of Mankind, and there we muft leave them. But it muil be acknow- ledge , that it is much more agreeable to the Good- nefs and Mercy of God, to reveal his Will, and to give fo many Opportunities to the World to be in- ffrucled in it, though never fo many fhould negled the Means of Salvation ; than it to is fuppofe him to take no care to reduce Mankind to the Senfe and Pra- dice of Virtue and Religion, but to let them continue in all manner of Idolatry and Wickednefs , without giving them any warning againfl it. I have not /poke n in fecret^ in a dark -place of the earth. Look unto me^ and he ye faved all the ends of the earth : for 1 am God., and there is none elfe. Come ye near unto me, hear ye this •, 1 have notfpoken in fecret from the beginning \ from the time that it was, there am /, Ifa. xlv. 19, 22. and xlviii. 16. Having proved , that the Scriptures want nothing requifite to a Divine Revelation , in regard either of their Antiquity or Pro?nulgation ; I proceed to fhew. That they have fufficient Evidence, both by Prophecies and Miracles, in proof of their Authority. This Evidence depends upon Matter of Facl, which concerns either the Prophecies and Aliracles themfelves, in their feveral Circumitances, as we find them fland recorded-, or the Lives and Perfonal Qualifications of thofe by whom they were performed, or by whom they are related in the Scriptures. For if we can be afTured both that they are truly related, and that, if the Pro- phecies and, Miracles were fuch as they are related to have been, they could pVoceed from none but a Divine Pow&r ; we have all the Evidence for the Truth of the Scriptures that can be had for a Revelation. K2 CHAP. 1^1 m — ^ ~-_ .__ — . — _»_ The Reafonahlmefs and Certainty CHAP. III. Of Mofes and Aaron. THAT Mofes was a very Great and Wife Man, and a mofl ancient Law-giver, is related by feveral of the moft eminent Heathen Writers •, and I think it has never been denied by any Man. But it is no lefs evident, that he was likewife a very Good and Pious Man. The firft Forty Years of his Life, which were fpent in Honour, he pafles over in Silence, mention- ing nothing of his own Education, nor of his Learn- ing, in all the Wifdom of the Mgyptians^ tho' this be related by St. Stephen^ who alfo fays, that he was ex- ceeding fair^ and mighty in words and in deeds, (Adls vii. 20, 22.) or renowned both for the Arts of Peace and the Glory of Arms : His Beauty and his Wifdom are likewife taken Notice of ^ by 'Trogus Fompeius, as well as by "^ Jofephus^ who alfo writes. That Mofes ob- tained a memorable Conqueft over the ^Ethiopians , who had over-run Mgypt. And "^ Artapa?ius men- tions him as General of the ^Egyptian Forces againft the ^Ethiopians, in a War which lafled Ten Years. However, we may be certain, that his Life in Pha- raoh's Court was not fuch, as that he had performed nothing confiderable, or which might deferve to be taken Notice of: Yet the fi rfb Thing which A%^j men- tions of himfelf, is his killing the ^Egyptian, Exod. ii. 12. an A6lion, which fome have thought blame- able, with little Reafon indeed ; but he took no Care to prevent the Cenfure, though St. Stephen vindicates him, by obferving that he adted by a Divine Com- miflion. For Forty Years more, he fays little of him- " Juilin. 1. 36. c- 2. ^ Antiq. 1. 2. c 5.- « Apud Eurcb,l*^"i«par. Evar. I. 9. c 27. fcif. of the Chrtfitan Religion. 135 felf , but that he dwelt in the Land of Midian^ ^wn there married Jetbro's Daughter, by whom he hac!§ Two Sons. And when God had appeared to him in the Bufh, it is faid, that afterwards, the Lord met hh?iy and fought to kill hiin^ (Exod. iv. 24.) for having negledled to circumcife one of his Sons. Mofes has left fuch an Account of himfelf, as might feem De- tradlion, if another had given it ; fo much is con- cealed, and fo little told, but what was either really to be blamed, or might be liable to Mifconllruction. He frequently declares his own Failings and Infir- mities, Exod. iii. 11. andiv. i, 10, 13. Numb, xi. 10. XX. 12. and xxvii. 14. and never fpeaks any Thing tending to his own Praife, but upon a jufl: and necef- fary Occafion, when it m.ight become a prudent and modeft Man, efpecially one Divinely Infpired : For all the Praife of fuch an one doth not terminate in himfelf, but is attributed to God, whofe Inftrument and Servant he is ; and in fuch Cafes where God's Honour is concerned, it was a Duty to fet forth the Favour and Goodnefs of God towards him, though fome Honour did redound to himfelf thereby. The greateft Mailers of Decency have not thought it al- ways improper for Men to commend themfelves, either becaufe they fuppofed fome Occafions might re- quire it, or becaufe it was a more ufual Thing in an- cient Times , when Mens Lives and Manners were . more natural and fmcere •, and they oftncr fpoke as they thought both of themfelves and others -, yet we no where find Men fpeaking fo freely in Difparage- ment of them.felves, as in the Holy Scriptures: Which fhews, that Mofes^ and the reft of the Infpired Wri- ters , little regarded their ov/ri Praife or Difpraife , but wrote what God was pleafed to appoint -, it be- ing a Thing indifterent to them, fo God might be ho- noured, whether they loll or gained in their own Re- putation by it. But what we read of Mofes^ Numb. xii. 3. that he was "very meek ahove all the men which K 3' were 134 The Re ajonahlenejs and Certainty were upon the face of the earthy which is the only com- mendable Characfler that Mofes gives of himfelf, may be tranflated, that he was the moil affli5fed Man^ (ac- cording to the Marginal Reading -,) and if he men- tions his own Meeknefs, he mentions alfo his great Anger ^ or heat of Anger ^ Exod. xi. 8. and his being -very wroth^ Num. xvi. 15. But i^ Mofes had not had more refpcdl: to Truth, than to his own Reputation, he would never have left it upon Record, That he fo often declined the Melfage