Matth. xxvii. 52, 53.

Flements them.felves; The Earth trembling and quaking, as if in Pangs and Travel to discharge this New Birth; The Teftimony of others, whofe Bodies appeared in the Holy City, Nay the Teftimony of the moft inveterate Enemies of Chrift. For even the Jews themselves, by advancing fo incredible a Story, as that of his Difciples flcaling him away, do in effect confefs and corroborate a Truth, which they fo very weakly endeavour to deftroy.

Among fo great variety of Proofs, I fhall confine my felf to thofe, within the Compafs of this Gofpel. And here what I fhall obferve to you will come under thefe Two Heads.

First, The Circumftances, in which these Disciples found the Sepulchre.

Secondly, Their great flowness in apprehending and believing our Lord's Refurrection. Thefe Two Obfervations make up the fubftance of this Scripture. And it fhall be my bufinefs to fhew, that Both these things contributed very much to the proof of this Article of our Faith, that Chrift did really rife again from the Dead.

First, The Circumftances, in which the Difciples found the Sepulchre, were a very confiderable Proof of the Reality of Chrift's Refurrection, and the strongest Confutation imaginable of that frivolous Pretence, put about by the Chief Priefts, of the Difciples ftealing him away. Their unneceffary Caution was moft happily made an Occafion of rendring that unquestionable, which they defign'd efpecially to prevent, (viz.) The Opinion of Chrift's rifing the third Day. For (as we Yesterday were told) to this End they procure a Guard of the Governor to watch the Cave, and contrive that the Stone rolled, to clofe up the Door of it, fhould be fealed with his own SigBut, when they found all this impertinent Care

Matth. xxvii.

of

14, 15.

of theirs had no effect; and the Soldiers ran frighted
away with the Earthquake and Vifion of Angels, and
related what had happened; Then they xxviii. 12, 13,
bribed them with large Gifts, and Promifes
of Security and Pardon, to fpread abroad a Report,
that his Difciples had furprized the Grave, while the
Keepers were afleep; And, that having privately con-
veyed away the Body, they gave out, that he had made
his Words good, in rifing again the third Day. A most
unhappy Pretence; and fucha One, as feems to carry a
prefent Infatuation of Mind along with it. For, Who,
that thinks at all, would fuffer himself to be deceived,
by a Lie, that plainly difcovers its own falfhood; and
is fo far from being true, that it is not poffible it fhould
be fo? For, as St. Auguftine, in a juft Indignation, ex-
poftulates the Cafe with the Soldiers: Ye wicked, cor-
rupt fenfeless Wretches; Either ye were awake or asleep; If
awake, it was your business to fecure the Body, from being
Stollen away; If afleep; then your own Words difprove
you; For, granting this, it was impoffible, you should
either know what was done, or who the Perfons were,
that did it. So ill a Contriver is even the Father of Lies
himself, as fometimes to detect himfelf; and to ferve
no other End, but only branding the Believer with the
Scandal of Eafinefs, or Perverseness of Temper, and
covering the Relator with Shame. And fure the Truth
never fhines fo bright, as when the Oppofitions, that
ftrive to darken it, are plainly feen thorow, and under
an evident neceffity of being falfe.

That Romans, whofe Military Difcipline was fo exceeding ftrict, fhould neglect their Poft upon fo extraordinary an Emergency, and when fuch particular Zeal and Diligence had been used; is as extravagant an Imagination, as a Man could ever think of, except that other of his Difciples ftealing him away. For, Are not these the very Men, who, upon the first Affault in the Garden, all forfook him and fled? They durft

Pp 4

not

Luke xxii. 38.

not stand by him even then, when he declared it in his power to call for twelve Legions of Angels to Matt. xxvi. 53. his refcue; and have they now the confidence, to come in a Body, and bear away his Corpse? They had but two Swords among them all before; and He, who had the Courage to ufe one of them, durft not afterwards fo much as own any knowledge of, or dependance on, his Mafter; And is the Cafe now changed fo monftroufly, that these poor,naked, difpirited Creatures fhould attempt a Detachment of Armed Men, whofe Order and Bufinefs it was, to expect, and be provided for them? Is This a likely thing, that They, who durft not fo much as appear in publick, but affembled themfelves privately, and shut up their Doors, for fear of the Jews, fhould invade a strong Guard? That They fhould, all on a fudden, grow Valiant, or rather indeed Foolhardy, to this degree? When He, in whom they trufted, was dead; when the Stouteft of them all, even while he was yet alive, trembled at the Voice of a filly Servant, and did the moft cowardly Action in the World; that of affirming, nay fwearing to a Falfhood, to deliver himself from the danger of an inquifitive and bufie Tongue? Thefe are Difficulties, never to be got over; and fuch as will not fuffer any Man, that confiders them, to believe that idle pretence, which the Jews fo industriously reported, to difprove our Saviour's Resurrection.

