[ . V oj- iHi; ' Theological Seminary, PRINC€TON, N. J. Bool, Sec ii I # W E N TY-F OUR SERMONS Preach'd at the Parifli Church of St. Mary le Bort^^ London^ In the Years 1739; 1740, 1741, A T T H E LECTURE Founded by the Honourable ROBERT BOYLE, Efq; Eight S E^R^'m O NS Preach'd at the Cathedral Church of St. P^UL, In the YeaFvS 1738 and 1739, AT THE LECTURE Founded by the Honoured Lady MOVER, To which are Added, /^Visitation Sermon, a Sermon before tbeKiLi' Gious Societies, and a Charity Sermon. In two volumes. By LEONARD TW ELLS, D. D. Late Rector of St. Matthew'* s,^ Friday-Street y Prebendary of St. Paul*?>, and one of the L E c t u r E R s of St. Dunjian*s in the W e s t. VOL. II. LONDON: Printed in the Year M.DCC XLIII. ( I ) SERMON I. Isaiah vii. 14. The Lord himfelf fiall give you a Sign. Behold a Virgin /JmII conceive and bear a Son, and JJmU call his Name Immanuel. O S T, if not all the Prophecies I have hitherto explained and de- fended, as rationally and perti- nently applied to Chrift out of the Old Teftament, by the Writers of the New> have been fuch as thofe Writers built up- on, and argued from, to convince the Jews of the Truth of Chriftianity in ge- neral, or of that fundamental and iirft x\r- ticle thereof, that Jefus is the Mefliah fore- told by the Law and the Prophets. Vol. II. B But z S E R M O N I. Bat this before us, tlio' exprefsly de- clared to have been faltilled in the Birth of Jcfus, by St. Matthew^ in the firfl Chap- ter of his Gofpel, is not argued from by that Evangelill, or by any other facred Writer ^ but upon the Authority of his infpired Characler, is affirmed to have had its Completion in the miraculous Birth of our blelled Saviour. The direct Way therefore of Inquiry into the Truth or Falfehood of this Application, is to exa- mine the Validity of St. Mattbeiv^s Claim to Infpiraticn. If he certainly wrote by the Diredion of that very blelFcd Spirit, who di dated the Prophecy in the Text, there is no Room for qucftioning the Truth and Pertinency of the Completion aflis^ned by him thereto : For the holy Spirit of God rnufl have known the Views of his own Prediclions, and would not permit any one, that wrote by his Direction, to mifunder- ftand, or to miTreport them. But however necelfary a Recourfe to this Principle may be, when the Terms of a Pre- SERMON I 5 Pre.liclion do not evidently correfpond with the Event adigned thereto by facred Wri- ters, the Propiiecy in the Text, as applied by St. Matthew, needs not fuch a Method of Defence, but willftand on its own Bot- tom, having been literally compleated in the Birth of Jefus, and in that of no o- ther Birth whatever : For in no other^ fave the miraculous Birth of our blelTcd Lord, did a Viygin conceive and bear a Son, either among the Defcendents from David, or, as far as we know, from any other Patriarch whatever. Whether, therefore, the Words of T- faiab had another, and an earlier, tho' Ms proper and full Completion in the Pro- phet's Son or not , whether the Birth of Jefus was an Event fuitable or not to the Occalion of the Prophecy in the Text, it was mod certainly and exadly fultilled in tiiat miraculous Incident. And will the Jews allow it morally pollible, that fuch a Thing could be effeded by the extraor- dinary Interpofition of divine Power, with- out being intended in the giving forth of B 2 . the 4 S E R M O N I. the Prophecy ? We grant there may be fach Things as accidental Coincidencies of Events with Prophecies that had no Re- fped to fuch Events, tho* this is but bare- ly conceivable, and is highly unlikely *, but that God flioujd create a new Thing upon Earth, and fend a great Prophet into the World by a Birth without the ordinary Means of a human Father ^ that he ftiould, through all the Annals of Time, have but once violated the Courfe of Nature in this Manner, exadly as he foretold it fhould happen eight hundred Years before, and yet not intend therein to compleat that Prediction •, is harder to credit, and to be reconciled with the Wifdom and Goodnefs of God, than any Chriftian Myftery what- ever. And yet this high Improbability, or rather Abfurdity, muft they maintain, whe- ther they be Jeivs or Beifis^ who charge St. Matthew with impertinently applying the Prophecy of the Text to the Birth of Jcfas our Saviour. As to the latter Part of this Predidion, v/hich concerns the Name of this wonder- , ful I S E R M O N I. y ful Son of a Virgin Mother, it was nor, we confefs, fultilled in Jefus according to the Letter^ he was never, that we can learn, called Immanuel : No more was /- faiah\ Son, whom fome will have to be the immediate Subjed of the Prophecy be- fore us \ nor was that Son of Ifaiab^ in any tolerable Sort, what the Name Lmna- nuel implies, ?. e, God with us. After his Birth, and the prophetick Significancy of it, which came to pafs in tv/o Years after, we hear nothing more concern ini^ this Son of the Prophetefs •, he wrought no Wonders nor Deliverances, either for the Kingdom of Judah^ or Houfe of D^- vid^ on Account whereof the Name hw manuel^ in the lowefl Senfe of the Word might be applicable to him, but is pafFed over in Silence like oiher common Men : Whereas Jefus Chrift, not only in the Wonders of his Birth, but in the future Tranfadions of his Life manifefled, that God was with, or had vifited his People, The divine Power did never fo • vifibly, and in fo fhort a Time, exert itfelf before : For our Lord, in the three Years which B 3 fol- 6 S E R M O N L followed his (hewing unto Ifrael, wrou2,nt more Wonders bv the Fin'^er of God, than had been performed throughout the Jezv'ijh Hiftory, from the tirtl: Foundation of that People, which was a Term of one Thoufand five Hundred Years, 'i'he Vvif- dom alfo and Goodnefs of Cjod did not lefs eminently Ihine forth in him, than his Pow- er did, and all together manifeiied him to be the BrightncTs of his Father's Glory, and the exprefs Image of his Pcrfon : He therefore, and he only, was, in tlie fub- limeft and moll: flrid Senfe, God with us, or God with our Nature, made in the Form and FaOiion of a Man. Can it then be i- imagined or conceived, that God fliould, by the Prophet Ifalah^ foretell fuch amazing Difpenfations as thefe, and exadly verify them in the Birth and Life of Jcfus, and mean nothing of all this by it, but fome- thing tl^Q, which, if at all brought to pafs, fell infinitely fliort of the Terms in which the Prophecy was couched } Can Jews^ that are not blinded by Prejudices, or ra- ther judicial Delafion, fland out againft fuch cogent Evidence for the Truth of the Gofpel, SERMON I. 7 Gofpel, as this is } Nay, can even Deifts, who allow the necelTary Perfections, as well as the Being cf God, ward off the Confequences of this Prophecy fo illafl:ri- oully compieated ? None fiare but Atheifts or Fatalifts, who fuppofe both Prophecies, and Completions of them, to be the Work of blind Chance or Deftiny, can confid- ently maintain, that St. Matthetv has faife- ly applied the Predidion in the Text to the Nativity of the bleiTed jefus. In a Word therefore^ whether we can or cannot make out the Pertinence of the Si9;n given to the Houfe of DaviJ, in the Words of Ifdiab now before us, thus un- derftood, to the Occafion upon v/hich it was given, vi-;:^. the Confederacy of the two Kings cf Syria and Ifrael^ againfl: the reigning Family in JihLib •, St. Matthetus Interpretation of it, as built upon the Truth and Goodnefs of God, as well as the natural Congruity of it, mun:f!:and im-- pregnable againft all but Atheifts. B 4 How- 8 SERMON I. However, the learned Advocates for Chriftianity have offered a plaufible Rati- onale of this Mattery and the Exceptions taken to it by the Writers for Infidelity, when fairly confidered, will be found to labour under the Charge either of Falfe- hood or Impertinence, or both. A learned Prelate of our own has de- fended St. Mattbevp's Application of the Text, on Suppofition of its being a typical^ or a (ingle literal Predidion of the Birth of Jefus. In the former Cafe, he fuppofes this mi- raciilous Nativity to have been foretold in the Perfon of Ifai/nJfs Son by the Prophet- efs, and in this Suppofition he affirms there is nothing incongruous or unnatural, but that it may neverthelefs, with Certainty, be applied to Chrifl ^ becaufe literally, and in the Amplitude of the ExprefTed, it was fulfilled in him only ^ whereas in the Type, the Words were figuratively and incom- pletely verified. In SERMON I. 9 In the latter Cafe, and taking the Words of Ifaiah in the Text to relate folely to Meffias, he fuppofes the Prophecy concern- ing him, to end with the Verfe after the Text, and that the i6th Verfe begins a new Promife or Prophecy, in which nei- ther Meffias, nor the Son of Ifaiah by the Prophetefs, then unborn, was concerned, but his eldeft Son by her, Shear Jajhub, who was then with him at his Meeting with Ahaz by God's Appointment, he fuppofes that, pointing to this Shear Ja- fiub, he pronounced the Words of the 1 6th Verfe. For before the Child, mean- ing the Child then in his Hand, fjall know to refitfe the Evil a?id chnfe the Good, the Land that thou abhorrefl fjall be forfaken of both her Kings. Here therefore, according to our Author, were two Promifes of Se- curity 5 Firft, to the Houfe of David in ge- neral, by the AlTurance that God's Cove- nant with that Patriarch, fhould certainly be fulfilled by the wonderful Birth of him who was to fit upon his Throne : And Se- condly, of a perfonal Deliverance to Jha^, from 10 SERMON I. from the Invafion wherewith he was threat- ened, the Caufe of which fhould be re- moved, by the Death of the Invaders, be- fore Shear Jajfmb fliould be of Age to di- ftinguifh Good from Evil. Againfl: this Hypothecs, what is it that the Enemies of Chrlflianity have to offer, that has any Appearance of Serioufnefs or Importance ? For with the Cavils and Sneers of thofe Scorners, it will not be exped:ed I fliould meddle. Why, firft, we are told, that the pre- fent Fears of Jhaz, upon the Invafion of the two Kings, was the Occafion of the Sign given by the Prophet . and that in this View, the immediate Conception of a Male Child feems as proper a Sign to Ahd^j as the Conception of a Male Child eight hundred Years after was improper. But to this it may be anfwered, that the Time of Mefliah's Birth and x\dvent, does not appear to have been known when the Prophecy of the Text was given out, it never ha\ing been revealed to any pre- cife SERMON I. II cife Degree, till the Days of Daniel'^ and of this the Writer, to whom I am now re- plying, was toid by his Antagonifl before lie made this Objection : So that the mira- culous Conception of Meiliah might, for aught Aha-;:^ knew, be near enough to be no improper Sign of Delivery from the Ter- rors then in his View. But fuppofing it to be otherwife, does not the Hypothefis I de- fend provide againft this Inconvenience, by md^^m'y^ShearJalhiib^v^lio was then born,and alfo prefent, a Sign of Security to Ahaz^ a- gainll: the Confederacy which then threat- ened both him and his Family } Befides, there is a greater Likelihood, that Sheay Jajhitb was the Sign of immediate Delive- rance, becaufe, otherudfe it vv^ill fcarce be pofiible to afiign a Caufe, why Ifaiah was commanded by God to take that Child with him to this Interview with Ahaz, Some Deiign there was certainly in that Ap- pointment, and what fo likely a one, as that he might be a Sign of Security to the Houfe of David froni their prefent Appre- henlions. It mud: not be concealed, that our Adver- fary affirms, that tlio' Shear Jajfmb accom- 4 panied 11 SERMON J. paniedhis Father by the exprefs Command of God on his firft Apphcalion to Ahax-% yet no fach Command accompanied this fecond Application, of which we are treat- ing;, nor is it intimated, t\\z.t Shear Ja- fbiib did then accompany his Father, and confequently there is no Pretence for break- ing the Prophecy into two, and for mak- ing Ifaiah point to Shear Jaflmb as a Party to the Promife in the 1 6th Verfe. Bat here we altogether deny, that two diflind Applications to Ahaz are fpoken of in the Chapter of the Text, the fecond taking Place at the loth Verfe ^ and confe- quently Shear Jaflmb accompanied his Fa- ther when he uttered the Words in the 1 6th Verfe, and might be pointed to as the Child then fpoken of. For it would be very abrupt, and little lefs than abfurd to make the fecond Application of Ifaiah to Aha';c, begin as the loth Verfe does, with Offers of a Sign, in Confirmation of what had been foretold at a former Inter- view, unlefs he had repeated the Predic- tion, which is not pretended to have been done. Befides, the Foundation upon which our SERMON!. 13 our Adverfary builds his Hypothefis of two Applications, made at different Times to Ahab in the Chapter of the Text, will by no Means fupport it : For it refolves, at laft, into no more than the equivocal Ex- preffion of our EngUjJj Bible, in the loth Verfe, which runs thus , Moreover^ the Lord f pake again unto Ahaz, faying. But will this warrant any one to affirm, that this was a Meilage delivered to Ahaiz, at a diftind: Time from that which preceded it > No furely. If the Writer in queftion had looked into the Margin of his Bible, he would have found another, and a more literal Rendering, vi^» And the Lord added to [peak unto Ahab . which furely is not only confiflent with its being a Continua- tion of the fame Difcourfe, but fuppofes it to be fuch. If this had feemed too fervile for the Text, the Tranflators might have ufed the Turn they give to the very fame Words in the Original, Deut, Chap. xx. Ver* 8. and have expreiled it thus •, And the Lord [pake further unto Ahab, faying. Nay, I fee not what Ground there would have been for blaming them, if they had put it, and the Lord continued or proceed- ed 14 SERMON I. ed to fpeak unto Aha-z>, faying ^ any more than we do their Rendering in the 29th and 3 6th Chapters oi Job, the former of whicli they make to begin thus :, Moreover job continued his Farable^ and faid ^ and the latter, Elibii alfo proceeded and fa'id: Thd* in both thefe Paifa.jes, as in the loth Verfe of the Chapter of the Text, the Letter of the Hebrew is, added to take his Parable, and added to fay. Upon the Whole then, we find that the icth Verfe was not the Beginning of a new Application to Jbaz, but a Continuation of what went before, and delivered at one and the fame Time with it: And that the Mifhike of our Ad- verfary, if it was not wilful, was charge- able upon his Ignorance or Inattention. So th;xt Shear JaJJmb, who accompanied his Father throughout his Interview with J- ba^, was with him when he delivered what we read in the i6th Verfe, and there- fore might be there pointed to according to the Hypothefis I am defending. It is urged again, from the fame Qiiar- ter, that Ifaiab could not point to Shear Jajhiib SERMON T. 1$ fdjlmb and fay, Before he^ viz. Shear Ja- fliub, JJjoiiLl know to refiife the Evil and ch?tfe the Good^ the Land fljonld he forfa- ken of both her Kings ^ becaufe Shear Ja- Jbub was at that Time of Age to make fuch Diflindion, and probably of Years of Difcretion. Bat what Authority can be produced, to prove this adult Age of Shear Jaflmb, at the Time the Fredidion of the Text was given } All that appears, is the advanced Age of the Prophet, which indeed will e- vince, that he might have a Son then at Years of Difcretion, but not that he cer- tainly and adually had fuch a Son. All his elder Children might be dead, and Shear JaJJmb, who alone was left to him, might be then an Infant in Arms, or juft on his Feet, and able to walk in his Fa- ther's Hand. And that this was really the Cafe, we have iome Reafon to conclude from his Name, which, according to the • Lxx and Jerom, was only Jajlmb Shear, they both agreed in rendering participially : And where our En^IiJJj Bible, in the third Verfe i6 S E R M O N L Verfe of the Chapter of the Text, makes God fay to Ifa'iah^ Go forth ?iow to meet Ahab, thoH^ and Shear Ja(hub thy Son .^ thofe ancient Interpreters make him fay, tliou, and Jajimb thy Son, that is left to thee. Another, and a confiderable Advantage arifing to us from this Interpretation is, that admitting it to be true, Jajlouh was never a Sign unto the Jews, if we exclude him from being fuch in the 1 6th Verfe of the Chapter of the Text. But Ifaiah himfelf, in the following Chapter, at the i8th Verfe, afTures us, that he, and the Children whom the Lord hath given hirn, are for Signs, and for JVonders in Ifrael. Now we know, that his younger Son Maher-Shalal-Hafi- I^az, is fpoken of as a Sign in the 4th Verfe of this Chapter : But where to find Jajimb a Sign or a Wonder in Ifrael^ if he was not pointed out for fuch in the 1 6th Verfe of the 7th Chapter, I fee not, GrQtiiiSj indeed, makes him to be a Sign by Virtue of his prophetick Name, which, with our EngliJJj, and moft other Interpre- ters, he will have to be at large Shear Ja- jhiib'^ which being, by Interpretation, the Rem-. S E R M O N i. t7 Remnant (hall return, is fuppofed to have prefignified the Return of thofe Jews^ which the Kings of Syria and Israel had carried away Captives, in an Invafion they feparately made upon Judea two or three Years before, which accordingly happened foon after. But by this Account, the Birth of Shear Jaflmb muft have fallen out dur- ing, or elfe immediately after, that Inva- fion, and confequently he was but in the fecond or third Year of his Age, when he accompanied his Father to go and meet Abaz^ and to deliver the Prophecy of the Text, On either Suppofition, therefore, our pre- fent Point is fecure, that Shear JafJmb was then far from being at Years of Difcretion, and confequently might be the Perfon meant or pointed to in the i6th Verfe, before whofe know'uig to refufe the Evil and chufe the Good^ the Land would be forsaken of both her Kings, Another Objedlion againft the Comple- tion of the Prophecy of the Text in the Birth of Jefus, as we find it applied by St. Matthew^ is, that the Virgin Mary^ his Vol. U. C Mother, i8 SERMON I. '^'lother, does not appear to have been of the Line of Ddvhi, but rather of fome Line in the Tribe of Levi -^ and that Jefus could not be of the Line-of D^W, as def- cended from her, feems plain, fince St. Matthew makes him to be of the Line of Dav'ulj only on Account ofjofeph^ who was not his Father, and at the Time of Jefus's Birth, only betrothed to the Virgin Mary (which fiiould fee m. an extraordif)ary Method of proceeding in St. Matthew^ if Jefus had been of the Line of David by Mary) and fince the Jews never reck- oned Families by Females. Here our Adverfary condefcends to rea- fon againfl: a Fad attefted to by Prophets, Evangelifts, and Apofties, who lived in the very Age of it, and all agree, that Jefus was the Son, the Seed of DaviJ^ and the Fruit of his Loins. His Proofs are old, and impertinent Cavils, which have been frequently deteded and anfwer- ed. The learned Grotius in particular, to whofe Writings our Man was no Stran- ger, has fhevvn that Ma}'/^ Kindred with 4 £//•- S E R M O N I. 19 FJizabetby who was one of the Daughters of Aaron^ does not prove her (j, e.) Ma' iy) to have been of that Family •, feeing that this Confangainity was probably ow- ing to Mar/s Father, or Grandfather's having married a Levitical Virgin. He has alfo accounted for Marys Pedigree not being deduced from David, but ra- ther Jofeplfs 5 by fliewing that HeirelTes, according to the Levitical Law, were ob- liged to marry to their neareft Kindred by their Father. This, therefore, being the Cafe of the bleded Virgin, her*s and Jo- feph's Pedigree mud have been one and the fame -^ fo that the Proof of JofepJfs Defcent from Davul, included likewife that of Mar/s Defcent from him. His laft Pretence, that Jefus could not be of the Line of David, as defcended from Ma- ry, becaufe the Jews never reckoned Fa- milies by Females, is a mere Equivocation, For the Birth of Jefus, without a human Father, was a Angular Cafe, in which his immediate Defcent muft take its firfl Rife from a Female •, and tho' fuch a Reckoning may be againft the ordinary Rules of Jew- C 2 ijh 20 S E R M O N I. jfi Genealogy, it is agreeable to Nature *, and therefore Jefus was undoubtedly of the Line of David, becaufe his Mother was fo. The lafl: material Objection urged againft St. Matthew's Application of the Prophecy in the Text is, that the Term in Hebrew tranflated a Virgin, has not that precife Meaning, but fignifies only in general a young Woman. But what Proof, what Authority does he produce for the general Signihcation of the Hebrew Word Aleniah . No : For there, in feven Pallages, which are all in which it occurs, it con- .llantly (ignifies a Virgin. Does he give us the Authority of early Interpreters, who, living before Chrifl, might be fuppofed void of all Prejudices for or againft the Caufc of the Gofpel ? No , this was impoflible : Becaufe the Seventy, as they are called, or the oldeft Greek Tranllators, who lived I three S E R M O N I. 2 1 three hundred Years before Chrid, and are the only difinterefted Judges in the prefent Cafe, render the Hebrew Alemah by Virgin^ juft as all Chrijiian Interpre- ters do. In fliort, therefore, we have on- ly this Infidel Writer's Word for the Af- fertion, that Aleinah (ignifies only in gene- ral a young Woman, whether (he be a Virgin or not. He knew that Jquila, Sjm- 7nachm^ and Tbeodotton, had given the fame lax Turn to that Word, but was a- fhamed to produce fuch Vouchers j becacEfe they were Jews or Jewiflily inclined, who tranflated the Hebrew Scriptures after Chrift, and merely to ferve the Purpofes of a Party. Thus it appears, after all the iniquitous Pains taken by the Enemies of our holy Faith to deprive us of the Evidence for it, from the illuftrious Completion of the Pro- phecy before us, in the Birth of Jefus our Lord, that it was truly and ftridly fulfilled by that Event. For Mary was the only Virgin Mother recorded in all the Annals of Time, iincc the giving fcrth of that Pra. C 5 22 S E R M O N I. Prophecy, and her bleilied Son, the only ."Male Child in all that Period, who could jjftly claim the Title oilmmamtel, or Cjod, with us. Of the Strength and Pertinency of this Fredidion, none feem more fenfible than our Adverfaries themfeives. And, 1 think, they virtually confefs as much, by the ftre- nuous Endeavours of late ufed by them to prove the fpurioufnefs of the two lirfl Cha- ters in the prefent Gofpel of St. Vuittbew. And the' their chief Spite is at the former of thefe two, becaufe therein is applied the formidable Prophecy of the Text, and the Hiftory of Marfs Virgin Pregnancy is there fet down, yet they are forced to ex- tend their Cenfure to the fecond Chapter alfo ^ becaufe the'r chief Evidence is, that both w^ere wanting in the Gofpel of tlie ^- hionites, which they give out was the ori- ginal Hebrew of St. Matthew. U this had not been the Cafe, the fecond Chapter of St. Matthew would certainly have efcaped their Cenfure ^ becaufe it contains two Pro- phecies, which they ha^x made much Ufe of, S E R M O N I. 23 of, in order to depreciate the Evidence for Chriftianity from that Topick. That fame Chapter alfo contains the Hiftory of Herod's Murder of the Bethkhemitelnfduts-^ on which they defcant with great Airs of Confidence, as a falfe Fad, utterly unfupported by all concurrent Hiftorians ; So that their Wil- lingnefs to give up this fecond Chapter- tho' with the Lofs of fo many Handles for Cavil, is to be refolved into no other Mo- tive than this, that they cannot otherwife have a Pretence for expunging the firft Chapter : And the firft Chapter, tho' the Genealogy fet down m it is very opportune for their Purpofe, of playing one Gofpel againft another, becomes infupportable to them ^ becaufe the Evangelifl therein ap- plies a Prophecy, as fulfilled in the Birth of our Lord, which their utmofl Skill and Malice is not, blclfed be God for it, able to defeat. C 4. S E R^ ( m) SERMON II. M I C A H V. 2. But thoUy Bethlehem^ Ephratay though thou be little among the Thousands of Juddj yet out oj thee fiall he come forth unto me^ that is to be Ruler of Ifrael : Whofe goings forth have been of Old, from Everlafling. THIS Prophecy is not applied ex- prefly to the Birth of Chrift, by Jefus himfelf, nor by any of the New Teftament Writers : But, as St. Mat- thew relates, it was fo applied by the Chief Priefts and Scribes of the People, in their Anfwer to Herod's Queflion, who conven- ed them, demanding to know, where Chrift Ihould i6 S E R M O N II. fhould be born. The Evangelift tell us of no Difference in the Opinions of the 5^«/je"- iirim^ upon the Qiieftion put to them, but feems to make them anfwer unanimouilv. In Bethlehem <9/Judea : For thus it is writ- ten by the Prophet. And thou Betblehein^ in the Land of Jiidah^ art not the leaf} among the Vrinces of Judah : For out of thee jhall covxe a Governor that Jball rule iny "people Ifrael. As therefore the facred Writers have neither exprefly cited, nor urged this Prophecy in Favour of Jefus : So it fhould feem not greatly to concern the Merits of the Chriftian Caufe, whether the Jewiflj Sanhedr'wi made a pertinent Application of the Prophecy in the Text to the Birth of Meflias, or not. For admitting them to have made a wrong Judgment in this Cafe, St. Matthew is not neceiFarily concerned in this Affair, further than as a Relator of the Fad. The Unbe4ievers there- fore, on no Suppofition whatever, have any Right to fay of the Prophecy before us,as they do of fome others, that it is weakly alledged from the Old Teftament in the Writings of the New, to fupport the Pretenfions of Jcfus S E R M O N 11. 27 Jefus to the Mefliahfhip. However, as St. Mattbeiv relates, the Application of this Prophecy to the Place of Chrift's Nativity, without the lead Intimation that the Chief Priefts and Scribes of the People erred in that Point •, and as fome Exceptions have been made to the Pertinency of the Allega- tion in the Text, tho' the Event has moft exadly and wonderfully anfwered thereto j I have thought it by no Means foreign to the Scheme I have hitherto purfued in thefe Ledures, to defend the Propriety of this Prediction, and to fhew its Importance to the Chriftian Caufe, againfl the unjufl Ex- ceptions of the unbelieving Writer, fo oft fpoken of in the Courfe of the Argument before us. And this in the following Me- thod. FirJ}, I (hall Ihew, that MefTiah's native Place is a Subjed better fuited to the Let- ter of this Predidion, than any other that has been ailigned. Secondly^ That the Birth of Jefus our Lord, in the very Place foretold by Micah^ happen- 28 S E R M O N II. happening againfl: all Likelihood, and by the fpecial Interpofition of Providence, could only be intended to fulfill this Pro- phecy, and therefore flrongly attefts the Truth of Jefus being the Chrifl. Thirdly^ I (hall anfwer the Objedions that have been raifed againfl either the Application of this Predidion, or its Ser- A'iceablenefs to the Caufe of Chriftianity. Firft then, I am to fliew, that Mefhah'g native Place is a Subjedl better fuited to the Letter of the Prophecy, now under Con- fideration, than any other that has been afligned. Two Things are evidently foretold con- cerning the Ruler of Jfrael, who is the Subjed of the Prophecy in the Text. i/?. That he was to be born at Bethlehem £"- phrata : And 2dly. That his Birth was to do fignal Honour to that City. As to the former of thefe, it is the natural and obvi- ous Meaning of the Expreilion, that he fl]ould come out of Bethlehem Ephrata, But SERMON 11. 29 But what Ruler of Ifrael was born there after the giving out of this Prophecy, ex- cept Jefus our Lord, who, tho* his King- dom was not of this World, was, in a fpi- rituai Senfe, the King and Saviour of Ifrael .«? Secondly, Mkah predifls concerning this Ruler of Ifrael, that he fnould do fignal Honour to Bethlehem Ephrata, his native Place. Why elfe is the Promife introdu- ced with faying, Jhongh thou he little among the Thoufands ofjiidah ^ but to in- timate, that extraordinary Honour was thereby confered on the Place. Whereas, there had been nothing uncommon, if a Place of no Note in itfeif (hould produce a Ruler, who had nothing in him that was extraordinary. But if the Prophet meant to foretell, that the Birth of this Ruler at Bethlehe?n (liould greatly diftinguilh .it among the Thoufands of Judah, and make it thenceforward not to be efteemed an ob- fcure C'^y, as the original Words will very well admit, and as the Chief Priefts and Scribes in St. Mattheiv's Gofpcl reprelcnt the. 30 S E R M O N II. the Senfe of the Prophecy . furely he muft be a Ruler of an extraordinary Charader, whofe Nativity was to ennoble a fmall and inconfiderable Place, and fet it high in the Rank of Jev^iJJj Cities. This was in Effect to fay, that tb^t ne-w 'Native of Bethlehem Ephrata (hould prove fo confiderabie a Ru- ler of Ifrael, as to do remarkable Honour to the Place of his Birth. And indeed he had need be a Ruler of uncommon Merit and Dignity, who was to be capable of do- ing any additional Honour of this Sort to what had been already done to Betbkhemy by its having given Birth to Bavid. This was already the prime Glory and Diftinc- tion of that little City, thit it gave a Be- ginning to the Royal Houfe of Jiulah-^ and what mud he be, the Splendor of whofe Birth was to Outfhine and Eclipfe that of David^ and give Bethlehem an Advantage beyond what it had ever received before > In vain lliall we look for this confiderabie Perfon in the x\nnals of the Jenvjh Hif- tory, unlefs we fix on our Saviour Chrift, the Son of DaviJ, whom DaviJ himfelf acknowledged for his Superior, by calling him SERMON II. 31 him Lord in the Spirit of Prophecy, His goings forth were literally from Ever- lading, and he was the Glory, not of Betb- lehem only, but of his entire People IfraeU Indeed the Defcription of the Ruler in my Text is fo full of Magniticence, and is fo dif- proportionatetoany Ruler befides him, that it was no Wonder the Scribes of our Sa- viour*s Days (hould fo unanimoufly explain it of Meflias, and thence deliver it as their contirmed Judgment to Herod the King^ that he was to be born at Bethlehem in Jit- dea. Not that we build the Certainty of their Opinion upon this Point, on the fingle Authority of St. Matthew'*?, Gofpel. The ChaJdee Paraphrafes, made but little later than the Birth of our Saviour, bear ample Teftimony, that the Judgment of the Jeiv- iJJ) Church in thofe Days accorded with this Interpretation : For He on the Prophets ex- plains the Ruler, who was to come forth out of Bethlehem^ of the Meflias. Nay, as is truly obfetved by a learned Prelate of our Church, the Paraph raft was fo full of this Notion, that Bethlehem feldom comes in his Way, but he hath fome Obfervation wpon \z S E R M O N n. upon it concerning the Meffias. And the* the Jews^ for many Ages laft pafl, have been irrefolute upon this Article, plainly becaufe they have but little Hope, that the Mefliah they exped will be born at Beth- leheffi, yet in one of their Prayers this an- cient traditionary Notion yet fubfifls. For therein they call Meffias Ben Jejfe^ the Betbtebe?fi2te, Thus we fee how well this Prophecy fuits with the Event to which it is applied in the Gofpel of St. Matthew, viz» Mef- (iah's Birth at Bethlehem ■, and confequent- ly that there is no Weaknefs or Abfurdity in the Allegation. But can the like be faid of any other Event, to which that Pro- phecy has been thought to have Relation > By no Means. For Zorobahel (whom, out of his Fondnefs for fecondary Senfes of Prophecy, Grotius fuppofes to have been the primary Intention of that in the Text^ did not come out of Bethlehem, in the ufual Scripture Meaning of thatPhrafe^ he was not born there, but at Babylon, as his Name imports : Nor had he any Relation to the Place, SERMON IL 35 Place, except that diftant one, of being a very remote Defcendent from David^ who was born in that City near 500 Years be- fore. He might, indeed, on this Account, be called the Son of Davhl, bat could never be predided, as coming out of the Town of Bethlehem^ where David was. Again, He, of whom Mkah fpeaks, was to be a Ruler of Ifrael, which Zorobahel never was, who had not either the Power, or the Name of Ruler. He was no more than one of the Heads of the Captivity, being indeed hrft named out of Regard to his Royal Defcent, but is never named fingly in any Ad of Juriididion : Nor do we hear any Thing more of him, fave that he laid the Foundation-Stone of the fecond Tem- ple, which for that Reafon has frequently gone by his Name. Further, the Ruler of Ifrael^ foretold in the Text, is fpoken of in other Terms, that are by much too high and magnifi- cent for ZorobabeL His goings forth are . declared by the Prophet to have been from Everlafling. How frigid is the Expofi- VoL. II. D tion 34 S E R M O N If. tion given of thefe ftronp; Words by Gro- tins, viz* that he was defcended from a Family, which had fwayed the Sceptre of Judab for niany hundred Years : For Antiquity of Defcent, without the Circum- ftance of Splendor, is the only thing meant by the Words we are fpeaking of. And yet if we exclude the Notion of Royalty, there was nothing peculiar to ZorobabeV?, Defcent that would diflinguiQi him above others, as one whofe goings forth were from Everiafling. The Genealogies of Families among tlie Jeivs were fo exadly and faithfully prelerved in the Days of Zorobabely th:it exery one could, as well as he, trace his Pedigree, not only as high as David's Days, but even to thofe of Abra- ham, Earthly Pedigree, therefore, being an Advantage, wliich was (hared equally by all Jews, could be no fpecial Note of him that was to come forth a Ruler of Ifrael j but a divine,an everlafting Original, Vi^as the Thing meant •, which no Ways fuits with Zorobahel, nor any other Defcendent from David, but Chrifl our Lord, who, in his other SERMON 11. 35 other Nature, was in the Beginning with God, and was God. Lafily^ How iinfuitable to the general Scope of this Prophecy is it to fuppofe, that Zorobabel was any Part of its Inten_ tion. For the great Defign of it evidently was to predid fomething that fhould great- ly redound to the Honour of Bethlehem Ephrata .^ fomething that (liould give it a greater Dignity, than any Thing which had ever befallen it from its lirft Founda- tion. But even fuppcfing Zorobabel to have been born there, would that have been an Incident of this Sort } Bethlehem had for many Ages been diftinguifhed for the native Place oi David ^ the Founder of the Royal Lineof yW^/j* ', and if it (till needed fome other happy Event to make it con- fiderable among the Thoufands of Judah^ muft it not in all Reafon have been fome- what more iiluftrious, than the Birth of a remote Defcendent of David's , one that was neither King nor Ruler, but only join-, ed with others in conduclins; a miferable D 2 Capti,- 3^ S E R M O N IL Captivity to its former Settlement then in Ruins } On the other Hand, how appofite is it to conclude, tliat if aught was want- ing to compleat the Glory of Bethlehem, as the Mother of great and extraordinary Per- sons, which had already produced one, who was a Man after God's own Heart, it Ihould be the Birth of him, who was in the Bofom of the Father, who was the on- ly begotten Son of God : One who was not only the Ruler of Ifrael, but who had like wife the Heathen for his Inheritance and the uttermoft Parts of the Earth for his PoUeflion. The Birth of fuch a one on- ly could ennoble Bethleheiu^ and do for it more than Davnij with all his Power and Royalty, had done for his native Place be- fore. Bat for Zorobabel^ who was neither King of Judah^ nor Native of Bethlehem, to fuppofe that, merely on Account of his Defcent from David, he was capable of adding aught to the Splendor that City had acquired by giving Birth to fo great a Prince, would be not only unreafonable, but alfo abfurd. Thus I truft it now ap- pears, that the Birth-place of Meflias is a Subje(S SERMON 11. 37 Subjed which fuits with the Letter of the Prophecy in the Text, better than any other that has been yet afligned. I there- fore proceed to (hew, \._^, Secondly^ That the Birth of Jefus our Lord, in the very Place foretold by Mi- cah^ coming to pafs againft all Likelihood, and happening, not thro' Choice, but of Neceffity, feems evidently intended by Providence for the Completion of the Pro- phecy before us, and thereby to evince that Jefus was the Chrift. That Tefas was born at Bethlehem, is a Fad attefted by two of the Evangelifts, and not to be denied : And yet certain it is, that, in the ordinary Courfe of Things, this Jwas not likely to have happened. For till ■iwithin a fhort I'ime before Mary his Mo- .ther was delivered of him, her Refidence was at Nazareth, a City oi Galilee^ and at a great Di (lance from Bethlehem. If there- fore file had followed the Inclinations of Nature, or of Prudence, (lie would have ftayed, and been delivered at home, rather D 3 than 38 S E 11 AI O N II. than travel to fo remote a Place as Eetb- kbetn, to the Hazard of her FleLilth, to her own UneafiDefs, and at an Expence which file and Jofepb^ her efpoufed Huf- band, were ill able to fupport. And had fhe, notwithftanding all ihefe Reafons to the contrary, chofe to 1 ly her Burden at Bethlehem^ it might hav^e been faid her View was, that in Cafe (he was delivered of a Son, he might claim to be acknow- ledged for the Chrift, in Virtue of Micab'*s Prophecy. But fucli a Completion as this would have been but a weak Support to fuch a Claim : Becaufe it would have been in the Pov/er of many to qualify their Males for entering their Pretenfions in the fam.e Manner. And thofe, whofe Birth at Betblebern happened in the ordinary Courfe of Things, would have had a better Title to be conlidered, as fpoken of by Micah^ •than Jefus, if his Nativity there had been fludiouily brought about, and againft all the Rules of Prudence and Convenience. But this was by no Means the Cafe ; For, by the fpcciai Appointment of God, an un- forefeen Incident laid the Mother of Jefus, under SERMON IT. 39 under a Neceflity of travcilin^r to Bahle- hem^ at fo unleafonable a Time, and of bringing forth a Son there. At this very Jiindure comes out a Decree from C^far Auguflus, that all the World fhouid be taxed, or rather enrolled, in order to a fu- ture Taxation : And all went to be taxed every one into his own City. And Jofepb alfo went up from Gdldee out of the City of Nazareth into JnJda, unto the City of David, which is called BsthkherHy becaufe he was of the Houfe and Lineaa;e of David to be taxed wi?h Mary his efpoufed Wife, being great v/iih Child. And fo it was, that, while they were there, the Days v/ere accomplillied fiiat fiie Qiou'd be delivered : And llie brought forth her hrfl-bcrn Son, and wrapped liim in Swadiing-Clothes, and laid him in a Manger, becaufe there was no Room for tnem in the Inn. He muft be blind who c.;nnot fee tiie Tnices of an extraordinary Pro\idence in this Affair : 1 "or nothing but evident CompuKion could have juHilied the bleiled Virgin's going to . Bdthlchem fo out of Time as this was. To clear her from all Sufpicion of De%n, the D 4 Caufe 40 SERMON 11. Caufe of her Journey tnufl: have been fome- thing that was neither of her own feek- ing, nor within her Power to prevent : And juft fuch an Occafion as this offered itfelf, to wit, the Decree of C^far Augnftits, . A Decree the more remarkable, becaufe it was the firft of the Kind that had ever been iflued out with Relation to Jrulea^ which had then not long been Tributary to the 'R.mnans. And thus it was, the Mother of Jefus became undefignedjy accelfary to the fullfilling of MicaJfs Prophecy in the Birth of her Son at Bethkheffi^ the Wifdom of God having contrived the only conceivable Means of bringing it about contrary to her Intention, that fo the Event might appear to be no human Device, but the Counfel of Heaven \ and the Prophecy of the Text being compleated in fo extraordinary a Manner, might be a more effedual Proof that Jefus was the Chrift, which was the fecond Point I propofed to fpeak to. I go on therefore, '■?» Thirdly^ and Laftly, To anfwer fucb Objedions as have been offered againfl Un- 4 derftand- S E R M O N II. 41 derftanding the Prophecy in the Text of Meflias, or the Completion of it in the^ Perfon of Jefus our Lord. '' As to the former of thefe, that Meffias is predided in the Text, the Thing is fo very clear, that the Writer, who undertook to anlwer the Argument for Chriftianity from Prophecy, has in a Manner given up the Point. The latter, viz» the Applica- tion of Micah''^ Words to Jefus the Savi- our, he does oppofe, pretending that it is in the fulleft Manner confuted by the Con- text, which defcribes the Ruler in Terms perfedly inconliitent with the Character of Jefus : Particularly when it fays. He jljall be the Peace, when the Afjyrians fhall come into our Land : And when he f 3 all tread ift our Palaces^ then JJjall we raife againfi him [even Shepherds, and eight principal Men, And they fiall wajle the Land of A/Jyria with the Sword, and the Land oft^ijurod with the Entrances thereof: Thus Jljall he deliver us from the Afyrian, when he Cometh into our Land^ and when he tread- eth within our Borders* Which Words, adds 42 SERMON IL adds the Writer afore faid, are fo plain, as not to need the leafl: Comment to (hew them to be inapplicable to the peaceable Times and to the Perfon of Jefus. In anfwer to all which, it will fuffice to reply, by granting that, in the literal Ac- ceptation, thefe Words are not applicable to the Perfon of Jefus, and yet infixing that there is a Senfe, in which he complealcd all that is here promifed. For the State of Chriftianity, in the prophetick Writings, is frequently fpoken of under Jewiflj Images ^ and, in Confeqnence of this Method, the fpiritual Enemies of Chriftians are denoted under the Names of the known Adverfa- ries to the Jewijh People. And as the^j- fyrians were the capital Foes to Judah \ fo it is no Wonder that all the Enemies of the Chriflian Name fliould here be called by their Name, or that the Conquefts of ouc Lord, over the Adverfaries of our Church, fliould be prefigniiied by his delivering them from the JJJyrian, To this Soluticn the Objeftor would probably reply as he does on another fniiilar Occaficnj by afl-:- ing SERMON 11. 43 3ng, how that can be a literal Prophecy, wherein the Afjyrians^ the known common Invaders of the Jews, are mentioned by Name, and not meant, bat other Invaders meant under their Namie. And yet he himfelf, at another Time, calls fach a Sug- geftion playing upon Words. " For, fays " he, the literal Senfe, in the prefent Con- " troverf^', (igniiies the Senfe intended by ^' the Writer, the primary Senfe, in Op- *' pcfition to a typical, or allegorical, or " fecondary Senfe ^ which literal Senfe "■' may be (igniiied as well and as obviuolly '' by a figurative, as by the mod fimple '' and literal Expredion.'