I Hope no man will judge an Apology for Christianity either impertinent or unseasonable in this Age, when a­mongst the greater sort of men the Name only remains, and the Practice is vanished. These Apostatizing times have bereft us of many great advantages the Primitive Christians had for the increasing of their Belief. And 'tis sad to consider, that the Foundations of our Faith have been so totter­ed and shaken, by the most horrid actions of pretended Christians, that too too many have been apt to believe Religion to be nothing else but Policy, and a crafty Art to perswade mens Consciences to act that for God, which otherways their very reason would inform them to be most horrid. Christianity is not to be blamed upon this account, whose Prin­ciples are not only pure, but peaceable. A Religion never propagated but by sufferings; the Martyrs flames enlightned the world into a belief of Christ, not their hands. Our Sa­viour did not only bring peace into the [Page 2]world at his birth, but left it as the best Le­gacy he could give his Disciples, when he went to his Father. The Primitive Fathers through all their Persecutions counted Pray­ers and Tears the only Arms lawful for Chri­stians. Tertullian in his most excellent Apo­logy tells the Romanes how desolate their Countrey would be, if the Christians would but forsake them, that they would presently be a prey to their Enemies.

Without doubt (saith he) you would be amazed at your solitariness,Procul dubio expavissetis ad solitudinem vestram, ad silen­tium rerum, & stuporem quen­dam quafi mortui Orbis: Quae­ssissetis quibus imperaretis, plu­res hostes quàm Cives vobis re­manssissent, nunc cum paucio­res hostes habetis prae multitu­dine Christianorum. Ap. ca▪ 37. at the silence of things, at such a stupor as if the World was dead: You would seek who to command; more Enemies would remain then Citizens; for now you have fewer Enemies by reason of the multitude of Christians. You see the Chri­stians were then sensible both of their num­ber and of their power: Yet how boldly doth this excellent Father challenge them to accuse the Christians of any Conspiracy a­gainst their Magistrates, of the least wicked­ness, as firing their Enemies Towns, or of any revenge when the greatest lay in their power. Nay he concludes this with an Absit. God forbid this Divine Sect should be revenged by humane fire,Sed absit aut igni humano vin­dicetur divina Secta, aut dole­at pati in quo probatur. or should grieve to suffer in what it is tryed.

This I have begun with as a Preface to my [Page 3]Discourse, that the World might see 'tis not Christianity, 'tis not Religion doth counte­nance such actions; but that the Devil (who when he pleaseth can transform himself into an Angel of light) doth endeavour to intro­duce Atheisme, by infatuating his Vassals to abuse Religion, to use that as a Cloak; and so he hopes when the vizard is off, and these Hypocrites appear in their colours, the Reli­gion they profess will vanish with the Pro­fessors.

This being premised, I hope I need not justifie my self in endeavouring to maintain so great a Truth, which I think in no time needs more to be studied then now, when the open Adversaries of Christianity do not only encrease in their number, but in their confidence; and the iniquity of our times permits men not only to maintain in Dis­course, what formerly they durst scarce think, but also publickly to vent Atheistical Princi­ples in Print, as no Christian ear can suffer.

Christianity is a Doctrine will no way please our Atheists, who are so far from de­nying themselves, that they only count them wise men, whose business is to please, and enjoy themselves. 'Tis no wonder these men are loth to believe a God, when they wish there were none. 'Tis an excellent say­ing of Minutius Felix, which I have often thought on.

I am not ignorant (saith he that there are many who out of the conscientiousness of their deserts,Nec ignoro plerosque ex con­scientia meritorum se post mor­tem nihil esse magis optare quàm credere; Mallent enim pe­nitùs extingui quàm ad Judi­cia reparari. do rather wish then believe they shall be nothing after their death; for they had rather be extinguished then be repaired to Judgment.

To these men I shall only say what Arnobi­us hath put in my mouth almost upon the like occasion.Sed & ipse quae pollicetur non probat. Ita est: Nulla enim, ut dixi, futurorum potest esse comprobatio. Cùm ergo haec sit conditio futurorum, ut teneri & comprehendi nullius possunt Anticipationis attactu; Nonne purior ratio est ex duobus in­certis, & in ambigua expecta­tione pendentibus, id potius credere quod aliquas spes ferat quàm omnino quod nullas: In illo enim periculi nihil est si quod dicitur imminere cassum fiat & vacuum, in hoc dam­num est maximum, id est salu­tis amissio, si cum tempus ad­venerit apperiatur non fuisse mendacium. Arnob. lib. 2. p. 44. But Christ (say the Heathens) doth not prove there shall be that future existence which he promiseth. Be it so: For (as I have said) there can be no proof of future things. When therefore this is the con­dition of all future things that they cannot be reached or com­prehended with any reach of Anticipation; Is not that rea­son best of two uncertainties that depend upon ambiguous expectation, to believe that ra­ther which carries some hope in it, then that at all which carries none. For in this there is no danger, if that which is said to hang over us be empty and vain, but in that there is the greatest damage, that is the loss of Salvation, if when the time comes that be found no lye.

I shall principally direct my Discourse a­gainst [Page 5]this sort of men, who I cannot pro­perly call Atheists, because they acknowledge a God, but yet tell us he regards not these petty inconsiderable actions of men; as the Poet speaks of Jupiter; That he is not at leisure to be pre­sent at these trifling affairs.Non vacat exiguis rebus adesse Jovi. Ovid. And truly it would be well for men of these Principles, that their position was true; for then they might hope that God in another world would not take account of those acti­ons which he considers not here. Against these men I say I will direct my Discourse; and the best way (in mine opinion) to con­vince them of the truth of Christian Religi­on, is to press those Arguments against them which were the first Motives to move the Ro­man world to believe a Crucified Saviour. For if the Romanes were rational, wise, and understanding men, and neither in parts nor understanding at all inferiour to the most in­telligent amongst us, the same reasons that had strength enough in them to convince them, must have strength enough in them to convince us. Now the first Motive that mo­ved them to consider the Doctrine of Chri­stianity, were those extraordinary Miracles that Christ, the Apostles, and Christians did for a very long time amongst them, which being obvious to sense, the most obstinate Heathen could not deny; and being above the power of man, the most willful amongst them could not but acknowledge to be done [Page 6]by the finger of God. This of Miracles is that I shall most particularly insist upon; but my intentions are, before I come to prove these Miracles, to treat of those several other Arguments which are used by Christians to confirm their Faith: And though to a con­siderate person there is none of them but carries weight enough in them to assure him both of the truth and excellency of Christi­anity: Yet to the most obstinate Rationa­list (if I may so call him) that Argument which carries along with it Omnipotency, that never goes without Gods Seal attesting it, must force him to believe, what perhaps he is most loth to do.

The Method I shall follow is this.

1 First, I shall shew you, that both the Jews and Gentiles expected such a Prince to arise out of Judaea; and the Jews generally a­bout Christs coming.

2 Secondly, That the Jews that now expect him, confess the time they expected him to be past.

3 Thirdly, That there was one Jesus that did come, whom both he and we say was that Prince.

4 Fourthly, That this Jesus that did come, did come about the time the Jews expected him, and did answer all the Prophesies con­cerning the Messias.

5 Fifthly, I shall prove that the Religion delivered by this Jesus, is, where it is not a­bove reason, most reasonable, and upon the [Page 7]Principles of Reason ought to be admitted; Where it is above the reach of Reason, and depends upon the Authority of the Lawgiver, is confirmed by Miracles, which carrying Omnipotency, and Gods Seal perpetually annexed unto them, need not desire but com­mand admittance.

I shall begin with the first,Thesis 1. to shew that about that time of our blessed Saviours In­carnation, not only the Jews did expect their Messias, but the Heathens did dread some King to be born in Judaea, who should rule the World: And though perhaps both of them looked for a Temporal Prince, yet 'tis considerable, that though they were mi­staken in the manner how, yet they were not in the thing, that such a Prince should arise in Judaea.

For the Jews first.

Had we no other Testimonies then that S. John gives us of the woman of Samaria, John 4.25. I know that when the Messias cometh; we might easily suppose 'twas a thing universally belie­ved and known, or else it would not by such a person have been so confidently asserted. But in John 3. we may find all men musing whether John Baptist was not the Christ.John 3.15. In John 7. we find it taken for granted,John 7.27. that he was to come, because the Jews tell us, that when he cometh, no man knoweth whence he is; and more particularly by the Quaere follow­ing; When Christ cometh can he do more Mi­racles? verse 37. But what need I say more of this [Page 8]when it was not only the expectation of the Ancient Jews, but is still of the Modern, who (as credible Authors assure us) do at this day upon any tempe­stuous weather open their win­dows in expectation of him.The Jews in their Liturgy sing at this day this sad verse. Veniat Elias Propheta, Elias Propheta, Elias Propheta, re­pentè ad nos veniat cum Messi­ah filio Davidis. As Hoorn­beck teacheth us in his 2. lib. cap. 1. pag. 193. De converten­dis & convincendis Judaeis. In the night of the Feast of the Propitattion they pray. Re­memoretur coram te memoria Messiae fi ii Davidis servi tui, & memoris populi tui. Ibid. I know some of them begin now to be so hardned, and are so ti­red in their expectation, that as they excuse his not coming at the time we say he should, because of the sins of the peo­ple; so are apt to believe he never will come for that rea­son.

'Tis an answer they have invented, in my opinion, very fatal to themselves, and to their conversion very prejudicial: For as they have no ground to say, that God who promised the Messias of his free goodness, and without Condition, should not send him in the fulness of time according to his promise, be the sins of the people never so great; so it is in its own nature impossible to overthrow such an answer when the matter of the answer is true, but the reason false. 'Tis as impossible for us, I say, to prove, that can be no reason, as it is for them to prove it is a reason; and so when the Jews give us that reason, and only instance in some ex­amples of Gods deferring his promises be­cause of the sins of the people, they only prove, that had not Christ come, that might [Page 9]have been a reason, which at most amounts but to a probability; So when we reply to them, we cannot say that can be no reason Christ had not come, because what may be probable cannot be said to be impossible; but this we say, 'tis no reason because Christ is come. And so you may see this willful Nation are come to this pass, that resolving not to believe Christ come, they will answer Gods promises, which are as well certain for the time as the thing, with an answer which is at most but probable; and this probability concurring with their wills sways more with them then the greatest certainty. I shall say no more of this here, because when I come to my second Proposition I shall have a fitter occasion to handle it.

I shall proceed to shew you the second part of this Proposition, viz. That the Gentiles had some expectation of such a Prince to a­rise. And this will appear,

1. From the authority of the Sybils, who evidently foretold him in all the Qualifica­tions he came; which if they did, we have sufficient reason to believe the Gentiles ex­pected him, because 'tis evident they esteem­ed them true Prophetesses. That they be­lieved their authority we need no other to assure us but the Poet, who commands as great a credit to his word,Credite me vobis folium reci­tare Sybillae. Juven. as if he had been repeating a leaf out of the Sybils. That they were long before Christs time the several Au­thors [Page 10]that name them.Antiq. Rom. lib. 1. p. 39. Diodorus Siculus, Edit. Wecho­lianae, Anno 1586. Dionysius Halycarnassaeus, Lib. 7. cap. 33. Divinitas fuit in Sybillis. Pliny, Cap. 8. p. 24. Solinus, andEclog. 4. Virgil will assure us: Especially if we adde to this, that those that mention the Sy­billa Erithraea, the most famous of them, makes her elder then Troy, asLib. 1. pa. 44. Dionysius Ha­licarnassaeus, Apollodorus, and others do; those that mention Cumana, makes her as old as Tarquinius Superbus, or at the least Tarquinius Priscus; asLib. 4. p. 259. lin. 21. Dionysius Halicarnas­saeus, lib. 13. ca. 13. de libris. Plinius, Cap. 8. p. 24. Solinus, andUltima Cu­maei venit jam carminis aetas. Eclog. 4. Agellius doth, and most remarkably Virgil, who lived in Augustus time, and expresly tells us, That the last Age of the Cumaean Verse is now come. I might cite more Authors to this pur­pose, but I need not; there remains but one thing to strengthen this Argument, which till of late I think for this last 1000. years was never questioned by Christians, and not now by any but those that either deny or question all Antiquity; and that is, that those Verses wherein our Saviour is so clearly pro­phesied was theirs, and not foisted under their names by some Christian in the first times of Christianity. This I shall prove unto you with as much brevity as I can.

But before I come to it, it is necessary for me to premise thus much; That where a matter of Fact is denyed, it is impossible to prove it, but by Authority, or by Argu­ments which only amount to a probability; for no higher demonstration is the matter ca­pable of, and so great a force our Arguments [Page 11]have for this purpose. The first whereof is,

1. That most of the Antient Fathers pess these Authorities against the Heathens in their Apologies. I shall name some of them.

1. Justin Martyr in his first Oration to the Greeks presseth them with the Sibylls: if you will not believe us, be perswaded by your most ancient and very old Sy­byll, [...]. And after he adds this, [...]. In fine. whose Books are happen­ed to be saved in the whole world. And some few lines after he adds: Believe her clearly prophesying concern­ing the coming of our Savi­our Jesus Christ, and concern­ing all those things which were to be done by him. This Fa­ther mentions them also seve­ral times in his Apology, which for brevities sake I omit. The second Father shall be O­rigen, and perhaps you may wonder at that, because he is one of the Authors for the con­trary: therefore I choose him, and that ve­ry place. 'Tis in his 7^th Book against Celsus. Then (saith Origen) I know not what he means, [...]. lib 7. pag. 369. E­dit. Canta. that we had rather call the Si­byll the Childe of God then Jesus, when he assevers that we have inserted many and blasphemous things into the Sibylls books, and shews us [Page 12]nothing; for he shews not what we have inserted; certainly he would have shewn them us if he could have produced more ancient, and more incorrupted Copies, and such as had not those things which he sup­poseth are inserted in them. All that I can gather from this place is, that Celsus being pressed with the Sibylls authorities, and find­ing no way to answer them, thought it the surest answer to say, that the Christians had foisted those verses in them; which methinks is no reason for us to believe a satisfactory answer; when Origen here in this place, wondering at so confident an assertion with­out the least of proof. Had there been the least ground for it, it would have stood Cel­sus in good stead to have shewed any anci­ent Copie without those Interpolations. Certainly he was too great an Artist in rea­soning, to let slip so great an advantage, had it indeed been any; and this I leave to any sober mans judgment.

The next that follow shall be Tertullian, who in his second Book ad Nationes, proving our Faith for Antiquity to be above the Heathens,Ante enim Sibylla quam omnis literatura extitit, illa scilicet veri vera Vates, & cujus vo­cabula Daemoniorum vatibus in­duistis. Ad Nationes, l 2. c. 12. sayes, That the Si­byll was before this kinde of learning was in the world: And then he tells us what he means by the Sibyll; to wit, that true Prophetess of Truth, whose words you have put in the mouthes of the Divels Prophets.

[Page 13] 4. Our fourth Authority shall be La­ctantius, who tells us, That the Heathens being convinced with these Testimonies,His testimoniis quidem revicti solent eo confugere ut dicant, non illa esse Carmina Sibyllina, sed à nostris facta atque composita; quod profectò non putabit, qui Cicero­nem, Varronémque legerit, aliós­que Veteres qui Erythraeam Sibyl­lam caeterásque commemorant, ex quorum libris ista exempla profe­rimus, qui auotores obier unt ante­quam Christus nasceretur. Lact, lib. 4. cap. 15. say that these are not the Sibylls Verses, but they were made and composed by us Christians, which truly he could not think, who hath read Cicero and Varro, and other Anci­ents, who mention the Si­byll Erythraea, and the rest, out of whose books we pro­duce these Examples, whose Authors have been dead long before Christ was born. To these already named, I will referr the Reader to St. Austin, de Civitate Dei, lib. 18. cap. 33. And so Constantine the Emperours Speech, Chap. 18, 19. ad Sancto­rum Coetum, where he will finde both the Emperour and the Bishop asserting the Si­bylls Authorities; the repetition whereof will be too large for so short a Discourse.

2. My second Argument for the Sybills works, which I told you before could amount but to a probability, is this.

That the books of Hystaspis, and the Sy­bills, were by Heathen Laws forbidden to be read; which had they been esteemed as spu­rious, it had been much a better way to have made the fraud publick, then to have prohi­bited the reading of their Books. Now that [Page 14]such a Law was made, Justin Martyr assures us in his second Apology to Antoninius Pius. These are his words. [...]. Ap. 2. p. 64. Through the energie of these foolish De­vils, death is threatned to all the Readers of the Books of Hystaspes, the Sybils, and the Prophets, that by fear they might turn away men that are apt to believe the knowledge of good things, and that they may keep them slaves to themselves.

This we may gather also from the Letter the Emperour Valerianus wrote to the Se­nate, as Flavius Vopianus teacheth us, where­in he saith; I wonder holy Fathers you doubt so long of opening the Sibylline books,Miror vos patres sancti tamdiu de aperiendis libris Sybillinis dubitasse, perinde quasi in Chri­stianorum Ecclesia, & non in Templo omnium Deorum tracta­retis. This place is cited by Ba­ronius, Anna. 1. T. 1. p. 8. as if you were handling this in a Congrega­tion of Christians, and not in the Temple of all the Gods.

The Orator Tully also in his book de Divinatione seems to mention this Law,Injussu Senatus proditum est à Majoribus nè legantur quidem libri. de Divinat. lib. 2. when he tells us it was delivered by the Antients, that these books were not to be read without the Senates leave.

And something to this purpose hath Dio­nysius Halicarnassaeus, whose words are these: After the expulsion of Kings, [...]. lib. 4. p. 260. this City taking into their charge the Sibylline Oracles, [Page 15]appointed most eminent men to be their Keepers, who all their life time have this care, being exempted from all Offi­ces, Military and Civil, and to these they add others, with­out whom it is not lawful for these men to look into these Oracles.

From this place I suppose I may gather the great care the Romans had for their preser­vation, which makes it a far more difficult thing to foist any thing in them, and an ea­sie thing for an Heathen Emperour to see whether the Quotations the Christians used out of them were spurious or no. And this place seems to intimate something of what Justin Martyr before told us, when it tells us they were by Law so strictly kept, that it was dangerous for their very keepers, without others by Publick Authority delegated with them, to read them. Certainly an Apologist durst write nothing but Truth, when on the truth of their Apology their life and every thing dear unto them depended. And I con­fess I know not why the Roman Emperours should not forbid the reading of the Sybills Oracles,Ep. 42. as well as Julian the Apostate did all the Gentile books by a Law, when the true reason why he did this, was to keep the Christians in ignorance of their horrid Rites; (although he pretends that they might not blaspheme their gods) and by that means to [Page 16]hinder their confuting them. I am sure the advantage the Christians gain by the Sybills would be the greater, because their books would confirm them in their own Religion, when the Gentiles could make them only abhorre their. If you ask me how these Prophesies came so publick, when they were so strictly kept. The answer is easie; for it appears, that Attilius privately writ them out, and for that cause was put into a leather bag, and cast into the Sea; as Dionysius Halicar­nassaeus and Valerius Maximus will inform us,Dionys. lib. 4. Valer. li. c. 13. if no body else besides him did it. I would not in this place be mistaken, as if I thought what I have said concerning the Sy­bills were sufficient to prove, that those Pro­phesies we have, that go under their name, were all theirs: For though I verily believe much of them were really the Sybills Pro­phesies; yet I doubt not but many things have been added, and foisted in them many years after Christ. And 'tis sufficient for my purpose, that there were Prophesies extant, whether they were the Sybills, or no, which foretold such a Prince to arise; as appears both from Cicero and Varro, and many other Authors, some whereof lived before Christ. But I hope if what I have said be not suffi­cient, yet the Ingenious Appendix of my Learned Friend will make it more then pro­bable, that the Prophesies that go under their names, were for the most part theirs, and ought to be so admitted. And thus much for the Sybills.

[Page 17] 2. Our second Argument, that the Hea­thens expected such a Prince, shall be from the Affirmations of several of them.

The first shall be that great Master of Elo­quence, Tully, who in his second book de Di­vinatione, hath this passage well worth our noting. What Authority (saith he) hath that madness,Quid vero habet Autoritatis furor ille, quem divinum voca­tis, ut quae sapiens non videat, ea videat Insanus, & is qui humanos sensus amiserit, divi­nos assecutus sit? Sybillae ver­sus observamus quos illa furent fudisse dicitur, quorum Inter­pres nuper, falsa quadam homi­num fama dicturus in Senatis putabatur eum, quem revera Regem habebamus, appellandum quoque esse Regem, si salvi esse vellemus. Pag. 295. Edit. Par. which we call Divine, that a mad man should see those things which a wise man cannot, and that he who hath lost humane senses should obtain divine? We observe the Sybills verses which she is said to have utter­ed when she was mad, whose Interpreter by some false re­port of men was supposed to be about to speak them in the Senate, viz. That he whom in truth we have had a King, should be called a King, if we would be safe. I much admire at these men that suppose the Sybills Oracles were foisted by Christians, when we here have Tully not only mentioning them, but telling us that they foretold a King whom we ought to call so, if we would be safe. Now how this con­curres with the Prophesies we have of them, I need not tell any man that hath read them. And 'tis more considerable, that Cicero being a very great enemy to Monarchy, doth fancy these Verses were made to advance that new­ly begun Empire. If I mistake him not, his [Page 18]words signifie so much.Hoc si est in libris, in quem Hominum, & in quod tempus est? Callidè enim qui illa com­posuit perfecit, ut quodcunque accidisset, praedictum videre­tur hominum, & temporum de­finitione sublata. Ibid. If this be in the Sybills Books, unto what man, and unto what time doth it belong? For he that made these Verses acted subtil­ly, that whatsoever might hap­pen might seem to be foretold, the definition both of the person and time being taken away. By this we may see how these poor Sybills are tossed; Cicero fancies that some Heathen that favoured Monarchy made them, and Celsus says the Christians made them. These Affirmations being con­tradictory, cannot both be true; the first suf­ficiently destroys the second; and Tullies mi­stake ariseth from another mistake; had he rightly understood them, he would scarcely have imagined them the fiction of a Heathen. Here is one thing not to be overlooked, that this Oratour tells us.Ex primis versuum literis ali­quid connectitur. Ibid. That out of the first Letters of every verse something is signified; Which how well it agrees with the Verses of the Sybill of Erythaea, De Civit. Dei, l. 18. cap. 23. Varro, and S. Austin out of him will inform the enquirer. I have been longer on this Authority then I shall be on the rest, because this advantaged much what before I have affirmed of the Sybills; and if it doth so, I am sure Tully, though he misapplyed it, as it was the fortune of others to do, had then some notion of a King to arise.

My second Author shall be Suetonius Tran­quillus [Page 19]in his life of the Emperour Vespasian, who tells us that all the East over there was an ancient and constant fame, that it was de­creed by the Fates, that they that came forth of Judaea should rule o­ver all.Percrebuerat Oriente toto ve­tus & constans opinio, esse quoque in fatis, ut Judaea pro­fecti rerum potirentur. Id de Imperatore Romano, ut de e­ventu postea patuit, praedictum Judaei ad se trabentes, rebellâ­runt. Suet. Vespa. This prediction (as by the event afterwards appeared) was of the Roman Emperours, the Jews drawing to themselves rebelled. This place is very plain; and the learned Causa­bon tells us, That in these words there appears the foot­steps of truth,In quibus verbis apparent ve­stigia veritatis, & ejus vatici­nii unde illud manavit. [...]. No­tae in locum. and of that Pro­phesie from whence it flowes. [...]. Out of thee shall arise a Ruler. He­gesippus in his fifth Book of the distraction of Jerusalem, tells us something of this Re­bellion of the Jews, and that a false Pro­phet even then was the cause of the burning of the Jews in the Temple. His words are these.Nam cùm animi multorum inflecterentur ut se fracto ag­mine Romanis traderent, Pseu­dopropheta quidam jactare coe­pit in excessu mentis suae, Tem­plo divina praesidia non defe­ctura, vocare populum ad se ve­lut quodam Oraculo, adhuc se in Templo suo manere, illico repulsurum hostium cuneos, & flammarum incendia. Sic mi­seri dum infoeliciter falsis cir­cumventionibus credunt, dede­cores atque vi ulti sicut pecora trucidantur. Ca. 44. For when the mind of most were bent, that their Ar­my being now broken, they should deliver themselves to the Romanes; a certain false Pro­phet from the bottom of his mind began to speak boasting­ly, that refuge from Heaven would not be wanting to the Temple; and to call the peo­ple to him as it were by a cer­tain [Page 20]Oracle, that they should continue yet in their Temple, and that they should presently repell the bodies of their Ene­mies, and the violence of the flames. So these miserable men whilst they unfortunate­ly believed false circumventions were kill'd like beasts disgracefully, and without revenge. And Josephus tells us this Prophesie more at large.Sed quod cos ad bellum maxi­mè excitaverat responsum erat ambiguum itidem in sacris li­bris inventum, quòd eo tempo­re quidam esset ex eorum finibus orbis terrae habiturus Imperium. Id enim illi quidem quasi pro­prium acceperunt, multique sa­pientes interpretatione decepti sunt. Hoc autem planè responso Vespasiani designabatur Impe­rium, qui apud Judaeam crea­tus est Imperator. de bello Jud. lib. 7. cap. 12. In fine. But that which most of all stirred them up to a War was an ambiguous answer found in their sacred Books, that at that time one out of their bor­ders should be Emperour of the world. This they indeed re­ceived as proper to themselves, and many wise men were de­ceived with the Interpretation. But by this answer the Empire of Vespasian was plainly design­ed, who in Judaea was created Emperour. Suetonius in his Octavius hath yet another Authority, if it can possibly be more plain. These are his words. Julius Marathus tells us,Author est Julius Marathus, ante paucos qui nasceretur men­ses, prodigium Romae factum publicè, quo denunciabatur Re­gem Populo Romano Naturam parturire: Senatum exterri­tum censuisse, nè quis illo an­no genitus educaretur. Eos qui gravidas uxores haberent, quo ad se quisque spem traheret, cu­rasse nè Senatus consultum ad Aerarium deferetur. Sueton. in Octa. p. 253. Edit. Lug. Bat. that a few moneths before Augustus was born there was a Prodigie done at Rome publickly, in which it was foretold, that Nature should bring forth a King for the Ro­man Nation. The Senate be­ing affrighted at this, decreed, [Page 21]that none born that year should be educated. They who had wives great with Child (as much as every one could from hence draw hope to themselves) took care lest that Decree of the Senate should be brought to the Treasury. Because if it was once placed in the Treasury it was irrevocable. Upon this account both Lentulus and Cataline hoped to have been this King.Florus lib. 41. Ca. Phi. 2. He that considers these Authori­ties well must evidently see Gods providence in these predictions, making way for the coming of our Saviour. What the Heathens understood by Nature I need not tell you, they having that Notion of it, as we have of the great God. And that it should be fore­told that God should bring forth a King for the Roman world, savours much of a Di­vine Prophetick Spirit.

