Redemption A divine poem, In Six Books. The three first demonstrate the Truth of the Christian Religion, The three last the Deity of Christ. To which is added, A Hymn to Christ the Redeemer. By Sir Richard Blackmore |
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| I. |
| II. |
Book II.
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| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
 | Redemption |  |
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Book II.
THE ARGUMENT OF THE SECOND BOOK.
The
elevated faculties of the mind,
its capacity to receive prophetick inspiration;
the foresight of contingent events, a certain argument of
Omniscience, an incommunicable attribute
of God. Therefore to be endow'd with the
Spirit of prophecy is a sure Testimony that such a
person is sent from God. Prediction of contingent
effects and the actions of free Agents are as great
a discovery of Omniscience, as Miracles of Power
are of Omnipotence: The first as great a proof of
Prophet's divine Mission as the last. This applied
to Christ, whose Testimony is the Spirit of
Prophecy. The prophecies concerning him before his
coming enumerated and defended: after his coming,
his own predictions compleated attest his divine
Mission. Those predictions recited, viz. the treason
of Judas; his rising from the dead on the third
Day; the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem;
the spreading of the Gospel thro' the Roman Empire
before that Destruction; the working of
Miracles by the Apostles. The impossibility shewn
of planting the Christian Religion, supposing the
Apostles had not wrought Miracles for the Conviction
of Pagan Nations. The certainty of the
Miracles wrought by Christ and his Apostles vindicated.
All evidence is fully demonstrative,
that is as great, as the nature of the thing is capable
of receiving. Certain proof different, as
the Subject of it is different. All Evidence demonstrative,
that leaves in the Mind no reasonable ground of doubting.
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Th' Almighty did to man more favour show,
Than to his various living works below,
The long-wing'd feather'd race, that soar above,
And the melodious people of the grove,
The flocks and herds, and beasts, that haunt the woods,
And all the scaly nations of the floods.
He plac'd him next the angels,
near his throne,
And gave him high perfections, like his own.
With pow'r elective he his will endow'd,
And sight seraphick on his mind bestow'd.
He from his face divine th' immortal ray
Of conscious reason did to man convey,
And spread his soul with intellectual day.
Enabled him to think, divide, unite,
Compare, reflect, and draw deductions right:
Furnish'd his fancy with swift wings to rise,
Search the vast orbs, and traverse distant skies,
Or travel o'er th' extended earth and main,
Gath'ring Ideas to enrich the brain.
Man thus enobled was empowerd to find,
Know, and adore, and love, th' eternal mind,
High contemplation on him to employ,
And heav'nly correspondence to enjoy.
His faculties exalted thus could view
The seats of peace and bliss, and able grew
By their sublime endowments to embrace
Moral injections and celestial grace;
To feel divine illapses from above,
And by impulsive instincts upward move.
Than to his various living works below,
The long-wing'd feather'd race, that soar above,
And the melodious people of the grove,
The flocks and herds, and beasts, that haunt the woods,
And all the scaly nations of the floods.
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And gave him high perfections, like his own.
With pow'r elective he his will endow'd,
And sight seraphick on his mind bestow'd.
He from his face divine th' immortal ray
Of conscious reason did to man convey,
And spread his soul with intellectual day.
Enabled him to think, divide, unite,
Compare, reflect, and draw deductions right:
Furnish'd his fancy with swift wings to rise,
Search the vast orbs, and traverse distant skies,
Or travel o'er th' extended earth and main,
Gath'ring Ideas to enrich the brain.
Man thus enobled was empowerd to find,
Know, and adore, and love, th' eternal mind,
High contemplation on him to employ,
And heav'nly correspondence to enjoy.
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The seats of peace and bliss, and able grew
By their sublime endowments to embrace
Moral injections and celestial grace;
To feel divine illapses from above,
And by impulsive instincts upward move.
See too, without the intervening aid
Of organs sensitive fair scenes convey'd
From heav'n before the mind can be display'd;
Whose active pow'rs are fitted to receive
What lights presaging energy can give.
God to the soul immediate can instill
Instruction, and impart his secret will.
By pow'r divine the spirits, in the brain
Assembled and dispos'd, can entertain
Commerce with Heav'n, whence knowledge is acquir'd,
By visions and instructive dreams inspir'd.
The soul, thro' which the sacred tempest drives,
Th' oppression feels, and with the rapture strives,
While agitated spirits scarce sustain
Th' extatick labour and prophetick pain:
Mean time the body is of strength bereft;
Weak are the limbs, and slack the sinews left;
While all the trembling joynts and heaving breast
Th' illumination wonderful attest,
And own the impulse of the prescient guest.
Of organs sensitive fair scenes convey'd
From heav'n before the mind can be display'd;
Whose active pow'rs are fitted to receive
What lights presaging energy can give.
God to the soul immediate can instill
Instruction, and impart his secret will.
By pow'r divine the spirits, in the brain
Assembled and dispos'd, can entertain
Commerce with Heav'n, whence knowledge is acquir'd,
By visions and instructive dreams inspir'd.
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Th' oppression feels, and with the rapture strives,
While agitated spirits scarce sustain
Th' extatick labour and prophetick pain:
Mean time the body is of strength bereft;
Weak are the limbs, and slack the sinews left;
While all the trembling joynts and heaving breast
Th' illumination wonderful attest,
And own the impulse of the prescient guest.
Behold, omniscient God, and only he,
Can dark events, to us contingent, see;
Hence must prediction be a certain sign,
That messenger declares the will divine,
Who by the wondrous pow'r of prophecy
Can tell the world, what shall hereafter be.
For should a prophet novel doctrines preach,
And a new system of religion teach,
Should he prophane idolatry araign,
Or change the rites, that Heav'n did once ordain,
If his predictions full completion find,
Which to confirm his doctrine are design'd,
He brings th' unerring voucher in his hand,
And justly must belief from all command;
What he affirms must be divine confest,
Or God most high imposture must attest.
Of this more fully after; now, behold,
Before-hand Christ, events contingent, told.
Can dark events, to us contingent, see;
Hence must prediction be a certain sign,
That messenger declares the will divine,
Who by the wondrous pow'r of prophecy
Can tell the world, what shall hereafter be.
For should a prophet novel doctrines preach,
And a new system of religion teach,
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Or change the rites, that Heav'n did once ordain,
If his predictions full completion find,
Which to confirm his doctrine are design'd,
He brings th' unerring voucher in his hand,
And justly must belief from all command;
What he affirms must be divine confest,
Or God most high imposture must attest.
Of this more fully after; now, behold,
Before-hand Christ, events contingent, told.
As wondrous works of vast unbounded might,
Repeated in th' astonish'd people's sight,
Thro' the whole land Christ's progress did attend,
And shew, that Heav'n did him a Saviour send,
So signs and wonders subsequent no less
Our Lord's divine authority confess.
Not only pow'r by miracles reveal'd
Own'd the Redeemer, and his doctrine seal'd,
But prophecies with equal force declare
His mission, and to Jesus witness bear.
Conspicuous marks of knowledge infinite,
As well as boundless pow'r, belief excite,
And prescience, which does in predictions shine,
Of boundless knowledge is a certain sign.
Repeated in th' astonish'd people's sight,
Thro' the whole land Christ's progress did attend,
And shew, that Heav'n did him a Saviour send,
So signs and wonders subsequent no less
Our Lord's divine authority confess.
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Own'd the Redeemer, and his doctrine seal'd,
But prophecies with equal force declare
His mission, and to Jesus witness bear.
Conspicuous marks of knowledge infinite,
As well as boundless pow'r, belief excite,
And prescience, which does in predictions shine,
Of boundless knowledge is a certain sign.
The spirits, active inmates of the brain,
The instruments of thought, that entertain
The mind with all her bright ideal train,
By pow'r divine mov'd in a secret way,
As said, may to the soul Heaven's will convey;
And hence that person may undoubtful find,
To him th' Almighty has reveal'd his mind,
But this will prove an argument to none,
Who this celestial message shall disown
Not made to them, tho' to the prophet known.
If he to others would conviction give,
That they his inspiration may receive,
He must by publick signs and wonders shew,
That from th' Eternal Mind his doctrines flow.
The instruments of thought, that entertain
The mind with all her bright ideal train,
By pow'r divine mov'd in a secret way,
As said, may to the soul Heaven's will convey;
And hence that person may undoubtful find,
To him th' Almighty has reveal'd his mind,
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Who this celestial message shall disown
Not made to them, tho' to the prophet known.
If he to others would conviction give,
That they his inspiration may receive,
He must by publick signs and wonders shew,
That from th' Eternal Mind his doctrines flow.
