and familiarly converfing with fome of them for forty days together; and finally afcending up to heaven before their eyes. Would you expect, that his difciples, who were eye and ear witneffes of his life, death, refurrection, and afcenfion, and could not poffibly be deceived in facts fo open to all their fenfes, fhould at their peril preach this Saviour to the world; and continually undergo a life of painful travel and fatigue, poverty and reproach, oppofition and perfecution, to propagate his gofpel; and that they would finally facrifice their lives in the caufe, and feal their doctrine with their blood?-This they have done, and it is impoffible that more could be done, to raise their truth and fincerity above all fufpicion. Would you expect, that these disciples fhould be extraordinarily and peculiarly qualified for their great work; and fent forth to the nations with fufficient credentials to confirm their teftimony, and make their doctrines credible?-What greater furniture can you poffibly fuppofe needful in fuch a cafe, than for a number of unlearned men and women, to be inftantaneoufly endued with an intimate and familiar acquaintance with all forts of languages; and (not, as pretended by fome energumens and the modern French prophets, have their organs of fpeech improved by the devil, in pronouncing languages which they did not understand, but) capable conftantly and familiarly to converfe with every nation in their own proper fpeech; and with greatest propriety to write, and tranfmit to pofterity the hiftory and religion of their Lord and Master, in a foreign language which they had never learned. Can you, Sir, poffibly imagine a greater and brighter display of the immediate agency and omnipotent power of the glorious Author of our beings, beings, than thus at once to enlarge the mind, and furnish it with such an amazing extent of knowledge, while God himself has borne them witness, with figns and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghoft, according to his own will? Suppose you should fee fome unlearned ruftics, with whom you are acquainted, pretending to a new revelation, and confirming their pretences, by fpeaking familiarly all the languages of Europe, by healing the fick and decrepit with a word, raising the dead to life, and striking men dead by a word, revealing the fecrets of other mens hearts, communicating these and fuch like powers to others, by the impofition of their hands; and declaring to you, that it was not by their own power or holiness that they performed thefe works, fhould you find the strictest holiness and conformity to the divine nature, joined with these miraculous powers,--Would you not believe the truth of their pretenfions? Would you not acknowledge, that God was in them of a truth? Would you expect that thofe men, who were fent out to preach and propagate a new religion in the world, fhould themfelves be inspired with a prophetic spirit, and capable to foretel future events? and is not this alfo vifibly fact in the cafe before us? Have they not diftinctly foretold the state and fate of the Church in all its periods, until the confummation of all things?-Do not we ourfelves fee their predictions exactly and circumftan. tially verified, with refpect to the rife, reign, and rage of Antichrift; and with refpect to the Jews ftill continuing a diftinct people, and remaining in their unbelief, until God fhall again graff them into the olive tree, from whence they have been cut off? Would C 2 Would you expect, that the Meffiah fhould profper and fucceed thofe difciples, whom he fhould fend out to propagate the gospel among the nations, by the converfion of multitudes to the faith !—And do we not find in fact, that he has affifted a few mean and unlearned fishermen, without riches or power, art or eloquence, to triumph over all the prejudices in mens minds against the doctrines of the crofs, over all the bitter oppofition of the rulers of the world, all the rivetted prepoffeffions amongst both Jews and Gentiles to their ancient religion, and all the learning of Greece and Rome, and to bring fo great a part of the world into a profeffed fubjection to the Crofs of Chrift! Would you expect, that the religion of fuch a Saviour fhould be every way worthy of God, agreeable to all his glorious perfections, and every way fuitable for man, perfective of his nature, and adapted to his welfare, in every station, relation, and capacity that he fuftains in this world, as well as to his eternal intereft in the world to come?All this (I think) is what the Deifts themfelves are forced to allow. Would you expect fome apparent influence of this religion upon the hearts and lives of thofe who fincerely profefs it, and who commit their fouls and eternal interefts into the hands of this Saviour?And do not you yourself fee this continually exemplified? Do not every body fee, that they who cordially receive the Lord Jefus Chrift for their Prince and Saviour, are diftinguifhed from the reft of the world, by the exercife of love both to God and man?-Is not the change wrought in the hearts and lives of fuch, vifible to every obferver, in the bleffed fruits of holiness, righteousness, charity, and beneficence? This change they themselves profefs to have experienced, by their exercife of faith in the the Lord Jefus Chrift. This experience they juftify to the world, by the fteady conduct of their lives. And thus the great Redeemer approves himself indeed the great Phyfician of fouls, by recovering all from their spiritual maladies, who apply to him, and depend upon him for a cure. Would you expect a confiftent and harmonicus fcheme of religion through all the parts of divine Revelation?-And is it not wonderful to obferve, how the New Testament every way anfwers the defign of the Old; and how all the numerous writers of thefe facred books, notwithstanding their very different manner of writing, the very diftant ages in which they wrote, and the very different circumftances of the Church, in their refpective times of writing, have yet all taught the fame doctrines, all defcribed the fame dangers, and all pointed out the fame way to eternal falvation! Thus, Sir, I have fet before you, in the clofeft and most connected view, fome brief hints of the credentials of Chriftianity.I know you are capable of extending your demands yet further; and of propofing fomething elfe that may still ferve to reflect new light upon the Chriftian revelation; and there is yet much more at your fervice, when you will be pleafed to make your demands. You muft, however, in the mean time, allow me the freedom to fay, that the evidence now in view is fufficient to fill the mind of every unprejudiced perfon with a neceffary and infallible certainty of the truth we are inquiring after.-Deliberately confider each of thefe arguments feparately and particularly; confider them all in their connection and relation to each other, and then try whether you can refuse your affent to the gospel of Chrift. There is (I am fenfible) one objection ready to offer itfelf to your mind againft all this; and that is, C 3 how how do I know, that the great and principal facts, upon which Chriftianity is especially built, may be depended upon as certainly true?-How do I know the congruity of the Prophecies with the event? -How do I know the miraculous conception of the Lord Jefus Chrift, the atteftation of the angels to his birth; or that he wrought fuch miracles in confirmation of his divine miffion; and that he rose again from the dead, and afcended up to heaven? How do I know, that his Apoftles were inspired with fuch extraordinary and divine gifts; or that they performed fuch miraculous operations? To this I anfwer, that fome of the evidences which I have offered, are what directly, upon the very first view, you may know, and cannot but know, to be certainly and infallibly true, if you will but open your eyes to obferve them.-You do certainly know, that human nature is dreadfully corrupted and vitiated; that it is oppofite to the holinefs and purity of the divine Being; and that there is therefore great neceffity of a Saviour to bring us to God, and to rectify our depraved nature. You may certainly know, that there are a great variety of predictions of fuch a Saviour, difperfed through the whole Old Testament; and that the whole nation of the Jews always did, and still do, from thence live in raised expectations of a Meffiah.-You may certainly know, that there were a great number of rites and ceremonies religioufly obferved and practifed among the Jews; and that facrificing, in particular, was not only enjoined upon them, but early and generally practised among all nations. For none of which things can there be any manner of reason given or imagined, unless they were types and adumbrations of an expected Saviour.-You may certainly know, that the time prefixed in the Jewish Prophecies for the manifeftation |