3. Our third and last Authour shall be Cornelius Tacitus, that excellent Historian, who not only agrees with Suetonius in the prediction but explication also: His words are these. There was a per­swasion in very many,Pluribus persuasio inerat anti­quis Sacerdotum literis conti­neri, eo ipso tempore fore, ut valesceret Oriens, profectique Judaea rerum potirentur. Quae Ambages Vespasianum & Ti­tum praedixerunt. Sed vulgus more humanae cupiditatis, sibi tantam fatorum magnitudinem interpretati, nè adversis qui­dem ad vera mutabantur. Hist. lib. 5. p. 965. that it was contained in the ancient Books of the Priests, that in that very time it should be that the East should grow powerful, and those that come of Judaea should command all. Which doubtful Prophesie foretold Ve­spasian [Page 22]and Titus. But the vul­gar, after the manner of humane desire, did interpretate to them­selves so great a magnitude of the Fates, and through adversity they were not changed to believe what was true.

This now will sufficiently assure us that not only the Jews, as before I have shewed you, but all the East had such a Tradition of a Ruler to arise; and although the Jews upon this mistake rebelling were destroyed by Ves­pasian, and because of Vespasian's success the Romans attributed this prediction to the Em­perour, and so they were both out in the Ex­position, yet were they both right in the ex­pectation of such a Ruler.

I think think these Authorities amount to a sufficient proof: I should not have been so long in handling them, had they not much conduced to my designed discourse.

My second Thesis is,Thesis 2. That the Jews that now expect the Messias to come, do acknow­ledge the time when he should have come to be past. And this I shall prove with some less labour then I did the former.

My first Argument for that is, 1 because the Jews acknowledge he is deferred by reason of the sins of the people. To this purpose you shall finde the greatest Rabbi of our Age, Ma­nasse Ben Israel, telling us from Rabbi Elianus, Vitia & peccata populi in cau­sa esse, cur adventus Messiae ulterius longiusque dies iste esset dilatus, adeo ut treeenti anni ultra quatuor mille anno­rum elapsi sunt. Man. lib. 3. de Res. Ca. 3. So quoted by Hoorn­beck, l. 2. C. 1. That the vices and sins of the people was the cause why the day of the coming of the Messias [Page 23]was deferred further and long­er, insomuch that 300 years are already passed more then 4000. And Manasse himself having re­peated R. Elianus's opinion, concurs with it, when he tels us, And truly it is most certain,Et profectò verissimum est, si Israelitae seriò factorum egissent proenitentiam, Messiae adventus non fuisset procrasti­natus. Ibid. if the Israelites would most seri­ously repent of their deeds, the coming of the Messias had not been delayed.

This is the Proposition we have in hand af­firmed; for nothing can be said to be defer­red, but the time of whose coming is past.

2. Because in the publick Prayers now used amongst them they pray as if they were in des­pair of his coming. Now it is not rational to suppose that they should despair of a delive­rance, if the time when they expected delive­rance be not in their own opinion past. I have before repeated some few passages out of their Liturgies: I shall add these, which Hoornbeck af­fords us in the very place I before mentined. Let it please thee, O Lord, that in a short time thy Sanctuary be built. And again,Et placeat tibi Domine, ut brevi aedificetur Sanctuarium tuum in diebus nostris. In Se­der Tepholoth, p. 2. l. 17. & pa. 109. 119. Et non est Sacerdos summus, qui pro nobis propi­tiationem faciat: Quare pla­ceat tibi Domine, Deus Noster, & Deus Patrum nostrorum Deus misericordiarum, ut con­vertaris ad nos, nostrique mi­serearis, & Sanctuarii tui, in commiserationibus multis, & brevi illud aedifices. Hoorn. ut antea, p. 193. There is no Priest that can make propitia­tion for us. Wherefore let it please thee, O Lord, our God, and the God of our Fathers, the God of Mercies, that thou wouldest be turned to us, and [Page 24]have pity on us, and of thy Sanctuary in thy many com­passions, and in a short time wouldest build it.

3. Thirdly, Because about the time of our Saviours coming, and since, they have been deceived with several Impostures, whom they supposed were the Messiah; as in the time of the Emperour Adrian, with Aristo Pellaris, as Eusebius tells us.lib. 2. cap. 8.

In Crete a Pseudo-Moses perswaded the Jews that he would lead them through the Sea to Canaan as Moses did; which folly this lamentable people believing, threw themselves with their Prophet from the Rock into the Sea, so that many perished, and more had, if the Christian Charity had not relieved them; Aslib. 7. cap. 37. Socrates in his Ecclesiastical Hi­story, andlib. 14. cap. 40, 41. Nicephorus tell us.

Under the Emperour Leo Isaurus a Syrian Impostor deceived them, saying he was the Messias, as Baronius tels us, Tom. 3. pag. 20. Ad An. 721. out of Theophanes.

In the time of Maimonides, as he himself tels us, there was one David el David, who by Inchantments did perswade many to believe him the Messiah. He was of that confidence that he did not only affirm it to the Jews, but to the Persians also, for which he was cast in­to prison, out of which either by Magick or bribes he got out; the King pursuing him, he is reported to have passed over the River Goa [Page 25]upon his Cloke, and in one day to have gone ten days Journey; but at last by the help of Zaid the King of the Turks, being drunk, he was beheaded: Or as others say, A signe be­ing asked him, he told them if he was be­headed he should live again, which he did in craft to avoid a greater punishment. This Impostor Gentius in his Jewish story menti­ons.pag. 169. And in the Age before us R. Lemlem a false Christ appears, who for his Inchantments was publickly burnt. R. Maimonides men­tions many others; but these are enough to shew us that the Jews ever since our Saviours coming have expected a Messias, and so by consequence have acknowledged the time he should have come to be past.

4. The fourth and last reason shall be this, which I hasten to, because I would avoid te­diousness, because many amongst themselves believe he will never come; which truly upon the grounds of the first reason (to wit) That he is deferred from the sins of the people, may as well be an Argument for his not coming as for his delay. Some Rabbies we have affirm­ing as much, though not in express words. Rabbi Hillels says,Non dabitur Israeli Messias, jam enim compotiti co [...] sunt temporibus Heskiae Regis Je­hudae. In codic [...] Sanhedrin. Ci­ted by Hoornbeck p. 115. That the Messias shall not be given to Is­rael: For they long ago enjoy­ed him in the days of Hezekia King of Judah. Here we have a sufficient testimony of the Jews despair in their condition. This Rabbi, rather then suppose Christ to be the Messias, will fancy [Page 26]him to have come so many ages before, and will believe this fancy rather then the great­est Reason. That Messiah of his must certain­ly be a strange one, that he should never be mentioned or known to any but R. Hillell. How pitifully do the Jews deride at the ob­scurity of our Saviours birth, when his mira­cles made him renowned all over the world, and his faith in so short a time subdued it? when alas here we have a Messias found out, come, and gone, and known to none but Rabbi Hillel. I know R. Joseph, as Hoorn­beck tels us, asketh pardon for this errour of Rabbi Hillell, that he should imagine Christ should come in the days of Hiskia King of Juda, which was in the time of the first Temple;9 Zach. 9. and the Prophet Zachary prophesies of him under the second Temple. This dis­pute of the Messias coming, is a subject they shun discoursing of, and avoid as much as in them lies to do it. Manasse Ben Israel their great Doctor, in his Book De Resurrectione, doth so stagger about it, as one would won­der that so sober a person should believe such follies, and reject so much of Reason. He tels us, It is not only evident in the Books of Moses, Non tantum inquit, ex libris Mosaicis, verùm etiam Pro­pheticis constat Resurrectionem mortuorum conjunctam & an­nexam fore adventui Messiae. Solum in controversia relin­quitur, utrum is primus ac unus, an secundus Messiae ad­ventus futurus sit. Hanc dispu­tationem nunc non aggredior, sed simpliciter dato, tum ven­turum, & fore resurrectio­nem mortuorum. Deinde ad­juncto loco Deut. 33.35. con­cludit, itaque eodem ferè tem­pore & die Messias veniet, & mortui resurgent. l. 3. Ca. 2. but in the Prophets, that the Resurrecti­on of the dead shall be joyned and annexed to the coming of the Messias. This only is left in controversie, Whether it be the first and one, or the second com­ing [Page 27]of the Messias that then shall be. I will not enter upon this dispute; but this being simply granted, that he shall then come, and the Resurrection of the dead shall then be. And then adding the place of Deut. 33.35. he then concludes, that in the same day and time the Messias shall come, and the dead rise. I confess, to me from these words no­thing is clearer but that he is willing to shuf­fle Christs first coming off quite and cleane, or at least defer it to his second, upon very trivial accounts, by which we may easily gather they have so long talked of such a thing that they are ashamed to deny it, and yet so slight it, as if they scarcely believed there would be any such thing. Thus I have briefly from the Jews despair of his coming, and the reasons they urge why he is not come, proved from themselves a tacite confession, that the time since they supposed he should have come is past. I proceed to the third, which is,

That there was one Jesus Christ that did come,Thesis 3. whom both he and we say was this Messias. Now to prove matter of Fact, as I told you, our best proofs are Authorities; and that I shall do, not from Christians, but from the enemies of Christianity, Heathens; and a confession of an enemy is not to be de­nied by any that will not deny Principles themselves.

[Page 28] 1. Our first Author shall be Cornelius Ta­citus, an Historian that no man judged either fabulous, or to Christianity partial, who speaking of Neroe's cruelty to the Christians, tels us the Author of them, and part of their story. His words are these. The Author of this Name (Christian) was Christ,Author nominis ejus Christus, qui Tiberio imperante per Pro­curatorem Pontium Pilatum, supplicio affectus erat. Repres­saque in praesens exitiabilis su­perstitio ru [...]sus erumpebat, non modo per Judaeam Originem ejus mali, sed per urbem etiam quò cuncta undique atrocia aut pudenda confluunt, celebran­turque: I gitur primò correp­ti qui fatebantur, deinde in­dicio eorum multitudo ingens, haud perinde in crimine incen­dii quàm odio humani generis convicti sunt. Tacit. Annal. lib. 15. pag. 797. Edit. Paris. who when Tiberius was Emperour was punished with death by Pontius Pilate, the then Procurator of Judea. This detestable superstition be­ing depressed for the present broke out again, not only through Judea the Original of that evil, but in the very City it self, whither from every part all things that are wicked and shameful come together and are esteemed. At first they were punished that confessed them­selves Christians, and then by their indictment a great multitude were con­victed, not so much for the fault of the fire, as that they were hated by all man­kind. This is a very considerable place; for we have not only a testimony to prove there was such an one as Jesus Christ, and that he was put to death by Pontius Pilate, but we have here the mention of the first per­secution the Christians suffered at Rome under Nero, and that the reason why they suffered was not that they fired the City, which Nero [Page 29]himself did, but that being generally hated by mankind, Nero that delighted in wicked­ness, could no way so clearly excuse himself as by accusing them, against whom the whole world was willing to believe any thing that was evil, although they knew them guilty of none. And 'tis not to be omitted, that which the most excellent Apologist speaks of Nero the first. Christian Persecutor, to the Se­nate of Rome. Consult (saith he) your Commentaries,Consulite Commentarios ve­stros, illic reperietis primum Neronem in hunc Sectam cùm maximè Romae oriuntem Caesa­riano gladio ferocisse. Qui enim scit illum, intelligere potest non nisi grande aliquid bonum à Nerone damnatum. Tertul. Ap. Cap. 5. and there you'l find that Nero was the first that raged against this Sect rising at Rome; for whoso­ever knows him must under­stand, that nothing but some grand good could be condemn­ed by Nero. And truly it was no wonder that an enemy to mankind should be an enemy to the best of men; that he who butchered his own Parasites upon no account but because they were men, would destroy those whose actions as well as their nature contradicted his humor. But this by the way.

2. The second Author that assures us there was such a person as Christ, is Suetonius, who in his fifth Book and twenty fifth Chapter tells us, That Claudius expel­led the Jews out of Rome, Judaeos impulsore Chresto assi­duè tumultuantes Romae expu­lit. In Claud. be­cause they through the impulse of Chrestus did cause Tumults.

By the Jews are meant the Christians,This place my Lord Armagh in his Annals understands of one Chrestus that was the Au­thor of a sedition amongst the Jews; but divers are of this opinion. whose beginning being in Judaea, were ordina­rily by the Heathens called so; and here we have Chrestus put for Christus. This change of E for I the Heathens did in affront to Christ; insomuch that Tertullian wonders why so in­nocent a Nameshould be hated. For (saith he) an innocent name in inno­cent men is hated.Oditur etiam in hominibus innocuis etiam nomen innocu­um. Ap. ca. 3. Attamen Secta oditur in nomine utique sui Auctoris. Quid Novi? Si aliqua disciplina cognomentum Sectatoribus suis de Magistro inducit. Nonne Philosophi? &c. But here the Sect is hated for the name of the Author. What news is it, if a discipline gives name to its followers from their Master? Do not all the Philosophers so? And he tels them a little before, that he wonders why they will call them Chrestiani rather then Christiani. Christianus quantum in inter-pretatione est, de unctione de­ducitur. Sed & cùm perperàm Chrestianus pronunciatur à vobis (nam nec nominis certa est notitia penes vos) de suavi­tate & benignitate compositum est. Ibid. For (saith he) Christi­anus, as to the Interpretation, is deduced from anointing: But when 'tis enviously pronounced of you Chrestianus (for you have no certain knowledge of the name) 'tis compounded of sweetness and benignity. All which amount to no more, but that he wonders at their en­vious ignorance who would rather call them Chrestiani then Christiani, when either names signifie, that they are so far from disowning, as they most highly esteem and zealously em­brace. Justin Martyr in his second Apology [Page 31]to Antoninus the Emperour mentions the Heathens hatred at the very name of Christian We are accused (saith he) that we are Christians, [...]. Apol. 2. p. 42. to hate that which is [...], which is good, is that just? And truly it is no wonder through the Devils instigation the Heathens should have that violent hatred to the name, which was it self so dreadful to their Idols (as hereafter I shall prove) and was the only crime, if their greatest honour may be once so named, they could ever be accused of. I have said this concerning the name of Chrestianus, because though Suetoni­us differs in a letter, yet it might appear to be a voluntary and envious mistake, and so his authority may pass without control.

3. The third shall be that of Pliny the younger, which doth not so directly mention Christ as the other Authors do, but telling us of the Christians, affirms the God they served to be Christ. It is in his Letter to the Empe­rour Trajan, which he purposely wrote to know what he should do with that sort of men. And therein he tells the Emperour, That he punished them for their obstinacy rather then any thing else. He tells him also, That there were some that de­nyed themselves to be Christi­ans,Pervicaciam certe & inflexi­bilem obstinationem debere puniri. lib. 10. Ep. 91. Quorum nibil cogi posse dicun­tur qui sunt revera Christiani. and that did sacrifice to the Images, and cursed Christ. To do which no true Christian [Page 32]could be compelled. He adds also, That there were others which affirmed they had been Christians, but now were not; and says, that all these worship the Emperours Image, and the Gods. These by the way I must tell you were the Gnostiques, whose Principles were to deny Christ rather to suffer for him.

Now from these Haereticks Pliny gives the Emperour an account of the Religion of the Christians. They affirm, saith he, this to be the sum either of their fault or errour, that they were wont upon a determined day,Adfirmabant autem hanc fuisse summam aut culpae suae aut er­roris, quòd essent soliti stato die ante lucem convenire, car­menque Christo quasi Deo di­cere secum invicem; seque Sa­cramento non in scelus aliquid obstringere, sed nè furta, nè latrocinia, nè adulteria com­mitterent, nè fidem fallerent, nè depositum appellati abnega­rent: Quibus peractis, morem sibi discedendi fuisse rursusque coeundi ad capiendum cibum promiscuum, tamen & in­noxium. before break of day, to meet together, and to fing turn by turn verses amongst themselves to Christ as God; and that they bound themselves by an Oath, not to any wickedness, but that they might not commit Thefts, nor Robberies, nor Adulteries; that they might not break their promise, nor deny the pledge when the owner calls for it; which being done, that it was their custom to depart, and a­gain to meet to eat together promiscuously, but without any hurt. We see here what a notable description, or rather confession of the excellency of the Christian Principles we have from the mouth of a Heathen. 'Tis true, afterwards he calls it Superstitionem pra­vam & immodicam, an empty and vain su­perstition, [Page 33]which is to be wondred at to come from so sober a pen, when the Principles he before repeated, to a natural man savors so much of sobriety and reason. Perhaps he durst say no otherwise; but this he concludeth with. It is evidently certain,Certè satis constat prope jam de­solata Templa coepisse celebrari, & sacra solennia diu intermis­sa, rep [...]ti, passimque venire vi­ctimas quarum adhuc rarissimus emptor inveniebatur, ex quo facilè est opinari quae turba ho­minum emendari possit, si fiat poenitentiae locus. that the Temples now almost desolate, begin to be celebrated, and the sacred solemnities, which long have been inter­mitted, are repeated; and that beasts to be sacrificed do come from abroad (though to buy them as yet there are found but few chapmen) from which it is an easie conjecture, how great a multitude of men might be mended if there could be a place for repentance. From these words we may gather how great a conquest Christianity in so short a time had made, that their Temples should be desolate, that there should be no buyers of Sacrifices to their Gods, unless a li­berty of return and repentance be allowed to Christians, who lapsed upon no other account but fear of torment. Fear made Heathens, and only Reason Christians. The Rack was that that filled their Temples, not their Reli­gion, not the power of their Idol Gods.

To these Heathen Authorities let me add the Jews, who confess there was one Jesus that did come. Their Talmudists call him suspensum, that is, hanged; which they do, supposing it the most opprobrious and cursed [Page 34]title they could give him, because their Law saith, Cursed be every one that hangeth upon a Tree. Benjaminus Judilensis in his Itinerary acknowledgeth him slain at Hierusalem; and at this day all the modern Jews allow such an one to have been. I omit citing their Autho­rities for proving that which I think no man ever denied of what Religion soever; but if there be any such, I have said enough to con­vince any man in this particular.

The fourth thing I lay down is, That this Jesus that did come,Thesis 4. did come about that time the Jews expected him, and did answer all the Prophesies concerning the Messias. Now to prove this particularly will take up more time then the brevity I aim at will afford me: And therefore I shall only touch at some of the most eminent marks that were to go be­fore and follow the Messias, which happened about that time, and were verified in our Jesus.

First, For the time; and this will appear by several Prophesies that assigne the time of the Messias coming.

The first considerable Prophesie that as­signs the time of the Messias coming is Jacob's predictions, on his death-bed, of the Tribe of Judah, That the Scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the Lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto him shall this ga­thering of the people be. If by Shiloh in this place be meant the Messias, then either this Prediction must be false, which to say is blas­phemy, [Page 35]or else this Messias must be come. Now that by Shiloh is understood the Messias, we have the confession of the ancient Jews. Rabbi Johanam asking what was the name of the Messias, they of the School of Rabbi Schila answered his Name is Shiloh, according to that which is written, until Shiloh come. The Cabalists tell us that in [...] Messias venit there are the same numerical letters that are in [...] Messiah,See M. Piersons book of the Creed, Artic. 2. p. 162. and therefore they so interpret it. And both Onkelos Jonathans Targum, and the Hierusalems Targum for Shi­loh puts Messiah: Hoornbeck in his foremen­tioned tract,De Con. et Con. Judaeis. li. 2. pa. 128. reckons the concurrence of divers Rabbies to this interpretation of Shiloh. Rabbi Beehai, Rabbi Selomo Jaxtis on this place, Rabbi Moses Gerundensis, Rabbi Joeb ben Sueb Abrunevel apud Menassem in Com. ad hunc locum. All which Authorities assure us, That the Jews understood that prophesie of the Messias, and that [until Shiloh come] is no more but until the Messias come. I am in this kind of Learning no waies versed, and therefore am forced to take the Authorities as I find them quoted; but from them all this I must gather, That the Ancient Jews ac­knowledge this to be a Prophesie of the Mes­sias; which, if so, must evidently assure us he must be come: And that our Jesus did come before the Jews politie was destroyed, these Jews that tell us he did come, do assure us withal, That he was accused by the Sanhe­drim, and suffered under Pontius Pilate, when [Page 36]as yet their Government was not dissolved.

2. A second considerable Prophesie of the Messias was, That he should come whilest the second Temple stood. This is educed out of two places in the Prophets. The first is that of Malachi 3. Chap. 1. Behold I will send my Messenger, and he will prepare my way be­fore me; and the Lord whom ye seek shall sud­denly come to his Temple, even the Messenger of the Covenant whom ye delight in: Behold he shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts. The se­cond is that of the Prophet Haggai, Chap. 2. v. 7. For thus saith the Lord of Hosts; Yet once it is but a little while, and I will shake the Heavens and the Earth, and the Sea, and the dry Land. v. 8. And I will shake all Nations, and the desire of all Nations shall come, and I will fill this House with glory, saith the Lord of Hosts. v. 10. The glory of this latter House shall be greater then that of the former, saith the Lord of Hosts: And in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of Hosts. Now from these Prophesies 'tis most evident the Messias was to come whilest this second Temple stood; For else what doth the Prophet Ma­lachi mean when he tells us, The Lord whom ye seek shall come to his Temple? Or how can Haggai be understood, That the glory of the latter House shall be greater then that of the former? unless the greatness of it consisted in the presence of the Messias; For alas we know, those that returned from the Capti­vity, and saw the former House, were so far [Page 37]from rejoycing to see this latter, that they wept to see it so far to fall in its magnificence, as Ezra tells us in his Chap. 3. v. 12. The Jews themselves (to make this clearer) have ob­served five signs of the glory of the first Temple, all which were wanting in the se­cond. The Ʋrim and Thummim, by which the High Priest was miraculously taught the Will of God; The Ark of the Covenant from whence God gave his answers by a clear and audible voice; The fire on the Altar which came down from Heaven, and consu­med the Sacrifices; The Divine presence or Habitation with them represented by a visi­ble appearance, or given as it were to the King or High Priest by annointing with Oyl of Unction: And lastly, the Spirit of Pro­phesie, with which those especially who were called to the Spirit of Prophesie were endued withal. I need not say what extraordinary Priviledges these are, they will sufficiently teach them us themselves. The building of the second House was poor, nay, as Haggai tells us, Nothing. Mark his words. Who is left among you that saw this House in her first glory? O how do you see it now! Is it not in your eyes in comparison Nothing? Now is it possible any thing can make this poor despi­cable second House to overtop in glory that former, stately, and God-inhabited Temple; unless it be the visible, and bodily appearing of God himself in it, unless the Messias, the desire of all Nations, the Eternal Son, yet [Page 38]Equal God, should exhibite himself perso­nally and adorn this House. But what need I say so much to confirm this Prophesie, when Manasse Ben Israel, as Hoornbeck teacheth me, confesseth; That Rabbi David Kimki, Locum Haggai ad Templum se­cundum istud applicant R. Da­vid Kimki, R. Hazaria A-ado­ni, & magna pars veterum, te­stante Manasse nostro, libro de termino vitae, pag. 152. Hoorn­beck lib. 2. pag 152. R. Hazaria A-ado­ni, and a great part of the An­cients apply this place of Hag­gai to the second Temple. The Exceptions of some Jews to this place, are so very frivolous, that I omitt them wholly, but you may see them sufficiently refuted by Hoornbeck in the place before mentioned. I think now it is evinced that Christ must come, whilest this Temple stood, this Temple is utterly ruined, there­fore he is come; and that before it was rui­ned our Saviour did come, not only the Jews, who tell us he was crucified by Pontius Pilate, Tacit. Annal. lib. 15. Histor. Lib. 5. Josep. de bello Judaico, lib. 7. Hegisippus in Anacaephalaeo 51. whilest he was Procurator of Judaea, but the Roman Historians which assure us there was such a person that then did suffer, acknowledge his suffering was long before the Emperour Vespasian destroyed the Tem­ple; as you may see at large by the Autho­rities in the Margent.

