Jesus and the Resurrection Justified by Witnesses in Heaven and Earth, Part 1 · Chapter 2

Jesus and the Resurrection Justified by Witnesses in Heaven and Earth · Part 1 · Chapter 2

p. 25CHAP. II. Concerning the Witneſſes in general, and the Teſtimony of the FATHER in particular.

IF any man urge us to receive a thing which is new and ſtrange, we either turn away our ears, if we take him for a frivolous perſon, or elſe require him to ſhow us good evidence for what he ſays, if he ſeem to be wiſe and ſerious. And the more importunate he is to be believed, the more earneſt we are to know what he hath to ſhow for himſelf, and to call for his proofs: in which if he fail or they come not home to the purpoſe, he is ſo far from gaining any credit with thoſe who examine them, that they prove a very conſiderable argument againſt him. Eſpecially when he pretends to come from God, and p. 26to bring us meſſages from Heaven, we all expect the clearer and diviner demonſtrations, before we can reſign our mind unto him. For that which is to make all things credible, muſt have very pregnant Reaſons accompanying it to win credit to it ſelf. If that which ſtands as a reaſon for all that a man ſays, be not it ſelf grounded upon the cleareſt and moſt undeniable, it turns againſt him and proves nothing but a confutation of all that it was brought to aſſert.

Now Jeſus pretending not only to this honour of coming from God (which is a ſufficient Argument for any thing that he ſays in his Name) but alſo to an higher Dignity of being his Son; and ſo of being privy to all his ſecrets, of lying in his very boſom, and being inveſted with a power equal to the Almighties; if He and his Apoſtles (who affirmed the ſame of him, after he was put to death, and that as a Malefactor) ſhould be defective in their proofs of ſo lofty and weighty a pretenſion, He would be rendred of all other the moſt contemptible, and they become men moſt ridiculous, for obtruding him on the world in ſuch a quality, upon ſlight or no demonſtrations. For the greater and more p. 27concerning any Aſſertion is, which we propound to mens belief, the ſtronger and more plentiful Arguments they juſtly expect to induce a perſwaſion. Which if they be wanting, it is ſo far from being a fault not to ſurrender their Souls to that propoſition; that it is a vertue to refuſe admittance, and they could not excuſe themſelves from a great guilt, ſhould they be ſo eaſie as to let it find entertainment. Nay, it is a commendable piece of caution and warineſs, to ſuſpend our belief in a matter of very great importance, though there be ſome conſiderable proofs offered; if they be not proportionable to the weight of the thing, unto which we are to deliver up no leſs than our Souls.

Let us ſee therefore what evidence this Follower and Favourite (as I may call him) of Jeſus produces and lays before us, to make good this, which he preached for a certain truth; that He is no leſs than the Son of God. Let us hear what his Witneſſes ſay, for ſo he calls his proofs, to this great point; and conſider whether they ſpeak ſo home to it, that we cannot reaſonably refuſe to believe it. The office of a witneſs is to give in all the evidence he can for the clearing of any matter in queſtion; p. 28for this very end, that there by the controverſie may be decided upon his credit. When the Apoſtle therefore calls for his Witneſſes, who are ready he ſaith to juſtifie this which he aſſerts, if any body make a doubt of it, or be not well ſetled in this belief; his meaning is, that it relies upon ſuch ſolid grounds, that no man ſhall be able to deny Jeſus to be the only begotten of the Father, the Chriſt of God; unleſs he can diſprove the Authority of his witneſſes, which he was ſure would never be in any mans power to do, they were of ſuch known verity. If this be called in queſtion, whether Jeſus be the Son of God or no, if any liſt to bring it to trial, and examine it before the bar of impartial Reaſon; S. John here offers his witneſſes, faithful and juſt, of undoubted Truth and Integrity, who ſhall make it good: So that if you will hear them, and conſider what they ſay, and then give ſentence according to their evidence, you muſt needs judge that he is what he ſaid he was, The Son of God moſt high; and quit him in your Conſciences of all the calumnies & aſperſions of the Jews, who ſaid he was a deceiver of the people.

Now the witneſſes that he brings, you p. 29ſee, dwell in two very diſtant places; three of them in the Heavens, and the other three in the Earth. From theſe two ſeveral regions they give their Teſtimony; the former from above, the later here beneath. For when the Apoſtle ſays that there are three, foreign, teſtifying or bearing witneſs in the Heaven, and as many that do the ſame, foreign, on the Earth; the meaning is not that the Firſt three gave their teſtimony to thoſe that are in Heaven, and the laſt three to thoſe that are on Earth: but that the Firſt three witneſſes are themſelves in Heaven, and the other three were on Earth, and ſo from thence they gave their teſtimony to Jeſus. They that dwell in Heaven delivered their teſtimony and juſtified this Truth from above, and the other reſiding on the Earth did there ſpeak to it, and make it good. Let us firſt hear theſe ſupreme and Heavenly witneſſes, and take under examination what they declare concerning him whom we acknowledge for our Lord, and what Authority he hath, according to their teſtimony, to exact all obedience of us, as he is the Son of God. And firſt of all let us begin with the witneſs of the FATHER: for the truth is, that as he is the Firſt, and the Beginning p. 30of all things, ſo he did firſt teſtifie of Jeſus; and by his voice from Heaven proclaimed him to be his Son, before He, or any elſe was ſo bold as to affirm it. And as he being the Firſt, did bear witneſs to him, before any of the reſt ſpoke a word; ſo, according to the number of theſe Heavenly witneſſes, He gave his Teſtimony of him three times.

I.

The first time was when our Saviour began to appear publickly among the people; coming out of his privacy, from Nazareth of Galilee to be baptized of John in Jordan. Matt. 3.13. Mark 1.9.Matt 3:13Mark 1:9He had no need indeed of that Baptiſm, as John affirmed and our Saviour did not deny: but as became one who had put himſelf into the ſtate of our meanneſs, and appeared in our ſinful fleſh, he would omit nothing that belonged to the duty of a pious perſon. And therefore he would have the Baptiſt do to him as he did to others, knowing that he exerciſed this Miniſtry by the appointment of God; whoſe inſtitutions ought to be reverenced, and to whoſe will all good men ought to conform themſelves. Now he had no ſooner given this example of humble obedience, p. 31but as he came out of the Water, God the Father of Heaven declared him in expreſs terms to be what S. John here ſays he was, his only Son. Which teſtimony of his is recorded by no leſs than three Evangeliſts, as you may find if you read iii. Matth. 17. i. Mark 11. iii. Luke. 22. who tells us that he ſaw the Heavens at that time, opened to him, and a Divine Glory come from thence and ſettle upon him, which was followed with a voice from Heaven, ſaying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleaſed. So S. Matthew reports the words of God the FATHER (from whom this voice came, it is plain, becauſe he calls Jeſus his Son) or as they may be rendred more emphatically, This is that Son of mine, that beloved one (whom the Prophets promiſed, particularly xlii. Iſaiah 1. God would ſend to them, as Tertullian well expounds it) who is moſt dear to me, and ſhall declare my whole will and pleaſure. There is a mark ſet before it, foreign, lo, or behold; that we may all attend and liſten diligently to this voice: for now the word of God came to him (as he ſpeaks in another place, I told you, concerning thoſe who were called Gods under the old Law, x. John 35.) and in an audible manner authorized him, to begin p. 32to act as the Chriſt of God, whom He had anointed, as you ſhall hear, with the Holy Ghoſt, juſt at this moment, when He declared him his Son, by this voice from Heaven.

