fpel or Chriftian religion. The only thing that can give us full affurance that any religion is true, is, if we can be fatisfied, that it is from God; for being once fatisfied of that, there can remain no doubt of the truth of any thing that comes from him, it being an effential part of the notion which every man hath of God, that he is a God of truth. Now there are two things must concur to give the mind of man full fatisfaction that any religion is from God. First, If the perfon that declares this religion give teftimony of his divine authority, that is, that he is fent and commiffioned by God to that purpose. And, Secondly, If the religion which he declares contain nothing in it, that is plainly fepugnant to the nature of God. I fay, thefe two muft concur; for though I could fuppofe a perfon to bring the higheft teftimony imagi nable of his divine miffion and authority, fuppofe he fhould work a miracle for the confirmation of his doctrine; yet if there were any thing in the doctrine plainly repugnant to the natural notions which I have of God, I could not receive it as from God; the reafon of which is plainly this, I can have no affurance that that is from God, which if it were true, I should be uncertain whether there were a God or not. I cannot poffibly have any greater affurance that any thing is from God, than I have that there is a God; and I have no greater affurance that there is a God, than I have of his effential perfections, as that he is good, and powerful, and wife, and juft, &c. For by the very fame arguments that I come to know that there is a God, I know likewife that he must neceffarily have thefe perfections. So that if any thing fhould be offered to me as a revelation from God, which plainly contradicts thofe natural notions which I have of him, I must neceffarily reject it, yea though it were backed with a miracle" ; because no man can at the fame time believe that there is a God of fuch and fuch perfections, and entertain any thing as from him, which evidently contradicts those perfections. And as this is reasonable in itself, so it is clear from fcripture, Deut. xiii. 1. 2. 3. If there arife among you a Prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth Kk 3 giveth thee a fign, or a wonder: and the fign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, faying, let us go after other Gods, which thou haft not known, and let us ferve them: thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that Prophet. Here is the very cafe put, which I am fpeaking of; a Prophet comes and preacheth the worfhip of idols, as the fun, moon, ftars, e. and for the confirmation of this he is fuppofed to work a miracle; and yet notwithstanding this, we are forbid to hearken to him, because the doctrine that he brings does evidently contradict the natural notions which I have of God. From all which it appears, that these two things mult concur, to give us full fatisfaction that any religion is from God, namely, firft, that the perfon that declares this religion, gives teftimony of his divine authority, that he is fent and commiffioned from God to that purpofe. And, Secondly, That the religion which he declares contains nothing in it that is plainly repugnant to the nature of God. Now to bring this to my prefent purpofe, I fhould fhew thefe two things concerning the Chriftian religion. Firft, As to the divine authority of the perfon that declares this religion to the world, that he was fent and commiffioned by God to that purpose. Secondly, As to the religion itself, that there is nothing in it that is repugnant to the nature of God. I intend chiefly to fpeak of the firft of thefe: for I dare fay, any one that will freely and without prejudice, con. fider the Chriftian religion, as it is laid down in the fcriptures, and not as it hath been abused by the wanton wits of fome, and the defigns of others, will find nothing in it but what is very fuitable to the nature of God, and worthy of him; he fhall find nothing in the propofitions of faith, but what is fuitable to the perfections of the divine nature, and hath a proper influence upon a godly practice; nothing in the precepts of life, but what plainly tends to the perfection of human nature, and the advantage and happinefs of mankind; nothing in the arguments and motives to obedience, as namely, the love of Chrift in dying for us, the affistance of God's holy Spirit, and the rewards and punish ments nents of another world, but what is very accommodate to our nature, and fuitable to the wisdom, and goodness, and juftice of God; and thefe three, the propofitions of faith, the precepts of life, the arguments and motives to obedience, do conftitute the Chriftian religion, and make up the whole gofpel. Concerning most of these, I have elfewhere treated at large; therefore I fhall now apply myfelf chiefly to the first thing, namely, to fhew that we have abundant fatisfaction of the divine authority of the person that declares this religion to the world. Now because we live at a great distance from the age wherein this revelation of the gospel by Jefus Christ was made to the world, it will be requifite, for our clearer proceeding in this matter, to confider distinctly these three things. First, What evidence those who heard this doctrine of the gofpel immediately from our Saviour had for his divine authority. And