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LTBRA.RY
OF THE
Theological Seminary
PRINCETON, N. J.
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A U THENTICITY
O F T HE
Gospel -History
JU S T I F I E D:
A N D T H E
Truth of the Christian Revelation
DEMONSTRATED, From the Laws and Conftitution of Human Nature*
VOLUME ir.
i^A
By the late ARCHI BALD'l^AMP BELL, D. D.,
Regius ProfeiTor of Divinity and Ecclefiaftical Hiilory in the Univerfity of St. Andrew^s.
EDINBURGH: Printed by Hamilton, Balfour, and Neill»
M, Dec, LIX,
CONTENTS.
Pag* SECT. V.
:/^nd^ as the Apoftles were men governed hy the common Principles of human Nature^ mcft certain it is^ that^ in the Propagation of the Gofpel^ they were animat- ed by fome powerful prevailing Motive^ \, t, hy the affured Profpecl of fome Good^ either in this or in the other World^ thereby to be acquired, i
SEC T. VI.
"The Apoflles themf elves pretend^ that the particular Good they had in view was nothing of this IVorld^ hut a happy Immortality itt a future State : And in thcfe the a Pretenfions^ if there is nothing real^ they muft have been either Imp oft or s or Enthu/iafts, lo
SECT. VII.
In the Cafe of Impofture^ all their Views muft have ter- minated in fomething worldly \ but their Dooirines clearly demonftrate^ that the Good that ferved as the prevailing Motive^ to jupport them in the Difcharge of their Miniftry^ had nothing in it of this World, 1 3
SECT. Vlll.
I^or can Br. T\x\dd\' s Qhj^ciions to the Morality of the Gofpel^which are all of them ill founded:^ afford any the kaft Ground for a Charge of Impofture againft them,
23
SECT. IX.
And not only from their Bo Brines^ but from every other Branch of their conduB^ it is apparent^ that the A- poftles were no Impoftcrs^ were animated hy no world- ly Motive whatfoever^ which is farther made good by demonftrating the following Particulars^ 48
Vol. II. h SECT.
CONTENTS.
SECT. XXI. Nor can- their Sentiments concerning the P erf on and Kingdom of Jefus Chrifl^ in any Meafure^ expofe them to the Charge of Enthufiafm. 259
SECT. XXII.
As little can this Imputation be fixed upon them, frora what they publifh to the Worlds concerniyig the Deaths and the Refurre£iion^ and the Afcenfion of Jefus Chrifi. So that^ in all Infiances^ the Apofiles were ahfoliitely free from Enthujtafm* 273
SECT. XXIII.
And^ hy what Arguments our Free-thinkers can vindi- cate Socruts from Enthuftafm -, hy the fame may one juftify }he Apoftles. 304
SECT. XXIV.
For Deijls" muft know, Socrates claims a divine Miffion : Nor can it greatly hurt thofe Gentlemen to reflect ^ that, in the Cafe of this extraordinary Man, Provi- dence feems to have taught the IVorldy that, to intro- duce true Religion, and efiaUifh it in the World^ un- affified Reafon is altogether infuficient , 312
SEC T. XXVi Upon the Whole, the general Conclufion is here deduced and illufirated ; fhezving, that, in the Propagation of the Gofpel, the Apofiles werCy mofi certainly, ani- mated from Heaven. 3 1 7
SECT. XXVI.
And that the Apoftles were commijfioned from Heaven to propagate the Gofpel among Mankind, is ftrongly co7ifirmed hy the divine Efficacy that appears in the amazing Succefs of their jyiiniftry, 327
THE
[ I 1
THE
TRUTH
O F T H E
CHRISTIAN REVELATION.
SECT. V.
In the Propagation of the Gofpel, the Jpofiles were certainly animated by the ajfured Profpe^i of fome good thereby to be acquired.
HAVING elfewhere {a) made it manifeft, 1 hope, beyond controverfy, that mankind, of thenifelves, are not able to dilcovcr the being and perfections of God, nor yet the immor- tality of human fouls, or a future Hate of rewards and punilliments ; and therefore, that the know- ledge mankind now have of thefe effential articles of natural religion, muft have come originally from fupcrnatural revelation \ it feems naturally to Vol. II. A foUow,
(«) The Neceffity of Revelation^
1 The Truth of the Sect. V.
follow, that, fince the Gofpel of yefus Chrijl does exprefsly teach thofe particular docitiincs, one can- not but apprehend, that this is a Itrong prefumptioii of its divinity, or that the Authors of it had their informations from heaveHc
Certain it is, that, in thofe days wherein the Gofpel firll appeared, all the Heathen world were every- where quite deiliture of the knowledge of God ; nor were their learned men and Philofophers then making any nearer approaches towards a dif- covery, than they had been doing in former apes. And when, amidtl all this darknefs and ignorance, a few illiterate men, void of all human improve- ments, came to ilrike out a glorious lighc that clears human underltanding, and brings us in view of an infinite mind, and of an after-life and immor- tality ; to what, I fay, can one afcribe their having been able to impart this great knowledge to man- kind, but to thofe informations they mull have re- ceived from heaven ?
It is true, the firil Publifhers of the Gofpel wcTe of the Jrwijh nation, and may therefore, pciliaps, be underftood to have derived their knowledge of thofe articles from human inftruction. But, as the Jewijh religion feems julrly intitled to divinity, from its teaching thofe religious truths, that no where elfe were to be found in the Vv-oild ; fo the Authors of the Gofpel having laid the foundation of their inltitution in thefe fame principles, and, with- out confining themfclves to their own nation, pu- bliihing to the whole world a Catholic religion, a divine fyflem of dodrines, free from all abfurdiry, idolatry, and fuperlficion, and in its whole (Iructure diredly tending to the glory of God, to the prefent well-being and the future happinefs< of mankind, one is ftrongly tempted to think, that the Apoitlcs muffc
have
Sect. V. Chri/iia7i Revelation. 3
have been employed from^ heaven in this fervice. And indeed they tell us themiclves, that Gcd ivibo commanded light tojhme out of darknefs^ had Jhined into their hearts^ to give them^ and to enable them to give to others, the knowledge cf God through Chrifi, And, fay they, JVe have this treajure in earthen vejjels^ that the excellency of the power may appear to be of God, and not of us {^b). From whence the Apoilles give us to underltand, that the power that enabled them to reveal the Gofpel, and that fupported them in propagating it thro' the world, was none of their own, but came to them from above. And the making this clearly out will demonlfrate the truth of the ChrilHan Revelation.
In this argument we look upon the Apoftles as the religious Inllrudors of mankind; Anil under this characfer the power to be confidered in their cafe, and which we are to fliew is fupernatural, is made up of thefe two particulars ;
In the firfi place, it fignifies " that improve- " mcnt and comprehenfion of mind, or that inward " light and knowledge v/hereby they difcerned ** thofe glorious truths explained in the Gofpel 5 " and particularly apprehended the being and per- '* fedlioub of an infinite mind, and a future ftare of *' rewards and punifhnients at his direction and ap- ••' pointment ; together v/ith a noble fyllem of mo- *' ral duties, eyery way fuited to the glory of God, '^ and to the perfection of human nature. " This was the power with which, in facl:, as we learn from their writings, the Apoilles were endowed : And from this knowledge they were qualified to teach mankind all the elTential articles of natural religion. To have employed Pythagoras^ Arifiotle^
Cicero^
(b) 2 Cor. iv. 6, 7.
4 The Truth of the Sect. V.
Cicero^ any of the anrient Philofophers, in this mi-
nilti-y ; fo difprnportionate and untqu il were
their abilides, that they could not have been left to their own undjrllanding, but mull have been in- ftru^ed, beyond all the difcoverie^ that ever man, in the exercile of his rational faculties, was found capable of acquiring. What then fhall we fay of a few Filher-men, without improvement, void of inftriicbon ?— They difcover thofe principles of re- ligion wherein they go beyond the tarthell reach of human reafon and philolophy, and furpafs thehigh- Cit attainments of the greatell Philofophers 1 From the Liquiry^ we have clfewhere made, into the Ex^ tent of human Powers^ with refpe5l to Matters of Kelt- gfon^ one Is forced to conclude, that, without que- llion, God who commanded light tojhine cut of darhefsy hathfhined into the minds of the Apofiles^ and given them the knowledge of the glory of God; which leads us to apprehend, that the dodrine of the Gofpel mufl be held a divine revelation.
Bur, not to infill: upon this notion of power that confitts in the perception of truth, whereby the Apoltles were enabled to teach mankind a fyltem of religion, infinitely fuperior to what all the Phi- lofophers together were able to have colkded, and wherein they appear to have been under the imme- diate influence of heaven ; it is to be confidered, .
In the next place, That how well foever a com- pany of men, from their knowledge of things "^^y be qualified to inllruA ^he reii ol tlie world ; 'tis further neceifary that fome power be applied to * their adive faculties, that fhall be able to excite and fqpport them in propagating their inflrudions. And indeed fuch is the temper of the human conlii* tution, that having fuch particular fprings of acf ion laid in our nature, as there would happen an wpi-
verfal
Sect. V, Cbriflian Re'velation. 5
yerfal llagnation all over our lives, and we fhould for ever lie quite (till and motionlels, w^ere not thofe fprings llnlibly couched ; To, when they come to be affcdcd or llruck upon, we are then fct a-going and exert ourlelves in adion, Icfs or more vigoroufly, in proportion to the force of the impuile tlity have received (c) Now, this impulfe that awakens our p'iffions, the great fprings of action, or that com- municates a motion to our adive faculties, is what I call the power that animates and fupports a man in the profecution of that defign wherein he is en- gaged. And whereas fhis impulfe con es to be de- rived to our palFions, or to the adive faculties of our nature, from certain views or motives wherein we apprehend the good or evil that fhall befal ns, as we chufe or r«;fufc 10 engage in fuch a particular enterprifc, thofe motives are what v/e likewife call the p(?wcr whertby, in any purfuit, we are at tirll excited, and aft.i wards all along iultaintd and for- tified.
So that,, in order to fuisfy ouifelves about the pretenfions ot the Apo. les, or whether tlity were lupern.uuraliy emplcyed in the propagation of the Gofpel, I (hall here examine what that power, or thofe motives were, that gave a commanding impulfe to their adive faculties, and that carried them on with fi'Dinefs and conlfancy in the dilchaige of their miuiftry, And, that the Reader may bring things home to himfulf, and judge of the conduct of tiie Apofilcs, as he is confcious he would ad himfelf in the like circumlfances, I fhall proceed upon the inward frame, or the clTential principles of human nature. And one fhould think, that a
fairer
[c) Q^id enim intereft, motu animi fubl^to, non dico inter hominem et pecudem, Ted inter hominem et faxum, aut truncum, auj (juidvis generis ejufdem ? Cic. de Amic. cap. 13. '
6 The Truth of the Sect. V.
fairer argument for the truth of Chriflianity cannot well be propofed, than this wliich is founded in an appeal to every man's own confcioufnefs.
As 1 have jufl now hinted, no man can be ex- cited to action without having an impulfe derived to his paffions, or without the influence of fome motives that awaken his adlive faculties. And, in every man's experience, I fuppofe, it is felt, that the great and univerfal motive that in all inftances prevails over us, in fome good, either real or imaginary, we have the profped of attaining to, by means of that courfe of action wherein we may happen to be engaged. Of this the moft difinterelted and felf-denied, the jnoft rigorous Myftic, muft be fenfible, how much foever they may pretend the contrary : Nor can the conltitution of Beings, capable of pleafure and pain, ever fuifer it to be other wife. For, what is this delire after good whereby all mankind are carried, but the principle of felf- prefer vation putting forth itfclf ? A principle interwoven in our inward make by the firtt Framer of all things, and fo eiTential to every thinking, fenfible nature, that it is much more abfurd and impoffible in the moral world, for rational Beings to enter into the purfuit of any action or defign without being thereto moved or attracted by the profpedt of fome good, real or ap- parent, than it is in the natural world for heavy bodies not to move or be attraded towards their centre of gravity (<i). And,
As the defire of good, of fome fort or other, is the great fpring of every human enterprize; fo, from the enjoyments one foregoes, the hardlhips he en- counters, and the eagernefs and fteadinefs of the
purfuit,
{d) See my Inquiry into the Original of Moral Virtue, wherp this principle of felf-prefervation is fully explained.
Sect. V. Chrijlian Revelation. j
purfuir, we may eafily compute what is the vaKie of that particular good, which a man may be fuppofed to have in view. I confefs, we cannot after this manner determine the real value of tlie good itfclf: But from hence, 1 fay, it appears clearly, what is the rate which the man himfcli\ who purfues it, muil be undeillood, in his notion of things, to fet upon it. Thus, if in the purfuit of fuch an objccl:, people appear cool and languid, if they do not much care to dilfurb their prefent peace and tran- quilliry, to forfeit any of their enjoyments, or toex- pofc tbeniielves to any hazard for the fake of it y we cannot but reckon that their efleem of that good (however valuable in itlelf ) is very low, and that they judge the price would be too high fhould they purchafe it at the expence of other things they en- joy, or that it would not overbalance the fuifering of any great lofs or uneafinefs.
Whereas, if, for the fake of that good I have in view, 1 conceive the deepeft concern pofFible, if I make no account of my reputation, of my dearefl relatives of my fortune, or Ufe, or of any peace, or pleafure, or advantage, I might otherwife comfort- ably enjoy, but involve myfelf in the greateft diffi- culties, the beaviefl reproach and infamy, the hard- elt poverty, and the cruclleft deaths and perfecu- tions ; I fiy, if, for the fake of that good I have in view, I negled: and defpife all the pleafures and pro- fits of life, and undergo all forts of calamities ; then is it manifefl, that the value I fet upon it is great- er than that by which I rate all my other prefent and future comforts, and that, in my eflimation, the fevereft miferies in which it can involve me, do not render it too dear a purchafe. So that this good to me evidently out-bids all other enjoyments whatfo- ever, and powerfully overbears all obitru^ions how- dreadful
8 - T:be Truth of the Sect. V.
dreadful foever, that cm be thought to interrupt my purfuit of it. Upon which it nuiil be counted, that I regard my attaining to that particular good, as the greatell happinefs I can hope to arrive at ; and that, in my judgment, it is more necefTary to my well-being than all other thmgs the moft va- luable and agreeable, or that I had better ceafe to be, or not to exill at all, than to continue in be- ing without it. And if, notwithtlar.ding the iierceit oppofitions, and the moft terrible difcou- ragements I can pofTibly meet withal, I ftill go oit purfuing after this good with an ardent zeal, an un- ihaken refolution and conftancy, and with an open joy and triumph, while I am confcious I am ad- vancing towards it ; this, methinks, puts it beyond difpute, that I count all things but lojs for the excel- lency thereof and but dung that I may win it ; or that the value I fet upon it is infinite. From all which it appears,
When we find the Apofiles employed in the pro- pagation of the Gofpel, we muft necelTarily appre- hend, they were determined to undertake and pur- fue this mighty defign, from the profped of fome ;good, which, by means of this miniftry, they hoped to attain to. And, when we further confider, what they fo refolutely and cheerfully did forego and fuffer in the profecution of this fervice, we muft likewife necelfarily conclude, that the good they had in view was not mean and inconfiderable, but of the laft confequence, lb far as they were able to judge, and of the greateft moment and im- portance. In truth, 'tis abfolutely unimaginable, how men could forfeit all the eafe, and ftrip them- felves fo intirely naked of all the comforts they had in life; and look fuch dreadful dangers in the face; and venture upon them, and fuftain them
with
Sect. V. Chrijllan Revelationl 9
wich fuch bravery and firmnefs, and dill be pujfh- ing on their way through the fiercell oppofitions with fuch noble joy and triumph ; I fay, 'tis be« yond imagination, how the Apollles could have act- ed this part, without being animated and fupporied by a confcioufnefs they were engaged in the purfuit of a good, which they were fully facisfied was in- finitely preferable to all other enjoyments, and which they were well perfuaded was worthy to be purchafed at the higheii expence poffible.
Thus the effential principles of human nature ob- lige us to confefs, that, in the propagation of the Gofpel, the Apoftles had in view a very confider- able good, which they muft have looked upon as the great reward of their Miniftry. And that this good applied to their minds, or exerting its force upon their active faculties, was the great power whereby they were' fuftained and fortified in the profecution of their daring attempt, will, I doubt not, be agreed on by every body. So that we fhall now inquire, what fort of good, or of power that was, from whence the ApofHes had a com- manding impulfe derived to their pafTions, whereby they were all along egged on, in the face of mor- tal dangers, to propagate the dodlrines of Chri- ilianity.
Vol. II. B SECT,
to The Truth of the Sect.VL
SECT. vr. '
.. ^The partkular Good the /Ipoftles pretend to have in in Vttw^ is a happy Immortality. And in their FretenfionSy if there is nothing real^ they mufi have t?cen either Impoftors or Enthufiajls,
WH E N we take into our thoughts the whole conipafsofthofe goods whereby human minds can be afFe&d, it cannot but be allowed, that that good which the Apoftles had in view mult either lie in fomething prefent, and to terminate in this world; or it mull be fituated beyond the grave, and confill in the enjoyments of a future Hate of exillence. Of this I am as certain, as of the truth of any Propofition in Euclid. And this being the undoubted cafe; to juitify the charadter of the Apolfles, or to make it appear that ihey were commiflioned from heaven to propagate the Gofpel to mankind, it feems only ne- cefTary to fhew, that in the profecution of this Mi- nillry, the Apoflles were fleadily animated by the alFured hopes of a glorious immortality, with which, they were perfuaded, the Lord God would hereafter reward them, for their faithfully difcharging this fervice, wherein, by his authority, they were em- ployed. In this light the Apoltles appear to the world; and the cafe of each of them is the fame with this of the Apoftle Paul {a), I have ^ (fays lie) fought a good fight., I have finifhed my courfe^ I have kept the faith : Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of right eoufnefs^ which the Lord the righ- teous Judge jhall give me at that day^ the great day of
retribution.
{a) 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8.
Sect. VI. Chnflia?i Revelation. 1 1
retribution. And that the Apoflles were thus ani- mated from heaven, and uniformly fupported in tlie propagation of the Gofpel, 1 propofe to make good in the following Se^wns,
Indeed, if any man will make it appear, that the great power that excited and fcirtificd the Apoilles ill the profecution of their grand projedl, was lofar from being a crown of glory that fadeth not away, e- ternal in the heavens^ that it was only fome worldly confideration, fome of the lower gratifications of this prefent life; and that, in fpite of their high pretcnfions, they had certainly no ambiti' n beyond the riches, or honours, or pleafures of this mortal ilate ; 1 fay, if any thing of this nature can be made out againft the Apoftles, I will then agree to rec- kon them fo many bafe defigning Impoftors, and that the Gofpel they taught the world, as the mind and will of God, is a grofs impofition on mankind. Or,
If, upon granting that the Apoftles feem indeed to be afpiring after a glorious immortality, and to have had no doubt in themfelves of arriving, in another world, at a crown of righteoufnefs as the reward of their Mi.niftry ; it lliall neverthelefs be made appear, that all their alTurance of this nature was th€ mere confidence of an over-heated fancy, and that they only took their own warm imagina- tions, for the powerful imprefTions of heaven, flir- ring them up to publifh the Gofpel to mankind ; I fay, if it fhall be made appear, that thefe ambitious hopes with which the Apoftles feem to have been animated, are all thus vain and groundlefs, the pure ravings of a vifionary brain, I will then agree to reckon them fo many poor deluded Enthufiafts, and that the Gofpel they taught can be no divine reve.r lation. But,
If
12 The Truth of the Sect. VI.
If neither the one nor the other can be poiTibly made out againil: the Apoitles; 1 fay, if no man has it in his power to make good the charge either of Impollure, or of Enthufiafm, in the character of the Apollles, I would gladly know whether we are not bound to conclude, that thofe Teachers of mankind were neither diOionelt nor miltaken in thofe af* furances they pretended to have had from Heaven, of their coming to future glory, honour, and im- mortality, as the reward of 'their miniltry ; and confequently, that the Gofpel, which they were thus animated to propagate to the world, is a divine revelation I For my part, 1 have not fagacity to comprehend, to what other concluilon one can come in the cafe of the Apollles. If, in the character they alTume, thty are neither Impolfors nor Enthufiaits, one (liould think t!ie next itep unavoidable, they are Teachers fent of God to inftrudt mankind. And,
To fhew, in the firft place, that the Apoftles were no Impollors, defigning fome bafe end under the credit of a pretended commillion from Heaven, I Hiall endeavour to explain, that the great power whereby they were fupported in the propagation of the Gofpel was no earthly confidcration, no impulfe derived to their pafTions from any of this world's al- lurements. Upon which, as we go along, let the Reader confult his own bread, the prmciples of hu- man nature, as they necellarily operate, and judge of the condud: of the Apoftles from, v^^hat he feels in his own confcioufnefs, or as he apprehends he would have acred in the like circumllances.
SECTf
Sect. VII. Chrijlia?t Revelation* 13
SECT. VII.
In order to Jhew the Apojiks were no Impoftors^ it is made appear from the.r Dotly'mes^ thai the Good that ferved as the prevcrtiing Motive to excite and Jupport tkiem in the D^jcharge of their Miniftry had nothing in it of this fVorld,
IN alledging that the Apoflles, while they pre- tended a conteiiipt of this world, and to be af- piring after future enjoyments, were fecretly ani- mated by fome earthly confideration, as the great motive that fpurred tiiem on in the fervice of the Gofpel, 'tis to be e>cpccted, upon the principles of fair de.iling, that no man will content himftlf with the charge in general, without coming to particu- lars, or without explaining the fpccial grounds upon which fuch an imputation can be founded. Very few of mankind are lenfible of tlie powers of ano- ther world, or feel themfelves engaged in any con- (Iderable defign, from the influences of a future ftate of glory. The views of moil people are bound- ed to this prefent life, and fccular regards are the fprings that animate the fouls of men in almoil every undertakh^'g. When we therefore find, that fo many perfons were zealouily employed in the propagation of the Gofpel, the com- mon courfe of the world raifes the prefumption againft them, and we apprehend that they are animated no otherwife in their particular project, than the relt of mankind are in their feveral pur- fuits. But, to go upon fuch a general prefumption, or to load the Apoftles with fo heavy a charge, without bringing forth the particular evidences up- on
14 "^he Truth of the Sect. VII.
on which, in fpite of their mod folemn declarations to the contrary, their giiilt may be clearly deteded, is what every body will own to be highly unjufl. At this rate, no man's innocence can be lafe, and the bell charad:ers may come to be held the molt abandoned. Thofe of our day, who affed to talk fo loud of the principles of liberty, and a freedom of thought, cannot but loudly condemn this Ihameful condudl, and warmly approve the principles of com- mon juftice, which forbid the finding a man guilty till a particular charge be laid againll him, and that charge be made out by fufficient evidences, that con- tinue to appear fo, after all a man has faid in his own vindication. Some people, without infilling upon particular proofs, feem difpofed to run away with the notion, that the Deills are mere Atheills, men of no virtue, quite abandoned to wickednefs. And fince tl-e Dei (Is do complain loudly of the manifeft injulUce done them in thus condemning them upon a general charge without particular proof or evidence, I would fain think they will not be guilty of the like crying iniquity in the cafe of the Apollles, and go about in a general charge to condemn them as Impollors, v/ithout jullifying their accufation by particular proofs, that Hill appear conclufive, after all that can be faid to the contrary. Let us there^ fore defpife the Ihameful way of charging people in general, and have the honcily to examine whether fuch particular crimes can fairly be made out againll them. And,
So far as we can judge of mankind from what is already pall in the world, or from attending to the inward fprings of our own actions in fuch particular circumllances, it Ihould feem manifell, that efpecial- Jy in all great and arduous undertakings, that re- quire
?EGT. VII. Chrijiian Revelation. t^
quire thought and application, and to have all ouf powers vigoroufly exerted, and wherein our views aim at nothing that lies beyond the limits of this prefent world, men are always determined in their ieveral purfuits from one or more of thefe motives, namely, pleafures, or riches, or honours. Thefe, I fay, are the particular objects that in all ages have aduated the minds of men, and given life to thofc defityns, that only regarded our prefent ftate of ex- iflence. And, as the nature of things, and the evi- dence of hillory, will not fuffer us to doubt, that thofe perfons, who, in the purfuit of earthly enjoy- ments, have made a figure in the world, were all animated by fuch principles -, fo, in fuppofing that the Apoftles were puflied on in the propagation of the Gofpel, not from the regards of a future ftate, but from worldly confiderations, one muft necelTa- rily conceive, that the great power that fupported them in the difcharge of their Miniftry was fome one or more of thefe motives juft now mentioned.
Whether the Deifts will alledge, that the united force of all thefe motives together, or only the in- fluence of fuch a particular one, was the power that animated the Apoftles, I know not -, but, as I have already hinted, common juft ice forbids a general charge, and requires the articles to be fpecified, that one may have accefs to examine their importance, the particular evidences upon which they are grounded, and what is the weight of what may be faid in vindicating the Apoftles. And indeed, had the Apoftles been put upon their enterprife from a- ny worldly confideration, one may reafonably fa- fpedl, that nothing under crowns, and fceptres, or the conqueft of kingdoms and nations, or at leaft the power and fplendor that attend the character of prime Minifters of State (things that are wont to
firQ
t6 ihe "Truth of the Sect.VIL
fire noble and elevated minds) could have been the prize for which they were contending: For the bribe certainly mail have very high, of an exalted and extraordinary nature, that fo powerfully flimu- latedmen of fucli fine fpirits and uncommon great- nefs of mind (as one mull judge them from their writings) to have encountered fuch frightful dan- gers, and made their way refolutely through fuch fierce and violent oppofitions. But whether this, or another, or all of the above motives, are alledged to have given the commanding impulfe to the A- pollles in the propagation of the Gofpcj, I would only, I fay, obferve, that the charge mult be par- ticular, and the evidences to fupport it clear and pointed.
Suppofing, therefore, that the Apoftles, as the Deifts would have it, are liable to the charge of impoflure, for pretending to be infpired from Hea- ven, while they are only animated by the power of one or other, or all of thofe worldly motives ; I fhair endeavour to (hew, that, in all thofe feveral articles, the accufation is groundlefs ; and that there is no fort of evidence whereby any one of them can be justified. And if, to make good their charge againil the Apoitles, the Deiifs have any other ground to infill upon, I fhall be glad to underfland it ; but, till 1 Ihall be better informed, I mull pro- fefs, that, in my apprehenfion, the dottrines of the Apollles, and the courfe of their lives,, are the only topics from whence it is pofiible for one to pretend to fetch proofs of their impollure. Mean while, if from an impartial examination of the Apoftles, in both thefe particulars, it (hall be found, that in the profecution of their Minillry, they were abfolutely free of any impulfe derived to theif paffions from the pleafures, or riches, or honours of this world, I
hope
Sect. VII. Chriftian Revelation, ' 17
hope we will allow ourfelves to be fuch Free-think- ers, as in common juitice to acquit them from impollure, and to declare, that in the propagation of the Gofpcl they are animated by no worldly con^ lideration.
In the firji: place. As to the dodrines of the Apo- flles, they are in every body's hands, and in e- very article they flrongly appear fo fully confonant to the perfections of God, and to all the principles ofreafon, that the man who has read them with any degree of attention, would reckon himfelf af- fronted, fhould he be thought to have need to have fo manifeft a truth made out to him. Can any man be ignorant, that whatever things the Apoftles iri- culcate upon the world, are diredly contradielory to all unlawful and criminal paflions ^ No body but knows, that every thing of this nature fcands prohi* bited in their writings under fuch fevere penalties, that whofoever indulgeth to himfelf any one luft or appetite that difhonours God, and is hurtful to mankind, in violating the commands of univerfal love and righteoufncfs, can look for nothing, upon the Gofpef inftitution, but certain ruin and mi- fery. Are we not expreGly raiight in the Gofpel, that the friend/hip of this world is enmity w.tb God P whofoever therefore^ fay -the Apoftles, will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God {h). And what Itrong- er can be faid in condemnation of every fenfual pal- fion, every v/orldly purfuit, that would carry a man beyond the bounds of reafon and religion.
But there is one precept of univerfal influence, and of fuch vaft confcquence in the whole caufe of reli- gion and virtue, that it deferves here tobeparticulariy mentioned : The precept is this ; Watch ye^ ox be vigi- lant (f), frequently recommended, and urged upon us
Vol. II. C by
(b) James iv. 4. (c) 1 Cor. xvi. 13. i Pet. v. S. Mark xiii. 37.
i8 : The Truth of the Sect.VIL,
by the mofl: powerful arguments. As theGofpcl re- prefents it,' the life of a ChrilHan is her^' a ware- fare j in our way to the heavenly kingdom we have many enemies to oppofe and overcome, and, for fe- curing ourfclves and gaining the victory, we are commanded to put on the whole armour of God {d}. Here therefore, befet with enemies, and in great dan- ger from the inilability and treachery, and corrupt propenfions and fenfuai inclinations of our own hearts, from the bad examples and follicitations of wicked men, from the deceitful infinuations of /alfe Teachers (^), "and from tlie fnares and temptations of the Devil ; nothing can better become our fituation than to ftand always watching, keeping our hearts with alt diligence^ and guarding againlt the approach- es of every thing bafe and criminal. And, in truth, if amidlt fo many enemies that war againft the foul^ we fufFer ourfclves to live fecure and loofe, altoge- ther heedlefs and negligent, the inward bent of our depraved hearts, and the outward allurements of this evil world, mufl prevail over us, we fhall prove an eafy prey to every lufl and every temptation, nor will the bafenefs or wickednefs of any worldly at- tempt prevent our being engaged. Whereas, on the other hand, by continually looking about us, and carefully watching what fort of objects court our affections, follicite our confent, and invite us to action, we will yield to no paflion, we will enter into no defign, nor will we purfue any meafures, but where our duty calls us, and we clearly fee our real fafety and happinefs. Indeed, through inadvertency, or the deceitfulnejs of ftn^ we may fometimes happen to defert our duty, and to fide with our enemies ; but by this conftant vigilance, and watchful attention to the temper of our hearts, and the ad ions of our
livesj (d) Eph. vi. II. (f) Ads XX. 29. etalib.
Sect. VII. Chrijlian Revelation. 19
lives, or how we are engaged ; we cannot but foon come to take the alarm, to fly the dreadful rum threatening us, and to return again to our duty, wherein only we can meet with the mercy of God, and thf protection of our Saviour. It is therefore by conthiual watchinrg, or a conilant vigilant care over our hearts and lives, that our minds are kept always open, both to a quick ^zn^c of the deformity and bafenefs, the danger and niifery of irreligion and vice, whereby we are made to renounce the hidden things of dijhoneftyy and can have no 'jellowfiip with the un- fruitful works of darknefs :, and to a clear perception of the beauty and excellency, the fafety and happi- nefs of religion and virtue, whereby we are kept Iteady and refolute in the difcharge of our duty, 2Lnd Jtand Jtedfqfl, immoveable^ always (^.bounding in the work of the Lord^ the work of our falvation. And, as a powerful incitement to this conllint care and circumfpection, we are told, that our Lord may co le in a day vohen we look nut for him^ and in an hour that we are not aware of \ and when he comes, and finds us living loofe, and among our enemies, our ruin is inevitable (/). So that a continued watching is a flrong guard upon our innocence and virtue, our fafety and happinefs ; it difcovers the fnares laid for us, and all the approaches of irreligion and vice ; it warns us of our danger, and prevents our abandon- ing our duty •, and when in any inllance we happen to be involved, it refcues and delivers us: Nor> without a fhameful neglect of this great excenfive duty of watchfulnefs, can a man {^^£t\ liimfelf to engage, or to go along in any wicked infamous purfuits. Such is the nature of this precept, fo frequently and warmly recommended in the Gofpej, and fo mighti- ly does it ferve to protect our innocence and fecure
our
(/) Matth. xxiv. 42. l^c, Luke xxi. 34, 35, 36.
20 The Truth of the Sect. VII.
our virtue, to caufe us ftand faft in the ft^ith^ and quit ourfelves like men^ and be flrong in vigoroufly de- fending our fouls againll the devil, the world, and the fleili, till the coming of our Lord, who will then relieve us, and crown us with glory and im- mortality. Thus it Irappeneii in the cafe of St. Paul', and thus it will happen in the cafe of all thofe who continue watchful to the end. I have fought^ fays this Apoillc, a good fight ^ Ihavefinijhed my courje^ I hove kept the faith. Henceforth is laid up for me a crown of right coufnefs^ which the Lord the righteous Judge fhallgive me at that day : And not to me only^ hut unto ail them alfo that love his appearing {g)* Now, let the Reader reflect; —would men in a con- federacy to promote any worldly criminal defign, have infixed (o earneltly on a duty of this nature, v/hich, without bringing themfelves into fufpicion, they might, one fhould think, have totally neglect- ed \ I have no intention to of end any body, nor w\\\ I tal^e upon me to look into people's hearts; but I muil obferve,
So far in every article are the dodtrines of the Gofpel from being in any degree favourable to the gratifications of the men of this world, that there are not wanting who ailedge, that fome, at leaft , are fo much prejudiced againft the Chriitian inftitution, and inglorioufly attempt to overthrow its authority, for no other reafon in the world, but a fecret aver- fion to "the purity of its doclrines, that would lay them under fuch uneafy rcllr-iints, or becaufe it promlfes no indulgence to tlicir luiis, but ftridly re- qaires that refinement of heart, that piety and vir- tue, that is pleafing to God, and fuics the dignity of human nature And indeed, befides thofe things wherein the Chriftian revelation is/ infinitely fuperi-
or
( r) 2 Tim, iv. 7,
Sect. VII. Chrijlian Revelation, 21
or to every other inlHtutioii that ever was in tt\e world ; it contains all tiVole noble precepts of mo- rality that are any where to be found in the wri- tings of the bcft and wifeft Heathen Authors, and juttly deferves all thofe high commendations which thofe great men have bellowed upon philofophy, ?5 that which alone purifies the nature of nicin, and renders us truly good and glorious (h), '' No- '' thing, fays Mr. Tclarid^ can be wifer, plainer, " truer, and confcqaenrly more divine, than what " Chrift and his Apoilles have propoled about the *' means of reconciling Cod to fmners ; of purify- *^ ing the mind and rectifying tlie manners ; of iilu- " minating the underff^.ndlng, guiding the tonfcience, " and directing particular duties -, of confirming the *' hopes of recompence to the good, and denouncing '' thedread of punifhment to tht bad ; of propogacing " mutual love, forbearance, and peace among all man- *' kind, ofcementing, maintaining and fupporting civil *' fociety (i)." And the fame Author, in his Naza- renus^ ttlis us, " That it is evident to all, but fuch " as will not fee, that one main defign of Chrilli- " anity was to improve and perftd the law of na- " ture, as well as to facilitate and inforce the ob- " fervation of the fame. — —And indeed the divine " wildom of the Chriflian inflitution i- fo appa- ** rent, enlightening the minds and regulating the *' condud of men, in procuring their higheft hap-
" nefs
[h) Ovitae philofophia dux, 6 virtutis indagatrix, cxpuUrixque vitiorum ; quid non modo nos, fed omnino vita hominum Tme
te efle potuilTet : Ad te confugimus, a te opem petimus ; tibi
nos, ut antea magna ex parte, fic nunc peritus, totofque tradi- mus. Eil autera unus dies bene, & ex praeceptis luis actus, pec- canti immortalitati anteponendus. Cujus igitur potius opibus u- tamur, quam tuis ? qua & vits tranquiluta'tem largita nobis es, &,terrorem ir.orcis fuftulifti. Cic. Tufcul. lib. 5. cap. 2.
(0 ConltitutioQ of the Chriiiian church, chap. 2. § 4.
22 The Truth of the Sect. VIL
*^ nefs in all refpeds; that nothing, I am perfua- *' ded, but a pericct ignordnce of what it rcaUy is, " or private intereil, a worfe enemy to truth tjjan " ignorance, could keep any from cheerlully em- ^' bracing it {k):* In a word, the main drift of the dodtrines or the Apoitles, is to difengage the human mind from thij> world and all our prefent enjoyments, and to raife it to the purfuit of tl;ofe immortal glories that are above with God in the heavenly manlions. And to prove an impollure againft the Apoitles, by arguments drawn trom an inltitution, whofe whole contexture is fo framed as To jnfpire and improve the life of God in the foul of man, is what no man in his right fenfes will ever think of undertaking. So that from the dodtrines of the Apofties there is nothing to be ajledged that can at all countenance the linallell fufpicion of their having been determined to propagate the Gofpel from the profpecT: of thereby making themfelves rich, or great in this world, or of getting a power into their hands to enjoy their pleafures without control.
But, tho' it may be granjted, that the dodlrines of the Gofpel do not afford immediate proofs of im- pofture againft the Apofties ; yet are not the Apo- itles jullly liable to this imputation, from their ha- ving taught fome dodrines, as fome people alledge, unworthy of God, or inconfiitent with his moral perfedions, and which, for that reafon, can have no pretenfion to a divine original ? Here therefore it will not be improper to examine the moft confider- able of thofe exceptions that arc taken to the mo- rality of the Gofpel. And the objedions that are made againft it, may be reduced to thefe three gene- ral heads ; viz. Some ot the moral doctrines of the
Gofpel W. Mazaren. chap. 17. p. 67. chap. 18. p. 70.
Sect. VIIL Chrijlian Revelation. t%
Gofpel are faid to be abfurd ; others to be afelefs, or of no benefit to mankind ; and a third fort to be hurtful and mifchievous. Of each of thefe I ftiall -propofe the moil plaufible inftances alledged.
SECT. Vlli.
Dr. Tindal'j OhjeBions to the Morality of the Gofpel are ill founded. And can' afford no Ground for a Charge of Impofture againfl the Apoftles.
I
N ihtfirft place, To faften an abfurdity upon the doctrines of the Gofpel, 'tis alledged, that, " This '' is a general precept. Sell what you have, and give *' alms (a) : Nay, the woman that call into the *' treafury her two mites is commended, becaufe She *' caji in all fhe had, even all her living {b). And, " to fhew that none were exempt from this pre- " cept, Jefus fays to the man, who had obferved all « the precepts from his youth, One thing thou lackeft^ *' fell whatfoever thou hafi^ and give to the poor (r). ^' Now, fay they, this precept is impradicable in a «' Chriilian ftate 5 becaufe there could be no buyers, " where all were fellers (Jj." A flaring abfurdity I But ought not a man to be pretty fure of the pre- mifes before he prefumes to offer to the world fuch a conclufion? Moil certain it is, that a general pre- cept binding every Chriflian to fell what he has, and to .give it to the poor. Hands in dired oppofition to the defign of the Gofpel, and is utterly inconfiftent with fome of its particular precepts j nor would a man's putting it in pradice, ever come of itfelf to ^ ° intitlc
(«) Luk. xii. 33. {h) Markxii. 44. (0 Markx. 21. {d) Chriliianity as old as the Creation, chap. xui. p. 339-
2:4 7"& Truth' of the Sect. VIII.
intitle him to any of the blefTings of the Gofpel : though 1 heftGw all my goods ^ fays the Apollle, to feed the poor^ and have yiot charity^ it pnjiieih me nothing (t^). So that allowing the Writers of the New Te- Itament to be men of common fenfe, the prefumptioii is llrong, there can be no juil ground for alledging, there is any fuch general precept. And, indeed, the particular texts here alledged to fupport it are moil manifeitly mifunderilood.
The firil text is thus, Sell what you have^ and give alms; which even taken by itfelf, and without the connection it bears with other things in the fame pafTage, cannot reafonably be thought to carry in it any degree of abfurdity. For wherein does it difter from this general precept, Let every man labour^ work- ing with his handi the thing which is good^ tUat he may have to give to him that needeth ? For my part, I fee nothing ablurd in a man's felling his goods, and ma- king gain, and being at the fame time charitable to the poor. But, to put the determined meaning of this text out of queftion, we ihall confider it as it is a branch of that difcourfe wherein it ftands ; which is the honefl way of underilanding the meaning of any Author whatfoever. And it fliould appear, that one of the conipany attending our Saviour, expreffing an over concern for his worldly affairs ; upon this, our Lord takes occafion to caution his Difciples : Take heed^ fays he, and beware of covetcufnefs ; for a map's life con, fieih not in the abundance of the things he pjfejfeth. And he fppke a parable to them^ f^y^ng^ the ground of a certain rich man brought jorth plentifully :, And he thought within him j elf ^ f^yi^'^g\ what fh all I doy hecaufe I have no room where to beftozv my fruits ? And he faid^ this will I do^ I will pull down my harns^ and huild greater ; and there will 1 hefiow all my fruits and
my
{e) I Cor. xiii. 3.
^.
Sect. VIII. Chrijlian Revelation. ^ 25
my goods. And I will fay to my foul ; Sou!^ thou haft much goods laid up for many years ; take thine eafe^ eat, drinkj and be merry. Now, in this charadler, which our Saviour propofes to our averfion, there are three things extremely odious. There is an abiblute ne- gledt of a future Hate ; there is the taking up one's reft in prefent enjoyments, minding only to indulge luxurious and wanton appetites ; and there is the hoarding up the good things of this world for one's own peifonal ufe and pleafure, neither regarding the wants of thofe who are able to buy, and to whom, in tlie way of traffic, we ought to communicate them; nor yet the neceflities of thofe whofc pover- ty difables them to purchafe, and to whom therefore we ought to impart them in the way of alms or cha- rity. This, I lay, is a moft fordid chiirader, void of humanity, and extremely odious. It is fre)m this chara'v^er that our Saviour would fecure his Difci- ples. And, in order to prevent their ading fo in- famous a part, he firft cautions them againft that anxiety of mind about their daily bread, that would expofe them to that covetous, unfocial, inhuman dif- pofiiion ; and by the moft beautiful arguments (which I am furprifed how any man of difcernment can fuiFer himfelf to ridicule f/),) he warmly prefTes them to put their fteady truft in the bountiful Pro- vidence of our heavenly Father. Upon wliich he proceeds to recommend to them a conduct of life quite the reverfe of that defcribed in the parable ; Rather feek ye ,, fays our Lord, the kingdom of God, a treafire in the heavens that faileth not^ v:here 'no thef approacheth^ nor moth corrupteth : And when Provi- dence blelTeth you with the good things of this world, hoard them not up, bin Jell that ye have, com- municate of them to thofe that want and are able to Vol. II. D purchafe
(/) Vid. ChriHianity as old as the Creation, p. 344.
26 "The Truth of the Sect. VIII.
purchafe them ; and ro thofe who cannot buy,, give alms. A precept otherwife exprefled by Solomorij when he fays, The liberal foul Jhall be made fat ^ and be that watereth JImU be watered alfo himfdf ; he that withholdeth corn^ the people fhall curfe htm ; but blejfmg Jhall be upon the head of him that felUth it (g). This is the real meaning of this text ; fo far from abfur- dity, that nothing can be more humane and ge- nerous, nothing can more efFedually tend to private and public happincfs. And, as this text gives not the leaft hint of felling all we have, and giving it to the poor; fo neither does the next text here alledged, in the leaft commend fuch a pradice. The whole pafTage is thus :
j^nd Jcfus fat over againft the treafury^ and beheld how the people caft money into the treafiiry ; and many that were rich^ cafl in much. And there came a certain poor widow ^ and Jhe threw in two mites which make a farthing. And he called unto him his Difciples^ ayid fayeth unto them^ verily, I fay unto you^ that this poor widow hath cafl more in than all they which have cafi into the treafury. For all they did cafl in of their a- bundance : but Jhe of her want did cafl in all that Jhe bad^ even all her living, I fay, what our Saviour here obferves concerning this poor widow, can, at no rate, be underftood to intimate his approbation of her condud, fo as to make every man regard it as an example which he ought to imitate. The matter is ; the Apoftles fecm to have let an ex- ceffive value on riches, and to have been carried a- way by an opinion that the rich were the great favourites of Heaven, and the perfons who had the beft title to the happinefs of the Mcjfiahh kingdom (^). N0W5 as our Saviour, upon all occafions, was
f, careful
(g) Proverbs, xi. 25, 26. {h) Vid. Mark, x. 2-v— 27-
Sect. VIII. Chrijlian Revelation. 2y
careful to redify the notions of his Apoftles, fo he takes this opportunity to fet them right in their ap- prehenflons about riches ; and lets them know, that, was God to favour men according to their external actions, this poor widow would be preferred before thofe rich pi'rlbns : For, judging of the merit of ex- ternal acViuns, as they are proportioned to the -abi- lities of the Agent, which is mofh reafonable, and is judging of men according to what they have, and not according to what they have not, this poor woman mult be underltood to have contributed more ; and confequently, by this way of reckoning, ought to be intitled to higher favour. From whence the Apollles are given to underlland, how foolilli they were in fetting fo great a value on riches, as if only the rich, or the rich efpecially, were to be preferred in the kingdom of the Meffiah. And lee any man judge : If, upon fome extraordinary occa- fion that feems to require people to enlarge their charity, I chufe to make a fall-day of it, and con- tribute a ihilling, the whole of my daily lubfiltence, while my rich neighbours, whofe daily income is fixty Ihillings a-picQe, only contribute each of them a guinea, could it be counted ajiy commendation of me, if to perfons mightily taken with outward ap- pearances, and admiring the fliew of rich men's con- tributions, and hovy -happy they are in their riches that enable them ifl .make fuch a figure, it fliould be obferved, that / had contributed mure than all they which have caft in of thm abundance ? One would think, that fuch an obfervatlon only ferves to put people in a jutl way of thinking, and to lead them to reflect t-hat in religious or moral judgment, the Giver ought to be regarded not from the grearnefs of the gift, or even the proportion it bears to his a- bilities, but from the difpofition or intgntipn with
which
2S The Truth of the Sect. VIIL
which he gives it (;) : In which cafe, it is poITible, that even the All, tiie two mites of the widow, may intide her ro no commendation, but quite the con- trary. So that as our Saviour does by no means condemn (as he mull have done, had there been fuch a gen Tal precept as is pretended) thofe rich men, for contributing only a part ^ lb neither does he commend this poor widow, for contributing the whole of her living. He only, 1 fay, means, in this comparifon of things, to indrucl his Difciples, that they had no reafon fo much to admire riches, or to efteem the polTdlors fo very happy. However, if this refledion of our Saviour mull needs be under- Hood to commend the conducl: of this poor widow, whofe pious and beneficent difpofitions, might, in- deed, derive a greatnefs to her two mites that made them more than all the offerings of the rich {k) ; 1 am not able to conceive how this commendation can be brought in proof of a general precept, lo fell all that we have, and to give it to the poor. It lliould feem, or one may reafonably fuppofe, that this widow had a certain fund that afforded her two mites a day, (judged fuffiicient for the daily fubfiftence of a poor man ;) Now, it is not the fund itfelf that the widow difpofes of, and calls into the trcafury, but only the produce of it for one day ; cbufing for that day ei- ther to fall, or to go dine with a friend or neigh- bour. So that if this palTage infinuates any com- mand
(?) Donavit aliquis magnam pecuniam : fed dives, fed non fenfurus impendium. Donavit alius : fed to:o pairimonio ceiTurus,
Summa eadcm eft : beneficium idem non eft Eadem licet fintj
aliter daa non idem pendent. Sencc. de Benef lib. iii. cap. 8.
{k) Si ad calculos revocetur, parvum. — Si animo erogantis, omni pecunia majus : — eo quidem majore cum commendatione, quo proni itudii certius indicium ell: fupra vires niti, quam viribus ex facili uti. Alter enim quod pi-?ellat, potell; i alter etiam plus quam poteft. Valer. Max. lib. iv. cap. 8.
Sect. VIIL Chrijlian Revelation. 29
mand whatfoever, it can only be this, that, on fome particular occafions, people ought to contribute to- wards pious ufes, one day's produce of their eilates; which is a thing common enough in the world ; nay, in their charitable contributions, people go frequent- ly beyond ir. At no rate therefore can this text jutlify the notion of there being in the Gofpel a general precept requiring all Chrillians to fell their eilates and to give them to the poor : Underfland- ing it as a commendation of the widow's pradice, and therefore propofed to other people lor their imi- tation, it plainly intimates the clean contrary. But, the next text is thought to be conclufive ;
In this we are told, that a certain young man having, by an ingenuous account of his virtuous courfe of life, very much recommended himfclf to our Saviour, Then ]c{^s beholding him^ loved him^ and {aid unto him^ one thiiig thou lacktft ; go thy way^ fell whatfoever thou hoft^ and give to the pocr^ and thou fhalt have treafure in heaven ; and ccme^ tnke up the crofs and follow me. "Here, indeed, there is an ex- prefs precept for this youn^ man, (whom from this epithet, as well as the command, one may judge to have been without wife or children, which he was bound to provide for) to fell his whole ellate, and to give it to the poor : But how to make a general precept of it, affeding all Chriftians whatfoever, is far beyond my comprehenfion. Nothing can be more manifeft, than that this precept, as to the de- iign of iE, is precifely of the fame nature with thofe, wherein, at diifcrent times, our Saviour calls his twelve Apollles to follow him; which never mortal man took to be general. And, confidering the na- ture of Chrifih kingdom, and what was the moll likely and unexceptionable method to promote it in the world, it feems necelTary that our Saviour
lhoul4
3© Ihe Truth of the Sect. VIIL
ihould particularly diredl this young man, whom he called to be one of his Apoftles, to fell whatfoever he had, and to give it to the poor. For, had any of our Ldrd's immediate followers been men of plentiful fortunes, as was this youn^ man, who had great poJfeJJiOns ; this, no doubt, would have tempted the world to fufpecl a confederacy of a fecular na- ture, and, by that means, have greatly obltrudled the propagation of the Gofpel. So that, I fay, to prevent aH fufpicion of a worldly defign, and to re- move every thing that might prejudice the world a- gainft the Chriftian inflitution, our Saviour, offering to employ this young man as one of his Apoftles, propofes to him to part with his ellate in a manner that would put it out of his power to refume it, and to follow him in his glorious defign of reforrning mankind; wherein it is impoffible for the wit of man to find out a general precept. Upon whom therefore the ridicule muil fall, which Dr. Tmdal here employs in laughing at an abfurdity of his own making, the world may judge.
Nor is this Gentleman lefs to be blamed for in- iinuating from thofe texts, that the Gofpel would teach us to maintain the poor in idlenefs (/). What ground they afford, in their plain and obvious mean- ing, for fo heavy an imputation, is eafily feen from what I have faid. And I cannot but here remark, that fo far is the Chrittian inllitution from en- couraging idlenefs in any fet of men whatfoever, that therein this infamous vice is molt exprefsly condemned ; and every man is commanded to pur- fue fome ufeful bufinefs. fVben we were with you^ fays the Apoftle, this we commanded you, that if any would not work^ neither Jhould he eat. For we hear that there are fome which walk among you diforderly,
working
(/) Vid. Chriflianity as old as the Creation, p. 344.
Sect. VIII. Chrtfiian 'Revelation. 31
working not <it all^ hut are hufy bodies. Now them that are fuch we command and exhorty by our Lord Jefus Chrill, that with quietnefs they work, and eat their own bread. And if any man obey not our word by this Epijile^ note that many and have no company with himy that he may be ajhamtd{m). For if any provide not for his own^ and efpecially for thofe of his own honfe^ be hath denied the faith, and is worfe than an InfideL Nay, the giving alms to thofe, whom it would make or keep idle, is prohibited ; ^he younger wi- dows refufe^ let them not be maintained by the Church *, for — they learn to be idle, wandering about from houfe to houfe ; and not ony idle, but tatlers alfoj and bujy bodies, fpeaking things which they ought not {n). So that, according to the Gofpel, our alms can only be laid out upon thofe poor, who are ei- ther not able to work, or who cannot carry on their work, without our charitable afTiilance. And how reafonable this is, how beneficial to fociety, I need not obferve.
In the next place : Againft the moral doctrines of the Gofpel, it is objecled, That they are ufelefs or of no benefit to mankind. " Should not rules con- *' cerning morality be fuited to men's particular circumitances, plainly defcribing that conducfl which they require I Is not this the defign of mu- nicipal laws in every country ? What benefit could fubjecls have from laws written in fuch a " loofe, general, and undetermined manner ; as^
Lendf
{m) 2 Their, iii. lo. — 14.
{«) I Tim. ^v. 8. II.— 13. The fentlments of the Apofttes concerning charity, are thus explained :
rcL )(_f>mY)Pi(x., iTiPoc ^l « yyipa, dw' kvcfi})^ VTroipyet Sioi v'oaov 9} TiKvorpoi^tccv, Y} di cca^cveiav y&ifw., iTrt roiVTriV juoiKKoy tx.^
^Ti f/.yiY iKKhn<iiCig Qi^. Coniiitut. Apoft. lib, ii. cap. 4,
32 The Truth of the Sect. VIII.
*' Lend^ hoping for nothing again ; if any man will fue ** thee at iaw^ and take away thy coat^ let him have *' thy cloak alfo : Of him who takes away thy goods^ ." ajk them not again. — the fame may be faid of all *' general and undetermined rules in the New " TefLament, tho' more plainly delivered. As for '' inltance, tho' it is faid, Servants obey your majlers " in all things \ and pleafe them well in all things -y yet *' is the meafure of obedience due from fervants to " mafters, anyotherwife to be learnt, than from the *' agreementofthcparties, or the cuftomof the coun- *' try ? It is faid, we are to render to Csefar, the things " that are Casfar's ; but muft we not learn from the •' laws in every nation, who is C^far ; and what is « his due?'' {o)
In this objecftion, what particular ideas the Au- thor has in his mind, I confefs, I am at a lofs to underfland. He feems to me to conceive, that fuch precepts of the Gofpel muft be counted loofe, gene- ral, and undetermined, and confequently of no be- nefit to mankind, becaufe they do not defcribe to us the particular cuitoms, the conllitutions and laws ,of the feveral dates and kingdoms in the world: Otherwife, why does he tell us, that it is not from , fuch precepts of the Gofpel, Servants obey your ma- jlers in all things ; and render to Csfar, the things that are Casfar's ; but from the cuflom of the coun- try and the laws in every nation, that we muft learn the meafure of obedience due from fervants to mafters -, and who is Cafar^ and what is his due \ But if all fuch precepts of the Gofpel muft be held ufelefs, and of no benefit to mankind, becaufe from thence we cannot learn the particular cuftom of the country, or the arbitrary laws of every na- tionj I wonder whatlhall become of the law of na- ture,
(*) Chriilianity as old as the creation, p. 344.
Sect. VIII. Chrijlian Revelation* 33
ture, a lawof abfolute perfeclion ? Sure I am, that the law or rciigion of nature, does as little as the Gofpel, explain to us any articles of that nature ; and yet Dr. Tmdal is infinitely far from alledging, that this abfolutely perfecf law contains no precepts concerning fervants and fubjedts, or that its precepts in thofe inilances are ufclefs and of no benefit to man- kind. And why he rcfufc s to do the fame juilice to the Gofpel, which he reckons a republication of the religion of nature, I am nor able to conje6lure. m a word, the very quality which tliis Gentleman feems to judge necelfary in every fyftem of laws, to ren- der them ufeful and of confequence, is mofl appa- rent in the chriftinn inltitution. '' Should not rules, " (lays he,) concerning morality, be fuited to men's " particular circumtfances, plainly defcribing that '' conduct whicli they require?" Now this, I fay, is the very thing that is particularly remarkable in the rules of the Gofpel.
As the religion of nature, fo the Gofpel of Jefus Chriji^ does not confider men as of this or of that na- tion, but it regards them as rational c eatures, in fociety with God and with one another : It is the fame in Britam, that it is in France ; Nee erit alia lex Roma^ alia Athcnh. alia nunc^ aLa pofihac^ fed et omneis gentes^ et omni tempore una 'ex^ et fempiter- na^ et immortalis continebit. And it efpecially refpeds the motions of the mind, without regarding the actions of the body, any farther than as hey pro- ceed from the inward judgmL^nt and afF dions (/)). And this bleiled Gofpel, a law of univer al extent, and of a fpintual nature, fo well is it fuited to men's particular circumilances, that it plainly defcribes that inward conduc^h thofe affedions and difpofi- tions, which it requires every man in fuch particular
Vol. II. E circumilances
(p) Vid. Match, xv. 19.
34 7"^^ "Truth cf the Sect. VIIL
circLimdances to purfae and cheriHi. This, beyond quellion, is the nature and defigii of the municipal laws, as one may call them, of the kingdom of the Mejiah.
Nor can I imagine any (ituation of lil^ a m.an can be in, wherein the Gofpci does not plainly prefcribe to him his inward deportment, the only thing that conftitutes a moral charatffcer, and which in all in- Itances muft regulate a man's outward behaviour. Let the Reader reflect on thefe particulars mention- ed in the above quotation tranfcribed on the mar- gin from P/?^/^r^y^ ; In all thofe circumitances, in many more, m every thing ti'iQ^ the Gofpel point- edly fettles our inward condud:. As for the duty of fubjecls, 1 ihall have occafion to explain it after- wards.
And here, as to fervants ; what can be more plain and pointed in defcribing their inward deport- ment, as it ought to be, not in this or that coun- try only, but all over the world, than thefe rules of the Gofpel ? Servants be obedient to them that are your mafiers^ according to the flejh^ with fear and tremblings in fmglenefs of your hearty as unto Chrifl : Not with eye-fervice^ as men-pleafers^ but as the fervants af Chrift^ doing the willof God from the heart, with good-will^ doing fervice^ as, to the Lord^ not to men. Knowing that whatfoever good thing any man doth^ the Jamejkall he receive of the Lcrd^ whether he be bond <yrfree {q), Again^ ^ervants^ obey in all things - your maflers according to thefiefh ; not with eye-fervice^ as men-pleafers^ but in fmglenefs of hearty fearing Gcd^ And whatfoever ycu do^ do it heartily as to the Lord^ and not unto men : Knowing that of the Lord ye foall receive the reward of the inheritance ; for ye ferve the Lord Chrifl, But he that doth wrongs fhall receive
for
(?) Eph. vi. 5, S,
Sect. VIII. Chrijlian Revelation. 35
for the wrong that he hath done : And there is no re- Jpe^ of perfons (r) : I fay, in thefe Texts tl'C inward deportment of the mind fuited to thecircumftances of the body(let the agreement of the parties and the cuitom of the country be what they will) is mcfl exacftly described; nor is there any thing, necelTa- ry to form the moral character in fuch a particular fituation of life, left loofe or undetermined. In- deed, the all things, i. e. the ontward fervices which fervants are bound to pay to their malters, are not mentioned. Thofe of neceffity mult be left to be determined by the agreement of the parties, and the cullom of the country. And how ridiculous would it be to talk of thofe moral precepts of the Gofpel, that they are loofe and undetermined, and therefore ufelefs, and of no benefit to mankind, becaufe, for inltance, they do not plainly defcribe, whether fuch a man in the llation of a fervant, fhall plough in the fields, or dig in the garden ? Or for how many hours he mull everyday be at work, ^c ? And what elfe can be made of this objedion, I really know not.
Much after the fame manner may the fame Texts, here charged with being ufelefs and to no purpofe, be clearly vindicated. I fhall only now explain thefe two ; Of him who takes away thy goods, ajk them not again ; and lerid^ hping for ftothing a- gain (/"). And, as tlie meaning of no Author, in any palTage of his writings, ought to be determined, without confidering the connection which that pafTage bears with the other branches of the dif- courfe, whereof it is a part; fo we muft here exa- mine into the meaning and drift of that particular difcourfe, wherein our Saviour gives out thefc pre- cepts.
(r) ColofT. iii. 22 — 25. (J) Luke vi. 30 — 35.
36 Tlje Truth of the Sect. ViII.
cepts. Aild, beginning at ver. 20. it is apparent, that our Lord having before him the diftrelTcd per- fecuted condition of his Difciples in propagating the Gofpel among mankind, (for this is no part of that difcourfe in Matth. v.) he comes in the 27. ver. to prefcribe to them their invyard conducl, together with fome inilances of outward behaviour, in thofe circumltances of perfecurion wherein they are hated, and cur fed, and defpitefully ufed, and are berei^ved of their worldly enjoyments. But I Jay unto you^ which hear, love your enemies ; do good to them which hate ycu ; bkjs them ihcit curfs you ; and pray for them whua dejpitefu'iy ule you. Thus, their inward con - dud is no loofc and undetermined charader, but is plainly dcfcribedin fuch particular affedlons of mind, which they are commanded to maintain towards their perfecutors. But, as the exercife of charity, of pitience, and meeknefs towards our opprefTors, is far from being incondif tnt with our endeavour- ing to recover thofe goods they have robbed us of; to prevent his Difciples from attempting any thing of that nature, which, in thofe days of perfecution, could not well fucceed, and might rather involve them in greater hardfhips, and bciides, divert them from attending the propagation of the Gofpe), our Saviour fets this rule to our t)utward behaviour, of him that taketh away thy gcods^ ojk them net again ; fpend no thought or time in demanding reititution, but take joyfully the fpoiling of your goods for the fake of the Gofpel, and fleadily purfue its propaga- tion. Upon which he again renews his charge in reference to their inward condud, and giving them to underftand, that they muft ad a more generous and divine part than (inners, who, in fome fort ob- ferved an intercourfe of kind offices, fuch as lending to them of whom they hoped to receive ; he requires
them.
Sect. VIII. Chrifaan Revelatio?i, 37
them, when their enemies flioulcl be fo modeft as to pretend only to borrow, not to refafe, but to lend hoping for nothing again ; a difpofuion of mind necef- fary to prevent all entanglcm-:nts, and to keep them wholly devoted to the fervice of the Gofpel. Nor indeed, as the world was then aifecfed, had they any good reafon to expecf their loan would be returned: Bcfides, that their refufmg to lend any one thing, might, in thofe days, have expofcd them to the lofs of all. Thus, it plainly appears, that thefe tv/o pijGQipjes of the Gol'pel, taken in their obvious and literal meaning, as they iiand in that difcourfe of our Saviour, contain no loofe and undetermined rules, but do pointedly fettle even the external beha- viour of Chriliians, towards thofe who perfecute and opprefs them, for the fake of their religion ; in which circumflances, when neither life nor fortune can be in any great fafety, people had much need to be wife as ferpents^ and harmlefs as doves (/■).
I come, in the laft place, to confider, whether the morality of- the Gofpel, in any inftance, can be counted hurtful, or mifchievous. To make it cut, 'tis alledged, that the Gofpel, in fome of its dov^lrines, difcourages indullry, the want of which dire^^lly ruins trade, and the profperity of a nation. '^ Should we not (fiys Dr. Tindal) taking things " merely as theyfland in the Gofpel, be apt to think, " that the poor, as fuch, were the only favourites ^' of Heaven ; Bleffed are ye poor '^ for yours is the " kingdora of God. Bleffed are ye that hunger \ for ^' ye fhail be filled ? . And ihould we not be apt to '' imagine, that the Gofpel was an enemy to the *' rich, as fuch •, and confeqaently to all thofe me- '' thods which make a nation rich: As, JVo untv
" yctf,, {/) Matth.x. 16.
38 ne Truth of the Sect. VIII.
*' you rich ; for you have received your ccnfoktion (u)? ^'' It is eafier for a camel to fafs through the eye of a ** needle^ than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom *' of God {%) ? " How any man, who has read the Gofpel, can give himfelf leave to infinuate, that, as tilings are there reprefentcd, one may be apt to think, that fuch an outward condition of life will recommend people to the favour of God, and the contrary expofe them to his difplcafure, is not a little furprifi^ig. The Gofptl o\ Jefus Clmft^ in the whole ftrain of its doctrines, and in many exprefs declarations, is utterly repugnant to every thing of that nature. But we fliall examine the particular palTages, upon which they pretend this imputation is grounded.
In the Text in ^i, Luke^ here referred to, our Saviour reprefents his Difciples not only poor, but in hunger, and grief, hated, under reproach, perfe- cuted for the fake of the Gofpel. And thus, con- ceiving them in circumftanccs of diftrefs and mifery, for their comfort, he gives them the profpedt of better treatment: And, in pronouncing them b!ef- fed, he fets forth their future fpiritual enjoyments in a variety of borrowed Jdeas, oppofed to the various forts of their prefent bodily calamities, ^nd he lift- ed up his eyes on his Difciples^ and faid, BleJJed be ye pour ; for yours is the kingdom of Gcd. Blejjed are ye that hunger now, for ye fhallhe filed. Bleffed are ye that weep now ; for ye fijall laugh. Blefjed are ye when men fhall hate you^ and when they ftjall feparate ycu from their company .^ and fhall reproach you., and cafi out your name as eviU for the Son of mon^s fake. Thus our Saviour addrelTes himfelf to his Difciples then prefent, and apprehending them in a diitrelTcd fitua-
/ tion
(«) Luke vi. 20. 21— 24. (at) Chriftianity as old, i3c,
P-339-
Sect. VIII. Chrijlian Revelation, 39
lion for the fake of his Gofpel, he pronounces them bleffed, not merely becaufe of their pover- ty, their hunger, or grief, or perfecutioni but in confideration of their patiently fuifering thofe calamities for the Son of man's Jake^ whilft they refolutely adhered to his Gofpel, and were zcii- lous in propagating its dodtrines to the world. No man, therefore, capable of reading an Author with any underltanding, can be apt to think, that this Text in any degree infinuates that the poor, as fuch, are the favourites of Heaven. Nor, from the following words, can it any more be imagined that the Gofpel is an enemy to the rich, as fuch.
Our Saviour having afTured his Difciples of hap- pinefs, in exchange for that mifery to vi^hich they were reduced for the fake of his Gofpel, he turns his mind towards thofe perfons who ac^ted the contra- didory part •, and well knowing, that the love of rfches, of eafe, and pleafure, and other worldly en- joyments, made them rejed his Gofpel, and perfe- cute his Difciples, he denominates them from thofe outward bodily things, that betrayed them into fo guilty a conduct, and plainly fets forth the folly and mifery of their choice. But, wo unto you that are rich ; for ye have received your confolation. Wo unto you that are full ; for ye fhall hunger. Wo unto you that laugh now\ for ye fo all mourn and weep. Wo unto you when all men fhall fpeak well of ycu •, for fo did their Fathers to the jalfe Prophets, This, I fay, is a charader fet in dired: oppofition to that of the Apoilles ; it reprefents men in the condition of falfe Prophets that oppofe the fincere dodrines of God, and would prevent their being regarded in the world. And therefore, as the Apoilles are pro- nounced happy in preferring the Gofpel before every
earthly
40 The Truth of the Sect. VIII.
earthly pTeafure whatfoever ; fo thofe other perfons are |5ronoun<:ed miferable in prdferring their worldly enjoyments. So that the Gofpel of Jefas Cbnft is no enemy to the rich, as fuch; but only to thole rich men, who, rather tlian part with their riches, will act the part of fa He i'rophets, reje^^ the Gofpel, and perfecute its profeffors.
As for the other Text here mentioned ; It is eafier for a camel to prfs through the eye of a needle^ than for a rich man to enter 7nto the kingdom of God\ it ihews the folly of the imputation which it is brought to fupport. The cafe, as it Hands in St. Mark^ is thus : Upon a rich miin's refufing to part with his large polTellions, to take up the crofs, and to follow Chrift in the fervice of the Gofpel, we are told, that "- Jefus looked round about, and faid " to his Difciples, H.w hardly fhall they that have *' rkhes enter into the kingdom of God I And the Dif- " ciples were aflonifhed at his words. But Jefus *' anfwereth again, and faith unto them. Children^ *' how hard is it for them that trtift in riches to enter '* into the ki'agdom of God I Ic is eafier^ ^c." And if a man comprehends the meaning of one's trulling in riches, he will obferve fome difpofitions of mind, not very fit for the profelfion ot the Gofpel here (frequently, and perhaps in this Text, underftood by one's entering into the kingdom of God) or for the enjoyment of the happinefs of heaven hereafter. But,
How in the name of wonder ! can any man pre- tend to fay, that the Gofpel of Jefus Chrift is an enemy to thofe methods which make a nation rich, and to which the religion of nature is a friend? Sure, nothing of this nature can be charged upon an inilitution, that makes indullry 'a neceilliry ingre- dient into the character of its profeiTors 3 that ex-
prefbly
Sect. Vtlh Chrijiian Revelation, 41
prefsly forbids our being flothful in buflnefs, and, under the feveretl psnakies, commands every man to work, to be ufeful in the world; and allows of no objech' of charity, but fuch poor only as are either not abltJ to work, or not capable of carrying on their work without our aifiilance. In the mean while, one may wonder we are not likewife told, that the Gofpel makes our enjoying the favour of God to de- pend, not on our own, but on the difpofitions and actions of other people that are not in our power: For our Saviour lixk:ewife fays, Biejjed are ye when men/hall hateyou^ aid fhall fepar ate you from thetr com- pany: And, IVo unto you when all men fo all /peak well of you I
B#it, in further proof of the mifchievous nature of rhe doClrines of the Gofpel, ^tis alledged, that the Gofpel ties up our hands, deprives us of fclf-defence, and lays us open to the infuks and injuries of every bold and wicked invader. " From this Text, Re/Ift *' not evil ; but whoever Jhall Jmite thee on thy right " cheeky turn to him the othe', a! jo {y ), and fome " others of the like nature, not only the primitive *' Fathers, bur a confider^ble feci, even now a- *' mong the Proteftants, think all felf defence un- *' lawful (2)/' How unfair would it be to impofe upon the religion af nature any one of thofe abfur- dities, which many Philofophcrs pretend to hold as its dictates ? And, is it not equally unreafonable to infinuate, that fome people mifunderftand the words of an Author, and thereforethey mult be taken in that fenfe which tlie Author never meant they Ihould exprefs ? Without resfarding what either antient or modern have underflood by th^fe propo- fitions, 'tis incumbent on us in order to apprehend Vol. II. F their
(y) Matth. v. 39. fz) ChriHianity as old, ^c, p. 340.
42 The Truth of the Sect. VIIL
their true meaning, honeiily to confider what there is in the context to determine and iix it.
From ver. 2 1 . of this fifth chap, ot^ Malt hew j to the 26. our Saviour having inlf rucled his difciples in the part rht-y ought to act upon their having been in- jurious to or her people ; he comes in the 38. ver. to the 42. to teach them after what manner they muft behave when other people happen to be injurious to them. Te have heard ^ hy% our Lord, /fc// it hath- been faid^ an eye for an eye.^ and a tooth for a tooth. But 1 fay unto you^ that ye refift not evil^ hut zvhofoe- ver f ball f mite thee on the right cheek .^ turn to hhn the ether alfo. And if any man will fue thee at the law^ and take away thy coat^ let him have thy cloak alfo. And whojoever fball compel thee to go a mile^ go with him twain. Here our Saviour has in view what was praclifed among the Jews, under the law of retalia- tion. And, no doubt, as it is here infinuated, under the credit of this law, fome people took occafion to gratify a malicious and revengeful fpirit, either vio- lently refenting injuries themfelves, or with rigour profccuting before the Judge even the flighefl inju- ries that might bedonethem. So'thatinthe cafe of inju- ries received, our Lord forming the conduct of his Dif- ciples, in oppofition to that of the Jews^ as they afted under the law of retaliation, we are led directly to apprehend, that by this precept, refifi not evil^ we are commanded to fupprefs all malicious and revenge- ful pallions, that may be apt to rife in our minds a- nginit thofe who have done us an injury. And indeed the word avridrnvoit^ here rendered refft^ fre- quently fignifies only that refiftance or oppofition that rells in the inward powers of the mind, with- out employing the body, or ufmg any Ibrt of ex- ternal force whatfoever. And taking it in this fenfcj as the context and the nature of the evange- lical
Sect. VIII. Chrijlian Revelation, 43
lieal inftitution determine it, the oppofition or re- lillance made to injuries received, here prohibited, muft confitl in wrath, mahce, and revenge, the pallions that fet our mind in enmity to another. So that, I fay, the non-refillance of evil or of inju- ries received, here plainly fignities, the non -indul- gence of malicious and revengeful pallions. And as our Saviour, in this article, informs his Difciples what particular puflions they mull avoid ; fo, in the other articles, he lets them know, what particular affections or difpofitions they muit entertain ; which he defcribes in a form of (peech, that intimates a readinefs of mind to fubmit to a repetition of the like injuries, without being provoked to any mali- cious refentment. IVhofoever^ fays he, fljall fmtte thee on thy right cheeky turn to him the other alfo^ &cc, I fay, in thefe articles, as every man of commqii refleclion and fair dealing mull underitand them, we are commanded to bear what affronts and in- juries are done us, with compofure of mind, with patience and meekncfs, without either avenging our- felves, or giving place unto wrath and rigorous lavv- fuits and profecutions, for doing ourfelf juftice, or repairing the hurt we have, received. And thefe mo- ral precepts being thus underftood, in a plain and cafy meaning, as they are oppofed to the conducT: of the ^czas under the law of retaliation, it feems very manifeit, that we are in no degree deprived of that felf-defencc, which a good man would wilh to have in his power.
There are three cafes tliat here feem to be put by our Saviour ; the fij-Jt is, That of a fudden affront, when a man fmites us on the right cheek ; the fe- cond is, That of a man's injurioully fuing us at law, Aand taking away our coat ; and the third is, That of a man's ufing main force and violenc;, invading
our
44 ^he Truth of the Sect. VIII.
our liberty, and compelling us to go a mile. Now, in all thefe feveral cafes, we are cofLmandcd to be fo .void of paiTion and revenge, to be mailers of fo much greatnefs and compofure, that undillurbed, and regardlefs of the impotent malice of our enemies, we could even turn to our fmiter the other cheek, and receive a fecond indignity ; we could even let the man who at law has found means to take away our coat, have our cloak alfo ; and with the man w)^o has forced us to go a mile, we could even go twain. By all which, it is clearly intimated, that in C2.\c of injuries received, of whatever fort, our in- ward compofure, patience, and meeknefb, mud ne- ver fail, fo as to give place to wrath, malice, and revenge. Nor, I fiy, do thefe precepts tie Up a man's hands, or reltrain him from defending him- felf. On the contrary, as all fuch precepts fet us above our enemies, ana derive a dignity to our con- dudl*; fo they preferve a conftant calm and ferenity within, and, when it is in our power, enable us to vindicate our julf rights, without difturbing the laws of reafon or of fociety. In ihort, in one of the cafes here mentioned, we have our Saviour's example teaching us to juifify and defend ourfelves; and in the other two, we fee the principle of felf- prcfervation is exerted.. > Thus we are told, that when our Saviour Ifood before the High-priefl, one of the officers fiyuck y ejus With the prilm cf his hand: Upon which, our Lord, not turning literally his o- ther cheek to the fmiter, but receiving the aifront with an unfliaken greatneis and compofure of mind, which fhews himi fuperior to all infuks and injuries, and is all that is underllood by tije phrafe, exerts the principle of felf-defence, and without any degree of malice, or revenge, feverely checks the infolence of the mai] : If I have fpoken evil, fays our Lord,
kar
Sect. VIII. Chrijllan Revelation. 45
hear witnefs of the evil ; but if well^ why fmiteft thou me (a) ? And it a man may ufe his tongue in fup- preiiing the inlolence of his enemy, why may he not, to the fame purpofe, when his fafety requires it, make ufe of any orher member of his body I In the fecond cafe, a man is reprefented to be fued at law^, and, in the ifTue, to have loll his coat, which fuppofes he made defences. And in the third cafe, a man is compelled to go a mile ; which plainly inti* mates, that what oppoiltion he thought proper to make, did not prove effectual. From ail wliich, it feems extremely manifefl, that thofe precepts of the Gofpel do by no means tie up a man's hands, and re- llrain the principle of fclf- defence, fo as to expole us to the infults and injuries of every bold, wicked invader.
The great defign of the Gofpel of Jefus Chrift is to adjuft the inward conducft of mankind ; and when people keep their minds under the fteady influence of thofe fpiritual precepts it prefcribes to us, they may be trufted with tlie outward motions of their body, and will not fail, in all circumftances, parti- cularly in the matter of felf defence, to a(5l a juft, a generous, and a noble part, the part of a great mind, animated with divine fentiments, above being fhaken with the tumults of wrath and revenge (/').
Let
{a) Joh. xviii. 22, 23.
[b) Nee vero audiendi, qui graviter 'irafcendum ini'micis pu- tant, idque magnanimi et foriis viri efle. cenfent. Nihil enim laudabilius. nihil magno et praeclaro viro dignius, placabilitate atque dementia. Cic. de Offic. lib. i. cap. 25.
Illud non venit in dubium, quin fe exemerit turbae, et altius fteterit, quifquis defpexit laceilentes. Proprium eft maanitudinis verae, non fe fentire percufium. Sic immanis fera ad'latratuin canem lenta refpexit. Sic irritus ingenti fcopulo fludus alTultat. Qui non irafcitur, inconcuflbs injuria perHitit : Qui irafcitur, mo- tas eft, Senec, de Ira lib. iii, cap. 25.
Puro^
46 "The Truth of the Sect. VIII.