and Employment which God appointed him to undertake, Exod. iii. 11, 13, and iv. j, 10, 13, 14. and that God was angry with him upon other occafions, and for that reafon would not permit him to enter into the promifed Land : He would certainly have afcribed Balaam^ Prophecy, and Jethro^s Advice , to himfelf; at leaft he would never have recorded , That by Jethro^s> Counfel , he took up a new and better Method for the Adminiftra- tion of Juftice : If he had been led by Ambition and Vain-glory , he would have endeavoured by thefe things, to adorn his own Charadier ; and would never have leffen'd it, by telling his own Infirmities at the fame time, when , to the Diminution of himfelf, he publifhes the Excellencies of others. The Wonders of the Magicians of AEgyp are not conceal'd by him : and being to give an Account of his own Genealogy from 'Lev'i^ he firfl fets down the Families of Reu- l>en and Simeon^ the two elder Brothers, left he might feem to arrogate too much to himfelf, and his own Tribe. Some have obferved, that Mofes relates his own Birth to have been by a Marriage contrary to the I^av/s afterwards by himfelf eftablifhed : which indeed is doubtful, by reafon of the Latitude of Sig- nification in the Word Sifler in the /7f^/Vw" Language, which is here taken by the Septuagint for his Coufm German^ (Exod. vi. 20.) yet it is certain, he was not careful to avoid the being thought to have been born from fuch a Marriage, as he would have been, if his Laws of the Chnfttan ReUgion, 135- Laws had been of his own Contrivance, left his own Regulation, or the Authority of his Laws, or perhaps both, might have fuffered by it, Exod. y\. 14, 20. He fets forth the Ingratitude, Idolatry, and perpetual Revolts and Murmurings of his whole Nation , and relates the Failings and Faults of their Anceftors the Patriarchs, and particularly of Levi , from whom he was defcended. Gen, xxxiv. 30. and xlix. 6. He fpares neither his People, nor his Anceftors, nor himfelf, in what he relates ; and thefe are all the Characters of a faithful Hiftorian, and a fmcere Man, that can be de- fired. And as Mofes was not ambitious of Praife, fo neither was he ambitious, of Power and Dominion. For be- fides that he entered upon fuch an Undertaking, as no fober Man would have attempted without a Revela- tion, it appearing otherwife impoffible to accomplifh it, his whole Condud: fhews , that he had no defign of advancing his own Intereft or Dominion. If he had been never fo Ambitious , he needed not have gone into the Wildernefs to feek his Preferment, a- mongft a wandering and ftubborn People, when he had been bred up to all the Honours and the Pleafures that Mgypt or Pharaoh's Court could afford : but he refu- fed to he called thefon ^ Pharaoh' j daughter •, chiifing ra- ther to fuffer Afflihion with the People of God^ than to en- joy the pleafures of fin for a feafon •, efleeming the reproach of Chrijl greater riches than the treafures of M^y^t^ Heb. xi. 24, 25. He undertook to lead the People of If- rael^ for Forty Years, through a barren Wildernefs ; where he could promife himfelf but a very uneafie and inglorious Reign , if that had been his Defign •, and, by the courfe of Nature , he could not hope to out- live that Period of Time •, and tho' he was preferved, in his old Age, in the full Strength and Vigour of Man- hood i yet, upon their Entrance into the Promifed Land^ he meekly refigned himfelf to Death, in the ve- ry Sight and Borders of Canaan \ knowing before- hand K 4 that 1 3 <5 The Reafonablenefs andCtrmnty that he muft not be fufFered to poiTefs the Land which he had been fo many Years, in fo great Dangers, lead- ing the People of Ifrael to enjoy •, though he doth not conceal how defirous he was to pafs over Jordan^ Deut. iih 23, y^., TheHiftory of his Death is like that of his Life, related with a peculiar kind of native Sim- plicity : He is not faid to be taken up into Heaven, as Enoch and Elijah were, and as the Romans feigned of Romulus^ but to die -, and his Sepulchre was hid , to prevent the Superftitious and Idolatrous Venera- tion which might have been paid to the Remains of fo Great a Perfon. And tho' he had Sons, yet they were but private Men, no otherwife known to us, than as they were his Sons •, the Government he conferred upon Jojhua, one of another Tribe. Mofes therefore was the fartheft of any Man from vain-glorious , or ambitious and afpiring Defigns-, and could propofe no other Advantage to himfelf, but the fulfilling the "Will of God, delivering his Commandments to the People of Ifrael, and following his Diredions in his Condud; and Government. Jaron was of a different Temper from Mofes, and was envious of him, and both ^aron and Miriam mur- pured againft him. It is fo notorious, that there could be no Contrivance between them to deceive the Peo- ple ; that it was the immediate and vifible Power of God which kept Aaron as well as the refl in Obedi- ence to Mofes. Upon Mofes's Abfence, Aaron compli- ed with the People, in making a Golden Calf j and )iis two eldefl Sons ofi'ered ftrange Fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded ; for which they were both deflroyed by Fire miraculoufly ilTuing out from the Prefence of the Lord : And Aaron held his pace, knowing that this Punifhment was irtflided by God himfelf, and having nothing to reply to Mofes, when he declared to him the Juftice of it. And both Aaron and his other two Sons are forbidden, upon Painof Deathj to mourn for them, Lqv. x. i, 2, 'i^^G. At of the Chr'ift'tan Religion. 