Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB
[ocr errors]

ence, who believes these holy Oracles to be true; nor can any endeavour to difpoffefs his Mind of this Perfuafion, without tempting God to give him up to a Strong Delufion, that he may believe a Lye. That, both among the Jews and Gentiles, before our Saviour's time, Men were poffefs'd with these evil Spirits, is manifeft from the Teftimony of Fofephus, who tells us of a very powerful Form of Exorcifm, which defcended from Solomon, who learnt it from God; and from the Testimony of Plutarch, who acquaints us, that the Magicians of most Nations advised thofe, that were poffefs'd, to repeat the Ephefian Letters. That these evil Spirits were diftin& Subfiftences, and neither the Paffions nor Diseafes of Mankind, is plain, from the Circumftances of their Ejection; from their expoftulating hereupon with Chrift, What have we to do with thee? art thou come to deftroy us? art thou come to torment us before the Time? And from his commanding them fometimes to be filent, and fometimes to come out of the Man, and enter into him no more, &c.

Time.

The Truth is, these apoftate Spirits Why more had gotten fo far Poffeffion of the World, about his that they began to rival God in his Worship; and therefore one End of his Son's

R 3

Incar

Vid.Whitby's Gen. Pref. before the Epift. p. 43.

That they are

not

cr even

now.

Incarnation is faid to be this, f That he might deftroy the Works of the Devil, and 8 overcome the ftrong one, and divide his Spoils. And this, by the way, may fuggeft a Reafon, why at, er about the Time of our Saviour's Advent, God might permit the Devil to exert himself in an ufual manner, in order to be the more fignally triumph'd over by the Saviour of the World, and those, that were delegated by him to convert Mankind to his Religion.

'Tis true indeed, that the Devil has not with not acted, in fo open and undisguis'd a out Pow- manner, fince the Establishment of Christianity, which has mightily impair'd his Power; but, tho' we do not know the Laws of the invinfible World, and under what Regulation evil Spirits may be now reftrain'd, or how, and for what Reasons, they may have varied the outward Appearances of their former Conduct in their Tranfactions with Mankind, yet there is too much reafon to apprehend, from the prodigious growth of all forts of Vice and Impiety, that evil Spirits are, even now, more concern'd with the Spiritual Affairs of Men, than is generally imagin'd, tho' they may carry on their Commerce in a more art

John iii. 8. 8 Luke xi. 21, 22.

ful

ful and clandeftine manner, than in former Times.

Cure Mi

raculous.

To return then to the Woman. If The Wo fuch was her unhappy Condition, that, man's for eighteen Years, fhe had been fubjected to the Bondage of one of these evil Spirits, and reduc'd, at laft, to fuch a degree of Crookedness, that she could by no means lift up her Head; how can we fuppofe, that a little good Advice and comfortable Difcourfe fhould difpoffefs the Fiend, and make her ftrait, and ftand up right in a Moment? What is moft remarkable in the Woman's Cafe is, that she does not seem to have expected any relief from Jefus. She happen'd accidentally to be in theSynagogue on the Sabbath-day, among other People; and he, seeing her, and obferving her pitiable Condition, called her to him, and healed her. Now, had this Woman been only a little Vapourish, or Melancholly, without any visible bodily Diftemper, it can hardly be imagin'd, that Jefus, in fuch a publick folemn Affembly,before so many Witneffes,and among thefe, not a few of his inveterate Enemies, would have pretended to cure a Woman,that had only fome Illness, or flight Indifpofition, which no Body cou'd perceive? So far from this, that, in the feR 4 quel

quel of the Story, h we read, that the Womanglorified God for her happy Recovery; that the Ruler of the Synagogue exprefs'd his Malice and Indignation at it; that our Saviour wifely juftified the Action he had done; and that all the People rejoic'd and were exceedingly glad for what they had feen: but, if the Woman's Difeafe was only Vapours, and a little lownefs of Spirit, her Gratitude was too prodigal, because her Diftemper was but a trifle, and all the Favour,fhe had receiv'd from Jefus, was only that of a few fair Words; the Ruler was outragious for nothing, for no Cure had been done in breach of the Sabbath-day; and the People's Joy was only Noise and Nonfenfe, because they had feen no glorious Thing perform'd. But enough has been faid in Confutation of this idle Dream; and therefore proceed we next to our Lord's Prophetical Converfation with the Samaritan Woman.

Luke xiii. 13, &c. Ray's Vind. Part 2. p. 56.

SECT.

SECT. XV.

Of his Prophetical Converfation with the Samaritan Woman.

B

UT inftead of any thing Prophe- The Obtical in it, it is all mere Fortune- jection. "telling. So far indeed as one can ga"ther from the Woman's Discourse, the "Expectation of the Samaritans was, "that the Meffiab should be neither a "Prince nor a Prophet, but Conjurer "only; and for what appears in the "Story (inftead of any Tokens of "Omniscience in it) the whole thing might "be a Cheat and Artifice. By fome "private Intimations or other, (as the "Practice of Fortune-tellers is,) Jefus "might get Intelligence of fome Cir"cumftances of thisWoman's Life; and, "by the help of these, firft raise her "Admiration, and then poffefs her with "the Notion of his being the promis'd

Meffiah, which we find him more "ready to declare to her, than ever he was to wifer People.

The

« AnteriorContinuar »