* He muft there- fore give us leave to apply this Reafoning to. the prefent Occafion, and to tell him in his own Words, that the Senfe we put up- on the Prophecy in the Text, may be the literal Senfe, bccaufe it is the primary Senfe, iho' fignihed by a figurative Exprellion. Againll the Prophecy of Micah being underftood of Mefiias, it is further objed-' ed, that fince Jefus's Time it has been deem.ed among the Jews a Matter of no Confc- 44 SERMON II. Confequence where the Meffias was born, (ince they have let up many Meflias's, who they knew were not born at Bethlehem* But which ought we moft to regard, the an- cient and mofl authentick Interpretations of the learned Jews^ or the Adions of a mad and defperate Populacy, deprived of their Country, and baniihed thence, and confe- quently out of all Hopes of a Meffias, who ihould be born in the Place foretold by the Prophet Micah . For had Jefus a, bufed his Commifiion, and, in Virtue of that, claimed to be fomewhat more than he really was, it is incredible that God fhould continue the miraculous Credentials of a Miflion fo unworthily performed. He, therefore, that (hould try Jefus's Claim to be the Son of God, or the Meflias of the fews^ foretold by the Prophets, entirely upon the Foot of Miracles, would act. nei- ther unreafonably nor unjuftly ;, would not " take his Religion upon Trufl, as is falfely fuggeded by our Adverfary •, but proceed . E 3 upon 54 SERMON HI. upon a Proof, which, tho' indired, is fuf- ficient. For, by this one Argument, the MefliahQiip of Jefus is made out to be mo- rally certain, and one thoufand Arguments would prove no more : By this Medium, both Jews and Gentiles^ and indeed all Mankind, except Atheifls, and the Fol- lowers of Epicurus^ may arrive at a rati, onal Belief in Jefus. Admitting therefore the Meiliahfhip of Jefus to be the funda- mental Article of the Chriftian Religion, there is no Neceflity for that Point to be made out by a dired Appeal to the Old Teftament -^ but it may, to all reafonable Intents and Purpofes, be made out from the Miracles recorded in the Gofpels. Herein we have likewife the concurrent Teftimony of St. John the Evangelijl, who, after having mentioned the Miracles wrought by Jefus after his Refurredion, tells us, that he did many other Signs in the Prefence of his Difciples, which are not written in his Gofpel^ and that thofe he had mentiojied were written, that Men might believe Jefus to he the Chrift the Son of God, So that the Sufficiency of the Ar- gument SERMON III. n gument from Miracles to prove thefe Points, is not only the Voice of Reafon, but al!b the Dodrine of the Gofpel. lu vain then is it for our Adverfary to urge the Claim to the Meflwhihip, as if it was necefTarily to be tried and examined by the Old Teftament, from the Nature of it. For the Nature of all Claims is fo far one an'd the fame, that they require no more than efFedual Proof, and whofoever rejects this, under any Pretence whatever, is utterly unreafonable. Nor is he more pertinent, when he puts us in Mind, that Jefus appeals to the Old Te (lament, and direds Men to fearch for him there , and that the Author of the Acls commends Men for fearching the Old Teflament, to fee after the Things of Jefus . unlefs it follows from thence, that no other Proof, particularly not that of Miracles, was to be admitted of our Lord's Claim to be Mefliah. But this is by no Means the Cafe: For, by recommending one Method of Proof, no one is ever un- E 4 derflood 5^ SERMON III. flood to faperfede all Methods befides. And this would be a Conftruc^ion more particularly abfurd in the prefent Qiieftion ^ becaufe, as our Lord is prefumed fome- times to appeal to the Old Teflament for the Truth of his Mefliahlhip, fo does he often, for the fame Purpofe, and in much flronger Terms, appeal to Miracles, defi- ling no Belief, if they were not fufficient to convince. From thefe Things, there- fore, laid and confidered together, it fol- lows, that our Lord was of Opinion, that Prophecy and Miracles were either of them valid Proofs of the Claim he laid to the Meffiahfhip ^ and confequently, that if we try it the latter Way only, we fet up a Standard which is every Way competent, trying his Pretenfions by a Method, to which he himfclf voluntarily fubmitted them. Our Adverfary, the Writer fo oft men- tioned, further obferves, that the Prophe- cies of the Old 1 eftament were urged in the New, not only as Teds to try the Meflias Jefus by, but alfo as Proofs to per- I fuade, SERMON III. 57 fuade, and to convince Men, that Jefus is the Mefliah. All which we grant to be true, with one Limitation, that Prophecies were fo urged to convince 'Jews only : For the New Teftament does not afford a fingle Inftance of a Gentile^ to whom the Argument from Prophecy was ufed, in or- der to make him a Chriftian. From whence it fhould feem to follow, that this was not fo abfolute a Proof as our Man reprefents it. For then it would have been applied indifcriminately to Gentiles^ as well as to Jevps^ which it plainly is not. But this limited Application of Prophe- cy in the New Teftament, tho* a Fad, and only to be contradided by counter Evi- dence, is attempted to be difproved from Reafon. In order to which we are told, *' that, at this Rate, Prophecies in the " New Teftament are mere Proofs ad " Hominem to the Jews ^ that if they are " only urged by the Apoftles as Proofs to " the Jews^ and intended only as Proofs " founded on the miftaken Meanings of " the Old Teftament of fomc Jen^s of " their 58 SERMON III. *' their Time ^ what Senfe is there in ap- " pealing upon all Occafions, and recom- " mending the Reading and Search thereof, " for the Trial and Proof of what was " preached ? For that was to proceed on " Weaknefs itfelf, knowing it to be fo.'* But where did our z'Vntagonift learn, that in relative Proofs, or Proofs ad Hoinijiefrty he who ufes fuch Proofs, always and ne- celFarily proceeds upon the miftaken Prin- ciples of thofe whom he would convince. That it is an utter Miftake I will make out by a plain Inftance. The Advocates for Chriftianity, evidently confider Miracles as a Proof of their Religion, not abfolute in itfelf, and therefore not applicable to all Sorts of Men, but relative only to fuch as own the Being and Attributes of God : So that Miracles, are in the Ufe and Applica- tidn of them. Arguments ad Ho?mnem, for the Truth of the Chriftian Religion : And yet every one knows, that the Defenders of Chriflianity believe the Being and At- tributes of God, as firmly as Deiffs do ^ and therefore argue not with them ad Ho- minem^ SERMON III. 59 minem^ from any miilaken Principles of theirs, as our Adverfary would perfuade us is always done in relative Proofs : Rut luch Proofs are fometimes built on real Truths, allowed to be fuch by both Sides in the Difpute. And particularly the Ar- gument ad Hominem before us, that from Ptophecy, is urged by the Apoftles to Jews only ^ not becaufe they miftook the Old Teftament in certain Points favoura- ble to the Chriftian Caufe, (for the Apoftles and they were agreed in the Meaning of moft Prophecies, and differed only about the Application of them) but becaufe the Jews believed the divine Authority of the Old Teftament as well as they (the Apo- ftles) did : Whereas the Gentiles, not ac- knowledging the infpired Charadler of thofe Books, nor perhaps fo much as their juft Antiquity, could not be fo well convinced by the Prophecies therein contained. Another Argument with our Adverfary, for the Importance of Prophecy to the Converlion of Gentiles, fuperior to that of the Proof from Miracles, is, that Pro- phecies 60 SERMON HI. phecies are a more plain and convincing Evidence than Miracles : And for this he reafons as follows. " What, fays he, can be more eafy to *' know, and more plain and convincing, " than a Prophecy fulfilled, in the Que- *' ftion before us ^ who can have fuch un- •' doubted Evidence of the Exiftence of *' the Books of the Old Teflament [fup- " pofed to contain numerous Prophecies *• fultilled in the New Teflament] long *' before the Books of the New were writ- *' ten, and have therefore very little to " do, but to compare the one with the ** other, the Prophecies in the Old with " the Completions in the New } They are " perpetual and Handing Miracles, and do *' not difappear, like other Miracles, on " their Performance. iVnd how much " fliort of fuch plain miraculous Evidence, " as are Prophecies, recorded before the t' Events foretold and fulfilled, muft be ** any Reports of Miracles, whereof Men *' in all Ages and Countries have generally " been the Inventors ?" This SERMON III. 6i This Reafoning, if it were otherwife valid, would be quite foreign to the pre- fent Queftion, which is the fuperior Im- portance of the Evidence of Prophecy to that of Miracles, in the Times of the A- poflles, and its being then as applicable to GejTCiles as to Jews. For the Books of ths New Teftament were not then written, and therefore the Completions of the an- tient Prophecies in the Events of Jefus, were known to the Gentiles then only by Report, as well as the Miracles wrought by him. So that thefe two Evidences were then, with Refped to the Gentiles^ exadly on the fame Footing, and confequently were equally plain and convincing. And as for Miracles wrought by the Apoftles^ the Gentiles were often Eye-witnelles them- felves to their Reality, and when this was not the Cafe, received the Truths of thofe Fads from the Teftimony of their Fellow Gentiles. So that the Evidence of Mira- cles was to them plainer and more convinc- ing than Prophecies. But the Didinclion, upon which our Author here reafons, has no real Foundation. For we now believe the 6z SERMON III. the Evidence of Prophecy upon the Cre- dit and Authority of the Gofpel Writers, who relate thofe Fads whereby the Predic- tions of the Old Teflament were fulfilled : And on this very Bottom we likewife be- lieve the Fad of Miracles, visz* becaufe we find them on Record in Books that are worthy of Belief. As therefore Prophe- cies are (landing and perpetual, and do not dilappear, becaufe regiftered in authentick Books of publick Recourfe , the fame may be faid for Miracles, which no more dis- appear on their Performance, as this Man falfely affirms, than the Completions of Prophecy do, but are both preferved in the fame venerable Repoiitories viiz, the infpired Writings of the New Tefla- ment: And confequently the Reafoning of our Adverfary in the prefent Cafe, is built on a Diftindion without a Difference : In- afmuch as both Prophecy and Miracles are {landing and perpetual Evidences, or elfe neither of them are fuch. haflly^ As for what he fays by Way of Difparagement to Miracles, that Men, in all Ages and Coun- tries, have generally been the Inventors of them . SERMON III. ^3 them •, the very fame Objedtion will lye a- gainft Ptophecies: For Men have as fre- quently, and as generally invented Pro- phecies, as they have Reports of Miracles. Of this Point, the fuperior Importance of Prophecies to the Proof of Chriftianity from Miracles, our Author is fo confident, as to make Jefus himfelf declare for it. *' Jefus, fays he, himfelf declares fo far " againft Miracles, as to fuppofe Prophe- *' cies of more Weight, than Miracles " wrought in our Prefence, even than raif- " ing a dead Perfon. If, fays he. Men " will not hear Mofes and the Prophets, " neither will they be perfuaded, tho' one " rofe from the Dead'*. But I deny that Jefus, in faying this, made Prophecies of more Weight than Miracles : At mod he makes the Weight of the two Evidences to be but equal. For if he had argued a fortiori, as the Schools call it, he muft have expreffcd himfelf thus. If Men will not hear Mo- fes and the Prophets, much lefs will they I be 54 SERMON III. be perfuaded, tho' one rofe from the Dead, But from the Saying of our Lord, as he uttered it^ no other Confequence can fairly be drawn than this •, that he thought if one fufficient Argument would not per- fuade Men, neither would another of equal Sufficiency effect the Bulinefs. But after all, what were thefe Men to be perfuaded of ^ was it of the Truth of Chriftianity , and is it of unbelieving Men in general that our Lord fpeaks ? Thus, doubtlefs, the Author intended that Readers fhould apprehend the Thing -^ becaufe, otherwife our Lord's Saying declares and fuppofes nothing; of what he makes it declare and fuppofe. And yet he himfelf very well knew, that the Perfons of whom our Lord fpake, were not unbelieving Men in gene- ral, and that what they were to be perfuaded to, was not the Belief of Chriftianity, but the Pradice of Virtue and Sobriety. In lliort, they were the Brethren of Vives in the Parable, who did not live up to the Dodrine of Mofes and the Prophets, tho* they had them, or believed them ^ and therefore, in our Lord's Judgment, would not SERMON m. ^5 not have been perfuaded to 'leave off their Libertin Courfes, tho* one had rofe from the Dead, and told them what Mifery their Brother had brought upon himfelf in the other World by the fame Vices. Had not our Author meant to deceive, the Rea- der ihould have been apprized of all thefe Circumftances : But he knew, that in fo doing he fhould defeat his own Purpofes, and that every one well informed of the Occafion of our Lord's Saying, would im- mediately fee, that our Lord declared no- thing againft Miracles, nor in Favour of Prophecy, as he fuppofes. So that Mofes and the Prophets being here conlidered, not as Foretellers of Events, but as infpired Teachers of Morality only, the PalTage has no Relation to Prophecies, and there- fore is quite foreign to the Queflion in Hand. Belides, he has not fairly cited our Lord's Words, which are, if they^ i. e. the Brethren of Dives abovementioned, hear not Mofes and the Prophets, neither will they be perfuaded, tho" one rofe from the Dead : Whereas our Adverfary makes Jefus to fay, if Men believe not Mofes and Vol. 11. F ^ the_ 66 SERMON III. the Prophets, and thereby pradices a pre- meditated Fraud upon his Readers, intend- ing they fliould believe, that thefe Words were not fpoken on a particular Occafion, nor related to the Dodrines of Afofis and the Prophets, but to their Predictions, as Evidences for Chriftianity, fuperior to that of Miracles. Were a Man to chicane at this Rate in his Worldly Dealings, Infa- my, if not Punifhment, mufl: attend him. But the mod: fcandalous Ads againft re- vealed Religion may, it feems, be pradifed with Safety and Impunity. But to return : Not content with making: Jefus fuppofe Prophecies of more Weight than Miracles, our Author adds. That " Jefus plainly makes Miracles no " conclufive Proofs of a Mefliahfhip, when " he fays, There fiail arife falfe Chrjjh and falfe Prophets, and jhall Jbeiv great Signs or Miracles, and cautions Men not to believe in them. Now, if this could be made out, it mufl at once filence all Advo- cates for the Meflias-ihip of Jefus from Mi- 4 racles. SERMON III. ^7 racles, and himfelf among the Number, who frequently appeals to his Miracles as conclufive for that Point. For whatfoever Proof is inconclufive againft a Claim in general, can never be conclufive for any Claimant in particular. This Argument therefore can never be right, becaufe it proves too much, and deftroys the Tefti- mony on which it refls, by making the Witnefs contradici: himfelf. But, indeed, it requires no great Acutenefs to deted the Faults of this Reafoning : For it is plainly built on this wrong Suppofition, that we make Miracles, in their general Nature, and as Miracles, conclufive for Je- fus's being the Chrifl:. Whereas we do not argue, that he is the Meffias, becaufe he did Miracles, but becaufe he performed more and greater Miracles, than any other Com- petitor for that Title ever did. And we learn thus to diftinguifli from our Lord himfelf, who never requires Belief, merely becaufe he wrought wonderful or miracu- lous Works, but becaufe the Multitude, and ■ Greatnefs of his Miracles, befpoke them to be done by the Finger of God. // I do F 2 not ^8 SERMON III. not the Works of 7ny Father^ fays he, he- lieve tne not. Job. x. 37. i. e, fuch Works as no Man cculd do, except God or the Father was with him. Again, Job, xv. 24, he charges the Sinfulnefs of Unbelief upon the Jews^ not upon his having wrought Miracles at large, but fuch as no other Man had performed. If^ lays he, / had not done among them the Works which none ether Man did^ they had ?iot had Sin. And this very Circumflance, in the Miracles of our Lord, was what gained him Converts This in particular convinced Nicodemiis that Jefus was a Teacher come from God vi^. that no Man could do the Miracles which he did, except God were with him. And thofe many People, who believed on our Lord in the feventh of St. Johi., faid for their fo doing, JVhen Chrifi cometh^ will he do inore Miracles than thefe which this Man hath done, Laftly, our Lord in the Text declares the Neceflity of Miracles to the Converfion of his Countrymen, by fay- ing, that except they faw Signs and Won- ders^ they woidd not believe, Impoffible therefore is it, that our Lord, after all this, fliould SERMON III. ^9 Ihould make Miracles in no Senfe conclu- five for a Claim to the Meffiahfhip, when himfelf had appealed to them for that Pur- pofe, and had experienced how fuccefsful that Proof was, and had owned, that no other Proof without that would be effedu- al. So that when he cautions his Difci- ples not to believe falfe CbriJIs and falfe Frophets who JJjoiilJ arife, tho* they jhoitld fie IV great Signs and Wonders , the Reafon muft have been this, tho' it is not exprefsly given, 'ui;s. that he had fhewn (till greater : For by this Superiority of Miracles it ap- peared, that Jefus alone was the true Chrift, and the true Prophet, and confequently that all who made the fame Claims after him were falfe ones. Befides, the PafTage in which it is pre- tended, that Jefus makes Miracles no con- cluQve Proofs of a Mefliahlhip, virtually proves the contrary : For if there had been nothing in them at all conclufive for that Point, the Caution he gives his Difciples ■ againft being deceived by them, had been altogether needlefs. And further, our Lord * F 3 declares. 70 SERMON III. declares, at the fame Time, that the f/ilfe CbriJIs, and pilfe Prophets y by the great Signs and Wonders done by them^ ivoiddy if it were poffible^ deceive the very EleEl ^ that, however, common Chriftians would be in the utmoft: Peril of being feduced, if he had not beforehand warned them of their Dan- ger. Surely, then, this was making Mi- racles, as Miracles, in fome Meafure con- clufive, tho' not decifive Proofs of a Mef- fiahfhip, contrary to what is adva:nced by our Author. Thus I hope it appears, that the Clain) fet up by Jefus our Lord to the Mcfiiah- fhip, may be made unqueflionably good, by the alone Argument from his Miracles*, and that there is nothing in the Nature of the Claim itfelf, or in the manner of our Lord's urging it, that necelTarily requires it to be tried by a dired: Appeal to the Old Tefta- ment. Suppofing, therefore, what we arc very far from granting, that the Pre tend- ons of Jefus to the Mefliahlhip, could not, at this Time of Day, be made out from Prophecy, Infidelity would ftill remain with- SERMON III. 71 without Excufe, fo long as the other Evi- dence to the Truth of Chriftianity, from Miracles, continued in Force : Nor in this Cafe would Believers be chargeable with ta- king their Religion upon Truft. For a Man ads as rationally, who affents upon one good and fufficient Motive, as if he did it upon ever fo many : It is not the Num- ber, but the Weight of i\rguments, which makes them convincing , and there- fore a Man, who alfents to the Truth of Chriftianity, upon one good and fufficient Motive, ads as rationally, as he who founds his Faith upon ever fo great a Multitude of Evidences. F 4 S E R, (73 ) SERMON IV. 2 P E T. 1. 2 1. For the Prophecy came not of old Time by the Will of Man : But holy Men of God fpake as they were moved by the Holy Ghoft. IT has been the entire Bufinefs of my foregoing Ledures to ftate and defend the two great Evidences for the Truth of the Chriflian Rehgion, viz* Miracles, and the Completion of ancient Prophecies. I have {hewn, that Miracles fo circum- ftanced as thofe related in the Gofpels are, if allowed to be real Fads, afford a moral Certainty of the divine xA.uthority of the Gofpel, and that for the Reality of thofe Fads we have the fame Degree of Certain- 74 SERMON IV. ty ^ it being utterly inconfiftcnt with the elFential Perfedions of Almighty God, ei- ther to allow fuch mighty Atteftations to fo difhoneft and impious an Impoftare, or to fuffer falfe Fads in fupport of it, to come down recommended to us with better hiftorical Evidence, than we have for any Events whatever, that are equally remote in Time from us. So that to all but Atheifts, the Argument from Miracles is a fhort, a clear, and an irrefragable Proof that the Chriftian Revelation came from God. Becaufe, if a Religion thus confirm- ed may ftill be falfe, God muft be held the permiflive Author of the Fraud, and Man- kind have been led into Error by entertain- ing too high an Opinion of the divine Juf- tice, Goodnefs, and Truth, which would be a deteftable Blafphemy for any Man to fay, or even to think. The late Enemies to Chriftianity are very fenfible that there is great Truth and Cogency in this Method of proving the divine Authority of the Gof- pei Religion, and that if it were once ad- mitted, ic would leave them no other Choice, but of embracing Atheifm or Chrif- S E R M O N IV. 7 5 Chrlftianity. Being therefore utterly averfe to the latter of thefe Courfes, and believ- ing the former would be attended with po- pular Odium and Danger, they have bent their whole Force againfl: the Evidence from Prophecies fulfilled, bearing us down againfl: common Senfe and plain Scripture, that this is the only Tefl: by which a ratio- nal Chriftian ought to try his Faith in Je- fus, as the Mefiias and Saviour of the World. Not that they really believe the Argument from Prophecy to be weak and inconclufive, but becaufe from the Nature of that Proof they find Room and Oppor- tunity for Chicane and Length of Oppofi- tion. Fads are plain as well as ftubborn Things, and lead diredly to a Conclufion . Whereas Prophecies depend upon Lan- guage, which is always more or lefs Equi- vocal, and upon prophetick Language, which is more eminently loofe and figura- tive than any other. Here therefore an unfair and difputatious Adverfary may keep the Qijeftion from an liTue for a long Time, and Controverfy become in a Man- ner endlefs. In the mean time the igno- rant 7^ S E R M O N IV. rant World (lands at a Gaze, and being apt to conclude, that there can be no Certain- ty in an Argument that admits of fo Jong and continued Oppofition, grows cool to Religion, if it does not begin to doubt the Validity of the Foundation whereon it ftands. The celebrated Devifer of this bat- tering Engine againft Chriftianity, having affirmed thofe to be the only Grounds and Reafons of it, which he could beft deal with ^ and having, as he would have the World think, demoliflied its only Bulwark, that of Prophecy, he then calls upon Mi- racles to do their word, he infults them as of no avail, becaufe they cannot make a Foundation good, which is naturally bad^ becaufe they cannot reconcile Contradic- tions, or palliate Abfurdities. On the other Hand I have (hewn, that this Writer gives a falfe Reprefentation of the Grounds and Reafons on which the Founder of our Religion, and his Under-Labourers, the A- poftles and Evangelifts, build the Chrif- tian Faith. For tho' they affirm, that the Things of Jefus fulfilled Prophecy, nay, proved Jefus to be the Chrift from the Scriptures SERMON IV. 77 Scriptures of the Old Teflament to Jeivifi Audiences j yet they chiefly and more fre- quently appeal to Miracles, as the princi- pal Evidence of our Lord's Claim to that, and every other Title fet up by him. True indeed it is, that, however ftrong the Evi- dence from Miracles may be, it cannot mend the State of the other collateral Proof from Prophecy : But if that be weak or im- pertinent, and much more if it be falfe, it muft remain fo, tho' joined with another Argument that is irrefragable. And then the Grounds and Reafons of the Chriflian Religion would (land thus : That one of its Supports was impregnably flrong, and the other indefenfibly weak. But the bare mention of fo medley a Foundation is fuffi- cient to expofe it as utterly improbable. For what human Schemifl ever was, or ever would be fo abandoned by common Senfe, as, when he had one fufticient and inconteftible Proof of his Point, to difgrace it, by adding another that was apparently weak or falfe > Diver fe Arguments tending to the fame Conclufion may very properly be ufed, though they be not all of equal Strength, becaufe of the Variety of Taftes and 7? SERMON IV. and Capacities , fome Men being more af- feded by one Proof, than by another that is equally good, or perhaps better. But it is abfurd at the lirfl hearing to fuppofe, that Jefus, or his Apoftles, who had the Seal of divine Approbation from Miracles, and who daily faw the Succefs of thofe Cre- dentials, fhould join a weak or a falfe At- teftation from Prophecy, which was neither needed nor called for •, which mud do in- finite Difhonour and Hurt to the Chriftian Caufe, and not the lead poflibie Service. For what elfe was this but to difparage a good Caufe, by a notorioufly bad Manage- ment, and to give up a certain Vidory by a falfe Fire, when better Ammunition was at Hand } When we further coniider who was the Author of Miracles, even God liimfelf, the Improbability that Prophecies are weakly or falfely a Hedged in the Writings of the New Teftament becomes a moral Impofli- bility : For no fober Man can imagine, that God would lend the Aid of his Almighty Power to go along with other falfe and en- thuiiaftick Proofs of a divine Revelation •, or that he, who infpired the firft 7'eachers of Chriftianity, and communicated to them the S E R M O N IV. 79 the Knowledge of fo many preternatural Truths, would not, by the AlTiftance of the fame Spirit, preferve them from laying a rotten or fandy Foundation of the whole. Let the Appearances therefore of Difficul- ty, in reconciling the Application of the Old Teftament to Events in the New, be ever fo great, a rational Perfon may ven- ture ft ill to pronounce that all is Right in that Particular upon this general Maxim, that God cannot approve of and recom- mend a falfe Method of proving his own Truth by the Sandion of Miracles \ or permit his own wife Counfels to go Hand in Hand with the Follies and WeaknefTes of Men J who ad in his Name, and by a real Authority from him. I very well know that the Managers for Infidelity will be as ready as we to grant, that Things can never happen thus , and from hence raife an Argument againft the Fad of Miracles, urging, that Miracles faid to have been done in Confirmation of a Religion thus weakly founded on Prophecy, ought to be deemed falfe Reports, however they may otherwife be well and properly atteft- ed. But here we may turn their own Ar- tillery 8o S E R M O N IV* tillery againft them, and fay, that if the Fad of Miracles be clearly proved, a fup- pofed Weaknefs or FaKhood of the other Evidence from Prophecy cannot abate the Value of what is true and undoubted. For if Jefus and his Apoftles applied Prophecies to fuch Events, as thofe Prophecies had no Relation to, it will not make the Miracles they did never to have happened at all, or not to be Evidences of divine Approbation. If the Predidions, for Inflance, concerning Chrifl's Refurredion from the Old Tefla* ment are wrong, and improperly cited for, that Purpofe, were the Diiciples to difbe- lieve the Report of their own Senfes, when they faw their Mafter alive again from the Dead? Or were fucceeding Generations to give no Credit to the Teftimonics of thofe Eye-witnelfes, who fealed their Depofitions with their deareft Blood > In fhort, nothing fhould induce us to deem any Report of Miracles falfe, but either Abfurdity in the Thing reported, or Want of Veracity in the Perfon or Perfons reporting. And as neither of thefe Defeds are to be charged on the Fad of the Gofpe I- Miracles, that Fad mud be credited by all reafonable A Men : SERMON IV. 8 1 Men : And wherever the Miracles of the Gofpel gain Credit, the Prophecies therein apphed may be taken upon Content, for the Reafons above-mentioned. However, as Prophecies are certainly a Scripture Evi- dence, 1 have alfo particularly ftated and defended that Topick, fhewing by an In- dudion of many Particulars, that the Pre- didionsofthe Old Teftament, applied to Chrift in the New, are not falfely, or even weakly accommodated, but are often (Irong and unanfwerable, always plaufible, per- tinent, and perfuafive. Upon the whole then, the two great Evidences for Chriftianity, Miracles and Prophecy fland clear of all Objeftions t Either of them are fufficient, neither of them hurt or obftrud the other, and joint- ly taken, they are irrefragable Arguments of the Truth and divine Original of Chrif- tianity, which was the Point I fet out withall. If any Thing more is necelHiry to this Argument, it muft be the Genuinenefs and Vol. IL G Authen- 82 S E R M O N IV. Authenticity of the Books concerned there- in. For Inftance, the Predidions of the Old Teftament, which we contend for as compleated in the New, cannot be account- ed as Prophecies, if they had not a proper Antiquity, and were not given out by Per- sons divinely infpired. Again, admitting both thefe Things to be true, the Comple- tions of thofe Prophecies are Events record- ed in the Gofpels, the Credit and Verity of which Bcoks therefore Ihould be clear from all jufl: Exception. In the fame Books alfo are related the Miracles of our Lord : So that unlefs the Charaders of the facred Hiftorians, and their Qiialifications, to write on the Subjecls they took in Hand, be made apparent, and the Ge- nuinefs of the Gofpels, attributed to the feveral Evangelills, be likewife made out ^ neither Prophecies fultilled, nor Miracles done, have any fure Foundation of Truth, and Chriftianity will be at once deprived of its main Supports. The firft Point therefore to be made out, is the Genuinenefs and Authenticity of the Old S E R M O N IV. 83 Old Teftament Scriptures, in all its confti- tuent Parts, viiz. the Law of Mofes, the Prophets, and the Pfalms, in each of which Divifions our Lord himfelf affirms, that Things were written concerning him. Luke xxiv. 44. With regard to the firft of thefe, the five Books of Mofes, we have for their infpired Character, and for their being the genuine Work of that great Lawgiver, the conftant and unanimous Tradition of the entire Jew'ijh Nation. A confiderable Sed among them, the Sadducees rejeded the two latter Divifions of Scriptural Books : But all, without Exception, admit the Pentateiichy or five Books of Mofes^ as Sacred and Ca- nonical. Befides the Original of the World, and the great Changes brought up- on it by the Deluge, of which other Hifto- ries gives us only faint and fabulous Imita- tions, thole ancient Books contain the Hif- tory and Defcent of the Patriarchs, the Original of the Jewifi Eftablifliment, their religious and municipal Laws, which being in daily Ufc could receive no Alteration G 2 with- SERMON IV. without a Difcovery, much lefs could they all at once be obtruded upon that People, as their ancient (landing Rule of civil and religious Polity. We need but figure to ourfelves how impradicable a Dcfign it would prove, fhould any Man, or let of Menj at this Time of Day, attempt to per- 'fuade us, that the Alcoran is, and always had been the Rule of Faith and Manners to all Chriftendom, or that the Rorniflj Bre- viary is, and ever was the Ritual of divine Service in the Reformed Church of Eng- land : I fay, we need but figure to our- felves the Jmpoflibility of obtruding fuch a Perfuafion upon us in thefe Times^ and we muft be convinced how abfurd a Suppofi- tion it muft be, that a Plan of Religion, like that contained in the five Books of Mofes, which was to take Place in and from his own Time, could afterwards be • received among the Jews for his, unlefs it h.id been genuine. Becaufe that .whole Nation muft have been ftupid to the laft Degree not to know, at the firft hearing of thofe new Regulations, that they had never been under any fuch Dircdion before. Cor- rupt S E R M O N IV. 85 rapt Variations in Dodrine and Worfliip may obtain, and have obtained, both a- mong Jews and Chriftians : Bat that an entirely new Syftem of Religion Ihoald be received for one of old and ilandini:^ Ufe could never happen, bat to a People utter- ly and univerfally deprived of Memory and common Senfe. It has indeed been alledged againft the Genuinenefs of the five Books of Mofes^ and upon the Authority of the facred Hif- tory itfelf, that thofe Books were twice loft^ and that therefore allowing them once to have had a real Exiftence, it may juftly be queftioned, whether thofe we now have were the Works of that great Legiilator, or a Forgery to fupply the Room of the loft 'Pentateuch, The firft pretended Lofs of the Law is fuppofed to have happened in the Time of Manajfeh King of Judab, and the Fad of this firft Lofs is founded on what we read in the 2 2d Chap, of the fecond Book of Kings 5 that in the Days oi JoJIah^ Manaf- G 3 feh*s 26 S E R M O N IV. feJys Grand-Son and SuccefTor, Hilkiabihe High-prieft found the Bcok of the Law in the Houfe of the Lord, and fpake of it to Shaphan, and he again unto the King, who was furprifed at the Contents cf the Book, to that Degree as to rent his Clothes, to enquire of the Lord by Huhlah the Pro- phetefs, to caule the Book to be read in the Ears of the People, and to renew the Covenant with the Lord. Now from hence it appears, that during the long and wicked Reign cf Manaffeh, in which ido- latry had prevailed, and been encouraged beyond the Example of the word preced- ing Times, the Houfe of the Lord, and the Services of the Temple, and the Temple itfelf, had been grievouily negleded ^ that the People for fo long had not been in- flruded in the Law, nor had the Words thereof read in their Ears ^ tliat the King himfelf, tho' fhockt at the Idolatries and Prophanenefs of the Land, had been kept from the Sight of the Law of Mofes till the Original thereof, depolited in the Tem- ple, was brought and (hewn to him, with a Defign to work upon his good Difpofi- tion. S E R Al O N IV. 87 tion, and to introduce a Reformation • that the High-prieft had Reafon to fear left that facred Depofirum (hould have been loft daring the Neglect and Profanation of the Temple, and therefore is faid to have found it, not becaufe it had ever been actually loft, but becaufe it was apprehended to be in Danger. But had that divine /\utograph really been loft, it is by no Means to be imagined that it was the only Copy of the Law, for many, and thofe, I think, unan- fwerable Reafons. Firfl, there had been, at lea ft, from the Times of DaviJ, a Profeflion of Men called Scribes^ whofe principal Bufinefs it was to take correct Copies of the Law, as well as to explain it to the People. And at the very Time of this fuppofed Lofs, there is one of this Fundion men.ioned as above, Shaphan the Scribe. This Condition of Things therefore almoft necelTarily fuppo- fes a great ISumber of facred Copies fpread abroad, all which could not be loft in the Reigns of Manaffeh and Amon^ unlefs the entire Land had become Apoftates from G 4 the 88 SERMON IV. the Law, which was by no Means the Cafe. For, Seco7idIy^ There were, during the Time in which this Lofs of the Law is fufpedted to have happened, fome infpircd Prophets, fuch as Hiihlah abovementioned, and Je- rem? ah J to whom the Words of the Lord came before Hilkiab found the Book of the Law in the Temple •, befides, H'nkiab and Sbaphan^ and many other religious Per Tons, mofl, if not all' of which, mufl have had Copies of the Law for their own Ufe, and that of their Families, Shaphan in particular, whofe Profedion i bliged him to write out, and to explain the Law, muft have been altogether a Stranger to it, if no Copy thereof was ihen known to fubhfi: which is abfurd to imagine. Thirdly^ If Hilkiah's finding the Book of the Law had really been the retrieving of that Treafure, after it was pre fumed to be entirely lofl, how comes it to pafs that fo little Notice was taken of fo aufpicious an t^vent ? publick Bleflings, of an inferior Nature S E R M O N IV. 89 Nature to this, were wont to be comme- morared by anniverfary Feafts ;, and that no fuch Notice fliould be taken of the Reco- very of their Law, had it really been Icfl is by no Means credible. From the Foun- dation of the Jewijh State, and the firft giving of the Law, no Deliverance had ever happened to that People, which would admit of a Comparifon with the Recovery of the Law by Hilkiah^ if it had been tru- ly fuch 5 and yet we tind not fo much as one (ingle Rejoicing for what deferved dai- ly Triumphs and Feftivities. Upon the whole therefore, it is incredi- ble, that the finding of the Book of the Law in the Temple, under the Reign of Jofiah^ fliould mean a Recovery of it after it had been loll. All we can probably col- led from it is, that Hilkiabj upon a narrov/ and more particular Survey of the Temple, in order to the necelTary Reparations of it obferved that Book, which he had not feen there before, and chofe to lay it before the King, rather than any private Copy, only I on 90 S E R M O N IV. on Account of its particular Sacrednefs and Authenticity. The fecond Lofs of the Law is pretend- ed to have happened during the feventy Years Captivity of the Jews at Babylon : But here our Adverfaries have no Counte- nance, even from the Sound of Scripture. For it is not faid, after the Return of the People, that E-z^ra found the Book of the Law : But only that they defired him, whofe Office it was, as a Scribe and a Prielt too, to preferve, and to propagate that facred Code, to bring the Book of the Law of Mofes, and that accordingly he brought it before the Congregation. It was a Book therefore known to have fub. (ifted all along : Only the Hardfhips of the Captivity, and a long Want of Opportuni- ties to be inftrudcd therein, had let in a- mong the People many Corruptions, which they were defirous (hould then be reform- ed according to the Law of Mofes^ which the Lord had commanded. Indeed the only Pretence any cne can have for fuggefling that the Law of Mofes was loft in the Cap- tivity S E R M O N IV. 91 tivity is, that fuch a Thing might then pofli- bly have happened : But that no fuch Lofs was then fuftained, bcfides what has been already urged, appears moft evident from the ftrid Conformity of Daniel, and his Brethren to Precepts of the Mofaick Law during the Captivity, as well ceremonial as moral ^ which could not have been the Cafe, if that great Rule of Behaviour had then been utterly iofl. Befides, we find Daniel, but ten Years before the Expi- ration of the Babylonijl) Captivity, was ac- tually in PofTefTion of the Law of Mofes ^ for at that Time he appeals to what is writ- ten in that Law, which therefore muft then have been extant. In a Word, the Archetypal Book of the Law, which ufed to be preferved in the Temple, perifhed together with it and the Holy City by Fire : But Copies thereof had been conti- nued by the Providential Appointment of Officers, fet up for that very Purpofe, who both by Duty and Inclination took care to preferve them from Lofs and from Cor- ruption. As 92 SERMON IV. As to the Tfalms^ their Antiquity and Genuinenefs has not, that I know of, been denied or quedioned. Nor has any Controverfy been moved in either of tliofe Refpects, againfl any of the prophetick Writings, fave thofe of Da- niel^ whom it has been found no difficult Matter to defend, againfl the falfe and fri- volous Cavils of Gainfayers. Indeed the proper Antiquity of the Old Teflament Prophecies, i. e, their Exif- tence long before the Events foretold, is the chief Point to be fettled, in order to make the Completion of them a valid Evi- dence for the Divinity of the Chriftian Re- li'^ion. And of this we have one at leaft unqueftionable Proof from the Greek Tran- ilation of the Old Teftament Scriptures, commonly called the Septuaghit j from whence the Prophecies, applied in the Gof- pels and ABs^ are chiefly taken, which Tranflation was made more than 300 Years before the Times of Jefus Chrift. In S E R M O N IV. 93 In a Word, the Genuinenefs and Anti- quity of the JewiJJj facred Writings, refts on the fame Foundation with that of all other ancient Books, viz* the uniform Tradition of all the intermediate Times ^ and therefore cannot be gainfaid upon any Principles, bat what will equally affect the Hiftory and Learning of all Ages, befides our own. Thus it appears, that, to ufe the Words of the Text, Brophecy came not of old Time by the Will of Man : But holy Men of God [pake as they were moved by the Holy Ghofi* And the Proof that the Hiftorical Parts of the New Teflament likewife, w^hich contain the Completions of thofe Prophe- cies, and the Fad of Miracles, were ge- nuine, and every Way worthy of Credit muft be the Subjed of future Ledures. S E R. (95 ) SERMON V. Second Epillle of St. Peter, Chap. i. Verfe i6. For we have not followed cunningly devijed Fables, when we made known unto you the Power and Coming of our Lord Jefus Cbrifl ; but were Eye'witnejfes of his Majefly and Glory, IN former Difcourfes on this Occafion, I have dated and defended the great Proofs for the Truth and Divinity of the Chriftian Religion from Miracles and Prophecy : And in my laft Lecture I ob= ferved, that if any Thing elfe was necef- fary to this Argument, it muft be to ailert 4 the 95 SERMON V. the Genuinenefs of thofe Books, wherein the Prophecies and their Complerions are fet down, and the Miracles are recorded, i, e. the Books of the Old Teftament, and the hiftorical Pieces of the New. And accordingly I then undertook to make good the Genuinenefs and Authenticity of the Old Teftament Scripture in all its Branches, i)i-z» the Law of Mofes, the Prophets, and the Pfalms, in each of which Divifi- ons our Lord affirms, that Things were ' ivritten conceniing John, Luk. xxiv\ 44. I am now to do the fame by the Wri- tings of the New Teftament, efpecially the hiftorical Ones, in which the miracu- lous Proofs of Chriftianity are recorded, and the Events fet down, which compjeat- ed antient Prophecies concerning the Mef- fiah, and which likewife are therein ap- plied to their refpedive Predidions ; Or to fpeak with St. Feter in the Text, that the Apcftles have not followed cimm?igly dev'ifed Foibles, when they^ made known un- to the World the ' Fower and Coming of our Lord Jeftts Chrifl , hut were Eye-witneffes of his Majeftj and Glory. The S E R M O N V. 97 The Proof of the hiftorical Truths con- tained in the New Teftament, is of the fame Kind with that, on which we give Credit to other anciently written Fads : Arid Hiflories of all Sorts ate then deem- ed credible, jF/r/?, When the reputed Hiftorians werd properly qualified to write on the Subjed they took in Hand : Secondly^ When it ap- pears that the Hiftories in Queflion were really, and bona fide^ written by the re^ puted Authors fo properly qualified, and not by others (of whofe Qualifications we know nothing) under their Names : Third- ly^ When fuch Writings, as were at fird confeiTedly credible and genuine, have been faithfully tranfmitted down to our Times* And if it ftiall be found, as I trufl: it will, that thefe three Notes of Credibility belong to the hiftorical Parts of the New Teftament in a more eminent Manner*, than they do to any the moft credible an- Vol. IL H eien€ 98 S E R M O N V. cient Hiflory whatever, the Truth of the Gofpels, and Acls of the xVpoftles, will re- main undoubted. Firft then, I am to (hew, that the repu- ted x^uthors of the facred Hiftories laft mentioned, were Perfons properly quali- fied to write on the Subjeds they took in Hand. Now the Qualifications which render a Writer of Hiflory credible are, I prefume thefe which follow. jpir/?, he muft be one, againfl: whofe ge- neral Charader for Veracity no Exception can be taken : For if he be a Man notori- ous for fpeaking or writing Untruths, tho' he had every other due Qualification, no Dependance can be had on what he deli- vers for Fad, tho' it concern the mofl or- dinary Occurrences. Secondly^ He muft be one who had good Opportunities of knowing the Truth of the Fads he records, either by having been an Eye- S E R M O N V. 99 Eye-witnefs of them himfelf, or by having received them from other credible Perfons, that were. For if he was too late in Time to have feen the Events related by him, or had his Accounts of them from fuch^ concerning whofe Veracity and Opportu- nities we know nothing, we cannot give entire Credit to what he delivers as Fads. Thirdly, When thefe two Circumftances unite in a Hiftorian, he ought further to be a Man of Underftanding fufficient to di- ftinguilli real Fads from Appearances: For if thofe pretended Fads are of fuch a Na- ture, as that a plain and uneducated Per- fon may be deceived in them, we have no Security that fuch an Hiftorian has not, in fome Cafes, at leaft delivered down to Po- flerity his own Miftakes for hiftorical Cer- tainties. Fourthly^ Thofe Hiftorians will always deferve moft Credit, who appear to have no corrupt Intereft, or private Affedion to fcrve, by the Matters they relate. For if their Hopes or Fears, their Love or Hate, may. H 2 be 100 SERMON V. be gratified by Mifrelation, we cannot al- together depeR(3 upon it, that a Writer, tho' naturally honed and veracious, will mix none of his own Prejudices and Party- Judgments, in fpeaking to the Charadersof Men and Things. Let us then now confider, how far thefe four Qualifications r.