Let it now be remarked, that tlie moral dotSlrines of the Antknts, renowned for wifdom, may, in the fame inltances, with as good reafon, be accufed of depriving peopk of felf-dttcnce, and expofing them to every invader. Tlie fentimcnts jult now tran- fcribed, in the margin, from Seneca^ one might pre- tend, are liable to this imputation ; But 1 Ihall only inifance in Socrates: This divine man, not only ex- pref>]y declares it a bafe and wicked thing to be, in any degree, injurious to another ; but he warmly profcffes, that what injuries Ibever we may happen to fuffer at the hands of other people, we ought, by no means, to avenge ourfelves, or to render to any man evil for evil (t). This indeed he confelTes is a do6lrine that few people will agree to. But he is pofitive in alTerting it •, nor does he fail to put it in pradice, whilit he turned the othtr cheek to him that fmote him^ that is, patiently bore fuch indignities, and exerted no pa/Tion of wrath or refentment {d) ; even going the length, ^.'s, Plato reprefents the matter,
in
Dum inter homines fumus, colamus humanitatem : non timori cuiquam, non pericu'o fimus : detriment-i, injunas, convicia, vellicationes contemnamus, et magno animo brevia feramus in- commoda. Id. ibid, cap 43.
Sed adver^js hoftes. inquit, necefi'aria eft ira. Nufquam mi- nus : ubi non efFufoE effe oportet impetus, kd temperatos et cbe-
dientes. Deinde quid opus eft ira, cum idem perficiat ratio ?
Id. ibid lib. i. cap. 1 1.
At fapieris colaphis percuflus, quid facial ? Quod Cato, cum illi OS percufTum eftet : non excanduit, non vindicavit injuriam :" ne remifit quidcm, fed faflam negavit. Majore animo ncn ag- novit, quam ignovifTet. Id. de Conftant. Sapient, cap. 14.
(<:) OvTi. OLf>a dvrai'iy.m c/et, vti accKc^t; ttohTv adtycc av- ^f<oruv^ «(^' aV GTi\iv TTU^ii VTT oivTCiiv. Plat, in C'rit. p. 49* vol. i.
{(fj Socratem aiunt colapho percufTum. , nihil amplius dixifte, quam moleftum efle, quod nefcirent homines cum galea prodire deberent. Senec. de Ira. lib. iii. cap. 11. Vid. cap. 38. D. Laert. in Socrat. Plutarch.de Liber, educand. p. 10. c.
Sect. VIII. Chriflian Revelation. 47
in his Crito^ to let thofc that had taken away his li- berty, have his life aljo ; rather than prove injurious to the laws of fociety, or civil government, which, he apprehended, forbid a prifoner to make his efcape out of cuttody. Thus, I fiiy, the dodrines and pra- ctice of Socrates "may be counted hurtful or mif- chievous, as they feem to render men pufillanimous, to retirain the principle of felf-defence, and to ex- pofe people to the infuks and injuries of every ag- greiTor. But what man of common underifanding ever took it in his head, to charge the doctrines of Socrates with fo fcnfelefs an imputation ? And why the writings of Plato fhould meet with more candid treatment than thofe of the Apoflles, I am not able to underitand. Cclfus himfelf adls a much fairer part ; for thofe very Texts which Dr. ^indal would have to be fo abfurd and mifchievous, do, in his o- pinion, contain fuch excellent dodlrines, that, to lefTen the reputation of the Apoflles, he tells us, '' They were taught by antient Philofophers, men ^' greatly famed for their wifdom (^).'' The con- duct of fome people feems really very unaccount- able, nor am I able to reconcile it to the character of fcholars, or of honefl men : They (hew a great deal of art in clearing up the fentiments of antient moral Philofophers, and, in feveral inilances, would fet them in a better light than they are able to bear ; but, as to the dodtrines of the Gofpel, all their art is employed to expofe and ridicule them. For my part, 1 cannot but reft fatisfied, that if with the fame good difpofitions, wherewith people read, and endeavour to underftand Plato^ Cicero^ i^c, they v^ould read and ftudy the writings of the Apoftles ; fo far would they be from finding them, in any ar- ticle, abfurd, or ufelefs, or mifchievous, that they
would
(0 Vid. Orig. contra Cdf, lib. vi. p, 286. lib. vii. p. 370,
4? Ihe Tnith of the Sect. IX,
would honeftly confcfs, they are altogether con- fiitent with the purell inlormations of reafon, and ferve effcdtaally to promote the order of the world, the peace and happinefs of human kind, in every fi- tuation of life, in every ftage of exigence.
Thus it appears, that the doctrines of the Gofpel, thofe doctrines taught by the Apoliles, can afford no ground for a charge of impofture againft them.
SECT. IX.
From their general Conduct it appears^ that the Apojiks were no Impofiors,
AN D, therefore, in the next place, if there is ground to fufpecr the Apoftles of having been animated in the feivice of the Gofpel, from any worldly confideration, this mull certainly appear from their other adlions of life. And if the Apo- flles fhall be found, in any one inllance of their conduct, ever to have betrayed an inclination to make an attempt towards compalling any carnal or worldly enjoyment, as that which they were mainly driving at ; as tl]is is utterly inconfiftent with the whole fcheme of their doctrines, fo it mu(t neceifa- rily expofe them to our djeepeft abhorrence, as men of the moft atheiltical principles, who, under the ftrongeit fhews of religion, believed nothing con- cerning the Deity, and fecretly made a jeft of a fu- ture ftate of rewards and punifliments. So black a charge cannot eafily be admitted againft any man ; but in the cafe of the Apodles, how can it poffibly. be admitted without the moil overbearing evi- dence ?
Nq
Sect. IX. Chrifiian Revdatmu 45
No doubt, mankind have, in all ages, been capa, ble of ading very wickedly; but, in fpite of all thofe villainies that are far too common in the world, one Ihould think, that by how much a crime is ihocking to human nature, by fo much oueht the evidences to be clear and ftrong, that would prove a man guilty of it. And mult not thefe evidences be yet fo much the clearer and llronger, as the ciime allcdgcd happens to be more contradidory to a man's avowed principles, and the common courfe of his life I And If ill a great deal clearer and llronger mull not thofe evidences be, when the crime alled- ged is not a traniient acfl, but a conlfant couife of horrid violence to the comm«on fentiments of huma- nity, and to one's own avowed principles and pro- felfion ? Thus it is that common juftice would di- late to us. So that how the Deilts will find it poflible to make out againlf the Apoftles the charge of impoiture, that would involve them in the guilt of obltinate atheifm, or of a fettled contempt of God, and a future world, I will not pretend to de- termine : Only, befides the common impreifions of human nature, the divine dodrines they publifhed. and taught, the fervent zeal with which, at the ha- zard of their lives, they propagated through the M^orld thofe heavenly inftruclions ; and the fpotlefs integrity that always appeared in the whole courfe of thth- Minilfry, are Itrong, very llrong prefum- prions of their innocence, and that fo hainous a charge, that would involve them in fuch fliocking guilt, cannot poffibly be ju'rified.
'' Socrates^ the greatefl of Pli-lorophers, the very *' founder of pdilofophv itfelf f^),'' is the nr^n, whole charader, in feveral inftances, comes nearelt to thac of the Apoilles : A noble Author is of opinion, thac
Vol. II. G Kis
{a) Charai^erift. vol. iii. p. 244,
50 The Truth of the Sect. IX.
his prefenting himfelf openly in the Theatre wheil the Comedy was acting which Ariftophanes wrote, on parpofe to expofe hioi, is " a demonftration that *^ there was no impoilyre either in his character or " opinions (/;)/' And I do beHeve, that the De- ifts would count it a very extravagant attempt, fhould any one undertake to make out fuch a crime againfl this man of invincible goodnefs {c)\ But how is fuch an attempt againfl the Apoftles, in any meafure Ids abfurd or extravagant I 1 dare ven- ture to fay, that by what arguments the Deifls ihall vindicate Socrates^ by the fame and llronger argu- ments may any one jultify the Apoftles. And if the Deills find good reafon to acquit Socrates from the imputation of impolfure, it is impofllblc they can judge confidently when they compare characters to- gether, vvithout finding far better reafon to acquit the Apotfles.
I have juil now explained, that the doctrines of the Apoftles can afford us not the leaft ground to lufpect them of impolture ; and I am now to endea- vour to fhow, that the other adions of their lives can as little expofe them to any fuch imputation. But, before I proceed to clear them from the parti- culars of the charge brought againft them, 1 fhall propofe fome general reflections that make it ftrong- Jy evident, that, in the fervice of the Gofpel, the Apoftles could not poflibly have been animated by any worldly confideration whatfoever. And,
Firfl of all, it mult be obferved, that the Apoftles were certainly men of goodfenfe; that, efpecially in moral matters, they were very capable of undcr- ftandin.^ the nature of things, and of forefeeing what might be their confequences. As to all this, every body will reil fatisfied, who, in any fort, has
attended
(,b) Charaaerifl. vol. i. p. jr, (c) Ibid,
Sect. IX. Chrifttan Rerehfim, 51
attended to thofe excellent writings they have left behind them, wherein we Tee that ,in fact they have piopoled to the world a noble fyftem of doctrines for the government of human life ; and that from their knowledge of the humours and palfions of mankind, they forefaw what they fhould certainly meet withal in profecuting their grand undertaking. And as a man of fenfe, when he propofes to himfelf fuch a particular end, mull be underilood to make choice of thofe means that are adapted to the com- palling his defign, and cannot be thought to have pitched upon thofe that have no tendency but to baffle all his intentions ; fo, when it is fuppofed that the main end the Apoltles were driving at in the propagation of the Gofpel, was fome carnal or worldly enjoyment, it cannot poffibly be imagined, that the means they employed were utterly repug- nant to their principal defign ; but we mufl exped, that the meafures they framed fhall be found to fuit with their intentions. Some people indeed may have the fkill to lay their defign fo deep, or to cover it oyer fo artfully, that it fliall not be eafy to pene- trate into it. But when a man fits down, and ha- ving his main end in his eye, is compofing a fcheme of things, as the certain or probable means whereby he can gain the accomplifhment, let him be mailer of ever fo much artifice, it feems quite impoffible but his main end mull betray itfelf, either in the contexture of the whole, or in fome particular branch of that plan he lays down to be purfued ; For one iliould think, that the mind, always filled with the principal plot, and being at all times under its commanding influence, of necefficy, in a train of thing.^, or a courfe of time, it will make fome Heps, or bring forth fome actions, 'of the fame na- ture and compleclion with that which it isJ chiefly
aiming
SZ The Truth of the Sect* IX.
aiming at. Thus it plainly happened in the cafe of that grand impoftor Mahomet [d ) ; thus it hkcwife happened in tne church of Rome; and no inltance can be given to the contrary. So that in the cafe of the Apoltles, the Golpel being the only means which they can be thought to have employed in the purfuit of the end they intended, if they were in- deed animated only by fome fecular rt-gards, it is im- polFiMe but we muft find the Gofpel, in fome par- ticular initance, at leali, clearly pointing towards that which they were mair/ly projecting. But let 115 confider.
What is there in the whole contexture, or in any particular branch of the Gofpel pablifned by the A- poilles, that canfeem adapted to anyfecular defign, or upon which a I'uppofition c an be grounded, that, in the profecution of their pnrpofe, the Apollles were under the prevailing power of fome w^orldly confi- deration ? They do not introduce into their fylfem of religion, or fet at the head of the moral world, a god whofe nature would protedl them in the grati- fication of fenfual paffions; nor do we find them teaching the lawfulnefs of wars undertaken for the fake of empire, or giving out the extent of domini- on as a glorious proof of one's- love of one's coun- try ;
{J) La verite eft que Mahomed merite toutes ces railleries, '& quand il n'y auroit dans fbn Alcoran que ces ordures perpetuelles fur les plaifirs des fens, qu' il ofe placer dans le Paradis, com- me fur le trone, qui leur convient, clles fuffiroient pour nous le prendre mepr fable. On voit qu'il s'eft prevalu du climat & des chaleurs de I'Arabie. pour s' infmuer dans les bonnes graces de fes compatriotes, qui, ne connoiflant gueres que ces fortes de voluptez.j ont dcnne la dedans avec beaucoup d' appetit. C eft dans le meme efi:>rit qu'il a permis a fes feclateurs S: h poly- gamic & le divorfe, Sc la jou. fiance meme des efclaves que Ton pofTede. La relig. des Mahomet, tire du Latin de M. Rcland. ip.156,
Sect. IX. Chrijlian Revelation. 53
try; there is not any thing like a community of wives that they would recommend to mankind ; nor do they pretend to promife in a future llate a- ny of the grofs enjoyments of fenfe, that would engage people to indulge them here in this world. Such dodrineswere maintained in fhe Heathen world, even by fome of their belt Philofophers ; they were, fome of them, acceptable to the Jews {/) ; and they might have ferved tl:ie purpofe of the Apoftles, had their end in tl;e propagation of the Gofpel been a- ny fenfual gratification. But fo far are the Apollles from giving any the lead turn to their dodrines, that would feem to favour the dcfigns of worldly men, that no fyftem of things can be framed that fliill bear in it a. llronger contradidion to worldly purfults and to worluly ends.
In the Gofpelj we are given to underftand, that mankind in this world are mere fl rangers paffing on to another life, and that all our prefent enjoyments muft therefore be regarded only as fo many accom- modations prepared for us by kind Providence, for the con veniency of our journey. And thus letting us know that here we are only ilrangers, the Gofpel fets before us a future ftate of immortal happinefs, and llrongly follicites our ambition while it invites us 10 afpife to the heavenly manfions, to the prefence of God, and an innumerable company of blelTed Ipirits, among whom there is joy unfpeakable and full of glory. And that w:e may not millake our way, or wander in purfuits that would carry us quite oif from that future life and immortality, the Golpel clearly explains to us the nature and perfedions of an infinite mind, as the pattern upon which, fo far ^s we are able, wxmuil necelTarily form ourfelves ;
or
{e) Vid. Selden. de J. Nat. et Gent, fecund. Hebr. lib. 6. ^3p, 3 et 12,
54 ^1^^ 7>^'^/j of the Sect. IX.
or it reveals to us a fyftem of laws, in obferving of which we fliall efcape the pollutions of this world, and acquire all thofe endowments th.it will qualify us for the enjoyment of God, and the fociety of the heavenly inhabitants. So that in the Gofpcl which they taught, the Apoflles call otf our hearts trom all worldly gratifications, wherein fhould we reil:, v/t are undone for ever ; and they dired us to fee our effeclions on thofe things that are above ; in the fir ft place to feek the kingdom of- God and his right e- cufnefs^ alfuring us, that while we are thus employed in afpiring after future glory, honour, and immorta- lity, the. Providence of God will take care of us with refpecl to our prefent accommodations, and favour our honefl endeavours to procure them, as in his infinite wifdom he fliall fee it moil confiftent with our fuprem.e good and felicity.
This, in general, is the fcheme of things which the Apoflles propofe to us in the Gofpel, and which they inculcate upon mankind, with the greatefl zeal and the mofl prefHng arguments. Dearly beloved, fay they,, we bejeech you as Jtr angers and pilgrims^ ab- ftain from flejhly lufts which war againft the foul (/). We bejeech you by the mercies of God^ that ye prefent your bodies a living facrifice holy^ acceptable unto God, which is your reafonable fervice : And be not conformed to this world ; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind (^). 7ake heed that you lay not up for y our f elves treafures upon earthy where moth and ruji doth corrupt^ and where thieves break through and fteaL But lay up for yourfelves treafures in heaven, where neither moth nor ruft doth corrupt^ and where . thieves do not break through nor JleaL For where your tr-eafure is^ there will your heart be alfo {Jo). And,
upon
{f) I Pet. 2. ii. II. (^) Rom. xii. i, 2.
{h) Matth. vi. 19, 20, 21.
Sect. IX. ' Chnftian Revelation* 55
upon thus fetting your afFedions on things abovCj and not on things on the earth, you may reft af- fured, that when Chrift who is our life Jhall appear^ then Jhall ye alfo appear with him in glory (J), For we muft all appear before the judgment -feat of Chrifly that every one may receive the things done in his bcdy^ according to that he hath done^ whether it be good or had (/ej. Upon which mankind are left to refled, Whit is a man profiled^ if he fhall gain the whole world, end lofe his own foul ? or what fhall a man give in ex* change for his foull And when the Apoftles, with the utmoft earnellnefs, do thus recommend to mankind a courfe of Hfe that prevents our taking up our reft in this world, and elevates our fouls above all earthly things, to the purfuit of a glorious immor- tality, in imitating the perfections of God, and in a fteady obfervance of the laws of his heavenly kingdom ; where is the means fitted to a fecular de- fign ? What fort of doctrines could they teach more contradictory" to worldly purpofes ? Or what mea- fures could they take more eftectually to confound theif plot, had it been of a fecular nature \
It muft / owned, that in the execution of their intentions, .he Apoftles could have no profpedt of affiftance but from their own Difciples. But what affiftance could they podibly expedt from thofe per- fons, in whofe minds they made it their bufinefs to eftablifli thofe principles that make it neceifary for mankind to regard all that is in the world, the luft cf thefiefh^ and the luft of the eyes^ and the pride of life^ as things highly criminal (w), and that in- fpire us with an ardour of foul in the purfuit of piety and virtue, as the great accomplifliments that fit us for the heavenly manfions I One fhould think, that
to
(0 Colofs. iii. 4. (^) 1 Cor. v. 10, (I) Matth,
xvi, 26, (w) I Joh, ii. 16.
56 The Truth of the Sect. IX
to purify human minds from all wordly pafTions, and to poiiefs them with the love of God and of man- kind, with univerfal goodncfs and righteoufnefs, is fo far from preparing people to fervc us in accom- plifhiiig any unlawful fccular deflgn, that we are thereby arming them againll us, and doing the beft we can to render their oppolition (teady and refolute. And does not this lead us to apprehend, that the doctrines propagated by the Apolfles were the moft eficclual means they could employ, to difappoint the fuccefs of any worldly purpofe tnat could poffi- bly be intended f Upon the fuppofition of their ha- ving been animated in the fervice of the Gofpel, from fome worldly confideration, let us miagine, that the Apoflles have at length come to pull off the niafl<:, and to fhow themfelves m their real character ; would they not, in this event, have found. the whole world their moll: implacable enemies, furioufly in- raged, and fiercely bent on their ruin ? Moil certain- ly, fuch as hitherto had oppofed them, would now with juilice openly, on their fide, exert their re- venge with greater heat and violence; and thofe ve- ry perfons whom they had perfu;.ded to declare for the Gofpel, and from whom alone they could hope to befupported, would, to the higheO: pitch, be now exafpe rated againll: them, and by the force of thofe very principles which they had been at pains to in- culcate upon them, would find themfelves powerful- ly determined to join the reft of the world in pur- fuingthem to death, as the moft impious and aban. doned Impoftors. And indeed whit could have been more provoking, what could have more infla- med people's indignation, than their finding, that the Apollles, while they pretended, under the great- eft Ihew of piety, to lead them on to future glory and immortality, only meant to employ them as in-
ftruments
Sect. IX. Chrtjlian Revelation, 57
flrnments to compafs fome bafe worldly piirpofes ? Thus, I fay, had the Apoille.^ mads ufe of the Gof. pel as an engine, whereby to make a party in the world, that Ihould luilain and protect them in any fecular defign they had formed ; nothing can be more manifelt, than that this could have only ferved to oblige thofe very perfons, on whom alone they could rely, to abandon their intereft, to withftand them to the utmoil of their power, and to join vi- goroufly in their total overthrow, when ever they ihould come to underfland what they were aiming at.
So that the open contradiction which the do- ctrines of the Gofpel, the only means employed by the Apollles for compalling the end they intended, I fay, the violent contradiction which the Gofpel bears to every fecular view, to all worldly purpoles, puts it beyond all poffible doubt, that the Gofpel was never framed with any the leait intention there- by to procure eartiily enjoyments ; and that the A- poltles were neither put upon their enterprife, nor Supported in profecuting it, from any worldly power or motive whatfocver. And if a man of common underftanding will confult the fentiments of his own heart, or how he himfelf would ad: in fuch particular circumltances, I dare venture to fay, he will find, that this is fo clear a demonltration upon the principles of human nature, that the A- poftles, in the propagation of the Gofpel, were no Impofhors, that, to propofe any thing further in their jultification upon this article, may be thought altogether needlefs. However, I fliall go on to ano- ther general refledion. And,
Had the Apoftles, in the propagation of the Gof- pel, defigned to have promoted any worldly plot, they would certainly have found themfelves neccffi-
VoL. II. H rated
5$ The T^rufh of the Sect. IX.
rated to take mod of their Difciples into the con- cert. Sach a condad, I confefs, feenis contrary to the rules of prudence; But the dodrines they taught being naturally all calculated to train peo- ple up, and to fupport them, only in the purfuit of iprituai and heavenly objeds ; to prevent the influ- ence of thofe doctrines, or to bring it about that they iliould not engage the world to deteat the plot, when it Ihould be ripe for execution, muil it not -have been flrongly inculcated, that by thofe do- cl ines it v^as only meant to cover a defign of gain- ing fome worldly purpofe ? Upon which one cannot but obferve, that not only the Apoltles muft have given up themfelves to the mod abandoned princi- pleSj but they muft likewife have brought the world about them into the fame ftate of atheifm. But how extravagant fuch an imputation is in the cafe of the Apoltles, and how impoflible fuch an e- vent mud be reckoned with refpect to the reft of mankind", while the doclrines of the Gofpel are o- penly preffed on their attention, 1 leave to every man to judge. 1 would only, I fay, obferve, that in the fervice of the Gofpel, had the Apoftles had in view any fecular defign, they muft of neceihcy have difcovercd it to moft of their Difciples.
Now, the cafe being thisfituated, gieat numbers of people being taken in as accomplices, how was it poihble to prevent the whole from being made pu- blic ? To truft a plot in but a few hands, every bo- dy knows, is very dangerous ; but to commit the fe- cret to many, is to multiply the dangers in propor- tion to the numbers that are admitted; and if thofe many come to fuffer for it, is it not then ibfolutely impolTible but among thoufands, efpecially of com- mon people, v/ho in all ages have' been every where very unfit confidents, the dedgn muft very foon
come
Sect. IX. Cbnjiian Revelation. 59
come fully to be dered:ed ? All this feems to Jie obvioao to one who refleds on the principles of hu- man nature, on the feveral weakneffes and puiTions of mankind, and on what has never yet failed to happen in the world. And what was to hinder this from coming to pafs in the cafe of the Apoitles, had they employed the Gofpei as an engine whereby to compafs any carnal or worldly intereil ? One ihould think it unavoidable. But io tar was any thing of this nature trom happening, that the Apoilles and their Difciples always refolutely perfiflect in the clean contrary declarations. And is it not furprifing how this plot, which muil have been intruded to infinite numbers of people, every where through the world, never came to be difcovered, neither from the hor- ror of the thing itfelf, (and full of horror it muft have been, when carried on under the the mofl facred appearances of religion, the moil awful re- prefentations of God and another world) ; nor from any one fingle imprudent word or adlion, nor from any fore of futility, nor difcontent, nor bribes, nor tortures, nor from any other tempta- tion, to which people in fuch circum fiances are ob- noxious ?
The Difciples of the Apoftles did not all of them continue in their profeflion ; fome of them renoun- ced the dodrines of the Gofpei, and took up again with their former principles. And it is to be thought, that, inftead of juflifying the change they had made, by expofing the cabal wherein they had been engaged, they would chufe to give an account of things, th-at diredly vindicates the Apoilles, and proclaims the facrednefb of the fcheme they had formed ? Is it not amazing, that among all the Apo- ftates from Chrillianity, who r-eturned again to Ido- latry, and, as a proof of their being in good earneil,
curfed
6d The Truth of the Sect. IX.
curfed and blafphemed Chrift Jefus^xhtxt was not one of them that difclored the grand fecret ; but to their own lalting reproach, gave a quite contrary ac- count of the nature and defign of the Chriitian in- ftitution, and did really reprefent it in that light, that fhews it not only to be altogether harmlefs and innocent, but to be wifely framed to derive infinite benefit to mankind ?
The Apolfles were perfecuted themfelves, they neither promifed, nor were they able to protect their Difgiples from the cruelleit fufferings. And, is it to be thought, that, every-where through the world, vafl numbers of people, in oppofition to their own countrymen, their bell acquaintances, and nearefl relations, would obflinately keep the fecret, and lay down their lives in a caufe, from which they could then hope to reap no advantage, and which, by the principles of the Gofpel they profefTed, would certainly involve them in eternal mifery; and all this for the fake of a few obfcure perfons, mere ftrangers of no character ? Did it ever happen among mankind, that multitudes of poor-fpirited, fickle and needy creatures, through all parts of the world, efpecially weak timorous wo- men, (who particularly were put to the rack, as being far more apt, becaufe of the delicacy of their conltitution, to be frightened, or tortured into a confeffion) I fay, w^is it ever known among man- kind, that vail numbers of fuch fort of people, did all keep miraculoufly firm to one another in the m oft Heady and uniform manner, notvvithfranding the feveral weakneffes, and all the llrongell pafTions of human nature, triumphantly rejecting bribes, and <;lerpifing tortures, rather than betray a few abjed Impollors, whereby they might be bettered, at
leatl.
Sect. IX. Chriflian Revelation. 6i
leaft^ iecnred all their own mod valuable enjoy- ments ?
That thu - it actually happened, in the cafe of the primitive Chnili ms, \^ attelled by a very confider- able man, P iny^ a Romcn Senator and Conftil, who himfelf took cognizance of the matter, and made jnquifition by torture, to bring the plot to light, but found none i^n). And niult not this be reckon- ed another clear demonltration, that the Apoiiles, in the dilcharge of their office, were far from being Impoftors ? One Ihould thi.sk, that, in the moral world, it as impoflible for the Apoilles to have been
animated
(«) Propofitus eft libellu'^ fine Audlore, multomm nomina con- tlnens, qui negaixnt 1e eile Chriitianos, aut fuii e quum, prsc- eunte mc, deos appellarent, et imagini tuse, quam propter hoc juliorum cum fimulacris numinum afferri, thure ac vino fupplica- rent, praeterea maledicerent Chiiilo : quorum nihil cogi poile di- cuntur, qui I'unt revera Chrifliani. Ergo dimittendos putavi. Alii ab indice nominati, t^t fe Chriftianos dixerunt, et mox ne- gaverunt : fuifle quidem, fed defifle. quidam ante friennium, quidam ante plures annos, non nemo viginti quoque. Omnes et imaginem tuam, deofumque fimulacra venerati funt, ii et Chrifto maledixerunt. Affirmabant autem hanc fuifle fummam vel culpse fua?, vel erroris, quod efTent foliti ftato die ante lucem convenire, carinenque Chrifto, quafi Deo dicere fecum invicem ; feque facramento non in fcelus aliquod obftiingere, fed ne furta, ne latrocinia, ne adukeria committerent, ne fidem fallerent, ne depofttum appellati abnegarent. Quibus pera6lis morem fibi difcedendi fuilie, rurrufque coeundi ad capiendum cibum, pro- mifcuum tamen et innoxium : quod ipfum facere defifle port e- diflum meum, quo fecundum mandata tua hetasrias efl!e vetue- ram. Quo mag^is neceflarium credidi, ex duabus ancillis, qus miniftr^E dicebantur, quid eflet veri et per tormenta quserere. Sed nihil aliud inveni quam fuperftitionem pravam et immodi- cam, ideoque, dilata cognitione, ad confulendum te decurri. Vifa eft enim mihi res digna confultatione, maxime propter periclir tantium numerum; multi enim omnis astatis, omnis ordinis, utri- ufque fexus etiam, vocatur in periculum, et vocabuntur. Nequq enim civitates tantum, fed vicos etiam atque agros fuperftitionis iftiuscontagio peryagata eft. Plin. Epift. 97. lib. x.
62 The Truth of the Sect. IX.
animated in the propagation of the Gofpel, from the influence of a traittrous confpiracy againfl God and mankind, as it is in the natural world for this ftopenduous fabric of the univerfe to have taken its rife from the jumbJing together of atoms.
And indeed the Apotllcs themfelves, far from the condition of thofe perfons that are fecretly carrying on any traiterous defign, were fo little concerned about what any man in the world had in his power to make public againft them, that they dealt by their own Dilciples in fuch a manner, as could not but have provoked them to difclofe all their vil- lainies, had they been privy to any confpiracy of a fecular nature. Such, I fay, was the conduct of the Apoftles, that while the managers of a plot, againft the interefts of other people, mufl be ex- tremely cautious not to difoblige any of their afTo- ciates, and find it necefTary to be always very indul- gent, they, by no means, go about, in any degree to carefs or humour fuch as they had engaged to embrace their interefl ; nor do they fuffer them to commit, without feverely checking them, any what- ever adion inconfiflent with the doiftrines of the Gofpel ; but, while they openly appeal to God, and call upon the world, upon all that had been moft intimately acquainted with them, to bear wit- nefs to the uprightnefs of their hearts, and the inte- grity of their lives, they never fail to exercife all proper feverities againft fuch of their followers as, in any inltance, did not walk anfwerably to thofe principles of univerfal righteoufnefs, which they had been taught, and whereof they had made public profefTion. And from this condud of the Apoftles, what can be plainer, than that they were in no concert for promoting any worldly defign ? To check people for every act of unrighteoufnefs, and
not
Sect. IX* Chriflian Revelation, 63
not to bear with them in the neglecfi: of any in- Itance of goodnefs, is but very bad difcipline for thofe who are to be employed in the executing a plot full of wickednefs. One ihould think that, in the profped of fuch an event, the Apoif les would have been a little more indulgent to their Difciples^ and rather have chofen to have overlooked their failings, which not hurting the main defign, might afford them furer hopes of having their afliftance. Nor do the Apoilles fo contrive it, that the cenfures inflicted upon offenders, ihall be the leaft provo- king, or fuch as maybe confiltent with their tVill re- taining an intereft in the main thing intended ; whereby their exerting themfelves in carrying it on might Itill be fccured. So far were the Apoflles a- bove the fear of being difcovered, and fo little did they mind people's contributing their affiitance in campafFmg any worldly defign, that it was their common way to command their Difciples, in the mod folemn manner, to withdraw tkemjehes from every brother that walked diforderly^ and not after the tradition^ or the infhruclions of the Gofpel, he had received of them ; and when the offence re- quired it^ they did not fcruple to fingle out particu- lar perfons, and to proceed againft them with the utmoil feverity, in excommunicating them the Chri- flian fociety. And when people came to be thus publicly branded with fo much infamy, that they were held too fcandalous to be' converfed with, and were at the fame time cut off from all profpecl of reaping any benefit from the confederacy wherein they had been embarked ; is it to be thought, that fuch perfons, who were thus publicly affronted, and totally deprived of all their expedlations, would not have expofed the Apoflles had it been in their
power.
64 The Truth of the Sect. IX.
power, and laid open the whole train of their wic- kednefs ?
There is norhing more certain, than that, in all ages of the world, men have been always Itrongly aftecled with a qaick fenfe of infamy, and would have rather chofe to fubmit to any '^hing, than to be every where pointed at as the hateful Ipeclacles of contempt and averfion. And indeed, what com- fort can a man have in life, when he comes to be ihunned by every body, as a worthlefs ignominious wretch, too infamous with whom to have any in- tercourfe .^ A man, in fuch circumilances, cannot but have his pallions mightily inflamed againfh thofe who have done worfe than banilhcd him hu- man fociety, have laid him under ail the agonies of public reproach and ignominy. And, as it has al- ways raifed abhorrence in human nature, for one man to accufe or reproach another with thofe crimes whereof he himfelf is known to be guilty ; fo one's indignation and revenge mull be exafpera- ed to the higheit pitch, when one reflects that all his difgrace has come upon him, from thofe very men, who, at the bottom, are as wicked and infa- mous as himfelf. And, when a man has fuifered thus much, will he refufe to make reprifals, when he has it in his power to do himfelf juftice ? No, his enraged paffions, and the maHcious pleafure he wants to have indulged, in feeing his enemies made equally odious, will violently puili him on to lay open their character, and to difcover all their fecret villainies. And, without queftion, this he will do the more unmercifully, for his being difap- pointed of all thole advantages which he had pro- mifed himfelf by engaging in their interefl, and keeping their crimes fecret in the purfuit of that confpiracy wherein they were embarked.
Such
Sect. IX. Chrijiian Revelation. 65
Such perfons, therefore, as the Apoftles cut oiF from the body of Chriftians, as too fcandalous to be owned by that fociety, and who, by that means, were given up to public difgrace and infamy, and to fuffer the difappointment of all their hopes, would moft certainly have difclofed all their fecretplot- ings, had there been any worldly concert devifed amongfl them. And when not the leaft fhadow of any thing of this nature ever did appear to the pre- judice of the Apoftles, is not this a mofl: convincing proof, that, in the fervice of the Gofpel, the A- poftles were animated by no fecular defign of any fort ? Thofe holy men, llrongly fortified by a con- fcioufnefs of the innocence, the excellency of their intentions, and the uprightnefs, and integrity of their lives, are not afraid of being difcovercd, how much foever any one may be provoked againll them; but dare be bold publicly to chaflife their own Dif- ciples with the utmofl feverities. And yet, I fay, every body knows how exceeding dangerous it is for an Impoflor to give the lead difcontent to any one of his cabal, tho' the meanell and mofl incon- fiderable 3 and that nothing in the world is more inconflanr, or lefs to be depended on, even amidlt the moil indulgent treatment, than the minds and affections of the multitude, whereof the Apoftles followers moilly confilted.
But fuppofing, what never poflibly could have happened, That the plot was only intrufted with the public Miniiters of the Gofpel ; yet even in this cafe, one cannot imagine but it mult have been detected. Among the Twelve whom our Saviour in his life- time made choice of for his conftant attendants, there was one fo treacherous as to betray innocent blood, and another fo timorous as to deny his Ma-
VoL.IL I fter.
66 7he Truth cf the Sect. IX.
iter. And as for thofe whom the Apoflles employ- ed as their affiflants in the propagation of the Go- fpeh as they mnfl have been all of a villainous con- dudt towards the reft of mankind, fo there is not the leaft doubt but many of them were difpofed to prove perfidious to the Apoftles.
There was a fet of men who had got to be Teach- ers in the Chriftian church, who transforming them- felves into the Apoftles of Chrifi^ or pretending in all inftances to be equal to the Twelve themfelves, were in reality only fa !fe Apoftles^ and deceitful workers (o). ISJow, this fet of men, who feem to have been of the yewijh nation, and obftinately zealous to introduce Jewifh rites into the Chriftian inftitution, did every where, with great heat and violence, oppofe them- felves to the Apoftle Faul in particular', ufing all means in their power to ruin his credit in the world, and to expofe him to univerfal contempt and hatred. Na}'-, fo far did thofe falfe brethren fuffer themfelves to go in their malice againft this Apoftle, and fo eager were they to have him out of the way, that they put him in frequent danger of his life (p). And is it to be thought, that men of fuch difpolitions, had they been confcious of any delign, tlie difcovering of which was certain ruin to St. Faul^ would have kept the fecrct, and thereby faved the man whom they mortally hated, and whofe deftrudion they had confpired ? For no other reafon, but his alter- ing his refolution of coming from Macedonia to Co- rinth ^ occafioned from his underftanding that the Jews laid wait for him by the way (^), they accufe him o f 1 i g h t n e fs o r i n c o n il a n c y , o f wa ikivg a ccc rding to the flejb^ or of confulting his own carnal cafe and fafety, more than the intereft of the Gofpel ; there- by infinu^iting he could be no faithful Apoftle of Je-
fus
(o) 2 Gor. xi. 13. (p) Ibid. ver. 26. [q] Ads-xx. 3,
Sect. IX. Chriflian Revelation. 67
fus Cbrift^ but would frame his do^rines as they might be confident with his own prefer vation (r). Nor do thefe miferies wherein this Apoftle comes to be involved move their pity, or in any degree exte- nuate their maHce ; on the contrary, his afflidions heightened their revenge, -and rendered them more aclive totally to opprefs him. Thus, while he was in bonds at Rome thofe falfe brethren become mighty zealous and bold in preaching the Gofpel -, not that they valued the fucccfs of its dodrines, or had any hearty concern for its profperity ; but that they might thereby incenfe the civil magiitrate, and hallen the ruin of the prifoner, to whofe influence the whole would be imputed, as he was counted a main fupport of this new religion (j). After this man- ner did the impotent malice of thofe falfe Apoftles exert itfelf. And had thofe men, who laid hold of fuch opportunities to gratify their malice, had it in their power to have difcovered any criminal defign, wherein they were confcious this Apoifle was con- cerned, againft any branch of the liberties of man- kind, is ir, I fay, to be thought they would have concealed it ? Would Alexander^ exafperated as^he was, and who had othervvife done the Apolllemuch evil (/), would this man have faithfully kept the fecret I Beyond all queftion, they would have brought it out againft him, \V\xh all its aggrava- tions.
In fliort, the Apoftles themfelves were fometimes upon fuch terms with one another, that the fuppo- ^t^^ plot mud have either been betrayed or quite dilappointed. For it mull be obferved, that how divine foever their doctrines, and however holy their lives, yet in every inftance of their conduct
the
(/•) X Cor. 1. 16, 17. X. 2. (s) Philip, i. 14, 15, 16, [i] I Tim. i, 20. and 2 Tim. \v. 14.
68 ne Truth of the Sect. IX,
the Apoftles were not totally exempt from all the frailties of human nature. We are told that Paul withfiood Peter to the face ^ becaufe be was to be blamed \ and that in relation to the Evangelifl Mark^ there happened a contention betwixt Paul and Barnabas^ which became Jo Jharp^ that they departed afunder one from the other ^ and took with them each his own companion. And how dangerous it is, how fatal it always proves to men confederated together in any criminal defign, thus to oppofe one another, and upon their oppofition to break up and fly afunder, going off in different parties, the world is very fen- llble. So that, I fay, had the plot been entrufted only with the public Minifters of the Gofpel ; even in this cafe it is impoffible but it mud have been detetfled. And there being on all hands, even among thofe falfe brethren, who, altogether regardlefs of the fuc- cefs of the Gofpel, only wanted an opportunity to ruin the Apoftles; there being, I fay, even among fuch perfons, an abfolute filence as to any thing of this nature, this muft afford to every impartial man, who attends to human nature, full conviction of the innocence of the Apoftles.
To all this^ let me now add, There. is a fin cere undifguifcd honefty, a native plainnefs and fimplici- ty that appear confpicuous all over the apoftolical conduct. Such is the human conftitution, that if it be not abfolutely perverted, no man can engage in any criminal purfuit, without expofing his mind to uneafinefs. To prevent therefore the inward re- proaches of a guilty confcience, and to bring about our being eafy and undifturbed in profecuting the wicked defign in v/hich we are refolute, it is our conftant way to extenuate and leffen the crime, or to fet it in fuch a light that it mav appear innocent, and perhaps laudable. Nor can any thing be pore
artful
S^GT. IXi. Chrijlian Revelation. " 69
artful or ingenious than the human mind frequently feems to be, in impofing upon itlblf in fuch initances. So that had the Apoi ties been fo many cheats and Irapoitors, one might exped to find deceit and:falfer hood, the reigning vice they were guilty, of, repre*- fented in fuch a manner, as, in fome circumflances, at lead, not to prove too troublefome to one's con- fcienee. But how very, contrary tx) every thing of this nature, is the whole conduifl of the Apollles t Like (incere honed men, who have no temptation to difgnife the enormity of lying, or to fef it in a fsilfe light for the eafe of a guihy confcience, they not only exprefsly forbid lying (w), but^thcy repre- fcnt it as the molt odious and dangerous thing pof* fible. Not content with giving it out as an effect of the corruption of human nature ; to heighten the horror of the crime, they fet it forth as the work oii\it devil ^ who is a It ar and the Father of lyes ^ that evil Spirit in whom their is no truth, and whofe nature is directly oppofite to tlie natureof God (jf), No wonder therefore that fo hainous and blacba crime brings a long with it the fcvereil puniflinienti: All liars ^ fays the Apoftles, fhall have their fart in the lake thai bur net h with fire and brimjlone^ which is the fecond death {y) .
And as the Apoftles had more honefty than in any degree to colour the odious and pernicious na- ture of lying; fo on all occafions they exprefs a particular regard for truth. They tell us, that truth is an eflential attribute of the divine nature, whofe moral perfedrions we are bound, in all in- ftances, to imitate: That they had a promife of ha- ving the Spirit ^/G^^i imparted to them fronr hea- ven, in order to lead. (hem into all trutb: That in the; mind of every real Chriltian truth is the genuine,
native
(«) ColofT iii. q. {x) John viii. 44. {y) Rev. xxh 8.-
70 The Truth of the Sect. IX.
native fruit of the Holy Ghoft ; and they flridtly en- join all their Difciples, that putting away lyings they Jhould fpeak every man truth with his neighbour : For^ fay they, we are members one of another ♦, and by fpeak- ing the truth in love we grow up into him in all things y which is the head^ even Chrift {z) \ who is like wife the way^ the truth and the life ; and by him alone we can come unto the Father (a). Thus truth, as the A- poflles reprefent it, is the foundation of our union with Chrijt^ and with one another ; and upon truth we are built up, till we acquire a meetnefs to be united with the God of truth to eternity. So thac a greater regard for truth can no where be met withal than is exprefied by the Apoftles in their i'nflrudlions to mankind. Nor is truth lefs regarded in every other part of their condud.
I confefs one of the Apoftles came to be guilty of a moft infamous piece of falfehood in denying his Mafter. But how inconfiftent this was with the fettled principles of his nature, one may judge from the deep concern into which it very foon threw him : For his confcience quickly recovering its force, fo feverely did it reproach him, that the ' thoughts of what he had done, made him weep bit- terly. And fo far was Peter^ in his after- condudt, from ever falling into the like enormity, that, amidft the greateft hardfhips and dangers, he boldly pro- feffed his adherence to his Mafter, and in his fer- vice fuifered death chearfully. I fay, the Apoftles, not only in their doctrines, but in every ftep of their condud, fhew an intire regard for truth and honefty.
The refurredtion of Jefus Chrift is fo elTential an article in the Chriftian inftitution, that without it, the Gofpel can have no fubfiftence : And how very
cautious
(«) Eph. iv. 15,25. [a] John xiv. 6.
Sect. IX. Chrijliaji Revelation. 71
cautious were the Apoftles in admitting this matter of fadl ? So far were they from being rafh and pre- cipitate, from going headlong into the behef of this article, that however well they might think of one another's honefty, yet by no means would they truft to each other's relations about the certainty of the refurreclion, but every one of them, defpifing the flronged alTurances he could have^ from the te- flimony of any of his companions, obftinately witheld his alTent, till he had all the evidence which his own fenfes were capable of affording him. And as the Apoftles openly ihew a ftrong attachment to truth, in guarding fo fcrupuloufly againfl: being im- pofed upon in the matter of the refurredion ; fo they exprefs the fame honefty of heart, in recom- mending the belief of thi^ article to the reft of mankind. They alTured the world, that this ex- traordinary event, the truth of which they report- ed, is of fuch confequence, that if it he not true^ fhould they believe in Chrift^ their faith is abfolutely vain, and they can reap no benefit from the Gofpel. And thus impreffing the minds of men with a fenfe of the high importance of this article, and thereby ^ giving fufficient warning to every man, not to be ' over-hafty in receiving it, but carefully to inquire into the evidence upon which it is fupported ; they are very exact and particular in relating the place, ^nd time of the refurredion, the witnefTes, wh^t objedions were made againft it, and all other circum^ ftances with which it was attended, that may ferve to clear the matter of fact. So that people's faith is not follicited by deluding appearances, but they are put upon a true fcent, and without any artifice to biafs them, are h\v\y left to the convidion of a rational inquiry. Nay, with fo much fimplicitydo the Apoftles act, that, in their account of things,
they
72 l^be "Truth t>f the Sl:cT. I5f,
they takenoticc of fomc circumftanees that may be apt to induce unthinking people to fufpeifl the whole.
The Rulers of the 'jews were mightily concern- ed to have the article of the refurredtion to pafs for a forgery; and other people, even the Apollles themfelves, were with great difficulty brought to confefs the truth of it. Suppofmg therefore an Impollor to have once got the better of people's infidelity in this article, would he not ever after be very cautious to avoid hinting the lead circum- ftance that might revive people's Icruples, and give advantage to thofe who were ftill endeavouring to expofe it I Confcious however of their own inno* cence, and beyond all doubt, as to the truth of every fad: they reported, the Apoftles, far otherwife than an Impoftor would have done, who has every thing of his own framing, honeitly tell us, that the Bifct- •pies having met together in Galilee, at a mountain where Jefus had appointed them, when they faw him they worjhtpped him ; but fome doubted whether it was Jefus (b). Some doubted ! What occafion to men- tion any thing of this nature? Does not fuch an infinuation feem to countenance the enemies of the refurredion in their prejudices, or to give a handle to half-witted people to object ? This fingle cir- cumllance, which, I mull Hill think, an ImpoUor, in his account of things, v/ould moll carefully have avoided, leems to me to be a powerful proof of the innocence and integrity of the Apoftles, and to pro- claim them plain honefh men, void of all guile and artifice. Nay, their honeit hearts are fo little ap- prehenfive of being ful'pected, that they do not fo much as inform us, whether thofe doubts were re- moved, and only leave us to conjedure it, from
what
(^) Match, xviii. 17, 18.
Sect. IX. Chriftian Revelation. 73
what they immediately fubjoin ; Jnd Jefus came and fpaks unto them^ f^^y^^gy ^11 power is given unto me in heaven and in earthy ^c. And let it be here re- marked, that thefe marvellous events, the refurre- ction and afcenfion of J^efus Cbrifi^ had they been in the hands of men not daring to trull their accounts to the force of truth, or to a rational inquiry, no doubt, they would have been fet off in a llrong glare of pompous images, and with all their circum- Itances of wonder and amazement, that might ilrike the imagination, and carry away the paffions of man- kind. But, under the direction of the Apoftles, in how plain and fimple a manner are they related ? Without all drefs, vvithout any fort of ornament that can deceive the mind, or impofe upon the judgment, they are fent abroad, and, in order to make their way in the 'world, are wholly committed to the pure influence of naked truth, or to the bare weight of undifguifed honefty, in a plain and fimple narra- tion.
At the fame time, the Apoflles are far from gi- ving it out, as if their dodrines had been univerfally counted rational, or had gone on fmoothly and without oppofition. On the contrary, they honefl- ]y tell the world, that they were excepted againO:, not only by the yews and Heathens, bnt, in feveral articles, by fome who profefied themfelves Chrifti- ans : What thofe objections were, they explain ; and having made their anfwers, they leave the world to judge. Nor do they go about to palliate the matter, by infmuating that only ir.e ignorant part of mankind took exception 5 but they fairly own they were learned men and Philofophcrs who judged their dod:rines foolilhnefs, and themfelves hablers. This indeed appears threatening. But fo far were the Apoitles from dreading the penetrati-
VoL. II. K on
74 57^^ 7r^''^ of the ■ Sect. IX.
on and wit of the mod learned Rabbi, or the acutefl Philofopher, that, without offering to perplex the argument concerning the truth of the Gofpel, by abitrul'e, metaph3^1ical reafoning, they put it upon a very iliort iflue, they refer the whole to a plain mat- ter of a fact, which had lately happened, which, in all its circumitances, they defcribe in the exacted and moil pointed manner, and for the truth of which they appeal to hundreds of living witnefles. What can be fairer ? Or what can fooner put an end to the controverfy ? T/'Chrifl, fay they, he not rifen^ then is our preaching vain^ and the faith of Chri- Jitansis alfo vain ; yea^ and we are found falfe witnejfes of God ; becaufe we tefiified of God^ that he raifed up Chrift (c).
In a word, there is no ingredient that can enter into the charader of an honeil man, but is to be found in the Apoftles. In all their accounts of do- drmes and fads, if we interpret them with the common candour, which every Writer has an un- queftionable title to, they are confident with them- felves and with one another. So impartial are they, that, finding it necelTary to mix their own hiftory with that of their Mailer and of the Gofpel, however much it may Icllen their character, they'honellly relate their own and each others mi- llakes and prejudices, and other faults and failings wherewith they were chargeable, both before and after the death and rcfurreftion of Jefus Chrift. Nay, fo little do they think of difguifing matters for the feeming benefit of their caufe, that they publifli a- broad thofe imputations that were laid upon their Mafter : And, what may be thought rarher too much limplicity, fo great is their confidence in the
' mere
(f) I Cor, XV. 14, 15.
Sect. IX. Chrijlian Revelation. 75
mere force of naked truth, that, in feveral inftances, they make no reiledions in j unifying their Mailer's character, or in cenfuring his Accufers, but, con- tenting themfelves with barely relating things, they leave the world to find out the iniquity of the charge from the whole tenor of his condud.
Thus honeft and impartial in what concerned their Matter and themfelves, they are no lefs fo in their treatment of other people. Being fenfible how extremely dangerous it was to oppofe the fuperlti- tion and idolatry then univerfally prevalent in the world ; as they were willing themfelves, in the caufe of religion, to fuffer the greatefl hardlhip>, fo they honellly told the world around them, they could promife them in this life no better treatment -, and therefore left it to their own choice, whether, in fuch circumtlances, they would undertake the profeflion of the Gofpcl, whofe rewards are of an- other world. Nor were they more zealous to gain profelytes, than they were careful, as I hinted be- fore, by ufing proper feverities upon delinquents, to keep them conltant and regular in the fbeady purfuic of all godlinefs and rightcoufnefs, which is all along the avowed defign of their Minilfry.
But what is there wanting in the charadler of the Apoflles, that is needful to allure us. of their hone- fly I Even amidll the feverell perfecutions and the cruellell fufFerings, they retracl nothing, as to any point of do6lrine, or any article of fadl, but llill per- fiil in the fame declarations. In face of their Judges, when the impending evil mAiil alarm the guilty, and reduce them to rJl their art in covering their crime, or in fuing for favour,. the Apoilles, who might have faved themfelves, only at the ex- p:nce of quitting their caufe, openly avow the charge of preaching the doclrine of the refurreclion,
and 3
76 T& Truth of the Sect. IX,
and, in all their defences, uniformly exprefs that manly compofure and fedatenefs of mind, that relb- lute boldnefs and intrepidity of conduct, that can a- rife from nothing but an honefh heart fupported by the fteady confcioufnefs of a righteous caufe of the lad importance (<i). In lliort, when a guilty mind, not hardened in Atheifm, cannot but tremble and be confounded, the Apoftles deliberately venture upon death for the caufe they maintained, and with fokmn protellacions in thefr mouth, of its being the caufe cf God and religiony they fearlefsly go into another world, profefling a full affurance, that there, as the reward of their Minijlr)\ they fhall attain to a bleffed life and immortality. Thus, I fay, there is a Itrong lively air of honeity, without any the lealt fymptom of impolture, that appears confpicuous upon the whole face of the Apotlolical conducT:.
When we therefore confider that the Gofpel, the only means employed by the Apoftles for compalling the end they intended, was fo far from being cal- culated for any worldly purpofe, that, on the con- trary, it trains people up in a dired: oppofition to e- very thing of a fecular nature, in thofe principles that mull prevent the execution -of any earthly de- lign whatfoever : — When we confider the principles, the fevcral weaknefles and pafiions of human nature; and particularly, — that vatl numbers of naturally poor-fpirited, tickle, and needy creatures, through all parts of the world, were under the ftrongell and the moll violent temptations, that man can be un- der, to betray a fccret : —That fuch as renounced Chriftianity, and returned agahi to Idolatry, we:re powerfully tbllicited for their own credit and lafety, to make all the difcoveries, that could blacken and
/■ difcredit
[d) A as Iv. 8 &c. V. 2%, SiZ. vii.
Sect. IX. Chriftian Revelation, 77
difcredit the Gofpel ; — That many who had em- braced the intereit of the Apollles, had the greatefl provocations imaginable, even from the Apoftlcs themfelves, to lay open whatever can be fuppofed to have been the confpiracy : — That among the firft Publifhcrs of the Gofpel, there happened fuch differ- ences, as could not fail to bring about a detedion : — That the enemies of the Chriitian inlf itution were engaged in the moil pafTionate manner to prevent its propagation ; and being under no reftraint, but ha- ving every thing in their power, employed all pof- fible means to difcover a plot, whereby they might have expofed the Apolfles and their followers, and rendered them infamous to all mankind: In a word, — That a bright, vigorous air of honeily appears confpicuoufly all over the Apoftolical conduci: ; I fay, when we confider all thefe particulars laid to- gether, it appears utterly impoflible, but the Apo- llles mule have been fmcere, honell men, or mull infallibly have been detected, had there been any thing fecular or carnal in their defign or condud. And no difcovery having ever been made, notwith- ftanding all thofc things thiU concurred to render a difcovery abfolutely inevitable, is not this a full de- monitration, that the great Power that fuftained and animated the Apoftles in the propagation of the Gofpel, was no worldly motive whatfoever j and confequently, that the Apoflles were no Impoilors r In my apprehenfion, thefe general refledions do ilrongly juilify the Apoilles from all fufpicion of impollure.
But, to fhow the world what great (lore of invin- cible proof we have, of the integrity of the firft Publifliers of the Gofpel, I fliall proceed to confider thofe particular articles upon which the charge a- gainfl them mufl be founded ; and endeavour to de»
mon Urate,
7? The Truth of the Sect. X.
jDonllratc, that in none of thofe articles they can juftly be held liable. And this I the more gladly undertake, becaafe therein I Ihall have an opportu- nity, not only further to explain the conduct of the Apoilles, bat to lay before the Reader a more par- ticular account of the nature of their doctrines.
SECT. X.
In particular^ the Apoftks^ in propagating the Go/pel^ were in no Degree animated by the Love of Money ^ or a Pajfion for worldly Riches* T/^eir Condu^ com- pared with that of Socrates.
IH A V E already hinted, that in any particular purfuit, efpecially of a dangerous nature, the riches, pieafures, or honours here below, are the great motives vt^hereby the men of this v^orld are stimulated. So that in reducing the charge againft the Apoftles to particulars, we mull conceive that in the fervice of the Gofpel, they were carried on by a power derived to their a(5tive faculties, from fome one or more of thofe worldly confiderations. And, as I faid before, if the Deills know of any other worldly motive, whereby, they apprehend, they have ground to alledge the Apoftles were animated, I fhall be glad to underllandit. I am now to make it appear, that in the profecution of their Miniftry, none of tliofe jutt now mentioned had any degree of influence over them. And,
In the firjl place ; As for covetoufnefs or the love of money, the Apoilles take particular notice of this crime, and do not E^il to inform the world of its hainous nature, and its mifchievous confequences.
They
Sect. X. Cbrijiian Revelation. 7j
They tell us, that the covetous man is an idolater (a)y one who, in reality, has renounced the worfhip of the true God as the only i'pring of all iiie and feli- city, and who having placed his main happinefs in riches, is abfolutely devoted to the fervice of Mam- mon. And as the love of money is thus fet forth to be totally inconfiltent with the love of God, it being altogether contrary to the nature of things to ferve both God and Mammon (J?) , So we are told^ that it is the root of all evil ; that they that will be rich fall into temptation^ and a fnare^ and into many foolijh and hurtful lujis, that drown men in deftruBion and perdition {c). And indeed in this world, the covetous man is hard-hearted, infenfible to the mi- feries of his fellow-creatures, he is guilty of all the meannefles and violences of fraud and oppreflion ; every thing is proilitutcd and becomes a prey to his devouring paflion ; and in another world, he has no inheritance in the kingdom of God, but receives his portion with the children of difobedience, a- midft all the agonies of defpair and a guilty confci- ence (d). And while the ApoHles do in this man- ner let before us the hainous nature and the mif- chievous confequences of a covetous mJnd, they ufe at the fame time the molf preiFing inltances, and all the mod powerful arguments to prevent their Dif- ciples from giving up themfelves to this deflructive paflion. 'Take heed^ fay they, and be-ware of covet ouf- nefs ; for a man's life conffleth not in the abundance of the things that he poffejfeth (f). Such is our condition, that we brought nothing into this world^ and it is cer- tain
{a) Eph. V. r. (b) Matth. vi. 24..
UVK'iiv dr:Kov yjdi T>iTO iv yroKei^ on ttkvtov ri/AOiy k. (JCd(D?0- (FvvYw ay.ci Jycavuc >CTcc(T^a.i iv ro?/; ttoXitx^^ cIKvcctov^ uk?^* ol- yctyytn n r« erepa a^AihiTv ri t» IrifH. Plat, de Republ. lib. viii. (0 I Tim. vi. 9. (^) Eph. v. 5, 6. {e} Luk. .xii. ic.
8o The Truth of the Sect. X.
tain we can carry np thing out. So that having food and raiment y let us be therewith content (/). And this we may well agree to, when we have fuch af- furances of the care of God's Providence over us ; for he hath faid^ I will never leave thee, nor for fake thee (g). And that fuch admonitions may have the ftronger influence upon our hearts, they are enforced by the parable of a rich man whofe ground brought forth plentifully : It fliould feem that while this man was blelling himfelf in the increafe of his wealth, and proniifing his foul much happinefs for many years, his latter end overtakes him ; Godfaid unto him^ ^hou Fool, this night thy foul fh all he required of thee ^ then whofe fh all thofe things he which thou hafi •provided? What an inflance of defperate folly ! ^o is he that layeth up treafure for himfelf on earthy and is not 7'ich towards God (h).
It is true, people are not to throw away that fubllance, with which God in his Providence hath been pleafed to blefs them ; but as riches are very apt to prove a hindrance to our purfuit after future happinefs, the Apoftles are at pains to guard their Difciples againil the bad effeds of their earthly treafures; and to lay down rules whereby they may improve them to the belt advantage, fo as to render them the means of their attaining to the treafures of heaven. Thus they charge them that are rich in this worlds that they he not high -minded nor trufi in uncer- tain riches^ hut in the living God^ who giveth us all things richly to enjcy : That they do good^ that they he rich in good works ^ ready to diftrihute^ wHling to commu- nicate to others of their wealth ; laying up inftore for themfelves^ by their conftancy in a thankful and mo- derate, a charitable and beneficent ufe of their riches,
a good
[f] I Tim. vi. 7, 8. (^) Heb. xiii. 5. Matth. vi. 25, &c. {h) Luk. xii, 16. — 21.
Sect. X. Chriftian Revelation. 8i
a good foundation againft the time to come^ that^ when thefe things fail, they may lay hold on eternal hje (/). And fo careful were the Apoftles to preferve their Difciples from the infedion of this ruining vice, that they command them to withdraw themfelves from all fuch as fuppofed, that gain is gcdiinefs^ who were covetous, and valued every thing according to the prefenc profit they were able to make of it {k). In fhort, among the qualifications neceffary to thofe who are to be employed in preaching the Gofpel to the world, it is exprefsly required, that they be not greedy of filthy lucre^ nor covetous^ t)ut, on the con- trary, that they be given to hcfpitality {I). Nor do they load men with burthens grievous to be borne, while they themfelves will not touch them ; this qualification they folemnly claim, while they call God to witnefs, that they never ufed a cloak cf co- vetoufnefs (m). And as it is obferved of falfe Teach- ers, that <3« heart they have exercifed with covetous praBiceSy while through covetuufnefs^ they with feigned words make merchandife of other people^ fo the Apoille warmly declares, that they are curfed children^ whofe judgment now of a long tiyne linger eth riot^ and whofe damnation flumhereth not^ towhomthemificfdar-knefs is refervedfor ever fri), - ^" -.
Now, when we thus find thatthe Apoftk^s repre- fented covetoufnefs in the moll; odious fight,'- hate- ful to God, in both worlds mifchidvous to mankind, and ufed all pollible /neans to guard their Difciples againft it, themfelves appealing to God for their own innocence •, can it ever be imagined, that thofe
Vol. II. L ^ very
{t\ I Tim. vi. 17, 18, 19. Luk. xvi, 9.
[k] 1 Tim. vi. 5. I Cor, v. 11.
(/) 1 Tim. iii. 2, 3.
[m) I Their, ii. 5.
\n) 2 Pet. xi. 3. i4.[i7.
82 The Truth of the Sect. X.
very men had no other motive to excite and fupport them in the propagation of the Gofpel ? One can- not poflibly enter into this thought, without hold- ing the Apoftles daring Atheills of the bkckeit character; which, as 1 hinted before, is an imputa- tion not eafily to be admitted againil any man. But what is the evidence, or the fliadow of evidence, upon which this charge of covetoufnefs can be made out, or at all conceived againlt them ?
Had the love of money been the commanding motive that animated the Apoftles in the propaga- tion of the Gofpel,. confidering they went on refo- lutely through the fierceft oppofitions, and expofed themfclves to the greateil dangers, and ventured their lives to have it gratified, it is impoffible but their luft after riches muft have been infatiable. But under the violence of this pafTion raging in the fouls of the Apoftles, where are the mifchievous confequences that muft have neceflarily broken out in the heat of their purfuit ■ Tlie infamous love oF* money that prevailed in the church of Rome, is moft vifible; and the mifchiefs it occa- iions have been felt moft fenfibly. And is it not furprifing, or rather inconfiftent with the nature of things, that none of thofe foolifli and hurtful lufts, none of thofe mifchiefs that arife from avarice, and drown men in deilruclion and perdition, did in any meafure, ever fliew themfelves in fo much as one fingle inftance of the conduifl of the Apoftles? Out of the abundance of the heart the 'mouth jpeakcth : And to alledgc againil a man, a prevailing paflion lod- ged in his breaft, of which in his whole courfe of life, there is no one fymptom appearing, is certain- ly the moft groundlcls, the very abfurdeft thing in nature. A tree is known by i^s fruit : And fo far were the Apoftles from being men of a greedy cove- tous
Sect. X. Chrijlian Re^'elatkn, 83
tons heart, that their temper and condud proclaim their character to be quite the contrary. It is need- lefs to explain the whole wretched oiispring of^ the love of money, and to make it appear that nothing of that nature can be fathered upon the Apoftles ; I 1 Ihall only obferve.
Where the love of money prevails, it contradls a man's mind, and locks him up within the narrow- bounds of his own falfe intereft ; it makes him quite regardlefs of his fellow-creatures, and renders him wholly infenfible to human miferies, leaving him neither heart nor hand to relieve them ; but on the contrary, prompting him to aJl the ad:s of fraud, violence aiid oppreflion. That this is the effeft of the love of money, is obvious to the world. And I take upon me to fay, that whoever examines inta the charader of the Apoftles, will find it equally obvious, that they were men of a noble greatnefs of foul, generous beyond exprelfioo, and inlpired with an uncommon munificent love towards mankind ; and could not therefore be under the power of this mean fordid pafTion.
So far indeed were the Apoftles from having it in their power, out of their own treafures, to ex- ercife any acts of beneficence in relieving the nccefli- ties of the diftreifcd and indigent, that being poftefs- ed of no perfonal eftates, and employing all their time and labour in the propagation of the Gofpel, they muft themfelves have been fubfifted by the cha- rity of other people. But as their provifion this way was fo very fcanty, that they w^ere frequently made to fufFer huneer, and thirlt, and cold, and nakednefs ; fo when they had reafon to fufpecl, that their living upon other people's bounty might come to obftrud: the fuccefs of the Gofpel, or hinder fome people from embracing their doclrines that
naturally
84 The Truth of the Sect. X.
naturally lead to univerfal piety and righteoufnefs, and train us up for rhe fervice and happinefs of hea- ven ; fo difinterellcd were their hearts with re- fpeCl to any thing merely perfonal, fo generous, fo prevalent was their concern for the real good and profperity of mani^ind, that they refufed ^1 chari- table contributions for their own ufe, and chofe ra- ther to fubfift themfelves and them that were with them by working with their own hands (o) : So that in thofe circumftanceSy labouring mght and day^ becaufe they would not be chargeable to any man^ they preached un- to them freely the Gnjpclof God (p). This in particu- lar was the condud of the Apollle Paul 2Lmong the Corinthians^ the Theffalonians^ and feveral others. In an open alTembly of the Elders of the church at Ephefus^ and all the Difciples at Miletus^ thus does that great man, in a fublime and pathetic manner, exprefs himfelf ; / have coveted^ fays he, no man's ftlver^ or gold^ or apparel : Yea you y our f elves know that thefe hands have miniftred to my mcefjities^ and to them that were with me (q). Such was the open- heartednefs, fach the noble generofity of the A- poftles 1 And can we have the con lei en ce to fay, that thefe were the men of whom it may be thought, they intended to make themfelves rich by the propagation of the Gofpel ?
The fame noblenefs of mind that determined the Apoilles, when necelTary to the good of mankind, ro refufe charitable conrributions for their own fub- liilence, made them exert themfelves in providing relief for the necefTities of other people. Every man mult acknowledge, that the whole plan of the Gofpel feems to be formed to irifpire human minds with the love of God, and the love of mankind ;
y that
(o) Aa. XX. 34. ft>) I Their, ii. 9. (?) Ad.
^'x. 33, 34.
Sect. X. Chrijlian Revelation. 85
that with hearts full of adoration towards God, we may come, at the fame time, fo to be united to our fellow men, as mutually to feel each other's pains and pleafures, which will naturally difpofe us to ufe our beil endeavours to ktlen the one, and increafe the other. Nor can we fail in this, when by a mutual fympathy, we are made to rejoice with them that do rejoice^ and to weep with them that weep (r). But the Apoftles, not content with recommending to the world unrverfal benevolence, explain its parti- cular branches, and warmly infill that every man, according to his abilities, or as God has blelTed him with worldly fubilance, fhould contribute tofupply the wants of the needy and indigent, whojo hath this world's good, fay they, and feet h hn brother have need^ andjhtitteth up his bowels of compaffon from him^ how dwelleth the love of God in him ? My little chil- dren^ let us not love in word^ neither in tongue^ but in deed and in truth ; and hereby we know that we ar^ of the truth^ and fhall affure our hearts before him (j). Thus brotherly charity is ftrongly inculcated. And many are the powerful motives, whereby the Apoftles, in a beautiful and engaging manner, excite their Dif- ciples to be rich in good works, to be ready to diflribute, willing to communicate o( then wealth to their diftrefs- ed brethren. Nor do they confine their care to thofe of their own partneriliip, but they open the views of their Difciples, and direct them in their kind affetftions, to bear a fympathy, in all inllances, with human nature, fo as to extend their charitable offices to their enemies, to all mankind of what de- nomination foever. Js we have therefore^ fay they, opportunity y let us do good unto all men ^ efpe daily un- to
(r) Rom. xii. 15, (0 Joh. iii. 17, 18, 19.
86 The Truth of the Sect. X,
io them idho are of the houjhold of faith (/) •, feeding oar enemies if they hunger^ and giving them drink if they thirji (u). And not only do the Apollles, in their excellent rules for the condutfl of life, and the mighty motives whereby they encourage our obe- dience, make the beft provifion poflible for the ne- ceilitous part of mankind ; but as the circumftances. of their poor brethren, and the fituation of affairs required it, they chearfully expofed themfelves to thegreatefl fatigues, while they undertook long jour- neys in order to make charitable contributions, or to diftribute them to thofe for whom they were made (x). And, I fay, all this generous concern did the Apoilles exprefs for other people, while th-y were wholly regardlefs how they fubiilled themfelves ; which is a difmtereftednefs, a great- nefs of foul, too great to enter into the thoughts of a covetous man. How then can the love of money be counted the motive that fupported the Apoitles in the profecution of their minilfry ? Nay, lb far were they from being animated by a prevailing lull after niches, that all the favourable conjunctures which they had, and which the men of this world would have improved to the purpofes of avarice, were by them abfolutely neglevfted, and they follow- ed a quite contrary courfe.
While theGofpel,in the hands of the Apoflles,jwas juft appearing, and as yet had made but a very fmall progrefs, fo powerfully did the principles of bene- volence and brotherly love prevail in the hearts and afPeclionsof the firil: Difciples, that,in order to relieve the necellities of their brethren, as many as were
wffelTors
(/) I Gal. vi 10. (aj Rom. xii. >20. (x) Rom,
XV. 25, z6, \ Cor. xvi i. i^c* 2 Cor. ix.
Sect. X. Chrijlian Revelation. 87
pojjejfors of lands or houfes^ fold them^ and hrovight the 'prices of the things that were fold^ and laid them down at the Apofiles feet^ with full power to difpofe of them among the needy, as they Ihall judge it molt equi- table and fitting ( j). This, one would think, was a fair opportunity for a covetous mind to have its paflion gratified. But an impregnable honclty in the contempt of riches, ihews itfelf in the condudl of the Apottles. According to the defign of the generous donors, they faithfully diftributed thofe fums of money among their needy followers, in pro- portion to their wants, and as each man's neceifities required. Nor can it be fufpeded, that thofe diitri- butions were made in order to gain a party, or to fecure an intereft for the purfuit of fome worldly defign that was formed. As thofe perfons who fold their poiTeflions, were perfuaded to it on religious confiderations, and expecled thereby to approve themfelves to the favour and mercy of God, who, as the Apollles taught them, would reward their charity to the poor, in providing for them eternal treafures in another world; fo, beyond queltion, they had good reafon to reft aflured, that the A- poftles diftributed thofe fums of money, no other- wife than according to the views and intentions they had, when they firft put them wholly in their power. For, as I obferved formerly, had the Dif* ciples had any the leaft ground, from any one in- ftance of their condudl, to fufpedt the Apoftles of aiming at any fecular intereft of their own, as the great end they intended to compafs ; fo far would they have been from thus contributing their aifift- ance, or, after they had done it, from bearing their misfortunes patiently, that, on the contrary, upon
the
(y) Aas iv. 34, ^c.
ti The Truth of the Sect. X.
the firfl difcovery they made of the cheat, they would doubtlefs have purfued them with implacable hatred, as the moll abandoned and impious Impo- Itors. And this the Apoftles themfelves, in the cafe of a fecular attempt, could not poflibly but forefee.
In Ihort, when the number of Difciples being multiplied, there arofe a murmuring of the Hel- knifts^ or Jews of the difperjion, againlt the Hebrews^ becaufe their widows were negk^ed in the daily admi- nifiration ; and the Apollles came to find that their attending to thofe dittributions, fo as to prevent all fuch murmurings, would take up too much of their tim.e, and by that means interrupt their preaching of the Gofpel, or hinder them from the conltant purfuit of the main defign of their office; they fro- fofed to the multitude of the Difciples^ that they would make choice of feu en men of their own number^ and of known honefly and integrity^ whom they might fet over this hufinefs ; while they^ in the mean time^ would give themfelves continually to prayer^ and the miniflry of the word (2). Now this propofition, and leaving the choice to the whole body of the Difciples, without offering to alTume the power of this ejection to themfelves, afford us, in my apprehenfion, an in- contefiable evidence of the difintereilednefs of the Apoif les in this matter, and a full demonflration, that, in propagating the GofpeU they were neither minding nor purfuing any fecular interell of their own, fuch as the amaffing of riches, or getting mo- ney into their hands. For, had they combined together in any confederacy of this nature, 'tis im- poffible they could have concerted or followed thofe meafures, which they muft have known, would, in
^ , the
(z) Ads vi. ijl^c.
Sect. X, Chrijlian Revelation* 89
the moll efFedual manner, have confounded their defign, and abfolutely difappointed them.
But the integrity of the Apollles hearts, the in- nocence of their ddxgn^ their freedom from impo- llure, may yet more ftrongiy appear, from conli- dering the free and gratuitous manner in which they communicated that moll valuable itock of knowledge they were pofielTed of, and thofe ot'ner extraordi- nary bleflings they had in their power to impart to mankind. And lince Socrates is a character highly valued by the Deifls, and among all good men ; hoping that, by equal reafon, in both cafes, the Deiils will, at lead, be equally afpeclied, I (hall, in this article, confider his conduct along with that of the Apoilles.
This great man, whilfl other Philofophers were vainly employed in the iludy of nature, wherein they were fo far from being ufeful, that they were of mifchievous confequence to mankind ; I fay, Socrates comm'g ro be fenfible of the folly of fnch fpeculations, applied himfclf wholly to the iludy ,of moral philofophy •, and having acquired the know- ledge of fome moral truths, that direct mankind in the conduvft of life, and are the great means of pri- vate and public happinefs, he does not referve.thac knowledge to himfclf, but he imparts it to 6iher people, and makes it the fole bufmefs of his life, within the bounds ^i Athens^ to recommend to eve- ry man, citizen and ilranger, the ihidy and pur- fuit of virtue and goodnefs. Npr does he follow the example of other Philofophers and Sophjfts, who, as one may fay, trade] with their knowledge, and madegain of their inflriaclions; but he employs all his time and labour in teaching the world gratis^ and will receive no money, no reward j rich and poor
Vol. 11. M being
9© ^he Truth of the Sect. X.
being equally welcome to his inftru6lions, equally the objcds of his tender generous concern. Nay, fo far was Socrates from making his philofophy fub- fervient to any worldly intereft, that, for the fake thereof, he fuffers poverty, he bears calumny and ridicule, and comes at length to lay down his Y\[Q{a). Thus, there is a glory ihining forth in Socrates'-^ character, that renders it mighty illultri- ous, and which every Deifl will confefs puts it out of the reach of an imputation of covetoufnefs. And, I fay, may I not hope, that all our Free-thinkers, who value themfelves upon an impartiality in judg- ing, will be ready to do the famejuitice to the cha- racter of the Apoftles ?
Thefe were men, who, in fpite of their own edu- cation, had got above the fuperftition of the Jews, ; who expofed the idolatry of the Heathen ; and had acquired, or were rather endowed with a moll: ex- tenfive knowledge of moral truths, of infinite con- fequence to mankind. Neither do thofe men retain thofe truths, fo as to keep them fecret among them- felves, but they publilh them abroad to the world, and make choice of it for their bufinefs of life, their only employment, to recommend true religion and univerfai righteoufnefs, toj^itjand Heathens^ to all mankind. Nor do the Apoitles rate their initructi- ons at any worldly price, fo as to turn their doctrines to their fccular advantage ; but all their time and la- bour are laid outfreely,and it colts the world nothing to be trained up in the knowledge of thofe valuable truths, that derive happinefs to mankind in all cir- cumltances of life, and in all their difFerent Itages of exiftence. Nay, inftead of expeding to reap any worldly gain from the Gofpel, the Apoitles entered
upon
{a) Vid. Apolog. Socrat. apud Plat, k Xenoph.
Sect. X. Chrijlian Revelation. 91
upon their miniftry with the certain profpedl of thereby forfeiting all their earthly comforts, of being involved in the deepell afflidions, and of lofing their jives in that fervice. Of all this, in the cale of the Apoftles, we have, at lead, full as good evidence, as of what we obferved in relation to Socrates. 80 that fuch articles, being defervedly counted by the Deifts noble ingredients in Socrates's character, do they not render the character of the Apoftles equal- ly illultrious, and as much above an imputation of covetoufnefs ? One fliould think that a little atten- tion would lliew us the character of the ApoftIc^ in- finitely fuperior, as in fome few particulars 1 ihull ex- plain afterwards •, but far beyond any thing Socra^ tes could pretend to.
The Apollles having a power to heal difeafes, to relieve mankind from their bodily infirmities ; and, being capable to derive the fame power to other people, had they been fubject to the love of money, or aimed at riches in the fervice of the Gofpel, they were certainly in a fituation more favourable than man could hope for, to gratify an avaricious pafTion, To open the eyes of the blind, to make the dumb to fpeak, and the lame to v/alk, to recover- people from their pains and ficknefs, and to reilore theni to health and vigour, thefe are fer vices that juftly intitle one to very liberal rewards •,' no man would be afhamcd to make a fortune from fuch good offices •, without doubt, a covetous man would fill his coifers very plentifully. But to every thing of a worldly na- ture, the Apollles are quite infenfible. Silver and gold (fays one of them to a hime man afl<ing his alms) have I none ^ but fuch as I have gh^e I thee: In the 7tame ^/ Jefus Chrift of Nazareth, rije /^ and walk {b).
After
{b) Ads iii. 6.
92 The Truth of the Sect. X.
After this manner, in all inflances, they performed their cures freely. As they had fet out in the world, fo did they always fteadily proceed, upon the mofl generous principles poffible ; freely they had received^ and freely they gave to all ranks of men without diftindlion, to the rich as well as to the poor {c).
And not only do the Apoftles freely, without any earthly reward, employ their power in relieving mankind from all forts ot difeafes; but they com- municate the fame power to others to be employed after the fame free gratuitous manner. Some people, indeed," had the aliurance to offer them money, if they would impart to them the faculty of deriving to others this wonderful power of healing difeafes. But how much they were above every fordid temp- tation of avarice, may be learned from their condudl in the cafe of one Simon at Samaria^ who^ by his for- ceries^ had acquired fo extraordinary a reputation, that all the people^frcm the leafi to the great eft ^ gave heed to him^ and ih a manner adored him, faying^ this man is the great power of God. It fhould feem that this man, having quitted his former way of forcery, and made profelfion of the Chriftian faith, when he came to obferve, that the Apoilles, by lay- ing on of hands, conferred the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghoil, judging, we may believe, that, were he likevvife made capable of deriving the fame gifts to other people, it would greatly promote his intereif, and prove a fine Iburce of worldly gain ; did therefore take upon him to propofe a bargain to the Apolfles, and to offer them money, provided they would give him alio this pow^r, that, on wharfoever he laid hands^ he Jloould receive the Holy
Ghoft.