Which, if you carefully obſerve it, is expreſſed by the other Evangeliſts in ſuch a manner, that we may underſtand it was directed to himſelf; as that commiſſion which was ſent him from Heaven, to give him power to exerciſe the office of Gods ſupreme and only Miniſter in this world; in whom alone he was well pleaſed, and in none elſe, but by him. For S. Mark ſays the voice was in theſe words, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleaſed. Which plainly tell us that he ſpake to Jeſus (and not merely of him) that he might be confident He was the perſon whom God had now ſanctified and ſent into the world. And ſo S. Luke hath recorded it more fully and expreſly, Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleaſed. As if he had ſaid, Thou art the perſon to whom I have a favour above all others. I have anointed thee above all thy fellows: none that have had this name, are ſo dear to me as thou art; to whom I commit my authority, and inveſt with my power, and p. 33intruſt with all my mind and will.

Now becauſe we all ſuſpect private Revelations, and think it no ſufficient ground to believe one that ſays God ſpake to him, unleſs he can bring ſome other very credible perſon beſides himſelf to atteſt that he alſo heard it, or be able otherways to demonſtrate it; God was pleaſed therefore, not only by other means to verifie this, but ſo to direct S. Matthew's pen, that he hath as good as told us, that the voice which was directed to Jeſus himſelf (telling him he was his Son) was uttered likewiſe in the audience of John Baptiſt, a perſon famed for his ſanctity, reverenced by all the Nation of the Jews, and acknowledged to be a Prophet. Though it was delivered I believe in thoſe words and ſyllables wherein S. Mark or S. Luke have ſet it down, for as the Heavens were opened unto him (iii. Matth. 16.) and he ſaw the Spirit deſcending, ſo the voice which accompanied it, ſpake in all likelihood unto him; yet it being heard alſo by John, who had baptiſed him, and who ſaw all that went before it as he himſelf declared, it was as if God had ſaid to him, This is my beloved Son, &c. and therefore ſo S. Matthew relates it. The p. 34Father Almighty by this voice awakened the attention of the Baptiſt, and bade him, as it were, mark it, that this perſon to whom he now ſpake was the Meſſiah; who now entred upon his office, being declared the Son of God, and ſhould increaſe and grow (as he preſently after diſcerned, iii. John 30.) till he came to be declared by the Reſurrection from the dead, the Son of God with power (as S. Paul ſpeaks, i. Rom. 4.) that is, with all the power belonging to his office, of Lord of all things, the great King of Heaven and Earth.

Till this time he knew no more of the Chriſt, but that he was coming, God having ordered him to make way for him; and that he ſhould immediately appear, and be ſo much ſuperior to him (iii. Matth. 11.) that he ſhould not be worthy to be one of his meaneſt ſervants: His countenance he was not acquainted withall, nor could he ſay, this is the perſon, when he met with him, as he himſelf confeſſes, i. John 31. But thus much he was told by him that ſent him to Baptize, as he there declares, ver. 33. that on whom he ſhould ſee the Spirit deſcend and remain, he ſhould conclude that perſon was the Meſſiah, p. 35from whom they might expect the gift of the Holy Ghoſt, which had been ſo long a ſtranger to their Nation. And accordingly, having ſome intimation of him from the Spirit, as ſoon as Jeſus offered himſelf to receive his Baptiſm (iii. Matth. 14.) immediately after he was confirmed in his belief that this was the Chriſt, by the fulfilling of the former ſign (i. John 32.) And thereupon publiſhes it openly to all in theſe words, ver. 34. I ſaw and bare record (i. e. gave my teſtimony of him) that this is the Son of God. So God himſelf taught him to call our Saviour; for it ſhould ſeem by the words of S. Matthew, that he had this further ground to believe it, and ſo was furniſhed with greater ability to teſtifie it; that he heard the voice from Heaven as well as ſaw the Spirit deſcend upon him. Though the Father ſpake the words to Jeſus, yet it was in the preſence and hearing of this perſon (who was ſent from God to be his witneſs, i. John 6, 7.) and as if he had ſaid to him, This is my beloved Son; mind what I ſay; go and teſtifie that this is He in whom I delight above all others. Thou mayeſt be ſure of it, for I tell thee ſo, who gave thee all the Authority thou haſt. And accordingly you read that he went and did his office, p. 36for which he was ſent; that is, He bare witneſs of him, and cried, ſaying, This was he of whom I ſpake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me; for he was before me, 1. John 15. which he repeats in the ſame Chapter as his record (ver. 19.) in behalf of our Saviour, on two other occaſions, ver. 27. and 30. to let them know that the perſon of whom he gave this teſtimony before he was baptiſed of him, was now come, and exalted to a far higher dignity than himſelf, being a more mighty perſon, as the reſt of the Evangeliſts ſpeak, no leſs than the Son of God. This he means by being preferred before him, appointed by the Father of all to an incomparably more excellent office which he entred upon after the preaching and baptiſm of John; who began indeed his Miniſtry before Jeſus, but it was not becauſe he was greater, but rather becauſe he was leſs, and came to prepare his way, who was, as he acknowledges, foreign, the firſt of the two; not only in regard of his Divine Nature, but in regard of his ſublime office, into which he was now put, by being pronounced, the beloved Son of God, by this voice from Heaven.

Which the Devil himſelf, one would think heard, and underſtood to be ſuch a teſtimony concerning Jeſus, as committed p. 37the greateſt Miniſtry to him, and was a Divine warrant to go in Gods name to the world, as Moſes, after the Angel ſpake to him out of the buſh, did to the Jews. And therefore when immediately after this our Saviour was led by the Spirit into the wilderneſs, the Devil would have had him give ſome proof of his Divine power, as Moſes did, or rather ſhow himſelf, by a greater evidence than Moſes gave, to be greater than he: that he might be ſatisfied Jeſus was no leſs than the voice declared him, the Son of God. So you read iv. Matth. 3. that the firſt thing he ſaid to him was, If thou be the Son of God, command that theſe stones be made bread. As much as to ſay, Thou art now in a ſtarving condition (for he had taken no proviſion with him into the wilderneſs, reſolving to depend on that God who had expreſſed ſuch love to him, as to own him for his Son) here is a fit opportunity for thee to exerciſe thy power, if thou haſt any, by bidding theſe ſtones turn into loaves, which will be a greater wonder than Moſes his bringing Manna out of the clouds, and ſhow indeed that thou art God's Son. To which our Saviour anſwers, as you read in the next Verſe, out of Moſes himſelf (viii. Deut. 3.) and tells p. 38him he might learn from that ſtory of the Manna, there was no need he ſhould imploy his power, which God had committed to him, on this faſhion; for as the Iſraelites were maintained in the wilderneſs after a miraculous manner, ſo might He: who would prove himſelf to be his Son, not this way by turning ſtones into bread, but by truſting in God, and leaving him to provide for him as he thought good. That's his meaning when he ſays, Man ſhall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. And ſo in the following temptations he ſtill held to this, that he was ſufficiently ſatisfied he was God's Son, and would not demand any farther proof of it, but ſuch as he himſelf would give, who at laſt, ver. 11. ordered the Angels to go and miniſter unto him. To carry him food, it is like, and congratulate this his firſt victory over the enemy of mankind. Who was not ſo dull, but he learnt by this and many other things afterward, wherein he felt his power, that this voice from Heaven was no vain rumour, no empty inſignificant ſound, but a true report of the very mind of Almighty God: which he himſelf was forced to proclaim as loudly as any body elſe.

p. 39For you find him, not long after this, with a whole Legion of his companions, acknowledging Jeſus to be the Son of God moſt high, and with humble proſtrations worſhipping him, whom he had the confidence before to perſwade to worſhip himſelf; crying with a loud voice for Gods ſake that he would not torment him, v. Mark 6, 7, 8. viii. Luke 28. Nay, he was ſenſible, one would think, of this as ſoon as ever that temptation was ended. For you read that immediately after it, Jeſus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, iv. Luke 14. and there at Capernaum met with a man that had a ſpirit of an unclean Devil, who cried out with a loud voice, ſaying, I know thee who thou art, the holy one of God, ver. 34. which is thus interpreted, ver. 41. The Devils came out of many, crying out, and ſaying, Thou art Chriſt the Son of God: For they knew that he was Chriſt. But our Saviour would not be beholden to them for their ſuffrage; it was ſufficient that God had declared him his Son, and that John Baptiſt atteſted as much, and that the works which he did (particularly his diſpoſſeſſing them of their ſtrongeſt holds) bare witneſs of him. And therefore he impoſed ſilence on them, p. 40as the Evangeliſt there tells us; both becauſe they might by their loud acclamations to him, give the Phariſees occaſion to calumniate him, who were too forward to ſay he had confederacy with the Devil; and becauſe it was not fit this ſhould be publiſhed in ſo many words, no not by his Apoſtles (xvi. Matth. 20.) till after his Reſurrection and his Aſcenſion to the Throne of his glory, and the coming of the Holy Ghoſt; which demonſtrated he was completely made both Lord and Chriſt, as the Apoſtles then openly declared, ii. Acts 36.

