.**.*^ £ 7-^y OF 1^/i/^ 21 1930 ) 3/ Scctk)!. '% s 7. '' I 't^cnc:4i ^ c^^^^^"^ 4 ; V, ' I ^v^ . r # ■■ f • - I - THE M I R A C L O F J E S U VINDICATED. ^7 PART 1. CONTAINING The Proofs of Jefus'% Refurredion ftated, and the Objedions to it anfwer'd. The Second Edition, L O NT> O N: Printed for J. R o b e r t s at the Oxford- Jrms in IVarwick'Lane. m dcc xxix. [Price Six-pence.] THE Miracles of JESUS VINDICATED. PART I smmHK Refurreaion of Jefus being a i*-*^?^ Point of fo great Importance, that St® the whole Weight of Chriftianity WW4W >-efts upon it, it is veiT neceflary ^^^ that the Truth of this Fad fhould be made out Clearly, and for that purpofe the foUowins Treatife is offer'd to the Reader, who if he comes to it with Attention and with- out pJ^^d'ce" may (it is hoped) be convmc^i of the Reality' of this great Miracle, and be gp- ply'dwith a AifficientAnfwerto the feveialOb- ieftions lately rais'd againft it. The Obieaions have been formed from the Hiftory written by the four Evangel.fts, and SSre fuppofelhat they wrote the Account which we now have under their Names ,^1 A 2, 4 Ti^^ Miracles o/ have the fame right to make the fame fuppofal in Defence of Jefus's Rcfurredion , as is made in Oppofition to it > and therefore ihall forbear to prove what is allow'd in the Quefti- on 5 when That comes to be deny'd, it will receive a Satisfaftory Anfwerj but till then it muft be taken for granted that the Books of the Nczv Tcflaynent were written by thofe whofe Names they hear, and are handed down to us the fame as they were written. Havnig premised this, I proceed to the Proof of the Fad: in view, the Refurre^tion of Je- fus 'y which is now made matter of Difpute (it feems) in a Chrifcian Country > but fincc it is, Satisfa6tion ought to be given to all En- quirers, whether they feek it in Sincerity or not. The Books, which make this Enquiry ncceflary, are too well known to need to be particularly named. In them the Evangelifts and Apoftles are fometimes reprefented as Fools and Credulous men, fometimes as Cheats -dndJm- foflors : I fhall therefore confider the Matter in both thefe Lights, not regarding upon whom One or Both of the two Characters may fill, if it fhiould '..ppear (as it will) that they don't in the leaft belong to the Apoftles : And for this purpofe I mull follow the old Diilinction (till a better can be found), and fay, that, if the account given us by the Apoftles be Falfe, it muft have been, either becaufe they were De- ceived Themiclves, or becaufe they knowingly Deceived Mankind. I. That they could not be Deceived Them- felves, in the Cafe before us, may be proved by the following Arguments. After Jesus Vindicated. j After Jef/is was rifen, and before he was af- cended, be JJjewed brmjelf alive (to his Apoltles and feveral others) by many Infallible proofs^ being feen of them forty days^ and fpeaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. A6ts i. 2. More particularly, the facred Writers make mention of twelve different Appearanees o^Je- fus^ and intimate that he was feen oftner. He Convcrs'd with them, and gave Anfwers ta their Queflionsj he Ate and Drank with them, to Ihew that his Body was a Real one, Luke xxiv. 43. And when they fufpe6ted that what they faw might be a Spirjt^hc bad them handle him and fee j for a Spirit ( fays he ) hath not Flefh and BoneSj as ye fee me have. Luke xxiv. And beyond all this, he fubmitted to fuch a clofe Examination as his Scrupulous Apoflle Thomas infifted upon, for he permitted him to feel the Marks of the Wounds, which the Nails had caufed in his Hands and Feet, and which the Spear had made in his Side. And for a Hill farther Convi6i:ion, for a Proof which fhould pafs all Pofllbility of de- ceiving, he told them (before he afcended up into Heaven ) that they {hould be endued with Power from on high. Luke xxiv. 4p. and be bap^ tized with the Holy Gboft not many days after. Afts i. f . Which, according to the Predidion, happen'd to them at the end of ten days, when the Holy Ghoft fell upon them, and they all fpake with I'ongues as the Spirit gave them ut- terance. In the Certainty of this Event they could not poflibly be miflaken : they felt within them the wonderful Gitt, the Power of fpeaking Languages f The Miracles of Languages till then Unknown to them. They had the fame Evidence of their really having This, as they had of their being Alive. And is there any thing in Nature, which a man can be furer of? Even thofe, whofe Scepticifm has carried them fo far, as to afTert, that wc cannot be Certain of the Exiftence of any Objefts 'without us, muft in this Cafe allow that the A- poftles might be certain of what they felt by imvard Perception, and had the fame fort of Knowledge of, as they had of their ownExi- flence. Allowing then that they were fure of This, it follows that they were Sure of Jefus's ha- ving been rais'd from the Dead, and of their having convers'd with him after his Refurre- 6tion 5 for it was in one of their Convcrfations "with him, during that period of time, that he promised them this Gift of tongues -y and the ful- filling of the Promife was a full Proof of his having been truly prefent with them, when he made it. So that this Objeftion will not ftand the En- quiry i But flill it is faid, that the Apollles and Evangelifts were Cheats and Impoflors,and that they knowingly Deceived Mankind in the Accounts that they have left in Writing. II. Yet, as in the former Cafe it was proved (I think) to be Abfolutely Impoflible that they fhould be Deceived in this great Fa<5]:, fo in This Cafe it will appear to be Morally Impof- fible that they fliould be Deceivers. For they were at firft twelve in Number, one of which Betray'd their Mafter, and was the caufc of his Death) another Deny'd him thrice JesUs Vindicated. y thrice at his Tryal, with Oaths and CuiTes de- claring that he did not know him 5 and all of them fliew'd lb much want of Courage, fuch an Ab- je<5b Fear, as that they forfook him and fled for their own Safety : Is it then probable ii^ the leafl degree, that after fucli Proofs of the Bafenefs of lome* and of the Wcakaefs of all of them, they iiiould be fo fr* rrcm being Sufpi- cious of one another, nay mould ib far throw their whole Welfare into each other's hands, as all to agree and unite in carrying on an Im- poflure ? Could they hope to be more Secure againft being betray 'd by each other than their Mafter was, who was the Centre of their Union, and for whofe fake they had afTociated together ? Could they be fure that there was no Judas ftill left among them ? or that Peter's Cowar- dice, or their own ftrong Fears would not re- vive again upon fome frefh Occafion ? In a word, is it not againft all Reafon and Experience, that a Confederacy among wicked Men, whea once broken thro' Treachery and Cowardice, fhould ever be renew'd among the fame per- fons, and cemented again ? fo that in this view, if they had been Impoftors, they muft have been the Weakeft of men too j and That (we know) is no part of the Chara6ter of fuch as can carry on a Impofture. Beiides, it is to be confider'd, that no Mo- tive can be affigned for their Combining in fuch a Falfehood: It is (I think) univerfally given up, that neither Grandeur, nor Riches, nor Pleafure, were what the Apoftles aimed at 3 the marks of the Contrary are too plain to be de- nied : but yet there are fome who think, that they may fairly afcribe it to Vanity and the • Love S T^:e MlKACLZS of Love of being Singiilir 5 a Pailion which they well know goes a great way in Themielves, and might therefore ( they conclude ) be as fbx>ng in the Apollles : but even that Vanity and that Smgulariry cannot be fuppoied to have a place Here, for this plain reafon > be- caufe the DoiirirxC which thev taught, they taught nor as their Own, bur as their Mailer's : thev were onlv his MeiTengers j and therefore, if it fucceede for Death is the urmofl Tryal, the uireS Teft which human Nature can be ex- posed to. And it is no Abatement to the force of this Proof to {ay, *" that many Cheats and Crimi- " nils have aliened their Innocence and de- " nied iheir Guilt in the urmofl extremity of '-' Death i" Jesus Vmikatei. ^ ^ Death/' for the two Cafes are fo for fiom being PindW, that they arc cxsJEdy CoiKraiy 5 fuch Cheats and Crimifials being ' tcmpccd to thii Denial of their Guilt by the hope oi S^vi^ their Lives j whereas in the Apomes cafe die Only hope that chej could hare of Savhtg^ their Lives was by owning the Fali^ood (if it was one,) and acknowlcdgii^ themfelves to be Guilrv, which is raft the Revaic of what they did. ' Ncr cm the ir: -e-T i: v---"-^ -^^.v, en'dbv :";;..- r. :\::ji-:: z I .::-:: :- "rn^ who have cvec ror l^rrcrs i.5 "i^^c.j. is r^r T _ . and hive given ur their Lives Lt 1 Sr-_:; -.-. detence of Poir.: . :h ot: horr'd, tha: tr.r; .: :i ::: theta. For tho' all this be True, vet of what is it True? cf Ori- :-: i D ft— cs only, in which ntz z.i :z _ . ti. i^ied Conrraiy ways : but the Te:t:~»onv of the Apoftks con- ceming CtriJ's Kt'zrrtiri-- is a TelHniony concerning a Facr. - ..;. ; : : : r.ey declar'd them- iclves Eyc-witnelTes i ;-.: [t: -7 Unbeliever produce '--e T-t:t:-.:f .- 1.. : t Records of time c: :. :•.:_ 7 v..:'; :.::r :f Twelve or more, Srrf: _::. :.. .:: :. :-. ■- . :J-::--^lIy unders;o:T '.:z zi.:.: •, :.;:t: Z}:::ri ri:!~.eT than R; -rrbat thev Knew t: re :. _:::': F-hV:-::: T..: A_--:; - ' -:: t Z . i.\.i 5 >. _ .. r .-. _ - f::H as telling us that > Author Knov : r -^ fuch thing, and, that we may not doubt of his Knowing ir, be hii rl:c'i :hit Father's B " words lO Th Ml KACLI. s of words at the bottom of page 1 1 .^ from whence it appears, that he fays not one word of the poflibility of their being effe5icd by Magick Art. Here novv is an Atteftation of a Fad, which the Author knew to be Falfe> but would Mr. TV. perfill in This, if a Rope were about his Neck, and he going to fuffer for This Falfe- hood ? efpccially, if to Recant, would fave his Life, and his Reliifal would certainly put his Sentence in Execution? I don't fpeak this as my Wifh, but for Argument's fake only. And we may truft Him to anfwer the Quellion, and be Sure that the Reply wou'd be, What? do you take me for a Madman? And do You take the Apoftles for Madmen? Their Wri- tings furely ihcw it lefs than Hisj and there- fore we may conclude that Human Courage, or Obftinacy (let them call it which they pleafe) cannot go fo far : at leall we are fure that the Rekurcclion has nothing near fo In- credible in it, as this Suppofition has which fomc have made againft the Belief of it. Upon the whole it may be faid that there is no Fa6t in Nature, than can be fo well proved and fupported as This is > for to fuppofe the A- poitles to have been Deceived, is to fuppofe a thing Abfolutcly ImpolIible3 and to affirm that they were Deceivers, is to affirm a thing which is Morally impoffible, i. e. Improbable in the highefl Degree. Thus I have laid before the Reader a direft Proof of this Fact, the Refurrcdion oijefus-y and if a thing be once prov'd in this way, Ob- jeftions * r.ifh attefiabantur Aliracula, non defuiffent (ficut CT" nunc 7nHjfitant) qm Magic a pottnt'iA cuniia ilia trihuerent, Contr. Fa'jjl.h. la. C.4. Jesus Vindicated. 1 1 jeftions drawn from the Circiimftanccs and Ex- prefTions of the Hiftory have very little weight againll it 5 becaufe Mens Ignorance or Inat- tention may be the foundation of thefe Ob- jedions, and plain Proofs are too ftubborn to give way to fuch little Oppofitions as thefe are. However fince Objcdions have been rais'd againll the Reality of our Saviour's Refurrc- ction, and they fccm to dcferve an anfwer, be- caufe they are drawn from the Circum (lances of the Story as related by the Evangelills, I fhall endeavour to give a full anfwer to each of them. All that has been offered on this head, may be reduc'd to thefe four Obje<^ions : That Jefus did not rife at the time that he had foretold. That fome of his Difciples did not Know him when he appear'd to them, or they Knew him by fuch figns as could be no Sure Marks of its being Him. That he did nnt perfonally appear to the Chief Priefts and Elders after his Refurredion, as (they fuppofe) he ought to have done for their Convidion. And lailly. That the Stone at the mouth of the Grave being Seal'd, and the Seal being broken open, when the Sealers were not prefent, here is room to fufpe6t a Fraud and Impofture. Each of thefe ihall be conllder'd in its or- der. I. §. Firft it is faid, that Jefus did not rife at the time which he had foretold j it was not (fay they) on the third day^ for that would have been on Monday , not upon Sunday or the firji day of the iiueik : much lefs was it affer- thres daysy B i as II The M IK A CLE s of as one Evangelift exprefles it j and leaft of all is it True (as they pretend) that he was in the heart of ths Earth three Days and three Nights^ which Yet he declared he wou'd be, as another Evangelift reports it. But in anfwer to all this it may be prov'd (as it often has been) that all thefe Expreflions, which are fo many Jewijh ways of fpeaking, are exactly agreeable with the Event, when they arc rightly explained. For doiiig which it muft be obferv'd, that the Je^vs counted their Days (I mean their Na- tural Days, or Days of 24 hours) very different- ly from what We do 5 for We reckon them from 110' Clock at night to i z the next night j but They reckon'd from one Sunfet, to the next Sunfet, and all the time between them They called a Day^ juft as Mofes did when he jkiys, the Evening and the Morning were the firfi day J Gen. i. f. Tind from Even unto Even fh all ye celebrate your Sabbath^ Lev. xxiii. 32. Another thing to be obferv'd on this head is, that they reckon'd (as indeed all nations do) any Part of a Day of 24 hours for a whole Day : to this purpofe an eminent JewiJJo Writer (Jben-Ezra on Levit. xii. 3.) fpeaking of the Law for circumcifing an Infant on the 8th Day, fays, that if the Infant was born but one hour before the firft Day was ended, it was counted for one Whole Day: And fo for the fame reafon, was the Part of the Day that was pafs'd, when it was Circumcis'd, if it was only one hour of the Evening with which that Day began. Reckoning then that the firft Day be- gan on our Thiirfdcty at Sunfet, and ended upon Eriday at Sunfet 5 and (becaufe our Lord dyed about three in the afternoon of That Day ) rec- Jesus Vindicated. i ) reckoning that part of a Day for a whole Day , by this means we have one Day> and Saturday is on all hands allowed to be another Day > and as the third Day began on Saturday at Sunfct, and our Saviour rofe on the morning follow- ing, that Part of a Day is fairly computed for the third Day, and thus the Predicbion was ful- ly accomplilhed. It is no wonder indeed that the Gofpcl Ihould be contradicted by fuch Cavillers as thefe 5 but there is one, who might have expefted better Quarter from them, and that is Porphy^ ry^ as great an Enemy to Chriflianity as the Heart of an Unbeliever could wifh3 and yet this ObjecSlion of Theirs againft Sunday's being the third Day, gives the Lye to their Favou- rite Porphyry^ who in his Treatife call'd de Ho- mericis. ^^flionihus fays, *0 Xyjyao-n? ^V^^s- Itti- lj,eiv Xlys'^* xcu rci [xiav t [Aaluj oXUjj ItsXsctsv. He that is at home in the Evenings and goes abroad, on the Morning of the 'Third Day^ is faid to he from home on the 'third Day > tho"* there he only One Day compleat^ which is the Middle one (a). But we want ntithtr Porphyry^ nor any other Author to prove the Propriety of this Expreffion 5 for it is a way of fpeaking, which We and all other Nations of the World ufe : What I have faid on this head, was chiefly to lead the way to what follows. The Expreffion on the third Day is about ten feveral times us'd in the New 1'eftament on this occafion, and therefore muft ferve for explaining the other Phrafes but once or twice at mofl made ufe of: fuch is that of Chrijl's rifing after three (a) Qu»ft, 14. Edit. Argentor, Days'j 14 7f)e MiKACLi. s of Days'y the meaning of which exprcfUon is fairly ihewn by what we read in z Chron. x.f. where Rehohoam fays to the People, Come again unto me after three Days^ and yet ver. 12. we read that the People came to Rehoboatn on the third Day^ as the King commanded faying^ Come again to me m the third Day : A plain Inftance, you fee, that both Phrafes mean the fame thing, (a) As to the Expreflion of our Saviour's being three Days and three Nights in the heart of the Earthy Matt. xii. 40. from the foregoing Ob- fervations the Account of that is very Eafyj for the Jews (like Us) had no One word by which to exprefs a Day of twenty four hours, or a v'j;^S^r]Vs^v as the Greeks called it, i. e. a Day-night as We might call it. They fometimes ftiled it a Day^ as We do, but at other times a. Day and a Night, So that we are to under ftand by the Exprellion of three Days and three Nights no more than that Jefus was to be in the Grave three Days (as We fhould exprefs it) reckoning inclufively the firft and the lalt for two Days, and counting the pieces of Days for Whole ones. And of this way of fpeaking there is a remarkable Inftance in the book of £/^^r > for tho' in ch. iv. i(5. fhe declares that fhe would faft with her People the Jews three Days Night and Day: yet we find her in ch. v. 1,4. upon the third Day at a Banquet with the King and Haman her Adverfiry. Notwith (landing therefore this Objedlion, it appears that Jefus rofe from the Grave at the time foretold by him. (a) So in C'laron. Tufc, D'lfp. 1. i. we read, Apollo fe id datufHm ojlendit poji ejus diet ditw tertiitm j qui ut iUuxit,mor' tiii funt rcterth i.§. The Jesus Vindicated. ly t.§. The next Obje6bion is, that his Difciplcs did not always Know him when he appeared to them : or they Knew him by fuch Signs as could not be Sure Marks of its being Him. For the obviating of which it may be ob- ierved, that, tho' our Lord more than once in his Life time told them that he fhould be put to Death, and iliould rife again on the third D ay ^ yet they then under flood not thefe things -j their hopes of a Temporal Deliverer were fo flrong, and they had built fo much upon this falfe No- tion, that, when they fliw him Crucify'd, they immediately loft all Heart and all Expc<9:atioii of ever feeing him again : and in this Confter- nation, under this Defpair of Mind, if he had appear'd to them at Once, in fuch a manner as to put his Refurredion out of all Doubt, it is Probable that their Joy would have been too ExcelTive and Tumultuous for them to bear : He feems therefore to have chofen rather to difcover himfelf to them by Degrees. The firft Step towards any Notice of this Mi- raculous Fa6t was, that the Grave was found open, and the Body gone. Next they received an Account of his being rifen from two Perfons, who had the Shape of Young men, but had at the fame time the ap- pearance of a Brightnefs like that of Lightning in their Countenances -, which gave reafon to thofe who faw them, to fuppofe that they were not Men, but Angels. After this Jefus appeared to fome of his Dif- ciples, but it being not yet Day -light (Matt, xxviii. I.) they miftook him for the Gardiner of the Place in which the Grave was, till upon looking more narrowly at him, they faw him to idT The MiK ACL zs of to be their Mafterj but be prefently witbdre^m himfelfy leaving them little more than a Glimpfe or bare View of his Perfon, as not defigning yet fully to convince them of the Reality of his Refurre6lion. At another time he appeared to fivo of the Difcipks^ as they were on their Journey to Em- maus', but it was (as the Evangelift fays) in another Form, Mark xvi. 12,. i.e. another than what they had been ufed to fee him in, probably in the Drefs of a Traveller, for it is faid that he went into the Cou?itry with them. This Cir- cumflance therefore, together with the Dusk of the Evening, (at which time it happened) and the Defpair they were in of ever feeing him again, might contribute towards what is faid of thefe two Difciples, that their Eyes were holden^ that they Jhould not know him^ or rather (as it may be rendered) fo as they did not know him, Luke xxiv. i(5. till upon entring with him into an houfe, and fitting down with him to Supper, their Eyes were open'd^ and they knew him -, which difcovery the bring- ing in of Lights for their Meal may probably have occafion'd; at lead this is a better ac- count of the matter than the Fanciful Suppo- iition, which has been advanced, as if Jefus was then difcover'd by an habitual Motion and Action of his hand in breaking of bread. At this time, tho' he gave the Difciples a farther proof of his being rifen, yet they were only Two prefent, arid he chofe to ftay a very little time with them after he was known to them 5 for it is faid that he ftraitway vanijhed out of their Sight^ or rather fas it is in the Mar- gin of our Bibles ) he ceafed to be feen of them : by t E s U s Vindicated. i f jjy which no more need be meant than that he left their Company and went away, without doing any thing more than is naturally in the Power o^ Bodies to do ; juft as the word difap- par (an Equivalent one) is us'd by Milton^ Book yi.4i4- Satan with his RehelUous difafpear'd^ Far in the Dark dijlod^d. Where it is not meant that he made him- felf Invifible, but that he withdrew out of fight. In all thefe Appearances of our Saviour to his Difciples, there is no Chriftian who pre- tends that he gave them a Full and Satisfado- ay Proof of his Refurreftion : They were but fo many Steps to lead them onj they were on- ly the Degrees by which he chofe to prepare them for a farther Difcovery, and are therefore (I think) a good Reafonwhy more than once they were not aware of his being their Ma- fter. And if, after all this, at another Appearance of his they fuppofed that they had feen a Spirit^ yer. 37. he went a greater Length towards convincing them, by fjjewing them his Hands^ and his Feet^ and his Side 5 and appealing to them whether a Spirit had Flefi and Bones^ as they faw him ha've. The laft Satisfaftion which he gave them in this particular, and which (as the Story re- lates ) put an entire end to All Doubt among them, was his allowing the Apoftle "Thomas not only to (ee^ but to handle him, and feel the marks in his Side, his Hands, and his C Feet, J 8 T^^ M t R A C t E s of Feet, which the Nails and the Spear had madc^ when he was on the Crofs : Upon This they were All fully convinced 3 and every time af- terwards, when they faw Him, they made no Scruple to own and receive him as Jefus rifen from the Dead. If it can be made appear, that, after this ample Difcovery, any of the Difciples did not know him, when he was Prefent with them, there will be fome weight in the Obje&ionj but at prefent every Inftance that has been given of fuch Behaviour in the Difciples towards their Mafter, is taken from thofc Appearances of his which were prior to the above men- tioned one, when Thomas (the laft of the A- poftlcs who flood out) received fuch flrong Convi£tion. And is it fair Dealing to pafs over thofe La- ter appearances in which the Apoflles declare that they had full evidence, and to obje6b his Former Imperfefb appearances as not Satisfafto- ry? Why^ the Apollles acknowledge that at Firfl they believ'd not, but the fame Writers fay that they believed Afterwards, and give us their Reafons for it : and Ihall the One Sto- ry of the Apoftles be credited, and the Other not ? I can fee no Reafon why thefe Obje£tors fhould like their Teflimony in the Firlt cafe better than that in the Laft, except that they were then Unbelievers j That perhaps They may look on as Merit, and reckon that the lefs Faith they had, they deferv'd the more Credit. But is it not ftrange that in fuch a Cafe a man's E- vidence Ihould be turn'd againft himfelf ? J 5 s u s Vindicated. i p I met an old Acquaintance t 'or her day in JVeftminfter-Hall ^ whom I did not know at firft 'y I was talking with him for fome time, 'till at laft recolle6ling my felf I called him by his name, and we immediately knew each o^ ther, and fell to difcourfing upon fcveral things that had formerly pafled between us, and up- on the Circumftances and Welfare of feveral of our Common Friends, Shall any one tell me now, that this man was not the old Ac- quaintance that I took him to be, and ufe for his Argument, That I did not know him at Firll? What's that to the purpofe? I knew him before we parted, and knew him by fuch Sure Marks, as I could not be Deceived in. There are few men of fo cool Tempers as not to be provok'd at fuch an Arguer as This 3 and what He might call a Conclufion of his own Reafon, They would look upon as an Affront to Theirs. But I have done with thisObjeftion, and proceed to ^. §. The Third which I mentioned to have been made againft the Truth of Jefus's Refur- reftion, and which was, that He did not per- fpnally appear to the Chief Priclls and Elders, as fome fxy he ought to h^ve done for their Confutation. But if I ihew that This was not only not 7iecejffary to he done^ but that there are good Rea^ fons aflignable why it ihould not have been done , a fufficieqt Anfwer will be given to this Ob- jeftion. It was not necejjary to be done, becaufe the Chief Priefts and Rulers had feen enough to convince them fully that Jefus came from God^, C 2, it ^O TfedT M I R A C L E S of if they had not been blinded with the moft ob- flinate Prejudices : They had been Eye- WitneP fes to many of his Mh'acles, and had but very iarely ( at his Death ) fecn the Fell of the Temph rent in twain^ and Darknefs over the "whole Land: This would have been a full Proof to Them, if they had not been refolutely bent againft ad- mitting any. But fuppofing that Chrift had appear'd to them, and that they had believed upon feeing him alive after his RcfurreiStion, what would have been the Confequence? Why, all the Proof of this Fa6t which they could have gi^ ven to others, would have been their Tefti- mony onlyj and Teftimony We have Now for it. That of the Apoftles, Twelve in num- ber, who faid that they All faw him, and not only faid this, but wrought Miracles, and laid down their Lives in Atteflation to the Truth of their Report. And could the Chief Priells and Elders ( if they had been convinced ) have done more than This for the convincing ©f O- thers? ' Let us farther fuppofe, that Their being con- vinced would have carry'd fuch Weight along with it, that not only all the Priefts and Rulers, but the Body of the Jewijh People would have been converted upon Their Teftimony: And let us fuppofe that upon this the Apoftles or a- ny oihtv Jews \i2id fet out for foreign Coun- tries, preaching the great Doftrine of Jefus'i Refurrcftion, infifting upon This Proof of it, that not only They thcmfelves, but the Chief Priefts and Elders had feen him, and that the whole Nation was fully pcrfwaded of the Truth '''''■■ ■ ■ • of Jesus Vindicated. z i of it 'y and producing Certificates to that pur- pofe under the Hands and Seals of the great Council or Sanhedrim. If This had been the Cafe, can we think that thofe who now make Objedions to the Teftimony of the Apoftles, would not have made much Greater and Stronger Objeftions to the united Teftimony of the Nation? Would not they have found more room to fufpe6t an Impofture than they can Now ? Would not they have called it a State Trick, a Political Craft, a National Con- trivance of the Jews^ to patch up their Credit after they had fo long talk'd of their MeJJiah that was to come ? Would not That have been obje6ted (which Now cannot), that a Fraud might eafily have been carried on under the Shelter of the Jewijh Magiftracy ? If all the Power of Authority in Religion had been on the fide of this Faft, might it not be fufpefted that fuch as were Curious and Inquilitive to examine things to the Bottom, were intimidated and difcourag'd from the Attempt ? Would not fuch a general Union in Belief have pafTed with ThefeObjeftors for a General Confpiracy ? and would they not have cry'd down the Fa6b, be- caufe it ^^^ This Circumftance attending it, much more juftly than they now cry it down becaufe it wanted it ? Providence takes it own Meafures 5 we arc not to prefcribe to it, which way was beft or wifeft : whatever method it Ihould have pleas'd Heaven to take, it would not have fiil'd to put its Defigns in Execution j but in the View wherein I have plac'd things above, there would have been ample Scope for Cavil, a large Field to few the Tares of Doubts and Diffi- XX The MiKACLis of Difficulties in. But will a Rational Man admit that for an Obje6tion which is liable to more and greater ObjecSbions? Fie upon fuch Free- thinking ! which Marrs inftead of Mending, and like the New piece put into an Old Garment, makes the Rent worfe. Mat. ix. i6. So that all things confider'd, it was fo far from being Neceflary, that Chrift fhould have appcar'd upon his Refurreftion to the Chief Priefls and Rulers of the Jews^ as has been fuggefted 'y that ( according to all the ways of Thinking which thefe Cavillers arc us'd to) he ought not to have appear'd to them. And God mufl be allow'd to have taken a more Un- exceptionable Method in making this Fa6t evi- dent to a Few Men only, and thofe of no Fi- gure, Chara6ter or Reputation in Life, except (as the Event fliew'd) for their Courage and Sincerity. 4. §. The laft Qbje£i:ion which I mentioned rqns thus : the Stone at the Mouth of the Grave being Sealed by the Chief Priefls, and the Seal being broken open, when They were not Prefent, here (fay fome) is room to fufpeft a Fraud and Impoflure. Eut to make this Objeftion of any Weighty they mufl fuppofe that the Apoflles, who were the Chofen WitnefTes of the Refurre&ion, as \v?ll as the Chief Priefts, who were the Denyers of it, were concerned in the Sealing j and that both Parties confented to this method as a Sure way to difcover whether Jefus would rife or not : and that both likewife had engaged to be 4t the Opening of the Grave on fome Day and Hour appointed. But j E s tJ s Vindicated. i j Sut all this Suppofal is not only without foundation, but is direftly contrary to the Hi- flory> for the Apoftles all fled for their Lives \vhen their Mailer was Crucified j and when they met afterwards, they did it with the Doors fhut for fear of the Jews : Nay fo far were they from agreeing with the Chief Priefls upon This or any other Teft of his Rifing again, that we are told in Scripture, that they did not expert him to rife again, and that for feveral days after his Refurre£tion they were Jlo-iv of heart to he- lieve it. And could This Sealing then be a Co- venant cnter'd into by the Apoilles ? Or could their Confent be reafonahly prefum'd to any Teft of a Fa it is bell in his Own keeping, it may be of great ufe to Him in raifing Objedions againft the Bible; nay it may be a Golden Religion to him, if by the help of it he can furnifh his Difcourfes with fuch bold Falfehoods as fhall make them Sell the better. But to all Serious Men, to all who enquire and examine into every Hardy AfTertion, his Book is their Antidote; by feeing what He is, they learn what fuch men as have calt off the Gofpel are likely to be: He is the ffrongeft Proof againft Himfelf that Chriftianity is Ne- ceffary to reftrain men; and there is nothing in his Writings of fo much Weight to in- cline men to be Unbelievers, as there is in his Example to fhew them the Neceility of Believing. A Man muft be much in Love with Va-* riety, and wear his Religion, like his Cloaths, fubjeft to every Change of the Fafhion, if he will quit the Chriftian Faith, and renounce his Creed for an uncertain Something, fo ill fupported and fo ill recommended as the Re- ligion of thefe DifptMiers. When they have demon^ JO T^^ Miracle s (?/ demonftrated the Falfeihood of Chriftianityj or fhewn us that the Objedions againlt it are of more Force than the Proofs for it, then wc may allow them (after great Examples in other cafes ) to fpend their whole Stock of Wit and Drollery upon the Subje6t. But if they muft be under a Rellraint till then, it will all dye with them, and the World will lofe the Proof of their Abilities in the Great Art of Ridi- cule : For as yet the Article of Jefus's Refur- re6tion (that Foundation-Stone of Chrillianity) remains unmov'd by any thing that They have offered : They have done their Beft, it muft be owned, and have faid all perhaps that the Wit or Malice of man can devife : But ftill it can no more prevail againft this Truth, than Death and the Grave could againft our Sa- viour; it rifcs like him, and triumphs over all Objedions. It is hoped therefore, that what has been faid on this Occafion, will have fome Ef- fcft to check the increafing Infidelity of the Age; and that men will confider and weigh matters , before they form any Judgment to the Prejudice of that Faith, which can plead Prefcription, and ( by fhewing its Reafonable- nefs) can make that Prefcription appear a Good one. If the Proofs that I have brought in its favour are fo convincing, as I am per- fuaded they are, let fuch men examine their own hearts carefully , and fee whether other Motives than thofe of Reafon do not deter- mine them to Unbelief I pretend not to charge it upon their Vices or their Vanity and Love of Novelty 5 they Themfelves are the beft Judges of what that Principle is which in- Jesus Vindicated 3 i influences them: But they muft give up the Pre- tence of Reafon (1 mean of Right Reafon) in this Cafe> for This lyes diredly againfl them, it blows full in their Facej and that which is the Demonllration of our Faith, can never be the Foundation of Their Infidelity. F I N I S^ «^-3» THE MIRACLES O F JESUS VINDICATED. PART II. CONTAINING A Defence of the Literal Story ofjESUSTs drivingtheBUYERS and SELLERS out of the TEMPLE, AND Suffering the D E V I L S to enter into the Herd of SWINE. The Second Edition. L O NT> O N: Printed for J.Roberts at the Oxford-'jtrms in H^ar wick- Lane, m dcc xxix. [Piicc Six Pence] THE MIRACLES of JESUS VINDICATED. PART II. iY former Difcourfe endeavour'd to eflabliih the Truth of that Great Miracle, the Re- I furredion of Jefus^ and in purfuance'of that Defign I Ihev/'d it to be Abfolutely ImpofTible that the A^poftles ihould be De- ceived, and Morally ImpofTible that they lliould in- tend to Deceive Mankind : The Proofs of thefe two Particulars where Then laid before the Reader in (o Short and yet fo Plain a manner, that (as I am encou- rag'd to hope by better Judges than my ielf ) they a- mount to nolefs than a full Demonilration of the Fa6fc in Queftion. In that fmall Treatife it was not attempted to clear the Apoftles from the Charge of Enthufiafm^ becaufe what was There laid, when laid together, ieem'd a lull Vindication of them in this Particular j but fincethofe who have got a Plaufible Word on their fide, are fond of making the Moll of it, and affe6t to range the A- pollles under a third Clafs, that of Entbuftafts^ I fhall follow them into this Covert, and try to force thern^ out of it, by ihewing how effcdually all Si/ipicion of A z £^' '4 fhe MlK AC LE$ of Enthuflafm has been removed from them, by what has been ah-eady Prov'd on the Article of Jefus's Refur- reiStion. Enthufiafm in its only Proper Senfe f when apply'd to Teachersj is the aflcrting fomething for Truth up- on a Strong but Falfe Imagination of being Divinely Infpir'd : you ^tc then that the Subjed, whereon the warm Brain of the Entbujiaft difplays it felf, is Opi- nion and Do6trine only \ but the Point in Qiiellion between Us was a Fact, "viz. the Reiurredion of Je- fus^ in which fas then appear'd) it is Abfolutely Im- poiTible that they fhould have been Deceived, they having fuch Proofs of it, as the Scriptures call, and I fliew'd to be, Infallihle ones. It mult be obferv'd that the Evidence, which They had of Jefus's being Alive again, was Senfible Evidence, Frequently repeated, and made Good to more of their Senfes than One 5 and that the Gift of 'Tongues^ which was the Divine Power ivitbm them, was only a Confirmation of the Goodnefs of this Evidence : They did not reafon, as the Enthuftafi does j This I teach for Truth of Do6trine, becaufe I am Divinely Infpir'dj but. This 1 teach for Trulh of Fa£fc, becaufe I was Eye-witncfs to it, and felt and handled it ; and that my Senfes did not De- ceive me in that Outward Objc6t I am fure, becaufe I feel within me the Accomplil'hment of that Promife, which Jefus made me After his Refurre61:ion. Or take Enthufiafm in its lefs Proper Senfe, and underftand by it no more than a Man's being more Ilrongly perfuadcd of the Truth of any thing than he kas Reafon for : and extend it (if you pleafe) toFa6bs as well as Opinions > nay ( rather than not allow it room enough to range in) fuppofe it to be an Odd and Extravagant Mixture of being Deceived and De- ceiving tooj Yet the Apollles are Safe, and their Te- Himony concerning Jefiis's Refurre6bion can never be charged with any the lead Sujpicion of Enthufiafin: For my Difcourfe f if it Prov'd any thing) Prov'd that the Foundation, on which they built their Strong Per- fuafion. Jesus Vindicated. y foafion, was fuch as could eafily fupport the whole? Weight of the Superflru6ture : it was lliew'd, that the Fa6t which they afTcrtcd for True, was not aOertcd up- on the Force of a Suppos'd or a Real Divine Impulfe only, but upon Senfible Evidence, of the Strongefl: kindj fuch as would have been in all Refpe6b Suffi- cient, tho' Alone, but yet fuch as was (beyond any o- ther Fa6t that ever happened ) ftrengthen'd and con- firmed by a Divine Power within them: And (if any thing in Nature is Certain) This muft be fo, that fuch as are prov'd not to have JDcen Dcceiv'd or Deceivers, cannot come under the Cenfure of that which is thought a Mixture of both. Two Subftances blended together don't conflitute a third of a Diftin6l Sort, however it may have a Dill:in<5t Name : and a man would defire no better Proof that there was no Punch in the Glafs before him, than to have it prov'd, that none of the feveral ingredients which compofe that Liquor, were to be found there. So that, notvvithfbnding this Charge of Enthufiafm^ it muft be allow'd that the Teftimony of the Apoftles is True, when they tell us that Jefus Rofe from thi Dead on the T'hird Day^ as he had foretold. If this Point therefore be gain'd fand 'till I can fee fomething Material offer'd againft it, I may prefume it to be gain'd y), 1 have laid fo ftrong a Foundation, that no Exceptions to any of the Miracles, which Je- fiis wrought in his Life-time, can be of Weight and Force enough to make a Reafonableand Unprejudic'd Pcrfon disbelieve them : For if Jefus wrought the Greateft of all Miracles in Railing himfelf from the Dead, a thing fo plainly beyond all the Powers of Na- tui'e, a thing fo feemingly Impoffible, a thing which not only no Human Art could cfFetSt, but no Human Wifdom could forefee, can there be any Shadow ofa Reafon to doubt whether He wrought thofe Other Miracles, which have fuch vifibly lefs Difficulties in them, and againft which the very beft Exceptions mult be meet Tnfles in comparifon of the Former.^ U before (; The MiK AC LES of before his Death he had plaid the part of a Cheat aticj an Impoftor, is it Conceivable that God would have permitted him to Rife from the Grave > efpecially when in Proof of his Million from God, and of his working Real Miracles, he appeaPd in his Life-time to this Great future Event, and plac'd his whole Cha- ra6ter upon this Refurrc6bion ? Or can we imagine that his Difciples, who had fuch Strong, Senfible, Inward Evidence for the Reality of his having been Alive again, could have any Temptation to forge O- ther Mn*acles, and afcribc Actions to him which he never performed ? Was it not Probable, was it not at leaft Poflible, that they fhould be Detected in the Falfehood of Things, many of which they report him to have done in the molf Public k manner, and before Numbers not only of his Followers but of his Ene-^ mies? i\.nd would not the Diicovery of any One Mi- racle fxlfely afcrib'd to their Malter have been an In- vincible Prejudice againil: the True Miracle, which they witnefs'd to, and built their whole Scheme up-* on? The Refurrcdion, Alone, was a Convincing Proof that he came from God j and a Hundred True Mira- cles could not pofHbly have Added fo much Weight to the Proof of it, as one Falfe one. Detected, would certainly have taken from it. So that what room was there for Forgery, when the Only Method that the Apollles could ule to gain Credit to the Refurre6bion which they were fure of, was never to report any thing of Jefifs which they Knew to be Falfe, or were not Sure to be True ? Here then is not only a Reafonable Prefumption, but a Strong Confequence in favour of all the Mira- cles which are attributed to Jefus in the Gofpels : E- very Impartial Man mull believe the Literal Account of them to be True, and the Miracles to have been Real ones, unlefs it can be made out clearly that there is an Abfolute ImpofUbility in any of them. This is the only Cafe, which will allow us to make a Stand: For it is not fufficient to fay that This or That par- 4 ticular Jesus Vindicated. j ticuUr Circumflance feems Abfurd, bccaiifc the Ab- furdity may arife from our want of Materials for In- formation : the Objc6lion may owe its birth to Igno- rance, and he who makes it, may have his Share of This as well as his Neighbour. Confidcr that almoll 1700 Years have pafTcd fince thefe Mn-acles were wrought J the Climate and the Language, the Cuftoms and the Genius of the People were very different from Ours J the Story is often told in a Short and Uncir- cumllantial Manner, and Allulions are commonly made to the Hiftory of thofe Times and to the Situation of thofe Places, which We are not fully acquainted with. On all thefe Accounts and many others, things may feem Strange and even Abfurd to Us, which were the jnoft Obvious and Familiar to the Natives of Juclcea. But if we had no Helps at all to clear up thefe Mat- ters againft Objections, yet we might be fiid rather to be Without them than to Want them 5 for there is no Want, where there is a Direct Proofs and the Confe- quence from Jefiis's Rcfurredion being a True Fa6t, to his Other Miracles being Truly wrought, is what no one can reafonably deny to be a Dire6t Proof. However fince Objections have been rais'd by Some againil the Literal Story of almoit all the Principal Miracles of Jefus^ I am not unwilling to enter into a particular Examination of them, that the Reader may- fee how the Cavils of thefe Men are the Weakeft and moft Frivolous that can be conceived > fuch as the Meanelt Author, that I ever met with before, would not Stoop to make ufe of j fuch as in any other Caufe, but that of Religion, a Wife man would Contemn and Walk over: Nor fhall the Unfair Arts, which They employ to give a Colour to thefe Cavils be forgotten in their proper place. I will venture to fay, that were Thefe open'd, and expos'd to their Readers (^as they ought to bej. Such Writers could never be able to bring any thing into Difcreditbut their Own Writings. At prefent I fhall confine my felf to the Literal Accounts of the tw^o lirll Miracles, which a late (a) Au- the Miracles of (a) Author has undertaken to Expofe; but in what Manner, and with what Succcfs, the Reader will be foon convinc'd. I. I begin (as He does) with the Miracle of J e fits' s driving the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple. All the Obje6bions which he has rais'd againfl: it are reduceable to thefe three heads. That there was no Profanation of the Temple by Buyers and Sellers, as is pretended. That, if there was, yet Jefus could not have exe- cuted fuch a Work as driving them out of the Temple. That, if he Could have executed it, yet it was a Needlcfs Work, becaufe the Temple was fo foon to be Deilroyed and Polluted. I. §. In Proof of his firfl Objedion he brings the Teflimony of St. Hilary^ p. zy. that there was yio fuch Market kept in the'Temple : And for fear This fhould not hold, he quotes St. Jluftin as faying that there could be no great Sin in Selling and Buying Things in the Tent' flcy that were for the Ufe of it^ and offered as Sacrifice in it. But the Reader may remember that I have already convi61:ed Mr. W. of Falfe Evidence in this Quotation from St. Hilary^ Part i.p. zj. and I hope that for the future he will forbear to make an Affi- davit-man of Him. And yet were This Quotation an Honeft one, of what Weight could it be? Since the Teftimony of the four Evangelifls, who were Contemporaries, and upon the Spot, mufl be pre- ferred before that of a Writer who lived fome Hun- dreds of Years afterwards •, efpecially in a Fact of fo Publick a Nature, that, if it was Falfe, the Jews in every part of the World could have Dete6ted it upon their own Knowledge, becaufe they went up yearly from every part of the World to the Temple to cele- brate the PafTover ^ and therefore could not but know whether at any PaiTover, at That particularly, fuch a Traffick was carried on in the Temple or not. . But {0) Mr, Wooljion's DiCcourles on our Saviour's Miracles. Part I, Jesus Vindicated. 5? But I will give Mr. //^. another Tellimony of the Faft, fuch as even his Friend the JeiviJI) Rabbi fhall be forced to allow for a Good one : It is the Tefli- mony of the ancient Jews themfelves, who (we may be fure) did not relate the Matter faUdy, to fcrve the Caufe of the Evangelifls. In the Babylonifli 7'ahnud it is declar'd that {a) forty Tears before the T^emple was defiroy'd^ the Great Council removed (from the {b) Place where they us'd to afTemble in the Inner-Court of the Temple), and fat among the Shops, Count back forty Years from the Deftruftion of the Temple, and you will find that this Removal was about three or four Years before this i\.£tion of our Saviour's, and confc- quently that there was a Place called the Shops about that time. At the fame time one Jewijh Rabbi tells us Where thefe Shops were {c)^ 7'hey ivere in the Mountain of the Houfe^ by which the T^almud always meant the Outer-Court or Court of the Gentiles: And another tells us What they were, when he fays {d)^ J'hat the Shops were an open fpacious P lace ^ where Goods were fold ^ and Money exchanged: And frequent Mention is made there of the ( e) "tables of the Money-Ch angers j upon which Mair/ionides tells us that (f) he who Changed the Money ^ wds calledTv^'^QZii-xinthe Mifchna f^j.Mr. W, as much Mr. W. as he is, will fcarcely (I think) de- fire a fuller Proof of the Fad than This is. (a) (^adraginta annis ante lixcidiam Domus migravh 6<^7ied.ritLm 7najus,fcditque in iaberna : (iec. aliani led. m Tabernis Montis San^t'i) : A'voda Sacra. Edit. Edzaid. p. 6i. {h) Migravit Senatns ab exedra hp:d!-tm c.iforum (loco, ubi olim habebatur Senatiis) ad Talernas, cr a- Taheruis ad Jer/ifihm, See U Empereiir upon the Codex Allddoih. p. 48, 49. (f) Ita en'im R. Nathan, Locus erai extra exedrar/t hifidis c£Ji in monte Adis, cui r^omen Tabern&. lb. {d) Nos aute-tn folemus (dtcit \r.lias) vocare locw/n a^ertum ad libe- ra (patia^ ubi vendunt merces, Tabernam ; Jic domus hbi mutaf/t Ucu^ mam cum fdnore, d:citur Jaberna. lb. {e) Vicefjimo qmnto die ad menfas fedebant in Tetnplo. lb, (/) Aienfa, i. e, ad men/am, quji efi ante Numtnulariufn Jii e Tra~ ■pez.itam, qui fuper ea accipn [pvcuniam), (y fie I'ocant eu'/?f, qui perm u- tut pecuniam, Irapezitam m Mifchna. lb. (Z) ^iifchna. Edit, Surenhufii. To?n. 4. />. 33?, B But I o Tloe yiiK AC L-ES of But he feems aware that the Fa6t would be proved ngainll him, and therefore brings in St. Auftin as de- nying that This was a Profanation of the Temple : that Father's Words are, Non ergo magnum peccatum^ fi hoc "vmdehat in 7'emplo^ quod cmebatuTj ut offerretiir in "Templo^ and then he goes on, (^ iamcn inde ejecit illos : <^uid Jl ihi Ehriofos inveniret? &c. Now can any one think, that St. Auftin meant to contradi6t Chrijl^ and fay that there was properly no great Sin in their doing that, by which Jefus faid they had made the Temple a Den of T'hie'ves ? If he had, it would have been one of the Things which he ihould have put into his Con- feffions. But he meant only, that the Sin was not fo great an one as fome Others are, that it would be worfe to be found there a Drunkard than a Seller of Goods : and what he feems thus to Excufe, is only the Buying and Selling in the 'Temple Things for the Ser- 'vice of the Temple^not (what our Saviour charges them with) the carrying on an Unjull and Unrighteous Trade there > fo that his Apology for them as Mer- chants, does not vindicate them as Thieves. By the Temple here is meant the Outer Court of it, or the Court of the Gentiles -, which {a) Jofephusiya his Defcription of the Temple) calls the fir fi Temple^ as he calls the Inner Court, where the Jeijjs enter'd, the fe- cond Temple : and he tells us at the fame time that the Jews did not look on this Court of the Gentiles as a Holy place : no wonder rhen, that they allow'd This Ufe to be made of it, which our Saviour found fault with. But yet this Opinion of the Jews concerning this Court was an Unworthy and Miftaken one > for it was a Part of the Temple in general, it bore the very Name of the Temple, and (what is more) it was the only Place that the Profelytes of the Gate, who came up to the Temple, had to worfhip the God of Ifrael in : for this purpofe it was built very Large {a) De Bello Jud. L. 5. c. 5. p. i2z6. Edit. Hudf.^ To S'iuTZPcv and Jesus Vindicated. 1 1 and Spacious, that it might receive the great Num- bers, which the Jeivs had reafon to expe£t to lee there ; becaule Ijaiab's Prophecy (ch. Ivi. 7.) runs thus, Mine Houfc fiall be a Houfe of Prayer for all People : which Prophecy our Saviour exprefly {a) quoted againfl: the Buyers when he drove them out, to Ihcw them that their Practice was wholly Inconfiftent with the View and Intent of it, which was that Profelytcs from eve- ry Country under Heaven fliould come and worfliip There. It was a great miilipplication therefore of this Court of the Gentiles, to ufe it for T'ables of Money- changers and for Scats of them that fold Doves^ and for Droves of Sheep and Oxen^ which St. John iii. if. tells us were brought in There, and for which no doubt there were Folds and Stalls to inclofe them, and fe- parate the Cattle of the feveral Proprietors 3 and if we confider what Prodigious Numbers of all thefe there muil have been in that Court ( for Jofephus (b) fays that at one PafTover Ceflius computed three Millions who came there to celebrate it, exclufive of all thofe Profelytes who came there to Worihip only) it will be eafily conceiv'd how much the Place allotted to the Gentiles for Worfhip was crowded and the Room LelTen'd 5 which furely was a great Indecency : but it was a Profanation of it too, becaufe in the midd; of the Bleatings of the Sheep^ and the Lo wings of the Oxen^ and the Hurry and Bullle necedarily occauon'd by the other fort of Merchandife, the Gentile Profe- lytes were fure to meet with no fmall Dilturbance in their Devotions 5 and therefore this Practice of the Jews was a defeating, (as far as they could) theaccom- plifliment of Ifaiah's Prophecy. But the Cafe was ftill worfe^ for it feems Probable that the Captains of the Temple, who were Officers {a) St. M:irr. xxi. 13. has. My Hotije Jhuil he caiied the Honje of Prayer. St. Luke xix. 46. My Houfe ts the Houfe of Prayer. But Sr, Mark's Words Ch. xi. 17. are the very fame with the LXX. Tranlla- tion of Ifai. Ivi. 7. and may be better render'd thus. My Houfe JJjall be called for jhall be) a Houfe of Prayer for all Nations, {b) De Bello Jud. L. 6. c. 9. Edi-. Hudfon. B z ih*t I Z 7/:^^ M I R A C L E S 0/ that had the Care and Charge of it, let out that part of the Court of the Gentiles for Profit and Advantage j and that the Sellers to make themfclves amends for what they paid for their Shops and Stalls, made an Unjuft and Exorbitant Gain. This however we arc Sure of, that there was an Unrighteous Traffick car- ry'd on there, for our Saviour (as three of the Evan- gclifts, who relate the Fa6t5 afTure us) does not charge them with having made the Temple a Place of Mer- chants only, but a Den of T'hieves. In the former cafe if there was only an Indecency, yet in This at leait it mufl be allowed that there was a Profanation of the Temple or Court of the Gentiles, 2. §. I proceed then to the id Obje^ion, which was, How Jefiis ( if there was a Profanation ) could have executed this work of driving them out of the Tem- ple. It is hard to conceive (fays Mr. TV. p. 22.) how any | one in the Form of a Man and of a Defpis'd one too^ (and ' we don't read that Jefus changed his Shape)^ with a Whip in his Hand^ could execute fuch a M^ork upon a great Mul^ titude of People^ who were none of them his Difciples^ nor had any Regard for him. And he quotes a Modern Au- thor as thinking This the moft fiupendous Miracle that 'Jefus wrought. He that thought fo, we know, was St. Jerome^ jufl as much a Modern Author as Mr. W. is one of the Primitive ones, or fpeaks their Sentiments : But I don't care if I make him a Prefent of this Mi- racle, it may do his Heart good to have the Number of them leflen'd^ and if he can but get one Aiiracle given up, he Vv^ill perhaps forgive me, when I ihew that w^hat he reckons the Greateft of all, might have | been None at all. I will let him fee then how Jefus was plainly able to do, what he is faid to have done, in a Natural way, and without the Help of any Divine Power. And here it mull be remembred, that Jefus v^is juft come up from Bethany to Jerufalem in a Solemn Pro- ceilion, in a fort of Royal and Triumphant manner: He Jesus Vindicated. i 5 He was attended on the Road and into the City with a 'very great Multitude (Matt. xxi. 8.) nay with Multi- tudes that went before and follow* d^ ver. p. and Thefe w^ent along with him into the Temple (as may be {a) gathered from ver. i f .) and There proclaim'd as they had done on the Road, Ho fauna to the Son of David^ which was one of the Names of the il/^^^/:?. The Con- courfe was fo great that all the City was moved^ ver. 10. and even the Chief Priefts were afraid of him and of the People too, becaufe they took him for a Pro" phet and were very attentive to hear him^ Matt. xxi. 4 for tho' I allow none, where Mr. W. and his Modern Author place it, yet there Seems to have been one (tho' the Evangelifts don't call it fo) in the Una- nimous Difpolition of the People at That time to pro- claim Jefus by the Tide of \^^Son of David ox Meffiah^ The Fame of his having raifed Lazarus from the Dead a little before went a great v/ay, 'tis true, {John xii. 18.) towards filling Men's minds with this Belief j but yet fo Univerfal, fo Sudden^ and withal fo Short- liv'd an Acknowledgment of Such a Point, looks more like the Effe£t of a Divine Impulfe than of any Na- tural Caufes. 3. §. The third Objeftion was this 5 If 7^///j- could do this, yet was it not a Needlefs work to be fo Zea- lous againft the Profanation of that Temple which was fo foon to be Deflroy'd ? No, becaufe it was not Then Deflroy'd : for is not every Place, that is fet a- part for Divine Worfliip, to be kept Sacred and Fit tor that Ufe, while it is Subfifling ? In fuch a Cafe we are to confider what things are Now, not what they are Hereafter to be : for what would have been a Profanation of the Temple, if it had been always to lafl, was equally a Profanation of it, tho' it was to J E s u s Vindicated. ^ i j to be fooii Deitroy'd 5 the Aftion is the Same under both Events, and is not in the kail Alter'd by the Fate of the Place where it is done. 'Tis Ridiculous to talk, or think otherwife. If any man had Profan'd the PariHi Church of St. Bottolph Bijloopfgate about four years ago, and had been Prcfented for it by the Church- wardens of that Pariih , would it have been thought a Reafonable Queilion to ask. Why thofc Church-wardens were fo Zealous againft the Profana- tion of that Church, which they were then getting an jd£l of Parliament to empower them to pull down and Deflroy? While a Place ftands appropriated to Divine Worlliip, it ought not to be Profan'd 5 This is the Anfwer which every Lawyer and every man of Common Senfe would give on this occafion. And therefore the Court of the Gentiles which was a Houfe of Prayer^ ought to have been kept Free and Undi- iturb'd for that purpofe, as long as it continued to be a Houfe of Prayer^ that is, 'till it was Deflroy 'd. I have not here forgot that Mr. IV. puihes this matter farther, and fays that Jefus himfelf came to De- flroy the temple ^ and that he -permitted^ nay commanded it to he filthily Polluted not long after, p. 2,^. and this he mentions to make the Inconfiflence (as he thinks it) the Greater : But He, I am fure, was never more Inconfiilent with Himfelf than in This particular. For where does he read any thing Like this? which of the Evangelifls told him that Jefus either came to De- flroy it, or com?nanded it to he polluted ? Jefus tells the Jews indeed in Mark xiii. 14. that they would fee the Ahomination of Defolation^ but then he adds, that they would {dtii flanding where it ought not^i.c. in the Holy, place. Now this is only a Declaration of what would happen, and it is obferveable that this Declaration is fo far from being in Favour of Polluting the Temple, that it is directly Againfl it. Befides, if he had com- manded it to be done, when the Temple was Dcltroy'd, i. e. almoil forty years after his Death, then, when he commanded it, he muft have been Alive again and Rifen 16 jT^^ M I R A C L E S (?/ Rifcn from the Dead. Did This Author confider this •when he oppos'd Jefus's Refurreftion ? What? Not Revive, and f et A6t ? I fee that for the fake of an Obje6tioii to One Miracle, he can for a while allow the Truth of another, and does ( as Conjurers are thought to do) raife a Spirit only to work fome Mif- chief by his Help, and then lay him Quiet again. I have now anfwered all his Obje6tions, and I hope to the Reader's Satisfa6tion. As for his Quotations from the Fathers, I have no Mind to lengthen this Difcourfe with any Enquiry into them : for tho' it is True that They affeded to give a Spiritual and My- Itical Senfe to This and almoil all our Saviour's A6i:i- ons,yet it is as True that not one of them ever Deny'd or Doubted of the Literal Story, except when He makes them fpeak > nay the very thing which he has brought to prove them Unbelievers of the Letter lliews the Diredt contrary 5 for to make any A6tion a My- ftical one, youmuft neceflarily allow it to be a Literal one too ', it way as well be faid that there are Proper- ties without a Subftance, as that there can be a Figure without the Letter, except in Parables. I fhall there- fore pafs by all his Scraps of the Fathers, for every Single one of which an Hundred might be found in the fame Author, that expreily contradi6t what he is labouring to prove. He knows it very well, and therefore has all along made ufe of the Unfair and Difhonell Arts of Mifreprefenting, and Curtailing the paiTages of the Fathers , fometimes leaving out in a Sentence what fpeaks againft him, and fometimes bring- ing Sentences together which have no Relation to one another. Some Inftances I have given already, and fliall here prefent the Reader with One more. At the bottom of p. 16. he quotes St. Jerome thus, Jiixta, ftmplicem IntelUgentiam^-—^ quod pnitus' abfurdum^ &c. and explains them above by making That Father fay, thne are Ahfurditie^ in the Letter. But let St. Je^ rome\ words be fairly produced, and they will run thus. Jesus Vindicated. x f thus, (^) According to the Literal Senfe the Do'ves ^^cre not in the Seats (Chairs) hut in Coofi > unlefs -perhaps the Sellers of the Doves fat in Chairs^ which is wholly ah- furd to fay^ for Chairs are Marks of Honour to diflinguifh Mafters and teachers. This Father, as many Others did, quibbled (poorly enough) upon the word Cathedra j by which is meant in the Gofpels the Seats of them that fold Doves, but which He applyed to the Chairs^ that the Teachers of the Chriftian Church then us'd, as We do our Pulpits : and the Abfurdity which St, yerome finds, is in the fuppofing that the Sellers of Doves fat in fuch Cathedne^ as the Teachers of his days made ufe of. He does not fay a word of any Abfurdity in the Letter^ or Literal Account of Jefus's A6lion y tho' by dropping the Greatell and moll Material pare of the Sentence Mr. PF, has contrived to make the words which is wholly ah furd to feem underftood of the Literal Senfe. If fuch Authors as This did not feek for Truth, if they fought only to eftabliih Falfehood, yet methinks they Ihould avoid a Fraud fo eafily dete6led, and fhould be Honefter than This comes to, out of very Knavery. But before he leaves this Head, he attempts to play the Critick on the Senfe of the words in which the E- vangeliils relate this Adion of Jefus : and here hd feems to improve in his happy Art of making the Au- thors he quotes hear Falfe witnefs^ for tho' he Millake^ as ufual, he Falfifys rather more. Inftead o^ them that fold and bought (fays he, p. 30.) it fliould be rendred them that fold and preached y for the word dyopd^etv does more properly fignify to preach than to buy. It is fo far from fignifying this more properly^ that it does not either in the New Teflament, or (I believe) in any other Author, fignify fo at all. The word is ufed above thirty times in the New Teflament, (4) ^uxta fimpllcem Intellkentiam Columb^ non crant in Cathedrts, fed in Caveis ; niji forte Columbarum infiittres fedebant in Cathedrts, quod penitus abfurdum eji, tfuia m Cathedris Magifirorum magis Big- nit as indicatHr, Hieron, in Matt, xxf. Q and 1 8 The Miracles of and let him fhew where it can once be underftood of preach'mg: When it* is faid Luke xvii. 28. of that wic- ked Generation, who would not hearken to Noah the Preacher of Right eonfnefs^ and upon whom therefore the Flood came, T'hey did eat^ they drankj they fold^ they yf- ycp^i^cv : are we to fuppofe that they were preaching ? or when the M^ife Fir gins faid to the Foolifi ones, Matth, XXV. p. Go ye to them that fell ^ and dyD^aan laurca^^ can we think their Advice to have been, that they ihould preach to thcrnfches ? Is this Criticifm ? But then he has found a new Senfe for KoXXuCt^occ, or Money-Changers 'y the Greek worr/ ( fays he, p. 31.) imports thofe who have a Knack to barter away a little Bafe and Brafs Money with the Effigies of an Ox or Bull onit^ in exchange for good Coin. And for this Senfe of the word he quotes Suicerus^s Thefaurus in voce KoXXu- Qi^ri^. 