{cj Matth. X. 8,
Sect. X. Chrijiian Revelation, 93
Gboft. But this offer, irrefiftible to men under the power of an infatiable thirft after riches, with a noble indignation the Apollles rejedl as nioli impi- ous, and openly fhow, without fearing to be con- tradided, that, in preaching the Gofpel of Jefus Chrifty nnd in communicating thofe miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghofl, they had in their power to convey to others, they were infinitely above all mercenary views whatfoever. Peter faid unto bim^ thy money perijh with thee^ becaufe thou haft thought^ that the gift of God may he pur chafed with money, ^hou hafi neither part nor lot in this' matter^ for thy heart is not right in the fight of God* Repent there- fore of thy wickednefs^ and pray God if^ perhaps^ the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For^ I perceive that thou art in the gall of hitternefs^ and in the bond of iniquity (ij. Thus the Apoftles dare be bold to reprefent the difinterefled nature of their enterprife ; and that all the blelTings they were en- abled to impart to mankind, were defigned to be free and gratuitous. In every article they look like honeft men, that are llrongly fortified with a good confcience ; they exprefs a noble greatnefs of foul, that difdains all fordid views, and chat fliews them fired with motives more than human. As the Deifls cannot, therefore, but here obferve, that the Apoftles had it m their power to make themfelves mafters of vaft treafures, fo, at the fame time, it cannot but be confefTed, that they abfolutely con- temned all fuch bafe and ignoble purfuits. - Thus, from many unqueftionable truths, more than can be had in the cafe of Socrates^ or any other man whatfoever, it evidently appears, that the love of money w^as by no means the great power or mo- tive
[d) Ads viii. 9, ^c.
94 ^he Truth of the Sect. X.
tivje that animated the Apoftles, in the propagation of the Gofpel. And, if nothing of this nature can at all be laid againlt them, one (hould think it im- poifible, in reafon, to charge them with any other earthly conrideration,as the commanding pallion that engaged and fupported them in their grand under* taking.
For, as to the other motives, the pleafures, and honours of this world, every body knov^^s, that no man can maintain hirafelf, or his followers, in thofe enjoyments, without confiderable fums of money. The frequent ruin that comes upon people's for- tunes, makes it manifeft, that, to indulge one's pleafures without control, is not a little expenfive. And, does not every man that is ftimulated by the lufl of power, and who has adually entered into a plot to gratify his ambition, and aggrandize him- felf in the world, find money abfolutely necelTary to give life and fuccefs to the defign he has formed ? So that, from this neglect and contempt of riches, which the Apoilles had fair opportunities to get in- to their hands, and which they abhorred to improve, as a thing molt impious and abominable ; I fay, from this neglect and contempt of riches, which the A- pollles openly exprefled upon all occafions, it feems to be put beyond difpute, that they never intended to attempt the pleafures, or to attain to the honours of this world ; And this might prevent my proceeding any further. But that the world may fee what ac- cumulated proofs we have of the integrity of the firft Publilhers of the Gofpel,. I fhall make it appear, from particular confiderations, that, in the fervice of the Go^-iel, the Apoftles were as little animated by any of thofe bther motives, and are therein as little liable to the charge of impofture. ^
SECT.
Sect, XI. Chrijlian Revelation. 95
SECT. XL
None of the bafe Pleafures of this Worlds no lewd or intemperate PaJJions^ Jupported theApoJiles in the Mi' niftry of the GojpeL
AS it is an undoubted truth, that no man can preferve the dignity of his nature, be eafy in iiimfeif, or ufeful to his felow creatures, or happy in the enjoyment of God, without bridHng his bodily appetites, and keeping . them within the bounds of moderation ; fo the Golpel being framed with a view to exalt human nature, and to render mankind in themfelves, and in one another, really happy in both worlds, it prefcribes to us certain rules that diredl us in the government of thole paf- fions inlaid in our nature for the lupport of the indi- vidual, and the prefervation of the fpecies. Thus we are commanded to take heed to ourfelves^ left at any time our hearts he overcharged with furfeiting and drunkennefs (a). And having informed us, that in- coniinency does not wholly lie in bodily ads, but that whofoever looketh on a woman to luft after her^ hath committed adultery with her already in his heart {b) ; this (fay tlie Apoitles) is the will of God, this your fan5iification^ that ye fhould abftain from for- nication^ that every one of you fhould know how to pof- fefs his veffel in purity and honeur ; not in the luft of concuptfcence^ even as the Gentiles do which know not God (c). And not only do the Apoitles enjoin
their
fa) Luke xxi. 34.
(t?) Matth. V. 28. Vid. i^lian. Var. Hift. lib. 14. cap. 43.
(cj I Their, iv. 3,4.
g6 The Truth of the Sect. XL
their Difciples to be careful to avoid all lewdnefs and intemperance, but they reprefent to them the danger of indulging fuch appetites. They tell them, that, as thefe vicious pradices arife from the de- pravity of human nature, and are wholly repugnant to the Spirit of God, with whofe influences every true Chriftian is animated (d) ; fo, as well as other evil works, they exclude people from the kingdom of heaven. Be not deceived^ (fay the Apoftles) nei- ther fornicators^ nor adulterers^ nor effeminate^ nor abufers of themfehes with mankind^ nor drunkards^ jhall inherit the kingdom of God {e). So that their end is deJiru5iion^ whofe god is their belly ^ and whofe glory is in their fhame^ who mind earthly things (/). And the man who is not governed by the dictates of chaftity, who, in particular, goes beyond the bounds of matrimony, and defrauds his brother in thismatter; the Lord is the avenger of all fuch. For God hath not called us unto uncleannefs^ but unto holi^ nefs (g). Such are the confiderations from whence the Apoftlcs go about to perfuade their Difciples to keep themfelves unfpotted from the pollutions of this world, to be in all inftances temperate and chafte. But,
Not contenting themfelves with arguments, that virork upon people's fears, the Apoftles endeavour to engage their Difciples in the purfuit of thefe vir- tues, from the decency of the thing, or its being a conduft'of life highly becoming their circumftances, from the folly of their ading otherwife; and its in- confiftency with the relation they bear to God and to JefusChrift, The Heathen world being in darknefs, ignorant of God, of the compafs of their duty, and
of
[d) Gal. V. 17, i^c. [e) ,1 Cor. vi. 9, 10.
(/} Phil. iii. 19. iz) I Their, iv. 6, 7.
Sect. XI. Chrijltan Revelation, 97
of an after-life and immortality, might be tempted to indulge their criminal appetites, and to take up with the prefent gratifications of fenfe : But fuch as profefs the Gofpel, being enlightened in the know- ledge of an infinite mind of fpotlefs purity and holi- nefs, having the beauty of virtue in all its feveral branches fet before them, and being alTured of a fu- ture flate of refined rational enjoyments, in the fo- ciety of God and happy fpirits, fuch perfons, in the view of fo much excellency, cannot proltitute them- felves to intemperance and incontinency, vi^ithout pro- faning theirlight ordifgracing their knowledge, with- out rendering themfelves bafeand unworthy. 'The night isfarfpent^ fay the Apollles, the day is at hand: let us therefore caft off the works of darknefs^ and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honejlly as in the day ; not in rioting and drunkennefs^ not in chambering and wantonnefs^ not in firife and envying. But -put ye on the Lord Jefus^ and make not provifwn for the flefhy to fulfil the lufis thereof {h). And herein indeed we would efcape the folly of placing our reft in things that perifh, that will leave us miferable. ' For meatSy fay the ApoftJes, are for the belly ^ and the belly for meats-, neither of them have any other ufe ; nor can they anfwer this ufe any longer than this prefent life ; the time will come when God will de- firoy both it and them (z). Nor in any inftance can we give up oiirfelves tolafcivioufnefs, without Bafe- ly dilhonouring the bcdy of Chrifi^ and impioufly pol- luting the temple of God. In ihe Gofpel, ChriftianS are fet forth as the members of that body whereof Chrift is the head ; or they are a building fitly framed toge- ther^ that groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord^ for an habitation of God through tjoe Spirit (k). And in i;his view of things, the argument proceeds with Vol. II. N great
ih) Rom. xlii. 12, 13, 14. (/) i Cor. vi. 13.
(..}) 1 Cor. xii, \2, 27. Eph. ii. 21, 22. and iv. 15, 16.
gt
The Truth of the Sect. XI.
great flrength and beauty : Know ye not^ that your bodies are the members oj Chrift ? Shall I then take the members of Chrijt^ and make them the members of an harlot? God j or bid, Wbat^ kno'U) ye not^ that he which is joined to an harlot is one body ? For two^ faith he^ fhall be one fiefh* But he that is joined unto the Lord^ is one [pint. Fly fornication. Every Jin that a man doth^ is without the body ; but he that com- mttteth f or ni cation f ftnneth againjl his own body, TVhat^ know ye not that your body ts the temple of the Holy^Ghoft which is in you^ which ye have of God? And ye are not your own \ for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body^ and in your fpirit^ which are Gods (I) ; and which, for that rea- fon, cannot he employed in any ads of intempe- rance, or lewdnefs, without the height of injuflice, and bafeil ingratitude, without lying expofed to the utmoit danger. For if any 7nan defile the temple of God J himfJoall God dejlroy ; for the temple of God is ho- ly^ which temple ye are (m).
Thus, in a variety of arguments, with great ele- gancy and force, the Apoltles recommend to their Difciples the love and practice of temperance and chaflity. They fhow a generous concern, that every individual fliould preferve his conlliuution in good order, with all his faculties duly ba- lanced, that he may be in a contlant litnefs for the offices of fociety, and the fervice of God : And they exprefs a noble zeal for the regular propa- gation of human kind, that no mifery may befal any of the fpecies from loofe plcafures, or lewd en- joyments y but that every production may be fafely reared up, and rightly formed to focial life, under the notice and care of the tender parents. So ap dently do they defire that mankind Ihould purfue this amiable courfe, that it grieves them to the
heart,
(/) I Cor. vi. 15 2C. {m) I Cor. iii. 17.
Sect. XL Chrtjlian Revelatio7t. 99
heart, and brings tears from their eyes, when peo* pie act otherwife. Brethren^ fays the Apoftle, be ye. followers together of me^ and mark them which walk fo^ as ye have its for an enfample^ for many walk^ of whom I have told you often^ and now tell you even weep- ing, that they are the enemies of the crofs cf Chrijl :' Whofe end is deJiru5lion^ whcfe god is their belly ^ and whofe glory is in their ftoame^ who mind earthly things. For our converfation is in heaven^ from whence alfowe look for the Saviour^ the Lord Jefus Chrift : Whofmll change our vile body^ that it may be fafJdioncd like unto his glo- rious body ; according to the working whereby he is able to fubdue even all things unto himfelf^ (n)»
And while the Apoftles are fo extremely foUici- tons to infpire mankind with all temperate and chaite affections, and thereby to eflablifli in the world univerfal order and happinefs, is it to be i- magined, that in all this, they had nothing in view, but to raife themfelves into fuch a fituation, where- in they might fafely gratify the clean contrary paf- fions, that bring forth only confufion and mifery I To prefs upon people temperance and challity, by arguments taken from the nature of God and ano- ther world, to reprefcnt the danger of riot and luxu- ry in the cafe of a rich man, here clothed in purple and tiqe linen, and faring fumptuoufly every day ; but hereafter configned over to the fire of hell {0) ; and openly to profefs, that marriage is honourable in all^ and the bed undefiled^ but that whoremongers and adulterers God will judge (/>) ; I fay, to go about to a- waken people's minds to a laft ing fenie of the defor- mity and danger of intemperance and lewdnefs, under the impreifions of God and another world, and at the fame time, to be themfelves fecretly purfuing
the
(«) Phil. iii. 17, ^f. (0) Lu^e xvi. ip. crV.
(p) Heb. xiii. 4.
TOO The Truth of the Sect. XL
the fame wicked paffions as the main end of their cnrerprife, would render them, beyond example, impious and athieftical, and upon the difcovery of what they were aiming at, have expofed them to univerfal hatred ; fo that, inflead of carrying their defign, together with the indignation of ahnighty God, they would have fallen under the jufl revenge of mankind: But that the Apollles were fuch filly ridiculous Athiells, fo void of fenfe, fo ftupid in projecting meafures, as this would make them, is beyond all pollibility of fufpicion.
It is alledged, in the cafe of Mahomet ^W\2.\. one of the great motives that fupported that grand Impoftor in the profecution of his enterprize, was the love of women, or that he might have it in his power, without reftraint, to enjoy his lafcivious appetites. And indeed the Alcoran allowing not only a certain number of wives, but the ufe of any number of women flaves, feems to be framed with a view to gratify a leacherous paffion (^) ; and the fcandalous provifion that is therein made for Mahomet himfelf, makes it manifeft, that as that Impoilor's luft mull have been unbounded and furigus, fo his conduct was certainly moil brutal and infamous {ry But
where
{q) II faut convenir de bonne foi, qu' il ya quelque chofe de \'rai dans ce qu' on dit, que les Mahometans ont la permiffion d'en entretenir autant qu'ils peuvent. C" eft qu'eu efFed, outre les 4 legitimes, qui leur font alloliees par la loi civile & religi- eufe (qui eft prefque la men-;e chofe dans les pais Mahometans) ii ya parmi eux des particulien, qui ont jufqu' a lo ou 12 fer- vantes concubines qu* on ne diftingue des autres femmes qu' a certains egards, & nullement a 1' egard de la lignee. With re- fped to their vvomen-flaves, their maxim is, Quand on a achete quelque chofe legaleraent, rien n' eft plus legitime que d'en ufer. La relig. des Mahomet, tire du Latin deM. Reland. p. 233, 234. *{r) There are certain things, fays Mr. Roland, in the Alcoran, which might convince the Mahometans of the impofture.
Cora me.
Sect. XI. Chriflian Revelatmt, loi
where is there the faintefl fliadovv of any thing of this nature to be obferved in the charader of the Apoftles f They declare againfl polygainy and di- vorce, and revive the primitive inftitution, whereby one woman and one man were joined together for life. Upon which with great jullice, they affirm, that the wife hath not power over her own body^ but the hujhand •, and likewtje the hujband hath not power over his own body^ but the wife. So that hufband and wife mull continue mutually faithful to one an- other, and cannot be beyond the bounds of chafti- ty, without expofing themfelves to the judgments of God. Nay, fo far were the Apoftles from being difpofed to make provifion for the gratifying of a la- fcivious paffion, that St. Paiil^ in particular, profelTes, // is good for a man not to touch a woman : Neverthe- lefs^ fays he, if people have not the gift of continency; to avoid fornication^ let every man have his own wife^ {ind let every woman have her own hufband (j). And what rules of chaftity they prefcribe to their Dif- ciples, the fame do they religioufly obferve in their own conduct. Their hiitory informs us, that fome of the Apoftles were married ; that others lived in a fingle ftate ; that all of them, in their different circumftances, were conftantly faithful to all the diftatcs of purity ; and among the qualifications ne- ceffdry to thofe who fhoold be employed, or fucceed them in the work of the Miniftry, it is exprefsly
required.
Comme, par exemple, ce que Mahomed y donne a entendre, que Dieu, en revelation, lui accorda, par grace fpeciale, favoir, la fatisfadtion de fes defirs impurs & adulteres, par V appropriation qu' il lui adjugea, dit-il, de quelques femmes, qui appartenoient ad'autres; en quoi impudemment Sc blafphematoirement il fait la divinite complice de fes palTions & de fes voluptez infames, ibid. p. cxxxix.
[s] 1 Cor. vii, I. 2. 4,
102 The Truth of the Sect. XL
required, that they be the hufbands of one wife^fober^ not given to wine (/) .
But had any intemperate or lafcivious pallion been the motive that carried on the Apoftles in the propagation of the Gofpel, mufl not this pafiion have fhovvn itlelf in fome inftances of their behavi- our I If we refied: upon the many difficulties and hardfhips through which the Apollles puflied their way towards the enjoyment of the riotous or lewd paffion, with which, it is fuppofed, they were ani- mated ; it mufl be confelTed, that the force of that paflion was certainly extremely imperious. But that the fury of a palfion raging to that degree in a man's breail, that it hurries him on to encounter the greateit dangers, fhall yet in the whole courfe of his life, produce none of its own proper natural effecls, in any one inilance whatfoever, is an event abfolutely impollible, quite inconfilfent with the nature of things. And as it is impoflible but the Apoitles, in fome inilance or other, mufl have be- trayed their intemperance or lewdnefs, had they been under the commanding power of any fuch paf- fions ; fo their enemies, glad of the opportunity, would have taken the advantage, laid open their crimes, and expofed them to public infamy. I fay, the Heathen world was violently fet to ob- llrudl the progrefs of the Gofpel ; and had the im- moralities of the Apoflles put it in their power to difcredit their minillry, or to blacken their reputa- tion, what was to hinder them from employing thofe fuccefsful means in gaining their purpofe? The A- poflies boldly charge the Heathen, and publilh it abroad, that being paft feelings they have given them- felves over to lajcivioufnejs^ to work all uncleannefs
with
{f) I Tim. iii. 2, 3.
Sect. XL Chrijlian Revelation. 103
with greedinefs («). And one Ihould think fo heavy a charge would have awakened the refentment of the Heathen world, and made them fiercely recri- minate, had they been able to have difcovered any thing of the like nature in the condud: of the A- poftles, Indeed,
When one confiders the different intcrefts and humours of mankind, or after what manner people's paffions operate when they are eager to prevent the fuccefs of their rivals or enemies, ojie might have fufpeded the credit of the Gofpel-hiitory, had they reprefented the great Author of our religion, or his Apollles, to have met with better treatment in the world, than Socrates , that is, to have efca- ped all cenfure, or not to have been loaded with reproaches. But as it was impoffible for men not to be reproached, who went about to fet up a reli- gion intirely oppofite to what was then held facred jn the world ; fo we learn from the hiftory of the Gofpel, that Jefus Chrift and his ApolUes had fe- veral heavy imputations laid upon them. Befides the general charge of their being impious, founded on their attempting to overthrow the religions then cllablifhed ; the Author of our religion is called a man gluttonous^ and a wine-bihber^ a friend of pubUcans andfinnerSy one who deceived the people^ 2. man in confederacy with Beelzebub the prince of devils ; and his Apoftles are reported to have faid, let us do evily that good may come, &c. But all fuch accufations do fo manifellly arife from malice or ignorance, and to every fober man mufl appear fo extremely incre- dible, fo intirely void of all appearance of truth, that the Apoftles do little more than barely re- late them, defpifmg fuch things themfelves, and
having
(u) Eph. iv. 19.
104 7^^ Truth of' the Sect. XI.
having no apprehenfion that the world could ever think they need a confutation. Only the charge of a fecret correfpondence vi^ith Beelzebub^ being a thing without the conipafs of human obfervation, this by an invincible argument is demonllrated to be abfolutely groundlefs and abfurd. Every ^king- dom^ fays our Saviour, divided againft itfelf^ is brought to defolation : And -every city and houfe divided againft itfelf^ Jhall not ftand^ and ij Satan caft out Sa- tan^ he is divided againft himfelf ; how then ftiall his kingdom ft and (x) ? So that every thinking impar- tial man has infinitely better reafon to afTert the in- nocence of our Lord and his Apoitles, than any In- fidel can have to juftify Socrates^ or to declare him innocent when he is accufed of being impious, of corrupting the youth, iffc. But tho' the Heathen had nothing criminal, which with any fhadow of reafon, they could fallen upon the Apoftles, and all their accufations were mere calumny; yet the Apoftles had a great deal in their power to object to the Heathen, and the particular enormities with which they charge them, feem to be too well grounded. Not only was fornication notorious in their practice ; bat the exam.ple and worlhip of their deities (jy), their public laws and cuftoras, andthe dodrines of their bed Philofophers, patroni- zed it ; nor are they lefs favourable to drunkennefs, while they reprefcnt it, as an act of worfliip in the fervice of their gods (2)
And
{x) Matth. xii. 24. Sec.
{y] Siccas enim fanum ell Veneris, in quod fe matronae confere- bant ; acque inde procedentes ad quaeftum, dotes, corporis in- juria, contrahebant, honella nimirum tam inhonefta vinculo con- jugia juntfluras. Valer. Max. lib. 2. cap. 6. Locrenles — vovc- rant — ut die feilo Veneris virgines fua? proftituerent. Jullin, 1^. 21. cap. 3.
{zj Si quis e{l, (fays Cicero pro M- Caelio, cap. 20.) qui etiam
meretriciis,
Sect. XI. Chrijimn Revelation. 105
And as the Apoftles dare be bold, without dread- ing a difcovery of any thing criminal in their own condu(ft, openly to accufe the Heathen world of fuch enormities; (o they tefbify a high difpleafure at thofe of their own followers, who prollitute themfelves to lewdnefs or intemperance, and they mark them out as perfons with whom their other Difciples mull not keep company ; If any man^ fays the Apoftle, that is called a brother^ he a for- nicator or a drunkard^ I have written unto you net to keep company with fuch an one^ no not to eat {a). And not only to prevent the influence of fo bad an ex- ample, but to vindicate the purity of the Gofpel,
Vol. II O as
meretriciis amoribus interdiclum juventuti putet j ed ille quideqi valde feverus, negare non poli'um : Sed abhorret non modo ab huJQS faeouli licentia, verum etiam a majorum confuetudine, ac- que conceffis. Quando enim hoc non fadlum eft ? Quando re- prehenfum ? Quando non permifTum ? Quando denique fuit, ut, quod licet, non liceret ? Accordingly Epiftetus (Enchir. cap. 47.) directs people to ufe thofe entertainments as the law prefcribes : Xlio] afsoSi(Tia,^ e/c S'jyocf/,iv^ Trfo ya^^n ycccd-upiiyTiOY* d7r%y.iv(^ al^ uc yoijuixoy iTi<^ y.ir ctKr.TrlicY , And Plato tells us (Conviv p. iSi.E.etdeLeg. lib. 8. p. 841. D.) that the law pro- hibited only the correfponding with free women, tZy iKi'jyif>uy yv voLiKijv ipoir. So that, as to all others, people had no fort of icruple: Tac julv iTXif>cii: nSoyyic inKiX i^o^iy^ tu; al TrccKKoDicic rrii; xa3- njuipocy TrccKKoLKeiXi;^ tocc sTe yiyouKX^ t» Traid'o'stciei^^a.i yvmico^^ ^ Tuy iyJ'ov (p-jhoiKoi m^hv '^x^^- (Demoft.cont. Ners- am, apud Athen. 1. 18. p. 573. Vid. p. 569. D.) which is a courfs of life fuitable enough to the feniiments of the Stoics, k^^, ^^^
Xtq'ik^C ^fe oo(,>y.iv^ ^x. OLTOTToy etyoii KtyovTCLC-ro iTOilpx cvyomeiv^ n to €$ \rxifxxt; t?yx\ix(; ii'X^.y, (Sext. Emp. Pyr, Hypot. lib. 3. cap. 24.) While Plato juflifies excefs in wine, after this manner : n/veiK /e et> yX^Ay^ »t£ clkkq'^'i tim TTfiTTei^ 7rh.r,v kv Ta7r r« rh clvov S"ovroq 3"etf Xcptout;^ mt a7(^xKU, (De legib. lib. 6. p. 775. B.) M-i 3-a-^/x.a^t, Z ^ivi y'oy.or; ty^-' T.^.h »roC-. 1^^^- ^'^- *• P- ^37- ^- Vid.
Athene, lib. 2. p. 40. C (fl) I Cor. V. II,
'io6 The Truth of the Sect. XL
as utterly irreconcileable to fuch lewd praflices, they command, in particular, that the incelluous perlon among the Corintbtans be excommunicated and folemnly cut off from the Chriitian ibciety. And can it be thought, that thofe perfons who were thus publicly affronted, and turned out to the world as objedts of infamy, to be fhunned by e- very body, and who could not but underlland the whole of the Apollles deportment ; had they been confcious of any luit prevailing among them, would have checked their jull indignation, their refent- ment of being fo feverely challifed by thofe equal- ly guilty, and not have gratified a natural palfion to extenuate their own guilt, to ward off the public infamy, or to keep themfelves in countenance, by fhowing, that their accufers were no lefs involved, or rather more criminal? Had fuch a thing happen- ed, human nature, in thofe perfons whom the A- poltles had to deal with, mult have been quite an- other thing than it now it is, than it has been in all the reft of mankind, fnice the firft of our fpecies. Pbyftcian cure thy [elf ^ never fails to be objedled to thofe who fet up to be Reformers, while they are known to be themselves fully as obnoxious. But fo little liable are the Apoltles to have the accufation returned upon them, that while their enemies, and thofe they gave up to public cenfure, were reduced to (ilencc, and to bear the Hiame of their evil deeds, they triumph in their own innocence, this is their rejoicifigy the teftimony of their confcience^ that in Jim- plicity and godly fine erity^ not in fiejhly wifdom^ hut by the grace ofGod^ they have had their confer jation in the world : And for this they appeal to thofe very perfons, among whom they had ufed their difci- pline in chaitifing riot and incpntinency (b). The
truth {b) 2 Cor. i. 12,
Sect. XL Chrijlian Revelation, ^ 107
trutli of it is, had it been pofTible for any riotous or wanton lull to have at firit engaged the Apoftles, the hunger^ and cold^ and nakednefs^^ the great fati- gues they fuifered in propagating the Gofpel, would very foon have cooled the heat of their palfion, and by that means made them wholly defill, totally a- bandon their enterprife.
When we therefore confider, that the Apoftles prefcribe rules that Ifridtly require temperance and chaility : —That with the warmelt zeal they recom- mend the practice of thefe amiable virtues, and urge them upon their Difciples by the mofl prevail- ing arguments : — That their training the world to a fettled averfion to all lewdnefs and intemperance, was the moil effedlual means to arm mankind againll them, and to ruin the defign of patting themfelves in a condition to indulge, without rellraint, thefe infamous paiRons : — That they could not project a plot of fo black a nature, without being in their iiearts confummate Athciils ; — That in their infli- tution of religion, fo far are they from therein provi- ding for the gratifying of an inordinate paffion ot a- ny fort, that the whole is vifibly framed with a view to promote the clean contrary : — That what- ever purity they injoined their Difciples, the fame they obferved themfelves in their own condu-fl, and exprcfsly required it in all their fellow-labourers
and fucceiuirs in office: That had the A-
pollles been under the power of any lewd or intem- perate paffion, it mull necclllirily have appeared in
fome of its eiiedls in the courfe of their lives :
That none of their Heathen enemies, whom they publicly charged as highly criminal in fuch inllan- ces; none of thofe perfons among themfelves, wlioni they feverely puniflied for their riot and inconti-
nency.
io8 , The Truth of the Sect. XII.
nenty^'^ere able to difcern any the leaft blemifh of this nafure in any one ftep of their condudt : In ihort, that the diftreffed indigent fituation of the A- poflles, of neceffity breaking the force of every wanton riotous paffion, would have put a fpeedy end to the whole of their projed : I fay, when we con- fider all thefe feveral particulars laid together, one cannot but profefs, that the Apoilles, in the propa- gation of the Gofpel, were no Impoftors, fupport- ed by the power of lewd or intemperate pailions, while they gave out they were animated from Hea- ven. So that we come to examine.
In the laft place, whether it might not be their paffion for worldly honours that carried them on in the courfe of their Miniftry. And to fee this article in its full light, I fhall confider it as confift- ing of thefc two particulars, namely, popular applaufcj and worldly power, authority, or dominion.
SECT. XII.
"The powerful Paffion of Fame or popular Applaufe had no Influence over the Apojlles in the Service of the Gofpel. Here the Deijis juftify themfelves^ and^ at the Jame rate, muji they juftify the Apojlles.
AS for people^s paffion after popular applaufe, this, we know from experience, is able to a- nimate and fupport men in the moil: dangerous un- dertakings. But that the Apolfles were under the ]irevailing influence of this narrow, contraded paf- fion, or that this was the fpring whereby they were actuated in the execution of their office, is in no Xn^n's power to render in the Icafl degree probable.
Indeed^
Sect. XII. Chrijiian Revelation. 109
Indeed, the defire of honour is an eflential ingredi- ent in the human conftitution : And when this paflion comes to be fo enlarged, as to exert itfelf in ieeking after the lafting elteem and commendation of all thofe beings^ God and man, to whom we are naturally afTociatcd, it is certainly the nobleft am- bition, with which the foul of man can be fired. Under its influence, our minds are opened to the profped of the univerfal good of that rational fy- llem whereof we are a part ; and we refolutely ex- ert ourfelves in the purfuit of thofe adions that glorify God, and promote the happinefs of man- kind (a). And as the defire of univerfal eiteemfor ever, to be enjoyed, is a divine ardour of foul, arifing from the love of God and rational beings, inciting us to recommend ourfelves to their favour, and by that means proving the fteady fpring of every wor- thy and laudable adion ; fo the Gofpel of yefus Chrifi^ that negledls not to cultivate and improve e- very human paflion, of confcquence to private or public happinefs, makes a powerful addrcfs to this paflion in particular, by offering to our purfuit, glory, honour, and immortality. So that the A- poftles, in the Miniftry of the Gofpel, animated, as doubtlefs they were, by a commanding defire after univerfal and eternal efteem, arifing from the whole rational fyftem, muil be counted men nobly ambi- tious, adting upon a principle highly pleafing to God, and molt productive of good to human kind. Mr. Woolfion indeed infinuates, that the defire of mere worldly fame was the principle that put the Apoftles upon their enterprize, and that fupported them in all their fufferings, in the utmoft extremity of death itfelf. " Many cheats (fays he) and cri-
" minals,
(«) See my Inquiry intD the Original of Moral Virtue-^ where this natural paflion after efteeip is fully ^xplai^^ed.
no The Truth of the Sect. XII.
" minals, befides them, have aflerted their inno- *' cency, and denied their guilt in the utmofl extre- '^ mity of death, without the like views of honour *^ and fame (^)." And the Reader may here re- flect, that this is the only pafTion, from whence, as the great fpring of adtion, Mr. Woofjhn pretends to accoimt for the conduct of the Apoltles. But that, laying afide all regard to the approbation of God, the ApotUes only meant to catch at worldly fame, the vain applauies of their fellow creatures, or to gain the eltcem of any particular party of men ; this, I fay, is an opinion that can be juitified by no jhadovv of argument. On the contrary,
In the writings of the Apolfles, this paffion for popular applaule, in religious matters, is moll ex- prefsly condemned ; and the great folly of indulging it is fet before us, fufficient to prevent any thinking man from yielding to its influence. Let us nct^ fay the Apolfles, he defirous of vainglory (t). It greatly concerns us to take heed that we do not cur righteouf- mfs before men^ to be feen of them : For thofe who are devoted to this poor ambition, and only mean to feed their vanity by their religion, have their re- ward, they carry the pitiful point they have in view, they attain to the dying praifes of frail m6r- tah' ; but they have no reward cf their heavenly ¥ ether ^ they forfeit all fliare in the hilling approbation of an eternal munificent God, whofe favour is better than life i^d). So far are fuch hypocrites from recom- mending themfelves to the Father of lights, the great Fountain of all hottour, and the prime Author of all happinefs, that by proflituting the glorious name, and all the facred inftitutions ol God, to their own pride and vanity, or as an engine to accompliih
fome
(A) Sixth Difcourfe, p. 27. (f) Gal. v. 26.
{4) Mauh. vi. i, {frV.
Sect. XII. Chrijlian Revelation, Hi
fome bafe and wicked purpofes, they incur his high- eil: difpleafure, and, as their enormous impiety de- ferves, have alloced to them the feverell puniQi- ments to which criminals can be condemned in an- other world {e). Know ye not^ fays the Apoitle, thut the friendjioip of the world, the love of vain glory, is emmty with God? fVhcfoever therefore will tfe a friend of the world, and court its empty praifes, that man, profefs what he will, is the enemy of God^ and can never polFibly efcape the judgments of the Almighty (/).
This is the light wherein the Apoftles fet our de- fire after popular applaufe. It is a vain deluding^^ paflion, that leaves us overwhelmed in everlalting contempt and mifery. So that thofe people who put on their religion only as an outward drefs to gain them the elteem of the world about them, can- not but be counted ading a part all over folly and madnefs. This the Apoftles declare. And every man muft obferve, that the whole frame of the Go- fpel is calculated to guard our minds againit the in- fluence of fo mifchievous a paflion, and to engage us in the love and pradice of thofe virtues that natu- rally lift us up to true glory. Lowlinefs of mind, meeknefs, humility, are the graces with which the Gofpel requires our fouls to be adorned, and where- in we cannot but be kindly affeolioned one to another^ with brotherly love^ in honour preferring one another («"). And while we are thus purfuing thofe (liinin^ vir- tues, providing things honefl in the fight of all men^ things that are lovely^ ^f good report^ and praife worthy^ that naturally tend to gain us real elteem among our fellow-creatures (i?), we are^ at the fame time, commanded particularly to eye the approbation of
God,
[e) Matth. xxiv. 51. (f) Jam. iv. 4.
ig) Rom. xii. 10. {h) Rgm. xii. 17. Phil. iv. 8.
ii2 Ihe Truth of the Sect. XII.
God^ and to be looking forward beyond all the re- putation of this life, to that blejfed hope, and the glo- rious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jefus Chrift (/), when by the grace and bounty of the Father of mercies, amidft the applaufes of the hea- venly hofts, we fhall be crowned with glory that fadeth not away{k).
Thus, with great reafon, the Apoftles condemn the purfuit of popular applaufe ; and addreffing them- felves to the leading powers of our nature, offer to our ambition the enjoyment of folid efteem, of eter- nal fame and glory. And while the Apoftles with great zeal infiited upon fuch dodrines, and recom- mended fuch principles to the world, what fhadow of prefumption can any man pretend to have, upon which he may alledge, that they themfelves, in their hearts, hated and defpifed thofe noble purfuits, and were onty feeking after worldly fame, the fleeting praifes of their fellow-mortals ? One fhould think, that not only their dodtrines, but every inftance of their condud is a flrong proof of the contrary.
Among the many different ways whereby people rife above the common level, and attract the notice and admiration of mankind, that of difcovering or ellablilhing ufeful truths, efpecially moral truths, that tend to the improvement and perfedion of hu- man nature in religion and virtue, is one of the moll confiderable. Thus it was that Socrates d\?img\y\^' ed himfelf at Athens ; that he prevented his dying in obfcurity, and Hill lives in a name great and il- luftrious. And indeed, when one confiders that all the learning of thofe days lay quite another way, and that Socrates himfelf had all the prejudices of e- ducation to fecure his attachment to the then phi-
^ lofophy,
(/) I Cor. X. 31. Tit. ii. 13. {k) i Cor. ix. 25.
I Pet. V. 4, ^
Sect.XII. Chrijiimi Revelation, 113
lofop'hy, wherein only a man could hope to gain a reputation j one cannot but admire that extraordi- nary force of genius, that made him fee the folly of the learned ^iilquifitions then in vogue, and enabled him to difc'over a moit important colledion of mo- ral truths. Nor ' can one deny him the glory of a manly courage, a noble generofity of foul, that en- gaged him, at all hazards, to teach thofe truths to mankind. Now, after the fame manner, but upon infinitely better grounds, the Apoflles might have acquired and ellablilhed their fame in the world.
In oppofition to the fuperilition of their own na- tion, wherein they had themfelves been educated, and to the idolatry and fuperilition of the red of mankind, to which the Heathen world had been long accuftomed ; I fay, in oppofition to the abfurd, the falfe, and mifchievous doctrines, which then u- niverfally prevailed among Jews and Gentiles^ the Apoilles openly appear, and with great, firmnefs and refolution propofe ro the world a jdivine fyftem of dodrines, wherein the being and perfedtions of God, are fully vindicated -, the alTurance of a future ilaie of rewards and punilhnients, is If rongly inculcated ; and the moral duties that exak human nature, that glorify God, and bring happinefs to mankind, are clearly explained, and powerfully recommended. And upon the difcovery of fuch important truths, of the latt confequence to rational beings, which they propagated to all nations with the utmolt zeal and tleadinefs, might not the Apoftles have pro- mifed themfelves, among their fellow creatures, an unrivaled reputation ? But fo far were thofe honelt men from aiming at popular applaufe, or vain glory, that in the accounts they afford us concerning them- felves, they quite fmk their own character, and let us know how very little is owing to them. They Vol. II. P give
ri4 The Truth of the Sect. XII,
give us to underftand, that, before they entered iipon;;the Miniftry of the Gofpel, as their education was mean and illiterate •, fo, in their judgment and inclinations, they were abfolutely devoted to the fu- perlfition, to the prejudices and falfe dodrines then prevailing in the Jewijh nation. This, indeed, would have added to their fame, had they overcome their prejudices, conquered their ignorance, and difco- vered thofe truths which they imparted to the world, by the ft rength of their own genius. But^ to prevent our being deceived into fo favourable an opinion of them, which would have recommended them to our higheft efteem, as men of an uncom- mon greatnefs of mind, and the deepeft penetration, they honeftly tell us, that their ignorance and their prejudices never left them, till they came to be il- luminated from Heaven, had their minds fuperna- turally opened to conceive the truths of the Gofpel ; and their hearts infpired with a divine courage to publilh them abroad to the world. So that they lead us quite oft, from attributing any thing to their own abilities, and diredt us to regard them only as MelTengers, mean, and contemptible in thcmfelves, qualified and fupported by the ipirit and hand of God, to reveal to all nations the great prin- ciples of religion, the fure means of focial, of ra- tional life and happinefs. For God (fay they) who csmmcnded the light to Jhine cut of darknefs^ hath Jhi- ned in our hearts^ to enable us to give to the reft of mankind the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of J efus Chrifl, And we have this ireafure in earthen I'effels^ that the excellency of the power may he of God^ and not of us. And when the Apoftles do thus openly declare, that none of thofe crtdowments, wherein they were vifibly fuperior to [\)\ others in the world, were the eifed of a better
ufc
Sect. XII. Chrijlian Revelation. 115
ufe and improvement of their rational faculties, and they had nothing but what they had received^ may not this be counted an ample demonftration, that the iove of vain glory did in no degree predominate in their minds I Renouncing all foundation of merit in their own perfons, as they do themfelves acknow- ledge their being indebted to the immediate grace of God, for the wonderful difcoveries they were en- abled to make (/) ; fo they enjoined the world about them, to afcribe the praife and glory of all Co God alone. In a word, as 1 have juft now hinted, the plain hiftory they give us of themfelves, before they were employed in their public Miniftry, mu^: effedually hinder us from honouring them any far- ther, than as they were men immediately fitted of God to propagate his Gofpel to the world. And,
As the Apoltles claim no praife, no degree of honour from the glorious doctrines they taught, or the great hardfhips they every where endared in promoting them ; fo as little do they claim from the extraordinary works they performed, in relie- ving people from their bodily miferies. To open the eyes of the blind, to loofe the tongue of the dumb, to make the lame to walk, to rebake the vi6lence of fevers, and to heal all manner of dif- eafes -, thefe things done without any external ap- plications, only by a word ; without any earthly re- ward, in a free and gratuitous manner; are works that mud recommend the Authors to the highefh veneration, much more cffedlually among the bulk of mankind, than any thing elfe whatfoever. In- deed, the difcovery of moral truths, as I have al- ready obferved, is a noble ground upon which to raife a reputation ; but to perceive the beauty and excellency of thefe truths^ requires a mind of a
particular (/) Eph. vii. ^'c.
1 1 6 7he Truth of the Sect. Xll.
particular cafl, not altogether fo common in the world : Whereas the happinefs arifing from people's being delivered from any fort of illnefs or diltcmper, is univerfally felt, is very fenfible in every man's own experience. So that, 1 fay, a company of men travelling thro' the world, and generoully relie- ving mankind from all their feveral ailments; by a v/ord, without any money, giving health to the fick, eyes to the blind, fpeech to the dumb, feet to the lame, cannot polFibly fail to have their name every where celebrated. The novelty of the thing, and the miraculous manner of performing the works, their being done freely, without reward, and the happinefs they derive to mankind, mull render the difpenfers of fuch fenfible bleflings extremely popu- lar, and procure them every man's elleem and ad- miration. Let any man imagine, fliould a dozen of perfons divide this ifland among them, and in their feveral dillricfs, after fo extraordinary manner, re- ftore health and vigour to all fort of fick and dif- treffed people, would not every lieart confefs their imcommon merit, and every mouth be full of their loudell: praifes ? Since, therefore, nothing is more pleafmg than the free ule of all our natural members, and health is the foundation of all our enjoyments, without which we can relifh nothing, it is eafy to con'"ceive, that the recovering of thefe by a word, and whhout the fmalleft expence to the patient, muit be one of the molt effeclual ways whereby a man can raife himfelf to popular fame and glory. Upon confiderations infinitely meaner in the mat- ter of curing difcafes, have fome perfons been counted deities, anci had temples and altars dedicated to their fervice. Nor in the cafe of the Apofll^ were there wanting fair opportunities of acquiring and enjoying fuch blafphenious honours. But,
So
Sect. XII. Chriflian Revelatio?h iij
So far were the Apoftles from employing their power of working miracles, in courting the applaufes of the world, that they diftributed thofe hleflings to mankind, without the lead oilentation or vani- ty, and openly profelfed, that as this power was none of their own, fo chey freely exerted it, as God had commanded them ; particularly with a defign to confirm the Chriftian inflitution, or to aifare the world, that the fame Being, who was the Author of thofe beneficent works for the health of human bodies, did by their Miniltry reveal to mankind the falutary truths of the Gofpel, for the life of human fouls. 1 fay, the Apoftles tell us ex- prefsly, that the wonderful works they did were not done by their own power, but by a power they had received from Jefus Chrifi (m^ ; that the fame power was imparted to them, not in confideratioa ot their fuperior merit or diftinguifhed hclinefs, but by the good pleafure of Almighty God j that their exerting that power freely, and without reward, in healing all manner of ficknefs, and all manner of difeafe, was not owing to the overflowing of their humanity, or to the fuperior force of their benefi- cent difpofitions, but was done, in obedience to the command of their Mafter (n) ; and that all the good they did to the bodies of men, they only did it, as the witneffes of God, attefting the truth of his Go- fpel, to advance its credit, or to recommend it to the belief and pradice of the world (c). All thefe particulars feem to be exprelTed in this account of a notable miracle, which I ftiall here transcribe at large from the j^cfs of the Apoftles.
Js^ow
C(
fm) Matth, X. I. (fi) Matth. X. 8.
(^J Ads i. 8. ^
ii8 The Truth of the Sect. XIL
" Now Peter and yohn went up together into the " temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth " hour. And a certain man lame from his mother's " womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the " gate of tl>e temple which is called Beautiful, to *' afk alms of them that entered into the temple ; *^ Who feeing Peter and yohn about to go into the *' temple, afked an alms. And Peter faftening his *' eyes upon him ; faid, look on us. And he gave " heed unto them, expelling to receive fomething •* of them. Then Pder faid, Silver and gold have " I none, but fuch as I have give I thee : In the " name ^/ Jefus Chrill <?/Nazareth, rife up andwa/k. *' And he took him by the right-hand, and lift *' him up! And immediately his feet and ankle " bones received flrength : And, he leaping up, " ftood, and walked, and entered with them into " the temple, walking, and leaping, and praifing " God. And they knew that it was he which fat " for alms at the beautiful gate of the temple, and *^ they were filled with wonder and amazement " at that which had happened unto him. And as '* the lame man, which was healed, held Peter and '^ John^ all the people ran together unto them, in *' the porch which is called Salomon's, greatly won- " dering.- And when Peter faw it, he anfwered ^' unto the people, Yemen of Ifrael^ why marvel ye *^ at this ? Or, why loot ye fo earneftly on us, as *' though by our own power or holinefs we had made '' this man to walk ? The God of Abraham^ and of " Ifaac^ and of Jacob the God of our Fathers, hath " glorified his Son Jefus; whom ye delivered up, " and denied him in the prefence of Pilate^ when " he was determined to let him go. But ye denied " the Holy One, and the Jult, and defired a mur- '' derer to be granted unto you, and killed the
** Prince
Sect. XIL Chrijlian Revelation. 119
" Prince of life, whom God hath raifed from the *' dead; whereof we are witnefTes. And his name, " through faith in his name, hath made this man " ftrong, whom ye fee and know ; yea, the faith "which is by him, hath given him this perfed *^ foundnefs, in the prefence of you all. And now. *' brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, *' as did alfo your Rulers. Repent ye, therefore, •' and be convercedj that your fins may be blotted " out, when the times of refrelhing fhall come, from *' the prefence of the Lord (/>J."
This is the light wherein we muft apprehend all the miraculous works of kindnefs that were done by the Apollles. And when we are told, that the power, whereby thefe works were performed, was immediately derived from God, not in the view of any man's holinefs, but as God himfelf was pleafed to difpenfe it ; that they were all done, not upon the proper motion of the perfons, to whom the power was committed, but by the exprefs command and appointment of Heaven ; and that they were to be underftood, not as matter of praife to the vifible Agents, (which in the particular cafe jufl now re- lated, the Jews feem to have been forward to do) but only as fupernatural proofs, eftablifhing the di- vinity of the Gofpel, which exprefsly condemns all affedlation of vain glory ; I fay, when we are alTured of all this, I would fain know, what have the A- J)oflles left to themfelves, upon which they can pre- tend to found a perfonal reputation ? In this article, of all others, by great odds, the faireft, the m oft likely to raife and propagate a man's fame in the world, the Apoftles honeftly confelFing, that they contributed nothing of their own, and that they
can
ip) Ads iii. I— #9.
t2o The Tnah of the Sect. XIL
Can only be regarded as mere inflruments employed to fuch a particular parpofe ; do they not thereby mod effedually prevent our allowing them any fhare in the glory of thofe wonderful works tbey per- formed f And is not this a Itrong bar to our fuf- peding them of being governed, in the Miniftry of the Gofpel, by any pallion for popular applaufe ?
Had the Apollles been under the power of this appetite, can it enter into one's head to imagine, that they would have withilood the ftrongell temptations, and flighted the faireft opportunities, that could poflibly oiler of having their vanity gra- tified to the utmoli ? The people of Jerufale'm^ fur- prized at the extraordinary cure above mentioned, were in full readinefs to break forth in refounding the praifes of the Apoftles. And would a vain- glorious man have immediately checked the paffion, xurned the admiration of the people quite off from himfelf, and directed all their praifing thoughts to- wards another objed: I The people of Lyftra^ no lefs furprized at a like miraculous cure, took the Apoftles for gods affembled together, and were about to have done them religious honours ; And would a vain glorious man have, on fuch an occafion, had his indignation raifed, and rejected as impious thofe flattering effeds of the people's admiration ? This, however, was done by the Apoftles. And this cannot but lead one to conclude, that they were men abfolutely free from all paflion for worldly fame and glory. But their condudt will afford us fome farther proofs of their innocence.
Before a man can attain to the applaufes of his fellow- creatures, he muft work himfelf into their good opinion, or gain an intereft in their good liking and efteeb. But how is fuch a purchafe pof- fible to be made, without confpiring in the views,
and
Sect. Xli. Cbrijlian Re'velation, 12 1
and gratifying the paflions and appetites, that is, promoting the happiners, real or imaginary of thofe perfons whofe eileem we are courting ? IVj take a man into onr good 'opinion, .or to regard him as an object of our in\^'ard eltcem, while we app-e- hend he is going crofs to our "moll valuable puriuirs and interefts, is moil fenfibly contradictory to the whole of our conltifution. So tliat, in order to acquire popular love, ncceiTary to bring about popu- lar applaufe, of neceflity, we rnuil go along in the common meafures, and zealoully concur, or diitin- guifli ourfelves, in promoting poplar fentiments and palBons. And I would gladly know, wherein do the Apoftles, in any degree, prolfitute themfelves to fo inglorious an artifice I The Jeisoijh and Hea- then world, with refpect to matters of religion, had each of them their own particular interelts, cer- tain principles and opinions eltablilhed among them, to which they were zealouily devoted, as things facred and of the lafl importance. To go about, therefore, to introduce a let of dodrines, wholly deilrutftive of all the religious fyftcms then prevail- ing among mankind, mull not this have expofed the undertakers to the contempt and hatred of the world, to all the angry and revengeful paffions of human nature \ The religion of our anceft ors, wherein we have been educated, and which bears the fandtion of public authority, people- always re- gard as the caufe and intereft of Heaven, the great means whereby our fore-fathers have been faved, whereby we ourfelves, and our pollcrlty after us, are to come to the fame fiate of happinefs ; and diall a man take upon hirn to {ox adde, or to overturn this* ellablifhed religion, the foundation of all our hopes, without appearing, in our imagination, as an enemy of Heaven, a bold invader of our moft facred and Vol. II. Q^ highell
122: The Truth of the Sect. XII.
nigheii: interefts, as one, who, as he would judge of things, and direct events, gives up thofe that went before us in our way to everlalting mifery, and would reduce ourfelves, and all that fhall come after us, to certain endlefs deitrudion \ Sure no man, in this light, can poffibly recommend himfelf to popular liking and applaufe; but, as it happened in the cafe of the iiril: Publifhers of the Gofpel, who were every -where hated, contemned, and perfecuted^ mud necefTarily incur the indignation of both Prieft and people, and univerfally expofe himfelf to cruel- ty and oppreiriQii. So that the Apoftles, in their doctrines, not going along with popular fentiments, but violently oppofing thefuperftition and idolatry, the religious principles eftablifhed and profefTed a- iiiong Jezvs and Heathens; this, by itieif, without mentioning other initances that equally fliew their negled and contempt of all the arts and meafures of popularity, is, I may venture, to call it, a full de- monftration of their innocence in this article ; or that, in thedifcharge of their office, they were by no means feeking after popular applaufe. In fadt, fo far was the publilhing of the Gofpel from being the way to popular fame and glory, that the con- tempt and ignominy which attended the profeffion thereof, proved a mighty hinderance to its better fuccefs in the world (^). Thus we are exprefsly told, that fome people, not enduring to be of a feh that was every-where fpoken ogainft^ tho* they could not prevent an inward conviction of the truth of the Gofpel, yet they meanly refufed to profefs it, and ftill went on in the old falhionable way, lovtng the praife of men more than the praife of God (r). But let us
further f
{q) John V. 44.
[r) A6ts xxviii, 22. John xH. 42^ 43.
Sect. XIL Chrijlian Revelation. 125
further confider, how the Apoflles checked their Difciples, in fooliilily attempting to introduce po- pular diftind:ions among their Teachers.
Vanity, indeed, is a paffion that has been always common in the world, and that never yet has fail- ed to exert its power in the breads of ^11 ranks and orders of men. So ftrongly turned, and fo very forward is human nature to leek to be diitingulfhed among our fellows, that, when we have no parti- cular accomplifnments of our own, that can raife us to a fuperior ground, where we may come to be regarded, we frequently put ourfclves under the in- fluence of fome extraneous honourable characters, and from the relation we bear to thofe, claim a iliare in their reputation ; and, in this borrowed fame, fancy ourfelves perlbns of merit and diitindlion. Thus, to mention only what belongs to our prefent purpofe, v/hen public Teachers have acquired a name and become famous in the world, people value themfelves upon being their Scholars, upon following their pecuhar fentiments ; and apprehend that the honour of the Mailer renders the Difciples more confpicuojas. So that, where the Teachers them- felves have no fuch mean ambition, as to defire to overtop one' another in popular applaufe, yet the Scholars, from felf- vanity, and without all other foundation, may make the ditfind:ion, and be migh- ty zealous in preferring fuch a particular perfon to a higher reputation. And when thus it happens, what more favourable opportunity can a man, co- vetous of fame, hope to have in his hands,- whereby he may gratiiy his appetite for vainglory? His Difciples have their ftrongeil pallions devoted to his fervice -, he needs only give way to the bent of their nature \ the great power of ambition v/ill make them ad:ive in advnncing*his fame above ever^ other
name
J 24 The Truth of th Sect. XII.
name that can pretend to rival him. Now, we are well afiliredjhat Inch opportunities came in the way ' of the Apoiiles. Bat, lb far were thofe Teachers of righteoufnefs from taking advantage of any fuch occalion, that, when their Dilciples had the folly to make diliindf ions among them, and would have railed the credit of one man above that of another, they do not only fevercly check this mifchievous difpofition, but indulfrioufly fet themfelves in fuch a light, wherein they muit appear to us void of all perlbnal iperit, having no claim to a diflinguiilied reputation.
In the church at Corinth^ the humour, now fo comm.on in the world, wherein people are puffed up for one againd another, was like to prevail, while one faid, I am of Paul \ and another^ I am of ApoU Ids ; and a thirds I of Cephas ; and a fourth^ I am of Chrifl (j). But this humour, probably arifmg from their differing about fome fpeculations in phi- lofophy, which the different parties, from their mif- apprehenfions, might have the folly to imagine were favoured or condemned by "this or that Apollle ; I fay, this factious humour, fo favourable to the de- llgns of a vain glorious man, the Apollle vehement- ly condemns, and reprefents it of fo black a nature as to inlinuace, that therein they had the impiety to imagine, that thofe perfons, whom they thus diltinguifiied, were the authors of the bkilings ^ the Gofpel, which are folcly to be attributed to Jefus Chuff.. What, fays the Apollle, is Chrifl di- vided F Or do you fet up for more Saviours than oner To Ihow the extravagancy of fuch an opinion, and confeqaently the madnels of this partial diilin- guiihing humour that implies it, he mentions him- I'df in particular, and aiks, was' Paul crucified for
ii) I Cor. i. 12. &:c.
Sect. XIL. Chriftian Revelation. 125
you ? Or are ye baptized [in the name ofPauP. I thank God, fay s he, that I baptized none of\ you^ hut Crif- pus and Gains ^ and the houjhold of Stephanas %' lefi anyjhould fay that I had baptized in mine own name. And 2is the ■ Corinthians were herein highly injuri- ous to the great Author and finifher of our faith ; fo the Apoftle gives them further to underftand, that by thus dividing themfelves in fects, and fetting up to be followers of fuch particular Apoftles, they were acting in direvfl oppofirion to the^fpirit andde- fign of the GofpeL Now, fays he (/), we have re* ceived^ not the Jpirit of the world, that delights in par- ty and fadtion, but the f pit it which is of God, that delights inxpncord and unity, and hywhofe influences we not only kyiow the things that are freely given to us> of God, fo as taafcribe them to their only proper Author, but we live in the exercife of thefe amiable virtues {u\ love, joy, peace, long-fuffering, gentle- nefSj faith, mcsknefs, temperance, in fhort, all good- nefs and righteoufnefs, and truth, which knit us togetlier in charity, the bond of perfe&nefs ; and ma- king cur fouls the temple of God, we have the feace of God ruling within us, to the which alfo we are called in one body :' Whereas, fays the Apoftlc to the peo- ple o{ Corinth {x), there is among you, as the fruit of your vain glorious dillinguifhing humour, envying, and firife, and dlvi/icns ; and amidit thefe pallions are ye not carnal? Are ye not quite different from thdc perfons who by one fpirit are baptized into 07ie body whereof Jefus Chrifl is the head, and in which there can be no fchifra? Do ye not vvalkas men who are deif icute of the Spirit of God I For while one fay- cth, I am of Paul) and another, I am of Apollo S', are ye not carnal, in a difcofuion of mind wherein you
are
{/) I Cor. ii. 12. [«) GjiL v. zz. Eph v. 9.
(x) I Cor. iii. 3.4.
126 ne Truth of the Sect. XII.
are tlie enemies of God ; not only negledling to keep the unity of the fpirit m the band of peace ^ but prefuming to hold your redemption of another Sa- viour than he hath appointed, and giving way, or indulging to thofe contentious pallions that defile the temple of God, bring along with them every evil work, to an intire forfeiture of all the blef- fings of the Gofpei, and the fuifering of that deftru- dion which God will inflict upon thofe who profane his temple {y) ? After this manner, the Apoftle gives the powerfuUeft check poflible to that fpirit of vanity, that would have introduced diftindions among the Apoftles, and railed one higher than an- other in popular applaufe. And to fet people right in their notions about the Apollles, he lets them know, in what particular light they ought to regard their public Teachers.
It was indeed the way among Philofophers to dif- fer from one another, and to fall into particular fedts, who were always very zealous, each in pre- ferring its ov/n tenets, or its own fyftem of wif- dom before that of another, and in boallingof fuch a Philofopher as its head. But the folly of this con- duct the Gofpei has demonftrated, in teaching the world a divine fyitcm of truths, that expofe the ignorance and folly of thofe wife men : For the wif- dom of this world, fays the Apoftle, is foolifhnefs with God •, and the Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wife that they are vain. So that if any profe fling Chritli- anity feem to be wife in this world, or to affect thefpeculations of Philofophers, and as their Difci- ples do, to fet fuch a man at their head, meaning thereby to promote an opinion of their own wif- dom, thofe perfons deceive themfelves, and are quite out of the way to be counted wife in the fight
of
[y) 1 Cor. iji. i6, 17.
Sect. XII. Chrijlian Revelation. I27
of God ; let them become fools^ as the world may call rhem, in renouncing the fpeculations and fa- dtious coiirfes of thofe Philofophers and their Difci- ples, 'that they may be 'Wife (2), according to the wifdom of God, in embracing the Gofpel of Chrift^ that forbids all diviiions, and to call any man our father or mailer upon earth, that commands us to to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace^ and to confefs only one Lord and one faith (^), Thus the profeiTors of Chriltianity mult not imi- tate the fadious humour of Philofoplicrs and their DifcipleSj or look upon any man as their head or mailer. As for the Apoftles themfelves, they claim no mailerfhip : tVho then, fay they, is Paul^ and who is Apollos^ but Mimfiers by whom ye believed^ even as the Lord gave to every man ? I have planted^ Apollos watered 'j but God gave the increafe] now he that plant eth^ and he that water eth^ are one, and eve- ry manjhall receive his own reward, according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God : Te are God^s hujhandry^ ye are God's building (^b)» This therefore is the light, wherein we are taught to apprehend the Apoflles with refpecl to the Chriilian Intlitution : As for the doclrines of the Gofpel, and the blelRngs therein promifed, as for the fuccefs of thofe dodlrines in the hearts and lives of men, whereby they are led to lading happinefs ; none of thofe things can be attributed to the Apoilles ; they acknowledge God for their only Author, and the glory of all mud be afcribed to him alone. So that the Apoflles, in the propagation of the Gofpel, can only be confidered as Minillers, united" together in one common fervice, whom God employs, not
for
(k) I Cor. iii. 1 8, I9, 20. (a) Matth. xxiii, 9. i®.
Eph. iv. 3. &c*, [b] I Cor. iii. 5, ^c.
J28 "the Truth of the Sect. XII.
for their own fake, but for the fake of other people, to difpenfe the effeds of his vvifdom and goodnefs to mankind. And, placing things in this view, they not only preclude themfelves from all pretenfi- ons to merit, to fuperior efteem and glory ; but they intimate the great folly of making diilindtions among them, and how abfurd it is for people to feek for credit or fame by heightening their chara- cler. Nay, they lead us to refled, that the reft of mankind mud be counted much more honourable, by far preferable to them; fmce its is only for their fervice that they are employed ; only for their interelt, that they are qualified, and commanded to carry on the propagation of the Gofpel ; and would not have been thus qualified, had not God defigned thus to employ them : PTe preach not^ ^ay they, our/elves^ hut Cbrift Jefus the Lord ; and ourfehes your ferv ants for 'jejm fake (c). Mull not the CorinthianSy then, have been extremely foolifli in attempting to pervert the fettled order of things, while they fet up the Apolfles to be the heads of different parties, and the fcveral parties were con- tending, each one to raife the fame of th.at particu- lar Apollle for whom they had declared, thereby meanly defigning to gain a name to themfelves in a borrowed reputation? So worthy and honourable, fo high in the love and efleem of God, are all fin- cere Chriftians, that the world^ life^ and death^ things prefent^ and things to come^ all are employ- ed by Providence in their fervice, as the means of their real, their eternal good and happinefs : The Apofhles themfelves ferve to no other purpofe, and can be accounted of no otherwife. And, I fay, does not this clearly rcprefent the great meannefs any
folld
(c) 2 Cor, iv. 5* (d) I Cor. iii. 21. 22.
Sect. XII. Chrijlian Revelation. 129
folly every good ChrilVian would be guilty of, ihould he go about to derive his credit from the fame of his pubhc Teacher? ^herefore^ fays the A* poille (i), let no man glory in men ; for all things are yours 'j whether 'Pau], £?r A polios, (?r Cephas, or the worlds or life^ or deaths or things prefent^ or things to come^ all are yours ; and ye are ChriflV, and Chtill is God's. Thus it is that the Apoillts do vehemently oppofe themfelves to that fpirit of pride and vanity that prompted the Corinthians to make diltinclions :among them, and to attempt to raife one above an- other in popular applaufe. Upon the whole there- fore.
Since the Apoftles openly propofe to the world, in the purfuit of univerfal goodnefs and righteouf- nefs, immortal honour and glory, as their great
point of view : Since upon this they exprefsly
condemn and prohibit all paffion for popular ap- plaufe ; (hewing, at the "fame time, its moft mif-
chievous confequences :-^ Since all the doctrines
they taught do ftrongly guard the mind againit the
influence of that hurtful dangerous appetjte ;
Since neither from the glorious truths they revealed in the Gofpel, norfroifi the wonderful works of kind- nefs, which, without reward, they freely did to the bodies of men, they affume any degree of praife or ho- nour to themfelves, bjt afcribethe glory of all to God alone, thereby honeilly intending to recommend the Gofpel to the acceptance of mankind as a divine in- ititution ; Since they lleadily oppofe them- felves to the fuperftition and idolatry, to all the falfe, abfurd religious opinions that were eltablilhed and profeifed among Jews and Heathens, whereby, as they forefaw, they came to be involved in uni- verfal contempt and hatred : Since they are fo
far from ufmg any of the mean arts or meafures of
Vol. II. R popularity,
{d) I Cor. iii. 21, 22, 23.
130 The Truth of the^ Sect. XII.
popularity, that when fome of their Difciples would have made a breach in the union of their fervice, and dividing theni in parties, would have raifed one above another'; they feverely check that fpirit of
' fadlion and vanity, in itrongly remonflrating, that therein they were highly injurious to Jefus Chrift^ to whoii alone all the glory of the doctrines and blef- Ungs of the Gofpel is due ; and that thus acting in contradidlion to the fpirit and defign of the Cbriftian inftitution, they were cutting themfelves off from all
the happinefs it propofes to mankind: Since, at
the fame time, they deprefs their own charadler far below what people apprehended, and tell their Dif- ciples, that while thus they fet, fome one Apoftle, and fome another, at their head, and feverally pro- feiling themfelves their followers, would borrovNJ credit from their reputation, they were greatly dif- honouring themfelves ; for that the Apoftles were
only their fervants and rri^niflers : I fay, fince
the Apollles, in all thefe pa'rticulars, aded a part di- rectly crofs to all the dictates of a vain glorious mind, 'tis impoflible it can be fufpeded, that by
. this paffion they were animated in the propagation of the Gofpel. As they were allowed of God to be put in trtift with the Gofpel^ even fo they fpake^ not as f leafing men but God^ who fearcheth the hearts. For neither at any time ufed they flattering words ; nor of men fought they glory (e). For all which they dare venture to appeal, not only to man, but toGodhim- felf. So that hitherto, in the judgment of every impartial man, I muit prefume to think, the A- pollles are abfolutely free from all fufpicion of im- pofture. And, I would fain hope, that the Deifts will have the freedom of thought to allow the fame
weight
(/?) I ThefT. ii. 4,5,6.
Sect. XIL Chrijlian Revelation. 131
weight to the fame apology in the cafe of the A- pollles, that they feem to allow it in juftifying their own charad:er.
It is objecled to the Deifls, that " fuch men are ^' afraid they Jhall not tranfmit their names to pofterity *' with advantage^ but by broaching odd and ftngidar " notions J^ In anfwer to which, '' Can they, (fays " Dr. Tindal) if they have any concern for repu- *' tation after death, exped fair ufage then, when " they are furetobe belied when alive r Fcr if you " are not orthodox^ as an excellent Author (nowde- *' fervedly in the firft order of the church) fays, the *' mofi perfpicucus virtue will not he believed ; if you are " guilty of no open vices ^ fecret ones will be imputed toyoUy '> your inquiries will be called vain, curious^ and for bidden *' ftudies y pride and ambition will be faid to be the fecret: *' fpringof them 5 afearch after truth will be called no- ^' velty (/). — ■ — How can one think any man would " affect fmgularicy in religion, when that mufb ex- *« pofe him to the hatred of the Prieits, the Bigots, *' and the Immoral, who are ambitious of Ihewing *' their zeal to the church, the better to hide their " enmity to religion. And when, by thefe means, *' one is looked on as a monfter, by ninety-nine of " an hundred, and others fcarce dare give him any '' countenance ; what has this unhappy man but *' confcience to fupport him {g) ? '' To the fame purpofe another Gentleman, of the fame way, argues in this manner : " If any man (fays he) prefumes " to think for himfelf, and, in confequenoe of that, '' departs from the fentiments of the herd of man- *' kind among whojn^he lives, he is fure to draw " upon himfelf the whole malice of the Prieit, and
" of
(/) DifHcultiefs and Difcouragements, ^V. p. 16, 17. [g) An Addrefs to the Inhabitants of London and Weilminfter, p. 41, 42. Vid. Chriftianity as old as the Creation, p. 424.-^
i^^ Me Truth of the Sect. XIL
*' of all who believe in him, or who hope to make " theirfortune bypretendingtobelieveinhim, (which '' of courfe mult be nine hundred and ninety nine of ^' a thoufand) and can have no credit but what his *' virtue, in fpite of his enemies, neceflarily procures ** for him. VVhereas, any profligate fellow is fure of «' credit, countenance, and fupport, m any fecft or party *' whatfoever, tho' he has no other quality to re- *' commend him than the word of all vices, a blind *' zeal to his fedl or party (^).*' Thus far the De- ilfs go in their own juftification. And while thofe forts efprits^ thofe upright daring fo'uls, that have the honefty and courage to oppole an eftabliihed re- ligion, do thus' clear the fincerity of their own hearts ; muft they not, by the fame courfe of rea- foning, maintain the integrity of the Apoltles, and pronounce them wholly free of all paiFion for world- ly fame, to be enjoyed .either before or after death I One fiiould think that the evidence, on the fide of the Apoftles, is ftrongly fortified by the uncom- mon hardfhips, and frightful perfecutions they chearfully endured, in oppofing the abfurd religious opinions then eilabliilied in the world, or in relie- ving mankind from the fuperflition and idolatry, the bigotry which in their days every- where prevail- ed. Whereas, " many Free-thinkers have either *' fallen in with the reigning fuperflition of their •' country, or fufl^ered it quietly to take its courfe, *' forefeeing how little good was to be done on fo '' knaviih and ignorant a creature as man, and how *' much mifchief was to be expected from him (z). '^ Wonderfully prudent 1 how little foever it befpeaks a free, a great and generous mind. But what can be expedted from thofe men who tell us, ^' It is
" virtue
[h] A Difcourfe of Free-Thinking, p. 120. (0 Ibid, p. 123 =
Sect. XIH. Chrijiian Revelation. i%%
*« virtue enough to endeavour to do good, on- *' \y within the bounds of doing one's felf no »* harm {k) I ^' An unkind condemnation of 5^- crates^ whom the Autht)r had before honoured with the character of the divineji man that ever appeared in the Heathen worlds to whofe virtue and wifdom alt ages have fmce donejuftice (/). Bat palhng this;
SECT. XIIL
In puhlifijing the Gofpel to the JVorld, the Apoftles had not the mcft diftant 'Thought of thereby acquiring to themf elves worldly Power ^ Rule^ or Dominion.
1AM next to explain, whether the Apoflles, in the profecution of their fervice, were animated by a prevaihng paflion for worldly power, authority, or dominion. And indeed this is the paffion that is moli: incident to great minds, and whereby fine fpirits have in all ages been motl apt to be llrongly agitated ; without regarding riches or treafures any farther, than as they are necelTary to fupport their power and grandeur (a). And though I am nou ignorant bow contemptibly fome people, that pre- , tend to a more than ordinary difcernment, are ' pleafed tp talk of the Apoftles, as if they were only to be counted a company of poor, filly, defpicable creatures ; yet I will take the Hberty to affirm, that the Apoftles were men of the moft open and gene- rous j
(k) Ibid. p. 178. (/) Ibid. p. 123. ^ ...
[a] Eft autem in hoc genere moleftum, quod in maximis ani- mis fplendidiflimirque ingeniis, plerumque exiftunt honoris, im- perii, potentise, gloriae cupiditates. Cic. de Off. lib. i. cap. 8.
In quibus autem major eft animus, in iis pecuniae cupiditas fpe(^at ad opes, et ad gratiiicandi facuUatem. Ibid.
i34 The Truth of the Sect. XIIL
rous, the greateft, and the moft noble and elevated fouls that- ever mortals were infpired with ; Nor can I think but thus much will be clearly appre- hended by every man, who forms a judgment of the Apoftles from their writings and courfe of life, and confiders the charadler of a truly great man, as it is reprefented by the bell Heathen Philofophers. So that I mull beg leave to fay, if the Apoftles were in- cited in the fervice of the Gofpel by any worldly motive, it does not appear, how, in a confiftency with the nature of things, it could have been any other than a ftrong, violent pafFion for rule and em- pire. But, that the Apoftles are as little liable iri this, as in any other article, cannot but be obvious to every fair, impartial inquirer.
And indeed, when one reflei^s, that the Apoftles were only a few obfcure, friendlefs perfons, neither keepdng together for mutual counfel and alTiftance, nor fetting up any one of their number to diredi their adling in concert, but difperfing themfelves through the world, and feparating from each other to the greateft diftance, in order to propagate the Gofpel among all nations, having no fixed refidence, but ever reftlefsly travelling about from place to place ; it feems the wildeft imagination poflible, to conceive, that thofe men were all of them fpurred on by a commanding luft of power, and had the . mad ambition to confpire together in a forjned de- fign to overthrow the Roman empire, tnd all other kingdoms, and to ufurp the elevation of Sovereigns, and grafp at univerfal dominion. The imputatiori is fo very extravagant, and fo far beyond the bounds of credibility, that, as it confutes itfelf, one may well think it not worth the regarding. However, as it affords an opportunity to let perfons and things in a juft light, I fliall here go on as in the former
articles,
Sect. XIII. Chrijlian 'Revelation. 135
articles, and further confider the dodrines of the A» poftles, and their courfe of Hfe, and from thence make it appear, that in the purfuit of their Miniflry, they were in no degree Itinmlated by a prevaiUng paffion for worldly power or dominion.
The great Author of our rehgion, under whofe influence, and by whofe authority, the Apoftles al- ways aded, lets us know the nature of his govern- ment, and exprefsly declares, that his kingdom is not of this world {b) ; that it is of no fecular, but intire- ly of a fpiritual nature. And, as the laws of this kingdom do not conditute any particular form of civil policy^ that affects mankind in their bodies, their eftates, or outward circumitances ; fo its pu- blic Miniiters have no title to worldly power or dominion, and cannot, without ufurpation, pretend to rule over people in what concerns their bodies or eftates, their natural or their civil rights or liberties. So that the kingdom of Chrifl having no concern but with the inward thoughts and confciences of men, incapable of brutal force and violence, it can only be propagated and fupported, or its Minifters can only acl, in the way of rational convidion and argument, and muft leave all individual perfons, all the feveral ftates and kingdoms of the world, to the peaceable pofTeflion of their natural rights, their ci- vil power and authority ; being fubjecl themfelves to the Civil Magistrate, and by their precepts and example, engaging others to obferve a fleady courfe of alteclion and loyalty.
Thus the great Founder of this fpiritual kingdom, when upon earth, did himfelf confefs his fubjeclion, and pay tribute to the civil government, under which he then Uved .' He refufed to meddle in a ci- vil
{b) John xviii. 36.
136 The Truth of the Sect. XIII.
vil difference (f), wherein his meddling might have been conftrudted an alTuming or ufurping civil au- thority, and confirmed the Jews in their prejudices Concerning the nature of his kingdom : And when the people, according to their mitlaken notions a- bout the Mejftah, upon a miracle wrought by our Saviour, would have come and taken him by force to make him a King^ he departed into a mountain himfelf alone^ and by that means prevented the defign (d) : In a word, his conllant dodrine was, to render to Cjefar, the things that are Csefar'j ; and to God^ the things that are God's {e). This was the condudl of our Saviour : And his command to thofe particular perfons whom he was to employ in carrying on the propagation of his Gofpel, runs thus ; Te know, f?ys our Lord, that the Princes of the Gentiles exercife do-- minion over them^ and they that are great exercife au- thority upon them : But it Jhall not he Jo among you \ hut whofoever will be great among you, let him be your tninifter ; and whofoever will he chief among you, let him he your fervant ; even as the Son of man came not to he Minifter unto^ hut to minifler^ and to give his life a ranfom for many (/ ).
Now as Jefus Chrift^ by his docflrine and example, declared the nature of his kingdom to be thus in- tirely fpiritual, without interfering with any the fmallell branch of civil jurifdiclion or authority ; fo the Apolllcs do always iteadily purfue the fame plan. So far are they from claiming to themfelves any degree of worldly power and dominion, that they dired: the allegiance of mankind to be wholly paid to their civil Governors, and command every individual to ht fuhje5f to principalities and powers, to obey Magiftrates^ and to he ready to every good work (g)»
They
(c) Luke xii. 14. {cf) John vi. 15. (e) Matth. xxii. ?ic (/) Matth. XX. 25. [o) Tit. iii. i.
Sect.XIII. Chri/ii an Revelation » 137
They tell us, that government is not fo much a hu- man contrivance, as it is an ordinance of God^ an in-* llitution which he has appointed, and which, froni the circumttances wherein Providence hath placed us, he has made neceffary to the peace and happinels of mankind (h). So that, by the doctrine of the Ax poilles, we are bound to be fubjed; to the higher powers, not only from human compadj: and agree- ment, not only from a concern for the public peace and order of the world, or from benevolent princi- ples that naturally prompt us to promote public h^pinefs ; but from confcience towards God^ a regard to his fovereign authority, and as we vahie his pro- tedtion and favour. And when the Apoifles do thus enjoin obedience to our civil Governors, as aa indifpentable article of religion, wherein, if we fail, we become guilty of refilling the ordinance of God, and do thereby expofe ourfelves to his almighty dif- pleafure ; 'tis impoflible they could have provided a llronger guard for the Magiftrate in the pofTelHoa and exercife of his civil authority •, nor could they^ by any other means, have more effectually engaged and fecured the duty and loyalty of the fubjedt. Le^ every foul^ fay the Apoltles, be fubje^ to the higher powers. For there is no power but of God : The pow-- ers that be are ordained of God. V/hofoever therefore refifieth the power ^ refifleth the ordinance of God ; and they that refifl fhall receive to themfelves damnation* For Rulers are not a terror to good works but to evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power ? Bo that which is good-, and thou fJoalt have praije of the fame \ for he is the Minifler cf Gcd to thee for good* But if thou do that which is evil-, be afraid \ for he beareth not the fword in vain : For he is the Minifler cf Gcd^ a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doth evil. Vol. II. S WHrefqr^
[h] I Pet. ii,.i3.
138 T:he Truth of the Sect.XIIL
Wherefore ye muft needs be JuhjeB^ not only for wrath^ hut for confcience Jake, For ^ for this caufe pay you tribute^ alfo : For they are God's Minifters^ attending continu- ally upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues *j tribute^ to whom tribute is due ; cuflom., to whom cuflom •, fear^ to whom fear ; honour ^ to whom honour (i). This fame dodtrine is elfewhere thus incul- cated upon us •, Submit yourfelveSy fays the Apoftlcj, to every ordinance of man^for the Lord's fake : fVhether it be to King^ as fupreme ) or unto Governors^ as unto them that are fent by him for the punijhment of evil- doers^ and for the praife of them that do well. Fof^fo is the will of God^ that with well doing ye may put to filence the ignorance of foolifhmen (k). Still refleding, that thofe who defpife dominion^ andfpeak evil of dig- nities., are- ungodly finnerSf upon whom the judgments of Heaven fhall be executed (/).
But not only do the Apollles, upon pain of in- curring the dilpleafure of Almighty God, command their Difciples to be in all inllances, dutiful and loy- al, to pay tribute, and in every thing to anfwer the charader of perfons v^ell affedled to the civil Ma- gillrate : But they further ilridfly enjoin them, in their folemn prayers and fupplications to God, to in- tercede for all that are in authority, and to implore the bleflings, the favour and protection of Heaven in their behalf. I exhort .^ therefore.^ fays the Apoftle, that firfl of all .^ prayers^ fupplications., inter cejfwns and giving of thanks., be made for all men ; for Kings., and for all that are in authority : That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in allgodlinefs and honefly. For this is good and acceptable to God our Saviour : Who will have all men to be faved., and to come unto the knowledge of the truth {ni). And v^'hen one confiders, with
^ what
(/■) Rom. xiii. i.— 7» [k] i Pet. Vi. 13, 14, 15.
(/) Jude 8. [m] i Tim. ii. i.— 4.
SECf. XIII. Chrijiian Revelation. 139
what uprightnefs, with what hearty fincerity, we ought, in all our prayers, to addrels ouTfelves unto God, it appears impcflible, that, in a confiitency with the dilcharge of this duty, or that, without be- ing highly impious before God, we can entertain difaffedion in our hearts, or exprefs difobedience of any fort, in our lives. For it muft be owned, that to pray to God for the fafety of the civil Ma-* giflrate, and the profperity of his government, while our difioyal thoughts or our rebellious deeds do naturally tend to the overthrow and ruin of both, is dealing doubly with our Maker, and cannot but provoke his jull indignation. This command, there- fore, requiring us to pray for all thap are in autho- rity, flrongly fecures our duty and loyalty, and af- fords good protection to the civil Magiftrate.