^ree with the Writers of the Golpels, and the Ads of the A- poftles. And firfl:, whether their general Cha- racters for Veracity were unexceptiona- ble. Their Names, as is known to every orie, were Matthew^ M^rky Luke and John. Of thefe, JoJm^ was a Perfon of mean Occupation, but, for aught that we find to the contrary, of ftrid Truth and Honefty. The modelt Manner in which he fpeaks of Things, that redound to his particular Credit, is very remarka- ble, never at fuch Times fpeaking of bim- felf by Name. But Modefty and Veraci- oufnefs are almoft infeparable Companions, S E R M O N V. loi 35 their oppofire Q^ialities, Lying; and Vani- ty, alfo are. St. Mattheiv<, firft Profeflion as a Publican, might feem to impeach his Truth and Probity, if he had not entirely redeemed it, by giving up a gainful Em- ployment at the tirft Call of our Lord. For a Knave in a gainful OfRce, was hardly ever known to part with it on fuch un- promiiing Conditions : And therefore we may fairly fet down our tirft Evsngelifj-, as one of thofe few Publicans, whom the Opportunities of unlav/ful Gain could not corrupt or warp from his natural Integrity. M^yk was defcended of the Tribe o^ Lev?., and the Line of the Priefthocd : His Ccn- verfion therefore to Chriflianity, which was fo generally oppoled by the Defcen- dents of Aarouj is a Prefumprion in Fa- vour of his natural Probity and Difintereil- cdnefs. Nor does any OojcLtiun lie againft this Part of his Charader, unlefs he was that Joh}i, whofe Sirname was Mdrk^ whom St. Faul, even tho' defired by Bamabasy abfolutely refufed to take with him when he went to vifit the Churches : Becaufe he had before departed from them from ?/?;//• H 5 philia^ ro2 SERMON V. fhiUa^ and went not with them to the Work. But this laft was plainly a different Perfon from the Evangeliil, tho' he has fometimes been miftaken for him. Laftly^ St. Liike^ who wrote the Gofpel, which goes by his Name, and the Ads of the A- poftles, labours under no known Biemifli. His Education had been in the Study of Phyfick, to which, if we may credit Si- meon Metaphrafles^ and an Infcription faid to have been dug up at Rome^ he added the Art of Paintinq;. And fure his havinsr quitted thufe gainful Arts, for the poor and then defpifed Profefiion of Chriftianity, befpeaks him to have been one, with whom the Love of Truth outweighed all worldly Confiderations. The Charaders then of the four Evangeliffs, for Truth and Pro- bity, being thus eftabliihed, let us, In the fecond Place enquire, what Op- portunities they had of knowing the Truth of the Thins^sthev have recorded, concern- ing Chrift and his Apoftles. Two of the E^angelifts, St. Matthew and St. John^ weie Cfcimpanions of our Lord, Eye and Ear- SERMON V. 103 Ear-witncifes to what he did, faid, and fafFered. They alfo knew the blelled Vir- gin his Mother, from whom they had Op- portunities of learning the former Part of their Mailer's Hiftory, from his miracu- lous Conception to the Time they were called to be his Difciplesand conflant /Attendants. As for the other two, St. Mark and St. Luh, tho' we cannot with Certainty affirm, that they faw and heard the Things they have delivered, yet fure we are, that they were the Companions of St. Peter and St. Paid^ upon whofe Recommendation they probably undertook to write, and to whole Correction doubtlefs they fubmitted what they had written. The Ads of the x'Apo- lUes were penned by St. Lnke^ who was an Attendant upon St. Patd in his Travels, who faw the greareft Part of the Fads he mentions, and heard the Preachinojs of the Apollles, He therefore was an Hillorian above all jult Exception, with Regard to the Opportunities he had of knowing the Certainty of the Things about which he wrote. And indeed, conddering how few profane Hiftorians are extant, who were H 4 equal 104 S E R M O N V. equal to the facred ones in this RefpecS, we may pronounce the latter to be incompara- bly the mod veritable and authentick* For, excepting Cafdr^ and one or two more, who wrote Commentaries of their own Exploits, or the Hiftory of their own Times, the Generality of the ancient Hif- torians were greatly diftant, both in Age and Place, from the Events of which they treat : So that it can proceed from nothing but the utmoft Partiality, when any one iliall take profane Hiftory upon Content, and yet rejed the Narratives . of the New Teftament that are delivered down to us by Perfons, who, for the mod Part, write from the Didates of their own Senfes. The third Note of a credible HiRory is, when "the Facls therein fpoken of are fuch, as a Man of Honefty and plain Senfe cannot eafily be deceived in. Superflition j^nd Credulity, and Strength of Imagina- tion, will, in fome Cafes, make Appear- ances to pafs for Realities : And of this Kind are mod of the Prodigies delivered, |)oth by Greek and Kofuan Writers, but ef- pecialJy S E R M O N V. 105 pecially the latter. Bat the Events of the Gofpel Hiftory, as likewife thofe of the Ads of the Apoftles, the* equally ftrange and preternatural, were of fuch a Kind, as no Beholder could miftake or mifappre- hend. For Inftance, a Perfon who fees a blind Man miraculoufly and inftantaneouily reftored to his Sight, or a lame Man to the Ufe of his Feet, or a fick Man reflored on a fudden to perfed Health, may as fe- curely depend on the Information of his Senfes, in all, or any of thefe Inflances, as he can in the plaineft and mofl: ordinary Occurrences. Thefe Things are not like uncommon Phaenomena in the Heavens, juft prefented to the View, and then alto- gether withdrawn again, fo as that the Spe- dators want Time to form a right Judg- ment of them, by long and careful Infpec- tion. For the Men, on whom fuch wonder^- ful Changes were wrought by Chrift and his Apoftles, lived and converfed, and fhew- ed themfelves to the World for feveral Years, affording, all that Time, Opportu- nities to the Curious, as well as to the Dif- fident and Incredulous, to inquire into 3 tlieiy ic6 SERMON V. their Cafe, and be fatistied, that the* Alte- ration effeded in them was both real and miraculous : In a Word, our outward Sen- fes properly difpofed and acled upon thro' a due Medium, do as certainly inform us of ftrange and ftupendous Events, as of com- mon ones ;, and therefore an honeft Man, reporting preternatural Incidents uponfuch Information, equally deferves to be cre- dited, as when he tells of Things which happen every Day : So that the facred Hi- florians, being honefl in themfelves, well informed of the Subjeds on which they treat, and fpeaking of Things, to which the Senfes of Mankind rig^htly difpofed do give infallible Teftimony, are vrorthy of entire Credit. Efpecially, if (which is the fourth and laft QiTalitication) it fliali appear, that they had no private Intcreft or Afteclion tofervc by their Relations. It is an Obfervation too well known by frequent Experience, that Men, who are to be credited in every other Refped, are yet not entirely to be depended u-pon as to Points, in which Par- 4 S E R M O N V. 107 ty Prejudices and private AfFedions mix themfelves. And doubtlefs, the Evange- lifts were warmly and zealouily affeded to that Caafe, the Hiftory of which they have delivered to the World. But not- withftanding this, they (land clear from all Sufpicion of partial Writing : For he, who flrains a Point thro' private AflPedion, or Party Prejudice, iuppofing he is deted- ed, incurs no Lofs, beiides that of Charac- ter ^ whereas the Evangelifls flaked their Lives, as well as their Fame, for the Truth of their Hiftories. Nay, indeed, to come up to the Truth of their Cafe, I lliould have faid, that they wrote under a certain Expedation of being called upon to feal what they wrote with their Blood, whe- ther it were true or falfe. It is therefore ut- terly incredible, that any Men, compiling Hiftories under fuch Circumftances, fhould in the lead depart from the Truth, thro» the Byafs of Prejudice, or Party AfFedion. They had feen St. Stephen floned, and James killed with the Sword, befides ma- ny others of inferior Note, for preaching the Truths of Chrift ; They faw them- felves io2 SERMON V. felves likewife, on the fame Account, in Jeopardy every Hour, and had no Reafon to believe, that by committing to Writing, and pablidiing the wonderful Things of God, the Danger would be at all lellened, but rather, on the contrary, that they lliould thereby more expofe them felves to the Malice of their powerf'^l Enemies. One of thefe Hiftorians, St. John^ if we may believe a very ancient Ecclefiaftical Tradi- tion, before he wrote the Gofpel, which goes under his Nam.e, had miraculoufly ef- caped being fcalded to Death in a Caul- dron of boiling OjI, to which he was fen- tenced under Do?mtian the Emperor, for having afted the Part only of a preaching EvangeliH: , and could he reafonably hope for better Treatment, aficr becoming the Author of a written Gofpel > All thefe Things then being laid together, there re- mains no Room to doybt the Veracity of the !New Teftament Hiftorians. Their Narra- tives may be confidercd, in fome Meafure as the Words of dying Men, clear from the Prejudices of Party, Self-Intereft, or other human AfFedipns ; And quite agree- able SERMON V- 109 able to thefe reafonable Prefamptions is the Turn of the facred Story. We fee no- thing therein artfal or fophiilical, but Fads delivered with the utmoft Plainnefs and Simplicity. The Authors write like Men that were uninfluenced, either by Hopes or Fears. Truth was their perpetual Aim, whether it made for or againft them. The human Fears of our Lord, on the Appre- henlion of his approaching Death, and his uncommon Agonies arifing from thence, are honeflly related, without the leaft Soft- ening or Palliation. This indeed was an Infirmity without a Fault, tho', to the Eye of a carnal Reafoner, it might appear dif- paraging. But the Apoftles, and firft Fol- lowers of our Lord, had their criminal, as well as their innocent Weakneilbs, fome before, and others after they were admit- ted into the Houihold of Faith. Such were the (inful Courfes of Mary Magda- lene^ the vindidive Spirit which appeared in the Sons of Zehedee towards the un- hofpitable Samaritans^ and likewife the unreafonable Ambition of their Mother, ex- prelTed in that Delire of hers to our Lord^ that no S E R M O N V. that her Sons might be preferred to the higheft Honours of his Kingdom, which (he erroneouily fuppofed would prove merely fecular. To thefe we may add the Difputes among the Difciples, who Ihould be the greateft •, their cowardly De- fertion of our Lord at his Apprehenlion ^ the repeated Denial of him by Peter, at- tended with falfe Oaths and bitter Exe- crations '^ the Difficulty with which the Difciples embraced the rirft News of Chrift's Refurredion *, and the exceffive Incredulity of Thomas, who declared that nothing fliort of the Teftimony of all his Senfcs, lliould extort from him a Belief, that his Mafter was rifen again according to his own clear Predidion. To this fame Clafs alfo may be reduced the violent DilTention between Faid and Barnabas, concerning J^obtiy whofe Sirname was Mark. Lafily,' the Didimulation of St. Peter, on Account of which St. Paul withflood him to the Face at Antioch, But all thefe Things are pundually related by the facred Writers, nor have we the leaft Reafon to fuppofe, that they have concealed any Faults, or e- ven SERMON V. Ill ven Infirmities, in the Men of their own Side. But thefe are fuch Evidences of Honefty and Impartiality in the Gofpel Hiftorians, as mufi: induce all indifferent Judges to determine in their Favour. Be- (ides, the Charaders of the Perfons given by the facred Writers, are, in fome Mea- fare, confirmed by collateral Evidence from profane Hiftory, whether they were Friends or Enemies. Thus, for Inftance, the San- dity and miraculous Power of Jefus Chrift was attefted to by Pilate^his Judge, in Wri- tings to the Emperor Tiberhis^ which, tho* now no longer extant, were appealed to by Tertidltan^ in lefs than two hundred Years after, in his Apology, as then fub- fifting in the Archives at Rome, And had this been a falfe or midaken Fad, the Rojuan Government were too deeply in- terefted in the Difcovery, to have fuffered it to pafs, as they plainly did, without Con- tradidion. Indeed it would be hard to fay, which of the two Suppofitions would be mod abfurd, that Tertullian fhould expofe the Chriftian Caufe, then under a grievous Perfecution, by Appeal to a Writing in the 112 SERMON V. the Hands of his Enemies, that never had a Being •, or that they, in fuch a Cafe, Ihould be fo far wanting to themfelves, and the Honour of their own Proceedings againft the Chriftians, as not to produce the genuine Ads of Pilate, and confront the Allurance of the Apologift, had fuch a Thing been in their Power : And yet, unlefs both thefe x^bfurdities happened, the Ads of Pilate mult remain an Evidence for ever, that Pontius Pilate not only found no Fault in our Saviour Chrift, as the Gof- pels reprefent him to have faid at his Ar- raignment, but alfo that he thought him to be a Perfon of godlike Power and Per- fedions. To the written Teftimony of Pilate^ now loft, tho* once undoubtedly fubfifting^ may be added the yet extant one of Jofe- pbiiSy the JewiJJj Hiftorian. A more ho- nourable Charader could not have been given of Chrift, by one of his Followers^ than that beftowed on him in the Writings of Jofephm, And, indeed, this is a Cir- cumftance, which, with fome even learned Chri- SERMON V. n ^ Chriftians, has difcredited the PalTage, and made it fafpecled for the Addition of feme Chriftiaii, more zealous than honeft or dif- creet. But this is reafoning againfl a plain Fad : For this difputed PalFage is quoted by Eufehhts out of Jofephus^ and is not wanting in any one known Manufcript. The Style of the Paiiage is alfo thoroughly Helleniftical , and which is more, every Phrafe and Expreffion made ufe of therein, has been found in other Parts of Jofephtis^ to fuch a Nicety and Exadnefs, as no Im- poftor ever could, or did come up to. Add to this, that the fame Jofepbm, in the twentieth Book of his Antiquities, men- tioning the Apoftle James the Lefs^ calls him the Brother of Jefus called the Chriff. Which fuppofes that he had fpoken of Je„ fus more fully before : Otherwife, Jofe- phiu muft have been abfurd enough to de- fcribe one unknown Perfon by his Relation to another, with whom his Readers were, or might be equally unacquainted. And yet, unlefs we allow the Pallage in dif- pute to be genuine, this is the firft Time we find Jefus mentioned by Jofephus, A- Vol. II. I gainft 114 SERMON V. gainfl all this plain Evidence, the Enemies to the PalTage have nothing to oppofe but negative Evidence, fuch as the Silence of ancienter Chriftian Writers concerning this Teftimony, and Jofephius continuing a Jew after he had given it. But neither of thefe can be fufficient to fliake its Cre- dit with any one that confiders, that the iirft of thefe might happen thro' Caufcs ea- fy to be afligned, and the Force of Preju- dices will account for the latter 5 whiKt it is utterly incredible, and altogether unac- countable, that an Interpolation like this Ihould ever pafs unobferved by either Jews or Gentiles^ neither of which were Stran- gers to Jofephin?, Writings, and that no one Copy Ihould come down pure to our Times. The fame Jofe pints fpeaks alfo of John Baptifl, with tiie utmoft Veneration, owns his Charader as a Baptilf, and fpeaks of his Death in the fame Manner as the Gof- pel docs. He SERMON V. 115 He makes alfo honourable Mention of James the Lefs, terming him a moft jufc or righteous Perfon, and makin? the Siege of Jerufalem^ which followed foon after, a Judgment from Cod on its Inhabitants, for putting to Death fo excellent a Perfon. Laftly^ he fpeaks likewife with great Commendation of Alanaen, the Fofter Bro- ther of Herod the Tetrarch, of whom Men- tion is made, Atls^ Chap, xiii. Ver. i. as one of the Chriftian Prophets and Teach- ers at Antioch^ unto whom, as they mini- ftred and fafted, the Holy Choft gave a Commandment to feparate Barnabas and Saul for the Work whereunto he had call- ed them. And as the good, fo likewife the bad or difadvantageous Charaders given of Per- fons by the Hiftorians of the New Tefla- ment, are never contradided, and fomc- times are confirmed by concurrent profane Hi (lories. 12 E.G. ii5 S E R M O N V. E, G. The three He mis, the firfl of whom was lirnamed the Great, who mur- dered the Infants ; the fecond HeroJ Auti- pas, who put to Death John the Baptift^ and the third Herod Agrippa, who flew James with the Sword, have nolliing faid of them in the Gofpels and ABs, but what fuits with the Characters given to each of them in Jofephus \ and the cruel Slaughter made of the infants by the former of thefe Herods, is attefled to by Macrohhis, a Fa- gan Hiflorian. The Character alfo of Felix, the Roman Governor, in Tacitus, exadly tallies with his Behaviour to St. Paul. Upon the \Vhole therefore, the facred Hiftorians appear to have given Charaders of Ferfons and Things with the utmoft Im- partiality. Neither Love nor Hate, neither Hopes nor Fears, feem to have given the leaft Byafs to the Courfe of the Narratives they have left behind them. And there- fore upon this, as well as other Accounts, were 4 SERMON V. . 117 were naturally qualified to give a juft and faithful Relation of the Matters, concern- ing which they are faid to have written. The next Point therefore to be made good is, that the reputed Authors of the Hiflorical Books in the New Teftament, who appear fo well qualified, were really, and bnna Fide^ the Authors of thofe Books. But this muft, God willing, be the Subjed of my next Ledure. 1 3 S E R- ( "9) SERMON VI. Second Epiftle of St. Peter^ Chap. i. Verfe i6. For we have not followed cunningly devijed Fables^ when we made known unto you the Power and Coming of our Lord Jefus Chrifi ; hut were Eye-witneffes of his Majefly and Glory, ON Occafion of thefc Words in my laft Difcourfe, I propofed to de- fend the Hiftorical Part of the IS^ew Teftament, in which the two great Evidences for Chriftianity, viz. Miracles and Prophecies fulfilled, are contained. 1 4 And 120 SERMON Vr. And I then told you, that Hiflories of all Kinds were then deemed worthy of Credit : Firfi, When their reputed Authors were properly qualified to do Juflice to the Subjed they took in. Hand. Secondly^ AVhen it appears out of Doubt, that the Hiftories inQueftion were really, and bona ficie, written by the reputed Authors fo properly qualified. Thirdly, When fuch Hiflories, as were at firfl: confelTedly both credible and genuine, have been in the main faithfully tranfmitted down to our Times, The firfl of thcfe Marks or Notes of cre- dible Hiflory, I then proved to belong to the four Gofpels, and to the JBs of the Apoftles, viz* that Matthew, Mark, Liike^ and John were properly qualified to write true Hiflories of the Subjeds they took in Hand. I now therefore proceed in the fecond place to make it appear, that the facred Hiflories, above fpecified, were 'really, and bona S E R M O N VL 121 bona fide, written by the Authors whofe Names they carry, and whofe Qualifica- tions for writing truly have already been amply fet forth. I conceive it will be allowed me, th^t the Queflion concerning the Genuinenefs of the New Teftament Hiftories, mud be determined upon the very fame Principles on which we decide for the Genuinenefs of other ancient Books. Now we never queflion the Genuinefs of fuch Books. Firft^ When they contain nothing which happened in Times later than thofe where- in their reputed Authors lived. Seco7idly^ When the Style of the Books agrees with the Circumflances of the Per- fons whofe Names they bear. Thirdly^ and above all. When fuch Wri- ters, as live in or neareft to the Times in which they were written, invariably, or however 122 SERMON VJ. however generally afcribe them to the Per- fons whofe Names they at prefent go un- der, or at leaft adjudge them to no other Authors. But all thefe Charaderifticks of Genuine- nefs belong to the four Gofpels and to the JBs of the Apoftles. For Firfi, they contain nothing which happened later than the Times therein treated of, or than thofe of their reputed Authors. Againft this I know of but two Objections. The fir ft of which afFeds the Gofpel of St. Lttke, and is as follows : That Evange- lift makes our Lord's Birth to have hap- pened in the Days of Herod the King of Judah^ u e* of Herod the Great. At the fame Time he gives us another iEra of this Event, making it to have fallen out in the Days of the Taxing, which Taxing is faid to have been made when Cyrenins was Go- vernor of Syria, But the Enemies to the dicred Hiftory think they have difcovered, that SERMON VI. 123 that the Taxation under Cyrenius was im- pofed and gathered about twelve Years af- ter, when, according to Jofephus Qtiiri' rinus, he was made Prefed of Syria, and many Years after the Death of Herod the Great, Bat it has fully been made out by learned Men, that St. Luke and Jofephtts fpeak of different Events, tho' both hap- pened under the fame Cyrenius. The former, Ipoken of by St. Luke^ was only a Cenfus or Enrollment of Perfons and E- ftates, without a Demand of Tribute j the latter a Levy or Tax, adually gathered, and probably the fame with what is men- tioned by Gamaliel in the A&s of the Apo- llles, when Judas oi Galilee drew fo many People after him into Sedition and Rebelli- on, in the Days of the Taxing. The fecond Objedion is levelled againfl: the Gofpel of St. Matthew, from Chap, xxiii. 25. where we find thefe Words fpo- ken by our Saviour in the Lamentation over Jerusalem, That upon you may come all the righteous Blood fljed upon the Earth, from the Blood of righteous Abel, unto the Blood of Zacharias the Son of Marachias, whom 124 S E R M O N VL whom ye jtew between the Temple and the Altar. •' Now, fay the Enemies to the Gofpcl, " this Zacharias^ as we learn from Jofe- " phiis^ was flain in the Commotions pre- ^' ceding the Siege and Deflrudion of Je" " riifalem^ which fell out An, 70. fome " Years after the Writing of this Gofpel, *' and almoft forty Years after Chrift is " fuppofed to have uttered thefe Words." But why mud the Zacharias, fpoken of by our Saviour, I fay, why mufl: he needs be the Zacharias of JofephitSy and no other? Efpecially when we find another of this very Name, 2 Chron, xxiv. qo, a Prophet, whom the Jews put to Death in the Court of the Lord's Houfe many hun- dred Years before our Lord's Time, who therefore might be, and who mofl probably was the Zacharias fpoken of by him. We (hail perhaps be told, that this could not be, becaufe the Zacharias in St. Mat- thew is called by Chrift the Son of Bara- chias : S E R M O N VL 125 chias : Whereas the Zacharlas of the Chronicles is faid therein to have been, not the Son of Barachias, but of Jehnjada^ who therefore muft have been a different Perfon. But how do the Otjedors know, that the Father of Zacbarias, of whom we read in the fecond Book of Chronicles, befides the Name of Jehojada, might alfo have that of Barachias ^ Nothing is more common in Scripture, than for the fame Perfon to be fpoken of under different Names, and therefore, till the Objedors can fhew that this was not the Cafe of Jehojada, he may be the very Perfon whom our Saviour mentions under the Name of Barachias, and then the Ob- jedion falls of Courfe. Befides, as the Zacharias^ in the Book of Chronicles, is not affirmed to be the Son of Barachias, but of Jehojada : So the Zacharias of Jofephus is not called by him the Son of Barachias^ but of Baruchus, which 126 SERMON VI. which, tho' fomewhat alike in Sound, are quite different Names. Laftly^ There is one Circumdance which attended the Death of Zacharias^ in the Hiflory o^ xht Chronicles^ which no Man can compare with the Occafion of our Lord's Words, in the 23d Chtip, of St. Matthew, without perceiving him to be the Zacharias there fpoken of ; For Chrift mentions a Zacharias^ the (hedding of whofe Blood, as well as that of Abel's^ was emphatically to be required. But as JbeVs Blood cried from the Earth for Vengeance againft his Murderer : So when Zacharias the Prophet was put to Death by the Jews the Author of the fecond Book of Chroni- cles informs us, that he left this Burden upon his Murderers. The Lord look up- on itj and require it. He therefore was the Zacharias proper to the Words of our Lord, and exadly anfwering the Defign of them. And thus the fecond Cavil againfl the Genuinenefs of the Gofpels is efFedual- ly removed out of our Way. And the TiVangelifts appear to have written nothing but S E R M O N VL 127 but what falls within the Time afligned by them, or later than the Time in which they are fuppofed to have lived and writ- ten. Let us now confider. Secondly, How far the fecond Mark of Genuinenefs is applica- ble to the facred Hiftories, by examining whether the Style, in the Language and Manner of it, be fuch as the reputed Au- thors of them might be fuppofed to make ufe of. Three of the facred Writers were Jevt^s born, vipi, Matthew, Mark, and Jolm. It was natural therefore to exped that they writing in Greek, which was not their na- tive Language, (hould not always exprefs themfelves with the fame Purity, which is found in the Writings of fuch as were Greeks by Birth. Men under the Circum- (tances of thefe three Evangelifls, if left to the Choice of their own Expreflions, would introduce frequently the Idiom of their own native Speech, and fometimes of other Languages, to which they had been accu- ftomed. 128 S E R M O N VI. domed. As to the fourth Evangelifl, St. Lifke, he was not a Jem born, but became fuch by Profelytifm, and was a Native of Antioch, a City of Syria, and an Univer- fity, where probably he improved himfelf in the Language and the Arts of Greece* Such a Perfon therefore would in all Like- lihood exprefs himfelf in purer Greek than the Hebrew Evangelifts, and yet his Lan- guage could not be fuppofed to be wholly free from Syriack Idioms, thro* the Preju- dices of his native Place and Language. And agreeable to all this is the real State of the facred Hiftories: St. Matthew, who never left the Holv Land till the Writing; of the Gofpel, which goes by his Name, writes like a Hebrew of the Hebrews, who at that Time had never vilited any foreign Climate, generally clothing Hebrew and Syriack Modes of Speech in a Greek Garb, and citing the Old Teftament, principally according to the Hebrew Original, rather than the Greek Verfion, which goes by the Name of the Septnagint* St. SERMON VI. 129 St. Mark, who wrote his Gofpel after lome (lay made at Rome, abounds lefs with Hebraifms and S^riafjns, than St. Matthew, tho' flilJ retaining a fufficient Number of them -, and having by his Abode at Rorne learnt in fome Meafare the Lathi Tongue^ now and then expreiles the Military Affairs of the Rotfum Soldiers at Jerusalem in their own Words, written according to the GYee\ Spelling and Termination. St. John wrote his Gofpel after many- Years Abfence from his native Country, and tho' probably, on that Account, he has fewer Mixtures of the Bafiern Idiom in h.is Style, than either of the former Evange- liils, yet has enough of this Kind to be- fpeak and point out his Extradion. Be- iides this, the Writer of the Gofpel, which goes under the Name of St. John, does, towards the latter End of it, point himfelf to be that very Perfon, For plain it is, that the Perfon who in this Gofpel is fre- quently fpoken of under the Periphrafis of being the Difciple whom Jefus loved, Was V-OL.IL K John-. 150 S E R M O N VI. John. Having therefore related St. Peter^s Qlieilion to our Lord concerning the belov- ed Difciple, together with our Lord's An- fwer, he immediitely fubjoins, This is the Difciple which teflifieth of thefe Things, and wrote thefe Things, and we know that his Tefiimony is true* La fly, the Gofpel according to St. Luke exacliy tallies with the Circumflances of his Birth, Religion, and Education, being jufl fuch a one as might be expeded from all thefe. It is remarkable for greater Purity of Style, than the other facred Writings, and for abounding lefs with Hebraifms, and for clofely following the Septuagi?it Tranfla- tion of the Old Teftarnent, which was ufed by the HeHenift Jews. And yet there are in it plain Indications of a Writer, who was no Greek by Birth, but who was con- verfant in the Greek of the Synagogue, and whofe native Tongue was Syriack, Thus we fee that the very Im perfections, as they are by fome accounted, in the Style of the facred Hiftories, prove to their Ad- I va-ntage. SERMON VI. 131 vantage, fupplying us with indubitable Proofs of their Genuinenefs , whereas had they been penned in the chafte Athenian Tafte, we (hould have been harder put to it to afcertain them to their reputed Au- thors, who naturally had not Talents for compofing elegantly in that noble and co- pious Language. And I cannot therefore but hope, that the Lovers of Greek Pro- priety will be lefs follicitous to vindicate the Purity of the Style of the Greek Tefta- ment , both becaufe it is a Defign which never can wholly fucceed, and becaufe, if it fhould. Religion would rather fuffer, than be benefited thereby. The third, the lafl, and principal Note of the Genuinenefs of ancient Books is, when fuch Writers, as live in or neareil: the Times in which thofe Books were writ- ten, invariably, or, however, generally af- cribe them to the Perfons whofe Names they at prefent go under, or at leaft adjudge them to no other. The Reafon of this Mark is obvious, vi^, that the nearer a Writer is in Time to the Piece, whofe Ge- K 2 nuinenefs 132 SERMON Vi. nuinenefs we inquire after, the better Op* portunities he mud have of informing him- felf concerning its Authors , and where the Generality of fuch Writers agree in their Report, their Evidence is irrefiftible. Bat this Note alfo, in the ftrongefl Man- ner, belongs to the four Gofpels, and to the ABs of the blelTed Apoftles. For that St. Mattbeiv and St. AUrk were the Authors of Gofpels, we learn from Pa- pas, who flourilhed within fifty Years af* ter thofe Gofpels came abroad, and w^ho lived in the Apoftolical Age itfelf. A little later than the Middle of the fecond Age, and ^^ithin about one hundred Years after the earlielf of the Church's Gofpels liouriQied Ire?imts, the fir ft who cites the four Gofpels by Name. He had been in* flruded by Folycarp^ who had converfed with St. John : So that his Evidence for the Genuinenefs of the four Gofpels, may be refolved into that of the Apoftolical Age itfelf. Later, but ftill in the fecond Cen- tury, Clemens of Alexandria^ and Tertul- 5 lia?i SERMON VI. 1 5 5 Han concur in the fame Teftimony. For the Truth of which it is worth remarking, that thefe three eminent and early Fathers do in the ftrongeft Manner appeal, not to their Predecellbrs fingly, but to the Tradi- tion of Churches, nor to thofe of leller Note, but even to the Apoftolical Sees, traced up to the Apoftles their Founders, They affirm of the four Gofpels, that they, under their prefent Titles, were wnth tlie Church a primordio^ i, e, from the Begin- ning, or from their firfl Publication. Every fucceeding BiQiop, in thofe Churches, re- fpedively received this Tradition from his Predecellor, and handed it down to him that came after. And on thefe unOiaken Prin- ciples do the Writers of the third Century afcribe the Gofpels and A^s of the Apoflles to their refped:ive Authors : Nor does any one Catholick Writer, from thofe early Days to our own Times, queftion the Ge- nuinenefs of thofe facred Hiftories. Some Parts of the New Teftament Canon were later received into the Code of the Church than others, being doubted of by fome par- ticular Churches. But as to the Hiftorical 5 Books 134 S E R M O N VI. Books, with which we are now concerned, no Catalogue of Scriptures wanted them, but they were read and received through- out the Chriftian World for genuine and infpired. And certainly the Doubts and De- murs of particular Churches to fome of the New Teftament Scriptures, greatly ftreng- thens their Evidence to the Genuinenefs of thofe in which the Church Univerfal was agreed. For it fhews, that in thofe Days Chriftians were not implicit Believers in .{lich Points, but judged for themfelves , re- ceiving no Book as Genuine and Canonical, upon the mere Authority of Churches, how great or ancient foever they might be. From whence we may juftly conclude, that if the Authenticity of the four Gofpels and the JBs of the Apoftlcs had not been efta- bliflied beyond all reafonable Contradiction, they would no more have met with an univerfal Reception from the Beginning, than the doubted Part of the Canon did. If any one therefore has thought it ftrange, that ever the divine Providence fliould fuf- fer any Part of the Primitive Church to have been doubtful concerning fome Books of S E R M O N VI. 13^ of unqueftionable Infpiration, he mud: now be convinced, that it was done for the greater Confirmation of thofe, wherein the entire Body of Chriilians v/ere agreed • which was an End worthy of Providence, which at the fame Time took care at lad to remove all Prejudices, and to make way for the Reception of the whole Canon of Scripture, as it now flands. But to return to my main Subjed. Hav- ing fhewn, that the Catholick Writer? neareft in Time to the Age of the Gofpels, have unanimouily afcribed them to the Au- thors whofe Names they bear, and that no found Chriftian has (ince pretended to dil- pute their Genuinenefs, I might now con- clude the prefent Head, but that it may perhaps be expeded 1 iliould give fome Ac- count, what were the Sentiments of the Enemies to the Chriftian Name, and like- wife thofe of heretical Chriftians on thjs Subject. As to the former of thefe then, we do not find that any one ancient Antichriftiaa K4 Writer 13^ SERMON VI. Writer ever attempted to call in Qyeftioii the Genuinenefs of the Gofpels or J8s^ It (liould be remembered, at the fame Time, that Celfjis, Torphjry^ and Jnl'uin the Apo- (late had too much Zeal againft Chriftiari- ty to omit any Method of Argumentation, that would diftrefs or difparage it-, and that they had too much Sagacity not to per- ceive that nothing could hurt it more, than to render its principal Writings of doubt- ful Credit and Genuinenefs. That they therefore fhould never make the lead At- tempt this Way, is an invincible Prefump- tion, that the Thing was utterly impradti- eable ^ that not the leaffc Sufpicion of Spu- rioufnefs could be hxed on the Holy Gof- pels, and that their Genuinenefs was un- queftionable. More than this, the laft of the above-named Antichridian Writers, and on many Accounts the molf confiderable of them, gives a pofi- tive Evidence in favour of the four Gof- pels, admitting them to have been written by the very Perfons to whom the Church has always juftly afcribed them : I mean Julian. S E R M O N VL 137 Julian the Jpoftate. He knew the utmofi that could be faid for and againft the Ge- nuinenefs of thefe and all other Canonical Books, having, in fhew at leaft, profefled Chriflianity, and even officiated in one of the lov^er Orders of the Church : For fuch a one, therefore, writing profelTedly againft the Religion of our Lord, with all the Rag€ and Malice that Apoflacy could infpire, to own that Matthew^ Mark^ Luke, and John were the Authors of the Gofpels, which go under their relpedive Names, is an Evi- dence above all Exception or Contradidion. As to Hereticks, ancient and modern, tho' fome of the former Kind denied the Authority of all the Church's Gofpels, yet none of them quefticned their Genuine- nefs, fave Manes and his Followers in the third Century. And thefe pretended to no Sort of Evidence of the Spurioufnefs of the Gofpels, either internal or external, but only affirmed the Thing as revealed to them by their Paraclet, by whom they gave out that they were infpired. Nor did any, after thefe mad-brained Enthufiafts, queftion the Genuinenefs of the Gofpels, till the fixteenth 133 S E R M O N VL (ixteenth Century, when the Anahaptijis in Germany^ on much the fame weak and enthufiaftick Pretences, denied that they were written by the four reputed Evange- lifts. What makes the ConceiTions of the early Hereticks, in this Point, the more impor- tant is, that they were conftrained to deny the Authority of the Gofpels, whilft they admitted them to be genuine : Whereas, if the Truth would have permitted it, the more rational Way had been to have founded their Rejedion of the Gofpels on their being fpurious. But this being not controvertible, the Hereticks were forced to excufe their fetting afide the Church's Gofpels, upon Pretences that were equally immodcfl: and abfurd. They gave out that ihe Apoflles preached before they had a pcrfed Knowledge ; They denied that the Truth could be learned from the Scrip- tures, without the Help of a Tradition whereof they alone had the Cuftody. They boafted themfelves to be wifcr than the ApoflleSj and that they alone found out the fincere S E R M O N VI. 139 fincere Truth, whilft the Apoftles blended the Law with the Dodrines of our Savi- our, with more to the fame Purpofe. If then thefe Hereticks, moft of whom lived in the next SuccefTion to the Apoftles, for want of Objedions to the Genuinenefs of the received Gofpels, were forced to fet afide their Authority upon the monftrous Principles above fpecified ^ no one furely at this Diftance of Time, can rationally ac- count them fpurious. It muft not be concealed that an Attempt has of late Years been made to fet afide the Genuinenefs of the firft Gofpel, that, ac- cording to St. Matthew^ under a Pretence that it went under many other different Titles in the firft Age of Chriftianity^ which would evince, that the Ancients were utterly at a l.ofs to whom to afcribe this Gofpel. But upon Inquiry the Facl is found to be falfe, no Evidence appearing for the firft Gofpel's being afcribed to any one but St. M^tthew^ in the firft, fecond, or third Age of Chriftianity. In die fourth A2;e indeed Jerom !46 SERMON VL Jerom and Epiphanhts fuppofed the Gofpel according to the Hebrews^ and the Naza- rene Gofpel, with fome Variations, to have been the Hebrew of St. Matthew : But all the while thofe Fathers believed it, tho' going under the other Names, to have been the genuine Work of St. Matthew, However, plain it is, from the Frag- ments of the Gofpel, according to the He- brews^ yet preferved, that both thofe Fa- thers miflook, when they fpake of it as the Hebrew of St. Matthew, For from thofe Fragments it appears widely different from St. Matthew^s Gofpel, and to have conic much nearer to that of St. Luke, than to iny of the other four. Thus I think it appears, that the facred Hiftory of the New Teftament, contained . m the Gofpels and Ads of the Apoflles, have all the Notes and Charaderiflicks of Genuinenefs, which ufe to afcertain an- cient Writings to the Authors whofc Names they bear. As Flr/f, S E R M O N VI. 14! Firfl^ They contain nothing later irt Time than the Age of their reputed Au- thors. Secondly^ That the Style is fuch as thofe Authors would naturally ufe, when they iliould undertake to write in Greek, Thirdly^ That the Writers, who lived tieareft to the Times in which thofe Hiflo- ries were written, invariably alcribe them to the Perfons whofe Names they now go under, or at leait adjudge them to no others. The Conclufion from whence is, that the facred Hiftories, when firft written, were ..Credible and genuine Narratives. And nothing is now wanting to evince, that they are yet fuch, but a Proof, that thofe Writings have been, in the main, faithfully tranfmitted down to the pre- fent