devil to be his, might do any thing within the power of nature, or by permission might do much more; yet, besides that this was of an uncertain and less credible report, if it had been true, it was also infinitely short of what Christ did, and was a weak, silly imitation, and usurping of the argument, which had already prevailed upon the persuasions of men, beyond all possibility of confutation. And for that of Adrian, to have reported it is enough to make it ridiculous; and it had been a strange power to have cured two blind persons, and yet be so unable to help himself, as to attempt to kill himself, by reason of anguish, impatience, and despair. 9. Fifthly: When the Jews and Pharisees believed not Christ for his miracles, and yet perpetually called for a sign, he refused to give them a sign, which might be less than their prejudice, or the persuasions of their interest; but gave them one, which alone is greater than all the miracles which ever were done, or said to be done, by any antichrist, or the enemies of the religion put all together; a miracle which could have no suspicion of imposture; a miracle without instance, or precedent, or imitation: and that is, Jesus's lying in the grave three days and three nights, and then rising again, and appearing to many, and conversing for forty days together; giving probation of his rising, of the verity of his body; making a glorious promise, which at Pentecost was verified, and speaking such things, which became precepts and parts of the law for ever after. 10. Sixthly: I add two things more to this consideration. First, that the apostles did such miracles, which were infinitely greater than the pretensions of any adversary, and inimitable by all the powers of man or darkness. They raised the dead, they cured all diseases by their very shadow passing by, and by the touch of garments; they converted nations, they foretold future events, they themselves spake with tongues, and they gave the Holy Ghost by imposition of hands, which enabled others to speak languages, which immediately before they understood not, and to cure diseases, and to eject devils. Now, supposing miracles to be done by Gentile philosophers and magicians after; yet when they fall short of these in power, and yet teach a contrary doctrine, it is a demonstration that it is a lesser power, and, therefore, the doctrine not of Divine authority and sanction. And it is remarkable, that, among all the Gentiles, none ever reasonably pretended to a power of casting out devils. For the devils could not get so much by it, as things then stood: and besides, in whose name should they do it, who worshipped none but devils and false gods? which is too violent presumption, that the devil was the architect in all such buildings. And when the seven sons of Sceva', who was a Jew, (amongst whom it was sometimes granted to cure demoniacs,) offered to exorcise a possessed person, the devil would by no means endure it, but beat them for their pains. And yet, because it might have been for his purpose to have enervated the reputation of St. Paul, and, by a voluntary cession, equalled St. Paul's enemies to him, either the devil could not go out but at the command of a Christian, or else to have gone out would have been a disservice and ruin to his kingdom: either of which declares, that the power of casting out devils is a testimony of God, and a probation of the divinity of a doctrine, and a proper argument of Christianity. 11. Seventhly: But, besides this, I consider, that the holy Jesus, having first possessed, upon just title, all the reasonableness of human understanding by his demonstration of a miraculous power, in his infinite wisdom knew that the devil would attempt to gain a party by the same instrument, and therefore so ordered it, that the miracles which should be done, or pretended to, by the devil, or any of the enemies of the cross of Christ, should be a confirmation of Christianity, not do it disservice; for he foretold that antichrist and other enemies "should come in prodigies, and lying wonders and signs." Concerning which, although it may be disputed whether they were truly miracles, or mere deceptions and magical pretences; yet, because they were such which the people could not discern from miracles really such, therefore it is all one, and in this consideration are to be supposed such: but, certainly, he that could foretell such a future contingency, or such a secret of predestination, was able also to know from what principle it came; and we have the same reason to believe that antichrist shall do miracles to evil purposes, as that he shall do any at all; he that foretold ! Acts, xix. us of the man, foretold us also of the imposture, and commanded us not to trust him. And it had been more likely for antichrist to prevail upon Christians by doing no miracles, than by doing any: for if he had done none, he might have escaped without discovery; but by doing miracles, as he verified the wisdom and prescience of Jesus, so he declared to all the church that he was the enemy of their Lord, and therefore less likely to deceive for which reason it is said, that "he shall deceive, if it