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which it had so little visible strength, no proof was so much ART. as ever pretended in opposition to those great and essential points; which being matters of fact, and related with a great variety of circumstances, had been easily confuted, if there had been any ground for it. The great darkness at the time of Christ's death, the rending the vail of the temple in two, as well as what was more public, the renting of the rocks at his death his being laid in a new sepulchre, and a watch being set about it; and the watchmen reporting, that while they slept, the body of Christ was carried away: the apostles breaking out all of the sudden into that variety of tongues on Pentecost; the miracles that they wrought, and the proceedings of the sanhedrim with them; were all things so publicly done, that as the discovery of falsehood in any one of these was in the power of the Jews, if any such was, so that alone had most effectually destroyed the credit of this religion, and stopped its progress.

The writings of the New Testament were at that time no secrets, they were in all men's hands, and were copied out freely by every one that desired it. We find within a hundred years after that time, both by the Epistle of the church of Smyrna, by Justin, and Irenæus, not to mention Clemens of Rome, who lived in that time, or Ignatius and Polycarp, who lived very near it, that the authority of these writings was early received and submitted to; that they were much read, and well known; and that they began very soon to be read at the meetings of the Christians for worship, and were esteemed by the several churches as the great trust and depositum that was lodged with them. So that though, by the negligence of copiers, some small variations might happen among some of the copies, yet as they do all agree in the main, and most signally in those particulars that are mentioned in this article; so it was not possible for any that should have had the wickedness to set about it, to have corrupted the New Testament by any additions or alterations; it being so early spread into so many hands, and that in so many different places.

When all this matter is laid together, it appears to have as full an evidence to support it, as any matter of fact can possibly have. The narration gave great scope to a variety of inquiries; it raised much disputing, opposition, and persecution; and yet nothing was ever pretended to be proved that could subvert its credit: great multitudes received this doctrine, and died for it in the age in which the matters of fact, upon which its credit was built, were well attested, and in which the truth or falsehood of them might have been easily known; which it is reasonable to believe that all men would carefully examine, before they embraced and assented to that which was likely to draw on them sufferings that would probably end in death. Those who did spread this doctrine,

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as well as those who first received it, had no interest beside that of truth to engage them to it. They could expect neither wealth nor greatness from it: they were obliged to travel much, and to labour hard; to wrestle through great difficulties, and to endure many indignities. They saw others die on the account of it, and had reason to look for the like usage themselves.

The doctrine that they preached related either to the facts concerning the person of Christ, or to the rules of life which they delivered. These were all pure, just, and good; they tended to settle the world upon the foundations of truth and sincerity, and that sublime pitch of righteousness, of doing as they would be done by; they tended to make men sober and temperate, chaste and modest, meek and humble, merciful and charitable; so that from thence there was no colour given for suspecting any fraud or design in it. The worship of God in this religion was pure and simple, free from cost or pomp, from theatrical shows, as well as idolatrous rites, and had in it all possible characters becoming the purity of the Supreme Mind. When therefore so much concurs to give credit to a religion, there ought to be evident proofs brought to the contrary, before it can be disbelieved or rejected. So many men forsaking the religion in which they were born and bred, which has always a strong influence even upon the greatest minds; and there being so many particular prejudices both upon Jews and Gentiles, by the opinions in which they had been bred, and the impressions which had gone deep in them, it could be no slight matter that could overcome all that.

The Jews expected a conqueror for their Messias, who should have raised both the honour of their law and their nation, and so were much possessed against one of a mean appearance; and when they saw that their law was to be superseded, and that the Gentiles were to be brought into equal privileges with themselves, they could not but be deeply prejudiced both against the person and doctrine of Christ.

The philosophers despised divine inspiration, and secret assistances, and had an ill opinion of miracles; and the herd among the Gentiles were so accustomed to pomp and show in their religious performances, that they must have nauseated the Christian simplicity, and the corruption of their morals must have made them uneasy at a religion of so much strictness. All sorts of men lay under very strong prejudices against this religion; nor was there any one article or branch of it, that flattered any of the interests, appetites, passions, or vanities of men, but all was very much to the contrary. They were warned to prepare for trials and crosses, and, in particular, for a severe and fiery trial that was speedily to come upon them.

There was nothing of the way or manner of impostors that

appeared in the methods in which the gospel was propagated. ART. When the apostles saw that some were endeavouring to IV. lessen them and their authority, they took no fawning ways: they neither flattered nor spared those churches that were under their care: they charged them home with their faults, and asserted their own character in a strain that shewed they were afraid of no discoveries. They appealed to the miracles that they had wrought, and to those gifts and divine virtues of which they were not only possessed themselves, but which were by their ministry conferred on others. The demonstra- 1 Cor. ii. 4. tion of the Spirit,' or inspiration that was in them, appeared in the power, that is, in the miracles which accompanied it, and those they wrought openly in the sight of many witnesses. An uncontested miracle is the fullest evidence that can be given of a divine commission.

A miracle is a work that exceeds all the known powers of nature, and that carries in it plain characters of a power superior to any human power. We cannot indeed fix the bounds of the powers of nature; but yet we can plainly apprehend what must be beyond them. For instance, we do not know what secret virtues there may be in plants and minerals; but we do know that bare words can have no natural virtue in them to cure diseases, much less to raise the dead we know not what force imagination or credulity may have in critical diseases; but we know that a dead man has no imagination: we know also, that blindness, deafness, and an inveterate palsy, cannot be cured by conceit: therefore such miracles as the giving sight to a man born blind, speech to the deaf and dumb, and strength to the paralytic; but most of all, the giving life to the dead, and that not only to persons laid out as dead, but to one that was carried out to be buried, and to another that had been four days dead, and in his grave; all this was done with a bare word, without any sort of external application: this, I say, as it is clearly above the force of imagination, so it is beyond the powers of nature.