Now he, who by prævision can descry
Events, that sleeping in their causes lie,
Who can effects fortuitous foresee,
And tell the actions of an agent free,
Must by the strictest reason be allow'd
One with divine omniscient pow'r endow'd;
Or one, to whom th' Almighty has reveal'd
Things, which in darkness else would lie conceal'd.
Only the mind, all intellectual light,
Of knowledge unconfin'd, and boundless sight,
Can vast duration's gloomy deep survey,
And from his face emit a searching ray
To pierce the shades of dark futurity,
Trace men unborn, and future annals see.
Events, that sleeping in their causes lie,
Who can effects fortuitous foresee,
And tell the actions of an agent free,
Must by the strictest reason be allow'd
One with divine omniscient pow'r endow'd;
Or one, to whom th' Almighty has reveal'd
Things, which in darkness else would lie conceal'd.
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Of knowledge unconfin'd, and boundless sight,
Can vast duration's gloomy deep survey,
And from his face emit a searching ray
To pierce the shades of dark futurity,
Trace men unborn, and future annals see.
Such prescience then concerning Christ exprest,
From Heav'n his high commission must attest,
Nor is it more by works of pow'r confest.
Contemplate first the prophecies of old
In Heav'n's unerring oracles enroll'd,
Which to the bless'd Redeemer witness bear,
And, where, and when this light should rise, declare.
From Heav'n his high commission must attest,
Nor is it more by works of pow'r confest.
Contemplate first the prophecies of old
In Heav'n's unerring oracles enroll'd,
Which to the bless'd Redeemer witness bear,
And, where, and when this light should rise, declare.
When Eve God's high command had disobey'd,
By Satan in the Serpent's form betray'd,
Who, to enforce his meditated snare,
And make it fatal, did perhaps declare,
That he by Nature, like each other Brute,
Was once of speech and reason destitute,
But got them both by a rich garden-fruit:
And to the woman, who desir'd to see
This wondrous fruit, he pointed out the tree.
She argued, if it wrought so great a change,
And could a beast midst reas'ning creatures range,
It might with God-like knowledge fill her mind,
And raise her Nature to a God-like kind;
Seduc'd by this temptation's force she eat
The fair, but known to be forbidden, meat.
This heinous guilt did God most high provoke,
And thus the guileful Serpent he bespoke:
Behold, I fix a lasting enmity
Between the woman criminal, and thee.
And thy detested offspring, and her seed,
Hate in their breasts reciprocal shall feed.
The time will come, when from her stock shall spring
A generous branch, that shall Salvation bring:
“He will inflict a wound, that thou shalt feel
“Deep in thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel:
Thus, as the literal sense does plain appear,
So is th' important under-meaning clear.
By Satan in the Serpent's form betray'd,
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And make it fatal, did perhaps declare,
That he by Nature, like each other Brute,
Was once of speech and reason destitute,
But got them both by a rich garden-fruit:
And to the woman, who desir'd to see
This wondrous fruit, he pointed out the tree.
She argued, if it wrought so great a change,
And could a beast midst reas'ning creatures range,
It might with God-like knowledge fill her mind,
And raise her Nature to a God-like kind;
Seduc'd by this temptation's force she eat
The fair, but known to be forbidden, meat.
This heinous guilt did God most high provoke,
And thus the guileful Serpent he bespoke:
Behold, I fix a lasting enmity
Between the woman criminal, and thee.
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Hate in their breasts reciprocal shall feed.
The time will come, when from her stock shall spring
A generous branch, that shall Salvation bring:
“He will inflict a wound, that thou shalt feel
“Deep in thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel:
Thus, as the literal sense does plain appear,
So is th' important under-meaning clear.
Attentive weigh these memorable words
Of Jacob, which the sacred Book records.
“The scepter shall not go from Judah's line,
“Nor shall his pow'r of giving laws decline,
“And sink, 'till Shiloh come. Now here, behold
Of Christ a full prediction uncontroll'd.
For 'tis agreed by Shiloh here is meant
Messiah, he to come, he to be sent.
Tho' some, this clear prediction to evade,
Perversly have a strain'd construction made
Of the known word, that scepter we translate,
But they a rod, and not a mark of state;
A rod that chastens such as go astray,
Not the known ensign of imperial sway.
But thus th' unjudging reader is abus'd,
For in that sense the term is never us'd:
Besides, that 'twas the prophet's full intent
To signify a rod of government,
The awful emblem of authority,
Rules to ordain and justice to decree,
Shines out conspicuous from the following clause,
“Nor from between his feet one giving laws.
Of Jacob, which the sacred Book records.
“The scepter shall not go from Judah's line,
“Nor shall his pow'r of giving laws decline,
“And sink, 'till Shiloh come. Now here, behold
Of Christ a full prediction uncontroll'd.
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Messiah, he to come, he to be sent.
Tho' some, this clear prediction to evade,
Perversly have a strain'd construction made
Of the known word, that scepter we translate,
But they a rod, and not a mark of state;
A rod that chastens such as go astray,
Not the known ensign of imperial sway.
But thus th' unjudging reader is abus'd,
For in that sense the term is never us'd:
Besides, that 'twas the prophet's full intent
To signify a rod of government,
The awful emblem of authority,
Rules to ordain and justice to decree,
Shines out conspicuous from the following clause,
“Nor from between his feet one giving laws.
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Why should we here th' afflicting rod ascribe
To Judah, common to each other tribe,
And which the rest involv'd in trouble bore
More sharp, than Judah, after and before.
Besides in this whole prophecy we find
Only salvation, conquest, pow'r, design'd
For Judah, whence 'tis evident, that God
Here did not brandish his correcting rod;
Which well consider'd numbers did convince
Of this once-favour'd Nation, that the Prince
Messiah must be come, and made them own
Jesus the promis'd heir of David's throne.
To Judah, common to each other tribe,
And which the rest involv'd in trouble bore
More sharp, than Judah, after and before.
Besides in this whole prophecy we find
Only salvation, conquest, pow'r, design'd
For Judah, whence 'tis evident, that God
Here did not brandish his correcting rod;
Which well consider'd numbers did convince
Of this once-favour'd Nation, that the Prince
Messiah must be come, and made them own
Jesus the promis'd heir of David's throne.
Then see the sense of this prediction plain,
Law-giving pow'r and empire shall remain
In Judah's branches 'till Messiah's reign.
And now to strike the foe for ever dumb,
We urge, the bless'd Messiah must be come,
Since none unscepter'd Judah's laws revere,
The period fix'd, when Shiloh should appear.
Long since the potent nation of the gown,
Lords of the world, did pull that empire down;
The legislative pow'r of Judah broke,
And brought the vanquish'd tribes beneath their yoke.
Law-giving pow'r and empire shall remain
In Judah's branches 'till Messiah's reign.
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We urge, the bless'd Messiah must be come,
Since none unscepter'd Judah's laws revere,
The period fix'd, when Shiloh should appear.
Long since the potent nation of the gown,
Lords of the world, did pull that empire down;
The legislative pow'r of Judah broke,
And brought the vanquish'd tribes beneath their yoke.
To this some Jews this idle answer make;
That bless'd Messiah came, but for the sake
Of Jacob's spreading guilt, he was conceal'd
They know not where, in time to be reveal'd.
The Jews obdurate unasham'd rely
On this absurd ridiculous reply,
To break the force of that fam'd prophecy.
But of this fact since we have no record,
No proof, no reason, but the Rabbins word,
Who stories in contempt of truth devise,
And shut against convincing light their eyes,
This bold and shameless fiction we despise.
That bless'd Messiah came, but for the sake
Of Jacob's spreading guilt, he was conceal'd
They know not where, in time to be reveal'd.
The Jews obdurate unasham'd rely
On this absurd ridiculous reply,
To break the force of that fam'd prophecy.
But of this fact since we have no record,
No proof, no reason, but the Rabbins word,
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And shut against convincing light their eyes,
This bold and shameless fiction we despise.
Behold, the royal poet's songs contain
A full prediction of Messiah's reign.
A full prediction of Messiah's reign.
Why do the nations in loud uproar rage,
And Jacob's sons in vain designs engage?
Why do they ill-imagin'd schemes conclude,
Which will their hopes and confidence delude?
The rulers of the earth tumultuous rise
And potentates in counsel joyn'd devise
Vain empty plots against th' Almighty's throne,
And royal pow'r of his anointed son.
Let us of this new lord, they impious say,
The bands asunder break, and far away
The ignominious cord disdainful cast,
That ties the yoke above the shoulder fast.
The Lord that sits enthron'd in light on high
Shall all conspiring potentates defy:
Shall laugh, when he observes their boastful pride,
And all their weak and idle threats deride.