3. A third considerable Prophesie is that of the Prophet Daniel, which expresly points at the time of the Messias coming, and con­curres with our Jesus; the place is the 9. Cha. v. 24. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon thy holy City to finish the trans­gression, and to make an end of sins, and to [Page 39]make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the Vi­sion and Prophesie, and to annoint the most Ho­ly. v. 25. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the Commandment to restore and to build Hierusalem unto the Messi­ah the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and three­score and two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall even in troublous times. v. 26. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself; and the People of the Prince that shall come shall destroy the City, and the Sanctuary, and the end there­of shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the War desolations are determined. v. 27. And he shall confirm the Covenant with many for one week, and in the midst of the week, he shall cause the Sacrifice, and Oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of Abominations he shall make it desolate even until the Consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. This Prophesie I suppose is clearly meant of the Messiah, because here we have not only his Name, but his Sufferings, and the account of his Sufferings, not for him­self but the People. If now this be a Pro­phesie of the Messias, as hereafter I shall shew you the ancient Jews confess, then this Mes­sias must both be come, and cut off before the final destruction of Hierusalem, whose final destruction the very Jews, were they not perfectly blind, must see was that of Ves­pasian, since which time they have never had [Page 40]either the City or Temple. That which is most difficult here is, the direct time of the Messias cutting off is told us under the name of so many weeks,Leviticus 25.8. which being put for years, as we may find it so used in divers places, and sometimes for days, as the Prophet him­self doth in the following Chapter,Dan. 10.2. doth sufficiently teach us, that these weeks are not to be understood literally weeks nor days, because both those periods passed without the fulfilling of this Prophesie, but years, which I told you before, the Scripture un­derstood by weeks; and then we shall find this prophesie very exactly fulfilled in our Jesus, allowing only some few years which must arise from the not knowing the certain beginning of this prophesie. I confess Hoorn­beck upon this place pleaseth me well, who having before told us, that the difference in the beginning of them, have caused some difference in the end; that some have ended them in the Messiah's Baptism, others in his passion, others in the destruction of the Ci­ty, at last concludes with this. Unless per­chance you had rather, which I suppose not much,Nisi fortè velis cui haud mul­tum refragor non praecisè su­mendas hebdomadas illas, & ante ad justum illum annorum numerum, sed potiùs [...] circum circa numerum LXX. quem Deus in Prophetia hac retinuerit, non ut ex a­mussim spectaretur, sed simili­tudine aliqua ad LXX. annos Captivitatis. lib. 2. pag. 169. that these weeks are not to be taken pre­cisely and strictly to that just number of years, but rather more largely about the number of LXX years, which God in this prophesie retained, not that it should be looked to ex­actly, [Page 41]but with some similitude to the LXX years of Captivity. I know there are some endeavouring, and with great likelihood probable to effect it, a demonstration of this prophesie by the Eclipses; unto these I wish all success imaginable, though thus much me thinks is sufficient to satisfie any rational man, (that the time when exactly to begin not be­ing known, yet if we reckon backwards from the birth of our Saviour, and find it come very near; and besides consider that those events are passed which were to follow the Messias cutting off) that this prophesie was exactly fulfilled in him. There remains thus only to shew, that the Ancient Jews under­stood this place of the Messiah. (I need say nothing that they expected him then, having said sufficiently of that before.) Hoornbeck to this purpose tells us, that R b. Saudia a Ga­on, R. Nahman Gerundensis, and divers others expound this place of the Messiah; but at last he gives Manasse Ben Israels testimony, which being very material I shall at large quote it out of him. But that I might adde this of the Interpretation of this prophesie;Verùm ut addam illud inter­pretationis hujus Prophetiae, variè illa etiam ab hujus aevi Hebraeis explicata est: Neque illud mirum cuique videri de­bet, si in Prophetia tam obscu­ra varient sententiae. Idcircò sunt qui ita illas septuaginta septimanas accipiunt, ut di­cant post finem illarum ventu­rum Messiam, qui illos dominos constitutus sit totius mundi. Atque hoc quidem opinati sunt omnes qui arma tunc temporis adversus Romanos susceperunt: At licèt multis aerumnis & laboribus obnoxii essent, ni­hilominus tamen semper spem suam in venturo Messia posue­runt, quippe putârunt eum mediis in aerumnis conspectum sui praebiturum esse. Quare verba haec, ad consummandum praevaricationem, ita exposu­erunt: Ut post expirationem LXX hebdomadum peccata re­mitterentur. De termino vitae, p. 175. Hoorn. p. 169. for this is va­riously expounded by the He­brews of this Age: Neither let this be a wonder to any if there be difference of opinions in so obscure a prophesie. There are therefore those who take these 70 weeks so, that they say after [Page 42]the end of them the Messiah is to come, who would constitute the Jews Lords of the whole Earth. And this truly all those did imagine that took arms a­gainst the Roman Emperour: And although they were ob­noxious to many miseries and labours, yet notwithstanding they always placed their hope in the Messias that was to come, because they thought he would afford the sight of himself when they were in the midst of their miseries; wherefore these words, to finish the Transgressions, they expounded; that after the expiration of 70 weeks sins are pardoned. I think if a Christian had writ these words, he could not more ingenuously have confessed the truth. We have here an evident Testimony that the Jews that lived about the time of the destruction of Hieru­salem looked for the Messias then to come, because they thought Daniels period was ended; and though (as I have often told you) they expected a temporal Prince, yet they thought this prophesie did concern the time when he should come. So that to shut up this Argument, we evidently knowing even by their confession, that our Jesus did come a little before that time that he was cut off; and that the Jews thought Daniels period then out, at which period they ex­pected [Page 43]him, may be sufficiently assured, that our Messias came about the time the Jews ex­pected him. So much for the time touching the Prophesies which were fulfilled in him. The second branch of this position I shall briefly shew; the brevity I aim at not afford­ing me liberty to name all, but the most consi­derable.

2. For the Prophesies, That they were ful­filled in our Saviour.

1. The first Prophesie of note concerning our Saviour, was the Prophesie of his fore­runner, Elias was to come. This we have prophesied by Isaiah, and Malachy, Isa. 40.3: Mal. 4.5. Jo. 1.21. and we find verified in John Baptist, as our Saviour tells us. 'Tis true, he denies himself to be Elias, that is, to be the individual Elias the Thesbite, whom the Jews supposed should be born again, when John came only in the pow­er of Elias. Now that there was such an one Josephus in his Annals confesseth, and more­over adds, That amongst the Jews there was an opinion that Herods Army was by a just judgment of God destroyed,Apud Judaeos autem fuit opinio justa ultione numinis deletum Herodis exercitum propter Jo­hannem qui Baptists cognomi­natus est. Hunc cum Tetrar­cha necavit virum optimum, Judaeos excitantem ad virtutem studia, & imprimis pietatis & justitiae, simulque ad baptismi lavacrum, &c. Lib. 18. ca. 18. I have not the Greek Edition. by reason of John who was named the Baptist; for this good man the Tetrarch slew, who incited the Jews to study Virtue, and most principally Piety and Ju­stice, and withal to come to be baptized. And so he proceeds, telling John Baptists Authority, and the fear [Page 44]that Herod had of him, by reason of the great concourse of people that followed him upon the account of his piety.

2. The second prophesie I look on as most remarkable is that of the Prophet Esay, There­fore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Isa. 7.11.14. Be­hold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. That this pro­phesie concerned our Saviour, his birth is suf­ficient to assure us; but that we may clearly understand it, here are three things to be con­sidered. First, That the word [...]signi­fies a Virgin, and not any woman. Secondly, That the other exceptions of the Jews against this Prophesie are frivolous. And that our Saviour was born of a Virgin.

For the first, briefly the word [...] is but seven times in the Old Testament, three times with the Affix [...], and alwaies signifies a Vir­gin. Abraham's servant useth this word in his prayer, Gen. 24. and certainly he desired a Virgin for his Master Isaac; besides, in ver. 16 we find the Scripture telling us Rebecca knew no man, and yet she is called [...]. I repeat not the several places for brevity. The only place which the Jews urge that signifies an Harlot, is Prov. 30.18, 19. The words are these, There are three things which are too won­derful for me, yea, four which I know not; (ver. 19.) The way of an Eagle in the Air; the way of a Serpent upon a Rock; the way of a Ship in the midst of the Sea; and the way of a Man with a Maid. Now this they will not allow [Page 45]to be a Maid, but an Harlot, because in the verse following the way of an adulteress wo­man is described: Such is the way of an Adul­teress woman, she eateth and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness. And this Manasse Ben Israel and all the Jews object.

In answer to this, it is not a necessary con­sequence, though the twentieth verse speaks of an Adulteress woman, therefore the nineteenth must: But on the other side, the obscureness to be known rather perswades it to be a Vir­gin than a Whore, whose Actions are too common to be obscure. I am sure, that the word most properly signifies a Virgin may be educed of the Etymology, it being derived from [...] abscondit, la [...]uit, to hide, deno­ting to us the custom of the Jews, and other Eastern Nations, in keeping the Virgin from the sight of men; and (if we may credit Hoornbeck) there is no more proper word in the Hebrew Language to signifie a Virgin.lib. 3. c. 1. p. 225. But allowing, in this place, it should signifie a Whore, here is but one place of seven that may probably signifie so. As for the place we have now in hand, 'tis impossible it should be so interpreted: For the Lord here promiseth a sign to the whole house of Israel. Now can it be imagined, that a woman should bear a son, should be a sign? A sign must have som­thing of wonder in it; and is that at all wonderful? The Text it self will perswade us to understand it of a Virgin. But upon what account is this not to be understood of a [Page 46]Virgin? Is it a miracle above the power of Omnipotency? Is it impossible for God, who made all things out of nothing, to make a Woman conceive without a Man? The Jews themselves believe, That God made Adam out of the Earth, Eve out of Adams side; the Jews themselves tell us, that Aarons Rod blos­somed without root; and is this at all more a wonder then any of these? let any indiffe­rent person judge. But however our modern Jews interpret it, the Ancients did it by Vir­gin, as Justin Martyr answers Tryphou the Jew,Dial. cum Try. Jud. p. 243. and as their own Nation in the Septua­gint Translation renders it [...], which can signifie nothing else; and the holy Rabbi Hakadoth tells us, the Messias mother must be a Virgin, and her name Mary, as he gathered out of the Cabalists.3 Quest. in Esay 9.

Secondly, To this first exception the Jews add two or three more, which I repeat, that I may make the way clear before me.

The first is, How the birth of our Saviour by a Virgin, which was to come so many ages after, could be a sign to Ahaz and the house of Israel for his delivery. Unto which is an­swered, first, that not only the exhibiting of a sign, but the promising of a sign to come hereafter is sufficient. God had often pro­mised a Messias; but how he should be born was not yet foretold; Now the foretelling of that may be a sign. Besides another, and a more apparent promise of the Messias coming, though many ages to follow, might evidently [Page 47]teach them, that God, who would so won­derfully then save his people, would not suf­fer them to be ruined by their enemies. Now, of this we have some examples; I will name but one or two. Samuel gave Saul a sign of his being Anointed King, that it was from God, because when he was gone from him, at Rachels Sepulchre,1 Sam. 10.1, 2, 3 he should find men that would tell him his fathers Asses were found. And so the sign that God gave Eli of the de­struction of his Family, was,1 Sam. 2.34. that his two Sons, Hophni and Phineas, should both die in a day. The Jews second exception is, because our Saviours Name was not Emanuel. To this is answered, 'Tis not necessary his Name should be Emanuel, since his nature was so, since he was God with us, as his name signifies. And that names often shew the nature, we have a most remarkable example in the same Prophet, of the Messias also; in his ninth cha­pter, ver. 6. he tells us, His Name shall be cal­led Wonderful Counsellor, the Everlasting Fa­ther, the Prince of Peace; which Title will ap­pear, to every eye, a description of the nature, not of the name of the Messias. The last ex­ception is concerning the words following this Prophesie, which are, Butter and Milk shall be eat, and how they are verified in our Saviour: in which there is no repugnancy, but that he should be educated as other Children are; and that before the Child should know either good or evil, the enemies of Judaea shall be destroyed.

[Page 48] 3. That our Saviour was born of a Vir­gin. Against the Jews I have this to say; That we have the same, and as great Autho­rity, nay greater then they have, to prove the Miracles of Moses or any of the Pro­phets: For what Authority besides the Books of Scripture, and the constant atte­station of their own Nation in several Ages, can the Jews produce? And have not we much more? That our Saviour should be born of a Virgin I have shewed you was pro­phesied; That he was born of a Virgin, we have the four Evangelists to attest it; and in answer to the constant Tradition of their single Nation for their Miracles, we have the constant witness of all Christians, not only of one but of every Nation, nay of the con­victed Jews. The first publishers of Chri­stianity were Jews, and they witnessed this; so that we have part of their Nation divided against themselves: And that the Christians always believed this, the Articles of their Creed will inform us. Now if the Jews think it reasonable we should believe the Miracles of their Prophets, have they not the same, or greater reason to believe this miraculous Birth of our Saviour? But to this let me adde; Secondly, If the Virgin Mary was not a Virgin when she brought forth our Saviour, why was she not punished for an Adulteress? For Joseph we know de­nied Jesus to be his Son, the Law command­ed an Adulteress to be put to death, the [Page 49]Jews wanted not malice to have prosecuted her, nor (had she been guilty) will to have punished her. If in this particular there had been the least of fault in this blessed Virgin, the Pharisees had had too great an advantage to have let it slip. Joseph might easily have been the Plaintiff, the Pharisees her Enemies the Judges, and yet we see her un­touched, because immaculate and without spot. Now is not this a more then probable Argument to convince a man of this truth. If we consider the fury and malice the Jews prosecuted our Saviour with, the hatred they bore the Apostles, the persecutions they raised against all Christians, can we ratio­nally suppose this blessed Virgin the Mother of our Jesus, should pass without their no­tice, had they not been assured of the truth of her Virginity, and believed their further enquiries would have advanced the Christi­ans Faith, and abolished theirs? But in the third place let me adde what Suidas tells me of the great Secret Theodosius the Jew told Philip a Christian Merchant concerning our Saviour; which being too large here to re­peat, I shall contract the sum of it into as few words as I can. In the time of the Em­perour Jnstinian, there was one Theodosius a chief man amongst the Jews, that was inti­mate with Philip a Christian Merchant: This intimacie being great between them, Philip attempted, out of the love he bare him, to convert him to Christianity; which Theode­sius [Page 50]seeing, and perceiving this attempt pro­ceeded meerly out of the affection he bore to him, told him plainly, that it was vain­glory and ambition were the only cause kept him a Jew, that he was a chief man amongst his people, when amongst Christians he should be inconsiderable; but yet withal he told him, that out of gratitude to him he would reveal a Secret of his Nation, which would be very advantagious to the Christi­an Religion. In the Temple of Hierusalem (saith he) there were 22 Ordinary Priests, out of which number when any died the remain­der proceeded to the Election of another: One of the number dying, the Survivours, according to their custome, proceeded to an Election, and divers being named, and ei­ther for their manners or abilities not appro­ved of, at last one of the youngest amongst them having liberty to speak, proposed Je­sus the Son of Joseph the Carpenter, who was inferiour to none but in age, nay excell­ed them all; Against our Saviour there was only this Objection, that he was not of the Tribe of Levi, Joseph being of the Tribe of Judah; unto which was replyed, that anciently the Tribe of Levi and Judah did intermingle one amongst another, so that Joseph was of both Tribes; which answer being satisfactory they all concurred in him. Now it being the custome upon the Regist­ring of the Priests name, to set down both his Fathers and Mothers name, they under­standing [Page 51]before by the Proposer of him, that his Father Joseph was dead, thought fit to send for Mary his Mother, to examine her if he was her Son, and to understand the name of her husband; which being done Mary came to them, and they telling her the cu­stome of Registring both the name of her Son, and of his Parents, demanded whe­ther he was her Son: The Virgin answered, he is my Son, and there are yet living both men and women that can attest it; but for his father he hath none upon earth; and so relating the story of the Angels saluting her in Galilaea, and withal assuring them, that notwithstanding this Birth she was still a Virgin; they thought fit to send for faithful Midwives to examine the truth of this. The Midwives being come, found her, as she re­ported, still a Virgin; and withal there came some also that witnessed her bearing Jesus: This amazing them all they desired the Vir­gin Mary frankly to tell them whose Son he was; she told them he was her Son, and the Son of God: Which thing being heard, they fetched out the Book, and wrote down; This day this Priest dyed, the Son of this Father and Mother, and by the common consent of all is put into his place Jesus the Son of the living God, and the Virgin Mary. And this Book (saith Theodosius) was kept by the chief of the Jews from being taken at Hierusalem, and is now preserved in the City of Tyberias; and this was revealed to [Page 52]me. Philip all this while hearing this story, told Theodosius he would acquaint the Empe­rour that he might send to Tyberias and pub­lish this Book, to convince the Jews of their incredulity: Unto which the Jew replyed, 'tis to no end, for the Jews will burn the Book, and you will only by it destroy our Nation by Wars, and not obtain your de­sire. This (saith he) I tell you that you may believe I have a great affection for you. This story Suidas tell us in the name of Jesus, and that they received it from those to whom Philip told it; and withal addes, without he had been nominated and constituted a Priest, the Jews would not have suffered him to have performed any sacred Office in the Temple. And that he did so, Josephus confesseth in his Book of the destruction of Hierusalem, and Luke cap. 4. v. 16. mentioneth. Thus much Suidas. I can say nothing more to confirm this Testimony, but what these excellent Compilers say for it themselves, only thus much; It seems too punctual to be forged; and that the learned Reporters firmly belie­ved it, as in the last words they tell us, may perswade us to do so too.

3. Of this Prophesie I have been the lar­ger, because I find both from the Atheists and Jews such opposition to it. I shall proceed to name others, and only name them. The Messias was to come of the Tribe of Judah, and of the Family of David according to Esay's Prophesies:Esay 11.1, 10. There shall come forth a [Page 53]Rod out of the stemme of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots, and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: And again, In that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an Ensign of the people, unto it shall the Gentiles seek, and his rest shall be glorious. Now this we find verified in our Saviour, as the Evangelists teach us.Mat. 1.1 Hez. 14. The Messias was to be born at Bethlem, as we may see not only by Micah's prophesie:Micah 5. v. 2. And thou Bethlem Ephrata, though thou beest little a­mongst the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me, that is, to be Ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting; But from the Jews themselves, as S. John tells us, being scanda­lized at him, as if he had been born in Galilee, demanded, Shall Christ come out of Galille,John 7.41, 42 hath not the Scripture said that Christ cometh of the Seed of David, and out of the Town of Bethlem where David was? And the Jews since Christs coming acknowledge Bethlem to be the place of his Birth, as R. Selomo Jar­chi, Rab. David Kimki, Rab. Elieza, and others. Now that our Saviour was born at Bethlem the Evangelists teach us, and withal the occasion of her leaving Nazareth in Ga­lilee, Luke 24. that according to the Emperour Augu­stus commands Joseph and his espoused wife Mary might be taxed with the rest of their kindred at Bethlem in Judaea, being that they were of the House and Lineage of David. I might particularize many more, but I shall [Page 54]proceed to his sufferings, because I find that did so much stumble the Jews.

4. Under this of sufferings we may consi­der the mean condition he lived in, which we find evidently foretold by the Prophet Esay: Isai. c. 53. v. 2, 3. He hath no form and comeliness, and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him: And he is despised and rejected of all men. And we may find the Apostle teaching us, that though he was in the Form of God, and thought it no robbe­ry to be equal with God;Phil. 2.6, 7. Yet he made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a Servant. We see he lived under the command of his parents for 30 years, who were but of mean profession, and upon this account many were scandalized by him; as S. Matthew tells us:Mat. 13.53. Nay this contempt of him was so great, that we must acknowledge it fulfilled, That he was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, Isai. 53.3. as Esay foretold of him. Adde to this his sufferings, in which every particular we shall find foretold. If Zachary tell us,Zach. 11.12. They weighed for my price 30 pieces of silver; Mat. 26.15. S. Matthew will shew us, that Judas fold Jesus at the same rate:Isai. 53.3. If Isaiah say, He was wounded for our transgressions; If Zachary, Zach. 12.10. They shall look upon him whom they have pierced: Psal. 22.16. If the Prophet David more par­ticularly, They have pierced my hands and my feet; John 20.25. The Evangelist will shew us, how he was fastned to the Cross, and Jesus himself the print of the nails.Psal. 22. If David say, My God, [Page 55]my God, why hast thou forsaken me! the Son of David will say, Eli, Eli, lama-sabacthani! Mat. 27.46. Let Isaiah say,Isai. 58.12. He was numbred with the Transgressours, Mar. 15.27. and you shall find him cruci­fied between two Thieves, one on the right hand, the other on the left.Psal. 69.21. If the Psalmist tells us, In my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink, you shall find in the Evangelist, Je­sus, John 19.28. that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, I thirst. And they took a sponge and filled it with Vinegar, and put it in a reed, and gave it him to drink. If you read in the Psalmist,Psal. 22.13. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture, the Souldiers shall fulfill it, Who took his garments and made four parts, John 19.23, 24 every Soldier his part, and also his Coat: Now the Coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout: They said therefore amongst them­selves, Let us not rent it, but cast lots for it whose it shall be. And lastly, let Isaiah tell us, He shall be brought like a Lamb to the slaughter, Isai. 53.7, 8. and be cut off out of the Land of the living; All the Evangelists will tell us, how like a Lamb he suffered, not opening his mouth. To these let me adde his sufferings after his death. Isaiah tells us,Isai. 53.9. He made his grave with the wicked; and the Evangelist tells us, He was buried in the Tomb of Joseph of Arimathaea. If Hosea tells us,Hos. 6.2. After two days he will revive us, and the third day he will raise us up; we shall find our Saviour by his Resurrection will not only revive but raise us all.

[Page 56] 5 And thus we have done with the suffer­ings of our Saviour before, in, and after his Passion, and shewed you how all the Prophe­sies were fulfilled in him. Before I come to treat against the Jews, I shall shew you how our Saviour was a King, a Ruler, a Captain, and executed that spiritually which the Jews understanding of a temporal Prince, were both deceived in their expectation, and fru­strated in their hopes. The Messias was to be a Leader and Commander of the People, as Isaiah tells us;Isa. 55.4. Dan. 9 25. Mic. 5.2. A Prince, as Daniel; A Ruler of the People, as Micah. His Dominion was to be from Sea to Sea, and from the River unto the ends of the Earth. They that dwell in the wilderness were to bow before him, and his Enemies were to lick the dust. The Kings of Tarshish and the Isles were to bring presents.Psa. 72.8, 9, 10, 11. The Kings of Sheba and Seba were to offer guifts. Yea, all Kings were to fall down be­fore him; all Nations were to serve him: So the Psalmist.Psa. 68.18. The Messias was to ascend on high, and to lead captivity captive, and to re­ceive guifts for men, as David teacheth us. To name no more, we shall find our Saviour ex­actly performing all these Prophesies. Who fitter to be a King than he to whom all power both in Heaven and Earth was given?Mat. 28.18. Who fitter to raign then he that shall destroy all our Enemies; yea, our last Enemy, Death? 1 Cor. 15.26. Who fitter for a Commander of his people than he, who having spoiled Principalities and Pow­ers,2 Cor. 15. made a shew of them openly, triumphing [Page 57]over them in it? What Dominion is like our Saviours, which for duration hath no other bounds but Eternity, and, for extent, hath no limitation but what he pleaseth? Who more properly a Conquerour than he that overcame Hell,Rev. 18.18. Rev. 23.14. Deut. 18.15. chained the Devil, and conquered death? In a word, our Saviour was to be a Prophet; A Prophet, saith Moses, shall the Lord God raise unto thee: A Priest, and that after the Order of Melchisedech,Psa. 110.4. as David teacheth us: And a King to conquer and sub­due his Enemies. Now who more a Prophet to teach the way of Salvation, than he that was the way himself?Joh. 14.6. Heb. 7.24, 25, 26. Who more a Priest than he who offered himself a Sacrifice for his peo­ple? And who more a King than he that must Reign till he hath put all things under his feet?1 Cor. 15.25.

To conclude, It is evident the Messias was to suffer, and undergo what sufferings were foretold of him; and of this the Jews them­selves were no ways ignorant, as may appear by their imagining a double Messias, the one a suffering, the other a conquering Prince; the one the son of Joseph, the other the son of David; the one was to be slain, fighting a­gainst Gog and Magog, the other, succeeding him, was to obtain the Kingdom: These dreams the Targum in Zach. 9.9. and in Mala­chy 3.1. Jarchi Abravanel, and all the Jews expound to us, as Hoornbeck teacheth me;li. 3. ca. 1. p. 240. and that remarkable place in Zach. 12.10. They pierced my hands and my feet, they understand [Page 58]of their Messias Ben Joseph. The whole story of this Messias of theirs you may find repeated by Hoornheck; but 'tis too large, and too fri­volous for me to transcribe out of him; All that from the premises I can gather is this, That the Jews, rather than they would ima­gine the son of David to be a spiritual Prince, rather then they would believe they should not temporally be delivered, and through the conduct of the Messias conquer the Earth; and by no means knowing how to solve those pre­dictions which foretel his sufferings, would feign a double Messias, of which there is no footsteps in Scripture. So that this advantage we Christians have, to prove that our Saviour (having both done and suffered whatever was foretold of the Messias; nay, in his Con­quests far exceeded what the greatest earthly Conquerour ever reached to, by subduing that which overcame them all, even Death it self) ought to be admitted as the only Messias of the world; and the Jews, if their Infidelity a­mounted not to obstinacy, must necessarily be convinced, that he who was able to perform what, and more then they expected of their double Messias, ought to be received as the on­ly Saviour of the world.

The fifth Thesis I lay down is this,Thesis 5. That the Religion delivered by Jesus Christ is, where it is not above reason, most reasonable, and upon the Principles of Reason ought to be admitted: Where it is above the reach of Reason, and depends upon the Authority of [Page 59]the Lawgiver, is confirmed by miracles, which, carrying Omnipotency, and Gods Seal perpetually annexed to them, need not desire but command admittance.