But till then it ſeems to have been the work of the Father alone or principally to bear witneſs of him: for John Baptiſt was his voice crying in the wilderneſs, and the works our Saviour did were thoſe which his Father had given him to finiſh, and the Spirit was the Finger of God, which pointed men to him, as I may ſo ſpeak, and bid them receive him as his beloved Son in whom he was well pleaſed. And ſhall we not receive this for the greateſt Truth, when God himſelf ſays it? ſhall we not let him diſpoſe of our Faith? is not He the Truth? is it poſſible for him to falſifie or deceive? or do we imagine He cannot declare p. 41his mind, and ſpeak to us as we do one to another? He that formed the mouth, cannot He ſpeak? is his power leſs than ours? can we manifeſt what we would have and make it underſtood, and cannot He in the ſame manner make us know his will and pleaſure? If his expreſs teſtimony then be of any force, here you have it, by an audible voice from Heaven: And John the Baptiſt, whom the Jews, the Enemies of our Saviour, durſt not but reverence, bare record to him thereupon, that Jeſus is the Son of God.

Now if any one ſhould ſay that the certainty of this relies upon the teſtimony of one ſingle perſon, and that it is poſſible he might hear amiſs (though there be no colour for ſuch an objection, he being a Prophet, and acknowledged ſo to be by thoſe who did not acknowledge our Saviour, yet) that this great truth might not depend upon the credit of John Baptiſt alone, though a man well acquainted with the manner of Divine Revelations; the FATHER was pleaſed a ſecond time, and in the audience of more witneſſes than one, to declare again what he had ſaid before, that he was his Son.

p. 42II.

This was in the Holy Mount, as you may read in the xvii. Matth. 5. and in the two following Evangeliſts, ix. Mark 7. ix. Luke 35. where the Father of all was pleaſed to declare in the ſame terms, as he had done at his Baptiſm, and with an audible voice, which aſtoniſhed thoſe that heard it (xvii. Matth. 6.) That he was his beloved Son, in whom he was well pleaſed: to which Declaration he added this command, HEAR HIM. That is, be aſſured that what he ſays to you, is the Truth; and what I ſpeak to the world, it ſhall be by his mouth. Now this voice was uttered in the hearing of no leſs than three perſons, whom our Saviour had ſelected from the reſt of his company, to attend him unto this Mountain, where God appeared to bear witneſs to him. Of which three, this Diſciple S. John was one; who therefore might with the greater confidence urge here the Teſtimony of the Father, which he himſelf heard. And unleſs they to whom he writes this Epiſtle could find him falſe, and guilty of forgery in any other relation, they had no reaſon to call in queſtion his honeſty and faithfulneſs p. 43in this report: which is the more conſiderable, becauſe there were others who heard it as well as he, who might be appealed unto, and askt about it.

One of thoſe who were there preſent and heard it together with him, was S. Peter; a man timorous enough, and apt to deny a Truth, and therefore of no ſuch courage as to ſupport a Lye, with the danger of his life. Who writing to Chriſtian people, as S. John here doth, commends this voice to them as a ſure witneſs of that Truth, which he was ſhortly to ſeal with his Bloud; and profeſſes his own ſincerity in the relating of it. Read with attention 2 Pet. 1.14, 15, 16, 17, 18. where he tells them that our Lord having ſhown him he muſt ſhortly die (when it is no time to diſſemble with God or Man) he would endeavour to ſettle in their minds ſuch a ſolid ground of faith, that, when he was gone, they ſhould ſtand unſhaken, if they did but remember it: And that it was not a thing he had received by hear-ſay, much leſs a deviſed ſtory that had been forged in his own brain; but a matter of which he was an eye and ear-witneſs, of which he, and others alſo, had a certain, clear and perfect knowledge. p. 44For they ſaw then the glory wherein Jeſus was, and they heard the forenamed voice come from that excellent glory, which could be no other but the glory of the Father. Then, and there in that Mount, Jeſus received from the Father honour and glory, when there came forth from the mouth of God this voice, in all their hearing; This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleaſed.

Here it will be neceſſary to take notice, that the voice, as all of them relate it, was directed not to him, but to thoſe who were there preſent with him. None of them ſay, that it ſpake thus, THOU art my beloved Son, &c. (according as S. Mark and S. Lake report the former voice) but they unanimouſly tell us in theſe four places, which I have named, that it was delivered in the other form, THIS is my beloved Son, &c. As if He ſpake to the company that attended him, and bade them obſerve that here He owned this perſon to ſtand in ſuch a relation to him, as he and John Baptiſt had profeſſed. The former voice might come for his ſake; but there being no need of his further ſatisfaction, this was for theirs; that they might ſtedfaſtly believe, and that they might be p. 45competent witneſſes of him, and perſwade others to the belief of that, which upon their own certain knowledge they could affirm, was the very mind and will of God. I ſhall have occaſion hereafter to make a further enquiry into both theſe Teſtimonies which the Father gave to his Son Jeſus, and therefore I ſhall now diſmiſs them with ſome obſervations concerning this: which will much help to illuſtrate it, and add to the force of it.

The Firſt is, that our Saviour having at this time ſequeſtred himſelf, with three of his Apoſtles, into an high mountain to pray to God, was transfigured before them as he was praying (xvii. Matth. 2. ix. Luke 29.) ſo that his face did ſhine as the Sun, and his very garments were all gliſtering. foreign (as S. Greg. Nazianzen ſpeaks **Orat. 35. p. 575.)ſhowing before-hand what he was to be hereafter; and making an introduction to the glory in which he ſhould ſhine, in the high and holy place at the right hand of the Father, where he makes perpetual interceſſion for us. For to ſhine as the Sun is a phraſe expreſſing ſomething belonging to celeſtial Majeſty in the Kingdom of the Father, xiii. Matth. 43. The white and ſplendid garments p. 46alſo, it were eaſie to ſhow, were proper to Kings and thoſe who waited on them, iii. Revel. 4. The Miniſters and royal attendants in the Heavenly Court, were wont always to appear in ſuch radiant brightneſs; though ſhort of this wherein our Saviour now began to ſhine, as the King, ere long, of Heaven and Earth. For ſo S. John ſays, i. 14. We beheld his glory, as the glory of the only begotten of the Father. And S. Peter when he ſpeaks of this ſays, 2 i. 16. We were eye-witneſſes of his MAJESTY.