He'll in his wrath to these destruction speak,
And in his hot and sore displeasure break
Their strong assurance of complete success,
And overwhelm their souls with vast distress.
Yet I, behold, by my resistless might,
As I decreed, triumphant in despite
Of princes, who oppos'd my sov'reign will
Have set my King on Sion's holy hill.
Behold, I will declare the high degree,
Th' Almighty has pronounc'd concerning me;
Thee I acknowledge, thee my heir I own,
This day have I begotten thee my Son.
Then of me ask, that I to thee assign
The nations, and the nations shall be thine.
Remotest lands shall thy possession be,
And kings to pay thee homage shall agree.
They, who are hard and disobedient found,
Thou'lt with a rod of iron deeply wound;
Not only make them sharp affliction bear,
But dash and break them, like a potters ware.
Therefore, ye princes, wise instructions learn,
And truth, ye judges of the earth, discern:
Then serve the Lord with fear, and hear his voice,
Mindful at once to tremble, and rejoyce.
Salute the Son, lest you his anger raise,
And then should perish in your impious ways,
Ev'n when his kindling wrath but little glows;
They triumph, who in him their trust repose.
And Jacob's sons in vain designs engage?
Why do they ill-imagin'd schemes conclude,
Which will their hopes and confidence delude?
The rulers of the earth tumultuous rise
And potentates in counsel joyn'd devise
Vain empty plots against th' Almighty's throne,
And royal pow'r of his anointed son.
Let us of this new lord, they impious say,
The bands asunder break, and far away
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That ties the yoke above the shoulder fast.
The Lord that sits enthron'd in light on high
Shall all conspiring potentates defy:
Shall laugh, when he observes their boastful pride,
And all their weak and idle threats deride.
He'll in his wrath to these destruction speak,
And in his hot and sore displeasure break
Their strong assurance of complete success,
And overwhelm their souls with vast distress.
Yet I, behold, by my resistless might,
As I decreed, triumphant in despite
Of princes, who oppos'd my sov'reign will
Have set my King on Sion's holy hill.
Behold, I will declare the high degree,
Th' Almighty has pronounc'd concerning me;
Thee I acknowledge, thee my heir I own,
This day have I begotten thee my Son.
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The nations, and the nations shall be thine.
Remotest lands shall thy possession be,
And kings to pay thee homage shall agree.
They, who are hard and disobedient found,
Thou'lt with a rod of iron deeply wound;
Not only make them sharp affliction bear,
But dash and break them, like a potters ware.
Therefore, ye princes, wise instructions learn,
And truth, ye judges of the earth, discern:
Then serve the Lord with fear, and hear his voice,
Mindful at once to tremble, and rejoyce.
Salute the Son, lest you his anger raise,
And then should perish in your impious ways,
Ev'n when his kindling wrath but little glows;
They triumph, who in him their trust repose.
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My foes, like greedy dogs, with rage abound,
Assemble, and insulting me around,
The wicked, who inclose me with their bands,
Behold, in rage have pierc'd my feet and hands;
I tell my bones distorted from their place,
While godless scoffers stare me in the face.
Among their troop my garments they divide,
And, whose shall be my vest, by lot decide.
The mockers gave me bitter gall for meat,
And vinegar to quench my thirst and heat;
Thou from the holds of death shall set me free,
Nor let thy holy one corruption see.
Assemble, and insulting me around,
The wicked, who inclose me with their bands,
Behold, in rage have pierc'd my feet and hands;
I tell my bones distorted from their place,
While godless scoffers stare me in the face.
Among their troop my garments they divide,
And, whose shall be my vest, by lot decide.
The mockers gave me bitter gall for meat,
And vinegar to quench my thirst and heat;
Thou from the holds of death shall set me free,
Nor let thy holy one corruption see.
The Lord most high my Lord did thus bespeak,
Sit thou at my right hand 'till I shall break
Opposers, o'er the nations make thee head,
And on thy foes thy foot-stool bid thee tread.
Sit thou at my right hand 'till I shall break
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And on thy foes thy foot-stool bid thee tread.
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear
A wondrous Son, and shall his name declare
Immanuel, God with us: who cannot see
The light of this convincing prophecy?
A wondrous Son, and shall his name declare
Immanuel, God with us: who cannot see
The light of this convincing prophecy?
He for our sins was wounded, nor refus'd
For our transgressions sorely to be bruis'd:
He of our peace the chastisement endur'd,
And by his healing stripes we all are cur'd.
All we, like wand'ring sheep, have gone astray,
And turn'd aside to our own crooked way,
And God the crimes of all on him did lay.
He pour'd his soul out unto death, behold
He was with heinous criminals enroll'd;
Compassionate the sins of many bore,
And for transgressors mercy did implore.
For our transgressions sorely to be bruis'd:
He of our peace the chastisement endur'd,
And by his healing stripes we all are cur'd.
All we, like wand'ring sheep, have gone astray,
And turn'd aside to our own crooked way,
And God the crimes of all on him did lay.
He pour'd his soul out unto death, behold
He was with heinous criminals enroll'd;
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And for transgressors mercy did implore.
Illustrious Daniel
in so strong a light
Display'd the Saviour to the reader's sight
That Porphyry a learned Pagan sage,
Believ'd his book wrote in a later age,
And by imposture to the scriptures joyn'd,
That Christian faith might thence full credit find.
This prophet has declar'd the destin'd year.
When the Messiah promis'd should appear;
That under heavy suff'rings he should groan,
And be cut off for sins, but not his own.
On this prediction, he that is intent
Will to the Christian scheme soon give assent,
Or shew a hard impenetrable mind,
To which no reason can admission find.
Display'd the Saviour to the reader's sight
That Porphyry a learned Pagan sage,
Believ'd his book wrote in a later age,
And by imposture to the scriptures joyn'd,
That Christian faith might thence full credit find.
This prophet has declar'd the destin'd year.
When the Messiah promis'd should appear;
That under heavy suff'rings he should groan,
And be cut off for sins, but not his own.
On this prediction, he that is intent
Will to the Christian scheme soon give assent,
Or shew a hard impenetrable mind,
To which no reason can admission find.
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Thou Bethlehem Ephrata, see, tho' thou art
Of Judah's thousands but a little part,
From thee shall come a prince, whose regal sway
The subject tribes of Israel shall obey;
Whose goings forth have ever been of old,
From ages not by numbers to be told.
Of Judah's thousands but a little part,
From thee shall come a prince, whose regal sway
The subject tribes of Israel shall obey;
Whose goings forth have ever been of old,
From ages not by numbers to be told.
By all the sacred prophecies 'tis plain,
That while the second temple did remain
Messiah should be born; then is it clear,
That he the Lord Redeemer must appear
Before the Roman legions had effac'd
Strong Sion's tow'rs, and laid her temple waste.
That while the second temple did remain
Messiah should be born; then is it clear,
That he the Lord Redeemer must appear
Before the Roman legions had effac'd
Strong Sion's tow'rs, and laid her temple waste.
Behold, I'll send my messenger, and he
Before me shall prepare the way; and see,
The Lord you seek, and earnestly demand,
Shall quickly come, and in his temple stand,
The angel of the covenant, in whom
You boast, the Lord of hosts says, he shall come.
Behold, thus saith the Lord of hosts, yet once
I, to confirm my covenant, pronounce,
It is a little while, and I will shake
The heav'ns, and make the land and ocean quake.
I'll shake all realms, and then the person, whom
All nations look for and desire, shall come;
And I the Lord of armies thus declare,
I'll with my glory fill this house of pray'r.
Before me shall prepare the way; and see,
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Shall quickly come, and in his temple stand,
The angel of the covenant, in whom
You boast, the Lord of hosts says, he shall come.
Behold, thus saith the Lord of hosts, yet once
I, to confirm my covenant, pronounce,
It is a little while, and I will shake
The heav'ns, and make the land and ocean quake.
I'll shake all realms, and then the person, whom
All nations look for and desire, shall come;
And I the Lord of armies thus declare,
I'll with my glory fill this house of pray'r.
And as these previous prophecies evince
By light celestial, that the Lord, the prince
Messiah must be come, and plain declare
That Christ is he, to whom they witness bear,
So when he came, predictions of his own
Completed make his heav'nly mission known.
By light celestial, that the Lord, the prince
Messiah must be come, and plain declare
That Christ is he, to whom they witness bear,
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Completed make his heav'nly mission known.
He did not only Judas purpose learn,
And treason hatching in his breast discern,
But to the rest th' apostate's heart display'd,
And said by whom their Lord should be betray'd.
He by unerring prophecy foretold,
The conqu'ring grave should him a captive hold
Till the third day, when he would victor rise
The living object of their wond'ring eyes,
And death for ever vanquish'd then despise.