I have here a Theam so large, that to handle every part of it will require a far greater length in this discourse then I aim at. I shall but touch upon the first part of this Thesis, and handle that of Miracles more largely; and my reason is, because I find Miracles may per­swade men when Arguments cannot. Caligula feared not the Gods till they thundered; and fear is such a passion that it always perswades more then the greatest Rhetorick. For our understanding this, we must consider there are two sorts of Precepts, Natural, and Positive. The first of these Nature imprints in every man; the second are those that each Law­giver, upon his own Authority, in joyns his Disciples. The first of these we are bound to do, as men; the second, as Christians. The first of these we are bound to observe, because to that end we were created; The second, which we admit upon the authority of the Lawgiver, we are to obey upon the same rea­son, and for that very account as we admit him our Lawgiver; and so that which per­swades us to be such an ones Disciples, must perswade us to obey his positive Commands. And so upon this score we ought to believe those future rewards which are promised. Now though these positive Precepts and Promises, our blessed Saviour hath taught us, are in the [Page 60]commands most excellent, and in the rewards, to a rational Soul most (nay only) satisfacto­ry, and so upon that account carry along with them strength enough to perswade obedience; yet those several confirmations of the miracles which forced the world to be Christs Disci­ples, must also force it to obey what he com­mands, and to believe what he promiseth.

These Natural Precepts are that Law which all the world have ever been obliged to ob­serve, whether you will call them the seven Precepts of Noah, or the Ten Commandments, or reduce them, as our Saviour doth, into two Commandements,Mat. 22.37, 39. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and all thy mind; and thou shalt love thy neigh­bour as thy self. For to him that ponders them it will appear, that they are all but one and the same Law; and that each of these Precepts natural Reason it self will perswade us to obey. And though in the fourth Com­mandement the positive time of serving God is by many believed a peculiar injunction, ap­propriated to that Nation; as also that parti­cular exhibition of this Law, as it is delivered in Exodus 20. is upon the same account: Yet all these Commandments containing in them nothing but what is natural, and obliged the world before this delivery; and the fourth containing in it that which all Nations that ever owned a God, practised; to wit, that some time must be set apart for his service, do sufficiently assure us they are but another Edi­tion, [Page 61]or setting forth of that Law which Na­ture teacheth every man to observe. Now because the ten Commandments seem to be the largest copy of this natural Law, I shall briefly examine them, and shall shew you that reason commands them to be obeyed upon na­tural principles.

That there is a God, is a thing so natural that there never yet was any Nation that ser­ved not some Deity or other. There have been Nations found out that lived without Laws; but never any that lived without Gods. Divers Nations have lived without King, and without house, going stark naked, and wan­dring like wild beasts, from place to place, to find their sustenance; yet none of these but have had some spice of Religion, some God or other they served: From whence it is ap­parent, That it is more natural to believe there is a God, than for a man to be a sociable crea­ture, than for a man by cloaths to preserve himself from the injury of weather, or by houses to fix himself in a setled condition.

The next gradation I follow, is, That there is or can be but one God. For if God be Omnipotent, there can be but one Omni­potent Power, because two Omnipotents cannot subsist together. And the reason is, Either their Wills are different, or alike; If different, then upon the principle of Omni­potency, each of their Wills must subsist toge­ther, which is impossible: If alike, then up­on [Page 62]what reason can a man imagine there should be more Omnipotency, which one if he be Omnipotent can effect? 'Tis a Maxime in Nature, That it is in vain to do that by ma­ny which we can do by few. This position hath in the world had a great, though not an Universal consent. Pythagoras affirmed it, as Cicero tells me. Socrates was forced to drink poyson for the belief of one God, as Agellius tells me: And Plato Socrates's Scholar in his 13 Ep. to Dionysius the King of Sicily, (if the Epistle be his, and if not, 'tis as an­cient) telling the King that he was by many put upon writing, which he could not easily avoid; at last gave him this Note to know his Epistles by. My serious Epi­stles God begin, [...]. Tom. 3. inter opera Pla­tonis, Ep. 13. those that are otherwise the Gods. I must but touch upon things, that I may go forward.

If then there be but one God, one Omni­potent power, who is the Authour and Pre­server of all things, then it is most reasona­ble, that this one God, and this God alone should be served. The reason of homage and service is meerly a grateful return for be­nefits received: Now if all that we are and have come from this God, ought we not on­ly to serve and to do our homage to him? We count it amongst us impossible for a man to serve two Masters, and can we suppose it possible or rational for a man to joyn Idols, and Creatures, those things which in them­selves [Page 63]are inferiour to us, in our sacred ado­rations of God? The reason why we serve God is, because he is that Omnipotent pow­er which made us, the Authour of our being and preservation, and can we believe it aequi­table for us to divide our services between an impotent Creature and an Omnipotent God; to share our Devotions with the work of our own hands, which are so far from preserving us, that it is in our power to destroy them.

To proceed, as this God is only to be served, so upon the former account it is im­pious for us to speak slightly of him, of his Name, and of his Attributes. The Name of God commands awe and reverence. See what Devotions and dread the Heathens bore to their supposed Gods, and shall not we do much more to the true? But certainly 'tis most rational not to use the Name of God, and call his Majesty to be a witness to our foolish Oaths, much less to our perjuries. [...]; And so our Saviour ex­pounds this third Commandment. This last is a sin, as I have often thought with my self, that flies in the face of God, nay, that de­nies him to be a God: For certainly he that useth Gods Name, and calls him to be a wit­ness to such a promise, by the breaking of it doth declare, that God (in whose presence he made it) either did not regard what he promiseth, or is not able severely to punish the non-performance. But to go on; as this God is only to be served, and to be had in [Page 64]reverence of all that call upon him; so it is a necessary deduction from the premises, that there must be some time set apart for his Ser­vice. And though I should allow the seventh day, nay the seventh part of our time to be a Law particular to that Jewish Nation; yet certainly if the Jews, who lived under the bur­then of so many Ceremonies, and desired to see even that which we enjoy, were com­manded to set apart so much of their time, as a seventh part for Gods Service; 'tis not rea­sonable for us who have received more to do less; but as we exceed them in mercies, so we ought to exceed them in our Services.

Thus we may see the first Table contains in it nothing else but what he that will be ruled by reason must be forced to obey. That which the second Table enjoyns us are duties that concern our selves; so that these princi­ples must appear rational even to Atheists and Scepticks, because in the observation of them society is upheld, propriety maintained, and men are prevented for degenerating into Beasts.

These Commands are in number 6. the first an affirmative Precept, the last 5 Nega­tive. The first five are so natural, that I shall forbear to say any thing of them, be­cause he that considers them must know, they are that Pale of Commutative and Distribu­tive Justice which preserves Mankind from destroying themselves. The last, Thou shalt not covet, seems to carry in it somewhat more [Page 65]then Nature teacheth; but I think upon due examination it will appear otherwise: For to desire another mans goods when we know we cannot have them, must either put us up­on unjust endeavours for them, or else tor­ture our minds that we cannot obtain them. If now Nature it self teach us to do as we would be done to, if we would not have others covet what we have, we must not co­vet what is another mans. The great Obje­ction against the Naturality of this Com­mandment, is from that Speech of the Apo­stle; I had not known lust except the Law had said; Thou shalt not covet. I shall not re­peat you many Expositions of the place, Beza alone shall serve the turn. What therefore (saith he) the Apostle addes,Quid igitur subjecit Aposto­lus sese ex illo demum legis il­lius divinitus latae praecepto di­dicisse, Cupiditatem esse pec­catum, non est simpliciter & absolutè accipiendum, sed du­plici respectu, viz. tam quate­nus in illa divinitus latâ lege expressiùs omnis Cupiditas damnatur, quàm illa naturali lege, tum quod vitiofitas illa nostra Cupiditatem nostram quo apertiùs reprehendit co ve­hementiùs incendit. that he at last learnt that Covetousness was a sin, out of that precept of that divine Law, is not simply or abso­lutely to be taken, but in a double respect; viz. as in that divine given Law all Covetous­ness is more expresly condemn­ed then in that Natural Law, then because our vitiosity, by how much it openly reproves our Covetousness, by so much it more vehe­mently enflames it. But I need not press this nor any other Exposition, if to love our Neighbours as our self be a natural Precept, since the Apostle tells us in the same Epistle:Rom. 13. v. 9. [Page 66] For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet: And if there be any other Commandement, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self. Thus briefly I have examined these Natural Pre­cepts.

Our Saviour that great and most excellent Law-giver hath advanced them higher. Now because these advancements are to be evinced out of Reason, I shall not press their obedi­ence upon the authority of the Law-giver. I shall name the chief of them.

1. The Commandement Thou shalt not kill, Mat. 5. v. 21. to the 27. our Saviour hath advanced to this height, that it prohibites the very being angry with our brother; nay, causless anger is forbidden, though it go no further then the breast, much more if it pro­ceed to the tongue, or fall into violent rail­ings.

2. The second Commandment that is ad­vanced is, Thou shalt not commit Adultery. Now this our Saviour hath reduced to the very thoughts;Mat. 5. v. 27.31. we must not have an adulte­rous thought. Justin Martyr presseth the excellency of Christian Religion from this very Command. [...]. Ap. 2. p. 48. For he that indeed hath committed adulte­ry is not only rejected by our Saviour, but he that hath a de­sire to commit adultery, he that [Page 67]hath but an adulterous thought.

3. Another advancement is the taking away the Law of Retaliation and Revenge. This doing good for evil is the excellency of Christian Religion: And in this particular amongst other things Christianity vastly ex­celled the strictest Heathen Morality. See what Aristotle saith of this point. It is ser­vile to suffer evil treating. [...]. lib. 4. ad Nicomachum, de moribus. Ci­cero also in his Book de Inventi­one placeth Revenge amongst Natural Principles. Ad Atticum he saith, I hate the man,Odi hominem, & odero, uti­nam ulcisci possem. Et in An­tonium. Sic ulciscar facinora singula quemadmodum à qui­busque sum provocatus. and will hate, would I could be re­venged. And against Anthony; So I will revenge every wick­edness, according to the man­ner as I am provoked.

Under these three heads are comprehend­ed all the advancements our Saviour hath put upon this Moral Law; and let us exa­mine them, and we shall find them highly reasonable, and not only so, but most excel­lent: For that which makes the Subject most pure, and most happy, hath in it self the greatest reason to command obedience.

Now upon this foundation let us examine the two first, which forbids murderous and adulterous thoughts, as well as the actions. Are not these thoughts the causes of the acti­ons? and is there any possibility totally to take away the effect, if we remove not the cause? Besides every man consists of a Soul [Page 68]and a body; by actions the body is defiled, the contamination that accrues tothe Soul is from the thoughts, where every wickedness is hatched before it is produced to act: Now is there not more reason to keep the Soul pure then the body, in as much as it is the most excellent part of men? and that if we keep out wickedness there, we shall keep the body from acting it. If Nature then com­mands us to abstain from such actions, doth it not command us to abstain from the causes of them? If Nature teacheth purity in the body the worser part, doth it not require it upon greater reason in the more excellent part? I can but touch these things. The third is, the taking away Revenge, and not only that, but a returning good for evil. And is it not in it self the greatest victory to make our enemies acknowledge they have wronged us? Injuries, Tacitus tells us, Ag­nitae videntur, spretae exolescunt; they are seen by our taking notice of them, but va­nish if we despise them. Was this counsel for a Heathen, and is it rational for a Chri­stian to study Revenge? Consider the nature of it: Revenge is a desire to do another an injury, because he served me so. Very good reason. Then if a wicked man hath robbed me, I must turn Thief too to rob him; If I have been reviled and railed at, I must do so too. There is in every Revenge that which in it self is unjust: For 'tis the injuries and unjust actions a man hath done, that puts in [Page 69]the party injured a desire of revenge: Now to be revenged of him is to serve him so too, to do him the like or a worse turn: Is not this a rare foundation to advance humanity on? But on the other side, let us consider, what great advantages we obtain by doing good for evil; now that which is most ad­vantagious to Mankind, is most natural and reasonable: For besides that we shall over­come our Enemies by heaping Coals of fire upon his head, we shall obtain peace with all men; what man will wrong us that do good to all, and injure none? If (saith Tertullian) we are com­manded to love our Enemies,Si inimicos jubemur diligere, quem habemus odisse? Item si laesi vicem referre prohibemur, nec de facto pares sumus, quem possumus laedere? Apol. cap. 36. whom have we to hate? If we are forbidden to revenge our injuries, we cannot by our acti­ons be equal with them whom we may hurt. Is not now this principle most reasonable, which frees us from injustice, makes our ene­mies our friends, and establisheth peace upon lasting foundations? I refer this to any in­different Judge.

These Precepts upon the Principles of Na­ture being evinced reasonable, the next thing we must consider is, whether we have obeyed them: For if reason commands them, a rational man upon the breach of them must acknowledge, he deserves punishment, be­cause in so doing he hath destroyed the end of his Creation, as to God, and the means of his subsisting, as to man.

This his meriting of punishment will ap­pear more evident, if we consider, that up­on the same reason as he believes there is a God, he must believe this God doth either reward or punish obedience or disobedience to that Natural Law which is imprinted in every mans heart. For reward and punish­ments are necessary Adjuncts to a Deity. The Apostle joyns this to the belief of God, as a thing in its own nature inseparable. Mark his words.Heb. 11.6. For he that cometh to God must be­lieve that he is, and that he is a Rewarder of them that diligently seek him. And truly if this was not the consequence of the belief of a God, this belief would have no influence at all upon man or his actions; For if God did neither reward nor punish, did not re­gard nor take notice of what was done, what Arguments can be forcible to perswade men not to obey what sense, rather then what nature and reason teacheth?

This being then true, that the breakers of these Natural Laws deserve punishment, and that God will punish such; The next thing we must consider is, whether all mankind have not broken these Laws; and if so, then all mankind justly deserve punishment from God. I need not say this is the state and condition we are all in, every man in his own heart is sufficiently conscious of his own guilt. Now therefore as every man is neces­sitated to confess he deserves punishment, so natural reason teacheth us to believe, that [Page 71]this punishment, as to the pain and duration of it, must have some respect to the person offended, as well as the persons offending. Thus to strike a private person, and to strike a Magistrate are in the actions both evil alike; yet it is most just that he that strikes a Magi­strate should be more severely punished, then he that struck the private person. And we see the Levitical Law punisheth the Smiter or Curser of his Father with death,Exod. 21.15.17 when the same crimes against other persons were pu­nished with far less sufferings. So then if we consider, the person we have all offended is God, and adde to this what God is; that there is not any comparison between man and him, and that he doth by infinite de­grees far exceed the greatest superiority a­mongst men; If we consider the person of­fended is infinite, and acknowledge that our punishment must have respect to him, we must confess there is reason for an Eternity of punishment, and that nothing less can satisfie Justice. I might adde to this, that this eter­nal punishment is more justly inflicted upon disobedience, since obedience is rewarded with eternal happiness; but this is not the business I am to infist on. I shall therefore proceed.

This being the state all Mankind is in, the next thing natural reason teacheth us, is to find out a remedy for to free us from this sad condition. In our selves we cannot, because we are the persons offending, and so are unca­pable [Page 72]to act any thing that may tend to our recovery. A Murderer though he should save a thousand mens lives, yet still remains a Murderer. What is then to be done? we must look out of our selves, and see whether there is no remedy offered us. Now if there be a way left to free us from this justly de­served eternal punishment, it must be by finding out a surety, who must suffer for us, and whose sufferings must satisfie the person offended: For, as I said before, he that sinnes against an Infinite God deserves infinitely to be punished, because the person offended is infinite. So now upon the same account I say, this Infinite Person offended must be sa­tisfied, if an Infinite Person, God equal with him, becomes our surety, and suffers for us; and so that vast debt which in us an eternity of punishment could not expiate, in our suf­fering Saviour upon the Cross was absolved, because of the infiniteness of the person suf­fering. There remains but this to prove; That this Jesus that did suffer is that Infinite God; And withal to shew how we may come to have an interest in his sufferings.

I might here before I proceed refute those false Foundations Turcisme is builded upon, and shew how ridiculous 'tis to suppose Ma­homet to be a Saviour; but that will run my Discourse to a far greater length then I aim at. I will therefore fall directly upon the Propositions before proposed; and though the first in order ought to be first proved, yet [Page 73]because the second brings me to discourse of the Positive Laws, according to my first Method, and that the proving of the first will confirm the second, nay will command us to obey all our Saviours Positive Laws, and believe all his promises; I shall follow that Method, and begin to shew how you may have an Interest in his Sufferings.

The only way to get an Interest in him, is to follow that way our Saviour that doth the work for us teacheth us; and this brings me directly to treat of those Positive Laws, which we admit and obey upon the Autho­rity of the Law-giver, and those reasons that convince us that he is the Law-giver, must perswade us to obey his Laws.

I shall reduce all these Positive Laws into that one Capital Command; Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. This is the Doctrine the Gospel teacheth us, and this is the way to have an Interest in his Sufferings, which doth not only free us from this eternal torment, but rewards us with eternal Glory.

I might here tell you, if it were possible for the tongue of man or Angel to speak it, what great advantages by this Saviour we enjoy: I might press the reasonableness of this Command from the Infinite reward that follows it: I might prove to you, that no­thing but an Immortal happiness can satisfie an Immortal Soul, and that spiritual enjoy­ments can only fill our Spirits, when they are [Page 74]freed from the cloggs of sin and corruption, which in this world attend our bodies: I might shew you, that as the spirituality of the Precepts declares the excellency of Chri­stianity above other Religions in the obedi­ence it requireth; so the spirituality of the promises doth evidence the excellency of it in the Rewards that follow it. But for bre­vities sake I will not particularize on these heads, which every pious Christian by his own meditation and diligent consideration, may for his particular benefit advance to a higher pitch then I am able.

That which now only remains to be pro­ved is, That this Jesus is this Law-giver, that this Christ that did suffer is this Infinite God: And this I shall do from the several Arguments that convinced the world to be Christian. I shall not here in this Argument keep so strictly to the proving Christ to be that Law-giver; but I shall handle here more largely all the Confirmations, that as­sert either that proposition, or confirmed and encreased the Christian Faith. And these I shall reduce to three Heads: These are,

• 1. The witness of God.
• 2. The miraculous power of doing Mira­cles in our Saviour, and by him given to Christians, together with the success follow­ing this; The destruction of Idolatry, and sudden Conquest of the World.
• 3. The holy lives, and wonderful Suffer­ings of Christians. Of each of these in order.

[Page 75] 1. The witness of God. Under this Head I might again repeat those several Prophesies in the Old Testament which then designed the Messias, and were fulfilled in our Jesus: I might tell you the Angels Salutation to the blessed Virgin,Luke 1. with his Message sent from God to her, were both Testimonies from God, for the confirmation of Jesus Christ to be that Law-giver, that Messias; but for brevities sake I shall omit them, and treat only of those two wonderful witnesses, the Star that directed the Wise men to him, and the Voice from Heaven that before a multi­tude audibly declared him.

1. For the Star that directed the wise men to him; we have the whole story Mat. 2. and in it we may see 'twas not an ordinary but an extraordinary Star: 'Twas a Star the wise men saw afar off, and as soon as they saw it knew it designed the birth of the King of Ju­dab. How these wise men should come to know what this new and Wonderful Star de­signed; whether they attained it by a then particular Divine Revelation, or else had re­ceived a Tradition from their Ancestors, con­cerning such an appearance, (which perhaps is probable, since we find Baalam, a Prophet of their own Nation, foretelling that there should come a Star out of Jacob, Num. 24.17. and a Scep­ter shall arise out of Israel which should smite the corners of Moab) I shall not dispute, since either of them is sufficient for my purpose. This is most certain, this new appearance was [Page 76]so wonderful, that it perswaded wise men to go a long journey to examine the truth of it; and though till their coming to Hierusa­lem, that City seems to have taken no notice of it, yet the truth of it was so evident that upon the very Question, Where is he that was born King of the Jews, for we have seen his star in the East, and are come to worship him: Herod and all the City was troubled. The Priests and Scribes were sent for to inquire where Christ should be born, nay, this is not all. When these Wisemen according to Gods direction deceived Herods expectation, by their return another way, his anger ends in cruelty, and his passion could by no other me­dicine be expiated but by the slaughter of all the Children, from two years old and under, about the Coasts of Bethlehem, the place they told him that Christ should be born. I need not here tell you that this new Star designed our Saviour, since Herod and all the Jews un­derstood it so; since, as it brought the wise men to Hierusalem, so it directed them to the place where the babe lay: But I will shew you some footsteps of this Star amongst Heathens. Cardinal Baronius that Learned Annalist, in the first year of Christ, cites Calcidius his Comment on Plato's Timaeus for this purpose. There is (saith Calcidius) ano­ther more venerable and holy History,Et quoque alia venerabilior & sanctior Historia, quae perhibet de ortu Stellae cujusdam insoli­tae non morbos mortesque de­nuntiantes, sed descensum Dei venerabilis ad humanae conver­sationis rerumque mortalium gratiam quam Stellam cum no­cturno itinere suspexissent Chaldaeorum profecto sapientes viri, & consideratione rerum Coelestium satis exercitati quae­sisse diountur recentem Dei or­tum, repertaque illa Majestate puerili venerati esse, & vota Deo tanto convenientia nuncu­passe. Tom. 1. p. 52. which tells us of the rise of a certain unwonted Star not denouncing diseases or [Page 77]death, but the descent of the Venerable God, to converse with men and mortal busines­ses; which Star when these wise Chaldeans clearly saw in their night journey, and being enough exercised in the confide­ration of heavenly things, 'tis reported they sought this New Birth of God, and the Majesty of this child being found, they worshipped him, and offered gifts agreeable to so great a God. This testimony is very clear, and in my opinion hath nothing of difficulty in it, but what is meant by this holy History, which without dispute must have reference to those Books of Prophesies which the Chaldeans kept by them. Some are so confident to af­firm that Baalam, of whom I spake before, left them Books of Prophesies, which dire­cted those Magi in difficult cases; 'tis not im­possible but he might do so; however this is probable, that they received from their An­cestors some rules of their knowledge, to­gether with former Observations, and extra­ordinary Predictions, which they either pre­served in Writings or Hieroglyphicks, and un­to which, as I suppose, Calcidius, being a Heathen, by this holy History hath reference. To this of Calcidius, I might add that which Macrobius tells us of the slaughter of these Children; which though it directly proves not the appearance of the Star, yet it will [Page 78]serve to confirm us in the truth of that, be­cause this murder was occasioned by it. Speak­ing of Augustus, his words are these; When he heard that amongst those Children under two years old,Cum audissent inter eos quos in Syria Herodes Rex Judaeorum inter binatum jussit interfici, filium quoque ejus occisum, ait, Melius est Herodis porcum esse quam filium. Saturnal. lib. 4.2. whom Herod the King of the Jews had commanded to be killed in Syria, his own son was slain also, said, It is better to be Herod 's hog than his son. In which speech the Emperour had reference to the Jews abstaining from swines flesh, which to Herod would have been a great crime, though this murder seem none at all, if by that means his usurped Dominion may be bet­ter secured. So much for the first.

2. For the voice before a multitude which audibly declared him, we find three times to have been done. The first was at his Baptism, where before John Baptist, and those that came to be baptised of him, the heavens were opened, the Spirit of God descended like a Dove and light on him; and a voyce from Heaven said, This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. The second was at his Transfiguration, where before three sober men (a sufficient number to assert any truth) Peter, James, and John, a voice out of the cloud gave testimony, that Jesus was the Son of God, in whom he was well pleased; and that it was so we have St. Peter in his second Epistle assuring us. The third was a little before his death; our Saviour praying that [Page 79]God would glorifie his Name; in the pre­sence of a multitude a voyce came down from Heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorifie it. Jo. 12.28. Now though we cannot produce any authority from Heathens to con­firm the truth of this voice, yet the circum­stances in the Story evince it to be true; for this was not done in a corner, John Baptist and his three Disciples did not only hear it at two several times, but a multitude at ano­ther, and that in a publick place, when our Saviour rode in Triumph into Hierusalem; and this multitude consisted partly of his Enemies the Jews; for we find for all this they believed him not; and partly of other Nations,ver. 34. for there were then Greeks that de­sired to see him.v. 20, 21. So that had this been false, it had been obvious to the confutation of eve­ry person, and the Pharisees would never have suffered so great a Miracle in the confir­mation of our Saviours Mission to have pas­sed uncontradicted, if so many witnesses that asserted it had not put it beyond any denial. This voice now which we find attesting our Saviour, doth also give witness to his Apo­stles, when on a sudden there came a sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and filled all the house where they were sit­ting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sate upon each of them:Act. 2.13. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with their tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. [Page 80]And this Miracle was so evident, that never any attempted to deny it: For besides that it happened at so publick a time as Pentecost, when the City was filled with people of eve­ry Nation to witness it; the nature of the Miracle it self, the enabling of rude and ig­norant men to speak the Language of every Nation, carried along with it its own confu­tation, had not the truth of it been evident to as many Nations as at that time resorted to Hierusalem.

To this of all the Apostles let me adde the miraculous Call of S. Paul, who by an audible voice from Heaven was turned from a Persecuter to a Preacher of the Gospel:Acts 8.4, 5, 6. Acts 16.12, 13, 14, 15, 16. The whole story we have recorded by Saint Luke, and asserted by Saint Paul in his Apo­logy for himself before King Agrippa. If we examine the Circumstances of it, we shall find 'twas not done privately, but must necessarily be publickly known. The party converted was the greatest Enemy the Gos­pel had; 'twas he that consented to St. Ste­phen's death: The place of his conversion was when he came near Damascus with Au­thority from the High Priests to bring all Christians bound to Hierusalem: The man­ner of his Conversion was, he fell to the earth, being so amazed with the light that shined about him, and more terrified with the voice that asked him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? Adde to this, this was not done alone; for the men that were with [Page 81]him heard the voice, and not they only must be witnesses of it, but he must be led blind to Damascus, that Ananias, who by his pray­ers recovered him, and the whole City of Damascus that saw him, might know the truth of it. I might to these adde those se­veral fallings of the Holy Ghost upon Belie­vers, which 'tis probable fell by some way of visible appearance, as that upon Cornelius by S. Peters preaching,Acts 10.44. Acts 19.6. upon the Christians at Corinth by S. Paul; but I hope I need not urge them, having sufficiently proved this Assertion from the Witness of God.