Of which, that they might be aſſured, this was a true repreſentation, you may obſerve, ſecondly, how they ſaw a very great Glory appear and approach towards them; called by S. Mark and S. Luke ſimply a Cloud, but by S. Matthew xvii. 5. a bright cloud: which had uſually been the token of the preſence of the Divine Majeſty. And therefore it is called by S. Peter in the place before named (ver. 17.) the excellent or magnificent glory: and the voice which came out of it, is ſaid (ver. 18.) to come from Heaven, becauſe it came forth from the preſence of God, of which this bright cloud was the viſible ſign. For ſo He appeared anciently to the Iſraelites, in a p. 47cloud that had a ſplendor or ſhining light in it, like to the hotteſt fire, which ſometimes brightly gliſtered and ſometimes was obſcured. So you read, xix. Exod. 18. that the LORD deſcended in fire upon the famous Mount Sinai, and a little after, xxiv. Exod. 16, 17. how the glory of the Lord dwelt upon that Mount, and the cloud covered it (i. e. the glory of the Lord) for the ſpace of ſix days: and then on the ſeventh day He called unto Moſes out of the midſt of that cloud: And the aſpect of the glory of the Lord was as fire that burnt or glowed with great ardency in the ſight of the children of Iſrael. That is, on the ſeventh day, that Glory was revealed and broke forth out of the cloud, wherein for ſix days it had been wrapped up and hidden from their ſight. And ſo you read in the xl. Chapter of that Book, that as ſoon as Moſes had reared up the Tabernacle for the conſtant habitation of this Divine preſence, the cloud covered it, and reſted upon it without, and the glory of the Lord filled it within (ver. 34, 35.) which is preſently after explained to be a fire, which by night appeared upon the Tabernacle to guide them in their journey. This is that bright flame, which frighted them when they murmured againſt Moſes, called the glory p. 48of the Lord appearing in the cloud (xvi. Exod. 7.10. and xvi. Numb. 42.) threatning to devour them if they were not more obedient. Such a glory, but more pure and more delightful to behold, there was now upon this Holy Mount, as S. Peter calls it: to make them apprehenſive that now they were in the preſence of God; who as he did on that Mount (to ſpeak in the words of Tertullian) initiate their forefathers in the Religion of Moſes, by ſhowing his glory and by his voice; ſo here on this **Agnoſce formam loci, &c. L. 4. adv. Marcionem, C. 22.was going in the ſame manner to give teſtimony to them concerning his Son Jeſus, and to confirm them in the belief of whatſoever he ſhould teach them.

For, thirdly, this was not Mut…. Nubes, as the ſame Tertullian there ſpeaks, a dumb cloud, a ſilent glory; but a voice came out of it, which was Novum Patris teſtimonium ſuper filio, the Fathers New teſtimony concerning his Son. In which teſtimony He was pleaſed to apply thoſe very words to Jeſus, which had been ſpoken by Moſes concerning a Prophet whom he had bid them look for after him. For in the xviii. of Deuteronomy he tells them from God himſelf (ver. 17.) that there ſhould be raiſed up to them a Prophet p. 49like unto him, into whoſe mouth (ver. 18.) the Lord would put his own words, and who ſhould ſpeak all that he ſhould command him; UNTO HIM SHALL YE HEARKEN, ver. 15. as much as to ſay, Be ſure you attend to his words, and give obedience to them. Now theſe very words and ſyllables HEAR HIM, are, by that God who made that promiſe to Moſes, ſpoken in this place to the Diſciples with a manifeſt application to Jeſus: clearly denoting him to be the perſon whom Moſes foretold the Lord their God would ſend, to declare his mind unto them, as he himſelf already had done. And that this was really the voice of God, as much as that voice which ſpake to Moſes, we have the greater reaſon to conclude from this following, which is the fourth, obſervation.

That Moſes now ſtood by and heard it: and from thence learnt a great deal more than he knew when he wrote his Book; that this perſon of whom he ſpoke was more than a Prophet: being the Son of Gods deareſt love. For theſe words which declared him ſo, were ſpoken there where he was preſent: who durſt not contradict them, as ſure he would have done, had he p. 50not known them to be the very voice of God and no deluſion.

I need not enlarge this; becauſe the Evangeliſts tell us ſo plainly, that not only He appeared in glory talking with our Saviour upon this Mountain, but Elias alſo accompanied him, which is next to be conſidered. Who being a great Prophet might pretend as fairly as any other man, to be the perſon deſigned by Moſes in the words forenamed; and yet conſented by his ſilence to the ſame undoubted Truth, that the prophecy of Moſes was not till now fufilled, but had its utmoſt completion in Jeſus. And indeed this voice from Heaven, making ſuch an open Proclamation concerning Jeſus, before him that gave the Law, and before the chiefeſt of the Prophets who had aſſerted it, and being heard by them with the profoundeſt ſilence, without any contradiction; it did as good as tell the Apoſtles that they might be aſſured this was He of whom the Law and the Prophets had ſpoken, whom they were now to give ear unto; and that the Law and the Prophets muſt from henceforth give way to an higher Revelation from God, by this Jeſus. If this had not been true, we cannot but think that this p. 51great Zealot Elias, who had been always ſo jealous for the Lord of hoſts, (1 Kings xix. 14.) and this truſty ſervant of God, Moſes, who was ſo faithful in all his houſe (xii. Num. 7.) would have preſently entred their proteſtation againſt it; and required the Apoſtles in the Name of God, to give heed only to their voice, but not to this. Which now might the rather be believed to come from Heaven, becauſe theſe inſpired perſons reverence it, and dare not venture in the leaſt to ſpeak againſt it; when they were highly concerned ſo to do, if it had not been the voice of God.

And if any one ſhall ask, how theſe Diſciples could tell that theſe two were Moſes and Elias, whom they never ſaw; I think Theophylact hath well reſolved it: that they knew them not by their faces, but by their diſcourſe. Certain it is that perſons living in far diſtant Countries, known to others merely by their works and manner of writing, have, after a little converſe at an unexpected meeting, been challenged by the Names that their Books carried, without the help of any noted character in their face to diſtinguiſh them. Nothing is more common than the p. 52ſtory of Eraſmus, whom his Friend here in England greeted by his name, after a few repartees paſs'd between them; though he had never ſeen him, and little thought then to embrace him. Now we are expreſly told by all the three Evangeliſts, that Moſes and Elias talked with Jeſus; and by S. Luke, that their diſcourſe was concerning his deceaſe or departure out of this world, which he ſhould accompliſh at Jeruſalem: and conſequently, it is very probable, of the glory that was to follow it by his Reſurrection. Which conference the Apoſtles hearing, they might eaſily know, though not foreign, by their pictures, which many of that Nation held it unlawful to be made, yet foreign, from their words and diſcourſe (wherein either Jeſus or they, before it was done, had occaſion to mention their Names or their offices, or to deſcribe their perſons) that they were none elſe but thoſe two men, who then appeared to them. And it is poſſible, as Theophylact adds, that Moſes might ſay, I acknowledge thee to be the perſon, whoſe death I prefigured, by the Lamb which was ſlain at the Paſſeover: And Elias might joyn with him and ſay, Thou art He whoſe Reſurrection I did likewiſe p. 53fore-ſhow, by calling again the Widow's ſon to life. Some ſuch kind of diſcourſe we may reaſonably conceive paſſed between them, whereby they diſcovered themſelves to be, the one the Law-giver, the other the nobleſt of all the Prophets: who now came to wait upon Jeſus, and acknowledge that he was greater than they; as the voice from Heaven preſently teſtified, which declared him the beloved Son of God, to whom now all muſt attend, as they had formerly done to them.

And therefore it is very remarkable (which is the laſt thing I ſhall obſerve) that no ſooner was this voice heard, but Moſes and Elias vaniſhed and were ſeen no more. As much as to ſay, That Jeſus alone was now to be heard; the Law and the Prophets were gone, and had nothing to do, but only to ſerve him. So S. Mark relates, ix. 8. that ſuddenly when they had looked round about (after the hearing of this voice) they ſaw no man any more, ſave Jeſus only with themſelves. They turned their eyes every way to look for Moſes and Elias, but there was no further news of them. Nay, S. Luke tells us, ix. 36. that in the very uttering of the voice from that Heavenly glory, they diſappeared. So p. 54thoſe words, foreign, plainly ſignifie, While the voice was ſpeaking, Jeſus was found alone. The clould out of which it came, covered them and took them into it. At the ſame time it opened it ſelf, to manifeſt him and to obſcure them: that it might be evident the voice ſpake of him alone and none elſe; there being no body but He to be ſeen by his Diſciples, when it came forth from the preſence of God. So you read in all the Evangeliſts, that the cloud which appeared, over-ſhadowed them (viz. Moſes and Elias) whereupon the Diſciples were afraid (as S. Luke tells us, ix. 34.) as they (that is, Moſes and Elias) entred …to the cloud: imagining it is like that it would approach nearer, and ſpread it ſelf over them; who dreaded to enter into it, as they ſaw thoſe two perſons did. But there was no danger; it only parted Moſes and Elias from Jeſus, and left him alone, and then came the voice out of that cloud, where Moſes and Elias were with God, giving their aſſent to what it ſaid, This is my beloved Son, hear him. Him, I ſay, Non Moſen jam & Eliam (as Tertullian **L. 4. adv. Marc. C. 22.I now obſerve interprets it) Not Moſes and Elias; who were ſhown, as his language is, in the prerogative of brightneſs, and then diſmiſſed, as being now diſcharged p. 55both of their office and of their honour.

