truth, and holiness, for the purifying our hearts, and directing our converfation; and propofing the nobleft motives to engage us to, and encourage us in, the practice of all virtue and goodnefs. We cannot over-value this bleffing, neither can we defpife it without great guilt. We are accountable to God for the ufe we make of it. Let us efteem it in proportion to its worth, and ftudy it as the rule of our life, as the grand fource of our comfort and hope, and as an infallible guide to eternal glory.

The Divi e Original and Authority of the Scriptures, proved from the
Harmony and Agreement of the feveral WRITERS of them.

H

AVING gone through the firft argument, I proceed-To prove the Divine Original and Authority of the Scriptures; which we may do from the Harmony and Agreement of the feveral Writers of them.

They are not a book compiled by a fingle author, nor by many hands acting in confederacy in the fame age; in which cafe there would be no difficulty in compofing a confiftent fcheme, nor would it be any wonder to find the feveral parts in a juft and clofe connexion: but the Scriptures were done by feveral hands, in very different conditions of life, from the throne and fceptre down to the loweft degree, and in very diftant ages, through the long space of about 1500 years, when the world muft have put on a quite new face, and men must have different interefts to pursue; which naturally would have led a spirit of impofture to have varied its fchemes, and to have adapted them to different ftations in the world, and to the different turns and changes in every age.

David wrote about 400 years after Mofes, and Ifaiah about 250 after David, and Matthew more than 700 years after Ijaiah; and yet these authors, with all the other Prophets and Apoftles, write in perfect Harmony, confirming the Authority of their predeceffors, labouring to reduce the people to the obfervance of their inftructions, and loudly exclaiming against the neglect and contempt of them, and denouncing the fevereft judgments upon fuch as continued difobedient.

This was the principal work of the Prophets in a long fucceffion. And it is well known our Lord came not to deftroy the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfil, i. e. to vindicate and illuftrate their meaning, to complete what was imperfect, and to answer the highest ends of what was typical and figurative. Now, this is a very ftrong proof that the Scriptures were throughout dictated by one and the fame fpirit, which could be no other then the Spirit of God, and of-truth. It is allowed, as in the cafe of Mahometifm, that an impofture, or religious fraud, may

be

4

be handed down from one age to another, but not by several different perfons, all making equal pretenfions to a Divine authority and commiffion. For in this cafe they are to be confidered, not as a fucceffion of teachers, deriving their doctrine from one common original, but as fingle and diftinct impoftors; and confequently, every one in a diftant age, and in a quite different ftate of things, would fet up for himself, and feek a fingular glory by building upon a diftinct and feparate foundation from others. It would fignify little to an impoftor, who has no other intention but to advance his own honour and renown, to pretend a commiffion from heaven, only to give reputation to another deceiver, by confirming what he has already established.

Therefore, as the Writers of the holy Scriptures, though they all claim a Divine Authority, yet write in perfect connexion and Harmony, mutually confirming the doctrine and teftimony of each other, and concurring to eftablish the very fame religious truths and principles, it is a ftrong proof that they all derive their inftructions from the fame fountain, the wifdom of God, and were indeed under the direction and illumination of his Spirit.

We may take another argument from ourselves, as we make profeffion of faith in Jefus Chrift. For our profeffion of Christianity, who dwell in the uttermoft parts of the earth, is a proof that the Gospel fpread itfelf over all the Roman empire; for, from Jerufalem, it came to us by a gradual progress, and, advancing from one country to another, arrived at length in thefe iflands of Great-Britain and Ireland. Nobody can doubt or deny that the Chriftian faith is, and for many ages past has been, embraced in all thofe numerous and diftant lands which once compofed the Roman empire, and even in countries far beyond the utmost bounds thereof. In all these fpacious tracts the Chriftian faith, in one form or other, has been profeffed; and baptifm and the Lord'sfupper, in one form or other, have been adminiftered, in a fucceffion of ages, quite up to the times of the Apoftles and our Lord.

It is moft certain that baptifm and the Lord's-fupper, thofe fummaries of the whole Gofpel, were not inftituted in any following age, by any one party of Chriftians, but have been handed down to us, and to all parties among Chriftians, from the very mouth and inftitution of Jefus Chrift. No fact can be more evident than this. From our Lord therefore, and his Apoftles, the Gofpel fpread over the greatest part of the known world, which before the publication of the Gofpel was univerfally involved in idolatry, eftablished by long cuftom and human laws, ftrongly guaranteed by all the power and learning of the world, by all the zeal of the wildeft fuperftition, by all the violence and obstinacy of prejudice, by all the blindness of profound ignorance, and all the incorrigible perverfeness of corrupt and diffolute manners: a complication of caufes which would for ever have bid defiance to any philofophy or wifdom of the few that can be fuppofed to attain a better fenfe in the midft of univerfal darkness and depravity. But the Gospel gained a most complete and extenfive victory over all thefe, demolished every idol in the heathen world, and every where erected the trophies of a conquering Jefus.

