I have heretofore made solemn Professions of my Belief of Christianity, and most seriously declared in the plainest Terms, that my Design was not to do Service to Infidelity, but to make way for the Proof of Christ's Religion and Messiahship; but my Word was not taken, being look'd upon as a Dissembler, an Hypocrite, and Prevaricator, for all that. And should I now ever so gravely repeat the like Asseverations of the Integrity and Sincerity of my Heart, that my Objections against the Letter of Jesus's Miracles are none against his Religion, but only intended to turn Mens Heads to the mystical Interpretations of them; I question much whether I should be believed, and whether Bishop Smalbroke[364] would not say again, that this is too thin a Disguise of what seems to be my great and worse Design. What then in Prudence must I do in this Case? Why, I must let This Head, which reasonably should precede, rest for a while; and by treating on the Second, tho' out of Place, I must first effectually convince my Adversaries, that I am no Infidel of wicked Designs to subvert Christianity, but only the Ministry of the Letter; and then, I conceive, I may safely resume the Consideration of this First Head, and without the Imputations of Infidelity and Blasphemy, write as merrily or gravely as I please against the Letter.
Should any say, that this pretended Reason for waving this First Head for the present, is nothing but Cowardice and Inability to write more on it, I can't help it. Ictus Piscator sapit; I have already suffer'd much for the ludicrous Treatment of the Letter, and it is Wisdom to keep, if I can, out of the like Danger; neither will I do any thing, that in Conscience I can forbear, to incur the Displeasure of the Civil Magistrate. But however, if the Bishop of London would ensure me against, what the Bishop of St. David's calls, the[365] Nominal Persecutions of Protestants, which I am more afraid of, than of the real Persecutions of Papists, I will soon enter upon this Head; otherwise for Self-Preservation against the nominal Sufferings of Fines and Imprisonment, &c. I will forbear, promising my Readers, that in due Time, and on a more proper Occasion, I will resume the merry Subject of the Letter, and handle it to their entire Satisfaction.
And when I resume this Head, I will begin where I before left off in my Discourses on Miracles; that is, with the Resurrection of Jesus, which tho' I believe to have been a miraculous Fact, that happen'd, yet it was by no means timed and circumstanced, so as easily and readily to conciliate the Belief of Posterity. God has given to Man Reason to judge of the Credibility of Events, and the Certainty of Miracles: And if the Reason of every Man does not disapprove of the Management of that Event, (supposing it has no figurative Meaning in it) I am much mistaken, when we come to state a Case, how such a Miracle ought to be wrought and conducted, to get and preserve the Credit of it.
Thus having told my Readers, why I postpone my First Head, I now enter upon the Second, which is
II. To shew, that whether there be any Sense, Truth and Fact, or not, in the literal Stories of Jesus's Miracles, yet they are all certainly typical Facts, and ought to be allegorically interpreted, and will receive a mysterious and more wonderful Accomplishment after the Manner, and to the same Purpose, that the Fathers and I do apply them, being no other (whether actually wrought or not) than Figures, Signs and Emblems of his future and mysterious Operations.
If the Authority of the Fathers would be admitted of, as decisive on this Head, there would soon be an End of all Controversy upon it. Give me Leave to recite some of their Testimonies to this Purpose, which I have heretofore urg'd in my Discourses. Origen says[366] That Jesus's Works were Symbols of other Things to be done by his Power. St. Hilary[367] says, That Jesus's Actions bore a Resemblance of what he would do hereafter. St. Augustin[368] says, That the Facts of Jesus are Signs of somewhat else to be done by him. And Eusebius Gallicanus[369] says, That our Saviour manifestly shews, that his Miracles are of a spiritual Signification, or in the Work of them he would not have done somewhat or other, that seems to want Sense and Reason. These few, out of a Multitude of Citations from the Fathers that might be produced, are sufficient to the Proof of the present Proposition, if their Authority might determine our Dispute. And most pertinent Citations they are too, tho' Bishop Smalbroke[370] says, that even the Passages cited by me from the Fathers, that are not falsified, are impertinent; which is such an extravagant Stretch against the most glaring Truth, that (to use the Bishop's[371] own Words against himself) it betrays a Mind lost to all Sense of Modesty and Religion, or he could not have utter'd it.
And not only the Miracles of Jesus were Signs and Figures of future Events; but, according to Origen,[372] every thing else that he did: From whence we may gather what was Origen's Meaning, when he said[373] Christ's first Advent in the Flesh is all Type and Shadow of his second, spiritual, and glorious Coming; which being an Opinion that our Clergy are Strangers to, I desire them to consider of it, and whether there is any Possibility of Truth in it, because it is contrary to modern Conceptions about Christ's second Advent.