Times. But that muft be defered to the next Opportunity* S E R- ( H3 ) SERMON VII. Second Epiftle of St. Peter^ Chap, i. Verfe 16, For Tve have not followed cunningly devifed Fables, when we made known unto you the Power and Coming of our Lord Jefus Chrift ; hut were Eye-witnejfes of his Majefly and Glory. I H A V E, in the Courfe of former Lec- tures, ihewn. jpir/?. That the reputed x'\uthors of the four Gofpels, and of the ABs of the Apo- ftles, were properly qualified to write the Hiftories that are contained in thofe Books. Secondly^ i44 SERMON Vlt Secondly^ That thofe reputed Authorsi fo well qualified to do Juftice to the Sub- jects concerning which they wrote, were really the Compilers of the Hiftories re- fpedively afcribed to them. Nothing therefore remains to be done, for eftablifhing the Credibility of thofe Hiftories, as now extant, but to prove, in the third and laft Place, that thofe Hifto- ries, which, in their firft Eftate were thus credible and genuine, have been, in the Main, faithfully tranfmitted and conveyed down to the prefent Times. And of this w^e have infinitely better E- vidence, than we have for the Conveyance of any other Hiftories whatever. For firft, whereas other ancient Hifto* ries were but of little Concern to the fe- veral Ages, thro' which they have paiTed to us, and confequently we have, by no Means, an Ailurance, that no material Al- terations have been made therein : The fa- cred SERMON VII. 145 cred Hiftories of the New Teftament were of the utmoft Confequence to every Age of Chriftians, and therefore all imaginable Care may be prefumed to have been em- ployed to preferve them, in the Main, pure and unaltered. Befides, they were Books to which daily Recourfe were had, either for the Condud of private Chriftians, or for publick Inftrudion in their folemn Af- femblies *, fo that no Additions or Defalca- tions could be made in them, but what muft have been immediately perceived and remedied. Such alfo was the Zeal of Chri- ftians in all Ages for thofe holy Books, and lo great their Reverence for the Authors of them, that they would have parted with their Lives, rather than have permit- ted any known Changes to have been made therein. Indeed it is fcarce credible, how jealous the early Chriftians were of Varia- tions in the minuteft Inftances, from what they had been ufed to hear as Part of Scripture. One remarkable Example cf which I fhall here give you. You muft know then, that St. Jerom correded the old Latin TranQation of the Old Tefta- Vol. II. L ment, 1^6 SERMON VII. ment, or rather made a new One, that Ihould be more conformable to the Hebrew Original, than the Lati?i Verfion then in Ufe, which had exadly followed the Greek of the Septitagint. Now, among other Diffe- rences, which hence arofe between the old and new Latin Verfion, one happened in the Prophet Jonah ^ where, for what in our EfigUfi Tranflation is read a GoiirJ, the old Jjatifi rendered Cuciirhita, vjhichyerom''s La- ri?; changed into Handera: Which of thefe was the more proper Verfion, is not our prefent Bufinefs to determine, nor did it concern any Point of Dcdrine or Morality, which was to be preferred to the other. But yet this Alteration had like to have produced great Mifchiefs in the Church :, an Account whereof we have in an Epiltle from Aitftin to Jeronu A certain Biihop, fays he, had a Mind to introduce, into his Church, the Reading of Jerome's, Latin Verfion of the Old Teflament, inflead of that formerly ufed therein : But the People finding, in the Prophecy of Jonah, a new Word i/^- dera, inftead of Cuatrbita, to which they and their Forefathers had been for fome Ages accuftomed, made fo great an Outcry 4 and SERMON VII. T47 and Difturbance, that they were upon the Point of leaving their Biftiop, on Account of the Alteration : Nor had he any other Means to keep his Flock from Defertion, but by replacing the old Word Cucurbita^ and erafing Hadera. Now, the Xjfe I would make of this Story in the prefent Argument fhould be, to make you fenfible of the Difficult}^ or rather Impoflibility of making any Changes of Moment in the Gofpels and Ads of the Apoftles. For if the ancient Chriftians were fo tenacious of their old Latin Verfion, as to raife a Tu- mult upon the Change of but one (ingle Word, which made no material Difference in the Senfe of a Prophet ^ how tragical, how clamorous, how out of all Patience would an old Chriftian Audience have been, upon hearing Fa6ts added in the Hiilories of the New Teftament, or Pafiages omit- ted, to the Recital of which they and their Fathers had been accuftomed their whole Lives before. Befides, how improbable, if not impoflible, it is, that an Attempt to deprave the Gofpels and other received Books of the New Teftament, Ihould fuc- L 2 ceed> 148 SERMON VII. cced, mufl appear to every one, who con- (iders how widely difperfed the Copies of thofe Books were, both in their original Languages, and in the Verfions early made from them for the TJ*fe of fuch Churches as were Strangers to the Greek Tongue. He therefore that would to purpofe have corrupted the holy Books, muli have done it at once all the World over, and have perfuaded the Bilhops and Clergy of the Church to have furrendered their Bibles to be altered, as the Defigns of Hereticks, or the Malice of unbelieving Men, fliould require. He mufl, moreover, have pre- vailed with private Chriftians, to have gi- ven up their Copies of Scripture for the fame wicked Purpofe. And thofe very Men, who often, in Time of Perfecution, refufed to furrender their Bibles to be burnt, at the Expence of their own Lives, muft be fuppofed eafily to have confented to a ftill greater Mifchief and Dilhonour of the Chriflian Religion. For, better had it been for the Church of God entirely to have loft her written Rule of Faith and Manners, than to have fubmitted to a falfe and SERMON VIT. 149 and fallacious one. Bat neither are thefe all the Difficulties, which would have lain in the Way of any one, that fiiould early have attempted the depraving of the Church's Gofpels. For befides what has been already mentioned, he muft have gone to work with the Creeds, that were received and agreed to throughout the Chriftian World : For they contain a Sum- mary of our Lord's Hiilory, and, with- out undergoing fome material Alterations, would have been perpetual and (landing Evidences againft depraved Gofpels. The fame may be faid of the ancient Liturgies • in which doubtlefs, as well as in our own^ were inferted, or at lead alluded to, many Sayings and Adions of our bleifed Saviour: All which muft have been new formed, to make them correfpond with the corrupted Records of Chriftianity. A fuitable Change alfo muft have been made in the Feftivals of the Church, inftituted as Memorials of the great Events mentioned in the genuine Gofpels, which muft have been put down and others appointed, that would be more agreeable to the new fangled Memoirs of L 3 the 1 50 SERMON VII. the Life and Dodrines of our blelled Sa- viour. hajlly^ to mention no more, the Wri- tings of the Apoftolicai and other early Fathers, difperfed throughout the Chriftian World, mufl have been called in, and made conformable to the new modelled Gofpels, in Doctrines, in hiflorical Fads, and literal Citations from thofc holy Books : And if this was not pracli cable, as it hard- ly was, they mufi: have been utterly fup- prelFed ^ that fo no Remains might be left of the Gofpels and other hiitoricai Books in their firfl: Purity. And he who can believe, that all thefe Difficukies could poffibly be got over by any Man, or by any Set of ?vlen, muft have it entirely in his Power to believe whatever he wifhes to be true, tho' ever fo ridiculous and im- praclicable. Bat, Secondly, Be fides the feeming Im- poilibility of fuch a Depravation in the Na- ture and Reafon of the Thing, we have fuch unqueflionable Evidences, and Mo- numents SERMON VII. 1 5 1 numents of the Gofpels having been faith- fully conveyed down to us, as no other Hiftory ever had. For what extant pro- fane Hiflory is there, of any Antiquity, from which any competent Portions have been cited by the Writers of every Age, (ince thofe Hiftories were publifhed, from which it may appear, upon comparing them, that the Copies we now have, in the Main, are pure and uncorrupted ? Where- as, in every Century, fince the Gofpels and Ads of the Apoftles appeared in the World, many Ecclefiaftical Writers have cited largely from them, and for the great- er Part conformably to each other, and to the Copies we now poilefs. Belides occa- (ional Citations, in mofl of the intervening Ages, fome, or all the Gofpels, have been explained and commented upon, and the entire Text has been recited, as is ulually done by Scholiafts and Expofitors. Add to all this the ancient Verlions of the Gof- pels and Ads yet extant, as the Syriack^ probably compofed in the fecond Century, and Jero7ii\ vulgar Latin in the fourth, befides odiers of a later Date j all which, L 4 except- i$z SERMON VII. excepting fome inconfiderable Variations, perfedly agree together. Upon the Whole, therefore, the facred Hiftories of the New Teftament have in- comparably more and ftronger Vouchers for their Integrity, than any profane Books of equal Antiquity whatever : So that, ei- ther the Uncorruptnefs of the former mud be allowed us, or the latter muft be entire- ly given up, as unworthy of the leafl: Cre- dit. For few profane Hiftorians have been cited by Writers of the intermediate Ages, fewer (till have been tranflated, and none, that I know of, have been commented upon. I fhall add only one Argument more for the Incorruptnefs of the New Teftament Scriptures, efpeciallyof the Hiftorical Parts of them, which, tho' a negative one, is to me very convincing ^ and that is, the Si- lence of Hereticks and Apoftates as to any Faiiitication of thofe Books. Frauds of this Kind might probably have been kept fecret, if Chriftians had been all along u- nanimous SERMON VIL 1^3 nanimous in other Refpeds . and if no con- fiderable Men had at any Time revolted from them to the Fagan Superftition. But this was by no Means the Cafe of Chrifien- dom in the early Ages : It was fplit by Schifms and various Herefies, the Heads whereof would have been glad of any Handle for vilifying the Orthodox Church, with fo black a Charge, as that of corrupt- ing and altering the original Records of Chriftianity, and who thereby might have fcreened their own Errors from the Impu- tation of being unfcriptural. Andi yet a- mong the foberer and more rational Here- ticks, we hear not fo much as a Sufpicion of any fuch Thing as Scriptures falfitied : But Hereticks, as well as CathoUcks, ap- peal to the fame Gofpels, d^c, as authen- tick and unqueflionable. And as the Church was early exercifed by the Hoftilities of Heretical Adverfaries, fo was it fometimes vexed and haraffed by Apoftates : Bat nei- ther did any of thefe pretend to tax the Chriftian Church, after they had deferted her, with altering the written Charter of her 1 54 SERMON VII. her Religion. Particularly Julian the Em- peror, who, whilft in Pretence a Chriftian, had probably feen Copies of the Gofpels and Ads, as old as the Apoftolical Age it- felf, had yet obferved no Variations be- tween them^ and thofe current in his own Time. For he complains of none in his Writings, after he became an Apoftate, and a moft bitter Enemy to the Chriftian Name, as he certainly would have done, if Caufe had been given for it. But again ft all this it is ob jelled by the Adverfaries to the Gofpel, that the ancient Copies, Verfions, Commentaries and Cita- tions, made from thence by ancient Fa- thers, to which we appeal for the Integrity and Uniformity of the New Teftament Hiftory in all Ages, prove the dired con- trary. For, from all thefe, fay they, learn- ed and zealous Chriftians have colleded no lefs than thirty Thoufand various Read- ings, which (hews, that fince the Text of thofe Books is fo precarious, no Proof can be built thereon for the Truth and di- vine Authority of the Chriftian Religion. To SERMON VII. 155 To which I fliall reply, firft, in Refped to the Number of the various Readings fo much complained of , and. Secondly-, With Regard to the Importance of thofe Readings. Firjl, The great Number of the various Readings in the Gofpels, and Ads of the Apoftles, is what we freely confeis : But then we fay, that this is not peculiar to the Books of the New Teftament, but is common to all Writings of equal Anti- quity. The firft Tranfcribers of Books ufually made Slips of this Kind, and their Succelfors continued and added to the Miftakes : So that the Objedion from va- rious Readings in general, afFeds all an- cient Books alike : And if they, neverthe- lefs, are conceived not to afFed the faith- ful Conveyance of profane Books, neither ought they to be urged againft that of fa- cred ones. If they fay further, that no profane Book, of equal Size and Antiquity with the N^w Teftament, has fo i^any va-. rious I ^^ SERMON VIL rious Readings as are collecled in a late ce- lebrated Edition, which yet is denied, by a very learned and every Way competent Judge of fuch Matters, the Reafon of the Difference is evident, 'y/;^. that no one Book of the fame Age has been near fo often tranfcribed, tranOated, commented on, and cited from, as the New Teflament hath been. From which Circumflances an uncommon Number of various Read- ings mu(t arife, without a Miracle to pre- vent it. So that if the Tranfcribers of facred and Ecclefiaftical Books, had not been more accurate than the Copifts of an- cient Greek and Lathi Writers, the Difpro- portion between the various Readings of each muft probably have been much greater, than it now is. Befides, they who complain of the exceflive Number of va- rious Readings in the New Teflament, as rendering the Text precarious, betray ei- ther great Ignorance, or Malice : For a ve- ry learned Perfon, if Infidels had Room for Conviction, has evinced, that by how much the greater the Number of various Read- ings on any old Book are, by fo much a better SERMON VIL 157 better and more exad Text may be com- piled from them: So that, if inftead of thirty Thoafand various Readings in the New Teftament, Criticks could have fup- plied us with fixty Thoufand, the facred Text thereof might have been rendered more perfed, than it now is. So that the comparative fmall Number of various Read- ings in ancient fecular Writings, is a Dif- advantage, rather than a Happinefs to them. Here, therefore, the Artillery of our Ene- mies turns upon themfelves, and their very Objeflions prove what they were intended to gainfay,. viz» the Integrity and Purity of the facred Text of the New Teftament- But, Secondly, Suppofing the Number of various Readings in the New Teftament, cMerh paribus, to exceed that of other an- cient Hiftories, and that fuch various Read- ings might poffibly have affeded the Credit of the four Gofpels and Ads of the Apo- 'ftles', yet, unlefs it has really and adually done them this Mifchief, the Number of them is no Objedion at all to the faithful Conveyance of thofe Books. And upon the exadeft Inquiry we find, that we may fafelv 158 SERMON Vir. fafely leave it to the Enemies of Revela- tion, to make their utmoft Advantage of all the Varieties that can be colleded from Manufcripts, Verfions, Commentaries, and Citations. They have often been defied to make up a Text out of all thefe, that will alter the Chriftian Syftem in any one important Particular whatever. They have been told, that when this has been done, every Article of Faith, and every Rule of good Living, will be found in their new compared Text, which appears at prefent in our current ones. And which is more to the prefent Purpofe, we may defy them, by the Ufe of fuch Means, to deprive us of any one Evidence for the Truth of the Chriftian Religion, from Miracles perform- ed, or Prophefies fulfilled. They will not be able to ftrike out one of either Sort from the Number of them, as they ftand at prefent. To what Purpofe then is it, to charge the Hiftory of the New Tefta- ment with Dcfeds of fo little Importance, as do not affed either its Ufefulnefs, or its Veracity. We own, that the Greek Tefta- ment has fuffered by Length of Time, as wdl SERMON VII. 1 59 well as other old Books , but the good Pro- vidence of God over the facred Contents of it, has therein remarkably appeared, that neither the Fraud of Heretical Tran- fcribers, nor the CarelelTnefs and human In- advertency of Catholkk ones, have pro- duced various Readings, that afFed: Chrif- tianity in its Fundamentals of Dodrine and Pradice, or that weaken the great E- vidences of Truth and Divinity therein contained. And thus I have ftiewn, that the Hiflo- rical Books of the New Teftament, where- in the Fads of Miracles and Prophecies fulfilled are fet down, deferve to be cre- dited on the Strength of thofe very Max- ims, which induce all reafonable Men to believe other ancient Narratives, viz» that they were unqueftionably committed to Writing at firft, by Hands that were ca- pable and willing to fpeak the Truth, and that their Writings have been, in the Main, faithfully conveyed down to the prefent Times. But i5o SERMON VII. But before I conclude, permit me to re- capitulate, and prefent you, at once, with what I have been doing for fome Years in the Courfe of thefe Ledures. The great Point laboured throughout, has been to ftate and defend the two grand Evidences of Chriftianity, Miracles and Prophecies fulfilled. As to the former of thefe, the Evidence of Miracles, two Difficulties have generally attended the Ufe of it. jF/>/?, How to make a right and good Definition of them 3 and. Secondly^ To bring the Evidence from them within a moderate Compafs : Becaufe it has been thought by fome neceflary, firft to prove a Revelation good and right in its Internals, before we can ufe the Argument from Miracles in its Favour. I I there- SERMON VIL i^i I therefore propofed a Method in treat* ing of Miracles, by which both thcfe In- cumbrances might be removed, and much both of Time and Perplexity be faved in the Ufe of this grand Evidence* In order to which I affirmed, and, as I verily think, have proved, that Miracles, fo circumftanced as thofe of the Gofpel are, do fingly and direclly prove the Revelation by them attefted to come from God, to e- very one that ov/ns his Being, and admits his elTential Perfedions, And thofe Cir- cumftances are, firft, that the Miracles fo attefting were fingle, unrivalled, and un- oppofed by others, in Favour of a different Religion, pretending likewife to have come from God. Or, Secondly, In Cafe there was a Rivalfhip or Oppofition, the Mira- cles done for the Gofpel were moft in Num- ber, and flrangefl in Kind. I firft (hewed in general, that thefe Rules for diftinguifh- irig when Miracles prove a Revelation to be divine, Were good and fufficient in them- felves ♦, and, fecondly. That the Religions of Mofes and Ghrifl were confirmed by Mi- Vol. IL M racles. i6z SERMON VIL racks exadly anfwerable to thefe Rules, Miracles that were either iinoppofed, or elfe fuperior to all Oppolition. By confidering the Gofpel Miracles in this Light, both the Ends propofed were fully anfvvered. For, firft, hereby was precluded all Nicety about the Definition of a Miracle ;, it being fufficient to our Purpofe, that an Efted diftinguifhed by that Name, be fuch a one as exceeds hu- man Power and Art to bring about. Here- by alfo, fecondly, we were relieved from the Toil of proving the Internals of the Gofpel to be found and worthy of God , about which, tho' an evident Point, Un- believers may raife Cavils without End : For if the Miracles of the Gofpel, accord- ing to the Rules laid down, prove the Re- velation therein contained to have come from God, the Internals of the Revelation muft be good and worthy of its Author any Appearances to the contrary notwith- ftanding. Having SERMON VIL 1^3 Having fhewn, that the Miracles of the Gofpel abfolutely and directly proved it to be a divine Revelation, to them who be- held thofe Miracles, the next Step was to fhew the Certainty of thofe Fads, to all who have lived in the Ages following. In order to which, I Ihewed, that the Tradition or Conveyance of thofe miracu- lous Fads, has been as regular and un- queftionable, as the Nature of diftant and pad Events can poflibly admit of. From whence I argued, that as it is inconfiftent with the divine Perfedions, and therefore impollible, that God fliould do, or fuflfer to be done, unoppofed or fuperior Mira- cles, in Behalf of any pretended Revela- tion, that really came not from him : So, for the fame Reafon, it is morally impolli- ble, that he (hould give Leave for a falfe Account of Miracles to defcend to us, with all the Marks and Appearances of Truth, as he muft have done, if the Gofpel Hif- tory be a Narrative of Fads which never happened. The Enemies of Revelation, kaowing the Force of the Argument from M 2 Mira- 1^4 S E R M O N Vlf- Miracles, have endeavoured to fet it aficfe two Ways ; Firft, by a Pretence that it is befide the Queftion : Jcius and his Apoftles having founded Chriftianity on a different Bottom, to wit. Prophecies fulfilled. And, fecondly, they pretend, that, as Miracles are not an original and eiTential Proof of Chriftianity, fo they are not a good fubfi- diary one : Becaufe, if the Scripture Ar- gument from Prophecy be invalid. Mira- cles cannot alter its Nature, lo as to make it a valid one. In anfwer to which, I have endeavoured to demonftrate, that Jefus and his x'Vpoftles have, at lead, laid as much Strefs on Miracles, as Proofs of the Gofpel Religion, as they have done on Prophecy s And that confequently, Miracles are a pertinent and original Proof of Chriftia- nity. Secondly^ That Prophecies cited in the New Teilament, as fulfilled by Chrift are no invalid Foundation of Chriftianity, and therefore need not the Aid of Miracles to make it good,, In SERMON VIL i6$ In the Profecution of this latter Point, ' I ran thro' moft of the Prophecies made ufe of by the Writers of the New Tefta- ment, and (hewed of each, as I went a- iong, that there was nothing weak or ab- fard in the Accommodation of it, by the facred Writers, to the Perfon and the Times of Jefus Chrift. This was ail that the Method of our Adverfaries required to be faid, in Behalf of the Scripture Evi- dence from Prophecy ^ though I took Oc- cafion to (hew frequently, that a great deal more might be faid for it, if Need were ? and that the Completion of thofe Prophe- cies, to the Jews efpecially, for whofe Ufe, and to whom they were principally applied, were irrefragable Proofs of Jefus's being the Chrift, After I had done this, nothing further feemed necelfary to the Vindication of the two grand Foundations of Chriftianity, Mi- racles and Prophecy, but to defend the Canon of the Old Teftament, in which the Pfophegies were to be found, and likewife M 5 the i66 SERMON VII. the Hiftorical Parts of the New, which contained the Events, by which ancient Predictions were faltilled , and alfo the many and wonderful Miracles, by which God confirmed the Religion of his Son Je- fus, againft the Cavils of Gainfayers. And having done all this, I may now be at Liberty to pronounce, upon the Whole, that as lure as God is holy, juft, and good, as fure as he is jealous of his own Honour, and an Enemy to religious Impofture « fo fure is it, that the Gofpel of Chrift came from Heaven, and is worthy to be believed and obeyed. It has often been obferved, that the E- nemies to our holy Faith, though afTuming the Name of Deifts, do ftill, on fome Oc- cafion or other, drop that Mask, and fhew, that it was only a Cover for the odious Face of Atheifm. Not, perhaps, that thefe wretched Men were originally Atheifts, but finding it impoflible to maintain their Ground againft divine Revelation, on the Foot of Deifm, they are obliged, in the End, SERMON VII. 1^7 End, to retreat to Atheifm, as the grand Fort and Citadel of their Caufe. Rather than admit the Title of Chrift to rule o- ver them, they are contented to renounce God: And thus they exadly verify the Saying of St. John, Ep. I. Chap. ii. ver. 23. Whofoever denieth the Son, the fame hath not the Father. What remaineth therefore, my beloved Brethren, but that we, who are firm and per- fuaded Chriftians,' do blefs God for having built his Church on fuch invincible Founda- tions, as neither the Gates of Hell, nor the Malice and Cunning of Atheifticai Men, will ever be capable of undermining. The Chriftian Relidon is a Caufe com- mon to us all, and every one is bound to contribute to its Defence, by all Means, that are within his Reach. Would the moft illiterate Believer then know, what Service is required of him in this fpiritual Warfare , the Anfwer will be, let him live up to the Rules of Religion, and maintain the Dodrine of God, by adorn- ing it. Let us all, then, be living Apo- M 4 logifts i62 SERMON VII, logifts for our holy Faith, that, by the Light of our good Works, we may draw Unbelievers out of the Darknefs and Sha- dow of Death, into the Sunftine of God's glorious Gofpel. . . V * . .[ .1 ' .. 1.^ EIGHT EIGHT SERMONS Pr5;ach*d at the Cathedral Church of St. PA UL, In the YtARs 1738 and 1739 , At the LECTURE Founded by the Honoured Lady MOVER, By LEONARD TWELLS,D,D. Late Rector of St. MaUbew's, Friday- Street y Prebendary of St. Paul% and one of the Lecturers of St. Dunjian^-s> in the West. LONDON: printed in the Year MDCCXLIII, ( 171 ) SERMON I. Rev. iii. 14, And unto the Angel of the Church of the Laodiceans^ writer Thefe Things^ faith the Amen^ the faithful and true Witnefs ; the Beginning of the Creation of God. THE learned Perfons, who have, for near twenty Years, gone be- fore me in thisLedure, (fet up for the Defence of our blelTed Lord's real and elTential Divinity,) have confidered that Ar- gument under almoft every Method con- ceivable : So as to leave but little Room for advancing any thing new and coniider- able on that Subjed. if any thing remains of I7Z SERMON L of this Kind, it (hould feem to be a partis cular Difcuflion of feme Texts, on which the Ar'ians build their Denial of the Sen's Co-eternity and Co-equality with the Far- ther in all eireritial Perfeclions. This therefore I purpofe to do in the main of my future Difcourfes, hoping to (liew, that Ariamfm^ which has been given out as the Scripture Dodrine of the Trinity, has no real Support from that great Rule of Faith^ but is as unfcriptural as it is uncatholick. I have chofen to begin with the PalTage of my Text : Becaufe, if we attend only to the Sound of the Words, it is perhaps the ftrongeft Authority for the Aria?i Hypo- thefis, that is to be met withall in the whole New Teftament : For in the latter End of it, the Apccalyptick Writer, St. John the Evangelifl^ calls Chrill: HxV/^A t probably becaufe he fo clearly foretold the illuftrious Event of our Lord's Refurredion, fpeaking as irt his own Perfon •, which evinced, that he» of whom he fpake, had the Keys of Hell and of Death. On the fame Account alfo it ihould feem the Epithet of he that is holy, was made Part of Chrift's Charader, viz» becaufe David foretold that God would not fuff'er his Holy One to fee Cor- ruption, As for what foUoweth, He that openeth, and no Man jlmtteth^ and JJmttetby afid no Man openeth ^ it is only a farther Illuftration of our Lord's having the Key of David, or the Keys of Hell and of Deatho N 2 The i8o s E R M o :^^^ i.- The feventh and lad Meffage is intro- duced with the Words of my Text. Ajid tmto the Angel of the Church of the Laodi- eeans^ write ^ Thefe Things, faith the Amen^ the faithfd and true Witiiefs^ the BegiJining of the Creation of God, Now tire firlT of thefe Expreflions, the Amen, is the fame Senfe, in a different Language, with what follows of faithful and true : And Jefus Chrift is exprefly cal- led the faith fid Wltnefs, in the 5 th ver, of the firfl: Chapter. And thus we come to the grand Qiieftion, where the remaining Part of his Charader, who fent the feventh MelTage, vi-z. the Beginning of the Crea- tion of God^ is to be found in the h'rft: Chapter of the Revelations, For as all the Defcriptions of Chrift, previous to the o- ther fix MefTaggs, and to the former Part of the feventh, are found there, eiihpr in exprefs or in (imihr Words, it is furely right to conclude, that the Words in Dis- pute, the Beginning of the Creation of God t are in Senfe, tho* not in Sound, to be met with there alfa J? SERMON L i8i If then the Arians can {hev7 us any thing in the firfi Chapter of the Revela- tions which countenances their Notion, that the Logos oc Word, which afterwards became incarnate, was the tirft Creature that God made, they are wellcome to ap- ply the Remark I have made, and to infill: upon fuch a PalTage as parallel to, and ex- planatory of the latter Part of my Text, wherein Jefus Chrift is faid to be the Be- ghmhig of the Creation of God, For tho^ the Greek Word apx^ be equivocal, and by no means necelfarily fignities the Begin- ning : Yet if any thing whi.ch imports that the Logos had a Beginning, was to be met with in the firil Chapter, which we find to have been a Kind of Storehoufe of Images and Characters, under which Chrifl: is reprefented in the fecond and third Chapter?, there would be good Reafon to underftand ccVxi in the ver, of my Text, ag properly rendered by the Beginning. But if nothing in all that Chapter can hp made to look the lead that Way, it will N 3 b@ iS2 S E R M O N I. be a ftrong Prefumption againft fo render- ing that Word , and feme other Accepta- tion of the Word «?,.:i, mull be fought for. Further ftiil, if the firfl Chapter of the Revelatio7i does not only, not fupply us with x^uthorities for Chrift's being the hrft made of God's Creatures, but, on the other Hand, contains Teftimonies of his }iaving exiftcd from all Eternity . then -^ tt.x^ in my Text cannot poflibly mean Be- ginning. Both becaufe it would deftroy the Congruity of Charader every vvhere- elfe fo exactly obferved between the firft Chapter, and the fecond and third \ and alfo becaufe that Suppofition would make our Lord fpeak contradidory Things of himfelf : It makes him fet up for Eternity in the tirfl Chapter of the Revelation^ and own that he had a Beginning in the third : But Teliimonies there are of the Son's E- ternity in the tirft Cliapter of that Book, above all Exception. I fhall at prefent principally infift on that, from the nth ver* becaufe it is on all Hands allowed that S E R M O N I. 183 it belongs to the Son of Man. I a?n, fays that divine Perfon, Alpha and Omega, the firft and the lafi. Now the former of thefe Gharaders, Alpha and Omega, if we are to believe the Arians, is applied to the Fa- ther three Verfes higher. And what is there meant by it ? They themfelves ad- mit that it denotes his Eternity. If there- fore Alpha and Omega, predicated of the Father by himfelf, in the 8th ver. denotes his Eternity, will not the fame Expreflions predicated of the Son by himfelf in the i ith ver, denote likewife his Eternity ? Again, the Son fays of himfelf in the nth ver, that he is the firft and the la/1, Jufl as God afferting his own Eternity, Ifaiah xlvi. 6. fays, / am the firji, and I am the laft. Upon the whole then, whatever elfe is meant by Chrift's being called 'h a x^ ^ x7<- rscor Td Q-Z in my Text, we have all imagi- nable Reafon to affirm, that this Predicate does not denote what the Avians gather from thence, vi^ that Ghrifl, in his fu- perior Nature, had a Beginning, being the firft Handywork of God. ■ N4 Wf i84 S E R M ONI. We fhall perhaps be alked, if the obvi- ous Meaning of thefe Words is to be fet afide, what other Senfe we have to offer in its Stead. To which we might Reply, that we are not obh'ged to affign any. It is fuf- ficient for my prefent Purpofe, if I have difarmed the Enemies to our Lord's real Divinity of a Te(limony,to which they of- ten refer, when they mean to derogate from his Perfections oi Confubftantiality, and Co-eternity with his Father. Having therefore no farther Service for my Text, than what is already performed, I might leave the farther Difcuflion of it, to thofe whom it more immediately concerns. But I lliall wave this Right at prefent, as for many other Reafons, lb more efpecially for this 5 that, as I flievved from what Parts of the firft Chapter cf the Revelations, the Titles of our Lord, introdudory to his MelTages to fix of the JJitftick Churches, were taken, I may do the fame by that to the feventb, the Church of LcioJicea^ in the Verfe of my Text. Tkefe Things faith the Amen^ the faithful ayd true Wit- nefs. S E R M O N L 185 \iep!^ the Beginning of the Creation of God, Thefe Characters then, or Predicates, are to be found, tho' not all of them, under the fame Expreflions in the former Part of the 5th ver, of the firfl Chapter, as fol- lows. And from Jefxis Chriji^ who is the faithful Witnefs, and the firf-begotten of the Dead, and the Prince of the Kings of the Earth. In accommodating the iirft Words of each PaiTage there will be no Difficulty. A?ne?i, the Faithfid and true Witnefs, being neither more nor lefs, than faying of Chrift, as St. John does in the 5th ver, of the firfl Chapter, that he is the faithfid Witnefs, But the main Qusere is, -where we Ihall find any Thing in that Verfe which correfponds with the latter Words of my Text, in which our Lord is called 'H tu^/} ^ v-Voiui t« gss", and according to our Bible Tranflation, the Beginning of the Creation of G^d, The Greek is ftrong and emphatical, every Word having an Article, the ufual Note of Eminence, pre- fixed to it. For which Reafon, was there no i85 SERMON L no other, we might conclude, that our Enr gUJJj Tranflation in this Place is too low and too general. The Words in the 5th ver. of the firft Chapter, to which St. Johi, in the latter Part of my Text, moft pro- bably has refped, are thefe : The firft-be- gotten of the Dead^ and the Pri?ice of the Kings of the Earth, As to the former of thefe Expreflions we meet with it but once elfewhere in the whole New Teftament, viz* I CoL xviii. and there it is accompa- nied with clearer but equipollent Titles of Chrift, all dercribing him as the Head and Governor of his Church. Atid he is, fays the Apoftle, the Head of the Body, the Church: Who is the Begimtifig, the firfi- begotten of the Dead, that in all Things he might have the ?re-eminence. Firji-begot- ten here fignities a Ruler in general, not one that becomes fo by Primogeniture : So that firf-begotten of the Dead, both here and in the hrft Chapter of the Revelations denotes a Governor of fuch as, in fome particular Senfe, were dead j and what Senfe that was, no one will doubt, who re- niembers that St. Baul reckons all Chrif- ^ 9 tians SERMON I. 187 tians to be dead in their Sins, fill they were quickened by Chrift. Firjl-begotten^ then of the Dead, is the fame Title with the Head of his Body the Church, only diffe- rently exprelfed. And it would be no Strain of Language, or Propriety, to un- derftand, in the very fame Senfe, Sujohii's Words in the latter Part of my Text, 'H tt'pxi "^ Kiiai'jo^ rS ©ea, the Head or Chief of God's Spiritual Creation. Very agree- ably hereto St. Paul calls a good Chriflian )c*»vi kHo-i^, a new Creation, and rtmkes it the great Diftinclion of Chriflianity at large that it is a new Creation ^ and the ferious Profeflion of the Gofpel is, by the fame Apoftle, called putting on the 7iew Ma?i^ who is created of God, This fpi ritual Crea- tion of God is truly greater and more glo- rious than his material Creation, and de- ferved the emphatical Diftindion it meets with in the Text. It was truly ii vSi'-ai;, the great, the eminent Creation of God. And to be the Moderator and Governor of fo wonderful a Work was the Title becoming the divine Perfon, of whom it is predicat- ed in my Text, Thus I have Ihewn |bat i88 SERMON I. that «' «' fx^ ^^ x7/Vs&.' TK 0e« J the Head of the Creation of God^ as it fhould be rendered, is the fame as the firfl-hegotteji of the Bead, in the 5th ver, of the firft Chapter, and that tliey both denote Chrift to be the Head of the Church. It follows in the fame Verfe, and fpo- ken of the fame Perfon, and the Prince of the Kings of the Earth, That Chrift, as God, is really fo, needs no Proof. But that here alfo is (ignified Chrift's Suprema- cy over his Church, tho' at firft it feems very unlikely, may be made appear not improbable. In order then to that, let it be obferved, that the Church of Chrift fometimes (lands for the whole aggregate Body of the Faith- ful, united to Chrift their Head, and that, at other Times, it ftands for the Governors of that fpiritual Society, deriving their Power from, and exprcifingit under the Di- redion of Chrift, the Sovereign thereof. And in the later of thefe Senfes, I take it that Chrift's Supremacy over his Church is fpoken^ fe E R M O N I. 189 fpoken of, when he is ftiled the Frince of the Kifigs of the Earth. But to this there is a moft obvious Objedlion, that to make Kings of the Earth fland for Church Go- vernors, is dired Impropriety. But then it fhould be remembered, that the Lan- guage of Vilions is not to be judged of like that of other Writings : That bold Figures and Expreilions, ftrained beyond their ufual Import, are no uncommon Things in the Writer before us : Lafily, that this Inter- pretation, harfh as it appears, may be ju- fMfied from St. John himfelf in this very Book. In the very next, ver, the 6th, he calls Chriftians in general Kings, faying. He, i. e, Chrift hath made us Ki?igs, And in the fifth Chapter of the Revelations, ver. I o. he reprefents the four Beafts and twen- ty Eldets, by whom both Grotiits and Hammond underftand the Governors of the Church ;, he makes thefe to fay of the Lamb : Thou hajl made us unto otir GoJy Kings and PrieJIs *, ajid we f)all reign oti the Earth Let therefore the Apocalyptick Writer explain himfelf, and we fee that the Prifice of the Kings of the Earthy is in 3 hig i$o S E R M O N I. his Stile the fame as Head and Governor of the Chriflian Hierarchy. The only thing remaining, is to make this Senfe of our Lord's Title of Prince of the Kings of the Earth, to coincide with what is faid of him in my Text, that he is Now we have an undoubted Authority for a>9>7rM!i xlifTi?, (ignifying fecular Power in Scripture. St. Peter fays, tirft Epiftle, Chap* ii. ver. \ $« Submit ycnrf elves -ttoI'jm a'y- efdoTT/m ^t'Jia-st, to every worldly Magiflratei What follows plainly fhews this to be the right rendering : For he adds, Whether it he unto the King as Supreme, or to Gover- nors, as to thoje that are appointed by him. If then a%9pa)7rm) ylicrii ilands in Scripture for fecular Governors, what car. be more natural than to explain yliai^ ei^ m my Text of Spiritual, i» e, Ecclefiaftical Go^ vernors. Upon the whole theii we find, by a thorough Confideration of my Text, that tile SERMON I. i9t the Senfe of it to be looked for in the 5th i)er. of the firft Chapter , that it is utterly unferviceable to Arian Purpofes, becaufe St. John fpeaks not at all therein of what Chrift our Lord is originally, and by Na- ture, but of what he is by Prerogative of Office and Oeconomy, the Head of his Church, the Fountain of all Graces and Bleflings to his People in general, and of every fpiritual Power in particular; Giv- ing fome Apoftles, and fome Prophets, and fome Evangelifts, and fome Paftors and Teachers *, for the perfeding of the Saints, for the Work of the Miniftery, for the edi- fying of the Body of Chrift. SER^ ( 193 ) S E R M O N II. John i. 14. And the Word ivas made FleJJjy and dwelt among us, THERE is not a Point in the whole Avian Controverfy, more necelTary to be determined, than the Mean- ing of the Word Flefh in my Text. For if, as the Arians and ApoUinarians main- tain, St. John thereby affirms, that the Word took a human Body only, without a rational human Soul ^ then Chrifl had but one Nature, and confequently, whatever is faid of him in Scripture, though ever fo low, muft be underftood of him in his higheft Capacity. At this Rate, he coulli not be truly and efrirntiallv G^d : Bccaufe Vol. IL O ^ God, 194 S E R M O N II. God, in the ftrid Senfe of the Word, cannot be born, nor dye, nor exert human Paflions, nor be fubjed to human Infirmi- ties. He cannot increafe in Wifdom and Knowledge, nor in Favour with the other divine Perfons in the Godhead ^ all which Things are predicated of Jefus in the New Teftament. But if, on the other Hand, our Evangelift, by the WorJ^s being made Flefli, meant what the Church of God has all along underftood to be his Meaning, that the Word was united to an entire hu- man Nature, confiding of Body and Soul ^ then all thefe Objections to his real Divi- nity vanifii at once : The low Things faid of Chrift in Scripture, are obvioufly ap- plied to that human Nature which he af- fumed, when he became incarnate , and the fublime Names and Charaders given him by the facred Writers, have alfo a proper Subjed to w^hich they belong, viz* the WorJ, of whom the Evangelift in the firft Verfe of his Gofpel fays, that he was God, By this Diftindion of the two Na- tures in the Perfon of Chrift, the New Teftament is made confiftent with itfelf, which SERMON IL 195 which is utterly impradicable upon the Ariaft, or indeed on any other Hypothcfis. Thofe who deny the human Nature of Chrift, take great Advantage from the Text^ in which they obferve it is faid that the Word was made, not Man, but Fleffi, i. e, fay they, obvioufly, a human Body : So that in Chrift there was but one Nature, made up of a human Body, and the Word united to it and aduating it, inftead of a human Soul. And truly, if the Word Fle(h, in Scripture, was never put for the entire man, but conftantly fignified his Body only, this Obfervation would have great Strength and Force. But, upon En- quiry we find, that by Flefh in holy Writ, is frequently meant human Nature, or Man, in both his Integrals of Soul and Body. Thus Gen, vi. 1 2, it is faid, that all FlefJj had corrupted his V/ay upon Earth, i. e. All Men had. So alfo ?fal, Ivi. 4. / will not fear, fays holy David, what FleJI: can do unto me, i. e. I will not fear what Man can do unto me. For fo he exprefsly fays in Verfe 11. of the fame Pfalm. Again, Jere?ny vii. 5. The Prophet declares him O 2 curfed ig6 SERMON 11. cjirfed^ that trnjletb in Mail and maketh Flejh his Arm : Where Flefli has plainly the fame Extent of Meaning with IVlan* St. Matthezv alfo ufes Flefli to the like Purpofe. Matt.'Si^iy, 23. where he intro- duces our Lord faying, Except thofe Days jhould he jhortened^ there Jhould no FleJJj be faved. And fo does St, Vaid^ Rom. iii. 20. when he affures us, that by the Deeds of the Law, there jhall no FleJJj be jujiified in the Sight of God, So in the Text, where St. John tells us, Jhat the Word was made Flejh 3 his Meaning might be, that it was made or united to a compleat human Na- ture, confiiting of Soul and Body. If therefore, it can be made out, that this is the certain Senfe of Scripture in other Pla- ces, this poflible Meaning of the Evange- lift in the Text muft be looked on as the actual one. The firft PalTage I (hall pro- duce for this Purpofe, is Heb.u. 17. where the Apoflle alTures us, That it behoved our Lord^ in all Things^ to be tnade like unto his Brethren, i. e. to other Men. An Af- fertion every Way confiftent with the Ca- tholick Doctrine of the Incarnation, which teaches SERMON 11. 