Such were the doctrines taught by the Apoflles concerning civil government, and powerfully re- commended to the obfervance of mankind. How can we then conceive any the leail fufpicion, that thefe very men who taught fuch doiftrines to the world, were all the while only treacheroufly plotting together, to raife themfelves to univerfal empire and dominion, upon the ruins of the fevcral flates and kingdoms then fubfiiling in the world ? No im- putation of this nature can be made out againft the Apoflles, without proving them, at t\\& fame time, abandoned Atheifts, ^nd arrant fools. Atheifts they mull have been, and impious to the highefl pitch, when they profanely meant to overturn that very power, which, in the name of God, they enjoined others always to regard and uphold as facred and re- ligious : And mull not their folly have been egre- gious without example, and beyond meafure, when, from all the confiderations that heaven and earth can afford, they endeavoured, what they could, to
fortify
240 The Truth of the Segt.XIIL
fortify people's minds in their loyalty to their Prince, whilll they were dellgning to llir them up to rebellion, and to employ their affiilance in ufurp- ing his authority I But is it to be thought, that men of comman fenfe, really engaged in fuch a par- ticular plot, and endeavouring to gain a party to aflill them in the execution, would, with the utmoft zeal and fervency, do all in their power to infpire the minds of their followers with tliofe principles that raife the deepetf abhorrence of fuch a plot, and that render their oppofition molt certain and wholly tjnfurmountahle ? Mankind in mj^ny inftances be- tray folly enough ; but of fuch a d.egree of folly hu- man nature is incapable. The Roman Pontiffs pur- fued another courfe : Having formed a defign to e- rect a temporal univerfal monarchy, abfolute in all things, they ufurped a fpiritual fovereign jurifdidion over the -fentiments and adions of mankind, and thereupon claimed a power, which they frequently executed, to depofe Princes, to abfolve their fubjeds from their allegiance, to excommunicate whole na- tions, or lay them under an interdid, and to give a- way kingdoms to whom they pleafed, encouraging the blinded fuperilitious world, to fupport their Bulls or Decrees, by granting them Indulgences, or pnblilbing Crufado's. Thus likewifc Mahomet {mttd iiis meafures to the deiign he had formed : " His '> general rule, ^a-\(\ which he laid as a flrid obli- *' gation upon all his followers, was to fight for the «* propagation of his religion. And there were on- " ly two conditions on which he granted peace to " any he had to do with ♦, and thefe v^ere either to *' come into his religion, or fubmit to be tributaries *' unto them (w)." So that the dodrines of the
Gofpel
(«) Prideaux's Life of Mahomet, p. 91. Here is a pafTage of the Alcoran that declares exprefsiy for toleration : Si Dieu I'eut
voulu.
Sect. XIII. Chrijlian Revelation, i^t
Gofpel do clearly juftify the Apoftles from having any defign of ufurping worldly power and authori- ty. Nor is their innocence lefs apparent from every particular branch of their conduct.
The lull of power, like every other prevailing paflion, having gained the command of the foul, will not conceal itfelf, nor can it keep within the bounds of julfice and religion, but muft produce its own ge- nuine elfedts, and do all it can to make provifion for its own gratification. Thus, from the condudt of the Apoftles, before they fully underftood the de- lign of the Gofpel, or the nature of Cbrtfi's king- dom, one may eafily learn, that they were animated with the profpedl of coming to worldly power. They have their own ambitious aims of rifing above one another in the public pofts of that governmenr^ as they apprehended it : And they fail not to fhcw a difpofition to make the world fenfible of the dire- ful effects of that paflion. Their hiftory informs us, that it was oftener than once debated among them, Whojhould be the great eft (o) ? While fome of them, to the great indignation of the reft, immediately pe- titioned Jefus himfelf, begging they might have
the
voulu, tous !es hommes qui vivent fur la terre croiroient. Se* rez-vous aflez infenfe, vous pauvre mortel, pour contraindre, par la force, les autres hommes a croire ? Non, Tame ne croit point que par la volonte de Dieu. Alcor. ch. x. 98. So that Maho- met aded, Primierement. par la voye de la parole & de la perfua- fion ; & enfuite a force ouverte, lorfqu' il fe fentit afTez appuye. Wherein this Impoftor is manifeftly felf-condemned. But now again ; Les Mahometans ne contraignent perfonne pas, meme leurs efclaves, a embrailer leur religion. 11 y a meme dans la Turquie, des villages, & des bourgs entiers, ou tous les habitans font Chretiens. La feule capitaie, diton, renferme plus de 60G00 Juifs, fans compter les Chretiens de toutes les fedles. La Relig. des Mahomet. Tircxlu Latin de M. Reland. p. 107,
(c) Mark ix. 33, &c.
J 42 Ihe Truth of the Sect. XIII.
the promife of the mod honourable places (/>). Be- fides, that a certain village of the Samaritans^ refufing to entertain our Saviour, as he was in his way to ^e- rufakm ; this the Apoftles counted fuch an inilance ,of difaffedion in thofe that (hould be under their Mallei's government, that their imperious fpirit would have immediately commanded fire to ccme down froin Heaven to confume them (q). And from thefe inltances one may judge, what was like- ly to have been the deportment of the Apotlles with refpecJ: to one another ; and after what man- ner they would have employed that extraordinary miraculous power, with which they were endowed. jSIo doubt, they would haveaded the part of other ambitious men, fallen into intrigues and factions, cndea oured to undermine and difplace one another, and exerted all their povi^er, while they kept nnited together, in forcing the reft of mankind to fubmit to their authority. But after the crucifixion of yefus Cbrifi, when they came to a better under - itanding of the defign of the Gofpel, what is the lingle thought, the fingle adlion, wherein they be- tray a paflion for worldly dominion ?
Inflead of the proud, the imperious thoughts of rule and empire, they exprefs nothing but meeknefs and humility; they carry on their common fervice with great concord and unanimity ; and, under the highett affronts, fhew no degree of refentment, but the utmoll forbearance, patience and refignation. And as there is no fymptom of any paflion for world- ly power in the temper of the Apoftles -, fo neither can one difcern the appearance of their making any provifion necefTary to bring about the gratification of this appetite. One fnould think, that had the Apoftles been engaged in any confederacy to ufurp dominion over mankind, befides lecuring an infinite
number
(/>) Matth. XX. 20. {q) Luk. ix. 54.
Sect. XIIL Chrijlian Revelation. 143
number of followers every where thro' the world, they muft have found it neceffary to have provided (for 1 will not mention thofe infamous powers af- fumed by the Popes of Rome) a proportionable quantity of money and arms, without which, they Gould not but know, their defign would prbve ab* folutely abortive. But as our Saviour, when a- live, fent forth his Difciples to preach the Gofpel, and commanded them, that they Jhould take noihing for their journey^ Jave a fiaff only ; no fcrip^ no breads no money in their purfe {r)\ fo, after his death and refurredion, in the fame mean and defencelefs manner did they travel thro' the world in the dif- charge of their Minillry ; (hewing always an abfo- lute contempt of money, without which, no man can ever think of fupporting himfelf, or his follow- ers, in the purfuit or polTeffion of that power and greatnefs he intends to ufurp and maintain over o- thers, who cannot but violently oppofe him. So that all their arms was a Itaff to help them by the way ; and having no money of their own, they jived on the charity of other people; very frequent- ly reduced to hunger, and cold, and nakednefs. Such is the pomp and greatnefs they affeded, and fuch is the proviilon thofe men made, who are faid to have confpired to conquer the world. In fliort, they make not the molt diilant attack upon the rights or properties of other people ; but, as by their laws they fecured every man in the quiet and full pofTedion of every branch of his liberty ; fo, in the whole of their pradice, they keep within the bounds of thefe facred inilicutions. But how could the Apoftles, in all inilances, have been meek and humble, patient and forgiving, univerfally temperate, juftj and righteous, had they been go-
\^rned (^) Mark yL 8,
t44 'I'he Truth of the Sect, XIII.
verned by ^^n infatiable lufl of power, which, like a common ftrumpet, firfl debauches a man's princi- ples, and then leads him on to the perpetration of every ad: of impiety ? A man, in the purfuit of his ambitious views, can have no regard to any thing but as it contributes towards the great end he is aiming at ; So that all rights, human and di- vine, muil be facrificed to this one appetite ; and the world cannot avoid being involved in direful oppreflion and mifery ; which, if the ambitious man does not himfelf perifh in the attempt, will continually be breaking out, according to the op- pofition or fuccefs he meets withal. How contra- didlory is all this to the temper and condudt of the Apoftles f
But, had a prevailing paflion for worldly power been the motive that pufhed on the Apoftles to the propagation of the Gofpel, muft they not have found it abfolutely neceffary to have pradifed all imaginable arts of popularity ? Certain it is, that they had no fhadow of title, no pretenfions of any fort, to fer up upon, whereby people might have been induced to favour their interelt, or to engage in their fervice. On the contrary, from their own mouths, their original and fortune were every where well known, and all the world underftood, that they had no manner of claim to any the leaft degree of civil authority. Having therefore no fup- port from the righteoufnefs of their caufe, they mud intirely have depended on the affedions of the multi- tude, and, for that reafon, have been obliged to employ all poflible methods to infinuate themfelves into their favour, to prevent their revolting, when once enga- ged, and to keep them iteady to their intereft. And to compafs this, muft they not have had the hai- nou§ impiety to alienate men's hearts and aifedions
from
Sect. XIII. Chrijilan Revelation, 145
from thofe civil governors, under whofe authori- ty they were living, and to pervert all their prin- ciples of common jaftice and honetly \ And lince men are feldom forward to dilturb their prefent eafe, or to expofe their lives and fortunes in an at- .tempt to change their condition, without the pro- fpecl of rendering it incomparably better; muft not the Apoitles have perfuaded them that the ad van* t2ges they might alliiredly promife themfelves under their government, would be infinitely greater than any they were at prefent poffefTed of ? And to af- ford thema conviction of this, muft they not, in the meantime, have entertained them with fome confi- derabie initances of their profufenefs and liberality and granted them many indulgences in their prevailing humours and pafTions I And while they were thus car- rying on their plot, what peace and quiet of mind could they poifibly enjoy ? Suppofing them in per- f^d union among themlelves, which rarely happens among perfons of unbounded ambition, mull: they not have been frequently put upon racking their inven- tion, and reduced to the utmofl perplexities, how to binder and compofe differences among their fol- lowers, and prevent their proving treacherous ; how to guard againif th-ir enemies penetrating in- to their defign; and at length how to bring it into execution I It feems impoffible but all thefe parti- culars mull have taken place in the cafe of the A- polUes, had they been purfuing after worldly power and dominion. But where is the fmgle inlfance in their conduft, that carries the leaif fufpicious look of their having been after any fuch manner involved or aifecled ?
At an infinite diilance were they from giving any countenance to- any degree of difaifeclion and rebellion again ft the civil Magiftrate, whofe autho-
VoL. II. T rity
146 The Truth of the Sect. XIII.
rity they enjoin us religioufly to regard and to hold facred ; and tor whole lafety and profperity they command us to put up our prayers to God Ahnighty. Nor do they buoy up the minds of their followers with any hopes of their getting above their prefent calamities, and of their leading them on to a gold- en age, wherein they fliould live at eafe, amidtt all plenty and greatnefs. They all along ingenuouf- ]y tell the world, that as they expecfted for them- felves no other lot upon earth, than that which had already befallen them, full of meannefs, contempt, and poverty ; fo they could receive no man into their fociety, as aDifciple oiJ.[fus Chrift^ who would not firll renounce all worldly pleafures, and riches, and greatnefs, and folemnly profefs he was well fatisfied to undergo all the molt dreadful miferies, even death itfelf, when ever he fnould be called to it for the fake of the Gofpel, whofe rewards are of another world : for that they were all of them, through many tribulations to enter into the kingdom of he-'ven (s). And if they were not at the eafy charge of flattering the hopes of their followers, by fhew- ing them fome imaginary felicities at a diitance; far lefs were they at the expence of bribing them into their interelf, or (ecuring them to their party, by any prefent ads of munificence. Their noble contempt of money, and all worldly treafures, as their Mafler had conmianded them, made this po- pular art abfolutely impradicable ; without which, there is no winning the hearts of the multitude : Nay, they do not fo much as grant any the leall indulgence to any one of their followers, in any one lingle humour or appetite, that can in any mea- sure be prejudicial to human fociety. For, not to fpcak of their feverities againfl: every open violation
of (;) Aa. iv. 25.
Sect* XIIl. Chrijiim Revelation. 147
of the great law of univerfal righteoufnefs, they will fuffer no man ro lead an idle life, but feverely condemn thofe perlons who do not apply thenifelves to Tome lawful and indultrious bufinefs, whereby they may fubfiil thcmfelves and families, and prove ufeful to the rcit of mankind : And lo zealous are they in this particular, that in the mod folemn man- ner, they connnand all their ocher Difciples to with- draw themfelves from thofe pretended Chriftians, that indulge floth and idlenefs, and are bufy bodies, of an inquifitive and pragmatical temper, neglecting their own proper affairs, and curioufly prying into thofe of other people •, an unhappy temper, that greatly diflurbs the peace of fociety, by its dealing very much in cenfure and defamation (/). Such was the conduct of the Apollles. And can fuch a con- duel give us ground to fufped, that the Apoftlcs were defigning to make a party in the world ? No man th.at underftands the humours and paflions of the multitude, who in all ages have been noted for their ignorance, avarice, ficklenefs, ingratitude, but muft own, that fuch mealures are totally re- pugnant to all thofe arts that are neceffary to gain tlie aifed:ions of the populace, and to fecure them to one's intereil. And as the Apoftlcs are infinitely above all artifices of that nature ; fo rhey are abfo- lutely unacquainted with thofe anxious perplexing paflions, which continually difturb the bieails of thofe men th.;t are eni^aged in -^'uy dark defign, and who depend on the hujnours of a capricious multi- tude. As for the Apoflles, they are always calm and fedate, and in one lle.idy uniform courfe of acftionj purfuethe propagation of the Gofpt^l, with that fcre- nity and greainefs of mindj which Hiews them to hnve
fuch
(0 Eph. iv, 28. 2 ThefT. iii. 6. ^c. iTim.v. 13. i Pet.
IV. IC.
14-8 The rrufh of the Sect. XIIL
fuch things in their eye, as do not lie at the mercy of popular humours^ or any turn of fortune what- foever. From all which one Ihould think it mani- fell, that the Apoflles were in no degree fupported by the luft of power, or by the force of any defign to grafp at worldly rule and dominion, whilft they fo vigorously promoted the propagation of the GofpeL Let it only further be remarked, that as their mafter had it in his power, with the full confent of the people, whofe notions about the Mejjiah mightily favoured an ambitious enterprife, to have made himfelf a King, but utterly rejected or rather greatly defpifed the temptation {ii) ; fo there is no doubt but the Apoilles met with feveral very fair opportunities, which, to men combined together in the purfuit of power, might have appeared very flattering, and infpired them with good hopes of juccefs. In particular, the people of Lyfira were io much alarmed at only one miracle done by the Apolf le Paul, in healing a man that had been crip- ple from his mother's womb, that they verily be- lieved the gods bad come down, among them tn the likenefs of men. And of this, it would feem, they were fo very confident, that judging Barnabas to be Jupiter^ SLud Paul Mercurius^ becaufe he was the chief fpeaker •, the prieft of Jupiter brought oxen and garlands to the gates of the city^ and would have done facrifice with the people. And is it to be thought, that men infatiably ambitious, grafping at worldly power and dominion, and carrying on a plot to that very purpofe, would have failed to improve fo favourable a con- juncture? What fafety to their perfons, what fubmif- iion to their commands, what fuccefs might they not haveexpeded in any attempt ^he mod dange- rous, while their followers were perfuaded, that
they \v) 2 Job. vi. 14., 15..
Sect. XIII. Chrijlian Revelation, ■ 149
they had the gods themfelves vifibly at their head ? One cannot imagine, that men, abfolutely devoted to the luit of empire, would totally have neglected this opportunity, or have been fo far from making ufe of it to ferve the end they were intending, as to do their utmofh to fupprefs fuch notions among the people, to convince them of their being highly abfurd and impious, alTuring them that thofe, whom they took for gods, were but men of like paffwns with themfelves: One cannot imagine, that by the itrongeft arguments, with great vehemence, they would have gone about to perfuade them, to em- brace thofe principles, which for the future Jfhould determine them to worlhip the one only living and true God, to be in all initances charitable and juft to one another, and particularly to be dutiful and loyal to their prefent civil governors. Such mea- fures, quite contradidory to all pad experience, would only ferve to defeat their ambition, and to render their attempt to ufurp worldly power ex- tremely ridiculous. And yet this was the condudh of the Apoitles •, for no fooner did they hear what the Prieii with the people were about to do, but^ with the utmoft concern and indignation, they rent their cioaths^ and ran in among them^ crying out and faying^ Sirs^ why do ye thefe things I We alfo are men of like paffions with you^ and preach unto you^ that yefhould turn from thefe vajiities unto the living Gcd^ who made heaven^ and earthy and the fea^ and alt
things that are therein, —And with thefe fayings
fcarce reflrained they the people that they had net done facrifice unto them (^x). A clear demonitration, fo far as I am able to judge of human nature, that the Apoftles were under the commanding influence of no worldly ambitious paflion, as the great fpring
that
{x) Aa. xiv. 8. esfc,
150 The Truth of the Sect. XIII.
that fet them a-golng, that fupported them in the propagation of the Gofpel. To conclude.
In refleding upon the whole, it appears, that the kingdom which the Apoftles gave out they were commanded, by the authority of Heaven, to eredl and eftablifh among mankind, was purely of a fpiritual nature, relating wholly to the minds and confciences of men ; and to be fupported and pro- pagated only by the confiderations of another world,
the rewards and punifliments of a future Hate;
That they powerfully recommended afFedion and loyalty towards civil Governors, and bound the fub- ject to obedience, particularly from confcience to- wards God, a regard to his fovereign authority, which cannot be contemned without infinite hazard: ■■That in purfuing fuch meafures, while they only meant to ufurp worldly power, they mulf have deliberately renounced the favour of God, armed their dlfciples to defeat their defign, and rendered
their own ruin cercain and unavoidable : That
under the highcit indignities, the moit provoking affronts and injuries, they exprefTed nothing but mt^eknefs and humility, patience and forgivenefs, and were utterly void of all pride and refentment, of
every fymptom of an afplring imperious fpirit :
That they mads no provifion,that could help forward the deligns of an ambitious mind; but, in allinlfances, fliowed a noble contempt of money, without which
no attempt for empire can prove fuccefsful: That
they employed no popular arts to gain followers, or tofecure people to their intereil ; but purfued mea- fures, that mull have alienated the heart of every worldly man from their enterprife ; and propofed encouragements that could take with none, but fuch as were dead to this world, 'and lived in the
hopes of a glorious immortality: That they
were
Sect. XIII. Chriftian Revelation. 151
were altogether free of all thofe torturing thoughts, that ever afflidl: the minds of men engaged in a dan- gerous confpiracy ; and carried on the propagation of the Gofpel, with that refolute compofure and fedate- nefs of foul, that Ihows them infinitely above all worldly regards : That in thofe inlf ances where- in they might find people difpofed to fupport them in the purfuit of any fuch delign, they checked the temper, and defpifed the opportunity : 1 fay, all thefe particulars appear manikit in the character of the Apoifles ; and as every one of them fecms to be a clear proof, fo, taken all together, they muil make up a full demonlf ration, that in the propaga- tion of the Gofpel > the Apoftles were no Impoltors, or that they were concerned in no plot ; under the pretence of that Miniilry, to attain to woildly rule and empire. They did every thing neceffary to fruftrate fuch a defign, and no one thing did they do calculated to promote it. Had their fucceffors, down to our times, every where inherited the fame tem- per, and kept themfelves at as great a diflance from every branch of civil authority, one is tempt- ed to think, that the truth of the Chrilfian inflitu- tion had not at this day been fo much contraverted. It feems too true, that the power of Clergymen, whofe proper bufinefs ought to confme them to preach faith and repentance, from the confiderations of another world, has always proved fatal to religion : It fills their heads with foreign concernments, it nourifliesjn their hearts the bafe pailions of human na- ture, and has dreadful effects upon the world, in all the cruelties of dire perfecution. May God maintain the fword always in the hands of the civil Magiftrate and ever prefer ve his church from the ufe of fodeltru- dtivean inftrument. Happy our days, wherein no man can complain of oppreffion of confcience, wherein the facred liberties of mankind fuffer no force or invafion,
SECT.
J52 The Truth of the Sect. XI V«
SECT. XIV.
^be Condufion^ from what has hitherto been explained^ viz. 'fhe Apofiles having been animated^ in the Profetution of their Enterprife^ by no worldly Mo- tive of any fort^ they were certaimy no Impoftors.
THUS far have I endeavoured to explain, that the doctrines taught by the Apoitles, are, in the whole of their contexture, in their j^eneralpreceptSj infinitely above, -and diredly oppofite to all purpo- fes whatfoever that can be thought bafe or criminal ; and in their particular prohibitions, do exprefsly condemn every particular palfion, to which a man can be thought capable of indulging, to the diftur- bance, the hurt or prejudice of the world about him i
That as the condud: and fituation of the A-
poilles was fuch, that had they confpired together in any carnal fecular defign, it was impoffible for them to avoid being deteded and ruined ; fo the conilant zeal tliey employed in recommending their dodrines, by the moil powerful arguments, to the belief and practice of their followers, ferved directly to arm thofe very perfons againft them, from whom alone they could hope to be fupported :
That in their deportment and conduct of life,
they exprefs nothing but an ex ad rectitude of man- ners, univerfal righteoufnefsjfteadilypurfuing acourfc of adions, in all inftances, anfwerable to their do- drines, and vifibly tending to the glory of God and the good of mankind : — That this their virtue and integrity they Itill maintained without the Jeafl blemifh, or giving the fmallell ground of fufpicion, (but every thing to the contrary) even amidit thofe opportunities and temptations, that can be thought
faireft
Sect. XIV. Chrijlian Revelation. 153
fairefl and ftrongeft, or mofl: favourable to the de- figns of a worldly minded man ; I fay, from fucli confiderations, I have endeavoured to make it ap- pear, that the Apoftles, in the propagation of the Gofpel, had no regard to the riches, or pleafures, or honours of this world, that they were animate;! with no worldly defigh whatfoever ; and confequent- ly^ that they were no Impollors, while they alfa- red the world, that in the courfe of their Miniltry, defigjaed to reform the world, and to promote uni- verfal righteoufncfs and goodnefs, they were only prejfing forward towards that joy that was fet be- fore them, their great recompence of reward, a bleffed life, and immortality. Nor is it poffible that a charge of impofture can be laid againft them, without fuppofing them void of all fenfe of this or an- other'world, void of humanity, and void of common underftanding.
Openly to profefs, that in every article of their Miniftry they are determined by the authority of God, and from the confiderations of another world: And under this profeffion, tQ be deliberately carry- ing on a plot in defiance to what they cxprefsly de- clare to be the will of God, and againlt all the hopes they pretend to have of future happinefs, can belong to no perfons, but to fuch as are obftinare, confirm- ed Atheifts. -Indeed, to fuffer one's felf, and to
encourage others to fiilFer in the caufe of virtue and Religion, is noble and generous, and moll worthy of all the fentimehts of human nature; but to involve the world in fuflrerings, or to expofe mankind to be every where mafracred and butchered, as by the obje- dtion the Apoftles mufl have do?ie, for the fake of fome bafe infamous projed, is cruel and barbarous,
and totally void of hum.anity. -And what degree
of common underliar.ding can one afcribe to the A- yoL. II. U pollles,
154 "^^^ T^ruth cf the Sect. XV.
poftles, when all the meafures they purfued areabfo- kitely unfit, notorioufly repugnant to the worldly end they are fiippofed to have intended ? So that, 1 fay, had the Apotlles been Impoftors, or had they been put upon propagating the Gofpel from any worldly defiprn, they muli, at the fame time, have been a fee of lilly, barbaroub Atheills : A charader of the A- pollles that can enter into the fufpicion of no man, who has any theleaft acquaintance with their hiilory.
SECT. XV.
^he /ifoftles were guilty of no Fraud or Impcjiure in the Metier cf th ReJurre£iion of Jefus, as alieaged by Mr. Wool lion,-
TH E confiderations hitherto advanced, one would think, are fully fufficient to clear the Apoftles of the charge of impoflure, or to fatisfy €*• very impartial man, th?.t the great power or motive that fupported thefe firit Publifliers of the Gofpel in the difcharge of their Miniiiry, had nothing in it of this world. Bur, though it mult be confcffed, that the Apoftles were under no fort of influence in the univerfe, that could induce them to deceive man- kind in any one article whatfoever •, yet our Infidels are pleafed to accufe them of a particular inilancc of fraud, which, as it directly ilrikes at the foundation of the Chriftian inditution, I cannot but here ex- amine, before I conclude this part of our argu- ment.
And we are told, like Afofiles were guilty cf a "uil- Jainous theft ^ tn ficaUng awcy the dead bcdy cf Jefus, upon which they pretended^ wiiilft in their confciences they knew it was quite otherwife, thai he was rifen
frcm
Sect. XV. ChriJIian Revelation.' 155
from the dead^ and therein have impofed a moft monftrous cheat upon the world. This is the heavy charge. But how contradictory it is to all the known certain principles whereby one can judge of perl'ons and things, to alledge, that the Apoliles were Impuitors in anyone article, efpecially in that ot the reiurre- dion oijejus^ without the truth of which, the cre- dit of the Gofpel falls immediately to the ground, is apparent from what 1 have hitherto largely explain- ed. Nor, in truth, is it an eaiy matter to conceive, as this charge againll the Apoilles would have us, how men, with all their fenfes about them, could de- liberately, and with great obllinacy, renounce every prefent and future enjoyment, and that upon no mo- tive in the univerfe, but purely to live in mifery, to expire in torments, and to go into another world, there likewife to be miferable to eternity ! Till hu- man nature comes to fet up mere pain as the great objedl of its warmeft purfuics, fuch an event lies far beyond the bounds of pollibility. B^Jt sfft Ihall pro- ceed to examine the force of thofe particular reafons, upon which our Infidels take upon them to alTure us, that the Apoilles ftole av\ay the body of Ji^jus^ and thereupon grafted the bare-faced, infamous cheat of his refurredion. And,
Firfi of all, they inform us, *' That 'tis hard and " even impoflible to imagine, that God would vouch* '' fafe the favour of a miraculous refurrecfion to one *' who, for his crimes, defervedly fufPered and un» '' derwent death («)/' But was it a crime to re- lieve the world from Heathen Idolatry, and Jewijh fuperflition ? Or, was it a crime to introduce a- mong mankind the knowledge of the true God, and of a future Itate of rewards and punifhments ; and to teach them a fyilem of morals, the purelt and
beft, {a) WoclH. 6th PifcQtirrf, p- <$,
156 iToe truth of the Sect. XV.
beft the nature of things can afford, and of infinite confequence to the human fpecies ? If thefe are
crimes, Jefns was moll certainly guilty ; of what
other, I am not able to comprehend. 1 confefs, that, in order to engage the world to fubmit to his infti- tution, he wrought miracles, in healing difeafes, and raifmg the dead, works of the fame beneficent na- ture with his doctrines; he foretold his own refurre» d:ij©n, and upon this event llaked his charadler, and put the whole credit of his Miniftry : And in all this, wherein was Jefus criminal ? Why, the Deifts tell us, that thofe miracles oi Jefus were all fraud and deceit, had nothing real, and therein he grofsly abufed the credulity of the people, A moft hainous crime ! 1 readily grant. But by what authority do our In- fidels contradidl the univerfal voice of all hi(lory< that afcribes real truth to the works of Jefus F Muft ilubborn fadts, clearly fupported by the moft un- queftionablc evidence, lofe all exiftence, or be re- duced to mere delufion by the mighty breath of bold arbitrary afTertions to the contrary ? When the Deiils fhall have difproved the teftimony of Heathen and Jewijh Writers, concerning the reality of the miracles of Jefus^ then m^y they have leave to call them delufions.
In the mean while, 1 would gladly know, is this the reafoning that becomes a Freethinker ; " Je- *' fus Chrift foretold, that he would rife again from " the dead ; but on this very account, his pre- " fuming to take upon him the fulfilling of luch an *' event, he muft be held a wicked deceiver, hate- '' fultoGod. And therefore, nothin-^can be morecer- *^ tain, than that his predidion ntv r took effedt, it " being i^npoiTible to imagine that God would vouch- *' fafe a miraculous refurredion tofo great a criminal?'* A criminal ! merely beeaufe he foretold his refur-
redion !
Sect. XV, Chriftian Revelation. i^y
redtion I and before we knew whether the event will juttify :he prediction i Whoever, like Mr. JVoolfton^ is capable of putting upon the world fuch an argument, or of thereby forming his own judg- ment of perfons and things, does not feem to be o- Verflocked with modelly, or to want an appetite fitted to relifh any abfurdity.
In a word, from all the lights we can have, and every polFible way ^ of judging, the whole life of Jefus is fo intirely irreproachable, that to charge him with crimes, one mutt be guilty of a mofl no- torious contradidion to the obvious naked truth o\ things. Nay, the accufation fcems quite inconfift- ent with Mr. JVoolfton*s open profcflion, wherein he aiTures us, that ifChriJlians^ tn protefs of time^ had
not fophifticated the primitive religion ^/ Jefus, the
world might have enjoyed great happinefs under Je- fus'i religion^ even that happinefs— of the Jlate of nature, religion and liberty^ for the recovery of which Mr. JVoolfton has had the greatnefs of mind to la- bour fo inceflantly {b). Thus, I fay, had the pri- mitive religion oi Jefus ftill fubfifted, (fo compleatly, by his own confeflion, was the work done to his hand) Mr. Woolfton would have been faved the trouble and hazard of repairing the religious inter- ells, the moral happinefs of mankind. Whatever therefore may be objedted to his Difciples of after ages, it muit be allowed, that as \o Jefus himfelf, his moral charader was intire, and rendered it in noways unworthy of God to be concerned in his re- furredtion. But,
In the next place, it is alledged, *' That the chief " Priefts and Pharifees having fealed the ftone ac '' the mouth of the fepulchre ; by this fealing we " are to underftand nothing lefs than a covenant
" entered (h) Woolfton, ibid. p. 37.
158 The Truth of the Sect. XV,
** entered into betv/een the chief Priefts and the '' Apollles, by which Jtfus's veracity, power and " Mejfiahjhip was to be tried. Jt is true, we read *' not of the Apoftles giving their confent to the " covenant, yet it was reafonably prefumed, and *' could not have been refufed, if afked, and as for *' the condition of the fealed covenant, it was this 3 '* If Jefus arofe from the dead in the prefence of '' the chief Priefls, upon their opening the feals of ^' the fepulchre, at the time appointed, then was " he to be called the Meffiah : But, if he continued ^^ in a corrupt and putrified flate of mortality, then ^' was he to be granted to be an Impoltor. Very " wifely and rightly agreed ! [Say the Deifts.] *' And if the Apollles had Itood to this covenant, *' Chriftianity had been nipt in its bud, and fup- '' prejOTed in its birth. But they had other views, " and another game to play at all adventures. The " body was to be removed, and a refurredion pre- " tended. Nor did the Apoftles negled: to ufe " means to accomplifh their defign ; at kit an op- " portunity they got for that purpofe. The watch ** that was fet to guard the fepukhre having drunk, *' io largely that night, either by the contrivance " of the Apoftles themfelves, or upon the bounty *' offome other people, that they were quite in- " toxicated, fell faft ajleep : Upon which the Dif- •^ ciples being aware of the lucky opportunity, car- " ried the body of j^efus off fafely, and executed " that fraud, which has been the delufion of na- <' tions and ages fince (r)." Thus far the accufa- tion goes, and the fealing of the fepulchre feems to be the grand topic from whence they pre- tend to demonftrate the villany of the Apoftles, and that the refurredion of Jefus is a mere impo-
iture.
fcj Id. ibid. p. 1 5i 20, 21.
Sect* XV. Chriflian Re'delation. 159
flure. But, before I come particularly to confider this mighty argument, I wotlld beg to be inform- ed,
Upon what evidence do the Deifls pretend to know, that Jeftis was crucified, and lay deed in his
grave at the time of the Jewifo Paflover That
the chief Priefts fealed the ftone of the fepulchre
and from Pilate the Roman governor obtained
a watch of foldiers to guard it ? The Apoftles have indeed recorded fuch events in their hillory of the tranfaclions of thofe times : And is it upon the truth of this hiftory, that the Deifts believe the truth of thefe matters of fact ? Why then do they difbelieve other fadts, that are as pointedly atteited by the fame witnefTes ? Is there good reafon to fufped the Apoftles when they report, that for fear of the heavenly MefTenger who rolled back the ftone from the door of the fepulchre, the keepers did Jhake and become as dead men ; and that early in the morning fome of the watch came into the city^ and Jhewed unto the chief Priejts all the things that were done ; I fay, i$ there good reafon to fufped: the veracity of the A' poftles in thofe articles ; bat no reafon to call their teftimony in queftion, when they tell us, that the chief Priefts fealed the ftone, and placed a guard up- on the fepulchre ? It is true, thefe precautions taken by the chief Priefts, though they could not pofTibly prevent, yet they do not infer the refurredion of yefus ; whereas tlie account we have concerning the behaviour of the watch, would lead one to that conclnfion. But muft nothing have cre-dit that makes for the refurreclion, and every thing that would make againft it be admitted? — '■ — In exami- ning into the truth of a main fadl, attended with fo many collateral fads or circumftances, all attefted by the fame authority, whereby the main fad is
fupported;
i6o T}:e Truth of the Sect. XV«
fupported ; is it fair, has it any fhew of honefty, to garble, if I may fpeak fo, thofe collateral facts, and to forge others, lo as to lead one to apprehend that the main fact in queition is a downright for- gery ? Thus,
The great event about whofe truth we would be fatisfied, is the refurrection of Jefus Chrijl, Now, along with this main fact, we have fo many collate- ral fads whereby its credibility may be judged, fuch as the fealing the (tone of the fepulchre, and fetting a watch ; the trembling of the keepers, and their becoming as dead men, upon fome aifoniftiing incidents at the time of the refurrection; the co- ming of fome of the watch into the city, and in- forming the chief Prielts about what had happened; the calling of a council by the chief Prielts, and their giving large money to the foldiers, bribing them to fay, his Difciples came by nighty and ftole him away wh le we Jleep : Thefe, 1 fay, are fo many collateral fads ; and what evidence we have for any of them, the very fame we have for each and all of them. What then is the law of reafon, or where is the rule of honelty, that can intitle a man to af- fure the world, '' The fepulchre indeed was fealed *' and guarded, as Matthew reports : But he lyes *' when he tells us, that the chief Priejls bribed the *' foldiers to fay, his Dtfciples came by nighty and " ftole him away : For this report of the foldiers ^' which the Hiltorian would here make to be the '^ effedt of a bribe, and therefore a mere falfehood, " is the real account of things as they adtually hap- " pcned; (ince the whole truth of the matter, is " plainly this; either by the contrivance of the A- •'' pollles themfelves, or by fome other means, (one *' cannot pofitively determine, how) the foldiers '' that night being quite intoxicated with excefs of - ' u drink,
^ECT. XV. . Chrtfllan Revelation. i6i
*' drink^ and in a deed fleep, the Apoftles took the *' opportunity, and having llole away the body of *' J^J^^-i pretended a refurreclion." I fay, what is the rule of reafon or honeily, upon which a man gives credit to Matthew in fome articles ; but offers him the lye in others ? Can our Infidels juilify a man's differing fo widely from this Hiilorian, by the teilimony of any other Hiftorians of better au- thority, or by an interfering and clafhing of fadls told by the Apoitles themfelves, or from any blemifli m their moral character ? [ am afraid, that to al- ledge that the Apoftles contrived to have the guards intoxicated ; that they gained their defign ; and by this means throwing the watch into a deep fleep, that, in the mean while, they carried off the body oijefus fafely, muft be held the forging of fads ac pleafure, not only without, but contrary to the faith of hiftory. Such management mull: totally over- throw all hiftory whatfoever ; and while a man pretends to make ufe of it, render it abfolutely ufe- iefs : Nor can thofe who follow this courfe ever prevent their being fufpected of being vt^holly in the power- of mere paffion and prejudice. And how very partial our modern Deifts are in reprefenting the character of the Apoftles, there is abundant proof from their opinion concerning the foldiers that guarded the fepulchre.
" Your Evangelifts (fay they) would hint, that *' the chief Priclls gave money to the foldiers to " fay, they were alleep, when the Difciples ftole '' the body of Jefus away, as if they were bribed " to a falfe teftimony ; but there neither was nor '' could be any fuch thing. If there had been a* " real refurrection to their allonifhment and amazc- '^ ment, as it is reprefented.in your Gofpels, no '' moyiey could fo foon have C'^rruptcd them to a falfe ^ Vol. II. X , ^' ^itnefs^
i62 The Truth of the Sect. XV.
*^ wiinefs^ being under fuch fears of God and of *' Jejus (d)." Thus thofe drunken unconfcionable foldiers mull: not be held capable of telling a lye, tho' under the temptation of a large bribe, for fear of that God whom they knew nothing of, and of JefuSy whofe real character they were totally ignorant of: And yet the Apoflles, amidft the moft folemn appeals to the true God, and the moft awful reprefentations of an approaching judgment, a future ftate of rewards and punifliments, Ki^hen all lyars jhall be damned eternally^ were not only capable, but they were actually guilty of a deliberate horrid lye, and for which, by their own dodlrine, they muft fuifer torment for ever hereafter ! If this be a free- dom of thought in judging ofperfons and charaders, upon which a man has reafon to value himfelf, I appeal to the whole world. For my part, as I pre- tend to know nothing about antient fads but from the hiitory of former ages, fo I as little know what other way I can arrive to the certain knowledge of the truth of thofe fadts, but by carefully confider- ing the nature and circumllances of the fadts them- felves, and the charader and principles of the per- fons concerned in them. 'Tis after this manner that I now come impartially to inquire into the truth of thofe particular facts that relate to the refurredion of Jefus^ and concerning which the befl authentic records we have are thofe of the Gofpel, as they come from thofe perfons who are faid to have been eye-witnejfes.-
In the firft place, 'Tis agreed that the fepulchte vas fealed and guarded: But then our Infidels al- edge, that this fealing mufl fignify, " There was '' a covenant betwixt the chief Priefls on one fid^^ '''' and the Apoflles on the other, wherein both pat- tics
(d) Woolft. ubi fupra, p. 21.
1:
gECT. XV. Chri/iian Revelation. J ^3
<* ties mutually agreed, That the feal Ihould not bp •*' broken up, but in the prefence of all concerned : ^* That if, upon the opening of the fepulchre, the *' body of Jefjs (hould be found ftill dead, he *' Ihould be held an Impoltor ; but, if alive and ^' rifen, he lliould be elleemed the Mefftah. From *' whence it follows, that the Apoilles were an- ^^ fwerable for the intirenefs of the feals ; and thac " Jefus^ lliould lie return to life again, muft not *' prefume to ftir out of the fepulchre, till the chief *' Priefts Ihould be prefent to take off the feals, an^ " to open the door for him." This is our modern account of things, which is reckoned new and in- genious, and upon which the Author values himfelf extravagantly. But alas ! in this covenant their is nothing real to be feen but a man's wit ftraining itfelf to amufe people with an imaginary conceit, and to render them miftruftful of the relurrec^ion. Not to mention other reflections that might be made on it, I fliall only obferve, that, from the truth of things, as recorded in the Hiftory, 'tis ab- furd to imagine, either that the chief Prieftsmade, or meant to make fuch a covenant with the A- poftles, or that the Apoftles could or would agree
to it.
On the whole face of the Hiftory, it is apparent, that, upon the crucifixion of their Mailer, the A- poltles gave up all for loft, and had the comfort of JIG hopes of any fort. So that the controverfy a- bout the Meffiajhtp of Jejus being intirely at an end, and the Apoftles no longer pretending to mam- tain his credit in that charader, which they cer- tainly thought he had now forfeited ; what need, of a covenant to fettle the matter, as if the queft:ion were ftill iptire, aiid both parties were yet infifting pji their different claims ? Had. fuch a covenant been
propofed
104 22v Truth of the Sect. XV.
propofed to the Apodles, they would have eileem- ed it a cruel infult over their mifcries ; or had they judged the chief Priefts fincere and in earndl, no doubt, had the fling of their difappointments fuf- fered them, they would have laughed at the propo- fal, frankly owning they gave up the point, and their caufe was ruined beyond remedy. But,
Suppofing the Apoftles to have been in hopes of the refurreclion of Jefus^ (which, in real fad:, was the tiling in the world fartheft from their thought) Jiovv could they poffibly become bound, as this co- venant would have them, that the Jeals Jhould be pre- ferved whole and intire^ and that Jefus^ arife when he would, fliould not IVir out of the fepulchre, till the chief Priefts and all concerned fhould be prefent to witnefs it ? I hope it is not pretended, that the Apoftles, by the exertion of their own power, were to reftore Jefiis to life again. Indeed, had this beem the cafe, they might have made fuch a covenant, and brought themfelves under fuch engagements. But their Mafter had told them he had a power to lay down his life^ and a power to take it again (^). And can it be thought, that the Apoftles would take upon them to enter into any articles about the pr^cife particular circumftances of the exertion of a power that was none of their's, tliat was abfolutely at the difpofil of another, and in relation to which they had no commiffion to treat with any man li- ving? As the agreeing to fuch a covenant would have been extremely ridiculous on the part of the Apoftles; fo the propofal of it would have been e- qujlly abfurd and extravagant on the part of the chief Priefts and Rulers. To alledge, therefore, that the Apoftles, upon any fuch covenant, (or up- on any other confideration whatfoever, unlefs a man
can
{e) John X. 18. ,
Sect. XV. Chriftian Revelation. i6§
can be bound to impofTibilities) were anfwerable for the feals on the mouth of the ftpulchre, and that thofe feals having been broken, they muft be held guilty of a molt villanous theft in the matter of the refurrredion ; is giving judgment, not only with- out all foundation or jufl realoning, but in open de- fiance to the truth of things. What then lliall we think of this pretty conceit of a covenant, whofe infringement is counted no lefs than a demonftrative argument of a manifeil and bare-faced cheat in Je- fiis's refurredion ? Thofe are but empty airs of tri- umph which the Deills give themfelves, when they vauntingly tell us, that " the fradure of the feals '' (which the Apoltles were no more obliged to pre- *' lerve whole, than Mr. IVoolfton was) againfl the *' law of fecurity, againll the laws of honour and *' honefty, is fuch a manifeil and indifputable mark " and indication of fraud committed by the i^po- " ftles, as is not to be equalled in all, or any of *' the Impoftors, that ever were attempted to be put ^' upon the world /)."
That they mi-ht fati^fy themfelves, or the reft of the world, as to the truth or impofture of Jefus's characler, upon his rifing or not rifing from the deed ; had the chief Priefts and Pharifees defigned to traniad any thing about the hour of the day, and the witneifes to be prefent, when the refurreclion lliould happen, if it was to happen ; Je{us Chrift himfelf was certainly the only perfon in whofe power it was to receive and agree i;o articles. And I much won- der that our Infidels, fince they had the whole at their own invention, did not make the chief Priefts to llipulate with Jefus himfelf, who, before his death, in publicly declaring he was to rife again the third day^ had encouraged them to propofe further arti- cles,
(f) Woolft. ub. fupr. p. 15, 17.
|66 ^he. Truth of the Sect. XV,
cles, or whatever particular circumftanossthey Ihould judge neceflary to afford thtm fatisfadion, as to the certainty of that event, whereby the whole was to be decided. This, in my apprehenfion, would have reprcfented thofe fage Gentlemen, the chief Priefts and Pharifees, ading much more within the bounds of common fenfe ; than thefetting them forth as co- venanting with the Apoftles, who had no degree of power in the matter, or at whofe difpofal, not to fpeak of their not expeding it, there was not one iingle circumllance of the refurredtion. But to tell the world, that the chief Prieils were in covenant with a man, about the circumllances of his rifing ffpm the dead, whom they were crucifying as an infamous malefadtor, might have been counted a little too grofs and contradid:ory. And indeed the greatefl credulity could not poflibly believe the truth of fucha covenant, unlefsat the fame time we are told, it was in the way of barbarous infult, of cruel mockery and ridicule : As fomething very like it feems to have happened, when the chief Priejis mock- ing him with the Scribes and Elders faid^ he faved o- therSy him/elf he cannot fave : If he be the King of If- raely let him now come down from the: crofs^ and we will believe him (g). When therefore it is faid, that *' the chief Prielts intending to be' prefent on the ♦' day appointed, at the opening of the fepulchre, *' they did not doubt, what no body could queffir *' on, but Jefus^ in accommodation to the fealing of ^' the {lone, would wait their coming, and arife to ^' life, if he could, in their fight (h) ;" I hope the Deifts do not hereby mean to fallen likewife upon 'Jefus a breach of covenant. The chief Priefts difdained the thought of tranfading any fuch thing
with yefus when alive His Difciples after his
deaths
(g) Matth. xxvii. 41, 42. [h] Woolft. p. 12.
SkcT. XV. Chriftian Revelation. 16^
death, had no fliadow of power to ftipulate for it irl
his name Had not J ejus then, independently of
the chief Prieftsj of all their feals and guards, the abfolute difpofal of his own body 1 And was he not, reafonably (peaking, and as it becomes a Freethink- er, at full liberty to return to life, if he could, at that hour of the third day, and in thofe circum- Hances which he fhould judge the leafl oftentati- ous, the moll commodious, and the fafell ?
The DeillSj however, may (till infill, that grant- ing it was in Jefufs, power to arife to life when he would, or that there was no rellraint from any ex- prefs agreement that could hinder him ; yet for the fatisfadion of the chief Prielts, &c. he ought to have waited their coming, and to have arifen in their fight, when they ihouid have opened the fe- pulchre. But ai this will come to be confidered iii a following article, I fhall only here again remark, that, at any rate, this conceit of a covenant, upon which the Deills boallingly lay the llrefs of a de- monftrative argument for a villanous cheat in the matter of the refurre(5tion, is a filly, rediculous ima- gination, without any thing teal tofupport it; Such, I fay, is the pride of Mr; Woolfion's demonftration. But,
In the ne%t place. The Deills alTure the world, *' that the guard having that night drunk to excefs, *' they were fall afleep on the morning when thb
'^ refurredion is faid to have happened That ei-
" ther the Apoltles themfelves, or fome of the Jcjos *' who were then keeping the PalTover, had by *' their bounty minillred to this excefs of the fol-
*' diers." But which way foever this drunken
.Jleepy fit of the watch came to pafsy certain it is^ fa j they, the Jpoftles took the advantage^ and fiole awa^ ih€ body of Jefus, Now, thefe are matters of facl^
for
i68 7he Truth of the Sect. XV.
for which the hiftory itfelf aiFords us no degree of evidence, but every thing making to the contrary. And do the Infidels of our day, fet up to inform the v^orld of what was paffing at Jerujalem more than 1700 years ago, in contradidion to the pointed re- ports of an Hiliorian, who was upon the fpot when the things are faid to have happ ned, and upon "whofe fole authority the Deifts themfdves do de- pend for the truth of many articles ? As fuch bold arbitrary afTertions do plainly tend to make the re- furredion of Jefus to pafs for an impollure, fo one is tempted to fufped, that they were only forged for that purpofe, and have no other foundation but the mere paflion and prejudice of our modern Infi- dels. Ay, but, fay thofe Gentlemen, *•' It is not *' at all improbable, that fo few foldiers Ihould be fo '* fail afleep at that time of night, or fo early in the *' morning when tht clandefline work was done; *' efpecially after keeping fuch a gaudy day as was " the feafl of the Paffover, which, like the fefti- *' vals of other nations, was celebrated with excefs. " Foot foldiers then, you may be fure, upon the *' bounty of one or other, did no more want, than *' they would fcruple to take their fill, which, '* like an opiate, lock'd up their fenfes for that *' night, when the Difciples, being aware of the " lucky opportunity, carried the body of Jefus *' off fafely (;)." Thus the bare general circum- ilance of its being the feall of the PaiTover, where- in the Heathen foldiers were noways concerned, without any thing elfe, muft of itfelf conclude the certain exiftence of particular faifls, viz. the guards being drunk^ and fajt afleep ; upon which muft be l)uilt the credit of another fad:, namely i\\z ftealing away the body of Jefus ^ which at once overthrows
the
(i) Woolll. p. 20.
Sect. XV. Chriftian Revelaiioh. 169
the belief of ages, the whole of the Chriflian infti- tutron. What a mighty ftrefs is this very circum- ftance, the gaudinefs of a day, which no Roman foldier had any thing to do with, able to bear? If our Freethinkers can refl their faith on fach fort of evidence, I cannot but think, they iire the lall men in the world, who fhould have the front to accufe Chriftians of credulity. But fince thofe Gentlemen are pleafed to pay lb great a regard to mere arbitrary conjed:ure, grounded on a general circumilance, which, without other proof, can, with no equitable judge, atfed any man in particular; I would fain prelume to hope, if they are not the blind Zealots they would have the relt of the world to be, they will allow their due weight to fome high probabilities, arifing from human nature, and particular known circumftances, that feem to lead one to apprehend, " The truth of the fact rather " Hands on the other fide of the queftion/' Thus,
Had it been one of the Heathen gods whofe feaft was then celebrated, there might be fome fliew of reafon to fufpecl:, that Heathen foldiers would join in the gaudinefs of the day, and fhare in that riot, which poffibly might have ended in locking up their fenfes. But as it was a fcftival of the Je'uos^ and in honour of the true God, whofe ferve the Ro^ mans defpifed and rejeded, the Roman foldiers at the fepulchre were under no motive, they had no temptation to indulge any particular chearfulnefs. Accordingly the Deifts do by no means pretend, ^ that this excefs of the guards was at their own charges ; but it happened, as they alledge, either by the bounty of the Apollles themfelves, or of fome other Jews. As for the Apoftles, how little liable they are to fufpicion in this article, I fliall fliow af-* terwards. And as for any of the other Jews^ is it
Vol. n., y rtof
T70 ^he Truth of the Sect. XV.
not fomevvhat extravagant to imagine, that whilfl, within the walls of the city, among their friends and neighbours, they were joyfully celebrating the feail of the palfover, in honour of the true God, they would leave their chearful company, walk out of the city, and go to fome diilance, either to make merry with Heathen foldiers, with whom their re- ligion forbad them to eat, or to give them money that they might be chearful on account of that {o- lemnity, which would have been profaned by their prefence: 1 fay, does it not feem fomevvhat ex- travagant to imagine, that any of the Jeijus would have aded tliis part towards Heathens, efpecially thofe Heathens under whofe yoke the Jewijh na- tion was then groaning ? Since therefore, the Deifls are far from pretending, that the foldiers got them- felves drunk at their own charge, and ther6 is good reafon to believe, they had no temptation to excefs from the bounty of the ye-ws, it is certainly highly probable they were fober and awake in the morn- ing, when it is faid the refurreclion happened. A- gain,
Were the foldiers ignorant of the duty of guards, and what military difcipline would infiitft on them, ILould they drink themfelves drunk, and fall afleep, when they ought to be fober and watcliing (k) ? I confefs, there are inftances of guards that have ex- pofed their lives in thus neglecting their duty. But as the contrary inftances are infinitely more nume- rous, the probability, as every reafonable man will judge, lies greatly on our fides and comes very much to be heightened, not only from the fituation of the
guards
f
(k) O I Ti yciP vojuoi Trap a.vro'iq « Kii7roTa^I\i u'ovov axKci ^ f>a<;uv}iC oKiyyi<; ^oLvc/.rix.oi. Jofeph. de bell- Jud. I, 3. cap. 5. § 7. vid. Polyb. hill. 1, 6. cap. 34, 35.
Sect. XV. Chrifiian Revelation * 171
guards in a lonely place, atadiftance from the temp- tation of what one would call gin- (hops and ale- houfes; but in a particular manner, from the hillo- ry of their behaviour, wherein there is not the lead hint that can make us fufped: them of the want of faithfulnefs to their truft; and is it not an event fomewhat wonderful, whatnot oneof the guards was a- wake, but every foul of them fait afleep, the command ing Officer as well as the private centinel ! In fhort, The Chief Priefts witneiTed the crucifixion ; they, no doubt, were fure to fee yefus fully dead ; and feeming to fufped:, there might be a delign of fraud, they took the precaution of placing a guard upon the fepulchre. And after all this, had they no farther thought about the matter ? Or, did it ne- ver more enter into their heads, what might be a- doing at the fepulchre ? From their eagernefs in the profecution ; from their apprehending, even after the death oijefus^ that their aifairs were not alto- gether fafe ; and from their being fenfible, that the flealing away the dead body would occafion among the people a latter dejufion, as they under- flood it, much worfe than the former they had been under, while Jc[us was alive ; one may eafijy conceive, that the chief Prieils had not yet loll all thought, and quite abandoned the care of the fe- pulchre. Curioficy itfelf, much more an anxiety of mind, feveral violent paflions that had not yet had time to abate, and apprehenfions of great dan- ger, far from being wholly over, that ftill threaten* ed their moll valuable intereils, would certainly prompt them to look, after the guards, and to have a watchful eye upon their behaviour. And if there was but a chance, from its being the l^ail of the paflbver, that the foldiers at the fepulchre, fliould venture their necks in the neg ev51: of their duty, get themfelves drunk, and fall fail afleep ; had not
the
172 The Truth of the Sect. XV,
the chief Priefts and Rulers fo much fagacity and good rcnfe as to torfee it I And if they forefaw it, would they not have taken effedual meafures to prevent it 1 The Deifts would have us believe, that in the guards drinking themfelves drunk at the fepulchre, there was a great deal more than chance: In their apprehenfion, the certainty of this event, arid ng from its being the time of the pafTover, was fo infallible, that it is now counted a clear demonftration of villany in the Apoftles, in carrying off the body of 7^/«j. But if there was fo probable, or rather, fo very necelTary a connexion betwixt that fetfival of the 7rc£;j and the intoxica- tion of Heathen foldiers, what was to hinder it from having been then obferved, as well as it is now at fo great a diflance of time ? Or, did the chief Prieifs connive at it, and fuifer the fraud to go on and be executed ? It is hard, that the chief Priefts ihouldbe fools, and the Apoifles villains, and our Infidels the only wife and honeft men !
Thus the bare general circumftance of its being the feaft of the pafTover, as it would infer the guards were drunk and faft afleep, is greatly overbalanced, and amounts to nothing, by the weight of the particular known circumftances of all parties con- cerned, that aflbrd us the higheft probabilities that the guards were cool and fober, and in the watch- ful difcharge of their duty. And when thefe many ftrong probabilities are clearly juftified by every article of the hiftory itfelf, to which the arbitra- ry conjedlure from' the bare general circumftance is whblly repugnant, one would think, we have as great certainty, that the watch were awake, at the rime when the refurreclion of Jefus is faid to have happened, as v/e can have for any matter of fact
whereof
Sect. XV. Chrijltan Revelation- 173
wherecjf our knowledge depends on teftimony, and is not the immediate perception ot our fenfes. But if it mull be fo, that the guards were then drunk, and fail afleep ♦, and the Deiils are far from pretending, that this fit of excefs was occafioned by the foldiers chibbing their own money ; may not one beg to be informed, who were the perfons who brought about their being thus intoxicated ? The hitlory itfelf is indeed abfolutely filent as to this ar- ticle : And fince our Freethinkers had it therefore intirely of their own framing, one may count it a fhame for them, that by their avowed uncertainty on this head, they fhould have betrayed the caufe they have undertaken. Why, they tell us, they cannot be pofitive whether it was the Apoftles themfelves, or fome other of the Jews^ whofe boun- ty was the occafion of this excefs; but which way foever it came to pafs, they are well perfuaded, the guards were afleep. In the mean while, till they fhall have fettled this point, and made it evident, that the Apolf les were the very perfons who found the means to drink the watch into a bafe and dange- rous neglect of their duty, what title have they direvflly to charge the Apoitles with the horrid crime of flealing away the body oljelusl For ought they know, this drinking-bout of the foldiers, was the effect of the bounty of other Jews^ in no con- federacy, but in downright enmity with the A- poltles. And does it follow from hence, that the Apoitles took the advantage and itole away the bo- dy of Jejus I Indeed, if once you prove they certain- ly had a defign of this nature, the matter, I con- fefs, will look very fufpicious: But our Freethinkers, I hope, will never efteem it fare dealing, or a method of arguing fuited to their character, firil to fuppofe a defign of fraud, and from this fuppofition, immediate- ly
174 The Truth of the Sect. XV.
ly to conclude the fraud was executed; or, without any degree of proof, boldly to afTert the fraud was exe- cuted, and from thence to conclude the delign was certainly formed. And yet after what other me- thod, than this of going round in a circle, proving an arbitrary aifertion from a groundlefs fuppofition, and again he groundlefs fuppofition, from the arbi- trary affertion ; I lay, after what other method of proof our Infidels can make out a theft in the bufi- nefs of the refurreclion of Jefiis^ I am not able to comprehend. It is true, in either cafe theyfeem to alledge, that the teftimony of the fleeping foldiers muil be held valid and good. But if it was by the bounty of other Jews^ and not by means of the Apoilles, that the guards were drunk into a dead ileep, would it not be ridiculous in this cafe to de- pend on the teftimony of thofe pcrfons, whofe fenfes were intirely locked up, who heard and faw nothing, while the matter of facf in qucifion is faid to have been a- doing? But where is the abfurdity, fay the the Deiils, *•' to fuppofe that the Difciples them- " felves might contrive the intoxication of the '^ guards(/)." In this cafe indeed I iliould befatisfied, that the teitimony of the foldiers, notwithftanding their being afleep, was true : But my convidion would arife, not at all from the teftimony of the ilecping watch, but from the evidence I had, that the Apoftlcs themfelves contrived and effedled the intoxication of the guards ; which every rea- fonable man will allow, could have been done on no other but the wicked delign of ftealing the body of Jefus away. After all, it appears to me quite contradiclory, wholly abfurd to imagine, that any man, or number of men, in the circumftances of the Apoftles, and endowed with human underftand- ing, would make an attack of any fort, upon the
guards
(/) Woolit. p. 19.
Sect. XV. Chrijlian Revelation, 175
guards, in order to ileal away the body. For, as fome years ago I obferved, in the Preface to the o- ther part of this Difcourfe, when publifhed by itfelf,
What is the temptation that could have deter- mined the Apoflles to difturb the dead body, and carry it away ? We are indeed told plainly, that thereby they intended to impofe upon the world, and to make it pafs that J ejus was rifen. But what is the purpofe they meant to ferve by this Iham-re- furredion ? Whilil Jefus was alive, they confident ly expedled, that he? in his own perfon, at the head of his Difciples, would fubdue their enemies before them, and, as their glorious Deliverer, raife the power and greatnefs of their nation, upon the ruins of all other Hates and kingdoms. This, and particularly this, did the Apoffles hope for and ex- pecl from their Meffiah\ nor had they the leaft thought that this could be accomplillied without his being prefent in perfon among them, and openly appearing in the world as their great Leader and Commander. How could it then enter into the heads of men, of fuch hopes and fentiments, to fleal away the body of Je[tis ? What is it they were to make of the carcafs ? They wanted a living worldly Deliverer, and could perform or attempt nothing without him. After what manner, there- fore, could it ferve their purpofe to move the life- lefs body out of the fepulchre, on the third day af- ter it was crucified, and to lay ic fomewhere elfe for worms to devour it? To fay, he was rifen, with- out their being able to Ihow and follow him, was, in their fenfe of things, arrant folly 5 as it could be of no fort of confequence to their viev^s and in- terefts. No, they all confidered him as a perfon in whom they had been grievoufly difiippointed, and having ik) hopes of his ever returning to life again,
gave
\
176 Ihe Truth of the Sect. XV.
gave up his body to corruption. Nor is it poffible, that men of their prepoirdlions could have concei- ved any other notions concerning him. Indeed, if the ApoLtles had had the hopes of relloring Hfe to the dead body, and of raifing up their MeJjMh^ that he might lead them on to vidory and triumph, they would, it is likely, have inclined, if pollible, to-ileal away the body, in order to perform the wonderful operation. But, to imagine that fo ri- diculous a conceit ever entered into the thoughts of the Apollles, is highly abfurd and inconfiitent ; and I am apt to think theDeifts would find no great ac- count in it, fhould they have the folly to make the extravagant fuppofition.
Thus, I cannot but think, there is good reafon to reft confident, it was im pollible for the Apollles to conceive one fingle thought about Healing away the body of Jefus ; and conlequently it was impolli- ble for them to go about to bribe or intoxicate the guards for that purpofe. And lince an impoffibility, arifing from human nature, either to bribe or to drink the guards into a negled of their duty, is, fo far as it concerns the event, fully equivalent to its being impofTible to evade the guards (upon which the Deifts have agreed to confefs, then there was a real refurre£tion (m). I would fain flatter myfelf, they will now be reconciled, at leaft, to a little more moderation, and no longer indulge a licenti- oufnefs of thought, and an extravagance of lan- guage, in condemning the refurredion of Jefus as the " moft notorious and monftrous imipofture that " ever was put upon mankind 1'' But our Free- thinkers further infifl, That,
" Had Jefus really arofe from the dead, he would *' certainly have appeared to the chief Priefls, to
'' Pilate.
[m) Woolft. p. 19.
Sect. XV. Chrijlian 1^evelation>, 177
" Filate^ and to others his crucifiers and infultors. " Nor can it be queflioned (fay they) but that, in " reafon, for the convi6tion and converfion of im- *' believers, he ought to have done fo. In their " apprehenfion therefore, 7^/«/s non-appearance to *' the chief Frietts is a confirmation, that he did *' not arife from the dead, but that his body was *' ftolen away." Here I muft obferve, it is con- felTed by the Apoftles themfelves, that Jefus did not Jhew himfelf to all the people^ but unto witnejfes chofeti before of God^ particular perfons whom Providence had placed about Jefus, and who, by their having lived long with him in great friendlliip and intimacy, could not be impofed on in the bufmefs of a refurre- clion, and ought therefore to be counted, as they certainly are in^'the judgment of every confiderate man, the mofl proper and the fureft evidence. Meanwhile, as it was eafy to forefee, that this cir- cumftance, Jefus'^ not appearing publicly, would come to be abufed by the enemies of the Gofpel ^ fo, the recording it notwithftanding, feems to be a plain proof of the honeily of the Apoftles, and that they were fenfible, they had no need of any of thofe arts and difguifes, that are always neceffary in the cafe of an impofture. And indeed, had the hiftory of the Gofpel been the mere contrivance and forgery of the Apoftles, I doubt not but their fpeculations would have led them to apprehend, as Celfus does, Mr. tVoolfton, and other Infidels, that the better to procure credit to their ftory, it was neceffary to in- troduce Jefus appearing to his crucifiers and in- fultors, and upbr.aiding them with their infidelity and ill-treatment of him: For, judging by human paffions, this, v/e are fure, had the cafe been ours, we would have done, and thereby have had the pleafure of infulting in our turn. But, paffing this ^ Vol. IL Z A.
178 Tf:e Truth of the Sect. XV»
As to the objeclion itfelf ; having ah*eady fettled the matter of fad:, and made it clearly evident, that the ApolUes cannot polfibly be fufpefted of ftealing away the body of Jefus \ his non-appearance to the chief Prieif s, &c, can be counted of no force or confequence. In itfelf it is a mere, arbitrary, ex- traneous circumftance, v^holly depending on the good pleafure of the Agent, that- has no connexion v^ith his adion, and in whofe abfence there is no- thing to hinder his deed or aclion from having a true and real exiilence. Nor is it polFible to ima- gine, how the non-appearance of Jefus to his mur- therers, can fatisfy any man that he never did ap- pear to his Apoitles ; as if it were not llrangely ri- diculous to pretend, that a matter of fad:, attefled by eye-witneffes of good credit, mult be held a for- gery, becaufe other people had not the fame means of knowing it. They alledge, indeed, that Jefus ought, in reafon, to have done fo and fo. And thus we are brought to debate a metaphy Ileal queflion a- bout the ficnefs or reafonableneis of fome foreign circumllances, in order to afcertain a matter of fad^ that has no dependence on fpeculation, and which of itfelf can very well fubfiil without the help of fuch circumftances. I confefs, Jefus's not appearing alive to the chief Priefts might greatly iliake the credit of his refurredion, would Infidels be fa good as once to favour us with a demonflration, that Jefus, fhould he arife, was indifpenfibly obliged rtius to fhew himfelf. But after what manner fuch a de- monflration can proceed, I am not fagacious enough to difcern. So far as I am able to underfland, the great and only argument whereby one can pretend to demonftrate, there was fuch an obligation upon Jefus^ mutl be taken from the particular end or pur- pofe, which his public appearance was nccelTary to
ferve.
Sect. XV. Ckrijlian Revelation, 179
ferve. So that, if the necelFity of the end be abfo- lute and iudilpenfible, it mull be granted, that the neceffity of the means, without which the end can- not be attained, is of the fam.e abfolute and indifpen- lible nature. Now the Deifts tell us of two pur- pofcs which this public appearance was to ferve :
Firft^ " 7^/^-J ought, and had he really arofe from " the dead, would have perfonally appeared to the *' chief Priefts, to Pilate^ and to others his criici- ^' fiers and infujcors, to upbraid him with their in- '' fidelity and ill-treatment of him.'' But where was the neceiTuy of his appearing for this purpofe ? True it is, that Jejiis^ during the whole coiirfe of his Miniflry, and efpecially at his death, was oppreffed with the highell: infults and injuries : And, placing ourfelvcs in his circum (lances, had it been in our power to arife from the dead, no doubt, in our ap- prehenfion, as I havejufl now obferved, the paifions of refentment would have made it ncceffary for us to appear to our murderers, that we might infuk over them, and upbraid them with the bafenefs and cruelties of their indignities. But let us refiecl a little Suppofing we fliould lay afide all refent- ment, and had no angry pafTions to gratify, what is the particular obligation we have violated ? There is thus far no reafon for our appearing perfonally : And furely our murderers will not complain of our having done them an injuftice, in faving them the confulion they mull be in, upon their feeing us re- turned to life again, or in our not maiving up to them in order to requite them as they have deferved. Had the Deifls, therefore, the wifdom not to fallen upon Je[us the filly paflions of our charader, or had they the patience to confider not only that Jefits left the world, 'praying to his Father to forgive his ene- mies^ in a temper of mind that gives us no ground
to
j8o Ihe Truth of the Sect. XV,
to expecfl:, he would return again with anger and refentment ; but that he had it wholly in his own power, io far iq forgive his murderers, as not to upbraid them with any of the crimes they had com- mitted agaijifl: him ; 1 fay, had the Deiits the free- dom of thought to attend to thefe things, they would never have the folly to alledge, that Jefus ought to have perfonaily appeared to his crucifiers, to upbraid them with their infideHty and ill-treat- ment of him ; and that he would certainly have done fo, had he really come back to life again. As there was no fort of tie, far lefs an abfolute, indif- fible obligation upon Jefus^ to have adled this part 5 fo the contrary opinion, maintained by our Free- thinkers, mutt arife from a fhameful ignorance of the nature of things, particularly of the charader of the meek, the merciful and compafFionate Jefus^ and from too great an indulgence to the revengeful paf- fions of human nature. But,
The other end or purpofe to be ferved by Jefush appearing publicly, " is the convidion and " converfion of unbelievers.'' And, I confefs, this ar- gument is a great deal more plaufible. No doubt, before a man can be indifpenfibly bound to admit the refurredion of Jefus, he mult be convinced, (without which there can be no rational conver- fion) or he mufi: have the means indifpenfibly ne- cciTary to convince him of the reality of this event, So that if the Deifts will demonflrate, that Jefus's^ perfonal appearance to the chief Priefts (which ne- ver happened) vi^as indifpenfibly neceflary to afiure them of the truth of his refurredion, or that there was no other means, in their own nature fufficient, to aitord them a rational convidion of this matter of hcky 1 will then allow, that the^ chief Priefts, &c. v/ere uncjer no obligation to believe it, and, what is
morCj
Sect. XV. Chrijlian Revelation. 1 8 1
more, that Jefus did not arife from the dead. The queftion therefore comes of courfe to this, Whether, independently from the perfonal appearance of Jefus^ the chief Priefls, i^c. had fufEcient evidence, upon which any man, by the law of reafon, as it requires in all fuch cafes, is bound to confefs the truth of the refurre(3:ion \ And if fuch evidence there was, which the chief Priefls had accefs to, the confequence was unavoidable ; by no means was 7tf/?/j under any fort of tie, far lefs an indifpenfible obligation, perfonally to appear to his crucitiers and infukors : Upon which again it will neceifarily follow, tliai the rejedting of the refurredlion oiyejuszi an impofture, merely upon the account of its wanting fuch a circumllance, which Jefusw2,?> not bound to regard, is acting without rea- fon, and in a molt abfurd and arbitrary manner. 1 fay, therefore, before theDeiils can have reafon to juflify fheirlayingrhe whole ftrefs of the argument, concern- ing the refurredion of Jefus^ upon the fingle circum- ftance of his perfonally appearing to the chief Priefls, it is incumbent on them to demonftrate, that all the other evidence we have, is infufficienc to fatisfy a reafonable man, as to the certainty of that event. And, when they fhall have done this, they will have gained their caufe. But, till then, their infifting on this perfonal appearance of Jefus as indifpenfibly neceiTary, and without which the whole mufl be a cheat, will be counted by every fober, free thinking man, altogether fhamelefs.
But, let us fee what fort of evidence was fufficient to fatisfy the chief Priefls, that the refurredion of Jefus never happened : From whence one may learn, whether the want of evidence on the other fide piade them take up with that opinion. It is agreed, that thofe fage Gentlemen having no more witnefTed |he fuppofed theft at the fepulchre, or feen the dead
body
1 82 The Truth of the Sect. XV.
body afterwards, than they witneiTed the refurre- d:ion, or faw the living body at any other time, they could, in neither cafe, plead the information of their own lenfes, but were left to depend on the tefti- mony of other people. Accordingly, they prefer the teif imony of the foldiers before that of the A- poltles. And, as they report the ftory themfelves, if we add what is now alledged, to render it more feafible, we are told, that '' the guards fet to watch " the fepulchre, having drunk, to excefs that night, " -they were all faft afleep in the morning when the " refurreclion is faid to have happened." Now, thefe very guards, without the lead infinuation, that the Apollles had treacheroufly brought about their being thus intoxicated, take upon them, as it is pre- tended, to teilify to the chief Priefts, what they neither faw themfelves, nor could hear of from o^ ther people ; they telfify, ihdii while they Jlept^ while their fenfes were all locked up, and could difcern no- thing, his Difcipks came by nighty and ftole him away I This is the teiliraony on which the chief Priefts confidently rely ; and with this teftimony fo well are they fatisfied, that Mr. Woolfton doubts not, but '' they might reward the foldiers for fpeaking the " truth, and exhort them to perfift in it, with a pro-r " mife to fecure them againft the anger of Pilate^ '' for their fleeping and neglecl of their duty {n)>^^ Thus we fee the whole evidence upon which the chief Priefts proceed, in giving their verdict againft the refurredion of Jefus. Should the Deifts meet with fuch proof in favour of Chriftianity, one may eafily conceive what reception they would give it. But the bare repetition of fuch an argument is all the confutation nccclTary. And what can be truft-
in) Woolll. p. 21.
Sect. XV. Chrijtian Revelation. 183
ed to the decifion of thofe men, who are capable of grounding their judgment on fuch evidence ? Or, what is the difpofition of our modern Freethinkers^ who arc capable of thinking, that fuch a judgment is jufl and equitable ?
As for the evidence on the other fide of the que- llion, which the chief Priefts are pleafed to reject : Thofe learned Rabbis were extremely fenfible, that the body of Jefus was gone out of the fepulchre : That it was not in their power to fliew the body ; or to inform the world whither it was carried ; or to prove that the Apoifles Itoleitaway, but by wit- nelies, whofe lituation expofes their tellimony to the contempt of mankind. They might have known, that the Difcipies of Jefus did not exped his refur- redtion ; but that, after his death, they looked upon their caufe as defperate and loft; that upon the ru- mour of Jefus^s having rifen from the dead, they gave no credit to each other's relations ; but conti- nued obftinate in difbelieving it, till they faw him with their eyes, handled him with their hands ; till they converfed with him perfonally 5 till they ate and drank with him ; and had all the evidence that their waking fenfes could afford them : That in te- ftifying the truth of this matter of fact, the Apoftles had no vifible intereft to ferve ; but in being con- fcious it was a fiction, (as they muft have been, had they ftole the body away) did, without any com- penfation in the univerfe, deliberately forego the fa- vour of God and man, willingly forfeit all the com- forts of this life, all the happinefs of an after-ftate, and, with all their fenfes about them, expofb them- felves to prefent pains and cruelties at the hands ot man, and to future eternal miferies from the righ- teous judgment of God : This, I fay, among other numbcrlefs circumftances, is the evidence on the
other
184 1'he Truth of the Sect. XV.
other fide : This is the evidence which the chief Priefts have rejeded, and to which they can oppofe nothing but the teltimony of men without the life of their fenfcs. I appeal therefore to all mankind, Whether the chief Priefts had reafon, or any fhadow of reafon, to prefer the teilimony of drunken, fleep- ing foldiers, before that of the fober, waking Apo- flles : Whether thofe perfons, who are capable of relying on fuch evidence againfl the refurreclion, can decently rejed the truth of that event, as not fufficiently attefted : And whether, to fuch people, Jefus Cbrift ought in reafon perfonally to have ap- peared ? By the violence of pailion, the chief Priefts- had hurried on the crucifixion of Jefus ; wherein, one ihould think, they juilly forfeited all title to any extraordinary favour : By the violence of the fame pafTions, they took up with a fenfelefs, ftupid report (fuppofing there was in it no forgery) in con- tradiiflion to pointed and clear evidence in favour of the refurredion. And as this cannot but be count- ed an inconteftible proof, that the chief Priefts were carried away by ftrong prejudice, and abfolutely de- termined, at all adventures, to deny the truth of the refurrection ; fo, to what purpofe can any one ima- gine, ought Jefus to have appeared to thofe perfons, who were defpifing fufficient valid evidence, in pre- ferring a teftimony of no imaginable value, and whofe hearts were pre-occupied, hardened againft the power of rational convidion ? To talk, that in fuch circumftances, Jefus ought, in reafon, to have fhewn himfelf perfonally, is making reafon didate the moft needlefs thing in nature, the greateft extra- vagance. How much foever it may blacken their memory, there appears to me a great deal more of fenfe and confiftency in the conduct of the chief Priefts, when, as the hiftory reprefents them, we
Gonfider
Sect. XV. Chrifiian Revelation, 185
confider thofe refolute Politicians, as confcious 'there Wcis no theft in the matter, and therefore bribing the foldiers to pnbhlli a ridiculous falfhood, the only way they had left, whereby to difappoint the belief of yefus\ refurrection, which, if polFible to effedi, they were obllinately determined fhould never gain- credit in the world.
After all, it may be thought, '' That had Jefus " waited in the grave the coming of the feakrs of " the Itone, and their regular opening of the fepul- *' chre, or had he afterwards appeared to the chief ^^ Prieif s ; either of thefe, (as our Freethinkers al- '' ledge) would have been efreclual to the convidli- *' on and converfion of all who might be prefent 5 '• and therefore of full fatisfadion to the whole na- *' tion of the Je-ws then, and tended to the confir- " mation of the faith of all ages and nations fmce '^ {0).'' Here, again, our Infidels feem to fliew their partiality in thinking favourably of every man, ex- cept Jefus and his Apoftles. ThfCy apprehend, that had Jefus perfonally appeared to the chief Priefts, then thofe Rulers would have had reafon to believe and confefs the truth of the refurreclion : And, ha- vino; reafon, they cannot but think, they would have yielded to it. But why fo partial in judging of cha- raders, where the nature of the things, as little as the hilliory itfelf, affords us no ground to make fuch diftinctions ? If it be thought, that the chief Priefls would have yielded to reafon in fuch a cafe, why muft we think the Apoftles are adin'g again ft rea- fon, or that they are (peaking a downright falfliood, when they tell us, the cafe happened to them ; they faw Jefus, and therefore believed the truth of his re- furreclion ; as the Deifts imagine, the chief Priefls
Vol. II. A a would
[0) Woolft. p. 25.