2. The second Argument that asserts Christ to be this Law-giver, and confirms the Christian Faith is, The miraculous pow­er in our Saviour of doing Miracles, and by him given to Christians, together with the success following, the destruction of Idola­try, and sudden Conquest of the World.

For the better clearing this, 'tis necessary to take this Argument apieces, and to han­dle each branch apart. The whole is the Doctrine of Miracles, which I look upon as one of the most convincing Arguments a­gainst Atheisme, or Heathenisme, or any o­ther Religion whatsoever; and this I shall do by proving,

1. The truth of several remarkable Pre­dictions our Saviour foretold.

2. The wonderful Miracles which he did whilest he lived, happened at his death, and were effected at his Resurrection.

[Page 82] 3. The miraculous power that he gave the Apostles of doing Miracles, which con­tinued in the Church till the world became Christian, and some time after.

4. The destruction of Idolatry, and Con­quest of the world to the name of a cruci­fied Saviour, by such weak and ignorant persons as the Apostles were. All which are reduced under the head of Miracles, some of each of which I shall prove from the con­fession of the Enemies of Christianity, Jews or Heathens, which is the greatest testimony matter of fact is capable of. I shall begin with the

1. First, The truth of several remarka­ble praedictions our Saviour foretold. I will begin with that concerning his own suffer­ings: You shall find Mat. 16. after S. Peters confession of our Saviours being the Messias, and our Saviours gracious promise to the Church, that the Gates of Hell should not prevail over it, that he falls directly to tell them what must befall him, v. 21. From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his Disci­ples how that he must go into Hierusalem and suffer many things of the Elders, and chief Priests, and Scribes, and be killed, and be rai­sed again the third day. This prediction you see is a clear story of his sufferings as if they were past: 'Twas foretold long before his passion, and as it was the most unwelcome, so it was the most unexpected news that could have been told to his Disciples, who 'tis clear [Page 83]expected a Temporal Prince: 'Twas such news we see as put S. Peter into passion, that made that great Confessor so far to forget the duty of a Disciple, as to rebuke his Ma­ster. The truth of this matter of fact I shall prove when I treat of the Miracles our Savi­our did. I might to this adde what our Sa­viour foretold to S. Peter himself concerning his denial of him, that though he was now so confident, that though all should be offend­ed, yet he never would be; Mat. 26.34, 35, 36. yet before the cock crew this night, he should deny him thrice. Though this be but a particular passage, yet it deserves our consideration the more, be­cause this prediction was told to the person himself that might have prevented it, to one that had he not really been guilty of such a fall as was foretold, would never have suffer­ed such a blemish to have been laid upon him without contradiction. To these I might joyn the several promises our Saviour made to his Church, which being to be given them after his Church, which being to be given them after his Ascension, comes under the nature of predictions: As in particular that of the descent of the Holy Ghost which I have al­ready handled,John 14.26. Mar. 16.17.18. and the power of doing Mi­racles, which I reserve the proving of to its proper place. But that which here I shall most insist upon, is that prophesie, Mat. 24. which Christ foretells his Disciples of the ru­ine of the Temple, even at that very time, when they so much admired the magnificent structure of it: There shall not be left (saith [Page 84]he) one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. And if we compare this se­cond verse with the fifteenth; When ye there­fore shall see the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by Daniel the Prophet stand in the ho­ly place, &c. by which words are meant the prophaning of their Temple by the Roman Eagle; we may probably gather being so to be prophaned that it was never to be built again; and this is clearly S. Chrysostom's Ex­position: [...]. Ho. adv. Judaeos ter­tia. For speaking of Ju­lian the Apostate, he tells us; That this mad and witless man did hope to frustrate Christs prophesie, which would not suffer this Temple to be built again. This prophesie now was before Christs death, and then the Jews politie subsisted, though under a Roman Pro­curator, yet still they had their Sanhedrim: If we examine the truth of it we shall find not only the total destruction of it true, but several attempts of its restauration frustrated, and that immediately from the power of God. The destruction of the Temple is ob­vious to every eye that is versed in History: Hegesippus will sufficiently inform his Reader, how it was burnt,Lib. 4. cap. 43. and destroyed by fire when the Emperour Titus took the City, and how miserably that obstinate people perished.Lib. 5. Histori­arum in prin­cipio. Tacitus that famous Roman Historian in the fifth Book of his Histories hath left recorded to all posterity the ruine of that forsaken [Page 85]people, together with the sad Omens that presaged it; But this is not so wonderful as the several frustratings of its re-building. If (saith Chrysostome) the Jews had never attempted it they might have said, [...]. Ibid. if we would set a­bout it, we could have done it. But now I declare unto them, that they have not once or twice but thrice endeavoured and attempted it; as is the cu­stome in the Olympick Games; so that there is no question that the Church hath got the Crown of Victory. Their first attempt was under the Emperour Adrian in the 136 year after Christ, Tinius Rufus being then Procurator, which ended in nothing else but the destruction of 50 of their Castles, and 985 of their Villages,In Hadriano. in the slaughter of 50000 men, besides those which perished by fire and famine, as Dio reporteth. Their se­cond attempt was under the Emperour Con­stantine, which the Emperour perceiving soon quelled; as Saint Chrysostome tells me. His words are these. The Empe­rour seeing their attempt, [...]. Ibid. cut­ting off their ears, and imprint­ing on their bodies marks of dis­obedience, carried them up and down as so many slaves and vagabonds. Their last and most likely attempt was under Juli­an [Page 86]the Apostate when they set about the work not only permitted, but incouraged and assisted by that Roman Emperour, both with money and other materials for the building, which though this Apostate hated the Jews, yet did, as Sozomen tells me, that he might reprove of falshood what Christ had foretold. [...]. Sozom. lib. 5. cap. 21. Now see the event of this. I shall not tell you it out of S. Chry­sostome or Sozomen, who both in the places before quoted relate it; but from Ammianus Marcellinus a Gentile Historian, whose words are these, speaking of Julian. He thought with immoderate charges to build up that formerly renown­ed Temple of Hierusalem which after many and cruel Wars be­ing besieged by Vespasian first,Ambitiosum quondam apud Hierosolymam Templum quod post multa & internecina cer­tamina obsidente Vespasiano posteaque Tito aegrè est expug­natum, instaurare sumptibus cogitabat immodicis, negoti­umque maturandum Alypio de­derat Antiochenfi, qui olim Britannias curaverat pro prae­fectis. Cùm itaque rei idem fortiter instaret Alypius juva­ret que Provinciae Rector, metu­endi globi flammarum propè fundamenta crebris assultibus erumpentes, fecere locum, ex­ust is aliquoties operantibus, in­accessum, hocque modo Ele­mento destinatius repellente cessivit incaeptum. Amm Mar­cel. lib. 23. In initio. and afterwards by Titus, was subdued, and gave the charge of this employment, that it might be hastened, to Alypius of Antioch, which formerly was Governour of Britany. When therefore this Alypius set eagerly on the work, being as­sisted by the Governour of that Province, dreadful balls of fire bursting forth with often as­saults near the foundation, made the place, some of the workmen being devoured by the flames, [Page 87]inaccessible; and after this manner the Ele­ment resisting, as with some kind of destiny, he gave over what he had begun. I shall not comment at all upon these words; the place it self is very clear; not a tittle that our Sa­viour hath foretold but must be true, though there want a miracle to maintain it. Thus much for the truth of our Saviours Predicti­ons. That which I am to prove,

2. In the second place is the wonderful miracles which he did whilst he lived, hap­pened at his death, and were effected at his Resurrection. First, of the Miracles he did whilst he lived. These Miracles consisted principally in curing all manner of Diseases, expelling Divels out of persons possessed, and raising the dead. I shall not here cite you proofs out of the Evangelists (though so con­stant and uncontradicted a report, by any four sober Writers, ought to be credited, and is as much as we have for the belief of many no­table actions (which are received without the least doubt,) but shall endeavour to prove them from the Testimony of Jews and Hea­thens; and though the place where our Savi­our lived afforded but very few Writers now extant, and the distance of Judaea from Rome the Imperial City, caused his Miracles not to be much taken notice of by their Hi­storians; and the great loss of Eminent Wri­ters, and particular Registers of Roman Pro­curators, unto which the primitive Christi­ans in their Apologies appealed to, have left [Page 88]us destitute of such Authorities which former Ages made use of; Yet I question not in this particular to give some satisfaction to any in­different Reader. Let me in the first place set down Celsus's confession cited in his own words by Origen; (whose Works being lost, nothing from him can be otherwise had, but from his Answerer.) His words are these, Do you think him to be the Son of God, [...] Orig. con. Cel. l. 2 [...] Cy. lib. 6. because he healed the lame and the blind? Just such another speech we may find Julian the Apostate saying, as St. Ryril tells me, Unless some­body supposeth to cure the lame and the blind, and to cast out Divels by exorcising in the Vil­lages of Bethsaida and Bethany be some of those great works. Here we have confessions of Christs miracles from two of the greatest Enemies Christianity ever had, Celsus and Julian: The first endeavoured by his pen, the last both by pen and power to destroy it; and yet the wonders our Saviour did were so evident above denial, that they were forced, though in a scoff, to acknowledge them. To these let us add the Epistle of Lentulus to the Emperour Tiberius, which Eutropius hath in his Annals of the Roman Senators, and is now commonly extant in the Bibliotheca Pa­trum. He thus begins, There appeared in our days,Apparuit temporibus nostris, & adbuc est, homo magnae virtutis, nominatus Jesus Christus, qui dicitur à Gentibus Propheta veritatis, quem ejus Discipuli vocant filium Dei, suscitans mortuos, & sanans omnes lan­guores. and is yet, a man of great power named Christ [Page 89]Jesus, who is called of the Gen­tiles the Prophet of Truth, whom his Disciples call the Son of God, a raiser of the dead, and a healer of all manner of diseases. This Authority was very clear, was there not some dispute whe­ther this Epistle be suppositious or no: That there was one Lentulus, Consul with Calvisi­us, Sabinus in the twelfth year of Tiberius Caesar, Baronius assures us, though that very year Pontius Pilatus succeeded Valerius Gratus in the command of Judaea; And for that following phrase, Discrimen habens in medio capitis juxta morem Nazarenorum; That he had a parting in the middle of his head, af­ter the manner of the Nazarens, for which Cocus and some other suspects this Epistle, as if the Author had supposed our Saviour to have been a Nazarite,Censura quo­rundam Scri­ptorum vete­rum. pa. 1. savours in my judg­ment of nothing less; for then the Author would not have said, he had hair parting like a Nazarite, but being a Nazarite, he wore his hair after that manner. I shall not wran­gle with any that will severely debate the truth of it, because, if that fails, there are enough that follow to supply that defect, which I shall end this second branch withal; because they do comprehend and abbreviate all Christs miracles. In the mean time I shall handle that which is the second thing, The Miracles that happened at his Passion. To find out in Heathen Stories every particu­lar [Page 90]accident that then happened, as we have recorded in the Evangelists, is impossible; but that most remarkable and wonderful defecti­on of the Sun at that time, was recorded by the Romans, and kept in their Archives till Tertullian's time, as is evident from his Apo­logy. His Words are these; In that moment the day withdrew her self at noon tide.Eodem momento dies medium orbem signante sole subducta est deliquium utique putaverunt, qui id quoque super Christo praedicatum, non scierunt, ra­tione non deprehensa negave­runt, & tamen eum mundi ca­sum relatum, in Arcanis ve­stris habetis. Apol. ca. 21. They every where supposed a total defection, who did not know, that that was prophefied of Christ, the rea­son of it not being understood, some denied it, and yet that chance of the world you have Registred in your Archives. Lucian in the acts of his Martyrdome per­swading the Gentiles to Christianity, bids them look into their own Annals, and there they shall find in the days of Pilate the Sun chased away,Perquirite in Annalibus ve­stris & invenictis temporibus Pilati fugato Sole interrup­tum tenebris diem. and the day interrupted with dark­ness. Origen in his second book against Celsus cites for the truth of this the Authority of Phlegon the Cheiro­graphus of the Emperour Adri­an. His words are these; [...]. Orig. lib. 2. contra Celsum, pag. 80. Edit. Canta. Con­cerning the Eclipse which hap­pened in the time of Tiberius Caesar, in whose Reign Jesus was crucified, and concerning the then great shaking of the earth, Phlegon in the thirteenth [Page 91]book of his Chronicles hath written. And that this Phlegon hath this in his Commen­taries, Eusebius also witnesseth in his Chroni­cles, in the year 33 of Christ. To these let me add that Letter of Dionysius to Polycarp, cited by Baronius, in which inveighing against Apollophanes the Philosopher, he useth these words,Quid de illo qui tempore cru­cis Dominicae factus est Solis defectu dicturus es? Eramus tunc ambo apud Heliopolim, amboque fimul incidentem mi­rabiliter Soli Lunae Globum notabamus, (non enim ejusce conjunctionis tunc aderat tem­pus,) ipsamque rursus ab hora nona ad vesperum, ad Solis diametrum supra Naturae vires restitutum. In memoriam autem illi us revoca etiam aliud quoddam; Nempe enim (ut ipse non ignorat) eam Lunae incidentiam ab Oriente caepis­se, & usque ad Solaris corporis, finem pervenisse, ac tum de­mum refitiisse notavimus. Ne­que vero cadem ex parte, ut as­solet, et incidentia illa, et re­purgatio facta est, sed ex ad­verso Diametri. Haec sunt quae tunc temporis centigere, naturam profecto superantia, ac Soli Christo possibilia qui Au­thor est omnium facitque mag­na et stupenda, quorum non est numerus. Ista illi, si licuerit, dicito. Ad Annum Chr. 34. p. 179, 180. What wilt thou say of that Eclipse of the Sun which happened at the time of our Sa­viours Crucifixion? We were then both together at Heliopolis, and we both together did note the Globe of the Moon after a wonderful manner to fall upon the Sun, (for it was not then the time of that conjunction,) and the Moon again restored be­yond the strength of Nature, to the Suns Diameter, from the ninth hour till evening. Re­member him also of another thing, which he is not ignorant of, to wit, that we noted that the cadence of the Moon began from the East, and went to the end of the Solar body, and then at last leapt back again. Neither was this cadence (or co­vering) and restoring again of the Suns light, done at the same part as was accustomed, but on the oppofite part of the Diame­ter [Page 92]These are the things that then happen­ed, exceeding truly the power of Nature, and possible to Christ alone, who is the Au­thour of all things, and doth great and won­derful things, which are not to be numbred. Speak this, if it be lawful, [to Apollophanes.] From these Authorities we may easily gather the truth of this miraculous Eclipse, which happening at full Moon, when in Nature it was impossible, will sufficiently assure us, that the person then suffering was God, it being impossible for any but God to have done it: For those Celestial Bodies as they are above all earthly pollutions, so they are infinitely beyond any Humane Command or Government. Thus much for the Mira­cles at his Passion, those that followed at his Resurrection is that which I am to handle.

3. In the third place Tertullian begins his Book de Resurrectione with this ezcellent Aphorisme:Fiducia Chri­stianorum, Re­surrectio Mor­tuorum The Faith of Christians is the Resurrection of the dead. Now as the Resur­rection is the comfort and great support Christians have against those injuries and sufferings which in this world they are expo­sed to; So the Resurrection of our Saviour, Who was the First-fruits of them that sleep, 1 Cor. 15.20. was the great assurance that those that dye in his fear shall be raised by his power, and live with him in glory. This then is the Foundation of our Faith, the Resurrection; the assurance that we shall be raised is, That Christ is risen. And this I shall prove. I [Page 93]must not here omit those several witnesses to this grand Truth which S. Paul, 15. Cor. 1. cites. If when we prove matter of Fact, the number of Testimonies be weight, our Sa­viour was not only seen, when risen, by Ce­phas, and the 12 Apostles, but by 500 at once, which certainly were too great a num­ber either to be deceived or deceive.Acts 1.10. He ap­peared not once only to his Disciples, but at several times, and in their presence and view ascended into Heaven. This together with the constant belief succeeding Ages gave to it might perswade any not wilfully obstinate, to admit it without dispute: But because Atheisme now prevails with most, and that in this Age Principles scarce pass without questioning, I shall produce what other Au­thorities my reading affordeth to this pur­pose. Josephus shall be my first Authour, who in his fourth Chapter and eighteenth Book hath these words.Eodem tempore fuit Jesus vir sapiens, si tamen virum eum fas est dicere; Erat enim mi­rabilium operum patrator, & doctor eorum qui libenter ve­ra suscipiunt, plurimosque tam de Judaeis quàm de Gentibus sectatores habuit: Christus hic erat quem accusatum à nostris gentis Principibus, Pilatus cum addixisset Cruci, nihil­ominus non destiterunt cum di­ligere qui ab initio caeperant. Apparuit, enim cis tertio die vivus, ita ut divinitus de co vates hoc & alia muita miran­da praedixerit, & usque ad hodiernum diem Christianorum genus ab hoc denominatum non deficit. There appeared at that time one Je­sus a wise man, if it be lawful to call him Man: For he was a doer of wonderful works, and teacher of those who with plea­sure received the truth, and had many followers both Jews and Gentiles: This is that Christ who though he was accused by the chief of our Nation, and by Pilate condemned to the Cross, yet was not the least be­loved [Page 94]of those who at the be­ginning did so. He appeared to them the third day alive, the holy Prophets foretelling these and many wonderful things of him; and until this day the Christian Sect is not failed, who from him had their denomi­nation. This Testimony of Josephus a Jew is very clear, as to the particular to be pro­ved; there remains only here to be exami­ned, whether these words be Josephus his, and that they are so, appears from these rea­sons: First, because this very Testimony for Christs Miracles is urged by Eusebius in his first Book of his Ecclesiastical History, cap. 11. in these words, and for this purpose. Euse­hius, we know, lived at the beginning of the fourth Century, in the days of Constantine the Emperour, and at that time this trick of forging books was scarce invented; neither was it necessary to forge an Authority to prove the truth of Christs Miracles then, when the power of doing Miracles still remained in the Church, and was a sufficient Testimo­ny that he that could give that miraculous power to others wanted it not himself. Se­condly, because the suspition of this place proceedeth from a false supposition, viz. that it is not found in the Ancient Copy in the Vatican Library, which indeed is true, 'tis not found in that Ancient Copy, but there is a blank where formerly it was written, be­ing just of capacity to contain these words; [Page 95]which evidently assures us, that by the Impu­dence or wickedness of some Jew or Here­tick these words were erased; and this being true, I suppose there is none but will credit this Authority the more for this rasement, since nothing but the consciousness of this Impostor of the truth of these words, could ever have made him guilty of so great a Treachery. Now in confirmation of this we have the Authority of Baronius a learned Cardinal, who himself was Library-keeper to the Apostolique See, and an eye witness of this Truth. His words are these, speak­ing of the Testimony of Josephus. Whose Testimony when it was here at Rome required,Cujus testimonium in pervetu­sto Judaeorum Codice in quo ejus Historiae è Graeco in He­braicum translatae, antiquitue scriptae sunt, cùm hic Romae requireretur (O perfidorum impudentiam!) abrasum in­ventum est, adeo at nulla ad excusandum scelus posset afferri defensio, cùm membrana ipsae id exclamare videretur. Ad annum Christi 34. p. 214. was found ra­sed out in a very ancient book of the Jews, into which Jose­phus his Histories being transla­ted out of Greek into Hebrew, were anciently written (O the impudence of Infidels!) and so done, that no defence could be brought to excuse the wick­edness, when the Parchment it self seems to cry out of it. Thus much for Josephus. The next Authority shall be Pi­lates Letter, which Hegesippus affords me in his Anacephalaeosis. The words are these; There of late happened what I my self have tried,Nuper accidit quod & ipse probavi, Judaeos per invidiam se suosque nosteros crudeli con­demnatione punisse. Denique cùn promissum haberent patres corum, quòd illis Deus mitte­ret de coelo sanctum, qui eorum Rex meritò diceretur, & hunc se promiserit per Virginem missurum in terram: Istum itaque me praesile in Judaea De­us Hebraeorum cùm mifisset, & vidissent eum caecos illuminas­se, leprosos mundasse, paraly­ticos curasse, Daemones ab ho­minibus fugasse, mortuos eti­am suscitasse, imperasse ventis, ambulasse siccis pedibus per un­das maris, & multa alia fe­cisse. Cùm omnis populus Ju­daeorum eum Dei filium esse diceret, invidiam contra eum passi sunt Principes Judaeorum, & tenuerunt eum, mihique traliderunt, & alia pro aliis mibi de eo mentientes dixe­runt, asserentes eum Magum esse, & contra leges eorum agere. Ego autem credidi ita esse, & flagellitum tradidi il­lum arbitrio eorum. Illi autem crucifixerunt eum. & Sepul­chra Custodes adhibuerunt; Il­le autem militibus meis custo­dientibus die tertio resurrexit; In tantum enim exarsit nequi­tia Judaeorum ut darent pecu­niam Custodibus, & dixerint, Dicite quia Discipuli ejus Cor­pus ipsius rapuerunt: Sed cùm accepissent pecuniam, quod fa­ctum fuerat tacere non potue­runt; Nam & illum surrex­isse testati sunt se vidisse, & se à Judaeis pecuniam accepisses Haec ideo ingessi, nè quis ali­ter mentiatur, & existimet credendum esse mendaciis Ju­daeorum. that the Jews did with a cruel condem­nation punish themselves and [Page 96]their posterity: For when at last their Fathers had a promise that God would send his Holy One from Heaven, who deser­vedly should be called their King, and him he promised to send into the earth by a Virgin: When therefore the God of the Hebrews, when I was Praesi­dent of Judaea, sent him, and when they saw that he did en­lighten the blind, cleanse the Lepers, cure the Palsie, cast out Devils from men, raise the dead, command the winds, walk over the waters of the Sea with dry feet, and many other things. When all the people of the Jews said he was the Son of God, the chief of the Jews were envious against him, and laid hold of him, and delivered him to me; and when lying they had told me one for another divers things concerning him, affirming that he was a Magician, and did act against their Laws, I indeed believed it was so, and deliver­ed him to be whipt at their pleasure, but they crucified him, and set guards to his Sepulchre: But he the third day rose again, [Page 97]whilest my Souldiers were guarding him. But the malice of the Jews did burn to so great a height, that they gave mo­ney to his Keepers, and bid them say that his Disciples had taken him away. But they when they had taken their money could not hold their peace of what was done: For they both witnessed that they saw him rise, and that they had received monies of the Jews. These things I have put in, lest some body should lye other ways, and should suppose that the lies of the Jews should be credited. Thus Hegesippus. Now because of this there may be justly some que­stion, both because Hegesippus is not an Au­thour of that Antiquity, but as Baronius says wrote after Constantines time,Ad Ann. 34. p. 215. and that the Epistle it self in the front of it carries a great fault, having Claudius set down for Tyberius, though I know Tyberius his name before he was Emperour was Claudius. I shall there­fore shew you from good Authorities that something to this purpose Pilate writ, and if this Letter should prove forged, yet the true one did say nigh as much, because of the ef­fect it produced in Tyberius. First for the Letter, mark what Tertullian saith in his Apology. All these things con­cerning Christ did Pilate, Ea omnia super Christo Pila­tus, & ipse jam pro sua Con­scientia Christianus, Caesari tunc Tiberio nuntiavit: Sed & Caesares credidissent super. even he being now in his Conscience a Christian, relate to Tyberius Caesar: And the Caesars them­selves [Page 98]had believed in Christ,Christo, si aut Caesares non es­sent saeculo necessarii, aut si & Christiani potuissent esse Cae­sares. Cap.21. if either for this Age the Caesars had not been necessary, or if the Caesars might have been Christians. And concerning the effect this News had upon the Emperour, see what the same Apologist says in his fifth Chapter. Tyberius, Tyberius cujus tempore nemen Christianorum in saeculum in­travit, annuntiata sibi ex Sy­ria Palaestina quae illic verita­tem illius Divinitatis revelâ­runt, detulit ad Senatum cum Praerogativa suffragii sui. Se­natus quia non ipse probaverat, respuit, Caesar in sententia mansit, comminatus periculum accusatoribus Christianorum. Ibid. Cap. 5. in whose time the name Christian entred into the world, did carry to the Senate with the Prerogative of his voice those things which were related to him out of Syria Pa­laestina, which did reveal the truth of that Divinity there. The Senate because they had not before approved of it, re­jected it; the Emperour still remained of that opinion, threatning punishment to the accusers of Christians. So that from these words may easily be gathered, that Tyberius would have had the Senate owned Christ as a God, which could be upon no other account but from the Miracles our Saviour did in Palaestine; and 'tis scarce probable that the Emperour should receive this News from other hands then from Pontius Pilate his Procurator. There is no­thing so clear in History, as that the several Lievtenants of Provinces did send Registers of their Acts to the Emperour, and particu­larly that Pilate had a Register of his Acts, which he sent to the Emperour, and which [Page 99]was extant in Justin Martyrs time, is evident from his second Apology to the Emperour Antoninus, where declaring how all the Mi­racles onr Saviour did were foretold by the Prophets, and withal perswading the Empe­rour to believe that our Saviour did such, he referres himself to the Acts of Pilate then registred at Rome. [...]. p. 66. Apol. 2. Edit. Syl. That (saith he) our Saviour did these things you may learn from the Regi­sters of the Acts done under Pontius Pilate. And that we may say no more, we find the Haeretiques called the Quartadecimani, as Epiphanius tells me, boasting that they had found out of the Acts of Pilate this truth,Et sane ex Actis Pilati se ve­ritatem comperisse, Salvatorem die ante Octavium Calendarum Aprilium possum esse. Lib. 2. Hae. 50. That our Saviour did suffer the day before the Octaves of the Calends of A­pril. 'Tis probable, I know, that either they saw not these Acts; or, if they did, 'twas some spurious Copy, as many think; however, 'tis to me a sufficient proof there were such Acts, since so early in the Church I find both Christians and Haeritiques appeal­ing to them. Origen also in his seventh Book against Celsus, cites us a Confession of his, That our Saviour after his death was seen, although he endeavours to make it signifie no more than an ordinary apparition, or indeed not so much. His words are these, After this Celsus maliciously speaks concerning the voluntary appearing of the Gods in humane [Page 100]shapes, spoken of before, that any person shall not see them once passing by, [...] Lib. 7. pag. 355. Edit. Cant. as they did this deceiver of them, but ever conversing with them that de­sire it. From these words may be collected, that our Saviour did appear was known to Cel­sus; and that it could not be a Phantasme, Origen sufficiently may convince us, when he demands this question. How can a Phantasme only named chase away a Divel, [...] Ibid. and effect these operations which are no ways to be contemned? And this certainly is a most excellent and absolute answer: For how is it possible for that which is nothing, or at the most ap­pears but to be something, to do these strange and wonderful effects? that the only appear­ance of a man (for no more doth Celsus al­low Christ to be) should give that power to his Disciples to overcome and destroy those whom Celsus acknowledgeth real Divels, on­ly by naming the Name of Jesus. I must not give over this subject till to what is already said, I add this, That the Jews themselves acknowledg that Christ did these Miracles, when they say he did them not by his own power, but by Magick Art, either that which he learnt in Aegypt, and brought thence, or by Schem Hamphorasch, Hoorn. li. 3. c. 1. the power of the four­lettered name, known to himself. I more [Page 101]wonder they should so ingenuously confess these Miracles to be done, then that they should suppose our Saviour did them by Ma­gick Art, or by their Kabala; because I find them a very mysterious people, and such as fancy great things may be done that way. Manasse Ben Israel in his Book of the Creati­on saith: That there are found many which in their adjurati­ons call upon Devils,Multi sanè reperiuntur qui dae­mones istos adjurationibus sais advocant, & Necromantiâs operâ mira admodum multa pa­trant. Quin & libris quibus­dam Cabalistarum quales sunt Perske Ehaloth, Raziel, & ali­orum, recensentur corum no­mina, exorcismi & incantati­ones. Prob. 22. de Creat. and by the help of Necromancy do great things: And that in some books of the Cabalists, as in Perske Ehaloth, Raziel, and o­thers, their names, exorcismes and incantations are repeated. But more particularly he saith of the Kabala, Sublimia per ea Mysteria in­veniuntur. In Exodum. that by it sublime Mysteries are found out; besides they make the know­ledge of the Kabala and Magical Art one of the gifts the Sanhedrim was endued withal. This being now laid down, we may easily see how fond this calumny against Christs Miracles was, They were done by Magick, which he learnt in Aegypt, when our Saviour was carried thither an Infant, and staid not long there, but till the death of Herod, which happened too quick for his age or abi­lities to comprehend that Art. And if by the Kabala he had done them, why did not the Sanhedrim, who were so well versed in that mysterious knowledge, do the same things themselves which he did, or else de­tect [Page 102]the way how he did them. Arnobius shall conclude this Subject for me. There­fore were those things which were done the deceits of the Devils,Ergóne illa quae gesta sunt Daemonum fuere praestigiae & Magicarum Artium ludi? Po­testis aliquem nobis designare, monstrare ex omnibus illis Magis qui unquam fuere per saecula consimile aliquid Chri­sto millesima ex parte qui fece­rit? qui sine vi Carminum sine herbarum & graminum succis sine ulla aliqua obser­vatione sollicita sacrorum, li­baminum, temporum? Non enim urgemus & quaerimus quae sese spondeant facere, vel in quibus generibus actuum soleat omnis illorum doctrina & experientia contineri. Ad­vers. Gentes, lib. 1. p. 25. and the sports of Ma­gick Arts? Can ye design to us any one, or shew us out of all those Magicians, who ever were, who did in the thousand part do any thing like Christ? who without any force of verses, without any juyces of herbs and grasses, without any solli­citory observation of sacred Rites, Offerings, Times, did these things? We neither urge nor seek what they promise to do, or in what kind of Acts all their Learning and Experience used to be contained. And a little after he concludes. But it is evident that Christ did all these things without any help of outward things,Atqui constitit Christum sine ullis adminiculis Rerum, sine ullius Ratus observatione, vel lege, omnia illa nominis sui possibilitate fecisse. Ibid. without the observati­on or rule of any Rite, and on­ly did it by the Omnipotency of his Name. I will shut up all this with that excellent saying of this fore-mentioned Authour Arnobius in another place, which is a farther confirmation of the truth of our Saviours Miracles. Neither was there any thing (saith he) done by him miraculously,Neque est ab illo gestum per admirationem stupentibus cun­otis, quod non omne donaverit faciendum parvulis illis & ru­sticis, & corum subjecerit po­testati. Advers. Gentes, lib. 1. pag. 30. to the ad­miration [Page 103]of all, all which he did not give to be done to these little and rustick persons, and subjected to their power. Which directly brings me to the proving my third Position.