137 At laft, by the Commandment of God, Aaron goes up into Mount Hor^ to die there, not being permit- ted to enter into the Land of Promife. Thus Mcfes and Aaron were fometimes at Difagree- ment, Aaron envying Mofes : Aaron loft two of his Sons, by a fignal Judgment from Heaven •, and Mo- fes advanced neither of his *, and both Mofes and Aaroji died by the particular Appointment and Command of God, for their Offences againft him, never enjoying, jBor, for fome time before, expefting to enjoy the Land of Promife^ Numb. xx. 12. Deut. i. ^7- And therefore, as they could never have performed what they did, but by the Almighty Power of God -, ^o they could have no Motive or Inducement to attempt it, but his Command and Promife of AfTiftance re- vealed to them. CHAP. IV, Of the Pentateuch. AS the Books entitled to Mofes are confefTed by all to be of the greateft Antiquity ^ fo we have it confirmed to us by the Authority of Heathen Wri- ters themfelves, that the Books which go under his Name, are indeed of his Writing ; befides the unani- mous Teftimony of the whole Jewifh Nation, ever fince Mofes\ Time , from the firft writing of them : Which is infinitely better Proof of their being Aiithen- tick, and entitled to the true Author, than can be pretended for any Books but the Ploly Scriptures. Divers Texts of the Pentateuch imply, that it was writ- ten by Mofes ; and the Book of Jofma^ as well as other Books of Scripture , import as much ; and though fome Paffages have been thought t.© imply the contra- 138 The Reafonablenefs and Certainty ry, yet this is but a late Opinion, and has been fuffici- ently confuted by learned Men. It is obfervable, whoever wrote thefe Five Books, that there is no Partiality fhewn to any one whomfo- ever. Noah is faid to be overcome with Wine, and expofed to the Mockery of one of his Sons. Lot is defcribed not only to have been drucken, but to have Iain with his own Daughters. Abraharn himfelf de- nies his Wife twice ; and Ifaac imitates him in it. Jacoh gets the Blefling , by Fraud and Subtilty, from his Brother Efau. Jofe^ph^s Brethren fell him into Mgypt -, and he, when he is there , learns to fwear ly the Life of Pharaoh. The Faults oi Aaron ^ and of Mofes himfelf, ( as I have already obferved ) are not concealed. On the other fide , particular Notice is taken how Melchizedeck bleffed Abraham , and recei- ved Tythes of- him : And without all contradi£lion^ the Jefs is hlejfed of the better^ Heb. vii. 7. The Advice of Jethro is recorded •, and the Prophecies of Balaam him- felf are punctually {tt down. It was no Defign of the facred Pen-man to write a Panegyrick upon any Man, but to reprefent the Failings and Infirmities, as well as the Excellencies of each Perfon; and to fhew by what various Methods the Providence of God brought to pafs his gracious Defigns ^ how he turnM Evil into Good, and made ufe even of the Infirmities and Sins of Men, to accomplifh his purpofes. In the Book of Genefis^ we have a fhort Account of the moll memorable and remarkable Things, which had pafb, to the times of Mofes \ as the Creation of the World, the Inftitution of the Sabbath^ the Fall of Man, the Promife of the Mejfiah^ and the Cuflom of offering Sacrifices as Types of his Death : who firft committed Murther, and who firil brought in Poly- gamy *, the Invention of divers Arts, the Flood, the Confufion of Tongues-, the Original of the feveral Nations of the World, with the Chronology of the whole : all which is comprehended in a little Com- pafsj of the Chrijimn Reltgton. 139 pafs, but a larger and more particular Account is gi- ven of Jbraba?n and his Family: For here the Scene begins to open to the main Defign of the Work, the Book of Genefts being as an Introduftion to the reft of the Pentateuch^ and containing fuch things as were re- quifite to be premifed. And in the beginning of the Hiftory of Abraham ^ it is noted, that the Canaanite was then in the Land^ Gen. xii. 6. even at that very time when Abraham ereded an Altar to the Lord, ^ ♦7. this being a great Encouragement to the IfraeliteSy to excite them to follow the Example of their Father Abraham , who worfhipped the True God , in a pub- lick and folemn manner , in that Land which they were now going to polTefs, and amongft that People which they were now to drive out, and which, at that time when the Land was promis'd them, were the In- habitants of it 5 and God, who had ^^xoitditdi Abraham in fo fignal a manner, would no lefs aflift them. And ifwe confider thofe things particularly, where- in Mofes himfelf is concerned as an Agent, as well as an Hiftorian, there can be no Pretence for any Man to doubt, but that, at leaft the principal Points of the Hiftory of Mofes are true ; that is , that Mofes was the Governor or General of the People of Ifrael^ who conduced them out of AEgypt •, that they travelled for many Years in the Wildernefs ; that they fought di- vers Battels with the feveral Nations , who oppos'd their journeying into the Land of Canaan; and, that Mofes gave them the Laws which we find there re- corded. Thefe are the chief Points of the Hiftory of Mofes^ which are, as it were, the Foundation of all the reft *, the reft being but as Circumftances to fhew the manner of doing it, and the Power by which all this was done. And that thefe main Points are true, it was never denied by thofe Heathens themfelves who moft reproached and vilify'd the Jew'ifh Nation : They acknowledg'd that Mofes was the great General and Law-giver 140 The Reafonabknefs and Certainty Law-giver of the Ifraelites \ they owned that the Ifrae- iites came out of JEgypt \ they could deny nothing of the Hiftory itfelf, but only gave wrong Accounts, partly out of Ignorance, and partly out of Malice and Defign, of the Manner and Means by which this was effedled, and the Reafons and Occafions upon which it came to pafs. From the Books of Jofephus againfl Apion^ in which he gives an Account of what the moll ancient Authors of other Nations have deli- vered concerning the Jews ; and from what the lat- ter Heathens, Straho^ "Tacitus^ Juftin^ and others, after the Jews became fo odious and contemptible in the Eyes of all Nations, have written *, it is evident, that the great and fundamental Points, as to the Matters of Fad, are confefs'd •, and the only