instead of an ordinary magistratical power, which Chriftians were deftitute of whilst the Roman empire conti nued Heathen): I fay, befides the particular ends and ufes of all these miraculous gifts, they did all in general, as they were miracles, ferve for the confirmation of the gofpel. The Apostles delivered the doctrine of Chrift, and were witneffes of his refurrection from the dead, as the great miracle whereby his doctrine was confirmed. Now, there was all the reafon in the world to believe them, to whom God was pleased to give fuch a teftimony from heaven; for who could make any doubt of the truth of their teftimony concerning the refurrection of Chrift, who were enabled to raise others from the dead, and, by many other wonderful things which they did, gave such clear teftimony that God was with them? Never had any religion fewer worldly advantages to recommend it, and fo little temporal countenance and affistance to carry it on: but what it wanted from men, it had from God; for he gave witnefs to it with figns, and wonders, and divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghoft. God feems on purpose to have tripped it of all fecular advantages, that the Chriftian religion might be perfectly free from all fufpicion of worldly intereft and defign, and that it might not owe its eftablishment in the world to the wifdom and contrivance of men, but to the arm and power of God. The inferences I fhall at prefent make from this difCourse shall be thefe: 1. To give us fatisfaction of the truth and divinity of the doctrine of the Christian religion, which hath had fo eminent a confirmation given to it from heaven, and did at its first fetting ont fo ftrangely prevail in the world, against all human probability; not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord. No man can well fuppofe a religion in circumftances of greater disadvantage, and upon all human accounts more unlikely to fuftain and bear up itself than the Chriftian religion was. The firft appearance of it was fo mean, and its beginnings fo fmall, that no man but would have thought it would presently have come to nothing and no other account can be given of the strange A a 3 fuccefs fuccefs and prevalency of it, but that it was of God, and therefore it could not be overthrown. 2. This discourse may likewife fatisfy us of the reason why this miraculous power, which accompanied the gofpel at firft, is now ceafed; because there is not the like reafon and neceffity for it, which there was at first. It was highly neceffary then, to introduce the Chriftian religion into the world, and to be a fenfible evidence to men of the divinity of that new doctrine which was preached to them. But now that the gospel is generally entertained, there is not the fame reafon why this miraculous power should still be continued. Acquifito fine, ceffant media ad finem; "When the end is "once obtained, the means ceafe;" and the wife God, who is never wanting in what is neceffary, does not use to be lavish in that which is fuperfluous. Now that the Christian religion hath got firm footing in the world, God leaves it to be propagated and advanced by its own rational force upon the minds of men: now that the prejudices of education in a contrary religion are removed, and the powers of the world are reconciled to Christianity, there is no need of fuch violent and extraordinary means for the continuance of it: now that it ftands upon equal advantages with other religions, God hath left it to be carried on in more human and ordinary ways, and fuch as are more level and accommodate to the nature of man. That miracles are long fince ceafed, is acknowledged by the fathers who lived an age or two after the ceafing of them; particularly by St. Chryfoftom, who gives the fame reafon for it that I have juft now affigned. But the church of Rome would ftill bear us in hand, that this miraculous power does ftill continue in their church, and, according to Bellarmine, muft always continue; because he makes it an infeparable property and mark of the true church. But we pretend to no fuch power: nor have we any reafon fo to do; becaufe all the doctrines of our religion are the ancient doctrines of Chriftianity, delivered by our Saviour, and by his Apoftles published to the world; and these are fufficiently confirmed already, by the mi racles racles which our Saviour and his Apoftles wrought in the primitive times of Christianity. But the church of Rome hath great occafion and need of new miracles, to confirm their new doctrines: and therefore, as they have reafon, they usually apply them to the confirmation of their new doctrines; fome to confirm purgatory, and to give countenance to indulgences; others to encourage the worship of the bleffed virgin and the faints; others to confirm that which all the miracles in the world are not fufficient to confirm, I mean the doctrine of transubftantiation; which, because it overthrows the certainty of fenfe, is in the nature of it peculiarly incapable of being confirmed by a miracle. 