3. The miraculous power he gave his Apo­stles of doing Miracles, which continued in the Church till the world became Christian, and some time after.

For the better handling whereof, I shall shew you fitst, That this gift of Miracles did continue in the Church for the first 300 years, from the Authorities of the most emi­nent Fathers of that Age, and from S. Augu­stine; that they were in his time when the world was Christian. Secondly, I shall shew you from the confessions of Heathens, That the Emperour Antoninus Army was miracu­lously delivered, which by the Emperours Letter is attributed to the Christians prayers; and of the Talmudists, that the Christians had the power of Miracles. Of each in their order.

1. First, That this gift of Miracles did continue in the Church, &c. I shall not in set­ting down these Authorities place them under any certain head of Miracles, but give you them according to the Age the Author lived in; my intent being to finish one Author be­fore I begin another. And because Justin Martyr is the Ancientest, I shall begin with him; who proving Christ to be designed of God a Saviour, hath these words; Now [Page 104]you may learn this from those things which are done under your sight: [...]. Apol. prima, pag. 35. For many of our Christian men have cured, and do even now cure many posses­sed with Devils throughout all the world, and in this our Ci­ty, forcing and driving the De­vils from the men they have hold on, by adjuring these De­vils by the Name of Jesus Christ who was crucified under Ponti­us Pilate, who could not be re­covered by all your Conjurers, Inchanters, and Witches. In his Dialogue with Tryphon the Jew we have him assenting, That Christ is the fittest per­son to be prayed to for the deliverance from being possess'd by unclean spirits, because at the very force of his Name the Devils tremble; [...]. Dial. cum Tryph. p. 191. and at this day being adjured by the Name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, who was Procurator of Judaea, they obey. A little after, telling us what power of doing Miracles Christ gave to the Church, he verifies by the power the Church then had. [...]. Ib. p. 235. And now (saith he) we that believe in Je­sus Christ our Lord, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, [Page 105]adjuring all Devils and unclean spirits, have them obedient to us. And a little after, that I may name no more, being angry with Try­phon the Jew for adulterating the prophesies, as particularly that of a Virgin conceiving, he shews him, that our Saviour was to come in a mean manner, and yet to do great things. The first the Jews know; for the second, [...]. Ib. p. 243. Now 'tis easie to learn from those things which are done in your sight, if you will; for by the Name of Jesus Christ, the son of God, the first begotten of all creatures, born of a Virgin, and being man, subject to sufferings, and cruci­fied under Pontius Pilate, by your people, who died, rose from the dead, and ascended into hea­ven, every Devil being adjured is overcome and subdued. All these places are in his Apologie, or in his Dis­putation with the Jew; where having to do on the one hand with a potent, on the other hand with an impudent and perverse Anta­gonist, 'tis not probable to suppose, he relates any matter of fact which was not true.

Iraeneus comes next, and him we find urging against Simon and Carpocrates, that all the tricks they did were not beneficial but prejudicial to men; he proceeds against them negatively, and then affirms this miraculous power to be in the Church in his time posi­tively. [Page 106]His words are these. For they neither can give sight to the blind,Nec enim caecit possunt donare visum, neque surdis auditum, neque omnes Daemones effuga­re, praeter eos qui ab ipsis im­mittuntur, si tamen & hoc faciunt: Neque debiles aut claudos aut Paralyticos curare, vel alia quadam corporis parte vexatos, quemadmodum saepe evenit fieri secundum corpora­lem infirmitatem, vel earum quae à foris accidunt infirmi­tatem, bonas valetudines re­staurare: Tantum absunt ab co, ut mortuum excitent, quem­admodum dominus excitavit & Apostoli per Orationem, & in fraternitate saepissimè prop­ter necessarium, ea quae est in quoquo loco Ecclesia Universa postulante per jejunium & sup­plicationem multam, reversus est spiritus mortuo, & dona­tus est homo Orationibus San­ctorum, ut ne-quidem credant hoc in totum posse fieri, esse autem Resurrectionem à mor­tuis agnitionem ejus quae ab eis dicitur veritatis. Iraeneus ad­vers. Haereses. lib. 2. cap. 56. nor hearing to the deaf, neither can they chase away all Devils, unless they be those who are put in by them­selves, if truly they can do that: Neither can they cure the weak or the lame, or those that are afflicted in any other part of their body, which accord­ing to bodily infirmity often happens, or the infirmity of those which happen without, can they restore good health to. 'Tis so far from them that they should raise the dead (as our Lord raised, and the Apostles by Prayer, and in the Brother­hood often for some necessity, the Universal Church which is in every place by fasting and much supplication begging it, the spirit is returned to the dead, and a man is given to the prayers of the Saints) that they do not believe this wholly can be done; for that there should be a Re­surrection from the dead is the agnition of that truth which is spoken by them. And in the next Chapter disputing against the Epi­cureans and Cynicks, and their Miracles, which (saith he) are meerly deceits, like to [Page 107]those of Simon Magus, yielding no profit to the persons for whom, and in whom these works were done, being rather Phantasmes then Miracles, when our Saviours are evi­dently so: His Resurrection the third day from the dead was firm, seen by his Disci­ples, and in their presence he was received into Heaven: He thus proceeds. But if they say, the Lord did those by the appearance of these things,Si autem & Dominum per Phantasmata hujusmodi fecis­se dicunt, ad Prophetica redu­centes eos, ex ipsis demonstra­bimus omnia sic Deo & prae­dicta esse, & facta firmissimè, & ipsum solum esse filium Dei; quapropter & in illius nomine, qui verè illius sunt Discipuli, ab ipso accipientes gratiam perficiunt ad benefi­cia reliquorum hominum, quemadmodum unusquisque ac­cepit donum ab eo: Alii onim Daemonas excludunt firmissimè & verè, ut etiam saepissimè credant ipsi qui emundati sunt à nequissimis spiritibus, & sint in Ecclesia: Alii autem & praescientias habent futuro­rum, & visiones & lectiones Propheticas: Alii autem la­borantes aliqua infirmitate per manus Impositionem cu­rant, & sanos restituunt; Jam etiam quemadmodum di­ximus & mortui resurrexc­runt, & perseveraverunt no­biscum annis multis. Et quid autem? Non est numerum dice­re gratiarum, qua [...] per univer­sum mundum Ecclesia à Deo ac­cipiens in nomine Christi Je­su crucifixi sub Pontio Pilato, per singulos dies in opitulati­onem gentium perficit, neque seducens aliquem, neque pe­cuniam ei auferens. Ibid. cap. 57. bringing them back to the Pro­phets, we will demonstrate out of them, that all these things were foretold by God, and most truely done, and that he only is the Son of God: Where­fore in his name, they who are truly his Disciples, receiving Grace from him, are enabled to benefit the rest of men, even as every one hath received a gift from him: For some cast out Devils most really and tru­ly, so that they who are clean­sed from these unclean Spirits, do often believe themselves, and are in the Church. Some have the knowledge of things to come, Visions, and Propheti­cal Readings: And others by the Imposition of hands cure those that are sick of any infir­mity, and restore them perfect­ly [Page 108]whole: And even now, as we have said, both the dead have risen, and many years have re­mained with us. But what? I cannot repeat the number of those graces which the Church throughout the whole world receiving from God, doth eve­ry day perform by the name of Jesus Christ who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, for the benefit of all Nations, nei­ther deceiving any of them, nor taking a­way their money for doing of it. Thus Irae­neus. Origen follows next, who was Iraeneus his Contemporary, and was born but 20 years after him: I shall produce his Testi­mony only out of his Books against Celsus; and that which offers it self in the first place to be considered by us, is his reply to Celsus Objection, who demanded what great and eminent work did our Saviour ever do; Un­to which this Father gives this answer. If thou wilt not believe those wonderful things which the Evangelists testifie Jesus did, [...]. Lib. 2. pag. 80. Edit. Cant. 1658. and which happened at his suf­fering, yet believe what thou seest now: For it is the magni­ficent work of Jesus, to heal even to this day, in the name of Jesus, whom God pleas­eth. In his third Book shewing the differ­ence between the Religion of the Heathens and that of Christians, the great dispropor­tion [Page 109]between their gods, and our Jesus: He tells us, That the Magicians did not register his name amongst the gods, being compelled to do so by the Decree of some King or Em­perour; but that the Maker of the whole World, by the wonderful efficacy of his Doctrine, did appoint him to be worshipped in the hearts of his Believers, and to be dreaded by Devils, and all other invisible Powers. Who (saith he) even now appear dreading the name of Jesus, as of some Greater, [...]. Lib. 3. pag. 133. or receiving this as a piece of Worship even from the Laws of their Ruler: For if this efficacy was not given from God, the Devils at the naming only of his Name would not willingly de­part from those bodies they have so long possessed. In his seventh Book he answers Celsus his Objection against the Prophets, why they being as ambiguous as any of the most mysterious Oracles should only be believed Divine, when the Oracles Pythia, Dodonaea, &c. that were dispersed throughout all the world, should be esteemed of no worth. To this he thus answers: Though (saith he) I might from the Authority of Aristotle and other Peripateticks produce many things ab­rogating from the belief of the Pythian Oracle, yet he lays that aside, and only de­sires Celsus to consider how unfit it became [Page 110]an Holy Spirit to utter Oracles through that place which is not becoming a wise man to see; [...]. lib. 7. pag. 333. and how unlike Pythia her self in her delivering Oracles is to one possessed with an Holy Spirit, who knows not what she either doth or saith when she delivers them: When (saith he) the Prophets were enlightned by the Holy Spirit, and their minds by its ope­ration made more perspicuous, and the ef­fects of it appeared in their lives. Then he proceeds to tell us how contrary the Pythian Oracles were to the Prophets, who by their ambiguity and obscurity, instead of enlight­ning the minds of their hearers blinded them more. His words are these. If Pythia be carried beyond her self, when she prophesieth, [...]. Ibid. what is that Spirit to be esteemed, who poures upon the mind and rea­son nothing but darkness; and how great is that kind of De­vils, whom not a few Christi­ans chase away from those that suffer by them, without any Circles or other act of Magici­ans, or Witches, but only by prayer and simple adjurations, and those things the most igno­rant man can bring to pass; for oftentimes very Ideots do them, &c. I might adde another place out of this Father to the same purpose, but having [Page 111]more Authors to cite, these shall suffice.

Tertullian the third Writer amongst the Latines, and of the same Age with Origen, being born but a little above twenty years after him, is next in order to be produced. And his first testimony is not a bare assertion, but a challenge which he sends the Roman Senators, in that most excellent Apology of his, to try the truth of this miraculous power in the Church. His words are these, Let any one be brought before your Tribunals who is apparently possessed with a Devil;Edatur hic aliquis sub Tribu­nalibus vestris quem Daemone agi constet, jussus a quolibet quolibet Christiano loqui Spi­ritus ille, tam se Daemonem confitebitur de vero, quam ali­bi Deum de falso. Ae què produ­catur aliquis ex iis, qui de Deo pati existimantur, qui aris in­halantes numen de nidore con­cipiunt, qui ructando conantur, qui anhelando profantur: Ista ipsa Virgo Caelestis pluviarum pollicitatrix, iste ipfe Ae scu­lapius Medicinarum demon­strator, alia die morituris So­cordiae; & Thanatio & Ascle­piodoro vitae sumministrator, nisite Daemones confessi fue­rint, Christiano mentiri non audentes, ibidem illius Chri­stiani procacissimi sanguinem fundite. Apol. cap. 23. that Spirit, being commanded by any Christian, shall confess of truth himself to be a Devil, as otherwhere falsly he hath, a God. Let also any of them be produced who are supposed to suffer by God, who breathing on the Altars fancy a Deity from the smell, who strive by belching, who speak by pant­ing. Let that holy Virgin, the promiser of rain be produced, that Aesculapius, the teacher of Medicines, the restorer of life to Socordius, and Thanatius, and Asclepiodorus, who were about to dye the other day, unless they confess themselves to be Devils, not daring to lye to any Christian, shed the blood of that shameless Christian there. In [Page 112]his book to Scapula the Procurator of Affrick, speaking against those bloody Oblations the Heathens Gods delighted in, he tells them, that God doth hate that food of Divels. And the Divels (saith he) we do not only reject but overcome,Daemones autem non tantum respuimus verum & revinci­mus, & cotidie traducimus, & de hominibus expellimus ficut pluribus notum est. Ad Scapu­lam, c. 2. and traduce daily, and expel from men, as it is known to many. And in the fourth chapter of the same book he repeats several miraculous cures done by Chri­stians.Quanti honesti viri (de vul­garibus enim non dicimus) aut à Daemoniis aut naletudinibus remediati sunt Ipse enim Severus pater Antonini Chri­stianorum memor fuit. Nam & Proculum Christianum, qui Torpacion cognominebatur Eu­hodiae Procuratorem qui eum per Oleum aliquando curaverat requisivit, et in Palatio suo habuit usque ad mortem ejus, quem et Antoninus optime no­verat lacte Christiano educa­tus. Ibid. c. 4. How many Honourable persons (for we speak not of the meaner sort) have been remedi­ed either from Devils or Disea­ses? Severus himself, the father of Antoninus, was mindful of the Christians. For he sought out Proculus a Christian, Procurator of Euhodia, who was Sir-na­med Corpacion, and who had formerly recovered him by oyl, and had him in his Pallace till his death; whom Antoninus well knew, being himself brought up by Christian milk. In cap. 57. of his book De Anima, we have yet a further Testimony to this purpose, where asserting how much mischief, how many immature and cruel deaths the Devils have caused, by taking up­on them the shapes of dead persons, he proves that thsy do sometimes take upon them such shapes in these words, We evi­dently [Page 113]prove this deceit of the wicked Spirit that lurks under the shape of the dead,Hanc quoquè fallaciam spiri­tus nequam sub personis defun­ctorum delitescentis; nifi fallor, etiam rebus probamus, quum in Exorcismis interdum aliquem se ex parentibus hominem suis affirmant, interdum Gladiato­rium aut Bestiarium, sicut & alibi Deum, nihil magis ou­rans excludere quàm hoc ipsum quod praedicamus, nè facilè credamus animas universas ad inferos redigi: Et tamen ille Daemon postquam circumstan­tes circumvenire tentavit, in­stantiâ divinae gratiae victus, id quod in vero est invitus confitetur. De Anima. cap. 57. when sometimes in Exorcismes they affirm that they are a man in the number of their parents, sometimes that they are Gladi­ators, or Beast-keepers, as at other times that they are gods, endeavouring to shut out no­thing so much as what we preach, that we might not easi­ly believe that all Souls are carried to that separate state of the dead: And yet this Devil after that he hath attempted to circumvent the standers about him, being overcome by the force of divine grace, unwillingly doth confess that that is true.

I should say no more out of this Father did not the Elegancy of the words, and the Excellency of the sense perswade me to what is already said, to adde this excellent advice which he gives Christians under persecution, not to flye, but to stand to it: Mark his words. That Souldier is the gallanter that is lost in fight,Pulchrior est miles in praelic amissus quàm in fuga salvus. Times hominem Christiane, quem timeri oportet ab Ange­lis, siquidem Angelos judica­turus es, quem timeri oportet à Daemoniis, siquidem & in Daemonas accepisti potestatem, quem timeri ab universo mun­do, siquidem & in te mundus judicatur. De fuga in persecu­tione. Cap. 10. then that is saved in flight. Doest thou fear man, O Christian, who thy self oughtest to be feared by Angels, because thou art about to judge them, who oughtest [Page 114]to be feared by the Devils, be­cause over them thou hast re­ceived power, who oughtest to be feared of the whole world, because the whole world in thee is judged. Thus much for Tertullian.

The next in age that I shall make use of is Minutius Felix, and him we have in his Octa­vius not affirming only this miraculous pow­er to have been in the Church, but appeal­ing to their knowledge of the truth of it. All these things (saith he) the greatest part of you know that the very Devils do confess of themselves,Haec omnia sciunt pleraque pars vestrum ipsos Daemonas de semetipsis confiteri, quoties à nobis tormentis verborum, & orationis incendiis de corpori­bus exiguntur. Ipse Saturnus, & Serapis, & Jupiter, & quicquid Daemonum colitis, vi­cti dolore quid sunt eloquun­tur; nec utique in turpitudi­nem sui nonnullis praesertim vestrum assistentibus, mentiun­tur. Ipsis testibus esse cos Dae­monas, de se verum confiten­tibus credite. Adjurati enim per Deum verum & solum, in­viti miseris corporibus inhor­rescunt, vel exiliunt statim, vel evanescunt gradatim, prout fides patientis adjuvat, ant gratia curantis aspirat. Edit. Luge. Bat. cum notis, pag. 31. as often as by us they are driven from bodies, by the torments of words and heat of prayer. Saturn him­self, and Serapis, and Jupiter, and what other Devils you worship, being overcome with torture, speak out what they are, neither (though it be to their disgrace) do they lye, al­though some of you be there assisting. Believe these witnes­ses confessing truly of themselves that they are Devils; for be­ing adjured by the true and on­ly God, unwillingly, and mi­serably roaring in their bodies (whom they have possessed) they either leap out presently, or else vanish by degrees, as [Page 115]the faith of the Patient doth help, or the Grace of the Curer doth aspire. Thus he.

S. Cyprian the Bishop of Carthage and glo­rious Martyr shall follow him in place, as he doth in age; and him we find in his Epistle to Demetrianus Proconsul of Asia urging this of Miracles to perswade him to Christi­anity. O that thou wouldest hear and see when the Devils are adjured by us,O fi audire velis & videre, quando à nobis Daemones adju­rantur, & torquentur spiri­tualibus flagris, & verborum tormentis de obsessis corporibus ejiountur; quando ejulantes, & gementes voce humana, & potestate divina, flagella & verbera sentientes venturum Judicem confitentur. Veni & cognosce vera esss quae dicimus. & quia sic deos colere te dicis, vel ipfis, quos colis, crede, aut si volueris & tibi credere. De te ipse loquetur, audiente te qui nunc pectus tuum obsedit, qui nunc mentem tuam igno­rantiae noote coecavit. Videbis nos rogari ab eis quos tu ro­gas, timeri ab eis quos tu ado­ras: Videbis sub manu nostra stare vinctos, & tremere cap­tivos, quos tu suscipes & ve­nerar is ut Dominos. Certè vel sic confundi in istis erroribus tuis poteris, quando conspexeris, & audieris deos tuos quid sint, interrogatione nostrâ statim prodere, & praesentibus licèt vòbis, praestigias illas & fal­lacias suas non posse celare. Ad Demettianum and when they are tortured with spiritual whips, and are driven out of possessed bodies by the torments of words, when howling, and groaning with an humane voice, and feeling by the power of God whippings and tortures, they confess the Judge that is to come. Come and know that these things which we say are true; and because thou sayest that thou doest worship the Gods, either believe them whom thou worshippest, or if thou wilt, believe thy self: For out of thee he shall speak, thou thy self hearing him who now doth besiege thy breast, who now hath blinded thy mind with the night of Ignorance. Thou shalt see us entreated of them whom thou petitionest, feared of them whom thou [Page 116]worshippest:lacias suas non posse celare. Ad Demetrianum. Thou shalt see them stand bound under our power, and being Captives to tremble, whom thou admirest, and adorest as Lords. Certainly either so thou mayest be confounded in these thy errours, when thou shalt see and hear thy gods whom thou worshippest presently betray themselves what they are, when we ask the Question, and not to be able to conceal their deceits and fallacies, although ye be present. And to this let me adde that of the same Father to Donatus, where we have him laying down this truth more affirmatively, without any Rhetorical flourishes. There is (saith he) power given to compell unclean and wandring Spirits,Facultas datur immundos & erraticos spiritus, qui expug­nandis se hominibus immerse­rint, ad confessionem minis increpantibus cogere, confli­ctantes, [...]julantes, gementes, incremento poenoe propagantis extendere, flagris coedere, igne torrerc. Res illic geritur nec videtur, occulta plaga, poena manifesta. Cypr. ad Donatum. who have entred into men that they might destroy them, by repeat­ed threatnings to confess them­selves, to make them howl, cry, and groan, by reason of the increase of the punishment that follows them, to beat them with whips, to roast them with fire. The thing is there done but is not seen, the punishment is hid, but the pain is manifest. Thus I have from the Au­thority of six of the most eminent Church-Writers of the first 300 years proved, that all their time Miracles were in the Church. I shall in a few words shew you they were not ceased in S. Austines and S. Chrysostomes times, [Page 117]before whose days the world became Chri­stian.