'Tis fo common a Book, that Mr. W. might have expe(3:ed to be found out in any Falfe Quotation from thence : Suicerus quotes "fheophylaSl to fhew that the Colly bus w^'xs a fmallpiece of Brafs Money ^ of little value^ with the Effigies of an O.v, /3ys-, on it 5 (not of a Bull > that's an Infertion of Mr. TV. for the fake of a Jell) 5 and he gives us this for his Own Opinion, that (a) the Y^cy:u\)Z\sci\ or Money- Changers were fuch as fold ^ or gave^ hy way of Exchange^ fmall pieces of Brafs for other Money ^ I fuppofe, for Gold and Silver Pieces. But is this the fimic with giving Bafe (or Bad) Money for Good? Ave not Tv/elve Pence in Copper as Good Money as a Shil- ling in Silver? Docs the I^afcnefs of the Metal, or Smallnefs of the Piece alter the Matter, when it is made up in Qiiantity ? I am fure that This Author is a thorough Colly bifi in his own Senfe of the word, and puts off Ycry Bafe Quotations for Good ones. Once more, and I have done with Mr. U^. on this Head : To make all this the more applicable to the Hire- ling Clergy of This Age, for whofe fake he has brought in his Preaching and his Bulls^ he fays, p. 31. If r^- {a) Re£^c Ko^ wCiTAi definiuntur cl to. Ki^ci vofj.i(j-^.cL7et rrcoK^V' Tff, qui 'vrndnnt Minuu ua p-o alidfeciiraA, fcilicet accepo Colly bfi. Jesus Vindicated. i c VTi^ci^ Kvhkb is tranflated Tables does properly fignlfyVwX- pits who can help it ? For this he refers us to Scapula's Quotation from Ariftophanes ? Scapula's words are thcfe, (a) Ariftophanes ufes this word to fignify a Pulpitum, ^r ^lace rais'd higher than ordinary^ on which the Slaves that luere to be fold were exposed to view. Mr. t^F. you fee ftop'd halt way in the Quotation, that he might de- ceive the Reader into an Opinion th^tPulpitum ligni- iies there a Pulpit 5 but, when the whole Sentence is produced, it appears to fignify fomething as different from it, as Dillionefly is from Good Policy. II. The Second Miracle of Jefus, to which Mr PK has made Obje6tions5 is that of his perrnitting the Devils to enter into the Herd of Swiyie^ which thereupon ran down a Precipice^ and were all choak'd in the Sca^ V- o^- And here I muft remind the Reader, that in Fafts done fo Long fince, and reported in fo Brief a man- ner, it muft often happen, that there can't pofiibly be any certain account given of Some Particulars 5 and Then, where a Probable one is oiTer'd, confident with the Circumflances of the Story and with what other Hiilorians relate. This is All that can be expected in the matter. In this Miracle before us, I promife that no Anfwer fhall be given, Vv'hich does not fecm much more Reafonable than any Objedion on the other fide, even fuppofing it not to have been prov'd already that Jefus rofe from the Dead 3 tho' I hope it will be remem- bred here, that if (as I fhew'd Part I.) Jefus di' real- ly Rife again, it follows that he came from God, and that the Miracles which he is faid to have wrought it his Life-time were Real ones 5 and This here being reckoned by the Evangelifls as One of the Number, with all Fair and Realoitable Men, their Inclination to Believe Every part of the Literal account of it, fiiould at leaft be Stronger than to Disbelieve Any. {a) Apud Ariftophaiiem jic vacatur Pulpitum aut locus edntcn , in ffuo Vernd ^ Manafia cmn'mm cculit lenptm expcnei/antur* Scapula m voce T^^^ii^u. to TJje Mir'acles of The Gbje6lions which Mr. fF. has rais'd againftthc Literal Story of This Miracle are thcfe Four. How came thofe Madmen to have their Dwelling in the Tombs of a Burying-Ground ? p. 31. Where was the Humanity of the Gadarenes thzt did not take care of them, in Pity to Them as well as for the Safety of others ? p. 3^- How came there to be any Herd of Swine ia that Country, when the Jews were forbidden to eat Swine's Flefh? p. 33. Or If the Swine belonged to Gentile Gadarenes^ with whom it was Lawful to keep and eat them, where was the Goodnefs and Juftice of Jefus^s permitting the De- vils to enter into a Herd of them to their Deib:u6bion? V' 34- Thefe are his four Obje<5):ions againft this Miracle, and I fhall take them in their Order. I . §. How came thofe Madmen to ha've their Dwelling in the T'omhs of a Burying-Ground? The true Language of which Queflion is this, Can you give a Reafon for the Aftions o^ Madmen ? They were Madmen^^nd There- fore they ftroird thither. But this Obje6bion looks a little like a Reafonable One, becaufe Mr. J^F. has ad- ded the words of a Burying-Ground y by which, if his Reader underftands fomething refembling our Church- yards in Cities and Towns, and adjoyning to the Church, he is Deceived > for as it is faid that thofe Madmen were among the H'omhs^ fo it is faid that they were in the Mountains^ and in the Wildernefs or defart places. To underfland which you mufl obferve, that the Jewiflo Tombs were ufually little Cells cut in the Sides of Caverns and the Hollow parts of Rocks and Mountains, at fomc diftance from the Towns, and in lonely defart places. The Sepulchre that Jefus himfelf was laid in, was hewn out of a Rock in Mount Calvary -y and many fuch Tombs remain even to this Day, as Maundrel and other Travellers thro' Judcea have ailur'd ii§. And thefe Caves often ferv'd for a Retreat and Sheltcrg for in fuch as thefe the Kings of Canaan hid ' ' ' ' " them" Jesus Vindicated. zx fhemfelves from Jojhua^ David from Saul^ and Jofephus the Jewijh Hiflorian from the Romans that purfued him : Nay he makes very frequent mention in his Hi- ilory, of whole Bands of Thieves and Robbers lurking for Months together in fuch hollow Rocks, and ma- king Excurfions from thence : and he tells us particu- larly that there were (a) Dens or Caves of this fort on that part of the Coaft of the Lake Gennefareth^ which was in the lower Galilee^ and therefore lay contiguous to Gadara, And thefe Mountains as they afforded Shelter, fo they might have fupply'd the Madmen with Food > for in thofe Warm and Fruitful Climates They were not fo Barren as we fee them in Ours : John the Baptift (we read) liv'd in the Wildernefs on Locufts and Wild Ho* ^ey 'y and Jofephus in his own Life tells us, that, when young, he went out into the Wildernefs to be inftru- ^ed by one Banus^ (h) who lived there upon what grew mid and without Culture, So that I have found Viftuals and Habitation foi* the Madmen j and when it is prov'd that Others did, and They might have dwelt in the Mountains and a- mong the Tembs^ I hope the AfTertion of three Evangc- iifts that Jefus found them there, will overbear a meer ^eftionunfupported with any attempt towards a Proof of the Contrary. 2. §. Mr. IV:s next Obje£bion is. Where was the Hu- manity of the Gadarenes that did not take Care of them ^ m pity to "Them as well as for the Safety of Others? Can any thing be more Perverfe than this Queftion is ? when St. M^r^exprefly tells us, chap. v. 4. that Care had been taken of them, that they had been bound in Fet- ters and Chains^ and that this had been often done to them, but that they hdid plucked them afunder and broken them to pieces. The Fetters and Chains (whatever they vere) were not ftrong enough for Men in their Out- KchnfAvi^v TAhi^.ctlctv dviT&i^ia-oLTc. Jofeph. de Bell. Jud. L. 2. t. io» rageous xz The MlKACLi^ s of rageous Condition 5 and therefore they gat loofe from their Keepers, and retreated to the T'omlps and Moun- tains 'y where, when purfu'd, they probably hid them- felves, and eluded all the Diligence and Humanity of the People who try'd to catch and bind them again. But if This does not prove a Want of Humanity in the GadareneSy he has another Proof, which he is fure is a Good one, 'uiz. that they did not difpatch them ra- ther than their Neighbours and Pajfengers fljouldhe in dan- ger from them J P • ^ V They are equally Inhumane in his Opinion (I find) for not taking Care to Preferve them, and for not taking Care to Deftroy them : But I fhould have thought this an Argument for their Ha- ving Humanity, not for their Wanting it : for whde the Madmen were alive, there were Hopes of laying hold on them once more, and perhaps of recovering them to their Senfes. If Mr. JV. had met with this Pai- fage in fome People's Writings, he would have rais'd a heavy Outcry againfl: the Barbarity of the Doftrine of knocking a Madman on the head, only for fear he Ihould do Mifchief : and I would advife him, not to encourage this piece of Cafuiflry among Us. But after all, if the Gadarenes could not catch thefe Madmen co Bind them, how does he know that they could come up near enough to difpatch them ? They might (in his notion of Humanity) have a very Good Will to it,ai\d yet not be able to do the Good Deed i for Jofephus w.'U tell him what Difficulty i/^r^^, with an Army, found to deftroy a Sett of Robbers, that had lodged them- felves in fuch Caves of the Mountains. And, to fay no more on this Head, if the Gadarenes wanted This or any other Inftanceof Humanity, what is that to the Story } let Them look to their Beha- viour : the Truth of this Fa6fc is not affe£bed by it j un- iefs it can be prov'd ImpofTible that in any Countrya Madman fhould be found Unconfin'd, that is often di" tempting to do Mifchief. 3. §. I proceed then to the third Objeftion, B>io came there to he any Herd of Sw'me in that Qo.mtry, I'hcn the I E s u s Vindicated. % j the Jcivs ivere forblddeit to cat Swine's Flejl) ? Suppofc wc could not give any Account of this matter, yet is a Story, fo well attefted (as I have ihew'd all Jefus^ Miracles to be), is fuch a Story to be Disbeliev'd, when there is no Proof againfl it ? I call it no Proofs becaufe to fay a thing was forbidden and therefore it \vi.s not done, is to fuppofe that Laws are never bro- ken, the contrary of which is feen every day, and was never more fo than in Mr. PF.'sown Difcourfe, But ril give him a very Fair and Probable account ef this Circumftance. Gadara was a City on the other lide of Jordan^ near the Lake of Gennefareth ; it was one of thofe Cities called Decapolis^ and was fituatc in that Allotment which was made to the Tribe of AlanaJJeh : Pompey indeed joyn'd it to the Province of Syria^ Auguftus afterwards gave it to Herod^ and upon his Death annexed it again to Syria^ as Jofephus in- forms us : by this means it was inhabited partly by Jew.s^ and partly by Syrians who were Heathens 5 Jo^ fephus (a) fpeaks frequently of both, as very Numerous there. But tho' its Inhabitants were thus of a mix'd fort, it was always reckon'd by the Jews as Part of their Dominions, and as fuch it felt the fury of Vcfpa^ fian in the beginning of the Je-wifi War {b). This being the State of the Town, and it being well known that the Heathens ufed Swine not only for Food but for Sacrifices too, why mayn't we fup- pofe that the Jews of that Country might /^^^ Swine, for the Profit they made by felling them to their Hea- then Neighbours ? (No, fays Mr. JV. from Spencer dc Leg. Hebr.) the Jc^ys were forbidden^ under the Pain of m jlnatbema^ the keeping of any Swine in their Country^ p* Jj. It is true, that there was fuch a (c) Law made in the time o^ Hyrcanus j but why was it made ? becaufe the Jews did ufe to keep Swine. And is it any argu- ment to fay, that, becaufe a Law is made againft any {A) De Bell. Jud. 1. 4. c. 7. Ed Hudf. & 1. 3. c 7. & 1. 2. c. il. lb) Jofeph. Antiq. 1. 14. c. 5.& dcBcllo Jud. 1. i.e. 8. &: 1. 4. c. 7. (rj Cafauhm adverf. Earon. Excrcit. 13. Art. 31. n. 6j. thing, 2.4 5fj^ Miracles of thing, Therefore it was not praftis'd after ? Jt ought not, 1 grant, but it does not follow that it was not. Have We not Laws, many and flrong, againft running of Brandy, Tea, £5?^. and would you argue from thence that no Brandy or Tea is run upon our Coafls ? if we conld make this out clearly, we might fave the Go- .vxrnment the Expence of many Cullomhoufe Officers. If the Jews did once pra6tife this feeding of Swine (as the Law made againll; it fufficiently fhews), I don't lee but it may be reafonably fuppos'd that they might Continue to do fo even After the Law was made : It is well known that there is too much of forbidden Trade among Us, tho' we have more Laws than One againft it, and many methods to put them in Execution : and it is much more likely that this feeding of Swine might be pradis'd about Gadara^ becaufe it was not only up- on the Extremity of the Jewifi Dominions, but was then under {a) Heatheniih Jurifdidion, fo that the Force of the Law relied upon the Confciences only of the Jewifh Gadarenes. I have fuppos'd with Mr. ^. that the Swine be- longed to Jewijh Owners, which I have as much right to do as any one can have to fuppofe the con-* trary : and it feems Problable that even thofe Madmen were JewSy for we don't find Jefus in all his Travels converfing with and healing any but thofe to whom he was fent, the loft Sheep of the Houfe of Ifrael, unlefs in one cafe particularly taken notice of by the Evan- gelifts. Upon this fuppoHtion, I have ihewn it pro- bable, that the Gadarene Jews might keep Swine for the life of their Gentile Neighbours, tho' itwasfor-* hidden by Lawj and even under the Pain of an Anathc" ma. 4. §. I come to Mr. PF.'s laftObje6tion, w^^;'^ w^^ the Goodn?j\ and Juftice 0/ Jefus'j- permitting the Devils te enter into the Herd of Swine to their Deftru^ion ? (a) Jofcpb, de-Bel j. Jud. I. i. c. 20. Ed Hisdfon. There J ESUS Vindicated. if There was no want of Goodnefs or Juftice in Jcfus^ even if they had belonged to Gentiles^ who ?night eat them > for the part, which Jefus had in their Deil:rLi6tion, does not appear to be fuch as made him cither Prin- cipal or Acccllary : it is faid indeed by St. A'hr!z that he gave them kave, but by St. L^^ke only that he fuffer'd the Devils to enter into them. By which may be meant no more, than that He did not Prevent them, that he did not Interpofe his Divine Power, by which he might have hindred them from entring : for this Explanation may be juftify'd by other Paflages of the Old and Nezv Teflament^ as (a) Grotius has fully fhewn* And if this made Jefus a Sharer in their Deilru61:ion^ it may as well be faid, that God is anfwerable forall the Evil done in the World, nay he will come in for a fhare in This very Dellruftion of the Swine, for He too permitted it 5 and therefore by this Argument I don't fee but His Goodnefs and Juftice will be impeached upon this occafion. But if the Jewso£ Gadara were the Owners of thefd Swine, as I have fuppos'd, then there was no Inju- llice in Jefus^ even allowing that he was Acceflary to the Deflru6bion of them, and gave the Devils fuch a Leave, as affifted them to do what they did : For then the Owners of them kept them againll the Law made in Hyrcanus's time to prevent it : We find in Jofephus an Edi6t of the Emperor Auguftus requiring the Roman Governours, in every Country where the Jeivsrc{\dtd^ to fufFer them (b) to live according to fuch of their own Country Laws, as were in force //^ Hyrcanus'j time : from This one may gather, that all Laws made in Hyrca^ (a) Vide loca Gen. 20. 6. & 31. 7. Exod. 3. 19. & 12. 23.Pfalm, 16. 10. Ad. 2.27. Ejicere Diabolum ex homine, Chrijti fuit A^l'io^ in Porcos ut irenty nulla a6lione Chrlfil erat opus: hoc cnim oPtabant ipfi Biaboliy ct* viribus nativis id ipfum effcere pterant, dum ns vi majort impedirentur : N#w ergo Chrljtus in hkz re vim azentem fx/«- ruit, fed vim if?ipedirt valentem fuftinuit. Grotius in Mitti 8. 31. ttvruy I'ouovs K-rtQw^ t;)^pw^7o t'TTi 'Tp>c*Lfa ttpX,^3f «&'? Ql^ u4*s~^* ^ftntiq. Jud. l 16* d 6, D nus*s i6 The yiiKkct^s of nus'$ Time were look'd on by the Jews as binding them y otherwife when they foUicited that Emperor for this Edi(5l in their favour, they wouM fcarcely have fix'd on this Time for their Standard : fo that by their own acknowledg'd Conllitution the keeping of Swine was a Crime, and therefore the Jewijlo Keepers of them were iulUy Punifliable for it. And it is well known that Prophets or Perfons afting by the Spirit of God did frequently among the Jews put the Laws in Execution againft Offenders, without calling in the Affillance of the Magiflrate : nay, it was a rcceiv'd Maxim among the Je^ivs^ that fuch Perfons had a Right toa6t thus, and to do much more than This, even todi- fpenfe with fome of Mofes's Laws, as might be eafily fhewn : What Phineas did to Zimri^ and what Elijah did to the Priells of Baal^ were look'd upon by the Jevjs as Precedents in this Cafe 5 and therefore We Chriilians, who acknowledge Jefus to have been more than a Prophet, can never be at a lofs to account for his exercifing an Authority among the Jews^ w^hich they allow'd every Ordinary Prophet to have. I have now given an Anfwer to Mr. /^.'s feveral Obie6i:ions againft this Miracle: and I hope that it appears to the Reader how Frivolous and Trifling they are. If we had had no Lights from Hiftory to help us out, yet a Chriftian might eafily maintain his ground againft mecr Queftions, which are not fup- portcd by any Proofs, and which might be effe6lual- ly anfwer'd upon feveral Probable fuppofitions. But the Authors which I have quoted fpeak home to the purpofe, and both Jofephiis and the other Jezvijh Wri- ters, whom I have made the moft ufe of, can never be fufpected of any Partiality in favour of the Caufelam maintaining; fo that their Teftimony, where it helps us, comes with the more Weight, and fhould put all Cavils under a perpetual filence. Here, as in the former cafe, Mr. IV. would have u^ believe, that the Fathers look'd upon this Miracle as only a Parabolical Narrative : and he tells us, chat upon ths J E s U s Vindicated. 27 the Encouragement of Origen and others we ought to expofe the Ahfurdities of the Letter. 'Till He can better ihew the Abfurdities of it, than he has done, all the Encou- ragement which Origen and the other Fathers give him, is to no purpofe. But where does On^^w Encourage him to this? Why, he fays, p. 3f. that Origen' s Commentaries on this part of St. MatthewV and St. Luke'^- Gofpel are lojl, other-wife unqueflionahly he 'would have told us that he did not believe any thing of the Letter of this Story. It would be flrange indeed if Mr. IF. fhould know what Origen's Opinion was in his Writings that are Loft, when he always miftakes it in his Writings that are Extant : But I can more unqueftionahly afTure him, that, if thofe Commentaries had been prefcrvcd, Origen would have declar'd his belief of the Literal account of this Story, becaufe he has done it in fome of his Commentaries which are remaining 3 for in thofe upon St. John's Gofpel, incidentally mentioning the Coun-- try 0/ //j^ Gergefenes, where St. Matth. lays the Scene ofthis Miracle (and which is thought to include Gada^ ra in it) he fays that (a) Gergefa was an ancient City^ near what is now called the Lake of Tiberias, in the Neighbourhood of which there is a Precipice adjoyning to the Lake^ which is fhew'd as the Steep place from whence the Swine were thrown dozvn by the Devils that entcr'^d them. Does not Origen here exprefly declare his Be- lief of the Letter of the Story, when he points out the very place, where he fuppofes it to have happen'd? Let this then fuffice for a Specimen of Mr. JV'% Acquaintance with the Fathers, or of his Sincerity in reporting their Opinions : I fhall examine no more of his Quotations on this head, and indeed I might well difmifs the Subjed, having given (I think) a fuN (4) Ti^yidd, dip ii? hi Ti^yzdc/'i^iy 'ttoKk; a.'^yjtict 'm^t T«r vCv ka- f, p. IS I. Edit. Huet." P Z ficiej^C %S The MiRACLBs of ficient Reply to all the Exceptions he has made to this Miracle. But it may not be amifs (before I conclude^ to add fome farther Remarks upon this Story, becaufe there are Some (^whofe Opinion is of more Weight than Mr. Z/^.'s) who feem to think the Circumllance of Men's being poj/ej/ed by Devils or Unclean Spirits m our Saviour's days to be a great Difficulty, and therefore they fufpecl: that nothing more than Madnefs is meant by fuch a Pofleilion 5 and for this Notion of theirs they quote what the Jews faid of Jcftis^ John x. 20. He hath a DeviU ci^^d is Mad^ fuppofing that a Mad- wan was in the jfewif,o way of fpeaking called one pof- fefs'd ivith a Devil or Unclean Spirit. But the Truth is, that the Jfu'j reckon'd this One fort of Madnefs, and the Worll fort 5 but they diftinguiih'd between This and what we properly call Madnefs arifing from fome Dillemper of the Body : So that tho' they called all Pcrfons pollefs'd with the Devil by the name of Mad- men, yet they did not give to all Madmen the name of Perfons thus polTefs'd : And they diftinguiih'd very rightly in the Cafe 5 for in the Inflance of this Mi- racle before us, we find that the Devils Spake out of thepofTcfs'd Perfons, they were Sent out of them, and they Enter'd into the Herd of Swine : Perfonal Aftions as well as Speeches are afcrib'd to them, which can pever be afcrib'd to meer Phrenfy and Madnefs j for had there been nothing more than Madnefs, then when it ceas'd in the Men, it would have had no Influence on the Swine '^ whereas that which went out of the One and enter'd into the Other, mull: have had a Di- itincb Being and Exiftence of its Own. This there- fore is the true Gofpel Notion of Demoniacks^ they were not Madmen only, but they were poflefs'd by Unclean Spirits y and \i Jefus be prov'd to have come irom God, he could not have been unacquainted with the Immaterial World, and therefore no one can rea- fonably rcfufe to believe the Account, which he has given us, of the Operations of Evil Spirits upon Hu- man Jesus Vindtcated. 2^ man Bodies. Had no Authors, but the Sacred ones, made mention of the Demoniacks of thofe days, yet the Scripture Teftimony would have been fufEcient : But there arc Unqueftionable Authors which agree in this Story, andfpeak of PofTefs'd Perfons as no uncom* mon Sight in their Days : Jofephus (a) fays that Solomon had from God the Art of cafiing Devils out of Men and healing them 5 and that he composed Charms for ajfwaging the Difeafe^ and left behind him Forms of Adjuration^ by which the Devils were fo effectually cafi out as never to return again 'y and he adds, that this way of healing was fra^is^d among his Countrymen even down to his own days. Whether the Jews had fo efFedual a method of dif- poflefling Men as Jofephus thought, yet thus much appears plainly from his Teflimony, that there were Perfons poiTefs'd with Devils in his days, and long be- fore 5 nay he tells us in the fame place that hefawonc difpoffefs d in the prefence of the Emperor Fefpaftan and his Family : and to prevent our miflaking this Cala- mity for Madnefs, or any other. Common and Natural Diftemper, he explains what he means by being pof- fefs'd with Devils^ when he {b) fays thztwhat were called foj were the Spirits of Wicked Men^ which entered into living Perfons^ and occafton'd the Death of fuch of them as met with no Help. Plutarch and Lucian mention Demo^ niacks as well known in their days, and Philofiratus in his Life of Apollonius among the Miraculous Cures which he afcribcs to him, has a particular account of a Young Man who had an Unclean Spirit, (c) which (a) Amiq. Jud. L. 8. c. 2. Ylct^i^i dv-nf ^.ct^^v 0«of 1^ t»v vrv ^ctvoi'^ct?. De Bel]. Jud.L. 7! c. 6 made 50 Tlye Ml R A CLiis of made him wander from home^ and led him into the Defo- late parts of the Country^ amidft deep Tallies and Preci- pices. Where the Reader may obferve that the fame Circiimftances are faid to have attended this Young man, as the Madmen in the Gofpels: And whatever was the Truth of the Fact reported by Philofiratus^yQ.t it fhews both his Opinion that there were Demoniacks at that time, and that the Effects of fuch PofTeflion were commonly the fame as the EvangeHfbs reprefent them. I don't pretend to be able to alHgn the Reafon why God permitted fuch Inllances to be fo Frequent in thofe Ages j but our Ignorance of the Reafon is no Argument againfl the Fact, which we fee is confirm'd, not byChriltian Writers only, but by theUnfufpe£led Tellimonies of Jewifh and Hcatheniih Authors : Ex- cept we knew all the Ends and Deligns of Providence, wc can never fet up for Judges whether the Means it makes ufc of are Wife or not: how often do we find our felves miftaking the Wifdom of even our Neigh- bour's Aftions, for want of knowing what he has ia view, and what the Circumflances of his AfRiirs con- £der'd all together require? And ihall We objeft a- gainft things, which we read in the Sacred Writings, as Abfurd and Unreafonable , when we Certainly are lefs able to fathom the Vaft and Comprehenfive Defigns of Providence, than we are to pry into our Neighbour's Little, Narrow ones? A thoufand things may be True, which we can give no Account of, becaufe we are but Men > if therefore any one ihould ask me, why the Devils, which Jefus fent out of thefe Madmen^ defir'd leave to enter into Cattle to their Dellruciiion, I fhould perhaps anfwer, that Jefiis^ who bell knew the Nature of fuch Evil Spirits, has all a- lojigreprefented them to us as delighting in Mifchiefj and therefore it feems natural enough, that Beings of fuch a Difpofition notexpeding that 7<^M would per- mit them to enter into Human Bodies for the very fame reafon that he was thenTorcing them out, fliould dcilre to mifchieve Man as much as they could in what Jesus Vindicated. 5 t what Is always very dear to him, I mean his Proper- ty : And if it fhould be asked again, why they defir'd to enter into a Herd of Swine rather than into any- other Herd, I might anfwer that pollibly no other Herd was there, or they might reafonably have thought that Jefiis was not fo likely to interpole in This Cafe as in any other, becaufe the Owners of the Svjiue wevc iiilUy Punifhable with their Delb-u6bion. Thefe An- swers I might perhaps give to fuch Enquirers > but I iliould think that tkefe Anfwers (like their Qiieftions) were more Curious than NecefTary, and fhould noi; think my felf bound to prove more than that they arc Probable : for to all Reafonable Men it is fufficient to fhew(as I have done already) that J^/^/^ having wrought the greateft of Miracles in raifing himfelf from the Dead, there can be no foundation for doubting of the Truth of this Miracle wrought on the Madmen^ even tho' there were lefs of Light to be drawn from Reafon and Hiflory for clearing up the feveral Circumilances of it. To conclude j having examin'd carefully all the Ob- jections which Mr. //^. has rais'd againll thefe two A6lions of our Saviour, I may venture to fay that the Reader muil by this time be fatisfy'd of the Weaknefs and Unfairnefs of that Author's attempts. Perhaps I may ihew more of them in another Difcourfe of this na- ture : In the mean while I hope that it will ever be remembred againftfuch Unbelievers, that Things may feem Difficult to them, only becaufe they are Igno- rant 'y and that there is a Wide Difference between a PafTage's not being to be Underflood, and Their not Underftanding it. FINIS, 4 T H K MIRACLES O F JESUS VINDICATED. PART III. CONTAINING A Defence of the Literal Story o£jESUS's caufing the B A R R E N FI G-TR E E to Wither away, AND His turning the W A T E R into WINE. L O NT> O N: Printed for J.Roberts at the Oxford' Jrms ifl Warivkk-Lani. mdccxxix. [Price Six-pence.] THE MIRACLES of JESUS VINDICATED. PART III. T is a True and a well known Obfer- vation of the Lord Bacon^ that a little Philofophy inclines Men's Minds to A' theifm^ hut that Depth in Philofophy brings them about to Religion again : and it may as juflly be faid that a {lender Acquaintance with the Sciipture furnifhes Men with Doubts and Ob- jedions, which a thorough Knowledge of it would foon eafe them from. A greater Inftance of this can fcarcely be given than in the fix Dif- courfes not long fince publifhed upon our Savioufs Miracles^ in which every Intelligent Reader muft be at a lofs whether he fhould moll admire the B^ldnefs of the Ignorance of the Author j for thr )' the Whole there appears fuch an Unac- quaincedners with the Jewifh Hiilory, Cufloms, and Forms of fpeaking, as fhews that there are Arts which Mr. /F. is not enough Maflcr of-, and A z fuch 4 The Ml K A CLV.S of fuch a v/ant of Sincerity in his Quotations and Applications of them, as fnews that there is an y/r/ which he is too much Mafter of. In oppoiition to what he has fo boldly ad- vanced in thole Difcourfes^ my fir ft Part began (where every Rational iVpol-^gy for the Truth of the Chrillian Revelation fliould begin) withfhew- in^ by Direct Proof that Jcfus did truly Raife himfelf from the Dead, as he had foretold > that the profefs'd Witnejes of his Refurredion could not polTibly be Deceived in this Matter, the Evi- dence which they had for it being fuch as exclud- ed all Miftake, upon any Suppofition whatever 5 and that there is as ftrong Proof of their not intending to Deceive us by a Falfe Teftimony, as any Fa6l is capable of receiving, nay more than any other Fa£l in the world ever did receive. And this fure Foundation being laid, the Con- fequence, which was then drawn from it, feems Clear and Undeniable, viz. that if Jefus wrought this One Miracle, which muft be allowed to have been the greatefc that could be wrought, it is Unreafonable, it is Pcrverfe, not to allow the Re- ality of the Other Miracles which the Evangelifts afcribe to him : And therefore all Objections raifed againft the Literal Story of them, (if they could be anfwered no other way) yet might receive a Satisfactory Anfwer by faying, that the Miracle being a True one, it is highly Improbable that any of the Circumftances, with which the Story of it is told, were otherwife. Things may feem ftrange and difficult to Us at fuch a diftance of time, and this is eafily accounted for ; but there is no ac- count to be given, why the Evangelifts ihould, in relating a Real Miracle, add fuch Falfe Circum- ftances to it, as would help to deftroy its Credit. So that the Qiieftion comes to this, v/hether an Apoftle or Mr. M^. is to be Believed j an Apoftlc who Jesus Vindicated. /j who was Eye-witnefs to the Fadt, or Mr. IV, who was no Witnefs, and whom in feveral Inftances I have proved to be a Falfe Witnefs. With this Evidence then in hand I enter'd (in my fecond Part) upon a particular Examination of the two firll Aftions of Jefus^ which Mr. IF, had objeiSted to, and endeavoured to clear the Literal Story of them from all the Difficulties which he had loaded them with : and in the ccurfe of this Enquiry I now and then fet before him fome In- ftances of the Difhonefly of his Qiiotations from, the Fathers and others, that he might at leaft fee that he was difcover'd, and never expe6t that his bare Word fhould pafs for Current in any Argu- ment hereafter. My prefent Defign is to do the fame by two more of the Miracles, which he has endeavoured to expofe 5 but as I am not bound to follow the Order in which he has plac'd the Miracles, (^ Thing of no weight either to his Caufe or Mine), I have iingled out thofe which he profefTes to have treated the moft Liidicroufy^ and which I thought to want the moil help tov/ards vindicating the Li- teral account of them. I fhall therefore without further Preface enter upon in. The Story of (a) Jefus^s curjlng the F:g^ tree^ not defpairing to convince even Him that it was neither an Ahjurd,, FooliJJj^ and Ridiculous^ nor a Malicious and Ill-natured AEi^ as he has been pleas'd in his mannerly way to call it. The Reader may not be at leifure enough to approve of a Solemn Anfwer to every Trifle j and therefore I ihall confine my felf to fuch Objcdi- ons made by Mr. IV, againfl the Literal account of this Miracle, as are of moft Weight, and may feem to deferve fome Conilderation > and they are thefe Three. How ■p ' l ■ III I. 1 1 ■■ I ■ III ■ I {ji) Mr. W'i Difcourfe 3d. p. 4. ■^ T^^ M I R A C L E S ^/ H6w could Jefus expeft to find Fruit upon thii Fig-tree, when the time of Figs was not yet? ^.6. What Legal Right had he to the Fruit, if hs had found any on the Tree? p. 8. and What Right had he to fmitc the Tree with a Curie, when it was none of his Property ? p. 8. I. §. The firft of thefe Queftions has indeed fomething Material in it^ becaufe as St. Alark, xi. i^. reports this Faft in our Tranflation, there is more room for Cavil than in any other Infbancc which Mr. /F". has fingled out to quarrel with : St. Mark's words arc thefe, ^nd feeing a Fig-tree afar off having Leaves^ he came^ if haply he might find any thing thereon 5 and when he came to it^ he found nothing hut Leaves^ for the time of Figs was not yet. At firft fight any Candid Reader would ima- gine that the Pafiage was fome how mifunder flood, and that the Evangelift who writes fo good fenfe in the other parts of his Gofpel, would not have writ downright Nonfenfe in This. And therefore I fhall endeavour to clear up this matter j for the doing of which I fhall Ihew two things, viz. that at the time when Jcfus went up to this Fi^-tree^ it was a Seafon to expert to find ripe Figs in Jud.ea 3 and fecondly, that the words of St. Mark may be underflood fo as to be con* fiftent with this Circumllance. Whoever reads the Gofpels carefully will be convinced that the day, on which Jefus wrought this Miracle on the Fig-tree, was about the nth of the Jewifii Month Nifan^ or Tuefday before the Paffover-y Mr. M^. indeed fays "f that there are no Grounds from the 'Text to think fo 3 but there are Grounds from that Text compar'd with others, \ Page 29. sind Jesus Vindicated. f fc.nd the Proof of it is fo plain that none but fuch a fort of Freethinker as He could mifs it. Now it is well known that the PafTover was kept by the Jews on the fourteenth day of their firll month JSlifan^ that is, about the latter end of our March. The Point then to be enquired into, is, whether at that time (or three days before) there us'd to be any Figs in Judaa fo Ripe as to be fit for eating 5 and that there did, may be fhewn by the following Arguments. (^) Jofephus tells us, that at the end of the winter Herod befieged Jerufalem^ and that after a fiege of five Months it was taken in the third Month, /. e. the Month Sivan^ which anfvvcrs to the laft half of our May^ and the firfl half of our jfune. Count then five Months back from thence, and you will find that the Winter ended and the Spring began in Jud ^he Fig-tree hath begun to give a flavour (ov fweet tafte) to her T^oungFigs^ and the Fines to give a good Smell to the Tender Grape : For the Original word, which we tranflate putteth forth^ fignifies as I have {b) render'd it > and this Senfe of the Word is more agreeable to what is there faid of the Fines : And if in the middle of our January^ the Figs {a) Compare what he fays De Bell. Jud. Lib. i. cap. 17, iS. ivith what he fays Antiq. Jud. Lib. 14. c. 16. Edit. Hudfon. {b) Kanat every where elfe in the Old Teftament fignifies cond'tvit aromatibus, or fomething refembling that Senfe j and in this Place Pagntnus renders it in the Margin by dukefcere fich, and Aben{z.ra by dnkoravif, were 8 31?^ M I R A C L E S of were fo forward as Then to have a Flavour, /. ^; to have begun to ripen, it is Unreafonable to think that in fo Warm and Fruitful a Climate there might not be Ripe ones about the latter end of March J which was the time when our Sa- viour fought for them on this Fig-tree. Again-, we are told in Numb, xiii. that when Mofes fent the Spies to fearch the Land of Canaan^ the time was the time of the firft-ripe Grapes^ ver. 20. and that they returned from fearching the Land af- ter forty days^ ver. zf . and that they brought with them from thence Vigs^ as well as Cluflers of Graphs full-grown, as the Weight of them Ihew'd them to be, ver. 25. Now tiie LXX Verfion fays that {a) the time ivas the time of Spring-^ and of the fame Opinion was Philo in his Life of Mofes^ for he in- troduces him as telling the Spies, when he fent them, that {b) the Seafon was then the Fitteji for difcoveri.ig the Goodnefs of the Country^ becaufe it was Springs and as charging them not to return till the Summer was come^ that they might bring of the Fruits of the Land for a Sample, Suppofing then that it was towards the middle of the Springs or about the middle of our February^ when the Spies fet out, and allowing that they were gone forty days (as the Text fays), it will follow that they return'd a few days before the PafToverj and if they brought Figs along with them as well as Ripe or full-grown Grapes, and if the one Fruit was as forward as the other (which the Song of Solomon before quoted plainly fuppofes), then there Numb xiii. 20. ^ tic^vtiJ'eiyua.Tct vcyW iv<^cufmG-, pag. 43 5- Edit. Turncbi. were Jesus Vindicated. 9 were Ripe Figs in the Land of Judcca nt that very time oF the Year when Jefus fought for them up- on this Fig-tree. It is own'd that no dire6t mention is made of the Spring in the Hebrew Text > but Philo and thofe Tranilators of the Law, who were Jeivs^ may well be fuppos'd to have known that the Ex- prcilion, the time of the Fii^ft-ripe Grapes^ was Equiva- lent to that of the Springy y and We, who are no Jew:^ may fairly fuppofe, that this fearch was made in the Springs that the Ifraelites might have the Summer before them for their Invafion of the Land, which they intended to have immedi- ately entered into, as appears from ch. xiv. 44. Thus much at leail the Tellimonies of the LXX and of Philo mull be allow 'd to prove, that they took it for granted that there were Figs ripe there by the time of the Pajjover^ or elfe they would never have alTign'd the Sparing for the time of the Departure of the Spies, when they knew that at the end of forty days they brought back Ripe Figs along with them. * To what ha^ been faid may be added, that Jo- fephus (a) defcribing the Fruitfulnefs of the Coun- try of Gennefareth^ which was a Part of Judaea ^ fays that it afforded Figs and Grapes ten Months in the Tear 'without Intermijjion j and tho* fome al- lowance is to be made for the Extraordinary Fer- tility of that Territory, yet the other Branches of the Country mult be fuppos'd to have afforded thefe Fruits a great part of the Year, efpecially that where this Fig-tree grew, it being between Jerufakm and Bethany^ i. e. in the Lot of the Tribe of Beyijamin^ which (as the fame Jofephm {^) Ta uiv 7? ^,'JUiKi/ic<'Ta.TA, c-'t^ivhvv T5 id) (Tunor, /«>'* jL>.v(Ti:' a.^ta.hji7[]u<; yopinyei. De Eell. JuJ. L. 3. c. g. Z-^'. B telb 16 !rfc M I R A C L E S (}/ tells us ) (a) was fecond to no part of Canaan in Fruit fiilnefs. Upon fuch Authorities as thefe, drawn from the Jewifh Writers themfelves, we know what to make of the Firfl-ripe Fijrs fo often mentioned by the Prophets of the Old Tellament. For God fays in Ho/ea ix. lo. / /ra your Fathers as the jirft-ripe in the Fig-tree at her time } and thefe Ear- ly Figs feem to have been much efteem'd among the Jews^ for Jerem. xxiv. 2. fpeaks of a Basket^ that had 'very Good Figs^ even like the Figs that are firft ripe : And (to mention no other PafTages) the Greedinefs, with which the Jews us'd to gather this Plealant Fruit, is thus defcrib'd by Ifaiah xxviii. 4. jls the hafty Fruit ( i. e. {h) the firfl-ripe Figs ) before the Summer^ which when he that look- eth upon it, feeth it^ while it is yet in his hand^ he eateth it up^ i. e. (as the {c) LXX explain it) he that feeth it, is ready to devour it before he gathers it, fo very fond are men of this fort of Figs. And that we may not miftake the Seafon when thefe fo-much-coveted Figs were pluck'd for eating, Ifaiah here tells us that it was before the Summer^ which (as appears by what I have quoted from Philo^ p. 8.) began in Judaea about the time of the Paffover j and therefore the pro- per time of a Traveller's looking for thefe firfi ripe Figs^ was the time when our Saviour came up for that purpofe to this Fig-tree. The Cafe fecms to have been This > either there were two different forts of Fig- trees in Judaa^ the one forwarder than the other j or (what I rather thinkj the fame Fig-trees yielded Fruit there twice (/?) Anriqii. Jiid. Lib. 5. c. i. Ed. Hudfon. \b) LXX. J< TT-pocTpo//©- (7cit'iaLi^6i cruxdav, may be fo interpreted as to be confident with what has been already prov'd. And Mr. /V. himfelf has furnifii'd us with fa) an Interpretation of the words which will fcrve the purpofe > for he has fallen in with fome of the Modern Commentators, and has recommended the reading of St. Mark's words by way of Interroga- tion, for was it not the time of Figs ? Admitting this fmall change, and putting a part of the Sen- tence into a Parenthefis, the whole Verfe will run thus > j^nd feeing a Fig-tree afar off having Leaves^ he came if haply he might find any thing thereon (and fo that till Then they were ob- liged to let their Figs (tho' Ripe) hang on the Trees, and confequently ^v^ or fix days before the PaiTover (/. e. when ^efiis went up to this Treej any Traveller mJght expe6t to find Fruit upon the Early Fig-trees which he met with in his Journey. That by the time of Figs may be here meant the time of gatheriJig them, is no new Opinion of mine 3 It has been maintained by Dr. Liicas^ and by the Excellent Bilhop F/cy^j and I find Dv.lVhit- hy miCntioning it as the Ingenious Expofition of a Reverend and Learned Biihop, whom he does not name ; and tho' he does not agree with him, yet he declares that he Ihould acquiefce in this In- terpretation, if he could find it prov'd that any Figs were fit to be gathered in at the Paflbver. This (I think^ I have prov'd with fuch a degree of Evidence as Dr. IVhithy would have admitted. And for the time of Figs fignifying the time of ga- thering them, there is good Authority from the Writings of the facred Penmen. This feems to ^ ^ be 14 !rZv Miracles of be the Scnfe of the word x^jpor, time or feafon^ in Pfal. i. 4. (according to thcLXX.) (^j wbich fljall give its Fruit in its Seafin^ i. e. at the time of ga- thering it : And this (I think) certainly is the Senfe of the word in St. Mark xii. 2. but parti- cularly in St. Aiatt. xxi. 34. who fays that when the Lord of the Vineyard in the Parable fent his Servants to the Husbandmen^ that they might receive the Fruits of it^ it was 'wheH the time of the Ft uit ilre-w near^ on rlfyurj 6 xaipof toj'v Ha^Trciiv^ /. e, v^hcn the time o£ gathering it was at handj for, it being moft natural to fuppofe that the Servants were not fent more early than there was need, the time of ripe Grapes was probably then a6i:ually comc,and only the time of gathering them drezv near. But if this Solution fhould not pleafe fome Readers 5 if it fhould not be allowed me to give this Senfe to the time of Figs^ yet from what has been fhcwn on the former head, there may be drawn an Interpretation free from all Objedion. For if there were two times or Seafons of ripe Figs in Jud^a^ the one much later than the other 5 and if the later Seafon was much more plentiful and common than the former (as is natural to fupp >fe) then the later Seafon was properly the time of Figs, and of this it was truly fud by the Evangelift, that then (at the PafTover) it ivas not yet come. Jefus feeing a Fig-tree at a diftance that had Leaves on it, and the Leaves coming later than the early Figs, he did not know but this Fig-tree might be one of thofe which bore early Ripe Figs, and might therefore have Fruit on it at that time : On this account he came et a^a. 'lv^r,a-ci if haply he might find any thing thereon 5 looking on the Circumftance of its having Leaves as a Likely Mark of its having Fruit, but not as a Sure one, becaufe the Trees which Jesus Vindicated, i f which bore only the Inter Figs might have Leaves on them 5 and therefore he came up to the Fig-tree doubtful whether he fliould find any, for the ordi- fjary time of Figs was not yet come-, then a Man might have expefted to find Figs on Every Tree, but now they were to be found only on Some, which were more ilrong and Vigorous than Or- dinary j of this fort the Leaves feem'd to promife this Tree to be, and we may fuppofe that of this fort it was j fo that in this way of interpreting St. Mark^ the words for the time of Ftgs was not yct^ are meant of the Common and Ordinary Sea- fon, and are afiign'd as a reafon why Jefus v/enc up to the Fig-tree, // haply he might find^ having only fome Hope, but not trufting that he fhould find Fruit thereon. But let Mr. W, choofe which Solution he will, (his Own, if he pleafesj and he muft acknowledge that there is a fufficient anfwer given to the fup- pos'd Unreafonablenefs of Jefus''s expelling to find fruit out of Seafon. Having dv/elt pretty long on this head, becaule it contain'd themofb material partof his Difcourle, I fhall now proceed briefly to the fecond Objec- tion. 2. §. What Legal Right Jefus had to the Fmit, if he had found any on the Tree.^ To which I anfwer, that he had a Right, and a Legal one too,tho' he was neither Landlord nor "Tenant^ /as Mr. PV. exprefles xx.) nor had any Houfe or Land of his own by Law. And what I fay, will be prov'd thus. There is a Law given by God to the Jews in Deut. xxiii. 24, 25* to this pur- pofe, IVhen thou comefi into thy Neighbour's Vineyard^ then thou mayeft eat grapes to thy fill^ at thine ow/t pleafure-y but thou fJoalt not put any in thy Veffel: And when thou comefi into the ftanding Corn of thy Neighbours^ then thou mayefl pluck the Ears with thlyie hand^ li The Miracles of hand^ hut thou Jhalt not move a Sickle unto thy Neigh^ hour's ft anding Corn. Biiliop Patrick in his Commentary on this place fays, that the Jewifto Dodors extended this Law, (and indeed the Reafon of the Law extended it) not only to Grapes and Corn^ the two mentioned Particulars 3 but to OVroes^ Figs^ Dates^ and all common eatable Fruits : And {a) Jofcphus con- firms this by applying the Lav/ to ripe Fruits of this kind in general^ and adding that the benefit ot this Indulgence reached not only to Jews, hut to all fTrarellers (whether Nati'ues or not) on the high way in Jud^aj who had a Right by vertue of this Law, to eat of any ripe Fruits that they met with, as freely as if they were their own Property. This then being a Part of the Common Law of the Country, and no man having fuch a Property in his Fruit-trees, as to exclude Travellers and Paf- fengers from this Benefit, Jefus would have done no Injury to the Owner of this Fig-tree, if he had found Figs upon it, and gathered them > be- caufe he would only have done what he had a Right to do, and what all his Countrymen law- fully did on the like occafion. What then muft we fay of this Author, who infinuates that Jefus *would have heen a Roh-Orchard^ if he had had an Op- portunity ? Vile infinuation ! and no lefs Weak than Vile, fince it is founded on an Ignorance of this Jewiih Law which was fo eafy to be known ! I come then to the 3. §. and lafh Objeftion which is this, Jfljaf Right had Jefus to fmite this Tree with a Curfe^ whew it was none of his Property ? (a) Antiq. Jud. L. 4- c. 8. MjicTe o'rrcotie/.^ eiKUct^>ij'/^ kc=}Kv&:v kifli^^ Tfc^ oeTw liaS'i^oi^a.?, « aa' ^? «f oiKeiwv rJurol^ i-yrn^i" And Jesus Vindicated. i f And to this fevcral fufficient anfwcrs have been frequently given > for brevity's fake I fhall content my fclf with giving One at prefent 5 According to the Chriilian Sclieinc, which fup- pofes Jefiis to be (what I have prov'd him in my iirll Part to be) a Prophet fcnt from God and a6t- ing by the Spirit of God, there is no Diliiculty in jullifying this his behaviour: For God mull be al- lowed to have a fuperiour Right over all things, and a Property in them of a higher Nature than any that a Human Owner of them h^.s. Not only all the Be aft s of the For eft are his (as God himfelf declares by the Pfalmift^ 1. 10.) but/^ are the Cat- tle upon a thoufand Hills : and it is in vertue of this Right that God is often found in the Old "teffa- went threatning the Jeivs by his Prophets, that he wou'd lay their Land wafte, and deilroy all the Trees with their Fruits, for the Puniiliment of their Sins: And thus we find in our Saviour's days that the Jews had {a) filled up the meafure of their Iniquities^ and were at this very time, when Jefus fmote the Fig-tree with a Curfe, devoted with their Country to Ruin and Deltrudion : "fhe things which belong d to their peace^ were even then bid from their Eyes^ as he tells them Luke xix. 41. and he goes on in the following verfes to pronounce the Sentence already determin'd againfl Jerufalem. And we find farther that the Execution of this Sentence was put into the hands of Jefus under the title {h) of the fon of man. Where then was the Injuflicej if that Judgment^ Vv'hich he was authorized to execute upon the whole Land and all the Produce thereof, he executed (for a wife and good-natur'd Reafon, as I iliall fnew by and by) upon one Tree in his Lifc-timc? Where all (a) Matr. xxiii. ?2. {b) Matr, x-'iiY. lo, 37, 1%, M the Ruin of fome Cities, Houfes, or Trees may juftly take place of the rell, where all are given over to De- ilruftion : And therefore Jefus^ if he had a Right to execute a Curfe on the whole Land o^Jud^a^ muft be allowed a Right to execute a Curfe upon fo fmall a Part of it, as this Fig-tree was. And lefs Objection Hill is to be made againft it, if he deilgn'd the Punifhment of this Tree for an Emblem to the Jews of what their Cafe then was, •and what their PuniHiment wou'd fhortly be : for it was not PaJJion and Difappointment in not find- ing Figs on it, when he was Hungry, that fet him to work this Miracle 5 that is Mr. Ws ill- iiatur'd fuggeftion, for which he has no Authority unlefs his own Experience of what Lengthsof Mif- cWit^ Paffion-xudi Difappointment ufes to carry Him. But this action of Jefus had a higher and a more Worthy End and View in it> for St. Matt. xxi. 19. relates this proceeding of Jefus towards the Fig-tree as well as St.Mark^ and joins to the ac- count of it two Parables, which he fpake about the fame time to the Jews^ and which he concludes with this remarkable application, T'herefore 1 fay unto you^ the Kingdom of God fiall be taken away from you^ and given to a Nation bringing forth the Fruits thereof^ ver. 43. which is a Key to open our Saviour's meaning in his blalting the Fig-tree as well as in his two Parables, for from thence this Moral may be gathered, i\\xi the Fig-tree is the Jewifh Jesus Vindicatech 1 5? Jewifli Nation, that the Kingdom of God or the Gofpel was preached to them, but they were Bar^ ren> they would not repent, and (as John the BaptilHpeaks) bring forth fruits ynect for Repentance, They were therefore taught by this Miracle per- formed on the Barren Fjg-tree, that the Gofpel wou'd be remov'd from them, and that (for their reje6ting it) they wou'd be left to their own Un- fruitful works of Darimefs^ and would be confign'd over to Deftruclion, to wither away as a Nation, and be dryed up from the roots. And the Sentence, Let no man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever, has been hitherto verify'd, that unhappy Nation ha- ving continued in the fame barren Hate, and lying to this day under the Moral of the Curfe pro- nounced upon that Fig-tree. It was very ufual among the Eaflcrns to ext prefs Things by Actions > variety of Inftances to this purpofe might be given out of the Old and New Tef anient -, and therefore when the Warning, given by this A6bion to the v/hole Nation of the Jews^ was fo Charitable and Benevolent an one, it is meerPerverfenefs to cavil at this Miracle,becaufe it was a Deilrudive one to the Tree > It was fo, but it meant to prevent the Deilrudion of a Na- tion 3 and that, you will allow, was the Revcrfe ot a Malicious and Ill-natured Ad : But, flrip it of this Moral, and fuppofe the Fig-tree to have only undergone the Punilhment to v/hich the whole Land was doomed ; was it Therefore no Miracle ? may not God work a Miracle to Chafbife as well as to Blefs ? Who or What prefcribes him a Law to the Contrary ? Ananias was ftruck Dead, and Elymas \\\^ Sorcerer was fmitten with Blindnefsj and were there Therefore no Miracles in thefe two Cafes, becaufe there was Dej[lru6lion ? This way of arguing, would be to rob God of his power of inHicling; Extraordinary Punilhments on Sinners. C 2, Wb]f xo The Miracles of Why then does Mr. JV. aflert that this Aftion of yefus is (a) not to he accounted for ^hecaufe it was to the DefiruBion of another man's harmlefs and inoffen- •five Tree ? And why are the Excellent Arch-Bifhop fFake and the Ingenious Mr. Chandler fummon'd fo rudely before him, to reconcile with this and fome other Miracles the general Notion of a Mi- racle, which the One taught, and the Other (as he fiiys) approved.^ For to execute ajuftly deferv- cd Punifiiment upon fome Fcrfons or Things, ef- pccially if with a View to promote fome great and general good, is an A61:ion conftftent with the Per- fe5lions of God to inter eft himfelf in^ fuch as anfwers to the CharaMer of God as a Good and Gracious Be^ ing^ andfhews his Love to Mankind and his Liclina-' tion to do them good^ which with Mr. Chandler are fome of the R.ules of Judging, by whom Miracles are performed. The Befl; and moil; Gracious of Earthly Monarchs do fometimes Punifh particular Perfons Vv^hen Criminal^ in Love and Goodnefs to their Subjects j and a contrary behaviour would have more of Cruelty than Benevolence in it. And this I have fliew'd to be the Cafe in the Driving the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple^ in the permitting the Devils to enter into the Herd of Swine to their 'DefiruBion^ and in this Miracle fliow before us) of hlafting the Tig-tree : All which I have proved to have been done by way of Punifhment defervedly inflided, and in fuch Cafes Punifhment is no In- ]ur\^ This therefore is a full Defence ot the Arch- bifhop's and Mr. Chandler'^ Notions of a True Mi- racle, and it comes long before latter Lammas^ contrary to Mr. Ws Expe6i:aiion. I think that there is nothing material on this head, which that Author has llarted, and which {a) Page 12, Jesus Vindicated. z t I have left iinanfwer'd 5 iinlefs it be his Peculiar reafoning in p. 17, againft the Letter of his Mi- racle from what Jefus fays to his Difciples on this occafion, in Matt. xxi. 21. that if they had faith^ they potdd not only do what was done to the Fig-tree > hut if they (loould fay to this Mountain., Be thou re- wov'^d and caft into the Sea., it floould he doyie : Be- caufe this was never Literally done by the Difci- ples, that we read of, therefore he concludes that Jefus did not Literally ctirfe the Fig-tree. But might not the Difciples have a Power given them to do this among other Miracles, without ever ha- ving occafion to fliew their Power in this In- llance ? There might be neither a Failure in Jefus'^ Promife^ nor a IFant of Faith in them for the do- ing this Miracle, and yet it might never have been perform'd, becaufe no proper Opportunity might have called for this Demonftration of their Power : And with this anfwer I leave him to be convinc'd, if he be capable of Conviftion. In his Criticifms upon the Greek Text, par- ticularly upon St. M^/^/^^'ZC''s words, which he ren- ders thus, p. zp. {a) Not as yet^ or not until now^ againft the Age has fruit grown on thec^ he has fol- io W'd no Commentator, and, I can promife him, will never be followed by any : The Tranflation is his Own, and tho' he is fafe now, yet when a School-boy he would have fuffer'd for inch Stuff as he now dictates with the Air of a Mailer. But Ignorance may be excus'd in one who has fo much greater Faults to anfwer for : Before I clofe the Subjeft of this Miracle, I fhall give the Reader a Sample or two of his barefac'd Difho- nefty in Qiiotations from the Fathers. St. Auftm (according to him, p. 4.) 'very -plainly fays that this FaU in Jefus, upon fuppo fit ion that It was ti W^ M I R A C L R S of 'was done^ was a fooUp one : that Father's Words, as Mr. IF. himfelf has quoted them at the bottom of his page, are theie. Hoc Factum., nifi Figura- tum^ ftultum invenitur^ i. e. I'his which Jefus did^ was a Foolijlo A^ion^ unlefs it had fome Figurative meaning. Is this iaying that it was F9oliflj^ upon fuppofition that it was done ? Does not St. Aiiftin ex- prefly allow it to have been done, when he fays hoc fa^um ? And does not he dire6tly charge the Folly upon fomethingElfe, upon a fuppofition that it had no other meaning than a Literal one? A Pen and a Spirit like that of St. Aujlin might put this Forgery in fuch a Light as Mr. IF. would not care for. Again p. i5. he brings in Origen faying that there are fome things fpoken of in the Evangelifts as Fa5lSy which were never tranfa^ed. But ( ^ ) Origen fpeaks of the Hiftorical parts of the Scripture in gene- ral, and {hews what he means, by the Inftances which he gives out of the Old and New Tefta- iTient, fuch as GocVs walking in the Garden in the cool of the Day, his being fpoken of as having Ha?ids^ and Mouthy and Ears > and with regard to the Gofpel precepts he Inllances in the plucking out a right cye^ and cutting ojf a right hand^ as things that ynigjot pojfihly he done^ hut yiever were : And then he' fubjoins a requeit to his Readers not to think that it was his 'Opinion^ that^ hecaufe fome things were not done according to the Letter of the Hiftory^ therefore he would deftroy the Credit of the Scripture Hiftory. If Mr. IF. then read the one PafTage he fhould have read the other, and not have brought in Origen as giving a Teflimony which he exprefsly difr claims. (a) Hiftoria Scripture internum inferit quacdam vel minus geftA, vel qiuu omnino gen" non pollunt j iiuerdum qux pof- lunt geri, nee tamen gefta funt. De Prmcipiis, L. 4, In j E s u s Vindicated. z 5 In p. 9. he quotes St. John of Jerufalem as faying. Arbor non eft jufte ficcata^ the Fig-tree was not Jnftly dried up. But thefe words are only a piece of the Sentence which runs thus, Dicat all- quis^ Si tempus non erat Ficorum^ non peccavit Fi^ cus^ qua frustum non hahehat : fi autem non peccavit ^ non eft jufte ftccata^ i. e. // may be obje5ted^ that if it was not the time of FigSj then the "Tree was not in fault for having none 3 and if it was not in faulty then it was not Juftly dried up. Where the Rea- der fees that what Mr. M^. quotes as that Father's Sentiment, is only an Objection which he puts into the mouth of fome Adveriary to Chriflianity, fome IV, of that Age : To which Obje6tion he immediately fubjoins an Anfwer (fuch as it is), which he fairly thought a fufficient one, but which Mr. IV. has Unhiirly taken no notice of. Thefe three Inilances may fuffice to fhevv what Credit fhould be given to an Author who wants Common Honefty, and who in defiance (as it were) of Truth advances Falfehoods in the very Face of Detedion : And upon the whole it ap- pears, that his Difcourfe againft this Miracle of the Fig-tree is as Barren as the Fig-tree it felf was, and that whoever comes to it with Judgment, will find nothing but Leaves thereon, IV. The fourth Miracle which I iliall endea- vour to fet free from the Objedions which Mr. JV. has rais'd againft it, is that of {a) Jefus's turning Water into Wine at the Marriage Fcalt in Cana of Galilee. John ii. i, i^c. The Literal Story of which he has attacked under the Charader of a Jewilh Rabbi,^ with all the Spite to Chrillianity that the Ancient Jewilli Rabbins iliew'd to its (a) Mr. W"& DiicouiTe 4. p. 25, Founder, 24 The MiK AC LEs of Founder, and with fuch III Manners as no Mo- dern Jews among Us (I am perfuaded) would offer to a Church and State fo Indulgent to them as Ours is. But whether the Invedive come from Jew or Gentile, from the fuppos'd RaM or Mr./^. himfelf, it is as much Wanting in Proof, as it is abounding in Malice, and to make good Senfe and Argument of it would require a Miracle as much as to furn Water into JVine, But an Outcry he has rais'd, and there feems at firfl Sight to be fome Difficulty in the Story, as he has manag'd it ; and therefore I will examine to the Bottom all that He has advanc'd in his Own or the Rabbi's name. And in doing it I fhall take the fame Courfe as J have hitherto done, rho' I now find more Difficulty than formerly 5 for his Obje&ions againft this Miracle lye in fuch Confufion, that this part of his Difcourfe is more peculiarly (like the Earth at Firfl) ^without form and moid^ and there is fuch a Darknefs upon the Face of it as requires fome Skill and Pains to bring it into any Order. However the Chief Obje£tions are contained (^or at leaft will be anfwer'dj under thefe three Heads. How came Jefus to vouchfafe his Prefence at a Wedding? p. 30. Why did he fupply the Guefls with fo large a Quantity of Wine, when it was fiid that they had well drank already.