Thus I have briefly explained the ſecond Teſtimony which God the Father gave him, in the audience of three of his Diſciples; who had a viſion alſo, at the ſame time, of the glory wherein he was to ſhine, after his departure out of this world. To which teſtimony, our Saviour would not have thoſe Diſciples, as yet to add theirs: but to keep this as a ſecret till he was riſen again from the dead, xvii. Matth. 9. It was fit for the Father alone to ſpeak now, from whom they were to learn what Jeſus was: that being fully ſatisfied they might be the better able to ſpeak of him then, upon their own knowledge; who had been eye and ear-witneſſes of the honour and glory which he received from God the Father, when there came ſuch a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleaſed. And this voice (S. Peter I told you openly avers, 2 i. 17, 18.) he and others heard, when they were with him in the holy mount.

But if any one ſhould be ſo ſuſpicious and diſtruſtful, as to think that the Teſtimony of three perſons is not ſufficient, to p. 56beget belief in us of ſuch a wonderful thing as this is, that God declared Jeſus to be his Son; though there is no juſt reaſon to doubt of any thing that is eſtabliſhed out of the mouth of but two good witneſſes, yet ſuch was the condeſcenſion of God the Father Almighty, that he was pleaſed a little before our Saviours deceaſe, which Moſes and Elias ſpake of, to give his teſtimony to him again, and to declare this more publickly, which was ſhortly to be proclaimed in all the world.

III.

For this Third voice which the Father was pleaſed to ſend from Heaven, to bear witneſs to him, was not heard by ſo few as two or three, but by a great multitude of people; which makes our belief of this Truth to rely ſtill upon ſurer grounds. For you read in the xii. John 1, 2, &c. that a great company of people having heard what a miracle our Saviour had wrought upon Lazarus, whom he raiſed from the dead a little before at a neighbouring town; flockt out of Jeruſalem to meet him, as he was coming thither to the ſeaſt of the Paſſeover. And being convinced that he was that King of Iſrael p. 57whom the Lord by his Prophets had promiſed to ſend in his name, they met him with Palms of joy and triumph in their hands, and with the loudeſt acclamations of praiſe in their mouths; ſpreading their garments alſo in the way (as other Evangeliſts tell us) to do him the greater honour, and wiſhing him all proſperity in his new Kingdom. In this croud, or among the reſt of the people who were come to worſhip at the feaſt, there were certain Greeks, as you read ver. 20. who were deſirous to ſee Jeſus, whom the multitude thus magnified; and, it is likely, wiſh'd to have ſome proof given them, that he was ſuch a perſon as fame reported him.

Now the firſt thing our Saviour anſwers to thoſe who preſented them to him (which muſt be diligently noted) is that ere long He ſhould be glorified. But firſt he muſt take the Croſs in his way, and then the glory he ſhould attain thereby would be exceeding great; for his death would produce moſt precious fruit, and be the means of enlarging his Kingdom, and bringing innumerable ſuch Gentiles as theſe were, unto God, ver. 23, 24. And thereupon He perſwades his Diſciples p. 58(ver. 25, 26.) to adventure their lives, according to his example, for the good of mankind; which would redound alſo very much to their own honour. As they might ſee already in Moſes and Elias (who appeared, S. Chryſoſtom thinks, for this end among others, to ſtrengthen and encourage their Chriſtian reſolution in their ſufferings **foreign. Hom. 56. in Matth.) but ſhould be more fully ſatisfied when they ſaw him aſcend to that glory after his ſufferings, of which they had beheld but a ſhadow, when thoſe two illuſtrious perſons came to wait upon him. A difficult work indeed it was, at the thoughts of which He himſelf could not but be ſomething ſad (ver. 27.) and wiſht, according to the inclinations of Nature, there were ſome other way, if God pleaſed, to deliver mankind. But ſince he had ſent him into the world for this end, that he ſhould lay down his life for our Redemption, he reſolves preſently to ſubmit to God, and deſires only this one thing of him, ver. 28. Father, glorifie thy Name. As much as to ſay, I know thou art my FATHER, and ſince it is thy pleaſure, to which I will always ſubmit; behold, I offer my ſelf now to be an inſtrument of thy glory by my paſſion, as I have been hitherto by my preaching, and p. 59the works thou haſt done by my hands. I am content to receive the glory which I expect, and juſt now told my Diſciples I ſhall receive, in this way of humble ſuffering thy will and pleaſure. I am deſirous thou ſhouldeſt firſt be glorified; and if my death will ſerve that end, I am ready to part with my life, for I know thou wilt be much more glorified by my Reſurrection and Aſcenſion to Heaven. There is no reaſonable doubt to be made of the truth of this interpretation; for they glorifie God moſt remarkably who die for the teſtimony of the Truth, xxi. John 19. It is a great honour to him, that they love him more than their lives, and will take his word for their recompenſe, in an inviſible world. This our Saviour himſelf calls, Gods being glorified in him, xiii. John 31. and therefore I make no queſtion he deſires here, that his Fathers Name may be glorified by the ſame means.

Now to this humble requeſt of his, God the Father replies, by a voice from Heaven, ſaying, I have both glorified it, and will glorifie it again. You remember what S. Peter ſays in the place often cited already, 2 i. 17. that our Lord by the former voice from Heaven, received honour and p. 60glory from God the Father; and there is as much cauſe to think that in this there was the ſame deſign, to do him honour by a declaration of the glory he ſhould ſhortly receive, at the right hand of God. The very connexion of theſe words with the foregoing, will not let us expound them otherwiſe. For having told his Diſciples, the Son of man ſhould ſhortly be glorified, but firſt he muſt glorifie God by his paſſion, and then he doubted not but God would glorifie him with himſelf (as he ſpeaks, xiii. 32.) that is, by the very ſame means, glorifie both himſelf and his Son, who had glorified him: Yes, ſays God himſelf from Heaven, I have both glorified my Name (by what he had done for Jeſus, and by him) and will glorifie it again, by that which remained ſtill to be done.

And indeed (1.) it did him a great honour, that God was pleaſed to return any anſwer to him, who had before called himſelf his Son (x. 36.) and had juſt now addreſſed himſelf to him as his Father; calling upon him twice by this Name, Father, ſave me from this hour, ver. 27. Father, glorifie thy Name, ver. 28. It was as much as to ſay, He owned the relation, allowed his pretences, and intended to p. 61juſtifie them more and more by his Divine approbation. For (2.) the Anſwer it ſelf is a plain promiſe of the honour he would confer upon him hereafter, by his Reſurrection and Exaltation; when he again glorified himſelf, by glorifying the Lord Jeſas. You read expreſly in the foregoing Chapter, that the Glory he had gotten before, was by glorifying of his Son; for he ſays (xi. 4.) the ſickneſs of Lazarus was for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. And therefore when he ſays he will glorifie himſelf again, the meaning is, that as they had ſeen his glory (xi. 40.) in the raiſing of Lazarus from the dead, and in all the other miraculous works which Jeſus had done, for which the people gave him glory (v. Luke 26. vii. 16. xix. 37.) So he would glorifie himſelf more by the Reſurrection of Jeſus himſelf from the dead, and by his Exaltation to an Heavenly Kingdom. For it was the working of the might of his power (as the Apoſtle S. Paul ſpeaks, i. Epheſ. 19.) which he wrought in Chriſt, when the Father of glory raiſed him from the dead, and ſet him at his own right hand in the Heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but alſo p. 62in that which is to come. Now he glorified his Son Jeſus indeed, as S. Peter ſpeaks, iii. Acts 13. and gave him a name which is above every name, that every knee ſhould bow to him, and every tongue confeſs him to be the Lord: but it was to the glory of God the Father, as S. Paul tells us expreſly, ii. Philip. 11. Hereby he glorified his own name, as by this voice from Heaven he ſaid he would; whoſe power, goodneſs, and wiſdom, will be for ever magnified and celebrated with the higheſt praiſes, by the whole Chriſtian Church, for ſetting ſuch a glorious Prince over them, who is not aſhamed to call them Brethren, and yet hath all things put in ſubjection under his feet; that he may protect, ſuccour and bleſs them, here and eternally.

