0 F THE H 0 L y scRIpT u R E s. xiii ing, to the Difparagement of his own Tribe. How. accurately are the four great Mo– narchies of the World defcnbed by Dante!.? Dan. VI\. 3· fo lively, as t! he had lived under them, and had that Experience of them ali refpedively, which the World hath fince had of them. How wonderful is that Proph<cy of ljaiah, at the End of hts xlivth, ar.d the Beginning of the xlvth Chapter, touching Gyrus, delivered at leafl: an hundred Years, tome f.1y, two hundred, before he was born, wherem yet he IS not only ex– prefsly named, '!'bus faith the Lord to his anoint<d Cyrus; but it is foretold, he fhould conquer Baby/on, and rebmld the Temple of Jerttfalem: Whtch came to pals accord– ingly. Nor can this Prophecy be fufpected of Forger)', ~r to be fuppoGmtous In any kind, lince it was pronounced openly, as other Prophecies were, m the Heanng of all the People, and fo divulged into many Hands, before the Capti.vity, and then alfo c:>rried into Baby/on, where no doubt it was perufed by many, long before the Accom– plilhment of it. And that there was fud1 a Man as Gyrus man~ Ye1rs afterwards, that conquered Bab)'lon, and rdl:ored the Jews from thetr CaptiVItY, and furthered the Building of the Temple, all Heathen Authors, that write of thofe Times, do affirm. And indeed one great Inducement of his Kindnefs to the Jews, was, becaufe he under– Hood how his Succeifes had been thus prophefied of, fo long before, by one of that Nation. So that it appears the faid Prophecy was then publicly known, and its Truth and Authenticity no way doubted of. How manifell!y are the many Prophecies of the Old Tdlament, concerning our Savior, fulfilled? And how dreadfully his Prophecy of the Dell:ruCl:ion of Jerztjalem, was made good about lorty Years after his Cruci– fixion, we find in the Hiftory of Jofephus, exactly correfponding to what is foretold in Mall. :xxiv. And how many other Prophecies of the New Tell:ament, and efpecially of the Revelations, do we daily find verified in and by the Apoftacy, and wicked Ufur– pations of the Church of Rome? Since therefore to foretd lo plainly, Particulars and Events fo remote, and depending on the nieer Motians and Acts of the Wills of parti– cular Perfons, yet unborn, is an evident Mark of Omnilciency; we cannot but con– clude, that the Scriptures, which are filled with fo many evident and certain Pre– diCtions, mull: certainly proceed from the Finger of God. VIJI. Thofe Writings, and that Doctrine, which were confirmed by many and real }lfiracles, mufl: netds be of God: But the Books and Doctrines of canonical Scriptures were fo confirmed. Ma~y and great Wonders, fuch as Satan himfelf cannot imitate, fuch as exceed the Power of any, yea, of all the Creatures in the World; fuch as the moft malicious Enemies could not deny to be divine, hath the Lord openly wrought by the Hands of Mofes, and the Prophets, Chrift, and his Apoftles, for the Confirma– tion of this Truth, Numb. xi. 9· Exod. xix. 16. 1 Kings xvii. 24. Mark xvi. 20. Ails v. 12. Thefe Miracles are recorded and attdl:ed by Perfons of unquel1ionable Credit, that were Eye and Ear Witneifes. The Things done, as railing the Dead to Life, curing the Blind, &c. were Matters of Fact, eJfy to be difcerned. They were not done once or twice, but very often ; not in the Night, or in a Corner, bur in the open Light, in the Midfl of the People, in ,the Prefence of great Multitudes, who were generally Enemies to thofe that wrought thefe Miracles: So rhat if the Relations of them were falfe, they would prefent!y have difproved them; or if there had been any Deceit, they would foon have detected it. • When God puts forth his Miracle working Power, in the Confirmation of any • Word or DoCtrine, he avow• it to be of and from himfelf, to be abfolutely and in- • fallibly true; fetting the ful!e!l: and opene!l: Seal unto it, which Men, who cannot ' difcern his Elfence or Being, are capable of receiving or difcerning. And therefore when any Doctrine, which in itfelf is fuch as becometh the Holinefs and Righteouf- • nefs of God, is confir;ned by the Emanation of his di,•ine Power in workin~ of Mi- • racles, there can no greater Aifurance, even by God himftlf, be given to confirm the Troth of it. · • And as we have the Teflimony of the Evangelifts, to confirm the many Miracles ' that Jefus did; we alfo plead the Notoriety of thofe Miracles wrought by him, and ' rhe Traditions delivering them down eo us: They were openly wrought, and were all or moll of them performed before the Eyes of Multitudes, who envi<d, hated, and ' perfecllied him, and that in the moft knowing Days of the World, when Reafon and Learmng had improved the Light of the Minds of Men to the utmoll: of their Capa– ' etry; tn and upon Multitudes, for fundry Years together, being all of them lifted by Ius Adveifaries, to try if they could difcover any Thing of Deceit in them." c BeGdes,
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