Now this furprifing change, which is notorious to all mankind, muft

be

be effected either by human power and policy, or by a divine and fupernatural influence. By human power and policy great revolutions have been brought about in all ages and parts of the world; and therefore we do not wonder at the spread of the Mahometan or Turkish religion, as it was propagated by the fword, under the conduct of a mighty warrior and politician, who by ravages, bloodfhed, and defolations, conquered many nations and kingdoms, laid the foundation of a potent and fpacious empire, and thus by violence opened a way for the reception and extenfive profeffion of his newly-devifed religion. But the religion of Jefus was triumphant, not only without the aid of human power or policy, but even in direct oppofition to it.

For the plain fact is this. A poor young man, about 30 years of age, called Jefus, a carpenter's fon, of no education or learning, without houfe or habitation, without the leaft human intereft or influence, begins to preach up reformation among the Jews, the moft fufpicious and bigoted people in the world; declares himself the Son of God; gathers a tew Difciples, perfons in the fame low and naked condition with himfelf, fishermen, publicans, and fuch like, and fends them about preaching what he called the Gofpel of the kingdom of God. He was defpifed by the generality, and greatly oppofed and harraffed by the men of power and learning. However, he shifted for himself as well as he could; but, after he had preached three or four years, they caught him and crucified him as an infamous malefactor.

This direful event, which would have totally ruined an impoftor, he plainly forefaw and foretold; but, not in the leaft difcouraged by the profpect, he ordered his Difciples to go and preach his Gofpel over all. the world, promifing that after his death he would affift them with power from heaven, in virtue of which they fhould certainly fucceed. They believed him, they fet out, they preached up their crucified Master as the Lord and Saviour of all mankind; and, which is very strange, under the conduct and influence of a master who was dead to this world, and gone to the other ftate, they prevailed; and in fpite of the fury of the multitude, the moft inveterate prejudices of the whole world, the zeal of fuperftition, the hatred of the Jews, the contempt of the Greeks, the power of the Romans, the pride of philofophers, and the policy of ftatesmen, their doctrine, like the fun, almoft at once, enlightened the world, overthrew the whole fyftem of Pagan idolatry and religion, and advanced as far as our own country in the darkest and remoteft corner of the earth.

Of this we ourselves, we Chriftians, are living monuments and proofs: we have received the Gospel, we own it a glorious and fhining light; we have renounced the idolatry and vain conversation of our fathers; we acknowledge and worship the living and true God; we confefs and adore the crucified Jefus, our king and head, and hope for eternal life through him. Now, there is no poffible way of accounting for this, but by allowing that Jejus really was the Son of God, that he really rofe again from the dead, and afcended up into heaven, and that he actually from thence fent his Difciples the aids and powers which he had promifed, and which were so far above all that is human, that they carried their own evident

Vol. I.

N

CH. XLI: evidence along with them, and rendered their doctrine so surprisingly fuccefsful.

And as Jefus did not fend his Difciples to preach to all the world, till after his death, and as he then, after his death, did actually furnish them with all miraculous powers to render their doctrine effectual, this is the most conceiving proof that his doctrine was divine, and that he himfelf was actually gone to heaven, and lived there in the highest interest and favour with God. For that an impoftor, a deceiver, hateful to the God of truth, fhould, after his death, be able to animate, inftruct, authorize, and empower a company of men, otherwife deftitute of all affistance, and labouring under all poffible difficulties, to throw down all the religions of the world, and to erect a new one in their ftead, is utterly impoffible. It is therefore certain, beyond all doubt, that Jefus Chrift was fent from heaven to reveal the Gospel to the world. And as we are very fure that we have in our hands the writings of his Apoftles, we may be as fure, that they contain a revelation from heaven, or that doctrine which Chrift received from God and delivered to his Difciples. And if fo, then the writings of the Old Teftament are alfo the word of God, for Chrift and his Apoftles declare them to be fuch. Therefore all Scripture is given by infpiration of God.