Difpute is con- cerning the Manner in which they were brought about, and the Means whereby all was effeded. Now we take the Hiflories of all other Nations, rather from thcmfelves, than from Foreigners and Strangers to their Affairs, or profefs'd Enemies ; and it were extreme Partiality to admit the Accounts we have of the Jewijh Affairs, from Authors who lived fo much too late to have any certain Information of the Things they write about, and who, upon every Occafion, fhew fuch Difaffeftion to their Name and Nation , and contradidl each other , and themfelves too, as Jofephus fhews ; it would, I fay, be notorious Partiality to follow fuch Authors, rather than credit the Jewijh Records attefled and delivered down to us by the unanimous Approbation and Teilimony of the whole Nation. And when I come to confider the Miracles wrought by Mofes^ I fhall prove, that they were of that Nature, and performed in fuch a Manner, as that they could not be feign'd or counterfeit at firft, nor the Account given of them in the Pentateuch filfified afterwards i and therefore thefe Five Books of Mofes'xn\.\^ be ge- nuine. of the Chrijtian Religion. 141 nuine, and of divine Authority, being written by him who had fo many ways given Evidence of his divine Com million. CHAP. V. Of the PrediSiions or Prophecies contained in the Books of Mofes. IT was foretold by God himfelf, upon the Fall of our Firft Parents , That the feed of the woman JhouUhnnfe the ferpnf s head, Gtn. in, 15. ^ Mai?no- nides is obferv'd to take particular Notice, that it was the Seed of the Woman, and not of the Man ; and the Jews, in their Targums, are obferv'd to apply this Text to the Meffias, which was fulfill'd in our Saviour Chrift, who was born of a Woman, that was a Virgin, and had no Man to his Father : And therefore this Predidlion, exprefs'd thus precifely concerning the Seed of the Woman, could be fulfill'd in no other Perfon ; and no other Perfon ever gain'd fuch Vido- ries over the Enemy of Mankind, who had fo long tyrannized over the Sons of Men. God reveal'd the precife Time of the Flood to Noah \ who thereupon built an Ark, and foretold the Deflru61:ion of the World to that wicked Generation , and was a Treacher of Right eoiifnefs iind Repentance to them. Gen, vi. 3. After the Flood, Noah, by a Prophetick Spirit, foretold the Fate and Condition of the PoiLcrity of his three Sons , Gen. ix. 25. That Canaan ffiould be Servant to S hem ; which was accomplifh'd, when the Children of Ifrael, the Pofterity of Shemy fubdued the Canaanites, and poflefs'd their Eand, about Eight hundred Years after this Prophecy : That Japhet fliould dwell in the Tents » Maim. A^Iore Nevoch. Par. 2. c. -50. ' 1 ■ of 1 4 i The Reafonableviefs and Certainty of Shem -, which wasfulfill'd in the Greeks and P^omans^ defcended from Japhet^ when they conquer'd Afia: That Canaan fhould likewife be the Servant of J^^te, as well as of Shem. Upon which Mr. Mede obferves, ^ that the Poflerity of Cham never fubdued the Chil- dren either of Japhet , or of Shem ; tho' Shem hath fubdued Japhet , and Japhet hath conquer'd Shem : vfhich midt "" Hannibal J defcended from Canaan^ cry out, with Amazement of Soul, Agnofco fatum Cart ha- ginis. God promifeth Abraham a Son, in his old Age, by Sarah his Wife , who was likewife of a great Age *, and declares, that his Poflierity, by this Son, fhould be exceeding numerous ; that they fhould inherit the Land of Canaan , after they had been afflidled in a ftrange Land Four hundred Years, Gen. xv. 13. and that then they fhould come out of that Land with great fuhftance-, but that God would judge the Nation that had opprefs'd them *, or , that he would procure their Deliverance, by fignal Judgments upon their Oppref- fors ; and that in the fourth Generation they fhould be brought back again to the Land of Promife , ^ 1 6. (the Bounds whereof are defcribed, f 18.) which a- grees exadly with the Deliverance of the Children of Jfrael our of^gypt^ computing the Years from the time that the Promife was made to Abraha?n^ (Exod, xii. 40. (Gal. iii. 17.) and reckoning the Four Gene- rations to be betwixt Jfaac the Son promifed to Abra- ham ; and Mofes^ in whom the Predi(flion was fulfilled. Or, if we reckon , as divers ^ Rabbins do , from the time when the Children of Ifrael came into jEgypt , from Levi to Mofes ^ and from J u da h to Caleb, were Four Generations inclufively. And whereas in our Tranllation we read , the Children of Ifrael went up haj'neffed, or five in a rank, out of the Land of M^y^t, Exod. xiii. 18. in the Septuagint Verfion it is rendred, ' *> iMcde, i?je/($-, not becaufe it confiiled of Five Years, but * becaufe it returned every fifth Year. And when the Intercalation was made every third Year, the intermediate Space of Time was called T^/€T)je/ from Babylon \ befides theCopies that were preferv'd in the Hands of Daniel^ Nehem'iah^ Ezra^ Zechariah^ and the other Prophets, who were not only of unqueftionable Integrity, but wrote themfelves by Divine Infpiration. 3. Nothing is more exprefsly forbidden in the Books of Mofes^ than all Fraud and Deceit •, and ic cannot reafonably be fufpecled, that any Man would be guilty of a Fraud of the higheft Nature imaginable, to introduce or eftablifh a Law that forbids it. Mo- fes had forewarned them againft all fuch Pra(5lices, , both in his Laws in general, and by an exprefs Prohi- bition : Te fhall not .add unto the word which I co?7imand yu^ neither fhall ye diminifh ought from it^ Deut. iv. 2. And all who had any Regard to the Obfervation of his Laws, would obferve this, as well as other Parts of it ; for this preferv'd the Authority of all the reft inviolable: And if they had had no Regard to the Law, but had altered it as they pleafed, they would certainly have made fuch Alterations as would have gratified the People, and would have taken great care to leave nothing which might give Offence ; buc the Laws of Mo/d-ij are fuch, as that without a Divine Authority to enforce them, they would never have been complied with, but would have been grievous to a lefs fufpicious and impatient People than x.