MIRACLE, Sign, Wonder, Prodigy; these Terms are commonly used in Scripture, to denote some Action, Event, or Effect, which is superior to the general and known Laws of Nature. This Name is given, not only to the true Miracles wrought by Saints or Prophets sent from God, by good Angels, by the Finger of God, or by the Son of God; but also to the false Miracles of Impostors, and to Wonders wrought by the Wicked, by false Prophets, or Devils. Moses, for Example, speaks of the Miracles of Pharaoh’s Magicians, in the Manner he speaks of those that he wrought himself, in the Name and by the Power of God. And our Saviour foretels in the Gospel, that false Christs and false Prophets should perform Wonders, capable of deceiving, if possible, the elect themselves. And St. John in the Matth. xxiv. 24. Rev. xiii. 13, 14.Revelations speaks of a Beast that came out of the Earth, which is understood of a Persecutor of the Church, which performed such Prodigies, as even to make Fire come down from Heaven upon the Earth, in the Presence of many Men, and which seduced a great Number of Persons, because of the Miracles that God permitted to be wrought in their Presence. And in the same Book he speaks of Demons, which shew Wonders to Rev. xvi. 14.prevail with the Kings of the Earth to make War with the Saints; and of a false Prophet, who works Miracles to seduce those who Rev. xix. 20.have received the Mark of the Beast.
Therefore Miracles and Prodigies are not always sure Signs, of the Sanctity of those that perform them; nor are they Proofs of the Truth of the Doctrine they deliver, nor certain Testimonies of their divine Mission. The Son of God not only allows us, but even commands us to examine Miracles, and those that perform them. Then if any Man shall say unto you, Lo here is Christ, or there, believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false Prophets, and shall shew great Signs and Wonders, insomuch that (if it were possible) they shall deceive the very Matth. xxiv. 23, 24. Deut. xiii. 1.Elect. And Moses says, If there arise among you a Prophet, or a Dreamer of Dreams, and giveth thee a Sign or a Wonder, and the Sign or the Wonder cometh to Pass, whereof he speak unto thee saying, Let us go after other Gods, (which thou hast not known) and let us serve them; thou shalt not hearken unto the Words of that Prophet, or that Dreamer of Dreams; for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your Heart, and with all your Soul. It may therefore be affirmed, that the Proof of Miracles is not always certain, but sometimes equivocal. To the Mission of him that works Miracles must be joined the Truth of the Doctrine he would advance, the Innocence of his Life, his Submission to the Heads of the Church, his good Understanding, and his Concurrence with the Saints, and with those whose Life, Mission, and Doctrine have been already acknowledged and approved. His Miracles must be strictly examined, to see if they are true ones, and not juggling Tricks, or magical Operations. Whether they lead us to God, to Peace, to Righteousness, and to Salvation. If all these Marks and Characters now mentioned are to be found in him that works Miracles, we may without Danger allow such an one to be a Messenger sent from God.
Our Saviour in the Gospel complains, that the Jews would not believe but by John iv. 48.Dint of Miracles. Except ye see Signs and Wonders, ye will not believe. The same Jews applying themselves to Jesus Christ, asked a Sign from him: Master, we would Matth. xii. 38.see a Sign from thee. To which he replied, that they should see no other Sign but that of the Prophet Jonas, and that as Jonas was three Days and three Nights in the Belly of the Whale, so the Son of Man should be three Days in the Bosom of the Earth. He John xv. 24.says elsewhere, that if he had not performed among them such Miracles as were never before performed by Man, they would have no Sin. But after what he had already done among them, and after the Doctrine that he had preached, they were without any Excuse. Also Nicodemus owns, No Man can John iii. 2.do these Miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Such a Train of Miracles, accompanied with so much Innocence and Righteousness, together with a Doctrine so pure and divine, could not be the Work of Falsity and Delusion. The Finger of God manifestly appears therein. When Jesus Christ sent forth his Apostles to preach the Gospel among the Jews, and among infidel Nations, he gave them an ample Power of working all Sorts of Miracles in his Name. We may be assured, that nothing so much Matth. xvi. 17.contributed to the Propagation of the Christian Faith, as the Multitude of Miracles that were worked by the Apostles and their Disciples; to which was joined the sublimest Doctrine, and the purest Morality, together with a most righteous and disinterested Life and Conversation.
The Prejudices, Obstinacy, and Incredulity of the Jews must have been very extraordinary, not to surrender themselves to the Miracles of Jesus Christ and his Apostles. St. Paul says, that the Jews must have Miracles 1 Cor. i. 22.to convince them. The Jews require a Sign, and the Greeks seek after Wisdom. But who ever performed greater Signs, or worked more frequent and more incontestable Miracles than Jesus Christ? The common People did not labour under so great Prepossessions and Prejudices as the Doctors, the Priests, and the Pharisees; and were ready to allow, that the Messiah could not do a greater Number of Miracles. When Christ cometh, will he do more Miracles than these which this Man hath done? The Doctors themselves could not give the Lye to their own Eyes, or oppose themselves to what was publick and notorious; they could not directly deny the Miracles, but chose rather to ascribe them to Beelzebub. The modern Jews pretend, that Jesus Christ had stole the Name Jehovah out of the Temple, which he made Use of to perform his Miracles. If this were true, could it be conceived, that God would favour an Impostor with the Gift of working Miracles, and such a long Train of Miracles, and in so high a Degree, one who attempted the Subversion of the Law and the Jewish Religion? And would he permit him to transfer this Power to his Disciples and Apostles, to those that believed in him, and this for so long a Time together? What is it to be hardened in Error, if this may not be said to be such?
Miraculum in the Latin Text of the Vulgate does not always signifie a Miracle; for it often has the Signification of something that is singular and extraordinary, that surprizes and astonishes. For Example, in Job, Miraculum meum non te terreat. The Hebrew says Job. xxxiii. 7.literally, My Terror shall not make thee afraid. ‘Tis Elihu that speaks, My Eloquence shall not impose upon you, my Authority shall not bear you down. And in the 1 Sam. xiv. 15.first Book of Samuel, Factum est miraculum in castris; Fear spread in the Camp of the Philistines, and on a sudden an extraordinary Change was perceived therein. And in Jeremiah, Erunt in jusjurandum & in miraculum. Jerem. xliv. 12.The Jews who took Refuge in Egypt shall be an Occasion of Astonishment. And when any one would wish the greatest Misfortunes to another, he shall say to him, May you be as miserable as the Jews! &c.