1 86 The Truth of the Sect. XV,
woufd have done in the like circumflances ? Let our Freethinkers, without the help of mere fuppofition, dillinftly inform us, what there is in the feveral characters, that afTures us of the integrity of the chief Priells, and demonilrates the villainy of the Apotlles. In the common opinion of mankind, ci- vil Governors and Politicians are not always held fo ftriclly honelt, or fo religiouily devoted to truth it- felf, but they will take the freedom to reprefent tiling.^, as they may beil fuit their political interefts. But to come direclly to the objection :
What reafon have our Infidels to be fo politive, that the perfonal appearance of Jefus would have convinced the chief Priefls, and brought them to confefs the truth of the refurreclion I One cannot but incline to think quite otherwife, when one con- fiders what fort of regard the chief Prieils had to the truth of things, in forming their fentiments a- bout Jefus when alive. Thus, though the life of Jefus^ his whole conduct was, in all initances, abfo- lutely irreproachable; though the doctrines he taught were all worthy of God, and of infinite benefit to mankind ; though, in his wonderful works, he gave manifell proofs of his inconteflible power over all the feveral parts of this lower world ; over the winds and feas, which he calmed and made ftill; over earth and water, which he difpofed, and made fit to cure a man of his blindnefs ; over plants and vege- tables, in caufing a fig-tree to wither away ; over the animal world, in fuifering a herd of fwine to be hur- ried away and drowned in the fea ; over the necef- faries of life, in multiplying food for many thou- fands ; over the bodies of men, in heahng all man- ner of difeafes •, over their fouls, in raifing their thoughts and turning them to proclaim his charader, as he rode amidfl: the acclamations of the people
to
Sect. XV. Chrijlian Revelation. 187
to Jerufakm ; over their dead bodies and their de- parted fouls, in bringing both back to this mortal life again ; and though (all his other numberlefs works being wholly beneficent) he only, in one fin- gle inflance of each kind, viz. in the cafe of the herd of fwine, and of the barren fig-tree, gave man- kind to underfland, that the power he had over the animal and vegetable world, was no fatal thing, a blind impulfe neceffarily determined fuch a particu- lar way, but a natural faculty intirely at his own difpofal, and which he might have employed in bringing judgment and ruin on his enemies : I fay, though the whole life of Jefus, all his dodrines, and all his miracles, clearly exprelled a fpotlefs purity, a divine wifdom and goodnefs, and a fovereign power over all the feveral parts of the creation, extending jb far as tjo raife the dead to life again ; yet the chief Priefls obftinately defpifed all this, and were fo tar from being thereby induced to think, in any fort, favourably of Jefus^ that, on the contrary, J^ey conceived the moil malicious -and revengeful paflions againft him, and could not reft fatisfied till they had brought about his being crucified as a malefador, a notorious Impoftor, who dared to pretend to the charader of their Mejfiah^ whilft he meant to over- turn their national conltitution, and, at the fame time, leave them enflaved and opprelTed under the Roman government.
Thus it was, that the chief Priefts were affedled towards Jefus in his life- time : And that their pre- judices ftill fubfifted after his death, one has abun- dant proof from their forging (as the hiftory in- forms us) or their believing a fenfelefs report, which a lober man would be afhamed in the leaft to re- gard ; which, neverthelefs, they impofed upon the world, and thereby only exprelTed how forward
they
i88 The Truth of the Sect. XV.
they were to difcredit or fupprcfs every thing that might jullify the character of Jefus. And are theie the men whom we mull apprehend difpofcd and ready to follow impartial reafon, in what relates to the refarred:ion of Jefus ? Before inch men can be thought capable of confeffing the truth of the refur- redion, they mull overcome, not only all thofe flrong prejudices, but the violent averlion they will furely have at acknowledging their grois miilake, as to Jefush real character, the bafenefs and injullice of thofe cruelties they ufed againft him, and the. hainous guilt they had contravzl.ed, in lliedding his innocent blood. And has any man reafon to be pofitive, that the perfonal appearance of Jefm would have given them fuch conqueft over themfelves ?
Indeed, had the chief Priellsbeen Freetl)inkers,meii void of prejudice, quite free from bigotry andfuperlli- tion, had they adled a cool, a fair and equitable part towards Jefus while alive, and kept themfelves always open to convidlion, or in a difpofition of mind, honellly to fettle their belief as the truth of things, the event of his riling from the dead, the concluding proof of his character, upon which the whole depended, might come out to dired; them ; one may reafonably admiit, that upon feeing Jejus alive in the fepulchre, they might have confciled the truth of his refurredion, and that he was no Impo- Itor. But when one refleds, that the exertion of fo much goodnefs, wifdom, and power, as are appa- rent in the life, the dodtrines, and miracles of Jejus^ was not able to fatisfy them, that the Author of thofe dodlrmes and miracles, mull be fbmevery ex- traordinary perfon ; or to prevail on them to judge it reafonable, at lealt, to wait the final decifion of his character, by that particular event, upon which he himfelf had put it 5 what elfe can one apprehend,
but
Sect. XV. Chrljlian Revelation, 189
but that thofe men had withdrawn their minds from the influence of reafon, and delivered themfelves o- ver to the arbitrary commands of mere pafTion and prejudice ? And to fuch men, what fignifies the clearell evidence, even ocular demonftration ? Rea- fon is a principle to be dealt with, and whereby one may be led to a certain conclufion : But palTion can- not be laid hold on, it flights every thing, even the UrongeR addreffes that fuit not with its views ; it is fubjecl: to no control, and fways the mind by its arbitrary^over-powering influence. So that in de- fpifing iuch a certain degree of evidence, whicji im- partial reafon calls one to liften to, a man puts him- ielf out of the reach of all convidion : And hence the obfervation is extremely juil. If we hear not Mofes and the Prophets y if we hearken not to reafon, or refufe to fubmit to fuflicient evidence, there be- ing no bounds to contain us, neither will we he per- fiw.ded though one rofe from the dead (j)). In fuch a cafe the mind may be alarmed, but never will be convinced : For the fudden fright over, the ftub- born paffion prevails.
When, therefore, the chief Priells, inflead of yielding to the flrong evidences of wifdom, good- nefs, and power, fliining forth in the dodrines and miracles of the holy ^e/us^ fufficient to raife in their minds a favourable opinion concerning this extra- ordinary perfon, at leaft to perfuade them to fufpend their judgment as to his real charader ; till thty fliould fee what became of his refurreclion to which, in his own juftification, he had made his laft appeal, and v/hich they had good reafon to apprehend, he was capable of effecting •, I fay, when inftead of this, the chief Friefts give way to the mofl furious
palfions,
(/>) Luk. xvi, 31.
196 7he Truth of the Sect. XV.
paflions, that violently prompt them to perfecutc Jefus to death, as a grofs deceiver, and malefadtor j what can one imagine would have been the conduct of thofe men, had they happened to fee Jejus alive in the fepulchre ?
Attended with great crowds of people, they come to the fepulchre, they open the feals, which they found intire, and entering the tomb, they fee Je- fus alive : Upon this fight, will the whole power of their prejudices immediately vanifh, and all their refolute defigns to fecure their conftitution and go- vernment, againft the dangers that threatened them from a belief of his rifing from the dead, that mo- ment forfaking them, will they forthwith confefs a miraculous refurreclion, take upon them the fliame and guilt of crucifying their Meffiah^ and yielding themfelves to his authority, heartily confpire in his meafures, to abolifh their national religion and con- Ititution, all their public pofls and preferments, and now aim at nothing but the overthrow of every thing, which, to that inflant, they tenacioufly held mod facred and valuable ? I fay, would the perfonal appearance of Jefus have brought about fuch a re- volution in the paflions and fentiments of the chief Prietls and Pharifees ? I violently fufpe6l, that their revengeful paflions ftill fubfifting v/ithout abate- ment, would Itill have reprefented Jefus in the fame odious light, wherein they had all along beheld him. And in this light, would not the fame paflions, now more enraged becaufe of their difappointment, have powerfully ftimulated them to feize him again, or immediately to cut him off a fecond time; judging that by collufion, or ftratagem, or by fome accident or other, he had not been quite dead in the crucify- ing ? For my part, I am not able to conceive that men,, in the power of thofe paflions, to which. the
chief.
Sect. XV. Chrijlian Re'uelation. 191
chief Priefts were enflaved, could have a^fled other- wife. From hence therefore one may judge, whe- ther the perfonal appearance of Jefus to the chief Priefts would have been of fatisfadlion to the chief Priefts themfelves, to the whole nation of the Jews then, and to the confirmation of the faith of all ages and nations lince ? But,
Let it be granted, that upon feeing Jefus alive in the fepulchre, the chief Priefts would have con- fefTed a miraculous refurrection, and acknowledged him for their Meffiab. In this cafe one mull con- fider under what particular notions or ideas Jejus Chrijl would appear to them, while they apprehended him in this charadler. As every body knows the no- tion about the Mejfiah that univerfally prevailed among the Jews^ and to which they were obfti- nately devoted, was that of a fecular Prince, who by the fuccefs of his vi6torious arms, lliould deliver their nation from all opprefFion, and raife and efta- blifli them in a fovereign dominion over all other Hates and kingdoms. It was the contradidtion which the mean appearance, the low circumftances dijefus^ bore to this pompous touring notion, that determined the chief Priefts to rejed him in his life- time : It was this notion that made the people (when from a miracle that Jejus did, they came to be perfuaded, that this is of a truth that Prophec that fliouldcome into the world) enter into a deiign, to take him by force and to make a king ( ) : And with this notion were the Apoftles flrongly poireiGTed till after the day of Pentecoji. So that the whole nation of the Jews^ without exception, being thus carried away by the flattering notion of exchanging their ilavery under the dominion of the Romans^ for uni- verfal empire under the reign of their Mejfiah ; and
the
(r) Joh. vi. 15.
192 The Truth of the Sect. XV.
the chief Priefts being particularly animated with llich high expedtations, what elfe could they do, under the commanding influence of thofe ambitious views, but in a triumphant manner carry off their Meff.ab at their head, and immediately enter into a refolute defign to Ihake off the Roman yoke, to reco- ver the freedom and glory of their nation, and to ex- tend their dominion all over the earth? And in this profpecl of things, a fpiritof infurreclion overlpread- ing the whole nation, their preparations for war would, undoubtedly, have brought upon their heads the deftrudtive vengeance of the Roman arms. This, I fay, beyond all perad venture, would have been the cafe, had the chief Friefis, upon Jefus's Hie wing himfelf alive in the fepulchre, come to be thorougiily perfuaded, he was in very deed their Meffiah.
Altho' therefore it may be thought, that the perfonal appearance of J^/^j would have fatisfied the chief Priclls as to the truth of his general character ; yet, to prevent the nation from being involved in blood, he mull either not appear, or, if he does, he mull immediately find means by a miracle to get out of their hands. Nor could his ailing this laft part liave faved the nation from the deftruclion of war, unlefs we fuppofe, what moll probably would have happened, that the fudden difappearance of Je- Jus would have effectually revived the old preju- dices, too deep and iirong to be in a moment wholly eradicated, wherein the chief Priefts had but the other day crucified him as a malefa^flor. Upon which it is apparent, that the perfonal appearance of Jefus^ to tlie chief Priefts in the fepulchre^ or any where elfe, fuppofing they had thereby been convincedof the truth of the refurreclion, was infi- nitely far from being a proper means to afford fatis-
fadion
Sect. XV. Chrifiian 'Revelation, 193
faction to the whole nation of the Jews then, or to coiihrm the faith of all ages and nations fince. Such fatisFaCtion and confirmation,, capable of being pro- vided for, as they really are, by means much fitter and far more reafon.tble, would have been purchafcd at too high a price, when they would have cofl the blood of the whole J^wtjh nation, or reduced that people to utter ruia without their reaping any benefit from it, either here or hereafter: For what advantage in another world could have accrued to the ^Vuyjfrom their having here acknowledged yV- [us as a fecular Prince ?
Bat what do people mean when they tell u?, that, had the Chief Priefts been favoured with the perfonal appearance of Jefus^ their confcHing the truth of the refurredtion would have been fatisfa- ctory to the reft of the world, or have ind'jced thofe of that, and of every future age, who could not be eye-witnciTes, to reil alFurcd (;f the certainty of that extraordinary event \ I am apt to think, that norwithftanding the moll open confeflion we can fuppofe to have been made by the chief Prielts ; yet the whole matter, as to the convidtion of o- thcr people, who had not their means of knowledge, muithave reifed, as it Itill does, on human telli- mony, or moral evidence. No body, fure, can i- magine, that the faith of mankind was blindly to have been given to the bare aflcrtions of the chief Prielts, without examining into their character, whether they were men worthy to be trulted, and upon what particular grounds they came them- felves to be perfuaded. And fince even the moil ample atteilation of the chief Priefts, concerning the truth of the refurredion, could have made no al- teration in our way of judging, or of our fettling our belief about the certainty of that event \ but . Vol. II B b we
194 ^^^^ Truth of the Sect. XV.
we muit flill have had recourfe to the principles of moral evidence ; what matters it who were the witneffes, provided ihey were men of fenfe and dif- cretion? Or, of what greater importance would have been the teftimony of the chief Priefls, than that which we now have of the Apoftles? Iknow not but one may fufped:, that our Dei lis, for all their telling us, it would have been fatisfadory to them, would have made a Ihift to alTure the world, that the evidence of the chief Prielh, had they gi- ven it in favour of the refurredion, was not a little exceptionable. They were men at the head of the government, and no doubt were fubjecl to all thofe paflions that for the mofl part prevail in publick characters: And might not the ftory of the refur- redion, in the mouths of thofe intriguing politicians, have been only an engine of ftate, a mere political contrivance, or a national plot, whereby they de- figned to accompli fli fome worldly purpofes ? Might it not have been faid, that thofe Rulers, having the power in their hands, prevented all inquiry, and checked every examiner who might have detedl- ed the forgery: Nay, had the chief Priefts taken the truth of this article into their protection, it is to be feared, they would have promoted its belief by perfecution, the means they employed to fup- prefs it ; which, I confefs, would have been a con- fiderLible argument againll the Chrittian inllitution. In fliort, it appears to me, that the teltimony of the Apodles is every way unexceptionable ; and I cannot but think, tliat to every fober confiderate man, it affords the highelt fatisfadion that can a- rife from moral evidence; upon which the truth of the refurreclion muft neceffarily refl. And let me here, in a few words, take notice of fome of
thofe
Sect. XV. Clrijiian Revelation, 195
thofereafons that might have hindered y^y^/j from per - fonallyappearing to thechief Priefts in thefepulchre. Our Saviour having openly foretold his refurre- c^ion, he allures his Difciples, that they Jhoidd fee him again {s) ; but he no where intimates that he was to appear to the chief Priells, or to the body of the people ; on the contrary, he feems exprefs- ly to tell them, that after his death they were not again to fee him (/). And indeed, when one re- colledfs the charadler of Jefus^ and what was his con- duct in the world, there is no reafon to exped: his making any public appearance. During the whole courfe of his Miniftry, he never affected any degree of ollentation, but was always guided by the di- ctates of meeknels and humility. The wonderful works he performed were capable of being fet off with great pomp and folemnicy, but the meek ^nd holy Jefus neglected all thofe circumflances, that ferve to alarm the palTions of mankind; he chofe to do his works, only in a manner that would affect the judgment of fober thinking per- fons ; and in feveral inltances rather Itudied con- cealment; nay, he fet fome cafes in fuch a light, as would lelien the greatnefs of the miracle (u), I con- fefs, Jefiis once rode to Jerufalem amidit the accla- iuations of the people. But as this is the fingle in- stance, wherein y^/i/j was pleafed to raife himfelf in the applaufcs and admiration cf mankind ; fo the power he therein exerted over the affections of hu- man hearts, only gives us to underitand, that had he been only aiming at worldly grandeur and au- thority, he was able to have gained abundance cf followers: As the power he put forth upon the fwine and the hg-tree, upon thole who came to appre- hend
(s) Job. xvi. 16, b-V. (/) Matth. xxiii. 39. Joh. vii.
33. 34. xiv. 19. («) Vid, Mark.J. 40. <Sc. v. 35.
b'^. vif. 32. ^c, Joh. ix. I. i^c.
196 The Truth of the Sect. XV.
liend him (>:), and by means of his Apoftles, upon Anantas^ and Sappbira, is abundant proof how ca- pable he was to diilrefs his enemies, and totally to overthrow them ; certain, therefore, it is, that, du- ring his life, Je/us never aiFected any degree of pa- rade and vain glory : And (ince all his works were done with meeknefs and humility, what elfe can be looked for in his riiing again from the'" dead ? To fet forth his refurredion with glare and lliow, or to appear among wondering crouds, does not feem to fuit his character, or to afford that fort of evi- dence, upon which, he feems all along to have de- figned, the faith of mankind fhould be founded. And having had no defign, for afcertaining the truthof hi^ pretenfions, to engage the common paf- fions of men, that always .rife high upon every thing glaring and ollentatious, as it would have happen- ed, had he perfonally appeared to the chief Prielis and to the infinite numbers of people that would have been attending them ; but only meaning to fecure the rational conviction of mankind, arifing from moral evidence; he judged it fuf- ficient, for that purpofe, as it certainly ■ is, to fhew himfelf to credible witnefTes, and in thofe circumftances wherein cool rcafon might be fully fatisficdasto the real^ityof his refurredion, or that the appearance was no impofition on the fenfes; and in order to difcover the real truth of the fad:, one fhould think, that the appearing after fuch a man- ner, is infinitely preferable to the mod open and public appearance that could be made before the greateft crouds. I ihall therefore obferve.
In the next place, ilvdtjefus's perfonally appear- ing to the chief Prieits could ferve to little good purpofe, and would have been extremely incom- modious, and attended with bad confequences.
For
[x] Joh . xviii, 6.
Sect. XV. Chrijlian Revelation. 197
For let us imagine that about the fepulchre, as it could not but have happened, there are gathered together infinite numbers of people to witnefs a moft extraordinary event, the refurre^iion of a man from the dead. Now, the chief Prieils open the feals ; they enter into the fepulchre ; and finding Jefus a- live, they are fcUisfied themfelves ; and they lead bim forth, in order to afford the like fatisfaction to the multitudes. But as yet Jefus Handing on even ground, how many, do we think, will have it in their power to be fatisfied? A few about him may indeed have accefs to examine the truth of the fact thoroughly: But as to the infinite numbers of peo- ple that are prefent, and who ought likewifc to be latisfied, the ficuation of Jefus renders it impof- iible for them to have any degree of evidence from their fenfes. Let us then* fuppofe, that to re- medy this, the chief Priefts fet Jefus upon an eminence, from whence he is expofed to the view of the whole multitude. But ihould Jefus have fubmitted to io pompous an appear- ance, and fo much pageantry, what fort of fatis- fadion could chofe infinite numbers have received from feeing a man at a diitance ? The Apoif les, tho' for feveral years inximately acquainted with Jefiis^ would not believe the truth of his.refurredi- on, without far lirongcr evidence, without not only feeing him, but handling him, and perceiving t\-\^ v/ounds he had got when he was crucified. And how in reafon could thofe multitudes depend on a dilfant view, without being able to examine into particulars? For any fatisfaction they had received from their fenfes, to which the appeal was made, it might be all delufion and impotlure: And indeed, one cannot but reft confident, that after fuch an appearance of Jefus^ the number of thofe, who, -as to any rational conviction from their fenfes,
muft
198 ^he Truth of tht Sect. XV.
iiiuft be held to doubt, or to deny the truth of the refurreciion, would have infinitely exceeded thofe few, who thought they had reafon, from the tetti- mony of their lenfes, to believe it. To what little purpofe, therefore, fuch an appearance would have ferved, every man mull: be fenfible.
Nor is it lefs evident, that it could not but have proved extremely incommodious and mifchievous. The whole city of Jfrzi;/^/^;;/, fome hundred thou- fands of people being brought together, what could the confequence be but noife and uproar, tumult and confufion \ In fuch a prodigious confluence of people, many, no doubt, would have been fqueezed to death, many would have been trod under foot, and all the other mifchiefs mufl have happened, that confta^tly attend vail crouds of people preiling upon one another, and ftruggling every one to get a fairer view. And in fuch circumflances, can any man judge it was fitting or proper for Jefus to have appeared ? To this let me only add, that,
The perfonal appearance of Jejus to the chiet Priefts at the fepalchre, would have been very dan- gerous, either to Jejus himfelf, or to the whole na- tion of the Jews, As I have before obferved, it is more than probable, that the chief Prielh would by no means have been fatisfied from the perfonal ap- pearance of Jefus^ as to the truth of his charafter : So that the finding Jefus alive in the fepulchre, would only have put it in their power, to attempt the again imbruing their hands in his innocent blood. But fuppofing that this appearance would have af- forded full fatisfadion to the chief Priefts : As I have likevvife formerly obferved, the notions they entertained concerning their Meffiah would have determined them to take him by force and to make him a King^ which would have provoked the Ro- 7nan arms, and brought on the ruin of the nation;
at
Sect, XV". Chrijlian Revelation. 199
at no rate, therefore, was it fafe for Jefus perfon- ally to appear to the chief Friefts. Now,
From thefe feveral particulars laid together, it feems clearly manifeft, that, according to the law of reafon, Jefus ought not to have appeared to the chief Priefls; Upon which the Deifts have been (o good as to promife to turn Chriilian ; and to grant, that in their attempt to prove a plain fraud in the refurreclion, there's no force nor truth (jy). And indeed Jefus* 3 putting out all thofe who laughed him to fcorn^ for faying that Jairus\s daughter was not dead hut ajleep^ or his refufing to fuffer thefe per- fons to witnefs the miracle he was about to perform, is as ftrong an argument againft the truth of his re- floring that damfel to life, in the prefence of her father and mother, and of his Apoftles, Peter^ James, and John^ as his non-appearance to the chief Priefls can be thought againft his refurreclion. But the for- mer was wife and prudent, and fliews an averfion to all oflentation, while the faft itlelf had enow of witnef- fes to attelt it : And, in the latter, the fame quali- ties are moft confpicuous.
Thus having Ihown, there is no force or reafon in thofe objedlions which our Infidels make againlt the truth of the refurredion of Jefus ; it now comes to be remarked, that how much foever our Free- thinkers may infift on the necelTity of Jefts's per- fonally appearing to the chief Prieils, and pretend, that, for want of this evidence, the refurreclion mull be counted a cheat ; yet the chief Friefts themfelves do not feem to have wanted any fuch evidence, in order to convince them, there was no impoflure in the cafe, or that the refurreclion really happened.
For three hundred years after the firll promul- gation of the Gofpel, it was not then, as the Deiils
complain (yj Woolll. p. 25.
200 The Truth of the Sect. XV.
complain it is now. During that long fpace of time, the Chriftian religion had no (hadow of fecular power to fupport it; on the contrary, the civil Ma-' giftrate, and the ellabiifhed Priefthood, every where let themfelves zealoufly againtt it, and jointly ex- erted all their authority to prevent its propagation, cruelly punilhing thofe refolute Freethinkers, who durft be bold to oppofe themfelves to the public re- ligions then fubfitling. In thofe days, therefore, when the means of information were mofi: favour- able, every man was at full liberty, there was nothing to hinder him fromfearching out the truth of the mat- ter, he was under no reilraint either as to argument or paflion, but had all poflible encouragement to expole Chriftianiey after what manner his heart ihould in- cline him; and the more eifectually anyone expofed it, the higher he thereby raifed his own reputation, and the greater fervice he was then held to do, as well to the interelt of the ilate, as to that of reli- gion. Now, this liberty, or rather encouragement, to ruin the credit of the Gofpel, having been pre- ferved for fo long a time, can it be thought, that its enemies, either through ignorance were not able, or through indifferency carelelsly neglecl- ed, to make a thorough inquiry I Every body knows, that thofe firfl ages, wherein the Gofpel ap- peared, were learned and knowing; fo that an im- pofture could have had no advantage, from the darknefs and ignorance of the times : And the vio- lent oppofition that was every where made to the progrefs of Chriftianity, is abundant proof, that men's hearts were in thofe days far from being in a ftate of indifferency. What then is the reafon, why the Deifts now complain, they are under re- flraint, and have not leave to fpe^k out their fenti-
nients :
Sect. XV". Chrijlian Revelation. 201
mcnts I At chis time of day, have tliey found out any thing that can blacken the credit of the Gofptl, whicii the penetration and zeal of the hrll ages was not able to difcover, or durll not publifh to the world I If they have, I wilh, with all my he;.rt, they would make it public. Only, from the liber- ties they have taken of lace years, one is tempted to think, they are guilty of no concealments. To fave, however, a man's decency in (till adhering to a baffled caufe, it fecms prudent, always to pretend the llrongeft argument is ftill in referve, fo Itrong that the oppolite party now in power, would crulh a man in pieces for urging it. But be that as it will :
I hope the chief Priefts v.^ere under no fuch ap- prehenfions : They furely had no rellraint laid upon them by any authority whatfoever. They impri- foned, they Icourged, they threatened the Apoltles, they Honed Stephen to death, James the brother of John was killed with the [word. And having all power in their own hands, and being poircjGTed of every puilion that could prompt them to detect the fi'aud ; why did they not fearch it out, and expofe it to the indignation of all mankind ? How the guards at the fepulchre came fo foon to be rouze'd out of their dead lleep, I know not. It could not be the noife of the Apoftles in Healing away the dead bo- dy, otherwife the theft would have been prevent- ed: Perhaps it was the earthquake, and the rolling away the ftone when the Angels defcended. But leaving this difficulty to be explained by our Free- thinkers \ the hillory tells us, that early in the morn- ing.^ the foldiers came to the city^ and informed the chief Priefts of what had pafjed.
Upon this indeed a council is held immediately. But in this council, had they had fo much as a fu-
VoL. II. C c fpicipHj
202 The Truth of the Sect. XV.
ipicion, not to talk of their being certainly perfua- ded, that the body of Jefus was Hole away, in or- der to impofe upon the world a fham-refurredion, the belief of which, they were fenfible, would en- danger their whole national conftitution ; why did they not exprefs their refentment againfl the guards, and make fome ilrong propofitions to have them punilhed ; which the great confufion and danger all their affairs, notwithllanding their precautions, were now brought into, could not, in the nature of things, but provoke them pallionately to purfue ; which might have affured the world, that the watch (in their opinion at leaft) had been really guilty of an infamous neglect of duty, and would have an- iwered their purpofe a great deal better, than the ilupid tellimony of ileeping foldiers \ Why did they not, in fo dangerous a jundure, immediately re- folve upon the molt obvious and necefiary mealures, the difpatching away their officers to raife town and country to go in fearch of the dead body, which, in fo fhort a fpace of time, could not have been car- ried far off, and which, in fo general a fearch, wherein every honeft man would have gladly lent his afliitance, could not poffibly mifs of being dif- covered ? Why did they not immediately give or- ders to apprehend the Apoftles, the main actors and every one whom they had reafon to fulped; as their accomplices ? And had the general fearch difppoint- ed them, why did they attempt to bring none of the Apoitles themfelves, none of their affbciates to a confeflion, either by bribes, or by torture, having found the fuccefs of the former upon Judas^ and knowing, as one may reckon, that the fearof fome- thing like the latter, had formerly tempted Peter to deny his Ma(ter ? And, in the interim, why did they not iffue out a proclamation, letting forth the
hainous
Sect. XV. Chrijlian Revelation, 203
liainoLis nature of the impoflure, exhorting all, as they regarded God, their religion, their country, to contribute their endeavours to detect the fraud ; and promifing a large reward to any man who fliould find out the body, or difcover the place where it was depofited ? They were at the trouble and charge of difpatching melTengers to all nations, e- very vvhere through the world, with letters to their-country men, in order to prepofTefs them a- gainll Chrift and his Gofpel, and to prevent their givmg countenance to that novel impious herefy ; alledging againft its broachers, moil dilhonourably to themlelves, that very fenfelefs flory, which they -vhad publifhed at Jerujalem (2). But why all this bultle and expence about foreign difpatches, when proper meafuies at home would at once have crufh- ed the defign, and prevented its being heard of with- out the walls of the city f I fay, under the perfuafi- on of a villanous theft, with refped to the body of Jejus^ and fenfible of the great mifchiefs it would cer- tainly bring, as they thought upon the whole nation ; why did the chief Priells, in order to bring about a difcovery, and thereby fave themfelves and the nation from the impending ruin, ufe none of thofe plain obvious means which common fenfe dictates, and are univerfally employed on the like occafions ? It cannot but be thought furprifing, that inflead of purfuing thofe meafures, wherein they could not have failed of deteding the whole villan}^, and of bringing immediate ruin upon the whole project ;
They not only protect the guards in that pro- voking treachery they were guilty of, which had brought upon them the very dangers they dreaded, and which they fet them to prevent ; but they give
them
(z) Vid. Juft. Mart, dialog. 2. cum Tryph. p. 335. Eufeb. in liai. xviii. 1.2.
204 ^'^^ Truth of the Sect. XV.
them money, as if their unfaitlifulnefs to their truit had done them good fervice. So far were they from fearching after the dead body, or feizing upon the contrivers and actors of the theft, that from the time the refurrection began firit to be fpo- ken of, for the fpace of fifty days, they filtered the Apoitles and other Difcriples to live peaceably at Jerufaleryiy tho' all that while they were confident in reporting to all about them, that at fuch parti- cular times and places, they had feen and converled with Jefus alive from the dead^ and that at length they faw him afcend into heaven. Nay, tho' the circumftances that attended the beginning of the Miniftry of the Apollles, occafioned a great noife all over the city, and their converting at that time to the ChrilHan faith, feveral thoufands of people^ was not a little threatening ; yet the chief Priells permitted the Apoitles to go on, they made no at- tempt to confine them, in order to expofe the fraud they alledged again ft them, or to punifli them for fo monltrous a piece of wickednefs.
Indeed, when they found that the Apoftles had the boldnefs to come to the very temple and work their miracles, this fo much alarmed them, that they laid hands on Peter and John and -put them in prifon \ wherein, I confefs, they began to act in their own defence. And may not one now expecl, to find the charge pointedly laid, and clearly made out againft the Apoitles I But fo it happened, that after a night's confinement, thofe two Apoftles be- ing brought before the Council, and boldly afierting, in face of their Judges, that that Jefus whom they crucified was rifen from the dead^ and had empowered than to work fuch miracles ; the chief Prieits, after a folemn confultation, come only ^o this refolution, jiraitly to threaten the Apfiles that they fpeak hence- forth
Sect. XV. Chrijlian Revelation^ 205
forth to no man^ nor teach in the name of Jefus (a) . A llrange judgment this ! in the cafe of fo impi- ous a fraud as was faid to have been committed. But the Apoflles openly profefs their refokuion not to obey, and appeaHng to the chief Priells them- felves, whether it be right in the fight of Gcd to hearken unto them, more than unto God^ they dare be bold to tell them, that they cannot but fpeak the things which they have feen and heard. Nor does this refolute anfwer any farther provoke the chief Prieds, than to renew their threatening to the A- pottles, and to let them go ; finding nothings as the hilf ory informs us, how they might punifh them^ be- caufe of the people. But in the name of wonder 1 had they not the dealing away of the body of Je- fus to lay to their charge and make out againft them ? Durit they not, for the people, fo much as mention the villanous theft that had been com- mitted I Or, would the people have oppofed them in carrying on the accufation, and bringing the im- pofture to light ? Every honell man, all the peo- ple, had they but fufpedted the fmalleit fraud in the cafe, would, no doubt, have gladly aflilfed in de- tecting it, and have had great pleafure in feeing the Authors of it condignly puniflied. And is it not furprifing, that, in all their accufations, at no time do the chief Priefts ever once mention againft the Apolllcs or any of the Difciples, their carrying off the body of Jefus^ and impofing upon the world a moil wicked impofture, in pretending a refurredli- on ? So far are they from going on fuch a fuppo- fition, that in all their refolutions they clearly pro- ceed upon quite other apprehenfions of the mat- ter.
Thus,
[a) Afta iii. 4.
2o6 The Truth of the Sect. XV.
Thus, having feized the Apoftles a fecond time, and brought them before the Council the chief Priefts only accufe them of having violated the llridt orders they had formerly laid upon thtm •, titd not we^ fay they, firaitly command you^ that you jhould not teach in this name ? And behold^ you have filled Jerufakm with your doBrine^ and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. To v^hich the Apoftles re- turning their former anfvvcr, that they ought to obey God rather than men ; and Hill charging them vv'ith the murder of Jefus^ u^hom they ft ill boldly pro- fefTed, God had raifed up from the dead^ and that the holy Ghofi as well as they were his witnejfes of thefe things J this at length fo exafperated the chief Priells, that the proportion was made to flay the Apoftles. Upon which Gamaliel, one of the Coun- cil, and a Doctor of law, gave his opinion thus : ^ake heed (fays he) to yourfelves what ye intend to do
ds touching thefe men. Refrain from them^ and
let them alone ; for if this counfel or this work be of men^ it will come to nought ; but if it be of God^ ye cannot overthrow it ; lejl happily ye be found even to fight againfi God (b). But, in his right fenfes, can any man ever in the leafl come to fufpect, that that counfel, or that work may be of God, may have his countenance and protection, which one is per- fuaded takes its rife from a villanous forgery; and that the cutting off the contrivers of fo monlirous a cheat, may be. found a fighting againft God ? The Rulers of the Jews forming their refolutions upon fuch an argument, gave no credit to their own Ito- ry, but defpifed the teftimony of the fleeping fol- diers, and mufl have been confcious of a notorious lye, v/hen they afTured the world, that his D/fciples came by night and ftole him away. /
And
[h] Aas V. 17. &c.
Sect. XV. Chrifiian Revelation. 207
And that this was their guilty cafe, one cannot but the morebc fatistied, when one further confiders, that tho' the Jews could not but know, that their Heathen judges never cared to meddle in queftions purely relating to their Law, yet, as we learn from their eager profecution againit Faul^ they infill: on no- thing elfe in their accufations, and wholly negledl that article of fraud with refped to the body of Je- fus^ which comes ander the cognizance of the com- mon juttice of all nations, and which, fufficiently made out, would have expofed to tl^e fevereit pu- niihment, not only the immediate aclors in the theft, but all who fhould obitinately unite with them, as Paul had done, to carry on the defign they had grounded upon it. Here is the account of Paurs cafe, which Feftus gives to King Agrrppa : Tou fee this man, fays Feitus, about whom all the multitude of the Jews have dealt with me, both at yerufalem^ and alfo here^ crying that he ought nut to live any longer. But when his accufers (^Ananias the high Pried with the Elders, and Tertullus an Orator) ficod up againft hirn^ they brought none accufation of fuch things as I fuppofed : But had certain queftions againft him of their own fuperftition^ and of one Jefus, which was dead^ whom Paul affirmed to be alive (c).
Thus, I m'ufl beg leave to think, whoever attends to the principles of human nature, and confiders the conduct of the chief Prielts and Rulers of the Jews^ cannot fail to be fatisfied, that in their con- sciences the chief Prietts did not believe, the A- polfles were guilty of ftealing the body of ^efus away. And as the chief Prieils, thro' the whole of their management, give us all ground torefl con- fident, that they did not themfelves believe there was any fraud committed in the matter of the re-
furredion }
{c) Ads XXV,
2o8 i:he Truth of the ' Sect. XV.
furreclion; fo the condadl of the Apoftles clearly demonftrates, how much they are above all fufpici- oii of impofture with refpedl: to that grand article of Chrillianity. For let us refled,
Had any plot been contrived to fleal away the body of Jefus, and to put upon the world a Ihani- refurredion, can it enter into one's head to ima- gine, that the plotters themfelves, inftead of care- fully concealing what they intended, would have alarmed all mankind, and awakened them to take meafures that would effeclually prevent the execu- tion ? Now, we know that yefus\ defign of rifmg from the dead was kept no fecret, nor yet the day when it was to happen negledled to be publifned : So that the world had fair warning g4ven them, all concerned were called to be upon their guard ; and fo well were the chief Priefts apprifed of the delign, that they took all poffible precautions to prevent a cheat in the matter. Thus far, I am certain, there is a flrong appearance of honefly, and the prefum- ption is irrefiftible, that no fort of fraud is intend- ed.
After this public warning to the chief Priefts, and to al! the enemies of Jefus^ the crucifixion comes on ; J^fus dies, and guards are placed on his fepulchre ; whilit all his Difciples had forfaken him and fled, without ex peeling to fee him any more. But the third day approaches, and on that day the body is a- miffing ; the guards ^could not keep it ; the chief Priefts cannot Ihow it; and the Difciples do not believe it is raifed from the dead. Amidft this perplexity, Jefus appears to fome of his Difci- ples ; their eyes and other fenfes convince them he is rifen ; they report the fad: to the reft ; but the
reft will give no credit to their teftimony : In a
word, they refufe to truft one another; and all of
them
Sect. XV. Chrijlian Rcvelatiofu 209
them continue obflinate. unbelievers, till every man's own fcnies makes it impoffible for him, not to con- fels the trutli of the refarreclion. And as the A- poilles were the chofen, the particuhir witnelTes pitched upon, who Ihould publiili this fact to all nations,' and who, in attefting it, were to undergo great fa fieri ng s ; that their convidion of its certain- ty might be itrong and lading, having deep root in their minds, Jejus was plealed, during the fpace of forty days, frequently to appear to them, fami- liarly to eat and converfe with them, and, as he was wont to do before his death, to work miracles in their prefence.
Nor did the Apoftles delay the publication of this event, till they were at a diftance from the place and time of its happening ; but upon the fpot^ Vv^here the things were tranfacted, -ancj where every man had all opportunities of inquiring, and of ex- amining into the bottom of the matter ; they began, as Soon as they were convinced themfelves, confi- den!:ly to report it to all about them: Nay, fo open were they and honeil, that they put it in the power of numbers of other people, to fati.fy themfelves from the teftlmony of their own fcnfes, by letting them know, that on fuch a day, and at fuch a place, they might fee J^/%- himfelf, and witnefs his afcendmg into heaven. And fo it happened, that a great many v/ere prcf::nt at this extraordinary e- vent.
So that Jefus having left this lower world, and gone to his father ; his Apoftles, a few days after his afcenfion, being endowed 'iinth power from on kigh^ entered upon their public Miniif ry, and beginning ar Jemfalem itfelf, they every where openly and a- vowedly proclaim the refurreclion of Jefus, and even in the face of his murderers, boldly maintain ' Vol. II. D d the
210 The Truth of the Sect- XV.
the truth of that event. Nor did they confine people to their teftimony alone, but they tell the world, if they want further evidence, they may have accefs to the atteltation of feveral hundreds of other eye- witnelTes.
And, that no man might be negligent in exami- ning into the truth of the facl, or fatisfy himfelf with ilight evidence, they do not fail to make man- kind aware of what confequence it is ; of fuch con- . fequence, that if Cbiift be not rifen, then^ fay they, our preaching is vain, and your faith alfo is vain^ your believing in Je/us is to no purpofe, and you gain no- thing by expofing yourfelves to any hazards for the fake of the Gofpel. Tea^ and we are found falfe witneffes of God^ becaufe we have teftifisd of God^ that he raifed up Cbrifl^ whom he raifed not up. Nay, fo fecure are they againft all imputation of fraud, that they awaken people's paflions, while engaged in the heat of controverfy, for the moil part then very keen, fo keen that they frequently hurry a man to deny firlt principles ; I fay, in thefe.circumftances, the Apoftles provoke human paffions to inquire in- to the truth of a matter of facl, and to bring forth what they know about it •, whilfi: they appeal to the refurreclion of Jefus^ as an infallible proof of a general refurredion from the dead, which in their day was by fome people openly denied.
In lliort, in atteftation of the certainty of this fadl, of jio moment as to any worldly purpofe, the Apoitles willingly lay down their lives, and expiring in torments perliil in declaring what their eyes had feen, and their hands had handled, what all their fenfes forced them to confefs ; while they might have efgapcd by barely promifing to fall in with the pu- blic religion for the future, or, which is lefs, to talk no more of the matter. And let me now afli 3
Can
Sect. XV. Chriflian Revelation, 2 1 1
Can thofe people be counted cheats and Impo- flors, who witnels a matter of fact, which the world, being forwarned was to happen, took the mod effectual meafures to prevent being falfiticd ? Who, as to their own particulars, were the farthefl in the world from expediing it was to have happen- ed ; who did not believe it had happened, till they were affared of its reality, not from the tellimony of others, which they rejected, but every man from the tefiiimony of his own fenfes ; who, upon the fpot, and at the time when it happened, openly proclaimed it to the whole world ; who, for the truth of it, appealed to a great many others, who, the};^ {iiid, were eye-witneffes, as well as themfelves; who, in the (Ironged manner, invited and pro- voked other people carefully to inquire into its certainty ; who, without variation, in the face of dangers, in the prefence of death itfelf, ftill perfifted in their evidence, and left the world, with their laft breath proclaiming to all, " The matter of fad: " is certain \' having it, at the fame time, in their power to fecure their peace, and to {^\t their lives only by complying with the religious opinions then prevailing, and in which they had been educated ; or barely by being filent as to what related to Jefus Ckrifi? I fay, can fuch people be counted Impo-
ftors (^d) ? If they mult moral evidence is at an
end, and no man can rely on human teftimony. Befides,
In thofe days, nothing was more notorious, than that, to undertake the profefTion of Chriliianity, was
infinitely
[d) That the Apoftles were no Impoilors, but that they were under the moft penetrating, convidion of the certainty of the re- furredion of Jefus, Chryfoflom, in his RePxcdions^upon i Cor. i. 25, 31. (p. 264, 265, 270, 271, 272. Oper. torn. 3) clearly de- monftrates, from their undertaking and purfuing the propagation oftheGofpel.
212 The Truth cf the Sect. XV.
infinitely hazardous : And yet, at that very time, even in Jerufalem^ the place where all was tr^nlacl- ed, the number of Difciples came foon to be very great •, nay, even then and there it was, tha a great company of Priefls themielves, with their eyes opLn upon the fad fulferings, that would follow xheir con- verfion, renounced their" national principles, and be- come obedient to the faith {e). But, thofe people, well knowing the whole weight of the Chriftian profeili- on, then fo extremely dangerous, reited on the truth of the refurredion of Jefus ; can any man ferioudy think, that, upon the fpot, where they had it in their power to inquire and to kwow the whole truth of the matter, they would examine nothing ; bat, at the hazard of their lives, blindly take up with a religion utterly repugnant to all their former fenti- inents, or run headlong into an impoilure, that would ruin them here, and damn them hereafter.? If people in thofe days were capable of acfing fuch a part, they mull have been creatures not of our make (/).
Upon the whole, I would now fain flatter my- felf, that every man who thinks freely, will find himfelf at full liberty openly to profefs, the Apollles did not deceive the world about them; ihey were
no
{e) Acls vi 7.
(f) An numquid dicemus Iftius temporls homines ufque adeo fuifTe vanos, mendaces, ftolldos, brutos, ut quae nunquam vide- lant, vidide fe iingerent? et qusc fasSta omnir.o non erant, falfis proderent teilimoniis aut pueriii aiTertione firmarent ? cumque pofTent vob.fcum & unanimiter vivere, & inoifenfas ducere con- jundione?, grntuita fufciperent odia, & execrabili haberentur in
nomine r Imo quia hsc omnia & ab ipfo cernebant geri, &
ab ejus prs'conibus, qui per orbem totum mifii benelicia patris & munerandis animis homlnibufque portab^nt, veritatts ipfius vi vidi, et dederunt feDeo, nee in magnis pofuere difpendiis mem- bra vobis projicere, et vifcera fua lanianda praebere. Arnob. lib. 1. p. 19.
Sect. XVI. Chriftian Revelatio?!, 213
no Impoflors in the biifinefs of the refurredtion. And indeed, as the Apotlles have reported them, fiich are the circumltances of this event, that the truth of the fad requires their exiltence •, or, there- furredion really happening, it inuft have been at- tended with fuch circumllances. And as fuppofing the fad: true, fuch circumitances mutt have exifled ; fo thofe people who oppofe the truth of the refur- reclion, being forced to forge or fuppofe other cir- cumitances, do therein feem to be determined, at any rate, to deny the certainty of this event : Firft laying it down with themfeives, as an undoubted maxim, that the refurrecT:ion is a mere falfhood ; and then framing the circumitances, as in the c^fe of a fraud, one may imagi-ne they muft have hap- pened : Which is a freedom of thought not fo well adapted to the difcovery of truth.
But, before I conclude this article of impoiture, I iliall prefume to lead the Reader to confider, that, by the fame arguments, whereby the Deiits go about to juilify themfeives, and whereby one may juitify Socrates^ it mult be confeiTed, the Apoflles are clear- ly vindicated.
SECT. XVI.
The Apoftles are vindicated from the Imputation of hn pojiure^ by the fame Arguments u' hereby the Deift^ go about to clear themfeives and to jufttfy the Cha- racier of Socrates.
THE Author of aDifcourfe of Freethinking, gi- ving out thegreat characleriflic of a Freethink- er, to be upon one's having thought freely, " the op- *' poiing one's felf to the eilabliilied opinions, topopu- " lar fuperitition and bigotry/' he favours us v/ith
a
214 "^'^^ "^^^^^f^ € ^^^ Sect. XVL
a roll of perfons, whom he reckons of this charadler; and among them we find Heathens, Jews, Chrilli- ans, Atheifts, Theifts, men of the moil contradi- <5tory pTinciples, mixed together. The Apoftles indeed have not the honour of a place in this cata- logue ; but if oppofition to eftablifhed opinions, from a generous freedom of thought, be the chief crite- rion of a Freethinker, one fhould think, that ne- ver were there men in the world who have a better title to this character. But that which I here de- fign, is to leave it to the world to judge, whether what the Deifts alledge, in vindication of their own virtue and honeity, does not equally ferve to clear the reputation of the Apoftles ? It is objected to the Deifts, as we learn from the fame Auhor,
" That Freethinkers themfelves, are the mofl in- " famous, wicked, andfenfelefs of all mankind T^)." And to clear them from this charge, he forms this apology :
" This objed: ion, fays he, ofwickednefs and ig- " norance is made by all feds one againfl another, " and ferves to keep the feveral herds and folds of " men united together, and againfl one another: '' And tho' in reality men of all feds are much a- '' like as to fcnfe, where literature ecjually pre- '' vails, and every where the 1-ame as to their lives " and converfations, (as is obvious to any indiffer- " ent perfon) yet through fuch fpeclacles do men ''* fee the defeds of others, fo partial are they to '' themfelves, fo ready to believe ill reports of thofe '' with whom they have any difference in opinion *' and to believe good of thofe with whom '• they agree in opinion; fo apt to put an ill " conllruclion on any actions of the former, *' and a good one on any actions of the latter ; '' that nothing but the moll familiar intercourie
*' imaginable (^) A Difcourfe of Freethinking. p. 1 18.
Sect. XVI. Chrljiian Revelation, 215
imaginable can make men, who are governed by one fort of Priefts, think they are hke thole in underftanding and morals who are governed by another fort. But this objection, as it is urged againft Freethinkers, is itill with more difficulty to be removed by them ; becaufe they who have leifure, application, ability, and courage to think freely, are fo few in number in refped of any other led:, that they mufl be lefs able, by converfation in the world, to anfwer an objecti* on againft themfelves, fo early planted in men's minds, and fo carefully cultivated. However, I think it may be much eafier anfwered upon pa- per, and may be iliown to be more unjuftly ur- ged againft Freethinkers, than againft any other fort of men whatfoever. In anfwer to it there- fore, I obferve,
" I. That men who ufe their underftandings muft have more fenfethan they who ufe them not; and this I take to be felf-evident. And as to the o- ther part of the objedion, I aflert, that. Free- thinkers muft, as fuch, be the m.oft virtuous perfons every where.
" I . Becaufe, if any man prefumes to think for himfelf, and in confequence of that departs from the herd of mankind among whom he lives, he is fure to draw upon himfelf the whole malice of the Prieft, and of all who believe in him, (which muft of courfe be nine hundred and nine- ty nine of a thoufand) and can have no credit, but what his virtue, in fpite of his enemies, neceffari- ly procures for him. Whereas any profiigaie fellow is fure of credit, countenance, and fupport, in any feci or party whatfoever, tho' he has no other quality to recommend him than the worft of all vices, a blind zeal to his fed or party.
'^ The
2i6 The Truth of the Sect. XVI.
^' The Freethinker therefore is, for his own fake, in " this world, obliged to be virtuous and honefl ; but '' the Bigot is under no fuch obligation; and be- " fides, has the temptation to become a knave, " becaufe fo many weak people of all parties are " ready to put their confidence in him purely for " his bigotry.
" 2. Becaufe whoever applies himfelf to any '' action, much more to freethinking (which re- ^^ ejuires great diligence and application of mind) ^> mull: by that habit expel all thofe vicious habits *' and paffions, by which every man out of adlion " is toffed and governed.
" 3. Befides, by much thinking only, are " men able to comprehend in their minds the whole '^ compafs of human life, and thereby to demon - " Urate to themfeives, that mifery and unhappinefs '' attend thepradlice of vice, and pleafure and hap- " pinefs the pra-itice of virtue, in this life : And " that to live pleafancly, they- mud Hve virtuouf- " ly. For who^ fays Cicero (h)^ lives pleafantly^ '' except him who delights in his duty^ and has well con- " Jidered and fettled his manner of life \ and who obeys " the laws not out of fear^ but obferves and regards " them^ becaufe he judges it the befi thing he can do? " Wherein we fee by experience, that moft men, '' for want of confidering the whole compafs of hu- '' man life, miftake their ov/n happinefs,' and think " it wholly confifts in gratifying their prefent paf- " fions and inclinations : And accordingly are very " little moved even by their belief of future happi- " nefs and mifery, to become virtuous, while ^' they arc under fuch a miftake. And thus, of
'* courfe,
[h) Quis igitur vivit ut vult nifi qui gaudet officio ? Cui Vi- vendi via confiderata atque provifa eft, qui legibus non propter metum paret, fed eas iequitur atque colir, quia id maxime faluta- re efie judicat ? Cic. oper. Gron. p. 4170/
Sect. XVI. Chrijllan Revelation, 217
*' courfe, all nnthinking people are vitions, unlefs ^' they are prevented by fome natural defect or im- *' pediment, or are moral by the goodnefs of '* their natural temper. Cicero admirably defcribes '^ the bid effecls of this, wrong judgment about *' the rule of morality. Says he (/), Whoever '' places happinefs in any thhig he fides virtue^ dndjud- " ges of happinefs by his, prefent inter eft and advantage^ '' and mi by the rules of honefty^ or what is good upon " the whole ; ^f he be confijient with himfelf^ and is
not carried away by his own good ncHural difpofjion^
can neither be friendly^ nor equit.ible^ nor generous.
No man can be courageous^ who ' takes pain to be " the great eft evil ; nor be 'moderate in the enjoyment of
pleafure^ who takes that to be the g^eateft^ good.
^' IL 1 anfwer, that tho' there has hardly been '' a country, where the Priefts have been fo few in '' number, or have had fo little credit, or where " fuperltition has been at fo low an ebb, as not to '' draw fome inconveniencies on men for thinkino- '' freely ; and by confeqiiencc, many Freethinkers " have either fallen in with the reigning fuperftition '^ of their country, or fuffered it quieily to take '' its courfe, forefeeing what little good was to be " done on fo knaviih and ignorant a creature as '' man, and how much mifchief was to be expected " from him : Yet they who have been molt diftin- " guillied in all ages for their * underftanding and *' virtue have been Freethinkers.
'^ Socrates., thedivineit man that ever appeared in " the Heathen world, and to whofe virtue and
Vol. il ' E-c '' wifdom
• (z; Qiii furnmum bonum inft^tuit ut nihil h'ibeat cum virtute conjunicum, luque fuis commodis non henellate metitur ; hie (i fibi ipfi confent at, et non in'erdum bonitate natarse vincatur, neque ami^itiam colere pofTit ncc juftitiam, nee liberalitarem; for- tis vero doloren fummuTi malum judicans aut temperans volup- tatem fummum bonum itatuens eile certs nullo modo potell. De Offic.hb. I. cap, 2.
i(
'2 1 8 T/je Truth of the Sect. XVI.
*' wifdom all ages fince have done jutlice, vvasa ve^ " ry great Freethinker. He not only dilbelieved *' the gods of his country, and the common creeds
" about them ; but obtained a jufl notion of
" the nature and attributes of God As a fur-
" ther evidence of his freethinking, Socrates had " the common fate of Freethinkers, to be cakimni- " ated in his hfe-timefor an Atheill ; (tho' the God " Apollo by his oracle declared him the vvifeft man " upon earth) and at length fuifered that punilh- ment for freethinking, v^hich knavery and folly, whenever they are arrived to a due pitch, and are well confederated together, are ever ready *' to inflict on all thofe who have the honefty and " courage to endeavour to imitate him." Upon which, by the way, one cannot but obferve, that as our prefent Freethinkers have little ground upon- which to claim an intereft in Socrates^ who believed revelation and confeffed its necefTuy, againll both which they are pleafed to declare ; fo if the num- ber of Deills be in proportion to the inftances of honelly and courage in imitating Socrates^ one may venture to fiiy, there are at this day few or none • of that character.
After this manner, the Deifls defend their virtue and innocence. And if fuch fpeculations are judged fufficient to vindicate their conduct, or to fliew, that in their oppofition to effabliflied opinions, they liearkcn only to the dictates of honefty, and are go- verned by no worldly confideration ; fmce the Apo- flles, as I have hinted, were the moft open and de- termined Freethinkers that ever lived ; mud not the fame fpeculations equally juftify their conduct, and fatisfy the world, that in the oppofition they made to the eftablilhed opinions of their day, both among Jews and Heathens, they were fincere and
honeft,
Sect. XVI. Chrijii an Revelation, 219
.lione{l, and felt nothing from the power of any worldly motive whatfoever? So that while the De- ifls, upon fuch topics, would induce the world to confefs, they are themfelves fair, honeft men •, it is to be feared, that their attacking the character of the Apollles, clearly fupported by the fame topics, may chance, with fome people, to ruin all the force of this fpeculative argument in their own favour, and (till to keep their honefty in queftion. But it is not fpeculation only upon which we can fettle the character of the Apotfles ; there are numberlefs phanomena^ plain matters of fad*, in their courfe of life, from whence we can aflliredly know, what were the particular, inward fprings, whereby they were moved and diredled in the profecution of their Minitlry. Of thofe matters of fact I have mention- ed fo many in the preceeding Se^ions^ and upon thofe 1 appeal to the conlcioufnefs of every man, Deid or Chriftian, who confiders human nature, or vi^ho at- tends to the operations of his own mind ; whether a fet of Impolfors, having their views fixed on a de- terminate end of a fecular nature, v,^.ould have aded the part the Apollles did in the propagation of the Gofpel ? In my apprehenfion, the principles of hu- man nature, as they would infallibly operate in fuch particular circumftances, do loudly proclaim quite the contrary. Groundlefs, therefore, and unnatu- ral is the fufpicion of thofe who ar^ called fceptical, '^ That the holy Records themfelves are no other " than the pure invention, or artificial compile- '' ment of an interefted party, in behalf of the '^ richeil corporation, and moll profitable monopo- '^ ly which could be erecfed in the world (/^)/^ A molt violent contradiction to the vvliole tenor of
the
'\K) Charadlerid. vol. iii. p. 1 18,
220 The Truth of the Sect. XVI.
the Apoflles condncl, who ftridlly command their fuccelTors in office, to entertain the fame fentiments, and to acl upon the fame principles, wherein they had gone before them. Let thofe imhappy men, who proPcitiite the facred office, and bafely pervert it to a gainful trade, anfwcr for their condud, con- demned by the Apollles, and by all good men (/).
1 Ihctll
(/) To enter into holy orders, or to afTame tlie_chara£ler cf a Minifter of the Gofpel, only with a view to grjfp at the reve- nues of the church, and upon thcfe to live in the gratification of worldly appetites, without any regard to the laws and intcrell of the Gofpel, is moft certainly, beyond exprefiion, wicked and in- famous. Among other melancholy confequence.-^. it gives a han- dle to fome inconhderate. people, who fet up for Philofophcrs, to deny the truth and utefulnefs of the Lhriftian Revelation. But, as Philolbphers do not feem, in their profeffion, to adl a more honourable part, will any man fay, that, from their vitious lives, one may reafonably conclude the falfliood and ufelefnefs of philofophy ? Let us hear Cicero upon the lubjedl:
Quotufquifque, fays he, Fhilofophorum invenitur, qui fit ita moratas, ita animo ac vita conilitutus, ut ratio poflulat ? Qji difciplinam fuam, non oHentationem fcientise, fed legem vitas pu- tet ? Qui obtemperet ipfe fibi et decretis fuis pareat ? Videre li- cet alios tanta levitate et jaftatione iis ut fuerit non didiciffe me- lius: alios pecunice cupidos, glori^e nonnullos, mulos lib dinum fervos: ut cum eorum vita mirab. liter pugnet oraiio Qjod quidom mihi videtur efie turpiiTimum- Philofophus -n ratione vitae peccans, hoc turpior eft, quod in officio, cujus magifter efie vult, labitur, artemque vitae profcfiiis, deliriquit in vita. Upon which it is objected : Nonne verendum igitur, fi efl: ita, ut dic:s, ne philo- fophiam falfa gloria exorne^ ? Quod eil enim maju- ar^umen- tum, nihil earn protfeffe, quam quofdam perfectos Ph.lofophos turpiter vivere r To this Cicero anfwers : Nullum vero id qui- dem ar^umsntum eft. Nam ut agri non omnes frugiieri funt, qui colnn ur ;— nc animi non omnes cuiti fructum feru; t. At- que, ut in eodeuj funili verfer, ut ager, quamvis frtilis, fine cultura fruduofus Q{iQ non potcft ; fic fine doftrina animus. Ita eft utraque res fine altera debilis Cultura autem animi philofo- phia eft : hsc extrahit vit'a radicitus, et prxparar animos ad fatus accipiendos, eaque m-indat his, et, ut ita ^icam, ferit, qux adul- ta frudus ubtrrimos ftrant. 2 Tufcul. cap. 4. 5. Ail this is. findy ilJul!rated, Matth. xiii.
Sect. XVI. Chrijlian Revelation. 221
I Ihall only fay, whatever ground there may be now, from the mean conducl of fome of the Clergy, for this imputation, every impartial man will allow, there was not the fhadow of one in the days of the Apoltles {m) •, who, lor themfelves, as to this life, had no profpect, and met with nothing but mifery. And can it be imagined, that with great chearful- nets, they designedly bore all the hardlhips of this world, that their fucceirors might fecurely riot in all its profufenefs and luxuries.
Thus, having vindicated the charadcr of the A- poltles, by the lame reafoning whereby the Deiils go about to clear themfelves ; let me next propofe to the confideration of every thinking Deift, whe- ther the character of the Apoitles has not Hill as good a title to their favourable opinion, as that of Socrates can have, in whofe commendation they are fo loud and frequent I
This wonderful man, who dcferved a better fate, falling a facrifice to the infidelity of his ignorant and malicious countrymen, proceeds in his defence, be- fore his Judges, after this manner : '' Now (fays '' he) that I am a perfon of whom it may be pre- " fumed, I am lent to you of God, you may learn '' from hence ; It looks not like any thing human, " that, neglcvfting all my own private concern - '- ments, and perlilling in this neglect for fo many "• years, I fliould be continually attending your in- *' tereits, and addreffing every man fingly, like a '■^ father or an elder brother, recommend to people ^' to be mindful of virtue. If thereby indeed 1 pro-
'* moted
3¥. ot'jv Ti 70 TcfuTsy ivKoyo)^ CTTcvo^iy. Orif^. contra Celf. b. ili. p. 1 17.
222 The Truth of the Sect. XVI.
'' nioted any piirticular end of my own, and made " gain of my inilructions, there might be fome " reafon to fiifpecl me. But you yourfelves fee, *' that my accufcrs, who have fhamefully accufed '^ me of every thing elfe, have not had the face to '' charge me with any thing of that nature, alled- " ging, that I ever, at any time, either received or " demanded a reward. And, as a full proof, in *' my.apprehenfion, of my innocence, I propofe to *' you my poverty {n). For the fake of the fer- " vice of God (fays he) I chufe to live in extreme ^^ poverty/' Now, if this vindication be of any force, as I think it is, in the cafe of Socrates^ I leave it to the Deills to inform the world, why the like vindication, fupported by much ftronger circum- llances, muft not be confelled of equal force in clear- ing the Apoitles ? Again,
As I have before obferved, upon the fingle in- llance of Socrales's Hiewing himfelf in the theatre, ■while the Poet was expofmg him to public ridicule, Lord Shafte/bury concludes, '' There could be. in
" the
(nj O'ti cT' lyoo Tvy)(_oLyco uv toi^to^ btoc vtto rv S'SV t>i rroxei iiS^'oo^ai, h^ivA a.v x.aruvo};o-aiTi. « ya.f> ay^fcoTr/y^ toiy.i TO iy.i ruv- yXv iixivr'n a-rccvrcoy ny-iXyiKtyoiij ^ avi^ia^cii rc^y oiKUooy a.uzKsy.ivuv roixvrcL nayi iryj, to al vuin^ov rrf^OLT^eiy ah^ iS'/x 't>caVw TT^odicyTO.^ u(T7rif> TTXTi^x n aoi\<^lv rrfio-livTif'oy, TTii^cyrci tTnuiKeid^oLi otpiTij^. ^ ei julv toi ri arro tmtqv oLTr'tKauov^ ^ uli<7^ov Kay.^oiywv roivra 7roti^iy.i7^i'Jo- y-'Ay ^ ei^iv ay tux Koyoy yvv at opa>Ti an Kj avToi oti ot xa-
TYiyo^Ql TCiKKOi TTUyTOL VTO)^ Ciyai^VVTU^ KCLTy]y'of»iyTi^y T>^T9
ye \s^ uot Ti iyiyovTo oi^civaiOy(yyTr,<Toct, 'na.fo.'^o^u.ivci //a^ry/^a, , wc tyco TTOTi Tivcl ^ iTToa^ccyyiv fJJd^ov n yiTyifToc, iKccyoy y^^^ otuaij iyu Trapi^ouai tIv y^a^Tv^a^ wc cl\y^y\ KiyQ^ tw tts- w'ac. "lat. Apolog. Socrat. p. 31. A. vol. i. 'Ek Ttiyix y.v^U etyjy Sri Tnv tZ ^e^ kolt ^u xy „ ^D'*^' P* 23. B.
Sect. XVI. Chrifiian Revelatm, 223
^' the world no greater teftimony of the invincible " goodnefs of the man, nor a greater demonftra- " tion, that there was no impoilure either in his " character or opinions." What ihall we then fay of the Apoftles, who prefent their Mailer on the theatre of the world, drelTed up in all the ridicule of mock-majetly, having en him a fcarlet rohe^ with a crown of thorns upon his head^ and a reed in his right handy while a band of foldiers bo-wed the knee before him, and mocked hi'm^ l^iying, Hail King of the Jews {o) \ What Ihall we fay of their repreienting him amidil his enemies, (landing blind-folded^ and thofe about him ft r iking him on the f ace ^ and afiing him^ fay- ing, prophefy who is it that f mote thee (p) ? If it was good humour in Socrates ^ and an unanfwerable vin- dication of his charader and opinions, to iliew his real figure in the theatre, that it might be compared with a man in a bafl^et hanging in the air ; is it not as, good humour in the Apoilles, and as tho- rough a vindication of their character and opinions, when, in the cafe of their Mafter, with whom they mull Ihare every thing, they fet his true and his falfe by one another, or leave it to the world to compare his real figure with that which his witty enemies had brought as his reprefentative on the ftage ? But not only do the ApoRles reprcfent their Mafler with all the ridicule about him, in which his enemies expofed him^ and which mull rebound upon themfelves, but they further confefs, that they themfelves, in particular, were every where made the objed:s of raillery and derifion. Upon their very firll appearance in the fervice of the Gofpel, they tell us they were openly ridiculed, as men lull of new wine (^) ; and that ever after they continued
to
ip) Matth. xxvii. 28, 29. (/>) Luke xxii. 64.
\j) Adsii. 13.
224 "^^^ Truth of the Sect. XVI.
to be made a gazing-ftock i>y reproaches^ a fpeBade unto the world , and to Angels^ and to men (r).
The noble Author jull now mentioned, is per- fuaded, that had the truth of the Gofpel been any- way furniountable, the Heathen would have bid much fairer for (ilencing it, if they had chofen to bring our primitive Founders upon the ftage in a plealanter way than that of bear-fkins and pitch- barrels (j). But in the then flate of things, what occafion was there for the aflillance of comedy in order toexpofe the Apoltles ? Could the Itage have reprefented any thing more ridiculous, than the A- pottles, in themfelves, to the view of mankind did really fecm to be? A dozen of poor, mean, illiterate creatures, in the condition of vagabonds, owning the authority of a dead man, crucified at Jerufalemy who, in his life-time, was loaded with mockery and reproaches, difperfing themfelves through the world, and v/andering about, fometimes fingly, and fometimes by pairs, in hunger, and thirlt, and cold, and nakednefs ; and yet boldly fetting up to con- found the wifdom of Philofopiiers, to overthrow the religion of nations, and upon the ruins of every other inflitution, againft all the powers on earth, to eftablilli their own principles ; at the fame time confident of fuccefs, and that, in fpite of hell itfelf, their dodrines Hiould prevail, not only in their day, but after their death, to the end of the world 1 This, one fiiould think, was comedy enough, and being openly aded upon the (tage of the world, muft have expofed the Apoftles to much more ri- dicule, than any reprefentation, within the walls
of
(r) I Cor. iv. 9. Hebr. x. 33. The word 3-£ar/;/{o/^£j'o/, here ufed, properly fignifies their having been expofed upon the ftage.
[s) Character ift. vol. i. p. 29.
Sect. XVI. Chrijliajt Re'velafion> 22 j
of a houfe, could have done. I lay, could the flage have fet the Apoilles, and their enterprife, in an)dighc more ridiculous, than that whereby they adually ap- peared? To the Heathen world tbeGofpel was mere fool- ijhnefs{t). And we may believe that thofe Epicurean and Stoic philofophers, who encountered Paul at Athem^ were not fparing of their raillery in ridicu- ling that babler, as they called him («). But fo far was the ridicule every where thrown upon the Apoftles, from putting a damp upon their fpirits, that they went refolutely on in the profecution of their Miniliry •, and fo far was it from finking their reputation, or fupprelling their philofophy, the do- dtrines of the Gofpel, that they each increafed the more for it ; and they apparently grew to be more the envy of other teachers. They were not only contented to be ridiculed, but they bore it with good humour, nay, they gloried in their reproaches, the railleries they endured. Concerning St. Pau!^ in particular, this is the noble Author's opinion; " I do not, fays he, find that he declines the way " of wit or good humour ; but, without fufpicion " of his caufe, is willing generoufly to commit it to this proof, and try it againit the (harpnefs of any ridicule which might be offered (:>c).'' So that if ridicule, as fome people think, be the great teft of o|:>inions and charaders, the Apoflles having Hood it in all its different attacks, they were men of real truth and honefty, incapable of having any fort of impofture faftened upon them. In Ihort, they were men of great minds, fuperior to the ca- lamities of life,' they looked ridicule and calumny in Vol. II. F f the
(t) I Cor. i. 23. (h) Aas xvii. i8. (fc) Charaaerift, vol. I. p. 30.
((
226 The Truth of the Sect. XVI.
the face, and went on undiilurbed in the difchargc of their duty (jy).
Thus Lord Sbaftjhurfs vindication of Socrates ^ feenis to be of equal force to juftify the ApoAles. But as I have before hinted, a fmall degree of atten- tion will fatisfy us, that the character of the Apo- ftles is infinitely fuperior to whatever the world can afcribe to that great and good man. And without Hating the comparifon, in other inftances ;
By how much the diftinct genuine knowledge of the true God, and the certainty of a future ftate of rewards and puniihments, clearly taught and ex- plained by the Apoftles, are of confequence to man- kind, above a confufed knowledge of God, inclu* ding falfe deities as the objedls of worlliip, and fomc uncertain conjectures about an afterlife, given out by Socrates ; by fo much is the charader of the Apo- files preferable to that of the divined man that ever appeared in the Heathen world : And as it is infi- nitely more noble and generous, to attempt the re- formation and happinefs of all nations, which was the great defign of the Apoftles, than to attempt only the reformation and well-being of one fingle city, which was the cafe of Socrates ; fo the cha- racter of the Apoftles is infinitely more illuftrious than ih'^toi Socrates (z). Indeed, to refufe money,
freely
( y) Tod (jv-'jiy-jxcnoL ^ an Koiiooiai 'rniiy /jloi doKii cfwa^ai. iy.v ydf> celiac yVQju>]C KOil^avTOii^ kcltol KihvvTar idy dl ayiy~ Vtii; ^ TXTTiiyiK^ 't^vai, ^ « jn'oyov iKVTTYidi TToKKoLxi;, a\Ka ^
jucddviuivoi; iytKoi I TLoxfayfoi; (Pi oLTrny^ciTo, ^lian. var. hift. lib. 5, cap. 8. vid. lib. 2. cap. 13.
(Zj Tic: iiv 0 ao(pci}Tij>oc ; 0 ttokkms- ^^li^cov^ n 0 oKiydCy
/UOLKKOV <fi ^AyCC ; 0 TTifl 7llyi^(t>V Trit^CCY, n 0 TTift 7(£V f/.n
(Pmrcoy ;
Sect. XVI. Chrijltan Revelation. 227
freely to employ all one's time and labour, to bear poverty, and to fubmit to reproaches, and to death itfelf, in the fervice of reforming the world, and promoting the happinefs of our fellow creatures ; are glorious inilances of a moft magnanimous love towards mankind, and are to be found both in the Apoitles and Socrates. But to forefake one's houfe and goods, to leave one's relations, and friends, and good acquaintances, and one's native country, and to travel abroad through the wide world, every where opprefTed with want, with reproach and ridi- cule, with mifery of all forts, and worn out vyith dangers and hardihips, to die the molt cruel deaths, in recommending religion and virtue, and propaga- ting the happinefs of mankind, which was the cafe of the Apoltles ; as this is a fituation of life very different from one's living in peace, tho' poorly, at home with one's family, while one has all freedom. to go abroad to enjoy the company of one's friends ; but, among fome people, for the fake of one's inflru- dions, comes to be involved in calumny and re- proach, and at length happens to be condemned to a gentle death {a\ wherein onp has the comfort of
being
dilvruv ; TToaoL 'iKy.y.i likoiTCdy ^ ct xar avrov vn^) yfoLjUfxyiCt
•Oui^^, ^ ^0 iv cra^ec uttuv^ W£ Tniict^ rivoL tuv ock^ovtcoy tiru^ avryiK^iv ; 0 Si ^olvpos' c/lia iftoorooy iTrtiai^ -^ r>]v oDiMfjiivviv
TTi^l 0£« aioLKi'vpiit; Hj r/]c; koltol aky^^iioiv 'ivaif^iiac^ k^ tuc Ivayyihty.Jic ttoj^ithocc^ Hj tv\Q tuv uikkovtuy x-^/Vewf. ^ ttolvtclc iTToim'i' <t)LKo(j'o'^\ii;, Tuc o.yporK'dC^ Tyc idturx^. Chryioli. in I Cor. i. 25.
yap /3/« 70 y^y.Ki7r(!)rrxTov ctTriKiTn^ tuv J'l ^cx.ydTuy tm f'CCTO e- TiyeK. Xeiioph. Apol. Socrat, p. 707. C.
228 The Truth of the Sect. XVI.
being attended by one's friends, which was the cafe of Socrates ; I fay, as thefe two fituations of life are very different ; fo, if we nieafure the value, the ge- nerous ilrcngth of one's love towards mankind, from the compafs wherein one exerts it, and the hard- fhips one chearfully undergoes in ferving the inter- eits of one's fellows ; the love of mankind mnlf ap- peir with an incomparably greater lultrein the cha. racier of the Apollles, than in that of Socrates (Jb),
I
{h) It fhould feem that Socrates might have faved his life, by fubmitting to a voluntary banifhment. But, to leave a vagabond, and to be perfecuted from lOA'n to town for the lake of his do- ftrines, this he could not endure the thoughts of. And therefore death before banifhment is his choice ; how ufelefs foever and ne- cefTary he apprehended his inftradtions were to mankind. (Akkol oy] (pvyyji; TiiUyiaojuai ; i(ycog yaf> av y.oi T«r« r/^Mo-a/re. TTOKKyi /Ay T ky fxi (piKo^v^ia i)(^oi, w ay^^a^ A^iivaioi^ et yT&,'C akoyt^o^ eijui, uQi fiv] Svyac^ai Koyili<j^oLi ^ori v^uet; juh IvTic TTcxircLi juv, »^ ctoi Ti. iyivitr^oLi iviyKetv tol^ i/Aoic diccr^il^dQ ^ rye ^'''yyc, a^^ vf/iv (}iCij>vrif>ai yiyovoici ^ i-rnp^oyun^cci^ U};i ^yireiTi duruv vvvl tXTraKxayyivxi. cx,KKoi J^l af>a ayraV oWvo-/ fioLdicoc. 7roKK\i yi Jej, cd oLvJ'pi^ A^nyccToi. y.cfKOQ yy av jjioi o ^ioQ eiyj, i^iK^ovTi TyihtyiwJt ay^f^co-^G} oLKKiiy f^ ccKKy]^ TroKicjt; ajueipto/Ayo) Kj iz,iKoLvvc/xiyco ^>jk. iv yaf> hid oti^ ottv] av \k^u^ T^iyovro^ iyM av.^oa(soyTai o'l yioi^ 0)77rif> iy^otdi. y.ay fjXv r^trvc
i.ay di fA.y) aTTiXavvG)^ 01 TMTOov Traii^iQ Ti>^ oixeioi^ at av7\i(; r\i7\*^.
-V V >i X ~ V « >' r '
1 (TWf My av 7;f eiTroi^ a/yoi' ri k r.axjyjav ay«i', a.' J:a';i^aTic, V^ 0/0? T i<jy\ YijAiv f^kA-Crwy ()1K ; Tsri o>i t^t Trccyru'v ^axtT^yra- rov TFHTUi Tiva<; v/jlc^v^ tay re yaf Kiyu oti rco 3-ew aTrc-t^eiv T^T is-/, ^ Sia 7\iT dJ'vvaToy n'^o'xjav ayonv^ « Tiiizi's^t y.oi oyq eiPconvojutyo). tav r av^ic Kiyco on ^ rvy^oLyet ij.'iyiQov aya^ov av^PCCTTU) TMTOy i){.dt;yjt; n^usfac yrif^i a^iTr,(; ry? Aoyyc ^o/e/3-a/, j^ rcov ahKuv tript coy uy.$ic f,ay ax.yert diaKiyofMyn^ ^ luavTov, ^ ahKM^ i^nd^ovToe;^ o iX a\i^iTa^og fiioc » (itQToc dy^owTCi)^
ravTcc
Sect. XVII. Chrijiian Revelation. 229
I would therefore ftiU hope, if the Deifts regard So- fr«/« as a charafter extremely valuable, and at an infinite diftance from all impolture of any fort, they will think freely and without prejudice, and enter- tain the fame favourable fentiments concerning the Apoftles.
SECT. XVII.
// beinz apparent that the Apoftles were no Impoftors ; if they were not rmlly animated from Heaven, no- thwg remains, but that they mufi have been Enthu- fwjls.
UT however abfolutely free from all intrigue
and impofture the Apoftles might in realon be
•^ held,
7 C ) So that however Socrates, as the Apoftles did, made it h>s foil concern to promote the happinefs of his own countrymen or cu.-
».; „V„L«. Id. ibid. p. 30. A.) Yet. upon the>r condemning hisinftruaions, he was far from aSing the g<=n"°"^ P/" *^ Apoftles did, who, being rejeaed by 'h^r countrymen the Tews, had the noble refoludon to turn to the Gentiles ; and were iorfiehtenedfrom doing good to mankind of all nations, by "he Sps and miferiet If a Ufe of vagrancy and perf^"""- The.r brave magnanimous condua is thus reported . " And the .. next Sabbath-day came aimoft the whole city oi Anfocn toge- " ther 10 hear the word of God. But when the Jew= '^'^ '^'^ .' multitudes, they were filled with envy, and fpake agamft t .ote .. Tngs which ^refpoken by Paul, contradifllng and^^Uf-
B
230 The Truth of the Sect. XVIL
held, yet from hence one cannot immediately con- chide, that the inftitution of reHgion they eftabH- fhed in the world, is of divine original. It is pof- fible for men to be flnosre and honeft, or to have no defign toimpofe upon other people, and yet thofe very men may impofe upon themfelves, they may apprehend they have a commilFion from Heaven to inilrud: mankind in fuch particular dodrines, and that a crown of glory is waiting them in another world as the reward of their miniftry ; while in truth, there is nothing in all this but pure fancy and delufion : So that we mufl next inquire, whether the Apoftles were not thus, mere unfortunate En- thufiafts. And indeed, I am apt to think, that what- ever be the original caufe of people's infidelity, whe- ther a proud felf-fufficiency, or a paflion for fingu- larity, or an averfion to the Clergy, or a ftrong pre- judice againftthe dodlrines of the Gofpel ;
One of the chief reafons whereby they would juftify their difbelief and contempt of the Chriftian inftitution, as an idle fancy they have taken up con- cerning the Apoilles, as if they were only a com- pany of poor deluded creatures, going about the world under the power of enthufiafm, and indif- creetly expofmg themfelves to all forts of miferies, without any commilTion from Heaven, to propagate the Gofpd, which was the only thing that involved
them
" pheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and faid ; ** It was neceflary that the word of God fhould firft have been *' fpoken to you : But feeing ye put it from you, and judge your- ** felves unworthy of everlalHng life, Lo, we turn to the Gentiles. " For fo hath the Lord commanded us, faying, I have fet ** thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou (houldeft be for *' falvation unto "the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles " heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the « I,ord.» Aas xiii. 44. 48.
Sect. XVIL Chnjlian Revelatwi. 23 1
them in all their fufferings. This, I fay, I vehe- mently fufpetfl is the cafe of our unbelievers. And therefore, to remove all fuch groundlefs prejudices, and to open people's minds to the jull character of the Apolllesj that fo the dod:rines which they taught the world may be received according to their true importance and certainty, 1 ihall, in the following SeAions, directly inquire into the nature of enthufiafm, and endeavour to make it manifefl, that the Apoltles were in no fort governed by fuch a wild extravagant principle. And as the doing jultice to this argument may oblige me to fet the fpirit of enthufiafm in a ftrong light; fo I hope no fober man will take offence at what I may happen to fay ; or imagine I have encroached upon the re- gard that is due to ferious godlinefs and religion. I can fafely fay, from my confcience, there is nothing farther from my thoughts and intention ; and I fliould count myfelf deferving the higheit cenfure, if I adted a part that brings along with it fo much prejudice to the real interefts of mankind, and which is fo inconfiltent with the Gofpel of our blef- fed Saviour, which I here profeiTedly undertake to defend.