St Austin was Bishop of Hippo almost at the end of the fourth Century, and in the 22 d. Book De Civitate Dei, cap. 8. he hath set apart to treat of Miracles; In which ha­ving told us, That Miracles were necessary before the world be­lieved,Possem quidem dicere necessa­ria fuisse priusquam crederet mundus. Quisquis adhuc Pro­digia ut creda [...] inquirit, mag­num est ipse Prodigium, qui credente mundo non credit. that the world might believe; & that whosoever doth inquire after Prodigies now, that he might believe, is a great Prodigie himself, who doth not believe when the world believeth: And re­ferring us to the Miracles reported by the E­vangelists, at last he adds some that happen­ed in his days, and were upon his own know­ledge true. That Miracle (saith he) which was done at Milan when we were there,Miraculum quod Mediolani factum cum illic essemus, quan­do illuminatus est coecus, ad multorum notitiam potuit pervenire, quia & grandis est Civitas, & ibi erat tunc Im­perator, & immenso populo teste res gesta est, concurrente ad corpora Martyrum Profusii & Gervasii, quoe cùm late­rent & penitus nescirent, Epi­scopo Ambrosio per somnum re­velata, reperta sunt ubi caecus ille depulsis veteribus tenebris diem vidit. when the blind man had his sight restored him, may come to be known of many, be­cause the City is great, and the Emperour then was there, and the thing was done, a great multitude being witness of it, running to the bodies of the Martyrs Profasius and Gervasius, whose bodies when they lay hid were not known, being reveal­ed to Bishop Ambrose by a dream, were found out, where this blind man shaking of his ancient dark­ness [Page 118]saw the day. He tells us that Innocentius at Carthage, he and his Brother Alypius be­ing present, was by prayers miraculously re­covered of a Fistula, which being once cut was not cured, and could not be done the se­cond time without danger of life as well as infinite torture. Innocentia also of the same City, a most Religious Woman, was cured of a Cancer in her breast, which the Physi­tians judged incurable, by praying at the Font, and being signed with the sign of the Cross on the part diseased, by the first wo­man that Easter was baptized, according to the admonition she received from God in a dream. He tells us of a Physitian in the same City, that when he was baptized was cured of the Gout; of one Curabilanus, both of a Palsie and Rupture, by the same Sacra­ments; of a Presbyter, who cured a Virgin of Hippo by prayers, and annointing with Oyl, from being possessed of a Devil. He joyns to these a whole Catalogue of Miracles that were done before the Shrines of St. Ste­phen that glorious Martyr,In Colonia Coelumensi. in the Colony of Calunica; at last he concludes with a most remarkable Miracle done in his presence, which, though long, yet conducing much to my purpose, I think necessary to repeat. There was one Miracle done with us, not greater indeed then these I have spoken of,Unum est quod apud nos factum non magis quàm illa quoe dixi, sed tam clarum atque illustre miraculum, ut nullum arbitror esse Hipponensium qui hoe non vel viderit vel didicerit, nul­lum, qui oblivisci ulla ratione potuerit. Decem quidem fra­tres fuerunt, quorum septem fuerunt mares, tres foeminae, de Casaraea Cappadociae, suorum Civium non ignobiles, maledi­cto matris recenti patris corum obitu, destituae, quae injuriam sibi ab eis factam acerbissimè tulit, tali poenâ sunt divini­tùs coerciti, ut horribilitèr quaterent omnes tremore mem­brorum; in qua foedissima spe­cie oculos suorum Civium non ferentes, quaquaver sum cuique ire visum est, toto penè vaga­bantur orbe Romano. Ex his etiam ad nos venerunt duo, fra­ter & sorer, Paulus, & Pal­ladia, multis aliis locis mise­ria defamante cogniti. Vene­runt autem ante Pascha fermè dies quindecim, Ecclesiam quotidie, & in ea memoriam gloriosissimi Stephani frequen­tabant orantes, ut jam sibi placaret Deus, & salutem pri­stinam redderet: Et illà & quacunque ibant convertebant in se Civitatis aspectum; Non­nulli quòd cos alibi viderant, causamque tremoris eorum no­verant, alii ut cuique poterant indicabant. Venit & Pascha, atque ipso die Dominico manè cùm jam frequens populus prae­sens esset, & loci sancti can­cellos ubi Martyrium erat idem juvenis orans teneret, repentè Prostratus est, & dormienti simillimus jacuit, non tamen tremens sicut per somnum sole­bat. Stupentibus qui aderant, atque aliis paventibus, aliis dolentibus, cùm cum quidem vellent exigere nonnulli prohi­buerunt, sed potiùs exitum ex­pectandum esse dixerunt. Et ec­ce surrexit, & non tremebat, quoniam sanatus erat, stabat incolumis intuens intuentes. Quis ergo intuentium se te­nuit à laudibus Dei? Claman­tium gratulantiumque vocibus Ecclesia usquequaque completa est, Inde ad me currunt ubi sedebam jam processurus; irru­it alter quisque post alterum, omnis posterior quasi novum quod alius prius dixcrat, nun­tiantes: Meque gaudente, & atu [...] me gratias Deo agente ingreditur etiam ipse cum plu­ribus, inclinatur ad genua mea, erigitur ad osculum me­um: Procedimus ad populum, plena erat Ecclesia, personabat vocibus gaudiorum, Deo gra­tias, Deo laudes nemine tacen­te, tunc atque inde clamanti­um. Salutavi populum, & rur­sus eadem ferventiore voce cla­mabant. Facto autem silentio Scripturarum divinarum sunt lect [...] solemnia: Ubi qutem ventum est ad mei sermonis lo­cum dixi pauca pro tempore, & pro illius jucunditate laeti­tiae; Magis enim eos in ope­re divino quandam Dei elo­quentiam non audire, sed con­siderare permisi. Nobiscum ho­mo prandit, & diligenter no­bis omnem suae ao maternae fra­ternaeque calamitatis indicavit Historiam. Sequenti itaque die post Sermonem redditum, narrationis ejus libellum in crastinum populo recitandum promisi: Quod cùm in Do­minico die Paschae tertio in gradibus exedrae, in qua de superiori loquebar loco, feci stare ambos fratres cùm eorum legeretur libellus. Intuebatur populus universus sexus utrius­que unum stantem sine deformi motu, alteram membris omni­bus contrementem: Et qui ip­sum non viderant quid in eo divinae misericordiae factum est, in ejus sorore cernebant: Videbant enim quid in eo gra­tulandum, quid pro illa esset orandum. Inter haec recitato eorum libello de conspectu popu­li abire eos praecepi, & de to­ta ipsa causa aliquantò diligen­tiùs coeperam disputare: Cùm ecce me disputante voces aliae de memoria Martyris novae gra­tulatione audiuntur. Conversi sunt eò qui me audiobant, coe­peruntque concurrere; Illa enim de gradibus descenderat, in quibus steterat, ad sanctum Martyrem crare perrexerat: Quae mox ut cancellos attigit, collapsa similiter velut ad som­num, sana surrexit. Dum ergo requiremus quid factum fucrit, unde ist [...] strepitus laetus exti­terit, ingressi sunt cum illa in Basilica, ubi eramus adducen­tes cam sanam de Martyris lo­co. Tum verò tantus ab utro­que sexu admirationis clamor exorsus est, ut vox continuata cum lachrymis non videretur posse finiri. Perducta est ad cum locum ubi paulò ante ste­ [...]crat tremens: Exultabant cam similem fratri factam, cui doluerant remansisse dissimilem; Et nondum fusas preces suas pro illa, jam tamen praeviam voluntatem tam cito exauditam esse credebant; Exultabant in Dei laudem voces sine verbis, tanto sonitu, quanto aures nostrae ferre vix possent. Quid crat in cordibus exultantium nisi fides Christi pro qua Ste­phani sanguis est. De Civit. Dei. lib. 22. Cap. 8. In fine. but so evident and renowned that I suppose there is no Inhabitant of Hippo [Page 119]who had not either seen or learnt this, neither is any that could upon any reason forget it. There were ten children, where­of seven were men, and three women, of Caesaraea in Cappa­docia, amongst their Citizens not ignoble, who by the curse of their mother (newly depri­ved by the death of their Fa­ther, who bitterly took some injury done her by them) were inflicted from God with such a punishment, that they did most dreadfully shake with the trem­bling of their joynts, in which most sad condition, no ways being able to endure the being seen by their Citizens, it seem­ed good unto them to go every where about; and they did wander almost throughout all the Roman world. Of these, two of them came to us, a Bro­ther and a Sister, Paulus and Palladia, known in many places by this defaming misery. They came thither almost fifteen days before Easter, and praying they every day frequented the Church, and in it the Shrine of the most glorious Stephen, that God would be appeased [Page 120]with them, and restore them their former health; and where­soever they went they drew up­on them the eyes of the whole City; some because they had seen them in other places, and knew the cause of that trem­bling, others that they might tell it to as many as they could. Easter comes, and in the Lords day in the morning, when even now there was a great multitude of people present, and this youth praying and holding fast the Rails of that holy place where the Shrine was, fell suddenly down, and lay as one sleeping, yet not trembling as be was wont when he slept. Those that were present being amazed, and some being afraid, others grieving; when therefore some would have raised him up, they hindred saying, the event was to be expected: And he him­self rose up and did not trem­ble, because he was healed; He stood up whole looking on those that looked on him. Who there­fore of the beholders could hold himself from praising God? The Church every where was filled with the acclamations of [Page 121]shouters, and givers of God thanks. From thence they ran to me where I sate, being now a­bout to go on procession: One af­ter another they rush upon me, the last relating to me that as new, what another had before told me. When I was rejoy­cing, and by my self giving God thanks, he himself comes in to me, with many more, he falls down at my knees, stands up to my kiss: We go forth to the people, the Church was full and did eccho with the voice of Rejoycings, and every where crying, Thanks be to God, Praise be to God, none holding their peace. I saluted the peo­ple, and again they ecchoed the same things with a more servent voice: Silence at length being made, the accustomed Lessons of the Holy Scripture were read: When therefore it was come to the place of my Sermon, I spake a few words for the time, and for the plea­santness of this joy; for I thought fit they should rather consider a kind of divine elo­quence in the holy work, then hear it. The man dined with [Page 122]us, and exactly shewed us all the Story both of his Mothers and Brothers Calamity. The fol­lowing day, after the Sermon was done, I promised on the morrow that a Book of this Story should be read to the people: When this thing was done in the third Lords day of Easter week, upon the steps of the Chore, in which I spake from a higher place; I made both these brothers to stand whilst their Book was read. The whole people of both sexes did see one standing without any deformed motion, the other trembling in all her joynts; and they which did not see what of Gods mercy was done in him, might perceive it in his Sister: They saw in him what was to be thanked for; what for her was to be pray­ed for. Amongst these things when their book was read, I commanded them to go out of the sight of the people, and began of the whole cause to dispute a little more diligent­ly; when behold whilst I was disputing, o­thee new voyces of rejoycing were heard from the Memorial of the Martyr. They turn­ed about thither who heard me, and began run: For after she had gone down the steps where shee stood, shee went forwards to [Page 123]pray at the holy Martyrs Shrine; who pre­sently as she had touched the Rails, falling down in like manner, as asleep, rose up re­covered. When therefore we did require what was done, from whence that joyful noise came, they entred with her into the Chore where we were, bringing her whole from the place of the Martyrs Shrine. Then there began so great a noise of admiration from both sexes, that the voice being conti­nued with the former weeping for her, did seem not to have ended: She is brought to that place where a little before she stood trembling: They rejoyced to see her made like her brother, whom before they pityed to have remained so unlike; and they saw, though the prayers for her were not yet put up, yet that their praevious desire was so sud­denly heard. They did lift up to the praise of God their voices without words with so great a sound as our ears could scarcely bear it: For what was in their hearts but the Faith of Christ, for which Stephen's blood was shed? Thus he. And though this Story be long, yet not unworthy either of our reading or considering.

S. Chrysostome, that I may hasten, doth sufficiently testifie Miracles to have been in the Church in his time; and of that purpose hath made an Oration to the Martyr Babylas, and of the wonderful effects his dead bones had to hinder the Oracle from prophecying. [Page 124]Every where (saith he) where the Memorial of the Martyr is, [...]. Orat. de S. Babyl [...]. there will be the shame of the Heathens. And a little after shewing how the Devil caused his bones to be removed, he saith: The Martyr indeed is removed, [...] Ibid. but the Devil is not so freed from fear, but presently learnt, that it was possible for him to re­move the Martyrs bones, but impossible to flye the Martyrs hands; for when the Skeleton was carried into the City, thun­der from above fell upon the Devils Temple, and devoured it. I chuse this amongst the many others S. Chrysostome affords me, because I see the learned Grotius citing the authority of Lucian in his Pseudomantei for this very Miracle, al­though I confess upon search I can find no­thing of it, and that the Oracle of Apollo in Daphne answered; This place is full of dead bones, and this hindred the Oracle. [...]. Grotius. Notae in de veritate Religionis Christianae, p. 275. Edit. Lugd. Bat. And thus I have proved unto you the con­tinuance of Miracles all the first 300 years, and till S. Austins and S. Chrysostomes time, from the best Church-Writers.

I must now proceed to shew you from the authority of the Enemies of Christianity, the Heathens and Jews, that by the Christi­ans [Page 125]miracles were performed, which under this third head I promised to do.

2. In the second place; and that which I shall here insist on shall be the victory obtain­ed by the Christians prayers, when Anto­ninus and his Army were reduced in Germany to the utmost extremity. Now that our En­glish Reader may understand this story, I shall first tell it him out ofThis Xiphilin the Epitomizer of Dion, was ei­ther he that was a Monk of the Mountain O­lympus, and af­terward Patri­arch of Constan­tinople, or his Grandchild, & flourished in the time of Michael the Emperour, as Vostius tells us in his De Historicis Grae­cis. Xyphilin, and then shew you what the Heathens confess of it. In his life of Marcus Antoninus Plut. speaking of the great danger the Emperour and his Army were in, both by reason of the number of their Enemies, and want of water, he hath these words; This which I speak of was so; Marcus had a Brigade (the Romans call a Brigade a Legion) of the Romans of Mitilene, and they were all servants to Christ; Now therefore in the fight the Lievt. General go­ing to Marcus, [...], &c. Xiph In vira Marc. Phi. p. 367. Ed. Sylsb. Francofurti. An. 1590. not knowing what to do by reason of the en­compassing by their Enemies, & being fearful of the whole Army is reported to have said, That there is nothing with those that are called Christians, but they can do by their Prayers; This is also ju­stified by [...]usth. lib. 5. Orosus lib. 7. and pressed by several of the ancient Fathers to this purpose. and that amongst them there was one whole Brigade of that sort: When M [...]rcus heard this, he is reported to have used intreaty to them, that they should pray to their God; whilest they were yet praying God presently heard, and smote the Enemies with thunder, and refreshed the Romans with [Page 126]a shower; by which accident Marcus was so a mased, as he is said to have decreed, That the Christians should be ho­noured, and that this Legion should be called the Thun­dering Legion. It is reported that there was a Letter of Marcus concerning these things; and the Graecians them­selves know and do witness, that this Legion was called the Thundering Legion; but tell us not the reason of that name: Thus he. Now that there was such a mira­culous deliverance of the Romans Army, we have several Heathens that witness it in their Histories, only they as­cribe it to other causes than the Christians prayers. Juli­us Capitolinus, in his life of their Emperour, tells us, That the Emperour did extort from heaven by his prayers,Fulmen de Coelo precibus suis contra hostium Machinamen­tum extorfit, suis pluvia impe­trata quam fiti laborarent. Cap. 24. Edit Lugd. Ba [...] ▪ 1661. thunder against the Machines of his Enemies; R [...] being obtained for his Souldiers when they did languish for thirst. Xiphilin tells us that Dion attributed it to Ma­gick; For, saith he, there is a report that a certain Egyptian Magician na­med Arnuphus, [...] Ibid. was with Marcus, who did invocate the Aerial Mercury, and other Daemons, by his Magick Arts, and by them did obtain this rain. This concerning these things Dion tells us. Baronius in the year of Christ 176. tells us. That there is yet to be seen at Rome in Antoninus his Pillar, the re­presentation of this miraculous Victory; and he hath in his 2. Tome, pag. 108. given us a Cut of it; and there it is attributed to Jupi­ter, If the Judici­ous Reader should with Salmasius judg the Letter an­nexed to Justin Martyr to be spurious, yet 'tis sufficient there was such a Let­ter, though per­haps 'tis now lost. descending to the Romans with rain, and their Ene­mies with thunder. This put together, there is no doubt of the Story, but of the Cause; and methinks 'tis more than probable, since such eminent Writers differed about it; and assigned such contrary Causes, that they knew the true one, and avoided it. But there is no question at all but that Marcus wrote to the Senate of this Victory, and ascribed it to the Christians prayers, when we had Tertul­lian appealing to it: But we on other side produce you [Page 127]a Protector; if the Letters of Marcus Aurelius that most grave Emperour be required,At nos è contra edimus Pro­tectorem, si literae Marci Au­relii gravissimi Imperatoris requi [...]antur, quibus illam Ger­manicam sitim Christianorum fortè militum precationibus impetrato imbri discussam at­testatur. Ap. Cap. 5. in which he witnesseth, that that Ger­man thirst was dispelled by a shower, which was by chance intreated for in the prayers of the Christians. And the very Letter Justin Martyr, with some others, hath annexed to the end of his second Apology to Antoninus Pius the Emperour; which being of great length, and contain­ing in it nothing but what Xephilin hath be­fore afforded us, I judge it fitter to refer the Reader to him, than to transcribe it out of him. Thus for the Heathens.

For the Jews, I shall only cite their own Talmud, who in the Treatise of Idolatry, Abodazara, cap. 1. as Hoornbeck tells me, doth celebrate James the Apostle and Disciple of Jesus Christ,Jacobum Apostolum Jesu Chri­sti Discipulum celebrat dono miraculorum pollentem, à quo tamen R. Samuelis Nepos à Serpente ictus curare noluerit, ideo quòd Jesu Discipulus sa­nare esset solitus in nomine Praeceptoris sui Jesu. Haec in Talmude isto occurrunt Capi­te. Hoornbeck do Con. & Conver. Judaeis. Cap. 1. lib. 3. pag. 233. as emi­nent for the gift of Miracles, by whom the Nephew of Rabbi Samuel, being bit of a Serpent, would not be cured, because e­very Disciple of Jesus was wont to heal in the Name of their Master Jesus. These things are in the Talmud, and in the fore­cited Chapter. Thus I have, though in much length, finished my third branch of my second Argument, which as­serts Jesus Christ to be the great Lawgiver: I [Page 128]hope the necessity of the subject will excuse my tediousness in it. I proceed to the

4. Fourth branch of this Argument, which is, The destruction of Idolatry; and the Conquest of the World to the Name of a Crucified Saviour, by such weak and igno­rant persons as the Apostles were. And this naturally divides it self into two parts.

The first is the destruction by Idolatry. And for the proving of that, what doth fit­ter begin our Discourse then Porphyrius own Testimony, who, though the bitterest enemy Christianity ever had, yet confesseth, as Eu­sebius tells me in his first Chapter of his fifth Book De praeparatione Evangelica, That since Jesus came to be worshipped no man hath received publick be­nefits from the gods. [...]. And 'tis no wonder he should say so, be­cause we find, before the com­ing of our Saviour into the world, the most famous Oracle of Apollo of Delphos was shut up. The Orator in his second Book De Di­vinatione, seems to sleight that Oracle altoge­ther: For it is long (saith he) since she ut­tered these Verses; and when she did do it, they were barbarous ones. But what is most (saith he) to be observed,Sed quod caput est, our iste modo jam Oracula Delphis non eduntur, non modo nostra aetate, sed jam diu, adeo ut nihil posset esse contemptius. Cicero De Divinitat. li 2. To. 4. p. 296. Edit. Par, 1565. Why are not the Oracles after the same manner uttered at Delphos, not only in our Age, but even now a pretty while since, even so that nothing now seems to be [Page 129]more contemptible. And then see how he proceeds. When they are there­fore urged from this place,Hoc loco cùm urgentur, eva­nuisse aiunt vetustate vim lo­ci, unde anhelitus ille terrae fieret quo Pythia mente inci­tata, Oracula ederet. De vino aut salsamento putes loqui, quae evanescunt vetustate. Ibid. they reply, that the power of the place is vanished, by reason of the oldness of it, in which Py­thia did utter her Oracles with a disturbed mind. You sup­pose certainly you speak of wine or salt, which grows worse by age. Thus he. But if you would have the true reason of its ceasing, Nicephorus for me shall tell it you. Caesar Augustus (saith he) be­ing renowned by his many great Actions, [...]. and being pro­claimed the first Monarch, and now being grown old, went to the Pythian Oracle: And ha­ving sacrificed to the Daemon an Hecatomb, did ask who should govern the Roman Em­pire after him: But when from thence no answer came, he both offered a second Sacrifice, and asked the reason why that Ora­cle, who formerly spake so much, was now silent. [...] The Oracle being a little silent gave that answer to him.

Caesar having had this answer went to Rome, and building in the Capitol a great Altar, [...]. he wrote these words about it in the Roman Language.Nicep. Hist. Eccl. lib. 1. cap. 77.

This is the Altar of the first­born of God.

This Story Suidas tells us also in the word Augustus; and Cedrenus in his Compendium of Histories. I confess I am not absolutely satisfied of the truth of this, that is that these very words were spoken to Augustus, but in this particular am inclined to Baronius his opinion, whose words, because they will conduce to our understanding this Story, me­rit our inserting. Which Story (saith he) I would they so should under­stand,Quod tamen ita velim intel­ligant, qui ei rei majorem fi­dem adhibendam putant, quàm his quae ex Graecis Autoribus recensuimus: Non quòd Sy­billa aliqua Augusti tempori­bus, quae illum haec docuerit, superstes fuerit; siquidem Cu­maea, quae novissima omnium fuisse traditur, quinquagesima Olympiade (auctore Solino) vixit, temporibusque Tarqui­nii Regis Romae fuerit: Sed sic accipiendum, ut ea ipsa Augustus à Sybilla, hoc est, Sybillinis carminibus, quae Sy­billa nomine citari à majori­bus consueverunt, acceperit; Non autem à Sybilla quasi ad­huc vivente vate, quae diximus ei oftenta fuerint. Augustum nam que multum fuisse in cog­noscendis, scrutandis, expur­gandisque carminibus Sybilli­nis, quae proximè diximus sa­tis superque ostendunt. In appa­ratu. Sect. 26. who think greater faith should be given to these words than those that out of Greek Authors we repeat: Not that any Sybill was alive in Augustus his time, who should teach him these things; Because the Sybill of Cumaea, who is re­ported to be the last of them all (as Solinus in the eighth Chapter of his History witnes­seth) lived in the fiftieth Olym­piade, and was at Rome in the time of King Tarquin: But [Page 131]that it was to be understood, that those very things Augustus had received from the Sybill, that is from the Sybilline Ver­ses, which in the Sybills name were wont to be repeated by their Ancestors; But not from the Sybills, as if the things we have spoken were shewn him whilst the Prophet lived. Now that Augu­stus spent much of his time in knowing, searching, and examining the Sybilline Ver­ses, those things which immediately before we have spoken of, do sufficiently shew. Thus he. Concerning this diligence of Augustus about the Sybilline Verses, I shall, omitting many others, make use only of Suetonius his Authority, who in the life of Augustus hath these words.Postquam vero Pontificatum maximum, quem nunquam vivo Lepido auferre sustinue­rat, mortuo demum suscepit: Quicquid fatidicorum libro­rum Graeci Latinique generis, nullis, vel parum ideonis aucto­ribus vulgò ferebatur, supra duo millia contracta, undique cremavit, ac solos retinuit Sy­billinos, hos quoque delectu habito, condiditque duobus fo­rulis auratis sub Palatini A­pollinis basi. Sucton. in Octa­vio, cap. 31. Something to this purpose hath Tacitus in the fifth Book of his Annals. After that he had taken upon him the High Priest­hood, Lepidus being dead, which whilest he lived he could not endure to take away: Whatso­ever Books of Prophesies, whe­ther Greek or Latine, that were published abroad, either with none, or very unlikely Authors, having got together above two thousand he burnt them, and only kept the Books of the Sy­bills, and of those too choice being had, he hid them in two golden presses under the Basis [Page 132]of the Pillar of the Palatine Apollo.

I have set down this the larger, that eve­ry eye might perceive whether he may upon reason judge this relation of Nicephorus true; however I have obtained from it what I aim­ed at, to shew you the real reason why this Oracle ceased. To proceed.

That the Oracle of Daphne ceased we have several sufficient Authorities of Eminent Writers, who lived after the Birth of our Saviour. I will begin with the Satyrist Ju­venal, who in the sixth Satyr of his second Book hath these words, which I shall trans­late as near as I can reserving the sense. — Quicquid Dixerit Astrologus credent à fonte relatum Hammonis, quorum Delphis O­raculacessant: Et genus humanum damnat caligo futura.