this enquiry only refpects the difciples of our Saviour, and the rest of the Jews to whom he preached. Secondly, What evidence those had who received this doctrine by the preaching of the Apofties. And this concerns thofe to whom the gospel was published by the Apostles after our Saviour's death. Thirdly, What evidence after-ages, until the prefent time, have of this. And this properly concerns us, who live at a great distance from the times of the first publication of the gospel. And according to thefe three differences of time there are likewife but three ways whereby we can come to the knowledge of matter of fact; and they are all fuch as are capable of giving us fufficient affurance. The firft is by the teftimony of our own fenfes; and this was the advantage of thofe who heard our Saviour's doctrine, and faw his miracles. The fecond by the report and relation of credible eye and ear-witneffes; and this advantage those had who heard the Apostles. The third by a constant and uncontrouled relation derived down fucceffively from one age to another, ei ther ther by word, or writing, or both; which is the way whereby the ages, fince the Apoftles to this day, have had the Chriftian religion derived down to them. First, To confider what evidence those who heard this doctrine of the gofpel immediately from our Saviour himself might have of his divine authority. Now there are but four ways that I can at prefent imagine, fetting afide an internal revelation in every man's mind, whereby men may be fufficiently fatisfied of the divine authority of any perfon. I. If it be prophefied of him, and foretold by perfons divinely inspired, that God would fend fuch an one as his meffenger and Prophet into the world, and afterward fuch a perfon comes, to whom all the circumftances of thofe prophecies do agree. II. By the testimony of an immediate voice from heaven. III. By a power of working miracles. IV. By the gift of prophecy, proved and made good by the accomplishment of his own predictions. Now I fhall fhew that thofe who lived in our Saviour's time, and converfed with him, were capable of fatisfaction concerning his divine authority all these four ways. I fhall begin with the I. They were capable of being eye-witneffes that Chrift was the great Prophet and meffenger of God, the Meffias prophefied of and foretold in the Old Teftament. And here I do reasonably take for granted the divine authority of the Old Teftament, and that the prophecies therein contained are of divine infpiration`; because those to whom our Saviour ordinarily preached, were only the Jews, who acknowledged the divine authority of thofe books; and therefore the accomplishment of thofe prophecies in the perfon of our Saviour, muft needs be a fatisfactory argument to them, that he was the Meffias foretold. Now to fhew that the difciples of our Saviour, and the reft of the Jews, were capable of receiving full fatisfaction in this, that Jefus Chrift was the Meffias prophefied of in the Old Teftament, I fhall proceed by thefe fteps. 1. That : 1. That the prophecies of the Old Teftament fix a time for the coming of the Meffias; they give certain marks and figns whereby it may be known when the Meffias would come; as that he fhould come when the government should utterly be loft from Judah. Gen. xlix. 10. The feepter fhall not depart from Judah, till Shiloh come; by whom the ancient Jews did underftand the Meffias; and nothing but plain malice against Christ, and the Chriftian religion, makes the modern Jews to depart herein from the fenfe of their antient mafters. That he fhould come before the deftruction of the fecond temple, Hag. ii. 6. 7. 8. 9. For thus faith the Lord of hofts, yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the fea, and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, and the defire of all nations fhall come, and I will fill this house with glory, faith the "Lord of hofts. The filver is mine, and the gold is mine, faith the Lord of hofts. The glory of this latter houfe fhall be greater than of the former, faith the Lord of hofts and in this place will I give peace, faith the Lord of hofts. From whence it is plain, that this houfe fhall remain when the defire of all nations, that is, the Meffias, according to the interpretation of the antient Jews, should come, and his prefence fhould be the glory of this fecond temple, and make it excel the firft. And much to the fame purpofe, Mal. iii. r. Behold, I will fend my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me : and the Lord, whom ye feek, that is, the Meffias, fhall fuddenly come to his temple, even the meffenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in behold, he fhall come, faith the Lord of hofls. That he fhould come at the end of fo many weeks of years, from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Hierufalem, and after fo many weeks of years fhould ye cut off, and af ter that the city of Hierufalem and fanctuary should be de ftroyed and made defolate, Dan. ix. 24. 25. 26. 27. So that you fee the prophecies of the Old Teftament do fix and ascertain the time of the Meffias his coming, both by infallible marks and figns, concomitant and confequent, and by an exact computation of years. : 2. That the time fixed by thofe prophecies for the coming of the Meffias is already past. And this ap pears, |