^ P- M? 3^- How came he to give iuch an anfwcr to his Mo- ther, as Woman what have I to do with thee? p. 32,. I . §. To the firfl Queflion, How came Jefus to 'vouchfafe his Pi^e fence at a Wedding ? I may anfwer with another Queflion, Why fhould he not have gone thither, when he was invited? Tradition fays that thePerfons, whofe Wedding was then celebra- ting, were Jlphcus or Cleopas^ and her who in the Sacred Jesus Flmlica/ed. i f Saci'ed Scripture is called Alary the Sifter ofyef/i^'s Mother ; but^without depending upon Tradition, it feems not unlikely from fome Circum (lances oF the llory that they were either Relations of the Virgin i\/^?;y, or her Intimate Acquaintance j for we find Her Interefting her fcif that the Gucils might be fupply'd when the Wine was wanting, and taking upon her to give the Servants Dire- ctions to do whatever her Son ihould bid them do, ver. p. Now if Jefus and his Difciples were invited to come, and if the New- married Couple were of his Kindred or Acquaintance, what rea- fon can be aflign'd, why he ought to have dc- clin'd the Invitation ? Is it Certain that fuch In- decencies, as Wife and Good men fhould not be Witneflcs to, are pra6tifed at all Weddings ? or might not the Company have been rellramed by the Prefence of Jefiis from any thing of Levity and Unbecoming Joy ? How does this A^uthor know how foon Jefus retired after the Meal was over? or why may not he fufpeCt th:it Jefus intro- duc'd fuch a Keligious Difcourfe, while he was there, as was fuitable to the Solemn occafion ? If he had read what the beft Authors fay of the Jewifli Weddings, he wou'd have found that fuch Liberties were not taken in Them as we fee too> often pradbis'd among us. But it feems that (ac- cording to Mr. /F".) fuch E\reJ/es in drinking zvere there indulged^ as it w^as not fit for Jefus to fee and countenance : This is the Material part, and there- fore I proceed to 2. §. The fecond ObjetSbion which this Author has made, viz. Hoiv came Jefus to fupply the Guefts n^ith fo large a ^lantity of IVine^ -when it is faid^ that they had welt drunk already ? And to clear tip this matter the better, I lliall prove thcfc two things, That there is no foundauon in the Text D td ±6 T/;^ M I R A C L E s a/ to conclude that there was any Excefs of thai^ fort committed there j and that the Qiiantity of Wine, which Jefus miraculoufly provided, was not fuch as muft needs have made him accellbry to any Excefs among the Guefts. For proving the nrft of thefe, let us confider the force of the words which are made the ground of the Objection, Every man at the begin- ning doth fet forth Good Wine^ and when men have *weU driink^ then that which is JVorfe : but thou haft kept the Good W\ne until nozv^ ver. io. But we are to remember who it is that fays this i it is the Governour of the Feaft^ fpeaking to the Bride- groom: and the Drift of his Speech is only to fliew, that one thing ufually obferv'd in fuch Feafls was not obferv'd in This > for in Them the Beft Wine was us'd to be brought out firfl, whereas Here it was produc'd not at the firfl : the Circumftance of men's having well drunk in other Feafts when the Worfe Wine was ferv'd up, does not necef- farily require any Parallel in this Feaft > it may Lave been only thrown in by the by, as it is a known and allow 'd thing for Poets in working up a fimilitude, to throw in little Circumflances which have no refemblancc to the Fa6b which the fimilitude is illuilratmg. What the Gover- nour of the Feaft faid on this occafion was as True and as Pertinent, if the Company prefent had not well drunk^ becaure;.,.his Intention was only to fhew that there was a wide Difference in one Inflance between what was done at This and! what was commonly done at Other Entertain- ments : Is it not a piece of Violence then to force dvery part of the Speech into a Parallel, and to conclude from fuch a Chance Expreffion as This that the Guefts at the Wedding Dinner had al- feady drank to Excefs > J E s U s Vindicated. z 7 But allowing (what is fo unreafonably contend- ed for) that the Phrafe, wljcn men have well chunky zrcL-i /jrsOyj^^c^cjj, is a Defcription of the Condition which the Gueils were Then inj yeD this Ohje<5lor will get little by it, becaufe it does not nccefTiirily carry any III Senfe along with it. The word is often us'd for drinking more than men ufually do, but without any Intemperance, And can any Serious Writer think that St. John meant it otherwife here ? Is it to be imagined that the Apoftle intended to expofe his Mailer's beha- viour on this occafion ? or that he wou'd have us'd the word, if he had not knov/n that it bore an Innocent Senfe as well as Vicious one? \jA\)\vj in its primitive fignification is only drink-, ing after the Sacrifice^ and nothing in the Deriva- tion of the word determines this to be done tq any ExcefsjOr beyond the proper bounds of Joy on a Fellival : And if befides the Etymology of the Word, an Inftance be required, in which it is thus us'd for drinking not Intemperately, we find one in theLXX verfion of Gencfts xliii. 34. where it is fiid that JofepJfs brethren l/^sSu^ncray /j.sr* d-jrQ y and yet the Circumftances of that Feafi, which Jofeph made for his Brethren, plainly Ihcw, that no Excefs or x\pproach to it is intended by the Expreffion -y for they knew him not then to be any other than the Governour of Egypt^ nay it is fiiid that they ixjere afraid of him^ ver. 18. and their whole Behaviour before and at the Fcait muft convince us that they were too much oa their Guard, and too follicitous about their owri Safety, to give way to any Intemperance in his Prefence. And the fame fenfe of the like word is to be feen in what God (according to the LXX verfion) fays to the fe-vo<;^ Hag. i. 6. where com- plaining that they ncgle6ied to build his Temple, hg tells them that on this account he had not blefTcd the Fruits of their Land with the Ordi- D. \ n;^4y t2 The Ml K ACL ^s of nary Increafe, Te have fown much^and bring in little 5, ye eat^ but ye have not enough > ye drink^ but ye are not filled with drink : the Greek is iTr/ers k^ ^'x «V lAn-j- Are we to think that the LXX Interpreters intended to make God life the word h-ere in the Icnfc that Mr. PF. gives it in St. John ? for could that be a Piinirnmcnt worthy of God to inflidb ? or could it be a Blefling, fit to encourage them to expert, that they flioiild drink «r /L/iO/iv to Ex' cefsy as this Author would iindcrftand it? Every candid man then muft acknowledge that it is a nicer Cavil, firll to fuppofe the words to be fpoken of the Guefls at this Feaft, when there is no ilppcarancc that it was a Defcription of them i and tlien to give the Words a Vicious fcnfc, which they do not ncceflarily bear, and which there is all the Reafon imaginable to be- lieve that they were not in this Place intended to bear. This Vv'ay of Interpreting may lliew men's Good-will to Infidelity, but it fliews a very 111 "Will to every thing elfe. The next thing which I was to prove was thisj that the Qiiantity of Wine which Jefus produc'd on this Occafion was not fuch as muft needs have made him accefTory to any Excefs a- iiiong the Guefts. A Rabbij or a IF. might have known that the Jcwifli (a) M'dn^'mgcs were celebrated with Feaft- ings, not only on the day of the Solemnity, (as with us) but for fix or feven days after : and that at thefe Feails, not only all their Relations, Neigh- bours and Acquaintance were invited, but it was well taken if any others (tho' not invitedj would come to partake of the Entertainment, and bear a iliare in the Joy of the Occafion : A Cullom which (a) Sec Cahi;:'s DifTertaiion^ Sur ks Marlagts des Hebreux, to Jesus Vindicated. % p to this day prevails among Us too, in fome of the rnoll remote parts of our Country. And as tQ this Marriage, tho' the EvangelilVs words arc rendered (a) 'The third day there was a Marriage ^^a. yet they may be as well tranflated thus, (b) On the third day a Marriage-Feafi was celebrated^ ^c. Some think (and not without appearance of Rea- fon) that by the third day is meant the third day of the Marriage Feaft ; and whether that Interpre- tation be allow'd or not, yet lince it is lb well knov/n that the Jews fealled feven days on fuch oc- cafions, and fince it is not laid on what Day this Miracle was wrought, we are at Liberty to fup- pofe that it might as well have been on the third day after the Marriage as on any other. That there were great Numbers prefent at it, may be gather'd from there being a Govcrnour of the Feaft appointed for this occafion^ and it is probable that many more than were expe61:ed came there on that day, to fee Jefus and his Difciplcs, of whom they had heard much Talk j on this ac- count, orbecaufe on the preceding days the Bride and Bridegroom had entertained more Guells than they had looked and provided for, the Wine might fall fhort, which they had laid up for the whole fcven days Feafling: Suppoiing then that the Quantity of Wine which Jefus made at this Fealfc was as Large as our Tranflation reprefents it, yet why fhould not Mr, H^. fuppofe (what is very Pro- bable) that the Wine thus Miraculoully produc'd was defign'd not only to fupply the want of thai day, but of the fucceeding ones, till the whoh time of Feafling was ended ? J 11 nature always makes the Worll of every thing 3 but an unprejudic'd (d) Tn' Y\\X^t(l. T»T TpjTli ydLtJ-Qr a Quanti- ty not vxry Large, if we allow (as we mui\) that there were great iS umbers prefent at the Feaflj or Jesus Vindicated. j i 151* that, what was not then drank, might be a feafonable Supply for what wou'd be wanting at the Fcafl of the enfuing days. When the Learned, tho' differing in their Opi- nions, do yet all agree to fix the Quantity lower than a Firkin^ and fome of them fo very much be- low it, as we have i'tcn j is it Fair and Ingenious in Mr. PF. to take occafion from an Errour of the Tranflation to fet the Vy'hole Letter of the Miracle at Defiance? efpecially when he himfelf knew (as he fays) how to reality the Tranflation by making Pints of the Firkins ? elpecially when, if the Quan- tity were allowed to be fo large as the Tranflation makes it, he knows that to provide Plenty is not to encourage Excefs 5 what was more than fuffic'd, might be laid up for other opporutnities : And he may as well charge God with promoting Drunken- nefs whenever he blefled the Vineyards of the Jews with any Extraordinary Increafe. Upon the whole then, it appears that what Mr. FT. fays p. 24. that when Jefus turn'd the Water into Wine, /Z^^ Company were already drunk^ and what his Rabbi fiys in his Vulgar flrain, p. 31. that they were more than half feas ovcr<^ is a Fiftioa of their Own ; and fince it may be fairly pre- fum'd, and is by Mr. /^. own'd, that the Qiian- tity of Wine then Created, was not fo Large as our Tranflation reprefents it^ and fince (if it was fo LargeJ it is probable that it was intended for a feafonable Supply upon the remainder of the fcven days Feafl;ing, 1 conclude, that neither the Wit ot Mr. /F. nor (what he has a greater Share of) his Malice can make this Circumllance any Good Ar- gument againft the Letter of the Miracle. 3. §. There remains now only one more Objec- tion to it, which is v/hat Je/lis reply'd to liis Mo- ther when i\\c (aiu They have no IFms^ to v/hich he jt The MtK ACL Es of he anfwer'd, Woman^ what have I to do with thee? ver. 4. From which his captious Rabhi very boldly concludes, that Jefus him/elf was a little in for itj cr he had never fpo he fo wafpijhly and fnappijhly to his Mother, p. 32.. Whatever a common Reader may think of the words which our Saviour fliys to her,) yet a man of Learning might, and fhould know that yjn^ which we render TVoman^ was no Title of Difrefpe6t or Indifference, as it feems to be in our Tranllation. For there was a time when Je- [us call'd his Mother by this Appellation, and yet was certainly neither Snappiflj nor fVafpiJh towards her 5 for when he was hanging on the Crofs, and re- commending both his Mother to the Care of his be- loved Apollle, and that Apoftle to the Affe6i:ion of his Mother, he faid, John xix. 26. {a) JVoman^ be- hold thy Son. The word yuv/i was an honourable Title, and often us'd by the beft Writers when the higheftmark ofRefpe61: is intended 5 of which many Inllances might be given 5 particularly we find the polite {h) Xenophon putting this word into the mouth of one of the Per/tan Chiefs, when he was addrefling himfclf to a Captive Lady of the highefl Qiiality, and comforting her under her unfortunate Circumftances. The Exprellion is fo common in this Senfe that I fhall offer no more Inilances of it 5 but pafs on to the remainder of Jefiis's anfwer, JVhat have I to do with 'thee? Fhefe words are generally underftood as a Rebuke to her, and fo they may be without giving room for any Objc6i:ion againft the Letter of the Story,- much more for the Conclufion which Mr. IV \ Friend has drawn from it : For it is probable that file was defirous to fee him work a Miracle, and L . ■ i^a.) Tut '/-• , i c/'if q 'a c ; . \b) 'O -^/.-p^iTse©" ftTj, Odpp.-i, c" yvi'ou, KdKov u.h yoip }L, aya^ov rfxaoW?l' Zj T They may have been mif-led, but they have no Excufe for continuing in their Errors for nothing but the Badnefs of the Caufe can exceed the Badnefs of the Methods it is fup- ported with. And the Writings of fuch Infidels are as Weak, as they are Dilhoneft > they are an Infult upon the Common fenfe of Mankind, and every Reader mufl have the loweft Opinion of fuch Difcourfes as fuppofe either that they ihall find men Fools^ or that they ihall make them fo. FINIS, THE MIRACLES O F JESUS VINDICATED. PART IV. CONTAINING A Defence of the Literal Story ofjESUS'$ healing the INFIRM Man at the POOL o^ BETHESDA, AND His healing the P A R A L Y T I C K, who was let down thro' the R O O F, L O NT) O N: Printed for J. R o b e r t s at the Oxford-Arm: ia Warwick-Lane, mdgcxxi:?. [ Price Six Pence. J THE MIRACLES of JESUS VINDICATED. PART IV. T is now above four Months fince I publifh'd the third Part of ne Mira^ cles of Jcfus vindicated in Anfwer to Mr. JVuolfton's Difcourfes-y the greated Part of which time I waited to fee^ whether He had any thing Material to obje6t againll what I had advanced in That and the Two preceding Tra6bs : But finding that no Reply was made by that Authorj or his Abettors, (if he had any,) I proceeded farther on the fame Subjeft > and the following Enquiry into the Literal Account of two other Mn^acles, which that Gentleman had made the Great Objc6ls of his Ridicule, was finifhed, before the Honourable the Judges of the Kin^s Bench had pafs'd Sentence upon him for his Infamous Writings. But fince a Legal Reftraint feems now to be laid up-^ ©n him, and he is not left at Liberty (I conceive) to A z, make 4 The Mi K ACL Es of make any Reply for the future, I Ihould havechofcn to fupprefs what was prepar'd for the Publick View if I had not been encourag'd to think, that the fol- lowing Sheets contain fomething which may be of Ufe for the Information of the Reader. In my Enquiry into thefe Miracles' I found that fomething New ^to Me at leaft) ofFcr'd it fclf to my thoughts} and fome PafTages which I had met with '? '"y.5-'^^?\"S ^^^'"'•? ^° g"'e a clearer Solution of the Difficulties flarted, than the Common one does: Particularly m the Account of the Miracle wrought by the troubling of the Waters at the Pool of Bet he C- da,\ found Rcafon to differ a little from the receiv'd Opinions of the Commentators on that Chapter i and what I have propos'd as New on that Head, I have iill along endeavour'd to fupport by fuch Authorities as may feem to make my Suppofition appear at leaft fiot Improbable} This (methinks) may be faid with fome Certamty, that if I am in the Right, Mr. fT.is more clearly in the Wrong than upon any other fup- pofitiou} tho' after all I am very fenfible that a Sul- facicnt Anfwer may be given to all his Obiedions, Without thrufting any Criticifm or Conie and That thofe Miracles neither will^ nor can receive a Myfterious Accomplifhment. On the Contrary, if the Learned Bifhop of St. Da-- •vids and other Writers againil; Mr. IV. ihould allow, that All the Fathers did affeft to turn Jefus\ Mira- cles into Allegory 5 and if they fhould allow too, that their Allegories and Mr. W:^ arc Juft and Well- grounded, yet thefe Writings might be full and pro- per Anfwers to His, becaufe they fupport the Truth of the Literal Story, which he fo often and fo per- emptorily denys : For we may clearly prove the Lite- ral Meaning, tho' v/e don't attempt to difprove the Allegorical one, if they be two dillind things 5 as c- very one of his Difcourfes plainly makes them, while it denys the Letter of the Miracles, and endeavours to fet up the Allegory only. If He canconfider them feparately, fo may We > This Liberty I have taken, and ihall again take in the enfuing Difcourfe j per- haps 6 !f/?^ Miracles of haps in fome Inftances I may allow that the Miracles recorded in the Gofpel were Typical j for I have no Quarrel with Types and Figures : I only oppofe one who would fet them up to the Ruin of the Letter j and the Drift of This and my preceding Difcourfes is only to flicw, that the Miracles afcrib'd to Jefus were truly wrought by him, and that there is an Ac- count of the Literal Story to be given, which is clear of all the Objeftions that Mr. PT, has fo un- skilfully made to them. In this view I proceed to confider I. The Story of the Miracle, or rather Miracles, wrought at the Pool of Bethefda-y of which St. John ch. V. has given us a particular iVccount, and which Mr. W. {a) calls a Gamely of a Monjirous ftze for Ah- furdities^ Improbabilities and Incredibilities^ and he has fpent above twenty Pages in fixing thefe upon it. But for the Clearer Anfwer to all his Objedions on this Head, the Reader is defir'd to obferve that in this Narration of St. John there are two diftin6b Mi- racles to be feparately confider'd. That which was wrought by the Pool after the Water of it was trou^ hled'y and That which Jefus wrought upon the In- firm Man who lay there : The former is only a Nar- ration, in which our Saviour is not at all concerned, nor the Miracle which he wrought on the Impotent Man : fo that if we could not account for the par- ticular Circumftances that attended the Relation of the Firft, it would not in the leaft affc(5b the Miracle of our Saviour's healing this Man : the Truth of which Fa6t only we are engag'd to vindicate. How- ever becaufe This is the Introdu6tary Story in St. John^ and becaufe Mr. /^^. has been very large and flrong in his Objeftions againft the Letter of it, I fhall begin there. I . §. Againft the Sanative Virtue of the Pool in the Circumftances defcrib'd by the Evangelift Mr. M^. (a) Dikoune 3. pag. 33. has Jesus Vindicated. 7 has made feveral Objeftions by way of Queftion} but before I give an Anfwer to his Queflions, I ftiall lay before the Reader, what I conceive to be the true Account of the Story } and I do this the rather, be- caufe I think that it has not been underflood aright by the Generality of Commentators, whofe Miftakes on this Article have helped to furnilh our Author with fome of thofe Difficulties, which he has fo liberally bc- llow'd on the Miracle. The State of the Cafe was this : At Jerufalem, near the Place called the Sheep-Market, or rather the Sheep- gate (mention'd by Nehem. ch. iii. i. and xii 20) there was a Bath built for the ufe of fuch of the Common People, as lov'd to fwim and bathe them- felves in tiic Water : This is the proper fenfe of the Word (a) x»Xv^t„'epa, ufed by St. John on this occa- fion, and by other Writers, and in the Old Latin Vcriion (called the Italic) it was render'd by Nata- tma, a Bath, or S-juiinjuing-phce. Nothing was more Common or more Ufeful than fuch Baths in thofe warm Climates} Jofephus (b) mentions fome by this very name of xoXu,af„'Op at Jericho, as us'd for the Exercife and Pleafure of Swimming j and it may be reafonably prefum'd, that This at fcrufaler», and per- haps fome others there, was built for the fame pur- It has (I confefs) been commonly fuppos'd by Commentators, that this Bath or Pool {^ our Tranf- Ja^'^^^h ?°^'''^/*'' fignifi" to Jwim, in ^(Is xxvii. 43. and tlie GoZTV't'i ""^ 'he Three very Ancient ll, UsTTZ t% IJ f C'.Wftys, contain the Old >ulk Vetlion befo c n,l hfhM k " , ''>' "°"f"l"nS 'he various Readings of thofe MSS \tfpiul " " "'* ""^ °^ ^'' Conimentar^ on the ^«"y Jud.l i,: ,".';' ''^-'"' ■"' 0=f/^-*'V«7<,, 7« i.i,«fAw. Antiqu. lation g The Miracles of lation has it) ferv'd either for wafhing of the Sheep before they were led into the Temple, or for wafh- ing the Entrails of Beafts facrific'd in the Temple, or for receiving the Blood from the Trench round the Altar, which was thought to be convey'd hither by fome fubterraneous Channel j But thofe who led the way in thefe Opinions fecm to have been (c) de- ceived by joining, both in the Greek and the Latin^ two words together in Conftruftion, which have no rela- tion to one another j befides, the proper fenfe of the word xcXujuCyiOea is inconfiftcnt with every one of thefe Opinions; and (which is more) thefe Opini- ons are not eafily rcconcilcable with the Situation of the Sheep-gate^ near which this Pool flood j for the Sheep-gate was on the South- Eafl Wall of Jerufalemj and therefore a great part of the City lay between That and the Temple, as the accurate Dr. Lightfoot has fhew'd in his Harmony of the Evangelifls, p. 666. On all thefe Accounts therefore I believe, that what is commonly called a Pool^ was a Bath^ built and us'd only for the Sport and Exercife of Swimming j for which it could never have been fit, if it had ferv'd for any purpofc relating to the Sacrifices of the Temple. Around this Bath were built (as St. John fays) {d) jive Porches J or rather Portico's^ ^ocd : of which fort jfjerod huWt feveral at Tjre 2indBerytus ; and the Defign of them all, was for the Common People to walk in them under Covert in the Heat of the Day, if they had no (c) The Generality of the Old Greek and Latin Commentators took )io\vy.C{)BpA and pifc'ma or natatorU to, be us'd here in the Da- tive Cafe, and join'd them in Conftruftion with Tr^oCctTi^iyi and pro- iatica; in confequeace of which Miftake, they thought that this Pool ferv'd for the Purpofe of Sacrifices in fome one of the Ways before mention'd. (d) If the Eath or P(3^/ was four- fqiure (as That is, which modern Travellers now generally call the Peol of Bethefda), Three fides of it had only a Single Portico, and the Fourth probably a Double one; which was the Cafe of the Outer- court of the Temple, or Court ef ^ht Gentiles, mind Jesus Vindicated. p mind to Bathe 'y and for fuch as had, they were of life for them to drefs and undrefs themfelves hi the Shade : The Bath and the Portico's therefore ferving for this purpofe, might well have gain'd the name of Bethefda^ i. c. the Houfe of Mercy or Kindnefs^ becaufc the building them was a great Aft of Kindnefs to the Common People, for whofe fake they were ere6i:ed, and whofe Indifpofitions in hot Countries required frequent Bathing. To fuppofe that they took this Name from any miraculous Cures wrought there, is to fuppofe without Authority orOccafion, and I fub- mit to the Reader whether Mine is not a more natu- ral Account of the Matter. At this Bath^ about the time of the Teafl^ ver. r, (moft probably the Feaft of the Pajfover^ a greM mul^ titude of Impotent Folk^ of Blind^ Halt and TVithefd lay in the Portico's^ waiting for the moviyig of the Water "^ for (as St. John fays) an Angel went down )ioLrd xca^ov (e) (e) At the feafon : this is the Literal Tranilation of the Words 3f,ATA 'Kou^o i and not at a certain feafon, as we commonly render it, for then it fhould have been Kctja, Kcapov rtvct. The Words kclta. jtex/^ov are us*d but in one other Place of theNew Teft. viz. in Ram. v. 6, where we read. When we were without ftrength, Chrijl Kaijd ytauoov dfd for the Ungodly, i. e. not in due time, but at the time of our being without ftrength. It is very often that we meet with y.«/p5? thus Ufi'd, when the word that fhould mark what that time ov feafon. Is, is underftood, and not exprefs'd : thus t^ x-cwpS" is us'd in Matt. viii. 29. and xxiv. 45. i Cor. iv. 5. and h kcu^co in Luke xii. 42. and XX. 10. and xxi. S. and i Pet. v. 6. As feme Word then may be here underftood after k^'^a Ko/poy, fo particularly the Feaft of the Faftbver may 5 for we find many Inftances in the LXX, where the ^me of the Paflbver is called Kcup^^^ as in Hxod. xxiii. 15, 17. and Xxxiv. 18. Numb. ix. 3. and particularly ver. 7. ^^<)'.:/A to /^T- fov Kt/pif the Paffover or ^Eeaji, which the Evangelift had Ipoken of at '.he beginning of the Chsipter. I have but one thing more to add upc n this head, which is, that thefe two words are not exprefs'd at ?.ll in the above-mcntioji'd Three Latin M5S. of Calmet, and De. Wilkins fays that they are wamiffg in the Coptick, and many othir Vsrfions. B at lo 7^^ Miracles 0/ ^/ th feafon (i. e. of the Paffover) and troubled the PFater^ and whofoever then fir ft after the troubling of the Water flepped in^ was made whole of whatfoever Difeafe he had. This is St. Johyi'^ Account, and from This it docs not appear that the Waters of this Pool^ or Bath^ had ever receiv'd this miraculoufly healing Vir- tue before or after the time of This Feafi : The cx- preflioii, at the feafon^ docs (as the Note fhews) more Naturally confine it to this Paflbver, than fuppofe it to have been a ftanding and an Annual Miracle : the leaft that can be faidj is, that there is full as much Liberty from the Scripture llory to make My Sup* pofition as any other 5 and Mine has feveral other Cir- cumftances in its favour, which arc a weight upon the contrary Opinion : for whatever is objefted from the Silence of the JewiJIo Writers about this Miracle, is an Argument on my fide, as far as it is any Argu- ment : But the Silence of the Jews on this head, in their Difcourfes with Jefus, has much more weight in it againfl a fuppos'd Annual Miracle of a long ftand- ing, it being not very Eafy to conceive, why, when They fo often infift upon having God for their Father^ they don't urge this ftanding Miracle ar r- thefda^ as a Proof of it 5 and why they fo o en mention the Miracles of Mofes^ and the Prophets, w) ii- oiat ever once mentioning fo Remarkable a thing, as a Miraculous Cure wrought at this Pool, in their own days, for many years together, about the time of the Feafl : Whereas upon my Suppofition, nothing of this kind can be any Objc(5lioni the greater tie Silence, the ftronger the Proof. But on this head I fliall have occafion to lay more by and by. It is well known that the Feafi of the PaJ/over liHed eight or nine days, including the Days of UnkavC't'd Bread: and poiHbly this miraculous Quahty of the Bath might have begun on the fir ft day of it, or feme few days before it: How the difcovcry of this its healing Virtue came to bs made, we are noc told : I lliould raUier think that it was owing to Ac^ cidenfr Jesu Vindicated. 1 1 cidcnt than to any divine Revelation j It might be, that fome Jew of an infirm or otherwilc Difcas'd Conftitution, bathing one day in this Pool for Pica- fure and Recreation, might find himfelf cur'd all on a fadden, upon fuch violent Motion of the Water, as troubled it, and as he could not account for, there being no Wind llirring that was ftrong enough for that purpofc. If He was thus cur'd, we may fup- pofe, that upon hearing it others who were Difealcd came there the fame, or the next day, waiting for the troubling of the Water, and hoping for the lame Ex- traordinary Relief: and what they thus hoped for, they are faid to have found, whatever their Difcafe was, tho' only One, and he the Firft that Hepped in, was cured upon each Motion of the Water : the Re- port of thefe Cures added to the former (we may fup- pofe) drew every day greater Numbers together, the Pool being found to have this effc6t every day, and (for what we know) feveral times in a day. From hence it is no wonder, if at length a great Multitude of Impotent Folk^ Blind J Flalt^ ^c. v/asgot to- gether at the Pool^ when our Saviour pafTcd by, which was on the Sahbath-day^ or Third day after the Paflb- ver, and might be fome days after the Miracle was begun. This Motion of the Water is faid by the Evan- gelifl, to have been eaus'd by the Defcent of an Jngel in-? to the Bathy who might therein follow a known Jewifh way of fpeaking, not affirming that an Angel did *viftbly defcend there, but only that there was fuch a Divine Effed, which (/) in the Language of the Scriptures, and in the Eaflern way of Expiefiionj is if) Crot'ms's Note here i?, Non quod videretur Angelti^, fed qiiod- perfuafum ejjet Judjiis talia a Deo, nonnifi per Angelas, agi 5 ita ex motuAquApr&f^ntiaAngeli inrelligehattir, utexJ'errAinotu. Mar, xxvii'. 1. And thus when the Hoft of Sennacherib w^s deftroy'd in one iiight (probably by a PeftilentiaJ Hot Wind) it is faid, 2 Kings xix, 35. that an Angel ef the Lord zvent out and [mote in the Ca^np of the A/fyrians, 5cc. where the Angelical Piefence was only Vifible in its B 2, flild 1% The MiK A CLV.S of faid to be wrought by Angels^ who arc Miniftring Spi* rits^ and perform the WiU of God on fuch occa- |Ions. This is the Account of the Story which I cflfer to the Reader, as every way Confiftcnt with St. John'% Narration, and in fome parts necefTarily following from it, and confirmed by other Good Authorities : and my Account has this peculiar Advantage, that it is clear of all the Difficulties which Mr. JV^ would fallen upon the Story j For His firft Queftion is this, What was the true occa- fton of the AngeVs defcent ? Was it to wafh and baths him/elf^ or to impart a healing <^ality to the Water? p. 40, 41. And the firft part of this Queftion he founds upon a peculiar Reading of the Alex, and o- ther MSS. which have inftead of xarsCoavsv the word (g) IXb^ro : which This great Critick in the Greek Tongue thinks muft necefTarily fignify, that the An- gel wajloed or bathed himfelf j and therefore muft fuppofe (as he fays) fome bodily Defilement or Heat con- traced in the Celefiial Regions^ that wanted Refrigeration^ or Purgation in thefe Waters. But a little more Know- ledge of the Greek Tongue, might have taught him that Xsfc^ca in the moft approv'd Authors fignifics fometimes no more than yiaratalveiv to plunge^ or defcend (g) The Alex. Med. CT* Cy/r. Greek MSS. and the JEth'iop. Verfion, do all agree i« reading ca»«to: and this, as it is a Juftifyable Read- ing, may probably have been the True one : for I don't find that xetT ctCett leiv iv Tivi is ever us'd to fignify to defcend into, any where in the New Tefl. or in the Old Teft. LXX. except in Judg. vii. i r. where the common Reading is much to be fufpefted, and a MS. of good Repute gives us £/< inflead of Iv. In all other places ?/^ is con- ftantly us'd after KctjctCcuvavy as we have }tet\iCf]^a.v s/^ Hj'cdp, Acts viii. 1%. But if we read \Ky.{\o \v r^ KO^viJ-CiiBpcti this expreffion is the fame with thofe in z Kings v. 10, 12. and elfewhere. Perhaps the peculiar Senfe, which the word Ih^ijo has here, not being com- monly known, the word actTiCettvi was put in the Margin of the Antient MSS. as one of the fame {^nfe, and more intelligible; and from the Margin it might creep into the Text of the lels Accurate Copies of Sr, John's Gofpel. But 1 offer this as Gonjedlure only. lnto<^ Jesus Vindicated. ij ^nfo^ without having the Idea of waJJnng or lathing jinnex'd to it, tho' it be the fame Adion, which thofc pfe, who go into the Water with thedefign of wajh^ ing or bathing : It is probable, that this was all which Elifia meant, when he bid Naaman the SyrianXhiS^ wajk himfelf fcven times in the Ri^oer Jordan^ 2. Kings v. lo. Put what does Mr. IV. think that Homer means, when (peaking of a Star's rifing, he defcribes it as XsXa/as- v©^ 'liHsavoToji. e. having fct or defcended into the Ocean? Iliad, s'. V.6. Or what does he think that Firgilnn- dcrftood by that part of Homer's fine Defcription of a high-mettled Horfe broke loofe, Iliad, {'. i;. f 08. EtcuS^oar Xb£c% luppefo? tsroroLixoio, when he imitates it thus in a Parallel Similitude, ■ . AJjuetus aqua perfundi flumine noto ? iEneid. XI. 4pf. No doubt but the Latin Poet thought that he ex- prefs'd all that the Greek one did j and it is certain that the Senfe of both Poets is no more than This, I that the Horfe us'd to plunge into the Water for the ' fake of Swimming. If the Angel then did not defcend to Cool or Cleanfe himfelf, and if he did not defcend Fifthly at ^11, we may fee how Mr. PF. is more difpofcd to be Merry than Wife, when he asks, whether the Angel defcended with his Head or his Heels for emo ft &:c. ?p.4i. But flill he wants an Anfwer to the lafl part of his Queilion, Whether the Angel defcended to impart a hea- ling Quality to the TVater? If he did (fays he p. 41.) how came it that One only was healed ? To which I have nothing to anfwer but that it pleas'd God to direct it thus : But if he means, as he feems to do, to expeft an Account why All who flepp'd into the Pool or Bath were not alike heal'd as well as the Firfl, it may be anfwer'd, that in this cafe the Miracle of the Story would have been doubted, or dcny'd. 14 T^? Miracles (Tf deny'd^and by None (it is likely) more than by Him^ felf: "A Fine Miracle!" he would cry,^^^ don't ma- « ny Medicinal Baths cure various kinds of Difeafes, ^' and multitudes of fuch as labour under each Dif- " eafe, provided their Cafe be a Curable one?" It is probable that his Language then would have been of this Sort : " Had only One been curM, the Firft that «' bathed every Morning, or the Firft that could get " in after fome invifible Motion of the Water, then " there would have been a Great and Real Miracle ? '^ but now the Numbers make the Fa6b fufpicious : « it feems to have been a Natural Quality in the <« Waters, becaufe it is fo Univerfal ^ to make it ap- '^ pear a Miracle, its Effe6ts fhould have been Con- *^ fin'd and Limited to particular Times and Perfons, « or be otherwife fo circumftantiated, as that the *' Power of God, and not of Blind NaturCj might have " appeared in it." I appeal to the Reader, whether from the Turn and Make of Mr. ^.'s Genius one might not expeft fuch Objeftions as Thefe, if the Cafe had truly been what he feems to require itfhould be : and therefore who would quarrel with fo Rca- fonable a Circumftance of the Story as This is ? By what has been faid in the foregoing Account of this Miracle, the Reader is prepared to fee the Cap- tious Nature of fome other Queftions of this Author, 'viz. Hoiv often did the Angel defcend? How long before Chrift's Mvent^ and why not fence ? p , 41 . For (as I have fhew'dj it does not appear from any part of the Evangelift's Story, nor indeed from any^ other Goo4 Authority, that this Sanative Virtue of the Pool e- vcr happened before or after This Feafi of the Paflb- ver : 'Till the Contrary be provM, let Mr. 14^. take for Anfwer, that it feems mofl probable, for the Rea- fons before given, that the Pool of Bethefda had this Miraculous Quality only at this Seafon, and that pro- bably for feveral days together ; whether it did opet rate above once in a Day, may as well be fuppos'd a^ deny'd, becaufe the Story is filents all that we know being j ?- s u S Vindicated. i j tcmg This, that whenever the J^aUr was trouUed^ the Healing Quality ^ook cjfFea on the Firft thsit /lejp. pd in. But why mt fince^ is he Burthen of this Author's Queftion : Becaufe Proviicncc fo ordcr'd it : Is not that afufficient Anfwerto. nicer Queftion? Would he have us be TVtje above wLf is written? and know the Reafon of things for ccrta^^ ^hen thofe Reafons are not afligned ? — All that u. can do, is to guefsj and if any fuppofition, that we i,^^ jjiake, be confi. ftent with the Story, and be favour^ ^y other Parts of the Gofpels, and at the fame time be \f^\^ j^^ ^^ jjl g^p^. ftually anfwer his Queftion, I hope t.^t it will be al- low'd me to offer fuch an one : tho'T am far from pretending to lay any Weight upon it, ^nd therefore ihall be lefs concern'd, if it iliould appear not to have any fufficient Foundation. It is buf^oniedurc and as fuch only I offer the following Account tJ the Reader. This Feaft of the Paflbver was the fecorii which was celebrated, and this was the fecond time t)o that Jefus was prefent at Jerufalem^ after he had nter'd upon his Miniftry and begun to work Mirdcs. When he came up the firft time, he feems to .avc had a Defign only to celebrate the Paflbver in o>e* dience to tne Law, for he retir'd from Jerufalem foo^ after it was finifh'd > and tho' he wrought fome Mi- racles there, yet we are not told whether they were of the Healing kind or not : We don't read that the Scribes or Pharifees were at that time enrag'd againft him, and therefore his Departure from thence into Galilee may ha^e been owing to his own Choice of not defigning then to come and fettle in the work of his Miniftry at Jerufakm: But when he had gone preaching and healing Difeafes thro' all the Cities of Galilee^ and thro' moll other parts of the Country of Judceay he came up at this fecond Paflbver to Jeru-- falem^ probably with intent to fix his abode there, and ihew that he was th^ Son of God by his Power over Devils i6 The Miracles of Devils and Difeafes. What thm if wc fhould fup- pofc that Providence (by giviig to />^^ Pool of Be- thefda this healing Quality at or a httle before the beginning of this Feaft) mi.bt intend to fhew the *Jews that the Divine Powe i" 7^f^^ was coming a- ftiong them, and might r^an the Miraculous EfFeft of this Pool for an Emb^"^ ^^^1 or Earneft of what Jefus was then prepar;ig^to do for them? We find that God did in othf Inftances prepare the way for Chrift 5 the Prophf^^s of the Old teftament were gi- ven for this purp'^c, and John the Baptift was de- clar'd his Fore-ru'^^^- ^^^ ^^Y niight not This Miracle be of the fame^^reparatory Nature with Them? I may add too. that this Conjedure feems the more Reafonable ^^^^ ^^ ^^ remembred that befides the Cure of thi?-^^^^^ Man, Jefus healed another at this PafTover i<^o ^^^^ ^ wither'' d Hand^ and retir'd from the City ^^^7 becaufe the Pharifees took Council ^ 2ainfl hi^ ^^'^ '^^^^y ^^g^^^ deftroy him. Matt. xii. 14; which ''ben he knew, he withdrew himfelf from them^ icr If ^^^ if they had not thus wickedly fought his Ruin.tefore his time of futfering was come, it may Ije giher'd from the Story as not Improbable, that j^e lould have continued among them a long while, pe-naps the whole time of his Miniftry. 1 lay no W eight (as I faid) upon all this : it is but Suppofiti- jn and Conjefture drawn from fome Circumllances which feem to favour it : but fuch as it is, it may fuffice for an Anfwer to Mr. IV 's Queftion, JVhy^ the healing ^ality was imparted to the Pool at 'that time^ end not fince ? I think it may be faid that the Anfwer is at leaft as Good as the Queftion. When this Grave Queftioncr of Providence and its Vicegerents asks, JVhy no better care was taken by Provi" dence or the Civil Magiftrate about the difpofal of this Ange^ lical favour ^th an to leave it to him that could fir ft ft ep in? p. 41. He may know ( if he will rcfleft a little) that Providence had done enough, and the Magiftrate a- lonc is concern'd in the Queftion: but if this Healing Power Jesus Vindicated. 1 7 Power in the Pool was a New thing (as I fhev/'d it moft Probable) and fuch as had not happcn'd many- Days, how does Mr. IV. know that the Magillrates were yet convinc'd of the Reality of the Miracle ? Or if they were, is he fure that they thought it pro- per to limit to particular Perfons the Benefit of a JViiracle which God had vifibly left at large? Or can he ihew that the Magifcrates, fo much employed as they mufl: have been at that bufy Time of the Pafib- ver, had Leifure and Opportunity to make any Re- gulations about it ? IVhat (fiys he) did the Blind., and the Halt^ the Wi- thered and Paraly ticks do there? p. 4f. By which he would intimate that their Condition put ihem out of all hope of ever being the Firft to fiep in : Perhaps fo : But they might have Friends ready there to aflift them. And then to what purpofe is this Qiieifion ? We find that the Infirm Man's complaint turns upon his wanting fuch Aflilliance, and therefore we may fuppofe that he faw others provided with it 3 and the more they were, the lefs likely was he to get time e- nough to the Water. There is another Obje^lion, which Mr./F. has made, p. 47. made in the proper fenfe of the word, for it is wholly owing to his own Genius for Criticifm: What We tranilate, ^ certain Man was there^ who had an Infirmity thirty and eight Tears^ he fays fhould, more truly according to the Original^ be tranllated thus, {a) A certain Man was there thirty and eight Tears^ which {a) The Greek is, "^Hf <^i m cf'v-ypcoT^ \y^^ Tetf-^o.^cfoy^iu ?tj) iy^ooi' Iv TM al^zveicj. : which may litterally be rendei'd thus. There ivas a certain Man, who had pajfi'd (or heen) thirty e'liht Years in an Infirmity : E\it i£ WQ joyn fas Mr. IV. does^ the words rei.^}io'^-to-/\:j iTii with izei, and fuppoTe the Man to have been there Co long, then ^^ycoi' hj a. but all other Truth it wants, as the Reader will plainly fee by the Note below i where it appears that Our Verfion is moil Certainly a Right one, and His moft Probably a Wrong, I mean as to Grammar and St. John's Idi- om \ for as to the Senfe he declares that his Tranfla- tion brings an Abi'urdity upon the Story, and for this rcafon alone it feems as if he choofes it. And yet upon no better a Foundation than fuch a poor piece of Criticifm he falls out with the Infirm Man for waiting fo long at the Pool, St. John is a Romancer^ the ftck Man is a FooU and Mr. IV. rails at His Pa- tience, till he feems to lofe all his Own. I come now to the Laft Objeftion (Mr. JV. indeed has plac'd it in the Front) againft the Truth of this Story, which is, that Neither Jofephus nor any other Jewilh Writers have made mention of it^ p- ?8» Now whatever Weight their Silence may have a- gainft the fuppofition of fuch Miracle lalling among the Jews for any confiderable Number of Years, yet it favours and itrengthens my Suppofition; for be- caufe no Jewijh Writer mentions it, therefore it feems to have never happen'd but at this Feafl : But per- haps he may expe6b a Reafon, why, tho' it happen'd but once, this Once is pafs'd over and unmention'd by all the Jewijh Writers. If Mr. JV. knows any thing of thefe matters, he might remember that the Jew^ who wrote in or about Chrifi's time are very few in Number, except the Authors of the New Teftament, tho' his Expreflion j4ll would infinuate that there was a great Plenty of them. The Writers of the two Tar gums., with Philo and Jofephus^ are Jlly the fir ft of htm TZasct^cf.^ vukr^^^ «/» i^oi^ct iv Tco f>!.m fjLtriU , having now been four days in the Grave. And in the very next Verfe to this which we are confidering, it is faid of this Infirm Man that Jefus hnevj oTt <7^oA}rj] h'N y^'ovoi' iy^-j that he had now pajfed or been a lon^ time ill an Infirmity. And therefore the common Tranflation is the only one which h truly according to the Original, which J E s u s Vindicated. ts> which wrote their Paraphrafes on the Old Teftament before this Miracle was vouchfafed to the Pool j Pbilo indeed and Jojephus wrote after it 5 but Philo lived at a great diilance from the FaiSl:, as far as Alexandria, in Egypt J and Jofephus was not born 'till after this had happened. Is not here room then to fuppofc that a Miracle which lafled fo few Days (as I have ihew'd) might never have come to their Ears ? Or if they had heard of it, might not they both have been in doubt, for want of knowing all its Circumilances, whether it was not a Natural Effect rather than a Divine one ? Might not Philo particularly, who was jealous of the Honour of the Jewlfl) Temple in Egypt^ have look'd upon it as an Artifice of the JcwiJJ) Priefts at Jerufa- lent to Ihew that God was vifibly among them, and to argue from thence that he did not approve of any Temple eredred to his Service elfewhere ? Bat for Jo- fephus we have not This to fay 5 he was a Worfhip- per at the Temple in Jerufalem^ he liv'd and was brought up there, and could not He have known the Truth of the Cafe ? If Mr. PF, ihould be difpos'd to ask this Queilion, I would remind him that this Great Hiftorian was not fo Fair a Dealer in fome Inilanccs, as might be expefted. What he wrote, he wrote for the Information of the Greeks and Learned Romans^ who were Heathens, and he feems all along in his Hiftories to be very tender of dwelling too much up- on Miracles : he has omitted the mention of fome, and has endeavoured by Natural Caufes to account for others of thofe very Miracles o^ Mofes^ which he undoubtedly did Believe and Teach too, as he was a Jewifi Priell : The Cafe was, that he was afraid to make his Hiftory appear Incredible to his Readers, and therefore he foftened fome things which he was obliged to mention, and wholly omitted others which had no Publick Confequence : An Inftance of this (a- mong many others) we have in what he fays of the PafTage of the Ifraelites thro' the Red-Sea^ that the C 2. Faft ZO r/?^ M I R A C L E S of Fa6t might not feem (a) incredible (as heexprefles him- felf ), he puts in a Doubt, Whether the Parting of the Waters on that occajQon was cans' d by the Command of God^ or by the Natural courje of things^ and refers (as to a Parallel Event) to what befell Alexander and his Army at the Pamphyllan Sea. From one of this turn, is it to be expected that He fhould relate this Miracle at the Pool^ fo much lefs Remarkable than that of Mofes? Jofcphus's filence therefore about this Story of the Pool is no more an Argument againft it, than Mr. //^.'s Outcries are : It may be True, tho' the One has faid nothing concern- ing it, and notwithllanding all that the Other has faid againll it. After all, let Mr. W. tell me, to what End and Purpofe lliould St. John romance in this particular Sto- ry : Did this Miracle do any Honour to Jefiis ? Or had it any neceflary Connexion with that which he wrought on the Infirm Man? If St. John had not known it to be True, or at leaft if the current Re- port of the Jews had not run this way, would he have mention'd it, when the Cure that his Mafter wrought was equally the fime Miraculous one, whether this Pool had ever had fuch a Healmg Qiiality or not? Thefe QueftJons I leave with him, in return for the Many which he has ask'd about this Story 3 and I now call upon him to allow (as he fays he will) St. John's Word to pafs fooner than another Mail's^ if the .Account was not loaded with Improbabilities^ P- 3P- I have taken the Load off from it, and therefore I hope that he will permit us to take the benefit of his Con- ceffion. z. §. But it is time to come to the other Part of the Story, which we are more nearly interefled in, I ' Iv pi-Sri) or Jefus might confiJer him as more Helplefs than the Reft, becaufe (as the Man himfelf faid) he had no one^ when the Water was troubled^ to put him into the Pool y or if neither of thefe two Reafons will fatisfy Mr. H'^. that which Si. John afligns ihould (one would think) be fufficicnt not only to anfwer his Queflion, but to have pre- *vented it : for St. John ulhers in the Account of this Man's Cure with faying, Jefus knew that he had been ■now a long time in that Cafe^ ver. 6. His Diilemper had continued on him for thirty eight Years > and was not that a Circumftance to move Com paflion ? Might not that juilify the fingling of him out of the Num- ber, as the properefl; Objcd: for Relief? And how docs it appear from hence, that there was any want of Power in Jefus ? for furely by the fime Power with which he healed One, if it was Miracu- lous, he might heal Many : all Cures are alike to a Di- vine Hand : Admit that Jefus wrought one, and you muft admit that he could have wrought more, if he had pleas'd : when it is faid that he could do no migh- ty works 3,1 Nazareth., M:iYk vi. 4. it is not meant that he had not Power to do them, as This Happy Com- mentator on the New Tellament underflands it (Difc. 2. it The MiK AC L2^ of z. p. If.) but that Jefus did not or would not, becaufe they, with whom he was, were not qualify'd with 1- ny Good Difpofitions to make a right ul'e oF them. If Mr. JV' fhoLild think this a Comment of my Own upon the Words, I could fhew it to ho^S^. Matthew's^ ch. xiii. f8. and fupport it better than He ever did any Comment of his Own > for I could give him Proofs (and thofe as many as he fhall call for) that ^y^ IcJ^ujjccro muft neceflarily have this iignification. But Mr. fJK. is not fo foon fatisfy'd > for he goes on to fay that St. Matthew^ St. Mark^ ^nd St. Luke tell its fucb Stories 0/ Jefus V healing Power ^ as would incline its to think that he cur^d all wherever he came^ becaufe he healed all manner of Difeafes^^ P- P- They may in^ dine a heedlefs Reader of their Gofpels to think fo, or a Captious one may fay this whether he thinks fo or not: For if the Evangelills have faid that he healed all manner of Di/eafeSy does it follow from thence that they fay he heal'd all wherever he came ? if he cur'd fomc who were Blind at one time, the Lame at another, and fo at different times cured the Difeas'd of every kind, or if he cur'd all forts at any one time, this is enough to make good the AfTcrtion j all that can be con-i eluded from it is, that there was no fort of Difeafe which Jefus did not fhew himfelf able to cure ; And the Evangelifts exprefly tells us the very contrary to what this Author concludes > for Inflance, St. Mark ch. vi. 4. fays, that at Nazareth he could do no mighty works^ fkve that he laid his Hands upon a few fick Folk and healed them*, there were others therefore in the fame condition whom he did not heal. The Evange- lifts ( I grant ) do often fpeak of Jefus's heal ng all manner of Difeafes, as St. Matt. ch. xii. if. fays that when the Multitude followed Jefus., he healed them All-^ and ch. xiv. 14. that when they followed him on foot out of the Cities into a Defart place ^ he was mov'd with Com- paffon toward them and healed them. But fhould it not be confider'd that in both thefe Cafes, thofe that were healed, were fuch as followed Jefus^ and thereby ma- nifefted J E sus Vindicated. ^j nifefted their Belief that he was come from God, and was therefore able to heal them? In this firm perfua- fion they left their habitations and came to him, as the Learned Bifhop of Litchfield cxprefs*d himfclf, ^nd thereby guarded his Aflertion from that very Ex- ception which Mr. IV. has made to it : And was This the Cafe here, at the Pool? The great Multitude that was prefent at it, Jefus found there when he pafled by > they came not to him, fo far from it that they lay there in hopes of being cur'd by other means than Jefus's Power. What then? if fome Evangelifts fay that Jefus healed all the fick that followed him, does St. John give a Contrary Account, when he tells us that at this Pool Jefus did not heal above one of thofe who did not follow him? What Trifling does Mr. /^. put off with the Air ot Argument! His fecond Objection to this Miracle is, that he^ caufe we don't know what the Man's Infirmity was, there ne'aii^r is, nor can he prov'd to he any thing fupernatw ral in it. On the contrary I undertake to ihew that let the Infirmity have been of what fort foever he pleafes, provided he allows it to have been a Diftemper, there was a Miracle wrought in the Cure of it. The O- riginal word dSri)ieia is always in the Gofpels us'd on thefe occaflons, to fignify a Difeafe or Diftemper j and the Fathers generally thought this Man's to have been a Palfy-y but we will take the loweft Senfe of the Word, and fuppofe it was only a JVeaknefs in his Limhs ; yet confider that it was Weaknefs of thirty eight Years Continuance 5 and as it was a Confirmed one, fo it had prevailed upon him to a Great degree, for he was forc'd to have his Bed or Chair brought along with him to the Pool fide. Such was his de- plorable condition, and yet upon Jefus's only faying to him, Rife, take up thy Bed, and walk., we are told that he was immediately made whole and took up his Bed and walked. The Cure, you fee, was cffefted in a Moment, and was fo Compleat an one, as that from being oblig'd to reft himfelf onhis Bed, he was im- 14 The Ml K ACL zs of immediately able not only to walk, but to carry his Bed : And is there here no evident mark of a Super^ Tia^ural Fowfzr in Jefm? No, fays Mr. W. p. 5*3. for Inftances may be given of Infirmities of a long Dura- tion^ "which in time^ and efpe daily in Old Jge wear of. How Old h-jf fhould be a Cure, I am not at leifure to enquire 5 but allowing it, what are fuch Inftances to the purpofe here ? for this Man's Infirmity is not reprefented as wearing off by time^ but as healed in a moment : and therefore Mr. PF. contradicts the E- vangclill, when he adds. Who knows but this was the Caje of the Impotent Man^ whofe Infirmity Jefas obferv-' ing to be wearing off^ bid him be gone^ and take up his Couch ^ for he would foon be made whole ? Mr. W. may know that this was not the Cafe 3 for St. John tells him that the iMan was immediately made whole. Still Mr. /F". has one Refuge -, for he fuppofes that fuch Cures as thefe may be perform'd without a Di- vine Power, by the Help of Imagifiation only, pag. 5f. This Topick he inlifts upon here, and elfewhere in his Difcourfes, and therefore I fhall confider it di- ilinCtly. That there may in many Cafes have been Cures of Chronical Diieafes brought about by the help of a flrong Imagination, this Author fuppofes 5 but without enquiring whether this Suppofal of his has any Foundation, I will allow the Fa6l for Argu- ment's fake, tho' it is much to be doubted, whether he can make good what he has advanced here : But however that be, yet this we may be Certain of, that in every Cafe which we have any credible Account of, there is one Circumftance which plainly diftin- guilhes them from the miraculous Cures wrought by Jefus^ viz. They were never effedled at once, and in a Moment : But when Surprize, Joy, and a llrong Faith that he fhould be cur'd, had fo work'd upon the Patient, as to give a new Turn and Motion to his Spirits, and to the Juices of his Body, he has on- ly begun from that Moment to find an Amendment ^ and the Impreffion of the fame Paflion^ remaining flrong Jesus Vindicated. i ^ flrong upon him afterwards, he has recover'd by De- grees, and in Length of time the Cure has been com- pleated, Nature helping to finilli what the Imagina- tion had imperfc6lly begun : This may be aflirm'd to be the true Account of all thofe Chronical Difeafes, fuch as the King's Evil^ &c. which this Author fup- pofes to have ever been cur'd by the Help of Imagi- nation. But it is Remarkable, that in this Miracle, which is before us, there is no room to fuppofe any Help from the Imagination 5 for the Infirm Man did not fo much as know Jefus^ even after he was healed 3 he wift not who it was^ that had bid him take up his Bed and ivalk^ as Si. John allures us Verfe 15. and when Jefus faid to him at the Pool, IVilt thou be ynade whole? it is plain by his Anfwer {Sir^ I have no Man when the PVater is troubled^ &;c.) that he expefted no- thing lefs than to be heal'd by a Divine Power in Je- fus, In this cafe then, how could Imagination contri- bute to his Cure ? It all lay the other way, againll: Jefus's Power, and if it operated at all, w^ould more naturally have prevented a Cure than forwarded it* Let us never then be told for the future, that this In- firm Man's Cure was owing to Imagination^ when it appears, that he knew not who Jefus was, and was waiting for Relief from another Qtiarter, of which too he almoft defpair'd. From what has been faid, it may be concluded that the Cure wrought by Jefus upon the Infirm Man, was and is prov'd to be a Supernatural one^ whatei'er his In- firynity was -, and for this ConcluHon, I have not only the Reafons before mention'd,but Mr. fF.'s ownCon- feflion, Difc. 4. p. 9. where, in the J5//W Man's Cafe^ he allows that // Jefus had us'd no Medicines^ if with a H'^ord of his Mouth., he had cured the Man.^ and he had Inftantaneoufly recovefd^ as the Word was fpoken^ here would have been a Real and Great Miracle., let the Blindnefs or Imperfe^ion of the Man's Sight before be of D ' wh^P ±6 The MtKAcLzs of ivhat kind or degree foeier. Every Circumftance, which he requires towards making a True Miracle in the Blind man's Cafe, is exaftly found in this Ir^firm Man's 3 and therefore I hope that Mr. TV. will be convinced, if not by what I have faid, yet by what he himfelf has fiid, that the Literal Story of this Mi- racle iliews it to be a Real and Great one. 11. Another Miracle of "jefus^ which gives great Ofil^nce to Mr. JV. on account of the Literal Sto- ry, is {a) his Healing the Paralytick^ who was let down thro' the Roof of the Houfe ivhere Jefus was at Caper- naum. This Story he calls the moft Monftroujly Ahfurd^ Im- frohable and Incredible of any^ according to the Letter^ p f i« This is His way of entering upon every Miracle, ht defcribes every one as the Worftj but the Reader has already feen fo much of his manner of handling Miracles, as not to be overborn with fuch a Gene- ral Attack as This ; What Mr. JV. has to offer in proof of this AiTertion, fhall be fully confider'd, af- ter I have laid before the Reader in one View the True Ci re um {lances of the Story. Jefus came to Capernaum (Mark ii. i.) and entring into a Houfe where he had been accuftom'd to lodge, the People of the City hearing of it, gathered toge- ther about the Houfe in great Numbers, fo that there was no room to receive them^ no^ not fo much as about the Door, ver. z. On this Occafion Jefus being within the Houfe preached the IVord to them : If he was in a Ground-Room, by the rd ur^^ rluj ^upav mufh be meant the Porch or Veftibule of the Houfe -, but if he was in an Upper-Room (which is more likely) thefe Words muft be underftood of the Area^ or Court- (a) Mr. JI'Vs Dlfcourfe 4. p. s». The Story is recorded by St. Matt. ch. ix. Sx. Mark cb. ii. and St. Luka. ch. v. Yard, Jesus Vindicated. ±y Yard, or Space between the Outer-Wall and the Houfc it IclF : And in this Cafe it may be prefum'd that he taught the Crowd from Ibmc Window of the Upper-Room, fo as that thofe who were within the Room where he was, and thofe who were Below in the Yard might all at once hear his Do6trine. The Story being filent about the Floor in which JefuswnSj we may choofe that Suppofition which moil favours the Literal Account. It is well known, both from the Sacred Writers and others, that the Jewifi Houfes (as they always are in the Eaftern Countries) were built low, hav- ing feldom above Two Floors or Stories; and that the Tops of them (called c'^oj.aara) were not covered with floping Roofs as Ours are, but were flat, and fur- rounded w4ch Battlements bread high to prevent fal- ling, as God himfelf had commanded, Deut. xxii. 8. Upon thefe flat Tops of their Houfes the Jews us'd to walk in the Cool of the Day, as David did, z Sam. xi. z. or to fit at any Hour of the Day under jl Tent or other Cover to ierve them for a Shade 5 thus a Tent was pitcJfd for Abfalom on the Houfe-'Top^ z Sam, xvi. 21. And it was not unufual with the Jews to perform Religious Worfhip there, for not only the Jews burnt Incenfe upon them to all the Hoft of Heaven^ as Jerem. tells us, chap. xix. 13. but St. Peter is faid in J^. X. p. to have been praying upon the Houfe-'Top about the fi:cth Hour, And this Cuftom is farther con^ firm'd by the Command which our Saviour gave to his Difciples, Matt. x. 17. that what they heard in the Ear they fiould preach upon the Houfe-T'ops : Which Command feems to intimate too that the JewiJJ) Hou- fes were not commonly higher than Two Stories^ for otherwife the Houfc-Tops would have been too high for any to have preached from them fo as to be heard. And as their Houfes were thus Low, and the Roofs of them Flat, fo there was a Way from w^ithin the Houfe out upon the Roof by a Pair of Stairs, at the D z Top a 8 T/;^ M I R A C L E 5 0/ Top of which was (a) a Door which lay even with the Roof, but was lifted up upon occafion for a Paf- fage out, and had no doubt fome faftening to fecure the Houfc from Thieves. Nor was This the only way up to the Roof, for on the Outfide too of the Houfe, the Jews had (as well {b) as other Nations) a fix'd Pair of Stairs or Ladder, by which they could afcend from the Ground to the Roof without entring into the Houfe. The former of thefe AfTertions appears plainly from our Saviour's Advice to the Jews^ when fpeaking of the Swiftnefs with which the General Dedru&ion was to overtake their Nation, he fays, Mark xiii. if. JLet him that is on the Houfe -Top^ not go down into the Houfe^ neither enter therein to take any thing out of the Houfe. And the latter Aflertion may be fairly drawn from the fame Words of our Saviour, becaufe the Ad- vice fuppofes that there was another and a nearer way of defcending from the Houfe-Top, which is not to be underflood (we may be fure) of venturing their Necfe by throwing themfelves down from it 5 nor can it well be underflood of any other than a Pair of Stairs or flanding Ladder plac'd on the Outfide of their Houfes. This then being generally theFafhion of thtjewijh Houfes, was probably the Fafhion of That at Caper- naum : where, while Jefus was preaching to the Peo- ple, and while the Room where he flood was filled, and even the Space about the Door below was crowd- ed with Hearers, a Man fick of the Palfy was (a) See Llghtfoot's Quotations to this purpofe out of the Talmud, where it is called the IVay of the Roof. (b) Among the Greeks too the fame Cuftom feems to have pre- vaird; for in the Ph^nijfi of Euripides, Antigone goes out of the Houfe, and by a nhifjut^ made oi Cedar mounts up to the Roof, as may be feeii by compaiiiig ver. 99, 100 and 201 together, brought I J E s u s Vindicated. i «> brought in a Couch, or (a) fort of Elbow Chair, by four Pcrfons who carried him : And when his Bearers could not find a Way thro' the Crowd about the Door, becaufe the Multitude was fo Great and fo very Attentive, they bethought tliemfelves of go- ing round the Houfc, and getting at Jefus by another way 5 which was, to carry the Paralytick up the Stairs on the Outfide of the Houfe, and by that iMe- thod they brought him up upon the Roof: When they were got thus far, it feems that they found the Door (or J^ay of the Roof as the Je%mjlo Rabbins call it) fhut and faften'd, by which they had hoped to con- vey the fick Man down into the Room where Jefus was. To work then the Bearers go, and force open the Door of the Roof, which St. Mark cxprefles by diTirScLcas) T/iv s-ffyiv, thcy uncsvef d the Roof^ i. e. (b) they open'd the Door, which lying Even with the Roof, was a Part of it, when it was let down and fhut: And becaufe they us'd Force in opening the Door, St. Luke fpeaks of them as {c) \^c^\)^a:m^ break- ing (a) Sr. Mark calls it ^pdCCctjo^, and St. Luke nMuiJ^ioi : fo that thefe two words are fynonymous. Now Hefychius explains rhe word CKt/j.'TroJ'iov by 5ut$A5^ Khiv'iS'iov iJ.otoKoiriov, from whence it may be remark'd that there were ■/\n'iJ'icf. no larger than for One per- fon only, and of a much fmaller fize than the word Bed conveys an Idea of to an EniUJJ} Reader. And this feems to be the Size of the Bed or Chair in this place j for tho' Four perfons help'd to carry the Sick man in ir, yet k was no larger than what He alone could carry, when he was heal'd by Jefus, as appears by the Story. (If) That this is the Senfe of St Mark's word?, appears from con- fldering, that if the Door refembled the Trap-doors at the Top of feme of our Houfes, and if, when let down, it lay even with the Roof, it was properly a Parr of the Roof j and of confequence the lifting or forcing it up was uncovering the Roof. U) This word 5?opfJ^rf:;7? he feems to have chofen it for the Ordinary place of his Relidence, and therefore St. Mattbe-iv (who wrote his Gofpel after the Death of Jefiis) might properly enough call it his own City^ tho' it had not a Right to that Name at the time when Jefus heal'd there the Man who was fick of the Palfy. So that li Capernaum was not Jefua's own Country in any Scnfe, nor his own CityM that time when the People flock'd to hear him, the Proverb that a Prophet is without honour in his own Country is no Objeftion to this Circumftance of the Story. If the Evangelills may be believ'd, we find that the laft time before this Appearance of Jefus in Capernaum^ all the City was gathered together at the Door^ where he was, Mark i, i^T,. and they were afto- nijloed at his DoBrine^ for his word was with Power^ Luke iv. 31. If he left them then in fuch Amazement, it is no wonder that at this third time of his coming they flock'd about him in great Numbers. But why (fiiys Mr. IV.) had not the Paralytick and his Bearers the Patience to wait till the Crowd was dif perfed? The Man at the Pool of Bethefda had too much Patience, it feems, and This Man too little : x^ny thing will ferve for an Objection, I perceive j But if this Paralytick and his Bearers had not Patience, to Mr. W:s Size, what is that to the Miracle ? And yet per- haps they were not fo blameable for their Eagernefs, as he imagines : For how could they know but that Jefus might leave the City as foon as he had done preaching, and before the Crowd was well difperfed ? Jesus Vindicated. 