And treason hatching in his breast discern,
But to the rest th' apostate's heart display'd,
And said by whom their Lord should be betray'd.
He by unerring prophecy foretold,
The conqu'ring grave should him a captive hold
Till the third day, when he would victor rise
The living object of their wond'ring eyes,
And death for ever vanquish'd then despise.
He in a lofty figur'd stile, behold,
The destin'd fall of Sion, thus foretold:
Uproar and tumults shall the world embroil,
And fierce invaders wealthy lands despoil;
Arm'd nations now with nations shall engage,
And realm with realm contend in deadly rage:
Now wars and warlike humours shall prevail,
And sons shall fathers, fathers sons assail:
Amazing signs to that tremendous day
Of wrath divine a prelude shall display
Appearances astonishing to sight,
And prodigies unknown the world shall fright:
Nature shall lie in agonies opprest,
While tempests from the hills their bowels wrest,
While unexampled wonders men surprize,
And earthquakes shake the ground, and storms the skies:
Vast tribulation, such as ne'er before
The world beheld, and shall behold no more.
Famine shall kill the master with the slave,
And empty crowded towns, to glut the grave:
Fierce pestilence by want and slaughter bred,
And armies, raging captains at their head,
Shall desolations's howling empire spread.
Hot burning flames, and deaths malignant, known
By purple marks, proud monarchs shall dethrone,
And with like rage the people shall consume,
And fill with pale inhabitants the tomb.
Yet greater plagues, false prophets, shall arise,
And Christs pretended, who with specious lies
And feign'd illusive signs shall draw aside
Unstable minds, that can't the test abide.
When you th' unhallow'd desolation see,
Foretold in Daniel's solemn prophecy,
When armies shall prophane the sacred ground,
And there encamp'd Jerusalem surround,
Let my disciples to the mountains fly,
And in the hills and shelt'ring forests lie,
Till this amazing storm be overblown,
That shall destroy this execrable town,
Lest undistinguish'd they remain consum'd,
With Jews obdurate to destruction doom'd.
The destin'd fall of Sion, thus foretold:
75
And fierce invaders wealthy lands despoil;
Arm'd nations now with nations shall engage,
And realm with realm contend in deadly rage:
Now wars and warlike humours shall prevail,
And sons shall fathers, fathers sons assail:
Amazing signs to that tremendous day
Of wrath divine a prelude shall display
Appearances astonishing to sight,
And prodigies unknown the world shall fright:
Nature shall lie in agonies opprest,
While tempests from the hills their bowels wrest,
While unexampled wonders men surprize,
And earthquakes shake the ground, and storms the skies:
Vast tribulation, such as ne'er before
The world beheld, and shall behold no more.
76
And empty crowded towns, to glut the grave:
Fierce pestilence by want and slaughter bred,
And armies, raging captains at their head,
Shall desolations's howling empire spread.
Hot burning flames, and deaths malignant, known
By purple marks, proud monarchs shall dethrone,
And with like rage the people shall consume,
And fill with pale inhabitants the tomb.
Yet greater plagues, false prophets, shall arise,
And Christs pretended, who with specious lies
And feign'd illusive signs shall draw aside
Unstable minds, that can't the test abide.
When you th' unhallow'd desolation see,
Foretold in Daniel's solemn prophecy,
When armies shall prophane the sacred ground,
And there encamp'd Jerusalem surround,
77
And in the hills and shelt'ring forests lie,
Till this amazing storm be overblown,
That shall destroy this execrable town,
Lest undistinguish'd they remain consum'd,
With Jews obdurate to destruction doom'd.
Now prodigies and wonders shall appear
And shew the city's certain ruin near.
Behold, the Saviour comes, and rolls on high,
Born on the clouds, the chariots of the sky,
In glory, wrathful, majesty, and pow'r,
The city's pride and splendor to devour.
The sunshall be effac'd by gloomy night,
And turn'd to blood the dreadful moon shall fright
Pale gazers on, and from the shaken spheres
The falling stars shall cause resistless fears.
Angels his servants at their Lord's command
Shall this and that way fly, and search the land
With watchful care, his followers to collect,
And from unrival'd vengeance to protect.
And shew the city's certain ruin near.
Behold, the Saviour comes, and rolls on high,
Born on the clouds, the chariots of the sky,
In glory, wrathful, majesty, and pow'r,
The city's pride and splendor to devour.
The sunshall be effac'd by gloomy night,
And turn'd to blood the dreadful moon shall fright
Pale gazers on, and from the shaken spheres
The falling stars shall cause resistless fears.
78
Shall this and that way fly, and search the land
With watchful care, his followers to collect,
And from unrival'd vengeance to protect.
When he beheld the temple's sacred towers
And wond'rous height, he said; by foreign powers
This mighty work, this venerable pile,
Consum'd by flame, shall lie in ruins vile;
So perfectly her frame shall be effac'd,
You'll see no stone upon another plac'd.
And wond'rous height, he said; by foreign powers
This mighty work, this venerable pile,
Consum'd by flame, shall lie in ruins vile;
So perfectly her frame shall be effac'd,
You'll see no stone upon another plac'd.
Now, that th' events fell out, as he foretold,
Is evident in records uncontroll'd:
When thro' his azure road the circling sun
Twice twenty times his annual race had run
No power predicted vengeance could avert;
By Roman legions see the town begirt.
Is evident in records uncontroll'd:
When thro' his azure road the circling sun
Twice twenty times his annual race had run
79
By Roman legions see the town begirt.
Before the war, which desolation brought
On Salem, so their great historian wrote,
These prodigies were in Judea known;
In the fam'd feast of bread unleaven'd shone
Between the temple and the altar, bright
As middle day, a glory spread by night.
Besides, a cow, which was a victim led,
In the same days of unfermented bread,
Did in the temple, crowds astonish'd saw,
Bring forth a lamb in breach of Nature's law.
On Salem, so their great historian wrote,
These prodigies were in Judea known;
In the fam'd feast of bread unleaven'd shone
Between the temple and the altar, bright
As middle day, a glory spread by night.
Besides, a cow, which was a victim led,
In the same days of unfermented bread,
Did in the temple, crowds astonish'd saw,
Bring forth a lamb in breach of Nature's law.
The sacred temple's brazen eastern gate,
Immense of size, and of prodigious weight,
Which twice ten vig'rous hands could scarce display,
Spontaneous open'd, and unfolded lay.
Red balls of fire hung kindled in the air,
And meteors frightful, with portentous hair
Glaring eruption, trail'd their lighted train
Along the clouds, and swept the azure plain.
Chariots of iron, at the fall of day,
And armies, drawn in terrible aray,
Encamp'd on high o'er Sion's head appear,
Presaging final desolation near;
While voices strange by day, and cries by night,
Attending Levites in the temple fright,
Who did to see the trembling fabrick start,
And heard that dreadful voice, come let us hence depart.
Besides a whole year's space a blazing star,
Form'd like a sword, proclaim'd approaching war,
And by its glitt'ring point directed down,
Denounc'd destruction to the impious town.
Immense of size, and of prodigious weight,
80
Spontaneous open'd, and unfolded lay.
Red balls of fire hung kindled in the air,
And meteors frightful, with portentous hair
Glaring eruption, trail'd their lighted train
Along the clouds, and swept the azure plain.
Chariots of iron, at the fall of day,
And armies, drawn in terrible aray,
Encamp'd on high o'er Sion's head appear,
Presaging final desolation near;
While voices strange by day, and cries by night,
Attending Levites in the temple fright,
Who did to see the trembling fabrick start,
And heard that dreadful voice, come let us hence depart.
Besides a whole year's space a blazing star,
Form'd like a sword, proclaim'd approaching war,
81
Denounc'd destruction to the impious town.
While now the Roman eagles, on their prey
Intent, before the place their wings display,
Intestine fury and th' invader's arms
Alternate shake her tow'rs with fierce alarms.
Without the walls, vast armies spread the plain,
Within, contention, war, and uproar reign.
Ev'n when the Roman engines shook their wall,
And mutual safety did for concord call
Courage and force united, to remove
The common foe; the tribes distracted strove
With rage and hate immortal, to destroy
Each others lives, and did so long employ
Th' intestine sword, that, see, a purple flood
Rolls thro' the drains, and fills the trench with blood,
The boldest words want force to represent
This scene of mingled guilt and punishment,
Of self-revenging crimes, and dreadful sight,
Which made the generous foe, mankind's delight,
So nam'd in Rome, break forth in tears, to see
Such civil rage and boundless cruelty;
Nor could his fam'd humanity prevent
A nation's fall, on their own ruin bent.