\\t'j€ws were. If it be faid. That the Prohibition againft Al- terations might be added amongft other things \ there Vol. I. N . is 1/8 Ti e Rtafonablenefs and Cert atm^ is no ground of Probability for it, butfo much odds againll ic, that a Man might as well fufpedl that any other Paflage in the whole five Books had been for- ged, as to pitch upon that particular Verfe, and fay that it is not genuine. Befides, why (hould Impoftors infert fuch a Claufe as would hinder them from chan- ging any thing in the Law ever after? Why fliould they not rather referve to themfelves a Liberty of changing and adding as often as they thought fit ? Seccvacj^ As the Laws themfelves could not be in- vented nor altet'd after Mofesh time; fo neither could the Account of the Miracles wrought by him, be in- ferted after his Death, by any particular Man, nor by any Confederacy or Combination of Men whatfoever. For if the Miracles, by which the Law is fuppofed to be confirm'd, were afterwards inferted, they muft be intended as a Sandion, to give Authority to it, and keep the People in awe, when they were become un- eafie and difobedient under the Government of thofe Laws. But it muft needs be much more difficult to introduce Laws at firft, than to govern a People by them, after they have been once introduc'd, and are fettl'd and receiv'd amongft them. Indeed, it is incre- dible, how Laws, fo little favourable to the Eafe or Advantage of a People, which werefo expenfive and burthenfomein their Cerem.onies, and which were pur- pofely defign'd, in many things, to be contrary to the Cuftoms of all the Nations round about them, and to the Cuftoms which they had been themfelves acquain- ted with in yE^)'//, in fo many Inftances, could beat firft introduced, but by Miracle: But if they could have been once introduced without Miracles, there is no reafon to think, but that when the People wereu- fed and accuftom'd to them, there would have been no need of any Pretence of Miracles, to keep them in o- bedience to them; and as little reafon there is to ima- gine that they would have been over-aw'd by a Re- port of Miracles , which muft be fuppos*d never to have of the Cbrijitan Keltgion. h ve been heard of, 'till the People gave occafionfor the Invention of them, by their Difobedience. The Books of Mofes were read (as I iiave fhcwn) in the Synagogues, or Religious AfTemblics, inthefe- veral Tribes, ar leaft every Sabbath-day^ and were ap- pointed to be folemnly read, in the audience of all the People, at the Feaji of Tabernacles^ every fcven Years: and if they had had no Knowledge of the Law ofM^- fes^ but from the Rehearfal of it at the Feaft of Taber- nacles i yet can we conceive, that the Body of the Jew- *ijh Nation fhould be fo flupid and forgetful, as not to remember when thefe Miracles mud be fuppofed to be firft read to them, that they had never heard them before? But how impoflible is it, that they fhould be thus impofed upon, when they heard the Books of Mofes read every Week to them, and had them be- fides in their own keeping, to read them at their lei- fure ? The Miracles now make up great part of the Books o{ Mofes ••, they are every where interfpers'd and intermixed, throughout the Hillory, and they are of fuch a nature, as is moil apt to make Impref- fion upon the Memories of Men : And can we imagine, that Miracles, fo often repeated, and every where in- culcated, could be inferted by any Contrivance, and impofed upon a People who were all wont to hear the Law publickly read in a folemn AfTembly once every Seven Years, and heard it read in their Synagogi/eS befides every Seventh Day? Would they not be in- finitely furpriz*d, the firft time they heard the Rela- tion of the Plagues infiided on the jEgjptians^ of the Judgment upon Korah and his Company, and of the miraculous Punifhments which befel the Idolatrous and Difobedient in the Wildernefs ? Would they not foon have found out fo obvious a Deceit, as this muft have been, if it had been one? If we can think that fuch Infertions could pafs without dlfcovery ; why may we not as well believe too, that as many more might be made now, and not be difcover'd ? Would N 2 not 8 o The Reajonablene/s and Certainty not the whole Body of the People have been able to teftify that all this was conterfeited, and inferted in- to the Law \ for no fuch Thing was read to them in their Synagogues upon tht Sabbaths^ nor had been read at the end of the lait Seven Years, but it was all now- added to terrify them, and keep them from following the Cuftoms of other Nations? Would not this have been the word Contrivance that could have been thought of, to keep a People in Awe, to tell them of luch Things as every Man of them could difprove, that was of Age, and had but Underllanding and Memory enough to know what he had heard fo often read be- fore, and to diftinguifh it from fuch Things as are fo remarkable, that they could hardly efcape any one's Memory, who had ever heard of them ? They had Books of the Law for their private read- ing -, and belldes their reading of it in their Weekly Aflemblies, they had a folemn Publication and Pro- clamation of their Law once every Seven Years, as ic were purpofely to prevent any Defign of falfifying it: And to have read any Thing fo remarkable, as the Mi- racles of Mofes are, in all their Circumftances, fo often repeated and infilled upon, if the People had not found them in their own Books, and had not been ufed to hear them read to them, from the Time of the giving the Law by Mofes ^ had been only for the Projectors to proclaim themfelveslmpoftors, but could never have deceived any Man. How impoflible any Contrivance of this Nature would have been among a People fo fufpicious and