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VI.

ficheft Mines of Truth; which escape the S ER M. Obfervation of common and hafty Readers. Agreeable to this Paffage is that in Ifaiah; where God is introduced speaking to Cyrus King of Perfia by the Mouth of the Prophet: I am the Lord, and there is none else. I form the Light, and create Darkness: I make Peace, and create Evil, I make Peace (a temporal Bleffing) and War (a temporal Evil) I the Lord do all thefe Things *: Whereas you Perfans adore two First Causes, the one the Origin of Light and Good, the other of Darkness; I, in order to rectify your Notions, affure you, that I alone do all thefe; that there is no Evil without my Permiffion, no Good without my Concurrence.

Thus we fee, that no Heathen Nation difbelieved the Exiftence of Evil Spirits; feveral carried their Notions of them too high, and aggrandized their Power too much.

We fee, that, as the Scale of Beings defcend from Man to Brute, from Brutes of a higher Species to thofe of a lower, to the smallest Infect; the higher Beings in each Link of the Chain have fome Kind of Dominion and vifible Authority over their immediate Inferiors; Man, for Inftance, over Animals, &c. And, from that Harmony

* Ifai. xlv. 6, 7.

VI.

SER M. which runs through all God's Works, we may conclude; that as the Scale afcends from Man to Angels; they too have some Power and Prerogative over us; as we have over Brutes; and thefe again of a higher, over those of a lower, Species. This is probable from Analogy: and perhaps it is nothing but our Pride that inclines us to think, that we who are fuffered to exercise an unwarrantable Tyranny over, and to inflict useless Misery upon, Beings of a lower Clafs, fhould be intirely independent upon Creatures of a much higher Rank.

But the greatest Difficulty remains: How is it confiftent with God's Goodness, or reconcileable to his Attributes, to suffer thofe Beings to poffefs the Bodies of Men, which was the Cafe of the Dæmoniacs, as well as to feduce their Minds?

To this the Reply is obvious: if God has fuffered visible Beings to be the Execu tioners of his Vengeance upon us, why may not He suffer invifible Beings to be the Inftruments of Evil to us? If God permits us to be haraffed and devoured by wild Beafts, or aggrieved by Evil Men (more favage fometimes than Beafts) why not by Wicked Damons and Accurfed Spirits? If Diseases, and often Death, are occafioned by Natural and Material Subftances, why may they not by Supernatural ones? Nay, Invisible Beings are much fitter Inftruments

of

V I.

of God's Providence with Regard to us, SERM. than we can be with Regard to one another; as the Sphere of their Abilities. is more enlarged, the Range of their Knowledge more extenfive, and their Methods of Operation more expeditious.

There are feveral particular Cases, that cannot probably be brought about consistently with general Laws, or that uniform Method of acting whereby God fteers the Universe. And if it be afked, why, in punishing the Bad, and chaftifing or trying the Good, God does not act immediately Himself? It may be fufficient to answer, that as God never calls in a Supernatural Power, where an human was fufficient, so He never exerts his Omnipotence, where an Angelical Power was equal to the Effect to be produced or, in other Words, He never uses more Power or greater Means than are requifite.

:

In a Word, 'tis no Impeachment of God's Goodness to fuppofe; He fuffers the nobler Parts of the Creation, viz. Spiritual Beings, to exert thofe Powers, which He has vefted in them over inferior Creatures, provided He has fet them their Bounds which they cannot pass; faying, Hitherto Shall ye go, and no farther; provided He can bring Good out of Evil; blaft their Designs, and make That end in the Benefit and Good of the Whole, which they defigned for the Destruction of particular Perfons.

SER M.

V I.

If the Frequency of Perfons possessed at the Time of our Saviour's Appearance (more than ever were heard of before or fince) ftartle any Man; He may confider, that the Jews being, at that Juncture, extremely addicted to Magical Arts, had called in the Devil in an uncommon Manner, as well as deferted their God JEHOVAH, with whom they were in Covenant. He may confider, that they were then juft filling up the Measure of their Iniquities; and accordingly, not long after, Jofephus, their own Hiftorian, affures us they were arrived at that Pitch of enormous Wickedness; that, if the Romans had not deftroyed Jerufalem, He believes that God, by fome exemplary Vengeance from Heaven, would have crushed them; and confumed their City, as He had thofe of Sodom and Gomorrah. That God fhould abandon and give them over unto Satan, who had thus abandoned Him and all Goodness, is not much to be wondered at. He may, laftly, confider, that then chiefly were the Powers of Darknefs brought to Light, because then chiefly That Power exerted itfelf, which was able to bring their Deeds to Light.

This may account for the Frequency of Dæmoniacs in our Saviour's Time. God then fuffered Evil Spirits to exert themselves more than ufual, because then a Way was

opened

par

opened to fetch universal Good out of
tial Evil; by proving to the Jews, that
He who caft out Devils did not work his
Miracles by the Power of Devils; and by
demonftrating to the Heathens, that thofe
Beings, whom they adored, were accurfed
Spirits, whom He difpoffeffed.

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A very ingenious Author * expreffes his Surprize, that Damoniacs fhould be fo frequent in JUDEA in our Saviour's Time; whereas they never were heard of in other Nations, and there only at that particular Time. To which I answer, that here are two Miftakes as to Matter of Fact. Damoniacs were in other Nations befides Judæa, as appears from Thrafyllus, an Author fuppofed to flourish in the Reign of Tiberius, who uses the very Word, which is rendered Damoniacs. But though they are not always diftinguished by the Title of Damoniacs in profane Authors, yet they are very often mentioned with Appellations fynonymous to it t And whereas it is objected, that they are not mentioned in the Hiftory of the Bible before our Saviour's Time; not to infift on the Cafe of Saul, who was troubled with an Evil Spirit, the Omiffion may be easily accounted for,

without

* See The Works of JOSEPH Mede, p. 28.

+ Φοιβόληπτος Πύθωες, Νυμφόληπτοι, Θεοφόρητοι· Nocturnis Diis Faunifque agitati; Lymphati, Cerriti, Larvati,

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