Intent, before the place their wings display,
Intestine fury and th' invader's arms
Alternate shake her tow'rs with fierce alarms.
Without the walls, vast armies spread the plain,
Within, contention, war, and uproar reign.
Ev'n when the Roman engines shook their wall,
And mutual safety did for concord call
Courage and force united, to remove
The common foe; the tribes distracted strove
With rage and hate immortal, to destroy
Each others lives, and did so long employ
Th' intestine sword, that, see, a purple flood
Rolls thro' the drains, and fills the trench with blood,
82
This scene of mingled guilt and punishment,
Of self-revenging crimes, and dreadful sight,
Which made the generous foe, mankind's delight,
So nam'd in Rome, break forth in tears, to see
Such civil rage and boundless cruelty;
Nor could his fam'd humanity prevent
A nation's fall, on their own ruin bent.
While Titus thus succeeded, and prevail'd
On the steep fortress, which he last assail'd,
A flaming firebrand by a vulgar hand,
Against the valiant leader's high command,
As to fulfil the prophecy inspir'd,
Projected fasten'd, and the temple fir'd.
While the great chief, to save the wondrous frame,
With fruitless labour strove to stop the flame.
Thus Sion, once with strength and glory crown'd,
Of God most high the residence renown'd,
Is, as foretold, laid desolate and waste,
O'er which the plough, as o'er a field, has past.
On the steep fortress, which he last assail'd,
A flaming firebrand by a vulgar hand,
Against the valiant leader's high command,
As to fulfil the prophecy inspir'd,
Projected fasten'd, and the temple fir'd.
While the great chief, to save the wondrous frame,
With fruitless labour strove to stop the flame.
83
Of God most high the residence renown'd,
Is, as foretold, laid desolate and waste,
O'er which the plough, as o'er a field, has past.
When Julian with infernal malice fill'd,
Aided the Jew, the temple to rebuild,
That men might hence the prophecies deride,
He arts in vain, and pow'r imperial tried;
For fires prodigious breaking from below
Th' apostate's impious project overthrow;
The workman's labour and his engines burn,
And Sion's old foundations overturn;
All which the Saviour's prophecy attest,
That not one stone should on another rest.
Aided the Jew, the temple to rebuild,
That men might hence the prophecies deride,
He arts in vain, and pow'r imperial tried;
For fires prodigious breaking from below
Th' apostate's impious project overthrow;
The workman's labour and his engines burn,
And Sion's old foundations overturn;
All which the Saviour's prophecy attest,
That not one stone should on another rest.
84
He did before-hand to th' apostles shew,
That, like their Lord, they should great wonders do,
And soon th' event prov'd his prediction true.
And after Christ's ascension to his throne
In heav'n, where he in bliss eternal shone,
All his predictions promissory, crown'd
With clear completion, infidels confound.
Now on th' apostles congregated, see,
Th' expected pure-proceeding Deity,
Gracious descending from the regions blest,
In cloven tongues of fire did on them rest;
Whence foreign languages, before unknown,
Th' apostles spake, as ready as their own,
By which they might convey Christ's high commands,
And propagate his gospel thro' the lands.
This gift of tongues miraculous amaz'd
The hearers, whence they on th' apostles gaz'd,
As messengers with pow'r divine inspir'd,
Which to their doctrine soon belief acquir'd.
This sacred Spirit, Comforter divine,
Their crude and dark conceptions did refine,
Their prepossessions by his light remov'd,
Their faith extended, and their zeal improv'd.
Peter no more the Saviour-Lord denied,
But preach'd him boldly, boldly for him died.
Now all their doubts dispell'd, his friends esteem
Him the true King, that Israel should redeem.
With miracles astonishing to sight,
Awful profusion of eternal might,
Majestick greatness and celestial state,
That in the mind belief divine create,
Th' Evangelists his heralds Christ proclaim
The Mediator-King, and zealous aim
To spread his heav'nly empire o'er the lands,
And make mankind revere his high commands.
Behold, resistless with a word they speak
Health to the sick, and vigor to the weak.
They now remove sharp pains, and ling'ring now,
The lame with feet, with eyes the blind endow.
Fevers by them rebuk'd call'd in their flame,
Torment grew easy, and distraction tame.
Demons, unclean infernal spirits, who
The pow'r resistless of th' apostles knew,
From men possess'd, and by their presence flew.
Departed life at their command return'd,
And vital flame extinct rekindling burn'd.
The dead awaken'd lift their wond'ring eyes;
Surpriz'd themselves, they all around surprize.
Wild beasts fierce Nature at their word dismiss'd,
Poisons grew mild, and harmless serpents hiss'd.
These wondrous works of pow'r divine and skill,
Which the bless'd Saviour's prophecy fulfill,
An awful train of miracles of might,
Confirm'd their Gospel, and diffus'd its light.
That, like their Lord, they should great wonders do,
And soon th' event prov'd his prediction true.
And after Christ's ascension to his throne
In heav'n, where he in bliss eternal shone,
All his predictions promissory, crown'd
With clear completion, infidels confound.
Now on th' apostles congregated, see,
Th' expected pure-proceeding Deity,
Gracious descending from the regions blest,
In cloven tongues of fire did on them rest;
Whence foreign languages, before unknown,
Th' apostles spake, as ready as their own,
By which they might convey Christ's high commands,
And propagate his gospel thro' the lands.
85
The hearers, whence they on th' apostles gaz'd,
As messengers with pow'r divine inspir'd,
Which to their doctrine soon belief acquir'd.
This sacred Spirit, Comforter divine,
Their crude and dark conceptions did refine,
Their prepossessions by his light remov'd,
Their faith extended, and their zeal improv'd.
Peter no more the Saviour-Lord denied,
But preach'd him boldly, boldly for him died.
Now all their doubts dispell'd, his friends esteem
Him the true King, that Israel should redeem.
With miracles astonishing to sight,
Awful profusion of eternal might,
Majestick greatness and celestial state,
That in the mind belief divine create,
Th' Evangelists his heralds Christ proclaim
The Mediator-King, and zealous aim
86
And make mankind revere his high commands.
Behold, resistless with a word they speak
Health to the sick, and vigor to the weak.
They now remove sharp pains, and ling'ring now,
The lame with feet, with eyes the blind endow.
Fevers by them rebuk'd call'd in their flame,
Torment grew easy, and distraction tame.
Demons, unclean infernal spirits, who
The pow'r resistless of th' apostles knew,
From men possess'd, and by their presence flew.
Departed life at their command return'd,
And vital flame extinct rekindling burn'd.
The dead awaken'd lift their wond'ring eyes;
Surpriz'd themselves, they all around surprize.
Wild beasts fierce Nature at their word dismiss'd,
Poisons grew mild, and harmless serpents hiss'd.
87
Which the bless'd Saviour's prophecy fulfill,
An awful train of miracles of might,
Confirm'd their Gospel, and diffus'd its light.
See, an obscure, unletter'd, needy band
Of fishermen with fearless courage stand
In presence of the mighty and the great,
And plac'd before the tyrant's judgment seat,
With unconsider'd words, and eloquence
Inspir'd by heav'n, make such a just defence,
That while the pris'ners did undaunted look,
Their guilty judges oft with terror shook.
Of fishermen with fearless courage stand
In presence of the mighty and the great,
And plac'd before the tyrant's judgment seat,
With unconsider'd words, and eloquence
Inspir'd by heav'n, make such a just defence,
That while the pris'ners did undaunted look,
Their guilty judges oft with terror shook.
Could men so low and abject ever dream,
Of undertaking to concert a scheme
How to atone the just eternal mind
By sin offended, and redeem mankind?
Grant that of this high task they could have thought,
Immensely from their humble sphere remote,
Could they without the science of the schools,
Unpractis'd in disputes, and in the rules
Of arts persuasive, nor for parts renown'd
Make their unpolish'd foolishness confound
Athenian wits, of vast esteem possest,
And triumph o'er the wisdom of the east?
Yet, see, without th' endowments of a mind
By nature happy, or in schools refin'd,
These fishermen celestial light display,
Convert the realms, and make them Christ obey.
They their new doctrines prevalent dispense,
Not by the sword, but by the eloquence
Of miracles divine, and wond'rous signs,
Which to belief th' astonish'd soul inclines.
And as entirely destitute of art,
And subtile means, they did the world convert,
So did they poor, without a friend or home,
As fugitives, thro' heathen kingdoms roam,
Where they, in spite of arm'd invet'rate foes,
Great kings and princes, who against them rose,
With zeal heroick, ignorant of dread,
Did thro' the nations Christ's Religion spread;
Nor could the terrors of tyrannick might
Controll the progress of their heav'nly light:
Nor all th' united pow'rs of earth and hell
Of truth divine these naked champions quell.
