SERM. not, but aggravateth his pretences with this necesXX. sity. τῇ διανοία, ἡλίκον ἐστὶ τὴν ὑφ ̓ ἡλίῳ πασαν, &c. vi. Ör. lxi. `p. 634. 2. The effects which the Messias was to produce did require extraordinary attestations and assistances from God. He was to achieve exploits of the greatest difficulty conceivable; far surpassing all that ever was by any person undertaken in the world before : he was to vanquish all the powers, and to confound all the policies of hell; he was to subdue and subAVTU jugate all the world; to make the greatest princes ai ivónov to stoop, and to submit their sceptres to his will; to bring down the most haughty conceits, and to -break down the most stubborn spirits, and to tame Chrys. tom. the wildest passions of men; he was to expel from their minds most deeply rooted prejudices, to banish from their practice most inveterate customs, to cross their most violent humours, to thwart their interests, to bear down their ambitions, to restrain their covetous desires and their voluptuous appetites; he was to persuade a doctrine, and to impose a law, very opposite to the natural inclinations, to the current notions, to the worldly advantages, the liberties, emoluments, and enjoyments of all, or of most, or of many people; he was, in short, so to reform the world, as in a manner quite to alter the whole frame of it, and all the course of affairs therein; things which surely it were a madness to enterprise, and an impossibility to accomplish, without remarkable testimonies of the divine presence, especial aids of the divine power, and large influences of the divine Spirit communiActs x. 38, cated to him; without, as St. Peter phraseth it, God were with him; these things were not effectible by means natural and ordinary, by human wit or eloquence, by good behaviour or example, by the bare John iii. 2. XX. reason or plausibility of doctrine, by the wise con- SERM. duct or industrious management of the design; no, such means have by many experiments appeared insufficient to bring about much lesser matters; nothing under the wisdom of God directing, the power of God assisting, the authority of God establishing and gracing his endeavours in an eminent and evident manner, could enable the Messias to bring these mighty things to pass. 3. We may further consider, that the Christ was designed to present himself first to the Jews, (in the first place imparting the declarations of God's will and gracious intentions to them, his ancient friends and favourites;) that is, to a people wholly addicted to this sort of proof, and uncapable of conviction by any other they did not, as did the Greeks, seek 1 Cor. i. 22. wisdom, but required a sign, as St. Paul observed of them; they were not so apt to inquire after the intrinsic reasons of things, as to expect testimonies from heaven; nothing else was able to persuade them; so our Lord expressly saith; Jesus said John iv.48. unto them, If you do not see signs and prodigies, you will nowise believe: in consequence of which disposition in them, we see by passages in the New Testament, that they expected and believed the Messias should come with such attestations and performances; so their importunate demanding of signs upon all occasions from our Lord doth signify, and so those words in St. John do imply; And many of John vii.31. the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these, which this man doeth? where we may observe both their expectation of miraculous works from the Messias, and the efficacy which such works had upon them. Cels. viii. SERM. The condition also of the Gentiles, unto whom his XX. design in the next place did extend, seemed to reOrig. cont. quire the same proceedings: for all other methods (p. 408.) of instruction and persuasion had before often been applied to them by philosophers and by politicians, for instilling their notions and recommending their laws; they had been so inured to subtile argumentations and plausible discourses, that the bare use of them was not likely to have any extraordinary effect upon them: if the Messias therefore should bring no other confirmation with him unto them, he would seem to deserve no higher regard or credit, than other doctors or lawgivers, which had appeared among them; and as easily would he be declined, and put off by them: whence reasonably it may be supposed, that for accommodation to the genius and the capacities of those upon whose hearts he was to make impression, the Messias should come furnished with such special testimonials and powers from God. Especially considering that, 4. It was agreeable to God's usual method of proceeding in cases resembling this, although much unequal thereto in weight and consequence. There was never any more than ordinary discovery made to men by God, never any very considerable business managed by divine Providence, never hardly any eminent person appeared with a pretence of coming from God for the prosecution of such purposes, without God's visible interposal and abetment. This hath always been the authentic seal, John vi. 27. whereby he hath wonted to authorize the messengers sent from himself for transacting affairs of an unusual and very weighty nature; whereby his true ambassadors have been distinguishable from ordi 10. 22. XX. nary persons, or from deceitful pretenders, who have SER M. offered to impose their own devices upon men: to a person bringing with him this sort of assurance (except when his tale is evidently false and vain, or his design notoriously wicked and mischievous) God hath always required, that a ready credence and obedience should be yielded; taking it for a high affront to himself (no less, as St. John says, than giving him the lie) to disbelieve such a person, 1 John v. and for a heinous contumacy to disobey him that John iii.33. it hath been God's ordinary method, the course of divine history shews. When God separated the pa- Gen. xxi. triarchs for the preservation and propagation of his true religion, he manifested an especial presence with them, frequently appearing to them, visibly assisting and blessing them in a more than ordinary manner, enduing them with a prophetical discretion and foresight of things: when he would rescue the seed of those his friends from cruel oppression and hard slavery, (designing also by them to maintain and convey down the sincere way of piety,) he imparted also unto Moses, the especial instrument of those purposes, a power of doing wonders, thereby procuring authority to his person, and credit to his pretences. Moses did well perceive, and judge, that had he come without such attestation he should not have been received or regarded: But, behold, said Exod. iv. r. he, they will not believe me, nor hearken to my voice; for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee: wherefore God furnished him with such a power of doing such things as should assure the truth of his message; the effect whereof is thus expressed; Israel saw that great work, which Exod. iv. 5, the Lord did upon the Egyptians; and the people Deut.iv.34. N 3 31. xiv. 31. v. 15.vii.19. iv. 35, 39. 9. XX. Neh. ix. 15. SERM. feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses: to the promulgation of the law, and establishment of that particular covenant with the Israelites, God did also exhibit significations of his presence in a most evident and affecting manner: Exod. xix. Lo, said God to Moses, expressing that matter and Neh. ix. 13. its design, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And in the whole conduct of that people toward Canaan, God for those ends vouchsafed by Moses to perform very great and prodigious things; which we may see reckoned up Ps. lxxviii. in the 78th and 105th Psalms, and in the 9th of 14. CV: 39: Nehemiah. So also when God employed Elias to sustain the remainders of decayed piety in Israel against the countenance of power given to wickedness, and against the stream of popular use, he endued him with a liberal measure of his Spirit, and a power of doing great miracles: the like may be observed of all the prophets, judges, and princes, who upon special occasions were raised to perform considerable services for the glory of God and the good of his people. This therefore being God's constant practice, it cannot but be well supposed, that in this case he would not withhold his attestation, but would afford it in a most plentiful measure to that person who was in dignity so far to excel all other his envoys and agents; whose undertaking should in importance so vastly transcend all others, that ever were set on foot in the world; to him, who was to free, not one small people only, but all mankind, not from a temporal slavery in Egypt, but from eternal misery in hell; to promulge, not a pedagogy of ritual observances, but a law of spiritual |