197 teaches that Chrift, as Man, was in all na- tural Refpeds what other Men are, a Com- pound of Soul and Body, and, like them, fubjed to all innocent Infirmities, [by which he might be qualified to be a merciful and faithful High Pried.] But would the Apoftle have faid all this, if the Jna?i Hy- pothefis, concerning the Incarnation, had been true? For according to that, Chrifl was unlike his Brethren iri the very prin- cipal Thing of all, having no human Soul, but, inftead thereof, a Principle, which the Arians themfelves account to be prior in Time, and incomparably fuperior in Na- ture, not only to the Mind of Man, but to Angels and Archangels ;, a Principle, which at firfl created, and at prefent ('jf- tains all Things. Laflly, a Principle, not to be wrought upon by Temptations from the World, the Flefli, or the Devil , and confequently, fuch as could have no Feel- ing of our Infirmities in the Way of Syn> pathy. Goodnefs- of Nature might incline him to be a merciful and faithful High Prieft, but not Similitude of Condition :, which yet is the Topick from which the O 3 Apoilie 19? SERMON II. Apoftle to the Ht^brews argues in the Cafe before us. A fecond Argument from Scripture for the perfed; Manhood of Chrift, may be formed from the 2d Chapter of St. Litke^ and the $7th Verfe. There the Evangeiifl: giving an Account of our Lord, after his Return ftom Jemfalem^ in the twelfth Year of his Age, faith, that Jefits hicreafed in Wifdom and Knowledge, ajid in Favour ivith God and Ma?i. Ail which is eafy and inteJhgible, according to the Church's Account of the Incarnation. For the hu- man Nature of Chrifl, confiding of Body and Soul, muft have received Improve- ments, as others of the fame Species, do, from ripening Age and gradual Experience. But I am utterly at a Lofs to conceive, how the Avians Ihould be able to reconcile the Remark of the Evangelift, with their Scheme of the Incarnation : For the Word, which, according to them, was the only intelligent Principle in the Perfon of Je- fus, that Word, I fay, when he became incarnate, they fuppofe to have had the utmofl SERMON II. 199 utmoft Perfedion in Wifdom and Know- ledge, that any Creature was capable of receiving or attaining to. Could he there- fore, when vailed in the Flelh, poflibly increafe in Wifdom and Knowledge? It riiuft furely be the moft flagrant of all Ab- furdities to imagine, that the War J, by whom all Things were at firft made, and who gave us all thofe Faculties, whereby we acquire Wifdom and Knowledge, could be himfelf ignorant of any Thing that comes into the human Mind, in the Ways of Senfation and Refledion. And yet, without fuppofing Ignorance of this Kind in fome Degree, there can be no poflible Room for an Increafe of Wifdom and Knowledge in Chrifl. Had, indeed, St. Luke faid this of our Lord more ear- ly in his Infancy, at that Age, when Chil- dren firft become capable of fpeaking their Sentiments, it might have been imagined the Evangelift meant no more thereby, than that the Wifdom of Jefus, which, for Want of Speech, could not before difplay itfelf, then firft began to appear in his Words and Anions. But as the iEra of this Rc- O 4 mark 200 SERMON 11. mark is the i2tli Year of our Lord's Age, long before which all bodily Impediments to the Difplay of intelledual Abilities are fully removed, St. Luke cannot reafona- •bly be underftood otherwife, than of an actual and difccrnible Improvement in the Underftanding of the bleiTed Child, whofe Body therefore muft have been aduated by a human Mind that was capable of fuch Improvement, and not, as the Arians fay, by the Logos, or Word, in whom, long before this, were hid all the Treafures of Wifdom and Knowledge. A third Reafon why the Church affirms our Lord, in one of his Natures, to have been a perfed Man, made up of a reafona- ble Soul and human FleQi, is, that the Scrip- lures allure us, that the Power whereby he wrought Miracles, was conferred upon him at his Baptifm^ which neceffarily fuppofes, that before this he had no fuch wonderful Gift. Now the Subjed in which this Power redded, muft have been the Mind of Jefus : And we find no Difhculty in apprehend- ing, how a human Sould ihould be incapa- ble SERMON 11. 201 ble of performing miraculous Operation?, till God fhould veft fuch a Power in it 5 and therefore think it highly reafonable to believe, that Chrift, together with the Flelh, affumed fuch a Soul, and in this entire human Nature was anointed by God, after his Baprifm, with Power and the Holy Ghoft. But when we confiderthis Matter in the Avian View of the incarnation, we iind the highefl Perplexity, or rather Ab- furdity, therein. For, according to their Scheme, it was needful for God to confer the Power of working Miracles on the Word^ whom they make to be the only rational Principle in the Perfon of ChrifL But at this Rare, what was become of that fupereminent Power, by which this divine TVord at the Beginning made all Things > He whom the Scriptures reprefents as God and the Author of Nature, could he poili- bly need additional Powers for breaking in upon the Courfe of Nature by miraculous Interpofitions ? To fuch Ablurdities are Men reduced, who are refolved, at all £_ vents, to defend Hypothefes in Religion, that have no Foundation in Holy Writ. A 20Z S E R M O N IL A foartfji Proof of the Catholick Faith concerning the Incarnation of Chrift, is drawn from the human Paflions and Infir- mities afcribed to him ^ which make it ne- cellary to believe that he had a real and entire human Nature, which, without Re- proach or any Inconfiftency, might be the Subject of fuch PalFions and innocent Infir- mities. The moft remarkable of thefe was the Fear of Death, which appeared in our Lord to an uncommon Degree. Immedi- ately before his Apprehenfion, Mjf Soiily fays he to his Difciples, is exceedi?ig for- Towfid, eveti wito Death. St. Luke relates that he was in a7i Agony^ and prayed more earnefily^ and that his Sweat was^ as it were, i^reat Drops of Blood falling down to the Growid, In this there was no Sin j but fureJy there was, in this Behaviour of our Lord, Infirmity enough to argue that he was perfed Man. And perhaps one End of the blefTed Spirit in didating to the (acred Penmen the Hiftory of our Sa- our's Fears, fo fully and fo particularly, was to afcertain our Faith in this great Ar- ticle S E R M O N IT. 203 tide of revealed Religion, that Chrift, as Man, was in all Things as we are. Sin on- ly excepted. But would it have been thus, if, infiead of a human Soul, the Body of our Lord had been animated by die Word .» that the Logos^ or Word^ was and was not a Creature, and confe- quently muft lofe all Authority, as a Ryle of Faith to Mankind. But SERMON 11. 209 Bat God be thanked, the Church's Do- <5lrine of Chrift's two diftind and perfed "Natures, which 1 hope I have fliewn to be both Scriptural and Catholick, prevents e- very Mifchief that the adverfe Opinion would bring upon Orthodoxy, and its fa- cred I'ext^ the Word of God : For there- by we are enabled to aflii^n every Thing that is therein predicated of the Perfon of Chrift to its proper and diftind Nature, the human Attributes to hisalfunned Manhood, and the fublime ones to his original God- head. Thus Arianifm is deprived of its main Support, and Scripture is found to bear uniform and confident Teftimonv, to what the holy Church throughout the Work acknowledges, that Jefus Chrift, the Son of God, is perfed God and perfed Man. To whom, &c. Vol. IL P S E R- ( ^'> ) SERMON III. Mark xili. 52. But of that Day and that Hour know* eth no Man : No not the Angels which are in Heaven^ neither the Son J hut the Father. CARCE any one Text in the whole New Teftarnent hath been ofter, or more (trenuouily urged againfl the real and proper Divinity of Chrift by the Enemies of that Dodrine, than that from St. Mark now read to you. Here we are told, whenever this Point is the Subjed in Debate, that our Lord owns his own Knowledge to be limited, and that as to the Day and Hour of his Coming to Judg- ment, it was a Secret to Men, to Angels, P 2 and 2 12 SERMON III. and even to himfelf, known to no one favc the Father only. Since then, fay the Avians^ this is confciredJy the Cafe, (ince it is a ruled Point in Scripture Theoloo^y, that the Son is not omnifcicnr, and natural Reafon allures us, that whatever Being is truly God, mufl have that and every other infi- nite Perfedion, it follows, that not the Son, but the Father only is originally and eflentially God. There would be much both of Strength and Pertinence in this Kind of Reafon ing, if the Son, faij in the i>xt not to have known the Day and Hour of his own Com- ing to Judgment, had not been a com- pound Perfon made up of two Natures, in one of which he mJght be ignorant of the Point in Qlieftion, whiifl he was omni- fcient, and confcquently God in the otlier: Or if, from any Circumflance in the Text, the Confeflion of Ignorance neceilarily re- lated to the Sen in his higheft Capacity and Condition of Being. But I hope to make ir appear, that neither of thefe is the Cafe-, the Confequence of which will be, that the Pallage SERMON III. 213 Padage of the Text is no juft Authority againft the real and proper Godhead of Chrift. jF/r/?, the Perfon of Chrifl confided of two Natures, one of which being perfeclly human, our Lord's Confeflion of Ignorance in the Text might relate to that only, whilil his other Na:urc might ftill be om- nifcient, and confequently divine. The Truth of the Propcfition concerning the real and entire Manhood of Chrift, was, I hope, fully eftablillied in my lad Difcourfe on this Occaiion, and therefore need not be repeated. We may therefore conclude in general, that the Objection to our Lord's Divinity from his avowed Confedion of Ig- norance, as to the Time of his lad Coming to Judgment, will not affed his Title thereto, unlefs it likewife appears, from any Circumdances in the Text itfelf, that this Confeflion did neceilarily relate to Chrid in his highed Capacity and Condi^ tion of Being, not only as the Son of JVlan, but alfo as he was the only begotten Son of God, which is the fecond and main Point which I am to guard aQ;aind. > 3 The 2 14 S E R M O N III. The Jrians, not confiding altcgetlier in their Denial of the two Natures in the Per- fon of Chrifl, labour to (hew, from inter- nal Evidence in the Text itfelf, that Chrifl maft have owned Ignorance in every of his Natures and Capacities. And FlrJI, They tell us, that had Chrift in the Text fpoken of his own Ignorance, as he was the Son of Man, or Man only, he would have faid, But of that Day aiul that Hour knoivetb no Ma?i : No not the So?i, neither the Angels which are in Hea- ven, but the Father, For the Son of Man, as (uch, being made a httle lower than the Angels, mull naturally know lefs than they do, and therefore, in the Scale of intelli- gent Beings, would be placed below them : Whereas, in the Order of the Text, the Son is mentioned as next in Knowledge to the Father, raid above the Angels which are in Heaven. So that by the Son, there mud neceffarily be underflood Chrid in his highed Capacity, as he is the Word and the Wifdom of God, in which refped he is (uperiQ^ SERMON III. 2 1 5 fuperior to Angels in Knowledge, and in every other Perfedion. But to this we may reply, that the Knowledge here fpoken of is not a Part of natural Science, but a Matter of mere Re- velation. And therefore, tho* Chrid, as Man, was naturally lefs knowing than the Angels, yet as he was the MelTenger of God's revealed Will, and particularly in a Point wherein he was principally to be concerned, the Judgment of the laft Day, it might be prefumed that Chrifl, as the Son of Man, might have the Time of that Solemnity communicated to him, tho' it re- mained as yet a Secret to the Angels which are in Heaven. Certain it is, that thofe ccleftial Spirits, good and favourite Beings as they are, had but an imperfect Know- ledge of the Gofpel Difpenfation, even af- ter it was committed into the Hands of Men ^ otherwife they would not have defir- ed to look into the Things of it, as St, Veter allures us they did, even at the Time when he wrote his firfl general Epiftle, Chap, i. ver, 12. It being therefore, in P 4 the ii6 SERMON III. ^he Nature of the Thing, more wonderfLil that Chrifl, as Man, fiiould be i{j;norant of the Day and Hour in which he was to judge the World, than that the Angels of Heaven were fo. Order and Perfpicuity both required, that Chrift, as Man, ihould in this Refpect be placed above the Angels. I hope it will be forgiven me, if I here repeat the Remark of the great and the good Athanafnts [tho* it has been already obferved by a mod able Hand, which open- ed the Ledures of this Foundation.] That admirable Perfon, with great Judgment infmuates, that if by the Son in the Text, had been meant the fccond Perfon in the Trinity, the Ignorance of the Holy GhUl alfo, as to the Day of Judgment, would probably have been mentioned in order to compleat the Climax^ and that therefore the Want of this (hews, that the Scale of Beings, who were ignorant of the precife Time when Chrifl was to come in Judg- ment, extended no farther than to the Bounds between Creature and Creator, not taking in any of the divine Perfons in the ever-blelied Trinity. Secondly^ SERMON III. 217 Secondly^ The Jrians fay, that whether Chrift is mentioned here as Son of God, or only as Son of Man, it mat- ters little 5 becaufe both he and every other Being is excluded from all Share of Know- ledge concerning the Day and Hour of the lad Judgment, by the Words of the Text, compared with the parallel Place in St. Matthen\ who reprefents our Saviour as faying, that this Point was known to his Father only. It could not therefore, fay they, be known to the Son in the highefl Charader, unlefs we fuppofe what is ab- furd, that he called his divine Nature his Father. But in Reply to every Pretence of this Kind, thefe Men have often been told, that they ought not too rigidly to inlift on ex- clulive Particles in Scripture, which often- times are not intended to preclude univer- fally, but within certain Limits only, to be tixed by the Reafon and Nature of the Things fpoken of. Thus Mattheiv xi. 27, our Lord faith, that 710 ons knoweth the Father 2i8 SERMON III. Father but the Son, What mad Work would an Expofuor make, who fhould in- fiH: upon it, that every Perfon, divine or human, is here excepted from knowing the Father but the Son, and that confequently the Father, as well as the reft, is ignorant of himfelf ? Does not plain Senfe tell us, that the exclufive Terms in this PalTage af- fed only Creatures, and concern no divine Perlons at all ^ that our Saviour's Defign was only to affirm that the Father never fo fully manifefted him.felf to Mankind, as he did in the Revelation publifhed to the World by his Son ? Many other like Paf-. fages have been and might be infifted on, which (liew the Vanity of flrct(hing ex- clulive ExpreOions to the utmofl of their natural Extent. In all fuch Cafes, the Reafon of tlie Thing, and the Analogy of Scripture, muff: be cur Rule of Limitation, Thus in the Paifage of the Text, wherein the Father, according to the Letter, feems to ftand fingle in the Knowledge of the pre- cife Time of our Lord's fecond Coming , if in the Nature of the Thing, it be impofli-r blc for any one but the Fathcv to know that SERMON III. 219 that Point ^ or fuppoling this podible, as it unqueftionably is, if in Scripture the Father is ft ill defcribed as alone omnifcient, and every ether Perfon limited in that Per- fedion, Reafon good would it be to under- ftand my Text, as to the cxclufive Terms of it, in the ftrideft Senfe, and to admjt it as a Proof, that the Son, in his higheft Charac- ter, was not omnifcient. But if, on the other Hand, Holy Writ plainly afcribes every other divine Perfedion to Chrifl, as he is the Son and the fForJj and particularly that of iniinite or unbounded Knowledge; then is it moft reafonable to imagine, that when the Father alone is faid to know the Day and Hour of the lafl: Judgment, it was not Chrift's Intent to exclude his own di- vine Nature, or that of the Holy Ghoft, but only every Species of intelligent Crea- tures : It was only faying, that the Father had not as then revealed the pundual Time of his Son's fecond Coming, neither to Pro- phets, nor to Angels, nor to the Man Chrift Jefus. Now nothing is more clearly laid down in Scripture, than the abfolute Omnifcience of Chrift in one of his Na- tures. I 220 SERMON III. tures. His Difcipies in his Life-time (ay unto him, John xvi. 29. We are fure that thou knowefi al! Things: By this, add they, We believe that thou came ft forth from God, For which Confeflion our Lord does not in the lead blame his Followers, as if they af- cribed too much to him, or entrenched up- on his Father's fole Perfedion, but approves of their Faith as built, tho' profeiTediy built on his fuppofed Omnifcience. After his Death, Refurredion, and Afcenfion, the Difcipies, about to eled one into the Apoflolical College in Jiuias^s Room, pray unto our Lord, faying, Thott Lord, who knoweft the Hearts of all Men^ fhe-w rphe- ther ofthefe two thou hajl chofen. An Ex- preilion in other Parts of Scripture, diitinc- tive of the One God. Long after this, St. John the EvangeUfl^ an infpired Writer, in the fecond Chapter of his Gofpel, ver, 24. affirms of Chrift that he knew all Men, Laltly, cur Saviour himfelf, in the fecond Chapter of the Revelation^ and the 23d ver. faith of himfelf, /^?7« he ivhich fcarchtth the Reins and Hearts, Juft fuch Language as that wherein the one God proclaims his OWi! SERMON III. 221 own Omnifcience in the Prophet Jeremy^ Chap. xvii. ver, lo. / the Lorl Jer, his human one, and could never defign to exait the Knowledge of any une divine Perfon above that of another, who all as;ree in one Nature and ElTence. the common Center of all pofiible Perfec- tions. Another 222 SERMON III. Another Topick from which, by clear Confequence, may be deduced the Omnif- cience of the JForJ or Son of God, is his Right to Adoration. I think it is agreed upon, both by Jria?i and Orthodox, that religious Worlhip and Invocation is due to him from Men upon Earth, as well as from Angels in Heaven. The former indeed diftinguilli the Worfliip dae to the Son, by the Name of Mediatorial : For which, tho* they have no Warrant from Scripture, yet need v/e not to controvert it in the pre- fent Argument, becaufe, when admitted, it makes no difference in the Cafe : For the Worlhip of Chrift, whether Mediatorial or Abfolute, is and mud be a reafonable Ser- vice. And yet the W^orfliip of Chrift, by the Church difperfed throughout the World, can never be a reafonable Service, if his Omnifcicnce be not allowed, or rather fup- pofed. For without this he cannot know the Petitions that are offered to him by an infinite Number of Votaries at the fame Time, from an immenfe Variety of Places throughout the vaft Extent of the Chriftian World. SERMON III. 223 World. He is therefore, and muft be one, from whom no Secrets are hid, either pre- fent or future. Hitherto 1 have argued againil: fixing the Confeflion made by Chrifl in my Text, of his own Ignorance, on his fuperior Nature, as he was God, by (hewing the Weaknefs of the Jna7i Reafonings on that Point, and from the Attribute of Omnilcience given to him in Scripture expreily, as well as con- fequentially. Let us now fee what further Light the Text, compared w^ith the Con- text, will fupply us withall. In the Text it is only faid, that the Son knoweth neither the Day nor the Hour of our Lord's Coming. Now when Chrifl, in the New Teftament, is barely called the Son, when no Addition is made to that Expreffion, is fometimes fignified his hu- man Nature alone, and at other Times his entire [comiplex"] Perfon, as he is both God and Man. Bi>r li ihe Context is to be our Guide, as i vs ever allowed to be in other Difficuh' -Mngkom equivocal E^^prefli- ons. 224 S E R M O N III. ons, it will certainly direct us to underfland by the Son in the Text, the Son of Man, or Chrift in his human Nature. For in neither St. Matther^s Gofpel, nor St. Mark's, where alone our Text is found, either before or after it, do thofe Evange- lifls fpeak at all of Chrift as the Son of God, but on both Hands, in a long and fa_ mous Difcourfe, flill mention him under the exprefs Appellation of the Son of Man. So that to explain the Son, fpokenofin the Text, of a different Nature of Chrift from what is the Subject of Difcourfe before and after, is to proceed arbitrarily and unreafonably ^ it is to fet afide all the received and allow- ed Rules of Interpretation, merely to ferve an Hypothefis. Whereas Truth wants no fuch unnatural Aids ^ but finds a Support in the eafy and obvious Way. After all it may admit of a Difpute, whether our Lord in the Text meant that himfelf, as the Son of Man, was really ig- norant of the Day and Hour of his own Coming to Judgment, He might poflibly intend no more than that he was not com- miflioned SERMON III. 22; miflioned by the Father to reveal that My- ftery, among the other preternatural Truths of the Gofpel. The ftrong Words which follow, that the Father alone knew this, will not conclude with any Certainty againft fuch a Meaning •, any more than a parallel Saying of our Saviour's, on an Oc- cafion very like this, does in the ift Chap^ of ABs^ and the 7th ver, where iti An. fwer to this Quellion, put to him by the Apoftles immediately before his Afcenfion, viz. Lord wilt thoit at this Time reftore again the Kingdom to Ifrael . I do not pretend to fay, that this was the certain Meaning of my Text. Sufficient it is for the Purpofes of Orthodoxy, that it is a poflible, and in fome Sort a plaufible Interpretation : And till the Enemies to our Lord's Divinity (hall prove the Contrary to betrue,which theywillfind,if lam not much miftaken, no eafy Talk, they will have no Right to urge the Text any more, as a Tef- timony againft the Omnifcience of the Son of God, and confequently againft his Divi- nity. To him therefore, as well as to the other divine Perfons in the Trinity, be af- cribed, ^c, a 2 S E R- i ( ^^9 ) SERMON IV. I Cor. XV. 28. When all Things /Jjall he Jubdued unto him, then (loall the Son alfo himfelf he fuhjeEb unto him that put all Things under him, that God may he all in all, IN thefe Words, the Apoftle plainly affirms two Things of the Son. Tirfi^ That all Things were put under him , the Confequence of which is, that origi- nally, and by Nature, he was not Lord of all Things, but received his Kingdom by Inveftiture, from fome fuperior Being. Se- ^ondfyy That when this Son Ihall, by the Q^ 3 Power 230 SERMON IV. Power lodged with him, have fubdued all his Enemies, and (liall have, as St. P^ifl before exprelled himfelf, put down all Rule, and all Authority and Power, then fhall he, the Son himfelf, be fubjed: unto him, from whom he received his Power and kingly Authority. It is no lefs plain likewife, that by the Son in my Text, is meant Chrift our Lord, and our Re- deemer. But the great Queflion is, whether, by the Son, concerning the Original and Du- ration of whofe Kingdom my Text fpeaks, be meant Chnft in both, or in one of his Natures only ? If the former, if Chrift, as he was the Word and Son of God, had originally no Power or Dominion, but was in I'ime veiled therewith, and is hereafter to furrender, or give it up again, and to become like other Beings, fubjed to the one fupreme Lord of all Beings, then he cannot be truly and elfentially God : For fupreme Power and Dominion are infepa- rablc to Divinity, they can neither be con- ferred SERMON IV. 231 fc rred upon it, nor taken from it, nor ab- folutely refigned by it. But if by the Son in the Text, is meant the Son of Man, or Chrift in his human Nature, then by the Things that v/cre put under him, will eafily be underftood his mediatorial Kingdom, commencing upon his Refurredion^ at which Time, as him- felf declares. Matt, xxviiu 18. All Foiver was given to him in Heaven and in Earth. This Kingdom, and this Power, will fub- fift no longer than till its Ufes have ail been fully anfwered, till the End of all Things, wlien the Son of Man Ihall have fubdued all the Powers of Death and Hell> and his Subjeds, both good and bad, fhali be configned over to their tinal and unal- terable State. But then the Text, thus underftood, will be no valid Teftimony, indeed no Teftimony at all againft the real and effen- tial Deity of Chrift-, becaufe it will not hinder, but that, befides the Power and Dominion conferred on the human Nature a 4 of 232 SERMON IV. of Chrift before his Afcenfion, and which hereafter is to be given up again to the o- riginal Donor, he might likeuiic, as God, have had from Everlaiting all Power, Might, Majefly and Dominion, which he never will, norcanrefign, bat ever execute joiat- Jy, with the other divine Perfons, in the adorable Trinity. In order therefore to refolve fo important a Queftion, as whether my Text hurts the Catholick Dodrine of our blelled Saviour's real and confubftantial Divinity or no, let us carefully examine both Sides of the Queftion before us, and firft inquire, whe- ther the Kingdom of Chrift, and his fu- ture Subjection fpoken of in the Text, can or may be underftood relatively 10 him, as he is the Son of God, or Gpd the Word. And here 1 think it may fafely be affirm- ed, that if Scripture be uniform and con_ iiftent with itfelf, this cannot pofTibly be St. Filers Meaning in the Words of my I'cxt. For in the firft Place, St. j^oh?i af- firms SERMON IV. 233 firms of the Word, that is^ the faperior Nature of Chrift, that m the Beginning he was God, But will any one fuppofe, that a Being, who is God, (hould be deftitute of Power and Dominion, and fhould need to have any Thing put under him. Is it not abfurd, at firft Hearing, to be told, that God, as God, had Sovereignty con- ferred upon him, and at an alTigned Pe- riod mud deliver it up •, and like other Beings, diverted of a delegated Authority, muft thenceforward remain under precari- ous Subjedion ? Secondly, St. John affirms likewife, that this God^ the Word, and Son ofGody made all Things, Nay, St. ?aid himfelf alfo alTerts, Col. i. 16. That by him were all Things created that are in Heaven, and that are in Earthy vifible and invifible. Has not then the Potter Power over his own Clay, or did this divine Archited ever transfer the Power, belonging to him in Right of Creation, over the Works of his own Hands, fo as to need a new Invefti- ture of Dominion within his own Creation ? The 234 SERMON IV. The World was his from the Beginning^ and all that is therein, by the cleareft and mod undoubted of all Titles j and there- fore of him, in his divine and creative Ca- pacity, St. ?anl could not fpeak, in my Text, when he fuppofes, that all Things were put under him gradually, and in Pro. cefs of Time. And as his Right to Domi- nion over his own Creatures was original and underived, fo he can never furrender it up to another. As well may he refign his Relation to all Things as their Creator as that of being their King and Lord j and till he ceafes to have been their Maker, he can never ceafe to be their Governor. We are therefore under an apparent Neceflity of underftanding the Apoftle to fpeak in the Text, of a Kingdom of Chrifl which had a Beginning, and was defeafible, and not of that Dominion, which accrued to him, as the God and Maker of all Things. Thirdly^ The fame Apoftle, who, in the Words of my Text, mentions a Kingdom of Chrift to he delivered up to the Father, from whom it was originally a Grant, does elfe- SERMON IV. 235 elfewhere afcribe Wordiip, and confequent- ly Dominion to him, before his mediato- rial Power and Kingdom was conferred up- on him, and as extended to Beings, who had no Concern of their own in that gra- cious Ofhce of his, being no Subjeds to him in his mediatorial Sovereignty. For in his Epiftle to the Hebrews^ Jgaifi, faith he, when be, i. e. God, bringeth ihe firjl Begotten into the World^ he faith, A7id let all the Angels of God worflip him, i. e. his Son confidered in the higheft Charaderand Capacity, that Son by whom he made the Worlds, and who upholdeth all Things by the Word of his Power. Chrift therefore, in one of his Natures, had a Title to the Worfhip of Angels, and confequently to Dominion over them, long before the Com- mencement of his mediatorial Kingdom, long before all Power in Heaven and in Earth was given unto him. I make a Right to woriliip, neceiTarily to imply a Right to Dominion over the Worfhippers \ and in fo doing, I think I have the concurrent Senfe of Mankind. For Worfhip, in the Nature of the Ad, fuppofes a Dependance upon 23^ S E R M O N IV. upon the Objed worfliipped. Chrifl: then was the Lord and King of heavenly Crea- tures before his Incarnation, and that he was then alfo the Owner of the lower World, is plain from the Apoftle St. John^ who defcribes the Word, as coming to his own, when he came down below and took Flefli. He came to his own^ and his ozvn received him not. Not his own by Grant or Donation from another, but by Right of Creation, mentioned by St. John in the Verfe immediately foregoing. But of this Dominion St. Faul could not fpeak in the Text, when he fays, The Son is to he fith- jetl unto him that put all Things under him. For if the Son, in no Nature or Capacity of his, is henceforward to have Dominion, he muft then entirely ceafe to be an Objed: of Worfhip, both to Angels and Men, con- trary to the plained Intimations of Scrip- ture. For thus St. P^///, Rom, ix. 5. af- firms of Chrifl, that he is over all, God Me(fed'j that is, worfhipped and adored for ever. I fliall not reft the Proof of this Point fingly on this PaiTage, becaufe the Application of it to Chrift, as God, is con. tro- S E R M O N IV. 237 troverted by the Avians, but fhall fubjoin another, againft which no Exception is or can be offered, from Rev. v. 1 3. And e- very Creature which is in Heaven, and on the Earth, aud under the Earth, and fuch as are in the Sea, and all that are in them heard I, faying, BleJJing, Honour Glory and 'Power he unto him that fitteth upon the Throne, and unto the Lamb for e- ver and ever. The Lamb therefore, that is, the Word and Son of God, will never be without Power, Honour and Glory, any more than he that (ittieth upon the Throne, he Father himfelf, will be. Of his King- dom and Glory there will be no End. So that whatever elfe the Subjedion fpoken of in my Text may mean, it is nothing that can aiFed the divine Nature or Prerogative of the Son : But after he has delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father, jointly with him will he be entitled to, and polTelled of Bleffing, Honour, Glory and Power, for ever and ever. Fourthly, The Subjeftion of the Son, at the End of all Things, to him who put 3 them 238 SERMON IV. them all under him, cannot imply any fu- ture Inequality in Power between thefe two divine Perfons, without proving more than the Aria )u would be willing to admit , and therefore ought not in Prudence, at leaf!:, to be urged by them to any fuch Purpofe : For if the Son, after delivering up the Kingdom to his Father, becomes thenceforward fubjed unto him^ will it not follow by necelTary Confequence, that be- fore fuch Delivery, and fo long as the Son reigned, the Father was not fuperior to him in Power, but that he was equal with, and independent of the Father ? Will the J- rians^ or indeed can they, confidently with their own Principles, admit of fuch a periodical Equality, commencing' and commenfurate with the Son's mediatorial Kingdom ? If this be the Cafe, as it plain- ly is, they are as much interefted againft the Cone lufion they would draw from this Palfage, as the Orthodox themfelves are or can be. They are as much concerned as we are, to look out for a different Inter- pretation, and can no more ftand their Ground, upon a Suppofition that St, P//?// n^ant SERMON IV. 239 fneant the Son will be fubjeft to the Fa- ther, fo as to become abfolutely and en- tirely unequal with and inferior to him, than we can. For if once they grant, that the Son might, during any ailignable Period, have been co-equal with the Father in Power or Dominion, they will have no Pretence for arguing againft a perpetual Co-equality in that Refped:, from the Rea- fon and Nature of Things. And if the Father could poffibly make the Son an e- qual Sharer of his own infinite Power after his Refurredion, what (hould hinder, but that he might have communicated to him in like Manner, that and every other di- vine Perfection from all Eternity } Fifthly, If the Subjedion of the Son at the End of all Things, had refpeded his divine Nature, how comes it to pafs, that we hear nothing of the Holy Ghoft like- wife delivering up his Power, and becom- ing fubjefl to him that fent him ? That bleiTed Spirit had a mighty Share in the Occonomy of Man's Redemption, and by him the whole Body of the Church is go- verned. 240 SERMON IV. verned, as well as fandiiied. Mud the Son therefore, whom the Avians make much fuperior to the Holy Ghoft, furren- der up his high Honours, whiiit the Holy Ghoft is permitted to retain his. And if he like wife is to become fabjecl, how comes it to pafs, the Scripture is altogether (ilent about fuch Surrendry > The beft Solution of this Qusre is, that the Son will deliver up no Power hereafter, but what was veft- ed in him as he was Man, nor become fub- jed in any other Capacity 5 and the Holy Ghoft having no Powers, bat what belong- ed to him as true and ellential God, nei- ther will, nor can furrender, or become fubjed. Upon the whole then, it appears that the Subjedion of the Son to the Fa- ther, fpoken of in my Text, cannot, for many Reafons, be underftood of Chrift ill his fuperior Nature, in which he was in the Beginning with God, and was God, in which he made all Things vifible and invilible ^ and confequently, that fuch Subjedion relating only to him, as the Son of Man, cannot affed that other Nature of his SERMON IV* 241 his, in which he ever was, and ever will be, equal with the Father. But befides this, the Context feems to make it little lefs than neceirary, that by the Son himfelf, who hereafter is to be fubjed:, (houid be meant the Son of Man, or the human Nature of Chrift. For in this Nature it was that he became our Me- diator and our High Pried ^ in this he af- cend.^d into Heaven, and fat on the right Hand of the Majefly on high, there to reio;n, as was foretold in the iioth Pfahfi, Till God jhoitld make his Enemies his Foot- .jlooL There alfo' God declared him by Oath a Priefl: for ever, after the Order of Melchifedech. To this famous Predidion, which relates thus evidently to the human Nature of Chrift, St. Faid alludes through- out his whole Difcourfe, concerning the Reign and fubfequent Subjedion of Chrift, and therefore ailuredly fpake therein, as Diivid before him did, of the Meffiah, as lie was Man. To make this plainer, in the 24th Verfe of this Chapter, in which the Delivery of a Kingdom to God is tirft Vol. il. R men- 242 SERMON IV. irtentioned, it is to be noted, that he, by whom this Surrendry is to be made, is Chrift, juft before di(line!;uiflicd in a Cha- racter entirely human, Chrifl at his coming or lafl Appearance. In rain therefore is it, that the Enemies to our blelied Lord's Divinity, endeavour to prove his Inferiority to the Father, from a PalTage which makes him fubjed to the Father, in fuch a Senfe only, as may be admitted without any impeachment of that fundamental Truth. For whilft we allert that he was eqaa-l to the. Father, as touch- ing his Godhead, we freely admit, that he was inferior to the Father [js touching his Manhood : And while we earneflly con- tend, that of his Kingdom,, as he is the one Supreme God with the Father, there is no End ^ fo we readily own, that his Reign, as he is the Mediator between God and Man, the Man Chrid Jefus, may and will be determined by that God, who firfl veiled him therewith, and at the fame Time limited the Duration of his Reign, when he faid unto him, Sit thou on my right SERMON IV. 243 right Hr.ndy till I ?nake thine Ene?nies thy FootJluoL But here probably we fhall be asked, fincc Chrifl, as the Son of jMan, even dur- ing his Reign, was fubjed unto God, and as the Son of God was always equal with him, what Senfe is there in St. Paul's Ex- predion, That the Son himfelf fiall be fnb^ ]ett Tiuto him that put all Things itnder him, that God may he all in all. The obvious Meaning of the Word is, that thereby is made an Alteration in the Son's Condition, from being independent to a State of Sub- jection, which Meaning, upon the Catho- lick Hypotheiis, feems quite explained a- way. To which I anfwer, that the verv fame original Word, which the Interpreters here render fubjed, is, in the Beginning of the Verfe of my Text, when applied to the Enemies of ChriR, tranilated, /Z;.?// /^^ fnb- dued : Though there alfo it might with e. qiial Propriety have been faid, when all 'Ihings (hall be fubjeci: unto him. Now R 2 in 244 S E R M O N IV. ill right, all thefe Things, all the Enemies cf Chriit were fubjed unto him, that is, they ov^Td him Obedience from the Commence- ment of his Reign, from the hrfl Mo- ment that all Power was given unto him in Heaven and in Earth. Only, in Fad:^ they were permitted to exercife an Autho- rity for fome Time lunger, and particular- ly Death, the lafl of them, was not actu- ally put out of Power till the general Re- furrection had taken Effed. To become fubjed therefore to another, in the Lan- guage of St. Paul, does not denote, that before fuch Subjedion the Parties were e- fjual to er-ch ether, and tiiat neither o a cd the oilier any Obedience or Subjedion ^ but his Mean i no; only is by Subjection, that the Party fubjeded is diveJled of that Power which he before adually exercifed To apply this then to the Cafe before us when the Apodle fiys, that the Son bim- felf\ meaning C>h rift as Man, jhall he fuh- jeH unto Go'l^ he was far from meaning, that before this Event he owed no Submif- lion to him, in that Capacity, only he chafes to exprefs the Surrcndry cf his King- SERMON lY. 245 Kingdom, and the Ceiration of his media- torial Power, by that Phrafe, as immedi- ately before he had, in like IVlanner, ex- prelled the Ceffation and Abolition of that Dominion, which the Enemies of Chrift had before exercifed. The only Difference in the two Cafes was, that the Enemies of Chrift's Kingdom urxwillingly parred witli their Power, he extorted it from them, and therefore they were properly fubducd by him or to him ^ whereas Chrifl furren- ders his Kingdom to God voluntarily, and could not flriclly be faid to be fubdued. Only the Apoftle continues the Ufe of the Expreflion to denote that, wherein the two Cafes were alike, vi^, that in both there was a CelTation, and a final End of that Power which had been exercifed before. In (hort, he did not mean, that the Son, before his Subjecl-ion to God, ov.