Boldly unhallow'd idols they assail'd,
Contemn'd they conquer'd, and unarm'd prevail'd.
Of undertaking to concert a scheme
88
By sin offended, and redeem mankind?
Grant that of this high task they could have thought,
Immensely from their humble sphere remote,
Could they without the science of the schools,
Unpractis'd in disputes, and in the rules
Of arts persuasive, nor for parts renown'd
Make their unpolish'd foolishness confound
Athenian wits, of vast esteem possest,
And triumph o'er the wisdom of the east?
Yet, see, without th' endowments of a mind
By nature happy, or in schools refin'd,
These fishermen celestial light display,
Convert the realms, and make them Christ obey.
They their new doctrines prevalent dispense,
Not by the sword, but by the eloquence
Of miracles divine, and wond'rous signs,
Which to belief th' astonish'd soul inclines.
89
And subtile means, they did the world convert,
So did they poor, without a friend or home,
As fugitives, thro' heathen kingdoms roam,
Where they, in spite of arm'd invet'rate foes,
Great kings and princes, who against them rose,
With zeal heroick, ignorant of dread,
Did thro' the nations Christ's Religion spread;
Nor could the terrors of tyrannick might
Controll the progress of their heav'nly light:
Nor all th' united pow'rs of earth and hell
Of truth divine these naked champions quell.
Boldly unhallow'd idols they assail'd,
Contemn'd they conquer'd, and unarm'd prevail'd.
Besides the doctrines, which th' apostles taught,
Against the heathen's darling vices fought,
Enjoyn'd them to extinguish wanton fires,
Hate, envy, pride, and covetous desires;
To make reproach, contempt, and scorn their choice,
Triumph in prisons, and in want rejoyce;
Of pleasures wealth and pow'r their farewel take,
And lay down life for a strange teacher's sake;
A teacher, who, as his apostles told,
'Midst heinous malefactors was enroll'd,
And sentenc'd by the rulers of the state
Met on the cross an ignominious fate.
Say, does it not all possibility
Surpass, that pagan nations should agree
Their ancient gods, and vices to denie,
And for a new Religion chuse to die,
On the bare word of a few wand'rers, who
Produc'd no proof, that what they taught was true.
Hence is it certain, that th' apostles wrought
Wonders, and signs miraculous, that brought
Convincing light from heav'n, that God had seal'd,
And ratify'd his Truth by them reveal'd;
Or else the Deist will be forc'd to grant,
That an effect do's no efficient want.
Against the heathen's darling vices fought,
90
Hate, envy, pride, and covetous desires;
To make reproach, contempt, and scorn their choice,
Triumph in prisons, and in want rejoyce;
Of pleasures wealth and pow'r their farewel take,
And lay down life for a strange teacher's sake;
A teacher, who, as his apostles told,
'Midst heinous malefactors was enroll'd,
And sentenc'd by the rulers of the state
Met on the cross an ignominious fate.
Say, does it not all possibility
Surpass, that pagan nations should agree
Their ancient gods, and vices to denie,
And for a new Religion chuse to die,
On the bare word of a few wand'rers, who
Produc'd no proof, that what they taught was true.
Hence is it certain, that th' apostles wrought
Wonders, and signs miraculous, that brought
91
And ratify'd his Truth by them reveal'd;
Or else the Deist will be forc'd to grant,
That an effect do's no efficient want.
Thus did the preachers of the Christian creed
Thro' the wide Roman monarchy succeed,
And the foundations of Christ's empire laid,
E'er yet the conqu'ring eagles were display'd
In Palestine, or Sion Rome obey'd:
Now this event does uncontested shew
The bless'd Redeemer's fam'd prediction true,
Who, pointing to the stately temple, said,
That thro' the world the Gospel should be spread,
E'er yet the Roman's unresisted sword
Should of Judæah's city make him Lord,
When he his valiant legions should employ
Her lofty walls and buildings to destroy.
Thro' the wide Roman monarchy succeed,
And the foundations of Christ's empire laid,
E'er yet the conqu'ring eagles were display'd
In Palestine, or Sion Rome obey'd:
Now this event does uncontested shew
The bless'd Redeemer's fam'd prediction true,
Who, pointing to the stately temple, said,
That thro' the world the Gospel should be spread,
E'er yet the Roman's unresisted sword
Should of Judæah's city make him Lord,
92
Her lofty walls and buildings to destroy.
Now to the proofs unprejudic'd attend,
By which those facts, as certain, we defend.
Some disputants absurd and obstinate
For evidence decisive in debate;
Whate'er the subject is, demand a light
Perceptible, as object of the sight;
And mathematick demonstration want
For all conclusions they are pleas'd to grant.
Ridiculous! can those half-scholars find
In sciences and arts of diff'rent kind,
No diff'rent methods to convince the mind?
By which those facts, as certain, we defend.
Some disputants absurd and obstinate
For evidence decisive in debate;
Whate'er the subject is, demand a light
Perceptible, as object of the sight;
And mathematick demonstration want
For all conclusions they are pleas'd to grant.
Ridiculous! can those half-scholars find
In sciences and arts of diff'rent kind,
No diff'rent methods to convince the mind?
The sciences and arts, to all it's known,
Claim principles distinguish'd of their own,
Whence for assent we various topicks use,
And diff'rent ways of demonstration chuse.
Do mariners to Indian isles by force
Of metaphysick doctrines steer their course?
Or do the sons of Æsculapian art,
Who, to recover health, wise rules impart,
The compass take, and mark the fluid blood,
That thus a fever may be understood?
Do lawyers plead from Euclid at the bar?
Do chiefs by Plato's notions govern war?
Or statesmen in the art of ruling skill'd
Their schemes of empire by Vitruvius build?
No, each of these have precepts of their own,
And principles distinct, from which alone
Their consequent deductions true appear,
Nor can be made by foreign maxims clear.
What point soever you your subject make,
The method you to gain conviction take,
If it be proper, evident, and all
For which the subject in debate can call,
Is scientifick, while it leaves behind
No ground or cause of doubting in the mind.
Such proofs as these all reas'ning men account
To mathematick certainty amount:
For what can Euclid, what can Newton prove
More plain, than he, who do's all doubt remove
From whatsoever springs our notions flow,
If we are certain, can we more be so?
Or more assur'd than sure? can certainty
Be more or less, and differ in degree?
Then if by moral mediums we can shew
The Gospel signs and miracles are true,
No geometrick maxims can procure
Fuller assent, and more the mind secure.
Claim principles distinguish'd of their own,
93
And diff'rent ways of demonstration chuse.
Do mariners to Indian isles by force
Of metaphysick doctrines steer their course?
Or do the sons of Æsculapian art,
Who, to recover health, wise rules impart,
The compass take, and mark the fluid blood,
That thus a fever may be understood?
Do lawyers plead from Euclid at the bar?
Do chiefs by Plato's notions govern war?
Or statesmen in the art of ruling skill'd
Their schemes of empire by Vitruvius build?
No, each of these have precepts of their own,
And principles distinct, from which alone
Their consequent deductions true appear,
Nor can be made by foreign maxims clear.
What point soever you your subject make,
The method you to gain conviction take,
94
For which the subject in debate can call,
Is scientifick, while it leaves behind
No ground or cause of doubting in the mind.
Such proofs as these all reas'ning men account
To mathematick certainty amount:
For what can Euclid, what can Newton prove
More plain, than he, who do's all doubt remove
From whatsoever springs our notions flow,
If we are certain, can we more be so?
Or more assur'd than sure? can certainty
Be more or less, and differ in degree?
Then if by moral mediums we can shew
The Gospel signs and miracles are true,
No geometrick maxims can procure
Fuller assent, and more the mind secure.
95
We may by certain testimony know,
That near the rising sun rich spices grow;
That celebrated Rome does tow'ring stand,
And fam'd Milano in Hesperia's land;
That there's a new found world America,
Tho' we these lands and cities never saw.
This is affirm'd by millions, who have been
In all those realms, and have those cities seen,
By commerce drawn, or curious to explore
People and lands unvisited before.
Nor can the strongest scientifick light
More help the mind to form conclusions right.
For where's the man, who can a cause assign,
That could prevail with millions to combine,
A lye, that serves no purpose, to invent,
Of which not one did ever yet repent?
This would transcend, as all men must agree,
The reach of moral possibility,
And would subvert right reason's strictest laws,
By owning an effect without a cause.
That near the rising sun rich spices grow;
That celebrated Rome does tow'ring stand,
And fam'd Milano in Hesperia's land;
That there's a new found world America,
Tho' we these lands and cities never saw.
This is affirm'd by millions, who have been
In all those realms, and have those cities seen,
By commerce drawn, or curious to explore
People and lands unvisited before.