In the mean time, fince I have unanfwerably cleared the Apoflles from the charge of impofture, not only by the fame arguments whereby our Deilfs go about to juftify themfelves, but by other arguments that appear tome incomparably ftronger ; and as upon this it follows of courfe, that the only way left whereby one can attempt to difcredit the teftimony of the Apoflles, is to prove them mere Enthufialts (which may feem to be the mod proba- ble imputation) I would prefume to beg of our Gentlemen Freethinkers, that in the following branch of our argument, they would condefcend to
go
^32 The Truth of the Sect. XVII.
go along with me, wltli that freedom of thought, wherein the mind, void of all biafs, clearly perceives the truth, and, be the confequences what they will^ chearfully embraces it, as its greateft good, its belt and moft valuable enjoyment. And as I thus invite thofe Gentlemen to favour me with their unbialTed attention ; fo I promife them, they fliall find me in mecknejs inftruBing thoje that oppofe themfelves •, // Gcd per adventure will give them repentance to the ac- knowledging cf the truth. At any rate, I am in hopes I fhall put them to filence,. or make them fenfible they have it not in their power to fliow the weaknefs or fallacy of my argument in vindication of the Apoftles, or to objedl any thing to the pre- judice of their character. This indeed bears the face of a challange : I confefs it is. And as man- kind are greatly delighted with the hillory of the rife and advancement, the declenfion and fall, the revolutions of Ifates and kingdoms, and all fuch e- vents as affedl public bodies and communities of men, I am confident, it w^ould be highly gratifying to the world, if our Deiils would, after the fame manner, give us an impartial diilincl account of the rife, the progrefs, and the prevalency of the Chriftian inifitution over the religions of the Ro- man empire. The condud:, and the fuccefs of the Apoitles, a few obfcure illiterate men, their boldly attacking, and, in the event, their adlually over- throwing all the religious inititutions then prevail- ing in the known world ; and, in place thereof, their eflablifliing a new fet of principles and doctrines, are phenomena in the moral world, the mofl extra- ordinary that ever happened among mankind. A curious inquifitive mind would like to fee the fprings and caufes of fuch flrange uncommon events, of fuch a wonderful revolution, clearly laid open
and
Sect. XVIL Chrljlian Revelation 233
and explained. Hicherto onr Deiils have done no- thing of this nature. They tell us in general, the /Lpottles were either knaves or vifionuries. But what iuilruclion or fatisfaction can this afford to a thinking confiderate mind ? Neither the Impollor nor the enthufiafm of the Apolflesare fo very obvious, as not to need a particular explication. If therefore our Infidels will condefcend to think, thatthe worldabout them have a title to be treated as reafonable beings, they mufl not dogmatife, they muff reafon, and by a fair rational dcdadion make us fenfible, that the con- dacl and fuccefs of the Apoftlcs, in relation to the Gofpcl of our Lord, are 'phanomena^ very extraor- dinary events, that owe their exilfence, either to knavery or enthufiafm. For my part, having fully explained the particular grounds upon which I relt my confidence, and upon which I would perfuade gainfayers, that the Apoftles were no Impoitors ; I fnall now proceed to the other branch of our ar- gument, and in like manner explain the particular reafons, upon which I am well alTured, and upon which, if I convert not Infidels, I am in hopes I I Ihall fully jutfify Chriif ians in their belief, that the Apollles were no Enthufiafls. And if the Deifts fhall find that my arguments do not here conclude in a fair vindication of the Apoilles, let them fliow their regard for truth, and their charity to mankind, in publifliing to the world wherein 1 have failed in my reafoning. But this they mull be left to do when chey fhall judge it convenient. I go on in the VdSk I have undertaken : And in order to dif- charge it in the belt manner I am able, in the man- ner that may prove moil fatisfying to the Reader, I fliall begin with an impartial explanation of the na- ture and influence of enthufiafm.
Vol. II. G e SECT.
234 3^^ "^ruth of the Sect. XVIIL
SECT. XVIIL
Wherein the Nature and Influence of religious Enthuftafm are impartially explained,
ENTHUSIASM, in the proper meaning of the word, fignifies dtvme inspiration* And of this there are two forts : One common and ordinary, confiding in thofe influences from Heaven, that are necelTary to form a really good man : And the o- ther, uncommon, of an extraordinary and miracu- lous nature, importing thofe illuminations and im- pulfes, which, upon Ibme fignal occafions, are impart- ed by the Divinity to thofe perfons whom he ia pleafed to employ in the execution of fome particu- lar defign*
As to the jirfl^- people in all ages have confelTed the truth of it : The Heathen, in many inttances, feem to acknowledge it : And every man who un- dertlands the Gofpel, muft certainly know, that it is an undoubted article of the Chriltian faith. Nor in fome cafes have mankind been backward in ad- mitting the latter : 'Tis pitrticularly after this man- ner that Chriftians contend, the Gofpel was at firft revealed and propagated in the world.
I willingly confcfs, that people's pretenfions to fupernatural illuminations and impulfes, have not always been well founded. Not to fpeak of defigned trick and impofture, from which 1 have juftified the Apoftles \ a man, merely by the Itrength of pure fancy and imagination, may come to conceit himfelf thus wonderfully animated ; Which, with us, in common language, is called en- thujiajm. And indeed, in fome circumftances, a religious contemplative mind feems to be in great
hazard
Sect. XVIII. thrijlian Revelation, 235
hazard of deviating into fuch flattering deceitful apprehenfions. Thus, if we confider the natural influence of things over intelligent minds,
So immenfely glorious is the nature and perfedli- ons of God, that a mind engaged in the devout con- templation of thofe fublime objedls, cannot mifs being fenfible of the warmell and moft ravilhing emotions. Thefe indeed are powerful encourage- ments to indulge ourfelves in thofe exalted meditati- ons, which, rightly managed, would raife an ambiti- on, that would effedually employ us in forming our- felves, as we are capable, upon thofe divine excel- lencies that are the objeds of our love and ad- miration. But a human foul, when under any fort of devout raptures, being very apt to be ex- ceedingly elated, and from its inward extafies of joy, to draw conclufions very much to its pwn advantange, wherein it conceits itfelf higji feated iu the peculiar favour and efteem of God ; one cannot but apprehend, that inluch circumilances, either a luxuriant and wanton fancy, or a gloomy and me- lancholy imagination, may come to expofe a man to very extravagant or very dangerous miftakes. For the mind, in its devout raptures, receiving the flattery of the proud or fullcn fancy, as if it were now a mighty favourite of Heaven ; and not being duly balanced by a juft u.nderftanding of the na- ture of things, is thereby deluded into a vain opini- on, that thefe manifcftations it thinks it has of the nature and excellencies of God, are fupernaturally communicated to its thoughts ; and thofe inward lavKhments it feels upon fuch pretended revelations, •^re divine joys poured in upon it by the immediate hand of God himfelf. And certain it is, when peo- ple fuffer themfelves, in the fervours of their devo- tion, to be carried away by the extravagant con- ceits
236 The Truth of the * Sect. XVIIL
ceits of an over-heated imagination, greatly fup- ported by the niechanifm of the body; there is no- thing in the world which they may not work them- felves to believe is fiipernaturally revealed and im- prefTed upon them by the divine Spirit. Nay, fuch people, amidfl their extraordinary emotions, having their thoughts, as they imagine, full of God ; and in the mighty warmth and elevation of their fpirits, fancying themfelves admitted to an immediate in- tercourfe with the Divinity ; .whatever may then chance fuddenly to flrike their imagination, provi- ded it fuits their hmiionr, and goes along with the commanding biafs of their mind, the flattering thought will prevail, it is darted in upon them im- mediately from Heaven.
With great care, therefore, ought the religious contemplative perfon to keep a Ibidt watch over all the emotions of his foul, left, in the heat of his devotion, he (hould be tranfported beyond the bounds of reafon and religion, and fall under the deluGve fuggeftions, or the wild ravings of a proud, fullen, irreguhir fancy, whereby people are in great danger of becoming vifionary to the ut- moit degree of extravagance, in all things whatfo- ever, whether they concern prefent opinion and pradice, or future events.
I am far from denying but that God may, and has manifefted himfelf to fome people in a miracu- lous and extraordinary manner, that has aiFecled them with very warm and fenfible emotions. But, I mufl beg leave to fliy, where there is one that has enjoyed this uncommon privilege in reality, there are thoufands who have had it only in mere pretence, conceit and delufion. And this pretend- ing, or extravagant conceit of being peculiarly blefs- ed with fuch fupprnatural communications from
Heaven,
Sect. XVIII. Chrifttan Revelatwu 237
Heaven, makes np the very life and foul of enthu- fiafm. So that
An Enthufiaft is one, who, in the courfe of his devotion, keeps not within the compafs of reafon and religion, but having given up himfelf to the power and influence of an over- heated fancy, is mechanically wrought up into fuch extraordina- ry heats and fervours, that he verily believes he is immediately under the benign emanations of Hea- ven, and has divine revelations made to him-, whilil there is nothing really in his cafe, but pure mecha- nifm and ilrong imagination.
Upon which I ihall obferve, there are two things that are effential to this characT:er, and in which the enthufiafm particularly confilts:
Firft^ The imagination being greatly chafed and heated, and therefore raifing in the machine an high tide of animal fpirits; there are thence fome inward emotions or fervours of foul, which feehng very warm and extraordinary, (while the mind un- der an apprehenfion of the divine prefence, in which it conceives itfelf immediately placed, is a- greeably filled with a kind of folemn gloomy awe and reverence,) are palTionately regarded as divine joys and endearing emanations flowing down di- redly from God himfelf.
Secondly, The mind, in fo melting a frame as it is nov/ under, being very foft and tender, and the things themfelves that are the fubjecl-matter of its devotion, and for v/hich it hopes God will declare himfelf, being fuch as fall in with its prevailing temper, or fome or other of its favourite norions, the impreffions it receives with refped: to thofe things, mull neceffarily prove deep and Ilrong ; and thefe ftrong impreffions being at the fame time accompanied with what is fondly thought to be fu-
pernatural
238 The Truth of the Sect. XVIIL
pernatural joys and raptures, riie extravagant con- ceit prevails, that thofe very things, which a- midll (iich heavenly raptures, are thus warmly im- prefTed, have certainly the immediate approbation and countenance of God. For,
'Tis to be remarked, that thofe inward heats and fervours, which are fenfibly felt by devout melan- choly minds, the common temper ot Enthufiafts, are always imagined to be the great feals of Heaven put upon thofe notions, whether of a fpeculative, or practical, or prophetic nature, that have come to fettle Itrongly on their fancies, whereby it is ex- prefsly declared, they are of divine original, and are jullified and fupported by the authority of God. And thus it happens, that as thofe heats and fer- vours do not always rife to the fame height, or con- tinue of an equal force or degree, but ebb and flow according to the various turns of a man's conftituti- on and temper, or his outward circumflances in the world ; fo it is in proportion to their influence, and the ftrength of the imprefTions of thofe things a- bout which his devotion happens to be employed^ that an Enthufiafl: fancies himfelf more or lefs coun- tenanced and infpired from above.
Now, in thofe two particulars, we have, in my apprehenfion, a juft enough view of the nature of enthufiafm. And let it be obferved, that a man may be thus vifionary, not only in thofe things which in themfelves are abfurd and wicked, but in fuch likewife as in their own nature are indifferent, and even in the moll undoubted truths of religion. This indeed muft always happen, jull according to the turns of a man's irregular imagination, which may fometimes chance to fix on proper or lawful objeds, and at other times prove out of meafure ex- travagant. And whatever be the objed, true or
falfe,
Sect. XVIII. Chrijlian Re'velatiort. 239
falfe, good or bad^ which an Enthufiafl may take into his devout contemplations, or upon which he may addrefs himfelf to the throne of grace, the warm way in which he performs his fpiritual exer- cifes, will foon heat the imagination, and raife in the mind thofe fervours which fuch people never fail to regard as div^ine heavenly influences. And this, I fay, is reckoned to put a ftamp of divinity upon whatever the mind is devoutly fixed on.
But what I would lead the reader particularly to confider, is, that as enthuliafm can have no bounds fet to it, and its only meafure is the extravagance of fancy ; fo people, in the power of this melanchol- ly diftemper^ may come to imagine they are illu- minated from Heaven^ when they figure to them- felves the wildefl and mofl extrav/agant abfurdities, which, the more abfurd and extravagant they are, may, in their conceit, have the better title to divini- ty, or immediate revelation : And by what is count- ted a divine impulfe, or a call from God, may zeal- loufly deftroy all the peace and order of the world, and commit the greateft outrages and barbarities ; not only in defence of their own wild imaginations, but in purfuing thofe things which they want to have ellablifhed, and which, in their own nature, may be good or indifferent. And all this feems re- ally unavoidable in the cafe of thofe perfons, in whom an enthufiaftic fpirit happens to prevail. For
Such high pretenders having given up themfelves to their own fancy and imagination, without any fixed principles that can bound them 5 and being accuftomed to feel fome very warm emotions in their minds, which are always apprehended to come immediately from Heaven, and which they always regard as fymbols of the divine prefence, endearing tokens of his peculiar love and favour towards them ;
they
240 The Truth of the Sect. XVIII.
they cannot but entertain an extravagant conceit of their own worth and excellency, as if they were the beloved, the peculiar people of God, to whom he hath revealed himfelf in fo extraordinary a man- ner. And thus viewing themfelves in high favour with the Deity, from which, they believe, the reft of mankind are excluded; it being ve- ry natural for the mind of man to be ever fond of ■ tnofe things that flatter his fullen pride and vanity, efpecially in fuch inllances, as raife him above the common rank of mortals ; hence thofe vifionaries have their minds always turned, in their gloomy manner, to contemplate God and heavenly things, and particularly the high ftation, to -which, they vainly think, they are exalted in the divine grace and favour. And with this fullen frame of devoti- on, which is continually hanging about them, do they fpiritualize and fancfify all things whatfoever, even the greateft abfurdities and the blacked -villa- nies, according as they happen tofuit their particu- lar temper and circumftances.
For thofe conceited people being fo far from fub- mitting themfelves to the government of reafon, that they look upon this dtm lights as they are plea- fed to call it, and all its fixed principles, and every ftated rule whatfoever, efpecially fuch as are of hu- man authority, to be fit only for common fervile fouls, and much below the notice of thofe who have immediate accefs to the fountain of all light, and who diftinclly perceive all the meafures of their be- haviour in fupernatural revelations ; whenever any growing imagination or paflion is like to fettle up- on their minds, which they have a ftrong incli- nation to indulge and purfue, they do not confult and hearken to the didates of reafon, but they take a more eafy and compendious, and as they judge.
Sect. XVIIL Chrijlian Uevehfiofu. 241
a more honourable methocl ; abuHng the language of men truly godly, and profaning the higheft pri- vilege mortals can enjoy, and without which man- kind would be miierable ; they go to God with it, and lay the matter before the Lord, as they are u- led to ipeak, and in their familiar and devout man- ner, implore his light and direction, and loudly call for an anfwer. Now, in their opinion, a favour- able anfwer of prayer (and they will have no other concerning thofe things they are fond ot) confifts in divine joys and raptures that feize upon the foul, and make it feniible of the immediate prefence and countenance of God. So that till they find fome- thingof this nature fpringing up within them, and warming and agitating their breails, they have re- ceived no return from Heaven; and therefore do they ftill infill, and, with great importunity, labour hard, till they wredle 'themfelves into thofe mechanical heats and emotions which they take for a gracious return to their fervent fupplications, and as a full ap- probation from God, in reference to thofe things about which they were confuking the throne of grace: Whereupon their minds are at eafe, and they make no doubt but they have the authority of Heaven to indulge their abfurd imaginations, or to parfue and gratify their villanous palFions. And what is able 10 check them in the courfe of their enthufiaftic aiadnefs ?
Such fanciful people being preferred, as they ima- gine, to fuch clofe communion, and near intimacy with God, that they verily believe (not from a par- ticipation of the divine nature, but from ftrong conceit and delufion) tlicy are his darling fons or daughters •, one can apprehend nothing fufficient to reltrain them from maintaining or purfuing any no- tion or ac^lion, how wild or wicked Ibever, to which
Vol. IL H h they
24a Ibe Truth of the Sect. XVIIL
they may have conceived a flrong inclination. For God, certainly, in their apprehenfion, will not con- demn any fort of grateful enjoyments, which his dear children^ to whom he is always indulging fuch lieavenly communications, have a hearty and paf- fionate liking for, and without which thcry could not
live any way comfortably. No: This would
make them look but very little in the efleem and fa- vour of Heaven, and rcprefent God vi^ithout that tender love and concern for them, which, in their own molt undoubted experience, they are well af- fured he indulgently bears them. And for their part, they are veryjCcnfcious to themtelves, that nothing is able to abate, far lefs extinguifli their holy zeal, their meltings affedions towards God : For whatever way they are employed, they are ftill in a religious mood, in a devout and fpiritual frame, and are always full of heavenly contemplations. So that, I fay, the mutual love and friendihip which thofe people have the impious prefumption to think, is e- Itabliihed between God and them, flill going- on^ without any interruption, and probably increafing to higher degrees of fervour and intimacy, whilll they are gratfying their worldly palfions and carnal appetites; what is it that can \}'ithold them frora giving a loofe to their wild notions, to all their moft vitious and mifchievous lulls and inclinations f Nothing, fure, can extinguifli that light, or over- bear that impulfe which they firmly believe to be com- municated to their minds immediately from Heaven. And how amazingly head-flrong and vigorous muft a man necelTarily prove, when his favourite opinions and commanding paffions, are all fhongly fupport- ed by a fupernatural light, and a divine impulfel It is impolTible but he muft exert himfelf with the molt furious zeal imaginable, when all his powers
arc
Sect. XVIII. Chrijllan Revelation, 243
are awakened, and pat upon theflretch, by a lively fenfe, that therein he is fortified and directed by the immediate hand of God himfelf.
And does not the charader, which the fullen pride of thofe gloomy vifionaries chufe to bcflow on the rell of mankind, give us to underlland, with what peace and quiet of confcience they will invade and iifurp upon the jull: rights and Hberties of other peo- ple, and reduce the foberpart of their fpecies to ruin andmifery! On the crazy imagination of men of their diilemper, we are all painted as mifcreants, infidels,
reprobates, and I know not what, as dogs that
devour the childreris bread. And having it in their power, will they fail to acquire the merit of doing jultice upon the enemies God, of afierting the liber- ties of his people and children, and of recovering thofe rights which tliey have from their heavenly Father, by calling out the wicked of the world, (all the human race except themfelves) from thofe comfortable pofTeifions which belong to their bet- ters ? Moil certainly, when people fall into the merciful hands of Enthufialb, if they efcape being cruelly butchered, they Ihall have oppreifion and flavery for their portion. Nor muft we negled to jnention one principle in particular, that fecms to prevail among thofe poor deluded creatures, where* by the whole of reafon and religion is intirely over- thrown, I mean this moft impious opinion, namely, the goodnefs of the end (which in their cafe, with- out doubt, is never but fimply and purely the glory of God) JanBifies all the means, be they what they will, that lead to it. Nay, as I have before hinted, by the fervency of their prayers, they are capable of putting a ilampof divinity on end and means, on every thing. I
244 ^'^^ ^^^^^^ ^f i^^ ^ Sect. XVIII.
I confefs, however, every Enthufiaft is not quite fo abandoned " as to be capable of committing any piece of villany whatever. This happens accord- ing to the particular coniVitutions and tempers of fach people-, whereof Tome, for inifance, maybe naturally fierce and barbarous, and others hum>ane and merciful; fome lafcivious and fenfual, and o- thers chafte and temperate ; fome ambitious and co- vetous, and others not obnoxious to thefe worldly paflions. So that very poffibly there may be perfons of thi? characl:er, who fo far retain fuch jull notions of the Deity, and of the authority of his laws, as ra- ther to hate and deteli every grofs enormity. But as I have above explained the natural tendency of enthu- fiafm ; fo what I have obferved proves but too true in experience : And when it happens otherwife, it is their natural tempers, or their outward worldly circumftances, and not their principles, which re- ft rain them.
Nevethelefs, I think, I may venture to fay, with- out breach of charity, there are not many of them who fcruple to allow thenifelves, in their own little tricks and knaveries, that are all fwallowed up in the depths of their dovotion, or that, like the fpots of the fun, are not difcernible to their own eyes, for the brightnefs that furrounds them. And one thing is certain, they are all, without exception, fo exceffively puffed up and felf-conceited, that they fet an ineftimable value on themfelves, and enter- tain a mean contemptible opinion of all other mor- tals : By which means, their minds are fo mifera- bly contracled, that they are notorious offenders againtt the divine lawof univerfal love and charity; and are fo far from allowing to other people, the free ufe and government of their own fenfe and rea- fon, that they would have the whole world to be
under
Sect. XVIII. Chriflian Revelation. 245
under their difcipline, to fubmit to their didlates, and to copy after them in all points whatfoever : And this they will always attempt, as the flrength of their enthufiafm may happen to prompt them, or as they may chance to be encouraged from the cir- cumftances of the world about them. In their gene- ral charader they put me much in mind of thele lines of the Poet,
Afperitas agreflis, el inconcinna^ gravifquSy §u^ fe commendat tonfa cute^ dent i bus atris ; Dum vult Ubertas mera dici^ veraque virtus,
f cilice t ut non
Sit mihi prima fides y etvere quod placet, ut non Acriter elatrem^ pratium atas' altera fordet {/).
Upon the whole, let the reader refled, whether he can j'-idge it pofTible for Enthufiails, in framing their own lives, to purfue, in all inftances, a manly regular courfe of focial behaviour ; and, for the conduift of other people, to propofe to the world, in every article, a juft rational fcheme of religion and virtue.
SECT. XIX.
Explaining [ome F articular s^ on which the Uruth and Force of the Argument feem to depend.
IN the preceeding Sedion I have endeavoured to lay open the true nature and real tendency of en- thufiafm, without fetting it in a falfe light, for the fake of my prefent argument. And, from what I have faid, becaufe they will be of ufe to us in the courfe of our reafoning, I ihall make thefe three obfervations; and as to thejuftnefs of them, I defire
the [c] Hor. Epifl. 18. ver. 6. 16. lib. i.
246 The Truth of the Sect. XIX.
the Reader may be pleafed to fatisfy himfelf, before he enters npon the following Sedtions ;
I. As I here only fpeak of religious Enthufialls, it may be obferved ; In whatever a man happens to be vifionary, that certainly mull have been the fubjedt- matter of his devotion : wherein having overltrained his puffions, and inflamed them into mechanical heats and fervours -, thefe fervours feeling very warm and extraordinary, he verily believes they are fupernatural.
II. it is impoflible that a man, with refpedl to thofe things againit which he is is violently prepofTefTed, can become an Enthufiall all of the fudden. For,
As enthufidfm mud always terminate or be con - verfant in thole matters, to which people Hand well difpofed, or toward which they have an inward biafs and propenfion, and even fuch things mufl have been for fome time encertained with good liking and approbation ; fo it is only after they have con- ceived a ftrong propenfion towards them, that their devotion, in fuch inftances, begins to be warm and elevated, fo as to fcre.w them up to thofe mechani- cal fervours, that are accounted fupernatural com- munications. Indeed, when a man's fancy is very much heated, fome fudden things may Hart in upon him, and ftrike him very furprizingly as unexpeded revelations : But as this manifertly implies, that his enthufiafm did not begin upon thofe objeds, (for it is amidil his enthufiaftic fervours he receives themj fo, unlefs they correfpond with his prevailing opi- nions and paffions, certain it is, he never will enter- tain them as divine truths or imprefTions. Hitherto, with a fettled indignation, he has been accuflomed to rejed them as quite contradidory to his ellablifh- ed notions of things, and wholly deftrudive of all thofe principles, of the certainty whereof he has
been.
Sect. XIX. Chriftian Revelation. 247
been, after a very fenfible manner, fupernaturally convinced and illuminated : How then is it pollible that fuch objects can appear to him in any other light, than in that wherein heretofore he never but beheld them f And regarding them in that light, muil not the fixed and unalterable averfion he bears to them, and the heavenly fervours he is now under, when fuch fudden fuggellions, fo repugnant to all his inward feelings and fentiments, are darted in upon him, ferve as a demonilration, that God im- mediately from heaven exprefsly commands him to abhor and rejed: them, as the fuggellions or tempta- tions of Satan.
And fmce a man, already an Enthufiaft, can ne- ver, in thofe particulars againll: which he is violent- ly prepofTefTed, become on a fudden purely vilionary, it may well be judged altogether impolTible for a man to begin his enthufiafm all of a fudden, in ap- prehending thofe things as undoubtedly true and highly eligible, declared to be fo, and as fuch im- prefTed upon him by the Divinity himfelf ; which very things, to that moment, in his cool and fober thoughts, he had all along condemned as mere falf- hood, and againll which he had all along entertain-, ed the ftrongeil and moft inveterate prejudices. Sufh a fudden turn, all at once, to enthufiafm of any degree, not to fpeak of what is furious and vi- blenr, plainly implies a total fudden change of a man's fixed fentiments, and an utter fudden extir- pation of all his ftubborn prejudices ; events abfo- folucely repugnant to the nature of things.
III. Every Enthufiaft being, more or lefs, under the influence of mere fancy or a diftempercd brain, muft, of courfe, in fome article or other, be found to a6t contrary to the plain diifcates of rcafon. And very manifeftly, if the enthufiafm fliall rife to fo
hi^h
248 The Truth of the Sect. XIX^
high a pitch, as, in fpite of all oppofitions and dan- gers, violently to pulh him on to propagate his do- ctrines, and eflablilh his principles upon the; ruins of whatever may happen to contradict him; it is impoffible but he mult become notoriouily guilty of many contradictions to the fixed principles of natu- ral religion. For,
Here, certainly, fo itrongly agitated, and fo ex- ceeding warm and furious is a man's imagination, that, under fuch violent commotions and excellive heats of fancy, he will not be able to reitrain him- felf, bat mull be hurried away into many open ab- furdities, into many wild extravagances in opinion, or practice, that will appear utterly inconfiifent with the impartial reafon of all mankind.
Having obferved thus much concerning the fpirit of enthufiafm. ; before I go on to confider the cafe of the Apoltles, 1 will ufe the freedom to make this propolition, which, I am well perfuaded, every honell man, every fincere lover of truth, will judge highly reafonable, and very readily comply with.
A3 thefe matters of fadt, namely^ the death, the refufi%ction, and afcenfion of Jefus Chrift^ upon the certainty whereof the truth of the Chriltian reve- lation depends, are events, neither in the nature of things impoffible, nor of themfelves, or, in their de- fign and tendency, unworthy the perfections of God to be immediately concerned in them ; a cir- CLimftance particularly to be regarded, and, in the whole of this argument, every where obvious : And as in my endeavouring to Ihew, that in the be- lief of thefe articles, or in their publiihing them to the world, the Apoltles were no Enthufialfs, I all along give the reafons that determine me to this o- pinion, fo 1 take it to be a plain^ dictate of common fenfe, that whoever thinks otherwife, if he means
to
Sect. XIX. Chtiflian Revelation. 249
to promote truth among m^mkind, ought to produce thofe particular reafons whereby he came to form his judgment, that the Apoftlcs, in fuch and fuch inllances, wereEnthuiiails. -It is an eafy matter for a fool or idiot, any the fiUielt creature upon earth, to make fuppofitions in genera], and to fay at random, // may be^ or, it anight have been fo dJ^d fo: But a wife man not only fatisfies his own mind from the evidence of the things themfelves, as far as their nature will permit him ; bat is willing and capable to communicate to the world thofe particular grounds upon which he builds his faith or opinions.
When, therefore, in any one inftancc wherein I endeavour to fliow the Apoilles were no Enthu- iiatls, another perfon happens to think otherwife, I hope he will not impofe upon himfelf by confufed fancy and fuppoficion, but Hop a while, and have the courage to look into his own breall, and im- partially examine what diftmcl particular reafons have there prevailed with him, and determined him to that fancy or fuppofition, wherein he differs from what I here lay before him, as fupported by fuch and fuch rational confiderations. This, I would fain think, is but fair dealing, common ju- ftice and equity, and ought religioufly to be ob- ferved in all points of -controverfy whatfoever. As for example, I give my reafons why I am well af- fured, that, with refped to the article of the a- fcenfion, the Apoftle were no Enthufiafts 3 and yet one may reprefent to himfelf thefe very men undet a thoufand images, wherein they will appear to him very delirious, adluated by (Irong fancy and delufi- on, that made them fee vifions in the air. But by what good reafon am I able to juftify my having conceived fuch an opinion of the Apoilles f I con-
Vol. II. 11 fult
250 Ihe Truth of the Sect. XX.
fuk my own mind, I coniider the nature and rela- tions of things, and, I confefs, I find no good reafon to fupport me in fuch an imagination ; fo that to perfifl in it, would defervedly expofe me to be counted full as vifionary, as any man in this article can reckon the Apoitles (^a). Thus far having laid down and explained the Preliminaries I judged neceiliiry ;
SECT. XX.
^he Apoftks are not liable to the Charge of Enthu- fiajm^ 7ieither from their focial CondnB^ nor from their Opinions concerning the Deity and natural Religion,
I Shall now fairly examine whether, in an}'- in- llance, the Apoilles can reafonably be charged with Enthufiafm. And, to bring this important queflion within a narrow compafs, and, at the fame time, to handle it with fome precifion and diilind- nefs, I fhall here obferve, there are two things in the cafe of the Apoilles, which we mull particularly confider ; namely.
Their condud and behaviour in the world, or thofe difpofitions which, in their courfe of life, they exprelfcd towards others. And then,
Thofe doctrines which they taught the world, i/?, Concerning the nature and attributes of God, and what regards natural religion : And, idly^ Con- cerning fejus Qhrijl,
And,
[a) Hoc ego Phllofophi non efle arbrtror, tefiibus uti j qui aut cafu veri, aut malitta falfi fidlique efl'e pofiunt. Argumen- tis et rationibus oportet, quare quidque ita fit, docere. Cic. de Divin. lib, 2. cap. 1 1.
Sect. XX. Chrifti an Revelation* 251
And, in one or other, or rather in all thefe, had the Apoilles been at all actuated by fuch an extra- vagant principle, malt they not have given us fome plain and undeniable proofs of their. Enthufiafm \
As to their condud and behaviour in the world : After what I have explained in confidering the for- mer article of Impoiture, I need here fay but little upon this head. 1 fuppofe no man will ferioufly main- tain, that they were engaged in the purfuit of any fenfual or worldly pafTion, or that in any part of their conduct they trefpalTed upon the rules of u- niverfal jultice and righteoufnefs. Their appeal is certainly well founded, and it can be counted no bold prefumption in them, when they call upon God and the world to witnefs, jn all inlhmces, the integrity of their hearts, and the unblaraeablenefs of their lives. And, indeed, the moib piercing eye is able to difcern, in their temper and behaviour, none of the dilbrders of an extravagant fimcy ; no- thing of a clownifh ruflicity, or of a fullen gloom acd melancholy ; no inftance of an imperious pride that cannot bear a contradiction ; or any the ieait fymptom of an impofmg and perfecuting fpi- rit ; which are all qualities infeparable from Enthu- fiafts, fuch efpecially as the i\po(tles, had they been. in the power of this diitemper, muft have been. On the contrary, excepting fome infirmities not altogether to be avoided in this ftate of imper- fection, the whole of their deportment is an orna- ment to human nature, and brings them the cha- racter of great and good men. In all their feveral relations and capacities, they acquit themfelves v/ith honour, and difcharge all the demands of fo- ber fenfe and unbialfed reafon. Thus there is a Hea- dy com[)ofure of mind, and a contlant uniformity
of
252 7he Truth of the Sect. XX.
of adtion, that Ihine forth in their zealous purfuit of their glorious enterprize : In their duty and devo- tion towards God, they always exert a regular manly elevation of foul : And in their behaviour to- wards their fellows, they never but exert all the feelings and fentiments of humanity ; not only are they religioufly juft and honeft, but they are kind and beneficent, courteous, meek and gentle, they are peaceable, compaffionate, patient and forgi- ving. In a word, the Apoflles are men of the molt heavenly affections, of the moft focial and chearful, the fweeteil, and the moil obliging dif- politions : And, in their endeavours to reform mankind, far from opprelling people's confciences, having fet before them their duty in the clearell and moll advantageous light, wherein they employ the linefl addrefs and infinuation (that would make us rather fufpecl them of what they are abfolutely free from, cunning and impofture) they leave every man to his own choice, and to anfwer for his condudlin another world, without pretending to fave mei^'s fouls by torturing their bodies.
I confefs, the Apoftles, particularly St. Pnul^ do value themfelves highly on their charader and office, and on fome peculiar advantages that had fallen to their lot. And, in this, all the world muft own, their judgment was governed by the nature of things: Without undervaluing other people, or exprelnng any negledl or contempt of them, they only do juilice to them.felves, in order to promote the great interefts of mankind. Thus likcwife Socrates^ without expofing his character to any fort of exception, was full and large in his own com- mendation (^). So that there is nothing here that can make us fufpecl them of enthyfiafm.
And
(«) Socrates introduces hi? felf- commendation, and begs the
indulgence
Sect. XX. Chrijiian Revelation, 253
And as to thofe dod:rines which they taught the
world,
of his Judges, much after the fame manner with the Apoftle in one of his Epiflles to the Corinthians. Only the life and fpirit, the handfome aodrefs of St. Paul feems to me incomparable.
Ka/ /Vcjf i^Xv ^'<jC,(^ Tiah vfxuv Trai'leiv, iv yAvroi /Ve, ttcl-
coLv vy.iv rnv ^hyi^etav ifoi. x^ y^oi^ u avd^iQ A^7)1^'a/o/,
y.Yi ^ofiuf^myiri- fjLV]<^iv^ av i'o^co ri vixiv (/.lycL KijetY. -ri^c
rov S-soK Toy h AiK<po''i^. ri «> ii^ut a^ioQ yrcL^eiv
roivT6^ uv 5 ayaS-o/ r/, u avi'i>i.(; A^nvouoi^ et &h yi yiCLTct rh d^ioLv TYi dxvi^eixriuad^i' ^ raura ye, aya'^ov roi>iTO¥ Oj Ti ay TTfiTfoi ejuoi. t/ »f vrf'iTret CLva^i vrivnTi tvi^ytry]^ aio-
fJLlVU OLyeW <^OKV\V tTTl TVI V/MTif><X, 7r0if>0iKihiV(T€1 j «)t iO"^ 0, Tt
^aAAoK, w aycPpi/; A^yiya7ci^ TrftTrc-i St£.)C, «C rh Toitsrcv av-
fPf^ah UfiVTOiviic,) (TiTeio^oLt. iVwc vv av tiq eiTroi^ (jtym re
^ yi<jv^iav aycovj do '^ooKfoLTi^^ «;)^ hoc t' ec-ii yjySiv l^tx^oiv ^Y,y 5 r'tij] Sh er/ Trdvrctiv "^axtTrctiTaTov vreiiai TivaQ vfjMV, loLY ri yap "^.iyu on rw ^ico aTret^eiv tut £5/, ^ aid t«t dcfvyarov r.TjyJay ayeiv^ v Treiiid^'i fxoi wc ei^uvivofj.ivc>}. Plat. Apol. Socrat. p. 20. D. E. p. 36. D- p. 37- E-
O ^£^01' y.yeiyidM [Xd /uixfoy ri rnc a(pPO(Tvyyjc' a\Ka ^
dvi)(i(j-^i ju\i^ ^yiKQ yap v^ac 0£,y ^w^w. v\ afAa^riav iTroi'
ma iy^avrh TfCtTreivZy ha Xiuetc v-^'cc^r.ri \ oti dcofiav ro r\i 0£« ivayyihiov ivyiyyiKKTajuyiv vfA'iv J rrahiv htyw^ y.n tic
jiii (Pot,yi a<ppova eiyai'' et dt //.'/! yi^ kolv uc a(^poya dit^aaut y.ty
"lya f/iKfiov ri nayu yLavy(j]<Juy.ai.'^ - ■ cida av^pcoTrov
on nfTrdyn iic to/ TrafdJ^iHaov. vTrlp r« Tcitir'n ytavyh-
uoyai- vttIp Siif/.avT>i m ■>ia-j')(h'joy.ai, u yn iv Ta7f aaf^heixic |ot«. idv yap ^iKn^oo •/.avyj.ia'j^ai^ \S',i 'iaoyai a't^pur aKr.^hav
yap ipu, yiyoya a(pPcov y.auycoy.ivoc' vuMC y^ 'Ay ay )(.a'j a-
ri' £}'w yap u(piKov v(p' vyjv (Tvvi<7a7^ai' vdiy yap v<=^'ipy](Tct
roov vTTip Kiav Ato^'okwv^ u Yj J/sk e\yi. r/ yap Uiy 0
7\iVi]^Y:Ti VTTtp rd; Koivrdc iKKKniriar^ ii yjA 'on u.vtoc iy<^ » KaTiydpy.;i(ja vyooy 5 yapiaa-i^t yoi ryiv adiKiav ravTHv^ 2 Cor. xi. I. 2. 7. 16. xii. 3. — 6. 11. 13. Through the whole of this Apology, there is the genteeleft wit, the fineil addref^ pof- fible, of which nO Enthufiaft can be capable.
^54 'T^^ ^^^^^ € i^^ Sect. XX.
world, concerning the nature and excellencies of God, and what regards natural religion ; therein the Apoflles open a new fcene of things unknown before to the Heathen world, and in all their fenti- ments and reafoning, they are clear, regular, and fober, without the darknefs, the perplexity, and ex- travagance of Enthufiafts. They renounce not only the falfc,' immoral gods of the Poets, but thofe other imaginary deities ignorantly maintained by Philo- fophers, and they declare for the exiftence only of one God, the firit Caufe of all things, the fole Au- thor of all being, life, and happinefs. They clearly explain the perfections of this infinite Mind, fo far as that knowledge is necefTary to exalt human na- ture, or to promote the moral happinei's of man- kind : And every thinking Deift will confefs, that their accounts approve themfelves to the purefb in- formations of reafon. They not only teach us a general Providence upholding and governing the univerfe, fuperintending every particular fyftem, and looking after every kingdom and every nation; but they beautifully defcribe a particular Provi- dence, taking care of every individual of the human fpecies, and concerning itfelf with the meanefl creature, every thing exifling, fo that the very hairs of our head are all numbered. Thus it is, that in their accounts of the only true God and his Provi- dence, a Being, according to them, of almighty power exerted in theprodudion, the formation, and government of the world, according to the meafures of infinite wifdom and goodnefs ; the Apoltles do infinitely furpafs all the learning of the Heathen world. And no lefs do they go beyond the great - eft height of their philofophy, in their dodrines concerning a future ftate. f
Upon
Sect. XX. Chrijlian Revelation: 255
Upon this article, they exprefs no hefitation or uncertainty, no contradidlory fentiments, but are always firm and pofitive, always confiltent and uni- form. Nor do they take up with thofe reprefenta- tions of another world, that are given out by Poets and Fhilofophers. The future entertainments they fet to view and propofe to mankind, are worthy of God to bellow, and of rational minds to enjoy j they are fuch whofe profpe(5l neceffarily tends to prevent the bafenefs and degeneracy, and to ad- vance the refinement and perfedion of human na- man nature. To them^ who by patient continuance in well-doings feek for glory\ and honour^ and immortality \ to them eternal life^ in thofe divine enjoyments, fhall be awarded. But unto them that are contentious ^ and do not obey the truth ^ but obey unrighteoufnefs ; indig- nation arid wrath. For tribulation and anguijh will feize iifon every foul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew firfi^ and alfo of the Gentile : But glory ^ honour ^ and peace is a fure inheritance to every man that worketb right eon fnefs^ to the Jew firft^ and alfo to the Gentile y for there is no refpe^i of per ferns with God {b^. And as the Apoflles do thus afford us the cleareft and moll rational account poflible, of thefe two funda- mental articles of natural religion, the being of God, and a future itate of rewards and puniih- ments ;
So they prefcribe to us a fyllem of laws, exaclly calculated to promote the glory of the great Head of the rational fociety, to elfablilh order in the world, and to carry on the happinefs of hum.an na- ture, of perfonal and focial life, in all inftances, in every llage of exiftence. Such is the nature of thofe laws, that putting our hearts and lives under
their
[h) R©m. ii. 7.— n.
256 The Truth of the Sect. XX,
their influence, we efcape the pollutions of this world, every moral turpitude and deformity 3 our minds are embellilhed with the image of God, we become partakers of the divine nature; and^here in our external adlions proving the inftruments of good, mutual comforts and blellings to one another, with thofe graces and virtues upon our fouls, at the end of our Chriftian courfe, we are taken up to the beatific vifion of God,, in the fociety of an innu- merable company of other happy and glorious fpi- rits, to eternity. Nor to thefe purpofes is the fined underftanding, the pureil reafon, able to conceive any fyftem of things better adapted. So that,
In the dodrines of the Gofpel, the Apolfles de- liver the world from all idolatry and fuperilition, and eft ablifh among mankind that wifdcm or philo- fophy that is from ahove^ which is firft pure^ then peaceable^ gentle^ eafy to be i7jtreated, full of mercy and good fruits^ without partiality^ and without hypocrify. It is pure religion^ and undefiled before God and the Fa- ther {c^. And this religion, which conlifts in the love of God, and the love of mankind, in all good- nefs, righteoufnefs, and truth ; of fuch confequence do the Apoftles reckon it to the happinefs of human minds, that they always reprefent it as indifpenfa- bly necelTary, in order to our being admitted into the heavenly manfions. though I fpeak^ fays the Apoftle, with the tongues of men and Angels^ and have not charity^ I am become as founding brafs, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophefy^ and underfland all myfieries^ and all knowledge ; and have not charity^ 1 am nothing. And though I befiow all my goods to feed the poor ; and though I give my body to he burned in the caufe of religion, and have not cha- rity^
(f) Jam. iii. 17. i. 27,
Sect. XX. Chrijlian Revelation, 257
rity^ it profit eth me nothing. Charity fuffereth long^ and is kind^ &c (^). How free and noble the fen- timents ! All this will appear manifell to every man who looks into the writings of the Apoilles. And in all this do they not dilcover a penetration of mind, and an extent of judgment, far beyond what the learned world ever knew before, and ab- folutely incompatible with the vifionary brain of an. Enthufiaft ?
At the fame time, how much foever the Apo- files themfelves are perfuaded of the truth and im- portance of thofe initrudlions which they delivered to mankind, yet they do not pretend to impofe them in the way of mere authority, or refufe to fubmic them to a fair and impartial examination. They confider men as reafonable creatures, and that religion does not confift in bodily motions or ver- bal profelFions, but in the fentiments and adions of the heart, arifmg from an inward conviction of mind ; and cannot therefore enter into the human foul, but in the way of reafon and argument. Hence it is, that the Apolf les highly commend the Jews of Berea,^ and have left upon their memory a fine re- putation, in recording, that Thefe were more noble than thofe in TheiTalonica, in that they received the Word with all the readinefs of mind, and fearched the Scriptures daily ^ whether thcfe things were f (e). In fhort, fo far were the Apoftles from requiring im- phcit faith or blind obedience, that they command people to prove all things^ and to hold faft that which is good (/) : Without which, there is no obferving of this other rule, wherein they enjoin their Difci- ciples, to he ready always to give an account to every man that afketh them a reafon of the hope that is in
Vol. 11. K k ' them,
[d] 1 Cor. xili. I.— 13. U) Aa. xvii. ii,
(f) 1 Their, V. 21.
258 The Truth of the Sect. XX-
them^ with meeknefs and fear {g)y void of all intempe- rate heat and unbecoming treatment, which always difoblige, but never convince the gainfayers ; while modelly and a refpedtfal carriage are wonderfully engaging.
And as the Apoftles encourage a rational in- quiry, fubmitting their dodrines to a free examina- tion; fo, in the cafe of diilerent opinions, either to- tally or in part, they conceive no angry or revenge- ful paffions, they are heated with no fpirit of per- fecution, an inhuman ungodly temper, contradictory to the whole evangelical inllitution ; but they leave every man to the judgment of God (h). This is their dodrine, full of good fenfe and humanity : // is the Lord that Judgetb. Therefore judge ncthin^ be* fore the time, untd the Lord come^ ijcho both will bring to light the hidden things of darknefs^ and will make manifeji the coiinals of the hearts : And thenfloall every man h^ve praife of God (z). PVe then^ fay they, that are jlrong, ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to pleafe ourfehes. Let every one of us pleafe his neighbour for his good to edification {k). For the Son of man came not to dejlroy men^s lives^ but to fave them (/).
Thus, in the doctrines of the Apoftles concern- ing natural religion, and in the whole of their con- dud:, there is a nobienefs of mind, with an intire command of thought; there is a clearnefs and ex- tent of judgment, a purity and rectitude of man- ners, of which no Enthufiafl was ever capable, and that cannot be equalled among mankind. And fince the Apoftles, thus far, were men of found and fober heads, of compofed and regular affedions, and always expreffed a llrong, raafculine piety and vir- tue^
(g) 1 Pet. iii. 15. {h) I Cor. v. 12, 13. Rom. xiv.
(i) I Cor. iv. 5. {k) Rom. xv. i, 2. (I) Luke ix. 56.
Sect. XXI. Chrijiian Revelatmi, 259
tue, one cannot but conceive, that hitherto they are wholly free of this melancholy dillemper. So that we Ihall proceed in our inquiry, and examine, whether any fymptoms of ic can be difcerned in what informations they alford the world concern- ing their Mejjxah,
SECT. XXI.
What was taught by the Apoftles in Relation to the Perfon and Kingdom <?/ Jefus Chrift, can^ in no De- gree, expofe them to the Charge of Enthuftafm,
AN D the Apoftles, in the whole of their fo- cial condud, and in all their fentimcnts with regard to God and natural religion, having been ablblutely free from every thing wild and vifionary, of neceflicy, the whole charge of enthufiafm againft them mult fall upon thofe doctrines which they teach us concerning Jefus Chrift. And, indeed, as the Apoltles, in every article of their doiftrine, and in all the inltances of their conduct in reference to both God and man, were, beyond queftion, fteadily and uniformly governed, according to the pureft in*- formations of reafon, and the noblcil and molt ge- nerous dictates of the fublimeft piety and virtue ; had they been, at the fame time, only mere Enthu- fiafts in thofe doctrines they have'publifhed in rela- tion to Jefus Chrift^ this I fliould have eiteemed as wonderful an event as ever happened ; an event, in my apprehenfion, in no wife conliltent with the na- ture of things. However, we Ihall here inquire, whether the Apoftles in thofe dodrines, can have tliis charge juftly laid againft them.
And,
26o The Truth of the Sect. XXI.
And, for this purpofe, I ihall confider the accounts which they give us, concerning thefe feveral parti- culars that fecm to be the great, fundamental arti- cles of the Chriftian faith, and wherein, if in any thing, they mult have been Enthufiafts, namely^ the pcrfon of Chrift^ the nature of his kingdom, his death, and refurreclion, and afcenfion.
But, before I enter upon this, I beg leave to re- mind my Reader of what I underiland by an Enthu- fiaft. He is one, who, in the courfe of his devotion, f which has always a mixture of melancholy and ex- travagancej comes to feci fuch warm and extraor- dinary emotions of foul, that without attending to the dictates of reafon, he ftrongly imagines he is un- der the immediate influences of heaven ; and there- fore concludes, that thofe things, be they what they will, which run itrongly in his mind, and are the fubject-matter of his devotion, and to which thefe fupernatural communications, as he fancies, are an- nexed, have the countenance and approbation of God, and are immediately imprclTed upon him by the divine Spirit.
Now, from hence (fmce the Apollles cannot pof- fibly be fufpecled of enthufiafm in any point what- foever, unlefs in thefe dodrines that relate imme- diately to Jefus Chrifl') it plainly follows, that the nature of Chnft\ perfon and kingdom, his death, refurredion, and afcenfion, were fo flrongly fettled on their fancy, in the fame view wherein they are reprefented to us in their writings, and were fo much the fubjed- matter of their devotion, that, in the warm contemplation thereof, they were mecha- nically wrought up into fuch extraordinary heats and fervours, that though thefe things were in themfelves mere fallhoods, and they knew them at firft to be fo, yet, in the courfe of thofe raptures, ■ ^ they
Sect. XXL Chrijlian Revelation, 26 r
they came at length to look upon them as mofl certain truths, that were miraculoafly confirmed and ratified to them by fupernatural revelations.
This, I conceive, niuft have been the cafe with the Apoilles, upon fuppofition that they were only vifionary in thefe points. And it is to be remark- ed, that, fince they are in no refped: liable to this imputation before they became the Difciples of Jefus Chrift, their enthufiafm mult have been begun, and carried on in their devout contemplation of thefe articles. But that nothing of this nature can be laid to their charge, will manifeilly appear from eonfidering what their real and undoubted fenti- ments were upon thefe feveral particulars, and how they flood affeded toward them, before they began, on the day of Fentecoft, to propagate the Gofpel to the world.
And firft of all, as to the perfon of Jefus Cbrift : It is to be regreted, that, in the explication of their notions concerning the perfon of the blcifed JefMSy fome fcholaitic Divines have introduced fuch terms and phrafcs, as feem not only empty founds, void of ail fenfe and meaning, but do either tempt people to deny the truth of the Chrilf ian revelation, and to become Infidels, or betray them into fuch opinions as differ nothing, when narrowly looked into, from the Sabellian^ or, which is much the fame, the Soci- nian herefy, whereby they feem to deny the Lord who made and faves the world. However, I am not here to explain at large, under what ideas the Apoilles in their writings reprefent the perfon of Jefus Chriji\ I fiiall only briefly obi erve, if a man will lay afide all the notions he has received, upon this great article of the Chriftian faith, from his education, and take his ideas of Jefus Chrijl^ jud as they occur to him in the New Tellament, he can- not
262 The Truth of the Sect. XXJ.
not but apprehend him, without giving any the leail fhock to his own, or the common realon of mankind, as a divine perfon, the only begotten Son of God (as well as the Son of man, brought forth into the world in the fullnefs of the time^ by whom all things were created that are in heaven^ and that are in earthy vifihle and invifible^ whether they be thrones^ or dofmnions^ or principalities^ or powers ; all things were created by him^ and for him^ ayid he is before all things^ and by him all things confifi^ he being over ail God hlejfed for ever. So that the Apoilles fet forth Je- ftis Chrifl to us, not only as the Son of man, but as the Son of God, polTeired of divine, infinite perfe- dions, in which he rs the brightnefs of his Father^ s glory ^ and the exprefs image of bis perfon. This is the account which, after the day of Pentecofl, the A- polfles give the world concerning the perfon of Je- fits Chrijl, And, as to the nature of his kingdom, from the fame period of time, the Apoifles give us to underliand what it is, not only in exprefs decla- rations, and from the particular laws of his govern- ment, but from what they tell us about his defign in coming into the world, and the report they make concerning the molt confiderable events of his Mi- niftry; 1 mean his death, his refurredlion, and afcen- fion. Upon the former article of Impofture, I have already explained, that as the Apoitles exprefsly de- clare, that the kingdom o^ Chrift is not of thisworld^ fo they give oiit no laws belonging to his govern- ment, but what are purely fpiritual, only aifecbing the fouls and confciences of men, and leaving the outward frame of things, in bodies politic, to be modelled and adjufted by civil Governors. Now, {fill purfuing the fame train of ideas, or minding only the fpiritual concernments of mankind, in no other light do they fet before ns the defign of
Chrijl'^
Sect. XXL Chri/lian Revelation. 263
Chrift's appearing on earth, his fubmitting himfelf to death, his rifing from the dead, and his afcending into Heaven. Thus, to give a Ihorc account of their doctrines upon thefe feveral articles concerning our Lord ;
In the matter of his defign in coming into this world, they expreisly declare, ht was manifefted to redeem us from all imq^uity^ and to purify unto himfelf a peculiar people zealous of good works. And, particu- larly, with refpedt to his death, they take notice, that he is therein the propitiation for the fins of the whole worlds and that without it there is no remiffon of fin. And upon his rcrurred:ion they oblerve, it was . abfolutely necefTary for our juftification ; for, unlefs he had rifen again from the dead, we had flill con- tinued in our fins. And as to his afcending into Heaven, this they tell us was likevvife necelTary, not only in order to his appearing before God with his atoning blood, thereby to purify or prepare hea- venly places for our reception, but from thence to derive upon our fouls the holy Ghoil, or the fuper- natural gifts and affiflances of the divine Spirit, to excite and fecond our hearty and conilant endeavours, to promote in ourfclves the great end of his death and refurredlion, the finifhing the tranfgreffion^ and the making an end of fin in our hearts and lives, and bringing in everlafting righteoufncfs through the whole courfe of our behaviour, whereby we are qualified for the purchafed pofifeflion, thole heavenly manfi- ons he is gone to prepare for us.
And thus do the Apofi:les reprefent Jefus Chrift to be the great Saviour of our fouls, and all along fet him forth in the merits and virtue of his death and refurredion, proclaiming an indemnity to the whole world ; and not only thus gracioufly offering to admit all mankind to mercy ; but giving us a
perfect
264 The Truth of the Sect. XXL
perfedl rule of righteoufnefs, which particularly re- lates CO the internal government of our minds and confciences ; and promifing us the inward fupplies of his holy Spirit, to fupport us in a Heady purfuic of univerlal holinefs ; at the fame time, encouraging us to a continued courfe of piety and virtue, by pro- pofing to us the eternal joys and felicities of heaven, as the great reward of our perfeverance. So that the kingdom of Jefus Chrift^ as we are taught by the i^poftles, is not cf this world ; he does not rule his fubjecfs in the pomp of grandeur, and according to the meafures of a fecular Monarch, but be ts ex- alted to he a Prince and a Saviour^ for to give repen- tance to Ifrael, and remijjlon cf Jins ; and by the power of his Spirit fecretly exerted upon our minds, to deliver us out of the hands cf thofe our enemies y our corrupt lufts and pafTions, that invade the life and happinefs of our fouls •, that being brought from dark- nefs to light ^ and from the power of Satan to God^ we might ferve him without fear in holinefs and righteouf- nefs all the days of our lives ; and, in the end, be made happy with himfelf in the prefence of God his Fa-" ther, among Angels and Saints to eternity. Thus, I fay, it appears, that the kingdom of Chnfi^ as from the day of Pentecofl it is all along reprefented, is intirely of a fpiritual nature.
Thefe are the views which the Apoftles give us of Jefus Chrift fo foon as they began their public Miniilry, and into which, it is fuppofed, they were led by enthuliafm. But how vaftly different are their former apprehenfions \
I will not here examine, what opinion the Apo- ftles had concerned the perfon of Jefus Chriflj be- fore they began their public Miniflry. I fhall only fay, upon this head, it is very obvious to me, that they did not apprehend him under that charadler in
which
SEct. XXI. Chriftiaji Re^veJafioH. i6§
which he is reprefentecj to us by St. Jobn^ in the firfl chapter of his Gofpel, and very frequently by the Apoitle Paul in his Epiflles.
But, as to the nature of his kingdom, certain it is^ that till the day of Pentecoft, they were fo far from having any notion that Jefus Ctjnft was to eifablifh in the world a fpiritual government, that does not aiFed: the fenfes and outward circumltances of man- kind, but relates only to the redemption of their fouls^ to their inward thoughts and confciences, and their future happinefs ; that they were manifelf ly car- tied away by thofe extravagant expectations, that univerfally prevailed among the Jews^ v/ith refpecl to the kingdom of their Meffias) and did all along firmly believe, he was to have erected among them a fecular empire, wherein he would reign, in great pomp and magniticence^ having all other nations un- der his dominion. And fo ilfongly did fuch things run in their minds, that they were frequently the fubjedl of their converfation ; and never doubting but they v/ere to be the prime Minifters of that kingdom, there fometimes arofe fuch warm difputes among them, about who ihould be preferred to the highetl pofts of that government, that, when they could not fettle the matter among themfelves, they were not aihamed to refer it immediately to J ejus Chriji, to be determined by his authority.
Nay, fo violently were they prepolTeircd in fa- vour of a worldly kingdom, and that their Mejjiak would triumph profperoufly over all oppofirions whatfoever, till he lliould raife and fettle the glory of his empire in this world ; that, till it actually hap-' pened, they had not the leaft imagination he would ever fall into the hands of his enemies, and be con- demned and crucified. This indeed was what they v^ere frequently, in very ex pre fs ternis, warned of ;-
Vol. 11. L 1 bus
266 The Truth of the Sect. XXL
but fo thoroughly were they confirmed in the quite contrary expeclations, that they could not poflibly conceive what was to be underltood when they were told plainly, The Son of Man Jhall he delivered unto the G entiles i and Jhall be mocked and fpite fully en- treated^ and fpitted on 5 and they fhall fcourge him^ and put him to deaths and the third day he fhall rife again. One would think, there is here fo great plainnefs of fpeech, that the moll fimple cannot pof- fibly fail to apprehend the meaning of it. But the Apoitles, never in the kafl calling in quellion thofe notions which they had formed of the kingdom of their Meffiah^ v^^ere not able to reconcile fuch things to their former undoubted fentiments; and there- fore were they utterly in the dark about them, and could by no means know what to make of them. Moft certainly, they had not the leaft fufpicion, that they imported that ihameful death, which Jefus Chrift fuffered at Jertifalem, And the Apoftle Peter^ in particular, fo much was he alarmed at fuch dread- ful contradidtions, as he thought, to the glory and majefty of Chrift and his kingdom, that he openly exprelfeth his indignation againfl them, and means no lefs than to rebuke his Mailer for fpeaking after fo odd and unaccountable a manner ; Be it far from thee J Lord^ this fhall not be unto thee! And tho' Je- fits Chrift^ on this occafion, did, with fome vehe- mence, declare to his Difciples, that, in thinking and fpeaking at this rate, they were an offence to him^ and did yiot favour the things that be of God^ but thofe that be of men ; and that if they would be his Difciples^ and follow him, they mull lay afide thofe thoughts of worldly power and greatnefs, and prepare them- felves to meet with all the calamities of life in his fervice : Yet, fo deeply was the perliiafion of a world- ly kingdom, to be fee up by their Meffas^ rooted in
their
Sect. XXI. Chrijlian Re/'delation. 267
their minds, that when their Mailer was on his way to Jerufaleniy in order to fuffer death, as he told them, they verily believed, notwithftanding all the reprelentations they had had to the contrary, that the kingdom of God would immediately appear^ i. e. that the Mejfiah would immediately ad^ume his royal character, and take upon him the government of their nation, and fliow himfelf their great and tri- umphant Deliverer.
The Apoftlcs, therefore, were under the flron- geft prejudices againfl the fpiritual government of Chrift Jefus^ and could not, without the deepell: hor- ror, think of his death and paffion. And how dreadfully muil they have been confounded, when they were eye-witneifes of the captivity and cruci- fixion of their mailer, of whom they had conceived fuch glorious expectations ! This fo unexpedted an e- vent could not but wholly defeat and ruin all their hopes and confidence, and fill them with the utmoil perplexities. And, indeed, during the whole of this amazing cataftrophe, they were like men at their wits end, and looked upon the intereil in which they had imbarked to be quite undone and ruined. — But, amidil their defiiair, being again revived by the refurredion of Jefus Chrift^ they immediately recover their hopes, and return to the old biafs of their minds, and go on again in the fame train of fecular ideas, to which, before his death, they had been accuilomed. So that, il:ill full of the prolpects of worldly power and grandeur for themfclves and their ^nation, above all other perfons and kingdoms upon earth, when they met together on Mount O- livet^ as witneiTes of the afccnfion of Jefus, they then ajked of him, faying^ Lord^ wilt thou at this time re- ftore the kingdom to Ifracl ? i. e. Wilt thou now de- hver this our nation from our prefent thraldom and
ilavery.
268 The Truth of the Sect. XXI,
flavery, and make ns now to triumph over all other na- tions in the world ? And, no doubt, rhey intendec} by this queftion to be informed, in what charader they thenifelves were to acl, (which they never thought would be lov/ and mean) in bringing abouE this dehverance, and in railing their nation to an univerfal monarchy. But all the anfwer they re- ceived was (;»), // is not for you to know the times or the feajons^ which the Father hath put in his own power: whereby they were manifeflly left under the full force of all their former prejudices and mifappre- henfions.
And therefore, upon the whole. The Apoftles, till the day of Pentecoil, were abfolutely igno- rant of the nature of Chrijl*s, kingdom, and never in the leatt dreamed of their being put upon propaga- ting through the world only a fpiritual government, whereby their Mafter was to reign only in the minds and confciences of men, in order to prepare their fouls for a Ifate of future happinefs. So far were they from apprehending any thing of this na- ture, that they were prejudiced in the moft invete- rate manner againit it, and were intirely devoted to the expectation of a fecular empire ; which, they imagined, would be carried on with vidory and tri- umph, till it ihould be firmly fettled in the ruin and overthrow of all their enemies, and eftabliilied on fuch fure foundations, as for ever after to be main- tained with great grandeur and magnificence.
Now, the Apollles having been all along thus involved, to the very day on which they JDegan their public Miniftry ♦, is it not manifeit, that if they were Enthulialls in the revelation of the Gof- pel, they mull have begun their enthufiafm all at once, and upon a fudden, in thof© points that never
were
{m) Ads i. 6, 7, .
Sect. XXL Chriflian Revelation. 269
were the fubjedl -matter of their devotion, and a- gainft which, to that very moment, they had been moft violently prepoffefled ? Which, from what I Jiave faid above, in the jirft and Jecond ohjervations^ at the beginning of the nineteenth Se5iion^ appears plainly impoffible.
And, indeed, fo utterly inconfiftent is fuch an e- vent with the nature of things, that one may ven* cure to challenge all the enemies of the Chriflian religion, to produce one fingle inftance of a man's having adled the Enthufiafi; in thofe things, which he has not been accuitomed to entertain with good liking and approbation ; or upon the foundation of any other religion than that wherein he has been e- ducated, or to which afterwards he has lor fome time turned his ftudy. So that the Apoftles, to the very day on which they began the propagation of the Gofpel, being not only wholly unacquainted with the nature and defign of Chrift's kingdom and government in the world, but having enter- tained fuch notions and fentiments as were directly oppofite to the whole fcheme of things that was in- tended, it is impoflible they could have been ani- mated, in the profecution of their Miniftry, by any degree of enthufiafm ; juft as impoffible, as it was for them to over heat their fancy with an excefs of devotion, upon the death of JefusCbrift^ the thoughts whereof they abhored as moft impious, and highly injurious to their Mailer; or upon his refurredion, which happened contrary to their expedation ; and peither of which, as they undoubtedly thought, according to the prejudices of the JeiJciJJj nation, had any religious defign ; at lealt, nothing in the world like to that, which from the day of Pen- fecolf, they all along reprcfented them to have, And no man, I ani fure, can ever be counted en-
thuliaflic
270 The T:ruth of the Sect. XXL
thufiaftic in thofe things that never were the fub- jed-matter of his devotion, nor at any time, fo much as in the lowell degree, the pleafing objedls of his religious thoughts. To afTert this, would indeed be extremely imaginary.
But what I am here mahitaining, is, I think, put beyond difpute, from the accounts which we have of the conduct of the Apoftles, in preaching the Gofpel to the Heathen world. As I have already •frequently obferved, the Jews not only expected their Mejfias would have erected among them a worldly kingdom, to be fupported in great pomp and glory ; but that he was likewife to have tri- umphed over all other nations, whom they ima- gined he would have fubdued under their dominion. So far therefore were they from apprehending, that the Gentile world were to be promoted to an equal ihare of the fame bleflings and felicities, whereof they themfelves were to be polTefled, that they con- fidered them no otherwife than as men devoted to deftrudion, or to be reduced into a ftate of fervi- tude, to maintain the grandeur of their empire. Now, in confequence of thefe national prejudices, and from the authority of fome particular laws in the Mofaical conifitution, whereby they were ex- prefsly forbid to have any fort of familiar inter- courfe with thofe of another nation, 'tis apparent, the Apoilles were of opinion, even for fome time after they underftood the nature of Chrift's king- dom, and had been employed in the profecution of their office, that all the Gentile world flood ex- cluded from- the covenant of gra,ce; and that it was not IcHvful to admit them to a participation of the privileges of the Gofpel. Upon which views of things, when they went about ^ the world in the work of their Miniliry, fo fcrupulpufly did they
obferve
SECt. XXI. Chrijiian Revelation. 271
obferve the preaching the Gofpel to noqe, but to thofe of their own nation and religion, that, when the Apoille Peter happened to extend his Miniftry to the Gentiles, this was thought to be fo great a breach of his duty, that when he came up to Jerufa- km, the reft of the Difciples openly condemned his conducl: in this initance, and brought him to give an account of it in public. From hence, I fay, it ma- nifeftly appears, that the Apoftles were all of the opinion, that the difpenfation of the Gofpel was to be confined to thofe of their own nation, and that they were ftrongly prejudiced againil its being ex- tended to the Heathen world.
Now, the quellion is. How came it about, that they all entered into other fentiments, and purfued a clean contrary practice, w^hile they travelled through the world, and difpenfed the bleflings of the Gofpel, at the hazard of their lives, to all nations under the fun ? And from plain matter of fad: it appears, that this change of their opinion and practice, in fpite of all their former prejudices, was not the eiled of enthufiafm, or of a groundlefs imagination ; that they had a command for it immediately from Hea- ven. For the Apoftle Peter^ in the vindication which he made of his conduct in relation to this ar- ticle, propofes to the Difciples at Jerufalem thefe four confiderations for their fatisfadion ; 1/, lays he (»), . " as I was in the city of Joppa praying, I '' faw a viiion, a certain velTel, as it had been a '' great flieet let down from Heaven by four cor- " ners, wherein there being all forts of beafts mixed *' together, both clean and unclean, I heard a voice " faying unto me, Arife^ Peter, Jlay and eat : But •< I, Itruck with horror at what I had hitherto " thought fo directly contrary to the law of God, ^ ' u laid,
(«) Ads xi. 5, SiC,
rjt The Truth of the Sect. XXI.
*' faid, Not fo^ Lord, for nothing common or unclean '' hath at any time entered into my mouth. But the " voice anfwered me again from Heaven, what God ^' hath cleanfed^ that call not thou common. And this *' was done thrice, and all was drawn up again to ** Heaven, idly^ He oblerves, that as he was re- " fleding what might be the meaning of this vifion, *' the Spirit faid unto him, Behuld three men feek '' thee^ aufe^ and go with them, o^dly,, He takes no- *' tice, that having gone along with thofe three " men to Cefarea,, to one Cornelius a Centurian, who *' had called together his kinfmen and near friends^ " and were waiting his coming ; as he began to *' preach to them the Gofpel of Jefus Chrifl, the *' holy Ghofi fell on all them that were pre fent^ as he '* had done on the Apoftles themf elves en the day of " Pentecoft ; and that looking upon this as a molt *' convincing evidence from Heaven, that God had •' accepted of the Gentiles to a participation of the *' Gofpel, he had commanded them to be baptized *' in the name of the Lord. 4/%, Being fenfible " that the ftrength of his vindication lay particu- larly in the certainty of thofe miraculous efTufi- ons of the holy Ghoft, poured down from Hea* " ven on Cornelius and his company, he appeals, for " the truth of this, to the teftimony.of fix brethren " that were then prefent, and wJifo had accompa- '* nied him from Joppa to JerufalemJ'
Thefe are the particular defences which the A- poftle Peter propofes to his Fellow- Difciples and A- poftles for their fatisfacfion. And from the. force of thefe confiderations they are fully convinced of the reafonablenefs and neceffity of his conduct, and ever after follow the famecourfe, and propagate the Gofpel to people of all nations, without diitinction. Nothing
therefore
iC
Sect. XXII, Chrijlian RevelatioUi %f^
therefore can be more manifefl, than that the Apoflles \veren6Enthufialb, when they carried the bleilingsof the Gofpel beyond thofe of there own nation and re- ligion, and pretended they had a- divine commifliori to difpenfe them to the Heathen world. And it be- ing thus evident, that they had it revealed to them from heaven, what was the extent of Chrift'% king- dome ; we muft neceiTarily conclude, they were af- ter the fame manner informed concerning the natur© of his Government.
SECT. XXII.
I'he Apojltes were no Enthiifiafts in what they relats concerning the Beath^ ReJurre5fiony and Afcenfion of Jefus Chrift.
I SHALL now proceed to confider, in the next place, what fituation of mind the Apoilles were in, with refpect to the death, refurreciion, and af* cenfion of Jefus Chrtft^ which are the great funda- mental articles of the Chriftian faith^ and wherein, if at all, they mull have been Enthufiails. But, be- fore I propofe any thing particularly on thefe feveral articles, I beg leave to obferve in general :
It would be carrying things to a llrange pitch of wild extravagance to imagine, that all thefe events happened only, and had their exigence no v/here elfe, but in the deluded fancies of the Apeliles. And yet, in fair reafoning, this is what a man will be forced to, if he alledges they were vilionary in any one of them. So that by this way of reckon- ing, '' the death of Chrift with all its particular cir- '' cumflances, was a tragedy acted only in the i- *' magination of the Apoflles : And when they tell
Vol. IL M m ''.' m,
274 ^^^ "^^^^^ 9f^i^^^ ' Sect. XXIL
" us, that on fach a particular day they went np " in company with Jefus himfelf to Mount Olivet ; *' that he was there openly among them ; and than " after he had difcourfed for fome time familiarly " with them^ he was fenilbly lifted up, and in the *' view of all prefent afcended into Heaven ; and *' that they immediately after this returned full of " joy in company with many others to Jerufakm
*' This was all a waking dream, there was no-
" thing of truth or reality in it, it was pure fancy " and illufion in all the particular parts of it." For, I fay, if we judge the Apoftles vifionary in one point, rnuli they not neceiTarily fall under the fame imputation in all ? Why truly, Unce thefe things are all matters or fa(!l, whereof one's fenfes are compe- tent judges, and the Apoflles were equally capable of underliandingthe certainty of every one of them ; if there be not fome particular reafons (which I am quite ignorant of, and iliall be glad to learn from any hand) that affect the teftimony of the Apollles in one article, more than in another, I am apt to think, we mull: , according to juflice, fuppofe them vifionary either in none, or in all.
And therefore, if it was by mere enthufiafm, that they faw Chrift among them on Mount Olivet ; that they heard him difcourfing with them ; and beheld him going up from thence into Heaven •, what can hinder us from being perfuaded, that it was only in the ' fame manner, by mere enthufiafm, that they were at that place, among fuch perfons, and that they came down, and returned to Jtrufalem? Were they not fully as capable of know whether Jefits Oorijl was there and then prefent among them, and whether he left them, and went upwards ; as whe- tlier they tbemfelves, or any body clfe were there, and whether they parted from one another, and
cam e
Sect. XXIL Chrtjlian Revelation. 275
came down in great companies ro return every roan to his own home ? I Ihall be glad to know what greater evidence there is upon one fide, than there is upon the other, And if tlie Apoftles mull needs be reckoned vifionary in the refurreclionand afcenfion of Jefus Chrifly why not hkewife in his being appre- hended, and condemned, and crucified, and buried, and in all the particulars that accompanied thefe fe- veral events ? It is not in the power of all the ene- mies of the Chriftian religion to lliow, that they were more competent judges of the latter than of the former, or that their teftimony is more to be depended on, in what relates to the crucifixion, than in what relates to the refurrection and afcenfi- on. And to charge them with enthufiafm in one article, and not in another, wherein they are ma- nifellly equally obnoxious, is againlt all the princi- ples of what can deferve the name of Freer hinking, and mofl certainly, can come from nothing but fuch prejudices, as miferably entangle the mind, and de- prive it of all freedom of thought. I am at no lofs to conceive what treatment I fhould meet with in the world,'^fhould I alTert, '* that Julius Cafar^ in " making his efcape from the Ifland of Pharus^ was *' drowned, and did not fave himfelf by fwimming, " as is confidently reported ; for that all the Hifto- *' rians who give this account of him, were led in- '' to it by ftrong fancy, and fome kind of enthufi- *' afm.'' And, in the mean time, no Infidel will find it poflible to ihow the contrary of this wild enough affertion, without the afliftance of thofe principles, which regarding all characters concerned, will ne- cefiarily prove the truth of the refurrcdion of Jefus^ and confecjuently, that the Apoftles were no Enthu- fiafts.
But
£76 7he Truth of the Sect. XXII,
But let us now particularly confider, what im- prefTions the Apoftles were under, with refped to the death,- refurredion, and afcenfion of their Mef- Jiab,
As to the death of Chrift^ this is an event, where- in, if there was no more to be faid of it, but that it happened at Jerufalem about 1 700 years ago, there is no man that would judge himfelf in the leail con- cerned. But it being fet forth to us as the only propitiatory lacrifice, on the confideration whereof, we have the offer of mercy and forgivenefs of fins i it is, in this view, of the kit confequence, and of in- finite concern to all mankind. I have already ob- ferved, that the Apoifles, in offering their crucified Mafter in this light to the world, were no Enthufi- afts. And let fome of our modern Infidels, whofe wild contradictious fpirit is of late mightily impro- ved, think what they will concerning the reality of the death of our Lord upon the crofs, it can never be counted a meer groundlefs conceit of the Apoftles, flowing from an over-heated imagination. It was certainly fp contradi^flory to all their expectations, and they were fo violently prepofTeffed againft the probability, or rather poffibility of the event, and they all along rejeded the thoughts of it with fo much averfion and abhorrence, that they could neT ver be induced tq entertain any the leail; fufpicion, that it would ever happen. Of neceffity, therefore, it muft have been the ilrongeft evidence imaginable, no lefs than ocular demonffration, that convinced Uiem, and made them publifli every where through the world, that Chnji fuffered death at Jfrufakm. And therefore.
To come, in the next place, to the refurredion of Jefi'.s Chrift : This likevvife is a mattei" of fact, that fell hnder the cognizance of their fenfes, and of the cer- tainty
Sect. XXII. Chri/lian Revelation. 277
tainty whereof the Apollles had all pofTible oppor- tanities to bs fully fatisfiecl. And, as I have already hinted, if they are not to be credited on this article, why do we admit their teiVimony in the fornier : It is by no means to be faid, that it is not the evidence x)f the Apollles, but that of other Hiftorians who have taken notice of, and handed down the hiflory of the crucifixion, which ought to induce the world to believe the truth of this event. For what is it in the cafe of the Apollles, that can make us rejed their teilimony, while that of others, who are not Chriflians, is admitted.
1 will take the liberty to obferve to our Gentle- men Freethinkers, there are none of thofe Writers upon whofe credit they receive the truth of the cru- cifixion, that were eye-witneffes of this matter of fad; and therefore they mult have had it only from the information of others. But what do they know concerning thofe others ? Can they tell us their character and circumftances, that we may un- derftand how far they are to be depended on f As for the Apollles, who were themfelves eye-witnefles, we know every thing of them, that can be thought necelTary to enable us to form a true judgment of the value of their evidence. And though they had had it only at fecondhand, yet wherein is their credit inferior to that of thofe Heathen Authors, from a regard to whofe reputation, fuch as deny the refur- redion, do neverthelefs believe the crucifixion ? For my own part, I am fully fatisfied, that the teili- mony of the Apollles in this article, is, on many accounts, far preferable to that of all others what- foever. To inllance in one particular proof for this purpofe, it is manifeft, to any conHderate man, that the Apollles were under the power of fuch violent prejudices againlt the death olJefusChrifi, and were
278 The Truth of the Sect. XXIL
fo fully pofleiTed of the firm belief, that he would live for ever {a), at leafl till he fhould triumph over all the enemies of their nation, and eftablifli the glory of their empire upon fuch fure foundations as ihould never be fliaken, that unlefs they had been upon the fpot, and with their eyes had feen his crucifixion, or at leafl, had had all the ftrongell evi- dence that the nature of things was able to aiford them, they would never have been prevailed on to believe, that fuch a death had befallen him. Upon which I will venture to fay, the man who refufes to give credit to the teflimony of the Apoftles in this article, muft at the fame rime overturn all the foundations of moral certainty, and run the world into the greateft fcepticifm and confufion. And I make not the lead fcruple to affirm, that if their e- vidence^ is good (as unqu eft ion ably it is) upon the crucifixion, it is no lefs valuable upon the refurre- clion ; nor is there any the leaft fhadow of reafon (upon attending to all the circumftances of thofe events) to difi^elieve them in one, and to give credit to them in the other. But what good reafon we have to depend on the teftimony of the Apoftles, with refped to this great article of the Chriftian faith, will appear from confidering, how once in their fife they flood affected towards it.
It is very obvious, that never were men upon earth lefs in a condition to work up their imagina- tion into any delirious or enthufiaftic ravings, than the Apoitles were at the time when the refurrec1:ion IS fiiid to have happened. For the fad misfortune that juft now had betallen them, the crucifixion of their Mufter; the fatal overthrow of that perfon from whom they expeded fo much glory and tri-
f umph,
[a) John xii 34.