5 5 If this was their Fear, it was no Unlikely one to hap- pen 5 for whcnjefus was laft among them, the Crowd continued about his Door xiW Night (very probably till late at Night, as the Circumftances feem to fhewj and he left the City in the Morning a great while before Day\ Mark i. ^f. And why might not his Departure be as Sudden now? Thus the Sick man and his Bearers might have reafon'd > and if they did, they reafon'd better than Mr. TV. has done in any part of his Dif- courfes, at leaft than he does in what follows. If they could not (fays he) get to the Door of the Honfe for the Prefs^ of co?ifequence they could not come at the Sides of it. Some men have their peculiar ways of ar- guing, and this Mr. fV. may call one of His, with- out fear of Envy. For where is the Confequcnce? If the Door was crowded, muft that whole Side of the Houfe be fo too ? Or if that Side was crowded, had the Houfe no other Sides ? Muit it not bave had Three others ? And why will not he (in pity) allow One of them to have been Clear for the Paralytick to have come up to it ? if the Crowd came to hear Je- fus teach, it feems moft probable that they were all got together on that Side only from whence he was teaching. IVell^ but the Sick Man (fays he p. f 7.) ijoas hazvVd .and heaved up to the 'Top of the Houfe 'with Ropes and Ladders. Here he doubts not but he has got hold of an Abfurdity in the Literal Story j but he has no fail hold of it, as will appear 5 for there was no need of hawUng or heaving^ o^ Ropes or Ladders to be brought, if my Account of the Jewifi Houfes be a True, or e- ven a Probable one. All that the Bearers had to do, was to carry the Sick man round about by fome pri- vate way to that fide of the Houfe, where the Stairs or Ladder was, which led from the Ground to the Houfe-Top : up thefe Stairs they carried him with no more trouble than they had been at to bring him down the Stairs of his own Houfe. E Still 54 7^^ Miracles o/ Still Mr. W^ is not fatisfy'd, he has Abfiirdities in Store to charge the Literal Account with y fuch as unconjering the Roof ^^nd breaking up ttles^ Spars and Raf- ters ; c^nd making a Hole capacious enough for the Man and his Bed to he let thro\ p. f7. It was well ( fays he ) jf Jefus and his Difciples efcap'd with only a Broken Pate^ by the falling of the I'iles^ and if the refi were not fmother'd with Dufl^ p. f8. But here Mr. W, raifes a Duft without occafion > for if there was (as I ihew'd to be Probable) a Door on the Root of the Houfe which lay Flat and Even with the Roof, the Bearer^ had nothing to do but to force and pull it Open : and for this they might only draw fome Nails, and take off the Hinges^ or they might only break part of the Door or Door-Frame: All which might be done without raifing any troublefome Dufl^ or breaking the Pate of any one below with the Tiles ^ even tho' we fhould fuppofe that this Door of the Roof was direftly over the Room, where Jefus and his Difciples were : But why may not we fuppofe that the Stairs up to the Roof, and the Door at the Top of them were Without the Room, as they commonly are among Us ? If they were, what will become then of Mr. W.'s fan- cied AbfurdityPIn this Cafe the raifing of fome Duft, and the falling of a few Tiles would fall Ihort of all the mifchief which he ("it feems) is fo very apprehen- ilve of. Mr. IV. has (I perceive) look'd into fome of our Commentators on this Chapter, and takes Notice that Dr. Lightfoot and Dr. Whitby have both maintained that the Roofs of the Jewifh Houfes were Flat, and had a Door in them, by which the Jews us'd to af- cend to the Tops of their Houfes, p. f 8. But he doubts whether what thefe Learned Men have faid comes up to the Cafe here, and is confiftent with the feveral Expreflions us'd by St. Mark and St . Luke on this occafion : That it is confiftent, I have already fhew'd ]^ and therefore I fhall only take Notice ol: what he adds, "to indulge thsm in their Notion^ I may ask them^ What occa- Jesus Vindicated. j j^ eccafion tvas there then of widening the Door-way, and breaking down the Sides of it? p. ^p. There was no oc» tahon, I believe, nor is any mention made of the Bearers doing this j the word ^I^opujavlsr (as I faid be- fore) neceflarily implying no more than that they rull d the Door open by force: and therefore if thele be^ all the Objeftions which Mr. W". has to make a- gamlt the Notions of thofe Learned Men, they may T'^-'^fl. ^^^^ Commentators, in the Number of tvhich Mr. IV. will never be reckoned An this while riays Mr /F. pag. ^8.) where was the Good Man of the Houfe? He was prefent, we may fup- pole 5 but if fo little mifchief was done by the En- trance made for the Sick man and his Bed, the Good ""u"" ^^^ ^^X ^^""^^^ ^""^ "^^ ^^1 ^^^ Provocation, ^hich the Queftionfuppofes: in Crowds and Thrones Men are content to bear fome fmall Inconvenience - It is generally in vain for them to complain of a Mob' Whofe Eagernefs is too great to be reitrain'd by the Outcry of One nian : and perhaps this Mafter of the Houfe might be fo attentive to Jefus'^ preachino- that he might not perceive what was doing above tt the Door, till It was done and the Entrance made 3 efpe^ cially if the Door and the Stairs leading up to it were without the Room where Jefus and He were- or rit toy be) he was Unwilling to difturb fuch heavenly BoUrine upon fo flight an Occalion as the breaking Open a Door, by thofe, whofe only Motive was to bring a Sick maft before >y?^j that he might be heal'd by a Miracle : or (for what Mr. IV. knows to the contrra-y) he did call out to forbid their forcible En- trance mto his Houfe, tho' to no Purpofc • Thefe and many other S ippofltions may be made and any one of them (I think; is an Over-match for Mr IV :^ Queftion. ^ The laft Demand which he has to make on this Head,' IS, Why did not Jefus, to prevent this trouble and Da- mage to the Houfe, afcend thro' the Door-way to the Top of It, and there heal the Poor Man ? To which E 4 Qiie«^ J ^ The MiK AC LI. s of Queftion he requires an Anfwer that will conjtji with the IVifdo?n^ the Goodnefs and Honour o/Jefus, pag. 60. But if the 'Trouble of the Bearers and the Damage done to the Houfe was fo fmall as I have reprefented it, no Objedion can be form'd from hence to the Difadvan- tagc of any of thefe Qualities in Jefus : For his heal- ing the Paralytick was equally an A61 of Goodnefsj whether he went up to the Man, or the Man was fuf- fer'd to come down to Him : The Pains that the Sick man and his Bearers took to get at Jefus^ fhew'd the Strength of their Faith, and on that Account it was not improper to permit them to fhew how fit Objefts they were of Jefus's Compaflion. But I may ask this Author, if y^y^i had gone up to the Top of the Houfe, and to have wrought the Cure there, he would have had the Crowd follow him there too? if not, then the Miracle would have been wrought upon the Paraly- tick before a very few WitneiTes : Whereas Jefus by fuffering the Sick man and his Bed to be brought down into the Room, gave an Opportunity to all that were Prefent of feeing a Real and Great Miracle wrought : In this View then Jefus certainly did what was confiffcyit with his Wifdom and his Honour too^ for he thereby manifefted his Glory, and made a greater Difplay of the Divine Power that was with him : Nor can it be doubted, but that if Jefus had taken the contrary method, and had gone up to the Roof, as Mr. JV. cxpcfts he Ihould have done, Mr. JV. would have found a much greater Difficulty in that, and have ask'd with more colour of Reafon, Why Jefus deprived fo many of his Hearers of the Op- portunity of feeing fo flupendous a Miracle wrought j and probably he would have concluded, that his heal- ing the Man not before the Company, but upon the Houfc-top where only the Sick man's Friends were \^ prefent, carry'd with it ilrong marks of Fraud and laipolture. Upon the whole then of this Story, it appears to be to hx from being the mofi -monflroufiy Ahfurd^ Improba^ Jesus Vindicated. ^ y hh and Incredible of any^ according to the Letter (as he calls it, p. fi.) that I can find no one Abfurdi- ty in it, but what arifes from his Mifreprefentations of it. . In the fame manner, in which t have confider'd thefe Two Miracles, I might proceed to confider the Reft : but I have not Leifure enough for the Work, and perhaps the Reader by this time may be fatisfy'd with the Controverfy ; The Miracles, which I have fingled out for Enquiry in This and the Preceding Parts, are fuch as I judg'd to have fomething of Dif« ficulty in them, and not to have been fufficiently ex- plain'd in all their Circumftances by our Ableft Com- mentators j who in fo large an Undertaking, as Theirs commonly is, had neither Room nor Time to enter into the minuter Difquifitions. But I have examin'd every Particular of the Literal Account of thofe Mi- racles, and I can afTure the Reader, that in all the. Teftimonies of Authors, which I have made ufe of, to fupport and confirm my Opinions, the Original has always been confulted, and no Truft has been gi- ven to Quotations at the fecond hand : I have {^^vi enough to convince me, that Writers of Great Re- pute for Learning are not always to be depended up- on in this Cafe, and therefore to the Fountain I went ^ for which reafon, if at any time I quote Authors in a different manner, or a different Senle from what the Reader may have found them elfewhere quoted in, it is hoped that he will give me Credit fo fir as to take my Word, or refer himfelf to the Original for greater Certainty. At prefent I have no Intention to purfue this Sub- jeft any fxrther j I would only requcft the Reader to confider two Things : The one, that the ReaUty of Jefus's Refiirre6tion having been prov'd by unconte- llable Evidence, by all the Evidence that a ¥:\d: is capable of, nay, by fuch as no other Fa6t in Nature ever could receive, it requires no Stretch of Faith to believe, that he wrought other Miracles, which are t© 38 ?^^ Miracles o/ to all human Appearance of a lefs Difficult Nature s for to heal a Lame or a Blind man, or to raife a Dead man, has nothing fo Inconceivable in it, as for a Man to raile Himfelf from the Dead: And if This be prov'd to have been done, the Other mufl be rea- dily admitted for a Truth, whatever little Circum- ftances there may be in the Story, which an I^no- rant Man may not underftand, or a Perverfe one may be able to mifreprefent. The other thing which I wou'd requeft the Reader to confider, is This j Mr. IV, has fet before him fif- teen of the Miracles afcrib'd to 7<«j,and by his Ma- nagement of them has reprefented them as the moft Abfurd^ Improbable^ and Incredible Stories that ever were deliver'd. Now let the Reader take all of them in this one View> and confider whether it be in the leaft Probable, that fuch Authors as the Evangelifts are (certainly neither downright Fools nor downright Madmen), in their Accounts of what they declare upon their own Knowledge and Eye-fight, could pof- fibly be guilty of fo many Abfurdities as Mr. W, has charg'd their Narrations with. They cither meant to write the Truth of Fads, or they did not : If the Firft, then we may ask, whence it happen'd that Men writing about what they faw, could fall into fuch Miftakes as Mr. JV, fuppofes they did .? But if they knowingly wrote falfehoods, it may be ask'd again; how it came to pafs, that they, who intended to de- ceive, took no more care to fecure their Credit, and make their Account Probable ? Deceivers (one would naturally think) fhould contrive to make their Story hang together, and fhould mention no Ci-xumflances but what they know to be confiftent with theCuftoms and Manners of thofe, who were conceiaM in it The ordinary way to dete6t Men of this Charaaer, 'is to find out that their Contemporaries, who might be aj well acquainted with the Fafls mentioned a? Them- Iclves, have given Accounts, either Inconfiftent or t^ontraditlory : But he muft be a wretched Impoflor ^ indeed. Jesus Vindicated. 39 indeed, whofe Story confutes it felf, as Mr. ^. thinks thofe of the Evangelills do : To fuppofc this, is to fuppofe them the very Weakefl of Writers and of Men too. And how far they dcferve that Chara6ter, mult be left to the Judgment of every Impartial Rea- der of their Writings. We fee then that Mr. IV. o- vcrthrpws all Probability on his Side of the Que- ftion, by endeavouring to prove too much : he allows nothing to be Right, all is Falfehood^ all is Jbfurdi^ ty i and yet there can be no greater Ahfurdity in Na- ture (I think) than in believing, that Men of Senfe, who intended to Deceive, took no more pains to give a Colour to their Story, but left it Open and ex- posed to all the Objedions which the Pen of Mr. W. has made againfl them. This I mention as a ffcrong Prefumption againfl: what he has advanced : But when it is farther confi- der'd what Anfwers I and others have given to his fuppos'd Abfurditiesy I hope that every Unprejudiced Infidel will give a Fair hearing > and that every Se- rious Chriftian will be the better confirmed in his Belief, that the Literal Account of all the Miracles of Jefus is 'True^ and that they are a Demonftration, that the Power of God was with Him, FINIS. / T H E T R Y A L O F T H E /^y"^ W I T N E S S E S O F T H E Reforre^tion of Jefus. The Fourth Edition. N. B. Not only Mr. WoolftonV Obje^ons in his Sixth Difcourlc, hutthofe alfo which he and others have publijhed in other Books ^ are here confidered. \r" T\n ovrvcpi 3 3h ev- to c-hr LO N D O N\ Printed for J. Ro b e r t s, near the Oxford- Arms in IVar%vick-Lane. Mdccxxix. THE T R Y A L O F T H E Witnejfes of the Refurre&ion of JESUS. E were, not long (ince, fome Gen- tlemen of the Inns of Court, to- gether, each to other fo well known, that no Man's Prefence was a Confinement to any other from fpeaking his Mind on any Subjeft that happened to arife in Converfation. The Meeting was without Defign, and the DiP- courfe, as in like Cafes, various. Among other Things we fell upon theSubje^: o^ fFooIJf on' sTxy^l and Convidion, which had happened fome few Days before : That led to a Debate how the Law flands in fuch Cafes, what Punifhment it inflidsj and, in general, whether the Law ought at all to interpofc in Controvcrlies of this kind. Wc were not agreed in thefe Points. One, who maintain'd the favourable fide to JVooljlon^ difcovered a great Liking and Approbation of his Difcourfes againft the Miracles of Chrift, and feemed to think his A % Argu- C 4 ] Arguments unanfwcrable. To which another re-^ plied, I wonder that one of your AbiHties, and bred to the Profeflion of the Law, which teaches us to confidcr the Nature of Evidence , and its proper Weight, can be of that Opinion > I am fure you wou'd be unwiiHng to determine a Pro- perty of Five ShiUings upon fuch Evidence, as you now think material enough to overthrow the Mi- racles of Chrill. It may ealily be imagined that this opened a Door to much Difputc, and determined the Con- verfation for the Remainder of the Evening to this Subjecl. The Difpute ran thro' almoft all the Par- ticulars mentioned in JVoolflon\ Pieces > but the Thread of it was broken by feveral Digreilions, and thePurfuit of Things which were brought ac- cidentally into the Difcourfe. At length one of the Company fiid plcafintly. Gentlemen, you don't argue like Lawyers j if I were Judge in this Caufe, I would hold you better to the Point. The Com- pany took the Hint, aiid cry'd they fliou'd be glad to have the Caufe rc-heardy and him to be the Judge. The Gentlemen who had engaged with Mettle and Spirit in a Difputc which arofe acci- dentally, feem'd very unwilling to be drawn into a formal Controverfy> and efpecially the Gentle- man who argued againft Woolfton^ thought the Mat- ter grew too fcrious for him, and excufed himfclf from undertaking aControverfy in Religion, of all others the mofl momentous: But he was told, that the Argument fhould be confined merely to the Nature of the Evidence, and that might be con- fidered without cntnng into any fuch Controverfy as C 5] as he wou'd avoid j and to bring the Matter with- in Bounds, and under one View, the Evidence of Chrill's Refiirrc^lion, and the Exceptions taken to it, ihould be the only SubjciSt of the Confe- rence. With much Perfuafion he fuffered himfelf to be pcrfuaded, and promifed to give the Com- pany, and their new-made Judge, a Meeting that Day fortnight. The Judge and the rcR- of the Company were for bringing on the Caufe a Week fooner; but the Council for JVooIjlo?i took the Matter up, and faid, Confider, Sir, the Gentle- man is not to argue out of Littleton^ Ploivdcn^ or Cokc^ Authors to him well known > but he muft have his Authorities from Matthew , Mark^ Luke^ and John; and a Fortnight is time little enough of all confcience to gain aFamiliarity with a new Ac- quaintance 5 and, turning to the Gentleman, he faid, I'll call upon you before the Fortnight is out, to fee how reverend an 7\ppearance you make be- hind Hamrnoyid on the New Teflament, a Concor- dance on one hand, and a Folio Bible with Refe- rences on the other. You fliall be welcome, Sir, reply'd the Gentleman, and perhaps you may find fome Company more to your own Talle; he is but a poor Council who fludies on one fide of the Queflion only, and therefore I will have your Friend JVoolflon^ 'T — /, and C — ;, to entertain you when you do me the Favour of the Vifit. Upon this we parted in good Humour, and all pleafed with the Appointment made, except the two Gentlemen who were to provide the Entertain- ment. The The SecondDay. THE Company met at the Time appointed : But it happened in this, as in like Cafes it often does, that fome Friends to fome of the Com- pany, who were not of the Party the firft Day, had got Notice of the Meeting-, and the Gentle- men who weie to debate theQucftion, found they had a more numerous /\udience than they expected or defired. He efpecially who was to maintain the Evidence of the R.efurre£tion, began to excufc the Neceflicy he was under of difappointing their Expe6lation, alledging that he was not prepared j and he had perfifted in excufing himfelf, but that the Strangers, who perceived what the Cafe was, offered to withdraw, which the Gentleman wou'd by no means confent to : They infilling to go, he faid, he would much rather fubmit himfelf to their Candor, unprepared as he was, than be guilty of fb much Rudenefs, as to force them to leave the Company. Upon which one of the Company^ fmiling, fiid. It happens luckily that our Number is increafed -, when w^e were laft together, we ap- pointed a Judge, but we quite forgot a Juiy, and now, I think, we are good Men and true, fuffici- ent to make one. This Thought was purfued in feveral Alluiions to legal Proceedings, which cre- ated fome Mirth, and had this good EfFccl, that it difperfcd the folemn Air which the mutual Com- pliments upon the Difficulty before-mentioned had introduced, and reflored the Eafe and Good-Hu- mour natural to the Converfation of Gentlemen. The [ 7] The Judge perceiving the Difpofition of the Company, thought it a proper Time to begin, and called out, Gentlemen of the Jury take your Pla- ces ', and immediately fcated himfelf at the upper End of the Table: The Company (at round him, and the Judge called upon the Council for M^^'ool- fton to begin. Mr. A. Council for Woolfton, addrefTing him- felf to the Judge, faid, May it pleafe your Lordihip> I conceive the Gentleman on the other Side ought to begin, and lay his Evidence, which he intends to maintain, before the Court > till that is done, it is to no pur- pofe for me to objed. I may perhaps obje6t to fomething which he will not admit to be any part of his Evidence, and therefore, I apprehend, the Evidence ought in the firfl Place to be diftindly flated. Judge. Mr. B. What fay you to that? Mr B. Council on the other Side : My Lord, If the Evidence I am to maintain, were to fupport any new Claim, if I were to gain any thing which I am not already pofTefled ol, the Gentleman would be in the right 3 but the Evi- dence is old, and is Matter of Record, and I have been long in pofTefTion of all that I claim under it. If the Gentleman has any thing to fay to difpoflefs me, let him produce it 5 otherv^ife I have no rca- fon to bring my own Title into queftion. And this I take to be the known Method of proceeding in fuch Cafes > no Man is obliged to produce his Title to his PofTcflion; it is fufficient if he main- tains it when it is called in queftion. Mr. J, [8] Mr. A. Surely, my Lord, the Gentleman mi-^ flakes the Cafe •, I can never admit my felf to be out of Pofrellion ofmy Underilanding andReafonj and fince he would put me out of this PofleHion, and compel me to admit Things incredible, in vir- tue of the Evidence he maintains, he ought to fee forth his Claim, or leave the World to be directed by common Senfe. Judge. Sir, you fay right 5 upon Suppofition that the Truth of the Chriilian Religion were the Point in Judgment. In that Cafe it would be ne- cedluy to produce the Evidence for the Chriflian Religion ♦, but the Matter now before the Court is, Whether the Objections produced by Mr. /iF'^^/- flcn^ are of weight to overthrow the Evidence of ChrilFs Refirreolion. You fee then the Evidence of the Rcfurrccrion is fuppofed to be what it is on both Sides, and the Thing immediately in Judg- ment, is the Value of the Objedions, and there- fore they mull be fet forth. The Court will be bound to take notice of the Evidence, which is admitted as a Fa6i: on both Parts. Go on Mr. A. Mr. A. My Lord, I fubmit to the Diredion of the Court. I cannot but obferve that the Gen- tleman on the other fide, unwilling as he leems to be to ftate his Evidence, did not forget to lay in his Claim to Prefcription, which is, perhaps, in Truth, tho' he has too much Skill to own it, the very Strength of his Caiife. I do allow that the Gentleman maintains nothing but what his Father and Grandfather, and his Ancellors, beyond time of Man's Memory, maintain'd before him : I allow too, that Prefcription in many Cafes makes a good Title i Titles but it mud: always be with this Condi- tion, that the thing is capable of being prcfcri- bcd for; And I inlilt, that Prcfcription cannot run againll Reafon and Common Senfe. Cuftoms may be pleaded by Prefcription j but if upon fliewing the Cudom^ any thing unreafonable ap- pears in it, the Prefcription fails > for Length of Time works nothing towards the eflablifhing any thing that cou'd never have a Legal Commence- ment. And if this Objection will overthrow all Prcfcriptions for Cuftoms^ the Mifchief of which extends perhaps to one poor Village only, and affects them in no greater a Concern, than their Right of Common upon a ragged Mountain; fhall it not much more prevail, when the Intereft of Mankind is concerned, and in no lefs a Point than his Happinefs in this Life, and in all his Hopes for Futurity? Belides, if Prefcription mult be allowed in this Cafe, how will you deal wFth k in others ? What will you Hiy to the Ancient Perftans^ and their Fire-Altars ? Nay, what to ih^'Turks^ who have been long enough in PolTellion of their Faith to plead • Mr. B. I beg Pardon for interrupting the Gen- tleman. But it is to fave him. Trouble, He is going into his favourite Common-Place, and has brought us from Perfta to Turkey already -, and if he goes on, I know we mull follow him round the Globe. To fave us from this long Journey, I'll wave all Advantage from the Antiquity of the Refurredion, and the general Reception the Be- lief of it has found in the World > and am content to confider it as a Fad which happened but lull B Year, C 'o] Year, and was never heard of either by the Gen- tleman's Grandfather, or by mine. Mr. A. I fhould not have taken quite fo long a Journey as the Gentleman imagines, nor, indeed, need any Man go far from home to find Inftances to the Purpofe I was upon. But fince this Advan- tage is quitted, I am as willing to fpare my Pains^ as the Gentleman is denrous that I fhould. And yet I fufpc6l fome Art even in this Conceilion, fliir and candid as it feems to be. For I am perfuaded that one Reafon, perhaps the main Reafon, why Men believe this Hiftory of Jefus, is, that they cannot conceive that any one fhould attempt, much lefs fucceed in fuch an Attempt as this, upon the Foundation of meer human Cunning and Poli- cy > and 'tis worth the while to go round the Globe, as the Gentleman cxprefs'd himfelf, to fee various Inftances of the like Kind, in order to re- move this Prejudice. But I fland corre61-cd, and will go direculy to the Point nov/ in Judgment. Mr. B. My Lord, The Gentleman in Juflifica- tion of his firil Argument, has entitd upon ano- ther of a very different Kind. I think he is fenfi- ble of it, and feeming to yield up one of his popu- lar Topicks, is indeed, artfully getting rid of ano- dierj which has made a very good Figure in ma- ny late Writings, but will not bear in any Place, where he who maintains it may be asked Quelti- ons. The mere Antiquity of the Refurre61:ion I gave up J for if the Evidence was not good at firfl-^ it can't be good now. The Gentleman is willing, he fiys, to fpare us his Hiilory of Ancient Errors, ,. and intimates , that upon this account he pafTes i over [ "] over many Indances of Fraud, that were like in Circumftances to the Cafe before .us. By no means, my Lord, let them be pafled over. I wou'd not have the mahi Strength of his Caufc betrayed in Complaifance to me. Nothing can be more material, than to fhew a Fraud of this Kind, that prevailed univerfally in the World. Chriftjcfus declared himfelf a Prophet, and put the Proof of his Miffion on this; that he fhould dye openly and publickly, and rife again the third Day. This furely was the hardell Plot in the World to be managed : And if there be one Ifi- ftance of this Kind, or in any degree like it, by rjl means let it be produced. Mr. A. My Lord, There has hardly been an Inflance of a falfe Religion in the World, but it has alfo afforded a like Inflance to this before us. Have they not all pretended to Infpiration ? Upon what Foot did Pythagoras^ Numa^ and others fet up ? did they not all converfe with the Gods, and pretend to deHver Oracles ? Mr. B, This only fhews that Revelation is by the common Confent of Mankind, the very beft Foundation of Religion, and therefore every Im- poflor pretends to it. But is a Man's hiding him-- felf in a Cave for fome Years, and then coming out into the World, to be compared to a Man's dying and rifing to Life again .^ So far from it, that you and I and every Man may do the one, but no Man can do the other. Mr. A. Sir, I fuppofe it will be allowed to be as great a thing to go to Heaven and converfe with Angels, and v/ith God, and to come down to the B % Earth [ ir ] Earth again, as it is to dye and rife again. Now this very thing Mahomet pretended to do, and all his Difciplcs beheve it. Can you deny thisFad? Mr. B, Deny it. Sir ? No. But tell us who went with Mahomet? who were his Witnefles? I expeft before we have done, to hear of the Guards fet over the Sepulchre of Chriil, and the Seal of the Stone: What Guard watched Mahomet in his going or returning? What Seals and Credential had he? He himfelf pretends to none. His Follow- ers pretend to nothing but his own Word. We are now to confider the Evidence of Chrift's Re- furredlion, and you think to parallel it by produ- cing a Cafe, for which no one ever pretended there was any Evidence. You have Mahomefs Wordj and no Man ever told a Lye, but you had his Word for the Truth of what he faid j and therefore you need not go round the Globe to find fuch Inftances as thefe. But this Story, 'tis faid, has gained great Credit, and is received by many Nations: Very well: And how was it receiv'd? Was not every Man converted to this Faith with the Sword at his Throat? In our Cafe, every Witnefs to the Re- furrcdion, and every Believer of it was hourly ex- pofed to Death : In the other Cafe, whoever refu- fed to believe, died, or what was as bad, lived a v/retched conquered Slave : And will you pretend thefe Cafes to be alike ? One Cafe indeed there was within our own Memory, which in fome Circum- fiances came near to the Cafe now before us. The French Prophets put the Credit of their Miflion upon the Refurredtion of Dr. Emmes^ and gave publick Notice of it. If the Gentlen^an pleafes [ »3] to make ufc of this Inftancc, It is at his Ser- vice. Mr. A. The Inilance of Dr. Emmes is fo far to the Piirpofc, that it fliews to what Lengths En- thuliafm will carry Men. And why might not the lame thing happen at Jerufahm^ which hap- pened but a few Years ago in our own Country ? Matthew^ and John^ and the reft of them, ma* nag'd that Affair with more Dexterity than the Fnmh Prophets ; fo that the Refurreftion of Jc- Uis gained Credit in the World, and the French Prophets funk under their ridiculous Pretenlions. That's all the Difference. Mr. B. Is it fo? And a very wide Difference, I promife you. In one Cafe, every thing Iiappen'd that was proper to convince the World o{ tlie Truth of the Refurredion 5 in the other, the E- vent manifelled the Cheat j and upon the View of thefe Circumftances, you think it fuflicient to fay, with great Coolnefs, That's all the Difference. Why, what Difference do you expect between Truth and Falihood? What Diftinaion Judge. Gentlemen, you forget that you are in a Court, and are falling into Dialogue. Courts don't allow of Chit-chat. Look yc, the Evidence of the Refurreftion of Jefus is before the Court, recorded by Mattbe-zv^ Mark^ and others. You muft take it as it is; you can neither make it bet- ter nor worfe. Thefe Witneffes are acculcd of giving falfc Evidence. Come to the Point; and let us hear what you have to offer, to prove the Accufation. Mr. B, C Hi Mr. B. Is it your Meaning, Sir, that the Ob- jections laould be flated and argued all together, ai\d that the Anfwer fliould be to the whole at once ? Or would you have the Objeftions argued fingly, and anfwered feparately by themfelves? Judge. I think this Court may difpenfe with the llrid Forms of legal Proceedings, and therefore I. leave this to the Choice of the Jury. ylfter the Jury had confnlted together^ the Foreman rofe up. The Foreman cf the Jury. We defire to hear the Ob i eft ions argued and anfwered feparately. We fhali be better able to form a Judgment by hearing the Anfwer, while the Objeftion is freih in our Minds. Judge. Gentlemen, You hear the Opinion of the Jury. Go on. Mr. A. I am now to difclofe to you a Scene, of all others the mod furprizing. * '' The Refurre- " ftion has been long talked of, and to the Amaze- ^' ment of every one who can think freely, has ^^ been believed thro' all Ages of the Church. '» This general and conflant Belief creates in moft Minds a Prefumption that it was founded on good Evidence. In other Cafes the Evidence fupports the Credit of the Hiftory 5 but here the Evidence itfelf is prefum'd only upon the Credit which the Story has gain'd. t I wifa the Books difperfed * Si: and among the reft one was, That fome time or other a great victorious Prince Hiould rife among them, and fubdue all their Enemies, and make 'em Lords of the World. * In Augujius'^ Time they were in a low State, reduced under the Roman Yoke> and as they never wanted a Deliverer more, lb the Ea- gernefs of this Hope, as it happens to weak Minds, turned into a firm Expeftation that he would foon come. This proved a Temptation to fome bold, * See ^(hms of literal Prophecy, p. 26. and [ i6] and to fomc cunning Men, to perfonate the'Prirlce fo much expc61:edj and * " nothing is more natii- " ral and common to promote RcbelHons, than to '^ ground them on new Prophecies, or new Inter- '' prctations of old ones : Prophecies being lliited ^^ to the vulgar Superflition, and oper-r.ting with " the Force of Religion. " Accordingly many fuch Impoilors rofe, pretending to be the vi6lori- ous Prince expecledj and they and the People who followed them perifhed in the Folly of their At- tempt. Butjefus, knowing that Viftories and Triumphs are not things to be counterfeited j that the Peo- ple were not to be delivered from the RomanY okG by Sleight of hand 5 and having no Hope of being able to cope with the Emperor of Rome in good earned, took another and more fuccefsful Method to carry on his Defign. He took upon him to be the Prince foretold in the ancient Prophets; but then he infilled that the true Senfe of the Prophe- cies had been miilaken > that they related not to the Kingdoms of this World, but to the King- dom of Heaven 5 that the Mefiias was not to be a conquering Prince, but a fuffering one; that he was not to come with Horfes of War, and Cha- riots of War, but was to be meek and lowly, and riding on an Afs. By this means he got the com- mon and necefTary Foundation for a new Revela- tion, which is to be built and founded on a prece^ d6nt Revelation, -f * Scheme of Literal Prophecy y p. 27. •\ See Difcourfe of the Groufids, &c. Ch, iv* To [ »7] To cany on this Defign, he made choice of Twelve Men of no Fortunes or Education, and of fuch Undcrilandings as gave no Jcaloufy that they would difcover the Plot. And what is moil: won- derful, and fliews their Ability 3 whild the Mailer was preaching the Kingdom of Heaven, thefe poor Men, not weaned from the Prejudices of their Country, expc£i;ed every Day that he would de- clare himfelf a King, and were quarrelling who iliould be his firfi; Miniller. This Expectation had a goodEffecTr on the Service, for it kept themcon- llant to their Mailer. I muil obferve farther, that the Jews were un- der ftrange Apprehenfions of fupernatural Powers j and as their own Religion was founded on the Be- lief of certain Miracles, faid to be wrought by their Lawgiver Mofes-, fo were they ever running after Wonders and Miracles, and ready to take up with any Stones of this Kind. Now as fomething ex- traordinary was neceflary to fupport the Pretenfi- ons of Jefus, hedextroully laid hold on this Weak- nels of the People > and fet up to be a Wonder- worker. His Difciples were well qualified to re- ceive this Imp reffi on > they fa w, or thought they law, many ftrange things, and wei'e able to fpread the Fame and Report of them abroad. This Condu6t had the defircd Succefs. The whole Country was alarmed, and full of the News of a great Prophet's being come among them. They were too full of their cvn Imagination, to attend to the Notion of a Kingdom of Heaven: Here was one mighty in Deed and in Word 3 and they concluded, he was the very Prince theii Na- C tion [ ^8] tion expected. Accordingly they once attempted to fct him up for a King •, and at another time at- tended him in Triumph to JerHfale?n. This natu- ral Confequence opens the natural Defign of the Attempt. If things had gone on fuccefsfully to the End, 'tis probable the Kingdom of Heaven would have been changed into a Kingdom of this "U^orld. The Defign indeed failed, by the Impa- tience and Over-haftincfs of the Multitude, which alarmed not only the Chief of the Je-'jos^ but the Roman Governor alfo. The Cafe being come to this Point, and Jcfus feeing that he could notefcape being put to Death j he declared, that the ancient Prophets had fore- told that the MclTIas fhould dye upon a Crofs, and that he fhould rife again on the third Day. Here was the Foundation laid for the continuing this Plot j which otherwife had died with its Author. This was his Legacy to his Followers > which ha- ving been well managed by them and their Suc- cefTors, has at laft produced a Kingdom indeed -, a Kingdom of Pricfts, who have governed the World for many Ages, and have been ftrong enough to fet Kings and Emperors at Defiance. But fo it happens, the ancient Prophets appealed to are ftill extant > and there being no fuch Prophecies of the Death and Refurredion of the Mcfi^as, they are a ftandi ig Evidence againft this Story. As he ex- pected, fo it happen'd, that he died on a Crofs. And the profecuting of this Contrivance was left to the Management of his Difciples and Followers, Their Part is next to be confider'd — — - Mr. -B. [ ^9 ] ' Mr. B. My Lord, Since it is your Opinion that the Obje6lions fhould be confidered fingly^ and the Gentleman has carried his Scheme down to the Death of Chrilc, I think he is come to a proper Rcll 3 and that it is agreeable to your Inten- tion, that I fhould be admitted to anfvver. Judge. You fay right. Sir. Let us hear what you anfwer to this Charge. Mr. B. My Lord, I was unwilling to diflurb the Gentleman by breaking in upon his Scheme j otherwife I fhould have reminded him, that this Court fits to examine Evidence, and not to be en- tertained with fine Imaginations. You have had a Scheme laid before you, but not one bit of Evi- dence to fupport any Part of it 3 no, not fo much as a Pretence to any Evidence. The Gentleman, I remember, was very forty that the old Books of the Jews were loil, which would, as he fuppofes, have fet forth all this Matter; and I agree with him, that he has much Reafon to be forry, confi- dering his great Scarcity of Proof And fince I have mention'd this, that I may not be to retuni to it again, I would ask the Gentleman now. How- he knows there ever wcvc fuch Books ? And fince if ever there were any, they are loll. How he knows what they contained ? I doubt I fhall have frequent Occafion to ask fuch Qucftions. It wou'd indeed be a fufiicient Anfwer to the whole, to repeat the feveral Suppofitions that have been made, and to call for the Evidence upon which they fland. This would plainly difcover every Part of the Story to be mere Fiction. But fincc the Gentleman feems to have endeavoured to bring C 2. under [ao ] under one. View, the many Infiniiatlons which have of late been fpread abroad by different Hands, and to work the whole into a confiftent Scheme} I will, if your Patience fhall permit, examine this Plot, and fee to whom the Honour of the Con- trivance belongs. The Gentleman begins with exprefling his " A- " mazement, that the Refurredion has been be- '^ lieved in all Ages of the Church." If you ask him, Why? he muft anfwer, Becaufe the Account of it is a Forgery : For 'tis no Amazement to him furely, that a true Account fhould be generally well received. So that this Remark proceeds in- deed from Confidence rather than Amazement 5 and comes only to this, that he is fure there was no Refurre6bion : And I am fure this is no Evidence that there was none. Whether he is miilaken in his Confidence, or I in mine, the Court mull judge. The Gentleman's Obfervation, That the gene- ral Belief of the Refurre6lion creates a Prefumpti- on that it ftands upon good Evidence, and there- fore People look no fiircher, but follow their Fa- thers, as their Fathers did their Grandfathers be- fore them, is in great meafure true 5 but it is a Truth nothing to his Purpofe. He allows that the Refurredion has been believed in all Ages of the Church 5 that is, from the very Time of the Refurredtion : What then prevailed with thofc who firft receiv'd it ? They certainly did not fol- low the Example of their Fathers. Here then is the Point, How did this Fa6b gain Credit in the World at firfl ? Credit it has gained, without doubtc [.I ] doubt. If the Multitude at prefent go into tins Belief thro' Prejudice, Example, and for Compa- ny fake, they do in this Cafe no more, nor other- wife, than they do in all Cafes. And it cannot be denied, but that Truth may be rcceiv'd thro' Prc- ]udice (as it is call'd) i. e. without examining the Proof or Merits of the Caufc, as well as Falfliood- What general Truth is there, the Merits of which all the World, or the hundredth Part, has examin'd? It is fmartly faid fomewhere, That the Priejl only continues ivhat the Nurfe began: But the Life of the Remark confilb in the Quaintncfs of the An- tithefis between the Nurfe and ihe. Priejl -y and owes its Support much more to Sound than to Senfe. For is it pOiTible that Children fhould not hear fomething of the common and popular Opinions of their Country, whether thofe Opinions be true or falfe? Do they not learn the common Maxims of Reafon this way ? Perhaps every Man firll learnt from his Nurfe, that two and two make fourj and whenever fhe divides an Apple among her Children, Hie inftils into them this Prejudice, That the Whole is equal to its Parts, and all the Parts equal to the Whole > and yet Sir IfaacNe--j:- ton^ (fhame on him) what Work has he made, what a Building has he erected upon the Founda- tion of this Nurfery-Learning? As to Religion, there never was a Religion, there never will be one, whether true or flilfc, publickly owned in any Country, but Children have heard, and ever will hear, more or lefs of it from thofe who arc placed about them. And if this is, and ever mull be the Cafe, whether the Religion be true ^r falfe ^ 'tis C a. ] 'tis highly abfurd to lay Strefs on this Obfcrvation, when the Qucflion is 'about the Truth of any Re- ligion ; for the Obfervation is indifferent to both fides of the Qiiedion. We are now, I think, got thro' the Common- place Learning, which muft for ever, it feems, at- tend upon Queftions of this Nature > and are co- ming to the very Merits of the Caufe. And here,theGentleman on the other fide thought proper to begin with an Account of the People of the Jeivs : The People in whofe Country the Faft is laid, and who were originally, and in fome re- rpe6ts principally concerned in its Confequences. They were, he fays, a weak fuperllitious Peo- ple, and lived under the Influence of certain pretended Prophecies and Prediclionsj that upon this Ground they had, fome time before the Appear- ance of Chrifl Jefus, conceived great Expectati- ons of the coming of a vi6lorious Prince, who fhould deliver them from the Roman Yoke, and make them all Kings and Princes. He goes on then to obfervc, how liable the People were, in this State of Things, to be im.pofcd on, and led in- to Rebellion, by any one who was bold enough to take upon him to pcrfonate the Prince expedled. He obfervcs further, that in Fact many fuch Im- poflors did arife, and deceived Multitudes to their Ruin and Deflruction. I have laid thcfe things together, becaufe I do not intend to difpute thefe Matters with the Gen- tleman. Whether the Jeivs were a weak and fuperflitious People, and influenced by falfe Pro- phecies, or whether they had true Prophecies among C --3 ] among them, is not material to the prefentQiic (li- on. It is enough for the Gentleman's Argiimenr^ if I allow the Fa6t to be as he has Hated it^ that they did expe6l a vi6lorious Prince, that they were upon this Account expofed to be pra^lifed on by Pretenders > and in Fa6l: were often fo delu- ded. This Foundation being laid, it was natural to expe6t, and I believe your Lordfhip, and every one prefent did expeft, that the Gentleman would go on to fliew, that Jefus laid hold of this Oppor- tunity, ftruck in with the Opinion of the People, and profefs'd himfelf to be the Prince who was to work their Deliverance. But fo far, it feems, is this from being the Cafe, that the Charge upon Jefus is, that he took the contrary Part, and fee up in Oppolition to all the popular Notions and Prejudices of his Country: That he interpreted the Prophecies to another Senfe and Meaning than his Countrymen did} and by his Expofitions took away all Hopes of their ever feeing the vi£]:orious Deliverer fo much wanted and expe61:ed. I know not how to bring: the Gentleman's Pre- mifes and his Conclufion to any Agreement 5 they fcem to be at a great variance at prefent. If it be the likelieil Method for animpollor to fucceed to build on the popular Opinions, Prejudices and Prophecies of the People j then furely animpollor cannot poilibly take a worfe Method than to fet up inOppoiition to all the Prejudices and Prophe- cies of the Country. Where was the Art and Cunning then of taking this Method ? Cou'd any thing be expcfted from it, but Hatred, Contempt, I and and Perfecutlon? And didChrili: inFafl: meet with any other Treatment from the Jezvs? And yet when he found, as the Gentleman allows he did, that he mufl pcrifli in this Attempt, did he change his Note ? Did he come about, and drop any Intimati- ons agreeable to the Notions of the People ? It is not pretended. This, which in any other Cafe, which ev^er happened, would be taken to be a plain Mark of great Honefly, or great Stupidity, or of both, is in the prefent Cafe, Art, Policy, and Contrivance. But it fecms, Jefus dared not fet up to be the viftorious Prince expe61:ed, for Viftories are not to be counterfeited. I hope it was no Crime in him that he did not afTume this filfe Character, and try to abufe the Credulity of the People: If he had done fo^ it certainly wou'd have been a Crime j and therefore in this Point at Icail he is innocent. I do not fuppofe, the Gentleman ima- gines that the Jews were well founded in their Ex- pectation of a Temporal Prince ; and therefore when Chrifl: oppofed this Conceit at the manifefl hazard of his Life > as he certainly had Truth on his lide, fo the Prefumption is, that it was for the fake of Truth that he expofed himfelf No J he wanted, we are told, the Commofi and Necefary Foundation for a new Revelation, the Authority of an old one, to build on. Very well j I will not enquire how common or how necefTary this Foundation is to a new Revelation -, for be that Cafe as it will, it is evident that in the Method Chrifl; took, he had not, nor cou'd have thetuppofed Advantage of fuch Foundation. For why is this Foun- Foundation neccflary ? A Friend of the Gentle- man's lliall tell you. " Becaufe * it mud be di(H- " cult, if not impoiriblc, to introduce among Men '^ ( who in all civihzed Countries are bred up in " the Belief of fome revealed Religion ) a revealed " Religion wholly new, or fuch i\s has no Refe- ^' rencc to a preceding one > for that v/ould be to " combat all Men on too many Refpecls, and not ^' to proceed on a fufHcient number of Principles " neccflary to be aflcntedtoby thofe, on whom the " firll Imprefiions of a new Religion are propofed " to be made." You fee now the Reafon of the Neceflity of this Foundation 5 it is that the new Teacher may have the Advantage of old popular Opinions, and fix himfelf upon the Prejudices of the People. Had Chrift any fuch Advantages, or did he feek any fuch? The People expcdedavifto- rious Prince 3 he told them they v/ere miftaken: They held as facred the Traditions of the Elders > he told them thofe Traditions made the Law of God of none E ffeft : They valued themfelves for being the peculiar People of God -, he told them, that People from all Quarters o£ the World fliould be the People of God, and fit down v/ith .Akra- ham^ Ifaac^ and Jacob^ in the Kingdom: They thought God could be worfiiipped only at Jcrufa^ lem y he told them God might and fliould be wor- fhipped every where : They were fuperflitious in the Obfervance of the Sabbath > he, according to their Reckoning, broke it frequently : In a word, their Walkings of Hands and Pots, their fuperfli- * Difcourfe of the Ground;, p. 2^, C^^3 tibus Diflindlions of Meats, their Prayers in pub- lick, their Villanies in fecret, were all reproved, expofed, and condemned by him ; and the Cry ran ftrongly agahift him, that he came to dellroy the Law and the Prophets. And now, Sir, what Ad- vantage had Chrift oF your common and neceflary Foundation? \\''hat flificient Nirmber of Principles owned by the People, did he build on? If he ad- hered to the old Revelation in the true Senfe, or (which is fufficicnt to the prcfcnt Argument) in a Senfe not received by the People, it was, in truth, the grcatcil: Difficulty he had to fbriiggle with. And therefore what could tempt him, but purely a Regard to Truth, to take upon himfelf fo many Difficulties which might have been avoided, could he have been but iilent as to the old Revelation, and left the People to their Imaginations? To carry on this Plot, wc are told, that the next thing which Jefus d'ld^ was to make Choice of proper Perfons to be his Difciples. The Gen- tleman has given us their Charafter 5 but, as I fup- pofe he has more Employment for them before he has done, I dcfire to defer the Confideration of their Abihtics andConduft, till I hear what Work he has for them to do. I would only obferve, that thus far this Plot differs from all that ever I heard of. Impofcors generally take Advantage of the Prejudices of the People j generally too they make choice of cunning dextrous Fellows to manage un- der them : But in this Cafe, Jefus oppofed all the Notions of the People, and made choice of Sim- pletons, it feems, to conduft his Contrivances. But C^7] Bin what Dcfign, what real End was carryhig en all this while? Why, the Gentleman tells us, that the very thing difclaimed, the Temporal King- dom, was the real thing aimed at under this Dif- guife. He told the People there was no Founda- tion to expe6l a temporal Deliverer, warned them againft all Vv^ho fliould fet up thole Pretenfions: He declared there was no Ground from the ancient Prophecies, to cxpecl llich a Prince 5 and yet by thefe very Means he was working his way to an Opportunity of declaring himfelf to be the very Prince the People wanted. We are ftill upon the marvellous) every Step opens new Wonders. I blame not the Gentleman j for what but this car^ be im.agined, to give any Account of thefe Mea-^ fures imputed to Chrift? Be this never fo unlikely, yet this is the only thing that can be faid. Had Chrift been charged with Enthufiafm, it would not have been neccflary to ailign a Reafon for his Conduft: Madnefs is unaccountable: Ratione mo^ doque tra5lari non z'ult. But when Defi^n, Cun^ ning, and Fraud, are made the Charge, and car- ry 'd to fuch an Height, as to fuppofc him to be a Party to the Contrivance of a fliam Rcfu'icdion for himfelf > it is neceflary to fay, to what End this Cunning tended. It was, we are told, to a Kingdom 5 and indeed the Temptation was little enough, confidcring that the chief Conductor of the Plot was to be crucify 'd for his Pains. But v/ere the Means made ufc of at all probable to at-^ tain the End ? Yes, fiys the Gentleman, that can't be difputcd J for they had really this EiK^ft, The People would have m,ade him King. Very ^vdlj Q I ' Why [.8] Why was he not King then? Why, it happened unluckily that he would not accept the Offer, but withdrew himfelf from the Multitude, and lay con- cealed till they were difperfed. It will be fiid, perhaps, that Jefus was a better Judge of Affairs than the People, and faw that it was not yet time "to accept the Offer. Be it fo : Let us fee then what follows. The Government was alarmed, and Jefus was looked on as a Perfon dangerous to the States and he had Difcernment enough to fee, that his Death was determined and inevitable. What does he do then? Why, to make the beft of a bad Cafe, and to fave the Benefit of his Undertaking to thofewho were to fucceed him, he pretends to prophefy of his Death, which he knev/ could not be avoided: And further, that he Ihould rife again the Third Day.-— Men do not ufe to play Tricks in articuh mortis 'y but this Plot had nothing common, no- thing in the ordinary way. But what if it ihould appear, that after the foretelling of his Death, (thro' Defpair of his Fortunes, 'tis faid) he had it in his Power to fct up for King once more, and once more refufed the Opportunity? Men in De- fpair lay hold on the leafl Help, and never refufe the greateft. Now the Cafe was really fo> after he had foretold his Crucifixion, he Came to Jeru- falem in the triumphant manner the Gentleman mentioned: The People ftrew'd his Way with Boughs and Flowers, and were all at his Devotion j the J^wiJJj Governors lay ftill for fear of the Peo- ple. Why was not this Opportunity laid hold on' to feize the Kingdom, or at*8aft to fecure himfelf from ij from the ignominious Death he expeftcd? For whofc Sake was he contented to die? For whofc Sake did he contrive this Plot of his Rcfiirrection ? Wife and Children he had none^ his ncarcil Re- lations gave little Credit to him -, his Difciples were not fit even to be trufted with the Secret, nor capable to manage any Advantage that cou'd arifc from it. However, the Gentleman tells iis, a Kingdom has arifen out of this Plot, a Kingdom of Prieib. But when did it arife? Some hundred Years after the Death of Chrifl:, in Oppofiti on to his Will, and almoil; to the Subveriion of his Re- ligion. And yet, we are told, this Kingdom w^as the thing he had in view. I am apt to think the Gentleman is perfuaded, that the Dom.inion he complains of is contrary to the Spirit of the Go- fpelj I amfure fome of his Friends have taken great Pains to prove it fo. How then can it be charged as the Intention of the Gofpcl to introduce it? Whatever the Cafe was, it cannot farely be fuL peded, that Chrift died to make Popes and Car- dinals. The Alterations which have happened in the Doclrines and Practices of Churclies, iincc the Chriftian Religion w^as fettled by thofc who had an authentick Commiilion to fettle it, are quite out of the Queflion, when the Enquiry is about the Truth of the Chriftian Religion. Chriil and his Apollles did not vouch for the Truth of all that fhou'd be taught in the Church in future Times. Nay, they foretold and forewarned the World againft fuch corrupt Teachers. 'Tis thercfoic abfurd to challenge the Religion of Chriil, bc- caufc of the Corruptions which have fprcad a- mong [ 3^- ] Judge. Sir, If you go to new Matter, the Council on the other fide mail be admitted to nnfwer. Mr. A. My Lord, I have no luch Intention. I was obferving, that the Account I gave of Jc- fus was only to introduce the Evidence that is td be laid before the Court. It cannot be cxpc6i:ed that I fliould know all the fecret Defigns of this Contrivance > cfpecially confidering that we have but fliort Accounts of this Affair, and thofe too conveyed to us thro' Hands of Friends and Parties to the Plot. In fuch a Cafe, it is enough if we can imagine what the Vievv^s probably were. And in fdch Cafe too, it mufl be very cafy for a Gen- tleman of Parts to raife contrary Imaginations, and to argue plaufibly from them. But the Gentle- man has rightly obferved, that if the RefurreiSliori be a Fraud , there is an End of all Pretenfions, good or bad, that were to be fupported by it. Therefore I fhall go on to prove this Fraud, which is one main Part of the Caufe now to be deter- mined. I beg Leave to remind you, that Jefus, in his Life-time, foretold his Death, and that he fhould rife again the third Day. The firil Part of his Prediction was accompliflied 3 he died upon the Crofs, and was buried. I will not trouble you with the Particulars of his Crucifixion, Death, and Bu- rial. 'Tis a well known Story. Mr. B. My Lord, I defire to know whether the Gentleman charges any Fraud upon this Part of the Hiftory^ perhaps he may be of Opinion by and by, that there was a Sleight of Hand in the [33] the Crucifixion, and that Chrill: only countcr[f:lf cd Death. Mr. A. N05 no J have no fuch Fears 5 he was not crucify'd by his Difcipics, but by the Romans and ihcjc-wsy and they were in very good earnelL I will prove beyond Contradiction, that the dead Body was fairly laid in the Tomb, and the Tomb fealed up> and it will be well for you, if you can get it as fairly out again. Judge. Go on with your Evidence. Mr. J. My Lord, the Crucifixion being over, the dead Body Avas conveyed to a Sepulchre 3 and, in the general Opinion, there feem'd to be an End of the whole Defign. But the Governors of the Jews^ watchful for the Safety of the People, cal* led to mind, that Jefus in his Life-time had fiid, that he would rife again on the third Day, It may at firfl fight feem llrange, that they fliould give any Attention to fuch a Prophecy j a Prophecy big with Confidence and Prefumption, and which, to the common Senfe of Mankind, carried its Con- futation along with it. And " there's no other '' Nation in the World, which would not have " flighted fuch a vain Prognollication of a known " Impoftor.'' But they had warning to be watchful. It was not long before that the People ^' had like to have been fatally deluded, and im- *' pofed on by him, in the pretended Refufcirati* " on of Lazarus'^ They had fully difcovered the Cheat in the Cafe of Lazarus^ and had narrowly efcaped the dangerous Confequences of it. And tho' Jefus was dead, yet he had many Difciples and Followers alive, who were ready enough to com- £ bine [34] bine in any Fraud to verify the Prcdiftion of tlieif Maflcr. Should they fucceed, the Rulers fore- fjiw the Confcqucnces in this Cafe would be more fatal, than thofc which before they had narrowly efcapcd. Upon this Account they addrelTed them-* felves to the Roman Governor 3 told him how the Cafe wasj and deiired that lie would grant them a Guard to Vv^atch the Sepulchre j that the Service would not be long, for the Predidion limited the Refurre6]:ion to the third Day 5 and when that was over, the Soldiers might be releafed from the Du- ty. Pilate granted the Requcil:5 and a Guard was fct to watch the Sepulchre. This was not all. The Chief Priefls took another Method to prevent all Frauds, and it was the beft that could pofTibly be taken > which was to feal up the Door of the Sepulchre. To under- Hand to what Purpofe this Caution was ufed, you need only confider what is intended by fealing up Doors, and Boxes, or \Vritings. Is it not for the Satisfaction of all Parties concerned, that they may be f.jre things are in the State they left them, when they come and find their Seals not injured? This was the Method ufed by Darius^ when Da- rjel was call into the Lion's Den -, he fealed the Door of the Den. And for what Purpofe? Was it not to fatisfy himfelf and his Court, that no Art had been ufed to preferve Daniel? And when he came and faw Daniel Hife, and his own Seal un- touch'd, he was llitisfy'd. And indeed if we con- lider the thing rightly, a Seal thus ufed imports a Covenant: If you deliver Writings to a Perfoii fealedj and he accepts them fo, your Delivery and his [ 35 ] his Acceptance, implies a Covenant between you, that the Writings iliall be dehvcr'd, and the Seal whole. And lliould the Seal be broken, it would be a manifeft Fraud and Breach of Trull. Nay, fo llrongly is this Covenant implied, that there needs no fpecial Agreement in the Cafe. 