Nor can the strongest scientifick light
More help the mind to form conclusions right.
For where's the man, who can a cause assign,
That could prevail with millions to combine,
A lye, that serves no purpose, to invent,
Of which not one did ever yet repent?
96
The reach of moral possibility,
And would subvert right reason's strictest laws,
By owning an effect without a cause.
The certainty, which from such proof we draw,
Of things existent, which we never saw,
Is notwithstanding founded on the sense
Of sight, an uncontested evidence,
Tho' not our own, of multitudes immense;
Whose witness must in cases be believ'd,
In which they can't deceive, nor be deceiv'd.
Besides, 'tis easier far, we bold aver,
That one, than millions, should in vision err:
Now should perverse philosophers conclude,
That objects may ten thousand eyes delude,
Then if my own should the same objects view,
Can I be sure they're represented true?
That they are real, am I certain, more
Than all those thousands, who mistook before.
Of things existent, which we never saw,
Is notwithstanding founded on the sense
Of sight, an uncontested evidence,
Tho' not our own, of multitudes immense;
Whose witness must in cases be believ'd,
In which they can't deceive, nor be deceiv'd.
Besides, 'tis easier far, we bold aver,
That one, than millions, should in vision err:
Now should perverse philosophers conclude,
That objects may ten thousand eyes delude,
Then if my own should the same objects view,
Can I be sure they're represented true?
97
Than all those thousands, who mistook before.
If certain Knowledge we can only find
By demonstration of the strictest kind,
This will the credit of all annals blast,
Nor have we means to know transactions past.
Must not all actions memorable die,
And in oblivion sunk for ever lie?
Absurd! for can't we full assurance draw
From histories, of things we never saw:
That Cæsar, Pompey's arms did overcome,
Usurp imperial pow'r, and govern Rome;
That thenceforth monarchs, and a purple train
Of scepter'd priests did in Hesperia reign;
That our first William of illustrious fame,
From Gallia's shores, to conquer Albion came;
That our eighth Henry did thy pow'r deny,
O Rome, and pontificial rage defie;
And, great example, at one glorious stroke
Rescued this island from her servile yoke,
And the proud props of foreign empire broke;
That our first James left Scotia's northern land,
Britannia's royal scepter to command;
That these and other liege imperial Lords
Rul'd Albion's realm, as history records,
And that the various laws which bear the name
Of our successive monarchs, are the same
With those they made, and still obedience claim?
Exclusive of all doubt, we are assur'd
These things are true, nor can there be procur'd
More certainty by any different ways
Of proof, whence reas'ning men conclusions raise
In other arts and sciences, ev'n those
Which evidence demonstrative propose.
By demonstration of the strictest kind,
This will the credit of all annals blast,
Nor have we means to know transactions past.
Must not all actions memorable die,
And in oblivion sunk for ever lie?
Absurd! for can't we full assurance draw
From histories, of things we never saw:
That Cæsar, Pompey's arms did overcome,
Usurp imperial pow'r, and govern Rome;
That thenceforth monarchs, and a purple train
Of scepter'd priests did in Hesperia reign;
That our first William of illustrious fame,
From Gallia's shores, to conquer Albion came;
98
O Rome, and pontificial rage defie;
And, great example, at one glorious stroke
Rescued this island from her servile yoke,
And the proud props of foreign empire broke;
That our first James left Scotia's northern land,
Britannia's royal scepter to command;
That these and other liege imperial Lords
Rul'd Albion's realm, as history records,
And that the various laws which bear the name
Of our successive monarchs, are the same
With those they made, and still obedience claim?
Exclusive of all doubt, we are assur'd
These things are true, nor can there be procur'd
More certainty by any different ways
Of proof, whence reas'ning men conclusions raise
In other arts and sciences, ev'n those
Which evidence demonstrative propose.
99
And now this preparation finish'd, see,
How we acquire unerring certainty,
That the great signs and miracles were done,
Recorded to evince, that Christ the Son
Of God was Mediator Lord, and prove
His high commission issued from above.
None, than the Gospel histories, appear
More from suspicion of imposture clear,
Compos'd and written by the artless pen
Of vulgar, plain, uneducated men,
Poor and illiterate, and despis'd as fools
By Jewish Rabbins and Athenian schools:
And were not such disqualified to frame
The vast, sublime, important Christian scheme,
And then invent of wonders such a train
Their new and forg'd religion to maintain,
As could belief thro' num'rous kingdoms gain?
How we acquire unerring certainty,
That the great signs and miracles were done,
Recorded to evince, that Christ the Son
Of God was Mediator Lord, and prove
His high commission issued from above.
None, than the Gospel histories, appear
More from suspicion of imposture clear,
Compos'd and written by the artless pen
Of vulgar, plain, uneducated men,
Poor and illiterate, and despis'd as fools
By Jewish Rabbins and Athenian schools:
And were not such disqualified to frame
The vast, sublime, important Christian scheme,
And then invent of wonders such a train
Their new and forg'd religion to maintain,
As could belief thro' num'rous kingdoms gain?
100
Would nations with their old religion part,
Rooted by custom deeply in the heart,
Their settled worship would great monarchs quit,
To humour needy wand'rers, and submit
At their persuasion to renounce their own,
And serve a God, unheard of, and unknown,
Had not amazing miracles been wrought,
Which uncontested demonstration brought,
That God confirm'd whate'er th' apostles taught;
That he in heav'n had ratified and seal'd
Their mission, and his will by them reveal'd?
Could they, without great wonders done, pretend
A new religious plan to recommend,
And tell the world, that on a stranger's word
Their ancient worship ought to be abhorr'd?
That they should keep their country's rites no more,
But their old gods disclaim, and Christ adore?
Or had they, seiz'd with wild distraction, tried
To bring the Pagans to the Christian side,
Without more motives; who can e'er believe,
The realms convinc'd their doctrines would receive?
'Tis true, th' impostor Arab, to promote
His forg'd religious scheme no wonders wrought;
That he the pow'r of God himself proclaim'd,
As Jesus was his Word and Wisdom nam'd;
This did the world by miracles persuade,
That did with arms and violence invade,
And proselytes by devastation made.
Rooted by custom deeply in the heart,
Their settled worship would great monarchs quit,
To humour needy wand'rers, and submit
At their persuasion to renounce their own,
And serve a God, unheard of, and unknown,
Had not amazing miracles been wrought,
Which uncontested demonstration brought,
That God confirm'd whate'er th' apostles taught;
That he in heav'n had ratified and seal'd
Their mission, and his will by them reveal'd?
Could they, without great wonders done, pretend
A new religious plan to recommend,
And tell the world, that on a stranger's word
Their ancient worship ought to be abhorr'd?
That they should keep their country's rites no more,
But their old gods disclaim, and Christ adore?
101
To bring the Pagans to the Christian side,
Without more motives; who can e'er believe,
The realms convinc'd their doctrines would receive?
'Tis true, th' impostor Arab, to promote
His forg'd religious scheme no wonders wrought;
That he the pow'r of God himself proclaim'd,
As Jesus was his Word and Wisdom nam'd;
This did the world by miracles persuade,
That did with arms and violence invade,
And proselytes by devastation made.
What then could make the Pagan kingdoms yield?
Th' apostles led no armies in the field,
Nor were they vers'd in statesmen's crafty rules,
The arts of war, or learning of the schools;
Yet destitute of eloquence and wit,
Of pow'r and wealth, and all endowments, fit
To plant a new religion, soon they won
The people to believe; if this were done
Without the help of miracles, then here
See an effect without a cause appear.
Th' apostles led no armies in the field,
Nor were they vers'd in statesmen's crafty rules,
The arts of war, or learning of the schools;
102
Of pow'r and wealth, and all endowments, fit
To plant a new religion, soon they won
The people to believe; if this were done
Without the help of miracles, then here
See an effect without a cause appear.
His foes, the Scribes and Pharisees, did own
The miracles, that were by Jesus done,
And crowds immense ascertain'd by their sight,
Were conscious of his wonder-working might.
Nor did the Pagan writers, Porphyry
And Celsus, fam'd philosophers, deny,
That all those mighty works the Christians quote
To prove his mission, were by Jesus wrought;
And had they not appear'd to them unfeign'd,
And with no marks of art collusive stain'd,
Could they from want of wit or spite neglect
To find th' imposture, and the fraud detect?
Supported by the suffrages of all
In eldest times, this truth can never fall,
That miracles surpassing Nature's sphere
By Jesus wrought did evident appear,
And from all umbrage of deception clear.
The miracles, that were by Jesus done,
And crowds immense ascertain'd by their sight,
Were conscious of his wonder-working might.