Sect. XXII. Chrijiian Revelation, 279
iimph, had fo intirely broken and confounded all that fine fcheme of thoughts, which they had hi- therto fo fondly indulged, had funk them into fo helplefs and defperate a condition, alarming their fouls with the moll dreadful apprehenfions of im- pending dangers, that in fuch unhappy eircum- llances, they could not poflibly enjoy any compo- fure of mind, to form themfelves into any frame of devotion, but were certainly overwhelmed in the deepeil inward convulfions, and the greateft and inoit difhracfting perplexities \ a fituation of mind in no fort fufceptible of enthufiafm.
Befides, that the Apotlles, during the life of Jefus Chrifi^ having never once fufFered his death to enter into their thoughts as that which they imagined would ever happen, they could not be accuftomed to entertain any the leail profpedl or belief of his refurrection, fo as thereby to be prepared, from any biafs of mind, to have fuch a conceit to fettle upon their fancy, or to admit the truth of the fadl, upon flight grounds, or without full and convincing evi- dence ; On the contrary, from the natural conne- ction of our ideas, one cannot but conclude, that the way to the refurreclion, the death of their Lord, being fo very fhocking, and that which they fo vio- lently abhorred and rejed:ed, they could not but have, while Jefus was alive, as great an averfion to the one, as to the other; at which rate, by no means were they in the way to become Enthu- Haas.
And therefore, there being fo fmall a difrance of time betwixt the crucifixion and the refurrection, if the Apoftles were only fo many wild viflonarics with regard to this article, it is plain, their enuhu- fiafm mutl have been begun, carried on, and fcrew- ed up to the highcll pitch that ever madncfs or
frenzy
^8o 7he truth of the Sect. XXIL
frenzy was raifed to, within the compafs of but a few hours, and that in fpite of the moft Itubborn prejudices, in which they were all along involved ; nay, whilft they were under all the agonies and di- itradions of mind, wherewith all the mod dreadful and confounding difappointments could opprefs them : Which, from conlidering the nature of things, according to what I have formerly obferved, mull be elletmed abfolutely impoflible;
I have juit now hinted, that the Apoflles, during the life of Jefus Chrift^ were fo far from having any notion of his refurredion, that they were rather very (Irongly prejudiced againlt it. And it does not appear, that, after his death, they were in any better iituation ; nor, when one confiders their cir- cumftances, was it really poflible it could be fo. For, not to fpeak of that terrible difappointmcnt they had met withal, which had totally dafhed their hopes, and put an end to all their expedations ; and how they were thereby reduced to fo me- lancholy a pafs, that, at leaft, full of confufion and perplexity, they knew not what to think 5 we may realbnably conceive, that Chrift\ falling a facrifice to the malice and revenge of his enemies, being an event utterly deftrudive of all the notions they ever had of their Mefftah and his kingdom, they could have no good reafon to induce them to look for his refurredion. For, befides the Itrangenefs of the thing itfelf, viz. A man's raifing himfelf from the dead (which they might here think impofTible -, for they do not as yet feem to have had any notion of his divinity) the Apoftles being ftill tenacious of the expectation of a worldly kingdom under their ^Meffias^ they could imagine to themfelves no end, for v/hich he would come back from the dead again, that he might not have compaiTed much more ho- nourably^
Sect. XXllo Chrijiian Revelation, ^8i"
nourably, whild he was alive among them. And for JefiiS Chrift wholly to negled the end for which, as they conceived, he appeared, and which, while he was on earth, might have been accompRfhed more to his own glory, and the credit of his friends ; and Ihamefuiiy to fuffer death, and to rife again, with a view of doing no more, but to pnrfue tile fame very end which formerly he had intended: This they thought, as it really is, moil abfurd and unaccountable. Upon all which, one cannot but conclude, that theApoftles mull have been ftrongly fortified in their prejudices againft the refurredion o{Jejus\ and that they certahily gave up all for loft, upon his crucifixion, and had no hopes of his ever returning to life again, but ralhly confidered him as a perfgn in whom they had been fadly de- ceived or difappointed (¥),
What I have hitherto faid upon this article is taken from the principles of human nature,^ as they would operate upon people of the fame notions, or in the iame fituation and circumftances with the A- poftles. And, in fad, we have a very good con- firmation of all that is here advanced, from the ac- count which St. Mark gives us of their behaviour on the third day after the crucifixion.
This ELvangehft tells us (0, that on that very day, on which, in the judgment of our Saviour {d)y they ought to have been joyfully expeding the re- furredion, according as it had been foretold them, they were together, imparting their forrows to one
Vol. II. N n another,
«/,wK Chryfoft. in i Cor. i. 31. p. 270. And in th.s light muft they not have apprehended him, while they had no hopes of his rifing to life again? So that the Englilh of Chryfoftom s language, in the former edition, needed not to have given 1«
much offence. , ,s ,r.j. t v • .«
(c) Mark xvi. 10, il. W Vid. Job. xiv. 28,
282 The Truth of the Sect. XXIL
another, and like fo many poor, hopelefs creatures, weeping over their fad misfortunes and difappoint- ments, which they thought to be fo far beyond re- medy, that they could not believe Mary Magdalene^ and other v/omen, who. came and told them, that Jefiis was r'lfen^ and that they had feen him ; but looked upon all the accounts which they had of this extraordinary event, as fo many idle tales (^), and which therefore they rejeded, as the eiiedls of mere fancy and delufion.
And indeed they were all of them fo far from be- ing forward in admitting for a truth, this elTencial point of the Chriftian religion, that it ihould rather feem, they were moll unreafonably incredulous, and ftrangely obftinate in the prejudices they had againft it. For, do they not abfolutely refufe to give cre- dit to one another in this article \ Indeed, they re- nounce all hum.an teftimony ; they will not trull to the relations which they have of it from any of their own company, though ever fo well vouched ; but continue unbelievers, till they are forced to yield to the teftimony of their own fenfes. Nay, one of them in particular judged it a matter fo ex- tremely incredible, that he rcjeded the tellimony of ten Apoltles, and of other Difciples, though they gave it concerning what they had themfelves feen diltindly; and declares openly, that nothing under the highelt and fulled evidence, even that of feeing with his own eyes, and feeling with his own hands, and nar- rowly examining into the truth of the fadl, as far as (not one, but) all his fenfes, that were capable of difcerning, would carry him, iliould be able to per- fuade and convince him. From which I am apt to think, that this Apollle, efpecially, looked upon Je- Jus Chrifi as one, by whofe means they had been
led
\e\ Luke xxiv . 1 1 .
Sect. XXII. Chrijlian Revelation, 283
led into the valneft and mod delufive expectations. But that they were all thus under the llrongell pre- judices, and had no hopes of the refurredion, will nianifeftly appear from the plain account which we have of their conduct, on this occafion ; which I fliall relate in the following manner:
*' Mary Magdalene, and fome other women, who " had conceived a very tender eileem towards "Je- " fus Chrift^ having attended his funerals, and taken *' particular notice of the place where the corps '' was laid, return home, and prepare fpices and o- ^* ther materials, with a defign to anoint the dead *' body on the third day after, the immediately fol- *' lowing being the Jewijh Sabbath. And for this *' purpofe, very early in the morning of the firft '* day of the week, having come to the place where '' the corps had been laid, they are mightily alarm- " ed, when they find the ftone rolled away from *•■ the door of the fepulchre, (for they had been fay- " ing among themfelves, as they were coming, who *' ft) all roll us away the ft one ftrom the door of the fe- " pulchre ? (for it was very great) and having no '' imagination of any thing, but that the dead body " was ilplen away, they are greatly perplexed, and '' know not what to do ; while, in the mean time, '■^ Mary Magdalene haftes back to the Apoftles Pe- '^ ter and John^ and with the deepelf concern ac- '^ quainrs them, that they had taken the Lord ouc " of the fepulchre, and, fay they, we know not where '^ they have laid him.
'' Upon this, thefe two Apodles,: greatly fur- " prized at the relation, run immediately to the (e- " pulchre, and having both of them gone down in- '' to the cave, they find the body gone, but law the '* linen cloaths lying, and the napkin that vi^as a- *' bout his head, wrapped together and laid in a
*' place
ti
284 The Truth of the Sect. XXIL
" place by itfelf. The Apoftle John was, from *' this, led into the fame opinion with the women, ^' and believed with them, that they had taken away *' the Lord out of the fepulchre. But the ApolUe " Peter is {truck with wonder and amazement at *' this which had come to pafs ; and though he had " certainly, on this occafion, many different refle- *' dions, yet it does not appear, that it ever once ^' entered into his thoughts, that Jefus was rifen. " So that both of them returned, one apprehending, that the body had been by fome people fecretly conveyed away ; (for as yet (/), as he owns himfelf, they knew not the Scripture^ i. e. the plain *' declarations of the Old Teftament concerning the ^' death of the Me£:as^ and that he muft rife again " from the dead) and the other wondering within " himfolf at that which had happened.
" But, as to Mary Magdalene^ her anxious con- *' cern not fuffering her to return, flie Hays behind, " and hangs on about the fepulchre, that, if pofFible, '^ Ihe might, fome how or other, get intelHgence *- whither the dead body was conveyed. And as *« fhe is in great diftrefs, weeping with a good deal *' of anxiety, fhe fees an Angel fitting upon the f ' ftone that was rolled away from the door of the *' fepulchre, who faid unto her and the reit of the *' women that were with her ; Fear not ye^ for 1 know that ye feek Jefus which was crucified-, he is not here^for he is rifen as he faiJ \ come fee the place where the Lord lay \ and go quickly^ and tell his Dif cipies that he is rifen from the dead. Upon which Mary Magdalene^ in obedience to the Angel, {looping down, and looking into the fepulchre, fhe fteih two other Angels in white, fitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where
" the (/J Joh. XX, 9,
CC
cc
Sect.XXIL. Chri/lian Revelation. . 28,5
" the body of J ejus had Iain ; and they fay unto " her, V/oman^ why weepeft thou ? She, it would feem, *^ not giving much credit to what the other Angel *' had told her, faith to them, becaufe they have ta- *' ken away my Lord^ and I knew not where they have " laid him. To which the Angels again anfwered, *' JVhy feek ye the living among the dead ? he is not *' here^ but is rijen ; rtmember how he /pake unto you '' when he was yet in Galilee^ J'^yi^^gy ^^^ '^^^ of man ** muji be delivered into the hands of finful men^ and *' be crucified^ and the tkrd day rife again,
'^ Thefe apparitions of Angels made Mary and *' her company greatly afraid; while at the fame '' time, the repeated alfurances they had from them *' of the refurredion filled them with great joy. " But, fo far were they from expecting fo extraordi- *'*nary an event, and fo little did they undcrlland* " what to make of this great fundamental article of *' the Chriftian faith, that the teftimony of three " Angels was not able to put them beyond doubt, " and to give them full fatisfaclion : For, as they *' are coining away in great hafte from the fepul- " chre, in order to inform the Difciples of what " had happened, Jefus himfelf appears to them, '' and faith unto Mary Magdalene^ Woman^ vjhy " weepeft thou? whom feekefi thou? She, fuppofing " him to be the Gardener, and her heart ftill mif- " giving her concerning the refurredion, faith un- " to him, w^ith no little concern upon her fpirit, " iSVr, if thou hafl bore him hence ^ tell me where thou " hafi laid him^ and I will take him away, Jefus, " faith unto her, Mary\ fhe in a fuprize, turneth " herfelf, and faith unto him, Rabboni ! and im- *' mediately falling down, clings about his feet. " But y^y?^^ faith unto her. Do not fpend time in thus '' fondly embracing me^ you will have occafion to fee < ■ *-"- me
286 The Truth of the Sect. XXIL
" me afterwards^ for I am not yet afcended to my Fa* *' ther^ being to flay for fome time upon earth ; but *' go to my Brethren^ and fay unto them^ I am alive ^ *' and in the way to afcend unto my Father and your *' Father^ and to my God, and your God, Where- " upon Mary Magdalene^ and the other women, '' having no room to doubt any longer, but, now *' that they had feen Jefus himfelf, being fully per- '' fuaded of the truth of the refurredion, immedi- '' ately hafle away to the Apoflles and other Dif- " ciples, whom they found together in a hopelefs ^' manner, all weeping and mourning for thofe fad '^ difappointments that had befallen them. And '' though they affured them, from the teftimony of " three Angels, and that of their own fenfes, that " Jefus was rifen, yet they believed them not, •*' but continued to indulge their own melancholy " prejudices, and looked upon all the accounts " which the women gave them, as mere idle re- *' ports not to be regarded.
*' The fame day, as two of the Difciples were *' going from Jerufalem to Emwaus, and were talk- " ing together by the way of all thofe things which *' had happened, J^efus came up to them, and ha- *' ving inquired of them, what they might be dif- " tourfing on, that made them look fo fad and '^ melancholy; one of them, whofe name was Cleo- *' pasy faid unto him, ^rt thou only a fir anger in " Jerufalem^ and hafl not known the things which have '' come to pafs there in thefe days? And he faid unto *' them. What things ? And they faid unto him, con- " cerning Jefus of Nazareth^ who was a Prophet mighty *' in deed and word before God^ and all the people 5 and " how the chief Pri'fls and our Rulers delivered him to be *' condemned to death, and have crucified him : but we " trufted that it had been he who would have re-
'' deemed
Sect. XXIL Chrijlian Revelation^ 287
*' deemed IfraeL And hefides all this^ this is the *' third day fince thefe things were done, Tea^ and '' certain women aljo of our company made us ajtomjh- *' ed^ who were early at the fepukhre^ and when they " found not his hody^ they eame^ Aj^^^i that they had " alfo feen a vifion of Angels^ which faid that toe was " alive. And certain of them who were with us^ went " to the fepulchre^ and found it even fo as the women *' had faid ^ but him they faw not. In which, with a " beaiuifnl (implicity, that dillinctly fpeaks the up- *' rightnels and ingenuity of their hearts, they ma- " nifettly exprefs a great deal of concern and an- " gLiilh of mind, and flrongly infinuate how much '* they were difappointed, and what little hopes " they had of the refurredlion.
" Upon which, Jefus Chrijl^ in order to prepare *' their minds for that difcovery he was about to " make them, cites and expounds to them thofe *^ palTages of the Old Teftament, that relate to " the death and refurredion of the Meffiah. And " having gone along with them into the village, ^' as they fat at meat, their eyes being fixed on " liim, they knew who he was, upon vi'hich he *' unexpededly withdrew, and they faw him no " more. The two Difciples are exceedingly ftruck " with this fo unexpected a difcovery, and with *' great furprize and joy returned that fame hour " to Jerufalem^ and informed the Apoftles and o- " ther difciples, who were all affembled together *' in fome fecret place for fear of the Jews^ of whac '* things were done in the way, as they were go- " ing to Ernmaus^ and how he was known of them *' in breaking of bread. But the Apoftles, as it " fhould feem, and the reft of their company, being " ftill under the power of their prejudices, and ha-
288 The Truth of the Sect. XXII.
'' ving no notion of any fuch event, would not be- " lisve what was thus atteited to them.
^' In the interim, as they are dilcourfing of " thefe extraordinary occurretices, Jefus himfelf *' conies fuddenly among them, and faith unto " them, Peace be unto you. But they were all *' terriiied and affrighted, and fuppoied they had *' feen a fpirit. And therefore Jejus Cbrift^ in or- '' der to compofe their minds, that they might be *' in a condition coolly and impartially to judge for *' themfelvcs, fiiid unto them, l^P^hy are ye troubled^ " and why do doubtful thoughts arife in your hearts ? " Behold my hands and my feet ^ that'it is I my f elf "^ '' handle me and fee ^ for a fpirit hath not fiefh and *' bones as ye fee me have. And when he had thus " fpoken, and at the fame time rebuked them for " their unbelief and hardnefs of heart, in rejeding *' the evidences they had already received for his *' refarrection, he fhewed them his hands and his *' feet. But this was an event fo unexpected and " furprifing, which naturally raifed fuch high tides " of different paflions within them, and which, all '* at once, crouded their minds with fuch various " images of the hopelefs melancholy condition '' wherein they had been involved, and of the great " deliverance and happinefs of which they were *' now poffeffed, fo difproportioned to the inward " fenfe of their own merit, (which, bythe by, is " far too modeft and humble for Enthufiafts) and '' fo much beyond, nay, contrary to their expecta- " tions, that they could not believe for joy, but " flood all wondering and gazing, and did not well " know how to give credit to their own fenfes, but " feem rather to be enchanted into fome golden " dream, or pleafing delufion [g),
" Whereupon,
(l) Much after the fame manner, were the Hates of Greece
and
Sfxt* XXII. Chriftian Revelation, 289
'' Whereupon, Jefus Cbrijl^ giving them time to " recollecl themielves, that he might convince " them tally of the triich of his refutrcdion, and '' pat them beyond 2II poilible doubt as to the "reality of this appearance, (aid unto them, *' Have ye here any meat ? And they gave him d '^ a piece of broiled fifli, and of an honey -comb* '' And he took, it, and did eat before them. And '* lie faid unto them, l^hefe things are the accomplifh- *' /«^ of the words which I J pake unto you^ while t "' was yet with you ^ that the Son of man miift be cm- " cified^ and the third day rife again ^ and that all '' things muft be fulfilled which were zvritten in the *' law of Mofes, and in the Prophets^ and in the *' Pfalms concerning me. Upon which, they could " no longer refufe the evidences they had of the *' refurrection, but, as in reafo^i they were bound, " gave full credit to the truth thereof.
" But, all this having been tranfaCled in the ab- ^' fence of the Apoftle '•Thomas ; when the other ^' Difciples informed him of what had happei-^d, '' and how they were now all fully fatisfied, as to " the truth and certainty of the refurrection; for " that they had fcen the Lord his pierced hands
Vol. II. O o '' and
and Afia afFe<fled, upon their being furprized with a pfoclama- tion from the Roman Herauld, declaring them all free, and at liberty to ufe their own laws.
Audita voce Proeconis, majus guadium fult, quam quod uni- verfum homines caperent. Vix fatis credere fe quifquam aadifle. Alii alios intueri mirabundi, velut fomnii vanam f ^eciem. Qnod ad quenquam pertinerct, fuarum aurium fidei minimum creden- tes, proxirnos interrogabant. Revocatus Prsco. Cum unufquif- que non audire, fed videre libertaris nuntium averet : iterum pro- nuntiaret eadem. Turn ab certo jam guadio tantus cum clamore plaufus eft orcus, totiefque fepetitus, ut facile appareret, niiiil omnium bonorum multitudini gratius, quam LbcrtaLcm efie^ Liv. lib. 33, 35.
290 7he Truth of the Sect. XXIL
" and feet, and had for fomc time converfed vvirh " him ; fo little did this Apoftle regard their in- '^ formation, that, ftill retaining a quick fenfe of " thofc dreadful difappointments they had met *' withal, in relation to this Jefus^ while they trull- '^ ed that it had been he who ihould have redeemed *' Ifrael ; and ftill looking upon his refurrecfion, " after he had been fo Ihamefully put to death, to " be beyond all credibiliry ; he openly rejeds all " the proofs they were able to afford him, and ob- " tlinately declares, he will never be brought over '' to believe the truth of it, unlefs he Ihould him- *' felf fee and examine the body oijefus^ in fuch a " a manner, as he might have the fulleil demon- " ilration, without a pofTibility of having a cheat ^' put upon him, which he feems all along to have *' violently fufpecled : Except^ fays he, 1 Jhall Jee *' in his hands the print of the nails ^ and put my finger " into the print of the nails ^ and thrufi my hand into " his fide ^ I zvill not believe. This indeed was very ^' brifl<:, and at an infinite diilance from the lealt '' degree of credulity, and moil certainly would " have expofed the whole matter, had it been an " impofture, or had it been only founded on en- '' thufiafm, one of which this Apollle feems ,to *' have apprehended. Nor was any thing able to " overcome his obftinacy, till he had aclually {ctn " Jefus^ which happened about eight days after. " For when his Difciples were again within, and '' Thomas with them, then came Jefus^ and flood *' in the midit, and faid. Peace be unto you. Then " faith he to Thomas ^ Reach hither thy finger ., and *' bthold my hcuid:, and reach hither thy hand., and '' thruft it into my fide \ and he not fa', thief s but belie- *' ving. And Thomas anfwered aiad faid unto him, " My Lord, and my God 1 "
This
Sect. XXII. Chrijlian Revelation. 291
This is a plain account of the behaviour of the Apoilles, and other Difciples, with refped to the refurredtion of Jefits. And wherein does the En- thufiafl appear? 1 dare be bold to fay, 'tis impoiTible to fix upon any one inftance of their conduct upon this occafion, from which one may fetch a charge of enthufiafm againll them. On the contrary, they were unreafonably headilrong in the difbelief of this article, and all along betrayed a furpriling dul- nefs and Itupidity of heart ; which can be account- ed for, no otherwife than by fuppofing them, as they really were, under the grofTell miilakes con- cerning the nature of ChrijVs kingdom, which in- volved them in the moll: inveterate prejudices againtt his death and refurreclion, and fo miferably en- tangled their minds, that they knew not the Scri- ptures, nor what to make of thofe plain words of Jefus ^hrift^ when he diilincfly told them, that he muft rife again from the dead. And I may here be allowed to obferve, had there been any degree of enthufiafm in this article among the Difciples, it would have certainly broken out among thofe fond, companionate women vi'ho went firit to the fepul- chre. But, amidlt all their fondnefs, fo far are thofe religious women from having a llrong fancy in favour of the refurredtion, that it is the thing in the world they have the lealt thought or apprchen- fion of: And therefore do they acl: with fo much natural fimplicity, according to their pious defign of anointing the dead body, and the undoubted per- fuafion they had of its being llolen away.
Thus were the Apoftles, all of them, forced out of their infidelity by the irrefillible teliimony of their own fenfes, and neceflarily determined to ad- mit the truth of the refurrecT:ion ; in the certain belief of which they were further eftablifhed by
frequent
292 The Truth of the Sect. XXII.
frequent appearances, wliich Jefus C^r//^ after vvard^, before his afcenlion, made to them, wherein he wrought miracles, and converfed familiarly with them, while in an open and friendly manner they fat and eat together. Among thofe appearances, the moil public and folemn of all, were thofe two that happened, the one at a mountain in Gaiilee^ where our Lord had moil of his Difciples ; the o- ther at Bethany^ from whence he went up into hea- ven. And, in his account of the ilrit of thefe, lie the manly compofure of mind, and the fincere ho- nelly of the facred Hillorian ! St. Matthew tells lis, that ivhen the Difciples faw Jefus they wcrjhipped him^ but fome doubted (b). Some doubled ! with what high contempt would an Enthuliail, in the heat of his imagination, have mentioned this circum- ilance ! and, with what caution would an Impoltor have avoided everything like it. The telling the world of fuch a circumflance, without in the leait offering to Hiow it v/as groundlefs, or that the per- Ibns who doubted came to be fatisiied, is a ilrong proof, that not only the Writer himfelf was abfo- lutely certain of the truth of the refurredtion, but that he regarded the matter of fad, as fupported by the moil inconteilable evidence, to be wholly be- yond queilion, and univerfally believed, or that it was not capable of being contradided. Whether it was at this appearance in Galilee^ or at the other at Bethany^ that Jefus was feen of above live hun- dred brethren at once, cannot well be determined ; J)ut this is certain, that more than twenty years ^fter this, St. Paul publicly declares before the world (/) that the greater part of thpfe Difcip.es,
ivho
{h) Matth. xxviii. 17, {i) 1 Cor. XV. 6a
Sect. XXII. Chriflian Revelation. 293
who had thus Teen Jefus Chrift^\Ntv& then flill alive. So that any man, even after fo long a time, had it in his power to fatisfy himfelf as to the truth of the relurrection, from feveral hundreds of people who w^re eye-witnelTes, and whofe tedimony cannot be doubted, fincc it is given for a matter of fact, of the certainty whereof they v^ere competent judges ; and which they themfelves obttinately rejected, till they were downright condrained to yield by the force of thofe evidences, wiiereby a man that is reading this page is under a neceliity to own, that it is a piece of paper all over regularly marked, from top to bottom, with various words and fen^ tences.
And, indeed, the way how the Priefls and lead- ing men among the Jews^ managed on this occafion, carries a flrong convidion along with it of the cer- tainty of the refurreftion. For, though all their worldly concernments, and their keeneff paffions ex- afperated to the highefl pitch, did, quetlionlefs, vi- olently prompt them to ruin the credit of this ex- traordinary event, and to make it pafs for a mere forgery of wicked Impoflors, or the groundlefs fancy of a few deluded vifionaries (which they might have done eafily, had it been Jo) yet all their wit, malice, and power, could advance only a flupid, ridiculous flory, vvherein they impudently affront the comiOion fenfe of mankind, and leave an imputation upon their own memory, of the blackeft villany that can poffibly be conceived. Say they, While the foldiers that were fet to guard him were a- Jleep^ his Difciples came by flight and Jlole him azvay ; for v^hich they never pretended any other evidence than the teflimony of the fleeping foldiers. And, tho* this was openly publiihed againft them, in the Gofpel of Si. Matthew, within a few years after-
v/ard.
294 ^^-'^ Truth of the Sect. XXIL
ward, with the addition of the execrable guilt of bribery, whereby they perfnaded the foldiers to fpread abroad this molt fcnfelefs ll:ory, againlt the plain dictates of their own confciences, and contrary to the exprefs declarations which they had made in prefence of thofe fage Gentlemen ; yet they never once attempted to confute thefe heavy charges, or to vindicate themfelves from fuch horrid imputati- ons, which manifeftly tended to render them ex- ceeding vile and infamous, in the view of all man- kind. And this, I fay, is a farther demonflration of the truth of the refurreclion.
For, lince they were fenfible, that the belief of the refarreclioiT, Ihould it come to take among the people, would be of far more dangerous confe- quence to all their valuable enjoyments, than any thing that had yet happened ; and therefore ufed all poffible precautions to prevent a cheat in the mat- ter, by rolling a great flone to the door of the fe- pulchre, and fealing it, and fetting a watch or guard, v/hich they obtained, by a folemn addrefs, from Pilate the Roman Governor^ I fay, fmce they were thus precautious,in ufmg all polllble endeavours to prevent a cheat in the matter of the refurredion, which they forefaw would be intirely deilruclive of iill their interefts ; 'tis utterly inconfiitent with the nature of things, that thefe men would have ne- gl'eded any poilible metliod, whereby to difprove the fadt, when it was talked' that Jejus was rifen ; and to lay open iht impofture, or to cxpofe the de- lufion to the world -, which, with great eafe, they miglit have effected, had it been nothing elfe but an invention, or a groundiefs fancy of the Apodles. And, forafmuch as they did nothing this way, but endeavoured only to difguife the 'matter by a poor filly (tory that dellroys itfelf j this, in iny opinion,
is
Sect. XXII. Chriftian Revelation, 29^5
is a fufficient demonilration (which carries as great certainty along with it as any propofition in Eu- clid^ that they themfelves believed the report which they had at firil from the foldiers, or that they faw the matter of fa(5l: to be fupported by fuch incontetfible evidences, that it was impollible for them to infill upon one fingle circumifance, that could incline people to believe or fufpecl the con- trary. Indeed, thofe wife and great Rabbies, who had malice, revenge, and pride enough to quicken their wit, power, and adivity, muft have certain- ly been reduced to a very low pafs, when they fled to dov/nright nonfenfe and abfurdity as their only refuge, whereby to protect all their higheit and mofh valuable concernments, from the dreadful in- fluence of a plain matter of fact, which might have been laid open from the bottom, and, had it been a cheat, or a dclufion, made to appear fo, to the fuU convidlion of ail mankind. But what can people fiiy or do, when they are outfacing the Sun at noon -day \
Now, from this conduit of the Rulers, among the Jews on one hand, and that of the Apotlles on the other, with regard to the article of the Chriflian faith ; I will venture to fay, there are fuch degrees of evidence as are fullicient to command the af- fent of every impartial man to the truth of the re- furreclion, and to pat him beyond doubt, that the Apoltles, in this particular, were no EnLhuHaifs.
As to the third great article of the Chriitian faith which I mentioned, namely, the afcenfion of Jefus Chrift into heaven ; I do likewife contend, that 'tis altogether impofTible that this could be only an im.aginary conceit of the Apollles. For, not to infill uj.x)n their being perfons by no means of a credulous turn of mind ^ (which, methinks, evi- dently
296 The Truth of rfoe Sect. XXIL
dently appears from what I have above obferved) as this was nothing but that, which, after the refur- retftion, they had been frequently forewarned of 5 fo the particular day and place were appointed when and where it fhould happen. Befides, that it was done in broad day-light, with great deliberation, and in the prefence of a great number of p^i^ople : And, in fuch circumftances, there is manifeftly no room for mere fancy aiid imagination. The plain iiiftory is this :
" J^f^^ Chrift having commanded his Apoftles to ' repair on fuch a day to Bethany^ from which he ' told them he intended to go up to heaven ; they ' acquainted the refl of the Difciples of what was ' to happen. When they therefore were come ' together on the day and place that were ap- ' pointed, the Apoftles, who had attended our ' Lord from Jenifalem, being as yet wholly ig- ' noranr of the nature of Chrift\ government, and ' not knowing what part they were now to ad: ' upon earth, after he Ihould have left them, or ' what was now to become of that kingdom, « which they thought he came to eftablifli in the ' world ; they judged this was a proper feafon to ' be intormed, and to receive their inftruclions in ' fuch inilances ; and therefore did they aflc of ' him, Lord^ fay they, wilt thou at this time re- ' ft ore again the kingdom unto Ifrael? But he faid ' unto them, It is not for you to know the times ^ and the feafons^ which the Father hath put in his ' own power. And, having told them, that all ' power in heaven and earth was lodged in his ' hands, he givesa commilFion to his Difciples, to ' go and teach all nations in his name: And re- ' minding them of the promife, which, before his ' death, he had made to them of the Holy Ghoil,
'' w^hom
*' i
Sect, XXII. Chrijllan Revelation. 297
'' whom he faid he would fend down to them from " the Father in heaven ; he lets them know,
what great wonders and miracles they lliould be mpowered to work, and enjoins them to Hay " at Jerufaiem till this promife Ihould be accom- '' plifhed. And having thus given them what in- " formation and inftrudtions he thought neceflary " at tliis juncture, he lift up his hands in a folemn " manner and bleffed them ; and, it came to '' pafs while he bleffed them, he was parted from them^ " and carried up into heaven. And they wor- " fliipped him, and returned to Jerufaiem with " great joy."
This is a plain fimple account of a very extraor- dinary event, that fpeaks the relators plain honeft men, who were utter If rangers to the extravagant conceits of a wild raving fancy, or vifionary brain, (which moft certainly, on this occafion, would have been worked up into the mod fantaftic or pompous images) and who had no plot but to tell naked truth, which does not want, like fiction and im- pofture, to be coloured over, and fet off with ftu- died embellifhments.
And indeed as this was an event, of the certain- ty whereof a man's fenfes were competent judges ; fo it can never reafonably be fuppofed, that thefe very men, who were fo hard to be gained over to a belief of the refurreclion, were, in this point, wholly vifionary. Nor is poffible that men, of but common fenfe and prudence, could ever have, at any rate, reprefented to the whole world, that up- wards of five hundred perfons, as v/ell as them- felves, had been eye-witneffes of a plain matter of facl, the refurredion or afcenfion of Jefus^ if it had not been really fo ; and, more than twenty years afterwards, be openly appealing to above two hun-
VoL. JI. Pp dred
2g$ "The Truth of the Sect.XXIL
dred and fifty of them (the reft being dead) for the truth of what they aflcrted.
But that which convincingly fnows us, that the afcenfion was no imaginary conceit, or ftrong fancy of the Apoftles, and gives ., us a full demonitration of its undoubted trdth and certainr)^ is, the ama- zing influence, which, within a few days after it happened, it had upon the Apoilles. Jefus Cbrift had, frequently before his death, promifed to his Difciples the extraordinary gifts of the holy Ghoit ; but at the fame time he acquainted them, that, be- fore this promife could be accomplilned, he muft necelTaiily go up into heaven ; for that it was from the Father that he was to derive thofe miraculous influences upon them. When therefore he was a- bout to afcend into heaven, ftill mindfnl of his pro- mife, and confcious of his power to perform it, he exprefsly commands his Apoftles to tarry at Je- rujalem^ till they ihould thus be endowed with fower from on high.
Accordmgly, the Apoftles, in expeclation of the fulfilling of this promife, waiting in Jerusalem ; as they were all alTembled together in one place on the day of Pentecoft, a few days after the afcen- fion : BEHOLD I on a fudden, there came a found from heaven as of a rufljing mighty zvind^ and it filed ^// the hotife where they were fitting : And there appeared un- to them cloven tongues like as a fire^ and it fat upon each cf them : And they were all filled with the holy Ghofl ; and began to fpeak with ether tongues^ as the Spirit^ gave them utterance. And there dzvelled at Jerujalem Jezvs^ devout men out cf every 'nation under heaven » Isiow when this was noifcd abroad^ the multitude came ti.getber^ and were confounded^ becaufe that every man heard them fpeak in hs own language. And they were all amazedy and inarvellcd^ f^y^'f^g t''^ ^o another^ Be-
hohU
Sect. XXII. Chriflian Revelation, 299
hold^ are not all ihefe which fpeak^ Galileans ? And how hear we every man in our own tongue^ wherein we were born? Parthians^ and Medes^ and Elamites^ and the dwellers in Mefopotamia^ and i7i Judea^ and Cappa- docia^ and Pontus^ and Afia^ Phrygia^ and Pamphylia^ in Egypt ^ and in the parts of Lydia about Cyrene^ and ftrungers of Rome^ Jews and profelytes^ Cretes and d- rabians^ we do hear tkem fpeak in our own tongues^ the wcnderfid works of God. And they were all amazed^ and were in doubt ^ f'^yi^g one to a7iother^ What meaneth this {k) ?
Thefe are occurrences very uncommon, and may be thought to portend fomething very extraordma- ry. And it was on this day, and upon this event, that the Apoitles began their public miniflry ; in the profecution whereof, by virtue of this power, which now they had received from on high, they not only publifhed to people of all languages the do- clrines of Jefus^ but, in his name, they, every where through the world, not in dark corjiers, but in the mod public places, openly and in the face and view of all orders of men, amazingly wrought, for a travfl of years, many thoufands of wonders and miracles ; fuch as, r eft or ing fight to the blind ^ making the deaf and dumb to hear and fpeak ^ and the lame to walk^ healing all kinds of difeafes^ and raifing the dead to life again. And this gift of tongues, and power of working mi- racles they derived to others; who thus lliaring with the Apoftles, were likewife enabled to preach the Gofpcl to all nations, and every where to con- vince mankind of the fuperiority of the Chriltian in- If itution, infinitely above every thing wherein any Dian could pretend to rival it. And to derive fuch. a power to other people, is, I fuppofe, a piece of
virtue
[k) Aa. ii.
300 The Truth of the Sect. XXII.
virtue that cannot be equalled by any thing of the like nature in the Heathen _vvorld (/) ; how much foever, in order to lelTen the credit of thofe mighty works that were done by Jejus Chrift and his Dif- ciples, fome people may poorly infill: upon the re- puted miracles oi JpoUonius and others {m).
And
(/) I mull here be fo fair as to obferve, that Empedocles, Epi» menides, and Abaris, are faid to have had the power of working mirades from Pythagoras ; who, they fay, had his again from Pherecydes. And here is an inftance of their miracles in the cafe of Abaris, of whom it is reported, oji a/>a o]\Z r« b T-
■7Tif>fiof>iOl^ AtTOKKOOVO^ CpCOf^l^hri aVTCd i7rO^\i/J.iVCC, TTOT^jU^^ Ti
Hj TTiKciyy]^ Xf TOi af^oLTO. (fiijiaiyiv^ dif>op>XTccy Tforrcv tivol. The like miracle was performed alfo by Pythagoras. Porph. de Vit. Pythag. § 27. 29.
Whether the Church of Rome were aware of fuch miracles, and thought it necefTary to counterbalance them, I know not ; but, in their Breviary, they reprefent the Apoftles, with terrible rapidity flying in the air from all quarters of the world, and, in a moment of time, afTembling at Jerufalem, in order to aifift at what they call the Dormition of the biejied Firoin ; Tempore gloriofas dormitionis beatcC Virginis, univerfi quidem fandi Apo- iloli, qui orbem terras ad falutem gentium peragrabant, memento temporis in fublime elati, convenerunt lerofolymis. Feil. Aug. 18.
{m) Euphrates, a Philofopher of great reputation, (Vid. Plin. lib. i. epiii. 10 Arrian. Epidt. lib. iii. cap. 15.) and who, as he was his contemporary, and of his acquaintance, had eafy accefs to know the truth of his character, reprefents Apollonius as an Impoftor. (Vid. Eufeb, contra Hierocl. p. 530. 533.) And Arnobius, a learned Heathen, who turned Chriftian, is not only of opinion, that Apollonius, and thofe others they talk of, wrought no miracles ; but ftands amazed at the power that de- rives fuch a virtue to frail mortals. He thinks it a power far
above the reach of that God whom he formerly counted fu- preme.
Quid dicitis, o mentes increduls, difficiles, duras ! Alicuine mortalium Jupiter ille Capitolinus, hujufnodi poteftatem dedit ? Curionem, aut Pontificem maximum, quinimmo Dialem, quod ejus eft, flaminem ilto jure donavit ? Non dicam, ut mortuos ex- eitaret, non ut coecis.reftitueret lucem, non ut membrorum fitum
enervatis
Sect. XXII. Chrijlian Revelation. 1.301
And from thofe aftonilhing elleds, which, after the afcenfion of our Lord, were, according to his piomife, produced in the Apoitles themfelves, and, by their means, in other people ; one mufl judge it convincingly manifeil, that in the behef of this ar- ticle, the Apolfles were no Enthufiafls. And in- deed, that man's fancy mufl be exccffively wild, and, beyond meafure, extravagant, who can imagine, that their fpeaking in fo many various tongues, and their doing fo many wonders and mirac4es, was on- ly a continuation of the enthufiafm ; ridiculoufly pretending, that it was by the mere itrength of their over-heated and deluded imagination, that at firft, all on a fudden, they acquired the faculty of difcourfing to fo many different nations in thofe lan- guages, which they never learned or underftood be- fore ; and that it was no otherwife that they came, at firlf , to give eyes to the blind, health to the fick, and life to the dead. A moil: wonderful fpecies ojf enthufiafm this, which betrayed not only the Apo- Itles into a mighty conceit of their working mira- cles 5 but even the deaf and dumb, the blind and the
lame,
enervatis redderet et diffolutis : Sed ut puftulam, reduviam, pa- pulam, aut vocis imperio, aut manus contredlatione comprimeret. Ergo illud humanum fuit, aut ex ore terrenis ftercoribus inutrito tale potuit jus dari, talis licentia proficifci, et non divinum, et fa- crum ? Aut, fi aliquam'fuperlationem res capit, plus quam divi- num et facrum ? Nam fi facias ipfe quod poffis, et quod tuis fit viribus potentatuique conveniens, admiratio non habet quod ex- clamet: Id enim quod potueris, feceris, et quod prasfiare debu- erit vis tua, ut operis efiet una, et ipfius qui operaretur, qualitas. Tranfcribere poffe in hominem jus tuum, et quod facere folus poflis, fragiliffim^e rei donare, et participare faciendum, fupra omnia fits eft poteftatis, continentifque fub kk eft rerum omni- um caufas, et rationum facultatumque naturas. Neque quid-
quam eft ab illo (Chrifto) geftum, per admirationem ftupeatibus cundlis, quad non omne donaverit faciendum parvulis illis et ru- fticis, et eorum fubjecerit poteftati. Arnob. lib. i. p. 18.
302 The Truth of the Sect. XXII.
lame, into an undoubted perfuafion of their being perfectly cured, every way found and intire ; nay, the dead themfelves, intoa ftrong belief of their ha- ving come back to life again ! But let us confider :
As the highelf, or the only infallible evidence we can have of our own being or exiftence, is the con- fcioufnefs of our exerting fuch particular powers and faculties, fo, after this manner, or by this inward confcioufnefs of fuch certain, undoubted powers producing their proper eifeds, were the Apoilles fenfible of their having a power of fpeaking lan- guages, and healing difeafes : And thus likewife did the blind, the lame, i^c. from their inward feelings of the real change produced in the flate of their bo- dies, as they came under the apoltolical influence, perceive themfelves cured. In their belief there- fore of the refurredion and afcenfion of J ejus ^ grounded on fuch evidence, the Apoflles, and all thofe upon whom they exerted their healing power, muft have been as certain of their being void of all enthufiafm, as they \yere fure of their own exiitence*: And as the men of that age, vyho were eye-wit- nefles, could not but be induced ; fo we, at this di- flance of time, from our being fatisfied as to the truth and certainty of thofe fads, the real effeds of real powers, fairly confeiTed, as I have explained in the firft Se^ion^ by the earlieft oppofers of Chri- ftianity, are inevitably led, with .as little hefitation, to pronounce, ^he Apoftles iiuere no Enthufiajls.
Upon the whole : From all thefe particulars laid together, I have given, what, in my apprehenfion, is a full and clear, a convincing proof, that the A- pollles, in none of thofe great articles of the Chri- llian faith, wherein, it may be thought, they itand mof^expofed to have fuch a charge laid againft them, can at any rate be counted Enthufiafts. And
whereas
Sect. XXII. Cbrijiian Revelation, 303
whereas they are, manifeilly, in no fort liable to this imputation in thole fundamental articles of the Chriftian revelation ; with no fliew of reafon can it be alledged, that enthufiafm was the great fpring that fet them a-going, and fupported them in the propagation of the Golpel. For, according to what I have laid down in the 'l^hird General Obfervation^ Se5l. XIX. had they been adluated in the manner they were, by any fuch mad, extravagant principle, of neceflity, the diftemper mull have been derived to other parts of their conduct, either in opinion or in practice, efpecially in thofe particulars, wherein it was mod eafy and natural for their imagination to rave and grow delirious, fuch as are the refurrecli- on and afcenfion : In the belief of which articles, they appear at an infinite diftance from the fmalleft degree of enthufiafm.
No man, therefore, who attends to the nature of things, and is not led away by mere fancy and felf- delufion, but thinks without biafs, and hearkens to the didates of reafon, can fufFer himfelf to appre- hend, that the Apoilles were a company of poor, deluded creatures, going about the world under the power of enthufiafm, and foolifh'y expofing them- felves to all kinds of miferies, having no commiffion from heaven, as they pretended, to propagate the Gofpel among mankind, which was the only thing that involved them in all their hardfliips and cala- mities. I cannot but flatter myfelf, that, from what I have been difcourfing hitherto, every im- partial' man will conclude quite the corttrary. And the guilt and fhame of being found fcandaloufly par- tial in judging of characters, ought to engage our Freethinkers, in particular, to come with all readi- nefs into this conclufion. For v/hat opinion have
thofe
304 The Truth of the Sect. XXIII.
thofe Gentlemen concerning that man, who, as Ci- cero alledges, firfi fetched Philojophy from heaven ?
SECT. XXIII.
By what Arguments the Deijls can vindicate Socrates from Entbuftajm] by the fame mujt they jtiflify the Apoftles,
IConfefs, indeed, that for any particular man or company of men, abfolutely to neglecf all their own private interelts in this life, and intirely to de- vote themf.lves to the fpiritual good, the moral im- provement of other people ; for the fake of this fer- vice to forego all their prefent eafe and quiet, to fufFer poverty, and all other hardiliips, even death itfelf, under a perfuafion, that in all this they are adling in obedience to the will of God : This is an inltance of fo much felf-denial, of fuch high be- neficence towards mankind ; it is an event fo un- common and extraordinary, fo widely different from the way of the world, and from any difpofitions that we ourfelves are confcious of, that people are flrongly tempted to fufpeJt, that the perfons thus employed are out of their fober fenfes ; that they are far gone in the vifionary way, and can be go- vernment by nothing but enthuliafm. It is upon their taking fuch a general heedlefs view of the conduct of the Apoftles, I am apt to conjedure, that the Deifl;s, otherwife flrongly prejudiced, have unhappily come into their dangerous miilake about the charadler of thofe firfl PubliHiers of the Gofpel, and to regard them as fo many poor deluded Enthu- flails, who, inllead of the notice and reverence,
deferve
Sect. XXIII. Chripan Revelation. 305
deferve the pity and compaffion of the fober and thinking part of mankind. But, I iiiy, I would gladly know of our Deifts, What diarat^ter, in mat- ters of religion, does Socrates bear among them whoni, in concert with Lord Shaftejhury^ they wil- lingly confefs " the greatefl of Philofophers, the " very founder of philofophy itfelf?"
This divine man, the divinelf, as the noble Au- thor alTures us, who had ever appeared in the Hea- then world, abandoning his worldly eafc, and total- ly negleding all his own private affairs, did, for ma- ny years, employ all his thought and care in pro- moting the fpiritual good, the moral improvement of his fellow citizens. Nor did he leave it to peo- ple's pleafure to attend his inftruclions, but he went about intruding himfelf, as the world would now reckon it, upon the repofe or bufmefs of ocher peo- ple ; and in this manner, making up to rich'and poor, to citizen and Ifranger, to \ill men, without diifinc^ion, warmly recommended to them the love and pradice of virtue {a). At the fame time, fo
Vol. JI. Q^q zealous
[a) We have a fpecimen of Socratcs's way in the cafe of Xc- nophon.
eiycii
u~
rh (^UKT^TPiav^ KcoKveiv 7roif>iivcci^ Trvv^oiv'outvov -^cl -tit
Kf'OLT'di; i'lv. D- Laert. in Xenoph.
Should a man now take upon him to ufe the fame freedom with our young Gentlemen, which Socrates did with thofe of his time, what charailer would he bear ? SocratesVvvhole life was fuch a conflant feries of what the world now calls imperti- nent meddling, troublefome cant, or wild enthufiafm, that one cannot help obferving, if the Deifts are not Ihan.efullv ignorant of this Philofopher's courfe of life, they are notoriouflv guilty of refpea of perfons, in their judgment about the ADoiUes.
3o6 The Trufh of the Sect. XXIII.
zealous was he in the difcharge of this fervice, that, for the fake thereof, he cheaifully fuffered poverty, and reproach, and death : Nothing, in a word, was able to overcome the obllinacy of his concern for the^fpiritual good of mankind. And, let our Infi- dels fpeak impartially, has not all this very much the appearance of rank enthufiafm ?
Nay, Socrates takes upon him boldly to tell his Judges, " They might acquit or condemn him, it '' was indifferent to him 5 for his part, he was ab- " {o\\iidy determined, was he even often to fuffer '' death, never to change his courfe of life, but al- " ways to perfifl in ufing his beft endeavours to do '' all the good he was able to the fouls of men j " openly avowing he could no otherwife approve *' himfelf to God, who had charged him with that " fervice, and whofe authority he would obey ra- " ther than that of man." Thus we are Hill kept in view of what the world may be apt to think, a bold refdlute Enthu flail.
And, to compleat the character, Socrates may feem to exprefs a great deal of enthufiattic pride and vanity ; Says he, before his Judges, " As to the ^' integrity of my life, I will yield to no man. " And indeed the confcioufnefs of my having al- " ways lived in the conftant exercife of holinefs " and righteoufnefs, affords to me the moft " pleafing refietftions ; and it mightily adds to my " joy, that my companions think the fame of me. " So that .your condemning me will prove more '' hurtful to youjrfelves than to me : For death, in " my cafe, can never poflibly be an evil. It is not " therefore for my own fake, but for yours, that I " am making this defence-, that, ifpollible, I may '^ prevent your giving judgment againfl me, where- '^:lin you would become guilty, not only of con-
" demning
(C
(C
Sect. XXIII. Chriftian Revelation. 307
" demning an innocent man, but of rejedling the *' gift which God hath bellowed upon you ♦, a gift, •' the. belt you could receive, and of fuch confe- *' quence to your well-being, that putting an end " to my Minillry, by condemning me to death, " you will fleep on in your wickednefs, unlefs God *' Ihall be plcafed, out of his concern for you, to fend you fome other Inftructor. Nay, I will ven- ture to prophefy, that heavier judgments than any death you can inflid upon me, Ihall foon o- " vertake you (^)."
Such
' [h) All thefe particulars in the condufH: of Socrates, are re- ported, in his Apology, by Plato and Xenophon. And, for thefa- tisfadtion of the Reader, or to fave him fome trouble, 1 Ihall here tranlcribe them:
Kai \-y(ji Qi^oLi \i6\v TTCo iiu7y y.eilov aya^ov yivia^oii iv r'jj '^ohet, Y] TYW i.//.yiv TU :jio v7rrjj>i<noLV^ vaiv yciP olkko TrfcCTlcoy iyO) TTtftip^OjUai yi TTU^-COV VJUUV ^ ViOdTt^Mt; ^ TTfuf^vTip-d; y.YlTi (JOOIAOLTOdV iTrifAiKe-iJ^CCt y.Y]ri ')(_fAIJ-OLTO)V TTpOTipoy^ UYiri axKM
rtyog 'dTG) a(p'Qdf>oc^ uc ryjc •^v^yi(;, ottuc co/; ci^itv] 'i'T&Li.
w avd^iQ A.^nvouoi^ yi vnl'^KT^i. Avjtu^ yi f/.v]' ^ n af/ere ^.e, v] juiu 6J? e^y VK oly TTcmfTovTot; akkx «/' « /Akkco ttokko-kk; n^-
yavoLi. kv ya^ /re toLv ijul cCTroKTiiViiTi toi'htov 'cyra. oiov
lyoi hiyco^ ax. i.ul ys'ilo} f^Ka^l^iri ii v/j.cc^ Oivri^. £//.e fAv yxp >idiy fiiha^eij \iTi MiKiroQ^ ^re A^yrcc- "dSl y().f> av dvyocivro. vvy WK, u olyopk; Ar^Yiyaioi, tto^xv oiCd iyod V7nf> if/av
oLTTOKoyeiu^oLi wc T/c ay oioiro^ olkk vttI^ ufxcjdv, f/Si i^OLy-a^TnTt Tre^; Tr,v r» ijiM doiiv vjuty^ ifx'n ■A.xra.^n'^i'^cLy.iyoi. tay ya.f ^e a7rQv.r^yy]ri » jciJioir aKKoy roi'dTov iupmiri^ ccri^vu^ ei Kf yoKoi'on^ov etTrety^ 'TrpoaKUjuiyov t>) Tr'oKei vtto ra 3"£«, coaTnp 'iTTTrcd juiydhco july ^ yivyxia^ vtto juiyz^'n^ J'l yQ^f>orif>cd^ ^
aiOy.iyU^ tyU^i(T^CLt VTTO fJLVQTTO'^ TIYOC- OIOV ol fAOl OOKei 0 ^iOC
ijul m TToKei TTfoa^^iiKivai roi'HToy riya^ bV vjua^ lyii'^Qy ^ TTii^Qy^ '1 oyit(Ptlcoy ivoL v/.ois'ov^ 'd^h Travo/jiOii rm vif/.i^cLv oKriv '7r'j.yru.')Qi •nfQiY.'X^iloiy, tgi^to^ \iy oihhog v f>o(.(Pia; v{/iv yivm"--
3oS The Truth of the Sect. XXIII.
Such was the conducl of Socrates : And if, all this notwichftanding, the Deills are pofitive, as I think they have good reafon to be, ih^ii Socrates was no Enthufiall, as Melitus^ in his charge, feems to
ridicule
cy.vTit; av ui, 7ret^'oij.i\oi Avvtw^ jxxSicoQ dv aTroKTHv^ri.. etrcc rov KoiTTQV ^fiivcv y.a.'^ivS'ovrK; SioiiiKciTi «V, ei u',i riva oihKo])
cdv roi'dToi; ciot; uto r» ^iM t)i ttokci cPi^PorFOoLi^ kk. The reft is tranfcribed above, near the end of Seft. xvi. See likewife the other two quotations which there follow from Plato :
E / juci TTpoc ravTOi uttoits^ u '^u)>cfiari^y vvv yXv Avvro M 7rei(ycy.i^ci^ aXK aoUy'iv av i.7rl t'htco yh roi k(p con y.)",' '/.in iv TOLVTr! TV! ^i^rmii oiCLT^i(^eiv yy]al <piKoao(peiy. tav at akcoi; in r^TO Trpar/iyi', aTro^avy,.. u \iv y.i. omp eiirov^ iTri TuToif; a(Dtcni^ eiTrciy. ay vyiy^ on tyoi v y.o!.<;^ o) -xvd^K; Aiju- vaioi^ adTTol^cdyj yXv Kj (p/Aw, 7rU(JoycLi Jl too ^ty yaKKov y] vyAv' Kj ic^a-TTSP olv iyvrviCd k^ oioi; re w, « y/i TicLvcoycLi (piKo- cro(pco'/^ Kf vy'iy -raj^a'A-i-Kiuoyiyot; n ^ iydeix.vvyi¥Di;, orco aV ait ivTvy^avo) Cycoyj hsycov cioiTrto 'nco^a. kk. rl^t. Apol. Socrat. p. 29. C.
Ova oij^oty on yi-^f)i yu tmA mAvI av^f>u)7ruv voetynv /Sea- riov lyM flif-iioKtvoLi ; cvrip yap yjdiToy t^tv naeiVy oaict)^ yci Kai dv/.aiU!Q OLTravra Toy f^iov f^ijiicoyiyoy' uTi l^jf>(j)(; ayayivoe; s.uavTQVy Tavrd cvfioKcv rd jv; lyol avyyivcyivug yiyvuaKov- rai; yriPi ew«. Xenoph. Apol. Socrat. p. 702. vid. p. 704. . , 10 di Oil ^yiTa r\iro iTi^vy/ji vy.iv ')(j>Y]'jy'u)dri(yai^ o Kara- ■l->l(^i7dyivci ya. :Z ya^ ^yi vji] IvTCcv^a. h w y.a\t^ avd-f^co' TToi y^fmycot^'ddiv^ orav yiKhcccriy aTro^ocyeitj^at. (priyt ydf)j w ay- af-'.i;^ et ui aTroKTiytTrt^ Tiycofiav vy7y yjz,eiv tv^vq yird rev iyov ^ayxrcv, ttcKv yjxKiTrurtfav v'.i Aia ;i oiav iui aTriZTH- vccTi, ^hi. ub. fup. p. 3g. C. Vid. Arguipent. Bufirid. apud I- focrat. Upon all which, let me fubjoin Cicero's opinion:
His
Sect. XXIII. Chrijilan Revelation, 309
ridicule him {c) ; muil not one ftand amazed, what it is they have difcovered in the condud of the Apoilles, upon which they can ground againft them fuch an imputation! There is fo great a hke- nels of characters, that, if they think freely, one cannot but judge it impofTible for them, not to be, at lead, equally forward in juftifying the Apoflles. As Lord Shaftefbury calls him, the pbilofophical Pa- triarch's penetration, his wonderful good fenfe and extent of judgment, the command he had of his thoughts and fentiments, the fubftantial truths, the noble inflructions he propofed to mankind, his addrefs andinfmuation, his conitant chearfulnefsof mind, the univerfal rectitude of his manners ; all thefe, the Deifts will confefs, are convincing proofs of a clear head and a fober heart, void of all the ravings, of all the gloom, the madnefs, and extravagance of enthufiafm. But which of thefe qualities do the Deills find wanting in the character of the Apo- flles ? Is it not much rather bere^ that a good eye perceives them iliining in their greateft lultre ? I have often wondered, how the fame men could fo much admire Socrates^ and yet bear in their mincis fo great a contempt of the ApofLles.
But I begin now to forefee, that what I have ob- ferved in relation to Socrates^ upon thefe two arti- cles of impofture and enthufiafm, fome people may be apt to apprehend, I mean to raife the character of that Philofopher too high, and would maintain
that
His et tallbus [concerning the immortality of the foul] addu- ftus Socrates, nee patronam q..ia;fi'/it ad judicium capitis, nee judicibus f^.pplex fuit, adhibuicque liberam contumaciam, a mag- iiitudine animi dudam, non a fuperbia. Tufcul. lib. i. cap.
(<r) M.01 ^u'ov rt ^ J^aiy.ovioy yi'yvirxi <pwvyi. o a/i ^ %y rn yf>cc(pr iTTiKcoiACoJ'uv MihiTOQ lyf>c(.-^ciTo, Plat. ub. fupr.p. 31. D.
jio The Truth of the Sect. XXIII.
that Socrates^ tho' not in the fame ample manner, yet as truly as the Apoilles, was commiffioned from Heaven to inftrud: mankind. And I would fain hope, there is no herefy, nothing contradidtory to any article of the ChriiHan faith, in my profeffing, I am ttrongly inclined to tnink there was in 6"^- crateshc2.{t fomething fupernatural. I confefs, there are fome dodrines and practices, fuch as, the divini- ty of the heavenly bodies, and the paying them re- ligious worfhip, faid to be taught and obferved by Socrates^ wherein a man inftruded and guided by Heaven, cannot well be thought capable of having any concern. But I violently fufped, vit have no fincere genuine hiftory of this great Philofopher; and that doctrines and actions are imputed to him, which he never thought or did. And, indeed, we are told, that Socrates himfelf complained of Plato^ for making him hold fentiments which had never entered into his mind. Xenophcn^^ account of his dodrines fcems to be much purer than what we have fioni P/^/^ : And one may reafonably conje- dure, that had they been tranfmitted to us without all mixture, they would have been found, in every article, far more agreeable to what one might ex- ped from a man immediately employed by Heaven to reform the world, or, as 1 have elfewhere exprefs- ed it, who was raifed up by the fpecial Providence of God, to bear witnefs to the glorious truths of natural religion. And that Socrates' ^Y>\[c\^\qs mix- ed their own prejudices with their Mailer's do- drines, cannot be much wondered at, when one re-, fleclis, that the fame would have happened to thedo- drines of the bleffed Jefus^ had his Apoilles been like- ■ wife left to themfelves in explainingthem to mankind. If other people, however, are of opinion, that from thofe heavenly dodrines which Socrates cer- tainly
Sect. XXIII. Chrijlian Revelation, 311
tainly taught, and the divine part he really aded (for what can be more divine, than to deny one's felf, and take up one's crofs, and follow God in the caufe of virtue and. religion?) one cannot conclude the truth of his having had a fupernatural voice, commonly called his Damon^ conltantly to attend him {d) ; or of his having been by dreams, and e- very other v/ay whereby the Deity reveals himfelf to mortals, commanded of;, God to undertake the intruding of mankind {e) ; yet furely they will acknowledge, that in this man's charadter, there is fomething molt uncommon and inexplicable. And fince the Deifts do maintain, that Socrates was quite free as well of enthufiafm as impoilure, may not thofe who think not fo highly of this extraordinary man, bear with other people in this article, and em- ploy what I have obferved from his conduct, in or- der to juftify the Apoftles from each of thofe im- putations, as an argumentum ad hominem ? One Ihould think, if the Deifts ihall once be brought to judge as impartially, or with as unbiafTed difpofiri- ons, about the Apoftles, as they do about SocrateSy whofe charatfters, in fome very confiderable articles, do fo nearly refemble one another, they will be in a fair way of becoming profelytes of the Gofpel. In the mean while, I would here prefume to beg of our Freethinkers, as they are perfuaded of the inte- grity
(«) E/^« TTOKKOLKIC daHKOOCTi 7roKKOi')(y KiyOVTOi;^ CTt fACl
^iicv ri Koii icLiu'ovioY ylyviTOLt (puvyi. Plat. Apol. Socrat. p. 3I-C. , ^ „ , , ,
3-£y '/TfOLrletv^ Kj la jUotyTetcov, k^ l^ IvvTrvicov^ ^ Travri rpoTru
UTTip rt<; TTOTi C/.KK'/] rjtlCt jUOl^a ai\If>607rU >G QTIMV 7rf>07iTa^i
Id. ibid, p. 33. C.
312 The Truth of the Sect. XXIV.
grity of Socrates^s charader, to confider thefe two or three refledions :
SECT. XXIV.
Socrates claim? a divine Miffi on ^ and^ in Ms Cafe ^Provi- dence Jeems to have taught the Worlds that to intro- duce true Religion and eftahlijh it among Mankind^ un- affifted Reafon is quite infiifficient.
SO far was Socrates from judging fupernatural revelation abfolately needlefs, that he himfelf pretended a commiflion from Heaven to inftrucl mankind ; and tell his Athenians^ that, if after his death, God did not fend them fome other fiich In- Itructor, they would continue ignorant and wicked, and die in their fins {a). And as in this preten- lion, and in thefe fentiments, Socrates is approved of by Plato and Xenophcn^ and the mod renowned a- mong the Antients ; may not one ufe the freedom to alk, for what good reafon do the Deifts, whilfl they fo much admire Socrates ^ Plato^ Xenophon^ &c. give themfelves the Itrange liberty to ridicule the Apoflles for pretending the fame thing, and profel- fing the fame fentiments ? I fay, what matter of faliliood, what fubject of ridicule, do the Deifts find in thefe paiTages of the Gofpel ? God who at fun- dry times and in divers ma?incrs, /pake in time pafl un-
' to
(a) Not only does Socrates condemn the principles of our modern Freethinkers, in his pretending to revelation himfelf; but in his profeffing (as one would think) that a fuller revelati- on than any he rould pretend to, was Hill necelTary, particularly to afcertain the immortality of human fouls, and to teach man- kind to pray. Vid. Plat, in Phsed. p. 85. C. Alcibiad. 2. p. 150. C.
S^CT. XXIV. Chnjiian Rev^Jatmu „ • 3 13
to the Fathers by the Frophets^ hath in thefe laftdays fpoken tinto us by his Son (b). Now then we are am- bajfadorsfor Chrift^ as though God did befeech you by iis\ we fray you inChrijl'sftead^ Be ye reconciled to Gcd (c). O Jerufaleni, Jerufalem, thou that killeft the Prophets^ and ftonefi tkem which are fent unto thee^ how often woidd 1 have gathered thy children to- gether^ even as a hen gather eth her chickens under her wings ^ but ye would not ! Behold^ your houfe is left unto you dc folate. For I fay unto you ^ ye fro all not fee fne henceforth, till y e fh all fay, Blejfed is he that Co- meth in the name of the Lord (d).
In the next place, Socrates having been employed by the fpecial Providence of God, to recover thein- terell of religion and virtue in the world, or to bring about the reformation of mankind, in the way of mere reafoning, or, as bare argument fhould be able to determine human faculties, without the afliftance of miracles, or the concurrence of fuper- natural influences upon people's minds:, Herein God, as if he thereby meant to prepare the world for the reception of the Chrillian revelation, feems to have given us a proof in fadl, how very little is to be expedted from mankind left to themfelves, committed wholly to the conduct of their own un- derilanding • or that the unaffifted powers of hu. man nature, in matters of religion, are hot available to human happinefs. For, notwithftanding all the powerful reafoning, all the zeal and labour, the winning addrefs and infmuation, which Socrates daily employed among all fojts of men, to gain pro- felytes -, yet, how fev/, how, very few did he pre- vail on ? And, as even thofe kwy together with
Vol. II. R r his
li] Heb. i, I. 2. {c) 2 Cor. V. 20. (.V) Matth. xxiii. ^y, 38, 39,
3 14- The Truth of the Sect. XXiy.
his dodlrines while he was alive, did all of them re- tain fome of the common principles of idolatry and fuperftition, e. g. confefling the divinity of fun, moon, and flars ; and paying them religious Wor- Ihip; fo, after his death, the very foundation of religion itfelf, the belief of the being of God, came very foon totally to be extinguifhed. So that,
In the laft place, this experiment, if I may fo call it, by mere reafoning to recover men to re- ' ligion, prefuming upon the innate ftrength of their imafliiled faculties, foon failing intirely : If God Hiall be pleafed to make any future attempt to re- form the world, may not one reafonably expect, that thofe fupernatural helps, fortheAvant of which Socrates^ s fcheme proved ineifedlual, fhall be inter- pofed ? And do we not find thofe helps concurring in the Chriftian revelation ?
Suppofing Socrates to have taught no dodlrines, but what in every article were pure and divine ; yet working no miracles, (unlefs it be alledged, that his foretelHng fome particular events, that adlually came to pafs (^), may be counted of that nature) and his doctrines being attended with no fupernatural influences on the minds of men ; (un- lefs one fliall think otherwife, from Plato's feeming to report, that the fuccefs of his inilructions de- pended on the concurrence and influence of the Daemon who was always with him (/)) he made but
few
[e) Vid. Plat, in Theag. p. 128. D. 129. Cic. de Divinat. lib. i. Cap 54.
(f) The pafTage is fo remarkable, and fo naturally brings to one's mind fome texts of Scripture, f'.ich as Mark vi. 5. and others, which fome people are pleafed to make merry with, that I c^nngt but chufe to tranfgribe it:
TavTOL
Sect. XX IV. Chrijlian Revelation, 3 1 5
few profelytes : And, his mod intimate Difciples not being quite freed from all their prejudices, but ftill retaining fome of their idolatrous principles ; as, by this means, his inflruclions, in the minds of his Difciples, during his life, came to be mixed and adulterated ; fo, no provifion having been made for recovering, after his death, the purity of his dod:rines, .and to propagate and preferve them to the world ; thofe fundamental articles of religion, which he taught, and which directly overthrew all idolatry and fuperilition, could not be fecured from falling into a total and abfolute negledt. Thus it fared with the dodrines of Socrates^ in the hands of men ftill univerfally famous for learning and phi-
fofophy,
ToLVTOL ah TTOLVTOL eip^iKoc (Toij oTi V] dwociAi^ avTY] Ttf da/- ^oy'iM TtiTs ^ e<c Tac (ivvmjIol; r'j>v [xir Iij-M avvJ^ioiTfiiliovTuv ro aTTOiv dvvaTOCi, ttoKKoic juiv yoc^ ivccvri\iTcit, il mv. er/ t«- T<?/c w^eKnS'iifa/ (Jlit i^jm aiaiTfi^\i'jiy. w^i \i^ ci'ov ri fxoi r«- To;c ()VvoioLr^i(^eiv' ttqkkoIq &l avvetvai fAv « dtciKoiKvei^ w^t- hvvrcci di Mdlv dvv'ovTiC o'tQ cT av cvKKoi(hr,TOii Ty,(; awddtai; vj rM ^aiiJLoyi'^ ouvcif/.i(;^ {sroi ei<Tiv uv ^ cv yicd-yjacii. rcc^v -yoi^ 7rctPcf)(^pri^x iTnoidocidi' Hj tmtc^v av ruv iTnaid'ovTCniV^ ci fAv k) P>i(^oLioy t^'tiai ^ 7roi^aiy.'o\iy,ov ryjv wsptxe/ar ttokkoi dl o<toy av fxiT iUM y^ff'ovov ciXTiy^avuadioy i.7ri(J'i$oa>Tiv' tTretidv i^l f/M
a.Tro'^covrxi, Traxiv iidlv diaOifMTtv oTV'eiv. sV/k «k, 6 Ota.-
y£C, ToioLvrn yj yif/.iTif>a. avv^cia' tav ^uiv too Qyew cpiKov yj vra,' yv TToKv iTTiJmeic ^ layy' ei d'l uh^ i. l^lat. in Theag. p.. 129. E. This laft fentence, and what follows a few lines after, VIZ. avTo TO ^eiov to aoi yr/vo^ivov 7reipa(70fj.i^a ira.^ay.v^eid- 6a/ h^alidi T£ ^ 3-u(r/a/C5 ^eem to me to confirm Simmias's opinion in Plutarch, or to put it beyond quedion, that this beiov ri ii cPaiuovicv^ which conllantly attended Socrates, cannot be conftrufted his oivn mind, as fome people imagine; but mud be underftood, as it was believed by thofe of his own age, and by many eminent Authors of after-ages, fomething fupernaturaly or ^ divine intelligence.
3 1 6 The Iruth of the Sect, XXI V .
lofophy, adling only upon the flrength of their na- tural faculties. And,
In like manner, had the Apoftles, even after the refurrcdion of our Saviour, been left to their own underilanding, in reporting and explaining the dodrines of their Mailer : As we fhould have been ignorant of fome important truths of the Gofpel ; fo others would have been corrupted by a grofs mixture of abfurd opinions and prejudices ; and hardly any thing of the evangelical inilitiition could have long iubfiiled. But, by a fupevnatural inter pofition, all along from the day of Pentecoll:, the Apoftles came to be wholly cleared of all their prejudices; their minds were opened to recolleel:, and to conceive ajuil: and full underflanding of the dodrines of our Lord {£) ; they were enabled to work miracles ; and their inllrucfions were fecond- ed, as I Ihall explain afterward, by fupernatural in- fluences upon the minds of their hearers : And that, after their death, the pure dodrines they had re- ceived, might not, in any age, be loil or negleded, they not only faithfully committed them to v/ri- tjng, but they every where fet a-part public Teach- ers, to explain and recommend them in religious alTemblies, frequently to be held for that purpofe ; and they appointed, that a fucceffion of men in that charader or office Ihould be continued to the q.wA of the world.
Thus, I fay, upon the total failure of Socrates' i, fcheme to reform the v/orld from idolatry and fuper- flition, and from vice and impiety ; or to eilablilh a
fyilem
{g) " Thefe things, fays our Lord, have I fpoken unto you, *' being yet prefent with you. But the Comforter, which is the " holy Ghoft, whom the Father will fend in my name, he fiiall " teach you all things. and bring all things to your remembrance, ** whatfoever I have faid unto you. John xiv. 25, 26."
Sect. XXiV. Chrijlian ReveIatio?i. 317
fyftem of true religion among mankind, by the mere force of reafon and argument, applied to the unafElled powers of human nature ; the Deifts maj fee, that what other things might be judged neceflliry, in any future attempt, to accomplilh fuch a gracious deiign of Providence, were particularly employed by 'Jefus Chrift^ in the Chrirtian inilitu- tion : So that, according to the judment of Xeno- phoft^ ChriiVians are the men in the world, who, v/ith good reafon, may be deemed the happieft of mortals ; fince they are the men, beyond all que- llion, blelTed w^ith an Inftrue^or infinitely better than Socrates {h). But, I now come to explain our general conclufion.
SECT. XXV. I^he general Conclusion deduced and illuft rated.
FROM the principles of human nature, I have above obferved, That it is as certain as any niatiiematical truth, that the Apoiiles, in the pro- pagation of the Gofpel, were animated with the profpecl of fome good or happinefs, which, by means of that Miniftry, they hoped to arrive at. And fince I have, permit me to fay, fully demon- strated, That the good they had in view was none of the enjoyments of /i?/j world; it mull:, of ne- ceffity, have been of another world, and, as they publilh themfelves, that confummate happinefs which is at God's right-h?tnd to eternity. It is true, peo- ple may be honeil and fmcere, and yet be impofed
upon
KficcT'di; cvviykviTQ^ Ixeivov \yl to/ civ<^j^cL -cl^touoiKy.pi?-'oTCiTor Yo/uiilcc. Xenoph. Apol. Socrat. in fin.
3 1 8 Ike Truth of the Sect. XXV.
upon or miftaken in their apprehenfions of this na- ture :
But I have likewife, I hope, put it beyond all reafonable dilpute, That, in their alFured profpect of of a glorious immortality as the reward of their Miniftry, the Apoflles were clear and diiiinct, well founded, and in no meafure governed by the llrength of groundlefs fancy and imagination.
And having thus made it, as 1 think, unqueflion- ably evident, that while the Apoftles openly pro- felTed, that, in propagating the Gofpel to mankind, they acied in obedience to the comm.and of God, and under the prevailing hopes of a crown of righ- teoiifnefs eternal in the heavens^ they were neither Impoitors nor Enthufiafts, neither deluded them- lelves, nor deceiving other people; is not this con- clufion unavoidable and infalhbly certain ? viz.
The great Father of fpirits, after an extraordi- nary and fupernatural manner, laying open to the minds of the Apoftles the happinefs or glories of heaven, as the fure reward of their propagating the Gofpel of Jefus Chrifi to the world , and flill continuing to apply this commanding motive to their a(5live faculties, v/as thereby pleafed to derive fo contlant and prevailing an impulfe to their paf- lions, the immediate fprings of adion, that in fpite of all the moll frightful oppofitions and difcourage- ments that every where befel them, they were made^ with the greatell zeal and fleadinefs, ftill to exert themfelves in the profecution of that fervice wherein they had the honour of being employed.
This is a rational account of the conduct of the x^poftles, which after no other manner can be made confiftent with the effential principles of human nature, as they are univerfally known to operate in all forts of men, whether Impollors or Enthufiafts, or
whether
Sect. XXV. Chrijiian Revelation. 319
whether honeft or wife men, with all their fenfes and reafon itrong, clear and regular about them. And, in- deed, the character given SallufisiS an Author, upon much flronger evidence, from their . writings, be- longs to the Apollles, of whom it may be truly faid, they had '' a noblenefs of mind that made *' them incapable of impofmg on the world, and a " fedatenefs and extent of judgment that would not " fuifer a cheat to p.ifs upon itfelf.'' But becaufe, for the truth of this argument, I all along mean to appeal to the inward fenfe and feeling, or to the con- fcioufnefs of every man of common underifanding, that will be at the pains to look into his own breafl, or to conlider what part he himfelf, aiTuming any determined character, would have acted in fuch par- ticular circumltances ; I hope the Reader will give me leave me to illultrate this conclufion, in briefly explaining human nature as it is governed by Fears and HopeSy the mighty fprings of every arduous undertaking.
In the conclufion to which we have been necef- farily led, it is iniinuated, that the Apoftles were under the power of a thorough flrong conviction, that iliould they not purfue the propagation of the Gofpel, and prove faithful in that fervice, they would certainly fall under the difpleafure of al- mighty God, and come to be involved in all the miferies of another world. And the Apoltles be- ing abfolutely free from all impofture, as well as enthufiafm, nothing can be more apparent than that this was really their cafe.
By an invincible neceflity of nature, human minds do conftantly bear an irreconcileable averfion to m^xQ pain: Nor is it pofTible for any man to bring himfelf to that pafs, as to make choice of pain purely as fuch, without any other confidera-
tion.
320 Tbe^ Truth of the Sect. XXV.
tion. It is true, there are daily inilances wherein we fee people voluntarily fubmitting themfelves to certain degrees of pain ; but, in all fuch cafes, the patient muft be fuppofed to confider his pain as a goGii^ or as a promiling means whereby to prevent Ibme other pain, which, in his apprehenfion, would be more opprefTive to his nature, or afFtici him with greater uneafinefs. In no inilance, however, will a prudent man deliberately exchange pleafure for pain, without being well allured, as far as is pofTi- ble, that no otherwife he can avoid fome more ter- rible evil. And as thole miferies whicli we mean to efcape, mu(l appear to us {o much the more dread- ful and infufferable, as the miferies to which we chufe to expofe ourfelves, in order to prevent them, are hard and fevere; fo the greater certainty will we endeavour to have, that thefe our prefent af- flictions will effecfually fecure us againft thofe o- ther more frightful threatened calamities. So that if a wife man, under no fort of external force, with thought and deliberation, knowingly involves him- felf in any great hardlhips or miferies; this certain- ly is with a view to keep off ibme other more terri- ble difailers, .which, he is well perfuaded, would fall upon him and opprefs him ; And, if hfe un- dauntedly fuftains thofe miferies he fubmits to, and goes on iliU under them, with inward chearfuinefs and triumpljj thismakes it manifeH:, that he heartily approves the choice he has made, and is in no doubt, fo far as he is capable of judging, but it will anfwer his expectation, and have fuccefs attending it.
When we therefore come to underhand, in fad, that the Apoilles, having no profpect of better treatment in this life, and being ^compelled to it by no worldly or bodily force, did Vv'illingly, and with great ehearfulncfs, undergo all the moll dreadful ca- lamities
Sect. XXV , Cbriftian Rev eJ at ion , 321
lamities of this vvorld, the cruelleil perfecutions and deaths, in propagating the Gofpel of Jejus Chrift ; is no: this an infallible j5roof, that they clearly forcfaw, and were well fatisfied in their own minds, that ail tlie woes and mileries of ar;o- ther world would moft certainly overtake them^ if they did not heartily engage, and prove faithful in the Miniih-y of the Gofpel, whilii: their zealonily attending that fervicc would efleclually protect them from thofe future pains and agonies ? 1 cannot but think I il:iall have the inward conviction of every man, who looks into his own breafl, and conliders the movements of human nature, to go along with me in aiBrmi ng, that no man of common fcnfc, of any degree of refiedcion, being abfolutely free- from the influence of every worldly confidcration, can deliberately chufe to expofe himfelf to all the mife- ries of this life, without being thereto determined, from an undoubted, thorough perfuaiion, that no other way is left him, whereby to prevent his be-^ ing for ever overwhelmed in all the gloomy hor- rors of another world. Thus it is that the Apo- flles muft be undcrtrood to be under a neccility to preach and propagate the Gofpel of yefus Cbnftj as they hoped to cfcape eternal ruin. And what we have here concluded, from the general conduct of the Apoftles, is, in fo many words, exprefsly de- clared by themfelves : Thcugb I preach the GofpeU fays the Apoftle Paul, / have nothing to glory of % for neceffity is laid upon me ^ yea ivo is unto me^ if I preach not the Gofpel (?'). So that, 1 f.iy, the Apo- Itles Vv^ere under the power of a itrong conviciiori, that fliould they not purfue the propagation of the Gofpei, and prove faithful in that fersicc, th.ey Vol. II. Si ^ . would
r/) 1 Gor, ix. 16.
322 The Truth of the Sect. XXV*
would certainly fall under the difpleafure of Al- mighty God, and come to be involved in all the miieries of another world.