Now by making this promiſe to the Lord Jeſus, of glorifying himſelf by glorifying him, in this manner; He plainly bare witneſs to him, that he was what he pretended to be; very dear to him, his only begotten Son, and no deceiver, as they falſely and blaſphemouſly ſaid, who were loth to be governed by him. They ought preſently to have glorified God, by honouring his Son, and acknowledging him for their Lord and Maſter: who p. 63had ſuch power with God already, that he would give him whatſoever he askt (xi. John 22.) and was ſhortly to receive greater, even all power in Heaven and in Earth, xvii. 1, 2.

For this voice, you may obſerve, was uttered at ſuch a time, and ſo loud, that the people who ſtood by heard it, ver. 29. Thoſe who were at ſome diſtance indeed, hearing only the ſound, thought it had been a clap of thunder: but they who were nearer, heard it ſo diſtinctly, that they were of opinion, an Angel ſpake to him. God, that is, by the Miniſtry of an Angel. For what is ſaid in one place of Scripture to be done by Angels, who are his principal ſervants, is in another ſaid to be done by God. As the Angel of the Lord we read, vii. Acts 30. appeared to Moſes in the buſh, and in the next verſe, it is the voice of the Lord which from thence is ſaid to come to him. In like manner the Angel is ſaid (ver. 38.) to ſpeak with him in mount Sinai; where, we are told in the book of Exodus xix. 20. the Lord came down and called Moſes up to the top of the Mount, and there ſpake to him; as here he did to our Saviour. Who tells the people it was not for his ſake, that God p. 64ſpake now to him; it was for theirs; whom he would have to know that when he was lifted up from the Earth (by hanging upon the Croſs, which was a ſtep, contrary to all mens opinion, to his Exaltation in the Heavens) he would draw all men to him: bring even the Gentile world into ſubjection to him, and bow their hearts to acknowledge his Divine authority, which the Jews oppoſed. He needed no further confirmation of this truth himſelf, who knew how dear he was to God, and that he would glorifie his Name in him; but that his Diſciples might be more confident of it, and the people more inclined to believe it when they heard it preached, God ſpake the very ſame now in the ears of a great many, which he had done before to him and a few beſides in the former voices from Heaven.

It is true indeed, He is not called here Gods beloved Son, in expreſs terms, as he is in the other places. But this is ſo plainly ſuppoſed, and ſtrongly inferr'd, as I ſaid, from the voice which now ſpake, that it puts the matter out of doubt, as much as the former. If he had falſely and proudly laid claim to this high relation to God, whom he calls his Father, we p. 65may be confident God would never have honoured him with ſuch an anſwer; but either have been ſilent, or ſaid the quite contrary: telling him, before all the company, that he would not glorifie himſelf by preferring, but by putting to ſhame ſuch an one as he, who thus arrogantly took upon him to be the Son of God. It is contrary to all reaſon to think that God would ſtoop to ſeek the glory of any perſon (as our Saviour expreſſes the honour he had done him, viii. John 50.) but one who ſtood ſo nearly related to him, as to be his Son: and therefore worthy to be glorified by him again and again, until He had fully judged, as he there ſpeaks, between Him and his Adverſaries; who denied him to be the Chriſt, but was pronounced by God to be the Prince of life.

To conclude this, you may note that not long before God ſpake in this manner from Heaven to them, our Saviour had ſaid, That they had not heard his voice at any time, v. John 37. John the Baptiſt had, and ſo had three of his Diſciples. And therefore John bare witneſs of him; whoſe teſtimony, he ſays, was true (ver. 32.) though he did not ſtand in ſuch need of it, as if his credit could not be ſupported p. 66without it. No, He appealed to him, merely becauſe they had ſuch an high opinion of him, ver. 33, 34. otherwiſe he had a greater teſtimony than that of John (ver. 36.) which was not only the works that he did, which teſtified of him, that the Father had ſent him: but the Father himſelf who ſent him (note this, for he appeals now to what the voice from Heaven ſaid) he has born witneſs of him, ver. 37. And if they had had any goodneſs in them (ver. 38.) they would have received him whom the Father ſent. When did He ſend him, but when he ſpake by that voice from Heaven? which now he utters once more in other words, for their greater and fuller ſatisfaction, when many of them were aſſembled together; that they, who had not hitherto, might hear his voice as well as Jeſus himſelf and his Apoſtles; and be awakened hereby to attend to what the other witneſſes of him ſhould ſay, eſpecially after he was riſen from the dead.

I ſhould paſs now to the Examination of one of them, were it not fit, before I part with this, to take notice of a Tradition which runs among the Jews, concerning this way of Revelation by a voice from Heaven; which they ſay was very uſual p. 67in thoſe ages. The Doctors deliver (ſo their words are in the Babylonian Talmud **In the title Sanhedrim, cap. 1.) that from the death of the latter Prophets, Haggai, Zachariah and Malachy, the Holy Ghoſt was taken away: but yet notwithſtanding they had the Miniſtry of the Bath Col, i. e. the daughter of a voice. By that name they call this way of Revelation, becauſe they ſay it was not a full and ſtrong voice which they heard, but a voice coming out of another voice, and heard when it was gone. Juſt as ſparks, ſay they, are called Bene reſheph, the ſons of an hot coal, becauſe they leap out of the fire; ſo is this called the daughter of a voice, becauſe it reſulted from a voice, and came, as it were, out of the womb of it: being a kind of Eccho after ſomething that was ſpoken, which they could not underſtand; but only caught hold of this tail, as I may call it, and concluſion of it. And they would have us believe, that as under the firſt Temple they had the benefit of Prophecy, Urim and Thummim, and the Holy Ghoſt; ſo this ſucceeded them under the ſecond Temple, and was proper to that age of the world: being then only in uſe, when all the other were wanting. Hence many Chriſtian writers of theſe latter times, have fancied that God therefore p. 68declared Jeſus to be his Son by a voice from Heaven, becauſe it was the only way wherein he then communicated his mind to the Jewiſh Nation. Paulus Fagius think was the firſt that ſtarted this notion of the Bath col: which was a praeludium b… imagines to that true, Divine and Heavenly voice, which was to ſpeak to them indee… from Heaven; that is, our Lord Jeſus Chriſt. To whom the Bath col it ſelf gave teſtimony, when it ſaid, This is my belove… Son in whom I am well pleaſed. But … name ſhows it was not the true voice from Heaven, but a mere type, ſignification and teſtimony of that true voice and word of God which was to come ſhortly and ſpeak to them. To whom alone this Bath col told them they muſt all hearken. Thus he writes upon the Chaldee Paraphraſe **In xxviii. Exod. 30.Exod 30. And he had ſaid the ſame before in his notes upon the Fifth Chapter of Pirke Avoth, where his word… are, that God would accuſtom the world … little by this beginning, to that true Heavenly voice, our Saviour Chriſt, who was to follow; in whom hereafter the Father would be heard.

