No reason to desire new revelations a sermon preach'd at the Cathedral-Church of St. Paul, October 7th, 1700, being the seventh for the year 1700, of the lecture founded by the Honourable Robert Boyle, Esq. / by Ofspring Blackall ...

1. That the Principles of Faith and the Motives to Repentance which we have already, being well grounded upon Matters of Fact, which have been once already sufficiently prov'd and attested, 'tis altogether needless that any fresh or further Proof should be gi∣ven of them; and 'tis what we never think reasonable to desire in other the like Cases.

That when God requires us to believe or do any thing, and sends a special Messenger to acquaint us with his Will, he should grant to this Messenger such Testimonials, as are sufficient to satisfie reasonable Men that he is no Impostor, but a Teacher sent from God, is indeed a thing that may fairly be expected. And if God should not do thus, we should be excusable in not hearkning to such a Messenger, because we could not know whether he was a true or a false Prophet; and God does not require, neither indeed is it reaso∣nable that we should believe every Pretender to Reve∣lation. And the clearest Proof of any Man's being sent from God to teach us any thing, being a Power of doing such Miracles and Mighty Works, as are ma∣nifestly above the skill and strength of a Man to do, it was therefore highly requisite, and what might rea∣sonably be look'd for, that God should grant such a Power as this to all those whom he has ever inspired with new Light, and Commission'd to make any new Revelation of his Will to Mankind. And this he has always done.

He gave this Power to Moses in a large measure, be∣cause the Matters that Men were to trust him for, were many, and very considerable.

He gave it also to some of the succeeding Prophets, but in a less measure, because their Business, for the

most part, was only to Interpret, or to press the Ob∣servation of the Law of Moses, which had been suffi∣ciently prov'd before.

And he gave it in the largest measure of all to our Saviour and his Apostles; because the Revelation made by them was of Truths very mysterious, some of them above the Reach and Comprehension of Humane Rea∣son; It was also a Revelation, in a manner wholly new, even to the Jews themselves, and much more to the Gentiles. And besides, it was a Revelation in many Points, to appearance, contrary to a former Di∣vine Revelation; inasmuch as it ordered the Abolition of many things which had been before enjoyned by divine Authority; viz. all the Ritual and Ceremonial Law of Moses. And therefore to gain Credit to their Testimony, that they were inspired and sent by God to teach such things, it was very requisite that they should produce more, and more plain and undeniable Testimonials of their divine Mission, than Moses him∣self had done. And such Testimonials they had, such they did produce, working more Miracles, and those as I may say, more wonderful and Miraculous, than Moses and all the Prophets together had wrought be∣fore.

But when these Testimonials had been once fairly produced, and examined, and by all reasonable Men allowed to be true and sufficient; and when Christ and his Apostles had made and published all that Revela∣tion which they were Commissioned to make; And when to prevent all misunderstandings of it, or mi∣stakes concerning it, they had committed it all to Wri∣ting; and the Men that lived in those times, and were capable of enquiring into the Truth of it, were well

assured that the Books said to be written by the Apo∣stles and Evangelists, were indeed theirs, and contain'd in substance all the same things, and no other, which they had before declared by word of Mouth, and confirmed by Miracles; After this, I say, when the Divinity of the Revelation was thus once, at the first Publishing of it, so fully confirmed, there was no need that it should be proved any more, and all other Proof thereof would have been superfluous; because the whole Matter, both Doctrine and Proof, being once faithfully recorded, and those Records well at∣tested, there could afterwards be no reasonable Cause to call it again in Question. So that the Reason of working Miracles being then ceased, it was reasona∣ble that the Power of working Miracles should cease too; at least till such time as God should think fit, to make some Alteration in, or Addition to his former Revelations; (which we have good Reason to think he will never do) or 'till he should please to under∣take the Conversion of those Nations to the Christian Faith, to whom the Knowledge of the former Mira∣cles that had been wrought for its Confirmation could not be so well communicated by credible History as it is to us.

For (as was hinted before) Credible History is all the Proof and Evidence that we ever think reasonable to require in other Cases of the like Nature.

As for instance; When a new Law is made con∣cerning any Matter; it is requisite, according to the Custom of our Country, that it should pass both Houses of Parliament, and that the King should ratifie and confirm it; and that afterwards it should be some way so published and promulged, that all the Subjects

that are then alive should have sufficient Assurance given them that such a Law is made. But after this Law has been once so passed, and ratified and pro∣mulged, it is passed and ratified and promulged for ever; and no Man is so unreasonable as to expect that every Parliament that is called afterwards, should read and pass over again all the Laws that have been made before their Time; or that every King that succeeds to the Throne should afresh ratifie and publish all the Laws that were made by all his Predecessors. But all the Proof that we ever require of the Authority of any ancient Law, is a true Copy of it, and a good History or Record of its being made at such a time, by such a King, confirmed by the Tradition of all the intermediate Ages to our Time, which have al∣lowed of its Authority, by citing it as a Law of the Land, by Pleading from it, and by giving Judgment according to it.

And he who will not allow of the same Proof and Evidence of the Authority of the Christian Institu∣tion so many hundred years ago established, but would needs have new Miracles and new Revelations to confirm the former, is every whit as unreasonable as that Criminal would be, who being Indicted upon some Ancient Statute, should refuse to plead to his Indictment, upon Pretence that he knew not whether there was any such Law or not; it being made (if ever it was made) long before his Time, and there being none now alive that were present at the making of it. Shew him the Law in the Statute Book; why, how does he know, he'd say, but that the Printers had a mind to put a Cheat upon the Nation, by Printing a Law of their own making, as a Law made

by some of our ancient Kings; nay shew him the Ori∣ginal Record, still he'd say, There have been abun∣dance of Forgeries in the World, and how does he know but that this is one? The Record he'd own perhaps, looks like an Ancient Deed, and has all the Marks of such Antiquity as it pretends to; but after all, 'tis possible it may be, and therefore he cannot be sure it is not a Forgery; and 'till he is assured of this, he will not plead to an Indictment that is grounded upon it. But if the King and Parliament that now are, will be pleased to declare that this is a good Law, and if he himself may be allowed to be by when they shall declare it; or if at least two or three Witnesses that he can trust shall testifie upon Oath; that they were present when it was passed in∣to a Law, then he will allow it to be a good Law; and after that, will be content to suffer the Punish∣ment of it, if he shall ever again be a Transgressor.

Now what Man is there that would think this a reasonable Demand? Or what Judge or Court would ever allow of such a Plea? And yet, as unreasonable as it is, it is just the same with theirs, who, pretend∣ing to be more wise and cautious than their Neigh∣bours, will not allow of the same sort of Proof (tho' indeed much better in its kind) of the Truth of the Christian Religion; but tho' we have as Authentick Histories as any are in the World, (such Histories as the greatest Adversaries of Christianity have not been able to say any thing to invalidate the Truth of) which declare that Christ and his Apostles taught such and such Doctrines, and wrought such and such Mi∣racles to confirm the Truth of their Doctrine, yet will not believe that the Doctrine of Christianity is true

and Divine, unless they may have special Messengers sent to them to declare a-fresh all the same things which the Apostles once did; and those endued with a Power of working in their sight and pre∣sence the same Miracles over again, that are said to have been formerly done by Christ and his Apostles, to confirm the Testimony that they gave.