What Juvenal saith of the famous Ora­cle at Delphis, Lucan speaks of all the Gods in the general. Excessere omnes adytis sacris­que relictis Dii, quibus Imperium stete­rat—

Celsus the Epicure confesseth, that the Oracles of Claros, Delphos, and Do­donaea [Page 133]are ceased. Julian the Apostate saith as much for Aegypt: And S. Austin in his nineteenth Book de Civitate Dei, gives us out of Porphyry the answer of an Oracle, which though not then ceased, yet seems to inti­mate the lasting of it not to be long. For (saith Porphyry) to one asking the Oracle by appeasing what God he might call back he wife from Christianity,Interroganti inquit quem De­um placando revocare possit ux­orem suam à Christianismo, deinde verba Apollinis ista sunt: Fortè magis poteris in aqua impressis literis scribere, aut inflans pennas leves per aera ut avis volare, quàm se­mel pollutae revoces impiae ux­oris sensum. lib. 19. de Civit. Dei, Cap. 23. Apollo gave this answer. By chance you may more easily write letters in waters, or stretching out thy wings flye as a bird through the air, then to call back the sense of thy wicked and once pollu­ted wife.

These words are worth our noting, they are, as S. Austin says, in Porphyry's Book [...] And what a sad conditi­on must the Devil that gave that answer sup­pose himself to be brought to, when he says it is impossible to bring back to Heathenisme one Christian woman? He could not but imagine his Dominion short, that was not able to give a better satisfaction to one of his worshippers, then that it was out of the pow­er of the Gods, or rather Devils, to bring about a Christian to Idolatry. And certain­ly the ruine and decay of this Oracle could not but be obvious to the eye of Porphyry from this very answer, by which he might see the God that gave it saw his condition [Page 134]desperate, and without remedy.

Plutarch hath written a whole Book of the cause why the Oracles ceased; and be­cause it is conducing to the Subject I have in hand, I shall give you contracted the Con­tents of the whole Book. The sum of this whole Book seems to be a conference between Demetrius and Cleombrotus, which they en­tred in when they were at the Temple of Apollo at Delphos: For one of them having rehearsed a wonder of the Temple of Jupi­ter Hammon, moved thereby a further desire of Disputation; and after some by-discourse they came to the main point, namely, why all the Oracles of Greece (excepting that on­ly of Lebadia) ceased. To which demand Planetiades another Philosopher there an­swered; That the wickedness of men was the cause of it: Ammonius another Philoso­pher attributeth all unto the Wars which had consumed the Pilgrims that had used to re­sort thither. Lamprias proposeth one opini­on, and Cleombrotus inferring another, they fall into a Discourse touching Daemons, whom he verily ranketh between God and men, disputing of their nature according to the Greek Philosophy; Then he proveth that these Daemons have the charge of Oracles, but by reason they departed out of one Country into another, or dyed, they ceased. And to this purpose he telleth us a notable story of the death of great Pan. Ammonius confutes the Epicureans that say there are no [Page 135]Daemons. Demetrius demands why they have this power to govern Oracles, and they all agree with the Platonick Philosophy of the principal, efficient, and final cause of those things that are effected by reason, and parti­cularly of Divination and Praediction. In fine, Plutarch attributeth all to Exhalations from the Earth, which breathing out hath touched the understanding of men with such efficacy as to cause them to foresee future things: That as some grounds are more fertile, so some places of the Earth do naturally ingender and incite Enthusiastick and divining Spirits; and that this power is divine, but not eternal or perdurable, but by process and succession of time doth diminish and decay; and that this great number of Spirits are not at once ingen­dred, neither proceed they forward or retire backward continually; but that this vertue of the Earth moveth by certain Revolutions, and by that means is puffed up, and after that in time it hath gathered new vapours it filleth the caves and holes so full, until they discharge themselves, and send them up a­gain: Whereupon it cometh to pass, that the Exhalations stirred in the said Caves, and desirous to issue forth, after that they have been beaten back again, violently assail the Foundations, and stirre the Temples built upon them, in such sort as if being shaken by Earth-quakes, more or less to one place then another, according to the avertures and passages made for the Exhalation, they find [Page 136]issue through the streights, break forth with forcible violence, and so produce these Ora­cles. This is the Contents of this Discourse; and I judged it most convenient to give you the Heads of it all, that as you may see on one hand we have him confessing, That all the Oracles of Greece (excepting that of Le­badia) were ceased; so on the other hand we may see how empty the reasons of this great Philosopher are for their ceasing, and making these gods mortal, who were those they worshipped, how contemptible their whole Religion was. But because the story of this death of Pan here related, carries in it self a particular relation of the destruction of their greatest Deity, I shall here repeat it out of the Authour. Concern­ing the death of the Geniuses, [...]. P [...]uta. de de­fectu Oraculorum. I have heard the relation of a man neither simple nor vapour­ing: For it was Epithersis the Father of Aemilianus the Rhe­torician, whom some of you knew, he was my Fellow Ci­tizen and a Teacher of Gram­mar. He saith, that intending to sail into Italy, and to that purpose ascending into a Ship that carried in it much Mer­chandize and many passengers; that about evening when they were near the Islands Echina­das, the wind went down, and [Page 137]the Ship was carried near about the Island Paxos, and there they heard one calling aloud Thamous, that all admired. Now this Thamous was an Aegyptian Ship-master, and not known by name to many of those that sailed with him. Be­ing twice called he held his peace, but the third time an­swered the Caller, who then spake these continued words. When thou comest over against the Palodes, declare that the great god Pan is dead. Those things being heard, Epithersis reports, that they were afraid, and did reason amongst them­selves whether they had better obey this command, or with­out any curiosity do otherwise; but that Thamous did deter­mine, that if there was wind if there was a great calm about that place, that then he would publish what he heard. When therefore they came over a­gainst the Palodes, and there being no wind, nor wave, Tha­mous in the Prow of the Ship spake towards the Land what he had heard, that the great god Pan was [Page 138]dead: Which when he had done, he further reports, that there was a great groaning mixed with admiration. Which things, there being many present, did suddenly spread at Rome, and Thamous was sent for by Tyberius Caesar who believed this relation, and made diligent enquiry after what this Pan was. And so he goes on to produce more witnesses of this matter of fact, which indeed is in it self strange, and affords us to what I have formerly said, the Devils Testi­mony, that he was overcome, and that all Idolatry must be destroyed. But if to this we adde, That this happened, as Baronius tells me,Ad annum 34 Christi, p. 181. in the eighteenth year of Tyberius Caesar, which was the very year our Saviour suffered, which we may find pressed by Eu­sebius in his ninth Chapter of his fifth Book de Praeparatione Evangelica, we have great reason to suppose this happened just at the time of our Saviours Crucifixion, who as in his life he cast them out, and made them tremble, so at his death he overcame and vanquished them.

I might adde to this of the failing of Ora­cles, the decay of their Idols Temples, and Statues, which we shall find every where fal­ling down, or miraculously burnt, or, what is more, their very gods confessing themselves devils. I before named unto you the An­swer the Oracle gave Julian, why he could not speak, by reason of the bones of the Mar­tyr Bahylas; it is not out of his place, if to [Page 139]St Chrysostoms Authority, which there I used, I shew unto you the destruction of that Tem­ple confessed by Julian. After (saith he) we had removed the dead body from Daphnes, [...]. Juliani Misopog. pag. 97. Edit. Parisi. 1630. some of the most modest amongst you attributed that which happened to the Temple of Daphne, to the an­ger of the Gods for the remo­ving of the bones; others, whe­ther secretly or no, fired the Temple, which was an horrid spectacle to others, but afforded your people much pleasure, and as yet by your Senate is not ta­ken notice of. But it was evi­dent to me before the fire, that God had left this Temple; for the Statue, when I first entered in, shewed as much to me; and to those that believe not this, I call the great Sun to witness it. How frivolous Julians accusa­tion of the Christians for burning this Tem­ple is, is obvious to every eye, who were too narrowly looked to then, that had they done any such thing, to have passed unpunished: And withal, how contemptible doth Julian make his Gods, that they are not able to pro­tect their Temples, not able to prevent di­sturbance from the dead Martyrs bones, nor to preserve their houses from the fury of fire.

To this of the destruction of their Tem­ples, [Page 140]comes next to be handled the confession of the Devils; but this I have handled large­ly in another place; only give me leave to adde the story of Apollonius Tyanaeus, which because I find he is by some Heathens magni­fied so high, as to be set in opposition to Christ, is not unworthy our consideration; and we shall see his end just like the rest; the poor Devil that spake in his Statue was forced by a Christian to confess himself a Devil. I shall tell you the chief of his Miracles, which Philostratus in his life reporteth: He is said to have raised Hercules Ghost; to have raised a wench, almost dead, to life; and to have worn a Ring made by the Constellations. The vanity of the last declares the falsness of it: The second is far from a Miracle, since Pli­lostratus dares not avow the maid quite dead: And the first is no more than what many Sor­cerers have done, and all pretend to be able to do. [...]. Ques. 24. Justin Martyr in his Questions and Answers to the Orthodox, moves this of Apol­lonius, and sets you down some of his chief Miracles, and asketh the Question why God suffered him to do them. The tricks of Apollonius do forbid the violence of the Seas, the force of the Winds, the incursion of Mice and wild Beasts. Unto which this Learned Fa­ther gives this Answer; That in all the effects that he brought to pass, [...]. he al­ways wanted matter to work [Page 141]on. He was, it seems, a very great Na­turallist, and knew many secrets of Na­ture, which he learnt from the Magici­ans; and so it is no wonder if by Con­juration he did some strange things, which might perswade some they were real Miracles, when upon the knowing of the rea­son of them would appear far otherwise. But see how this Father proceeds; The Lord did not hinder these works of his, [...]: Ibid. because, according to bodily knowledge, they were worked for the good of man; but he silenced that Devil which was in his Statue, who by his Ora­cles did deceive men, to worship and reverence Apollonius as a God, and destroyed his Oracles; nay, Apollonius lived himself to see his Statues destroyed, the Temple dedicated to him burnt, insomuch that his book which he writ of his consulta­tions with the Devils at the Den of Trophoni­us, are perished with him, and all the Cere­monies of that Cave, as Du Plessis tells me. But allow this, Apollonius did great things, as much as it was possible for Art or Nature to reach unto; hath not Christianity now quite baffled him, and made his Magick as well as himself contemptible? Is not his name buried in oblivion? and, to those that by chance hear of him, what other reputation hath he left behind him, but that he was a Sorcerer and a Magician?

To this I have said of Apollonius, it is but equal I should add something of Apuleius, who I find by the Heathens was set up in op­position to Christ, as may appear by Marcel­linus his Letter to St Austin, S. Aug. To. 2. Ep. 4. who joyns them both together, as an objection made by the Heathens against the Authority of our Savi­ours Miracles. Now mark how St Austin in the next Epistle answers Marcellinus; Who doth not think those persons worthy of laughter,Quis autem vel risu dignum non putet, quod Apollonium & Apuleium, caeterosque Magi­carum Artium peritissimos conferre Christo vel etiam praeferre conantur? quanquam tolerabilius ferendum sit quan­do ipsos ei potius conferent, quam Deos tuos. Multo enim melior, quod fatendum est, Apol­lonius fuit quam tot stuprorum Autor, & perpetrator, quem Jovem nominant. Ista inqui­unt fabulosa sunt; Adhuc ergo laudent Reipublicae luxurio­sam, licentiosam, planeque sa­crilegam foelicitatem, quae ista Deorum proba confinxit, quae non solum in fabulis audienda posuit, verum etiam in Thea­tris spectanda proposuit. Aug. op. To. 2. Ep. 5. because they endeavour to confer, nay, to prefer Apollonius, and Apu­leius, and other skilful Magici­ans, with Christ, although that more tolerably is to be born, when they confer those to him, than their Gods. For it is to be confessed, that Apollonius was much better than the Author and Actor of so many whore­doms, which they themselves name Jupiter to be. I, but, say they, these things are fabu­lous. They do therefore com­mend a luxurious, licentious, and a sacrilegious happiness of a Common-wealth; which ho­nest actions of the God Apol­lonius hath feigned, and did not only put them to be heard in Fables, but proposed them to be seen in the Theaters. And as touching Apuleius his works, see what this [Page 143]Father saith in his Eighth Book de Civitate Dei; Ipse Apuleius nunquid apud Judices Christianos de Magi­cis Artibus accusatus est? Quas utique sibi objectas, si divinas & pias esse noveraet & divinarum potestatum ope­ribus congruas, non solum eas confiteri debuit, sed etiam profiteri leges culpans potiùs quibus haec prohiberentur, quae haberi miranda & damnanda putararentur & veneranda oporteret. Ep. 8. Was not this Apuleius ac­cused before Christian Judges of his Magick Arts? And al­though this was of every side objected unto him, if he had known they had been divine, and holy, and agreeable to the works of divine powers, he ought not only to have confes­sed but professed them, blaming rather the Laws by which these things were forbidden and con­demned, which ought to be admired and adored.

These were the most confiderable oppo­sites our Saviour had; and see how lamely they come off in all their undertakings. I know nothing so fit to end this branch with as that saying which St. Austin affords me in his 42 Epistle to the Medaureness. Ye see (saith he) the Idols Temples partly tumbled down without reparation, partly shut,Videtis certè simulachrorum Templa, partim sinae reparatio­ne collapsa, partim diruta, par­tim clausa, partim in usus ali­os commutata, ipsaque simula­chra vel confringi, vel incendi, vel includi, vel destrui; atque ipsas hujus saeculi potestates quae aliquando pro simulachris popu­lum Christianum persequeban­tur victas & domitas, non à repugnantibus sed à morienti­bus Christianis, & contra ea­dem simulachra, pro quibus Christianos occidebant, impe­tus suos, legesque vertisse, & Imperii nobilissimi emine [...]tis­simum culmen ad Sepulchrum Piscatoris Petri submisso Dia­demate supplicare. Ep. 42. To. 2. in Op. Aug. partly changed into other uses; and the Idols themselves either to be broke, burnt, shut up, or de­stroyed; and the very Powers of this Age, who sometime prosecuted the Christians for Idols, overcome and tamed, not from resisting but dying Christians, and against those [Page 144]very Idols for whom they slew the Christians, to have turned their forces and Laws; and the most Eminent head of this most Noble Empire, laying down his Diadem, praying at the Sepul­chre of Peter the Fisher. Thus much for the destruction of Idolatry.

2. The second is but a consequent of the first, The Conquest of the world to the Name of Jesus. And is it not a Miracle, That Ty­berius (in whose Reign our Saviour both preached and suffered) was the first Emperour that refused to have Priests or Temples dedi­cated to him, [...]ent. 1. li. 2. cap. 15. pag. 683. as the Centuriators of Magde­burgh well observe? Nero was the first Empe­rour that persecuted Christianity,Apo. c. 5. which, as Tertullian saith, had it not been some very great good, he would not have done it. All the good Emperours favoured it; Vespasian, Adrian, Trajan, Anthony the meek, had Christ in great esteem. Tiberius, as I said before, would have had the Senate allowed him for a God. Alexander-Mameeus as Aelius Lampri­dius tells me, would have made a Temple to Christ,Christo Templum facere voluit, eumque inter Deos recipere, quod & Hadrianus cogitasse fertur qui Templa in omnibus Civitatibus sine simulachris jussit fieri; quae hodie idcirca quia non habent numina, di­cuntur Hadriani quae ille ad hoc parasse dicebatur: Sed prohi­bitus est ab iis qui consulentes sacra, repeterant omnes Chri­stianos futuros, si id optato e­venisset, & Templa reliqua deserenda. Aelii Lam. Cap. 43. and recei­ved him amongst the Gods, which thing Hadrian is report­ed to have thought on, who commanded that Temples should be built in all Cities without Images, which Tem­ples are to this day called Ha­drians, [Page 145]because they have no gods in them; which he is re­ported to have done to this end; but he was hindred from those who consulting the Ora­cles brought this news back, that all they would become Christians, if this happened according to wish; and that all other Tem­ples would be forsaken. In Justin Martyrs time, which was but 150 years after Christ, Christianity had so great a Conquest, that he saith, There is no Nation of men, whether they be Barbari­ans, [...]. Dial. cum Tryph. or Graecians, or of what­soever other name they be cal­led, whetherSo rendred by Sylsburgius; but the word properly signifies those people, that changing their houses often, did it in Carts. Amaxobii, or those that want houses, or those that dwell with their Cattel in Tents, in which Prayers and Thanksgivings are not read to the Father and Maker of all things, through the name of Jesus that was crucified.

Iraeneus lived but a little af­ter Justin; and see what a pro­gress Christianity had in his time. Although (saith he) the Languages in the world be dif­ferent,Quamvis enim dissimilia sunt in mundo genera linguarum, una tamen eademque est vis Tra­ditionis: Nec quae constitutae sunt in Germania Ecclesiae ali­ter credunt aut tradunt, nec quae in Hispanis, nec quae in Galliis, neque in Oriente, ne­que Aegypto, neque in Lybia, aut in medio orbis terrarum fundatae sunt. Cap. 3. lib. 1. yet the force of Tradi­tion is one and the same: Nei­ther do the Churches that are constituted in Germany believe or deliver other ways, nor those [Page 146]in Spain, nor France, nor those which are founded in the East, or in Lybia, or Aegypt, or in the middle of the world. You see he reckons up all the most eminent places of the world in his time; and yet we shall find Tertullian that lived a little after him stretch­eth the bounds of Christianity much larger. Their sound (saith he, speaking of David) went through the earth,In universa, inquit, terra, exi­it sonus eorum, & usque ad terminos terrae verba eorum. In quem enim aliae universa gen­tes crediderunt, nisi in Chri­stum qui jam venit? Cui enim & aliae Gentes crediderunt? Parthii, Medi, Elamitae, & qui inhabitant Mesopotamiam, Armeniam, Phrygiam, Cappa­dociam, & incolentes Pontum & Asiam, & Pamphiliam; Immorantes Aegyptum, & Regionem Africae quae est trans Cyrenem inhabitantes; Roma­ni & Incolae, tunc & in Hie­rusalem Judaei & caeterae gen­tes, ut jam Getulorum varie­tates, & Maurorum multi fi­nes, Hispaniarum omnes ter­mini, & Galliarum diversa Nationes, & Britannorum inaccessa Romanis loca; Christo verò subdita, & Sarmatarum, & Dacorum, & Germanorum & Scythiarum, & abditarum multarum gentium, & pro­vinciarum, & insularum no­bis ignotarum, & quae enume­rare minus possumus? In qui­bus omnibus locis Christi no­men qui jam venit regnat, ut­pote ante quem omnium Civi­tatum portae sunt apertae, & cui nullae sunt clausae; ante quem serae ferrae sunt comminuta & valvae aereae sunt apertae. Advers. Jud. Cap. 7. and their words to the end of the world. In whom other did all Nations believe, but in Christ that is now come? To whom do all Nations be­lieve? Whom do the Parthians believe, Medes, Elamites, and those that inhabit Mesopotamia, Armenia, Phrygia, and Cappado­cia; those that inhabit Pontus, Asia, and Pamphilia; those that dwell in Aegypt, and the Regi­ons of Africa; those that inha­bit beyond Cyrene? The Ro­manes and strangers Inhabi­tants, and them in Hierusalem, Jews, and other Nations, as now the varieties of the Getu­lae, the many bounds of the Mauri, the limits of the Spa­niards, the divers Nations of the Gauls, the places of the Britains, to the Romanes inac­cessible, [Page 147]but subdued to Christ; and of the Sarmatae, of the Da­ci, of the Germans, and of the Scythians, and of many hid­den Nations, and many Islands unknown to us, and which we are less able to repeat? In all which places the name of Christ who is now come doth reign; as before whom all the gates of every City are open, and to whom none are shut; before whom Iron bars are broken, and brass Gates are open.

To this let me adde what Julian the Apo­state, after all his attempts, and designs to ruine Christianity, was forced to confess, viz. That Christ had overcome him: For being slain by an Arrow that none could guess from whence it came: They report (saith Theodoret) That he re­ceiving the wound, [...], &c. Theo. Eccl. Hist. lib. 3. Cap. 20. did present­ly fill his hand with his blood, and casting that blood into the air, said; Thou hast overcome me, Galilaean. I need not to this purpose repeat more Authorities: 'Twas an Argument against Heathenisme most of the Fathers pressed; and though the Univer­sality of the Victory now makes it less re­garded; yet if we seriously consider the In­struments that begun this work, poor un­learned Mechanicks; the means they propa­gated it by, not by fighting but by suffering; the Enemies that opposed it, not only the [Page 142] [...] [Page 143] [...] [Page 144] [...] [Page 145] [...] [Page 146] [...] [Page 147] [...] [Page 148]great and wise men of the world, but self-interest, the loss of friends, enjoyments, eve­ry thing: And if to this we adde the speed of the Conquest, we must of necessity ac­knowledge it was the finger of God that crowned such contemptible means with so great success, and gave so great a Victory be­yond any humane apprehension.

I cannot here shut up my Argument from Miracles, till I have given you from two con­siderable Heathens some account of their Miracles. I have shewed you what Apolloni­us and Apuleius were; I shall here only tell you what Valerius Maximus, a sober Roman Writer, saith of them, in a particular Chapter of that Subject. Neither am I ignorant concerning the motion and voice of the Immortal gods,Nec me praeterit, de motu & voce Deorum Immortalium, hu­manis oculis auribusque percep­to, quàm in ancipiti opinione aestimatio versatur, sed quia non nova dicuntur, sed tradita re­petuntur, fidem autores vindi­cent. Nostrum est inclytis li­terarum monumentis conserva­ta, perinde ac vana non refugis­se. Val. Max. Lib. 7. Cap. 8. perceived by humane eyes and ears, in how ancipi­tous an opinion the estimation was versed; but because they are not told as new, but repeat­ed as delivered, let the Authors of them vindicate their truth. It is our work, not to shun those things which are preserved in the famous Monuments of Learning, no nor those things that are in themselves but vain. And what Valerius saith in general, Livy speaks of in his time.Prodigia eo anno multa an­nuntiata sunt, quae quo magis [...]redebant simplices, & religi­osi homines, eo etiam plura nuntiabantur. Lib. 24. Ca. 10. Miracles (saith he) many that year were told, which the more simple and re­ligious [Page 149]men believed them, by so much more they were told. And this shall serve me instead of answering all those Heathen Miracles, which the Fathers every where in their Apologies have done; but the decay of their Doctrine hath suf­ficiently confuted their Religion, and their Miracles have vanished with their Faith; and the only way to revive their follies, is to think them worthy of repetition. Thus much for my second Argument of Miracles; which confirms Christ to be the only Law-giver, and encreased the Chri­stian Faith.

3. The third and last is the holy lives and and wonderfull sufferings of Christians, which I only press as an Argument, that in the first times adorned the Christian Faith. And of this briefly. For their lives, we need not que­stion the holiness of them, if we find them answerable to their Doctrine; which that they then observed, Lucian can inform us. For when (saith he) they once have gone aside, [...]. Lucian. de morte Peregrini. they deny the Gentile Gods, they worship that crucified deceiver of them, and live according to his Laws. And Julian the Apostate, writing to Arsacius Pontifex of Galatia, doth propose the Examples of Christians for him to imitate, assuring him the holiness of their lives did increase their Religion. His words are these; Do not we [Page 150]see what it is that chiefly en­creased this Atheism, [...]. Ju. Ep. 44. their hu­manity to strangers, their care for burying the dead, and their feigned holiness of life; which word [feigned] was necessary for this Apostate to put in; how­ever, we have this confessed, That they were charitable to strangers, pious to dead bodies, and in their life, to outward appearance, unblamable. But a little after he tells this Arsacius, speaking of the inhu­manity of the Gentiles, That it was a shame­full thing to be so, when none of the Jews beg, [...]. Ibid. and the cursed Galileans do not only feed their own, but ours that are in want. I might to this purpose adde much more, but this is sufficient. For their sufferings, never was maxime so true as that, Sangusis Martyrum Semen Eccle­siae; The blood of the Martyrs was the Seed of the Church.

To reckon up their several miraculous suf­ferings, were to repeat their ancient Martyro­logies, and to stretch the bounds of this dis­course to an endless length: I shall therefore only insist upon one particular, wherein the Christians in their sufferings have exceeded all other sufferers; that is, in their offering themselves to suffer. We shall find many examples of men who were so obstinate to their opinions, that they have chosen death [Page 151]rather than a recantation of their errours; but yet I never heard of any that went so far, as in defence of an errour to offer himself to suffer; and this the Christians did, if we will believe Julian the Apostate, who in his fragments tells us of the Christians, that ma­ny of these Atheists out of zeal do perswade, [...] Jul. Arag. in principio. That death is to be desired, because they think to fly to heaven, when men vi­olently tear their Souls from them.

Now this offering themselves to be Martyrs was not done by a few, and those the most eminent Christians, but by people of all sorts and conditions. See what Tertullian saith to Scapula, speaking of the cruelty of Arrius Antonius in Asia; If it pleased that this be done here at Car­thage also,Hoc si placuerit & hic fieri, quid facies de tantis millibus hominum, tot viris & faeminis, omnis sexus, omnis aetatis, omnis dignitatis, offerentibus se tibi? Ad Scapulam, cap. 4. what wilt thou do concerning so many thousands of men and women, of each sex, every age, and every dig­nity that will offer themselves unto thee? Nay, to omit more, this volunta­ry Martyrdome did so encrease, that the Church was forced by her Canons to forbid it, in charity to her Children. I shall not produce you many, because this discourse al­ready hath exceeded my intended bounds; but I shall conclude the whole with that ex­cellent answer S. Cyprian gave Panterus the Proconsul to his demand of the names of the [Page 152]Presbyters, as well as the Bishops in that Ci­ty. When (saith he) our dis­cipline forbids us voluntarily to offer our selves,Cum disciplina prohibeat ne quis se ultro offerat, & tuae quoque censurae hoc displiceat, nec offerri se ipsi possunt, sed à te exquisiti invenientur. Act. Mart. Edit. à Pamelio. and this very thing doth displease thy own Decree, they cannot offer them­selves; but being sought by thee will easily be found.