'Tis a Compaa which Men arc put under by the Law of Nations, and the common Confent of AJankind. When you fend a Letter fcaled to the Pofl-houfc, you have not indeed a fpecial Agreement with all Perfons thro* whofe Hands it palTcs, that it fhall not be opened by any Hand, but his only to whom it is dircfted: Yet Men know themf-lves to be under thisReflraint, and that it is unlawful anddif- honourable to tranigrefs it. Since then the Sepulchre was fealed > fince the Seal imported a Covenant, confider who were the Parties to this Covenant. They could be no other than the chief Priefls on one Side, the Apoflles on the other. To prove this, no fpecial Agreement need be fhewn. On one fide, there was a Con- cern to fee the Prediaion fulfilled i on the other, to prevent Fraud in {umiling it. The Sum of their Agreement was naturally this: That the Seals fliould be opened at the time appointed for the Re- furreaion, that all Parties might fee and be fatif^ fied, whether the dead Body was come to Life, or no. What now would any reafonable Man exped' from thcfe Circum fiances? Don't you exped to hear that the chief Priefis and the Apoflles'met at the time appointed, opened the Seals, and that {he Matter in difputc was (^ettled beyond all Con^ E' ^ trpyeriy [3^3 trovc^^^ one way or other? But fee how it hap* pen''! The Seals were broken, the Body ftolen iiway in the Night by the Diiciplesj none of the chief '^riells pre Tent, or fummon'd to fee the Seals open'd. The Guards, when examined, were forc'd to confefs the Truth, tho' joined with an Acknow- ledgment of their Guilt, which made them liable to be punilli'd by Pilate-, they confeffed that they were afleep, and in the mean time that the Body was ftolen away by the Difciples. This Evidence of the Roman Soldiers, and the far ftronger Evidence arifing from the clandeftine Manner of breaking up the Seals, are fufficient Proofs of Fraud. But there is another Circumftance in the Cafe of equal Weight. Tho' the Seals did not prevent the Cheat entirely, yet they effed:ually falfified the Prediftion. According to the Prediftion, Jefus was to rife on the third Day, or after the third Day. At this Time the chief Priefts intended to be pre- fent, and probably would have been attended by a great Multitude. This made it impoflible to play any Tricks at that time, and therefore the Apoftles were forced to haften the Plotj and accordingly the Refurre6lion happened a Day before its time. For. the Body was buried on the Friday^ and was gone early in the Morning on Sunday. Thcfe are plain Fads 5 Fafts drawn from the Accounts given us by thofe who are Friends to the Belief of the Refurreftion. The Gentleman won't call thefe Imaginations, or complain that I have given him Schemes inftead of Evidence, Mr. B. C 37] Mr. S. My Lord, I am now to confider that Part of the Argument upon whieh the Gentleman Jays the greateft Strefs. He has given us his Evi- dence; mere Evidence, he (iiys, unmixed and clear of all Schemes and Imaginations. In one thing indeed he has been as good as his word; he has proved beyond Contradidlion, that Chrift died, and was laid in the Sepulchre; for without doubt when the Jews fealed the Stone, they took care to fee that the Bod\i- was there ; otherwife their Pre- caution was ufelefs. He has proved too, that the Prediftion of Chriil: concerning his own Refurre- ftion, was a thing publickly known in all Jcrufa^ lem-, for he owns that this gave Occafion for all the Care that was taken to prevent Fraud. If this open Predidion implies a fraudulent Defign, the Evidence is flrong with the Gentleman ; but if ic fhall appear to be, what it really was, the greateft Mark that could be given of Sincerity and plain Dealing in the whole Affair, the Evidence will be flill as flrong, but the Weight of it will fall on the wrong fide for the Gentleman's Purpofe. In the next place, the Gentleman feems to be at a great Lofs to account for the Credit which the chief Priefls gave to the Prediction of the Re- furreftion, by the Care they took to prevent it. He thinks the Thing in itfelf was too extravagant and abfurd to deferve any Regard ; and that no one would have regarded fuch aPredidion in any other Time or Place. I agree with the Gentleman en- tirely; But then I demand of him a Reafon why the chief Priefts were under any Concern about this Prediaion; Was it becaufe they had plainly difco? i vered C 383 vered him to be a Cheat and an Impoftor? 'Tis impofTiblc. This Reafon would have convinced them of the Folly and Prefumption of the Pre- di6lion. It muft therefore neceflarily be, that they had difcovered fomething in the Life and A6i:ions of Chrifl, which raifed this Jealoufy, and made them lillcn to a Prophecy in his Cafe, which in any other Cafe they would have defpifed. And what could this be but the fecret Convi^lion they were under by his many Miracles of his extraor*^ dinary Powers? This Care therefore of the chief Priefts over his dead, helplefs Body, is a lading Teftimony of the mighty Works which Jefus did in his Life-time. For had the Jews been perfua- ded that he performed no Wonders in his Life, I think they would not have been afraid of feeing any done by him after his Death. But the Gentleman is of another mind. He fays they had difcovered a plain Cheat in the Cafe of Lazarus^ whom Chrift had pretended to raile from the Dead 5 and therefore they took all this Care to guard againfl a like Cheat. I begin now to want Evidence 5 I am forbid to call this Imagination i what elfe to call it, I know not. There is not the lead Intimation given from Hiflory, that there was any Cheat in the Cafe of Lazarus^ or that any one fufpeded a Cheat. La- zarus lived in the Country after he was raifed from the Dead ^ and tho' his Life was fecretly and bafe- ly fought after, yet no body had the Courage to call him to a Tryal for his Part of the Cheat. It may be faid perhaps the Rulers were terrify'd. Very well: But they were not terrify'd when they }iad C 39 ] had Chrill in their Poflcflion, when they brought him to a Tiyalj why did they not then objc6l this Cheat to Chrift? It would have been much to their Purpofe. Inllead of that, they accufe him of a Defign to pull down their Temple, to deflroy their Law, and of Blafphcmy -, but not one word of any Fraud in the Cafe o'l Lazarus^ or any other Cafe. But not to enter into the Merits of this Caufe, which has in it too many Circum Trances for your prefent Confideration 5 let us take the Cafe to be as the Gentleman ftates it, That the Cheat, in the Cafe of Lazarus^ was deteded. What Confe- quence is to be expedbed ? In all other Cafes, Im- poftors, once difcovered, grow odious and con- temptible, and quite incapable of doing further Mifchief : So little are they regarded, that even when they tell the Truth, they are neglected. Was it fo in this Cafe ? No, fays the Gentleman, the Jews were the more careful that Chrift fhould not cheat them in his own Refurreftion. Surely this is a moll fingular Cafe : When the People thought him a Prophet, the chief Priefts fought to kill him, and thought his Death wou'd put an End to his Pretenfions : When they and the People had difcovered him to be a Cheat, then they thought him not fafe, even when he was dead, but were afraid he fhould prove a true Prophet, and, accord- ing to his own Prediftion, rife again. A nccdlefs, a prepoilerous Fear ! In the next place, the Gentleman tells us how proper the Care was that the chief Priefts took. I agree perfedly with him, Human Policy cou'd not invent [40 ] invent a more proper Method to guard againft and prevent all Fraud. They dehvcred the Sepulchre, with the dead Body in it, to a Company of Romayi Soldiers, who had Orders from their Officer to watch the Sepulchre. Their Care went further flill, they fealed the Door of the Sepulchre. Upon this Occafion, the Gentleman has ex* plained the ufc of Seals when applied to fuch Pur- pofcs. They imply, he fiiys, a Covenant that the Things fealed up fhall remain in the Condition they are, till the Parties to the fealing arc agreed to open them. I fee no Reafon to enter into the Learning about Seals : Let it be as the Gentleman has opened it. What then? Why then, it fecms, the Apoftles and chief Priefls were in a Covenant that there fliould be no Refurred:ion, at leafh no opening of the Door, till they met together at an appointed Time to view and unfeal the Door. YourLordfliip and the Court will now confider the ProbabiHty of this Suppofition. When Chrill was feized and carried to his Tryal, his Difciples fled, and hid themfelves for fear of the Jeivs^ out of a jufl Apprehcnfion that they fliould, if appre- hended, be fiicnficed with their Mafler. Peter indeed followed him, but his Courage foon failed, and 'tis well known in what manner he denied him. After the Death of Chrill, his Difciples were fo far from being ready to engage for his Re- furredion, or to enter into Terms and Agreements for the Manner in which it fliould be done, that they themfelves did not believe it ever wou'd be. They gave over all Hopes and Thoughts of it j and [4' ] and far from entring into Engagements with the Chief Priefls, their whole Concern was to keep themfeh'es concealed from them. This is a well known Cafe, and 1 will not trouble you wirh par- ticular Authorities to prove this Truth. Can any Man now in his right Senfes, ihink that the Dif- ciples, under thefe Circumllances, entred into this Covenant with the Jews? I believe the Gentle- man don't think it, and for that Reafon fays, that Seals fo ufed import a Covenant without a fpecial Agreement. Beitfo^ and it mud then be allow- ed, that the Apoflles were no more concerned in thefe Seals, than every other Man in the Country, and no more anfwerable for them ; for the Cove- nant reached to every body as well as to them, ilnce they were under no fpecial Contract. But I beg Pardon for fpending your Time un- neceffuily, when the fimple plain /Account of this Matter, will bell aniwer all thefe Jealoufies and Sufpicions. The Jews^ 'tis plain, were ex- ceedingly follicitous about this Event. For this Reafon they obtain'd a Guard from Pilate -y and when they had, they were flill fufpicious left their Guards fliould deceive them, and enter into Com- bination againft them. To fecure this Point, they fealed the Door, and required of the Guards to deliver up the Sepulchre to them fealed as it was. This is the natural and true Account of the Mat- ter. Do but condder it in a parallel Cafe > fuppofc a Prince fhould fet a Guard at the Door of his Treafuryj and the Officer who placed the Guard fhould feal the Door, and fay to the Soldiers, you fhall be anfwerable for the Seal if I find it broken i F Wou'd [ 4^ 3 Woifd not all the World underfland the Seal ta be fixed to guard againll the Soldiers, who might, tho' employ 'd to keep off others, be ready enough to pilfer themfelves ? This is in all fuch Cafes but a necellary Care > you may place Guards, and when you do, all is in their Power y Et quis cujiodes cufio-- diat ipfos ? But it feems, that notwithftanding all this Care, the Seals were broken, and the Body gone: If you complain of this. Sir, demand Satisfaction of your Guards, they only are refponfible for it. The Difciples had no more to do in it, than you or I. The Guards, the Gentleman fays, have confeffed the Truth, and owned that they were afleep,. and that the Difciples in the mean Time ftole away the Body. I wifh the Guards were inCourt^ 1 wou^d ask them, how they came to be fo pun- ftual in relating what happen'd when they were afleep 5. what induced them to believe that the Body was ftolen at all y what, that it was ftolen by the Difciples > fince by their own Confeffion they were afleep,, and faw nothings faw no body. But fince they are not to be had,. I wou'd defire to ask the Gentleman the fame Queftionsj and whether he has any Authorities in Point, to fhew that ever any Man was admitted as an Evidence in any Court to prove a Fad which happen'd when he was afleep. I fee the Gentleman is uneafy^ ril prefs the Matter no further. As this Story has no Evidence to (lipport it^ fo neither has it any Probabihty. The Gentleman has given you the Charader of the Difciples, that they were weak ignorant Men, full of the popu- 4 iar *? [43] lar Prejudices, and Supeiilitions of their Country^ which ftuck clofe to them, notwith Handing their long acquaintance with their Mafter. TJie Apo- ftles are not^nuch wronged in this Account. And is it likely that fuch Men fhould engage in fo def- perate a Defign as to ileal away the Body, in Op- pofition to the combined Power of the Jews and Romans ? What cou*d tempt them to it ? What good cou'd the dead Body do them ? or if it cou'd have done them any, what Hope had they to fucceed in -^ their i^ttempt? A dead Body is not to be removed by Height of Hand 5 it requires many Hands to move it. Befides, the great Stone at the Mouth of the Sepulchre was to be removed 5 which could not be done filently, or by Men walking on tip- toes to prevent Difcovery3 fo that if the Guards had really been afleep, yet there was no Encou- ragement to go on thisEntcrprize: For it is hardly polHble to fuppofe, but that rolling away the Stone, moving the Body, the Hurry and Confu- llon in carrying it off, muft awaken them. But fuppofing the thing practicable, yet the Attempt was fuch astheDifciplescondftently with their own Notions cou'd not undertake. The Gentleman fays, they continued all their Mailer's Life-time to expe£t to fee him a temporal Prince j and a Friend of the Gentleman's * has obfer- ved, what is equally true, that they had the fame Expedlation after his Death. Confider now their Cafe. Their Mailer was Dead> and they are to contrive to ileal away his Body. * Grounds, pag. ^3. F 2. For [44] For\vhat? Did they expect to make a King of the dead Body, if they cou'd get it into their Power? Or did they think, if they had it, they cou'd raife it to Life again? If they trufted fo far to their Mailer's Predi61:ion, as to expert his Re- furre6tion, (which I think is evident they did not) coLi'd they yet think theRerurre6lion depended on their having the dead Body ? It is in all Views ab- furd. But the Gentleman fuppofes, that they meant to carry on the DcCign for themfelves in their Ma- iler's Name, if they could but have perfuaded the People to believe him rifen from the Dead. But he does not confider, that by this Suppofition he ilrips the Difciples of every part of their Chara- fter at once, and prefents to us a new Set of Men in every refpec^ different from the former. The former Difciples were plain weak Men j but thefe arc bold, hardy, cunning, and contriving. The former were full of the Superflition of their Coun- try, and cxie(5led a Prince from the Authority of their Prophets > but thcfc are Defpifers of the Pro- phets, and of the Notions of their Countrymen, and are defigning to turn thefe Fables to their own Advantage : For it cannot be fuppofed that they believed the Prophets, and at the fame time thought to accomplifh, or defeat them, by fo manifeft a Cheat, to which they themfelves, at leaf!:, were confcious. But let us take leave of thefe Suppofitions, and fee how true the Evidence in this Cafe ftands. Guards were placed, and they did their Duty. But what arc Guards and Centinels againfl the Power of God ! An Angel of the Lord opened the Se- pulchre, [45] pulchre, the Guards kw him, and became like dead Men. This Account they gave to the chief Prieftsj who flill pcrfifting in their Obftinacy, bribed the Guards to tell the contradiftory Story, of their being afleep, and the Body flolen. I cannot but obferve to your Lordfliip, that all thefe Circumftances, fo much queftioned and fu- fpected, were neceflary Circum (lances, fuppofing the Refurreftion to be true. The Seal was bro- ken, the Body came out of the Sepulchre, the Guards were placed in vain to pi-event it. Be ic fo: I defire to know whether the Gentleman thinks that the Seal put God under Covenant -, or cou'd prefcribe to him a Method of performing this great Work ? Or whether he thinks the Guards were placed to maintain the Seal, in Oppofition to the Power of God? If he will maintain neither of thefe Points, then the opening the Seals, notwith- ftanding the Guard fet upon them, will be an Evi- dence, not of the Fraud, but of the Power of the Refurrcclion > and the Guards will have nothing to anfwer for, but only this, that they were not flronger than God. The Seal was a proper Check upon the Guards ; the Jews had no other Mean- ing in it j they cou'd not be fo llupid, as to ima- gine that they cou'd by this Contrivance difappoint theDefigns of Providence. And it is furprizing to hear thefe Circumftanccs made ufe of to prove the Refurre6]:ion to be a Fraud, which yet cou'd not but happen, fuppofing theRefurredVion to be true. But there is another Circumllance ftill, which the Gentleman reckons very material, and upon which, I find, great Strefs is laid. The Rcllir- reftioii reftion happened, we are told, a Day fooncr than the Predidion imported. The Reafon afligned for it is, that the Execution of the Plot at the Time appointed, was rendred im practicable, becaufe the Chief Pricils, and probably great Numbers of the People, were prepared to vifit the Sepulchre at that Time 5 and therefore the Difciples were un- der a Necellicy of haftening their Plot. This Obfervation is entirely inconfiftent with the Suppofition upon which the Reafoning (lands. The Gentleman has all along fuppofed the Refur- reftion to have been managed by Fraud, and nQfe??j# by Violence ; and indeed Violence, if there had been an Opportunity of ufing it, wou'd have been infignificant. Beating the Guards, and removing the dead Body by Force, wou'd have dcflroyed all Pretences to a Refurrection. Now furely the Guards, fuppofing them not to be enow in Number to withiland all Violence, were at leaft fufficicnt to prevent, or to difcover Fraud. What Occafion then to hallen the Plot for fear of Num- bers meeting at the Tomb, fince there were Num- bers always prefent fufficient to difcover any Fraud j the only Method that cou'd be ufed in the Cafe ? Suppofe then that we cou'd not give a fatisfa- 6lory Account of the way of reckoning the Time from the Crucifixion to the Refurrection 5 yet this we can fay. That the Refurredion happened du- ring the Time that the Guards had the Sepulchre in keepings and 'tisjmpoffible to imagine what Opportunity this cou'd give to Fraud. Had the Time been delayed, the Guards removed, and then a Refurreftion pretended, it might with fome co- lour [47 3 lour of Reafoii have been (aid. Why did he not come within his Time? Why did he chufe to come after his I'ime, when all Witneflcs, who had pa- tiently expeded the appointed Hour, were with- drawn? But now what is to be objeded? You think he came too foon. But were not your Guards at the Door when he came? Did they not fee what happened? And what other Satif- faflion cou'd you have had, fuppofing he had come a Day later? By flying of this, I do not mean to decline the Gentleman's Objection, which is founded upon a Miftake of a way of fpeaking, common to the Jews and other People > who, when they name any Number of Days and Years, include the iirll and the lall of the Days or Years to make up the Sum. Chrift, alluding to his own Rcfur- re<5tion, fays, In three Days I "will raife It up. The Angels report his Predidion thus, T^he Son of Man Jhall be crucify d^ and the third Day rife again. Elfe- where it is faid, after three Days-, and again, that he was to be in the Bowels of the Earth three Days and three Nights. Thefc ExprelHons are equivalent to each other, for we always reckon the Night into the Day, when we reckon by fo many Days. If you agree to do a thing ten Days hence, you llipulate for Forbearance for the Nights as well as Days •, and therefore in Reckoning, two Days, and two Days and two Nights, are the fime thing. That the Expref- lion, after three Days^ means inclufive Days, is proved by Grotius on Matt, xxvii. 63. and by others. The Prcdiftion therefore was, that he wou'd [48 ] wouM rife on the third Day. Now, he was cm- cify'd on Friday^ and buried > he lay in the Grave all Saturday^ and rofe early on Sunday Morning, But the Gentleman thinks he ought not to have rifen till Monday. Pray try what the Ufe of com- mon Language requires to be underftood in a like Cafe. Suppofe you were told, that your Friend iickned on Friday^ was let blood on Saturday^ and the third Day he died 5 what Day wou'd you think he died on? If you have any Doubt about it, put the Queftion to the firfb plain Man you meet, and he will refolve it. The Jews cou'd have no Doubt in this Cafe j for fo they praftifed in one of the highefl Points of their Law. Every Male Child was to be circumcifed on the eighth Day. How did they reckon the Days? Why, the Day of the Birth was one, and the Day of the Circumcifion another i and tho' a Child was born towards the very End of the firft Day, he was capable of Cir- cumcifion on any time of the eighth Day. And therefore it is not new nor flrange," that the third Day, in our Cafe, fliou'd be reckoned into the Number, tho' Chriil rofe at the very beginning of it. It is more flrange to reckon whole Years in this manner > and yet this is the conftant iMethod obferved in PtoJe?72y's Canon, the moll valuable Piece of ancient Chronology, next to the Bible, nov/ extant. If a King lived over the firll Day of a Year, and died the Week after, that v/hole Year is reckoned to his Reign. 1 have now gone through the fevcralObjeftions upon this Head J what Credit they may gain in this x^gp, I know not 5 but 'tis plain they had no Credit C 49 ] Credit when they were fiift fpread abroad; my 'tis evident that the very Pcrfons who fee abroad this Story of the Body being ilolen, did not be- lieve it thenifch^es. And not to iniill; here upon the plain Fa^l, which was, that the Guards were hired to tell this Lye by the chief Prieib, it will appear from the After-Conducl of the chief Priefts themfelves, that they were confcious that the Story was falfe. Not long after the Refurredion of Chrid, the Difciples having received new Power from above, appeared publickly in Jerufalem^ and in the very Temple, and teilified the Refurre6lioii of Chrill:, even before thofe who had murdered him. What now do the chief Prieils do? They feize upon the Apoilles, they threaten them, they beat them^ they fcourge them, and all to ftop their Mouths, infilling that they fhould fay no more oF the Matter. But why did they not, when they had the Difciples in their Power, charge them di- re6i:ly Vv^ith their notorious Cheat in Healing the Body, and expofethem to the People as I m pollers ? This had been much more to their Purpofe, than all their Menaces and ill Ufage, and would more eiFedlually have undcceiv'd the People. But of this not one Word is faid. They try to murder them, enter into Combinations to aiHiffinate them, prevail with Herod to put one of them to Death; but not fo much as a Charge againfl: them of any Fraud in the Refurredion. Their Orator Tertullus^ who could not have mifled fo fine a Topick of Declamation, had there been but a Sufpicion to fupport it, is quite filent on this Head, and is con- tent to flourilh on the Common-Place of Sedition Q and [50] and Herefy, ptoFaning the Temple, and the h'kej very Trifles to his Caufe, in comparifon to the other Accudxtion, had there been any Ground to make ufe of it. And yet as it happens, we are fure the very Qiieflion of the Refurre6tion came under Debate j for Fefius tells King Agrippa^ that the Jews had certain Queftions againfl: Paul^ of one Jefus which was dead^ whom Paul affirmed to he alive. After this, Agrippa hears Paul himfelf 3 and had he fufpe^led, much Icfs had he been con- vinced that there was a Cheat in the Refurre^tion, he would hardly have faid to Paul at the End of the Conference, Almofl thou perfuadefl me to he a Chriftian. But let us fee what the Council and Senate of the Children of Ifrael thought of this Matter, in the nioft folemn and ferious Deliberation they ever had about it. * Not long after the Refurredbion, the Apoflles were taken 5 the High Priefb thought the Matter of that Weight, that he fummon- ed the Council and Senate of the Children of Ifrael. The Apoflles are brought before them, and make their Defence. Part of their Defence is in thefe Words; ^he God of our Fa- thers raifed up Jefus^ whom ye flew and hanged on a 'Tree. The Defence was indeed a heavy Charge upon the Senate, and in the Warmth of their An- ger, their firfl Refolution was to flay them all. But Gamaliel^ one of the Council, flood up, and told them, that the Matter deferved more Confede- ration. He recounted to them the Hillary of fe- * Aas v^ vera! [ 5- ] vcral Impoflors who had periflicd, and concluded with refpeft to the Cafe of the Apollles then be- fore them J If this JVork he of Men^ it tvill come to nought 'y But if it be of God^ ye cannot overthrow it, left haply ye be found to fight againft God. The Council agreed to this Advice, and after fome ill I'reatmcnt, the x^poftles were difcharged. I ask now, and let any Man of common Senfe anfwer^ Could Gamaliel poflibly have given this Advice, and fuppofed that the Hand of God might be with the Apollles, it he had known that there was a Cheat difcovered in the Refurrc<5]:ion of Jcfus? Could the whole Senate have followed this Advice, had they believed the Difcovery of the Cheat ? Was there not among them one A4an wife enough tofiy, How can you fuppofe God to have any thing to do in this Affair, when the Refurredion of Jefus, upon v/hich ail depends, was a notorious Cheat, and ma- nifeftly proved to be fo? I fhould but lefien the Weight of this Authority by faying more, and therefore I will reft here, and give way to the Gentleman to go on with his Accufition. Mr. ^. My Lord, Before I proceed any fur-^ ther, I beg leave to fay a few Words in Reply to what the Gentleman has offered on this Head. The Gentleman thinks that the Dete6tion in the Cafe o£ Lazarus ought to have made the Jews quite unconcerned in the Cafe ofjefusj and fecure as to the Event of his own Rcfurre^lion. He fays very true, fuppofing their Care had been for them- felves : But Governors have another Care upon their Hands, the Care of their People -, and 'tis not enough for them to guard againd being im- G z pofed [ s^ 1 pofed on themfelves, they mud be watchful to guard the Multitude againft Fmuds and Deceits. The chief Pricfls were fatisfied indeed of the Fraud in the Cafe of Lazarus^ yet they faw the People deceived by it -, and for this Reafon , and not for their own Satisfidion , they ufed the Cau- tion in the Cafe of the RefurrciSlion of Jefu^, which I before laid before you. In fo doing, they are well juftiiicd, and the Inconfiftency charged on the other fide, between their Opinion of Je- fus, and their Fear of being impofed on by his pre- tended Refurreclion, is fully anfwered. The next Obfervation relates to the Seal of the Sepulchre. The Gentleman thinks the Seal was ufed as a Check upon the Roman Soldiers. But what Reafon had the Jews to fufpcd them ? They were not Difciples of Jefus^ they were Ser- vants of the Roman Governor, and employed in the Service of the Jeivs : And I leave it to the Court to judge, whether the Jews fct the Seal to guard againfl their Friends, or their Enemies. But if the Seals were really ufed againft the Guards, then the breaking of the Seals is a Proof that the Guards were corrupted : And if fo , 'tis cafy to conceive how the Body was removed. As to the Difciples, the Gentleman obferves, that the Part allotted them in the Management of theRefurreclionfuppofes an unaccountable Change in their Character. It will not be long before the Gentleman will have Occafion for as great a Change in their Character 3 for thcfe weak Men you will find foon employed in converting the World, and fent to appear before Kings and Princes in the Name [ r. ] Name of their Miilicr j foon you will fee them grow wife and powerful, and every w^ay quahfied for their cxtcnfivc and important Bufinefs. The only difference between me and the Gentleman ou the other fide will be found to be this, that 1 date this Change a little earlier than he does. A fmall matter furely, to determine the Right of thisCon- troverfy. The laft Obfervation relates to King Jgrlp. pa's Cornplaiflmce to Paid^ and Gamaliers Ad- vice. I cannot anfwer for Agrlppa's Meaning, but certainly he meant but little > and if this mat- ter is to be tryed by his Opinion, we know that he never did turn Chriflian. As for Gamaliel^ 'tis probable that he {\\\ it was thought proper in this Cafe, to have feleft chofen Aasx. 41. WitnefTesj C 55 1 WitnefTcsj and wc muft now confidcr who they were, and what Reafon we have to take their Word. The firfl: Witnefs was an Angel, or Angels: They appeared like Men to fome Women who went early to the Sepulchre. If they appeared like Men, upon what ground are we to take them for Angels ? The Women faw Men, and therefore they can witnefs only to the feeing of Men : But I fuppofeit is the Womens Judgment, and not their Evidence that we are to follow in this Cafe. Here then we have a Story of one Apparition to fupporC the Credit of another Apparition 5 and the firft Apparition hath not fo much as the Evidence of the Women to fupport it, but is grounded on their Superftition, Ignorance, and Fear. Every Coun- try can afford an hundred Inftances of this Kind 5 and there is this common to them all, that as Learning and Common Senfe prevail in any Coun- try, they die away and are no more heard of. The next WitnefTes are the Women them- felves: The wifeft Men can hardly guard them- felves againfl: the Fears of Supcrftition > poor filly Women therefore in this Cafe muft needs be un- exceptionable Witneflcsj and fit to be admitted into the number of the chofen Witncflcs to atteft this Faft. One part of the Account given of them is very rational, that they were furprizcd and frightned beyond Meafurej and I leave it to your Lordfiiip and the Court to judge, how well quali- fied they were to give a juft Relation of what paf- fed. 4- After /Vftcr this, Jcfus appears to two of his Difci- pies as they were upon a Journey j he joins them, and introduces a Difcouric about himfclfj and fpent much time, till it began to grow dark, in expounding the Prophecies relating to the Death and Rerurrc(5cion of the Meilias. All this while the Difciples knew him not. But then going in- to an Houfe to lodge together, at Supper he broke Bread, and gave it to them ; immediately they knew him, immediately he vanifli'd. Hcic then are two Witnefles more : But what will you call them? Eye- Witnefles? Why their Eyes were open, and they had their Senfes, when he reafoned with them and they knew him not. So far there- fore they are Witnefles that it was not he. Tell us therefore upon what Account you rejecb the E- vidence of their Senfc, before the breaking of the Bread, and infill on it afterwards? And why did Jefus vanifli as foon as known j which has more of the Air of an Apparition, than of the Appearance of a real Man refl;ored to Life? Ckopas^ who was one of thefe two Difciples, finds out thcx^.pofllcs, to make the Report of what had pafl^ed to them. No fooner was the Story told,- but Jcfus appears among them. They were all frighten'd and confounded, and thought they fliw a Speftre. He rebukes them for Infidelity, and their Slownefs in believing the Prophecies of his Pvcfurreftion j and tho' he refufed before to let the Women touch him , ( a Circumfl:ance which I ought not to have omitted -, ) yet now he invites the Apoilles to handle him, to examine his Hands and Feet, and fearch the Wounds of the Crofs. But- t 57 ] But wh:it Body was it they exumin'd ? The fume that came in when the Doors were fhut j the fame that vanilli'd from the two Difciplcs j the fime that the Women might not touch: In a word, a Body quite different from an human Body, which we know cannot pafs thro* Walls, or appear or difappear at pleafure. What then cou'd their Hands or Eyes inform them of in this Cafe ? Be- fidesj is it credible that God ihould raife a Body imperfeftly, with the very Wounds in it of which it died? Or if the Wounds were fuch as deflroy'd •the Body before, how could a natural Body Tub fill with them afterwards ? There are more Appearances of Jefus recorded, but fo much of the fame kind, fo liable to the fame Difficulties and Obje6i:ions, that I will not trouble yourLordihip and the Court with adiftinft Enumeration of them. If the Gentleman on the other fide finds any Advantage in any of them, more than in thefe mentioned, I fhall have an Op- portunity to confider them in my Reply. It may feem furprizing to you perhaps, that a Matter of this Moment was truiled upon flich E- vidence as this; But it will be flillmore furprizing to confider that the feveral Nations who receiv'd the Gofpel, and fubmitted to the Faith of this Ar- ticle, had not even this Evidence: For what Peo- ple or Nation had the Evidence of the Angels, the Women, or even of all the Apoflles? So far from it, that every Country had its f ingle Apoflle, and receiv'd the Faith upon the Credit of his finglc Evidence. We have followed our Anceflors with- out Enquiry} and if you examine the thing to the H bottom C5S] bottom, our Belief was originally built upon the Word of one Man. I fhall trouble you, Sir, but with one ObfeiTa- tion more, which is this : That altho' in common Life we a6b in a thoufand Tnlliances upon the Faith and Credit of human Teilimony j yet the Reafon for fo doing is not the fame in the Cafe before us. In common Affairs, where nothing is aflerted bur what is probable, and pofTiblc, and according to the ufual Courfe of Nature, a reafonable Degree of Evidence ought to determine every Man. For the very Probability, or PofTibility of the thing, is a Support to the Evidence -, and in fuch Cafes we have no Doubt but a Man's Senfes quaUfy him to be a Witnefs. But when the thing teftified ii contrary to the Order of Nature, and, at firft fight at lead, impofUblc, what Evidence can be fuf^ici- cnt to overturn the conllant Evidence of Nature, which fhe gives us in theconilant and regular Me- thod of her Operations? If a Man tells me he has been in France, I ought to give a Reafon for not believing him > but if he tells me he comes from the Grave, what Reafon can he give why I ihould believe him ? In the Cafe before us, fince the Bo- dy raifed from the Grave differed from common natural Bodies, as we have before feen> how can I be afTured that the Apoflles Senfes quahfied them to judge at all of this Body, whether it was the fame, or not the fame which was buried? They handled the Body, which yet could pafs through Doors and Walls j they faw it, and fometimes knew it, at other times knew it not. In a word, it feems to be a Cafe exempt from human Evidence. Men [ 59 ] Men have limited Scnfes, and a limited Reafon > when they a6l within their Limits, we may give Credit to them^ bat when they talk of things re- moved beyond the Reach of their Senfes and Rea- fon, we muft quit our own, if we believe theirs. Mr. B. My Lord, Li anfwering the Obje^i- ons under this Head, I fhall find my felf obliged to change the Order in which the Gentleman thought proper to place them. He began with complain- ing, that Chrill did not appear puWickly to the Jews after his Rcfarre(5lion, and efpecially to the chief Priells and Rulers j and feem'd to argue, as if fuch Evidence would have put the Matter in quelfion out of all doubt 5 but he concluded with an Obfcrvation, to prove that no Evidence in this Cafe can be fufficient 5 that a Refurreftion is a thing in Nature impoflible, at leail impofTible to be proved to the Satisfi6tion of a rational Enqui- rer. If this be the Cafe, why does he require more Evidence, fince none can be fufficient ? Or to whatPurpofc is it to vindicate the particular E- vidence of the Refurre^lion of Chrifl, fo long as this general Prejudice, that a Refurreclion is inca- pable of being proved, remains unremovcd ? I am under a Neceflity therefore to confider this Obfcr- vation in the firil place, that it may not lie as a dead Weight upon all I have to offer in Support gf the Evidence of Chrifb's Refurre6lion. The Gentleman allows it to be reafonable in ma- ny Cafes to a61: upon the Teftimony and Credit of others j but he thinks this fhould be confined to fuch Cafes, where the Thing teftified is -prohahky ^ojfibk^ and accordwg to the ufual Cotirfe of Natitre^ H i The UJo ] The Gentleman does not, I fuppofe, pretend to know the Extent of all natural PofTibilities, much Icfs will he fuppofe them to be generally known j and therefore his Meaning mull: be, that theTefti- mony of Witneflcs is to be receiv'd only in Cafes "which appear to us to be polTible. In any other Senfe we can have no Difputej for mere Impofli- bilities which can never exifl, can never be proved. Taking the Obfervation therefore in this Senfe, the Propofition is this : That the Teftimony of others ought not to be admitted, but in fuch Mat- ters as appear probable, or at lead poilible to our Conceptions. For Intonce : A Man who lives in a warm Climate, and never faw Ice, ought upon no Evidence to beheve that Rivers freeze and grow hard in cold Countries 5 for this is improbable, contrary to the ufual Courfe of Nature > and impollible ac- cording to his Notion of Things. And yet we all know that this is a plain manifefh Cafe, difcer^ nible by the Senfes of Men, of which therefore they are qualified to be good Witneflcs. An hun- dred fuch Inftances might be named, but 'tis need- lefs > for furely nothing is more apparently abfurd, than to make one Man's AbiHty in difcerning, and his Veracity in reporting plain Fa6ts, depend up- on the Skill or Ignorance of the Hearer. And what has the Gentleman faid, upon this Occafion, againfl the Refurre61:ion5 more than any Man^ who never faw Ice, might fay againfl; an hundred honeft WitnefTes, who aflert that Water turns to Ice in cold Climates ? 'Tis very true, that Men do not fo eafily be- lieve upon Teilimony of others, things which to them [6i ] them feem Improbable or impoffiblc j but the Rea- fon is not, bccaufc the Thing itfelf admits of no E- vldencc, but becaufe tlie Hearer's preconceived Opi- nion outweighs the Credit of the Reporter, and makes his Veracity to be called in queftion. For Inftance: 'Tis natural for a Stone to roll down Hill, 'tis unnatural for it to roll up Hill: but a Stone moving up Hill is as much the Object of Senfe, as a Stone moving down Hill; and all Men in their Senfes are as capable of feeing and judging, and reporting the Fact in one Cafe, as in the other. Shou'd a Man then tell you, that he faw a Stone go up Hill of its own accord, you might queftion his Veracity, but you cou'd not fiy the thing ad- mitted no Evidence, becaufe it was contrary to the Law and ufual Courfe of Natiu'e ; For the Law of Nature formed to yourfelf from your own Expe- rience and Reafoning, is quite independent of the Matter of Fafl: which the Man tcftifies ; and when- ever you fee Facts yourfelf, which contradift your Notions of the Lav/ of Nature, you admit the Fadls, becaufe you believe yourfelf: when you do not admit hke Fa6t:s upon the Evidence of others, it is becaufe you do not believe them -, and not be- caufe the Fafts in their own Nature exclude all E- vidence. Suppofe a Man fhou'd tell you, that he was come from the Dead : You wou'd be apt to fufpecl: his Evidence. But what wou'd you fufpeft? That he was not alive, when you heard him, faw him, felc him, and converfed with him? You cou'd not fufpe6t this, without giving up all your Senfes, and afting in this Cafe as you a6t in no other. Here then then you wou'd queftion, whether the Man had ever been dead. But wou'd you fay, that it is in- capable of being made plain by human Tcftimo- iiy, that this or that Man died a Year ago ? It can't be faid. Evidence in this Cafe is admitted in all Courts perpetually. Confider it the other way. Suppofc you faw a Man publickly executed, his Body afterwards wounded by the Executioner, and carry'd and laid in the Grave; that after this you ihou'd be told, that the Man was come to Life again; What wou'd you fufped in this Cafe? Not that the Man had never been dead ; for that you faw yourfelf: But you wou*d fufped whether he was now alive. But wou'd you fay, this Cafe excluded all human Teftimony^ and that Men cou*d not pofhbly difcern, whether one with whom they convers'd familiarly, was alive or no ? Upon what Ground cou'd you fiy this ? A Man rifing from the Grave is an Objea: of Senfe, and can give the fame Evidence of his be- ing alive, as any other Man in the World can give. So that a Refurredion confider'd only as a Fad to be prov'd by Evidence, is a plain Cafe ; it requires no greater Ability in the Witnefles, than that they be able to diftinguifli between a Man dead, and a Man alive : A Point, in which I believe every Man living thinks himfelf a Judge. I do allow that this Cafe, and others of like na- ture, require more Evidence to give them Credit than ordinary Cafes do. You may therefore re- quire more Evidence in thefc, than in other Cafes 5 but it is abfurd to fay, that fu^h Cafes admit no Evidence, when the Things in queilion are>mani- feilly Objects of Senle. I allow further, that the Gentleman has rightly ftated the Difficulty upon the Foot of common Prejudice i and that it arifcs from hence, that fiich Cafes appear to be contrary to the Courfe of Na- ture. But I delire him to confider what this Courfe of Nature is. Every Man, from the lowed Countryman to the higheft Philofopher, frames to himfelf from his Experience and Obfervation a Notion of a Courfe of Nature j and is ready to fay of every thing reported to him that contradifts his Experience, that it is contrary to Nature. But will the Gentleman fay that every thing is fmpoflible, or even improbable, that contradifls the Notion which Men frame to themfclves of the Courfe of Nature? I think he will not fay it. And if he will, he muft fay that Water can never freeze, for it is abfolutely inconfiflent with the Notion which Men have of the Courfe of Nature, who live in the warm Climates. And hence it appears, that when Men talk of the Courfe of Na- ture, they really talk of their own Prejudices and Imaginations, and that Senfe and Reafon are not fo much concerned in the Cafe as the Gentleman imagines. For I ask. Is it from the Evidence of Senfe, or the Evidence of Reafon, that People of warm Climates think it contrary to Nature, that Water fhould grov/ folid and become Ice? As for Senfe, they fee indeed that Water with them is always Liquid, but none of their Senfcs tell them that it can never grow Solid 5 as for Reafon it can never fo inform them^^or right Reafon can never contra- [ ^4 ] Contmdia the Truth of things. Our Senfes then inform us rightly what the ufual Courfe of Things h'y but when we conclude that things cannot be othervvife, we outrun the Information of our Sen- fes, and the Conckifion ftands upon Prejudice, and not upon Rcafon. And yet fuch Conclufions form what is generally called the Courfe of Nature. And when Men upon proper Evidence and Infor- mations admit things contrary to this prefuppofed Courfe of Nature, they do not, as the Gentleman expreffes it, qulf their own Senfe and Reafon^ but, in ti'uth, they quit their own Miftakes and Preju- dices. In the Cafe before us, the Cafe of the Refur- reftion > the great Difficulty arifes from the like Prejudice : We all know by Experience that all Men die, and rife no more. Therefore we con- clude, that for a dead Man to rife to Life again, is contrary to the Courfe of Nature : and certain- ly it is contrary to the uniform and fettled Courfe of Things. But if we argue from hence, that it is contrary and repugnant to the real Laws 'of Na- ture, and abfolutely impoffible on that Account, we argue without any Foundation to fupport us either from our Senfes or our Reafon. We can- not learn from our Eyes, or Feeling, or any other Senfe, that it is impoffible for a dead Body to live again : If we learn it at all, it muft be from our Reafon J and yet what one Maxim of Reafon is contradifted by the Suppofition of a Refurredion ? For my own part, when I confider how I hvej that all the Animal Motions necefTary to my Life are independent of my Will 3 that my Heart beats z without [^^ ] without my Confent, and without my Dirc£lion ^ that Digeflion and Nutrition arc performed by Methods to which I am not confciousi that my Blood moves in a perpetual round j which is con- trary to all known Laws of Motion > I cannot but think that the Prefervation of my Life, in every Moment of it, is as great an Ad of Power, as is iieceilary to raife a dead Man to Life. And who^ ever fo fir refleds upon his ov/n Being, as to ac- knowledge that he ovv^es it to a fuperior Power, mull: needs think that the fame Power which gave Life to fenfelefs Matter at firfc, and fet all the Springs and Movements a going at the beginning, can refbore Life to a dead Body. For furely it is not a greater thing to give Life to a Body once dead, than to a Body that never was alive. In the next Place- mull be confidered the Diffi- culties which the Gentleman has laid before you, with regard to the Nature of Chrill's Body after the Refurre£lion. He has produced fomePaflages which, he thinks, imply, that the Body was not a real natural Body, but a mere Phantom, or Ap- parition j and thence concludes^ that there being no real Objcft of Senfc, there can be no Evidence in the Cafe. Prefumptions arc of no Weight againd pofitivc Evidence > and every Account of the Rcfurreflion afTures us, that the Body of Chrill was Cccn^ felt, and handled by many Perfons > who were called upon by Chriil fo to do, that they might be aflli- red that he had Flcfh and Bones, and was not a mere Spectre, as they, in their firil: Surprize, ima- gined him to be. 'Tis impoffiblc that they, who I give I 66-] give this Account, ihould mean by any thing they report, to imply that he had no real Body. 'Tis certain then, that when the Gentleman makes ufe of what they fliy to this purpoP?, he ufes their Say- ings contrary to their Meaning. For 'tis not pre- tended that they fay, thatChrifl had not a real hu- man Body after the Refurrectionj nor is it pre- tended they had any fuch Thought, except only upon the nril Surprize of feeing him, and before they had examined him with their Eyes and Hands. But fomcthing they have faid, which the Gentle- man, according to his Notions of Philofophy, thinks, implies that the Body was not real. To clear this Point therefore, I mull lay before you the PalTages referred to, and confider how juftly the Gentleman reafons from them. The fi r ft Paffagc relates to Mary Magdaler^^who^ the firft time fhe faw Chrift, was going to cm^ brace his Feet, as the Guftom of the Country was: Chrift fays to her, '^ 'Touch 7ne not^ for I am not yet afcended to my Father ^ hut go to my Brethren^ and tell them^ 6cc. Hence the Gentleman concludes, that Chrift's Body was not fuch an one as wou'd bear the Touch. But how does he infer this ? Is it from thcfe Words, Touch me not? It cannot be: For Thoufands fay it every Day, without giving the Icaft Sufpicion that their Bodies are not capa- ble of being touched. TheConclufton then muft- be built on thofe other Words, For I am not yet afcended to my Father. But what have thefe Words to do with the Reality of his Body ? It might be real or not real, for any thing that is here faid. There is a Difficulty in thefe Words, and it may * John xs. 17. be be hard to give the true Senfc oF them> but there is no Dillicuky in feeing that they have no relation to the Nature of Chnirs Body j for of his Body nothing is faid. The natural Senfe of the Place, as I colled by comparing this PaiHige with AlaU, xxviii. p. is this : Mary Magdalen^ upon feeing Je- fus, fell at his Feet, and laid hold of them, and held them as if flie meant never to let them go : Chrill fiid to her, " Touch me not, or hang not '' about me now, you will have other Opportuni- " ties of feeing me, for I go not yet to my Father j " lofe no time then, but go quickly with myMei* ^' fige to my Brethren." I am not concerned to fupport this particular Interpretation of the Paf- lagej it is fuliicient to my Purpofe, to ihew that the Words cannot poffibly relate to the Nature of GhrilFs Body one way or other. The next Pailage relates to Chrift's joining two of his Difciples upon the Road, and converfing with them without being known by them ; It grew dark, they prefled him to flay with them that Night 5 he went in with them, broke Bread, and blefTed it, and gave it them, and then they knew him J and immediately he difappeared. The Circum fiance of difappearing fhall be con- fidered under the next Head, with other Objecti- ons of the like kind : At prefent I ihall only exa- mine the other Parts of this Story, and enquire whether they afford any Ground to conclude that the Body of Chrifl was not a real one. Had this Piece of Hillory been related of any other Perfon^ I think no fuch Sufpicion cou'd have arifen : For what is there unnatural or uncommon in this Ac- I 2i count? t 68 ] counl? Two Men meet an Acquaintance whom they thought deadj they converfe with him for fomc time without fufpcding who he wasj the Very Perfuafion they were under that he was dead, contributed greatly to their not knowing him j befides, he appeared in an Habit and Form diffe- rent from, what he ufed when he convcrsM with them ; appeared to them on a Journey, and walk- ed with th-em iide by fide j in which Situation no one of the Com.pany has a full View of another. Afterwards, when they were at Supper together, and Lights brought in, they plainly difcerntd who he was. Upon this Occalion, the Gentleman asks what fort of WitnelTes thefe are> Eye- Witnefles ? No J before Supper they were Eye- Witncfies, fays the Gentleman, that the Perfon whom they faw was notChriilr And then he demands aReafon for our rejefting the Evidence of their Senfe when they did not know ChriH:, and infifting on it when they did. It is no uncommon thing for Men to catch themfelves and others by fuch notable acute Qiie- flions, and to be led by the Sprightlinefs of their Imagination out of the Road of Truth and com^ mon Senfe. I beg leave to tell the Gentleman a ihoYt Story, and then to ask him hisownQueftion. A certain Gentleman who had been fomc Years abroad, happened in his Return loE?igIand through Paris to meet his own Sifter there. She not cx- peding to fee him there, nor he to fee her, they converfed together ^vith other Company, at a pub- lick Houfc, for great part of a Day, without know- ing each other. At iaft the Lady began to (hew great great Signs of Diforderj her Colo.nr came dnd went, and the Eyes of the Company were drawn towards her^ and then fhc cried out. Oh my Brother ! and was hardly held from fainting. Sup- pofe now this Lady were to depofe upon Oath in a Court of Jufiice, that flie fluv her Brother at Paris -y I would ask the Gentleman, Whether he would objedl to the Evidence, and fay that ilic was as good an Eye-witnefs that her Brother was not there, as that he wasj and demand of the Court, why they rejedled the Evidence of her Senfes when fhe did not know her Brother, and were ready to believe it when flie did ? When the Queftion is anfwered in this Cafe, I defire only to have the Benefit of it in the Cafe now before you. But if you iliall be of Opinion that there was fomc extraordinary Power ufed on this Occafion, and incline to think that tl\e Expreffion, (their Eyes were holdcn) imports as much % then the Cafe will fall under tlie next Article. In which We are to confider Chriil's vanifhing out of Sight ', his coming in and going out when the Doors were fhut j and fuch like PafPages^ which, as they fall under one Confideration, fo I fliall fpeak to them together. But 'tis neceflary firfl to fee what the Apoftles af- firm dillin6lly in their Accounts of thefc Fail's > for I think more has been fiiid for them, than ever they faid, or intended to fay for thcmfclves. In one Place * it is laid, he z^anijljcd cut of their fi^bt. Which Tranflation is corrected in the Margin of * Lukq xxiv. 31. our C7o] our Bibles thus, he ceafed to be fee n of them. And the Original -f imports no more. It is fliid in another Place, that the Difciples be- ing together, and the doors flmt^ Jefus came and flood in the midil of them. How he came is not faid: Much Icfs is it faid that he came through the Door, or the Key-hole 5 and for any thing that is faid to the contrary, he might come in at the Door, tho' the Difciples faw not the Door open, nor him, till he was in the midft of them. But the Gentleman thinks thcfe Paflagcs prove that the Difciples fiw no real Body, but an Apparition. I am afraid that the Gentlem.an after all his Con- tempt of Apparitions, and the Superflition on which they are founded, is fallen into the Snare himfclf, and is arguing upon no better Principles than the common Notions which the Vulgar have of Apparitions. Why elfe does he imagine thefe Paflliges to be inconflfieiU with the Reality of Chriil's Body? L tliere no way for a real Body to diiappear ? Try the Experiment now y do but put out the Candles, we fhall all dii^ippcar : If a Man falls afleep in the Day-time, all things difip- pear to him 3 his Senfes are all lock'd up^ and yet all things about him continue to be real, and his Senfes continue perfeft. As lliutting out all Rays of Light would make all things difappear> fo in- tercepting the Rays of Light from any particular Body would make that difappear. Perhaps fome- thing like this was the Cafe 5 or perhaps fomething elfe, of which we know nothing. But be the t A(pAYlQ- f}& Thomas talks only of putting his Finger into the Print, that is, the Scar of the Nails, and of thruft- in^ his Hand into his Side. And in common Spcccti, to thruft an Hand into any one's Side. J. -' ;* John X2. 27. 4 does [73] does not (ignify to thruit it through the Side into the Bowels. Upon this Tnterpretntion of the Words, which is a plain and natural one, the Gen- tleman's Objeflion is quite gone. But fuppolc 27}^;/Aw to mean what the Gentleman means 5 in that Cafe the Words of Chriil arc raanifeftly a fevere Reproach to him for his Infidelity : Here, f-iys Chriil, are my Hands and my Side , take the Satisfaction you require > thrufl your Fingers into my Hands, your Hand into my Side^ repeating to him his own Words, and calling him to his own Conditions 5 which, to a Man beginning to fee his Extravagance, is of all Rebukes the feverefi:. Such Forms of Speech arc ufed on many Occa- fions, and are never underftood to import that the thing propofed is proper, or always pra6licable. When the Grecian Women reproached their Sons with Cowardice, and called to them as they were flying from the Enemy, to come and hide them- felves once more, like Children as they were, in their Mothers Wombs > he would have been ridi- culous who had asked the Queilion, Whether the Women really thought that they cou'd take their Sons into their Wombs again? I have now gone through the Objections which were necefTarily to be removed before I could (late the Evidence in this Cafe. I am fenfible I have taken up too much of your Time> but 1 have this to fay in my Excufej That Objections built On popular Notions and Prejudices, are cafily con- veyed to the Mind in few Words 3 and fa conveyed, make flrong Impreflions ; But who- ever anfwers the Objedions, muli encounter all K th3 [74] the Notions to which they are allied, and to which they owe their Strength > and 'tis well if with many \¥ords he can find Admittance. I come now to confidcr the Evidence on which our Belief of the Refarrcftion ftands. And here I am Hopped again. A general Exception is taken to the Evidence, that it is imperfc61:5 unfair 5 and a Qiiellion is asked. Why did not Chrift ap- pear publickly to all the People, efpecially to the Magiilrates ? Why were fome WitnelTes culled and cliofen out, and others excluded ? It may be fufficient perhaps to fliy, that where there are WitnefTes enow, no Judge, no Jury complains for want of more ; and therefore, if the Witnefies we have are fufficient, 'tis no Ob- jeftion that we have not others, and more. If three credible Men attefl a Will, which are as many as the Law requires, would any Body ask, Why all the Town were not called to fet their Hands ? But why were thefe WitnelTes culled and chofen out ? Why ? For this Reafon, that they might be good ones. Does not every wife Man chufe proper WitnelTes to his Deed and to his Will? And does not a good Choice of Wit- nelTes give Strength to every Deed ? How com.es it to pafs then, that the very thing which ihuts out all Sufpicion in other Cafes, Ihould in this Cafe only, be of all others , the moll fufpicious thing itfelf ? What reafon there is to make any Complaints on the behalf of the Jews, may be judged, in part, from what has already appeared. Chrift fuffered openly in their fight j and they were fo 2, well I C 75] well apprized of bis Predidbion , that he fliould rife again, that they fet a Guard on his Sepulchres and from their Guards they learnt the Truth. Every Soldier was to them a Witnefs of the Re- ft irre6tion of their own chufing. After this, thcv had not one ApofHe, (which the Gentleman ob- feives was the Cafe of other People) but all the Apoftles, and many other Witnefles with them, and in their Power. The Apoflles tellified the Refurreftion to them 5 not only to the People, but to the Elders of Ifracl aflembled in Senate : To fupport their Evidence, they were enabled to work, and did work Miracles openly in the Name of Chrift. Thefe People therefore have the leaft Reafon to complain ^ and had of all others the fullell Evidence 3 and in fome refpefts fuch as none but themfelves cou'd have, for they only were Keepers of the Sepulchre. I believe, if the Gen- tleman was to chufe an Evidence to his own Satif^ faction in the like Cafe, he would defire no more than to keep the Sepulchre, with a fufficient num-^ ber of Guards. But the Argument goes further. It is fiid that Jcfus was fent with a fpccial Commillion to the Jews^ that he was their Meilias 5 and as his Refur- reclion was his main Credential, he ought to have appeared publickly to t}ie Rulers of the Jews af-^ ter his Refurrecliouj that in doing otherwife, he acted like an AmbafTador pretending Authority from his Prince, but refufing to fliew his Letters of Cre^^ dence. I was afraid, when I fuifFered myfelf to be drawn into this Argument^ that I faould be led into Mat's [ 7^1 tcrs fitter to be decided by Men of another Pro^ felHon, than by Lawyers. But fince there is no Help now, I will lay before you what appears to me to be the natural and plain Account of this Matter j leaving it to others, who are better qua-, lified, to give a fuller ilnfwer to the Objedion. It appears to me, by the Accounts we have of Jefus, that he had two difl:in<51: Offices : One, as the Meffias particularly promifed to the Jezvs-y a- nother, as he was to be the great High Prieft of the World. With refped to the firft Office, he is called * the Jpofik of the Hebrews y the f Mlni- fer of the CiramclftoUy and lays himfelf, || lam not fent^ hut unto the lojl fieep of the houfe of Ifrael, Accordingly when he fcnt out his Apoftles in his Life-time to preach, he exprefly forbids them to go to the Gentiles or Samaritans 3 but go, % fays he, to the loft fJjeep of the houfe of Ifrael. Chrifl con- tinued in the Difcharge of this Office during the Time of his natural Life, till he v/as finally reject- ed by the Jews. And it is obfervable, that the laft time he fpoke to the People, according to St. Matthew's Account, he folemnly took leave of them, and clofcd his Commiffion. He had been long among them publifhing glad Tidings 5 but when all his Preaching, all his Miracles, had pro- ved to be in vain, the laft^thing he did was to de- nounce the Wees they had brought on themfelves. The 13^^ Chapter of St. Matthew recites thefe Woes J and at the End of them Chrift takes this paffionate leave of JerufaJem: " O Jerufalem^ Je-^ * Keb. iii. i . + Rom. xv. 8. I Matth. XV, 2^. t iMatth, x. 5, 6. ^' rufalem^ l77l *' rufak?!!^ thou that killed the Prophets, and flo- " nefl: them which are fent unto thccj how often " wou'd I have gathered thy Children together, " even as a Hen gathercth her Chickens under her " Wings, and ye would not ! Behold, yourHoufc " is left unto you defolatc. For I fiy unto you, " Ye {hall not fee me henceforth, till ye fhall Iny, " BlelTed is he that comcth in the Name of the " Lord ". 