Nor did the Pagan writers, Porphyry
And Celsus, fam'd philosophers, deny,
That all those mighty works the Christians quote
To prove his mission, were by Jesus wrought;
And had they not appear'd to them unfeign'd,
And with no marks of art collusive stain'd,
103
To find th' imposture, and the fraud detect?
Supported by the suffrages of all
In eldest times, this truth can never fall,
That miracles surpassing Nature's sphere
By Jesus wrought did evident appear,
And from all umbrage of deception clear.
This argument yet farther to pursue,
And prove the Saviour's signs and wonders true,
We reason thus; that witness we believe,
Who cannot be deceiv'd, nor can deceive:
Th' apostles, who these miracles relate,
Did on their sacred Master daily wait;
They heard his words, and saw his works, and thence
They were ascertain'd by the evidence
Undoubtful of their own unerring sense.
And prove the Saviour's signs and wonders true,
We reason thus; that witness we believe,
Who cannot be deceiv'd, nor can deceive:
Th' apostles, who these miracles relate,
Did on their sacred Master daily wait;
They heard his words, and saw his works, and thence
They were ascertain'd by the evidence
Undoubtful of their own unerring sense.
104
His mighty works their Lord did oft repeat,
They standing by, nor could the senses cheat
These lookers on: for should we that concede,
We could no ground of certain knowledge plead;
All principles of science would be lost,
Euclid no more could demonstration boast.
If on our senses then we may depend,
And, that they can't mislead us, we contend,
Th' Evangelists could no deception find
From false ideas carry'd to their mind,
Who, as companions with their Lord convers'd,
And only what they heard, and saw rehears'd.
They standing by, nor could the senses cheat
These lookers on: for should we that concede,
We could no ground of certain knowledge plead;
All principles of science would be lost,
Euclid no more could demonstration boast.
If on our senses then we may depend,
And, that they can't mislead us, we contend,
Th' Evangelists could no deception find
From false ideas carry'd to their mind,
Who, as companions with their Lord convers'd,
And only what they heard, and saw rehears'd.
And from convincing proof, we may conclude,
They undeluded could not us delude.
These men are still in history allow'd
Offenceless, and with probity endow'd;
Were ne'er accus'd of vile, immoral life,
Fraud or injustice, or seditious strife:
They on their neighbours drew no fatal harms,
Nor kill'd with open or clandestine arms;
Ravag'd no countries by licentious bands,
Nor temples rob'd with sacrilegious hands.
The only charge their foes against them brought
Was founded on the doctrines, which they taught:
And what revenge their malice bad them take,
Was for religion's, and for Jesus sake.
They undeluded could not us delude.
These men are still in history allow'd
Offenceless, and with probity endow'd;
105
Fraud or injustice, or seditious strife:
They on their neighbours drew no fatal harms,
Nor kill'd with open or clandestine arms;
Ravag'd no countries by licentious bands,
Nor temples rob'd with sacrilegious hands.
The only charge their foes against them brought
Was founded on the doctrines, which they taught:
And what revenge their malice bad them take,
Was for religion's, and for Jesus sake.
Nor were they only harmless, but they went
From place to place on doing good intent.
Where'er the wand'rers came, they left behind
Some blessings on the body or the mind.
Besides, to make their heav'nly mission clear
The seal of God, as mention'd, did appear
In signs and wonders, which th' apostles wrought
Themselves, t'attest the doctrines, which they taught:
Which did by clearest demonstration prove,
That they were faithful envoys from above,
Sent forth by high authority, to teach
Celestial truth, and Christ the Saviour preach.
From place to place on doing good intent.
Where'er the wand'rers came, they left behind
Some blessings on the body or the mind.
Besides, to make their heav'nly mission clear
The seal of God, as mention'd, did appear
106
Themselves, t'attest the doctrines, which they taught:
Which did by clearest demonstration prove,
That they were faithful envoys from above,
Sent forth by high authority, to teach
Celestial truth, and Christ the Saviour preach.
Besides, this pow'r, as old records assure,
Did in the Church two centuries endure,
When Christians urg'd the foes to come, and see
The miracles they wrought by energy
Divine, and by their own unerring sight
Convinc'd receive the Gospel's heav'nly light.
Did in the Church two centuries endure,
When Christians urg'd the foes to come, and see
The miracles they wrought by energy
Divine, and by their own unerring sight
Convinc'd receive the Gospel's heav'nly light.
Firm in confession of their Lord they stood,
And seal'd at last their doctrine with their blood.
Had they been able, yet they could not dare
Spread schemes of new religion, and declare
At the same time, that those, who made a lye
Should still bear penal flames, yet never die.
And seal'd at last their doctrine with their blood.
Had they been able, yet they could not dare
Spread schemes of new religion, and declare
107
Should still bear penal flames, yet never die.
In vain 'tis urg'd, that some of fearless mind
For false religion have their lives resign'd:
See this objection thus with ease remov'd;
For false religion none have martyrs prov'd,
Who did not think that false religion true,
And thus right reason's rules they did pursue:
For erring conscience must as well controll
Our acts, as when it moves and guides the soul
Aright inform'd; for it is equal here,
If things are good, or only good appear:
But let th' objectors one example show,
Where men did death and torments undergo
For false religion, while they thought it so.
For false religion have their lives resign'd:
See this objection thus with ease remov'd;
For false religion none have martyrs prov'd,
Who did not think that false religion true,
And thus right reason's rules they did pursue:
For erring conscience must as well controll
Our acts, as when it moves and guides the soul
Aright inform'd; for it is equal here,
If things are good, or only good appear:
But let th' objectors one example show,
Where men did death and torments undergo
For false religion, while they thought it so.
108
But now reflect, it cannot be denied,
That Christ's apostles, if impostors, died
For a religion they themselves had coin'd,
And therefore knew, it must be false and feign'd.
And now if men of manners innocent,
Who life in pain and endless labour spent,
And scorn'd and friendless wander'd up and down,
Despising pow'r, revenues, and renown,
Then death in shame and torture underwent
To seal a lye, they did themselves invent,
And with great ardor spread; if this were so,
It must our Nature's order overthrow:
Men schemes may lay, and nothing thence intend,
And act with zeal, yet act without an end;
And then, behold, against right reason's laws,
Effects may be produc'd without a cause.
For tell us, hardy unbeliever, tell,
What aims, what springs, what motives could impell
Th' Evangelists, who had no worldly view,
To do and suffer thus, were not their doctrine true?
Nor, wonderful! did ever one repent
Of this suppos'd imposture, or lament
His crime, but harden'd, rather chose to die,
Than by confession to renounce a lye;
A lye, which by him forg'd, was to him known,
If we the gospel scheme a fiction own.
That Christ's apostles, if impostors, died
For a religion they themselves had coin'd,
And therefore knew, it must be false and feign'd.
And now if men of manners innocent,
Who life in pain and endless labour spent,
And scorn'd and friendless wander'd up and down,
Despising pow'r, revenues, and renown,
Then death in shame and torture underwent
To seal a lye, they did themselves invent,
And with great ardor spread; if this were so,
It must our Nature's order overthrow:
Men schemes may lay, and nothing thence intend,
And act with zeal, yet act without an end;
And then, behold, against right reason's laws,
Effects may be produc'd without a cause.
109
What aims, what springs, what motives could impell
Th' Evangelists, who had no worldly view,
To do and suffer thus, were not their doctrine true?
Nor, wonderful! did ever one repent
Of this suppos'd imposture, or lament
His crime, but harden'd, rather chose to die,
Than by confession to renounce a lye;
A lye, which by him forg'd, was to him known,
If we the gospel scheme a fiction own.
By these conspiring lights it must appear
To minds impartial evident and clear,
That Christ's great works and wonders were unfeign'd
Real and certain, which not only gain'd
Th' assent of Christian converts, but of foes,
Who did with ardent zeal that faith oppose.
To minds impartial evident and clear,
That Christ's great works and wonders were unfeign'd
Real and certain, which not only gain'd
Th' assent of Christian converts, but of foes,
Who did with ardent zeal that faith oppose.
110
Now if the vanquish'd will renew the fight,
Harden'd and proof against convincing light,
To truth celestial falsehood they prefer,
Sway'd by a strong propensity to err;
To argument an anti-genius show,
And a perverse antipathy to know.
Harden'd and proof against convincing light,
To truth celestial falsehood they prefer,
Sway'd by a strong propensity to err;
To argument an anti-genius show,
And a perverse antipathy to know.
St. Mat. iii. 11.—St. John. xiv, 16, 17, 26. xv. 26. xvi. 7. &c.—Act. i. 8, 9, 10,—Acts ii. 2, 3, 4, and 14.
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