^ed or paid him lefs Submiflicn than afterwards*, but that, whereas, before he had an adual King- dom and exercifed Authority and Jurifdicf ion, at the End of all Things he will do fo no more, but God will he all in all, i. c. all Power and Dominion, before exercifed, R 3 under 2^6 S E R M O N IV. under other Names, will then ceafe, and every Di.'linclion of Sovereigntywill thence- forward be fwallowed up in that of God, ruling alone without Delegates over his Creatures. This feenis to be the natural Senfe of the Apoftle's Words, as it is the necelfary Confequence of what goes imme- diately before ; For Chriil: was not to de- liver up the Kingdom to God, till he had put down all Rule, Authority, and Power. So that when he had further furrendered up his own like wife, nothing of this Kind could remain or fub(in:,but the indefeafible and eternal Empire of God over his moral and intelligent Creatures. TW God may be all in all, therefore, is the fame as if St. P^z// had faid, and thus it v/ill come to pafs, that God will be the only Sove- reign in Nature. To this Senfe of God's being all in all, we are alfo led by ano- ther Pailage in the Writings of St. Pan!, which is nearly parallel to it, viz* Col. iii. II. where meaning to fay, that among thofe v/ho v\^ere converted to Chriflianity, all worldly Diftindlions fliould ceafe. He exprcfies himfelf thus, There is neither Greek SERMON IV. 247 Creek nor Jew, C'lrcwncifwn nor Uncircnm- djion^ Scythian, Barbarian, Bond nor Free^ hut Cbrift is all and in /dl^ i. e. In the new Life, all other Names ihall be loft or bu- ried in that of Chriflian. So when God is all in ail, we fhall hear no more of the Servants of Men, nor of the Tyranny of Sin and Death, nor even of the mediatorial Sovereignty of Chrift, nor of any other Sabjeclion, befides that of intelligent Crea- tures to God their Maker. But who then is this God, who, in Stridnefs of Speech, hereafter, will be the only Potentate > Not the Father only, nor he jointly with the Son, and exclulive of the Holy Ghoft, but the whole three Perfons in the undivided ElTence of the Deity. To whom therefore be given, as is mod due, all Honour, Glo- ry, &c* R 4 S E R. ( 249 ) SERMON V. John xiv. 2 8. Te have heard horp I /aid tmto you, I go away^ and come again unto you. if ye loved me^ ye would rejoice^ becauje '/ Jaid^ I go unto the Fa^ ther : For my Father is greater than L OU R bleded Lord well knowing that his Death would extremely terrify his Difciples, and that his entire bodily Abfence from them after his Afcenfion was an Event, the Profped: of which would give them no fmall Uneafi- nefs, makes it his Bufinefs to prepare them for both thefe Incidents in the Chapter of my Z50 SERMON V. my Text. And the better to do this, op- en the mention of each he adds feme con- folatory Promife, that (hould fupport their Spirits under the unexpeded Tidings. Thus, in the 12th ver, he introduces his going to the Father as a Reafon why they, the Apo- {ties, fhould afterwards do the fame, and greater Works than he had done. Verily^ verily y I fay unto you ^ he that believeth on me^ the Works that I cio, Jhall he do alfo : And greater Works than thefe jhall he do \ hecanfe I go unto 7ny 'Father. To which he immediately fubjoins a repeated Decla- ration, that whatfoever they ihould alk in his Name he will do. Over and above all this, he gives them the Afllirance of an- other Comforter, who, after his entire De- parture, and going to the Father, fhould take his Place among them, and abide with them forever, even the Spirit of Truth. Again, in the i8th ver. to relieve them under the Sorrows that his tirfl Departure from them by his Death would occaflon, he fays, / will not leave you comfortless ^ or, as the Greek might more flrongly be ren- dered, 7 will not leave you Orphans, I will co?7le SERMON V. 2^1 come unto you^ meaning his Refurredion, and the Abode that he would continue for fome time after to make with them. But finding that this Method of Addrefs, the Promife of perfonal Advantages, and equal Comforts in another Wa^^ had little or no Effeft upon his Hearers, but that their Heart was ftill troubled, and they were afraid for his Departure from them, efpe- cially for his final One, when he Ihould go to the Father \ he alters his Manner of Application in the Words of my Text, try- ing to {hame them out of their Fears and Concern, from the Principles of Love and Gratitude, which they ought, and did pro- fefs for him. Te have heard how I faid zmto you, I go away ^ and come again wito yotu if ys loved me, ye would rejoice \ be^ caufe I faid, I go unto the Father : For my Father is greater than L From the lafl Words of the Text, viz. For my Father is greater than /, the Jriafis^ and other Enemies to our Lord's confab- flantial Divinity, argue O^^ongly for their own Opinions. An Inequality, in fome Senfe 252 S E R M O N V. Senfe or other, between Chrift and the Fa- ther, is here afferted in dired Terms. And nothing will ferve the Men above-n^en- tioned, but that our Lord meant an Infe- riority of his own highefl Nature to that of the Father, fuch an Inferiority, as will make him diftind in Subftance, as well as Perfon, from the Father, and that confe- quently he cannot be one God with him. Certain it is, that the Words themfelves are general, and, taken a-part, may relate either to the human or divine Nature of our Lord. But to which of thefe two they mod probably belong, can only be determined by the Analogy of Scripture Dodrine, con- cerning the Equality or Inequality of the §on's divine Nature with that of the Fa- ther, together with the Scope and Intent of our Lord's Words, about which the prcfent Conteft is raifed. If our Lord, or the Evangelilts, and other Penmen of the New Teftament, fpeak of Chrift in fuch a Man- ner as to give us Realon to think that, in his higheft Capacity, he was eilentially in- jferior to the Father j then it may be con- cluded, S E R M O N V. 253 eluded, that in this Senfe alfo the Words of the Text are to be underflood : Efpe- cially if fuch a Senfe agrees likewife with the Occafion and View, wherewith oar Lord fpake them. But if, on the other Hand, the x^nalogy of the whole New Teftament points quite another Way , if both Chrift and his Apoflles fpeak of the Son in his fuperior Nature, in fuch a Man- ner, as that it would be abfurd to admit of any ell'ential Inequality between him, thus confidered, and the Father , then is he by no Means to be underftood, in my Text, as declaring, that his Father was greater than he in his divine Nature, in any eilen- tial Refped. And, in fuch a Cafe, 'tis a great Chance but we find, that the Aria?i Senfe of thofe Words is as foreign, and ag inconfiftent with the Defign of them, as it is with the Tenour and Analogy of the New Teftament in general. Let us then, Firft^ confider, what the Writings of the new Covenant deliver con- cerning the fuperior or divine Nature of Chrift J and whether from thence we can colled, 4 254 SERMON V. collect, that the Father is edentially greater than his only begotten Son. And ^irft, Fhofe Scriptures are clear in afferting, that the Father and Son are one, not in Will and voluntary Confent only, but alfo in a natural Refped, one in Subftance, e, g, John X. 30. our Lord fliys, / aiid the Father are one. An Expreffion fo clear- ly implying Unity of divine Subftance, and Samenefs of Nature with the Father, that, upon the firft hearing of it, the Jews took up Stones to ftone him as a Blaf- phemer, alledging, that, by the Saying above-mentioned, he who was but Man, made himfelf God. Now if the Father and Son are one God, neither of them, in refped of ElTence, can be greater or lefs than the other. Unity, in the Nature of Things, excludes all Poflibility of Compari- fon, becaufe the fame Subftance cannot be greater or lefs than itfelf. When there- fore our Lord, in tiie Text, admits the Father to be greater than he, fure we are, that, whatever elfe he meant, he intended no Contradidion to his other Saying, that he S E R M O N V. 255 he and the Father' were one : But contradic- tory thofe Sayings mud be, if underflood in the fame Senfe : If our Lord in both fpake of himfelf, as he was God. For as God he mufl be one in Nature and Sub- ftance with the Father •, unlefs we will run into the abfurd Opinion of many Gods : And if the Father and Son, being each God, are yet but one God, neither of them can be greater, nor lefs than the other. So that when our Lord faid, I and the Father are one ^ it was, by Neceflity, and immediate Confequence, the fame as if he had faid, / and the Father are equal, Impodible therefore is it that Chrift, fpeak- ing of himfelf and his Father, in the fame Refped, fnould fay, My Father is greater than I. Secondly, The Scriptures of the New Teftament afcribe the very fame efTential Attributes to the Son, that they afcribe un- to the Father. As fir ft in general, Joh?i xvi. 15. our Lord faith. All things that the Father hath are ?mne. And again, Chap, xvii. ver. 10. All mine are thine, and thine are mine. We cannot hereby under- 4 ftand 2$6 S E R M O N V. ftand lefs than that, whatever elTential Per- fedions the Father hath, thefe the Son hath alfo. x\nd accordingly, in the fecond Place, every particular Attribute, that ei- ther the Light of Reafon or Revelation dif- covers, as neceflarily belonging to the Dei- ty, is, in the New Teftament, given to the Son. e.g. Is the Father eternal? Is he Jlpba and Omega, the firft and the laft > So alfo is the Son, Rev, \, ii. Was the Father in the Beginning God ? So alfo was the Son or Word. He was in the Begin- ning with God, and even then he was God. Is the Father immutable, who chan- ges not, and one in whom is no Variable- nefs, nor Shadow of Turning ? So alfo is the Son. For to him the infpired Writer to the Hebrews applies what the Pfahiuft faith unto God, i;/^. They, [t.h^ Heavens and the Earthy jhall perijh -^ but thou re- 7na'viefl ^ they jhall be changed^ but thou art the fa?ne, (Heb, i. lo, 1 1, 12.) Again, is the Father omnilcient ? Does he even fearch the Heart, and try the Reins ? So alfo does the Son. Jll Things, faith the Author to the Hebreivs, Chap, iv. are nak- ed S E R M O N V. 257 T// and opened unto the Eyes of him \ he is a Difcerner of the Thoughts a?jd Intents of the Heart* And to the fame Purpofe Chrift fpcaks of himfelf. Rev. ii. 25. / a7n be that feanheth the Reins and the Hearty Is Cod the Father Omniprefent ? So like- wife is God the Son. How elfe could he fulhli his Promife to the Church, difperfed throughout the World, and be with them always ? How could he create all things, and how by him could all things confift, /. e, be preferved and fuftained, if he was not prefent with all things in Heaven, in Earth, and under the Earth, i. e. if he was not omniprefent } Lafly^ Is the Fa- ther Almighty > So is the Son, the « ■7r*v7oxe^'Ti'o the Almighty. Rev, i. 8. I know the Jria?is contend, that this Title is ' there given to the Father. But their true Reafon for f lying fo is, that the con- trary Suppbfition would be ruinous to their Scheme : They are forced therefore to beg the Queftion, and arbitrarily give away from the Son what the Scripture, accord- ing to the allowed Rule of Interpretation, predicates of him, For the ver, imme- VoL. II. S diately 258 S E R M O N V. diately preceding, indifputably belongs to the Son. For which Reafon the ver, in Difpute, without evident Neceffity, which is not the Cafe here, mu{t and fhould refer to the fame Antecedent. I might add, that the Avians introduce the Father, as fpeak- ing of himfelf, which is by no Means like- ly to be the Truth : Becaufe throughout the Revelations there is no clear Inftance of any divine Interlocutor, befides the Son : But I need indfi: no longer on this Pailage ^ be- caufe, tho' it be a very ftrong and perti- nent one, we have others fufficient for the Purpofe, particularly FhiL iii. 21. where St. Fanl fpeaks of the working or Energy, whereby Chrift is able to fiihdue all things to himfelf. Chrift, therefore, feeing he has every Attribute eflential to the Deity in €ommon with the Father, muft be equal with him. For what is it that makes any one Being fuperior to another, but higher Attributes or Powers ? And fince the natu- ral and necelTary Prerogatives of thefe di- vine Perfons are the fame, neither of them, as God, can be greater than the other. Thirdljy S E R M O N V. 259 Thirdly, The New Teftament Writers, in one or two PalFages, exprefly aflert the Equality of the Son to the Father. St. ?aiil^ Phil, ii. 6. affirms, that Chrifl Jefus thought it not Robbery to be equal with God' I very well know that the Propriety of this Rendering is much queilioned by the Ad- verfaries, with whom at prefent we have to do. But what in a good Meafure jufti- fies the current Verfion is, that it was not taken up to ferve a Turn, or to favour the Orthodox Caufe againft Arlanifm, but flood in the oldeft Latin Verfion, and as fuch is cited even in the fecond Century, above an Age before Arins was heard of in the World : Nor did Jerom^ when he reformed this ancient Verfion, fee any Caufe to alter it in the Inftance before us. And after all, what Advantage would it be to our Adver- faries, if inftead of the prefent Rendering, hs thought it not Robbery to be equal with Godj we ihould admit theirs, and make St. Raul fay, that Chrifl Jefus thought it not Rob- bery to be as God. They do not confider, that upon Scripture Principles it is equally S 2 blafphemous 260 S E R M O N V. blafphemous and piacalar to fay, that any other Being is as God "7:0 «Vct0-;r, as to fay he is lao; e^cT equal with God. There is none like tbee^ fays Hoi)' David, i Chroiu xvii. 21. And again, Ffal Ixxxvj. 8. J?fwng the Gocts is none like unto thee, O Loni^ neither tire there dnv Jf-^orks like itnto J thy Works, Many more fuch fayings we iind in the Prophets. So jeaious are the facred Writings of the Honour of God, that they will not endure ^ny Comparifon between other Beings and him. xAnd no Wunder : For in their Language, to be like God, or as God was the fame, as to be equal with him : And Works like his, were Works equal to, /. e. as wonderful as his. It is one of the Charadcrs of Annchriti that he litteth in the Temple ^.v ©sir, as. God. Angels, and Magiilrates, on Account of didant and general Refemblances, are called Gods in Holy Writ : But to ftvrbid all formal Gnmparifun between God and the higheft of his Creaturrs, Michael, the chief of the Angels, had his Name given him, importing that none is as God. Since therefore to be as God in the Idiom of Scripture, S E R M O N V. z6i Scripture, is no'c applicable to any Being who is not God, and is to all Intents and Purpofes the fame as being equal with God ; the Point in View of the Son's being; equal with the Father, is efreLlually made good from this Palfasie of the Fbilipfians^ which way foever it be rendered. But farther, St. Jobn^ Chap, v. i8. of his Gofpel, tells us, that tbs Jexos fought the more to kill Jefus^ hecanje he not only had broken the Sabbath : But faid alfo^ that God was his Father^ making hijnfelf equal with God. This Pallage is the more re- markable, becaufe it is the Evangelift's own Conclulion, that Chrilt faying God was his Father, made himfelf equal with God. Upon the whole then, as Chrifl: in Scrip- ture is declared to be equal with the Fa- ther, in Confequence of his being in the Form of God, and alfo of his being, in a ftricl Senfe, the Son of God : So when he affirms in my Text, that the Father is greater than He, we muft underftand him to mean it not with Refpect to his divine Nature, as fuch, S 3 We 2^2 SERMON V, We are in the next Place to confider the true Import of our Lord's Saying in my Text, that his Father was greater than He. And fince it appears, contrary to the Te- nor of the iNew Teftament Writings, to apply it to Chrill in his divine Nature, we muft necelfarily explain it with Relation to his Humanity. The Truth is, that if the Analogy of Scripture had permitted us to do other- wife, the Context, and the Scope of the PalTage, would almoft force us into this Interpretation. For the human Nature of Chrifl, upon every Suppofition, was to gain infinitly more by his Exaltation into Hea- ven, than his pre-exiftent or divine One. The Love therefore of the Difciples for our Lord, which rightly direded fhould have made them rejoice, becaufe he went unto the Father, was the Love of that Nature of his, which was mod honoured and magnifi- ed by this Removal from the World below to that above, i. e, his human One. And to convince them, that the Exchange of Earth S E R M O N V. 2^5 Earth for Heaven was an x\d vantage to him, at which whofoever loved him ought to rejoice, he had only occafion* to put them in Mind, that in the Nature, wherein he went to the Father, he was inferior to him, and confequently in that Nature ca- pable of receiving high Honours and Prero- gatives from him. In fuch an Argument, if the Thing had been poffible, it is fcarce to be fuppofed, that our Lord would look out for a Medium of Proof, flronger than the prefent Exigence required ^ that to de- monftrate the Advantages accruing to hig human Nature by afcending to his Father he fhould alTert the Superiority of his Fa- ther to himfelf in both his Natures, where his Superiority, in the lowefl: of them, was abundantly fufficient. In a Word, our Saviour's Reafoning with his Difciples in the Text feems plainly this. Your Concern for my leaving you, und going to my Father, is not out of Love to me, but to yourfelves, and your own Interefts: For I Ihould fufFer by flaying bere with you. For fo long a Time fhall S 4 I lofe 2^4 S E R M O N V. ^ lofe the Glories and Beatitudes which the Father is able to bcftcw en nie when 1 go unto him. For whether ycu know and confider it or not, the Father is greater than I -^ and confequently you ought to rejoice at my leaving you, to dwell with one that is capable of advancing me to a higher Digni- ty than 1 am at prefent poHelled of. This, I fay, feems to be the plain and natural Force of our Saviour's Argument in the Text. But flill (ome will tell us, that our Lord in aderting that the Father was greater than He, as he was Man, would have faid no more than what was felf-evident and known to every one, and owned by every one •, that fuch Aifertions are jejune, and unworthy of him, who (pake as never Man fpake 5 and that therefore this could never be all his Meaning. In Anfwer to which I fliall only put the Objedors in Mind, that felf-evident, and, as they call them, jejune Allertions, are frequent in Scripture, and have their Ufe 'on fuch Occafions as that in my Text. Thus SERMON V. 25j Thus the Spirit of God, to fhame Men out of a vain Hope, that they (hall efcape the Vengeance of God denounced againft impenitent Sinners, makes no Scruple of leaving this very plain Truth upon facred Record, that God is not a Man. God is not a Man that he pwitld lie^ nor the Son of Man that he jlionld repent. Again, the Prophet Ifaiah, in order to fet the Folly of thofe J fy a elites in the livelieft Colours, who, againft exprefs Precept, went in his Days to Egypt for Help, puts them in Mind of what they and every one elfe knew as well as he, that the Egyptians are Men, and not God, and their Horfes Fledi, and not Spirit. Jer, xxxi. 5. In both Cafes the Defign of Scripture is not diredly to inform and inftrud, but to re- proach wicked and unreafonable Men with ading, as if the contrary to thefe felf-evi- dent Propofitions had been the Truth. So like wife, in the Cafe before us, our Lord in affirming, that the Father was greater than he in his human Nature, meant not to inftrud them in a Point that they mif- under- z66 S E R M O N V. underftood, or were ignorant of before , but only fix a Brand on their unreafonabic Concern for his Perfon at Departure from them into Heaven, as feemingly founded on the grofTefl Miftake, viz, that the Father could not exalt his human Nature higher than it was already, not being greater than he. For on the contrary Suppofition they grieved and forrowed for his Advancement, which was very far from being an Argu- ment that they loved him. Thus it appears upon the whole, that the PaiTage of my Text, wherein our Sa- viour fays, My Father is greater than 7, af- fords no Countenance to the Arian Hypo- thefis of Chri{l*s being in both his Natures inferior to the Father. To him therefore it is warrantable, every Way juft and right, that we give, jointly with the Father and the Holy Ghoft, all Honour and Glory, Might, Majefly, &c. SE R^ ( ^^7 ) SERMON VI. I GoR. viii. 5, 6. For tho there be that are called GodSy whether in Heaven or in Earth (as there be Gods many and Lords ma-' ny) but to us there is but one God the Father y of whom are all Things^ and we in him ; and one Lord Jejus Chrifi, by whom are all Ihings^ and we by him. TWO Things in thefe Words are obferved by the Avians^ as favour- ing their Scheme. The firft is, that the Father, in Contradiftindion to all others, is declared to be the one, or only God of the Chriftians. The fecond is the Difference of Expreflion, concerning the Father and the Lord Jefus Chrift, with Rela- z6% SERMON YI. Relation to the Share which each of them had in producing of all Things. The Fa- ther is faid to be he, of whom U ^ are all Things : The Lord Jefus Chrift is the one Lord, by whom ^i « are all Things. That there is a Difference made by the Apoftle, between thefe two divine Perfons is too evident to be denied. But the Que- ftion between us and the Arians is, whe- the Diftindlion will prove, as they would have it, that the Father is, exclufive of the Lord Jefus Chrift, the one true elfentiai God, and the firft Caufe of all Things. This we entirely deny, and the Negative is what I hope fully to make out at this Time. But before I enter upon this Point, it will be proper to confider what gave Occa- fion to thefe Words of the Apoftle, in Hopes that the Context may give us, as in fome Cafes it does, fome Light into his Meaning. It SERMON VL 2^9 It appears then, that this firft Epiflle of St. Paul to the Corintbia?is was framed on tvv^o Occafions. The tirft was fome pri- vate Intelligence he had received from the Houfehold of Chloe, concerning fome Dif- fentions and Irregularities that had fpruno" up in the Church of Corinth, The fecond was a Letter he had received from that Church at large, defiring his Information in fome dubious Cafes of Confcience and Difcipline. With anfwering the firft of thefe he begins this Epiflle, and fpeaks entirely to it in the fix tirft Chapters. The 7th Chapter begins with thefe Words, Now conceryiing the Things whereof ye write unto me. Which plainly fhews, that he was then entering upon a Confideration of the Letter, which the Church of Coritith at large, had fent unto him. The firft of their Queries, as appears from the firft Verfe of the feventh Chapter, was con- cerning the Expediency of Marriage, and of Cohabitation in Wedlock, where one of the Parties was an Unbeliever. And to this St. Paid fpeaks fully and folely throughout 4 that 270 S E R M O N VI. that Chapter. The fecond QiJery, where- with the Chapter of the Text begins, re- lated to the Lawfulnefs of eating or touch- ing thofe Things that are offered in Sacri- fice unto Idols. It (hould feem, that fome in the Church of Corinth eat fuch Things as oft as Occafion offered, and v^'ithout any Diflindion of Cafes, urging in their De- fence, that they knew Idols to be nothing, i. e» to have no real, nor fo much as rela- tive Divinity in them, but to be the mere Creatures of Pagan Ignorance and Super- ftition. From whence they concluded, that in eating Meats offered unto them, without the leaft Intention of doing Ho- nour, or paying any Kind of religious Wor- Ihip, they aded nothing (inful, or unwor- thy of their Chriftian Profefiion. They did not at fuch Times feaft upon a Sacri- fice, but regarded what was before them as common Meat, and partook of it to ferve the natural Ends of Eating only. And this Defence of theirs, our Apoftle allows. to be fo far good as the Principle goes on which it is built. He allows that an Idol is nothing in the World, there be- ing SERMON VI. 271 ing none other God bat one. He declares in the Words of my Text, that tho* in the vulgar Account, and according to common Language, there are many celeftial and terreflrial Gods, many, who under the Name of Gods and Lords, receive divine Honours and Oblations 5 yet to Chriftians, who are competently inftruded in their Religion, there is but one Objed of Wor- Ihip, eminently called God, i. e, the Fa- ther, and with equal Emphafis called the Lord, that is, Jefus Chrift. But tho' this Chriftian Knowledge fecured the Owners of it from finning againfl their own Con- fcience and Convidion, when they ate of thofe Things which were offered unto I- dols, yet, in fo doing, they might err fome- times againfl the great Law of Charity. All had not the necelTary Knowledge con- cerning the Vanity and Futility of Heathen Idols, for want of which, as oft as they ate of fuch Things as were offered to them, they did, or intended to do, religious Ho- nour to them, and thereby finned. He adds, that weak or ignorant Chriftians would be emboldened to proceed in fuch 3 unlawful i-jz SERMON VI. unlawful Pradices, if they obferved the more Knowing to fit at Meat in the Idol's Temple : They would judge from their Aflions, and thereby be milled for want of knowing their inward Principle or Mo- tive of Adion. He concludes therefore, that tho* the intelligent Chriflian might fafely eat of fuch Ihings as were offered unto Idols, as to his own Particular, yet, if thereby he knowingly led others to do the fame Thing finfully, he wounded their weak Confciences, and in fo doing, (inncd againft Chrift. The Sum of this Advice is, then, that a Man had better never eat Flefli at all on fuch Occalions, however lawful in itfelf, than make his Brother of- fend thereby. It appears then, that in the Words of my Text, the one God, the Father, is not oppofed to, or contradiftinguiihed from the other divine Perfons in the Trinity, any more than the one Lord Jefus Chrifl: is, but only to falfe Objeds of religious Worlhip, to the Gods many and Lords many, whofe Images were fet up in Temples, and ad- drelled SERMON VI. 273 drefTed to by Prayers and Sacritices all the Heathen World over. In Oppofition to thefe Norhings^as they are called in the Old Teflament, St. Faiil declares what is the Object of Chriflian Worfliip, the Father, eminently ftiled God, and one only in Na- ture and Subftance, not many, like the Pa- gan Deities \ and Jefas Chrifl, the one Lord, not many Lords, like the Baalhn, among the Z'ulonian and Syrian Idolaters. In a Word, St. Paurs Argument to prove, that an intelligent Chriftian partaking of Meat offered unto Idols, carried no religious Meaning along with it, is this, that fuch a one never directed Worlhip, nor any Ad of Religion towards any Object, that was not (tridly and properly God or Lord; whereas, he reputes the Gods and Lords of the Heathen, to have neither Divinity nor Dominion, nor fo much as confcious Being. Bat of what Ufe -in fuch an Argument, could the Contradiitinclion between God the Fa! her and the Lord Jcfus Chrift, con- tended for by our Jrian Adverfaries, pof- fibly prove ; There certainly was no Op- pofn ion intended by the Apod le, between Vol. IL T the 274 SERMON VL the Gods many and the Lords many a- mong the Heathen : Thofe were both e- qaally Objects of falfe Worfliip, tho' un- der different Denominations. Why, then, fliould it be apprehended, that in his De- fcription of the true or Chriftian Wor- fliip, the one traeCod ihould be underftood exclusive of the one true Lord. Bat notwithflanding all this, the Men we have to do with rigidly adhere to the Letter of the Text, which they fay affirms, that the Father is the one, /. e, the only Cod of the Chriflians, In Confequence of which, they would perfuade us, that if the Son be God at all, it muft be in a fub- crdinate, or improper Senfe :,, fo that he cannot be one with th^ Father, or equal to him. They have often been told, but with- out Effed, that this Argument will prove too much, and bring them under inextrica- ble Difficulties : For if the exclufive Term one God, when predicated of the Father, mufl: be expounded in the utmofl Degree of Strictnefs, it will follow, that one Lord alfo, immediately after applied to Jefus Clvift, S E R M O N VI. 275 Clirift, mud have the ielf-fame rigorous Explication. The Confequence of which will be this, that as St. Paul excludes Je- fus Chrift from being properly God, fo he excludes the Father from being properly the Lord of Chriftians. Bat is fuch a No- tion rational, fcriptural, cr pious? Is it not rather abfurd and blafphemous ? Muft not the Ar'tans themfelves be compelled there- fore to explain the one Lord with fome De- gree of Latitude, fo as not to make St. Fmd exclude the Father from being, to us Chri- Itians, the Lord as well as Jefus Chrift. It is therefore incumbent upon them to de- vife fome Expedient or Salvo in this Cafe ^ and yet it will be impofTible for them to find fuch a one as will effedually ferve their Turn, and not at the fame Time prove, that the Apoftle no more intended to ex- clude Jefus Chrift from being God, than God the Father from being Lord. But one Rule of Interpretation can be admit- ted, and the exclufive Fhrafe muft be fof- rened in both Cafes, or in neither. The Avians^ of all others, are moft concerned to iiilert the Fathers Title to Lordihip or T 2 Dominion, 1-6 S E R xM O N VI. Dominicn, becaufe Ibme of their mod con- ilderable Writers have affirmed, that God denotes Dominion only, and not Subflance cr Nature. If therefore Jefus Chrift bo th^ one Lord, exclufive of the Father, upon the Strength of their Maxim he muft, exclufively alfo of him, be the one God. If ever^ then, they fhould ferioufly enter upon the Defence of the Father's being Lord, or undertake to (lievv the Neceflity of underftanding St. Paul in a qualified Senfe, when he declares Jefus Chrifl to be the One, or only Lord, they would doubt- lefs do it by fliewing from many Inftances, that otherwife Scripture could not be made coniiftent with itfelf. They would parti- cularly obferve, that Jefus Chrift induftri- oullv, and on all Occafions, avoided the Imputation of being independent of the Father, referring on the other Hand every Thing up to him, as the Original of all Power and Perfedion. For nothing can give any divine Perfon a furer Right to LordQiip and Authority than Creation. But the Creation of all Things, tho* afcribed by St. ?au\ to the Son, is more frequently, 4 *7S b S E R i\I O N VI. 277 as well as more eminently, attributed by him to the Father: Nay, in the very Words of the Text, it is made the diltin- guifhing Attribute of the Father, tbatofhbn are all Things : Shall the Potter then have Power over his own Clay, and (liall not the Sovereign Maker of the Univerfe be Lord of his own Creation ? And from hence they would be led to argue, that the Apoftle, in my Text, when he declares Jefus Chrifl to be the one Lord, meant it not in Op- pofition to, or exclufive of the Father, but of the Lords many, whom the Hea- thcn worlhippcd under bodily Figures, fuch as Baal Peor, Baal Bentb^ and Baalz,c4iil\ And doubtlefs in fuch a Cafe, they would be thought by Orthodox Chriflians, as well as by their own Friends, to argue right. But then we, in our Turns, Ihould have the Benefit of Reafoning in like Manner, and lliewing that St. Panl^ when he fays, that to lis there is one GoJ, the Father, had no Deligu to exclude Jefus Chriif from real and elTential Divinity ^ becaufe, in fo do- ing, he would contradjd not only the 0- ther infpired Writers of th^ New Tefh- T 3 menr, 27B S E R M O N VI. ment, bat himrdf alfo. For toothing higher, nothing more (Irongly declarative of ftrid and natural Godhead could be af- firmed of the Father, than that He is ever /?ll, God bleffeJ for ever. And this the A- poftle of my 'J>xt declares undoubtedly of Chrifl, Rom, ix, 5. The Ar'ians indeed have, by various Methods, endeavoured to wreft this glorious Tcftimony of Chrift's Divinity from us-, but they have all been attended with palpable Defeds : Their Con- flrudicns of the PaiTaG^e have not only been forced, but ungrammatical ; Their criti^ cal Emendation has nothing to fupport it, but is againft all Rules of good Writing, and fcarce agreeable to common Senfe. As long therefore as fober Interpretation fhall Continue in Ufe, and the plain Ru- diments of the Greek be known, fo long will rhe Authority of St. Vaid^ for Chrift*s being over all^ God bleffed for ever^ bar Jriamfm from being the Scripture Doc- trine of the Trinity. So long alio will this Paifage be an x'Vrgament, that the fame Apcflle could not poflibly intend to ex- ' :Je JefusChrift from being with the Fa- ther SERMON VI. 279 ther the one Cod. That the Father and ,the Son are contradi(tin2;uiihed from each other by different and perfonal Charaders in the Text, we allow, but ftill in(ift up- on it, that as the Father's elTential Title to be our Lord is not precluded, by the Apo- ftle's calling the Son the only Lord :> fo the Son's Claim to be the Cod of the Chriftians, is not precluded by the Stile of the Father, when he is declared to be the one Cod. And as the Cha racier of the one Lord and the only Lord, when ufed as diltinclive of the Sjn, does not imply th.ti he is Lord in a higher Degree than the Father-, fo, on the other Hand, the feemingly exckifive Title of one Cod and only true (Jod, given to the Father, does by no Means imply, that he is Cod in a fuperior Senfe to the Son. The whole IMydery of thefe Kxpreflions is no more than this, that the Son, probably as being our Lord by a double Title, that of Cre- ation, in which he is joint with the Father, and another peculiar to himfelf, the Right arifing from Redemption, is therefore gene- rally and emphatically ftiled the Lord in J 4 the 28o S E R M O N VI. the New Teflament, when he is perfonally mentioned. The Father likewife being the Head and Fountain of tlie Deity, and the only one of the three divine Perfons who is {elf-exiftent and underived, being; alfo the tirfl in Order, as well as in our Conceptions, in the Scale of the Trinity, is therefore emphatically denoted by the Name of the one God, and the only true God. But eifentially confidered, the whole facred Triad are one God, and the only true God, they are equally to us one and the only Lord. In this Refpe^l:, none cf the three Perfons are greater or lefs than the other, but the Whole are equal in Pow- er, Majefly, and every other divine Per- fection. By this Account the Analogy of Scripture is preferved, and all Confufion and Incon(ifl:ency is prevented : AVhereas, if, with the Ar'taiis^ we underftand the ex- clufive Phrafes rigorouily, the facred Ora- cles become utterly irreconcileable. St. P//?//, according to their Scheme, makes the Father, eifentially copfidered, the one God •, and yet elfewhere, in the fame Re- fpecl, proclaims Chriil to be fupreme God. St. SERMON VI. 281 St. John^ in his Gofpel, introduces our Lord fpeaking to his Father, as the only true God ^ and yet the fame St. John^ in the End of his tirft Epiftle, fcruples not to call Jefus Chrift :Cx-nivr,; q^os, the true God. To falve and reconcile thefe feeming Re- pugnancies, the Orthodox have Recourfe to no other Diftinclion than what the Scrip- tures fupply them with, which plainly fpeak of the Father fometimes in his per- fonal, and at other Times in his ellential Characler : Whereas our Adverfaries in- troduce a Diftinclion, not only unknown to Scripture, but contrary to the entire Tenour of it, i. e, of a fupreme and iub- ordinate Deity. A Diftinclion fo unlikely to reconcile the feeming Difagreements in the facred Writings, that it deftroys and fubverts the ruling Principle, which ani- mates and runs entirely thro' that venerable Book, The Unity of the GndbeaJ, Deity divided into fupreme and fubordinate, was the great and leading Error of Pagajiifrn, To fuppofe, therefore, that the Chriftian Revelation, while it fteadily avows a Prin- ciple dired contrary to this, ftiould yet be exprelfed zZi SERMON VI. cxpreffed in fach a Manner, as not to be made confident without admitting Poly- theifm, is a Conceit too extravagant to be ferioully admitted or defended. The A- rians appear to be more fenfible of the Weight of this Charge, than able to remove it. For to fet up more Objeds of Wor(hip» however it be diverfitied, than one, is the mofl: criminal Part of Polytheifm. Barely to believe more Gods than one, is an Er- ror in Speculation , but to make any Being, befides the one God, a Sharer in our reli- gious Services, is to rob him of the Honour which he has taught us is due to himfelf only. And to inculcate this Lellbn to us, he has taken Care to inform us, as well that there is but one Objed: of Worfhip, as that there is but one God-, Thou fj alt worjhlp the Lord thy God, and him only fljalt thoit ferve. To ferve therefore any other Being in a religious Senfe, call it mediatorial Wor- Ihip, or by any other Name, it matters not, is contrary to the Command of God. To fet up two diftind Objeds of WorOiip^ is to fet up two Gods, is to have another Ggd belides the true one. Indeed, our pre- SERMON VI. 285 pre Cent Adverfaries do this exprefly, as well as by Confeqaence. The plain Teftimo- nies of Scripture compel them to admit that Chrift is God, and as they will not allow him to be the one or fupreme God with the Father, nor to be entitled to the fame Kind and Degree of Worihip, they plainly maintain two Gods, both in Theory and Fradice. The Diftindion of the Son's being God in a fubordinate Senfe, by which they hope to evade the Charge of contra- diding that Fundamental of revealed Re- ligion, the Unity of the Godhead, as if thereby was meant fupreme Godhead only, is vain and irrational : For it does not ap- pear, that the idolatrous Nations, againft whofe Pradices God guarded his Church by lo many ftrong Declarations of the di- vme Unity, did hold a Plurality of fu- preme Gods, but rather, on the contrary, a Scale of Deities, all fubaltern to one Su- preme. And fince this was the Cafe, it is againft common Senfe, as well as Piety, to (uppofe that God, in Scripture, Ihould for- bid only a Plurality of fupreme Gods, which was an Error that never had prevail- ed. 284 SERMON VI. ed, nor was ever likely to prevail. Doubt- lefs, therefore, the Scripture Notion of the divine Unity was levelled againfl: a Plura- lity of Gods in general, againfl multiplying Objects of religious Worfliip, and worlhip- ping the Creature as well as the Creator. The Avians therefore, who do all this, after all their Pretences of holding the Scripture Doctrine of the Trinity, are found utterly unfcriptural. I mud, tho* but briefly, before I conclude this Difcourfe, touch on the different Modes of Exprellion ufed in my Text, concern- ing the Father and the Lord Jefus Chrifh Of the former St. ?anl fays, il « tt.-'.vt*, of whom are all Things ^ but the latter ii J TraiT*, by whom are all Things. But does this imply any elTential Difference be- tween thefe two divine Perfons? God for- bid : For if it fliould, the Father mufl ef- fentially differ from himfelf, of whom it is faid, Ro?fi. XI. 56. That thro* bhn, as well as of him, are all Things. Some Diffe- rence, however, we are free to allow in the Text, between thefe bieded and adora- ble SERMON VI. 285 ble Perfons, relating to Priority of Order , the Father being the Fountain and unde- rived Origin of all Things, whilft the Son, tho' joined in the Acl of Creation with the Father, not as a bare Inftrument, bat a voluntary xAgent, was from all Eternity begotten by him. More than this cannot juftly be demanded of us', and of this our Adverfaries are welcome to make what x\d- vantage they can. Perfonal Differences or Diftinclions are neceflary to difcriminate the Father from the Son j but whoever at- tempts to divide their Nature and EfTence, departs from the Scripture Rule, and pro- nounces thofe to be two, whom Jefus Chrift himfelf declares are one. Now to thefe two, in divine Unity with the Holy Gholi, be afcribed as is molt due, &c* SER. { Z2-J ) SERMON VII. H E B. 1. latter Part of the fecond Verfe. By whom aljo be made the Worlds, I ^^^\ F all the Arguments for the Be- ■ ■ ing of a God, which natural >^_>^ Reafon fupplies us withall, none is fo convincing as that which is drawn from the vaft Extent, the great Variety, the compleat Harmony and Beauty of the vifible World. For to fuppofe, that fuch a Syftem had no Beginning, no efficient Caufe at all, is to make a Deity of the U- niverfe, by attributing Self-exiftence to it : It is abfurdly making God to be, inftead of the Simpleft of all Beings, an infinite Com- plication of mixed and diflimilar Parts. On 4 ^^ 228 SERMON VIL the other Hand, to fay with Epicuru:^^ that Chance produced the Material World, large and beautiful as it now is, had flill lefs of Reafon and Probability in it. That Cafualty, which never yet efFeded any thing comparable to the lowed Performan- ces of Art, ihould blunder out the Itupen- dous Frame of the Univerfe, was a Con- ceit altogether wild and romantick. The only Refult therefore of fober Inquiry about the Origin of the World, was, that it had a Beginning, and that not owing to Accident, but Defign. The next Qiieftion was, what Kind of intelligent Being that was, which could form fomething out of nothing, which could not only Project, but perfect fo vail a Fabrick with the greatefl Wifdom and Symmetry. And the only Refolution of this muft be, that this Archi- ted of the W^orld was inlinite in Power, Knowledge, and every other Perfection requilite to carry on and tinilh fo mighty and glorious a Work. Thus, as St. Paul exprelTes it, the invifible I'hings or Pro- perties of this hrltCaufe, from the Creation of the World, are clearly leen, being un- derltood S E R M O N VIL 289 derftood by the Things that were made, even his eternal Power and Godhead. We find then, that Creation, upon the Princi- ples of natural Religion, was a Proof of the Deity of him that created. x'\nd th^ very fame Medium of Proof is made ufe of in the Scriptures of the Old Teftament. The Divinity of the God of Ifrael^ in Oppofi- tion to all Pretenders to that Character, is eflablifhed upon this Foundation, that he alone is the Creator of the Univerfe, and of every Part thereof. To this Purpofe f peaks He-zekiah in his Prayer to God up- on the Receipt of RabJJjakeJfs haughty MelFage : Lor But this is the Style of the Son in very many Paflages thereof. Jll Things, fays St. John, in the Beginning of his Gofpel, were made by him, and without him was not any Thing made that was made. What Words can be more geiiei'al or ftrong than thefe > None fare, unlefs we (hall except the famous Teftimony of St. Prf-z//, Coi. i. 15, 16, 17. For by him (t» e, Chrift) were all Thi?igs created that are in Heaven, and that are hi Earth, vifible and invifible, whether they he Thronesy or Dominions, or Frincipalities^ or Powers, all Things were created by him^ iind for him. And he is before all Thifigs^ and by hint all thifigs confift. Here the whole Univerfe, in all its diftin^l Regions, is declared to be the Creature of the Son* Nothing was produced without his Agency^ be it vifible or invifible, human or angeli-^ Us cah 292 S E R M O N VII. Cdl : Bat he is pronounced both the tinal and eflicient Caufe cf them all. Nor does the Apofrle flop here : Bur bcfides Creation, to him he afcribes the Prefervation of all- Things. xAnd to prove that this was like- wife the occult Doctrine of the Old Tefta- ment, the llime St. Pju! applies the follow- ing PalFage out of the io2d Ffalm^ as fpo- ken of the Son. Thou, ly.rcL in the Bcpin- iiig haft hiiil the FouuihitJon of the Earthy /ind the Heavens are the Wf.rks of thine Hands: They fij.dj per /jb, but then remain- eft : And tbey all fall wax old, as doth a Garment, and as a. Vejlure jhalt thou fold up^ and they fhill he changed : But thou art the fame, and thy Tears jhall not fail. Here, in as plain Words as human Lan- <^ua2;e can afford, the Creation of the Earth and the Heavens are afcribed unto Jeho- vah, or the true Cjod -^ and we have the Word of an infpired W^riter, that the Al- mighty Creator, addreilcd to in this Paf- fage, was the Son. Various have been the Attempts of Miibelievers, to elude the Force of this illuflrious Tcflimony. One while thefe Words, with the two forego- 4 J^S SERMON VIL 293 ing Verfes, have been pronounced an In- terpolation, tho* they are wanting in no one MS. found in every Verfion, and own- ed by the mod ancient Commentators. Another Time we are bore down that thefe Words, in the io2d Pfahij are fpoken of the Father, and applied to Chrift by the Author to the Hebrews, not To much in the Way of Argument, as of Accommodation. Which is ferving the Jr'ian Hypothefis at the Ex pence of St. FiiuVs Charader. For tiic Subjecl he is upon required Argument^ and not FlouriHi, being a profelTed Ellay to prove the Son's Superiority to Angels from the Things refpectively faid of each in the Old Tcftament. In order to this a Com- piiifon is drawn at fall Length between ihe CharaiScrs of the one and the other, aiid every Appearance of (Irid and fober Inquiry inio the Merits on both Sides, ap- pears to be prcTcrved. But the Scheme of Accommodation fpoils all this feemin^ Equity: It reprefents St. Faul as grolly juutiai iti Favour of the Son, and ap- plying fublime Charaders to him out of the Old Teflament, which really be- longed to another. Accomrr.