You fee, I have addreffed you with an unreferved freedom and familiarity. I have overlooked the distance of your character; and treated you as if we were in the fame ftate of equality now, as we fhall quickly find ourselves before the tribunal of our glorious Judge. The cause requires this at my hands; and I should have been unfaithful, I had almost said unmerciful to you, if I had not failed of the decorum, which would have been my duty to have observed in any other cafe. I fhall therefore depend upon your candid interpretation of this unpolifhed addrefs; and your kind acceptance of the faithful designs and defires of, SIR, Your moft obedient humble Servant. LETTER II. Wherein a brief and general View is given of the Evidences of the Chriftian Religion. SIR, YOU my letter had almost thrown tell me, you into a fit of the Spleen." But I can't but hope, from your "awful concern, left you "meet with the confufion I have therein defcri"bed," that it will have a better effect.-I acknowledge, that "a pathetic declamation cannot be re"ceived for argument." And that, "your faith "must be built upon evidences, that will reach the "understanding, as well as the fofter paffions of "the foul." But what evidence do you defire or want of the truth of Chriftianity? Confider, Sir. Confult your books and your friends. Make your demands as large as you or they can contrive; and whatever whatever rational evidence you are pleased to ask for, fhall be at your fervice.-I have myself, with particular application been considering, what reasonable evidence can poffibly be confulted or defired, which the glorious God has not already given us, in confirmation of the Chriftian inftitution; and I find nothing wanting, which we are capable of receiving.—And I cannot but presume, that if you likewife would impartially and in earnest put yourfelf upon the fame inquiry, you must meet with a full and complete fatisfaction. You will certainly acknowledge, that the great Creator is capable fome way or other to communicate his will to intelligent beings, with fufficient evidence that the Revelation is from him.-Now what I defire of you is to fit down, and confult upon fome fuch means of doing this, as would strike your mind with the ftrongeft conviction, obviate all your doubts; and give you the fullest confirmation of the divine original of fuch a Revelation. When you are come to a point, confider the credentials of Chriftianity; and fee whether you can find what you yourfelf would demand, and what you fuppofe moft likely to give you fatiffaction. Would you expect from fuch a Revelation, a reafonable account of our first original?-Look into the Mofaic hiftory of the Creation; and there you will find, how the world, and how yourself, originally fprang from the divine fiat; and in what manner we are the offspring of God. Would you expect a narrative of fuch circumftances of God's difpenfations towards us from the beginning, as would be correfpondent with our conftant experience and obfervation?-The fame history will inform you of thofe irregular affections, and vitiated appetites and paffions, which every man man finds in himfelf; and which have brought such deftruction and mifery upon the world, in all its fucceffive periods, fince Adam's fall. Would you expect, that there fhould be early intimations of the method of our recovery from the state of fin and guilt, which we had brought ourselves into by our apoftafy?-You will there alfo find the gracious promife, that the feed of the woman shall bruife the ferpent's head; and deliver us from the deadly effects of his malicious temptation. Would you defire to find a particular prediction of the promised Saviour, by whom we are to obtain a redemption; his lineage and defcent, the time, place and manner of his birth, the circumftances of his life, death and refurrection, a particular description of the nature, the subjects, and the continual progress of his kingdom?-Read the Prophecies of the Old Teftament; and read the history in the New; and you will find fuch a correfpondence and agreement, as will afford you matter of fullest satisfaction, that they are both from God. Would you expect, that there fhould be fome means to keep the promised Saviour in the continued view of God's people, before his actual and perfonal manifeftation; and to keep alive their faith and hope in him?-What were all their facrifices, their legal purifications, their priesthood, and all their long train of rites and ceremonies; but inftitutions purposely adapted to that end? Would you expect repeated and renewed teftimonies from Heaven, to the profeffing people of God, that their religion was from him; and that their faith and hope, excited by these typical inftitutions, were built upon a fure foundation.-Such were the miracles frequently wrought among them, the manifeftation of the divine presence in the Shechinah, their Urim and Thummim, their frequent Oracles, Oracles, their fucceffion of Prophets, whofe predictions refpecting the Jews themselves, and the nations round about them, were continually fulfilled and fulfilling before their eyes; and the accomplishment of many of them are apparently open and visible to us also. Would you fuppofe, that near the predicted time of the Saviour's appearance, not only the Jewish nation, but all others that were acquainted with their facred books, would live in raised expectations of this great and wonderful event?You will find in the Gofpels, in Jofephus, Tacitust, and Suetonius ‡, that this was the cafe in fact. Would you expect, that when the Saviour did appear, he would by the holiness and beneficence of his life, and by numerous, open, and uncontested miracles, give fuch atteftation to his divine miffion, as would be fufficient evidence, that he was indeed the Meffiah fo frequently predicted, and fo earnestly expected?-Do not the facred hiftorians answer your highest expectations in this refpect?-In them you find, that the dead were raised, the fick healed, the maimed restored to the use of their limbs, the fight of the blind recovered, the deaf brought to their hearing, the lepers cleanfed, the demons ejected; and, in a word, that the whole time of his miniftry was a continued fucceffion of the most beneficent and aftonishing miracles; miracles as furprising in their nature as their number, fuch as vaftly exceed. ed the power of all created beings; and were therefore the strongest teftimony from Heaven, that this Saviour moft certainly was what he profeffed himself to be. Would you expect, that this Saviour fhould verify his divine miffion to future times, by prophe. cies of fucceeding events?-Do not the Evangelists De Bell. Jud. Lib. vii, Cap. 31. † Hift. Cap. 13. afford afford you many inftances of fuch predictions, which have been clearly and fully accomplished?-In these hiftorians you will find, how he foretold the treafon of Judas, the fhameful fall of Peter, with the flight of all his difciples, in that gloomy, dreadfulnight, when the Shepherd was fmitten, and the sheep Scattered. In thefe you will find, how he foretold the time and manner of his own death, the term of his continuance in the grave, with his glorious refurrection and afcenfion. You will there alfo find him foretelling the miffion, divine inspiration, mira. culous powers, and glorious fuccefs of his apoftles, and their fellow-labourers in the gofpel miniftry.These hiftorians do likewife fet before you, his particular prediction of the deftruction of Jerufalem, and the abolition of the Temple, with the prodigies which preceded, the tribulation which accompanied, and the difperfion of the Jewish nation, which followed that amazing defolation.-And does not it furprife you to find from Jofephus, that the twentyfourth chapter of Matthew, and the twenty-first chapter of Luke, are more like a hiftory than a prophecy of that dreadful event?-If you fhould yet further expect fome predictions from him, that extend to the present times, and are now visibly accomplished before your eyes; has he not foretold, and do you not find it true, That Jerufalem shall continue to be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled? Would you expect, that when this Meffiah, according to the prophecies concerning him, was cut off, he should declare himself the Son of God with power, by his refurrection from the dead?-And has it not appeared true, that no precaution by fealing his tomb, and fetting a guard over it, could prevent his triumph over the grave, and his appearing to`great numbers of his difciples, and frequently C and |
