Myfterii opus & fi- up his foul to the love of God again. And feeing a guilty connem, facrificari fcli- demned finner can hardly love that God, who in justice will cet & fan&ificari fide- damn and punish him; nothing can be more congruous and efles, ipfe eft folus qui fectual to man's recovery to God, than that God should be reperagit. De his autem preces funt ora. prefented to him as most amiable; that is, as one that is fo wiltiones & fupplicatio- ling to pardon and save him, as to do it by the most astonishing nes facerdotis. Illa expreffions of love, in fuch an Agent, and Pledge, and Glaßs of enim funt Domini, Love as Jefus Christ. vator donat, facer hæc vero fervi: fer- The whole defign of Chrift's Incarnation, Life, Death, dos pro iis quæ data Refurrection, Afcenfion and Interceffion, is but to be the funt gratias agit. most wonderful and glorious declaration of the goodness and Nicol. Cabafil. Liturg. love of God to finners: that as the great frame of the UniExpof.c. 49. adverf. verfe demonftrateth his power, fo fhould the Redeemer be Eos qui dicunt fan&torum in facro my- the demonftration of his love. That we may fee both the fterio memoriam effe wife contrivances of his love, and at how dear a rate he is facerdotis pro eis ad content to fave us; that our lives may be employed in beDeum fupplicatio holding and admiring the glory of his love, in this incomprehenfible reprefentation. That we may love him, as men that are fetch'd up from the very gates of hell, and from under the fentence of condemnation, and made by grace the heirs of life. nem. 0.17. Especially to have a quickning Head, who will give the Spirit of grace to all his members, to change their hearts, and kindle this holy love within them, is most congruous to accomplish mans recovery. So dark are our minds, and fo bad our hearts, fo ftrong are our lufts, and fo many our temptations, that bare teaching would not ferve our turn, without a Spirit of light; and life, and love to open our eyes, and turn our hearts, and make all outward means effectual. 0.18. The Commiffion of the Gospel-Ministery to preach this Goffel of pardon and falvation, and to baptize Confenters, and gather and guide the Church of Christ, with Fatherly love, is also very congruous to the state of the world, with whom they have to do. . 19. It is congruous to the state of our trembling Souls, that are confcious of their former guilt, and present unworthineß, that in all their prayers and worship of God, they should come to him in a Name that is more worthy and acceptable than their own, and offer their fervices by a Hand or Interceffor fo beloved of God. Though Though an impious foul can never expect to be accepted with God, upon the merits of another, yet a penitent foul, who is confcious of former wickedness, and continued faults, may hope for that mercy by grace through a Redeemer, of which he could have lefs hopes without one. 6. 20. It is congruous to their state, who have Satan their accufer, that they have a Patron, a High priest and Justifier with God. Not that God is in danger of being mistaken by falfe accufation, or to do us any injuftice; but when our real guilt is before his face, (and the malice of Satan will feek thereupon to procure our damnation) there must also be just reasons before him for our pardon, which it is the office of a Saviour to plead or to prefent, that is, to be God's Inftrument of our deliverance upon that account. 6. 21. It is exceeding congruous to our condition (of darkweß and fear) to have a Head and Saviour in the poffeffion of Glory, to whom we may commend our departing fouls at the time of death, and who will receive them to himself; that we may not tremble at the thoughts of death and of eternity. For though the infinite goodness of God be our chief encouragement, yet feeing he is holy and juft, and we are finners, we have need of a mediate encouragement, and of fuch condescending love as is come near unto us, and hath taken up our nature already into heaven. A Saviour that hath been on earth in flesh;' that hath died, and rose, and revived, and is now in the poffeffion of Bleffedness, is a great emboldner of our thoughts, when we look towards another world; which elfe we should think of with more doubting, fearful and unwilling minds? To have a friend gone before us, who is fo Powerful, fo Good, and hath made us his Intereft; to think that he is Lord of the world that we are going to, and hath undertaken to receive us to himself when we go hence, is a great reviving to our amazed, fearful, departing fouls. convinci Perturbatione remporum cos etiam qui` 1. 22. And it is very congruous to the case of an afflicted vero judicio nullius perfecuted people, who are misrepresented and flandered in criminis this world, and fuffer for the hopes of a better life, to have a queunt, maximis inSaviour who is the judge of all the world, to justifie them pub- haud eft veri diffimilickly before all, and to cause their righteousness to shine as the le. Pachymer. l. 1. LI light, volvi criminibus light, and to turn all their fufferings into endleß joys. . 23. And it feemeth exceeding congruous to reafon, feeing that the Divine Effence is an inacceffible Light, that we should for ever have a Mediator of Fruition, as well as of Acquifition, by whom the Deity may fhine in communicated Glory and Love to us for evermore: and that God be for evermore eminently delighted and glorified in Him, than in us, as he excelleth us in dignity and all perfections; even as in One Sun, bis Power and Glory is more demonstrated, than in a world of Worms. Q. Si divinæ ScriptuWhether all these things be true or not, I am further to ræ probationibus fuf- enquire; but I find now, that they are very congruous to our Aciunt, quid neceffa- condition, and to Reafon; and that if they be fo, no man can ria eft Religioni fi des? R. Fides noftra deny, but that there is wonderful Wifdom and Love to man in fuper ratione quidem the defign and execution: and that it is to man a very deeft, non tamen teme- firable thing that it should be fo. And therefore that we rarie & irrationabili fhould be excceding willing to find any found proof that it enim quæ ratio edo is fo indeed; though not with a willingness which fhall cet, fides intelligit: corrupt and pervert our judgments by felf-flattery, but fuch & ubi ratio defece- as will only excite them to the wife and fober examination rit, fides præcurrit of the cafe. ter affumitur. Ea Non enim utcunque audita credimus, fed The EVIDENCES of the VERITY we fhall next en ea quæ ratio non im- quire after. 