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his Act, but as an Act of Providence: If Jefus had no Right to deftroy the People's Swine, yet God, who is the fupreme Proprietor of the whole Earth, moft certainly had and fhall we then complain of him for fuch a Punishment as this, when every Day we see more furprizing Inftances before our Eyes? When we see him laying whole Nations wafte with Peftilence, with Famine, and with Earthquakes, fhall we confefs his Sovereign Authority in these Cafes; and yet, upon the Lofs of two Thousand Swine, cry out, and fay, Why haft thou done thus? The Heathens themselves (upon the Suppofition of a Providence) will acknowledge this to be unreasonable; nor can our Saviour (as acting by a Divine Commi ffion) ever be juftly blam'd, because he once or twice did the fame thing, which God does every Day.

The Truth is, whether the Proprietors were Jews or Gentiles, the Words in the Text do not imply, that our Saviour was either Principal, or Acceffory in the Deftruction of the Swine. St. Mark indeed tells us that he gave the Devils leave, and St. Luke, that he fuffer'd them to enter into the Swine; but by this is meant no more, than that he did

Dr. Pearce, Part 2 p. 28.

of the

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did not prevent them; that he did not interpofe his Divine Power in order to hin der them from entering: But if this made our Saviour a sharer in the Destruction of the Swine, by a parity of Reafon, it will make God (because hepermits it) answerable for all the Evil, that's done under the Sun; which were moft Impious to think, and moft Blafphemous to fay. Since therefore there were at Gadara The Sum Swine kept, by the Heathens no doubt, and not improbably by the Jews likewife; whether we fuppofe the Jews or Heathens Owners of this Herd, our Saviour's permitting the Devils to enter into them, made him not acceffory to their Destruction; or if it be faid that he did it with a punitive Intent, it was to make the Jews fuffer for the Breach of their Law, or the Heathens for their obftinate Idolatry, which his Character of a Prophet, and the Teftimony of his being the Son of the most High, without all Controverfy, authorised him to do. And now to confider the Merits of the Miracle itself.

Whether the Practice of exorcifing Few or Devils was really in ufe among the Jews o Exorcifms abefore our Saviour's Time, is a Matter mong the of fome Debate among the Learned. Few Our Saviour indeed, in anfwer to the Objection of a Diabolical Confederacy in what

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what he did, puts a Queftion to the Jews; If I by Beelzebub caft out Devils, by whom do your Children caft them out? 6 But by the Children of the Jews, fome Interpreters will only understand those Sons of theirs, who were become our Saviour's Disciples, and more particularly the Seventy, to whom he had given a Commiffion to caft out Devils, and from whom, all fuch, as were diffident of the Matter, might receive full Conviction, is they pleas'd to enquire: tho' other Expofitors think proper to refer the Words to the Jews at large, who, on fome certain Occafions (as they fuppofe) were enable to difpoffefs Devils, by a folemn and religious Invocation of the God of Abraham, the God of Ifaac, and the God of Jacob. However this be, that the Difpoffeffion of Devils was no customary Thing among the Jews, before our Saviour's Miniftry, is very evident from the great Surprize and Amazement they exprefs'd, whenever they beheld fuch an Inftance of his Power. For when, on any fuch Occafion, the Multitudes marvelled, faying, it was ne ver fo feen in Ifrael; the People were amaz'd, and faid, is not this the Son of David? The Spectators began to que ftion

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Bp. Smallbroke's Vind. p. 191. Matth ix. 33. Ibid. xii. 13.

ftion among themfelves, faying, what Thing is this? What new Doctrine is this? For with Authority commandetḥ he even the unclean Spirits, and they obey him; this is a plain Argument, that the Authority, which our Saviour then exercis'd over the Powers of Darkness, was a Thing unknown in Judea, and a diftinguishing Character of his being the Meffiah, the Son of David.

But we will allow for once, that, in If any, fome rare Inftances, the Jews, before they were Chrift, were known to exorcife Devils; mation of a Confiryet it will not therefore follow, that our Chrift. Saviour's difpoffeffions of them were no Proofs of his Divine Authority: So far from this, that the Jewish Exorcifms were rather a Confirmation of it. For, if fuch Difpoffeffions were really made among the Jews, by the Invocation of the Name of the God of Ifrael, our bleffed Saviour, who not only did this with greater Efficacy, and in many more Inftances, than was ever known before ; but communicated to his Followers likewife an Ability to do the fame in his own Name, muft thereby declare to the World, that his Power was derived from the fame Original; or, (more properly fpeaking,) fince his Name had the fame efficacy with his Father's, that he and his Father were one. And herein lies the

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Strength

Strength of his Reasoning with the Jews, • If I by Beelzebub caft out Devils, by whom do your Children caft them out? "Your Children, you fay, exorcife De"vils, by Virtue of the Name of the true "God, and thereupon you conclude, "that they are in no Confederacy with "Satan; you fee me daily do the fame, "nay, do it in a greater Degree than "they can; and yet ye will not have "the fame good Opinion of me: Let "them therefore be your Judges, and if "they are conscious to themselves that, ❝ in doing of this, they have no Crimi"nal Correfpondence, they certainly "will acquit me, and own that, if I by "the Spirit of God not only caft out "Devils my felf, but commiffion others “ to do the like in my Name, then "doubtlefs the Kingdom of God is come unto you. Whether therefore we fuppofe that the Jews did, or did not exorcife Devils, before the coming of our Saviour Chrift, his divine Authority, in exerting that miraculous Power, is equally the fame, or rather receives a greater Sanction and Confirmation from what they did and fo to proceed to his Transfiguration on the Mount.

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Matth. xii. 27, 28.

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