IV. ART. whole Gofpel, and ftruck at the credit of it all. This was tranfacted as well as first published at Jerufalem, where the enemies of it had all poffible advantages in their hands; their intereft was deeply concerned, as well as their malice was much kindled at it. They had both power and wealth in their hands, as well as credit and authority among the people. The Romans left them at full liberty, as they did the other nations whom they conquered, to order their own concerns as they pleased. And even the Romans themselves began quickly to hate and perfecute the Chriftians: they became the objects of popular fury, as Tacitus tells us. The Romans looked upon Chrift as one that fet on the Jews to those tumults that were then fo common among them, as Suetonius affirms which fhews both how ignorant they were of the doctrine of Chrift, and how much they were prejudiced against it. Yet this Gofpel did fpread itself, and was be lieved by great multitudes both at Jerufalem and in all Judea; and from thence it was propagated in a very few years to a great many remote countries. Among all Chriftians the article of the Refurrection and Afcenfion of Chrift was always looked on as the capi tal one upon which all the reft depended. This was attefted by a confiderable number of men, against whofe credit no objection was made; who affirmed, that they all had feen him, and converfed frequently with him after his refurrection; that they faw him afcend up into heaven; and that, according to a promife he had made them, they had received extraordinary powers from him to work miracles in his name, and to fpeak in divers languages. This laft was a most amazing character of a fupernatural power lodged with them; and was a thing of fuch a nature, that it must have been evident to every man whether it was true or falfe: fo that the Apoftles relating this fo pofitively, and making fuch frequent appeals to it, that way of proceeding carries a ftrong and undeniable evidence of truth in it. Thefe wonders were gathered together in a book, and published in the very time in which they were tranfacted: the Acts of the Apostles were writ two years after St. Paul was carried prifoner to Rome; and St. Luke begins that book with the mention of the Gospel that he had formerly writ, as that Gospel begins with the mention of fome other Gospels that were writ before it. Almoft all the Epiftles fpeak of the Temple of Jerufalem as yet in being; of the Jews as then in peace and profperity, hating and perfecuting the Chriftians every where: they do alfo frequently intimate the affurance they IV. they had of a great deliverance that was to happen quick- ART. ly to the Chriftians, and of terrible judgments that were to be poured out on the Jews; which was foon after that accomplished in the most signal manner of any thing that is recorded in history. These things do clearly prove, that all the writings of the New Teftament were both compofed and publifhed in the age in which that matter was tranfacted. The Jews, who from all the places of their difperfion went frequently to Jerufalem, to keep the great feftivities of their religion there, had occafion often to examine upon the place, the truth of the refurrection and afcenfion of Chrift, and of the effufion of the Holy Ghoft: yet even in that infancy. of Christianity, in which it had fo little vifible ftrength, no proof was so much as ever pretended in oppofition to thofe great and effential points; which being matters of fact, and related with a great variety of circumstances, had been eafily confuted, if there had been any ground for it. The great darkness at the time of Chrift'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 fepulchre, and a watch being fet about it; and the watchmen reporting, that while they flept, the body of Chrift was carried away: the Apoftles breaking out all of the fudden into that variety of tongues on Pentecoft; the miracles that they wrought, and the proceedings of the Sanhedrim with them; were all things fo publicly done, that as the difcovery of falfehood in any one of thefe was in the power of the Jews, if any fuch was; fo that alone had moft effectually destroyed the credit of this religion, and stopped its progrefs. The writings of the New Teftament were at that time no fecrets, they were in all men's hands, and were copied out freely by every one that defired it. We find within an 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 thefe writings was early received and fubmitted to; that they were much read, and well known; and that they began very foon to be read at the meetings of the Chrif tians for worship; and were esteemed by the feveral churches as the great truft and depofitum that was lodged with them. So that though, by the negligence of copiers, fome small variations might happen among fome of the copies; yet as they do all agree in the main, and most fignally IV. ART. fignally in thofe particulars that are mentioned in this Article; fo it was not poffible for any that should have had the wickedness to fet about it, to have corrupted the New Teftament by any additions or alterations; it being fo early spread into fo many hands, and that in fo many different places. When all this matter is laid together, it appears to have as full an evidence to fupport it, as any matter of fact can poffibly have. The narration gave great scope to a variety of enquiries; it raifed much difputing, oppofition, and perfecution; and yet nothing was ever pretended to be proved that could fubvert 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 attefted, 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 affented to that which was like to draw on them fufferings that would probably end in death. Thofe who did fprend this doctrine, as well as those who firft received it, had no intereft befide that of truth to engage them to it. They