And as the Apoflles were well aflured, that their efcaping the being undone for ever, depended on their being faithful in difcharging the Minilfry of the Gofpel ; fo they were no lefs perfuaded, that they could no otherwife gain heaven, or attain to the enjoyment of future happinefs. This necefla- rily follows from what I have juil now explained. And, according to the principles of human nature, from which I have been arguing, it is apparent,
No man will chufe to part with any of hispre- fent polTeflions whicli he conceives neceflary to the happinefs of life, but upon the profpect of his there- by acquiring others, which he has reafon to think will render his condition more eafy and comfort- able. The common principle of felf-prefervation, infeparable from the human conftitution, neceflarily prompts us to defend ourfelves againft all attacks, that would rob us of any of thofe comforts and con- .veniences, whereof we have the enjoyment : Nor, without extinguifhing this principle, or directly contradicting its main power and influence, both v/hich are impoirible, can we chufe to forego thofe particular objects, in which we apprehend, is in- cluded our greateil good and happinefs. Indeed, a man, as I have julf now hinted, may willingly for- feit fome lower delights, which now make up his prefent happinefs, that he may attain to the poiieflL- on of other things he has in profpecl, which, on fe- veral accounts, he reckons more valuable : And to this, the principle of felf-prefervation, under the gc- vernment of reafon and prudence, will necelTarily oblige us. But, at the fame time, it mu(t be con- feffed, that were it poffible for us to keep what we
at
SiECT. XXV. Chrijlian Revelation. 323
at prefent have, fo as not to lofe that which is in profped, and which we regard as more necellary to our well-being, we would never chufe to quit the things already in our hand. No man, I am lure, would ever give up his eftate to preferve or regain his liberty, nor would he willingly renounce all his worldly comforts for the fake of future felicities, had he it in his power to fecure himfelf in the pof- fefTion of all thofe valuable blellings, without their interfering with one another. So that we chulc to part with our prefent enjoyments, becaufe v/e are well alfured (for a man of any prudence Will never acl at random in fuch circumltances) that our keep- ing them would prove an, unlucky bar to our attain- ing to thofe objects, that are of higher value, and which, we conceive, are of far greater importance to our fafety and happinefs. .
Thus, if by my own deliberate choice, I chear- fully forego all my prefent moH: valuable fjofreiTions, my fafety and quiet, my reputation and fortune, my nearefl and dearefl friends and relations, and quit all regard to life itfelf, Ihowing an ambition to lay it down, w^hile I daily expofe it to mortal dan- gers; as this evidently lliews, I am certainly en- gaged in the eager purfuit of fome other happinefs ; fo it ferves fufficiently to prove, that beyond doubt I am perfuaded, that the happinefs I have in view can never be acquired, while I continue in the pof- feflion of my prefent enjoyments: For, did I fee there is no inconfilliency betwixt my retaining the good things now in my hands, and my arriving ac thofe at a diflance, which 1 judge far more eligible, fuch fort of conduct could be compatible to no one, but to an arrant fool or downright madman. And when the Apoflles, without any the leail regard or attachment to any earthly thing whacfoever, do in a
324 The Truth cf the Sect. XXV.
chearful and triumpliant manner, tkliberately aban- don and forduce all and every thing that can be counted near and dear and comfortable to men iri this world ; mull not this be' eileemed full and clear evidence, that they v/erc under the (Irongefi: convictions pofTible, they could no or her wife gai-n Iieaven, or attain to the fruition of eternal happi- nefs I This concluiionj neceffarily arifing from ihc general conduct of the Apoilles, as they muft have been determined from the elFential principles of hu- man nature, fliews itfelf diliindly in fome of their exprefs, particular declarations.
The Apoilles indeed, had no ample poiTefTions to forfeit for the fake of the Gofpel ; bur they had enjoyments wherein they found life eafy and <:om- fortable. And as a fmaller fortune is of as great confequeoce to a man tliat has no more, as the moll ppulent eflate can be to the rich proprietor; fo the Apoftles, ^nided by the indifpenfable laws of our conllltution, did not part with what they had, but upon the profpccl of having fomething better in ex- change. B^hold^ fay they to our Saviour, we have forfaken all and follctved thee. What Jhall roe hcive therefor ? And to this demand, fo natural and reafonable in itfelf, our bleifed Saviour, far from checking it as mercenary, is pleafed to return tins anfwcr : And Jcfiis /aid unlo thein^ Verily^ 1 fay unto ycii^ that ye which have.foUc%ved me in the regene- ration^ when, the Spn of man Jhall fit in the throne of his glory ^ ye fJoall alfo fit upon twelve thrones^ judging the Ki'elve tribes of Ifrael. And every one that hath forfaken, hcufes^ or brethren^ or ffiers^ or father^ or mother^ cr wije^ cr children^ or lands, for my name's fake^ fijall receive an hundred fold her^^ in bleilings in- comparably more valuable, and f: all inherii everlafl-
iw
Sect. XXV. Chnjlian Revelation. 325
ing life hereafter (k). So that the Apoftles, in pro- pagating the Gofpel oijejus Chriji^ did chearf Lilly forego all their worldly enjoyments, having the af- fiired hopes, that, in exchange, they ihould come to the laiting poireinon of a glorious inunortality. / a7n now ready to he offered^ faj^s the Apoilje Paul, and the time of my departure is at hand, I have fought a good fight ^ I have finifhed my courfe^ I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of right eoufnefs^ which the Lor d^ the righteous Judge^fhall give me at that day (/).
Now thefe hopes and fears, whereby the Apoftles were ileadily governed in the profecution of their enterprife, being, without quellion, iincere and ra- tional, not pretended, nor yet ariiing from enthu- liafm, they muft have been derived to their minds immediately from heaven. And thus the great Difpofer of our futurity, having been pleafed to ex- cite, /. e. to command the Apoftles to purfue the propagation of the Gofpel, by fupernaturally afford- ing them the certain profpecf of future rewards anci puniiliments, that fhould feverally befal them ac- cording^ to their behaviour, there is no avoiding of this conclufion, namely^ '^' As the Apoftles were *' commanded from heaven to propagate the Go- '^ fpcl of Jefus Chrifi^ fo the great pov/er, or the commanding motive, that animated them in the profecution of their office, was a vigorous, lively " perfuaiipn imprelTed upon their minds from a- bove, that their eternal happinefs depended on the faithful and zealous difcharge of their duty in this particular (;;?) : Upon v/hich we cannot
'' but
{k) U?Mh. xix. 27, 28, 29. (/) 2 Tim. iv. 6, 7, 8.
326 The Truth of the Sect. XXV.
'^ but reft fatisfied, that all the parts of their '^ condud, with relation to the Gofpel of Jefus '' Chrift^ all the doclrines they taught, and all *' the miracles they wrought, in a word, the " "ii^hole of their Miniftry is of God, and has a '^ divine criginalJ' And this conclufion, already fo manifeil, Ihews itfelf further fupported, in a ftrong, additional evidence, arifing from the won- derful fuccef^ that attended the liril publication of the Gofiiel.
SECT.
3"aac y(_ci^i7cr, TzzMT"^ Trifiynic-^oct TTPay/ACiro^. tti'Q avTo kol-
rci^Tin: s^ir.Z'Civ TTOKi^u^d ^ J'^k >u ^'clkoctIkc K0iTc/.TcKy,yi(7a.t^ /.iu TT^oq y.irapicKi^y ruv t>7c orAMyAvni: a^rac;;? i'^'^v 7wv iv y^ri'o-iU) TOTdTCi) 7rciyi\T0i)v av^f>Q7Toi dud'iy.ct oiTroauocca^xty ^ r?-
:cci yiyyy.i:^); yrwj ei d% ^ frpodiaoy^jov KpotTiiorai^ ttoicxic
<:\7ri7i TO(j\ir\ic, ayioiyovTc Kivaui'^i;^ a yji ttooq tcl fjiiKKovra. ■.uouiv ; Chryfoft. in i Cor. i. 31. p. 270. The reflections that follow, and thofe which Chryfoftom had before made, after ver. 17. and 25. Teem unanfwerably to prove, that the Apoftles then^ifel'vcs were under the influences of heaven, and that their ''nil ■u:t'3>QriS were likewife fccondcd by a divine power.
Sect. XXVI. Chrijiian Revelatio?!. 327
SECT. XXVI.
"ithat the Apoftles were commijftoned from Heaven to propagate the Gofpel to Mankind^ is ftrongly con- firmed from the divitie Efficacy^ that appears in the amazing Succefs of their Minijlry,
A Few particular perfons, by the fpecial di- redion of the fiipreme Governor of the world, having been employed to inlirud: mankind in the great truths and articles of rcHgion and vir- tue, it Teems reafonable to expedl, that one will find the inllrudions of thofe few powerfully fe- conded by the extraordinary favour and influences of the fame kind Being, in whofe name they carry OH their Miniilry. Indeed, had Providence pur* fued the meafures which human prudence now finds neceiTary ; I mean, fince, for the conveniency of civil government, or the more commodious admi- niflration of civil juftice, all the feveral fbates and kingdoms of the world have happened always to be divided in greater and fmaller diflricls, had Pro- vidence, in each of thefe fmaller divifions, qualified and raifed up one or more public, Teachers, and committed to their care, as 'cis now the courfe in Chriltian countries, the inllruclion of a com.petent number of people ; it is poffible, that liuman care and induftry, without any fupernatural interpofi- tion, might have been attended with fome toler- able good fuccefs. But, for twelve mean and ob- fcure perfons, to have it in command to go and teach all nations^ baptizing them in the name of the Father^ and of the Scn^ and of the Holy Ghofl^ teach- ing them to obferve all things zvhatfoever Jefus had
commanded
328 The Truth of the Sect. XXV L
commanded them {a). This is a fcheme for reform- ing the world, which, rupported by no means but human indullry, mutt necelTarily prove abortive. Such a number of Teachers, in a courfe of years, might have come to make fome prolelytes in fome fmall diftrids ; but how do the labours of twelve perfons feeni proportioned to the tafl<: of converting all nations ? The undertaking, without the imme- diate concurrence of Heaven, with refpect to any meafure of fuccefs, is far too romantic to bear the face of probability. And yet, we learn from the hiftory of the Apoftles, that, by their Miniiiry, an univerfU fpiritual kingdom was intended every » where to be erefted, that fliould ifand againft all the powers of hell, and lail to the end of the world. So that, 1 fay, only twelve perfons having been fent abroad to found and propagate this nniverfal king- dom among all nations, one may reafonably expecl to find their inilrudions attended with fome extra- ordinary influences from Heaven. And that it fo happened, is put beyond queftion from undoubted matters of fact. But, to explain this article di- ftinctly, we mud confider the moral circumitances of mankind, at the rims when the Gofpel was firft publifhed.
The Jews ^\v\\o\Q facred Writings inflrucledthem in the knowledge of the true God, of the deligns of his mercy towards mankind, and of that religious fervice, thofe inttances of duty, enforced by pro^ per fandlions, which he would accept of, came ne- verthelefs to entertain, very grofs and abfurd noti- ons, with refped: to almoil every article of religion and virtue. Tho' the whole of their temple-fervice, all the facrifices, rites and cerempnics indituted in
their
{a) Matth. xjcviii. 19, 20.
Sect. XXVI. Chriflian "Revelation, 329
their lav/, being only a Jhadow of good things to come^ were therefore to difappear in the greater light of the Gofpel ; yet they held them to be of perpetual obhgation ; and, in thofe types and Iha- dows, without regarding the real things intended, made the main of religion to confiil. So far were they from imagining, that any of thofe temporary ceremonial inftitutions could be abolifhed, chat they conceived it no lefs than blafphemy to propofe it. This was the charge that was brought againlt St. Stephen^ when, in preaching of the Gofpel, he touched upon abrogating their temple-fervice, and other legal rites and ceremonies : nis man^ fay they, ceafeth not to [peak blajpbemous words againjl this holy place and the law \ for^ we have heard hm [ay, that this J ejus of Nazareth Jhall deftroythis place ^ and jhall change the cuftoms which Mofes delivered us {b). And,
As it is common among mankind, for people to abate of their concern for the fubftantial points of religion, as their zeal for outward ceremonies hap- pens to increafe ; fo it fhamefully came to pafs in the cafe of the Jews. They had got a fet of men among them for their public Teachers, who, by their falfe glolTes, and interpretations (mortlyYound- ed on oral traditions, which, inftead of coming from God, as was pretended, were all mere forgery) had fo ftrangely perverted and difguifed the fenle and meaning of the eternal laws of righteoufnefs, that thereby they made void the commandments of God, and rendered people quite infenfible to their force and obligation. So that outward rites and ceremonies, coming to be fubftituted in the room of the weightier matters of the law; that inward
Vol. II. T t parity
(b) Aa. vi. 13, 14.
330 The I'ruth cf the Sect. XXVI.
purity and rectitude of foul, wherein religion parti- cularly confifts, fell under a total neglect, and the exercife of judgment, mercy and faith had no re- putation, in coniparifon with the paying of tithes of mint, annife, and cummin. And thus people's minds l3eing wholly withdrawn from all attention to moral duties, to the love of God and the love of mankind; and being taught to regard form and ceremony, fome ritual obfervances, as the moll im- portant and neceflary duties, they mult have been intirely over-run with fuperllition, and cpite loil to all fenfe of true piety and virtue. Nor was it only thofe doctrines of the Pharifees that perverted people's fentiments, and debauched their morals •, there was another fet of dodrines taught by the Sadducees no lefs pernicious to religion. Thefe men openly profelfed, there is no fuch thing as An- gel or Spirit, no fuch thing as a refurreclion from the dead, no rewards or punifliments in another world. And, as fuch principles feem to afford very confiderable relief to the guilty confciences of wicked men, who cannot think of parting with their impie- ties, there is reafon to apprehend, that they were gladly embraced by not a few of the Jeivijh na- tion.
Such were the religious fentiments that prevailed a- mong the Jews^ and in all their fuperftition and bigo- try, they were flrongly fortified by the notions they entertained about their MeJJiah. Inftead of that fpiritual redemption, which their Scriptures taught them to expect for themfelves and the reft of man- kind, they had all their hopes fettled in a tempo- nl deliverance, that Ihould free them from every public or national calamity. In their views of the M'JJlah^ they fondly conceived a great worldly monarch, who, by the fucccfs of his arms, was to
recover
Sect. XXVI. Chrijiian "Revelation, 331
recover the freedom and independency of their flate; to extend their dominions, and to eftabhfli their government, in the overthrow of all other Hates and kingdoms : So that, upon the coming of their Mejjiah^ whom they confidently exped:ed a- bout the time that Jefiis appeared, the jews flat- tered themfelves, the yoke of their oppreflbrs Ihould be broken ; and the world being (ubdued under them, theirnation ihould for ever triumph, andpof- fefs the glory of an univerfal empire ; In which happy fituation, it was pail doubt with them, the whole of their conlfitution, particulary their tem- ple-fervice, all their religious rites and ceremonies, Ihould be facredly maintained, obferved with pomp and luftre greater than ever ; and, in time to come, Hand firm and fecure above the danger of any fu- ture fhock or invafion. After this manner were the Jews aifecled with rcfpecl to matters of reli- gion ; and fuch were their expedations concerning the Meffiah.
As for the Heathen world, fo far as hiilory can inform us, 'tis pretty certain, that, at the time when the Gofpel was firfl publifhed, learning and knowledge was farther diifufed, and more univerfal than it had been at any former period whatfoever. Bur, notwithllanding all the improvements to which the Heathen had attained, they were fiill grofsly ignorant and wholly in the dark, v/ith re- fped: to the eflential articles of religion. There was no where to be found the knowledge of the one, only living and true God (~). Their beft and
great eft
{c) Zenoni, et reliquls fere Stoicis, ^ther videtur fummus Deus, mente prasditus, qua omnia regantur. Cleanthes, qui quafi majorum eft gentium Stoicus, Zenonis auditor, Solem do- minari et rerum potiri putat. Itaque cogimur, difienfione fapi- entum, Dominum noftrum ignorare : Quippe qui nefciamus, Soli an ^theri ferviamus. Cic. Acad. 2. lib. iv. cap. 41.'
332 The Truth of the Sect. XXVI.
greateft Philofophers, in all their inquiries and rea- soning, went no higher in their notions of a {w- preme God, the great Author of all being, life, and good, than a material foul animating the univerfe , and they fo firmly believed the divinity of fun, moon, and liars, that they judged it impious and deltrudive of religion to think otheru^ife {d).
And, as the Heathens vitrt intirely dellitute of the knowledge of God ; fo they were equally ig- norant about a future flate of exiftence. Thofe Philolophers, who profeiTed the immortahty of the foul, were able to propofe no rational certainty :
Amidft
{d) What a wretched account does Arnobius give of himfelf, before he embraced Chriftianity ! And, upon his change, how inr finitely more manly does he appear ? From his own experience, he jaftifies the charafter of Jefus, and vindicates the credit of his Gofpel.
Venerabar, fays he, o coecitas ! nuper fimulacra modo ex for- nacibas prompta, in incudibus deos et ex malleis fabricatos, ele- phantorum ofla, piduras, veternofis in arboribus tienias : Si quando confpexeram lubricatum lapidem, et ex olivi unguine or- dinatum, tanquam inefiet vis praefens, adulabar. afFabar, et bene- ficia pofcebam, nihil fentiente de trunco : Et eos ipfos divos quos effe mihi perfuaferam, afficiebam contumeliis gravibus ; cum eos eiTe credebam ligna, lapides, atque ofTa, aut in hujufmodi rerum habitare materia. Nunc, Doftore tanto, in vias veritatis indudlus, omnia ilia, quae fint, fcio : digna de dignis fentio, con- tumeliam nomini nullam facio divino ; et quid cuique debeatur, vel perfon^E, vel capiti, inconfufis gradibus atque autoritatibus tribuo. Ita ergo Chriftus non habeatur a nobis Deus ? Nee qui omnium alioquin vel maximus poteft excogitari, divinitatis affici- atur cultu ; a quo jamdudum tanta et accepimus dona vivenies, et expeclamus, dies cum venerit, ampliora? Sed patibuJo afHxus interiic. Quid iltud ad caufam ? Neque enim qualitas et defor- mitas mortis, dida ejus immutat aut fada ; aut eo minor vide- bitur difciplinarum ejus autoritas, quia vinculis corporis ncn na- turali difTolutione digrelTus eft, fed vi illata deceffit. Simi- liter Socrates civitatis fuae judicio damnatus, capitali affedus eft pcena : riumquid irrita facia funt, quse funt ab eo de mcribus, virtntibus, et officiis difputata, quia injuria expulfus e vita eft ? Adverfus Gentes, lib. i. p. 13.
Sect. XXVL Chriftian "Revelation, 333
Amidft the continual doubting and liefitation which they every- where betray, they all feem to hold a tranfmigration : And the Stoics, who were rec- koned the moil knowing and zealous in the matters of virtue, do, in this article, go along with Atheifls, and maintain a final extindion of all human fouls whatfoever.
Thus, nothing but grofs ignorance reigning a- mong Philofophers, what can one expedl to meet with among the bulk of mankind ? The common Heathen, fuch of them, I mean, as were not Atheifts, not only firmly beUeved the divinity of the luminaries of heaven, but they acknowledged that world of gods and goddeffes, they entertained thofe notions con- cerning them, and they paid them that worfhip and devotion, which their Poets particularly have re- prefented as the common popular religion {e). And,
as
{e) In the queftion concerning the gods, Velleius proceeds thus : Expofui fere non Philofophorum judicia, fed delirantium fomnia. Nee enim multo abfurdiora funt ea, qu£, Poetarum vo- cibus fufa, ipfa fuavitate nocuerant : Qui et ira inflammatos, et libidine furentes induxerunt deos ; feceruntque, ut eorum bella, pugnas, praelia, vulnera, videremus ; odia praeterea, diffidia, dif- cordias, ortus, interitus, querelas, lamentationes, efFufos in omni intemperantia libidines, adulteria, vincula, cum humane genere concubitus, mortalefque ex immortali procreates. Cic. de Nat. Deor. lib. i. 16.
Idibus eft Anns feftum geniale Perennse
Haud procul a ripis, advena Tibri, tuis. Plebs venit, ac virides paifim disjedla per herbas
Potat, et accumbit cum pare quifque fua. Sub Jove pars durat : Pauci tentoria ponunt : Sunt, quibus e ramo frondea fada cafa eft : Pars ibi pro rigidis calamos ftatuere columnis :
Defuper extentas impofuere togas. Sole tamen vinoque calent : annofque precantur,
Quot fumant cyathos ; ad numerumque bibunt. Invenies illic, qui Neftoris ebibat annos : 03^ fit per calices fada Sibylla fuos.
Jllic
334 The Truth of the Sect. XXVI.
as to another world, they knew nothing of it, but what we learn from the extravagant accounts, which the fame Poets have been pleafed to afford us. So that the Heathen world was utterly igno- rant of thofe fivndamental articles, upon which alone religion and virtue can fubfill ; and the gods they profeiledj and the worfliip they paid them, only flattered the corruptions of human nature, and en- couraged vice, lewdncfs and impiety (/). Their gods were brought upon the ftage, and acted the moil criminal characters (^).
Such, in general, was the flate of religion among mankind in the days of the Apoftles •, and what Itronger bar can one pofTibly imagine to oppofe and hinder the progrefs of the Gofpel < Both Jews and Gentiles, from their earliell days, having been trained up to a facred regard of their feveral religi- ous fentiuients, abfolutely repugnant to the evan- gelical inftitution; by the whole biafs of their
minds,
IlUc et cantant, quidquid didicere theatrls, .
Et ja6lant faciles ad fua verba manus : Et ducunt pofito duras cratere choreas,
Cuhaque diffufis faltat arnica comis. Cum redeunt, titubant, et funt fpedacula vulgo :
Et fortunatos obvia turba vocant. Occurri nuper : Vifa eft mihi digna relatu
Pompa : Senem potum pota trahebat anus.
Ovid. Faft, lib. iii. ver. 523,
(f) Qn^'i z\\\:idi eft vitia noftra incendere, qiiam Audores illis infcribere decs, et dare morbo, exemplo divinitatis, excufatam licentiam r Senec. de Brevit. Vit. cap. 16.
roicc'jTO. 7rf>0LT%(Ji ri ^''IttpoltIov Hj 01 ^i(t)v (/.■y')(j<J7[cfoi^ Zyiyhc ly}jC' P^^t. de Repub. lib. iii.
(g) The God Mercury, who has likewiTe a great fhare in the coniedy, fpeaks the prclogue, and tells the audience of Jupiter, the hero of the play ; Is amare occepit Alcumenam clam virum, ufuramque ejus corporis cepit fibi : Et gravidam fecit is earn coinpreifu fuo. Plaut. Amphit.
Sect. XXVI. Chrijiian Revelation, 33^
minds, they mud have been led zcaloafly to retain them ; wherein they would infifl with the greater eagernefs, as thofe lentiments gave countenance to their corrupt inclinations. And, if to this we add, that their leveral religions made a confiderable part of the civil conftitution, and were under the pro- tection of public authority, which feldom fails to opprefs people's minds and bodies in favour of the eifablifhed orthodoxy ; 'tis eafy to conceive that the Gofpel of Jefiis could not poflibly take place, and prevail among mankind, without overcoming the fiercefl oppofition, not only the inveteracy of long confirmed habits, but the violence of all fort of perfecution. And what oppofition, in the com- mon courfe of things, muft have arifen to the pro- grefs of the Gofpel, from people's vitious habits, one may learn from looking a little into their na-' ture.
Certain it is, that, as in contracting any habit, which is done by particular acts frequently repeat- ed, the mind grows up under a continued propen- fion towards the object about which it is conver- fant ; fo this propeniion, in proportion to the fre- quency of thofe ads, neceiTarily becom.es ftronger ; and, if long continued, comes to be the infeparable call or turn of the mind, and fo is wrought into its very naturej a truth long fince obfcrved in this com- mon faying we have among us, Ciiftom is a fecond 7iature. And this I take to be tiic cafe of all finite fpirics, even thofe that arc independent of all mat- ter or body, with refpect to thofe habits they may have acquired.
But then, there feems to be an additional (Irength in thofe habits that belong to the human mind, a- rifing from the particular make of our bodies. The fact icfelf is inconteftable ^ and therefore it im- ports
336 The Truth of the Sect. XXVL
ports us very little, whether one can account for it philofophically : I only mean, in a few words, which may well enough be done upon the common hypo- thefis, to help the Reader to conceive, that, fome fome way or other, the palfions or habits of the mind are mightily flrengthened by the temper or difpofition of the body. And,
Since foul and body, in the human conftitutioHj do mutually depend on one another, and reciprocal- ly affedl each other in all the actions of life ; one may imagine, that in apprehending any objects, a- boat which our defires or averfions are employed, there is a certain motion or diredion which the mind derives to the courfe of the animal fpirits, an- fwering to fuch particular affedlions, or that difpo- fes the body to avoid fuch particular objedls, or to purfue and enjoy them. Now, this motion of the animal fpirits, while we are contracting any habit, being for fome time frequently repeated, thefe parts of the body along which they flow, coming there- by to be fo aifedled, that without any fort of refi- flance, they yield to their current, the mind has obtained a ready inftrument to follow its thoughts, or to aflifl or promote its inchnations. And where- as the fmallefl circumilance or incident that can relate to thofe obje(5ts, to which we have been ac- cuflomed, is very apt to bring them to our thoughts, and thofe thoughts do immediately give a motion to our animal fpirits, that cannot but naturally flow along thofe parts of the body, through which, by the frequency of their current, they have traced out for themfelves a free and open courfe ; hence it comes to pafs, that the mind is flrongly led away, and is almoil continually bending towards them. And when one confiders, that fuch particular parts of the body, by their having'been long yielding to
fuch
Sect. XXVI. Chrijllan Revelation. 337
fuch a certain motion of the animal fpirits, do at length con trad: fo great a firmnefs in luch a parti- cular pofiiion, or fo ftrong a bent towards it, that it is alniolt impoffible for them to receive any o- ther; this gives us to underftand, that the mind Comes under a fort of neceffity to purfne thofe ob- jects, to which the mechanlfm of the body, its greac inlfrumeiU of acting, is almoft unalterably tur-ned and adapted. So that, I fay, the particular temper and conllitution of the body, v^^hich we acquire in the contracfing of habits, Ifrongly fortifies the dil- pofitions of the mind, and renders our habits exceed^ ing obilinate, and near the matter, wholly impreg- nable.
In the mean while, if our habits be vicious; as they are then more eafily and fpeedily acquired \ fo they are by far ftronger and more obilinate. For as the depravity of human- nature, univerfally felt and C^omiplained of in all ages, has a conftanC unhappy influence upon our minds, perpetually ben- ding us towards fenfual and worldly objecls, which by their prefence make a deep impreflion on our hearts, while things at a diflance very flightly af- fe*5t us ; and as the corrupt examples about us, and 6ther powerful fnares and temptations, are very frequent and numerous; fo all thofe things confpi- ring together, to prompt us to thepurfuit of fen- fual gratifications ; the grovi^th of our vicious habits muil be very quick, and the root they take in oUc minds, deep and ftrong : Whereas, the fame very things violently oppofing us in i\\q. acquificion^ and frequently beletting lis in the exercife of any good or virtuous habits, this renders their grovvth very flow, and their continuance or liability x\oi fo very fure or certain ; fo that vicious liabit/ are of all o-
VoL.IL U u
rhor
338 Tie Truth of the Sect. XXVL.
ther the ftrongell, and confequently the hardeft to be fliaken off. But,
How ftubborn mull they be, when they are fortified by a perfuafion, that, in indulging them, we have the favour and prote»5lion of that Being, to whom we pay our rehgious worlhip, and in whofe hands is the difpofal of our futurity : In this cafe, no -checks of confcience, as if we were therein a- cling againll our duty and intereft, can diilurb our criminal purfuits, or interrupt us in following the fwing of our corrupt hearts. On the contrary, the conceit of our having the approbation of God to confpire with the bent of our inclinations, will de- rive fuch an impulfe to our paflions, as will make us go on amain in the courfe of our vicious habits; being now favoured as it were, both by wind and tide^ and out of the reach of all reftraint whatfo- ever. And what other was the condition, either of the Jewijh or of the Heathen world?
Tlie yews were juflified, as they thought, by' the authority of Heaven, while they were firm in the expeclation of a great fecular prince for their Mejjiah ; while they were fettled in the perfuafion of the perpetuity of their ceremonial law, and paid an equal, in many inltances a greater regard to their traditions, than they did to the command- ments of God. And as for the Heathen ; in a fui- tablenefs to the nature and example of their gods, they could look upon them no otherwife than as patrons and protectors of impiety (/:'). And vici- ous
\h^ T/ /'• aV etV(j/c ^^f' ^)3-/;t« ^.t'pyc avTccv 5 Tr'o^iVy ^
Ct^iTYW dVVmOVTOLt^ Km 7rKilS\s TTOietV ai,t\i^ 7CIIC 7rOif>XlVi<Ji<Xiy ;
Sect. XXVI. Chrijlian Revelatto?7. 339
ous habits thus iiniverfally fupported, could not but prove every vvliere moil ilubborn and invete- rate.
Befides, that a man being alu^ays prone to regard thole vicious habits, whereby he has been long go- verned, as fo many undoubted maxims or firft prin- ciples, not to be quellioned or contradidled ; from hence it comes to pafs, that when any thing hap- pens to be propofed to him, that would overthrow thefe fettled principles; fo far is he from giving it a fair hearing, or making it the matter of his feri- ous inquiry, that forthwith he rejeds it, without examination ; and vi'ith contempt and fcorn will exprefs his prejudice againil it. And mud not this IHII keep him at the greated diflance from receiv- ing any impreflions, that can contribute to his con- verfion or reformation ? Nay,
Tho' a man ihould go about to examine into thofe things, that are contrary to his fettled and prevaihng appetites, yet his mind, as to its notions of moral truths, being flidly involved in very great darknefs and confufion, will not be able to difcern the beauty and excellency, or the jufhiefs and reafon- ablenefs of thofe things that flandoppofed to his vici- ous habits. For of a long time, having had no corref- pondence with fuch divine objects, they are none of his acquaintance, and therefore, when laid before
him,
^f>u/jiirdi; odyryoTi; to-^v ttx^cov Xf -TTPc^oiroii/; ^ iv^cc ro KaKov iiyai, Kf ri/j.icy^ ui; ^iccv rivet rrocky-uivov « to vrd^o^ hi. /Siy- ji/.rji; T£ ^ ^V'l'iy.K; r i y.w fjLivov ^ ^ Try.^pno-iccv ei?^>'!Oo^ iyyo/y.&y, TMTO yap TO aetyoTOLToy^ oTi d rc7^ vouoic y.o\oilirciiy ravTOi wc ^iicJL (j'i^irai. ro'jci-j7v, TIC, xj^Tiv rrit; o^i'iKioiQ n Tnf^i'aricc. Greg. Nazian. Adver. Julian. Orat. 3. p. 107'. A. Ego homun- cio hoc non facerem r Teren. Eunuch. a£l. 3. fc. 5.
340 The Truth of the Sect. XXVL
him, he can make no judgment of them ; only, in general, underltanding they contradid his darling principles, and oppofe that to which he is vehement- iy inclined, he is ilrongly prepofTelTed againft them, and looks on them with lb evil ^n eye, that what- ever can be faid in their favour, appears to him mean and contem.ptiblc; whilft the leall objedtion that flarts up to their difadvantage, is, in his con- c::it, mighty and conliderable. At the fame time, thole objecls which have been long famjliar to his mind, intruding themfclves almoft continually up- on his thoughts ; his attention cannot but be very much broken and interrupted, which muft of courle prevent his purfuing any argument that leans not to the fide of his commanding biafs, v/ith that meafure of fteadinefs, that is necelTary to convi- i!lion. And thus will he ftill continue under the power of his vicious habits.
Nay, fuppofe a man under the prevalency of fuch habits, to be able to lend fo much attention, as Ihall not only difcover to him the beauty and ad- vantage of thofe things that are propofed to him, in oppofition to thofc Icntiments and cultoms to which he has been hitherto habituated; I fay, fup- pofe a vicious man's attention Ihould not only make him fenfible of the beauty and advantage of religion and virtue, but further engage him to purpofe, for the future, lleadily to embrace thofe contrary prin- ciples, and to govern himfelf by then) in every in- flance of his after conduifl ; ftill I cannot but appre- hended, it is a thoufand to one if he fliall continue any time of the fune mind, or ever come xo put his defign in execution. The matter is, his vicious hcibits uill exerting their influence over him, and exciting in his mind thofe thoughts and paffions to which he has been long accuftomedj this will dark- en
Sect. XXVI . Chrijiian "Revelation, 341
en and confound all the reafonable notions he had acquired ; and thus making him lofe all fight of the beauty and excellency of religion, will put a (lop to his parfuing the virtuous courfe he had intended, and bring him back again to the old biafs of his cor- rupt mind.
In a word, a man, in crolTnig his vicious habits, neceflarily undergoes no little pain and uneafinefs ; 'Tis manifetily againfl the grain, and cannot poffi- bly be done without offering violence to one's na- ture. Experience may teach us, 'tis like the cutting off of the right 'handy or the plucking out of the right- eye^ an operation there is no body but will make a thoufand fhifts to have prevented. When we therefore confider how utterly averfe human nature is to every thing painful, and always ftrongly in- clines to be undifturbed and eafy, indulging to itfelf its own pleafures and gratifications, one may eafily apprehend, that the conquering any vicious habit, is a matter of the greateil difficulty. On many ac- counts, it requires that labour and application, that watchfulnefs and circumfpec1:ion, and that firm- nefs and refolution, which, in this ftate of humani- ty, very few are capable of. At any rate, it is a work not poffible to be efFccled all on a fudden, or without the affiftance of a great deal of time and exercife.
Such is the nature of thofe habits, whereby Jews and Heathens, at the firfl promulgation of the Gof- pel, were abfolutely governed. And when we rcr fiecl, that all their vicious habits, in their own na- ture very llubborn, were, amidft numberlcfs bad examples, r.nd all other fnares and temptations, continually cherilhed and fupported by the natural
depravity
34.2 The Truth of the Sect. XXVI.
depravity of their corrupt minds; That they
were farther ftrongly fortified by a firm perfuafioii, that the indulging them was acceptable to God, or to the feveral objeds of their religious wor-
fliip; That they were regarded as fo many firft
principles, and would therefore caufe every thing propofed of a contrary nature to be rejecled with- out examination ; That they fo darkened the
mind and broke its attention, that, Ihould a man have gone about to examine into the doftrines of the Apoilles, he would not have been able to dif- cern their beauty and excellency, or to purfue the argument with that fteadinefs that is neceffary to
conviction ; That they had taken fuch deep
root in the foul, that tho' one fliould have come to perceive the excellency of the Gofpel, and to refolve to obey it, yet, by frequently exerting their influence, they would again confound all his appre- henfions, and thereby fully reftore the uncontrolled
prevalency of his old biafs ; That the crofTing
one's vicious habits is always attended with pain, which being greater or lefs, in proportion to their llrenf^th, a man muft have been wholly averfe to the fubduing of thofe habits, v/hich he could not but feel mod flubborn and inveterate; I fay, when we refiecl on all thefe particulars, one may judge, how very ftrongly both ^(f'ze'j and. Heathens muft have been guarded againtl any impreilions that could be nnule on them by the 'Gofpel of Jejus Chrift. And, indeed, what can we conceive capa- ble of engaging them to endure the pain of con- quering their vicious habits, and to forego the plea- fure of indulging them, when, in giving up them- felves to their influence, they apprehended, they had the favour and approbation of their feveral
Deities?
Sect. XX VI. Chrijiian Revelation. 343
Deities (?) ? In the common couiTe of things, one jfhould think it impoflible that any fuch perfons,
without
ij) From the following remarkable flory, one clearly per- ceives, what fort of notions the Heathen had concerning their gods ; and how powerfully the lewd and intemperate paffions of human nature muft have been thereby encouraged. Mundus, defperately in love with Paulina, not being able to ov<;rcome her impregnable chaftity, bribes the Priefts of Ifis, to whofe wor- fhip that Lady was greatly devoted ; and, by their perfidy, ob- tains the gratification of his infamous paflion, whilfi: the unfortu- nate Lady verily believed ftie was all night in the embraces of the god Anubis. Thofe impious flagitious Priefts having agreed upon the reward of their viljany.
K\jT(jiy 0 yi^oLiTOLToi; coc TmliavKivctv coTOiu'ivo^ yivouivu)v in- iidQV^ y.oCTCLij.'ovoi<; rt did Koycov iK^i7v n^iV H^'a-vy^co^yj^h^ 7rif/.~ TTjoc iKiyiv viKiiv VTTO TM A^«fl/Joc, £^WT/ avTtJc J?ar^;uii'» T« 065^, KiKvjovTci; Ti wc avTov iK^etr 7M Si iVKTCc 0 Koyc^ yjVy
>^ ra/C Tt (piKXlC tyiKOLXKUTTtC^iTO TV] iTTl THYOl^ 0C.Z^lCi3(Tit T)i
A\'^pido^, xj (poaC^ii TTfo/; tov ayd^oLf aiivrvov n avrn )o ivvviv Tn Aj'W/S/doc ei7y]yyiK^0Li' avii^c^i^pu S' iy.iivoQ^ rh <jcd0^o<jv- vnv ryic yvv!x7)Cog '^iTri^oLixivoc;. yj^fCi iv lit; to riy.ivoc-) ^ dii7rvma(T0(.j u^ vtd/M aaipoi; m^ KXnorOiKJCov ray S-^Pw/ vtto T» /tpe'wc, ivaoy h rcd vaod Xf Toi hv^voc iHTToScov m' Xf o M«>'</oc, 7rf>oiyJ}iPV7r% yo.^ tjjiA, «_;^ Yif/A^roLvtv oyjKic^v tcov Trfo; a'jT'h. 'TTOLvw^icv T£ avTCjO Sii-^ovmoLTo^ U7rei\ei!p-Jix Qioy divccr kfCCTTtK^ovToi; 7rf>'oTif>ov n y.ivii7ir ci^^aj^xi ruy li^icoy^ oi ryiy iTri^-dXYiv y>c rjiiav, vi YIolvKivol ttj^ui wV tov aySooL iK^'H- o-a, 'rh i.7ri:pay£ia.v 'f^Sinyeirai t^ x\y^p>t(Po^^ ^ ttpoi; rag Qihcti: hiKafx-rpwiro KoyoiQ roic; l-r avru. Jofeph, Antiq. lib. 1 8. cap. 3. §4.
To this I cannor but add a paffage in Lucian, concerning that Impoftor Alexander, wherein we fee the fame notions pre- vailing ; Only, instead of the God, here we have the Prieft. H'c y.tycc, k, tvy.rov izag-co^ ei rivoQ yvvc/.r/J Tr^oi^Ki-^etiv f^AKii^oLydPci;^ et ^l Xf (piKyiy.xrog d^icocreiiv^ d^poay rh aya- ^m rv^yiy uiro iKOL^oQ en; rr.v oivJocy avTo ei7p-jmi7^xr ttok- xai diKj i']vy\iy riroKiyoii ttx^ xvr'n^ ^ 01 avdotQ i'r'iy.0L:>r'j^'\iy 'in a\>j3-yf KiyHjiy. Lucian. in Pfeudomant. p. 772. Am-
phitrjon
344 ^^-^^ Truth of the Sect. XXVI.
without having a great deal of pains and labour be^ llowed on them, could ever coine to fubmit them- felvcs to the Chrillian faith.
So that, on finding, that feveral thoufands of thofe very perfons, one may fay, infinite multi- tudes, every where thro' the world, without any previous endeavours to break the power of their vicious habits, did, all on a fudden, chearfully em- brace the Gofpel, and, with heart and hand, refign themfelves univerfally to all its doctrines and pre- cepts, this one cannot but regard as an event the
moit aftonilhing. -And (till more amazing mull
it prove, when one coniiders this very powerful temptation they all had to the contrary :
A main condition, on which a man was admit- ted into the profeflion of the Chriflian faith, was his denying himfelf^ his renouncing the world in all its pleafures and riches and honours ; it was his for faking ^// and his taking up his crojs daily and fol- lowing Chrifl, Now, this was not a condition, of which the primitive Chriftians had no profpedt of ever being put upon performing, nor yet what they could look upon as a thing at a great diftance, that could not overtake them but at the end of Jo many years ; on the contrary, it very foon hap- pened, that a man was not then able to call his eyes about him in the world, but he was every where met by the mofl difmal objeds of mifery, cruelly opprelTed for the fake of the Gofpel ; that gave him to underfland, what dreadful fuiferings he mult refolve to undergo, from the moment he fhould embrace that new^ religion. Nay, the A-
poitles f
phltryon was not ill pleafed that Jupiter had fhared with him in his wife Alcumena. Pol me haud poenitet, fcilicet boni divi- duum mihi dividere eum Jove. Plaut. Amphit. Ad. v. fc i.
Sect. XXVL Chriflian Revelation. 345
poflles themfelves took pains to inform people of thofc immediate dangers, that attended the profef* fion of Chridianity. And one fhould think, that St. Paulas publilhing his cafe to the work!, was but a forry way to gain profelytes, or to tempt a man to turn Chrlllian* " He was in labours abundant, *' in flripcs above meafure, in prifons frequent, in " deaths oft. Of the J^ews (fays he) five times *' received Iforty llripes fave one; thrice was I *' beaten with rods, once was 1 Honed, thrice I *' fufFered Ihipwreck, anight and a day 1 have been *' in the deep: In journeying often, in perils of *' waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine *' own country-men, in perils b)^ the Heathen, in " perils in the city, in perils in the wildernefs, in " perils in the fea, in perils among falfe brethren 5 *' in wearinefs and painfulnefs, in watchings of- " ten, in hunger and thirfl, in fallings often, in *' cold and nakednefs, &c: (ky Such was the miferable condition of the Apoftle PW; and every man who had the courage to efpoufe the fame caufe, for which he v/as thus fuffering, was fure to be involved in the like calamities. The matter of facl: is beyond queftion ; Chriilians, in thofe days, ftript wholly naked of all the comforts and conve- iiiencies of life", had, for their common lot, f(?«- tempt ^poverty ^perfecution^ every fort and every degree of mifery, that the moft cruel and revengeful paf- fions could inflicl upon them ; nor could any man turning Chrillian then hope to efcape thofe fright- ful dangers. So that, in embracing the Gofpel of Jefus Chrift^ people, in thofe days, mud have been alarmed and terrified, with all the moft dreadful i- mages of certain ruin and deftrudion.
Vol. IL X x Thus
ih) 2 Cor. xi* 25, -iT:.
346 The Truth of the Sect. XXVI.
Thus the inward principles and fentiments ; the inward Y^^L^ioxis and appetites ; the inward confirm- ed habits of thofe who became profelytes ; the ^///wW cruelties and perfecutions of the Civil Ma- giflrate, of revengeful Priells, and of enraged mobs ; contempt, poverty, mifery of every fort and of every Ihape, barbarous deaths ; all thefe, the fierceft and moft violent oppofitions, arifmg from all quarters, wi*th united force, ftood in the way of the progrefs of the Gofpel (/). And, in fuch cir- cumilances, what can one exped fliall be its
fate ? If we judge of the event from the nature
of things, or upon human appearances, muft not one totally defpair of fuccefs ? 'Tis the opinion of one of our moll: learned Infidels, that where there is no old revelation on which the new can be grafted (which was certainly the cafe of the Hea- then world with refpecl to the evangelical inftitu- tion, and feems likcvvife to have been the cafe of the Jews^ among whom the old revelation may be faid to have been intirely loft, as in the under- ftanding of the whole nation it had obtained a meaning quite contradiclory to that which it ori- ginally bore : I fay, 'tis the opinion of one of our moft noted Freethinkers, that in fuch circum- ftances) it is hard, if not impofnble, to perfuade men to abandon their old principles : " If we con- '' fider (fays he) the nature of things, we fhall " find, that it muft be difficult, if not impofliblc,
" to
(/j E T/ dl 'XpiTidyo't'^ yj Vuiaoliuv avyKXyiTo^ ^vKvi^ x^ oi Ka- ra Kocipoy (^cidiKetQ^ ^ rd s^ffoLTicoroia^ ^ hi ^?.y.oiy ^ hi tuy TTi^-i-uoyTcov cvyyiveiCj 7ri>cos-ohiji/,r;aocv7i(; rw ^■oyu^ iKUKuaav aV, avToy yiyLY,yivTct vtto tj7c ruy toc\5tuv iTrilivKyiCy « y./] ^eix dvvcty.ai vTrifitK-j-fi ^ J^e^aj't/S;?, wV vix.r,(joLi okov Koiy.oy oi-oroi iTTiZ^iUMoyra. Orig. contra Celf. lib. i. p. 6.
Sect. XXVI. Chrijlian Revelation-. 347
'' to introduce among men (who in all civilized *' countries arc bred up in the belief of fome re- " vealed religion) a revealed religion wholly new, '' or fuch as have no reference to apreceeding one, *' for that would be to combat alj men in too ma- *' ny refpects, and not to proceed on a fufficient " number of principles necelTary to be alTented to " by thofe, on whom the firft imprellions of a new " religion are propofed to be made (»?)/' But, in fpite of all oppofition whatfoever, how glorioufly did the Gofpel of Jefus every-where prevail ?
Notwithftanding all their ftrong prejudices, and the mod forbidding and frightful difcouragements ; upon the hearing of one (ingle difcourfe, a vail num- ber of Jews were fo fenfibly touched, pricked at the hearty for their having crucified Jefus Chrift^ and oppofed his Gofpel, that they were made to cry out to the twelve Apoftles, Men and Brethren^ what Jhall we do ? And, by no lefs fudden and wonderful a turn, when the Apolf lesdireded them to repent and re- ceive Baptifm in the name of Jefus Chrifi^ do they im- mediately, to the number ofabout three thoufand fouls, embrace the Gofpel with gladnefs, how contrary fo- ever to their former confirmed notions and cuiloms, and fubmJt themfelves miiverfally to all its particu- lar doctrines (?/). On another occafion, we have an account of about five thoufand more, who all at once too, renouncing the opinions in which they had been bred and educated, and wherein, by long cu- ftom and practice, they had been quite fettled ande- llablilhed, joyfully embraced the truths of the Gofpel, and yielded themfelves wholly up to its power and influence ij)). But, befides thefe two amazing in- ftances of the fuccefs of the Gofpel,
We
\m) Grounds of the Chriftian religion, p. 23. («j Ads ii. 41. [p) Afts \v\ 4.
34-8, The Truth of the Sect. XXVI.
We are told, that thewcrd of God increafed^ that the number of the Difciples multiplied in Jerufalem greatly^ and that ^ great company of the Prieft 5 be- came obedient to the faith {0). In a word, fiich vail multitudes^ both of men and women ^ were added to the Lord \ and people came flocking together in fuch crowds to the Chriltian profeilion, that the Chief- Prieft^ and thofe that were with him^ were fo much alarmed at this extraordinary event, which was like totally to overthrow the whole of their conilitu- tion, that, filled with indignation^ tioey laid their hands on the Apoftles^ and put them in cornmon prifon^ in or- der to prevent the Ipreading of this new reli- gion (p). But, fo far was the fuccefs of the Chri- ftian revelation from being put to a Hand, that, in a Ihort fpace of time, even in that very place where every meafure was taken to prevent it, the number of Difciples amounted to feveral myriads {f). Nor did this mighty progrefs of the Gofpel among the Jews^ llop at Jerufalem or the land of Judea^ \t went on and fpread itfelf all over thofe parts of the world where the Jezvs happened to be difperfed.
The Apoille James direds his Epiftle to the twelve Tribes that are fcattered abroad^ and comforts them under thofe perfecutions they were fuffering for the fake of the Gofpel. And the Apoftle Peter writes his two Epiflles to the Strangej^s^ i. e. to th& Jews fcattered throughout Pontus^ Galatia^ Cappa- docidy Afia^ and Bythinia ; wherein he fpeaks to them, as being formed into particular churches of Chrifl ; for he exhorts the Elders that were among
them,
U) Aa. vi. 7.
ip) Aa. V. 14, b'f. ^
?ns-ivxor(ov. Aft. xxi. 20.
Sect. XXVI. Chrijiian Revelation. 349
them, to be faithful in difcharging the feveral duties of that public office, with which they were invelled in the Chriltian church : And, in general, he re- commends to all of them|fej7/ to think it ftrange con- cerning the fiery trial theywere enduring^ as though fomejirange thing had hapf»ened unto them ; hut to re- joice^ in as much as they were partakers of the fuffer- ings of Chrifiy that when his glory fhould be revealed^ they might be glad alfo with exceeding joy. And, fince this Apoftlc had it for his particular province, to preach the Gofpel to the Jews^ one fhould think, that, from thofe two inftances juft now mentioned, of the fuccefs of the Gofpd in his hands, one may reafonably apprehend, that, in the courfeof his Mi- niftry, he gained over vafl numbers of profelytes to theChriftian faith.
So that, altho' the whole of the Jewifh nation, was far from being converted to the profefFion of Chriftianity ; there being, at this day, fcattered through the world, an infinite number of thofe people, whom, one is tempted to fufpecl, a miracul- ous providence Itill keeps unmixed, wholly di- ltin6l from the reft of mankind, as living witnefles of an ancient revelation ; as ftanding monuments of the fulfilling of fome prophecies of the Gofpel ; and as certain pledges for the accomplifliing of o- thers^ when the deftined time fhall come : I fiy, tho' the whole Jewifh nation was far from being converted to the Chriftian faith, yet the fuccefs of the Gofpel, in fpite of all the mortal dangers that attended its profeflion ; and, notwithftanding its being directly oppofite,' clean contradictory to all thofe facred principles and praclices, which, by long cuftom and habit, had taken deep root in their minds, and to, which j beyond meafure, they were
obftinately
350 The Truth of the Sect. XXVI.
obflinately devoted, was, among them, moft cer- tainly very confiderable.
But, how faccefsful foever the Gofpel was among the Jews, it was much more ^o among the Gentiles. Within the compafs of a few years, fo mightily grew the word of God and multiplied, that as we learn from the EpilUes of ^St. Paul, not only at Co- rinth and feveral other places, but at Rome itfelf, there were churches, frequent aiTemblies of Chri- ilians, of very confiderable note. And, indeed, the Profellors of Ghrilfianity came foon to overfptead all the /^^/;2.7// provinces. Nottofpeak of the banifh- ment of the Difciples of Chrift from Rome, which, a few years after the crucifixion happened under the Emperor Claudius (r). I fhall only obferve (what Ihews us the daily, or the continued fuccels of the Gofpel, and that hard or cruel treatment was not able to'- prevent its influences) ; That, foon after this, in the days of Nero, fo numerous were the pro- ielyces of the Gofpel, fo great a figure did they make, and fo m/uch were they diftinguiflied by the public hatred, that, as if the world about them had held them capable of any whatever wickednefs, when that Tyrant would have thrown oif the odium from him- felf, he laid the burning of Rome upon the Chri- llians, and, under pretence of that guilt, cxercifed, for feveral months, a violent perfecution againft tliem, wherein, not only the Apoftles St. Paul and St. Peter fuffered martyrdom, but a vafl multitude of other Chrillians were put to the cruelleil and moft barbarous deaths {s). But all the inhumani- ties
[r] Vid. Seel:, i. marg. (0 Non ope humana, non largltionibus prfncipis, aut Deum placamentis, decsdebat infamia, quin juilum incendium crede- retur. Ergo abolendo rumori Nero fiibdidit leos, et qu^fiftiffimis
Sect. XXVI. Chrijitmi Revelatiojt. 351
ties of Nero notwithftanding, and the cruel attempt which Domitian^ not long after, made, to fupprefs and extinguifh the Gofpel every- where in the Roman empire, yet Hill it prevailed, and its prevalency was fo great, that, before the death of St. John^ the lail of the Apoftles, it had filled towns and villages, and all other inhabited places ; fo that Heathen temples were almofl every- where quite forfaken and de- ferted (/). Thus, no oppofition whatever w^s able
to
pcenis afficit, quos per flagitia invifos vulgus Chriftianos appella- bat. Au6lor nominis ejus Chriftus, Tiberio imperitante per Procuratorem Pontium Pilatum fupplicio afFeftus erat. ReprefTa- que in prefens exidabilis fuperftitio rurfus erumpebat, non modo per Judasam originem ejus mali, fed per urbem etiam quo cundla undique atrocia aut pudenda confluunt, celebranturque. Igitur, primo correpti, qui fatebantur, deinde indicio eorum multitudo ingens, baud perinde in crimine incendii, quam odio humani ge- neris conjundi funt. Et pereuntibus addita ludibria, ut ferarum tergisconte£li, laniatu canum interirent, aut crucibus afRxi, aut flammandi, atque ubi defeciflet dies in ufum nodturni luminis u- rerentur. Tacit. Annal. lib. xv. cap. 44. This perfecution is mentioned more briefly by Sueton : Afflidli fuppliciis Chriftiani, genus hominum fuperftitionis novae ac maleficas. Suet, in Nero, cap. 16. '* AndfaysLadlantius:" Cum animadverteret Nero, non modo Romse, fed ubique quotidie magnam multitudinem deficere a cultu idolorum, et ad religionem novam damnata vetuliate tranfire ; ut erat execrabilis ac nocens tyrannus, profilivit ad cx- fcindendum coelefle templum, delendumque juftitiam ; et primus omnium perfecutus Dei fervos, Petrum cruci affixit, et Paulum in- terfecit. Ladtant. de mortib. pcrfecut. cap. 2.
[t) Multi enim omnis aetatis, omnis ordinis, utriufque ft^xus etiam vocantur in periculum, et vocabuntur. Nequeenim civi- tates tantum, fed vicos etiam atque agros fuperftitionis iftius con- tagio pervagata eft, quae videtur fifti et corrigi pofle. Certe fatis conftat prope jam defolata templa cepiiTe celebrari, et facra fo- lennia diu intermiiTa repeti ; paffimque venire viftimas, quaruni adhuc rariilimus emptor inveniebatur. Ex quo facile eft opinari, quae turba hominum emendari poffit, fi fit pcsnitentis locus. Plin. Epift. 97. lib. 10. Not long after Pliny, Juftin Martyr and Tertuliian give us this account of the progrefs of the Gofpel :
352 The Truth of the Sect* XXVI.
to give a check to the progrefs of the Gofpel ; but great numbers of people of every age, and of every quality, in contradidion to their long confirmed ha- bits, and the eftablifhed biafs of their minds, did e- very where abandon their idolatry and fuperftition, and, renouncing the worfnip of thofe Gods that pa- tronized fenfual gratifications, came to acknowledge only one fupreme Being of infinite purity and redli- tude, and, under the affured perfuafion of a future flate of rewards and punifhments, fubmitt<.^d them- felves chearfully to his holy and righteous laws ; And all this they did, whillt they had the certain profpect of their being thereby involved in the grcatell calamities, as to every article of their pre- fent enjoyments 5 even of cxpofing thcmfelves to the cruelleft deaths. With great truth, therefore, does
the
O'c/fc ty yoLf> cKCi)C I'^i to ytvci; ay^puTTcovy uti ^ap^oif>oy^ etri E^^.M^<WI', &fVe olttkcjx; utivi^v ov'o/juxfi Trpoaayofivo/Aivcoy^ iv hiQ juh Sia. r\i ovg/uaro^ t« s-QLVfco^ti'Tci; lyia^ ei/;^a/ ^ iv^af>i^jcii ru Trarfi ^ TrcniTii tuv of^coy yfvuvTOLi. J^"* "'^- Dial. p. 345 • Hefterni funius, et veflra omnia implevlmus, urbes, infulas, caftella, municipia. conciliabula, caftra ipfa, tribus, decurias, pa- latium, fenatum, forum. Sola volis relinquimus templa. Ter- tul. Apologet. cap. 37. *' More fully elfewhere :" Inquem enim alium univerfae gentes crediderunt, nifi in Chriftum qui jam ve- nit ? Cui enim et alise gentes crediderunt, Parthi,. Medi, Elami- tse, et q,ui inhabitant Mefopotamiam, Armeniam* Phrygiam, Cappadociam, et incolentes Pontum, et Afiam, et Pamphiliam : Immorantes Egyptum, et regionem Africae quae eft trans Cyre- nen inhabitantes, Romani et incol<e : Tunc et in Hierufaiem Judsei et cseterae gentes : Ut jam Getujorum vahetates, et Mau- rorum multi fines, Hifpanorum omnes termini, et Galliarum di- verfae nationes, et Britannorum inacceila Romanis loca, Chrifto vero fubdita : -Et Sarmatarum, et Dacorum, et Germanorum, et Scytharum, et abditarum multarum gentiujn, et provinciarum, et jnfularum multarum nobis i^notarum, et quae enumerare minus pofiumus, in quibus omnibus locis Chrifti nomen, qui jam veni?. regnat. Tert. adv. Judxos. cap. 7.
Sect. XXVI. Chriftian Revelation. 5^3
the Apoflle obferve, that the weapons of their war- fare, the meafures they employed in propagating the Golpel, were not weak^ but powerful and mighty to the pulling down of firong holdsy cafting down imaginationSy and every high thing that exaltetb it/elf againji the knowledge of God^ and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of the Gofpel of Chrifi {u).
Now, this rapid progrefs of the Gofpel, this wonderful fuccefs, which among Jews and Heathens, every where attended its firft promulgation, feems, I fay, to have fomething in it more than human.
Thofe infinite numbers of people, who, during the iliort time of the Miniftry of the Apollles, throughout Afia^ Africa, and Europe^ in all the parts of the known world (a-), rejedled their idolatry and fuperftition^ and embraced the Gofpel of Jefus Chrift^ were not taken one by one, and convinced feparately, or in fmall clalTes or companies, of the pernicious errors, the deitrucfive courfes they were following ; nor were they trained up by eafy de- grees, and, as it were, by piece-meal in the know- ledge of the truths of the Gofpel : And yet this way of managing, one {hould think, was abfolutely HeceiTary, in order to have prevailed with thofe who were under the power of the moll obftinate and flubborn prejudices ; fure I am, that iiow-a- days we lliould find it fo, were we going about to perfuade the world into a religion wholly repug- nant to that to which they are intirely devoted ; I fay, it was not by eafy ftcps^ by flow and gentle degrees, that people were gained over to the belief and profelfion of the Gofpel : No, the Apoftles ge-^ nerally propounded their doctrines to vafl coniiu= ences of people all at once, and, in the name of
Vol. II. y y God
(«) 2 Cor.x. 4, 5, (at) Colof. i. vi.
354 'I'f^^ "^^^^^^ 9f ^^^ ^^^^' XXVL
God, giving t-hem the certain profpecl of an after- judgment, a future Hate of rewards and puniih- ments, earneflly befeeched and warmly preiTed their obedience. So that barely upon fuch reprefenta- tions, without any more ado, thoufands of people have all at once, in fpite of their moft inveterate prejudices, and in defiance of the molt threatening dangers, on a fudden, totally quit all their errors andxheir lufts, and, at the manifeft hazard of every worldly enjoyment, of life itfelf, refolutely declared for the Chriilian faith. And,^in recoUeding what powerful influence any habit whatfoever, particu- larly thofe that are vitious, never fail to have on human minds, more efpecially, when the indulging one's habits is attended with fafety, and the altering one's coarfe would expofe us to every degree of mifery ; muil not fuch a revolution be counted ex- tremely wonderful ?
What more ailonifhing, than great multitudes of people, under the power of the moft ff ubborn ha- bits and prejudices, all along from their infancy, up to this very moment, flicking to fuch princi- ples of religion, as flattered their proud and vicious habits, and indulged and proteded them in all their fenfual pleafures and gratifications ; at the fame time, with refpect to both worlds, living undi- ilurbed, enjoying all the fweets and comforts of a peaceful life ; I fay, what can a man conceive more ailonifhing, than many thoufands of fuch perfons, all of a fudden, bidding defiance to their moft in- veterate prejudices, chearfully renouncing all their prefent eafe and quiet, and every thing elfe that could make them happy in this world, and imme- diately turning over to a religion,^ clean contra- dictory to their former confirmed principles, and
undoubted
Sect. XXVI. Chrijlian Revelation. 355
undoubted interefls ; upon the embracing of which they obferved the moil dreadful miferies hanging over their heads, and threatening every moment to fwallovv them up ! This is a revolution that is indeed full of wonder, and cannot but appear To to every confiderate man. But, how an event fo aftonifhing, could poilibly have happened, without the interpofition of fome fupernatural power, imme- diately exerted on the minds of men, is, I confefs, beyond my comprehenfion.
'Tis very certain, as things are now conflituted, no man can have immediate accefs to the mind of another, fo as to convey to him what thoughts and impreffions he could wi(h him to be infpired with. Our fenfes are the only avenues, by which our minds are acceffible to our fellow-men; and thefe are fo much in our own power, and fo clofely follow the direction of the mind, that we open or fhut them to whatever apphcations are made to us, as weourfelves, in our fecret thoughts, are difpofed or chufe to be employed. They may, indeed, appear to Hand open to thofe addreiTes that are made to us, and whereby it is defigned we fliould be fo and fo affecled ; But our minds in the mean while, may be turned quite another way, and amufmg themfelves only with their own entertainments. Or, if we be not thus wholly taken off, and otherwife employed, our at- tention may be very much broken, and in great confufio'n ; or it may be very flighn and fuper- ficial, or not all laiting and durable. And while our attention is thus fcattered or fuperficial, and not lleddy and permanent, what %nify the moil lively and vigorous addreiTes that mortal man can make to us ? The cleareil demonftrations, and moil for- cible arguments, either not being perceived, or ma- king
3 s The Truth of the Sect. XXVI.
king no lafling impreflion on the mind, ihall not be abl& to convince and determine us. So thar, in fuch circuraftances, we fliall certainly hold out againft the warmeil and flrongefl reprefentations wherewithal we can be attacked, how much fo- ever our complying with them might contribute to our true honour and interell. And therefore,
Without a man has a power to arreft our atten- tion, to make it clofs and penetrating, and of fo permanent a nature, that it fhall abide with us, till we be thoroughly convinced and determined, as the confiderations laid before us are naturally fit to fway and dired us ; he ihall find it quite impoflible to alter the courfe of our thoughts and adions, or to gain us over to a fteady and hearty purfuit of our duty and intereft. But, by what means fliall a man acquire fo great a command over human minds I I have above obferved, that, under the prevalency of vicious habits, we are not ourfelves able to com- mand our attention, to keep it fleady, and Itill a- wake in our minds : And, fince no man has imme- diate accefs to our inward thoughts, which muft be firft engaged, before we feel a convidtion that may come to determine us; he may difcourfc to us from one day to another, on matters of the higheil con- fequence 5 he may urge them upon us with ail pof, fible diftinftnefs, and in the moft moving and paf- fionate manner^ and yet, all the while, he Ihali be doing nothing, but beating the air only. We are lirongly guarded againft all the eiforts he can ufe to affed: us, and vyill rtupidly (land the fliock of his molt vigorous addrelTes ; for, as I have already faid, till our attention be once fixed, and made per- manent, (which, in the prefent cafe, is neither in his pov/er, nor in our own), it can never poflibly
happen.
Sect. XXVI. Chrijlian Revelation, 357
happen, that any thorough converfion fhould be wrought on us.
I confefs it a thing poflible (and this is really all that can be faid for it) for one man to gain over another, who has been Jong under the prevaiHng power of vicious habits, to the love and practice of piety and virtue. And, if we will try the expe- riment, we ihall foon find what a tedious and diffi- cult tafk we have undertaken ; what art and fkill, what addrefs and infinuation, we muft neceffarily employ, ere one can bring him to any tolerable degree of attention ; and what pains and labour it will coll us to improve and flrengthen this attention, and to keep it fleady upon his mind, till we get him confirmed in all goodnefs. From the nature of vi- cious habits it feems neceffarily to arife, that this event is next to impoffible. Can the Ethiopian change his Jkin^ or the leopard his fpots ? Then may ye alfo do good that are accuftomed to do evil. No wonder then, for one fuccefsful attempt of this nature, we fhall meet with a thoufand difappointments.
But, if it be a matter of the greatcd difficulty, and next to a miracle, even by a tedious courfe of the mofl infinuating endeavours, to make a man a profelyte to virtue, in whom vicious habits have taken deep root, and have been long confirmed, it muft undoubtedly be altogether impoffible, to bring about a compleat and thorough change all on a fud- ^^en. For, in order to effect this fuddcn conver- fion on a man hardened in fin, and vvholly in the power of fenfual appetites, is it not abfolutely ne- ceffary, that, all at once, his mind be quite cleared of all that darknefs and confufion in which he is in- volved I That thofe impertinent thoughts, that v/ouldbe always crowding in upon him, from thofe objects to which he has been habituated, be kept off
and
358 The Truth of the Sect. XX VL
and debarred I That his attention be awakened and kept ileddy ; whilft his mind is opened to the truth and excellency of thofe things that are laid before him, till they effedually engage hisaffedions on the fide of virtue and religion I And that, from thofe things, fach powerful impreffions be at the fame time conveyed to him, as lliall totally break the force of his vicious habits, and give him a quite o- ther caft and turn of mind, that will make him al- ways attentive for the future, in the fleddy and re- foUite purfait of his real duty and intereft ? Befides, that, if this new turn of mind, and change ©f life, is manifeftly the high way to expofe a man to great perfecutions and miferies, not to be avoided ; is it not further abfolutely neceflary, that the fuperior advantages and happinefs of perfiiting in this fhate of converfion, be fet before Mm in very deep and afxeding colours, fo as to give him lading impref- fions thereof, that will over-balance all the loiTes he may happen to fuffer^ and fortify him againft ail the temptations he may have to revolt ? Such are the particular influences, which, in the cafe of a fudden change from vicious habits, to the contrary difpo- fitions, mull: all at once, and of the fudden, imme- diately be exerted on human minds. And, to ef- fect any fuch converfion on one fmgle perfon, not to fpeak of great multitudes of people together; can this at any rate be pretended to lie within the reach of any human power whatfover ? It feems impoffible to avoid apprehending, that the bringing about fo fudden a converfion, mull be the work of a Being, v^'ho has immediate accefs to our minds, who knows and fees all the moll fecret thoughts and motions of the heart, who has a power to difpofe of them, and is able to make what impreffions on us he fhall judge bell adapted to coinpafs his purpofes. So that, if
this
Sect. XXVI. Chrijltan Revelation, 359
this fudden conveiTion be wrought, not on a fingle perfon only, but on thoufands of people, all at once ; niufl not the fame be the work of a Being, who is intimately prefent to fuch numbers of different per- fons, all at the fame time ; who has thoufands of human minds, all in one view, lying fully open and naked before him •, who perfedly underflands all the different biaifes, that are hanging on every one of them ; who diftinclly perceives the infinite va- riety of thoughts, which, according to their feveral tempers, may be continually arifing within them ; and who, in all circumftances, can turn human hearts, without encroaching on human liberty, as the rivers of water, whitherfoever he will ? How one can judge otherwile, I am not able to conceive. And whether this does not directly point out to us that great Being, who is every-where prefent, be- fore whom all things are naked and manifeft in one limple view, whofe goodnefs is beyond meafure, and whofe power is infinite, is what I leave the Reader to determine (y). For my part, I cannot but ap- prehend,
\Jj OuJi \'^IV ay^PCOTT^ -^Ih"^ fO(70l.VT>lV iV fo^a^^H iiOClDCO TTi-
'TTf'CX.yf/.xrriv «rw, ^ raVTOi utto otroTr^ (jVV)i^eioi(: TTPOKocTiKriy.' ^.£ybc ccv:jf>U7rv^^ y^aKKov ai vtto TocrocvriK )tOLv.icLQ ytoLTi'VoiAi.' vat;. ^ oyoq /^yue rHTOiv Travrcov ro r'^v olv^^^ttuv yivo^
ruy (^a.^^ci^o)v y'ivy]. y tolvtv. y.ctru^^Q(nv^ y;;^ ottkoiq XC^*
iVTihov^ aucc^cov^ id'iooTO'Vy TTiyKTCoy, yuaycjy, acTrhov^ ayvTro- oiTcov^ y.ovo')(jT(^\(jiy, ri Ktyu KCiTUQ^uo-i ; TreiJcct ridvy{i^;i rca-ccvTO. cpvKa. av^^wTrooVj y -n^i ruy 7rac>'oyr'j3V y.'ovoy^ axxoc yj Tii^i ro)y y.iKKQyrcoy \jiamely^ ttepi x^xyx-fxi;, ^ TTifi aVara-
-^
360 The Truth of the Sect. XXVI.
prehend, that thofe fudden thorough converfions, which, beyond quellion, were effeded by the Mi- niftry of the Apoftles, are rather more miraculous^ than heahng the fick and raifing the dead by a word only, which every body will own, are the eff.^cls of a power faperior to the eftablilhed laws of nature, and that can difpofe of Beings in both worlds (z).
Thus,
crfecjf, ^ T(j)v oL7rol>j>'Y]rm ayaS-wc.j (^iKoTot^eiv, ^ vofjcm; TTdTfco'iii;
ccviKetyf ^ iTifd avTKpvTivaui^ ^ Tav ivy.oKcov oLTroiyoLyovTOi eic roi ^i)(TM0KOL iy.p>oiheiv ra avr'v. Chryfoft. Demonft. Quod Chriftus fit Deus. p. 622. Oper. torn. vi. Chryfoftom's reflexi- ons from p. 634. to the end of this Difcourfe, are k> very perti- nent, fo inuch to the purpofe of our prefent argument, that I could wifti the Reader to take a view of them. The edition I ufe is that of Savil. an. 1612. Etonas.
ruyx^v'iia'i 7y kolto, tyiv vyietav ruv (tcojUOLtcj'/ rehiic' et &\ ^ -l/vx^xi; riQ ivvcLiro dLTTOiKKciTJety 7^c x-oltc^ rriv ycaKtocv yytTioii;, Kf oLKo\Yi>;niJLOLTm^ Xf aS'DLOTrfxxyy^y.oiTCcVy ^ rr,^ vrifi to B-eiov jcaTCi(pf>ovriaiuc^ k, i&i^iv J'lcPoiyi 7tf rot^T\j '^f>y^^ (i>tKTico^iyrcL(; rov api^/uoy ikoltov^ eVw yap tTri TOfJMtGiV 0 hoyoc ^di tvtov ay ivKoyui <py:aoii rit; a^iet \oyor roa^Tuv accac^y aTTCcKKootrt- xh iUTn-TTQtmivai tg7c iy-ctrhv^ i^iroi{cdy ii tk; to. TTfoLy-
jjiOiTCi^ O'Xera/ oti juei^oy rii^ aiy^j>Cji'7rhy](; (pyVewc iToKixntny 0 I'^m, 5 roKULwat; nyv<si. Orig. contra Celf. lib. i. p. 21.
(z) Origen feems to judge rightly, when he apprehends, that, without the working of miracles, the Apoftles would have failed in converting the world. But to aifign miracles as the caufe of thofe extraordinary converfions, would be very injudicious. It fhould feem, that fome fuch fudden converfions happened in Origeh's time, and he afcribes them to the influence of a certain fpirit. The paffage deferves the Reader's attention. He con- cludes it thus: Akkol yctf> 0eoc jUUpTuc t» rijuiTiPM aweiJ'oroCy ^•aho^ivM v did -Xiuc/wy dyr(xyyiKtuv^ ccKXcc dice t/koc iycifyeicii; TToiKiKYiQ (rvvis-dyeiy Tiiv Ijj^br 3"eiaK <PiSa7>cciKixr. Orig. contra Celf. lib, i. p. 34, 35.
Sect. XXVL Chrljltan Revelation. 361
Thus, the fpeedy rapid fuccefs, that every- where attended the Gofpel when firft publifhed, feems fuffi- cient to fatisfy every free- thinking and confiderate man, that, as one might reafonably have expecfted, the inilrudlions of thofe few who were employed to open the eyes of mankind, and to turn them from darknefs to light ^ and from the power of Satan unto God^ were powerfully feconded by the extraordina- ry favour and influences of Heaven, immediately ex- erted on human minds {a). Nor am I able to ima- gine, what can Ihake a man in the belief of this article ? Some people, indeed, in order to break the Z z credit
[a) Nonne vel haec faltem fidem vobis faciunt argumenta cre- dendi, quod jam per omnes terras in tam brevi tempore et parvo, immenfi hujus facramenta diffufa funt? Quod nulla jam natio eft tam barbari moris, et manfuetudinem nefciens, quae non ejus amore verfa, molliverit afperitatem fuam, et in placidos fenfus ♦ affumpta tranquillitate migraverit ? Quod tam magnis ingeniis pr^diti, Oratores, Grammatici, Rhetores, Conlulti juris, ac Me- dici, philofophis etiam fecreta rimantes, magiileria haec expetunt,
fpretis quibus paulo ante fidebant ? Quod cum genera poe-
narum tanta fmt a vobis propofita religionis hujus fequentibus Xq- ^es, augeatur res magis, et contra omnes minas interdi»5ta formi- dinum, animofius populus obnitatur, et ad credendi ftudium pro- hibidonis ipfius ftimulis excitetur ? Numquid haec fieri pafiim et inaniter creditis, fortuitis incurfibus adfumi has mentes ? Itane iftud non divinum et facrum eft, aut fine Deo eorum tantas ani- morum fieri converfiones, aut cum carnificis unci, aliique innu- meri cruciatus impendeant crediturus, veluti quodam dulcedine atque amore correpti, cognitas accipiant rationes, atque mundi omnibus rebus praeponant amicitias Chrifti ? Nifi forte obtufi et fatui videntur hi vobis, qui per orbem jam totum confpirant, et coeunt in iftius credulitatis aflenfum. Quid ergo ? Vos foli fa- pientia conditi. atque intelligentiae vi mera nefcio quid aliud vi- detis et profundum ? Soli effe nugas intelligitis haec omnia ? Soli verba et pueriles ineptias, ea quas nobis promittimus princi- pali ab rege Ventura ? Unde, quaefo, eft vobis tan turn fapienti^ traditum ? Unde acuminis, et vivacitatis tantum ? Vel ex quibus fcientiae difciplinis tantum cordis aflumere, divinationis tantum potuiftis haurire ? A mob. lib. ii. p. 26.
362 The Truth of the Sect. XXVt
credit of this arj^ument, are pleafed to take notice of the fpeedy and fudden propagation of Mahometifm. Upon which I would beg leave to make this fuppo- iition, which, I hope, will not be judged extrava- gant.
A lober and learned Mathematician is difcourfing of Sir Ifaac Ne%vtG}fs Pnncipia^ to a rude ignorant multitude, who do not fo much as underfland the firil Rudiments o^' Geometry. Now, while he is thus entertaining them with things they are utterly unacquainted with ; fome of them are quite heed- Icfs and unconcerned,, amufing themfelves fecretlj in their own thoughts with thofe objects that are moil familiar to their minds; and others fland gaz- ing, having their fenfes only ftruck with figures and founds, of which the mind, in thick darknefs, has no underftanding. But behold, all on a fudden, without the influence of any vifible caufe, the atten- tion of the whole multitude is clofely fixed, and their minds are all opened to the whole feries of his demonftrations; fo that they are quite ravifhed with thofe amazing truths that are laid before them, and become fo much enamoured with fuch glorious dif- coveries, that ever after they purfue that kind of Itudy, and, to the utmoft of their power, propagate thofe principles to mankind. But,
By a melancholy turn of Providence, there flarts up,, fome time after this, a cunning ambitious So- phift, who, having got together an armed force, goes about the world as an open ufurper ; and, with the fword at their throats, propofes to whatever number he gets in his power, to renounce all thofe principles, and to emibrace the clean contrary. The poor creatures, quite confounded, at this impending hazard of their lives, for their own prefervation, are
forced
Sect. XXVI. Chrijlian Revelation. 363
forced to comply : And this force ftill hanging o- ver them, they continue in the profefljon of thofe new dodtrines, till they have totally lofl the fenfe of all their former principles : And their pofte- rity being trained up in the fame abiurdicies, they at length become the choice of a whole nation, tho' at tiril they had nothing to recommend or fupporc them, but mere brutal force and violence.
I need rnake no reflections on thefe two very diiferent events. Every body will allow, that the means whereby the latter was brought about, were niofl impious and execrable, plainly con trad idory to the nature both of God and man : Whilft the caufe that eifeded the former, was certainly more than human, fomething divine and fupernatural. Were men as free from prejudice on the fide of |he Go- ipel, as they are with refpecl to the Mathematics ; the Chriflian religion, I am well perfuaded, would meet with the fame juftice, and among all men be acknowledged a revelation from Heaven, which God hath fent to blefs us, in turning away every one of us from our iniquities.
So that, adding this article, viz. That the inflru- clions of the Apollles were powerfully feconded by certain fupernatural influences on human minds j I fay, adding this article to what 1 have formerly ex- plained, namely, that the firft publifliers of the Go- fpel were neither Impollors nor Enthufiafls, and muft therefore have been commiffioned from Hea- ven to inftrud: mankind ; may not one hope, that thefe feveral articles taken together, will afford con- viction to every fair and impartial inquirer, and fully fatisfy him, as to the truth and divinity of our holy religion ?
May
346 The Truth &cc. Sect. XXVL
May thofe influences that attended the firfl pro- mulgation of the Gofpel, yet infpire the minds of men, and bring them to fee the things that belong to their peace, kef ore they be hid from their eyes^
FINIS.
M
BS2555.4.C18V.2
The authenticity of the Gospel-history
Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library
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