turbulent as th^Jews^ we may perceive from what happened to an ^ African Bifhop who had a Defign to introduce the Tranllation o^Si,Jerom\n- to his Church. For when his People obferved Hedera to be read for Cucurbita^ that is, Iv^ infteadof Gourdy Jonah iv. they were in fuch an Uproar on the Altera- tion of this one Word, in a difputable Cafe, and of * Auguftin. ad Hleronym. Ep. little^ of the Chrtjltan Religion, 1 8 i little or no Confcqaence, that he was forc'd to con- tinue the former Reading. And befides the Care that was taken for the Pre- fervation of the Books of the Law, there were pub- lick Memorials of the principal Miracles enjoin'd ; fuch was thtFeaJt of the Pajjuver^ in Remembrance of the Angel's pafTing over the Ifraelites^ when he flew the Firft-born of the ^Egyptians-, and the Feaft of Tabernacles ^ in Remembrance of their dwelling in * Tents in the Wildernefs-, fuch was the ConfeiTion and Commemoration of thofe that offered the Firft-fruits, fetting forth the Mercies of God, in bringing them out of the Land of jEgypt with a mighty hand, and with an out- fir etched arm, and with great terriblefiefs^ and with figns, and with wonders, Deut.xxvi. 8. and fuch were the Brazen Serpent, the Ark, and the 'Ta- bernacle : Thefe were Things feen and obferved, or known by all -, and they could not be introduced af- ter M(?/d'j's Time, becaufe there could be no Pretence for it ; fince they who introduced them, mud fup- pofe them to have been before, at the very Time when they defigned firfl: to introduce them. The Uri?n and Thiunmim was both a conftant Miracle, and a conlfant Atteftation to the Law, by which it was ordained. And it appears, that the Priefls who were to 'examine and judge of Leprofy either in Perfons or Things, were fecured from the Infeftion of it, though it were infedious to all others : And their conftant Service could not be performed without a •'' miracu- lous Difpenfation. Thus it is evident. That there is all the Proof which it is pofTible to bring in any Cafe of this Nature, that the Books of Mofes could not be falfified by any Man or Party of Men whatfoever; fince the Nature and Inftitution of the Law itfelf did efftdualjy pro- y Vld. LightfootV Profpe^ of the Temple, c. 34. p. 2030. N 3 • vide 1 8 X The Reafonabknefs andCertatnt'^ vide againfl all Impoflures-, and the Jews had all the afT'.ir.xnce that it is pofTible for any People to have, thni the Books q^ Mojts are tne lame which he wrote and left behind him. And this infpired them with fuch a zeal Tor their Law , as to facnfice their Lives in vindication of it : whereas there was no Book whatfoever, as 7 Mq^q's Difcourje, 35. O 3 They 1 9 <^ T~'^'>^ Rtajonablencjs and Certainty They reproved both their Kings and their Priefts with a fearlefs .and undaunted Freedom and Authority : and this Plain-deahng, fuch as became Men who fpake and aded by a Divine Impulfe, without Defign, and without any Dilguiie, ibmrtimes commanded great Reverence towards them from Princes, not eafie to be v/eli advifed or directed. Rebchoam^ a wil- ful and ralh Prince, at the head of an Army of an hundred and fourfcore thoufand chofeu Men, upon the Word of the Loi d, delivered to him by Shemaiah^ returned home without attempting any thing, to re- gain the Tribes that had revolted from him to Jero- boam^ I Kings xii. 21. Ahah^ though an exceeding wicked King, after afignal Vidory, bore the Reproof of a Prophet, who denounced a Judgment upon Him and his People, for letting Benhadad ^o ^ and was much concerned at it, i King^ xx. 42,43. And the ' iamQ J bab rent his Clothes, and put on Sackcloth , and fafted, at the Reproof of Elijab, i Kings xxi. 27. Amaziab^ by the Admonition of a Prophet, difmifs'd an hundred tboufand 7?2igbty men of valour^ whom he had hired of the Ifraelites for an hundred Talents, be- ing content to lofe fo many Talents, and to want their help in the War, and to venture the Ravage that fuch an Armiy, who look'd upon themfelves as affron- ted, made in his Country; upon the Prophet's aflu- ring him, that God would give him the Vi6lory, if he would difmils them, but not otherwife-, and tel- ling him, T'be Lord is able lo give thee much more than this: And the Event proved the Truth of the Predi- dlion, 2 Chron. xxv. The Children of Jjrael\\\^t\s\{t^ at the Word ofOdedtht Prophet, fent back two hun- dred thoufand Perfons of the Kingdom of J// ^^z/? with great Spoil, which they had taken, 2 Chron. xxviii. So ready and fo general a Compliance, in fuch cafes, could arffe- from nothing but a certain Belief and Ex- perience of the Truth of what the Prophets delivered: • But at other times they were defpifed arid perfecuted. An-4 of the Chnji'tan Religion. ipp And the Truth of their Prophecies was not only at- tefted by Miracles, and juftified by rhe Event, and confefled by the Deference and Refpecfl both of the Kings and People •, but it was alTerted by the SufTer- ings, and fealed by the Blood of the Prophets, and was at lad acknowledged by the Pofterity of thofe who had flain them; they being moft forward and zealous to adorn the Tombs of the Prophets, whom their Fore-fathers had killed ; and to die, in vindi- cation of thofe Prophecies, for which they had beea (lain. There was a conftanc SuccefTion of Prophets, from the time of Mofes ^ till the Return of the Jews from their Captivity in Babylon ; fome prophefied for many Years; Jeremiah^ for above one and forty Years; Ezekiel^ about twenty Years ; the leafl: time afligned to //^/Vs Prophefying, is forty three Years; Amos prophefied about fix and twenty Years; Micab^ about fifty; Ifaiah^ J onah^^iTid Daniel^ a much longer time: fo that they lived to fee divers of their own Prophecies fulfilled ; and to have fuffered as falfe Pro- phets, if they had not come to pafs. And though many Prophecies were not to be fulfilled, till long af- ter the Death of the Prophets who delivered them; yet they wrought Miracles , or they foretold fome things, which came to pafs foon after, according to their Predi6lions, to give Evidence to their Authority, and confirm their Divine Mifilon. St. y^r*?