'Tis remarkable, that this Paflage, as recorded by St. Matthew^ and St. Luke twice over, is detcrmin'd, by the Circumllances, to refer to the near Approach of his own Death, and tiie ex- treme Hatred of the Jews to him : And therefore thofe Words, Te fimll mi fee me henceforth^ are to be dated from the Time of his Death, and mani- feftly point out the End of his particular Miflion to them. From the making this Declaration, as it flands in St. Matthew^ his Difccurfes are to Iiis Difciples ; and they chiefly relate to the miferable and wretched Condition of the Jews^ which was now decreed, and foon to be accom.plifh'd. Let me now ask. Whether, in this (late of things, any farther Credentials of Chrift's Ccmmiflion to the Jews couM be demaiided or expected } He was rc~ jeded, his Commiilion was determined, and with it the Fate of the Nation was determin'd alfo: What Ufe then of more Credennals? As to ap- pearing to them after his Refurredion, he cou'd not do it confiflently with his own Piedidion^ Tc jhall fee me no more^ till ye jloali fay^ Bleffed is he th^t cometh in the name of the Lord. The Jews were not in thisDifpolition after the ReuirrcGlion, nor are they in it yet, Th« [78] The Rcfurrefliion was the Foundation of Chrifl's new Commiffion, which extended to all the World. Then it was he declared, that all Power was given unto him iti heaven and in earth. Then he gave a new Commiilion to his Difciples, not reftrained to the Houfe of IfracI^ but to go and teach all Na^ tlons. This Prerogative the Jews had under this Commiflion, that the Gofpel was every-where firft offered to them 5 but in no other Terms than it was offered to the reft of the World. Since then this Commiflion, of which the Rcfurre6i:ion was the Foundation, extended to all the World alike j What Ground is there to demand fpecial and par- ticular Evidence to the Jez^s ? The Emperor and the Senate of Rome were a much more confidera- ble Part of the World, than the chief Priefts and the Synagogue > Why does not the Gentleman ob- jc6t then, that Chrift did not fhew himfelf to 7/- herius and his Senate ? And fince all Men have an equal Right in this Cafe, Why may not the fame Demand be made for every Country > nay, for every Age? And then the Gentleman may bring the Qiieftion nearer home 3 and ask. Why Chrift did not appear in England in King George\ Reign ? There is, to my Apprehenfion, nothing more un» reafonablc, than to negleft and defpife plain and fufHcient Evidence before us, and to fit down to imagine what Kind of Evidence wou'd have plea^ fed us j and then to make the Want of fuch Evi- dence an Obie(5lion to the Truth \ which yet, if well confider'd, wou'd be found to be well efta^ bliiliM. Th? [ 19 -\ The Obfervation I have made upon the Refiiiv region of Chrift, naturally leads to another 5 which will help to account for the Nature of the Evi- dence we have in this great Point. As the Refur- redion was the opening a new Commiflion, in which all the World had an Intereftj fo the Con- cern naturally was, to have a proper Evidence to eftabliih thisl^iith, and which fhou'd be of equal Weight to all. This did not depend upon the Satisfadion given to private Perfons, whether they were Magiftrates or not Magiftrates > but upon the Conviftion of thofe, whofe Office it was to be, to bear Teflimony to this Truth in the World. In this Senfe the Apoflles were chofen to be Wit- nefTes of the Refurreftion, becaufc they were cho- fen to bear Teftimony to it in the World > and not becaufe they only were admitted to fee Chrill: after his Refurredion : For the Fact is other wife. The Gofpel indeed, concerned to fliew the Evidence on which the Faith of the World was to refl, is very particular in fetting forth the ocular Demonftrati- on which the Apoflles had of the Relurreclion ; and mentions others, who faw Chrill after hisRe- rurre6lion, only accidentally, and as the Thread of ^-x^ Hiflory led to it. But yet 'tis certain, there were many others, who had this Satisfaftion, as well as the Apoflles. St. Luke tells us, that when Chrill appeared to the eleven Apolllcs, there were others with them^^j who they were, or how ma- ny they were, he fays not. But it appears in the A^s^ when an Apoflle was to be chofen in the room 0^ Judas 'y and the chief Qtialification requi- * Lukexxiv, 33. red [ 8o ] red was, that he Ihou'd be one capable of being a Witnefs of the Refurrcction > that there were prc- fcnt an hundred and twenty fo quahiied. =^ And St. Paul fays^ thatChrift after his Riling was fecn by ^oo at once, many of whom were living when he appealed to their Evidence. So that the Gen- tleman is miilaken, when he imagines that a few only were chofen to fee Chrifl after he came from the Grave. The Truth of the Cafe is, that out of thofe who fiw him, fome were chofen to bearTe- flimony to the World, and for that Reafon had the fulleil Demonftration of the Truth, that they might be the better able to give Satis[ii6tion to o- thers. And what was there in this Condu6t to complain of? What to raife any Jealoufy or Suf- picion ? As to the WitnefTes themfelves> the firft the Gentleman takes notice of, are the Angels and the Women. The Mention of Angels led naturally to Apparitions j and the Women were called poor filly Women > and there is an End of their Evi-* dence. But to fpeak feriouily : Will the Gentle- man pretend to prove, that there are no intelligent Beings between God and Man > or that they are not Minifters of God > or that they were impro- perly employed in this great and wonderful Work, the Refurreclion of Ch rill? Till fome of thefe Points are difproved, we may be at reft ; for the Angels were Mini Hers, and not WitnelTes of the Refurre6lion. And it is not upon the Credit of the poor filly Women that we believe Angels were ♦ A(^8 i. Compare Verfes 15, 21, 22 togcthr. can-* [8. 3 concerned, hut upon the Report of thofe who wrote the Gofpels, who deliver it as a Truth known to themfelves, and not merely as a Re- port taken from the Women. But for the Women, what fhall I fiy ? Silly as they were, I hope at lead they had Eyes and Ears, and cou'd tell what they heard and law. In this Cafe they tell no more , they report that the Body was not in the Sepulchre j but fo far from report- ing the Refurreftion, that they did not believe ir, and were vciy anxious to find to what Place the Body was removed. Further, they were not em- ployed. For, I think, the Gentleman in another Part obferves rightly, that they were not fent to bear Tellimony to any People. But fuppofe them to be WitnelTes j fuppofe them to be improper ones y yet the Evidence of the Men furely is not the worfe, becaufe fome Women happened to fee the fame thing which they fiw. And if Men on- ly muft be admitted, of them w^e have enow td ellablifh this Truth. ' I will not fpendyourTim.e in enumerating thefe WitnelTes, or in fetting forth tlie Demonflratioii they had of the Truth which they report. Tliefe Things are well known. If you quedion their Sincerity, they lived miferably, and died miferably^ for the fake of this Truth. And what greater E- vidence of Sincerity can Man give or require? And what is ftiil more, they were not deceived in their Expectation by being ill treated > for he who em-' ployed them, told them before-hand, that the World would hate them, and treat them with Contempt and Cruelty. [82 ] But leaving thefe wcigluy and well-known Clr- CLimlhinccs to your own Reflexion, I beg leave to Jay before you another Evidence, paflcd over in Silence by the Gentleman on the other Side. He took notice that a Refurrccbion was lb extraordi- nary a Thing, that no human Evidence cou'd fup- port it. I am not fure that he is not in the right. If twenty Men were to come into England with fuch a Report from a dillant Country, perhaps they might not find twenty more here to believe their Story. And I rather think the Gentleman may be in the right, becaufe in the prefent Cafe I fee clearly, that the Credit of the Refurreftion of Chrifl was not trulled to mere human Evidence, To what Evidence it was trufled, we find by his own Declaration: "The Spirit of Truth which pro- cecdeth from the Father^ he JJjall teftify of me-, and ye alfo (fpeaking to his A\>omcs] JJj all bear witnefs^ hecaufe ye have been with me from the beginning ^, And therefore tho' the Apoftles had convers'd with him forty Days after his Rcfurre6lion, and had re- ceived his Commifiion to go teach all Nations, yet he exprefly forbids them entring upon the Work, till they fiiouM receive Powers from A- bove f. And St. Peter explains the Evidence of theRefurrcaion in this manner: //^^ (theApoftles) are his TVitneJfes of thefe things^ and fo is alfo the Holy Ghoflj whom God hath given to them who obey him II . Now, What vvxre the Powers received by the Apoftles? Were they not the Powers of Wifdom ♦ John XV. z6, 27. f Afts i. 14. || Aa, v. 32. and [83] and Courage, by which they were enabled to ap- pear before Rulers and Princes in the Name of Chrill^ the Power oflMiracles, even of raiiing the Dead to Life, by which they convincVl the World, that G^d was with them in what they (iiid and did? With refped: to this Evidence, St, John (ays. If we receive the Witnefi of Men^ the JVltnefs of God is greater *. Add to this, that the Apoftles had a Power to communicate thefe Gifts to BeHe vers. Can you womier that Men beheved the ReaHty of thofe Powers of which they were Partakers, and became confcious to themfclves? With refped to thefe communicated Powers, I fuppofe St. John fpeaks, when he fiys, He that helie-veth on the Son of God^ hath the Witnefs in hinifef \. AppeaUng not to an inward Tedimony of the Spirit, in the Senfe of fome modern Enthuliafts, but to the Pow- ers of the Spirit, which Believers received, and which were (Qzn in the Effcds that followed. It was objected, that the Apoftles feparated thcmfelves to the Work of the Miniftry, and one went into one Country, another to another 5 and confcquently, that the Belief of the Refarre- 6lion was originally received every where upon the Teflimony of one Witnefs. I will not examine this Fa6b: Suppofe it to be fo. But did this one Witnefs go alone, when he was attended with the Powers of Heaven? Was not every blind Man re- ftored to Sight, and every lame Man to his Feet, a new Witnefs to the Truth reported by the hrfl ? Befides, when the People of different Countries * I John V. 9, \ Ibid, vn^ 10. [S4] ^iime to compare Notes, and found that they had ^11 received the fame Account of Chrill:, and of his Doctrine 3 then furely the Evidence of thefe diftant WitneiTcs thus united, became ftronger than if they had told then* Story together : For twelve Men feparately examined, form a much ftronger Proof for the Truth of any Faft, than twelve Men agreeing together in one Story. If the fame Thing were to happen in our own Time : If one or two were to come into Englandy and report that a Man was railed from the Deadj and in confequence of it, teach nothing but that we ought to love God and our Neighbours : If to confirm their Report, they jfhou'd, before our Eyes, cure the BUnd, the Deaf, the Lame, and even raife the Dead to Life 5 if endow'd with all thefe Pow- ers, they fhould live in Poverty and Diilrefs, and patiently fubmit to all that Scorn, Contempt, and Malice cou'd contrive to diftrefs them -5 and at lad facrifice even their Lives in Juilification of the Truth of their Report : If upon Enquiry we fhould find, that all the Countries \h Europe had received the fame Account, fup ported by the fame miracu- lous Powers, atteded ki like manner by the Suf- ferings, and confirmed by the Blood of the Wit- nefles: I would fain know what any reafonable Man would do in this Cafe? Wou'd hedefpife fuch Evidence ? I think he wou'd not > and whoever thinks otherwife, mufl fay. That a Refurre6i:!on, tho' in its own Nature pofTible, is yet fuch aThing, in which we ought not to believe either God or Man. Judge. Have you doncj Sir? Mr.i^. [8^ ] Mr. B. Yes, my Lord. Judge. Go on Mr.^. if you have any thing to fay in Reply. Mr. y/. My Lord, I fliall trouble you with ve- ry Httle. The Objedions and Anfwers under this Head, I Hiall leave to the Judgment of the Court •, and beg leave only to make an Obfervation or two upon the lafl part of the Gentleman's Argument. And firfl:, with refpcft to the Sufferings of the Apodles and Difciplcs of Jefus -, and the Argument drawn from thence for the Truth of their Do- <5trines and Aflertions j I beg leave to obferve to you, That there is not a falfe Religion or Pretence in the World, but can produce the fime Authori- ty, and fhew many Inllances of Men, who have fuffcred even to Death for the Truth of their fevc- ral Profeffions. If we confult only modern Story, we fliall find Papifts fufFering for Popery, Prore- flants for their Religion 5 and among Protcilants, every Sefl: has had its Martyrs 3 Puritans, QLiakers, Fifth-Monarchy Men. In Henry Vlllth's Time, England fiw both Popiih and Proteflant Martyrs; in Queen Marf$ Reign the Rage fell upon Prote- Ilants; in Qiieen Elizabeth's^ Papiils and Puritans were called fometimes, tho' rarel)', to this Tryal. In later Times, fometimes Churchmen, fometimes DilTenters, were perfecuted. What mud we fiiy then ^ All thefe Sufferers had not Truth with them > and yet, if there be any Weight in this Argument from Suffering, they have all a Right to plead it. But I may be told, perhaps, that xVIen by their Sufferings, tho' they do not prove their Dcclrines to be true, yet prove at leafl: their cv/n Sincerity: As [8^] As if It were a thing impoffible for Men to difTem- b\c at the Point of Death ! Alas! How many In- Ihnces are there of Men's denying Fafts plainly proved, affertingFafts plainly difprovcd, even with the Rope about their Necks? Muft all fuch pafs for innocent Sufferers, flncereiMen? If not, it muft be allowed, that a Man's Word at the Point of Death is not always to be relied on. Another Obfervation I wou'd make, is with re- fpea to the Evidence of the Spirit, on which fo much Strefs is laid. It has been hitherto infifled on, that the Refurreftion was a Matter of Faft, and fuch a Faft, as was capable and proper to be fupported by the Evidence of Senfc, How comes it about, that this Evidence, this which is the pro- per Evidence, is given up as infufficient, and a new improper Evidence introduced ? Is it not fur. prizing, that one great Miracle fhou'd want an hundred more to prove it.^ Every Miracle is itfelf an Appeal to Senfe, and therefore admits no Evi- dence but that of Senfe. And there is no Conne- aion between a Miracle done this Year and laft Year. It does not follow therefore, becaufe Pe- ier cured a lame Man (allowing the Fad) that therefore Chrift rofe from the Dead. But allowing the Gentleman all he demands, what is it to us ? They who had the Witnefs within them, did perhaps very well to confulthim, and to take his Word 5 but how am I, or others, who have not this Witnefs in us, the better for it? If the firll: Ages of the Church faw all the Won- ders related by the Gentleman, and believed, it fliews at l^aftj in hisOpinion^ that this flrong Evi-, dence [8;] dence wasnecefliiry to create the Belief he requires; why then does he require this Belief of us, who have not this ilrong Evidence? Judge. Very well. Gentlemen of the Jury, you have heard the Proofs and Arguments on both Sides, and it is now your Part to give a Ver- did. Here the Gentlemen whifpcrcd together, and the Foreman ftood up. Foreman. My Lord, The Caufe has been long, and confifls of feveral Articles, therefore the Jury hope you will give them your Dire<5]:ions. Judge. No, no 5 you arc very able to judge without my Help. Mr. A. My Lord, Pray confider, you appoint- ed this Meeting, and chbfe your Office. Mr. B, and I have gone through our Parts, and have fome Right to infill on your doing your Part. Mr. B. I mufl: join, Sir, In that Requeft. Judge, I have often heard, that all Honour has a Burden attending it; but I did not fufpe6t it in this Office, which I conferred upon myfelf. But fmce it mufl: be fo, I will recoiled, and lay before you, as well as I can, the Subftance of the De- bate. Gentlemen of the Jury; The Queftion before you, is. Whether the WitnefTes of the Refur- redion of Chrift are guilty of giving falfe Evi- dence, or no. Two forts of Objedions, or Accufitions are brought againft them, One charges Fraud and i Deceit [ 88 ] Deceit on the TranfIi6lion itfelf^ the other charges the Evidence as forged, and infufficient to fupport the Credit of fo extraordinary an Event. There are alfo three Periods of Time to be confidercd. The firil takes in the Miniflry of Chrift, and ends at his Death. During this Period the Fraud is fuppofed to be contrived. The fecond reaches from his Death to his Re- furredion. During this Period the Fraud is fup- pofed to be executed. The third begins from the Refurrection , and takes in the whole Miniflry of the Apoilles. And here the Evidence they gave the World for this FaQ: is the main Confideration. As to the firil: Period of Time, and the Fraud charged upon Jefus, I muft obferve to you, that this Charge had no Evidence to fupport it > all the Fa^s reported of Jcfus fland in full Contradi&ion to it. To fuppofe, as the Council did, that this Fraud might poilibly appear, if we had any Jewip Books written at the Time, is not to bring Proof, but to wiifh for Proofs for as it was rightly ob- ferved on the other fide, how does Mr. A. know there were any fuch Books? And fince they arc loft, how docs he know what was in them ? Were fuch Books extant, they might probably prove be-* yond Difpute the Fads recorded in the Gofpels. You were told that the Jews were a very fu- perftitious People, much addifted to Prophecy, and particularly that they had a ftrong Expedra- tion about the Time that Chrift appeared, to have a viftorious Prince rife among them. This is laid as as the Ground of Sufpicion 3 and in flifi-, many Impoitors you arc told, fet up upon thcfc Notions of the People -y and thence it is inferred that Chrifb built his Scheme upon the Strength of thefe popular Prejudices. But when this ¥a8: came to be examined on the other Side, it appeared that Chrill was fo far from falling in with thefe No- tions, and abufing the Credulity of the People, that it was his main Point to correct thefe Preju- dices, to oppofe thefe Supcrilitions^ and by thefe very Means, he fell into Difgrace with his Country- men, and fuffered as one, who in their Opinion, deftroyed the Law and the Prophets. With re- fpe6i: to temporal Power, fo far was he from aim- ing at it, that he reFufed it when offered : So far from giving any Hopes of it to his Difciplcs, that he invited Men upon quite different Terms; To take up the Crofs^ and follow him. And it is ob- fervable, that after he had foretold his Death and Refurrection, he contintied to admonifh his Dif- ciplcs of the Evils they were to fuffcr 3 to tell them that the World would hate them, and abufe them 3 which furely to common Senfe has no Ap, pearance that he was then contriving a Cheat, or encouraging his Difciples to execute it. But as ill fupported as this Charge is, there was no avoiding it 3 it was Neceffity, and not Choice, which drove the Gentleman to it: For finceChrift had foretold his Refurreftion, if the whole was a Cheat, he certainly was confcious to it, and con- fequently the Plot was laid in his own Time. And yet the fuppofing Chrift confcious to fuch a Fraud in thefe Circumilances, is contrary to all Probabi- M lity. l9o ] lity. It is very improbable, that He^ or any Man, ihould without any Temptation, contrive a Cheat to take place after his Death. And if this could be fuppofed, 'tis highly improbable that he fhould give publick Notice of it, and thereby put all Men on their guard 5 efpccially confidering there were only a few Women, and twelve Men of low Fortunes, and mean Education, to condud the Plot 5 and the whole Power of the Jews and Ro- mans to oppofe it. Mr. A. feemed fenfible of thefe Difficulties, and therefore would have varied the Charge, and have made Chrift an Enthufiafl, and his Difciples only Cheats. This was not properly moved, and there- fore not debated 5 for which Reafon I fhall pafs it over with this ihortObfervationj that Enthufiafm is as contrary to the whole Chara^er and Conduft ofChrift, as even Fraud is. Befides, this Imagina- tion, if allowed, goes only to Chrift's own part 3 and leaves the Charge of Fraud, in its full extent,' upon the Management from the time of hisDeath^ and therefore is of no ufe, unlefs the Fraud af- terwards be apparent. For if there really was a Refurredion, it will fufficiently anfwer the Charge of Enthufiafm. I pafs on then to the fecond Period, to conflder what happen'd between the Death and Refurreai- on of Chrift. And here it is agreed that Chrifl died, and was buried. So far then there was no Fraud. For the better under/landing the Charge here we muft recolleft a material Circumftance re- ported by one of the Evangeliftsj which is this; After [9^ ] After Clirill; was buried , the chief Priefls and Phartfees came to Pilate the Roynan Governor, and informed him that this Deceiver , ( meaning Jefus ) had in his Life-time foretold, that he would rife again after three Daysj that they fuf- pe£led his Difciples would fteal away the Bodyj and pretend a Refurrecbion j and then the lafi Error would be ivorfe than the firft. They there* fore defire a Guard to watch the Sepulchre, to prevent all Fraud. They had one granted > ac- cordingly they placed a Watch on the Sepul- chre, and fealed up the Stone at the A'louth of it. What the Event of this Cafe was, the fame Writer tells us. The Guards faw the Stone re- moved by Angels, and for Fear they became as dead Men: When they came to the City they reported to the chief Prieils what had hap- pen'd : A Council is called, and a Refolution ta- ken to bribe the Soldiers to fay, that the Body- was llolen while they were afleep > and the Council undertook to excufe the Soldiers to P/- late^ for their Negligence in falling afleep when they were on Duty. Thus the Fa6b Hands in the original Record, Now the Council for JVoolfton maintains, that the Story reported by the Soldiers, after they had been bribed by the chief Priefts, contains the true Ac- count of this pretended Refurredion. The Gentleman was fenfible of a Difficulxy n his way, to account for the Credit which the Jews gave to the Prediction of Chrifl:> for ifj as he pretends, they knew him to be an Im- M a poilor. poflor, wfiat Rcafon had they to take any No- tice of his Predi6lion? And therefore, that very Caution in this Cafe betrayed their Concern, and fliewcd that they were not fatisfied that his Pretenfions were groundlefs. To obviate this, he fays, that they had difcovered before, one great Cheat in the Cafe of Lazarus^ and therefore were fufpicious of another in this Cafe. He was anfwered. That the Difcovery of a Cheat in the Cafe before-mentioned, ought rather to have fet them at eafe, and made them quite fecure as to the Event of the Prediftion. In Reply he fays, that the chief Priefts, however fatisfied of the Cheat themfeh^es, had found that it prevailed a- mong^ the People , and to fecure the People from being futher impofed on, they ufed the Caution they did. This is the Subltance of the Argument on both Sides. I muft obferve to you, that this Reafoning from x\\cC'x(co'^ Lazarus has no Foundation in Hifloryj there is no Pretence for faying, that the Jews in this whole Affair had any particular Regard to the railing of Lazarus: And if they had any fuch jufl Sufpicion,why was it not mentioned at the Trial of Chrift? There was then an Opportunity of opening the whole Fraud, and undeceiving the People. The Jews had a plain Law for puniihing a falfe Prophet j and what cou'd be a flronger Convi6li- on, than fuch a Cheat made n^^anifeft? Why then was this Advantage lofl? The Gentleman builds this Obfervation on thefe Words, So thelafi Error Jljall hs worfe than the fir ft. But [93] But Is there here any thmg dud about Lazarus? No i the Words are a proverbial Form of Speech, and probably were ufed without relation to any particular Cafe. But if a particular Meaning muft be atfigncd, it is more probable, that the Words beincT ufed to Pihte, contained a Reafon applica- ble To him. Now Pihte had been dtawn in to confent to the Crucifixion, for fear the >ic;; fhou'd fet up Jefus to be their King in Oppofition to C^- far-y therefore % the chief Priefts to him, If once \he People believe him to be rifen from the dead^ the lad Error will be worfethan the firfl^ i. ^.they will be more inclined and encouraged to rebel a- gainft the Romans than ever. This is a natural Senfe of the Words, as they are ufed to move the Roman Governor to allow them a Guai'd. Whe- ther L.'^z^r/^^ were dead or alive i whether Chrift came to deftroy the Law and the Prophets, or to eftabliihor confirm them, was of little moment to Pilate, It is plain, he was touched by none of thefeConfiderations> and refufed to be concerned in the Affliir of Chrift, till he was alarm'd with the Suggeftions of Danger to the Roman State, This was thcfirfi Fear that moved him > muft not therefore the fecond now fuggefted to him be of the fame Kind? r^ .:i • t The next Circumftance to be conhder d, is that of the Seal upon the Stone of the Sepulchre. The Council for molfton fuppofes an Agreement be- tween the Jews and Difciplcs about fetting this Seal But for this Agreement there is no Evi- dences nay, to fuppofe it, contradifts the whole Series of the Hiftory, as the Gentleman on the J othep r P4 ] other Side obferuM r -n plain natural Accoti „• r f "'''^'^''^- The you, that rh^ 'v i. • ^- ot>rerv'd to to pre.au Z £, '"""S ^ Guard, fee .he' Seal deceive the^vS r'"°" """"^ the Guards to Account TiJr T. ' P'"'" ^"^^ ^«'^f'''<^°'T were bro£„ 'j l'^ '' "'"' " " P^^'" ^'-^ "ponthe^irL^^rir^r^h m" f ^'^^^'^ fented to theFriud • Z^'J , ^ ''^^^ '''"^ ^o"' wtheBod;;:^:i^7'--%-^-.ood agLrneitS^l^tn^^^^^^ ^ '^'^ ^"^P^^^ vangeUft, nor'^th L L r^" -" ^ ''' ^' propagate fuch a Cheat? He had crucify dS ror no other Reifnn ^,.^ r r t -^ ^niiit 'iL uit tnat lie was confenr no- r^ ^ r^L , •'^ .1,7p' "f t Cu-cumftance infifted on as a Proof of he Fraud, .s that Jcfus rofe before the T me ^ hid appointed. Mr. ^. fuppofes that tht n r pleshaften'd the Plot forfor Vri. '^^ ■^'^'^'- rior, tor tear of falling in with Multi- [9$ ] jMultitudcs, who waited only for the appointed Time to be at the Sepulchre, and to fee with their own Eyes. He was anfwer'd, that the Difciples were not, cou'd not be concerned, or be prefcnt at moving the Body 5 that they were difpers'd, and lay concealed for fear of the Jews : that hafl'ning the Plot was of no Ufe, for the Refurrcclion hap- pened whillt the Guards were at the Sepulchre; who were probably enow to prevent Violence j certainly enow to difcover it, if any were ufed. This Difficulty then reils merely upon the rec- koning of the Time. Chrill: died on Friday^ rofe early on Sunday. The Qneftion is, Whether this was riiing the third Day according to the Predicti- on ? I will refer the Authorities made ufe of in this Cafe to your Memory, and add only one Obferva- tion, to ihew that it was indeed the third Day ac- cording as the People of the Country reckoned. When Chrifl talked with the two Difciples who knew him not, they gave him an Account of his own Crucifixion, and their Dilappointmenti and tell him, To day is the third Day fince thefe thin'^s were done/^ Now this Converfation was on the ve- ry Day of the Refurredion. And the Difciples thought of nothing lefs thananfwering an Objecti- on againft the Refurre6tion, which as yen they did not believe. They recount only a Matter of Fadb, and reckon the Time according to the Ufage of their Country, and call the Day of the RefLirre- ct'ion the third Day from the Crucifixion > which IS a plain Evidence, in what manner the Jews rcc- kon'd in this and hke Cafes, * Luke xxiv. 2 1 , As As the Objections in this Cafe are founded upon the Story reported by the Jews^ and the Roman Soldiers 5 Mr. jB. in his Anfwer, endeavour'd to fhew from fome hiflorical Pafliiges, that the Jews themfelves did not beHeve the Story. His firfl: Argument was, That the Jews never quellion'd the Difciples for this Cheat, and the Share they had in it, when they had them in their Power. And yet who fees not that it was very much to their Purpofe fo to do ? To this there is no Reply. The fecond Argument was from the Treatment St. Paul had from King Agrippa^ and his faying to St. Paul.) Almoji thou perfu%dcji me to he a Chrlftian, A Speech, which he reckons cou'd not be made by a Prince, to one concerned in carrying on a known Cheat. To this the Gentleman replies, That Agrippa never did become a Chriftian, and that no great Strefs is to be laid upon hisComplai- fance to his Prifoner. But allowing that there was fomething of Humanity and Civility in the Expredion, yet fuch Civility cou'd hardly be paid to a known Impvoftor. There is a Propriety even in Civility i a Prince may be civil to a Rebel, but he will hardly compliment him for his Loyalty j he may be civil to a poor Se6tary, but if he knows him to be a Cheat, he will fcarcely compH- ment him with Hopes that he will be of his Party. The third Argumerit was from the Advice given by Gamaliel to the Council of the Jews^ to let the Apo- llles alone, /or /^^r they themfelves fiould he found to fight againft Go^.- ASuppofition which thcGentlcman thinks [ 91 ] thinks abfolutely inconriilent witli his or theCoun- cil's being pcrfLKidcd, that the Apollles were guil- ty of any Fraud in managing the Refurre^lion of Chrift. The Gentleman rephes, That Gamaliel^ Advice refpe^Lcd only i\\Qi Numbers of People deceived, and was a Declaration of his Opinion, that it was not prudent to come to Extremities till the People were in a better Temper. This deferves Gonlide- mion. F/r/?5 I obferve^ that Gi:;?^^/;>rs Words are ex- prefs, left ye he found to fight againft Gody which Reafon refpe6ls God, and not the People. And the Suppolition is, that the Hand of God might poffi- bly be in this Work : A Saying which cou'd not have come from him, or have been received by the Council, if they had believed the Refurreftion to have been a Cheat. Secondly J It is remarkable, that the Miracles wrought by the Apollles after the Death of Chrilf, thofe efpecially which occafioned the calling this Council, had a much greater BfFecl: upon the Jews^ than even the Miracles of Chriif himfclf They held out againft all the Wonders of Chrift, and were perpetually plotting his Death, not doubting but that wou'd put an End to their Trouble: But when after his Death, they faw the fame Powers continue with the Apoftles, they fiw no End of the Affair, but began to think in earneft there might be more in it th.an they were willing to be- heve. And upon the Report made to them of the Apoftles Works, they make ferious Reflexion, (ind doubted isuJoereunto this ijcou'dgrow. And tho' N in [ 98 ] in tbeir Anger and Vexation of Heart they thought ef dcfperate Remedies, and were for killing the Apoflles alfo, yet they hearkened wilUngly to Ga- mailers Advice, which at another Time might have been dangerous to the Advifer. So that it appears from the Hiftory, that the whole Council had the fame Doubt that Gamaliel had, that poUi- bly the Hand of God might be in this Thing. And cou'd the Jeivs^ if they had manifellly difcovcred the Cheat of the Refurreclion a little time before, have entertained fuch a Sufpicion ? The lad Period commences at theRefurreflion, and takes in the Evidence upon which the Credit of this Fa6b flands. The Council for Woolfton^ among other Diffi- culties, ftartcd one, which, if well grounded, ex- cludes all Evidence out of this Cafe. The Refur- reftion being a Thing out of the Courfe of Na- ture, he thinks the Teftimony of Nature, held forth to us in her conftant Method of working, a ilronger Evidence againfl: the Poflibility of a Re- furrc^lion, than any human Evidence can be for the Reality of one. In anfwer to this, it is faid, on the other Side, Firji^ That a Rcfurredion is a Thing to be judged of by Mens Senfes^ and this cannot be doubted. We all know when a Man is dead j and fhou'd he come to Life again, wc mjght judge whether he was alive or no, by the very fame Means by which we judge thofe about us to be hving Men. Secondly ^*Yh2iX. the Notion of a Refurredion con- tradifts no one Principle of right Reafon, interferes with no Law of Nature. And that whoever ad- mits [ 99 ] mks that God gave Man Life at firll, cannot pof- fibly doubt of his Power to rcflorc it when loft. J'blirJly^ That appealing to the fettled Coiirle of Nature, is referring the Matter in Difpute, not to Rules or Maxims of Reafon and true Philofo- phy, but to the Prejudices and Miltakes of Menj which are various and infinite, and differ fomc- times according to the Climate Men live in; becaufe Men form a Notion of Nature from what they fee 3 and therefore in cold Countries all A'len judge it to be according to the Courfe of Nature for Wetter to freeze, in warm Countries they judge it to be unnatural. Confequently, that it is not enough to prove any Thing to be con-- trary to the I/aws of Nature, to lay that it is ufu- all)^, or conftantly, to our Obfervation, otherwife. And therefore, tho' Men in the ordinary Courfe die, and do not rife again, (which is certainly a Prejudice againil the Belief of a Relurredion) yet is it not an Argument againll the Poffibility of a Refurrediion. Another Obje6lion was againft the P^eality of the Body of Chrift after it came from the Grave. Thefe Objeftions are founded upon fuch Parages as report his appearing or difappearing to the Eyes of his Difciples at pleafure; hi^ coming in among them when the Doors were fliut ; his forbiddino: fome to touch him, his inviting others to do itj his having the very Wounds whereof he died, frefh and open in his Body, and the like. Hence the Council concluded that it was no real Body, which was fomctimes vifible, fometimes inviiiblej fomc- N 2. time$ C loo ] times capable of being touched, fometimes inca- pable. On the other Side, it was anfwered. That many of thefeObjeftions are founded on amiflakenSenfe of the Paflliges referred to 5 particularly of thePaf- fage in which Chrifl is thought to forbid Mary Magdalen to touch him > of another, in which he calls to fhomas to examine his Wounds 3 and pro- bably of a third, relating to Chrift's Converfation with his Difciples on the Road, without being known by them. As to other PafTages, which relate his appearing and difappearing, and coming in when the Doors were ihut, it is faid, that no Conclufion can be drawn from them againll the Reahty of Chrift's Body ; That thefe Things might happen many Ways, and yet the Body be real > which is the only Point to which the prcfent Obje6lion ex- tends: That there m.ight be in this, and probably was, fomething miraculous 3 but nothing more wonderful than what happened on another Occa- iion in his Life-time j where the Gentleman who makes the Objection, allows him to have had a real Body. I mention thefe Things but biicfly, juft to bring the Courfe of the Argument to your Remem- brance. The next Objeftion is taken from hence, That Chrift did not appear publickly to the People, and particularly to the Chief Priefts and Rulers of the Jews. It is faid, that his Commillion related to them in an efpecial manner 3 and that it appears ftrange, that the main Proof of his Miffion, the I Refur- C 101 ] Refurrcaion, fhou'd not be laid before them ^ but that Witnclfes fhou'd be picked and culled to fee this mighty Wonder. This is the Force of the Objedion. To which it is anfwer'd, Fi?y?, That the particu- lar CommiiHon to the Jews expired at the Death of Chrilt, and therefore the^^'w^ had, on this Ac- count, no Claim for any particular Evidence. And it IS infilled, that Chrifl, before his Death, decla- red the Jews fhou'd not fee him, till they were better difpofed to receive him. Secondly^ That as the whole World had a Con- cern in the Refurrcdion of Chrift, it was ncccfla- ry to prepare a proper Evidence for the whole World j which was not to be done by any particu- lar Satis faftion given to the People of the Jews^ or their Rulers. Thirdly^ That as to the chofen Witnefies, it is a Millake to think that they were chofen as the only Perfons to fee Chrifl: after the Refurredion 3 and that in truth many others did fee him j but that the Witnefies were chofen as proper Perfons to bear Teflimony to all People > an OiTIce to which many others who did fee Chrifl, were not particu- larly commiiTioned. That making Choice of pro- per and credible WitnefTes, was fo fir from being a Ground of juil Sufpicion, that it is in all Cafes the moft proper way to exclude Sufpicion. The next Objection is pointed againfl the Evi- dence of the Angels, and the Women. It is faid, that Hiflory reports that the Women faw young Men at the Sepulchre > that they were advanced into Angels merely thro' the Fear and Superllition of C »02 ] of the Women: That at the bell^thisisbutaStorf of an Apparition 5 a Thing in Times of Ignorance much talked of, but in the Days of Knowledge never heard of In anfwer to this, it is faid. That the Angels arc not properly reckoned among the Witneffes of the Refurreftionj they were not in the Number of the chofen WitnelTes, or fent to bear Teftimony in the World : That they were indeed MiniRers of God appointed to attend the Refurrc6lion: That God has fuch JMinillers, cannot be reafonably doubted J nor can it be obje6led that they were improperly employed, or below tlieir Dignity, in attending on the Rcfarrcclion of Chrill: That we believe them to be Angels, not on the Report of the Women, but upon the Credit of the Evange- lift who affirms it. That what is iaid of Appari- tions on this Occafion, may pafs for Wit and Ri- dicule, but yields no Rcafon or Argument. The Objeftion to the Women was, I think, only that they were Women-, which was ftrength- ned by calling them filly Women. It was anfwered, that Women have Eyes and Ears as well as Men, and can tell what they fee and hear. And it happened in this Cafe, that the Women were fo far from being credulous, that they believed not the Angels, and hardly believed their own Report. However that the Women are none of the chofen Witneffes; and if they were, the Evidence of the Men cannot be fet a- fide, becaufe Women faw what they faw. This is the Subftancc of the Objcflions and An* fwers. The [ <^3 1 The Council for the Apolllcs infidcd furtlicr. That they gave the greatell AHliiancc to ihc World, that poflibly cou'd be given, of their fin- cere Dcahng, by fuffering all Kinds of Hardfliip, and at lait Death itfelf, in Confirmation of the Truth of their Evidence. The Council ^ov H^oolfton^ in Reply to this, told you. That all Religions, whether true or falfc, have had their Martyrs J that no Opinion, how- ever abfurd, can te named, but fomc have been content to die for it^ and then concluded, thac Suffering is no Evidence of the Truth of the Opi- nions for which Men fuffer. To clear this Matter to you, I mufl obferve Jiow this Cafe fiands. You have heard often, in the Courfe of this Argument, that the Apolllcs were Witnefi^es chofen to bear Tefiimony to the Refurreffion 3 and, for thatReafon, had the fuUelb Evidence themfelves of the Truth of it> not mere- ly by feeing Chrift once or twice after his Death, but by frequent Converfttions with him for forty Days together, before his Aicenfion. That this was their proper Bufinefs, appears plainly from Hiftory, where we find, that to ordain an Apo- ftle, was the dime thing as 07'daimng one to he a Witnefs of the Refurrcclion *^ If you look further to the preaching of the Apollles, you will find this was the great Article infilled on f . And Sr. Paul knew the Weight of this Article, and the Necefiity of teaching it, w^hen he iliid, If Chrifl k^ * Ads i. 2 2. f Afls ii. 2, 22, ^c. iii. 15. iv. 10. V. 30. mt [ 104 ] tidt rlfcn^ our Faith is 'vain. You fee then, that the thing which the ApolHes teftified, and the thing for which they fuffered, was the Truth of the Rc~ furreftion , which is a mere Matter of Faft. Confider now how the Obje6tion ftands. The Council for JVoolfton tells you, that 'tis common for Men to die for falfe Opinions 5 and he tells you nothing but the Truth. But even in thofe Cafes their fuffering is an Evidence of their Sincerity j and it wou'd be very hard to charge Men who die for the Doftrine they profefs, with Infincerity in the ProFellion. Miftaken they may be j but every miHaken Man is not a Cheat. Now if you will allow the Suffering of the Apoftles to prove their Sincerity, which you cannot well difallow> and confider that they died for the Truth of a Matter of Facl which they had feen themfelves, you will perceive how ilrong the Evidence is in this Cafe. InDo^lrines and Matters of Opinion, Men millake perpetually; and it is noReafon for me to take up with another Man's Opinion, becaufe I am per- fuadcd he is fincere in it. But w^hen a Man reports to me an uncommon Faft, yet fuch an one, as in its own Nature is a plain Obje6b of Senfe> if I believe him not, it is not becaufe I fufpefl: his Eyes, or his Senfe of Feeling, but merely becaufe I fu- fpeft his Sincerity. For if I was to fee the fame thing myfelf, I fliould believe myfelf> and therefore my Sufpicion docs not arife from the In- ability of human Senfes to judge in the Cafe, but from a Doubt of the Sincerity of the Reporter. In fuch Cafes therefore there wants nothing to be proved, proved, but only the Sincerity of the Reporter | and fince v^oluntary Suffering for the Truih, is at lead a Proof of Sincerity s the Sufferings of the Apoflles for the Truth of the Refurredion, is a full and unexceptionable Proof. The Council for JVoolfton was fenfible of this Difference, and therefore he added, that there are many Inflances of Mens fuffering and dying in an obilinate Denial of the Truth of Fafts plainly proved. This Obfervation is alfo true. I remem- ber a Story of a Man who endured with great Con- ftancy all the Tortures of the Rack, denying the Fa£t with which he was charged. When he was asked afterwards, how he could hold out againfl all the Tortures ? He anfwered, I had painted a Gallows upon the Toe of my Shoe, and when the Rack flretched me, I looked on the Gallows, and bore the Pain, to fave my Life. This Man denied a plain Fad, under great Torture, but you fee a Reafon for it. In other Cafes, when Criminals perfift in denying their Crimes, they often do it, and there is Reafon to fufpe6t they do it always, in Hopes of a Pardon or Reprieve. But what are thefe Inflances to the prefent purpofe ? All thefe Men fuffer againfl their Will, and for their Crimes j and their Obflinacy is built on the Hope of efcaping, by moving the Compaffion of the Government. Can the Gentleman give any Inflances of Perfons who died willingly in Atteflation of a falfc Fa£l ? We have had in England fome weak enough to die for the Pope's Supremacy *, but do you think O a Man [ ^°^] a Man could be found to die in Proof of the Pope^s being actually on the Throne of England. Now the Apoftles died in averting the Truth of Chrifl's Refurreftion. It was always in their Power to quit their Evidence, andfave their Lives. Even their bitterell Enemies, the Jeivs^ required no more of them than to be filent.^ Others have deniedFadls, or afTerted Facts, in hopes of faving their Lives, when they were under Sentence of Death : But thcfe Men attcfted a Faft at the expence of their Lives, which they might have faved by denying the Truth. So that between Criminals dying and denying plain Fa6bs, and the Apoftles dying for their Tcftimony, there is this material Difference : Criminals deny the Truth in hopes of faving their Lives 5 the Apoftles willingly parted with their Lives, rather than deny the Truth. We are come now to the laft, and indeed the moft weighty Confideration. The Council for the Apoftles having in the Courfe of the Argument allowed, that more Evi- dence is required to fupport the Credit of the Re- furredion, it being a very extraordinary Event, than is neceflliry in common Cafes 5 in the latter Part of his Defence fets forth the extraordinary E- vidence upon which this Fad ftands. This is the Evidence of the Spirit; the Spirit of Wifdom and Power, which was given to the Apoftles, to enable them to confirm their Teftimony by Signs and Wonders, and mighty Works. This Part of * Ads iv. 17. V. 28, the the Argument was well argued by the Gentleman, and I need not repeat all he fliid. The Council for JVoolfton in his Reply, made two Obje6lions to this Evidence. The firfl was this; That the Refurrcftion ha- ving all along been pleaded to be a Matter of Fa6t and an Obje6b of Senfej to recur to Miracles for the Proof of it, is to take it out of its proper E- vidence, the Evidence of Senfe ; and to rell: it up* on a Proof which cannot be applied to it> for fee- ing one Miracle, he fiys, is no Evidence that ano- ther Miracle was wrought before it \ as healing a fick Man, is no Evidence that a dead Man was raifed to Life. To clear this Difficulty, you muft confider by what Train of Reafoning Miracles come to be Proofs in any Cafe. A Miracle of itfelf proves nothing, unlefs this only, that there is a Caufe equal to the producing the Effe6b we fee. Sup- pofe you fliou'd fee a Man raifeone from the dead, and he fhou'd go away and fay nothing to you, you wou'd not find that any Fa6V, or any Propo^ fition, was prov'd or difprov'd by this Miracle. But fhou'd he declare to you, in the Name of him, by whofe Power the Miracle was wrought, that Image- 'U'^orfhip was unlawful, you wou'd then be poflefs'd of a Proof againll Image- Worfhip, But how? Not becaufe the Miracle proves any thing, as to the Point itfelf > but becaufe the Man's Declaration is authoriztd by him who wrought the Miracle in Confirmation of his Doclrine, And therefore Miracles are direftly a Proof of the O 2. AuLhg- [ io8] Authority of Perfons, and not of the Truth of Things. To apply this to the prcfcnt Cafe : If the Apo- fllcs had wrought A4iracles, and faid nothing of the Refurredion, the Miracles would have proved nothing about the Refurre^lion, one way or other. But when as Eye- witnefTes they attefled the Truth of the Rerurrc61:ion , and wrought Miracles to confirm their Authority •, the Miracles did not di- rectly prove the Refurre^tion > but they confirmed and eftabhfh'd beyond all Sufpicion the proper E- vidence, the Evidence of Eye-witnefTes. So that here is no Change of the Evidence from proper to improper 5 the Fa6]: ftill refts upon the Evidence of Senfe, confirmed and flrengthen'd by the Autho- rity of the Spirit. If a Witnefs calls in his Neigh- bours to atteft his Veracity, they prove nothing as to the Fa6l in queilion, but only confirm the Evi- dence of the Witnefs. The Cafe here is the famej tho' between the Authorities brought in Confir- mation of the Evidence, there is no Comparifon. The fecond Obje6lion was. That this Evidence, however good it may be in its kind, is yet nothing to us. It was well, the Gentleman fays, for thofe who had it 5 but what is that to us, who have it not? To adjuft this Difficulty, I muft obfcrve to you, that the Evidence, now under Confideration, was not a private Evidence of the Spirit, or any in- ward Light, like to that which the Quakers in our Time pretend to , but an Evidence appearing in the manitcfl and vifible Works of the Spirit: And « this [ ^o9 1 this Evidence was capable of being tranfmittcJ, and aftually has been tranfmitted to us upon un- queflionable Authority : And to allow the Evidence to have been good in the firft Ages, and not in this, leems to me to be a Contradiftion to the Rules of Reafoning. For if we fee enough to judge that the firft Ages had Reafon to believe, we muft needs fee at the fame time, that it is rea- fonable for us alfo to believe. As the prefent Que- ftion only relates to the Nature of the Evidence, it was not neceflary to produce from Hiftory the Inftances to {hew in how plentiful a manner this Evidence was granted to the Church. Whoever wants this Satisfaaion, may eafily have it. Gentlemen of the Jury, I have laid before you the Subftance of what has been fa^d on both Sides. You are now to confider of it, an^o give your Verdia. T'he Jury confulted together ^ and the Foreman rofe up. Foreman. My Lord, We are ready to give our Verdia. Judge. Are you all agreed ? Jury. Yes. Judge. Who {hall fpeak for you ? Jury. Our Foreman. Judge. What fay you? Are the Apoftlcs guil- ty of giving falfe Evidence in the Cafe of the Re- furreaion of Jefus, or not guilty ? Foreman, Not guilty. Judge. ^ Judge. Very well} and now, Gentlemen, I re- lign my CommiiTion, and am your humble Ser- vant. The Company rofe up, and were beginning to pay theirCompliments to the Judge and theCoun- cili but were interrupted by a Gentleman, who went up to the Judge, and offer'd him a Fee What's this? fays the Judge. A Fee, Sir, faid the Gentleman. A Fee to a Judge is a Bribe, faid the Judge. True, Sir, faid the Gentleman j but you haverefign'd your Commiffion, and will not be the firfl: Judge who has come from the Bench to the Bar without anyDiminurion of Honour. Now Lazarus-% Cafe is to come on next, and this Fee is to retain you on his Side. There follow'd a con- fus'd Noife of all fpeaking together, to perfuade the Judge to take the Fee: But as the Trial had laded longer than I expeded, and I had lapfed the time of an Appointment for Bufinefs, I was forc'd to flip away} and whether the Judge was prevail- ed on to undertake the Caufe of Lazarus, or no, I cannot fay. * FINIS, - 5- b E F E N C^: OF THE (^' . Scripture-Hiftory , •*u.L SEV,V So far as it concerns The Resurrection of Jairus's Daughter ; the Widow of N a i n's Son ; and Lazarus. In Anfwer To Mr. Wools ton's Fifth Difcourfe on our Saviours Miracles. WITH A PREFACE, containing fome Remarks on his Answer to the Lord Bifhop of St. David's. This is the Difciple 'which teftifieth of thefe things^ and wrote thefe things •, and we know that his Tefti7nony is true. John xxi. 24. LONDON: Printed for John Pemberton, at xht Buck^ againft St. Dunftan^s Church, in Fleet-Jlreci. M.DCC.XXX. (Price OiiQ SbiUing.) 111 THE P RE F A C E. m yd' i — HE Controverfj with Mr. Wool- fton on the Suhje^i of our Saviour* s Miracles, having been already un-- der taken by a very '^Eminent Hand ; any Interpofition from a private Writer J may look like Prefumption* His Lordfhip^ I am perfuaded^ will be fo far from, taking offence^ that he will he pleafed^ on this oc-- cafion^ to fee the proper Evidences of a Concern for the common Faith^ from what garter foever they come \ and will not think it a Difparageme?it t9 his Undertaking if it be prefumed^ that Performan- ces of a great deal lefs account than his ozvn, may have their ufe» Mr. W. has in all his late Wri^ tings fhewn a great Contempt of the Clergy \ and had this been alU it might and would have been borne with. But when the ^leftion comes to njfe'ct the 'Truth of the GofpeU it is every Man*s Rights and every Man^s Duty^ to confider his Ohjeotions^ and to offer his Thoughts to the Puhlick^ fo far as he thinks himfelf capable of advancing any things which may help to fet thefe Matters in a true and proper Light. ^ It is grown to be fo fafhionable a thing for every Writer both in Divinity and in Politicks^ to affume * Bp. of St^ 'QavU's. A 2 ^9 C iv ] to himfelf an unbounded Licence to write what he ^leafes^ that I marvel not that this Gentleman^ who had fo man'j offenfive things to fay^ JJjop.ld flee to the common Refuge in fuch Cafes^ and be very angry at thofe who Jhoiild fuggeft^ that the Magi- Jirate has any right to interpfe in fuch ^/efions as thefe, I will have no d'lfpiite with Mr. W. upon this Pointy which lies at prefent before other Judges. If you will believe him in what he often faySy Reafon and Argument is all he wants : tho" if you will judge from what he writes., he weans nothing lefs\ of which ^ fetting afide his -ludicrous way of treating the mofl ferious things^ (which is choquing to all who do not co7ne to the reading of his Books with the fame Spirit with which he wrote them) this is fufficient Proof ., that he has never yet vouchfafed a proper Anfwer to any one Writer who has appeared again ft him.^ nor., fo far as we can pudge at prefent^ ever intends to do it. In his laji Piece ^ which is profeffedly written againfi the Bijhop of St. David's, he amufes his Readers with ge- neral Harangues., andDigpreJfons into Subjeols which have no relation to the main Controverfy ; but enters into no Point., nor (as he himfelf confejfes) fo much as attempts * to defend himfelf on any one Miracle. Since this is the Cafe^ the World., I fuppofe., will readily acquit his LordfJoip., if he fhould never think it worth his while to enter into the Particulars of it. But the Reafon he gives for 7ict defending himfelf is well worth notice^ namely^ that as he cannot do this without writing in the fame Style and Strain for which he is proiecuted, fo he will do nothing that may be interpreted as an A61 in Defiance and Contempt of the Power of the Civil Magiilrate •, which is fo firry a Pre- tence^ that., I think:, even Mr.'W, himfelf could * Defence, pare i. p. ^i. not C V ] not hope that it [houU pafs with the mofi unwary Reader, He is profecuted^ he tells us^ for the Style and Strain of his Writings, that is, I fuppofey for hurlcfquing and ridiculing the Miracles of our Blejfed Saviour. Now hecaufe^ it feems^ when- ever he undertakes his own Defence^ he cannot do it without writing in the lame Style and Strain, therefore he declines it for the prefent^ left it Jhould he interpreted as an AB of Defiance to Civil Authority, Who does not fee here that Mr, W, •prevaricates Z* He takes notice himfelf, that he publifhed two Difcourfes after the Commence- ment of the Profecution, which all the fForld knows are written in the fame Style and Strain ; and if an^ one can he fo weak as to believe him in what he fa'js in excufe for it^ na?nely, that he thought his Profecutors were in jell, yet^ now at leafy he feems convinced that they are in earneft. And yet in this very Book he writes in the fame Style and Strain as before^ or worfe^ if it were fnfftble 5 a?id declares^ that if he furvives the Pro- fecution, and efcapes with Life and Liberty, he will go on to do foy in fpite of any Difcouragenient that our Laws can give •, which plainly JJiews^ thaty not a Regard to Civil Authority is the true Reafon of his declining to enter into the Defence of his Caufe, but fomething elfe which was not to be fpoke out. Surely Mr, W. might have thought it as fafe to have anfwered the Bifhop of St. David's, and the refl of his Oppofers, if he could have done ity as to go on in abufing them ; nor need he have fear\l a more heavy Sentence for offering a jufi and a reafonable Apology for himfelf if he knew that he had a juft Apology to offer. Icon- fcfs there are a great ?nany of the Opinicny that he deferves chaflifeinent for his Ill-manners ; but I hope there are very few who would have him fe- 3 verely C vi ] n>enly treated fnenly for his Infidelity : and under what odious Colours foever he may think fit to re- frefent the Englifh Ciergy, I will anfwer for fime of them, that they are not afraid to follow him to the very bottom of this ^eftion, whenever he has any thing to offer that is fit for a Chriflian to hear. It is amazing to confider with how much Con- fidence this miter challenges all the World to a Difpute, in which the Whole of Religion lies at ftake, whilfl, at the fame time, he gives the ftrongeft Intijnatio7ts pffible, that he never means to enter into this Point with the Spirit and Condu^ of a foher Inquirer after Truth. He tells us, that if our B'jfhops were any thing Heroical, they would flop the Profecution, and let the Contro- verfy take its free courfe. How much it may he in the power of any of our Btfhops to jut a flop to tois Profecution, I do not know, nor do I think It material to enquire. But whv muft the Pro- fecution he flop ? Why, if the Gentleman has any honeft meaning, he ?nuji fay, that there may he room for free Debate, and that the Arguments on hoth fides ?7iay he fairly confidered. Very well And does Mr, W. mean to undertake the part of a fair Bfputant, in cafe this Liberty Jhould he granted him ? By no means ; for you have already feen that he cannot write but in the fame Style and Strain ; and at the Clofe of his Book he fays plainly, that f notwithftanding what the Bifhop has written in Vindication of Jefus's Miracles, the literal Story of then;^ by the leave of God and ^of the Civil Magiflrate, lliall be afrelli at- tack'd, and perhaps with more Ridicule than he ufed before. Reafon is one th':ng ; Ridicule is mother : So that what the Gentleman ?nodefily * P- S^' t P. 6p. wijhes [ vii ] wijhes for is this^ 'that the Civil Magijlrate would fit by to hear^ not whether Mr. W. h able to ju- ftify himfelf by ReafoHy but whether he has Wit enough to laugh Religion out of countenance. If this he the Magiftrate's Province^ I think he has very little to do. But Mr, W.Jhould be ;fut in mindy that his Caufe gains 7to credit by trufti7ig to fuch Artifices as thefe. Whatever his Doubts may be^ there is certainly a way ofpropofing them to the Publicky that is confident with Decency and good Senfe ; and fine e he^ it feems^ is under fo un- happy a Fatality y that he cannot write inofi^en- fiveUy he fhould be taught the Difcretion to leave the Difpute to fomebody that can. But his unwil- lingnefs to do it, can, in my apprehenfion, proceed from nothing elfe than a fecret CcnvitViony that his Caufe will not ft and a fair Tryal. If Mr. W. had been under any Inclination to do juftice to the Argument he has entered upon, there were fever al 'Treatifes previous to the Bifhop of St. David's, which he would certainly have thought worth his notice. A?nong the reft I will take leave to mention^ in the firji place^ The Tryal of the Witneffes of the Refurre6tion of Jefus ; a T'rea- tife which has gained an univerfal ejieem amongft ell who read with Underftanding. 