were done often in the public streets, in the sight of enemies, or the persons of such as were utter strangers to the apostles; but sometimes well known to neighbours and spectators, as having long laboured under those calamities, which to human skill were utterly incurable. Would impostors have made such pretensions as these? Or, if they had, must they not immediately have been exposed and ruined?

Nor is there any room at all to object, that perhaps the apostles might not undertake to do these things on the spot, but only assert that they had done them elsewhere: for even then, it would have been impossible that they should have gained credit: and they would have seemed the less credible, on account of such a pretence. Whatever appearances there might have been of gravity, integrity, and piety, in the conversation of Peter, for instance, very few, especially such as had known but little of him, would have taken it upon his word, that he saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead at Bethany: but fewer yet would have believed it upon his affirmation, had it been ever so solemn, that he himself raised Dorcas at Joppa, unless he had done some extraordinary work before them, correspondent at least, if not equal to that. One may easily think of invincible objections, which otherwise might have been made; and undoubtedly the more such assertions had been multiplied, every new person, scene, and fact, had been an additional advantage given to the enemy, to have detected and confuted the whole

scheme, which Peter and his associates had thus endeavoured to establish.

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But to come still closer to the point: If the New Testament genuine, as I have already proved it, then it is certain, that the apostles pretend to have wrought miracles in the very presence of those to whom their writings were addressed; nay more, they profess likewise to have conferred those miraculous gifts in some considerable degrees on others, even on the very persons to whom they write; and they appeal to their consciences with regard to the truth of it. And could there possibly be room for delusion here? It is exceeding remarkable to this purpose that Paul makes this appeal to the Corinthians, and to the Galatians, when amongst them were some persons disaffected to him, who were taking all opportunities to sink his character and destroy his influence. And could they have wished for a better opportunity than such an appeal? An appeal, which, had not the fact it supposed been certain, far from recovering those that were wavering in their esteem, must have been sufficient utterly to disgust his most cordial and steady friends. The same remark may be applied to the advices and reproofs which the apostle there gives, relating to the use and abuse of their spiritual gifts: which had been most notoriously absurd, and even ridiculous, had not the Christians, to whom he wrote, been really possessed of them. And these gifts were so plainly supernatural, that, as it had been oftenobserved, if it be allowed that miracles can prove a divine revelation, and that f

the first Epistle to the Corinthians be genuine (of which by the way there is at least as pregnant evidences as that any part of the New Testament is so) then it follows, by a sure and easy consequence, that Christianity is true. Nevertheless, other arguments are not to be forgotten in this survey. And therefore, as I have proved that had the testimony of the apostles been false, it is not to be imagined that they could have gained credit at all; especially when they had put the proof of their cause on such a footing, as we are sure they did; I shall now shew,

That it is a certain fact, the apostles did gain early credit, and succeed

ed in a most wonderful manner; from

whence it will follow, that their testimony was true.

That the apostles did, indeed, gain credit in the world, is evident from what I before offered in order to prove the early prevalence of Christianity in it, and this may be farther confirmed from many passages in the New Testament. And here I insist not so much on express historical testimonies, though some of them are very remarkable; especially that of the brethren at Jerusalem, who speak of many myriads of believing Jews assembled at the feast of Pentecost, mentioned in chap. xxi. of the Acts. But I argue from the Epistles written to several churches, which plainly prove, that there were congregations of christians in Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, Colosse, Thessalonica, Philippa, Laodicea, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadel phia, Crete, Pontus, Galatia, Cap

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padocia, Asia, Bythinia, and many other places; Insomuch that one of the apostles could say, "That Christ had so wrought by him to make the Gentiles obedient, not only in word or profession, but in deed too; that from Jerusalem, even round about unto Illyrium, he had fully preached the gospel of Christ :" or as the word imports, "had accomplished" the purposes of it. And there is a great deal of reason, both from the nature of the thing, and from the testimony of ancient history, to believe, that others of the apostles had considerable success elsewhere. So that St. Paul

might without reason apply to them and their doctrine, what is originally spoken of the luminaries of heaven, and the instruction they communicate, "their sound is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world."