//^ obfervcs that the Prophets are notfaid to have received the Pre- fcncs, which wereoffer'd them, in Mlcheam^ c, iii. As to the Prefents, which are fometimes faid to have been made the Prophets, it v/as a Cuftom, and is known to be fl:ill in the Eaftern Countries, to approach no Man of Eminency without a Prefent ; v/hich was a Token of Refpeft and Reverence, being in it felf often inconfi- derable ; as S>aul for want of Bread, prefcnted Samuel V7ith the fourth part of a Shekel of Silver^ i Sam. ix. 8. wjhich is not above Nine-pence of our Money. The Children of Belial^ to fhew their Contempt of Saul^ O 4 ' hrought oo The Reafonablenefs and Certainty Ir ought him no Prefents when he was King, i Sam. x, 27. And Samuel ^N■3i% prefented with a Gift, becaufe of his Dignity •, for he was an honourable Man^ chap. ix. 6. The Prophets committed their Prophecies to Wri- ting, and left them to Pofterity, Ifa, xxx. 8. Jer.xxx, 2. andxxxvi.32. i7^^. ii. 1,2. And the Writing of the Hiftories of the Jews belonged to the Prophets, I Chron. xxix. 29. 2 Chron. xii. 15. xiii. 22. xx. 34. XX vi. 22. xxxii. 32. ^ Jofephus accordingly writes, that from the Death of Mofes to the Reign of Arta- ^erxes SucceiTor to Xerxes in the Kingdoms of Perfia^ the Prophets penned the Hiftories of their own Times. And both in their Prophetical and Hiftorical Books they deal with the greateft Plainnefs and Sincerity ; rhey record the Idolatries of the Nation, and foretel the Judgments of God which were to befal it upon tiiat account; and they leave to Pofterity a Relation of the Mifcarriages and Crimes of their beft Princes. David^ Solomon^ and others, who were Types of the M'jfiasy and from whofe Race they expeded Him, and looked upon the Glories of their feveral Reigns to be Prefages of His, are yet defcribed not only with- out Flattery, but without any Referve or Extenuation ; They write as Men who had no Regard to any Thing but Truth, and the Glory of God, in telling it. The Prophets were fometimes commanded to feal and fhut up their Prophecies, that the Originals might be preferved till the fulfilling of them, and then com- pared with the Event, Ifa. viii. 16. Jer. xxxii. 14, Dan. viii. 26. and xii. 4. For when the Prophecies were not to be fulfilled till many Years, and, in fomc Cafes, not till feveral Ages afterwards, it was requi- fite that the Original Writings fliould be kept with all Care J but when the time was fo near at hand, that the Prophecies muft be in every one's Memory, or that the Originals coulc^ not be fufpedled or fuppofed to ' ' ' "■" , ~- ■ ■ I ■■ ira— WW «l ■!!— ■— 1 Ill I I I I 1 .1 « Contra An. !. i. be. of the Chnjt'tan Reltgton. 20I be loft, there was not the fame Care required. Rev. xxii. 10. It feems to have been cuftomary '^ for the Prophets to put their Writings into the Tabernacle, or lay them up before the Lord, i Sam, x. 25. And there is a Tradition, '^ That all the Canonical Books, as well as the Law, were put into the Side of the A^c. It is certain, that the Books of the Law, and the Writings of the ancient Prophets, were carefully pre- ferved, during the Captivity, and are frequently re- ferred to, and cited by the latter Prophets : The Pen- tateuch has been already fpoken of; and this is as evi- dent of the Books of the Prophets. The Prophecy of Micah is quoted, Jer. xxvi. 18. a little before the Cap- tivity •, and under it, the Prophecy of Jeremiah is cited. Ban. ix, 2. and all the Prophets, f 6. And fo the Prophets in general are mentioned, Nehem. ix. 25, 30. Zechariah not only cites the former Pro- phets, Zech, i. 4. but fuppofes their Writings well known to the People; Should 'je not bear the words which the Lord hath cried by the former -prophets^ when Jer ufa-- km was inhabited^ and inprofperity ? chap. vii. 7. The Prophet Afnos is likewife cited, Tob. ii. 6. and Jonas^ and the Prophets in general, chap, xiv. 4, 5, 8. There can then be no reafon to queftion, but that Ezra^ Ne- bemiahy Daniel^ Zechariah^ and the other Prophets in the time of the Captivity, were very careful to keep the Books of the former Prophets ; for they frequent- ly cite them and appeal to them -, and expeded Deli- verance out of their Captivity, by the Accomplifnmenc of them. And perhaps, from the Originals them- felves, or however, from Copies taken by Ezra the Scribe, or by fome of the latter Prophets, or at leaft acknowledged foi genuine, and. approved of by them, the ancient Prophecies, and other Infpired Writings, were preferved ; and thofe of the latter Prophets ^ Jofeph. Antiq. 1. ii. c. i, Sc\.'6. c 5. « -Epiphan. de Ponderib. &c Menfur. c. 4. Damalcen. dc Fide Or- thodox, 1. 4. c. 17, ' , were 20Z The Reajonablenefs andCertamty were added to them ; and alltogether, make up the Book of the Prophets^ mention'd A^s vii. 42. which was read, as well as the Law, tv try Sabbath- day j A&:s xiii. 27. The Books of Jo/htia, Judges^ Samuel^ and Kings hav^ the Title of ihtforfjier Prophets^ in the Hebrew Bibles, to diftinguifh them from the Books, which bear the Title of the later Prophets^ Ifaiah, Jeremiah^ ticz. The Books ofjojhua and Judges ^have been al- ready fpoken of. The Books of Sa?nuel were writ- ten by Samuel', Nathatiy and Gad^ 1 Chron. xxix. 29. From whence we may conclude, that the Firfl Book of Samuel^ to the 25th Chapter, was written by 5^- y;?