These things were not done in the dark, nor in the presence of a few, in whom a particular confidence was put; but in full day-light, and in the sight of great numbers, enemies as well as friends, and some of those enemies were both the most enraged, and the most capable of making all possible exceptions to what was done. Such were the rulers of the synagogues, and the Pharisees in our Saviour's time: and yet they could neither deny the facts, nor pretend that there was any deceit or jugglery in them. We have in this all possible reason to conclude, that both the things were truly done as they are related, and that no just exception was, or could be, made to them.

If it is pretended, that those wonderful things were done by the power of an evil spirit, that does both acknowledge the truth of the relation, and also its being supernatural.

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This answer, taken from the power of evil spirits, is sometimes to be made use of, when extraordinary things are well attested, and urged in proof of that which upon other reasons we are assured is false. It is certain, that as we have a great power over vast quantities of gross and heavy matter, which by the motion of a very subtile body, our animal spirits, we can master and manage: so angels, good or bad, may, by virtue of subtile bodies, in which they may dwell, or which upon occasion they may assume, do many things vastly above either our force to do, or our imagination to apprehend how it is done by them. Therefore an action, that exceeds all the known powers of nature, may yet be done by an evil spirit that is in rebellion against its Maker, and that designs to impose upon us by such a mighty performance. But then the measure, by which we must judge of this, is by considering what is the end or design driven at in such a wonderful work: if it is a good one, if it tends to reform the manners of men, and to bring them off from magic, idolatry, and superstition, to the worship of one pure and eternal Mind; and if it tends to reform their actions, as well as their speculations and their worship; to turn them from immorality, falsehood, and malice, to a pure, a sincere, and a mild temper; if it tends to regulate society, as well as to perfect the nature and faculties of every single man; then we may well conclude, that no evil spirit can so far depart from its own nature, as to join its Matt. xii. forces, and co-operate in such a design: for then, the kingdom of Satan could not stand, if he were thus divided against himself; according to what our Saviour said, when this was objected against the miracles that he wrought.

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These are all the general considerations that concur to prove the truth of the history of the gospel, of which the resurrection and ascension of Christ are the two main articles; for they, being well proved, give authority to all the rest. As to the resurrection in particular, it is certain the apostles could not be deceived in that matter: they saw Christ frequently after he rose from the dead; they met him once with a great company of five hundred with them: they heard him talk and argue with them; he opened the scriptures to them with so peculiar an energy, that they felt their hearts set on fire, even when they did not yet perceive that it was he himself: they did not at first either look for his resurrection, nor believe those who reported him risen: they made all due inquiry, and some of them went beyond all reasonable bounds in their doubting: so far were they from an easy and soon-imposed-on credulity. His sufferings and their own fears had so amazed them, that they were contriving how to separate and disperse themselves when he at first appeared to them. Men so full of fear, and so far from all hope, are not apt to be easy in believing. So it must be concluded, that either the account which the apostles gave

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the world of Christ's resurrection is true: or they were gross ART. impostors; since it is clear, that the circumstances and numbers, mentioned in that history, shew there could be no deception in it. And it is as little possible to conceive that there could be any imposture in it: for, not to repeat again what has been already said, that they were under no temptations to set about any such deceit, but very much to the contrary; and that there is no reason to think they were either bad enough to enter upon such a design, or capable and skilful enough to manage it; they being many of them illiterate fishermen of Galilee, who had no acquaintance at Jerusalem to furnish them with that which might be necessary for executing such a contrivance: the circumstances of that transaction are to be well examined, and then it will appear that no number of bold and dexterous men, furnished with all advantages whatsoever, could have effected this

matter.

Great numbers had been engaged in the procuring our Saviour to be crucified: the whole sanhedrim, besides multitudes of the people, who upon all occasions are easily drawn in to engage in tumultuary commotions: all these were concerned to examine the event of this matter. He was buried in a new sepulchre lately hewed out of a rock, so that there was no coming at it by any secret ways: a watch was set: and all this at a time in which the full-moon gave a great light all the night long and Jerusalem being very full of people who were then there in great numbers to keep the passover, that being the second night of so vast a rendezvous, it is reasonable to think that great numbers were walking in the fields, or at least might be so, some later, and some earlier. Now, if an imposture was to be set about, the guard was to be frighted or mastered, which could not be done without giving the alarm, and that must have quickly brought a multitude upon them. Christ's body must have been disposed of: some other tomb was to be looked for to lodge it in: the wounds that were in it would have made it to be soon known if found.

Here a bold attempt was to be undertaken, by a company of poor irresolute men, who must trust one another entirely, otherways they knew all might soon be discovered. One of their number had betrayed Christ a few days before; another had forsworn him, and all had forsaken him; and yet these men are supposed all of the sudden so firm in themselves, and so sure of one another, as to venture on the most daring thing that was ever undertaken by men, when not a circumstance could ever be found out to fix upon them the least suspicion. The priests and the Pharisees must be thought a strange stupid sort of creatures, if they did not examine where the apostles were all that night: besides many other particulars, which might have been a thread to lead them into strict inquiries, unless it was because they believed

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