THE

Reasonableness and Certainty

OF THE

Christian Religion.

PART II.

F

ROM what has been already Difcourfed, it appears, that these things are requifite in a Divine Revelation: I. Antiquity. II. Promulgation. III. A sufficient Evidence, by Prophecies and Miracles, in Proof of its Authority. IV. The DoAtrines delivered by Divine Revelation must be Righteous and Holy, confiftent with the Divine Attributes, and futable to their Condition to whom it is made, and every way fuch as may anfwer the Design of a Reve

lation.

СНАР.

CHAP. I.

The Antiquity of the Scriptures.

A

S it is evident from the Divine Attributes, that God would not fo wholly neglect Mankind, as to take no care to discover and reveal his Will and Commandments to the World; fo, when there was fo great a neceffity of Divine Revelation, in order to the Happiness of Mankind, both in this World and the next, it is not to be believed that he would deferr it so long, before he made known his Will, as till the date of the first Antiquities amongst the Heathen. It cannot be denied, that fome Books of the Scripture are much the ancientest Books of Religion in the World; for it were in vain to pretend that the Works in this kind ( or indeed in any other) of any Heathen Author can be compared with the Pentateuch, for Antiquity. And the Antiquity of these Books is one confiderable circumftance, whereby we may be convinced that they are of Divine Revelation. For if God would not fuffer the World to continue long in a state of Ignorance and Wickedness without a Revelation, we may conclude, that he would not fuffer the Memory of it to be loft; and therefore a Book of this nature, which is so much

the

the ancienteft in the World, being conftantly received as a Divine Revelation, carries great Evidence with it that it is Authentick. For the first Revelation, as hath been proved, is to be the Criterion of all that follow; and God would not fuffer the ancientest Book of Religion in the World to pafs all along under the Notion and Title of a Revelation, without caufing fome Discovery to be made of the Impofture, if there were any in it; much lefs would he preferve it by a particular and fignal Providence, for fo many Ages. It is a great Argument for the Truth of the Scriptures, that they have ftood the Teft, and received the Approbation of fo many Ages, and ftill retain their Authority, though fo many ill Men, in all Ages, have made it their endeavour to difprove them but it is ftill a further Evidence in behalf of them that God has been pleased to fhew fo remarkable a Providence, in their preferva tion..

The Account we have of Divine Revelation, in the Writings of Mofes, is from the Creation of the World; for he relates the Inter. courfe which from the Beginning paft between God and Man, and this might be delivered down either by Writing or by Tradition, till Mofes's time. For Methuselah living with Adam, and Shem with Methuselah, Ifaac with Shem, and Amram the Father of Mofes living with the Patriarchs, the Sons of Jacob,

E

the

the Hiftory of the Creation, and of the Manifestations which God had been pleas'd to make of himself to their Fore-fathers, could not be unknown to that Age: fuch a Pofterity could not but be zealous to preserve the Memory of fo great Honours and Bleffings; and their living in Goshen, feparate from the Egyptians, did much contribute to the prefervation of their Antiquities; for there they lived in expectation of a Deliverance, and of feeing the Prophecies fulfilled that were made to their Fore-fathers concerning it. The famous Prediction made to Abraham, Gen. xv. 13. could not be forgotten in fo few Generations: for the coming out of Egypt, was, as it was there foretold it fhould be, in the Fourth Generation, reckoning from Ifaac, the first of the promised Seed, to Mofes, exclufively, Exod. vi. 16.

Mofes feems to referr to fome things that happened near the Beginning of the World, as well known in his own time, as Gen. iv. 22. where he fays, the fifter of Tubal-Cain was Naamah For no probable account can be given, why Naamah fhould be mention'd, but becaufe her Name was then well known among the Ifraelites, for fome reason which it doth not concern us to be acquainted with, but which ferved to confirm to them the reft of the Relation. Some have delivered, that Naamah, by her Beauty, enticed the Sons of God, or the Pofterity of Seth, to commit

Idolatry,