&dation of U 3 Language, 254 S E R M O N VII, Language, in fome Ways of Writing, is not only allowable, bat beautiful : But Accom- modation of Charaders, that are foreign to the Subject concerned, is both unfair and trifling. A third and a more confiftent Method ufed by the Enemies of our Lord's Divinity, to difcard this and other Tefti- monies from the Epiltle to th^ Hebrews to our Lord's Divinity, is utterly to rejed it as uncanonical, written neither by St. faul., nor by any other infpired Author. For to allow either of thefe, and at the fame time reprefent the Reafonings of the Book weak or fallacious, is giving up the main Point to Intidels, and fupporting Arianiffti to the Ruin of Chriilianity. But the Genuinenefs, as well as the infpired Authority of this Epiftle to the Hebrews^ has befen clearly and abundantly made out, and we are not without Hopes, that the fuc- cefslefs Attempts of Mifbelievers, by fuch dangerous Expedients to make good their Caufe, will in Time convince them that they cannot be confiftent Chriftians, with- out being, at the fame 'Ximt^ Orthodo); Ones, Since jS P R M O N VIL 29$ Since then, Creation, upon the Foot both of natural and revealed p.eligion, is the (landing Proof of the Divinity of that Being who creates , and (ince the Creation of all Things, ^s well as the Prefervation pi them, is, in the Scriptures of the New Teftament, l^oth frequently and abfolutely afcribed to the Son, what (hould hinder the apparent Gonfequence from thefe Pre- mifes, that the Son is naturally and truly God ? If he was the firft Caufe of the Uni- verfe, muft he not be infinite in Power and Wifdom, and can he be both thefe, and yet a Creature > If \\€: that formed the Light, and created Darknefs, be the Lord, ^nd none but he can pretend to that Title, ftall the Son be allowed the Glory of Creation, and yet he excluded from (bar- ing in the divine Unity > Is the Father, as Creator, and in Oppolition to the Creature, blejfed for ever, Afnen, i, e, God ? And fliall the Son, who is Creator likewife, not be God, but only an exalted and deified Creature ? Lafily^ Shall We readily fub- fi^ribe to St. FaiiV^ Maxim, lie that built 296 SERMON VIT. things is God -^ and allowing that the Son bailt all things, yet deny his proper and ellential Deity? To all this the Jrians reply, that the Son is not flridly and properly the Creator of all things, and confequently on that Ac- count cannot be ftridly and properly God, This Ailertion they pretend to fupport chiefly from the PalTage of my Text, and another Parallel one out of the Epiflle to the Epbef.ans, In the former of thefe it is faid, that God by his Son ?nade tbd Worlls. In the latter, that God created all things by Jefus Chrijl, From thefe Scriptures our Adverfaries infer, that God, or the Father alone, is properly Creator, and that the Son was only minifterial in the great Work of Building all Things, Now if by being miniflerial, they mean that the Son created all things, jufl as or- dinary Prophets and Apoftles worked Mi- racles, not by any Power or Efficiency of his own, but by a Commiflion which was niftde good entirely by his Father's Agency. then SERMON VII. 297 then indeed, if this could be made appear, it would certainly follow, that the Son was not properly Creator, and, on that Score, having no Claim to joint Creator- iliip with the Father, could have no Pre- tenfions to joint Divinity with him. But this can never be made out from the Texts above-mentioned, and is diredly contrary to the plain Language of other Scriptures. Every Word denoting flrid and proper Efficiency, is employed by the facred Wri- ters when they afcribe the Act of Creation to the Son : Particularly the Words of the io2d Pfrilm, applied to the Son by the Author to the Hebrews, acknowledge that he laid the Foundation of the Earth, and that the Heavens are the Work of his Hands, Who could rationally infer lefs from hence, than that the Son created thefe things by a Power inherent in himfeif , efpecially confidering, that the Words are made ufe of to prove the Superiority of the Son to the Angels. For an Angel was naturally as capibie as any other Being of executing that Part in the Creation, which the Son performed, \[ he did ncthaig therein by 4 his 29? SERMON Vir. his own Power, but fpake the Word only and the reft was effeded entirely by the Father's Omnipotence. Befides, had this been the utmoft Meaning of thofe flrong Words of the Pfahniji, fb far from the ob- vious Senfe of them, is it credible, that the Apoftle fliould infert no explanatory Claufe to fave the Father's Claim to proper Crea- torOiip, exclufive of all others ^ but leave us to conclude the thing from the Ufe of a Prepofition of doubtful and equivocal Mean- ing fix Verfes higher ? St. Peter and St, John behaved very differently on an Occa- iion of lefs Importance : For in the fecond Chapter of Jcis, after they had healed the lame Man, tho' they had not alTumed, even in Appearance, the Efficiency of the Cure to themfelves, but commanded him to rife and walk, avowedly and exprefly in the Name of Jefus Chrift of Nas^aretb , yet when they apprehended, only from the ear- ned Manner in which the People looked upon them, that they might furmife as if this Cure had been wrought by their own Power, they openly and abfolutely dif- claim the thing, denying, that by their OWIJ SERMON VII. 299 own Power they made the Man to walk, and referring the miraculous Cure to Faith jn the Name cf Chrift. If then, in Rea- lity, the Son had no more created the World, than the Apoftles above-mention- ed cured the lame Man, by his own Power can we conceive, that St. Faul would not plainly have told us fo, as they did ? Can we imagine, on the other Hand, that he would have ufed fuch ExprefTions, as muft naturally lead us into the contrary Perfua- iion, without explaining himfelf, or guard- ing againfl Mifapprehenfion ? By no Means, A late Writer gives it us as the Scripture podrine of the Trinity, that the Son crea- ted the World by the Power of the Father. But if he meant that the Son's own Power was not employed therein, we may fairly challenge him, or any one elfe, to prove that Point from Scripture. No fuch thing is therein affirmed exprefly, or deducible from thence by any necelTary Conie- quence. The Father, according to Scrip- ture, made the World : The fame is faid of the Son : And when their joint Concern in that great Work is fjpoken of, God, or the :. - father 300 S E R M O N VIL Father, is faid to have made the World by the Son , but from the latter faying it does not follow, that the Son did not create the World by his own Power. The only ne- cefFary Corollary from thence is, that both the divine Perfons concurred in the Crea- tion 5 the Father was more eminently, but the Son neverthelefs was really and ftrictly the Creator of the World. I need fpend no more time in provino; the Son to be the efficient Caufe of all Things, becaufe it does not certainly appear, that the Avians deny it. But if it be once admitted, that the Son created the World by his own proper Efficiency, his infinite Power and Wifdom tiierein employed, is alfo admitted, and in Confequcnce of that his Divinity will be undeniable. For could a Creature poflibly arrive at thofc Perfedions, to ufe the fublimc Language of Job en this Occafion -^ could a Creature, however dignihed or advanced, Meafure the Waters in the Hollow of his Hands? Could fuch a one meet out the Heavens with a Span ? Could he comprehend the Dull of the Earth in a Meafure > Could SERMON VIL 301 Could he wei^h the Mountains in Scales and the Hills in a Ballance } In vain is the Declaration of the PfaJm}Ji, That the Hea- vens declare the Glory of God, and the Fir- mament Jbeweth his Handywork^ if thofe wonderful Phenomena might be produced by a Power fhort of infinite and divine. In vain aifo is the Reafoning of the Apoftle St. Faul to the Rojnans^ That the invifible Things of God from the Creation of the 1 For Id are clearly feen, being under food by the Things that are made^ even his eternal Power and Godhead ^ if the Son who creat- ed the Univerle be himfelf a Creature, neither eternal, nor ellentially divine. Lafly^ Every Argument above-mentioned in the Old Teftament, by which the infpir- ed Men, and even God himfelf aHerts the divine Exiftence and Unity from the Work of Creation, is faulty and inconclufive, if the Son, who created all things, be not both truly God, and one in Subftance and Perfedions with the Father. Againft all thefe (hocking Confequences the Arians (land oat upon the Strength of a (ingle 302 SERMON VIL A fingle Greek Particle ^x' in my Telct, and the parallel Place to it. Neither the plain PafTages of Scripture, which abfolute- ly afcribe the Creation of the World to the Son, nor the concurrent Teftimony of all Antiquity to the fame Point, can prevail with them to allow that he was properly Creator, becaufe it is twice faid in the New Teftament, that God made or creat- ed by him. They cannot deny that the Par- ticle SicC denotes Efficiency, becaufe in two Pailages all things are faid to be hd by the Father. And would they but admit that the Father made all things by the Efficient cy of the Son, we fhould have no farther Controverfy with them on this Head. Let them fay, that the Son made the World at the Command of the Father, provided they allow him to have a creative Power proper- ly his own, it will ferve all the Purpofes of the Catholick Dodrine, becaufe fuch Power mufl be infcparable from true and proper Divinity. And fure it is but de- Cent to conclude from the Father's laying his Commands upon his Son to create, that he knew he was equal to the Work, But SERMON VII. 303 Bnt if laying afide the Reafon of the thing, the Analogy of Scripture and Pri- mitive Tradition, our Adverfaries wiJl have recourfe to Criticifm only, and be- caufe the Patticle ^id fometimes Hands be- fore a Caufe merely minifterial and inftru^ mental, which ferves their prefent Occa- fions, therefore infifl on that Senfe here ^ to let them fee that Criticifm is a Weapon with two Edges, and how little their Caufe will gain by the Ufe of it, it may not be improper to put them in Mind, that among other Significations of hd^ with a Geiiitive Cafe in the Greek Scriptures, we ought to reckon that of Society or Fellowfhip* I will give a few Inftances of this out of many that might be afligned. St* P^w/, GaU iv. having explained how we receive the Adoption of Sons by God*s fending forth his Son to redeem us, argues thus, in the 7th ver. Wherefore thoit art no more a Servant^ but a Son'^ and if a Son^ tbe?i an Heir of God ha^ xf'S"«, together with Chrijl* That thus it ought to be rendered, and not by Cbrijiy as in our Englifi Bible, will ap- 3 pear : i 304 SERMON VII. pear evident, if we compare this with the parallel Rcafoning; cf the fame Apoftlc, Chap, viii. to the Romans, where having in like Manner proved, that Chriftians are the Sons of God by receiving the Spirit of A- doption, whereby they cry, J/^I^a Father. He adds, in the 17th ver. And if Sons, then Heirs of God, ay^KAn oiJ^oi d xs«2"^'', and joint Heirs with Chrijl. Again, Heb. ix. 12. fpeaking of Chrift entering into Hea- ven to perform there the OfHce of an High Prieft for us, the Apoftle fays, 'Ovi\ i] aW- T0> Tg^ac'^roV K; fJ.C()(_UY AAA* CI li'ls al/HXTn> £/(T>'a9sV. 2\ either with the Blood of Goats and Calves', but by his own Blood he entered into the holy Place, The Priefihood of Chrifl: is here preferred to that of the Law on this Ac- count, that whereas the Jewifh High Prieft went Yearly into the Holy of Holies, tak- ing with him the Blood of Goats and of Calves, Chrift entered into the heavenly Sanctuary with no other Offering than that of his own Blood, 7. e, the Merits thereof, to obtain eternal Redemption for us. Once more St. Paul, in his fecond Epiftle to Timothy, Chap. ii. ver, 7, thus exhorts SERMON VII. 305 fexhorts him : The things that thou hafi heard of me^ <5"'«-* ttoaacTi' ^x'5\cyv, together with many Witneffes^ i. e, and frcm other Apoftles, the fame cormjiit thou to faithful Men, 5cc. Since therefore the Prepofiti- on, which is connmonly rendered fy, may and does alfo fignify together vnthj fuppofe we fhould inlift on that Signification in the PalFage under Confideration, and inftead of the Rendering in the Text, by whojn ajfo he, i, e, God made the JForlds, fliould tranflate. Together with whom alfo he made the Worlds: And whereas we now read in our Bibles, that God created all things hy Jefiis Chrifl, we fhouid fay it ought to be rendered, God created all things together with Chrift Jefts : How full and decifive would this be for the Orthodox Notion of the Father and Son's being jointly Creator of the Univerfe ^ I do not mention this, as if it was really the Apoftle^s Senfe, but only to (hew, that our Adveffaries would not benefit them-* felves by appealing from Scripture, ex- plained by Catholick Tradition, to the Bar Vol. IL X of 3o6 S E R M O N VII. of Criticifm. Sufficient it is for us, that the obvious Rendering of Scripture, and the Senfe of thofe who lived neareft to the New Teflament Times, fupport our Belief that as the Son jointly with the I ather, in- cluding alfo the Holy Gho{t, is Creator of all things, fo are they jointly the one God. To whom, c^f. SER- ( 307 ) SERMON VIII. Acts v. 3, 4. But Peter faid^ Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine Heart to lye to the Holy Ghoft^ and to keep back Part of the Price of the Land ? Whilft it remained^ was it not thine own ? And after it was fold, was it not in thine own Power ? Why hafl thou conceived this Thing in thine Heart ? Thou hafl not lied unto Men^ hut unto God, HA V 1 N G, in the former Difcourfes, vindicated the real and ellential Di- vinity of the fecond Perfon in the ever blelTed Trinity, I propofe to conclude X 2 this 3o8 SERMON VIII. this Courfe of Lcdures, with vindicating; alfo the Deity of the Holy Ghcfl, againft the fame Adverfaries, the Jriaji Oppofers of the Catholick Dodrine, concerning a Tri- nity in Unity. The PalTages of Holy Writ, from which the Church has, in all Ages, deduced the Belief of the Holy Ghoft's Divinity, and en Account of which (he has paid him pint Worfhip with the Father and the Son, are almofl: innumerable. There is fcarce a fingle Ad or Attribute fpoken of in the in- fpired Writings, as peculiar to the fupreme Being, but what, fome where or other in the fame Books, is afcribed to the blelled Spirit. He is not indeed exprefly called God in Scripture, as the Father and the Son frequently are •, but by Confequence and neceiTary Deduction, even this incom- municable Name appears fometimes to be given to the Holy Ghoft in the Word of God : But no where fo plainly, and at one View, is this to be feen, as in my Text : For in the firft Verfe, the Crime of Ana- ?}}as, who fraudulently retained Part of the Prie? SERMON VIIL 309 Pric£ of his L?ind, while he prKended to have laid the whole at the Apoflle's Feet, is called by St. Peter^ lying to the Holy Ghoji ^ and in the fecond Verfe of the Text, the Apoftle calls the felf-fame Crime, lying unto God^ without mentioning the Holy Ghofl:. If therefore we are not under a Neceflity of concluding from hence, that St, ?etei\ in EfFed, gives to the Holy Ghofl the Appellation of God, no confe- quential Proof from Scripture ought ever to be admitted. Which yet to fay, would be to impeach a Method ufed by our Lord himfelf, who, more than once, in this very Way of Deduction, argues from the Books of the Old Teftament. But however plain and cogent this Proof of the Holy Ghoft's being virtually called God by the Apoftle in my Text may feem^ it has been treated with great Contempt, as deferving very little Confideration from the Avian Qiiarter. Whether it be, that Prejudice has hindered the Effedl of this very clear Argument, or whether an Air of Scorn has been afFeded on ^this Occa- X 3 fion, 310 SERMON YIII, fion, for want of a grave and pertinent Reply J fo it is, that, without being vouch- fafed a dired Anfwer, we have been f?nt for Satisfadion to another PalFage in the ABs^ viz. to the 23d Chap, ver, 9. where, upon a Diilention between the Fhnrifees and the Sdchimees concerning; PanPs De- fence, the Scribes^ who fided with the for- mer, fay. We jinJ no Evil in this Mdn -^ bitt if a Spirit or an Angel hath fpoken to him, let us net fight againji GocL We are told then, that if ever any Set of Men had, or fliould, fet up the Di^vinity of Spirits and Angels as an Article of Faith, this latter Paflage in the jBs would be juil: fuch ano- ther Proof for them, that Spirits and An- gels are by Scripture Confequence called God, as my Text is for us, that the Holy Ghoft by the like Method is fo called. The Application is left to ourfelves, viz>* that as the former is no Proof at all, fo neither is the latter. They would hereby inlinuate, that, as in the former Cafe, the Scribes, when they call oppofing a Dcdrine receixed from a Spirit or an Angel fighting cgaiuil God, did not virtually call either of SERMON VIII. 311 of thofe Beings God, but only intimate, that Doclrines fo received, mufl come ori- ginally from God, and fo cannot be gain- said, without ultimately refilling or fight- ing againft him : So St, Peter in the Text, when he makes lying to the Holy Gholl the fame as lying unto God, did not in- tend to fuggeft, that thefe were one and the fame Being, but only that the Holy Gliofl being God's Reprefentative in the Government of his Church, whatever Fraud or Indignity was put upon his Vicegerent, in the End affeded or terminated in God, whofe Vicegerent the Holy Ghoft was. But 'tis really wonderful, that ever it 'fliould be in the Power of Prejudice itfclf, to keep jNIen cf Senfe and Learning from feeing how great a Difparity there is be- tween thcfe two Cafes. '"For, fir ft ^ the former was the Saying of -the Scribes^ who were unconverted Jews-, vQnd therefore could never be u fed to efla- ::blillv any Article of Chriftian Faith: At mofl it could only ferve to fiiew the Belief X 4 of 312 SERMON VllI, of the Learned in the Jewijij Charch of our Saviour's Time: Whereas, the latter was the Speech of an infpired Apoftle, and, as fach, carries with it the higheft Authority for deciding difputed Chriilian Poclrii^es. Secondly^ Admitting the Speakers in the two Cafes to be of equal Weight confider- ed in theinfelves, the former of the Sayings is (hort and elliptical, and thereby the In- tention of the Speaker becomes dubious, and liable to great Variety of pollible Con- ilrudions: Whereas, what St. Feter fays to Ananias is moflly full and clear, as well as empbatical, and confequently may more eafily be reduced to a determinate Senfe. Tlmdly, When the Scribes fay of St, Taidy If a Spirit or an Jngel hath fpokeii ^0 hi?n, let its not fight agaitift God ^ the Words neither necellarily nor probably im- ply, that to oppofe him, was diredly to light againfl God, but only conflrudively. They certainly may mean no more, than that SERMON VIII, 315 that as Angels and good Spirits deliver no MeiTages but from God , fo to contradict Doctrines thus delivered, is to fet ourfelves againft God, from whom they originally come. And that this was all the Scribes intended is next to certain, becaufe the Scriptures of the Old Teftament, which was their Rule of Faith, taught them to make a wide Difference between Angels or Spirits, and the God of Ifrael. Their own Mofes told them, Dent, vi. 4. that the Lord their Go J was one Lord: Whereas, from the Pfalmifl: they learnt, that there were thonfands of Angels* Nor do we e- ver find in the Seds or Herefies among the Jews^ any that were abfurd enough to be- lieve, that Angels or Spirits were God, And fliould any fuch Heterodoxy as this hereafter arife, the Advocates for it could poflibly have no Relief or Benefit from the Saying of the Scribes before us j becaufe, to fuppofe that they. there call a Spirit or an Angel God, would be to fuppofe a learn- ed Body of Men (for fuch the Scribes were) contradiding, in the openeft Manner, their own avowed Principles, and furnifhing 314 SERMON VIIL the SadchtceeSy their Adverfaries, in the very Inftant of their Debate with them, with an undeniable Charge of Blafphemy and Self-contradiction. But can any Thing like this be urged againft the Conftruction put by us on St. ?eter\ Words in my Text > If when he makes lying to the Holy Ghoft to be lying unto God, we fuppofe that he does it directly, is there Room for faying- as in the other Cafe, that he would there- by offer manifeft Violence to his own Prin- ciples or religious Belief? Is it as evident, upon the Footing of Chriftianity, that the Holy Ghoft is a Creature, as it was on the Balis of Judaifm, that Spirits and Angels were fuch ? No one can or will affirm it^ There is not the lead Intimation of any fuch Thing in the New Teflament : But, on the contrary, fo many magniticent Things are faid of the Holy Ghoft, and fo many Wonderful Operations are afcribed to him, that noCharader, Ihort of Divinity, canpoHibly fuit him. His Power, both over the natural and moral World, is celebrated and declared in frequent and in plain Terms. To him the working of Miracles is impu- tei SERMON VIII. 315 ted, not only as that Gift was exerclfed by the xApoftles, but alfo by Chrift himfelf, who vouchfafed to own, that by the Spirii of God he ca(l out Devils, Mat, xii. 28, And this Spirit of God, in the parallel Place of St. Luke's Gofpel, is called the Finger of God, Nor lefs extraordinary were the Powers exerted by the Holy Ghoft over the Minds of Men. His fandifying Graces, whereby, without offering Vio- lence to the Freedom of the human Will, he leads Men to will, and to do of his good Pleafure, fecm to require a Donor, that is of infinite Power and Wifdom. Compared with thefe. Miracles in the na- tural World, however wonderful they may be, when confidered alone, lofe much of the Marvellous. We find but little Diffi- culty in conceiving, that pafTive and inani- mate Matter fliould yield to any Direclions, that come from its Almighty Creator , nor that even intelligent Beings (hould, by the fame irrefiilible Means, be compelled to an involuntary Obedience, but the Methods whereby the blelfed Spirit orders the un- ruly Wills and Affedions of (inful Men, lo yS SERMON VIII. fo as to make them willingly good and holy againfl: the Bent of depraved Nature, are the greateft of all Miracles and Myfteries, and loudly proclaim him to be wife and powerful beyond all Expreffion. From the fanclifying Graces beftowed by the Ho- ly Ghod, let us turn our Eyes to his fpiri- tual Gifts, and therein alfo we fhall fee the fame plain Traces of Divinity. Pro- phecy, in the Old Teftament, is ftill faid to be the Word of the Lord, and to fhew that it came not in old Time by the Will of Man, the infpired MelTengers frequent- ly preface their Errand with, Thus faith the Lord, But in the New we are inform- ed, that the Holy Ghofl was that Lord, by whom thofe Men of God were moved to fpeak as they did. And accordingly the Style of Prophecy is therein altered from Tbits faith the Lord, to, Thus faith the Holy Gho/h As the Prophetick, fo the Prieftly Office under the Law was beftow- ,ed by divine and fpecial Defignation, no qile taking that Employ, but he that was called thereto by God, as was Aaron'. Under the Gofpel likevvife no one preach- 3 ed, SERMON VIIL 317 ed, except he was fent ^ Men were cftvine* ly called to be ApolUes, and extraordina- rily feparated unto the Gofpel of God. But it appears from the New Teflament, that both the Jewifi and the Chriftian Hierar- chy was under the fpecial Diredion of the Holy Ghoft : For the Knowledge of this, with refped to the former, we are in- debted to the infpired Writer to the He^ brev:>s, who at once informs us, that the moft folemn Services of the Tabernacle were appointed by the blelTed Spirit, and what he fignified, or typically prefignified thereby. As to the Concern of the Holy Ghoft in the Choice of the firft Chriftian Clergy, the New Teftament is full of it. Thus ?aitl and Barnabas were feparated unto the Holy Ghoft by his fpecial Com- mand, and afterwards fent forth by him to perform the Office of Evangeiifts. And the Elders of Ephefus are, by St. FauU declared to have been made Overfeers of the Flock there, by the Holy Ghoft , juft in the fame authoritative Senfe, as the fame Apoftle elfewhere declares of himfelf and his Brethren, that God had made them a* blc 3i2 SERMON VIIL ble Minifters of the New Teilament. And no Wonder that the Holy Ghoft (liould commiflion Apoftles and Evangelifts for the Work of the Miniftry, fince even the great High Pried of ourProfeilion himfelf, in his human and facerdotal Capacity, was autho- rized and aflifted by the fame blelTed Spi- rit. He defcended upon him after his Bap- tifm, by which glorious Manifeflation he was inaugurated into the Office of bapti- zing with the Holy Ghoft. By the Holy Ghoft likewife was it, that he gave his laft Commandments unto the xApoftles whom he had chofen, concerning the Things per- taining to the Kingdom of God. Lriflly^ When this our High Prieft offered himfelf without Spot unto God, whether thereby be meant the Sacrifice of himfelf upon the Crofs, or his fubfequent Interceflion for us in Heaven, by Virtue of that All-fufficient Sacrifice, this great Propitiation is dcfcrib- ed, as made thro' the eternal Spirit. Sure- ■Jy, then, he whofe Energy gave Power and Efficacy to every holy Service of God, and under both Difpcnfations, muft himfelf "be God. Angels and holy AVomcn might 4 minifter SERMON VIII. 319 rninifter unto him under temporal Wants and Diftrelles . but to confecrate the Son of God, to add Weight unto his Counfels, Merit and Strength unto his Sufferings and Interce (lions, exceeds the Meafure of all created Power or infufed Holinefs. Again, How comes it to pafs, that the Honour of the blelTed Spirit fhould be guarded againft Blafphemy and Violation in fo flrong a Manner, as our Lord alTures us it is, if he be no more than a Creature ;, whilft all o- ther Sin and Blafphemy, whether refped- ing the Father or the Son, (liall have For- givenefs, fpeaking againft the Holy Ghoft remains unpardonable : Can he then be in- ferior to either of them } Once more, if the Holy Ghoft be not truly and properly God, how comes St. Paul to mention his having Temples ^ for fo he calls the Bodies of Chriftians, juft as he elfev/here makes them to be the Temples of God. And left we fhould miftake his Meaning there- by, to be no more than that thofe Temples are built or confe crated by the Holy Ghoft, and thence to be called his Temples, as that built and confecrated by Solomon might be. 3 20 SERMON VIIL be, and is for that Reafon called his, the Apoflle alTures his Corifithiaiis, 7iot only that their Bodies are the TevifAes of the Holy Ghojl^ but that he is in them, i. e. he is the Deity which dwells there. Befides, it is worthy of Obfervation, that the facred Pen- men, both of the Old and New Tefta- ment, conftmtly avoid calling the Temple of Solo7tion at large, his Temple, but (till fpeak of it as the Temple, or the Houfe which SohmonhmXt^ whilft the Temple of Bagon, and the Temple of the Lord, are Expreffions for a Houfe, ereded in Honour of Dagott, or of the true God. From hence alfo it follows, that the Holy Ghof! being the Proprietor of Temples, mud: be entitled to worlhip, that being the fole End for which Temples are fet up. Thus, which Way foever we view the Argument before us, we fee plain Proofs of the Spi- rit's true and proper Divinity. To this I might add, that the Holy Ghoft, as well as the Father and the Son, is fpecified in the Form of Baptifm, appealed to by the Apoftle St. Paid in an Ad of Religion, a folemn Oath, and addreiTed to jointly with the S ]E fe M O Kr Yin. 321 the Father and the Son, in fome Scripture Modes of Benedidion. But have Angels all or any of thefe Gharadterifticks of Di- vinity > Wherever therefore they feem by Confequeiice to be honoured with the Ap- pellation of God, that Confequence can neither be necelTary nor probable , whilft with Regard to the Holy Ghoft, whofe Properties, Attributes, and Operations are the very fame which Scripture afcribes to God himfelf, wherever, in holy Writ, he is by obvious Confequence termed God, we may jiiftly deem it to be adually fo intended. Fonrthiy,- In the Saying of St. Peter to ■Anaiiias in the Text, there are fom.e Cir- cumllances, which make it in a Manner iiecelfary to underftajid, that by God, in the fecond Verfe of the 1 ext, he meant the ttoly Ghoft, mentioned by him in the firft Verfe, whom therefore by dired Gon- lequence he calls God. For, FD-fl^ The Heinoufnefs of Anam- rfj-'s Crime is mentioned ill the ftrongeft Vol. lib ]t Terms 3 22 SERMON Vlil. Terms, at die Beginning of our Apoftle's Expoftulation with him, and while he is onlycharged with lying to the Holy Ghoft •, which furely implies, that the utmofi: of his Guilt confided therein, and that there was no fuperior Being, againd whom he had offended by fo foul a Prevarication. When the Scripture defigns to exprcfs a full and firm Perfuafion and Refolution in Men to commit Wickednefs, their Hearts are Hi id to be filled to do Evil, and to be filled with jrifkednefis. This therefore is a Phrafe, which alone emphatically denotes a ftrong and rooted Habit of ill Living. But in the Text, the Crime charged on A- 7ianias is further exaggerated : For it is not barely faid, why hafl thou filled thine Heart, or why is thy Heart filled to lye to the Holy Ghoft ^ but Why Lnh Sata?i filled thine Heart to lye to the Holy Ghojl. It feems from hence, as if the Heart of Man, corrupt and naughty as it fomc- times is, was hirdly impure enough of itfelf, and without diabolical Inftigation, to con- ceive the Perpetration of fo horrid a Crinie, as SERMON VIIT. 323 as is that of lying to the Holy Ghoft. But what Reafon can be afligned for the pecu* liar A?2[ravation of this Fault, but that it was committed diredly againfl God, the greatefl: and bcft of Beings. Certainly, if lying to the Holy Ghofl:, bad as it was, had a (till worfe Circumftance attending it, and lying to God was an OfFence more heinous than lying to the Holy Ghoft, (as it muft be, if the Holy Ghofl himfelf was not God) thofe high Terms of Aggravation, beftowed by St. Peter on Anaiiias for ly- ing to the Holy Ghofl, would have been referved for the worfl Circumftance of the Fault, his lying to God. Whereas, when he fpeaks of that, there is not the leafl Note of any additional Guilt, but the Crime is barely mentioned. How fliall we account for this, otherwile than by the Catholick Interpretation of the PafTage, and faying, that as the Holy Ghofl vv^as God, lying to him was the utmofl of Aiianias's Fauk, the Heinoufnefs of which being fufhci- ently noted upon the firfl Mention of it it was fafticient afterwards barely to re- peat ir. Y 2 But, J24 SERMON VIII. But, Seco?idly^ If by lying to God, in the latter Verfe of the Text, Sr. Feter meant any Thing diftind from Anania-s's lying to the Holy Ghof}, then, in the fumming up of his Crime, the Apoftle has made a defec- tive Gradation •, he impcrfedly enumerates the Steps, by which he was to arrive at the juft Defcription of his Guilt. Thou hafi noty faith he, lied unto Men^ hit unto God. Now, no one fuppofes it to be here denied, that Afiamas had lied unto Men \ becaufe the Fad plainly proves the con- trary, which was, that he laid only a cer- tain Part of the Price of his PolTeirion at the Apoflle's Feet, pretending, and proba- bly affirming it to be the Whole. St. ?e- ter's Meaning therefore muft be, thou haft not lied unto Men or>Iy, but alfo unto God : And if by God in this Place he denoted the Holy Ghoft, this was the entire Detail of Ananias^s Fault. But if by God, he meant a Being differing from, and fuperior to the Holy Ghoft, he would certainly have faid. Thou haft not lied unto Men, nor unto the Holy Ghoft, but unto God ; Othef- SERMON VIII. 325 Otherwife, he had left out one main Branch of the Charge, and that, on which he laid the whole Strefs upon his firft Ex* poftulation with him,. Thirdly^ If lying to the Holy Ghofl: had been lying unto God conftrudively only, and not diredly, as the Holy Ghoft hiiti- felf is God, how came it to pafs, that St. Fetei\ in his Speech to Sapphira, immedi- ately before he infiided on her the Venge* ance of fudden Death, fhould content him- felf with callinq her's and her Husband's Crime, only an Agreement between them, to tempt the Spirit of the Lord ? Decency, as well as Juftice, required, that before Sentence of Death was pronounced upon her, the Fiagitioufnefs of her Fault (hould be fjlly fet forth. And this was done by hiai upon the Catholick Hypothefis, that the Spirit of the Lord 'was truly God. But if the Ariiins are right, who aflirm the Holy Ghoft to be a Creature, to tempt the Spirit of the Lord, was not the worft of their Fault, and the high Aggravation of it, viz* that by tempting the Spirit of y 3 the ^16 SERMON Vin. the Lord, they conflrudively tempted the Lord himfelf, was concealed, tho' it was ne- t:eirary to juftify the Severity of the Sen- tence which imnnediately followed, and to deter others from the like Pradices. Thus it appears, from the only plaufible Conftradion of St. feter's Words in the Text, that he virtually calls the Holy Ghofl: God -^ it appears likewife from o- ther Parts of Scripture, where he has not the Name, that he has the Attributes, and per- forms fuch Operations, as are peculiar to the Deity : From which the Church rightly deduces this Confequenee, that the Holy Ghofl:, the third Perfon in the ever-bleifed Trinity, is, together with the Father and the Son, the one true God. And now, having; finifhed mv Courfe of Lectures in Defence of Chrift's Divinity and that of the blefled Spirit, againfl: the Scripture Arguments of Misbelievers, I fh ill cnly add a few Words concerning the Oj^cry about Myfteries, and impofing Tefts of Orthodoxy in thefe Points, As to the firfl:, SERMON Vlir. 327 firft, the Church makes no Myfteries ;, but finding fuch in the Word of God, only preferves and inculcates them among the other preternatural Truths of revealed Relisiion. The Governors of it are as ten- der of the juft Prerogatives of Reafon a^ the reft of their Species are, and as jealous that no real Violence be done thereto, un- der any Colour whatever. But they think it no Difparagement to that noble Faculty, that fome Truths fhould be above its Grafp. It is confeiTed, that in fome A- ges of the Church, religious Opinions, which contradid the Evidence of com- mon Senfe, have been advanced into Ar- ticles of Faith : But then, this proceeded not from the Love of Paradox and Myf- tery in the governing Part of the Church but from Avarice or Ambition, one or both of which found its Account in every Error of Popery : Whereas, neither of thofe Motives could be at the Bottom of thofe Myfteries which our Church has retained. For the Belief of a Co-eiTential ■ and Co-eternal Trinity, has plainly added Y 4 nothing 328 SERMON VIII. nothing to the Emoluments or Immunities of its Clergy, nor been attended with any one lucrative Confcquence, which they might not as well have expeded, if the Unitarian or Arian Scheme had prevailed. We have indeed been told, with as much Ailurance, as if human Intentions were vifible, that Zeal for Or- thodoxy proceeds only from the Love of Dominion, and a Defire of lording it over the Confciences of our Brethren : But this is a Cenfure as unjuft as it is un- charitable 5 for our own Church innovate? in nothing, but in all Points of Faith adheres to the good old Ways of Scrip- ture and early Antiquity. Befides, Ty- rants always affed to be lawlefs in their own Perfons, whilfl they encroach on the Liberties of others ; whereas our fpiritual Governors fubmit to all they require, and bear every Burden they impofe : And if this be Tyranny, there can be no fuch Thing as juft Government. What remains therefore, but that defpifing the Calumnies of fool- SERMON VIIL 329 ifh and unreafonable Men, we continue ftedfaft in that Faith, which teaches us to give to the ever-blefled Trinity in Unity, all Honour and Glory, &c* S£R« A SERMON Preach*d at the VI S I TATION Of the Right Reverend the Lord Bilhop of London^ I N T H E Cathedral Church of St. ? AV LI OBober 13, 1738. ( 333 ) A S E R M O pREACH*D at the VISITATION, &c. Matthew, Chap. x. latter Part of the 1 5th Verfe. Be ye therefore Wife as Serpents^ and Harmlefs as Doves. THIS Advice, which our Lord gave to his Apoftles when he firft fent them out to preach, will not, I hope, be deemed an improper Subjed of Difcourfe 3 34 ^ Vijitation S e r m o k^ Difcourfe before thofe, who, by Virtue of a Commiflion originally given out by the fame -great Bifhop of Souls, are appointed to be (landing Preachers of the Chriftian Religion. Sure I am, that the Circum- ftances of their Times and ours being duly confidered and compared, Prudence and In- nocence in the Chriftian Pallors are, at leaft, as ncceilary to the Succefs of Religion now^ as they were when the Command of my Text was firft promulged. It is true, that the Prejudices againft Chriftianity, at pre- fent, are far from being fo general, or fo violently purfued, as when the Apoftles received the Diredions in my Text. But then, together with thefe, they had alfo a Power given them over unclean Spirits to caft them out, and to heal all Manner of Sicknefs, and all Manner of Difeafe, Chap, X. ver, i. Had therefore the Perfo- nal Condud of thefe firft Preachers been lefs difcreet and innocent, their wonderful Credentials might alone have fupported, in fome Meafure, the Credit of their Miilion, Whereas we have no miraculous Certifica- tes of a Call from Heaven ; So that the Efficacy A Vifitation S e r m o n. 335 Efficacy of our Miniftry, under the Grace of God, refts chiefly on the Prudence and Piety of our Behaviour. Great and evident is the intrinfick Goodnefs of the Chriftian Syftem : But flill, had it no authorized Supporters, or were thofe it has generally without Difcretion and Virtue, the Ex- cellency of the Plan would either be un- obferved and unattended to, or at leaft to ftich a Degree, that, in all human Views, it would never generally be acknowledged as the indifpenfible Rule of Faith and Mo- rality in the World. I fpeak not this to inform, and much lefs to corred any of this Reverend Audience, which I dare fay is before-hand with me, both in making, and in ading up to this Obfervation : But there are other, and thofe very fignal, Ufes to be made of it. For the Sake of which give me leave briefly to illuftrate the NecefCty of the Advice given to all Chriftian Clergy in my Text \ that they be wife as Ssr- pents, and Harmlefs as Doves, And, Firjl, as to Wifdom or Prudence, whether we confidcr the Difliculties of the 4 Miniftcrial ^3^ -^ Vijitation Sermon^ Minifterial Work in itfelf, or the Prejudi- ces we have to encounter in the Execution of it, it muft appear, that Caution and Warinefs are peculiarly requifite thereto, and that without thefe no Man, however otherwife well qualified, can be fufticient for thefe Things. Other ProfefTions labour to preferve Men fecure in the Podeilion of favourite Advan- tages, and therefore have lefs trouble in procuring all necelTary Attention and De- ference from thofe, with whom they are concerned. But it is our Lot to be em*, ployed for the Good of an unfeen Prin- ciple, the Soul, for which Nature gives no TendernelTes , and concerning Dangers, to which Grace fupplies them with Apprehen- fions, which are commonly confidered as at a Diftance. And what is more, our Me- thod for promoting the Security of this in- vifible Treafure, fometimes crolTes the dar- ling Purfuits of Men after Pleafure and Profit. They that would Profit by our Counfels, are to chain up their Paffions ) in many Cafes to refufe the warmeft Solli- s citations A Vifitation Sermon. 537 citations of Fleih and Blood, and to be deaf to the Promptings of Youth and bodily Complexion. They mud, on fome Emer-^ gencies, be prepared to refign Wealth and Power, and thofe Advantages which fet Men higheft in the Diftinclions of Life, if not Life itfelf, in hopes of diflant and un- feen Reverfions. In this Senfe mufl: the Difciples of Ghrift take up their Crofs • Comparatively fpeaking they mufl hate many Things to which Nature gives them ftrong Propenfities, and be anxioufly fond of a Part, that is inacceffible to all the Powers of Senfe, and that is difcoverable chiefly by the Aids of Religion and Philo- fophy. Having therefore MelTages to im- part, fo unwelcome to Mankind in their prefent corrupt State, how great Need have the EmbalTadors of God for Prudence in the Difcharge of their Commiflion ? And how irequifite is it that, by all honeft Methods, they Ihould render their Perfons and Cha- raders acceptable to thofe, whom they would win over to Propofals of fo much Self-de- nial. Vol, IL % Another 3^8 A Fifitation Sermon* Another Circumfhnce of our holy Func- tion, which makes Difcretion and Addrefs more peculiarly defirable, is this : That we are to make our Way to the Affedions, or at leaf! to the good Opinion of Men, under a vaft Variety of Capacities and Conditions. Had the Wife or the Noble alone been cal- led to the Knowledge of God and Religion, a more moderate Degree of Pains and Ob- fervation would have let us into the Me- thods which are necellary to open the Af- fections of the Great and the Polite ; Or had God literally hid the Myfteries of his Kingdom from the Wife and Prudent, and revealed them only unto Babes, we could without much Difficulty have defcended to their Level. But our prefent Province is to become all things to all Men, that fo we may fave fome out of every Diltindion. This was the Pradice and the Glory of the blelTed St. Tanl-^ who, tho' he was free from all Men, became the Servant of all, that he -might gain the more. Thus whbn it was his Lot to encounter the ignorant Ljcaomansy he could Jet himfelf down to iheir A Vifitation Sermon. ^^9 tKeir Capacities : And yet when the Caufe of God called him before the awful Court of Areopagus^ he knew how to raife his Expreflion, and retine his Sentiment, beat- ing down Idolatry, with the Affiftances of that Learning and good Senfe, for which the Judges of that Tribunal were fo emi- nently diftinguifhed. At another Time^ when fummoned to make his Defence be- fore King Agrippa and FeJIus, the Roman Governor, how ready, and yet how polite are all his Anfwers to thofe great Perfon- ages. In that excellent Speech, one knows not which to admire moft, the Apoftle's Eloquence, or his Addrefs. And perhaps if the Beauties of this z\pology had been found in the Writings of a Greek or Roman Orator, the Mailers of Rhetorick would have preferred them to whatever is now moft celebrated in that Way. It is indeed rather to be wifhed, than expected, that every Man of God fliould be thus thorough- ly furnilhed for the good Work. But as it will always fare beft with Religion when- its Interefts are in fuch Hands \ fo every Endeavour after this ufeful Wirdom, how Z 2 Ihort 340 A Vifitation Sermon, fhort foever it may fldl of the Apoftle's Pat- tern, will have Merit with Men, and mod certainly find x^cceptance and Reward from God. In iliort, there is no Image, under which the Duty of a Clergyman is reprefented in Scripture, not even the lowefl: and moit familiar ones, but what eafily and natu- rally fuggeft to them the Neceflity of Cau- tion and Prudence : They are fometimes compared to Sowers : Under which Re- femblance the Wifdom of the Serpent will alone enable them to diftinguilh what Seed is propereft for that Part of God's Huiban- dry, which falls to every particular Man's Cultivation •, to hit the kindlieft Seafons for that Work, and to preferve the Seed fown from being choaked by fecular Cares, or over-run by the Weeds of Error and He- refy. At other Times the Officers of Chrift's Church are conlidered as Builders, whofe Wifdom it is, firft to lay a firm Foundation, and upon that to raife the Su- perftrudure of found Faith and unblame- able Practice. But here, thro' the unhap- py Circumftances of the prefent Age, they are greatly hindered, and called off from thi? A Vljltatlon Sermom. 