^/^/ himfelf ; and the reft of that, and the whole Se- cond Book, by Nathan and Gad. But Samuel being a Perfon fo much concerned in the former part of the ^iftory, and having written fo much of it, out of refped to him , the whole two Books go under his Name: though, indeed, ^the Jews anciently rec- koned both the Books of Samuel as one Book ; and Aquila (as ^heodoret has obferved) made no diflindlion between the Firft and the Second Books of Samuel^ following the Hebrew Copies of his time : And it is no wonder, that a Book begun by Samuel^ and con- tinued by other Prophets, lliould bear the Name only of Samuel. From i Chron. xxix. iq. we may likewife learn, that the Beginning of the Firft Book of Kings muft be written by one of thefe Prophets. The Hiftory of Hezekiah in Jfaiah and in the Book of Kings is in the fame Words, z Kings xviii. 13. xix, xx. //^f. xxxvi, xxxvii, xxxviii, xxxix. Which fhews, that the hiftorical Books were compofed by the Pro- phets, or tranfcribed from their Writings. Both the Books of Kings ^ as far as Hezekiah's Reign, were written before Jof:ah's time ; for, 2 Kings xviii. 5. f Origen. apud Eufeb. 1. 6- c. i 5. Athan. Epift. Fell. Hier. in lib. R.eg. Prssf, Cyrill. Hier. Catech. 4, Epiphan.de Menfur. & Ponderib. n. 4- It of the ChnjUavi Religion. 203 ic is faid of Hezekiah ^ That he trujhd in the Lord God of Ifrael% jb that after him was none like him of all' the Kings of Judah^ nor any that were before him : And ofjq/iah^ ic is faid, 2 Kings xxm. 25. That like unto him there was no King before him^ that turned to the Lord with all his heart, &c. For ic is evident, thsLtJofiah, in his Reformacion, exceeded Hezekiah-, and from hence ic appears , that the Hiftory o^ Heze- kiah muft be written before Jofiah^^ time*, or elfe ic .could not have been, with Truth, Hiid o\' Hezekiah^ That there was no King after him who was like him, or equalled him, of all the Kings o^Judah, From 1 Chron.'w. 43. ic appears, that ic was written before the Captivity -, though the Genealogies v/ere tran- fcribed afterwards out of the Records, as we learn from I Chron. ix. i. The S Second Book of Chro- nicies was not diftinguifhed by the Jews from the Firft, but both made one Book, as did the two Books of Kings. That the Second Book of Chronicles^ as well as the Firft Book of Kings , was written before the Captivity of Judah^ we may conclude from 2 Chron. v. 9. x. 19. i. Kings viii. 8. for the Ark was not remaining after the Captivity. Great part of the Second Book of Kings was penned before the Capti- vity of IfraeU 2 Kings xiii. 23. The lad Chapter of the'Second Book ot Kings, gives fo particular an Ac- count of the manner of carrying them away Captive, in every material Circumftance, that it feems to have been written at that very time ; and is an Argument, that Memoirs wereconftantly taken and preferved, of all that happened. The Second Book of Chronicles concludes with the firft Year ofCyn/j, in the f^me Words with which the Book of Ezra begins, bein^ added by him at the time when C'^rus gave out his Proclamation: for the Prophets^ from time to timi% g Origen. apud Eufeb. ib. Athan. Epiit. Feilalis. Hicron. ib. Cyril. Hierorol. ib. Epiphan. ib. made ' --f ill 204 The Reafonahlenefi and Certainty made Continuations to the Hiftories of their Prede- ceflbrs, by inferting what related to their own Times; and it was no unufual Thing, among the Ancients, (as Grotins obfervesj to begin one Book with the Con- clufion of another. This we fee in the Hiftory of Diowj/ius Halicarnajjeus ^ who knew as well as any Man the Art of Writing, and was as much acquaint- ed with the Works of the Authors before him. To fay, without any Authority from MSS. that this could fo often happen in his Hiftory, by any Mi- ftake of the Tranfcribers, is altogether groundlefs. The End of his Tenth Book, and the Beginning of the Eleventh, have the fame ^^\\{t^ tho' with fuch Variation in Words, as could not be by Chance. It is obfervable, that the Hiftorical Books of Scripture have a plain Reference one to another: Thus JoJJoua begins his Book, Now^ after the death of Mofes^ or as it is in the Septuagint^ And after^ &c. So the Book oi JudgeSy Now after the death ofjo/hua. And Ruth^ in like manner, Now it came to pafs in th^ days when the Judges ruled. All the Hiftorical Books refer to each other, except the Firft Book of Chronicles^ and that of Nehemiahy ^ which yet by the Jews^ was reck^ oned, together with Ezra^ but as one Book. The reafon why the Firft Book of Chronicles can have no reference to any preceding Book, is plain, becaufe it begins with the Genealogy from Adam, And Nehe- miab begins his Book by prefixing his Name, 'The words of Nehemiah the fon of Hachaliah^ and then fets down the Year and Month ; fo that there could be no need of any other Connexion. In this he imitated the Prophets t The vifion of I j at ah the fon of Amos \ ^he zvords of Jeremiah the fon of Hilkiah, But Ezekiel and Jonah have likewife ufed the fame Reference, with which the Hiftorical Books begin. Tho' this *-■--'■-■ ■ ^ Hieron. in lib.. Reg. Prjef. Origen. apud Eufeb. Hifl. 1. 6. c. 25. Cyrill.Hierof. catech. 4. could of the Chr'tft'tan Religion. 20 y could not be fo needful in Prophecies, to which the Name of Prophets (land prefixed, as in Hiftorical Books written without the Author's Name: None of which was defigned as a feparate Work by itfelf, but for a Continuation or Supplement of what had been written before, that all together might make up one entire Hiftory, in the fame Manner as MofeSy and all Authors, both ancient and modern, ufually conned the feveral Books of which their Works are compofed. The * Book of Eft her was taken from *publick A5fSy read every Year on the Feaft of 5*^^- rim : Which is fufficient Evidence both of its Ori- ginal, and of its Prefervation. \ Origen concludes from chap. xix. 23. that the Book of Job was writ- ten by him, or his Friends, in their own Language, and tranflated by Mofes into Hebrew \ for a Pattern of Patience to the Ifraelites under their Bondage in Mg^pt : And with Origen the Rabbins herein agree. The Pfalms are quoted under the Title of the Pro- phets^ ' Mar. xiii. 35. and ^ xxvii. 35. and from the firft Penning, they were ufed in the Publick Service of God, I Chron. xvi. 7. 2 Chron.v, 13. vii. 6. xx. 2f . xxix. 30. y