were possible, the very elect;" that is therefore not possible, because that by which he insinuates himself to others, is by the elect, the church, and chosen of God, understood to be his sign and mark of discovery, and a warning. And, therefore, as the prophecies of Jesus were an infinite verification of his miracles, so also this prophecy of Christ concerning antichrist disgraces the reputation and faith of the miracles he shall act. The old prophets foretold of the Messias, and of his miracles of power and mercy, to prepare for his reception and entertainment: Christ alone, and his apostles from him, foretold of antichrist, and that he should come in all miracles of deception and lying; that is, with true or false miracles to persuade a lie: and this was to prejudice his being accepted, according to the law of Moses. So that, as all that spake of Christ, bade us believe him for the miracles; so all that foretold of antichrist, bade us disbelieve him the rather for his and the reason of both is the same, because the mighty and "surer word of prophecy," as St. Peter calls it, being the greatest testimony in the world of a Divine principle, gives authority, or reprobates, with the same power. They who are the predestinate of God, and they that are the præsciti, the foreknown and marked people, must needs stand or fall to the Divine sentence; and such must this be acknowledged: for no enemy of the cross, not the devil himself, ever foretold such a contingency, or so rare, so personal, so voluntary, so unnatural an event, as this of the great antichrist. : 12. And thus the holy Jesus, having showed forth the treasures of his Father's wisdom, in revelations and holy precepts, and, upon the stock of his Father's greatness, having dispended and demonstrated great power in miracles, m Deut. xiii. 1, 2, 3. and these being instanced in acts of mercy, he mingled the glories of heaven to transmit them to earth, to raise us up to the participations of heaven: he was pleased, by healing the bodies of infirm persons, to invite their spirits to his discipline, and by his power to convey healing, and by that mercy, to lead us into the treasures of revelation; that both bodies and souls, our wills and understandings, by Divine instruments, might be brought to Divine perfections in the participations of a Divine nature. It was a miraculous mercy that God should look upon us in our blood, and a miraculous condescension that his Son should take our nature; and even this favour we could not believe without many miracles: and so contrary was our condition to all possibilities of happiness, that if salvation had not marched to us all the way in miracle, we had perished in the ruins of a sad eternity. And now it would be but reasonable, that, since God, for our sakes, hath rescinded so many laws of natural establishment, we also, for his, and for our own, would be content to do violence to those natural inclinations, which are also criminal when they derive into action. Every man living in the state of grace is a perpetual miracle, and his passions are made reasonable, as his reason is turned to faith, and his soul to spirit, and his body to a temple, and earth to heaven; and less than this will not dispose us to such glories, which, being the portion of saints and angels, and the nearest communications with God, are infinitely above what we see, or hear, or understand. THE PRAYER. O eternal Jesu, who didst receive great power, that by it thou mightest convey thy Father's mercies to us, impotent and wretched people; give me grace to believe that heavenly doctrine, which thou didst ratify with arguments from above, that I may fully assent to all those mysterious truths which integrate that doctrine and discipline, in which the obligations of my duty, and the hopes of my felicity, are deposited. And to all those glorious verifications of thy goodness and thy power add also this miracle, that I, who am stained with leprosy of sin, may be cleansed, and my eyes may be opened, that I may see the wondrous things of thy law; and raise thou me up from the death of sin to the life of righteousness, that I may for ever walk in the land of the living, abhorring the works of death and darkness that as I am, by thy miraculous mercy, partaker of the first, so also I may be accounted worthy of the second resurrection; and as by faith, hope, charity, and obedience, I receive the fruit of thy miracles in this life, so, in the other, I may partake of thy glories, which is a mercy above all miracles. Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. Lord, I believe; help mine unbelief: and grant that no indisposition or incapacity of mine may hinder the wonderful operations of thy grace; but let it be thy first miracle to turn my water into wine, my barrenness into fruitfulness, my aversations from thee into unions and intimate adhesions to thy infinity, which is the fountain of mercy and power. Grant this for thy mercy's sake, and for the honour of those glorious attributes, in which thou hast revealed thyself and thy Father's excellencies to the world, O holy and eternal Jesu. Amen. END OF THE SECOND PART. "ΑΓΙΟΣ ΙΣΧΥΡΟΣ. |