3. and laftly, The confideration of what has been faid, does juftly upbraid us, that this religion, which was fo powerful at first, and hath fuch characters of divinity upon it, coming down to us confirmed by fo many miracles, fhould yet have fo little effect upon most of us who call ourselves Chriftians. We have all the advantages of the Chriftian religion, having been educated and brought up in it; and yet it hath lefs effect upon us, than it had upon thofe whose minds were prejudiced, and whofe manners were depraved, by the principles of a falfe religion: for those who were reduced from Paganifm to Christianity, did on the fudden become better men; and were more holy and virtuous in their lives, than the greatest part of us, who have been inftructed and trained up all our lives in the do&trine of Christianity. The true reafon of which is, that many of us are Chriftians upon the fame account that they were at first Heathens; because it was the religion of their country, and they were born and bred up in it. But Chriftianity was the religion of their choice; and there were no motives to perfuade them to the profeffion of that religion, but what were as powerful to oblige them to the practice of it. Let us alfo be Christians, not only by custom, but by choice; and then we shall live according to our religion. He that takes up a religion for any other reason than to obey and practise it, does not chufe a religion, but only counterfeits the choice of it. We have, beyond comparifon, comparison, the best and most reafonable religion in the world; a religion that hath the greatest evidence of its truth, that contains the best precepts, and gives men the greatest affurance of a future happiness, and directs them to the fureft way of attaining it. Now, the better our religion is, the worse are we if we be not made good by it. The philofophy of the Heathen made fome virtuous; and there were many eminent faints under the imperfection of the Jewish institution. What degrees then of holiness and virtue may be expected from us, upon whom the glorious light of the gofpel fhineth fo brightly! I will conclude all with the words of the Apostle, Heb. ii. 1. 2. 3. 4. Therefore we ought to give the more earneft heed to the things which we have heard, left at any time we should let them flip. For if the word Spoken by angels was ftedfaft, and every tranfgreffion and difobedience received a juft recompence of reward; how shall we escape if we neglect fo great falvation, which at the first began to be Spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with figns, and wonders, and divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghoft, according to his own will? SERM MON LXXV. The nature, office, and employment of good angels. Preached on the feaft of St. Michael. HE B. i. 14. Are they not all miniftring fpirits, fent forth to minister for them who fhall be heirs of falvation? T His is fpoken of good angels; whofe existence, as well as that of evil fpirits, the fcriptures both of the Old and New Teftament do every where take for granted, no lefs than they do the being of God, and the the immortality of the foul. And well they may, fince they are all founded upon the general confent of all ages, derived down to us from the firit fpring and original of mankind; of which general confent and tradition, it is one of the hardest things in the world to affign any good reafon, if the things themselves were not true. Therefore I shall not go about to force my way into this argument concerning the exiftence of fpirits, and beings diftinct from matter, by dint of difpute, (which perhaps would neither be fo proper, nor fo profitable for this affembly), but fhall take the thing as I find it received by a general confent of mankind. And fo the books of di vine revelation do; nor was there reafon to proceed in any other method, than to fuppofe these things, and take them for granted, as generally affcnted to by mankind, without either afferting them for new difcoveries, or attempting to prove what was fo univerfally believed. The fcriptures indeed have more particularly declared the nature of these spirits, as alfo their order and employment; as in the words which I have read to you, where the office and employment of good angels is more particularly difcovered: Are they not all (fays the text) miniftring fpirits, fent forth to minifter for them who fhall be beirs of Jalvation? The author of this epiftle to the Hebrews having had occafion, in comparing the two difpenfations of the law and the gofpel, to fpeak of the angels, by whofe miniftry the law was given, did not think fit to entertain thofe to whom he wrote, with any nice and curious fpeculations (for fchool-divinity was not then in fashion) about the nature and order of angels; but tells us what it concerns us more to know, namely, what their office and employment is in regard to us. Concerning their nature, he only tells us, that they are fpirits; as to their office and employment, he fays in general that they are miniftring fpirits; that is, that they ftand before God to attend upon him, ready to receive his commands, and to execute his pleafure: more particularly, that they are upon occafion appointed and fent forth by God to minifter on the behalf, and to do good offices for them that hall be heirs of falvation. Which laft words are a defcription of pious and good men, fuch as had fincerely embraced |