So great was the number of those who were made proselytes to christianity by the preaching of the apostles. And we have all imaginable reason to believe, that there were none of all those proselytes but what were fully persuaded of the truth of the testimony they bore; for otherwise no imaginable reason to believe, that there were none of all those proselytes but what were fully persuaded of the truth of the testimony they bore; for otherwise no imaginable reason can be given for their entering themselves into such a profession. The apostles had no secular rewards to bribe them: dazzling eloquence to enchant them; on the contrary, all these were in a powerful manner pleading against

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the apostles; yet their testimony was received; and their new converts were so thoroughly satisfied with the evidence which they gave them of their mission, that they encountered great persecutions, and cheerfully ventured estate, liberty, and life itself, on the truth of the facts they asserted; as plainly appears from the many passages in the epistles, which none can think the apostles would ever have writ, if those first christians had not been in a persecuted condition.

Nor will it signify any thing to object, that most of these converts were persons of a low rank and ordinary education, who therefore might be more easily imposed upon than others. For, not to mention Sergius Paulius, Dionysius the Areopagite, or domestics of Cæsar's household, (with others of superior station in life) it is sufficient to call to mind, that the apostles did not put their cause on the issue of laboured arguments, in which the populace might quickly have been entangled and lost but on such plain facts as they might judge of as easily and surely as any others; indeed, on what they themselves saw, and in a part too, on what they felt.

Now this might be sufficient to bring the matter to a satisfactory conclusion. It has been shewn, that there is no reason to believe that the apostles, who certainly knew the truth, would have attempted a fraud of this kind-so if they had attempted it, they could not possibly have succeeded: nevertheless, they did succeed in a very remarkable manner. Whence it plainly follows, that what they testified was true.

Admitting the facts which they testified concerning Christ to be true, then it was reasonable for their cotemporaries, and is reasonable for us, to receive the Gospel, which they have transmitted to us, as a divine revelation.

The great things they asserted, were, that Jesus was the Christ: and that he was proved to be so, by prophecies accomplished in him, and by miracles wrought by him and by others in his name. Let us attend to each of these, and we shall find them no contemptible arguments; but must be forced to acknowledge, that, these premises being established, the conclusion, most easily and necessarily follows, And this conclusion, Jesus is the Christ," taken in all its extent, is an abstract of the gospel revelation; and therefore is sometimes put for the whole of it.

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The apostles, especially when disputing with the Jews, frequently argued from the prophecies of the Old Testament, in which they say many things were expressly foretold, which were most literally and exactly fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. Now, greatly to the evidence, confirmation, and advantage of Christianity, so it is that these prophecies are to this day extant in the original language; and this in the hands of a people most implacably averse to the Gospel. So that an attentive reader may still, in a great measure, satisfy himself as to the validity of the arguments drawn from them.

On searching these ancient and im

because he so expressly declares, that he had himself a power to resume his life at pleasure. The apostles well knew, that this was a fact of such a nature that those who believed this, will never doubt of the rest. They often, therefore, single this out, and lay the whole stress of their cause upon it. This they proved to be true by their own testimony miraculously confirmed; and in proving this, they established Christianity on an impregnable rock. For we may safely refer it to any judge, whether it is an imaginable thing that God should raise the dead body of an impostor, especially when he had solemnly appealed to such a resurrection, as a grand proof of his mission, and had expressly fixed the very day on which it was to happen.

From these undeniable observations it is evident, that those who, on the apostles' testimony, believed that the prophecies of the Old Testament were accomplished in Jesus, and that God bore witness to him by miracles, and raised him from the dead, had abundant reason to believe that the doctrine which Christ taught was divine, and his gospel a revelation from heaven. And if they had reason to admit this conclusion, then it is plain that we, who have such satisfactory evidences, on the one hand, that the testimony of the apostles was credible, and on the other, that this was the substance of it, have reason also to admit this grand inference from it, and embrace the Gospel as a faithful saying, and well worthy of acceptation. This is the thing we

have attempted to prove; and here we should finish the argument, were it not for the confirmation it may rėceive from some additional considerations, which could not properly be introduced under any of the preceding heads.

We therefore add, in the last place, That the truth of the Gospel has received farther and very considerable confirmation, from what has happened in the world since it was first published.

And here we must desire the reader to consider, on the one hand, what has been done to establish it, and on the other, the methods which its enemies have been taking to destroy it.

1. Consider what God has been doing to confirm the Gospel since its first publication: and we will venture to assert, that it will prove a farther evidence of its divine original.

We might here argue at large from its surprising propagation in the world :-from the miraculous powers with which not only the apostles, but succeeding preachers of the gospel, and other converts, were endowed; from the accomplishment of the prophecies recorded in the Old Testament;-and from the preservation of the Jews as a distinct people, notwithstanding the various difficulties and persecutions through which they have passed.