'to what hand foever it is that the Publick is obliged for this ju- dicious Performance y he has certainly all the Sa- lifications of a fair Adverfary. Here is no crying out to the Civil Magiftrate for help : fwne of thofe Calumnys and Slanders which Mr. W. fo loudly^ and fo unreafonably co?nplains of. Here is Argument for him, and nothing but Argument, in which there is this' Circumftance that muft recom- mend it to Mr. W. as it does to every body elfcj that the Ohjeofions on the fide of Infidelity are fet in a much ftronger Light than that Gentleman knew C viii ] knew how to put them hhnfelf. And yet this Book, though pMiJhed jnany Months ago^ very foon after his fixth Diicourfe made its appearance, has lain by fiegle^ed, and not one Word of notice taken of it till now I — -And what does Mr. W. fay to it now? Why, that * the Author of this Treatife is a Friend to his Objedlions againft Jefm\ Refur- redion, which he has fairly ftated, but is fo far from fully confuting All of them, that he dif- covers a Confcioufnefs here and there that they are unanfvverable. By the way, here is a pretty plain Confejfwn, that there are Some of his Oh- je^ions which the Author of this 'Treatip has fully confuted ; and it would have been fome Satisfaclion if Mr. W. would have told us which they are-, in his Opinion, that he has not fully confuted. But this is of no great confequence \ becaufe^ upon the whole, he tells us, that there is very little in this Treatife to make it reputed a fulHcient Anfwer to his Objedcions, excepting the Verdidl of the Jury. Is it not vifible to the whole Worlds that this Writer difdains to debate the ^lefl ion fairly with any body, and means to fupport his Caufe merely by dint of Ajfurance P Has he written one fingle Page to fhew that there is any appearance of Truth in what he fays ? Not one* Has he fo much as referred his Readers to the particular Paf- fages in that Treatife, where the Author has difco- Vcred this Confcicufuefs, that his OhjeBions are un- anfwer able f Nor this, nor any thing has he f aid tofhezv, that he ever intends it. He tells us in- deed of f a Vindication which he once drew up, and which he ftill hopes for an Opportunity to publifh, at fome time or other. And what is he to prove in this Vindication ? Why^ it feemj, that Bijhop Sherlock is not the Author of this Treatife. * P./S*. fP. 6i. What C ix 3 IVbiH is ity Sir, to you^ or to your Caufe^ who is the Author of this Treatife ? If I Jhould pro^Ji^ that Mr,W. is not the Author of the Books lately ]:iih^ lijhed under bis Name^ hut that fomchcdy "wrote them for him^ zvhat am I the -nearer ? The Ob- jeofions will be jufl the fame^ neither better nor worfe. And fo will thj Jlnfwers to thefe Object ions he^ whether Bijhop Sherlock wrote them or not. No doubt if Mr. W. could have proved the Author of this Treatife to be of his fide-, he would have done it long before now^ as knowing that it would have been mrre to his purfofe, than finding fault with De- dications : And in that cafe ^tis natural to fuppofi, that he would have been glad that the World Jloould believe that Author to be EifJjop Sherlock, that the greatnefs of his Name might add glory to hisTiumpbs. But he knows he falftfys^ and his Cowardife betra\s him. If he denys it^ it will be expelled that he gives a reafon for it^ by fhewing that this Wri- ter has not anfwered his ObjeBions. Whenever he will undertake this Pointy whether fairly or unfair- ly^ fomebody will be at leifure to fee how well he performs it i to which Mr, W. has this Encourage- ment i that if he gets the better in this 'Debate, and can once prove the Refjr reef ion of our Saviour to be a Cheat,, no body will think it worth the whik, to difpiite the reft with him, Air. W'y Negieof of fo co7^fiderable a Writer will appear fo much the more deferving our notice^ when 'tis remembred how he has improved the Silence of the Clergy,, upon the Publication of hisfirft Difcourfi, into a matter of boafting, * I have given them (fays he) time enough to make a Reply, if they had been of Ability to do it. What mufb I then, think upon their Silence ? Nothing lefs than that my Caufe is impregnable, and my Arguments * pifc.a. p. 1. a and Ex]' And Authority's in defence of it irrefragable. — — 'The JVorld is by this time^ Ibope^ convinced^ that Mr, W. was greatly ijiijlaken^ and may be more fo in due time. What I mention this for ^ is oJtly tojhew^ that if we may be permitted to judge of Mr. W. by the fame Rule that he judges of others^ he ftands con- demned. For he has not anfwered this Book, nor (as it appears) ever means to anfwer it. "There is another namelefs Writer mentioned by Mr. W. as a Writer of fome Credit, whom, * like a couragious Champion {as he fpeaks) he looks in the Face •, but-, like a Coward, prefently turns his Pack upon. It is the Author of three fmall "Trails, entituled. The Miracles of Jefus vindicated. "This Gentleman has, in a very jhort and plain mamier, anfwered Mr. Wj Objc5lions to fever al of our Sa- viour^s Miracles, for which he deferves Thanks. Injtecid ofJheW'ing the hifufficiency of thefe Anfivers, Mr. \N.'is pleafed to entertain his Readers with an account of fome Chit-chat that his Friend the Rabbi had with him over a Difli of Tea, concer7nng one of thefe Treatifes, and declares, that if he f could have gotten to the certain Knowledge of the Au- thor, lie fliould have been tempted to have had a Bout with him. Go on. Sir, I befeech you. What is it that hinders ? If you cannot find the Man, you can find his Books, which is all you want^ t'nlefs your Defign is perfonally to affront him : And doubilefs this is what Mr, W. means when he fays, that if he coidd find him out he would teach him a better Ufe, and a more proper Application of the words Dishonesty, and Want of Ho- nesty, than to reproach him with them. This Writer, you mufi know, has charged Mr, W. with quoting the Fathers cVfooneflly, If he can an fiver this Charge, why does he not do it ? Let Sha??tct « P. 4. t ^-n- € xi ] reft where it will-, he will remove it- from hi?nfelf. If he cannot^ he will gain no advantage from the knowledge of the Author^ which will 7mt help to make his Cafe worf\ So that this is plainly a Shift to avoid engaging in a Point zvhich he finds too hot for his handling. I do not wonder that any Gentle- man fljould chufe to conceal his Na?ne in this Con- troverfy^ as it flands at prefent^ rather than expofe hi7?ifelf to the Omrages of a petulant JVriter^ who knows not how to contoAn himfclf within any hounds of Decency. It is needlefs to exetnplify in what fort he has iifcd the Bifrjops of the Churchy and ef pe- dal ly the Bijhop of St. David's, in this his lafi Book ', for which the heft Excufe he has to offer is this., that^ if a Lord will engage with a Plow- man, and fliould meet with a Kick on the Shins, he fhould know how to bear it with patience. If Mr. W. is willing to have it faid that he has the 'Wit and the Manners of a Plowman -, I Jhall readily acknowledge the Comparifon to he very juft. As to the Bifhop., hey I dare fay., knows how to bear the Treatment he has met with from Mr. W. with patience •, andfo much the rather when he ohferves^ that even Ma j e s t y its^elt has not heen Jiiffered to efcape the Scourges of his infolent Fen. I could readily have joined with Mr. W. in his, Requeft to the excellent Author of the Try d\ of the Witneflcs of the Refurre£lion of Jesus, 'e that he '.' would puhliftj^ what in the Conciufion he has ofivep. " us fome hopes of^ The Tryal of the Witnefies f' of the Refurreclion of Lazarus 7:'* Bit till that comes., if ever it is to corns., I hope this EJfay will he acccptedy in which I have joined that Cafc^ and the other two Refurre^ion-Miracles recorded' in the Nezv Teftament-, together. I have all along^ In this IVcrk^ confider'd Mr. W. as an Infidel, h] * P. 68. j- P. 6\. I which t xii ] which 1 am fenjible I have dravvn upon viyfelf^ a Charge of Slander ; for this is the great and only Fault vf all his Adverfarys^ which has occafioned fo imich Co77iplaint on hi^ fide, that they will not allow him to he a Cbriflian. But if Mr, W. will he angry, I cannot help it : for fiirely great is his Madnefs or his Confidence in pretending to he a Chri- flian, when he faps the very Foundation ^ without which it will he inipoffiblc ever to fhew^ that Jefus was a Prophet fentfrom God, If Mr, W. is of an- ether Opinion^ it would be a great Satisfaction to the Puhlickto fee aSpeciinenfrom him, fjjezving how a^ Infidel may he converted upon his Principles. As to the Matter of this Book, I have confined imfelf wholly to the clearing up the Scriptiire-ITiftory., leaving that part of the Difpute which concerns the Senfe of the Fathers, to others who have more time to fpare. Why I fet not my Name to this Treatife., Mr, "W. has no right to demand an account, I have •ffiade ufe of my Liberty, and let him make ufe of his. If he gives no Anfwer, Ifioall think the Gofpel thus far juflified. If otherwifj, whether he fets himfelf to reafon or to rail, to laugh or to he ferious ; my hu- finefsfljall he, as he advifes, to take all with pa- iience, and, ft ripping him of every falfe Ornament that may help to difguife the 'Truths and lead the Reader "ojf from the Point in queftion^ to fet him forth pakid to the World, E I 3 DEFENCE OF THE Scripture-History, ^c. Y Purpofe is to confider thofe three Miracles of our Saviour which Mr. Woolflon has thrown together in his fifth Difcourfe, viz. The Refurredlion of La- zarusy of Jairus's Daughter and the TVidow of Nain*s Son ; in which that we may proceed in fome Method, there are two Things principally to be attended to as general Heads compre- hending, I think, all his Objeaions, viz, Firfii What Appearance thefe Fa6ls have upon the Face of the Scripture-Hiftory, Secondly, What i9 the Evidence upon which we believe the Scripture-Hiftory to be true, B and C 2 1 and what are the Exceptions which this Writer has produced againft it. Firft then ; let us confider what Appearance thefe Facls have upon the Face of the Scripture- Hiftory •, and particularly, whether in the Ac- count of thefe FaEls^ as ■ they ft and recorded by the Evangelifts, there appears any fuch Improbabi- litys, Incredibilitys, or Abfurditys as may jufily render them Sufpicious? Our Author is very copious in declaiming upon this Head, infomuch that were any one difpofcd to frame an Idea of the New Teilament from his general Reprefen- tations of it, he muft conclude it to be one continu'd Chain of Inconfiftencys. What Ground there is for all this Outcry will foon appear, when the Particulars of the Charge come to be laid before you. In order to it, take the Hiftory of thefe three Cafes in fhort as follow. " J air us a Man of Note among the Jews^ *' having heard of the Fame of Jefus as a «' Worker of Miracles, comes to him, and *' with great Earneftnefs defires him to go and " heal his Daughter, who was at the point of " Death. Soon after, there comes a MefTenger, *« acquainting him that fiie was actually dead. " Jefus neverthelefs goes to the Ruler's Houfe, ^^ where he finds the Minftrels^ and the whole ^^ Family making great Lamentation. Here- ." upon taking with him Peter^ and Jamss^ and ^' J(hn^ and trie Father and Mother of the ^« Damfe), he enters the Room where fhe was '' laid. [ 3 ] *« laid, and taking her by the Hand faid, ** Danifel arife *, and fhe arofe and walked. ** Matt. ix. 1 8. Mark. v. 22. Luke' viii. 41. *' The fecorid Hiflory acquaints us that Je^us " going to a City called Nain, attended with " his Difciples and miwrh People -, he met at *' the Gate of the City, a young Man (the " only Son of a Widow Woman) a carrying " to his Grave. Moved with Compaflion he " came and touched the Bier, and Hiid l^ouug *' Man arife. And he that was dead fat up *' and began to fpeak, and he delivoi'ed him " to his Mother. Luke w\\. 11. " The third and laft is to this effedl. La- ^' xarus of Bethany -, the Friend of Jefus^ was " fick; of which he is prefently acquainted by *« Mary and Martha the Sifters of Lazarus^ " After two Days he prepares to go and vifit *' him, and by the way tells his Difciples plain- " ly that Lazarus was dead, fignifying to them " his Intentions of raifing him from the dead. *' When they came to Bethany^ they found *' that he had been four Days laid in the Grave. " Whereupon Jefus attended with his Difci- •« pies, and Mary and Martha^ and many o- " ther Jeios^ goes to the Grave, and having or- " der'd the Stone to be taken away, cried with " a loud Voice, Lazarus come forth. And he *' that was dead came forth with Grave Clothes, *' and his Face was bound about with a Nap- *' kin. And ^efus faith unto them—Loofe him *^ and let hinv go. '^oh. xi. i~47. B 2 I C 4 D 1 think I have omitted no one material Point in wririi;g thefe Stories ; which at firft View feem to be very plain, confiflent Narratives, con- taining nothing of Abfurdity or Incredibility, unlefs any one thinks it to be an incredible thing that God fhould be able to raife a dead Man to life. But let us hear what this Wri- ter has to except againft them. His Objections, (fuch of them, I mean, as properly fall under the prefent Enquiry^ are in number five ; where- of three have a general and common Reference t0 all the Cafes above mentioned ; and two are peculiar to the Cafe o^ Lazarus, The Obje6lions common to all the Cafes are thjfe liz. * i. That none of thefe three Perfons faid to be raifed from the dead, were at all proper Perfons for Jefus to work fuch a Mi- racle upon in 'Tefimony of his divine Power, ^airus's Daughter, it feems, was an infignificant Girl The JVidow^s Son a Youth of no greater Importance, Lazarus^ fomething more confi- derable as he was Jefus'^ Friend ; but not fo proper a Subjed by a great deal as John the Baptift or many other Perfons, whom this Writer, if he had been advifed with, could have recom- mended for this purpofe. 2. That neither fa- cred nor ecclefiaftical Hiftory f make any men- fion what became cf thefe three Perfons after their RefurreUion % how long they lived ^ or of what * P. 10, to 27. + P. ly, to 20, C 5 ] life and Advantage their rejlored Lives 'Were ta the Churchy or to Mankind, 3. That * none of thefe three Perfons did or could after the Re- turn of their Souls to their Bodies tell any 'Tales of their feparate Exiftence. If this Writer had not been under very Itrong Inclinations to de- preciate the holy Scriptures, he would never have imagined that a Charge of Abfurdity could be fupported by fuch wretched Cavils as thefe. He very rightly obferves, that the End our Saviour propofed in working thefe Mira- cles, was to give Teflimony of his divine Power. I defire then that it may be explained why the raifing of thefe Perfons from the dead, was not as good an Evidence of the Power of God, as the raifing of any other Perfons would have been? Or of what Confequence it is to the fetting forth our Saviour's divine Power, to be told, how it fared with thefe Perfons when they were dead •, where they dwelt -, and what they did after they were again reftored to Life ? That Jefus ought to have ralfed all that died wherever he came , our Writer owns ca^mot be fuppofed, 'Two or three Inftances^ fays he , will he allowed to be fufficient. Here are now three for his pur- pofe-, yet they will not fatisfy: And why? why becaufe Jefus did not think fit to raife juft fuch Perfons as he would have him to have raifed ; an tiffid Magijlrate^ for inilance \ or • P. 32. an C 6 ] an indujlrlous Merchant ; or a Father of a nume- rous Family ; or fome other Perfon of confequence to the Commonwealth. How does the Gentle- man know of what confequence thefe Perfons were, or were not, to the Commonwealth ? Or what has the Commonwealth to do in fuch Que- flions as thefe ? Infignificant as thefe Perfons were upon other accounts, they are Inftances, I fay, of the Power of God \ and how wife fo- ever this Writer may imagine himfelf to be, we have certainly a right to fuppofe that God is wifer, and that it belonged to him, and not to any Mortal upon Earth, to determine upon whom it was prqper to exercife this Power, fo as befl to anfwer the Ends of his Providence. Nor let him be difburbed as if it were an Ab- furdity, that a Perfon fhould be raifed from the dead and make no Difcoveries to his Friends and Acquaintance about the other World. For aught that he can Ihew to the contrary, thefe Perfons did tell their Friends and Acquain- tance all that they knew of it themfelves. But if (which is mofl likely) they themfelves knew nothing, it is very certain that they could tell nothing. The Notion of Death implies no more than the Separation of Soul and Body : And by the Will of God, the Soul may fubfift for a time, in a ftate of Infenfibility out of the Body, as well as it niay in the Body. But how, (he will afk) can it rcafonably be fuppofed to have been the Will of God, that thefe Perfons Hiould know t 7 ] know nothing of a feparate State ? Would not a Report of the Condition of departed Souls, from thofe, who for a time had had the Ex- perience of it, have been a Confirinatlon of that Do5lrine^ which is of the Effence of our Religioriy and an ahfolute Confutation of the Sadduces and Sceptifts of that Age^ and of the Materialifts in this? I much doubt, whether it would or not. For it is a very hard matter to know what will ahfolutely confute (in their own Opinions, I mean) thofe who are aforehand determined not to be- lieve* In my Apprehenfion, the Evidence of a future State upon the foot it now (lands, is as good as it needs to be *, and I am not furc whether if Lazarus had known, and St. John had particularly related, as from him, what was the State of the Dead ; I am not fure, I fay, that this Writer himfelf would have believed it one jot the fooner. But it is not worth while to difpute this Point with him. Let the Ad- vantage of the Evidence for a future State be as great upon this Suppofition as he is pleafed to have it : I aflc him this plain Queftion •, Can he prove that God was bound to give fuch E- vidence ? Or can he even fhew, that upon fome accounts, it would not have been inconfiftent with the Wifdom of his Providence, to have given fuch Evidence ^ Till he can do this, he has no right to fuppofe that thefe dead Perfons knew any thing at all of a feparate State, or, if they did know any thing, were permitted to declare C 8 ] declare any thing. The Silence of the facrcd Hiftory, as to this matter, is therefore ridicu- loufly alledged as an argument againft the Cre- dibility of thefe Relations. For how abfurd is it to bring thefe Objedtions againft thefe par- ticular Parts of the Gofpel-Hiftory, which, if they have any weight at all in them^ it muft fall direftly upon the Gofpel itfelf, whether li- terally or myftically underftood* For fince Chrift cam.e to teach us all things neceffary to Relio-ion, how will you account for his filence in thefe Points ? Was not there more reafon to expe6t a diftinft account of the other World from Chrift himfelf, than from the Daughter of Jairusy the Son of the Widow^ or from Laza- rus? But the Writer objeds farther ; Why have we no Accounts, what became of thefe Perfons after they were raifed from the Dead? The reafon is plain. The Evangelifts wrote the Hi- ftory of Chrift, and not of thefe Perfons •, and therefore they take notice of them as far as Chrift was concerned with them, but had no caufe to enter into their particular Story. To prove the Miracle, they relate particularly the Circumftances of their Death, and particularly ;alfo the Circumftances of their being raifed to Life, what more would you have? If you had the minuteft Account of their Affairs afterwards, the Miracle would ftand as it does, neither di- miniftied nor augmented by the Hiftory: And [ 9 3 is it reafonable to exped from the Evangelifts, that they fhould write every perfon's Life on whom Chrifl wrought a Cure? They muft, I think, have wrote more Lives than ever Plutarch did ; and the Gofpel intended to inftru6t the World in Religion, would have made a very odd Figure fo filled with private Adventures. As to the Silence of the Ecclefiaftical Hiftorians in thefe Cafes, 'tis evident, that they came too late to give us any fuch Account, fince the Gofpel had given them no Light, and the Perfons were not fo confiderable as to have particular Hi- ftorians of their own Time. Wherefore, to proceed to the other two Ob- jedlions proper to be fpoken to under this Head of Enquiry -, which, as I faid juft now, are pe- culiar to the Cafe of Lazarus. Our Author has treated this Relation in a very fingular manner, and introduces it by a Preface, in which he re- prefents it as * fuch a Contexture of Folly and Frauds as is not to be equalled in all Romantick Hiftory. This naturally raifes an Expedation of fome great Difcoveries ; and what are they ? Why, I. Jefus is faid to have wept and groan- ed /(?r the Death ^Lazarus, 'who7n he had before^ hand deterinined to raife from the dead ! 2. Jefus called Lazarus forth with a loud Foice -, as if dead Lazarus had been deafer than Jairus'j Daugh- tery or the Widow's Son / If thefe, and fuch as * P. 58. thefe C 10 3 thcfe be the Abfurditys and Incredibilltys the Gentleman talks of, he may with great Eafe fll a Volume, but with very little advantage to his Gaufe. For where is the Abfurdity, wheit 3s the Incredibility, that even Jefus Jfhould on this occafion difcover in himfelf the tender, that is the mofl amiable Part of human Nature ; or that he lliould fpeak loud enough to be heard by all the People that flood by, who were to be Witnefies of the Power of his Word in raifing the Dead to Life? That which drew Tears from the blefled Jefus was not the Death of Lazarus-, as appears from his own Words to his Difciples : Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for '^our fakes, Joh. xi. 14, 15. And when Martha met him, and faid, Lord, if thou hadfl been here m^ Brother had not died ; he anfwers without any concern, i:'hy Brother fhall rife again, ver. 21, 23. But when he was going to the Grave where his Friend was laid, and faw Sorrow and Diftreis in the Faces of all around him ; it was then that he firfl fJt thofe Impreffions of Tender- ncfs, which, v/ithoui any reproach to us from our Reafon, are v/ont ro lead us to fympathize with the Affiided. And had this Writer been by, to luve demanded the reafon of his Tears, he- might have anfwered in the Words of a Ro- man Poet ; Homo fum, ^- nihil Humani a me alienum ]juto. It would be no groundleis Conjedlure if I fhouldfay, that one caufe of our Saviour's con- cern C II ] cem was that flownefs of Belief which he ob- ferved in thofe, who had afore been often Wit- nefles of his Ahnighty Power ; of which this will not be the fingle Inftance that is to be found in Scripture, The Jeivs openly reviled him, and faid, Could not this Ma?t zvhich otened the Eyes of the Blindy have caiifed that even this Man Jhould not hav^ died F Upon which it pre- lently follows, Jefus therefore again groan- ing in himfclf cometh to the Grave. And everi fhe who could fay with fo much afTurance, / know that even now whatfoever thou wilt ask of Gody God will give it thee --, feems in that Con- feflion to have out-run her real Perfuafion. For when Jefus faid, 'Take away the Stone^ Ihe checks him with a Speech full of diflrufl, Lord by this time heftinkethy for he hath been dead four days. But why fhould I tir^ you with fuch common Gbfervations ? What if we cannot tell the rea- fon why Jefus wept, nor anfwer to thofe who fliall afk us, why in the Cafe o^ Lazarus he fpake with a loud Voice ? why in the Cafe of the Widow'* % Son he touched the Bicf- F why in the Cafe of Jairush Daughter he took hdd of her Hand ? Is it neceffary, in order to fupport the Credit of the Hiftory, that we account diftinfl- ly for fuch minute, and perhaps arbitrary Cir* cumftances of our Saviour's Behaviour ? Can even this Writer imagine, that the Truth of the Gofpel depends upon the Tone of our Saviour's Yoice, whether it was foft or loud -, upon the C 2 Mo"^ c 12 : Motion of his Hand, whether It was to the right or to the left ? or would fuch QuefLions as thefe be borne in any other Cafe ? If all Hiftorys are to be tried by this Rule, they mull all be given up as Romances ; for all are lia- ble to the like Objections. From the Account then of thefe three Fadbs, as they ftand recorded by the Evangelitts, there is no appearance of any fuch Abfurditys as this Writer complains of, and which may juftly render them fufpicious. Another Enquiry proper to be m.ade, is. Whether in the relation of thefe FaEls there are an'j Circumftances wanting, which are tie- ceffar^j to render them full and fufficient Proofs cf ivbat they were intended to fhew^ to wity our Sa- viour^s Power in raifing the Dead to life ? And a very material Defect there is, if what this Writer objeds be true -, viz. * That none of thefe three raifed Perfons had been dead long enough to amputate (as he learnedly expreffes himfelf) all doubt of Jefus'j miraculous Power in their Re- furre5fion. His Meaning I prefume is, that thefe Perfons were not dead long enough in appearance to fhew that they were really dead : For admitting that they were really dead, it mull be granted that Jefus raifed them from the dead •, becaufe it is not pretended that thefe Perfons wert not alive after they were fuppofed to have been dead. The only Point therefore to • P. i6, be C 13 1 be confidered is, what Circumftances there arc in the Story to fhew that thefe Perfons were really dead ? That they were all of them treat- ed by their Friends and Relations as dead Per- fons, is evident and inconteftable. For when Jefus came to Jairus's Houfe, he found the Minftrels there, and the People making great Lamentation. The Widow^s Son was carrying to his Grave ; and Lazarus had been adually buried feveral Days. But the Qiieflion ftill is, whether in thefe Cafes there was not either Mi- flake or Fraud ? The Objedor puts in for both Pleas as he thinks will bed ferve his rurn ; but every one of common Senfe muft fee, that in one and the fame Cafe both Pleas cannot Hand together. Let us therefore take them fe- parately •, and firft as to the fuppofed Miftake ; why fhould any one treat his Child or his Re- lation as a dead Perfon, unlefs he knows him to be fo ? Is there any Senfe in believing, that thofe about 7^/r//j's Daughter would have called in the Minftrels^ and made fuch ado ; or that the Widow fhould have fufFered her only Son to be carried forth as a Corpfe *, or May-tha^ and Mary^ their Brother to be buried, if there had not been in all thefe Cafes all the Evidence of Death that Reafon and Senfe could give ? To what purpofe then is it to alledge, that thefe Perfons ijuere not dead long enough ? If they were dead long enough for the Convicftion of the Parents or Friends that they were dead, they were r 14 ] Were dead long enough for the Evidence of the Miracle ; and this the Story fhews, or it fhews nothing. But, becaufe this is a Difficulty at every turn to be thrown in our way, I wifh we had been told how long it is neceflliry that a Perfon fhould be dead, or feemingly dead, be- fore we may reafonably venture to pronounce him dead. The Obje\5lor himfelf feems to be under fome Uncertainty in this matter. In the Cafe of Jairush Daughter, he fays, that floe ought to have been fome Days^ if not fVeeks, dead and buried. But in the Cafe of the Widow's Son, he is very pofitive that he ought to have been bu- ried two or three Weeks i Why buried^ I befeech you ? Is there no knowing that a Perfon is dead till he has lain fome time in the Earth? Are not the proper Evidences of Death always fup- pofed as antecedent to Burial ^ And will not a few Hours (or Days at moftj determine this Evidence to all reafonable Satisfadion ^. Why no, fays the Objedor •, for * Hijiory a7id com- mon Fame affords Inftances of the inijlaken Deaths of Perfons who fometimes have been unfortunate- ly buried alive \ and at other times hapfily re^ jlored to Lfe, Allowing him as many Inftan- ces of this kind as he can have the confcience to afk, ftill it muft be admitted that there is a^ common Evidence in this Cafe which all the World underftands, and a6ls upon without Scru«' * P. 28. 3 P^^- C 15 1 pie. Let him anfwer then to this plain Que- flion ; Would he (fuch rare Inftances notwithf (landing) venture tp bury his Friend,;or his Child upon the common Evidences of Death, or would he not? If he fays he would not^/omebody I doubt not would have Senfe eaough to do it for him. But if he fays he would, let him tell me why that which is a fufficient Proof that a Man is dead when he is only to be put into the Ground, is not as good a Proof when his death is to be made ufe of as the Foundation to fupport a Miracle in his Refurredlion ? For my own part, I can fee no reafon tliat can be afligned for any difference in thefe Cafes, unlefs it be faid, that we ought to be lefs afraid of burying Men alive, than of believing the Go- fpel. I do not obferve, that this Writer has any where fuggefted a PolTibility of Miilake in the Cafe o^ Lazarus. The Reafon is plain : For he, according to the Hiftory, having been four Days in the Grave, if there had been any Mi- flake at firfl, yet by that time he was certainly dead. But as to the JVidoix/s Son, he, v/c arc told, might have been in a Lethargy ; and. Jairus^s Daughter ajleep or in a Fit \ all which is a dired: Contradiction to the principal Cir- cumflances of each Story, as I have fliewn. Their Friends treated them as dead Perfons, which fuppofes that they had the common Evi- dence of their being dead j and this Evidence as C 16 ] Its fully juftifyed them in admitting the Mira- cle, as it would have juftifyed them in putting the Bodies iilto the Grave. But to pleafure the Gentleman, we will admit his Plea for once, and fee in what light the Cafes will ftand. The young Many he fays, was in a Lethargick State, Be it fo ; but in all appearance he was fo like a dead Man, that all about him concluded him to be dead, and accordingly carried him out in order to burial. How then could Jefus (fup- pofmg him to have been an Impoftor) know, or fo much as fufpedl that he was not dead, but in a Lethargy ? Why, fays the Objedtor, (and it is all he had to fayj fomehody might inform him. But how fo ? The very carrying this Man to his Grave, ihews that there was no Sufpicion of any fuch cafe, and confequently there could be no fuch Information-, much lefs could any one tell, or Jefus know, the exa(5l time when the Man was to awake out of his Lethargy. What then are we to believe in this Cafe ? why, th^t Jefus needlefsly offered him felf to a publick Tryal, without the leaft reafonable Profped of Succefs. The Company met him accidentally upon the Road -, but no body afked him, or challenged him to raife this Man to life. It was his own offer. Jefus therefore either fup- pofed the Man to be dead, or he did not. If he fuppofed him to be dead, (as he had great reafon) he muft needs know (upon the foot we are noNv arguing) that it was not in his power to C 17 ] to raife him. If he did not fuppofe him dead^ but hoped that there might be fome fuch Mi- ilake as this Writer talks of, the hazard that he might be difappointed in prefuming upon a Cafe, which fcarce happens once in a Century, added to the farther hazard, that if this fliould be the Cafe, the Man might not poflibly awake upon his touching the Bier, and calling upon him to a rife, made the Chance againfl him to out-run all reckoning. There is therefore no Senfe in fuppofmg, either that Jefiis fhould have tittempted any fuch thing, or if he had attemp- ted it, that he fhould have fucceeded. It was at lead above ten Millions to one that he was defeated. The Cafe of Jairus^s Daughter will have ex- a6lly the fame appearance. Here Jefus was re- quefted by a Perfon of Note, to go and heal his Daughter then at the Point of Death. Be- fore he could get to the Houfe, a Mellenger meets him and acquaints the Father, that fhe was actually dead. Jefus was fo far, from ex- cufmg himfelf upon this Change in the Cafe, (as he Very eafily might) that he offers of his own accord to go forward, and tells the Father, that he would raife her to life : Be 7iot afraid^ ojily believe^ and Jhe Jhall he made whole^ Luk. viii. 50. It is obvious to remark, that, whatever might be the Caie of this Child in reality, Jefus had all the reafon in the world to believe her to be deadi for the Servant came on purpofe D to C 18 ] to make this Report. Here is therefore (fup- pofing him an Impoftor) the fame Rafhnefs and Prefumption as in the other Cafe. But his Be- haviour afterwards ( if this Writer's Account of it be true) fhews him to have been quite void of Senfe. For when he comes to the Houfe, what does he find ? why the whole Family in an uproar, and pofieffed in the ftrongeft manner imaginable, that flie was dead -, yet, fays the Obje6lor, fhe was not dead^ hut ajleep^ and Je- fu5 himfelf knew i/, and made publick Declara- tion of it before the whole Company, the Bam- fel is not dead^ hut Jleepeth, Surely fuch a heap of Abfurditys was never till now pack'd up together in one fhort Tale ! Here is an Im- poftor making a bold and a defperate pufli, which muft either ruin him at once, or eflablifli his Reputation for ever. He undertakes to raife a Perfon to life whom he was alfured was dead. If fhe was dead in good earneft, he was undone. All his Hopes refted upon a bare PolTibility that there might be fome miftake in the Cafe. Upon thefe Hopes he goes ; and when he comes there, luckily finds that there was a miftake, and more luckily ftill, that he himfelf was the only one v/ho perceived it. What now does he do ? Why, infiead of improving this extra- ordinary Accident to his own advantage, he takes away (as much as in him lies) all pofli- ble pretence for a Miracle, by declaring plain- ly, that the Perfon was not really dead as they fup- .11 I C 19 1 fuppofed, but afleep, and wanted only to be awakened ! If the Gentleman can in earned be- lieve that Jefus was capable of fuch Manage- ment as this, he muft needs acquit him of hav- ing any hand in the Plot, which he has been pleafed to cut out for him. But to come to the Truth of the Cafe : Jefus by this ExprefTion certainly meant nothing lefs than to declare againfl the Opinion and Know- ledge of all the Company, that this Child was not naturally dead. We have the fame way of fpeaking in the Cafe of Lazarus : Thiols Sicknefs^ fays he, is not unto death. And again ^ Our Friend Lazarus Jleepeth^ hut I go that I 7Jiay awake him out of Jleep. And yet, as appears from what follows, Jefus was fenfible when he faid this, that Lazarus was dead. A reafonable Man will as little doubt whether he believed that this Child was dead, or not •, but the Ob- jcdlor's Argument will not permit him to fay that Jefus believed her to be dead. Was he then perfuaded that flie was not dead? Impofllble. For as St. Mark tells the Story, he had not fo much as feen the Child when he faid thefe Words ; and whether he had, or had not, it is certain from all the Evangelifts, that notwithftanding this Declaration of Jefus^ the Company ftill be- lieved her to be dead, and (miftaking the mean- ing of the ExprefTion ) were offended at him : ■which iliews that the Evidences of Death upon her were very plain and flrong. So that here D 2 again> C 20 3 again, as in the foregoing Cafe, Jefus niuft be fuppofed to have run the hazard of a pubUck Defeat, not only without, but againft all Proba- bility of faving himfelf, and yet with the fame good foitune as before. For no fooner did he pronounce thefe Words, Damfel anft\ than Jhe arofe and walked I How credible this may ap- pear to fonne Underftandings, I cannot tell •, but to me it feems impollible, (excluding all Sup- pofition of Fraud) to give any tolerable Account of the Facts as they here ftand related, without fuppofiDg inJe/HS a Confciaufiiefs of a divine Power ; which might be obfcrved likcwife of many other of our Saviour's Miracles, if it were proper to take notice of chem in this place. If this Writer will perfift in the contrary, and fay, that all this was mere Chance, it will only fhew the great Partiality of an unbelieving Spirit ♦, which in conlidering the Evidences for Religion, takes of- fence at every thing, but in admitting Objeftions againft it, finds nothing too hard for its Di- geflion. I come now to tr.e Suggefrion of Fraud ; which in the Objedor's own Opinion feems to have no place in the Cafe of J alms's Daughter , becaufe in remarking upon this Story, he has not thought fit to offer any fuch Suggeflion. But as to that of the IVidow's Son, he fays, that there might be a Trick * concerted between Jellis, a fuhtil * P. 28. Touth^ C 21 ] Toiith^ and his Mother^ and others ; and all the Fonnalities of a Death and Burial contrived^ that Jefus, whofe Fame for a JVorkcr of Miracles was to he raifed, anight have an opportunity to make a She-uj of a grand one. The fame account he gives alfo of the Cafe of Lazarus^ who, fays he, * ?night confent to he interred alive in a hollow Cave^ where there was only a Stone laid at the mouth of it^ as long as a Man could f aft ^ &c. It will be allowed, I fuppofe, that thefe and all fuch like Suggeftions, fo far as they are mere Suggeftions, unfupported by any Evidence, are of no weight ; becaufe otherwife there mufl be an end of all Hiftorical Truth. The Objedior indeed pretends, that f It is Nonfenfe and mere Credulity to talk of a real^ certain^ and ftupendous Miracle where there is a Poffihility of Fraud : which is quite abfurd. For in all Qiieftions concerning Fads, it is fuppofed, that the Matter or Thing under confideration might have been, or might not have been ; and the determining the Fad this way, or that way, is the proper Ufe and Dcngn of Evidence. If a Man be accufed of robbing upon the High- way, it is fuppofed polTible that he may have robbed, and poITible alfo that he may not have robbed. Which of thefe two Poffibilitys is the real Fad, is the Point in Judgm.cnt ; and this mufl be determined by the weight of the Evi- dence on either fide. This Writer fays, that * P. 29. t P. iS. pofjMy C 22 ] p)JpMy there may have been Fraud in thefe Cafes. Very well. We have, I hope, as good a right to fay, that poffibl^j there may have been no Fraud ; and if we can bring pioper Evidence to (hew that there was no Fraud, and he has none to offer againft it, to Ihew that there was Fraud, I fuppofe it will bear no queftion which way common Senfe muft determine. It muft be confidered then what this Writer has offered againft the Evidence of the Scripture- Hiftory, to Ihew that there was Fraud in thefe Cafes. Now as to the Cafe of the fFidow's Son, all that I can find to the purpofe, is this. That the mourning of the Widow and Jefus'j cafual vteeting cf the Corpfe u^on the Road^ looks like Contrivance to pit the letter face upon the mat- ter ; in which Obfervation there might have been fome Senfe, if the Sufpicion of Fraud had firft Ixcn well fupported. But to found a Suggeftion of Fraud merely upon thefe Circumftances, is iibfolutely ridiculous, and fhews him to be per- fcclly carelefs in what he fays. There is no que- ftion to be made, but that Sorrow may be coun- terfeited, and that a Defign may fometimes lie concealed under the appearance of Chance and Cafualty. But did ever any one fay, that a Wo- man's weeping for tlie lofs of her Son proves her to be a Hypocrite ? Or that two Perfons meet- ing, as it were by accident upon the Road, is an Evidence of a Plot ? Fraud there ma-^ be, I lay, under fuch Circumftances j but then the i Fraud C 23 ] Fraud mud be made appear not by fucli Cir- cumftanccs, but by fometbhig elfe. The moft obvious and natural Conllrudlion from thefe Cir- cumilances, is, that there was no Fraud, as he himfeJf confefles ; for why elfe does he fay that they were contrived lo fut /Z?f Better Face upon the Matter ? The truth is, that all Coun* terfeits endeavour to imitate Nature, and to hide their Cheat under the proper Characters of Truth, But is it reafonable therefore to fufpe6l Fraud in a Cafe, merely becaufe you obferve the com- mon Characters of Truth in it ? Every Coiner puts the King's Face and Infcription upon his falfe Money. Will you therefore think it rea- fon enough to fufped: every Shilling, becaufe it has the King's Face and Infcription ? No ; all that can be faid is, that the King's Face and In- fcription are no certain Proof that there is no Fraud, where there is reafon to fufpedt one -, but to fay that of themfelves they naturally import a Fraud, is highly abfurd. Let the Gentlemari then produce the proper Evidence of a Fraud, and his Plea fhall be admitted; otherwife we fliall have a right to confider thcfe Circumftances according to what they naturally import, and to argue from hence, that no Meafures were concerted between Jefus^ the young Man, and his Mother, or any others. If Jefus's meeting this Corpfe upon the Road was really cafual, it is plain, tliat no Meafures could have been con- cerced. Now tlius it is that the Pliltory repre- fents C 24 ] fents ir. Upon the Lee of the Hiftory there- fore iill i right, and no appearance of any Friiud, I t q.iite the contrary. Buc fo mt Cafe of Lazirus, what fhall we do P * ne mofi notorious Cheats fays the Ob- je6i:ov, that wis ever put upcn Mankind \ And -f jor the Proof of it^ he fays, we need go 'n6 farlher than to the Circumfiances of its Stor'^^ which cur Evangelifi has related, I will not afk here what Jntcrell Jefus or any one elfe could have in contriving fuch a Cheat : This is a Point to be fpoken to hereafter. At prefent I confine myfelf to the Circumftances of the Story, as St. John has recorded it, which in my Appre- henfion are fo fir from having any appearance of Fraud, that they carry with them the ftrongeft Prefumptions of Honefly and Plain-dealing, that Circumftances can give. V^litri Lazarus fell fick Jefus was not with him, nor did he fee any of the Family till he had been buried fome days. And when Martha and Mary met him, their Behaviour was fuch as might naturally be ex- pedled from thofe, who were under the moft fen- fible concern for the lofs of fo near a Friend. The Gentleman, no queilion, will fay again, that this was all Grimace, the better to difguife a Defign concerted between them fome time be- fore, and now to be put in execution. Let him fay fo if he pleafes. He will not pretend, I * P, 5^- t P. 43- hopcj L 25 ]. hope, tint thcfe Circumftanccs have any Ten- dency to fljew that there was any fuch Dcfign •, and therefore (as I fiiid ju(t now) till the Fraud appears, we have reafon to confider tliem as Prefiimptions at leafb on our fide. What gives jfome weight to thefe Circumftanccs is, that the Difciples of Je[us^ as their Behaviour fliews, were perfectly ignorant of any Defign concerted be- tween their Mafter, and the Family o^ Lazarus. For when Jefus firft opcn'd to them his Intention to go and vifit Lazarus^ they oppofcd it, fear- ing the Jews. {yer. 8.) When he told them that he was afleep, they (miftaking his meanirjg) con- ceived Hopes of his recovery, (ver. 12.) And when he told them plainly that he was dead, fhew great Concern, and cry'd out -, let us go that we may die with him, fver. 16.) Is this like Men who were privy to a Defign of impofmg upon the W^orld by a counterfeit R( furredion, juft then ripe for execution ? The Objedor, I conceive, will have little room to fay here, that this was Art and Contrivance. For what need was there of difguife in a private Difcourfe be- tween Jefus and his own Difciples ? How credi- ble it is now, that Jefus fhould have concealed a Defign of this fort (had there been any fuch) from his Difciples, who (as this Writer is pleafed to reprefent the matter) had fo large a fbare in the grand Cheat of all, his own Refurredlion, which was very foon to follow, I leave to any reafonable Perfon to confider. E But i: 26 ] But the great Points are yet behind, which are thefe,That theMan had been laid in his Grave four days, and tjiat the Miracle of his Refur- red:ion was wrought in the prefence of a Mul- titude of People, Enemies as well as Friends ; Circumftances which cut off all pretence of Fraud, as well as of Miflake. You have before heard, that in this Writer's Opinion, Lazarus might, for the Propagation of his Mailer's Fame, con- fent to be interred alive in a hollow Cave for two Days and three Nights : but how to provide for him fo long, fo as to prevent a real Tragedy, he feems (as well he might) to have been pretty rnuch at a lofs. Sometimes he thinks he might well enough faft all that while ; at other times he is contriving how to get him fome Food. Surely a very needlefs Care ! fince it is againil all the Knowledge that we have to fuppofe it pofTible, that any Perfon difpofed of as Lazarus was, fhould not very quickly be put beyond all Capacity of eating and drinking. Stript naked, fwath'd up in Grave-Clothes, put into a Vault under ground, v/ith a Stone laid upon it, inter- cepting Communication with the external Air, and yet alive and well on the fourth Day ! Is this pofTible ? We have no Inftance of any thing like It. And fond as this Writer feems to be of his Caufe, I am perfuaded that he would not for all it is worth, be prevailed upon to fubmit to have the Experiment made upon himfelf If he 'fjiW^ it is foon clone j and I may venture to af- fure L 27 ] fure him, that one fuccefsful Attempt of this kind would go flirther towards deftroying the Credit of this Miracle, than all the Objedlions he can raife from the Circumftances of the Story. But if he thinks that this is hazarding a great deal too much, why fhould he not believe that Lazarus would have thought fo too ? But let us fuppofe this Difficulty got over^ and that Lazarus was all this while alive ; ft ill there is another Point as hard to account for, and that is how the People fhould be made to believe that he was dead, when the Grave came to be opened, and the Body expofed to publick View. To fhew that Craft was ufed by Laza- rus to impofe upon the Multitude, the Objedlor lays hold of a very trivial Circumflance, viz. That his Face was bound ahout uilb a Napkin, by which means (fays he) the Spe5fators could not difcern what was of the EJfence of the Miracle^ the Change of his Countenance from a dead to a live one. It is marvellous to fee how this Writer can fhift and change his Notions to ferve his Zeal againfl the Gofpel-Hiflory. Now, it feems, the Spedlators might have known Lazarus to be dead, had they but feen his Face. And yet jufl now, in the Cafes before-mentioned, he fuppofes that the Friends and Relations of the Dead, who yet certainly faw their Faces, were miflaken, and were carrying their Friends alive to be buried„ But to let this pafs : Hs afks. Why was net the Napkin taken away^ that the People might fee E 2 liilB [ 28 ] him to be dead ? The Anlvver is ready, bc- caufe no one did or poffibly could think there wanted Evidence of his Death. Juglers may call upon the Company to obferve them, and ex- pand their hands before them, and cry. All is fair. But it never enters into the Mind of an honeft Man, to ufc fuch fufpicious Caution. Had Chrill been confcious that he was going to play a Tricl<:, he m.ight have had fucji a Thought, as this Gentleman, it feems, would have fug- geftcd if he had been by. Or had the People conceived fuch an Opinion of Chrift, as this Writer defires to infinuate, they might have thought of this aiK.1 many other as curious things. But though many were averfc to believe Chriil to be theMelTias, yet none doubted of the Reality of his Miracles : Even the mod malicious fup- pofed them real, though they attributed them to the Power of an evil Being. I'he true An- fwer therefore to tl i; Wri:er is. That there was not, even among the Jews, one Man of his Spirit -, not one who thought there wanted Proof of a Man's being dead, when he had been four days buried -, not one v/ho thought Chrift only a pretended Worker of Miracles: No ; long Experience had convinced them, how unwil- ling foever they were to own him for their Meflias, that he was mighty in Word and Deed, After all, I am not certain that the Gentle- man is right in his Obfervation. The Text fays, tliat Lazarus'i Face was hound about with a Nap- kin » C 29 ] kin •, but it docs not fay that k was covered with a Napkin, fo that the Spedators might not dif- cern his Countenance. At chap. xx. ver. 7. we read '::^.ovSdpLOv vv im rfi; K£(p^?i?K, ^^-^e Napkin thai was upon the Hsad ofjefus *, by which it fhould feem that the Sudarium was a part of the Burial'drefs that was bound about the Head, covering only the upper part of the Face or Fore- head like a Night-Cap. And if fo, this Circum- ftance can be no Proof that his t'ace was not open to the View of the Company, and that the Tokens of Death were not plain and vifible* However this was, the Gentleman tells us plain- ly, that the Spedlators (many of them at leaft) did by fome means or other find out that La- zarus was alive, when Jefus pretended to raife him from the dead. For the Cheat, he fays, was detefted, and this was the reafon why he was profecuted, condemned, and put to death by the Jews. This Obfervation is to the purpofe indeed, if it can be made good ; let us fee how he fupports it. He obferves then from theEvangelld,* That *' many of the Jews who had feen the things that *' Jefus did^ believed on him^ fver. 45.) that fomt *■ of them who did not believe, went their ways *' to the Pharifees, and told them what things *' Jefus had done (ver. 46.) in this pretended Mi- " racle, and how the Bufinefs was tranfaded. <' Whereupon the Chief Priefts and Pharifees • P. 41. (irf% «' were [ 30 ] *^ were fo Incenfed, as from that day forth they *' took counfel together to put htm to deaths (ver. *' SZ') ^nd confulted that they anight put Lazarus '' alfo to deaths (chap. xii. ver, lo.) Jefus there- " fore (^and his Difciples, and Lazarus^ fled for *' it, for theyj walked no more openly among the *' Jews, hut went thence into a Country near to *« the Wildernejs (a convenient hiding-placej and *' there continued with his Difciples^ (chap. xi. ver. •« 54.)otherwife in all probability they had been *' all facrificed.*' Upon this general State of the Cafe he afks two Quellions, viz. i. * If there ** had been an indifpu table Miracle wrought in " Lazarus* s Refurredlion, why were the Chief *' Priefts and Pharifees fo incenfed upon it, as *' to take counfel to put both Jefus and Laza- " rus to death for it? 2. f Why did Jeftis ** and his Difciples, with Lazarus^ run away and *' abfcond upon it?'* To thefe two Queftions he thinks no reafonable Anfwer can be given ; and thence concludes as above, that Jefus was detedled in a Fraud, for which he was publick-^ ly tried and condemned. I am under fome hopes that the Anfwer will not be found fo difficult as the Gentleman is willing to fuppofe ; and that thefe Circumflances fairly confidered as they fland in the Gofpel, will be fo far from (liewing that Jefus was detedled in a Fraud, that they will rather fhew the contrary. The way to fet this mat^ t P.. 43- t P. 44. 7 ter C 31 ] ter in a true light, will be to throw together the chief Paflages of the Scripture-Hiftory fub- fequent to this Tranfadion, in order as they Hand ; from whence I conceive, that the true Mo- tives both of our Saviour's Condudl, and of the Behaviour of the Jews in reference both to him and Lazarus^ will be made plain to any com- mon Underftanding. In the lirfb place then, it will be proper to take notice what prefent cffecl this Adion had upon thofe who faw it. And as to this we are told, that many believed on Jefus, hut fome went thdr ways to the Pharifees^ &cq. By this it is plain, that the greater part of the Spedators not only confefTed the Miracle, but were here- upon convinced that Jefus was the Chrift. For via7iy beheved, and fome (that is a few in com- parifon to thofe that believed) went their ways-, dec. probably not above two or three. But few as they were, they were it feems wifcr than all the reft, who (fays our Writer) * were ignorant^ credulous,, and eafily impofed on. Who doubts it ? They were Believers \ which is enough it feems to prove them Fools. But, fetting this Reafon afide, the Gentleman has no more Autho- rity to pronounce them credulous, and eafy to be impofed upon, than he has to fay the fame thing of the Inhabitants of the Moon, with whom he is juft as well acquainted as he is with * P. 4P' thefe ; L 32 ] thefe ; only with this difference, that whatever degree of Prejudice the Jews had, he well un- derllands it lay not in favour of Jefus as the Chrift, but againil him. But to leave him in poffefllon of his wife Men : When they come to the Chief Priefts and Pharifees, what do they tell them ? That they had detefted Jefus in an Impoilure ? Quite other wife, as appears from what the Chief Priefts and Pharifees faid them- felves, when, in confequencc of this Informa- tion, they were affembled in Council. What do we ? for this Man doth many Miracles : If we let him thus alone^ all Men will believe on him. Would the Council have reafoned in this man- ner if the Purport of the Information had been, that Jefus had wrought no Miracle, but had been a6ling a Cheat, which they had difcovered, and were ready to prove againft him ? Impolli- ble. The Information therefore muft haye been t\iiijefus had wrought a moft furprizing Miracle 5 and to this the very Pall^ige, upon which this Writer relies, perfedly agrees. Many (fays the Evangelift) believed on Jefus, but fome went their ways to the Pharifees. The Antithefis here, fup- pofes indeed, that thofe fome that went their ways to the Pharifees believed not. But what was it that they did not believe.'* Why thatj^f- fus was the Chrift. The Miracle they faw, and could not deny ^ the Confequence of the Miracle they did not fee, or would not acknowledge. There is no difficulty in conceiving this to be the C 33 ] die Cafe -, Examples of it in Scripture are fre- quent. What therefore the Objcdior lays down as * plain from ihe Stov^ in John, viz. That there was a Difpute among the Bj-Jlanders at Lazarus'^* Refurreulion^ whether it was a real Miracle or not^ direftly contradids St. John : for even thofe who believed not, confcfTed the Miracle ; and it is fcarce credible that they fhould have differed with the reft upon this Point. For had they dilcovered the Cheat, as is pretended, it is won- derful that they fhould leave any one of the Company to believe in Chrift, when it was in their power upon the very ipot to deted: the Fraud that was committed. To what purpofe was it for them to withdraw fuddenly, and go with a Story to the Chief Priefts, when they might with much better effect have open'd their Difcovery to the reft of the People, and taken every Man there to be a Witnefs to the For- gery ? To go on now with the Hiftory. Upon this Information that the Chief Priefts and Pha- rifees had received concerning Je/us^ they pre- fently determine to put hi?n and Lazarus to death. Here the Objedlor demands a Reafon, and afl<:s, -f- Where was the Provocation '^ I hope the Gen- tleman does not expert that I fliould give him a good Reafon, that is, fuch a Reafon as will juftify the Jews in their Condud: towards Jejm^ * P. fu t P. 43. F But I 34 ] But the true Reafon (if I need tell it him) is this, viz. That the owning Jefus to be the MefTiah, was giving up at once all thofe great Expedla- tions which they had foun led upon the Scripture- Prophecys-, and that Prejudice had the fame eifed: here which it is obferved to have in many Other Cafes, to wit, the hardening Men againft the Truth, and enraging them againft thofe who abet and iTiaintain it. This was the reafon of their Hatred both to Jefus and Lazarus, who if they could once be put out of the Vv^ay, it was hoped, I fuppofe, that in a little time the Miracle would no more be heard of. The Gentleman pre- tends, that * Uis it?matural to hate a miraculous Healer cf Difeafes, and much more fo, to hate a Man for having had a good and wonderful Work done on htm. Very true •, if this were all. But it is weak to fuggeft, that either Jefus was ha- ted for doing a good Work, or Lazarus for re- ceiving the Benefit of it. For a good Work (fay the Jevv's in a like Cafe) we fione thee not, hut lecaufe then, being a Man, makefl th^felf God. Joh. X. 33. And concerning Lazarus, it is par- ticularly fdd, (what indeed is natural enough to be fuppofed) that the reafon why the Chief Priefts eonfulted to pit him to death was lecaufe they* found that through him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jefus, chap. xii. ver. 1 1. The Miracles of Jefus^ as fuch, did not move their 'i. P- 4J' 44- C 35 J Indignation ; but confidered as brought in Evi- dence to give credit to a Doctrine, to which they had an irreconcileable Averfion. If Jefus had taught no Dodrine at all, or no Do6lrine contrary to the Opinions commonly received, his healing the Sick, and raifing the Dead to ]ife, would queilionlefs have every where gained him very great efteem, and they would very readily have admitted, that the Power by which he was enabled to do fuch Miracles, was indeed divine. But when the cafe was fo that they could not acknowledge the hand of God in thefe things without giving up their Religion, though it is certain, that this was no reafon why they ought not to have fo done, yet it is eafy enough to be- lieve, that it might have the efFedt which we find it had in blinding their Eyes againil Con- vidion, and in putting them upon contriving the Deftrudion both of Jefiis himfelf, and of every one elfe who was inftrumental in fupporc- ing his Authority among the People. The Obje6lor is fo well apprized of the great- nefs of this Miracle, that, fuppofing it to have been really done, he thinks it was * enough to have flopped the Mouths and turned the Hearts of the Jews in fpite of all their Prejudices againfb Je- fus. And he is very pofitive, that + if fuch a Miracle were wrought at this day in confirmation tf Chriflianity^ it would bring himfelf and every F 2 body C 36 J body elfe to a Man^ into the belief of it, I am very much afraid the Gentleman knows not what he fays. It is the Nature of this kind of Spi- rit, to be ever quarrelhng with the Evidence we have, and to be crying out for fomething to fupply its Defefts, which the Wifdom of God has not thought fit to give us. That the Jews ought to have believed upon this Evidence, I agree with him : But if he means to urge their Unbelief as a Proof that fuch a Miracle was never wrought, (which is the plain Drift of his Argument ) lie reafons very abfurdly : and I think it muft be allowed, that he goes beyond ail bounds of Difcretion when he fays, that * it was ;^c/ Possible for a?2^ People to he fo higotted, hy^Jfed-f and prejudiced^ as not to he wrought upon hy it. He himfelf confeiTes, that f Man- kind may he in fome Cafes very obdurate^ and fo hard of Belief as to ft and out againft Senfe, Rea- fan, and Demonfi ration. Let him fhew then if he can, w^hy the Jews might not poflibly do fo in the Cafe before us. What is this, or any other Miracle, more than a Demon ftration to Senfe and Reafon of the Power of God ? If then Demonftration as Demonftration may be refifted, why not a Miracle, which is but De- monftration ? He obferves, that || fuch a Mi- rack — would ft r ike Men with awe and reverence ; and none could hate and perfecute the Author of * p. 45. t P- 48. II i^iV. C 37 ] i/, left he who could raife the dead, Jhould exert his -power againft themfelves, and either wound or ftnite them dead with it : All which is very rights luppofing Men to be firlt convinced that God is the Author of the Miracle. But the Point between us will ftill be, whether the Prejudices of many might not hinder them from difcern- ing the hand of God in thefe things j I fay they might, and deny it he cannot, in confequence of his general Principle, that Men may ft and out againft Demonftralion, unlefs he can fhew fome reafon why this Cafe fhould be admitted as an Exception. But what fhould this Reafon be ? De- monftration is Demonflration, let it be built upon what it will ; and there is not greater difficulty in refilling the Will of God when made known by the Evidence of a Miracle, than when made known by any other Evidence equally convin- cing. How far violent PrepolTeffions are ca- pable of impofing upon the Underftandings of Men, in judging concerning plain and evident things, nothing but Experience can determine ; and we fee a variety of Inftances of this kind every day, which if we did not fee, we fhould hardly believe. I fuppofe, that we have not ftronger Evidence from the Miracle of Lazarus'^ Refurreftion, (admitting it to have been wrought) that Jefiis was the Chrift, than we have from the Principles of common Senfe, that Tranfubftan- tiation is falfe. Yet there are Millions that be- lieve this Doctrine, and are ready to cut the Throats C 3S ] Throats of all that deny it. It is abfiird there- fore to argue againft any thing that is credibly related as Fa6i:, from a mere prefumption of what Mankind is, or is not capable of doing. For at this rate a hundred things may be proved falfe, which all the World knows to be true -, and I make no queftion, but that upon this foot, the Gentleman might make as plaufible an Apo- logy for his Popijh^ as his learned Friend the Rahbi has made for his Jewijh Anceftors, and prove that there never was or could be any fuch thing as a Perfecution of harmlefs innocent Pro- teflants. Thus much may fuffice to have been fpoken^ in anfwer to the Objeftion againft the Credibi- lity of this Miracle, drawn from the Jew^^ Treatment of our Saviour. The following part of the Story will lead us to fay fomething con- cerning our Saviour's Condud^, in confequence of this Treatment : For we are told, that upon this Confultation of the Chief Priefts and Phari- fees, J ejus walked 7to more openly among the Jews, hut went thence unto a Country near to the Wilder^ nefs into a City called Ephraim, and there conti^ fiued with his Difciples. Joh. xi. 54. The Ob- je(5lor, who is willing to reprefent our Saviour upon this occafion as a mere Runaway, tells us of his withdrawing into a Country near the Wildernefs, as a convenient hiding-place ; but wil- fully omits to lake notice, that he took up his abode at Ephraim j the reaion of which I pre- fume [ 39 ] fume might be, that if he had mentioned this Circumftance, it might have appeared too plain to his Readers, that though he thought it pru- dent for the prefent to flielter himfclf from the Storm that was gathering, by retiring into a more private Place than Jerufalem^ or the Parts adjacent ; yet he was not afraid to fhew his head. But before I come diredlly to his Objecflions, give me leave to afk this one fhort Qiieflion ; If J ejus v/as a common Cheat, and had been pub- licity detefted as fuch, upon fo remarkable an occafion as this, how was it that he was per- mitted to retire towards the Wilderneis ? Why was he not immediately feized upon the Place as foon as the Fraud was difcovered, together with Lazarus^ and all that were concerned as Accomplices with him ? The Gentleman liim- felf obferves, that if they had not fled, * in all probahilily they bad been facrificed. Very well. But why, I afk, were they fuffered to flee? Were there not hands enough to hold them ? '\ If a falfe Prophet at this time a day Jljculd counterfeit fuch a Miracle^ and he detculed in the Operation What then ? Why (fays he) the Rage of the Populace would hardly wait the leifure of Jufiice to difpatch and make terrible Examples of them. Right again. But did any thing like this happen to Jefus ? Quite the contrary. In- ftead of being made a Sacrifice to popular Rage, * P. 41, f P. 47,48. both C 40 3 both he and his Difciples are fufFered to go a- way quietly, without fo much as any attempt to fecure and bring them to pubhck Juftice ! This fhews plainly, that the Enemies of Jefm inftead of difcovering any Fraud, were perfed:- ly confounded, and knew not what to do, till upon Confultation had with the Chief Priefts and Pharifees, fome meafures were refolved upon. But to let this pafs. Jefus knowing that Refolutions were taken to put him to death retires^ (as was faid afore) with his Difci- ples. h not here J fays our Writer, a plain Sign of Guilt and Fraud * F I hope not ! They had indeed God''s Caufe and Truth on their fide. But does an honeft Caufe preclude Men from the common Methods of Prudence to fecure them- felves fromfuffering unjuflly ? In common Cafes, I prefume, it will be faid. No. But the Gen- tleman farther obferves, that they had the Power of God on their Sides too ♦, even f that Power that raifed Lazarus from the dead^ which was tiUe to have protected them againjt their Enemies. No doubt it was able: But what if in the Wif- dom of God it did not feem meet to make ufe of that Power for their Deliverance } There was a time appointed in the foreknow- ledge of God, when Jefus was to be offered up- on the Crofs for the Sins of the World. This time was not yet fully accomplifhed, tho' it was in- C 41 ] indeed nigh at hand. But till it fhould be ac- complifhedhe was to bepreferved ; How? Plain- ly not by a miraculous Interpofition, but by the ordinary Methods of Providence. For had he fummon'd his Legions from Heaven, and over- thrown his Enemies by a vifible exercife of his fovereign Power, hozo then (as he himfelf ob- itryts>)Jhould the Scriptures have been f: lulled that thus it muft he ? Mat. xxvi. 54. Who after fuch a Defeat as this would have dared again to have laid hands on him ? The Gentleman perhaps will not like this Account o^Jefush Flight: I cannot help it. If he will not allow it to be true, he cannot deny it to be conliilent ; and till he is in a fit Temper to receive it, let him run over the remaining part of our Saviour's Life, and fee if his Behaviour was fuch as can with any tolerable Appearance of good Senfe be fuppofed of a Man who had been detected as an Impoftor, and was fled from the hand of Jullice. It was not long that he continued at Ephraim^ and what is very remarkable, the next News we hear of him was at Bethan^^ in the Houfe of Lazarus^ where he was entertain'd at Supper^ publickly, in the pre- fence o^ great Jiumhers of the Jews, ivho cafne^ not- only for Jefus fake, but that they fnight fee Laza- rus alfo, whom he had ralfedfrom the dead. Joh. xii. I 10. Bethany was a Village about two Miles difbant from Jerufalem {]oh.xi. 18.) where, within fix days, the Paiibver was to be celebrated {Joh, xii. I.) Here our Saviour, whofe defign was G to C 42 1 to be at the Feaft) took up his Quarters, and dil-^ ring this fhort Interval went dayly to JerufakfUi where he appeared in the mod publick and fre- quented Places. The firfl time of his going thi- ther he was met upon the way by great Throngs of People, who with loud Acclamations, and o-' ther publick Marks of Honour, ufherM him in- to the City, {ve)-/. 