But I think there is reaſon to doubt o… all that the Jews ſay about this matter their brags being many times beyond the p. 69Truth, and deviſed to obſcure the glory of our Saviour. Who it is moſt likely had that honour done him now by theſe voices from Heaven, which was not uſual in thoſe days; for he himſelf tells them, as I obſerved before, Ye have not heard his voice at any time, v. John 37. As for that which they pretend, that this Bath col, or daughter of a voice was peculiar to the times of the ſecond Temple, it is ſo far from Truth, that it is contradicted by ſome of themſelves: who find inſtances of the contrary in the Holy Books. God called out of Heaven to Abraham, every body knows, by his Angel, Gen. xxii. 11, 15. And Maimonides **More Nevoch. part 2. cap. 42.obſerves, that he ſpake to Hagar and Manoah's wife; though neither of them, he ſays, had any thing of the ſpirit of prophecy, but only heard the Bath col. Which interpoſed, if we could believe others, in the caſe of Thamar. And often whiſpered to Moſes, as the writer of his Life, in many places, affirms. Nay, they tell us in the Eleventh Chapter of the forenamed Title in the Talmud, that Nebuzaradan heard this Bath col (before the deſtruction of the firſt Temple) bidding him make a freſh aſſault upon Jeruſalem, and not be diſcouraged in his attempt, nor fear the fate of Senacherib; p. 70For the time is at hand that the Sanctuary ſhall be deſtroyed, and the Temple burnt.

But that there was any ſuch thing under the ſecond Temple, I ſee no ground at all to believe. It is far more probable that they have deviſed a number of ſuch ſtories as we read in their Books, merely to gain ſome credit and reputation to their Doctors. Can any man of ſence imagine that God would bid Jonathan hold his hand when he was beginning to Paraphraſe upon the Prophets; ſaying to him by a voice from Heaven, Who is this that reveals my ſecrets to the ſons of men? And that he, like a bold fellow, ſtood up and ſaid, I am the man, who undertake it for thy honour, and not my own? And yet Elias Levita has the confidence to tell us, in his Preface to theſe Paraphraſes, that as Jonathan was going to do as much for the Holy writings (as they call them) as he had done for the Prophets, he was abſolutely prohibited by another voice from Heaven, which ſaid, Is it not ſufficient that thou haſt divulged the myſteries of the Prophets, but thou wilt prostitute alſo the ſecrets of the Holy Ghoſt? So the good man deſiſted, and durſt not do the Angels any further ſervice; who came to liſten to him as he was expounding p. 71the Prophets. Which is as true, I make no doubt, as all the reſt: and we may as well believe the Earth quaked for forty mile together, when he began his Paraphraſe, and that if a fly did but ſit upon his Book in which he wrote, fire came down from Heaven and deſtroyed it, leaving the Book untoucht, as believe a ſyllable of theſe voices ſpeaking from Heaven to him, for they have all the very ſame Authors. Who having got this by the end, know not when to have done with it; but tell us for the honour of R. Chanina, who ſaw the deſtruction of the laſt temple by Titus, that a voice came from Heaven, which ſaid (as David Ganz reports it in his Chronology **Ad An. 4768.) The whole world is ſuſtained for the ſake of R. Chanina my ſon. A very likely matter, that he ſhould lay an obligation on ſo many, and no body know it but this obſcure writer. Why did not all the world follow him, as they did Jeſus, if he were God's Son, and they ſo much indebted to him? This is but a wretchedly dull counterfeit of what they had read of our Saviour, who was Gods Son, Upholding all things by the word of his power, i. Hebr. 2, 3. And ſo are the other tales they tell in the Talmudical Title ſo often named, Chapter the firſt, of a Bath col which came p. 72from Heaven as the wiſe men ſat in Council at Jericho, ſaying, There is one here who is worthy that the Divine majeſty or glory (by which they mean ſometime the Holy Ghoſt) ſhould reſt upon him, as it did on Moſes; but the age wherein he lives is not worthy of that favour. Whereupon they all caſt their eyes on Hillel a famous man among them. And of another voice as they were ſitting together at Jafne, which ſaid the very ſame words again; and turned all their eyes towards R. Samuel the leſs. And, to name but one more, R. Juda the Holy Doctor, they would have it believed, was aſſured by this voice from Heaven, that his Prayer was heard, juſt as our Saviours was in the place I have before open'd. For when he was dying (and it was not many days before our Saviour's death, that he prayed in thoſe words, Father, glorifie thy name) he lift up his ten fingers and ſaid, Lord of the world, it is known to thee that I have laboured in the Law with my ten fingers, and have not received the leaſt advantage thereby, no not in my little finger. May it pleaſe thee, that I may have peace in my reſt. And then out came the Bath col ſaying thoſe words of Iſaiah lvii. 2. He ſhall enter into peace: they ſhall reſt in their beds. Which, together with all p. 73other of the ſame kind, deſerve to be put under no other Title, than that of the Jewiſh Fables (mentioned by S. Paul, i. Tit. 14.) or old-Wives tales (1 Tim. iv. 7.) wherewith little children are wont to be entertained: being invented, it is likely, in imitation of the Goſpel ſtory, to adorn and ſupport the ruinous doctrine of their Rabbins, and to bring it into ſome eſteem with their ſottiſh poſterity.

But we may as well believe the idle tale which the factious Donatiſts told concerning the Father of their Sect; Auguſt. Tract. 13. in Johan.to whom God gave an anſwer from Heaven, they ſaid, as he was praying to him: as give ear to this Fable of R. Judah, who muſt be magnified by them becauſe he was the compiler of their traditional Law. And as for R. Samuel the leſs, whom I mentioned before, he was the man who compoſed the famous Prayer againſt Hereticks for their publick Devotions; wherein they deſire God that he would deſtroy all Hereticks: whereby they mean Chriſtians, who began in thoſe days to grow apace. And therefore it is no wonder that he is cried up to the skies, and muſt be honoured with praiſes from Heaven. But the beſt of it is, theſe petty ſtories want vouchers; or p. 74thoſe who offer themſelves had need to bring ſome better men to be bound for their honeſty. They have no John Baptiſts to atteſt any thing, much leſs ſuch men as the Apoſtles, who with the power of Miracles and Prophecy, were ready on all occaſions to pawn their lives, that they did not follow cunningly deviſed Fables, when they made known the power and coming of our Lord Jeſus, but were eye-witneſſes, as you have heard, of his Majeſty, and heard the voice when they were with him in the holy Mount, which ſaid, This is my well beloved Son, in whom I am well pleaſed. Thoſe Maſters in Iſrael alſo are not ſo cunning in their contrivances, nor ſuch maſters of their craft, but they forget the old Rule which admoniſhes a Lyar to have a good memory. For they contradict themſelves, while they tell us this Bath col was but the fag end of a voice, a kind of Eccho leaping out of another voice; and yet make it deliver ſuch long ſentences. And what likelihood is there that God ſhould grace ſuch men as they, who had turned their Religion into vain janglings and idle diſputes (witneſs the quarrel between the School of that Hillel now mentioned, and the Schoolof Schammai) with ſuch Elogiums from Heaven, as were fit to be given p. 75only to the beſt of men, yea, to the Son of God himſelf?

