dence that mankind could have afked, if the moft intelligent, and the most incredulous of them, had been required to say what would fatisfy them. As Jefus refted the evidence of his divine miffion, and confequently his authority to preach the doctrine of a future life, in a more particular manner upon his own refurrection from the dead; and as, in all cafes, examples have the greatest weight with mankind, I fhall confine myself at this time to the confideration of the circumstances of his death and refurrection, shewing them to have been fuch as render thofe important events in the highest degree credible, both at the time when they took place; and, which is of much more confequence, in all future time. So that, had mankind, not only in that period, but in the most distant ages, been required to name the evidence that would give them the most fatisfaction, it will appear that it has been given them ; and that, in any other circumftances than the actual ones, the events would have appeared lefs credible than they do at prefent. I fhall I fhall first confider the circumstances which tend to give peculiar ftrength to the evidence of the refurrection of Jefus, and then reply to fome objections which have been made to it. After this I fhall fhew that this hiftorical evidence of the truth of revealed religion proves the truth of natural religion, and conclude with a pràctical application of the doctrine. In the first place I fhall confider the circumstances which give peculiar ftrength to the evidence of the refurrection of Jefus. 1. His death was not private, among his friends, but in public, and accomplished by his enemies, who, we may be fure, would not leave their own great purpose unfinished, when it was in their power completely to effect it. This we cannot doubt to have been the principal reason, in the plan of divine providence, why Jelus was executed as a criminal, in confequence of the fentence of a public court of juftice. After this, no reasonable doubt could be entertained of the reality of his death. Accordingly, it does not appear that any doubt was entertained of it at the time, by those who were the beft judges, and who were, at the fame time, the most interefted to difpute the fact. And this is all that we can reafonably require at this day. It is true that Jefus expired fooner than other perfons ufually did in the fame circumftances. But this might be owing to his having a more delicate conftitution, and especially to his having been fo much exhaufted by his fevere agony in the garden the preceding night; an agony which affected him fo much that it would not have been extraordinary if he had actually died in confequence of it: fince fuch confternation and terror as he appears to have been in is well known to have been, of itself, the cause of death to many perfons. The death of Jefus was fo evident to the foldiers who attended the execution, and who, no doubt (being ufed to the bufinefs) were fufficient judges of the figus of death, that, concluding him to be actually dead, they did not bicak his bones, as they did thofe of the other perfons who were executed along with him. One of them, however, did what was fully equivalent to it; for he thruft a fpear into his fide, fo that blood and water evidently flowed out of the wound. Now though we may be at a lofs to account for the water, it was certainly impoffible fo to pierce the body as that blood fhould vifibly, and inftantly, flow from the wound, without piercing either the heart itself, or fome large blood veffel, the rupture of which would have been mortal. After this, Jefus was taken down from the crofs, was fwathed in fpices, as the bodies of perfons of diftinction among the Jews ufually were, was left in that ftate, without any appearance of life, and depofited in a cold fepulchre, where he could have no affiftance to bring him to life if any remains of life had been in him. Can we then have any doubt of Jefus having been unqueftionably dead, when both friends and enemies had no doubt at the time on the subject ? 2. The circumftances of the re-appearing of Jefus after his crucifixion were fuch, as were calculated to give the greatest fatiffaction poffible. The first of them were X 3 made made when, it is evident, his difciples had no expectation whatever of any fuch event, fo that they could not have been impofed upon by their fond, imaginations. For though Jefus had plainly apprifed his difciples that he was to be put to death, and that he should rife again on the third day, they had so fixed a perfuafion that he was to be a great king, and confequently not to die at all, that they probably concluded (as he had been used to speak to them in figurative language) that by death he only meant fome trial, or calamity, and that therefore by a refurrection he meant his emerging from it. But whatever their ideas were, it is most evident from the history that they had no expectation either of his death, or of his refurrection, and that his death only filled them with confternation and despair, and did not at all lead them to expect his refurrection. After Jefus had appeared in this unexpected manner to several of his disciples, viz. to Mary Magdalene, to the two disciples walking to Emmaus, to the ten who were affembled in the evening of the fame day at Jerufalem, |