read the Christian writers after the ages of the grounds upon which it stood firm, and by which apostles, will easily find how much the philosophy he enforced it, was what alone he minded; and they were tinctured with influenced them in their without solemnly winding up one argument, and understanding of the books of the Old and New intimating any way that he began another, let his Testament. In the ages wherein Platonism pre- thoughts, which were fully possessed of the matvailed, the converts to Christianity of that school, ter, run in one continued train, wherein the parts on all occasions, interpreted Holy Writ according of his discourse were wove one into another. So to the notions they had imbibed from that philo- that it is seldom that the scheme of his discourse sophy. Aristotle's doctrine had the same effect in makes any gap; and, therefore, without breaking its turn, and when it degenerated into the Peripa- in upon the connection of his language, it is hardteticism of the schools, that too brought its notionsly possible to separate his discourse, and give a and distinctions into divinity, and affixed them to distinct view of his several arguments in distinct the terms of the sacred Scripture. And we may sections. see still how at this day every one's philosophy regulates every one's interpretation of the word of God. Those who are possessed with the doctrine of aërial and aetherial vehicles, have thence borrowed an interpretation of the four first verses of 2 Cor. v., without having any ground to think that St. Paul had the least notion of any such vehicles. It is plain that the teaching of men philosophy was no part of the design of divine revelation; but that the expressions of Scripture are commonly suited in those matters to the vulgar apprehensions and conceptions of the place and people where they were delivered. And as to the doctrine therein directly taught by the apostles, that tends wholly to the setting up the kingdom of Jesus Christ in this world, and the salvation of men's souls; and in this it is plain their expressions were conformed to the ideas and notions which they had received from revelation, or were consequent from it. We shall therefore in vain go about to interpret their words by the notions of our philosophy, and the doctrines of men delivered in our schools. This is to explain the apostles' meaning by what they never thought of whilst they were writing; which is not the way to find their sense in what they delivered, but our own, and to take up from their writings not what they left there for us, but what we bring along with us in ourselves. He that would understand St. Paul right, must understand his terms in the sense he uses them, and not as they are appropriated by each man's particular philosophy, to conceptions that never entered the mind of the apostle. For example, he that shall bring the philosophy now taught and received to the explaining of spirit, soul, and body, mentioned 1 Thess. v. 23, will, I fear, hardly reach St. Paul's sense, or represent to himself the notions St. Paul then had in his mind. That is what we should aim at in reading him, or any other author; and until we from his words paint his very ideas and thoughts in our minds, we do not understand him.

In the divisions I have made, I have endeavored the best I could to govern myself by the diversity of matter. But in a writer like St. Paul, it is not so easy always to find precisely where one subject ends and another begins. He is full of the matter, he treats and writes with warmth, which usually neglects method, and those partitions and pauses, which men, educated in the schools of rhetoricians usually observe. Those arts of writing St. Paul, as well out of design as temper, wholly laid by the subject he had in hand, and the

I am far from pretending infallibility in the sense I have any where given in my Paraphrase or Notes; that would be to erect myself into an apostle, a presumption of the highest nature in any one that cannot confirm what he says by miracles. I have, for my own information, sought the true meaning as far as my poor abilities would reach: and I have unbiassedly embraced what, upon a fair inquiry, appeared so to me. This I thought my duty and interest in a matter of so great concernment to me. If I must believe for myself, it is unavoidable that I must understand for myself. For if I blindly and with an implicit faith, take the pope's interpretation of the sacred Scripture, without examining whether it be Christ's meaning, it is the pope I believe in, and not in Christ; it is his authority I rest upon; it is what he says I embrace: for what it is Christ says I neither know nor concern myself. It is the same thing when I set up any other man in Christ's place, and make him the authentic interpreter of sacred Scripture to myself. He may possibly understand the sacred Scripture as right as any man; but I shall do well to examine myself whether that which I do not know, nay (which in the way I take) I can never know, can justify me in making myself his disciple, instead of Jesus Christ's, who of right is alone and ought to be my only Lord and master, and it will be no less sacrilege in me to substitute to myself any other in his room, to be a prophet to me, than to be my king or priest.

We

The same reasons that put me upon doing what I have in these papers done, will exempt me from all suspicion of imposing my interpretation on others. The reasons that led me into the meaning which prevailed on my mind, are set down with it: as far as they carry light and conviction to any other man's understanding, so far I hope my labors may be of some use to him; beyond the evidence it carries with it, I advise him not to follow mine, nor any man's interpretation. are all men, liable to errors, and infected with' them; but have this sure way to preserve ourselves every one from danger by them, if, laying aside sloth, carelessness, prejudice, party, and a reverence of men, we betake ourselves in earnest to the study of the way to salvation, in those holy writings wherein God has revealed it from heaven, and proposed it to the world, seeking our religion where we are sure it is in truth to be found, comparing spiritual things with spiritual things.