One of theſe four things is far more probable. Either that their latter writers have ſtrained the words of their forefathers too far, who meant perhaps no more by their hearing a Bath col, but that the thing whereof they write, was as evident to them, as if they had had a Divine teſtimony for it. For in Pirke Avoth I obſerve R. Joſhuah ſays, that jotzeth Bath col, the daughter of a voice goeth forth day by day from mount Horeb, and proclaims, ſaying, Wo to men becauſe of their contempt of the Law. Which can ſignifie no more, but that if men would liſten to the Law which God gave there, they would hear how dangerous it is to diſobey it. Or, ſecondly, there was ſomething of a conjuration in it. For in Pirke Elieſer I find **Chap. 8., that when there was a diſpute only about the Leap-year, the Governour of the School pronounced the Name with four Letters, and preſently they heard a voice, ſaying, The Lord ſpake to Moſes and Aaron, &c. As if they could have this voice, whenſoever they did but pronounce that ſingle word. Or, thirdly, they were men of a ſtrong imagination, which made p. 76them fancy they heard a voice from Heaven, when it was only a blaſt of melancholy fumes and vapours whiſtling in their brain. For this may be a fair account of thoſe, who thought, as ſome among us have done, that they heard ſuch or ſuch a place of Scripture ſounding in their ears, as an anſwer to their prayers or their doubts. Or, laſtly, there being many Jews in our Saviours time and afterward, who knew very well what had been reported of him, but yet continued ſworn enemies to his Religion; they ventured to report the ſame of their own Doctors, and perſwaded the people that they were approved by voices from Heaven, and therefore ought to be received by all poſterity as men of a Divine ſtamp, who had the higheſt teſtimony from Almighty God.

This I am ſure of, there is nothing to make it credible that any man among them in thoſe Ages was thus honoured by God. No body appears that dare ſay they heard it. Nor does any of them pretend that they ſaw theſe Rabbies ſhine in the leaſt glimpſe of ſuch glory as our Saviour did, when he was honoured with that glorious teſtimony from Heaven, which pronounced him the Head of all principality p. 77and power. Much leſs were they, as S. Luke ſpeaks, by many infallible proofs (for we rely not upon the voice from Heaven by it ſelf alone) declared to be the men of God. And therefore, that which to me ſeems neareſt to the truth in this matter is, that there had been a perfect, deep ſilence ſince the death of the latter Prophets, and no Revelation made of Gods mind, of any ſort whatſoever, in that Nation, till John the Baptiſt came, who was filled with the Holy Ghoſt, and ſent by God in the ſpirit and power of Elias to prepare the way of our Lord. Who when he firſt appeared had ſuch an approbation given him by God the Father, in the audience of John, as had not been vouchſafed to any perſon; and in ſuch a manner (by a voice from Heaven) as had not been in uſe for many ages; but yet was the moſt ancient way of his communicating his mind to men. Thus God called to Adam in the Garden, and thus he ſpake to Abraham, and Moſes, and Samuel; and therefore ſo he now ſpeaks to him who was the ſecond Adam, the true ſeed promiſed to Abraham, the Prophet like to Moſes: Teſtifying both to him and to others by his own voice from Heaven (which was the old way of Revelation before p. 78all others, and a clearer way there cannot be) that he was his only begotten Son.

And here perhaps it may not be amiſs to obſerve, that this voice anciently was very low, like a ſmall whiſper in ones ear: whereas the voice to our Saviour was loud and ſtrong, making a great noiſe in the ears of thoſe that heard it. So Eliphaz tells us, iv. Job 16. that in a viſion which he had, There was ſilence, and I heard a voice. The Hebrew is exactly rendred by Mercer, I heard ſilence and a voice; that is, a ſtill voice, as the Margin of our Bible hath it. And ſo Elias is ſaid to hear a voice of ſilence, 1 Kings xix. 12. a still ſmall voice, as we render it; a ſpeech next to ſilence, which did but whiſper very low, and made no noiſe at all in his ears. On the contrary you read in the place laſt expounded (xii. John) the voice which ſpake of our Saviour was ſo loud and audible, that the people, who were at ſome diſtance, thought it had been a clap of thunder. It did not ſilently creep into their ears, but rent the clouds to make its way with a great deal of power and force into them. I cannot ſay that the other voice was ſo loud, which the Diſciples heard on the p. 79holy Mount, but it was ſo clear and piercing, that when they heard it (xvii. Matth. 6.) they were aſtoniſhed, and fell flat upon their faces. The light wherein he appeared was not more viſible than the voice which teſtified to him was audible; and both were very amazing. Which may very well denote the excellency of our Saviours perſon, and the efficacy of his doctrine, above all that had been before him. He declared Gods mind more fully and perfectly, and ſpake it more plainly and perſpicuouſly. He tranſcended all others in both theſe, as much as a full voice is above a little murmur or whiſper in the ear; or a ſpeech diſtinctly pronounced, is to be preferred before the liſping of imperfect words.

But whatſoever become of this, we may certainly conclude from the audibleneſs and clearneſs of the voice, whereby God gave his teſtimony to Jeſus, that they are the more to be believed, who affirm they heard this voice from Heaven and report it to us; it not being eaſie for them to be deceived. This voice was like that of an Herald who proclaims a Prince; and it ſaid, in effect, I have ſet my King upon my holy hill of Sion, Thou art my Son, this p. 80day have I begotten thee. Which had a moſt eminent and full completion at his Reſurrection and Exaltation; but began to be fulfilled when he was tranfigured upon this holy hill, and had a repreſentation of his future glory made to him. Which he did not aſſume to himſelf, as the Apoſtle diſcourſes, v. Hebr. 4, 5. but was called unto it by him that ſaid then, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee; and ſaid now, This is my well beloved Son, in whom I am well pleaſed, hear him.

And thus you ſee, having made an enquiry into the Teſtimony of one of theſe Witneſſes, the firſt and greateſt, we find it ſo full and clear on his behalf, that we muſt either disbelieve God, or elſe believe in Jeſus, and receive him for the Son of God. For he received more than once honour and glory from God the Father. Who was ſo highly glorified alſo by Him, that he hath now completely glorified him with himſelf, and therefore expects that his Name ſhould be perpetually glorified and praiſed by us, in ſome ſuch words as theſe.

p. 81A PRAYER.

ADored be thy love, O Lord of Heaven and Earth, adored be thy great and wonderful love, which hath thus glorified thy Son Jeſus; and given us ſuch abundant ſatufaction, that in him thou art well pleaſed. Lord, what is man that thou ſhouldeſt ſpeak from Heaven, with ſo much kindneſs to him! that thou ſhouldeſt ſo often tell us, thou haſt ſent thy dearly beloved Son, in great humility to viſit us! what an amazing love is this, that thou ſhouldeſt admit any of us into ſuch a familiarity with thy ſelf, as to hear thy voice, and behold the brightneſs of thy glory? Our heart ought to anſwer thee again, with the voice of joy, thankſgiving and praiſe. Thy high praiſes ought to be in all our mouths. It becomes us to ſay continually, with the moſt elevated minds and hearts, Glory be to thee, O Lord; Glory be to thee, O Lord: who dwelleſt on high, and yet humbleſt thy ſelf to behold the things that are in Heaven and in Earth. For ever be thy Name glorified by us and by all mankind; who haſt honoured our p. 82Nature ſo highly in the perſon of thy only begotten Son Chriſt Jeſus: whom after thou hadſt ſeveral ways glorified on Earth, thou haſt now advanced to the Throne of thy glory in Heaven.

The hearts of all mankind, with all the love they have, is too ſmall a Sacrifice to be offered unto thee: whoſe love is like thy ſelf, far beyond all that we are able to expreſs. O that our love and affection to thee were ſo likewiſe! a most grateful reſentment of thy kindneſs to us, greater than can be uttered! O that our minds and wills, to make ſome poor expreſſions of their thankfulneſs, may most humbly bow themſelves and perfectly stoop to thee; who haſt thus graciouſly condeſcended unto us! That we may, with the moſt thankful hearts, receive thy teſtimony concerning thy Son! ſincerely reverence him as our Lord and Saviour! and obediently hearken to his voice; believing his Revelations, following his Instructions; ſubmitting to his Precepts, and rejoycing for ever in the comfort of his precious Promiſes.

There is all reaſon that we ſhould thus study to approve our ſelves to thee. And it is our interest alſo to be careful to fulfil all righteouſneſs as our Saviour did: That we may p. 83have the testimony of a good Conſcience at preſent, and a joyful hope to be openly commended and praiſed by thee hereafter; when we ſhall hear that voice of the King of glory, calling to us, and ſaying, Come ye bleſſed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Amen.