The fame thing may be proved by the long train of miraculous operations which could be effected only by a Divine power, and which were wrought in confirmation of the miffion of Prophets and Apostles; as alfo from the fpirit of prophefy predicting future events at a great diftance of time, which no human wifdom or fagacity could poffibly forefee, and yet were actually and punctually fulfilled in correfpondence to the prediction. But as a minute detail of particulars would perhaps be fomewhat tedious, I fhall fingle out one inftance of the Divine miraculous power, and the truth of the prophetic fpirit; which inftance has been in all ages a standing proof of revelation, and which ftill exifts, and is before the eyes of the present generation, in almost all countries of the world; I mean, the prefent, ftate and being of the Jews. For this people, as they were originally chofen to be the repofitory or ftorehoufe of Divine knowledge, by the revelation which was given to them, fo they were also intended to be vifible proofs of the truth of it in all ages and parts of the world. Our Lord, contrary to all human probability, while he was on the earth, foretold the deftruction of the Jewish temple and polity, and their difperfion among all nations, which was exactly accomplished in about 40 years after. And in this difperfed state they have now continued about 1700 years, in great numbers, and in great ignominy and contempt, and yet quite diftinct and feparate from all the people among whom they lived.

This appears to me a ftanding miracle; nor can we attribute it to any other caufe but the will and extraordinary interpofition of heaven, when it is confidered, that of all the famous nations of the world who might have been diflinguifhed from others with great advantage, and the moft illuftrious marks of honour and renown, as the ancient Egyptians, Affyrians, Perfins, Macedonians, Romans, who all in their turns held the empire of the world, and were, with great ambition, the lords of

mankind;

mankind; yet thefe, even in their own countries, are diffolved into the bulk of mankind, nor is there a perfon upon earth can boaft he is defcended from thofe renowned and imperial ancestors.

Whereas a small nation, generally defpifed and hated, and which, though now upon pretty good terms with us, both Pagans and pretended Chriftians have for many ages treated with the utmost infult, indignity, outrage and cruelty, and which therefore, one would imagine, every foul that belonged to it fhould have gladly difowned, and have been willing to have loft the odious name by mixing with any other nation; yet, I fay, this hated people, harraffed and butchered more or lefs by all mankind, banished and bandied from one country to another, and who fcarce had any peace till trade and traffic brought the world to a better temper, and more favourable treatment of them-I fay, this hated people have, under all temptations to the contrary, and against the ordinary courfe of things, continued in a body diftinet and separate from all mankind, even in a ftate of difperfion, for about 1700 years.

This demonftrates, that the wifdom which formed them into a peculiar people, that they have almoft ever fince the deluge, for about 3600 years, remained in a diftinct and separate state, and are ftill likely to do fo, is not human, but Divine; for no human wisdom or power could form, or however could execute, fuch a vaft, extenfive defign. It must be the wisdom and power of that God alone, who is the fame in every age, and who in every age has exercifed a peculiar providence over his peculiar people, the defcendents of Abraham his fervant. And thus the prefent ftate and being of the Jews is every where a public and standing evidence of the truth of revelation, in two refpects.

1. With respect to their long difperfion, or captivity, as they call it, and the various calamities they were to fuffer therein.

This is foretold in feveral places, particularly, Deut. xxviii. 63, 64, 65. The Lord will rejoice over you to deftroy you, and bring you to nought, as to their fingular privileges and enjoyments; and ye shall be plucked off from the land, whither ye go to poffefs it. And the Lord fhall featter thee among all people, from one end of the earth even unto the other and among thofe nations thou shalt find no eafe, neither fhall the fole of thy foot have reft; but the Lord fhall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing eyes, and forrow of mind. Ezek. xxxvi. 19. 1 fcattered them among the heathen, and they were difperfed among the countries. I will featter thee among the heathen, and difperfe thee among the countries. And our Lord predicts, Luke xxi. 24. And they, the Jews, fall fali ly the edge of the fword, and fhall be led away captive into all nations, and Jerufalem fhall be trodden down of the

Gentiles.

2. With refpect to their being preserved in their difperfion, and preferved as a diftinct and feparate body, this alfo was plainly predicted. Deut. xxvi. 44. Yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not caft them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them. Jer. xxx. 10, 11. Fear not, O my fervant, Jacob; neither be difmayed, O Ifraek; for lo, I will fave thee from afar, and thy feed from the land of their captivity; for though I make a full end of all nations, whither I have fcattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of N 2

thee,