341 this blelTed Work. Whilft they are build- ing up the City and Temple of God, they fuffer continual Jnrerraption from the Ene- mies to the Chriflian ■ Name. As it was in IS'ehemiab's Days, fo is it in ours. The Sanhillats and the Tohiahs of the Times mock our fpiritual Labours : They feoff a? Chriflianity, as an Edifice without a Foun- dation, faying, that if a Fox go up he fiali break down our Stone-Wall, We are con. drained therefore, like Nehemiah^s Build- ers, with one Hand to work, and with an- other to hold a Weapon. In fuch a Situa- tion there is Room for the utmoft Exercifc of Wifdom and Prudence, in the Choice of proper Methods for the Defence of the common Faith, Under this Head I (hall only add, that we have a fpecial Call for Prudence and Circumfpedion in the common Adions of Life, as well as in thofe which immediate- ly relate to our holy Profefiion. The Eyes of the World are upon us in every Part of our Condud : And if we do at any time yemarkably tranfgrefs the Rules of Difcre-- Z 3 tion, 542- A Vifitation Sermon. tion, tho* the tirll bad ImprcHions reach no farther than our Perfons, they ne\er fail jn the End to affecl the Credit of Religion. So long as we carry our Treafures in Earthen VeffeJs, it will perhaps be impof- (ible always to guard a^ainfl little Slips and Inadvertencies: But the Habit of Care and Caution, if once contracted, will preferve any Man from frequent and grofs Indecen- cies, But however necclTary human Prudence may be to thofe who acl in Things pertain- ing to God, yet unlefs it be accompanied with Integrity and Virtue, it is capable of ferving the worft Purpofes, and is feldom applied otherwife : For which Reafon, af- ter our Lord had recommended to his Apo- ftles the Wifdom of the Serpent, he im- mediately qualifies it, by farther requiring that they be Harmkfs as Doves. He knew that when Wifdom is not retrained by Up- rightnefs and Innocence, it could not fafely be trufted with the Stewardfhip of the My- fleries of God : And certain it is, that this Obfervation has been but too well verified in A Vifitation S E R N o is;'. ' 343' in the Church of Rome^ whofe Guides, by a Series of Stratagem, and in Order to gra^ tify their own Avarice and Ambition, have made Chriflianity fo enormous, that they have been compelled to fecrete the Stand- ard of its original Purity. She has banifli- ed the Dove entirely out of her Compofi- tion, and with the Wifdom of the Serpent has united its noxioufnefs. But in the Re- formed Church of England thofe two Pro- perties, which Chrift hath joined together in my Text, are (till happily mixt. There Re- ligion keeps its native HarmleiTnefs, and God, as of old out of Sion^ appears in per- fect Beauty. Never fure did any Church defer more to the Civil Magiftrate, or carry a milder Hand towards the i'cople. Claims indeed ihe has to Obedience in Spi- rituals, not founded on fuppofititious De- cretals, or forged Donations of Princes, like the Pontificate of Rojne, but built up- on the Word, of God, and necellary in the Nature of the Thing to the Church, as a vifible Society. Happy therefore are the Cler^ in fuch a Communion,, where no Services nor Declarations are required from Z 4 them. 344 ^ Fijitation Sermon^. them, but what they may punctually Dif- charge, and yet continue Harmlefs as Doves. Under fuch Encouragment, how inexcufabie muft they be, who do not ear- neftly and chearfuUy apply themfelves to, all the Duties of their high and holy Call- ing ? If Induflry be Praile- worthy in every other Profeilion, furely a perfundory Per- formance of Duty cannot be held fufficient in ours : And whiKt it is recorded in Scrip- ture, as the bright and diftinguilliing Cha- radler of our Mafter, that he went about doing Good, we his Servants muft be ftu- pid or partial to the laft Degree before we can perfuade ourfelves, that we (liall be ac- cepted if we (it ftill and do no Hurt. How glorious a Periphrafis in Scripture- Style is that, which expredes tlie firft Chriflian Clergy, under the Charader of Perfons who laboured in the Lord : Who laboured in the Word and Dodrine } And whoever expeds the World fhould efteem him very highly in Love for his Work's Sake, will certainly be difappointed, un- lefs he firft convinces them, that he is dili- gent therein. For a Loyterer in any Way A Vijitatlon Sermo^^. 345 is juflly a Characler of Contempt: But none meet with it fo defervedly, as thofe who do the Work of the Lord negligently, I fpeak not this to condemn any Man, bat to flir up myfelf and others to Zeal and xAdivity in that Service, which is our Glory, and our Crown of Rejoicing. The Acr count we have to give of the Souls com- mitted to our Care, is a Confideration that will ever afFed the moft induftrious Servant of the Lord with Dread and awful Con- cern : And nothing would relieve him from the Perplexities, occafioned by fuch Con- templations, but the Remembrance that he has a gracious Mafter, who is not in any Cafe extreme to mark what is done amifs. But tho' God is fo merciful, as to make all juft Allowances for Omiffions, which pro- ceed from Infirmity, we have no Reafon to exped Forgivenefs at his Hands for Neg- lects, that owe their Rife to habitual Sloth, or needlefs and ftudied Avocations. Sure I am, that could I otherwife be juft to my Subjed I need not fay before my prefent Audience, how neceflary it is for. thofe^ 54^ ^ Vifitadon Sermon^ thofe, who in a holy Fundion would be Harmlefs as Doves, to (land clear of Immo- rality. A vicious Clergyman is a Charac- ter fo abfurd, that it is impoflible that he, to whom it belongs, (hould do any Good, and fo odious, that he cannot fail of doing unfpeakable Mifchief. Certain it is, that no Man's perfonal Faults ought to be ob- jeded to his Profeflion : But in Fad they too generally are, and have been at all Times. How much then is it to be wi(h- ed, that every fpiritual Guide may be in- dued with Innocency of Life, that neither the Caufe of Virtue nor Religion may be wounded thro' their Sides ? Indeed, if we may be allowed to form a Judgment from the Silence of our Enemies upon this Head, iuch Scandals have not for a long time been more infrequent, than they are at prefent. Their Rage has of late fpent itfelf rather upon the Faults of the Church, than its Mi- niflers. Creeds, Confeflions, and other Teds of Conformity, tho' as old as Chrif- tianity itfelf, and hitherto pradifed by all Parties of fober Chriftians, are now difco- vered to be rank Oppreflion and Perfeca- tion. A Vlfitdtion Sermon. 347 tion. Nay, if we are to believe fome Men, we have had Popery and the Inqui- fition amongft us ever (ince the Reforma- tion, without perceiving either. It would be Lofs of Time, and an Abufe of this Re- verend Audience, to enter upon a ferious Refutation of (uch fenfelefs Calumny. I Ihall only wifh, w^hat naturally occurs up- on the mention of it, that fo wanton an Application of real and dreadful Grievances in the Rofnifi Communion, to the innocent and moderate Provifions made by the Church of Eng^land, may not wear off thofe popular Averlions to Popery, which have hitherto been a conliderable Means of pre- venting its Return amongft us. There is another Point yet behind, which it behoves all to regard, who would pre- ferve a due Decorum in the Clerical Life and fupport the Honour of Religion in a wicked and unbelieving Age. We alj know, that one great Aim of Chriftianity is, to wean Men from too clofe an Attach- ment to this World, and the Things there- of, in order to make them naturally, as 4 well 54^ •^' yiftdtioit Sermon. well as meritoriouily qualified for that which is to come.We know likewife that the Decay of Religion at prefent is in nothing more viiible, than in the univerfal Preva- lence of worldly Views and AfFeftions, Pride, Luxury, Senfuality, and Avarice' engrofs the Thoughts, and employ the Hours, which, in better Times, ufed to be beflowed on Provifion for the Soul, and its future Well-being. I take it therefore for granted, that none of us are wanting in earneft Endeavours to recover thofe under our Care, from fuch inconfiderate and fatal Courfes. But in vain will our Labours prove, unlefs our Admonitions be feconded by a fuitable Example ; For if the World, •which always fcrutinizes the Aclions of " Clergymen with the moft particular Exad- nefs, Ihall obferve them to engage as deep- ly in the Purfuits and Pleafures of Life, as the Carnal and the Voluptuous do, they will naturally doubt, whether we ourfelves have thole heavenly Views, wherewith it is our Bulinefs and our Pradliee to infpire others. I am far from thinking cither the Acquirement of Wealth, or a fober Enjoy- ment: A Vifitation Sermon. 549 tiient of it, inconfiftent with the fpiritual Views of a Chriftian. Only that it be- hoves all Mankind, and efpecially Clergy- men, to convince the World, as well by their Methods of obtaining Riches, as ufing them, that they are verily perfuaded they {hall be accountable for both. The Denial of Ungodlinefs and wordly Luft has always appeared a hard LelTon to the Earthly and the Senfual \ and will feem doubly fo, if it be found, that thofe who lay fuch heavy Burdens upon the Shoulders of others, will not move them with one of their Fingers themfelves. Since then, fo many and great are the Difficulties that attend the right Difcharge of the facred Fund ion : Since the moft confummate Prudence and Sandlity of Man- ners is required therein, how important a Truft is that of Patronage, and how. flrid ought to be the Care of thofe concerned therewith, to free their own Souls by a moft diligent Search after Perfons proper- ly qualified with Wifdom and Innocence for the Paftoral Charge ? Such as are mofl 8 forward 350 A Vijitation Sermox* forward to note the Defeds of the Clergy, would do well to confider how eafily mofl of thefe Scandals might be prevented, if Patrons would be open to no Sollicitations, but the modeft ones of eminent Merit. I am however perfuaded, that whoever ob- ferves how little Regard is paid to this, by many in the Difpofal of Benefices, will ra- ther fee Caufe to wonder at the Number of Men in the Church, that are excellently qualified for the Miniftrations of it, and to afcribe it to the Blelling of God on our laudable Methods of Education, and the Care of our Ecclefiaftical Governors. Where therefore the greater and weigh- tier Matters of Morality are carefully at- tended to, the Arduoufnefs and Delicacy of the Clerical Charader ought eafily to obtain Pardon for little Slips and Errors againft Prudence, from which the beft and wifeft of Men cannot hope to be always exempt. Efpecially confidering that we live in Times, when Candour and Benevolence are fo recommended, as if on them alone did hang all the Law and the Prophets. Infi- delity, A Vijitation Sermon." 551 delity, Herefy, and Schifm were once reckoned grievous Sins, but they are of late covered, or rather fandified by the Charms of Benevolence. Religious Efla. blifhments were formerly accounted, in the human View of them, to be wife Pto- vi(i6ns for the Peace and Purity of the Church ^ but touched by this modern Tell they are cried down for tyrannical Ap- pointments, calculated only for the Pro- motion of Slavery and Bigotry. Nay, fo extend ve is this pretended Philanthropy that not contented with leflening the Num- ber of Sins here, it has proceeded to cofl- trad the Duration of their Puniflimefit hereafter. Now tho* we cannot approve of this L(i(kllcean Spirit, we rnay fo far modeftly claim the Benefit of it, as to ex- ped that mere Iridifcretions rtiay be as par- donable in us, as real Crimes are iii other Men. But whether we can prevail for fo reafonable an Indulgence or no, it will cer- tainly be our Intereft and our Prudence, to (land as little in need of it as may be. And as the only effedual Way to fecure Ho- nour, and Reverence to our ProfelTion, is to Ihew ^52 A Vijitation Sermon; fhew that we revere it ourfelves , fo that Regard mufl: be exprelTed in a conftant Watchfulnefs over our Words and Adions, that nothing out of Character may be fecrl in us, or heard from us. But above all, we fhall beft promote the Dignity of our Calling, by our Ufefulnefs and Induftry in it, and by a fteady Adherence to thofe holy Truths, which God has committed to our efpecial Cuftody, however contrary they may be to the Paflions and Prejudices of Men, who have not the Faith, or who hold it not in Sincerity. Let us diligently employ every Gift of God, and every Means that he (hall put into our Hands,l:o his Honour, and the Advancement of his Kingdom amongft Men. Thus if we Ihall behave, when our Mafler comes to take Account of his Servants, whatever Ufage we may meet withall in the World, we may be fure of entering into the Joy of our Lord. SE R- SERMON Preach*d before the Religious Societies I N T H E Church of St.M^r^ le Bow, LONDON. Vol, IL A a A SER^ ( 355 ) A SERMON Preach*d before the Religious Societies, 6'r* 1 Thes. v. II. Wherefore comfort yourfelves together ^^ and edify one another y as alfo ye do* THESE Words are a Confequence from what our Apoflle had declared in the two foregoing Verfes, n)i^* That God hath not appointed us to Wtath^ hut to obtain Salvation by our Lord Jefus A 2 Chrill, 3 5^ -^ Sermon preacl/d before Cbriji, who died for iis^ that whether ivs wake or Jleep, zve jhoidd live together with hhfu Indeed, had Things been otherwife, had far the greater Part of Mankind been appointed to Wrath, either by any Decree of Reprobation, or by withholding from them the Benetits of Chriil's Redemption, there would have been no Room for Chri- ffians mutually to tomfort, or to edify each the other: For, at this Rate, each Man, who was not fatistied of his own Salvabi- lity, would himfelf continue ineonfolable, and would grov/ remifs about his own par- ticular Edihcation ^ fo far would he be from comforting and edifying his Chriftian Brethren. But iince wc are allured, by no lefs an Authority than that of St. P^?//, that God hath appointed no one to ll'r-dih^ but that all may obtain Salvation bv our Lord JefmChriJ}^ the End of whofc dying for us was, that at his fccond coming, all who are his, whether then quick or dead fliould live together with him ', this gives every Chriflian Comfort in himfelf, and encourages him to impart the fame Confo- lation unto others : This fatisfies him, that •- . his r/;^ Religious Societies. 357 bis Labour for his own proper Salvation is not in vain in the Lord, and that he may efFedually beflow his charitable Endea- vours to edify others alfo. It is further obfervable, that the Exhor- tation in the Text is addrefTed to the Thef- falo?iia?is, in their private and Lay Capaci- ties, and not as a Society made up of Go- vernors and Governed. For the Verfe immediately following it, recommends a Duty, which conceriied them only as pri- vate Chriflians, vii:^. To know them which Ifihoitr among tbenij and are over thejtt in the LorJj and admonijh tbe?n^ and to efleein them very highly in hove fur their Works fake. It does not appear, that our Apoflle exhorted his Lay Thefjalonians to comfort and to edify one another, from their Neg- ied: or Remiirnefs in thefe Particulars , but on the contrary, he owns in the Con- clufion of the Text, that they did it al- ready. So that he is to be underftooc^ rather as encouraging them to perfevere i that laudable Courfe, than as now hrft r commending the Pra(aiee to them. A a 3 hj;^ J 5 2 A Sermon preach' d before And indeed, thisForwardnefs of the firfl: Chriflians to promote each others Salvation^ remarkably anfwered St. Panrs frequent Inftruclions upon that Head. They then looked not on their own Things only, bitt alfo on the Things of others ^ they exhort- ed one another daily, and followed the Things wherewith one might edify ano- ther ^ they warned them that were unruly, comforted the feeble-minded, fupported the weak, and w^ere patient towards all Men. They confidered themJelves as the Members of Chrift's myflical Body, and as fuch had the fame Care one for another. Whenever any the mofl: inconfiderable Par- ticular in that Community behaved un- worthy of his Chriftian Calling, it was a common Concern to reduce him to Order and Decency, and till that was done, all the Members thought tliemfelves to fuffer Difgrace with him. And on the other Hand, if any the meaneft of that holy Call- ing adorned the Dodrine of C^od by a Life of Virtue and true Religion, and was honourable on that Account, every Fellow- Member the Religious Societies. 359 Member rejoiced with him, accounting it a common Glory and Benefit to the Chri- ftian Caufe. In thofe Days, Believers look- ed on each other as Fellow-Soldiers in a fpiritual Warfare, and every Man ftrove, both by Exhortation and Example, to a- nimate his Brethren with Zeal, Courage, and Perfeverance againfl the Enemies oi the Crofs of Chrift : And by fuch Con- dud as this, with the Bleffing of God up- on it, the Gofpel triumphed over all Op? polition, and prevailed againfl every evil Work, till it became the Profeflion, as well as the Praife of the whole Earth. But for many Ages has this Love of the Brethren been waxing colder, till it is in a Manner extinguifhedin the Chriftian World, The feamlefs Garment of Chrift is now rent into innumerable Shreds, each deny- ing and difa vowing the other, and regard -r lefs of whatever happens to Chriftians of a different Communion : Nay, even among Believers of the fame Denomination, wher? 4b we fee any Remains of that Care foy each other, which formerly obtained in A a 4 every 5 ^o A Sermon preacFd before every Member of that Body v/ hereof Chrift is the Head > Nor, as Things go, is thfs to be wondered at. For the Ground of that invariable Regard, whicli the Pri- mitive Chriflians had to each other's Sal- vation, was their Sollicitude for their own Souls. It ought not therefore to be Matter ©f much Aflonifhment to us, that in an Age, when the Generality of Men fo la- zily fet about working out their own Sal- vation^ they (hould become utterly carelefs about the eternal Welfare of others. In fome Degree to remedy this fad Su- -pinenefs, and to ftir up others to greater Diligence about their own and the common Salvation, the religious Societies, to which I am now addrefling myfelf, were origi- nally inflituted ^ and doubtlefs many ex- cellent and ufeful Purpofes may be ferved thereby. It gives us an edifying Tafte of the early and pure Ages of Chriftianity, when Believers were zealous for one ano- ther's fpi ritual Welfare, and thought no- thing foreign to them, that concerned the Honcfcr of Religion, and the everlafting Interei^ the Religious Societies. 7^61 Intereft of every Soul for which Chrift died. Every one that is engaged in thefe Frater- nities, finds himfelf obliged to be watch- ful over his own Ways, from Motives pe- culiar to his prefent Situation, or fuch at leafl as become thereby more interefting and cogent. He that purpofes to quicken others in the Ways of Virtue and Piety, muft, above all Things, be exemplary and unblameable in his own Condud. And hence it will come to pafs, that a fet and ferious Purpofe of reforming our Brethren, will naturally, as well as meritorioufly, promote our own Salvation : Befides, So- cieties like thefe, are wonderfully adapted to do Service in fuch an Age as ours, wherein the Enemies to Chriftianity have done more Mifchief to it by Scoffing, than by any other Method whatever. It is therefore a feafonable and inftrudive Lef- fon to all, on whom Ridicule would other- wife make bad Impreflions, to fee fo many Bodies of Men avowing themfelves not to be alhamed of the Crofs of Chrift, but openly and zealoully ading to promote Gcodnefs, neither fearing the Gates of Hell, 3 6*2 A Sermon preach'^ before Hell, nor the Seats of the Scornfai, For thefe Reafons, and many others that might be enumerated, all that wi(h well to the Caufe of God and Chrift, muft join in faying, The Lord profper you, we wi(h you good Luck in the Name of the Lord. But the more ufeful thefe Societies are when properly regulated, fo much the greater Care ought to be taken, that no Root of Bitternefs may fpring up amongft them. It is natural to fuppofe, that the grand Enemy to the Truth will fet on Foot all his Devices, in order to bereave Reli- gion of fo ufeful an Afliftance , and that ill Men, his Accomplices, will fpy out and improve every the fmallefl Dcfed: or Ob- liquity obfervable amongft them, Altho", therefore, 1 have nothing to charge upon thefe Societies in general, but believe them, for the moft Part, fteadily to adhere to the Rules of their Inditution, yet fuffer me to be jealous over you with a Godly Jealoufy j and fince I have no Exercife for that PalliQn^ from any prefent Mifconduds, permit the Religious Societies. 3^3 permit me, by proper Cautions, to antici- pate future ones. I do with great Pleafure obferve, that by the original Plan of thefe Societies, and alfo by the prefent {landing Orders, no Addition or Alteration is to be made in your Methods, without the Confent of fome pious or learned Divine of the Church of England^ efpecially of the Prelident for the Time being, who is always to be taken out of the Clergy of the EftabliQiment : And I take it for granted, that hereby were intended fuch Clergymen only, as live or- derly under the Diredion of the BiOiops their Superiors, and have a ftated Refi- dence, in which they difcharge the Offices of their facred Fundion. If thefe Circum- fiances are not exprefsly fet down by thofe who drew up the Orders of your Societies, it was becaufe thofe pious Men did not imagine the Time would come, when Men who call themfelves Priefls or Presbyters of the Church of England^ would break through the Law:-^ of Church and State defy the pafloral Admonitions of their pro- 3 ^4 -^ Sermon preach' d before per Superiors, and caft perpetual Reproach upon all their Brethren who are Friends to Order and good Government, and who dif- like their tumultuous and itinerant AlTem- blies. Were you to believe the Accufations they bring againft us, you would be at a Lofs for pious Minifters^to prefide over and dired you upon Emergencies^ and for learn- ed ones, that any of us are fuch, they make it our Vice and our Reproach. If ever, therefore, the Advice of the Apoflle, not to believe every Spirit, but to try the Spirits, whether they be of God, was fea- fonable, this is the Time. Above all Things therefore. Brethren, be careful whom you chufe as the fpiritual Diredors of thefe religious Societies : Let them be fuch as are not only pious, but peaceable and modcfl , Men that are really, and, at the fame Time, foberly religious. It is the avowed Defign of your Inftitu- tion (and no better, or more important one, can be purfued by mortal Man) to pro- mote real Holinefs of Heart and Life, in the Ufe of fuch Means as the Word of God the Religious Societies. 5^5 God direds us to, and in Reliance on the Afliftance of God's Grace, and the Aid of his blelTed Spirit. But it is the declared Opinion of thefe new Religionifts, againft whom I am defirous to warn and to guard you, that when you have done all thefe Things, you may ilill be as far from the Kingdom of Heaven as ever : For to this EfFed they fpeak of one, who, till he re- figned himfelf over to their Singularities, was a zealous Promoter of thefe religious Societies, and unblameably purfijed every Method for attaining to Chriftian Per-^ fedion, that Scripture, foberly interpreted, points out to us. If ever therefore you hearken to thefe miftaken Men, they will put you utterly out of Conceit with all thofe laudable Rules, by which your religious Condud has been hitherto formed, and in which you have found fo much Joy, Peace, and Improvement. Inftead of working out your Salvation with Fear and Trembling, which, at prefcnt, you conceive is to be the Employment of all your Days, they will dired you to build your Salvation on AiFurance thereof, which, whoever cannot 4 attain 9 5(5 A Sermon preached before attain unto, muft utterly Defpair of Hea- ven. Inftead of founding your Hopes of Happinefs on the Covenant of Baptifm, whereby you became Members of Chrift, Children or Sons of God, and Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven, and which will be molt certainly made good to all, who honeftly endeavour to live up to the Conditions of it •, they will perfuade you to exped a fubfequent .Regeneration, un- known to the Scriptures and primitive Antiquity. St. Teter^ i Ep, Chap, iii. ver, 21. affures us, that Baptifm faves tis, whe7i accompajiied hy the Anfwer of a good Co?ifcie?ice. But thefe Refiners make all this of little Signification towards our be- coming Children of God, or fit VefTels for the Holy Ghoft , but, as if we were, not- withftanding, yet Children of Wrath, that blelTed Spirit muft afterwards beget us a. gain, or elfe, it feems, we can have no Claim to our heavenly Inheritance. But you, my Beloved, have not fo learn- ed Chrift, and I truft will never fo learn him, efpecially whilft you take the plain Word the Religious Societies. 3^7 Word of God for your Rule, and conti- nue under the Diredion of our Church, which fubmits all her Dodlrines to be tried by that infallible Touchftone. It was early forefeen, that, as Portions of Scripture were neceffarily to be read in the Meetings of thefe Societies, as a principal Means of promoting Holinefs of Life, and thefe again would become more efFedual by the Afliftance of Expofitors , fo it would be of great Importance to have proper ones recommended to them, left for want of Knowledge in thefe Matters, Choice might be made of fuch as would miflead them. And to this Method, I prefume, moft of thefe Societies have in- variably adhered : And I am forry to find there have been any Exceptions to this excellent Rule. But it fhould feem that in fome, fuch efpecially wherein the Men of the new Way have prelided, Ham?nond and Bw'ket, and every other approved Expofi- tor, has been laid afide to make Way for the extempore Thoughts of thefe great Pre- tenders to Illumination. How they fuc- cecd 5 58 A Sermon preached before ceed in this Work, we may partly guefs, from the Contempt ufually put by them on literal Interpretation of Scripture : For if this latter Method be not conftantly ob- ferved, except where the Letter conveys an abfurd Senfe, or breaks in upon the A- nalogy of Faith, the good Word of God will be no longer a La\ithorn unto our Feet, or a Light unto our Paths , we (hall lofe all Benefit from it as a Rule of Faith and Manners, and muft receive inftead thereof any Senfe, that a wicked or weak Antagonift fhall put upon it. By which Means it may fo happen, that Herefy, Por pery, and even Infidelity itfelf, may be re- commended to us as the hidden and fpiri- tual Meaning of thofe facred Oracles : And the leafl Mifchief to be expeded from fuch Interpretation, will be a iiuduating and uncertain Direction, inftead of an unit- form Standard of Chriftian Duty. In (hort, it will open a Door for endlefs Va- riety of Opinion, and let in Fanaticifm upon us, as happened from much the fame Caufes about a Century ago. I in^ the Religious Societies. 3^9 I intimated above, that there are never- thelefs Circumftances, under which it be- comes the Duty of a .found Interpreter to recede from the Letter of Scripture, in or- der to qualify an abfurd or plainly errone- ous Meaning, which may be conveyed by an obvious Acceptation of the Words. And hence like wife appears the Expediency, if not the Neceflity, of feled and approved Commentators, to be confulted as Occafion fhall require, in all your religious Confe- rences -^ on whofe Judgment you may fafe- ly rely, as oft as any Doubt arifes, whe- ther judging accoraing to Appearances, will be to form a righteous Judgment of any particular Scripture Paflage. For, fometimes a too rigorous Adherence to the obvious Meaning, has fet the Bible at Va- riance with itfelf, and been the Source of grievous Errors in practical, as well as in fpeculative Points of Religion. Thro* the Want of due Attention to Confiderations of this Nature, the Quakers have been led into a Mi (lake; which they are ftill very fond of, as if Oaths of all Kinds were ab- ' Vol. II. Bb folutcly ^70 A Sermon preaclyd before iblntely unlawful. It has been in vain to remonftrate to tbern, that holy Men, in both Teftaments, have, on folemn and fe* rious Occaficns, called God to witnefs the Truths they had delivered 5 and that the infpired Author of the Epiltle to the He* hrcrcs^ mentions theUfe of judiciary Oaths which to Men are an End of all Strife^ with a feeming Approbation of their Ufe- (ulnefs, and without the leaft Reprehenfion of the Pradice , and this many Years after our Saviour had commanded his DifcipleS not to fwear at ail. But the Sound of thefe Words fills the Heads of thofe unhappy and ftubborn People, and they determine 10 ubide by the literal Scnfe of them, without reconciling it to other Scriptures, or regarding the great Ufes of folemn Oaths in civil, and focial Life. But I have in my Eye another Inflance of the Mifchiefs arifing from unqualitied Men's expounding Scriptures, and that even in religious Societies^ which (hews how wifely it has been recommended to them, to Gonfult approved Commentators upon the Religious Societies. 371 upon every Difficulty that occurs in read- ing the Bible : For if the publick Accounts deceive us not, there is, or at leaft lately was, an AlTembly for religious Purpofes in this City, the Members whereof think themfelves indifpenfibly obliged to confefs their Sins before the whole Society *, and for fo believing, they vouch the Authority of the Apoftle St* Ja?fies, who, Chap, v. ver, 16, of his general Epiflle, has thefe Words, Co7tfefs your Faults one to another^ and pray one for another^ that ye may he healed. The effeBnal fervent Frayer of a righteous Man ava'deth much, Thefe Words are, to the Members of the above- mentioned Society^ a Kind of fpiritual Charter of Incorporation, for the Purpofes of receiving each other's ConfeiTions, and praying for each other. Now, true it is, that thefe Words of St. James^ taken a- part from the Context, and without attend- ing to the Meaning of the Expreflion one to another in other Places of the New Teftament, do obvioufiy fignify a Com- mand to Chridians to confefs their Sins to each other 3 and the following Words B b 2 ^r*?^ ^-jz A Sermon preached before pfay one for another, fcem to point out a common Airembly as the proper Scene of fach Confeilions, that the Perfons confef- fing may, by that Means, have the Benefit o£ more, and thofe likevvife joint Inter- ceflions on their Behalf. But had this So- ciety taken the Senfe of Dr. Ha?nmoncl^ or any other approved Commentator on this Pailage, they would have been told, that ix does by no Means authorize the Prac- tice let up amongfl: them, of confefling their Sins at their religious Meetings, and mucli lefs require it. The two preceding Verfes run thus, -h any Sick among you^ ht him call for the BUers of the Church, £ind let them pray over him, anointing him with Oil in the Name of the Lord, And tie Prayer of Faith Jlja II fave the Sick, and the Lord fiall raife him up , a7id if he have committed. Sins, they fiall he forgiven him. Then follow the Words in queftion. Con fefs your Shis o?ie to another, and pray one for another, 6cc. Thefe Words, there- fore, conneded with what goes before, mofl probably mean only, that lick Chriftians Ihould cgnfcfs their Sins to the- Elders that 4 vifited the Religious Societies. 373 vifited them, who (hould pray for theai, and is no Diredion to Chriftians in gene- ral for. their Behaviour to each other at all Times, when they allemble for religious • Purpofes. Nor is it any Objedion to this limited x^cceptation of the Words before us, that Chriftians are not therein required to confefs their Sins to the Elders of the Church only, but to each other : For after the very fame general and indefinite Man- . ncr, Duties to particular Men are elfe- where delivered and required in the New Tcftamentj particularly i PeLv, 5. where the Apofile after faying, Likeivife yeT'oung- eY fubm'it yoTO'feloes to the EL let', adds, 2^6'«/, all of you be fuhjetl one to another. But thefe laft Words, in tlieir obvious Ac- ceptation, require, an impoflible Thing : For if all Chriftians were to be fubjed one to another, there could be no Superi- ' ors among them^ but all Degrees and Ranks mufl be loft and confounded in this reciprocal Submillion. St. Peter's Mean- ing therefore muft be, what v/e find in the Paraphrafe of the learned Dr. Ham- iiiond upon the Place •, all of you mufl be ^'' '• ' Bb 5 fabjed. 374 ^ Sermon preacljd before fubjedl unto thofe that are fet over yoaj And fo likewife in thePaflfage of St. Jainesy tho* Ch riftians fecm to be called upon to a Confeffion of Faults one to another, yet the Meaning might be, and mod probably was, that in Time of Sicknefs they ihould confefs their Faults unto the Elders of the Church, whom, in the Verfcs preceding, they are required to fend for at fuch Sea- fons, with an AfTurance, that, by their Prayers, if the Sick have committed Sins, they (hall be forgiven him •, and not that it was to be a Duty of (landing and perpe- tual Obligation among Chriftians, for them to confefs their Faults to one another,, when they meet together to promote their compion Edification and Salvation. I fpeak not after this Manner to you, dearly beloved in the Lord, as if I appre- hended you in Danger of running into this, or the like Errors \ but rather to fhew the Happinefs and Prudence of thofe Re- gulations, by which you are preferved from miflaken Methods of Religion, and to make you fet a jufl Value on thofe Rules, //;^ Religious Societies. ■ 375 Rules, which have hitherto, next to the Grace of God, fecured you from the pre-^-. fent reigning Delufions. It is the great Duty and Privilege of Believers to fe,irch the Scriptures : But lince there are many Things in them hard to be underflood, which ignorant and unitable Men wrefl to their own Deflruction, and that of thofe who hearken to them -^ it is fure a high Point of Chriflian Prudence to make a fit Choice of proper C;uides and Helps for the right Underftanding of them. But ibis is dene to your Hands, in the origi- nal Plan of your Societies, and by the pious Care of thofe Minifters of the Eifa- blilhment, who have fucccnivcly prefided over you. What remains therefore, but that I in- treat and exhort you to proceed, without wavering, in this, and every other lauda- ble Method, that has hitherto obtained- a- mongli: you. You have now had many Years Prial and Experience, how condu- cive they have been to promote true Reli- gion anioiigR; you : And therefore I allure B b 4 myfelf. 37^ -A Sermon preac})d before myfelf you will rcjecl every Attempt, that (hall be made to put you out of Conceit with them, by fuch as are Q;iven to change. Go on therefore to walk orderly, as well as warily, in thefe dangerous Days, fub- mitting yourfelves to, and attending upon in every publick Ordinance, your proper and authorized Paftors : Let who will fay" unto you, fee here or fee there, go not after them, nor follow them. It matters ' not what thofe Men's Pretences are, nor whether they are fincere in their Ways, or wilful Deceivers : Sufficient it is, that theirs is not ^e Way of Modefty, Peace/ and SubmifTion to Superiors, and that ma- nifold Mifchiefs have arifen, and daily do" arife, by their Means. The good Word of God is evil fpoken of, his Minifters more generally evil intrcated, the Minds of many ignorant, but well-meaning Perfons, have been unfettled and driven to incura- ble Diftradion. It can never therefore be a good Tree, which bringeth forth fuch. corrupt Fruit. In the Religious Societies. '377 ^;In a Word, the Mifcarriages of thefe, - and all other Enthufiafts, (hould convince us all, that Religion and Piety themfelveg ftand in need of Prudence and Sobriety to guard them againfl dangerous ExcelTes, and that we have never more Occafion to take Heed left we fall, than when wc' think we tread the firmeft. Whilft there- fore we are inftrucling others, let us take Care that we ourfelves become not Cafl:-" aways \ and whilft we ftudy, by united Methods, to ftem the Torrent of Impiety, that diftinguifhes the prefent licentious Age, let us take Care to evidence the Power, as well as the Form of Godlinefs, in our (ingle and feparate Capacities. • In Hands fo holy and difinterefted, the Word of God will furely profper : The Light of fuch Examples will thine before Men, and prevail with them to bring forth good Works, and to glorify our Father which is in Heaven. Which blelFed End of all religious Societies and Combinations of Men, God of his iniinrite Mercy pro- mote and profper. To whom, &c. SER, CHARITY SERMON. ( 38i ) A CHARITY SERMON. Mark x. 13, 14. And they brought young Children to hm^ that he Jhould touch them: And his Dijciples rebuked thoje that- brought them. But when J ejus f aw it, he was much difpleajed, andjaid unto them. Suffer the little Children ta come unto me, and forbid them not : For of fuch is the Kingdom, of God* TH E Pertinence of thefe Words to one' principal End of my Dif» coarfe appears, I fuppofe, to every one upon the fiift Hearing. But be- fore 382 A Charity SERMON. fore I apply them thereto, it will be pro* per to explain them. . e^^Kjjlixl ■-.am i. tsrfj io ''frio'h!*^ lo^ The 15th ver. then begins thus: Ami they brought yoimg Children to Cbriji, that he fiouU touch them, St. Matthew^ Chap, X. 1 3. explains \vhat the Jews meant by touching thefe Children, faying, It was that he fiouhl put his Hands on them, and^ pray. And accordingly Jefus took thefn up in his Arms, put his Hands on them^ and hleJJ'ed them: ,M.WQ It^rn from the i6th ver. of the Chapter of my Text, All this therefore feems to be implied under the Expreflion of Touching, which elfewhere in Scripture fometi^nes means laying hold of, and embracing. Our Text proceeds, faying, that the Difciples rebuked thafe who brought thefe Children^ and that when Jefus f aw it^ he was much difpleafed. Probably he {hewed, both in his Looks and Geftures, much Indignation at his Difciples for offi- cioufly keeping from him fuch Objects of Love and Tendernefs. There cannot well be A Charity SERMON. 383 be a furer Sign of a bad and ungenerous Difpofition, than to be void of all Concern for Perfons of that helplefs and innocent Age. No Wonder then that our Lord, who had every other human and amiable Qiiality, fhould ftiarply reprehend the Miftake of his Difciples, who thought it a Trouble to him to cait his gracious Regards upon Infants. And left the fame Mifap- prehenfion (hould induce the Difciples, at any time afterwards, to interpofe again fo unfeafonably, he immediately adds: Sufer' the little Children to come itnto w? ^ctcriMla. T&v ^'^vy, our la(t Tranlktcrs do not ren- der, as in the PalTige we are exanuning, For of them is the Kingtloin of Heaven^ but very j'lftly and well, For theirs is the Kingdoin of Heaven. Nor is there any thing harfh, or a.n^rary to the Analogy of Scripture, in fuppcfing cur Lord to fay, that to the young Children ci Je^vs in his Days, the Kingdom of Gcd belonged : For St. Paul has in efted faid the fame thing. Thus, Gal. lu. 16. he fays, that i;^ Abraham and to his Seed were the Pro?nifes of the Covenant, confirmed of God in Chrijl^ 7Hade, xAnd, Horn. ix. and the 4th ver, that to the Jews belonged the Proffiifes. If t'lierefure the Chriflian Covenant belong- ed to the Jews in general by Promifc, what hurt can there be in defcending to greater Specialty, and faying, that the Kingdom of Cod, which was the Subjed of thofe Promifes, belonged to the Infant^ as well as to the adult Seed of Jka- ha?n .<=',. Further, A Charity SERMON. 387 Further, as Grammar requires fuch a Verfion as 1 have propofed, and the Ana- logy of Faith is not thrreb) infrin^red, fo it fuits better with the Context on both Hands, than the received TVanflaticn does : For it mor^ (Irongly juflihes our Lord's Difpleafure at the Difciples, who difcourag- ed Infants from bein^; brought unto him , inafmuch as their Commg unto him appears to be not a Matter of mere Expedience or Propriety, but of Right. Again, with Relation to the ver. follow- ing my Text, what I call the true and grammatical Rendering makes it fpeak a Senfe more worthy of our Saviour : For as the Words of the 14th ver, now ftand in our Bibles, the 15th is only a Repetition of the fame Senfe in diflFerent Words. The J 4th ver, teaches us, that the Kingdom of God is compoled, or made up of fuch as Infants, and the 15th ver, that none who fliall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little Child, can enter into it. I own that in general this would be no good Objedion ^ Cc2 Becaufe 382 ACkvity S ER M O N. Beciufe fuch Repetitions are oft defignedly ufed in Scrip':ure, to cxprefs the greater EarneftncTs. Thvis, in the hitter Verfe of my Text itfelf, our Saviour fays, Suffer the little Children to come unto me^ and forbid them not : Which are two Words of the fame Importance. And therefore I fliould have made noObjedicn to the Repetition in the 14th and 15th Verfes in the Chancer of my I'ext, had not the 15th ver, been introduced with Verily I fay unto you. For fuch an Intrcdudicn never ftands before a mere Repetition, but always either begins a new Senfe, or elfe improves and explains an old one, e\cr conveying to the Reader at lead: clearer Ideas, than the Sentence immediately going before it had done. In fliort, the good Agreement of that Verfion, which I have hitherto infilled on, with the whole Context, will befl appear from the following Paraphrafe. The Jews brought young Children to Chrif, as to a Frophet^ that they might receive his folemn Benedic- tion *, which the Difciples obferving^ they rebuked thofe that brought them. But our Lord was difpleafed at his Difciples for fo doings A Charity SERMON. 389 doings ^nd charged thein with fome Vehe- mency no more to forbid thofe young Ones dccefs to bintj who being the Seed