2. Unde probamus libros Religionis noAræ divina efle in Spiratione confcripros? R. Ex multis, CHAP. VI. of the WITNESS of JESUS CHRIST, or the demonstrative Evidence of his Verity and Authority. Hough all that is faid may be a reasonable preparative to faith, it is more cogent evidence which is neceffary to quorum primum eft ipfius Scriptura veritas: deinde ordo rerum, confonantia præceptorum, modus locutionis fine ambitu, puritafque verborum. Additur confcribentium & prædicantium qualitas, quod divina homines, excelfa vares, infacundi fubtilia, non nifi divino repleti fpiritu tradidiffent. Tum prædicationis virtus, quam dum prædicaretur (licet à paucis defpe&tis obtinuit. Accedunt his rectificatio contrariorum, ut Sybillarum vel Philofophorum; expulfio adverfariorum, utilitas confequentium, exitus eorum quæ per acceptationes & figuras & prædictiones, quæ prædiéta funt ad poftremum; miracula jugiter facta, donec Scriptura ipfa fufciperetur à gentibus. De qua hoc nunc ad proximum miraculum fufficit, quod ab omnibus suscepta cognofcitur. Funilius African, de part. div. Leg. l. a. 6. 29. convince . convince us, that Jefus Chrift is the Saviour of the world. That a man appearing like one of us, is the Eternal Word of God incarnate, is a thing which no man is bound to believe, without very found evidence to prove it. God hath made Reafon effential to our Nature: it is not our weakneß, but our natural excellency, and his Image on our nature. Therefore he never called us to renounce it, and to lay it by: for we have no way to know Principles, but by an Intellectual difcerning them in their proper Evidence: and no way to know conclufions by, but by a rational difcerning their neceffary connexion to those principles. If God would have us know without reafon, he would not have made us reasonable creatures: man hath no way of mental difcerning or knowledge, but by understanding things in their proper evidence to know without this, were to know without knowledge. Faith is an act or fpecies of knowledge, it is fo far from being contrary to reafon, that it is but an act of cleared elevated reafon: it is not an act of immediate intuition of God or Jefus Chrift himself; but a knowledge of the truth by the divine evidence of its certainty they that wrangle against us, for giving reafon for our Religion, seem to tell us, that they have none for their own; or elfe reprehend us for being men. If they had to do with them, who make God to be but the Prime Reafon, would they fay that Faith is fomething above Reason, and therefore fomething above God? I believe that our Reafon or Intellection is far from being univocally the fame thing with God's: but I believe that God is Intellection,Reafon or Wisdom eminenter, though not formaliter: and that though the name be first ufed, to fignifie the lower derivative Reafon of many, yet we have no higher to exprefs the Wisdom of God by, nor better notion to apprehend it by, than this which is its Image. I conclude therefore, that 0.1. The Chriftian Religion must be the most Rational in the world, or that which bath the foundest reafon for it, if it be the truest. And the proof of it must be, by producing the evidences of its truth. 9.2. The evidence which Faith requireth is properly called Evidence of credibility. .3.When we speak of Humane Faith, as fuch, Credibility LI 2 Heb. 10. 15. 1 Pet. 1. 10. 2 Pet. I. 19, 20 20. is somewhat short of proper Certainty: but when we speak of Divine Faith, (or a Belief of God) evidence of Credibility is evidence of Certainty. 1.4. The great Witneß of Jefus Christ, or the demonftrative Evidence of his Verity and Authority, was The HOLY SPI RIT. . 5. The Word or Doctrin of Jefus Christ, hath four several infallible teftimonies of God's Spirit, which (though each of them alone is convincing, yet all together make up this one great Evidence: that is, 1. Antecedently. 2. Conftitutively or Inberently. 3. Concomitantly, and 4. Subfequently: of which I fhall peak in course. 1.6.1. Antecedently the Spirit of Prophecy, was a Witneß to Fefus Christ. under which I comprehend the prediction alfo of Types: He that was many hundred years before (yea, from age to age) fore-told to come as the Meffiah or Saviour, by Divine prediction of Promifes, Prophefies and Types, is certainly the true Meffiah our Saviour: But Jefus Chrift was fo foretold: Ergo. 1. For Promises and Prophefies, Gen. 3. 15. prefently after the Fall of Adam, God faid, [ I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy feed and her feed: it shall bruife thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.] As it is certain that it was Satan principally, and the Serpent but inftrumentally, that is spoken of as the deceiver of Eve; fo it is as plain, that it was Satan and his wicked followers principally, and the Serpent and its feed only as the inftruments, that are here meant in the condemnation. And that it is the feed of the woman, by an excellency fo called, that is primarily here meant, (and under him her natural feed fecondarily) is proved not only by the Hebrew Mafculine Gender, but by the fulfilling of this Promise in the Expofitory effects, and in other Promises to the like effect. The reft of the Promifes and Prophefies to this purpose are so many, that to recite them all would fwell the Book too big; and therefore I must suppose, that the Reader perufing the Sacred Scripture Lege Difputationem it felf, will acquaint himself with them there: only a few I Gregentii cum Her fhall repeat. bano Judco. Gen. 22. 18. In thy feed fhall all the Nations of the earth be blessed. Gen. |