But, Let us for once fuppofe, what yet is most improbable, that the Disciples had Courage enough for fo defperate an undertaking. Yet Robberies, we know, are committed in hafte and hurry; and every Moment is tedious, to Men under confufion and fear of difcovery. If therefore the removing of the Body had been their work, and they had fnatched an Opportunity for it, while the Centinels flept; Would they not have taken it away, as it was, without ftaying to unbind and undrefs it? Do Thieves, after they have rifled a House,

ufe

ufe to spend time, in putting things in order again? And is it not agreeable to all the Reason in the World, that these Perfons would have been rather folicitous to make their Escape, than to ftrip the Corpfe, to fold up the Clothes, and to lay them apart from one another in their proper places? That which renders this still more and more unconceivable, is the Cuftom of Interment in that Country. Which therefore St. John does not forget to mention particularly; As being in truth a fit Preparation, and proper Strengthning, to the Account he gives here. For at the 39th and 40th Verses of the foregoing Chapter, he acquaints us, that Nicodemus brought a mixture of Myrrh and Aloes about a bundred pound weight; And they took the Body of Jefus, and wound it in linen Clothes, with the Spices, as the Manner of the Jews is to bury. Now thefe Spices were used to preferve the Body from Corruption: Which they did, by being a fort of Shell, or Cruft, over it. And this their glutinous Substance qualified them for. But the fame glewy Nature must needs make the Cloathes they were used with, cling very close and faft to the Skin, and not to be drawn off without a great deal of time and difficulty. When therefore these Coverings were found, regularly pulled off, wrapped up, and laid by; This plainly fhews the removing of Jefus's Body to be a work of leifure, and much deliberation; Such, as by no means agrees with the confufion and hafte, of things done by ftealth. Nor can it enter into any fober Man's Thoughts, that They, who came privily and in danger of their Lives, fhould fo far venture the awaking of the Guard, and trifle away their time in these so hazardous, fo unneceffary Niceties. So that, had the Lord been taken away, we cannot but think they would have taken him as he was, which would have ferved Their turn very well. But, fince the Sepulchre was found empty, and the Grave-clothes left behind; We have great reafon to conclude, that He took himself away.

And,

And, by the fame Divine Power, which brought him into the World, of a Mother, still a Virgin, that he raised his own dead Body to Life a second time, without breaking the Seal, or removing the Stone. Matth. xxviii. 2. For this, we are exprefly told, was not His, but the Angels doing. And done it was, not to make him paffage, but to make the accefs to the Tomb eafy, and give opportunity for difcovering this wonderful Work of God. Thefe Objections, I fay, lie both against the Jews Fiction, that the Difciples had ftollen their Lord; and Mary's Fear, that fome other had conveyed him away. And if Peter and John had attended to what they faw, their own Eyes, and their own Reafon might have convinced them, that This was Jefus his own doing, how marvellous foever it might feem to them at that time. But, even in this too, there was a particular Providence. For Their very Slownefs in apprehending and believing the Refurrection of Chrift, did it felf contribute much, to the perfuading Men, and proving the Reality of it. Which was the Second thing I propofed to fhew, and now proceed to prove it accordingly, upon thefe Two Accounts.

Firft, That Backwardnefs of Believing in the Difciples added to the Evidences given of this Refurrection; and miniftred occafion for feveral moft undeniable Proofs, which otherwife had not been neceffary to them. And indeed their Backwardness was fo great, that one would wonder, how they fhould be fo exceeding ftupid and heavy, had not God in his Wisdom fo ordered the matter, that Their Incredulity should be Our Confirmation. The Certainty of a Refurrection in general our Lord had oftentimes foretold; And that all, who were in the Grave, fhould one day hear his John v. 29. Voice, and come forth. The neceffity of his own Refurrection, and the ftated time of it, he had exprefly declared. And, when he gave them warning at any time of his approaching Death; he never failed to

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