A DISCOURSE ON MIRACLES.

THIS tractate may properly be regarded as the development of the view taken of the subject of miracles, in the Essay on the Human Understanding. And though neither very elaborate nor extensive, it will always, for the religious inquirer, possess considerable interest; partly for its intrinsic merits, partly because it contains the ripest thoughts of one of the greatest lights in philosophy that the world has to boast of. The passage of the Essay in which he had already, in

the earlier part of his life, glanced at the subject,

(which are different in different men,) it is unavoidable that that should be a miracle to one, which is not so to another.

2. Another objection to this definition will be, that the notion of a miracle thus enlarged, may come sometimes to take in operations that have nothing extraordinary or supernatural in them, and thereby invalidate the use of miracles for the attesting of divine revelation.

To which I answer, not at all, if the testimony which divine revelation receives from miracles be

rightly considered.

is as follows:-" Though the common experience, and the ordinary course of things, have justly a mighty influence on the minds of men, to make them give or refuse credit to any thing proposed to their belief; yet there is one case, wherein the strangeness of the fact lessens not the assent to a fair testimony given of it. For where such supernatural events are suitable to ends aimed at by Him, who has the power to change the course It is to be considered, that divine revelation reof nature, there, under such circumstances, they ceives testimony from no other miracles, but such may be the fitter to procure belief, by how much as are wrought to witness his mission from God, the more they are beyond or contrary to ordinary that are done in the world, how many or great who delivers the revelation. All other miracles observation. This is the proper case of miracles, soever, revelation is not concerned in. Cases which, well attested, do not only find credit them-wherein there has been, or can be need of miraselves, but give it also to other truths, which need cles for the confirmation of revelation, are fewer such confirmation." Book iv. Chap. 16, § 13.-than perhaps is imagined. The heathen world,

To know that any revelation is from God, it is livers it is sent from God; and that cannot be necessary to know that the messenger that deknown but by some credentials given him by God himself. Let us see then whether miracles, in my sense, be not such credentials, and will not infallibly.direct us right in the search of divine revelation.

ED.

To discourse of miracles without defining what one means by the word miracle, is to make a show, but in effect to talk of nothing.

amidst an infinite and uncertain jumble of deities, fables, and worships, had no room for a divine attestation of any one against the rest. Those owners of many gods were at liberty in their worship; and no one of their divinities pretending to be the one only true God, no one of them could be supposed, in the Pagan scheme, to make use of A miracle, then, I take to be a sensible opera-miracles to establish his worship alone, or to tion, which, being above the comprehension of the spectator, and in his opinion contrary to the established course of nature, is taken by him to be divine.

He that is present at the fact, is a spectator: he that believes the history of the fact, puts himself in the place of a spectator.

This definition, it is probable, will not escape these two exceptions:

1. That hereby what is a miracle is made very uncertain: for it depending on the opinion of the spectator, that will be a miracle to one which will not be so to another.

In answer to which, it is enough to say, that this objection is of no force, but in the mouth of one who can produce a definition of a miracle not liable to the same exception, which I think not easy to do; for it being agreed, that a miracle must be that which surpasses the force of nature in the established, steady laws of causes and effects, nothing can be taken to be a miracle but what is judged to exceed those laws. Now every one being able to judge of those laws only by his own acquaintance with nature, and notions of its force,

abolish that of the other; much less was there any use of miracles to confirm any articles of faith, since no one of them had any such to propose as necessary to be believed by their votaries; and, therefore, I do not remember any miracles recorded in the Greek or Roman writers, as done to confirm any one's mission and doctrine. Conformable herunto we find St. Paul, 1 Cor. i. 22, takes notice that the Jews (it is true) required miracles, but as for the Greeks they looked after something else; they knew no need or use there was of miracles to recommend any religion to them. And indeed it is an astonishing mark how far the god of this world had blinded men's minds, if we consider that the Gentile world received and stuck to a religion, which, not being derived from reason, had no sure foundation in revelation. They knew not its original, nor the authors of it, nor seemed concerned to know from whence it came, or by whose authority delivered; and so had no mention or use of miracles for its confirmation. For though there were here and there some pretences to revelation, yet there were not so much as pretences to miracles that attested it.

day we find, that wherever the gospel comes, it prevails, to the beating down the strong holds of Satan, and the dislodging the prince of the power of darkness, driving him away with all his living wonders; which is a standing miracle, carrying with it the testimony of superiority.