could expect neither wealth nor greatnefs from it: they were obliged to travel much, and to labour hard; to wrestle through great difficulties, and to endure many indignities. They faw others die on the account of it, and had reafon to look for the like ufage themselves. The doctrine that they preached related either to the facts concerning the perfon of Chrift, or to the rules of life which they delivered. These were all pure, juft, and good; they tended to fettle the world upon the foundations of truth and fincerity, and that fublime pitch of righteoufnefs, of doing as they would be done by; they tended to make men fober and temperate, chafte and modeft, meek and humble, merciful and charitable; fo that from thence there was no colour given for fufpecting any fraud or defign in it. The worship of God in this religion was pure and fimple, free from coft or pomp, from theatrical fhews, as well as idolatrous rites, and had in it all poffible characters becoming the purity of the Supreme Mind. When therefore fo much concurs to give credit to a religion, there ought to be evident proofs brought to the contrary, before it can be difbelieved or rejected. So many men forfaking the religion in which they were born and bred, which has always a ftrong influence even upon the greatest minds; and there being fo many particular prejudices both upon Jews and Gentiles, by the opinions in IV. which they had been bred, and the impreffions which had ART. gone deep in them, it could be no flight matter that could overcome all that. The Jews expected a conqueror for their Meffias, who fhould have raised both the honour of their law and their nation, and fo were much poffeffed against one of a mean appearance; and when they faw that their law was to be fuperfeded, and that the Gentiles were to be brought into equal privileges with themfelves, they could not but be deeply prejudiced both against the perfon and doctrine of Chrift. The Philofophers despised divine infpiration, and fecret affiftances, and had an ill opinion of miracles: and the herd among the Gentiles were fo accustomed to pomp and fhew in their religious performances, that they must have naufeated the Chriftian fimplicity, and the corruption of their morals must have made them uneafy at a religion of so much strictnefs. All forts 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, paffions, or vanities of men, but all was very much to the contrary. They were warned to prepare for trials and croffes, and, in particular, for a fevere and fiery trial that was fpeedily to come upon them. There was nothing of the way or manner of impoftors that appeared in the methods in which the Gospel was propagated. When the Apoftles faw that fome were endeavouring to leffen them and their authority, they took no fawning ways: they neither flattered nor fpared those Churches that were under their care: they charged them home with their faults, and afferted their own character in a ftrain that fhewed they were afraid of no difcoveries. They appealed to the miracles that they had wrought, and to thofe gifts and divine virtues of which they were not only poffeffed themselves, but which were by their miniftry conferred on others. The demonftration of the 1 Cor. ii. 4. Spirit, or infpiration that was in them, appeared in the power, that is, in the miracles which accompanied it, and thole they wrought openly in the fight of many witneffes. An uncontefted miracle is the fulleft evidence that can be given of a divine commiffion. A miracle is a work that exceeds all the known powers of nature, and that carries in it plain characters of a power fuperior 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 inftance, we do not know what fecret virtues there may be in plants and G IV. ART. and minerals: but we do know that bare words can have no natural virtue in them to cure difeafes, 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 alfo, that blindness, deafnefs, and an inveterate palfy, cannot be cured by conceit: therefore fuch miracles as the giving fight to a man born blind, fpeech 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 perfons 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 fort of external application: this, I fay, as it is clearly above the force of imagination, fo it is beyond the powers of na ture. These things were not done in the dark, nor in the prefence of a few, in whom a particular confidence was put ; but in full day-light, and in the fight of great numbers, enemies as well as friends, and fome of thofe enemies were both the moft enraged, and the moft capable of making all poffible exceptions to what was done. Such were the rulers of the fynagogues, and the pharifees 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 poffible reason to conclude, that both the things were truly done as they are related, and that no juft exception was or could be made to them. If it is pretended, that those wonderful things were done by the power of an evil fpirit, that does both acknowledge the truth of the relation, and alfo its being fupernatural. This anfwer taken from the power of evil fpirits, is fometimes to be made ufe of, when extraordinary things are well attefted, and urged in proof of that which pon other reasons we are affured is falfe. It is certain, that as we have a great power over vaft quantities of grofs and heavy matter, which by the motion of a very fubtile body, our animal fpirits, we can mafter and manage: fo angels, good or bad, may, by virtue of fubtile bodies, in which they may dwell, or which upon occafion they may affume, do many things vaftly 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 in nature, may yet be done by an evil spirit that is in rebellion against its Maker, and that defigns to impofe upon us by fuch a mighty performance. But then the measure, by which we must judge of this, is by confider |