What is the uttermost power of natural agents or created beings, men of the greatest reach cannot discover; but that it is not equal to God's omnipotency is obvious to every one's understanding; so that the superior power is an easy, as well as sure guide to revelation, attested by miracles, where they are brought as credentials to an embassy from God.

And thus, upon the same grounds of superiority of power, uncontested revelation will stand

and always will be, a visible and sure guide to divine revelation; by which men may conduct themselves in their examining of revealed religions, and be satisfied which they ought to receive as coming from God; though they have by no means ability precisely to determine what is, or is not above the force of any created being; or what operations can be performed by none but a divine power, and require the immediate hand of the Almighty. And therefore we see it is by that our Saviour measures the great unbelief of the Jews, John xv. 24, saying, “If I had not done among them the works which no other man did, they had not had sin; but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father;" declaring, that they could not but see the power and presence of God in those many miracles he did, which were greater than ever any other man had done. When God sent Moses to the children of Israel with a message, 1. That no mission can be looked on to be di- that now, according to his promise, he would revine, that delivers any thing derogating from the deem them by his hand out of Egypt, and furnishhonor of the one, only true, invisible God, or in-ed him with signs and credentials of his mission; consistent with natural religion and the rules of morality; because God having discovered to men the unity and majesty of his eternal Godhead, and the truths of natural religion and morality, by the light of reason, he cannot be supposed to back the contrary by revelation: for that would be to destroy the evidence and the use of reason, without which men cannot be able to distinguish divine revelation from diabolical imposture.

too.

For the explaining of which, it may be necessary to premise,

2. That it cannot be expected that God should send any one into the world on purpose to inform men of things indifferent, and of small moment, or that are knowable by the use of their natural faculties. This would be to lessen the dignity of his Majesty in favour of our sloth, and in prejudice to

our reason.

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it is very remarkable what God himself says of those signs, Exod. iv. 8: "And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, nor hearken to the voice of the first sign (which was turning his rod into a serpent) that they will believe the voice of the latter sign;" (which was the making his hand leprous by putting it in his bosom ;) God further adds, v. 9, “ And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river and pour upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.” Which of those operations was or was not above the force of all created beings, will, I suppose, be hard for any man, too hard for a poor brick-maker, to 3. The only case then wherein a mission of any determine; and therefore the credit and certain one from heaven can be reconciled to the high and reception of the mission, was annexed to neither awful thoughts men ought to have of the Deity, of them, but the prevailing of their attestation must be the revelation of some supernatural truths was heightened by the increase of their number; relating to the glory of God, and some great con- two supernatural operations showing more power cern of men. Supernatural operations attesting than one, and three more than two. God allowed such a revelation may with reason be taken to be that it was natural, that the marks of greater miracles, as carrying the marks of a superior and power should have a greater impression on the overruling power, as long as no revelation accom-minds and belief of the spectators. Accordingly panied with marks of a greater power appears the Jews by this estimate judged of the miracles against it. Such supernatural signs may justly of our Saviour, John vii. 31, where we have this stand good, and be received for divine, i, e. wrought account: "And many of the people believed on by a power superior to all, till a mission attested him, and said, 'When Christ cometh will he do by operations of a greater force shall disprove more miracles than these which this man hath them: because it cannot be supposed God should done?" This, perhaps, as it is the plainest, so it suffer his prerogative to be so far usurped by any is also the surest way to preserve the testimony inferior being, as to permit any creature, depend- of miracles in its due force to all sorts and degrees ing on him, to set his seals, the marks of his divine of people. For miracles being the basis on which authority, to a mission coming from him. For divine mission is always established, and consethese supernatural signs being the only means quently that foundation on which the believers of God is conceived to have to satisfy men, as rational any divine revelation must ultimately bottom their creatures, of the certainty of any thing he would faith, this use of them would be lost, if not to all reveal, as coming from himself, can never consent mankind, yet at least to the simple and illiterate, that it should be wrested out of his hands, to serve (which is the far greatest part,) if miracles be dethe ends and establish the authority of an inferior fined to be none but such divine operations as are agent that rivals him. His power being known to in themselves beyond the power of all created have no equal, always will, and always may be beings, or at least operations contrary to the fixed safely depended on, to show its superiority in vin- and established laws of nature. For as to the dicating his authority, and maintaining every truth latter of those, what are the fixed and established that he hath revealed. So that the marks of a su- laws of nature, philosophers alone, if at least they, perior power accompanying it, always have been, can pretend to determine. And if they are to be

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THE END.