12.) After this we find him in the Temple, driving out the Buyers and Sel- lers, {Mat. xxi. 12.) difputing with the Scribes and Pharifees •, rebuking them fharply with bi- ting Parables j and expofing them openly in his Difcourfes to the People, as blind, wicked, and hypocritical. (Verf, 23. to the end^ and Chap. xxii. xxiii. throughout.) Let me flop here then, and ask a few Queftions. What was it that brought Jefus from Ephrairn., whither he had retir'd for Security? Was he purfued? Was he driven from thence.^ No; it was his own Choice. But would he have come away fo quickly ? Would he have come again to i^d"/^^;?)', the very Place where the Fraud had fo lately been difcover'd, and to the Houfe of the very Man who was the principal Adlor with him in the Cheat ? Would he have gone to Jerufalem^ into the very teeth of his Enemies? Or would they from whom but a little while before he made his E- fcape for fear of being facrificed^ have received him immediately with fuch Marks of Diftin6lion ? There is no Degree of Credibility in thefe Sup- pofitions s nor is any tolerable Account to be gi- 1 yen C 43 3 ven of th.e Fa6ls as related on either fide, with- out admitting in our Saviour a Confcioufnefs of his own Innocency of any juft Imputation of Fraud, and on the part of the People a general Perfuafion that he wrought thefe Miracles by the Power of God. The Freedom of Speech which our Saviour ufed, in reproving the great and leading Men among them, had been downright Madnefs in him, if he had known himfclf ob- noxious. But it is worth our notice, that in all the Difputes that J ejus had at this time with thg chief Priefts and others^ who usM all the Artifice poflible to entangle htm in his "Talk^ and to catch fomething from him, which might furnifh them with juft Matter of Accufation ; there is not the leaft Hint or Intimation of any Fraud committed, or fufpeded to have been committed in the Gafe oi Lazarus^ which (confidering the great weight of the Objection, fuppofing it to have been true ; the Ihort Time that had pafled fince the thing was done •, and that feveral were there prefent, who muft have beenWitnefles of the Fraud) that fome- body or other fliould not have taken notice of, to difgrace him with the People, it is to me ut- terly incredible. But contrary to this St, John exprefsly fays (Chap, xii» ver, 17.) that the Feo- fie that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his Grave^ and raifed him from the dead^ hare record to Jefus ; intimating withal, that the Fame of this Miracle occafion'd a greater Concourfe Chan ordinary at Jerufalem at that time. For thus G 2 it C 44 3 it follows (z^^r/ 1 8.) For this caufe the People alfo met him^ for that they heard that he had done this Miracle, A clear Demonftration that there was no detedlion of Fraud in the Cafe of Lazarus^ but that the Fa6l was as the Evangelift has re- prefented it. I might further add, that at Jefus^s Tryal be- fore Pontius Pilate^ there is not a Word about any Fraud in the Cafe o^ Lazarus: that Lazarus himfelfwas never called to account for his Part in the Cheat •, and that the Suppofition of a Cheat detected in the Cafe of Lazarus^ makes the Cau- tion of the Jews J to prevent the like Fraud in Jefus's own Refurredion abfurd and unaccount- able. But thefe things have * already been fet in a proper Light. And therefore to conclude this Point : You have feen how thefe Cafes (land upon the face of the Scripture-Hiftory, and it appears, I. That taking them as they are recorded by the Evangelifts, they are clear of all fuch Abfurdi- tys and tnconfiftencysas mayjuftly render them fufpiciouSo 2. That in the Relation of thefe Fads, there are no Circumftances wanting, which are necelTary to make them full and fuilicient Proofs of what they were intended to (hew, to wit, our Saviour's Power in raifmg the dead to Life ^ under which Head I have clear'd them likewife from all Imputation of Miftake or Fraud. But it will befaid, 'tis likely, that Circumilan- 'h Trjd of the mtnejfes,^. 38, jp. C 45 1 ces may be invented as well as Fa6ls ; and that the Apoftles, if they had any Defign of impofing upon the World, by a relation of counterfeit Mi- racles, might have Difcretion enough, by fup- prefTing fome Particulars which were true, and reporting others which were not true, to give the whole an Air of Credibility, It may now therefore be proper to confider, Secondly, What is the Evidence upon which we believe thefe Fads to have been juftly and faithfully reprefented, and what Exceptions this Writer has produced to weigh againft that Evl^ dence. That the Books of the New Teftamentare the genuine Writings of the Perfons whofe Names they bear, the Gentleman denies not. That there wasfuch a Perfon as Jefus Chrlft, and that thefe Writers had that relation to him, as Difciples and Followers, which they pretend to have had, he all along admits, and takes forgranted. Whe- ther therefore the Evangelifts were qualifyed or not qualifyed to give us a true Account of what Jefus did, if they were minded fo to do, can be no part of the Queltion between us ; for they fpeak of fuch things, as, if they were done at all, were done in their ownTimes,whereof themfelves (as the conftant Attendants of Jefus, during the TimeofhisMiniftry)mufthave been Eye- Wit- neffes, or have received immediately from thofe who were fo. The only Point in difpute chen muft be, whether the Evangelifts are Perfons to be C 46 ] be depended upon or not ; and concerning this it is fufficienc to fay that they have given the ftrono'T eft Evidence of their Integrity that it is in the power of Man to give: I mean in their maintain- ing thefe Truths, under the moft abfolute Re- nunciation and Defiance of the World, and, at I.ift, fealing them with the Teftimony of their Blood. The Objcdlor laments it as * a fad Mis- fortune that attends our Inquiry after Truth in thefe Matters, that there are no other Memorials extant of the Life and Miracles of Jefus than what are written by his own Bifciples, As if the Evange- iifts were therefore not to be credited becaufe they were the Difciples of Chrift. But this muft needs be a weak Pretence, becaufe it is not reafoiiable to exped that the Enemies of yc/^/jlhould have left any Memorials of him as a Worker of Miracles. The Jewi, you fee, took all the pains they could that they might be no more heard of -, and it is natural enough to believe, that all the World befides, who would not be convinced by his Mi- racles, fhould do the like as well as they. So that if a Hiftory oftheLite and Miracles of 7^>; is not to be expedted from his Enemies, nor admit- ted from his Friends, the Confequence muft be, that tho' Jefus did work thefe Miracles, and give the proper Evidences of his working them, to thofe who were themfelves Witnefles of what he did i yet there was no fuch thing as recording or * P. j-o. report^ C 47 i deporting thefe Miracles, in fuch a fort as to make itreafonable for any body el fe to believ^e them ; which, I think, is by much too great an Abfurdi- ty to (land with common Senfe. But wliy are the Difciples of Jeps not to be creaked, in re- porting the Actions of their own Mafler ? Sup- pofing them to be Men of Integrity, the Cir-* cumftance of their being Difciples, is fo fir from making their Evidence the worfe, that it makes it the better : For who were fo likely to know what Jefus did, as they who conftantly attended him during his Miniftry ? Now this I fay, that if the Apoflles have not given full and fufHcicnt Proof of their Integrity, there is no pofTibility that any Man upon Earth Ihould give fufficient Proof of his Integrity ; becaufe in the Reafon and Nature of Things, there can be no flronger Evidence of a Man's Integrity, than his laying down his Life in Confirmation of what he fays. The Apoflles were Jefus's Friends. You fky right. But what did they get by being his Friends ? Houfes^ or Lands^ or Friends^ or any thing elfe that could make it worth their while to tell Lyes for him ? If this had been the Cafe the Objedion would have fome fenfe in it : But fmce they were told aforehand, by their Mafler himfelf, and afterwards found it true by their own Experience, that the Confequence of their being his Friends, would be their being at enmi- ty with all the World befides, and that it was impoffible that they fhould appear as Maintainers of f 48 3 of his Doctrines, or as Wimeffes of his Works, without giving up the Life that now is for the fake of another to conne ■, it is evident beyond exception, that fuppofing them to have had the common PalTions and Sentiments of Men, and not to have been quite befide themfelves, their Sted- dinefs in afferting thefe things to the laft, can be refolved into nothing elfe, than the Power and Conviction of Truth upon their Minds. You might fay (if you could fhew any good Reafon for faying foj that the Apoftles were Fools or Madmen, for believing that J ejus Chrift wrought thefe Miracles. But to pretend, that notwith- Handing they have alferted, thatj^yi/j wrought thefe Miracles, yet that they themfelves did not believe that he wrought them, after fuch Evi- dence of their being fuperior to every Confide- ration that might tempt them to filfify, is ab- furd, and contradids all the Notions and Expe- rience we have of Mankind. The Gentleman, in anfwer to this common and general Argument, fomewhere obferves coldly, that * rnan'^ Cheats and Criminals have offer ted their Innocencj in the uimoji Extremity of Death \ which, how little it is to thepurpofe, has already been fhewn in a 'f' Treatife before men- tioned, to which I refer the Reader. Thus much I think is the leaft that any Man of Senfe and * sixth Bifcourfe, p. 27. \ TryaloftheWitneJfeS) p. 103, Reafon C 49 1 Reafon can fay. That if the Evangelifts have not given abfolute and inconteftable Proof of their Integrity, they have given very great Proof of it : And that this Proof, whatever it is, ought to be admitted as fufficient, till fome Confidera- tions of greater, or at leaft equal, weight be of- fered to ballance on the other fide. What then has this Writer to fay againft this Evidence ? Hitherto we have heard of nothing but Surmifes, mere Surmifes, fuch as would not in any ordina- ry Cafe be allowed to bear down the Credit of any common Evidence. But there are two Ob- jed:ions which feem in a more diredb manner to affedl the Credit of the Evangelifts as Hiltorians, which I fhall briefly reply to, and then thank my Reader for the Patience he has allowed me. His firft Obfervation is a mere Prcfumption, which therefore I fhould not have taken notice of, but that the Gentleman is pleafed to fay that '^ in the Opinion ofihe Irnpartial it makes for his Caufe. It is this •, That net only Time has devoured^ but Chriftians them/elves, when they got the Pozier in- to their hands^ wilfully deftroyed many Writings of /^^Jews, as well as of Cclfus and Porphyry, and others which they could net anfwer 5 other wife he doubts not hit they would ha^e given us clear Light into the Impofture^ c/Lazarus'j Refur reef ion. Tha£ many Books antiently written againlt Chrifliani- ty, by Jews and others, are now lofb, there can benoqueftion. But did the Gentleman ever fee * Tifth Difcoitrfet p. ;'o. H any C 50 ] any^of thefe Books ? No, they have been loft long ago. How then does he know that thefe Books were nnanfwerable ? Or why is he fo po- fitive that they ^m^ould have given us a clear Light into the Impofture of L.zZ^xrus'^ s RefirreLf ion, or of any other Miracle of Jefis, but becaufe, as I have obferved before, he finds it an eafy matter to be- lieve every vain Surmife, that ftarts up in his Head to the prejudice of Chriftianity, and is de- termined to admit of nothing, how reafonably foever it is offered, that fpeaks in its favour. If he will take the Charadler of Porphyry, fwhofe Books Theodofius the Emperor order'd to be burnt) from Eiifehm who had feen and read them, he will find in it a very unhappy Defcription of fome Writers of thefe Times : For he fays, he was one * who for lack of Reafons to fupport his Caufe,/-/ hlmfef to railing, and that he would fometimes fpcak Truth, v:hen he could not help it ', but never fcrupled to tell a Lye, when he thought he could palm it upon his Readers, without being dif- covered. I do not exped that the Authority of Eufehius fhould pafs with this Writer ; nor that he will allov/ the Reafonings ofCelfus to have been fairly reprefented by Origen. Thefe were Chri- ftians, and therefore not to be believed in their own Caufe. But if Celfus and Porphyry, were really fuch ftrenuous, unanfwerable Advocates of Toi S'i ^^zv^oi/.^v \v oh hmi^Ai iv'o^i^i* Ecclcf. Hillor. Lib. 6, Cap. 19. Hea- Heathenifm, how came their Friends to fufter their Books to be loft? Time was, when the Heathens had Power enough, and the Chriftians wereharraffed and hunted for in every Corner •, their Books demanded to be delivered up, and as often as delivered, deftroyed •, yet in ipite of all this, the Writings of the New Teftament (which were all of them extant above two hundred Years before the Empire became ChviftianJ ftood their o-round, and by the good Providence of God re- main unto this day. But no fooner (fays our Writer) is the fame Power in the hands of Chri- ftians, but away fly the Books of Infidels as in a Whirlwind. How fo ? one may reafonably ask. Were not the Heathens, when under the Power of the Chriftians, as able to preferve their Books from being deftroyed, as the Chriftians, when under the Power of the Heathens, were to pre- ferve theirs ? No doubt but they were, if mere Power were the only thing to be confidered. But there was this remarkable Difference in the Cafe, which is the only thing that can give an adequate Account of the different Fateof thefe Writings. The Books of the New Teftament were fo con- firmed and eftabiilhed by undoubted Evidence, and Chriftians were fo fully convinced of their divine Authority, that they willingly f.cnficed their Lives, rather than deliver up their Books ; and by this means they were preferved, and out- lived the Rage of ten Perfecutions. TheWri- rings of Celfus and Porpbyn were (like thole " ° Hz which C 52 ] which this Gentleman's Friend tht Rahbi fumi(hts him with at every turn) fenfelefs, lying Invedlives, with which, tho' perhaps many were pleas'd, yet no one had that value for them, as to run any hazard to preferve them, and therefore they eafi- ly fell under the Punifhment which many thought due to the Spite and Malice which gave them birth. I commend not their Zeal : I willi the Books were now extant, and am perfuaded that this Gentleman and his Friends would boaft lefs of them, if they had them, than they do now they want them. For were they extant, what more could they fignify than this Gentleman's Dif- courfes ? So far as mere Reafoning is concerned, Jie would be offended perhaps if we fliould fufped that he wanted any help from thefe fathers of In- fidelity, to tind out Jbfurdity Si Inconfiftencys and Incredihilitys in the Letter of the Scriptures. And as to the Matter of Fa(5l, let Celfus or Porphyry ^ or any other, be fuppofed to fay, with as much Aflurance as he docs, that Jefus was an Impoftor, and that the Hiftory of his Miracles, as given us by the Evangeliits, is a mere Fable : The Que- Hion, after all, will be. Whom are we to believe ^ That they, or any Authorities they could bring to vouch for them, could have better Opportu- nities of knowmg the Truth, than the Evange- lifts had, is abfolutcly impoflible ; and that any of them have given any fuch Proofs of their Ho- yiefty and Sincerity, as the Evangelifts did, a Man mull have no Senfe of Shame that can main- tain. 'I'hQ C 5S 3 The next, and only remaining Objedlion, is drawn from* the unnatural and ^prepofterous Or- der of 'Time {^s he is pleas*d to exprefs himfelf ) in which thefe three Miracles are related^ which (fays h^)jujlly brings them all under Sufpicion of Fable and Forgery. The Gentleman makes great to do with this Obfervation. I lliall reprefent the full Strength of it in a very few Words. The Cafe then is this. Thefe three are all the Inftances we have upon Record of Jefus*s Power, in raifing the Dead to Life, his own Refurredion excepted ; and all of them are not recorded by each of the Evangelifts. The Hiflory o^Jairus's Daughter is mention'd by three of them, viz. Matthew-, Mark, and Luke, That of the Wi- dow's Son, is related by St. Luke alone. And that of Lazarus only by St. Johny who has omit- ted to fpeak of the other two. This is matter of Fa61:. From hence the Objeftor argues, that it is very unlikely that thefe Stories Ihould be any of them true. For, fays he, " Thefe three Mi- ^' racles are not equally great, but differ in de- *•' gree. Thegreateft is that of L^z^r//;. Next ^« to it is that of the JVidow*sSon, And leaft of *' all, that of Jairus\ Daughter. What then ^' could be the Reafon that Matthew, Mark, ^^ and Luke, who all wrote their Gofpels before *• John, fhould emit to record this remarkable, ^ and moft illuftrious Miracle of Lazarus ? And ^' why too did not M^//^^w ^n^ Mark mention " the i; 54 ] «* the Story of the Widow of Naimh Son ? To *' aggrandize the Fame of their Matter for aWor- *' ker of Miracles, was the Defign of all the E- *' vangeiiils ; and if it was not neceffary that all *' of them Ihould fet down every Miracle of this «* kind, ftill it is abfiird and unnatural to fuppofe " that any of them fefpeciaily the iirft Writers) *' ihould omk the greatefl: of all, which would *' have done him moll credit^ and take notice " only of the lead. If Matthew had recorded «' only the Story of Lazarus , Luke had added '' that of the IVidowh Son -, and John laftly had *' remembred us ofjainis's Daughter, which the *« other Evangelifts, ftudying Brevity, had o- «' mitted, then all had been well, and no Ob- *' jedion had hence lain againft the Authority of *« the Evangelifts. But as the Cafe now ftands, *' it looks as if there were three Romantick Wri= " ters, who ftrove to outftretch one another in *' their feveral Stories. The firft was fparing and ^' modeft in his RomancCo The fecond, being *' fenfible of the InfufHciency of the former^s " Tale, devifes a Miracle of a bigger flze ; which " ftill not proving fufficicnt to the End propofed, *« the third Writer, rather than his Prophet's; '' Honour ftiould fink for want of a Refurreclion *' Miracle, forges a monftroufty huge one; againft *' which it will be always Objedion enough, '« that it was not related by the firft Hifto- " rian, nor invented by the laft', till he was a- " bove a hundred Years old^ in his dotage, and '' every. c 55 : « every body dead that fhould have confuted " him.'* Thus Hands the Objection ; upon which I can- not help making one general Remark, viz. That there is a great deal too much in it to be true. Here is a Defign of impofing upon Mankind, by a fabulous Hiftory of fham Miracles, to aggran- dize the Fame of a pretended Prophet, father'd upon the Evangelifts. This Defign is reprefent- ed as, within fome few Years after its firfl broach- ing,(like a weak and crazy Building) always tot- tering, and ready to fall, and wanting at every turn to be propt up by fome new Forgery. The Hiftorys of St. Matthezv and St. Mark^ are fup- pofed, invertue of one, and that a fmall Refur- redion Miracle, to have been the firft Support to the Prophet's declining Honour. But this proving too weak to fuilain the encreaiing Weight, outcomes Sx., Luke^ fome Years after, with a new one, and a bigger ; and St. John^ for the like Reafon, with another bigger than that, at fome greater diftance of Time. I will venture to fay, that there never was any State of the Chriftian Church that will agree with this Reprefentation, nor is there indeed any thing fo void of Probability. The Gofpel, from its firfl Promulgation, was every day gaining ground, fo that there was no occafion, in order to fjpport its finking Credit, to have recourfe to new Forge- ry!. Nor if there had been occafion, could the Projed have pofTibly fucceeded, fince whatever I dif- C 56 1 difcredited any old Forgery, muft much more have difcredited any new one,againfl: which the ve- ry Novelty of it would have been an unanfwera- ble Objedion. But not to purfue this Writer in his peculiar way of arguing upon the Cafe (which would be an endlefs Tafk) I will apply myfelf diredlly to the fingle Point, which comprehends the whole Difficulty ; namely. If thefe two Mi- racles were really wrought, how came it to pafs, that neither St. Matthew^ nor St. Mark took any notice of them ? That they Ihould be ig- norant, or have forgot that they were wrought, is incredible -, and that they Ihould knowingly have omitted them may feem very flrange, con- fidering how many Miracles they have both of them fet down, which are lefs remarkable, than thefe. This is all that we have to anfwer for, and ifwe cananfwer fatisfadorily, the whole Objec- tion mull fall of courfe. There can be no oc- cafion to confiJer both Cafes diftindly. What ferves for one will alfo ferve for the other. Ta- king therefore the Cafe of Lazarus^ which may feem liable to mofl Exception, I fhall endeavour to fhew, that the Silence of the preceding Evan- velifts is no fort of Proof, that this Story was forged by St. John. The Gentleman lays it down as the Principle upon which he builds, That * the Defign of all the Evangelijis was to aggrandize their Mafter'*s Fame as a Worker of Miracles j which, abating feme- C 57 ] fomething for tiie Indecency of the ExprefTion, is very true. The Evangelifts recorded the Mi-< racles oijefus Chrijl for the fame Reafon for which he wrought thern ; which was to fhew, that he was a Prophet fent from God. But through Vanity and Oflentation they recorded nothing ; and therefore inftead of fetting down all the Miracles which our Saviour wrought, (which, as St. John intimates, was fcarce prafli- cable) they content themfelves each of them to mention fo many ^as feemed to be fufficient. Thus far, I think, there is no harm ; for the Gentleman does not pretend to fay, that it was neceffary that All the Miracles wrought by our Saviour fliould have been recorded by each par- ticular Evangelift ; on the contrary he confeffes, as to that particular kind of Miracle now under Confideration, (to wit, the raifing the Dead to life) that ^f" one Inftance was enough, Biit^ fays he, which Jhould they (St. Matthew and St, Mark) as wife and confiderate Hiftorians^ have made choice of J the greateft or the leaf Miracle ? The greatefl^ to he fure^ and that was that of Laza- rus, or of the Widow's Son, if they knew of ei- ther. But inflead of thefe they tell us the Story of Jairus's Daughter, that is, of an imperfeEi and difputable Miracle in com-parfon of the other two^ which confequently they knew nothing at all of, or ihey wotdd have preferred the Report of them, t P. 9. I To [ 58 ] To confine myfelf, as I faid before, to the Cafe of Lazarus^ and to give the Gentleman fome relief under his Difficulty, (for to fay the truth, it is in a great meafure a Difficulty of his own making) I defire in the firft place, that he would confider what Foundation there is in Reafon and Truth, to make that mighty Di- flindlion between thefe two Miracles, which this Argument fuppofes. The raifing J(^/r//i's Daugh- ter, you fee, was but a pitiful bufinefs in com- parifon to the Refurredlion of Lazarus, which was a huge, 7noft prodigious^ moft Jiupendous and fuperlatively great Miracle. It concerned him to raife the Miracle of Lazarus' s Refurredlion as much as he could : For the greater the Diffe- rence, the better his Argument, which mufc drop at once if the Difference were little or none at all. Becaufe of two Miracles equal, or next to equal, an Hiftorian may certainly, without any Refle6tion upon his Judgment, chufe which he will record. Where then I afk is that mighty Difference between thefe two Miracles ? I hope we fhall hear no more of an infignificant Girl of twelve Tears old, nor that it will be expedled that I fhould fhew over again, againft this Wri- ter,, (who is pleafed here to call it an imperfeEi and difputahle Miracle) that according to all the Circumftances of the Story, the Child was dead and known to be fo by all about her. Now if ilie was really dead, the Miracle in raifing her from the dead was juft as great as that of rai- C 59 ] fmg Lazarus \ for between deady and dead^ there is no difference. But Lazarus^ you will fay, had been buried four days. What then? He could be hut dcad^ if he had been buried fifty. The utmoft that you can make of this Circum- flance is, that there was greater Evidence that Lazarus was dead, than there was that Jairus*^ Daughter was dead, and even this is not cer- tain. That Jairus^s Daughter was not dead fo long as Lazarus^ is very fure, but how long (he was dead, the Story does not fiy ; and it is evident from Experience, that there are fome Tokens which will as infallibly prove a Perfon to be dead from the time of his expiring, as if he had been in the Grave many days. But be this as it will, the Evangelifts that firft re- corded the Story of this Woman, did not want Evidence that fhe was dead, nor fufpe(51: that any body elfe wanted it. And therefore this Mira- cle could not but appear to them as great a Mi- racle, as the raifing a Perfon from the dead, under any Circumftances could afford. But let it be fuppofed, that the Refurredtion of Lazarus was the greater Miracle of the two ; why muft the omitting to record this Story be look'd upon as an Inftance of fo great weaknels or careleffnefs m St. Matthew y St. Marky and St. Luke^ that rather than it fhould be admitted, St. John muft prefently be given up as guilty of Forgery? St. John affirms, that Jefus raifed Lazarus from the dead. The other no where I 2 deny C 60 3 deny this, only they make no mention of it. Will you now pretend to fay, that a mere Ne- o;ative ao;ainft the Truth of this Miracle fhall avail more than plain and direct Evidence for it ? It is abfurd to fdy fo , and the Reafon why it is abfurd is this, That it is infinitely more eafy to conceive that thofe other Evangelifts iliould omit to mention this Miracle, notwith- llanding it was the greater of the two, than tliat St. John^ who has given fuch undoubted Proofs of his Integrity, Ihould falfify in this Cafe. The Reafons which have been offered by GrcthiSj and others, to account for this Omif- fion, our Writer rejefcs as weak and infufficient^ but fcorns to tell us why. His pretence for this is, that * it is not worth while to confider them^ till fomehodj Jhall ap-pear in the Defence of them^ which is fomething pretty extraordinary. A-^ gainft whom, or againfl what fhould we defend diem ? Thefe Reafons are wliat they always were, and if it is none of his bufinefs to oppofe them, furely it is much lefs ours to vindicate tliem. What Grotiiis fays is this. That when the three firfl Evangelifts wrote, Lazarus was living, and that the inferting his Cafe into their Hiftory, might poITibly have brought him un- der fome ill Treatment from the J'^zvs, To which Dr. IVhitby adds, that it might feem lefs needful to mention a Miracle concerning a Per- fon living fo near Jerujalem^ where there was • P. 15-. fo C 61 1 fo great a Fame thereof, and fo many living Witneffes. When the Gentleman has time enoi-^gh to /par e^ he may fhew if he thinks fit, why ei- ther, 01' both of thefe Conjedures may not be admitted as probable. He is pleafed to alledge in fupport of his Argument, that * the firji Writer of the Life of an Hero^ to he fur e^ 7nakes mention of all the grand Occurrences of it^ and leaves no room for Biogra- phers afterwards^ hut to enlarge and paraphrafe upon what he has written-^ with fome other Circum- fiances and Additions of lefs moment. In which account the Gentleman feems to have had in view fome learned Hiftorian, antient or modern, (who undertakes to treat of things with great Order and Exadtnefs) and to have forgotten that the Queftion concerns fuch plain, artlefs Men as Matthew^ Mark^ and Luke. But the ufe that he makes of this Obfervation is not to be en- dured. If a third or fourth Biographer after him fJoall prefume to add a more illujlrious Tranfaofion of the Heroes Life^ it will he rejected as Fahle or Romance., though for no other Reason THAN THIS, that the firfi Writer muft have heen apprized of it., and would have inferted its Story^ if there had heen any Truth in it, I deny it. Sir. No body judges in this manner, except it be in certain Cafes, which at prefent we have nothing to do with. If the firll Writer be fup- pofed to report chings wiiich happened in his * P. 7. own C 61 1 own Times, and the fecond to have lived at fome confiderable Diftance from him, the Rule will hold. Becaufe in that Cafe, the firft Writer had certainly the beft Opportunity of coming at the Truth, and the Fadl omitted by him, and reported by the fecond, may reafonably enough be prefumed to have been taken upon flender Authority. It will likewife hold between two contemporary Hiftorians, provided there be any concurrent Proofs which juftly render the fe- cond Writer fufpicious. But do but fuppofe the Cafe to happen between two Writers, re- cording Matters in which they themfelves were both perfonally concerned, and that thofe Wri- ters have given both of them equal and fuffi- cient Evidence of their Honefly and Integrity, and there is no one of common Senfe who will not impute fuch an OmifTion to want of Exa6t- nefs in the firft Writer, or to any other Caufe, rather than charge the fecond with Forgery. One thing fhould be taken notice of before I difmils this Subjed, which is, that the fuppofing this Story to be a Forgery of St. John's, feems not to be confident with that Account of it which this Writer elfewhere principally infifts upon •, namely, that it was a Cheat contrived between Jefus and Lazarus, m which Jefus was publickly detedted, and for which he was ar- raigned and condemned by the Jews. A Forgery is properly a Story of a Man's own Invention, which has no Foundation in Fad. A Cheat is C 63 ] a real Tranili6tion, deceiving you only in fome particular Circumftance. But this is not worth infifting upon : For whether it were a Cheat, or whether it were a Forgery, it will equally affe6t the Credit of Jefus and his Dodrine •, but our great Comfort is, that it could be neither, and that for this plain reafon, that if St. John had either invented a Story which had never been heard of before, or endeavoured to revive an old Cheat publickly deteded and expofed, to make it pafs upon the World as a real Mira- cle, no body would have believed him. It is in vain to fay, that St. John wrote this Story * af- ter the Jewifh State zvas dijfolvedy their Judicial Records dejiroyed, and every body dead that Jbouid confute him. For if this Story was pure Inven-^ tion, it would have confuted itfelf ^ becaufe if fuch a thing was really tranfaded, the Memory of it muft have been preferved-, and fo muft the Memory of fo remarkable a Cheat fo publick- ly detedled. St. John wrote his Gofpel not above fixty Years after the thing happened, nor much above twenty Years after the Deftrudion of Je- rufalem ; at which time there was probably a great number of WitnefTes every where alive (and efpecially in and about J erufakm) who could remember the whole Affair, and would have been able effedually to have bladed the Credit of the Story, and of the Author both. What [ 64 ] What has been faid is fufficient, I think, to anfwer this Writer's Cavils, and therefore I take leave of Mr. IFooipn. But for the Reader's Sa- tisfadion (hall add on^ general Obfervation upon St. John's Gofpel, which will help to fet this matter in a very clear Light. It was a Tradi- tion in the antient Church, that St. J,?/,;, wrote hisHiftory at the requeft o^t\it Afian Bifhops, to fupply the Defeds of the former Evangelifts. The Authoritys upon which this Account Hands may be found in moft of the Commentators, and therefore it is not necefiary to repeat them here. But the Hillory itfelf greatly favours this Notion, which whoever will take the pains to compare with thofe of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, he will find that it confiils almoft entirely of fuch Occurrences as are no where to be found in any of thofe Evangelifts. Not to mention many other Particulars of this fort ; the Mira- cles of our Saviour, recorded by St. John, ante- cedent to his Refurredion, are in all but eight; viz. I. His turning Water into Wine at the Marriage in Cana of Gallilee. 2. His telling the Samaritan Woman the Secrets of her Life. 3!^His healing the Nobleman's Son at Capernamn. 4. His curing the lame Man at the Pool of Bethefda. 5. His feeding ^vt thoufand Men with ^yq Barly Loaves and two Fiihes. 6. His walking upon the Water, and calming a Storm at Sea. 7. His giving Sight to a Man born blind, by anointing his Eyes with Clay, and fending him to wafhin Siloa?n, [ 65 ] Siloa?n. 8. His rciKmg Lazarus from the dead. All which Miracles are omitted by the former Evangeliils, except the fifth and the fixth ♦, and thefe uvo St. John fecms to have recorded chiefly to introduce a moral Dircourf^ which our Savi- our took occafion to make to the People, where- of the former Evangelias had taken no notice. And therefore the Silence of the former Evail- gelifts is not a flronger Objcaion againil the Hiftory of Lazarus, than it is againil many other Faas recorded by St. John, or, to fpcak more properly, than it is againil his whole Gofpel. But how it fhould be an Obje6liori againfh St.> John, either in the whole, or in part, it is im- pofTible to underftand. For when a Writer pro- felTcdly undertakes to fupply the Defeds of for- mer Hiftorians, does not the Undertaking itfelf imply, that he is to rnenrion many things by them omitted ? How elfc are thefe Defects fup- plied? Or how can fuch Deieds at any time be fupplied, if the very Attempt to fupply them Is to be look'd upon as a fufficient Reafon, why the later Hiftorian fliall be charged with For- gery ? You may think it perhaps a Difparagc- ment to the three former Evangeliils, that their Hiilorys of the Life and Anions of our Saviour, fhould have any fuch Imperfedion as to make it worth St. John's while to write a new one by way of Supplement. But the primitive Chri- ilians were of another mind •, and it is well worth obferving what Ei^fibhs Bys upon this K very C 66 ] very Cafe, whicii is to tliis effeft ; viz. Tim the Apoflles of C],n(f, though under the Power and Direaion of the Spirit of God, were not Ma- kers in ail the Nicetys of Language, nor in- ftrufted in all the Arts necelTary to form com- plete Hjiiorians *. Tiieir Writings at this day Ihew as much : For not one of them have given us an exaft Hiftory of Chrift. AH of tliem have omitted many th.ings which the others, one or more of them, have recorded. And even St. Jchn himfelf confeffes, that his own Gofp»I though it fupplied the Defefts of the former Evangeh-fts in many refpefts, left the Hiftory of Jefus ftill unfinished. For thus he concludes ; Jnd many olbcr Signs truly did Jefus in the p-efence of his Difcipks, -^bich are not written in this Book. Job. XX. 30. The reafon of all which IS to be refolved, as in all likes Cafes, into the Judgment and Difcretion of thefe feveral Hi- ftorians, who out of that infinite variety of Mi- racles wrought by our Saviour, chol'e each of them fuch as feemed to them to be mofl ma- terial ; and if upon the whole, the good Pro- vidence of God hath fo ordered it, that there ^/«y.'F-; o^^vnclk- Eccl.Hiitor. Lib.3. Cap. 2 J." ^ ^^'^ is [ ^7 ] is enough recorded to lay the Foundation for a reafonable Faith, we ought to be contented, and lliould not be fo abfurd as to throw away what we have, becaufe it is not All ; nor bufy ourfelves in enquiring minutely why this Mi- rack^ was recorded rather than another, wherf there is not fo much as one of them that is not wonderful even beyond comparifon. To go on with St. John. From what has been fiid it appears, that the Afiaii Churches were, before the Writing of his Gofpel, well afllired of the Truth of many remarkable Fa6ls relating to the Hiftory of Chrift, which were omitted by the other Evangelifls, otherwife they could have had no pretence to apply to St. John to fupply the De- fers of thofe other Evangelifts. It appears far- ther, that the Gofpel of St. John is an authen- tick Account of fuch Fads : For had St. John given a Hiftory of any other Fa6ts than what were well known to the Church before he wrote them, the Queftion would have been obvious : How came it to pafs that thefe things were never heard of till now ? which would have been an Objedion againft his Hiftory never to have been gotten over. But if you fup- pofe that what Jiimfelf was an Eye-witnefs of, and had been conftantly received in the Church of God, as well upon his Teftimony, as the Teftimony of others ; that, and that only he inferted in his Golpel, as thinking it too ma- terial [ 68 ] terial to be left any longer merely to the Con» veyance of Tradition : as this implies no greater Deficiency in the former Evangelifts thari what is confiilent with found Senfe, confidering th^^ Quality and Condition of thofe Writers •, fo it will alone account for that univerfal Efteem which this Gofpel obtained from the beg'mning- in the Ghriftian World. FINIS. ij > -. ' » ' ' The Tryai of the WitncfTes of tlie Refur- reclion of Jefus. The Fourth Edition. , [N. B. Not only Mr. TVoolftonh Objedions in his Sixth Difcourfe^ but thofe alfo which he and others have publilhed in other .^ooks, are here confidered.] Printed for J. Roberts, near the Oxford- Ar7ns in Warwick' Lane, Price i j, 6 d. A ' - ^1 discoup.se ON Our SAVIOUR MIRACULOUS POWER O F H E A L I N G. IN WHICH The Six Cases excepted againft by Mr. WooLSTONj are coRfidered. BEING A Continuation of the D E F E N C E of the Scripture History, i^c. By the fame Author. L O l^ B O N: Printed for John Pemberton, at the Buck^ againft St. Bunflan's Church, in Fket-fireet. M.DCC.XXX. {'Price One Shillin^^ [3] DISCOURSE O N Our SAVIOUR'S Miraculous Power of H E A L I N G, &c\ ^ H E Cafes treated of in the fol- I Jowing Difcourfe are. i. Jefus*s carting the Devils out of the Madmen. (Bifi. i. p. 31.) 2. His healing the Woman that was af- fticled with an IfTue of Blood {Bifc. 2. p. 8.) ^. His curing the Woman that laboured un- der a Spirit of Infirmiry. (Ibid, p. 27.; 4. His A 2 healing [4l healing a Man at the Pool of Bethefda. {Bijh 3- P- 33-) 5- tlis giving Sight to a Man that was born blind, {Difc. 4. p. 3-) ^- ^is curing the Man that was fick of the Palfy. (Ibid, p. 51.) The Particulars whereof, as they are recorded by the Evangelills, I have placed here in one View for the Reader's Eafe. I. " When Jefus was come with his Difci- « pies into the Country of the Gadarens, or ^^■Gergafens •, there met him two Men pofief- ^^ fed with Devils, coming out of the Tombs « exceeding fierce, fo that no Man might « pals by that Way. And they cryed out, « faying. What have we to do with thee, « Jefus thou Son of God?— And there was *« a good Way off from them, an Herd of « many Swin-e feeding; And the Devils be- « fought Jefus, faying. If thou caft us out, " fuffer us to go away into the Herd of " Swine. And he faid unto them. Go. And '' when they were come out, they went into " the Herd of Swine •, and the whole Herd ^« ran violently down a fteep Place into the " Sea, and perifhed in the Waters, Matt. viii. « 28. See Markv.i, Luke wiiu 26. II. « When Jefus was going to Jairus'S « Houfe, in order to raife his Daughter from « the Dead i a certain Woman, who had <* been affliaed with an Idue of Blood twelve "- Yearsj [5l " Years, and had fpent all her Subftance up- " on Phyficians, and was nothing bettered, " but rather grew worfe, came behind him «' and touched the Hem of his Garment : «' (For flie faid within herfelf. If I may but « touch his Garment I Ihall be whole.) Upon « which Jefus turned him about, and when « he faw her he faid. Daughter be of good " Comfort, thy Faith hath made thee whola. " And the Woman was made whole from that " Hour ". Matt. ix. 20. Mark v. 25, Luke viii. 43. III. « As Jefus was teaching in one of the Sy- " nagogues on the Sabbath, there was a Wo- " man who had a Spirit of Infirmity eighteen " Years, and was bowed together, and could in « no wife lift up herfelf. And when J-f/l/i faw " her, ht called her to him, and faid, Woman, " thou art loofed from thine Infirmity ; and « he laid his Hands on her •, and immediate- « ly (he was made ftreight. Lukexm.io. IV. " At the Feaft of the PafTover Jefus « went up to Jerufalem , where was a Pool « called Bethefda, at which lay a great Mul- " titude of impotent Folk, of blind, halt, " withered, waiting for the moving of the *f Water. For an Angel went down at a certain « Seafon into the Pool and troubled the Water *.' and whofoever firft after the troubling of " the [6j ^ the Water ftepped in, was made whole of « whatfoever Difeafe he had. Now a certain *< Man was there which had an Infirmity thir- " ty and eight Years. And when Jefus faw « him lye, and knew that he had been now « a long Time in that Cafe, he faith unto him, " Wilt thou be made whole ? The impotent « Man anfwered. Sir, I have no Man when « the Water is troubled to put me into the " Pool, and while I am coming, another flep- « peth down before me. Jefus then faith un- " to him, Arife, take up thy Bed and walk ; " and immediately the Man was made whole,- " and took up his Bed and walked. " John v. i. V, « Whilft Jefus was at Jerufalevi he faw « a Man that was blind from his Birth. Up- « on which, fpitting on the Ground he made " Clay of the Spittle and anointed the Eyes " of the blind Man with the Clay, and faid ^ unto him, Go wafh in the Pool of Siloam, « The Man went his Way and wafhed and " received his Sight. John ix. i. VI. « When Jefus was at Capernaum, a " great Multitude reforted to the Houfe where " he was ; infomuch that there was no Room " to receive them, no not fo much as about " the Door. And they come unto him bring- *' ing one fick of the Palfy, which was born " of four. And when they could not come ^ nigh f7] ^' nigh him for the Throng, they went up to „ 't' "?"^' '°P ^"^ '« ^™ '^own through « K . ^'''"g ^"f' ^'^ Conch into the midft „ b'^fore >>. ; who feeing their Faith, faid to the S.ck of the Palfy, Son, thy Sins arc forgiven thee ; arife take up thy Bed and go mto th,ne Houfe. And immediately he « arofe took up the Bed and went forth bc- " fore them all". Markn.i. Lukev ly .«!SI g HE Cafo being thus briefly related, ^- we are now to enquire, n ^ u ^'f','^^"J'^'-thefe Cafes, as they ftand in the Gofpels, can be accounted for in a natural Way (as Mr. W. does fometimes fup- pofe) and without allowing in our bleffed Sa- viour a Power of working Miracles? 5...«^/3,, Whether thefe Cafes, as they are recorded, ftand conneded with any fuch Cir cumftances as give any Occafion for the Charge of Ab.urd.ty brought againft them? ^A ^"^ ?? '' '^^' °f '^' coring the Madmen, whKhistobeconfideredafpre! fent, fimply as a cure of Madnefs, becaufe the Grcumftance of catting out the Devils wherewrth they were faid to have been poffef ,^d, and of the fuffering thofe Devils afte- ward [8] wards to enter into the Herd of Swine, how much foever they may afFeft the Credibility of the Relation, certainly cannot aflfea the Reality of the Miracle. For to cure Mad- nefs in an Inftant, by the fpeaking of a Word, is a miraculous Thing, whether the Caufe of , that Madnefs be fuppofed to be diabolical Poffemon or any thing elfe. For this Quefti- on is concerned purely with the Reality of the Diftemper, and not with the Caufe from whence it proceeds. If a Man has the Gout, whether it proceeds from an evil Habit of Body de- rived from his Parents, or from an intem- perate way of living, or from the Poffeffion of a Devil, yet to cure it by the fpeaking of a Word, would be equally in any of the Ca- fes, miraculous. Now that thefe Men were really mad the Account ftiews ; for they wore no Ckaths, neither abode in any Houfe^ hut among the tombs and uPon the Moun- tains. They were exceeding fierce, fo that no Man could bind them, no not with Chains. Which are as plain Evidences of Madnefs as can be. That they were cured is alfo clear. For when fome came out of the City tofee]tixxi, they found this Madman fitting and cloathed, and in his right Mind. So that this Cafe, at leaft, as it ftands recorded in the Gofpel, muft be admit- ted as a plain Inftance of a Miracle. To this firft Cafe, the laft is not unlike ; for here was a Man fo much affeded with the Palfy as that he [9] he was quite unable to help himfelf, who jtt upon Jefifs's only fliying to him arife v arofe^ took up his Bed and walked, Thefe two Cafes the Obje6lor hinfilelf has allowed, Ithink, to be unexceptionable. The Fafts he denies, for Reafons which fhall be confidered in their pro- per Place. Bat admitting the Fafts, he does not difpute the Miracle, as indeed no one of common Senfe can -, and I think diat Mr. JV's, uncommon Senfe does not carry him fo flir. In the lt:condi third, and fourth Cafes, the Gentleman purfues a different Method. For here he allows the Fa6ls (or feems at leaft to allow them) but denies the Miracles. Let u5 cake therefore thefe Cafes in order a:; the^ Hand, and confider his Keafoning. The firft of thefe three Cafes is that of the Woman that was difeafed with an Iffue of Bloods In which fiys he, '^ to pleafe our Divines I will allow as 7nuch of the 'fruth cf the Letter of the Story as they can defire. And in particular, he admits that flie was diiAcf(2ccii obnoxious to bleed- ing-, which Diftemperhe all along fuppofes to- have been of twelve I^ears (landing. Nor does he call in Queftion the particular Manner, in which the Evangelifis tell us the Cure was wrought, (namely that it was done in Virt'je of the Woman's touching the Hc?n of Ch rift's Garment,) as if it were falfly reported. Thus * sixth DJfconrfe, p. 8, 9- B f.^r fio] far all is well. Now this being admitted as 3 true Relation, it will, I believe, puzzle any Man of common Apprehenfion, to conjedlure how the Gentleman goes to work to avoid the Neceffity of confeffing that here was a Mira- cle wrought. For to cure a Perfon of an in- veterate Haemorrhage, to which all the Means of Arc had been adminiflred in vain, merely by the Touch of the Hem of a Man's Gar- ment is furely a Miracle, or it will be the hardefl thing in the World to fay what is a Miracle. But he tells us, that, * as to the Na- ture of the Difeafe of this IVoman^ we are much in the dark about it^ and very uncertain of what Kind and Degree it was ^ It might he for ought we know^ only a little bleeding at the Nofe that now and then fhe was fubje^ to, or it might be an Obnoxioufnejs to an Evacuation of Bloody h 1' <^o not at all think it needful to pur^ fue the learned Conjedures. Be it fuppofed that this bleeding was from the Nofe, or from any other part of the Body; flill it was a Dif- eafe, and an inveterate Difeafe, which no Art that fhe had ever tried could cure. The Gen- tleman amufes himfelf to as little Purpofe, when he tells us, that the f Woman fubfifling fo long under her Iffue of Blood it could not he very grievous That this Hmnorrhage was rather, perhaps, of Advantage to the Health of * '^ii- p. !0, II j p. 11,12. the ["] the 'Patient than of Danger to her — ^ — Yea, that Jefus'j cure of this Woman 7night he a Preci- ptation of her "Deaths for (which is the only true Thing he fays) floe died fome Time after it^ rather than a Prolongation of her Life. You fee the Power of Imnginacion ! If you will allow the Gentleman that the Cafe was what it was not, he will be able to prove that there was no Miracle. The Hiftory fays , that the Woman had been twelve Years difeafed : That no Art, no Skill of the Phyfician could relieve her. Mr. TV. thinks what the Scripture calls a Difeafe, was her Health and her Life ; which is not writing againft the old Hiflory, but giving us a new one. Surely he is a my- fhical Phyfician, as well as a myftical Divine-, or elfe from the plain Scripture Hiitory of this Difliemper, he never could have raifed fuch Conclufions ! As to his general Afiertion, that * the hodily Difeafe of the Woman fhotdd have been clearly and fully reprefented to cur Underftanding , or i^e can form no Conception of Chrift'i Pozver in the cure of it^ I can by no Means agree to it •, becaufe it implies that we can never know a Man to be fick, unlefs we underfland the Nature of his Diftemper. The Cafe is quite otherwife. We fend for Phyficians to our Friends, be- caufe we fee they are Tick, and bccaule we *P- 13- B 2 do I [ 12 ] /lIo not ourfelves underftand their Diflempers in fome Cafes our Phyficians are puzzled, and at a Lofs to know the Nature of the Patients Difeafe. In fuch a Cafe, which is of all others the moll defperate and remedilefs, will Mr. IV. fay, that there is no Diftempei, becaufe no one underftands wliat it is ? In the prefenc Cafe, if a Diftemper of twelve Years landing, and which had lb long eluded all the Art of Phyfick, was cured by a fingle Touch of Cb?'ijVs Garment, is it poiTible to imagine, that there was nothing miraculous in the cure? It is fcarce worth Notice, what the Gentle- man is pleafed to fuggeft as to the Means, by which this Cure was wrought, namely, that fhe Efte6t which follov/ed upon the Woman's touching the Hem of Chrijl's Garment, might have been owing purely ^ to the Force of hn- actuation. No doubt this Woman had before, cither been an Eye Wicnefs of Chi'iflh mira^ culous Power of healing Difeafes, or had had the Aflurances of it from others upon Autho- rities not to be difputed. Full of this Perfua- fion fhe comes to Cbriji, and as the Reward oi her Faith God was pleafed to grant her, what flie wifhed for, a Releafement from her bodily Infirmity. It is thus that the Scripture rcprefcnts the Cafe. Now if this Gentleman iR-ill lay that this Cure was not the Effed of the '^ ibul p- 14- *^ rnira-t [13] miraculous Power of God, but of a flrong Imagination ; I know not indeed, as he fays, *ivho can help it. But there is one Thing, I am fure, which a wife Man will find himfelf as lit- tle able to help, and that is, pitying the Ex- travagancy of a Thought, which has not the lead Appearance of Reafon to fupport it. It 13 an eafy Thing to harangue in general Terms upon the Force of Imagination in certain Cafes, But the proper Proof in the Matter before us, would have been to have produced fome unquefliionable Inflance of a Difeafe, attended with Circumftances parallel to thefe, which has been cured by Imagination. When the Gen- tleman has done this , it will be Time enough to confider the Cafe farther ; and till then, all that he can fay will only fliew his own Temper and Spirit, but cannot diminifli from the Credit of the Story with any who are difpofed to confider Cafes of this Sort, with any Degree of Judgment and Im- partiality. To go on therefore to the next Cafe, name- ly, that of another Woman who had a Spirit of Infirmity. This Difliempcr, wliatever it was, is fpoken of by our Saviour himfelf, as iniliic- ted by fome evil Spirit. For he tells us, that file had been hound of Satan for eighteen Tears j and the vifible Efleft of this was, that fiie ivas hoived together and could in no iviCe lift up her- [ 14 3 felf. Yet upon yefus*s laying his Mands on her immediately Jhe was made llreigf:)t. What fays tiKe Gentleman to this ? Why =* taking the Devjl, out of the Story ^ there*s no more in it than what is common. — Very well Sir ; we will drop this Circumflance of the Devil's being concerned in the Cafe for the prcftnt, and fee what you will make of it. What is it that you here fay is common? Why, that a -\ drooping^ ft oo^ing^ vaporous Woman^ fidl of Fancies^ Jhould he cheared and elated upon the comfortalle Advice and Ad- monition of a reputedly wife and good Man ! I think verily, that the Queftion with the Gen- tleman upon this Cafe, is already brought to a very fhort IfTue. The Hiftory fays, that this AVoman wasaffli61:ed with a Weaknefs of eigh- teen Years Continuance, which had fo much difablcd her, that fhe could not fland upright. The Gentleman in Effedlfays, that this was not the Cafe, and that the Woman had not really any fuch Diftemper. What now mufl we be- lieve ? Shall we credit thofe who faw the Wo- man, and faw the Cure-, or muft we give Cre- dit to Mr. IV's. new Hiftory of this Woman, which he delivers as confidently indeed as if fhe had been his intimate Acquaintance, but whom he never faw, of whom he had never heard, but for the Hiftory, which he pretends to cor- rcd. If he may be allowed to write Hiftory out out of his own Head , and to throw out of the Story every Thing that is miraculous ; he may well fay. What is there in this more than common ? But does not this fhifting the Cafe fliew, to Demonftration, that even in this Writer's own Opinion, here is an Inftance of a Miracle impoffible to be withftood ? Itis juft in the fame Manner that he has treated the fourth Cafe, which is next to follow ; that, I mean, of the Impoieni Man at the Pool of Bethefda. * The Worst, fays he, (hat can h, made of this Man's Cafe is, that be-wastmMed -with Lazmefs more than Lamsnefs. — Or that if he jas no D^Jfembhr, he -^as only fancifully fick. And the Best that can be made ./ JefusV Power in the Cure of bin, ,s, that by fime pro- per and feafonable Talk, he touched his Heart to bts Rehef, andfo by the help of his o-wn Ima^t. natton was cured, and went his Way. The beft and the worft that can be made, - From whence? Why from the Scripture Hiftory. or he fays nothing. But of the Truth of this lef the meaneft Reader judge. The Hiftory fays that he had an InfirmUy thirty erght Years Now though it is granted (as he obferves) that t the Word «a.v««, Weaknefs or Infir- m.ty, „^^,^„.^/ ^T„^^^ of all Diftempers; yet fome p,ftemper or other it certainly fignifies and the Circumftances of the Place Ihew thus fai [ i6] far what this Man's DUlemper was, viz. That he was fome way or other diiabled in his Limbs, for he could not get into the Pool without Help. So that whatever the Gentle- man's private Opinion as to the Nature of this Man's Cafe may be, (which is nothing at all to the Purpofe) the Scripture evidently fpeaks of it as a real Lamencfs, which I hope he will not fay was capable of being cured merely by the force of Imagination. It the Objeftor could have produced any Circumftances from the Hiftory tending to Ihew that thefe Perfons labour'd under no real Diftemper, tn.s had beenfomething. But fince he has "ot atten.pt^ ed this, and there is indeed not the leaft (hew of any fuch Inconfiftency , I Ihall venture to fet down thefe two Cafes likewife, as what do appear upon the Face of the Scripture-Hi- ftory to be undoubted Inftances ofj.^s mi- raculous Power in healing Difeafes. The only Cafe which now remains to be confidered, is that of J e jus's C.rcoi t\.. Blind-man ; which the Gentleman has been pleafed to treat in fuch a Manner as to leave h very uncertain to his Readers how much of the Fad he admits, and how much he de- nies Sometimes he feems to allow that the Man was really blind; at other nmes, and that not feldom, he intimates as if his byes might have been only fore. But that there was any Miracle in this Cafe he denies abfo- ^ 2 lutely J [ I?] iutely •, for^ * Miracle^ lays he, lean fie none.. It is not worth the while, to by together what he fliys upon the firft Head •, for whatever his Meaning is, the Scnfc of the Scripture is clear and cannot be miilaken. The Man we are there told was blind^ and horn Mind ; and fince nothing is offered to fhew the contrary, we mud take the Cafe to have been as it is reported, and then fee how the Gentleman will get rid of the Miracle. He obferves in the firft Place, that* ^^.ve knovj nothing of the Nature of this poor Man^s Blind- 7iefs^ nor what was the Bcfe^ of his E^es \ nor whether it was curable by Art or not \ without which Knowledge^ fays he, it is impofjible and un- reafonable to affsrt^ that there was a Miracle wrought in the Cure of him. This is one In- ftance, among many others, of Mr. /Ps. great WantofConfideration. A broken Bone is a Ma- lady certainly curable by Art •, and yet fhould any one be able, without the Help of com- mon Applications, to reftore a broken Limb inftantly •, fuppofe, by touching it with his Finger, it would be a Miracle. A Miracle is fliewn by the Manner of the Cure as well as by the Matter of it. And therefore ad- mit, that this Man's Blindncfs was indeed curable by Art (which it will be a hard Mat- ter to prove) ftill if our Saviour cured it with- * Icunh Difcourfe p. 0- f ^"^'^- P- 7> 8. C oat [ i8] out the IJfe of any Mean's, that have a nata- ral Virtue to cure Blindneis ; will any Man be fo unreaibnable as to lay, that the Cure was not Miraculous ? Mr. W, himfelf will an- fwer, No. For he tells us he * ^cvill yield — that if Jefus had n[ed no Medicines •, if ivith on- Ij a Word of his Mouthy he had cured the Man, and he had infiantaneoufly recovered as the Word ivas fpoken, here ivould have been a real and great Miraclcy let the Blindnefi or hnperfeulion of the Man^s Sight he of what kind or de- gree SOEVER. I'o what Purpofe then was it to all edge our Ignorance of the Nature of this Man's Blindnefs, as an Objedion againlt the Miracle ? Or what Sort of Opinion muft the Gentleman have of his Readers, when he thought that they would bear to be thus treat- ed ? Will you now, Sir, be pleafed to tell U3 what it is that you find fault with ? Why Je- fus did not cure this Man's Blindnefs by fpeak- jng a Word, but, it feems, ^ ufed Wajhings and Ointments and Balfams^ which^ fays he, ahfolute- ly fpoils and defiroys the Credit of the Miracle, What are thefe Wafliings, and Ointments, and Balfams, the Gentleman talks of? JefuSy we read, fpat on the Ground., and inade Clay of the Spittle^ and anointed the Eyes of the blind Man with the Clay^ and then bad him to go wajh in the Tool of SiloaiUy that is, in a common River.- * p. 9. t '^^^^« Have [ 19] Have thefc Things any natural Virtue to cure Blindnefs ? He himfelf would laugh at anyone that fliould fay fo. For it is but in the very next Page, that he falls into great Admira- tion, and fays -, A Jl range and odd Sort of an Ointment^ that I believe was never nfed before or fi nee ^ for fore and blind Eyes ! I think fo too ; and his Ridicule would be veryjuft, if it could be imagined that our Saviour ufed it as a means, naturally proper to work the Cure he intend- ed. But as it is certain, that Jef^s could have no fuch View, the Ridicule muft fall upon him- felf, in alledging this as a Difparagement of the Miracle, which might, for ought we know, as well have been effedied without it. For where is the Difference between ufing no out- ward Application at all, and ufmg fuch an out- ward Application as has no natural Virtue to cfFe6l a Cure ? It would be very eafy to obferve, that an inftantaneous Cure of any Blindnefs by fuch kind of Applications, is a Thing that was never heard of. But there is no Occafi- on to infift upon thefe Matters *, becaufe ic is plain that our Saviour ufed neither Ointment nor Wafhing that could have any Virtue in that Cafe. The Objector is fo fenfible of this, fuppofing the Ointment to have been what the Hiftory fays it was, that, to ^ help hi??ifelf '* p, 10. 14. C ?. ciii [ 2® ] eut at a dead lift, in Service of a certain Caufe^ he feems willing to infinuatc, that this Effect might be accounted for^ hy fuppofing thai ]t{\x^ imperceptibly had in his Mouthy a proper nn^fu- cus and halfamick Suhjlance^ which he diffolved into Spittle. But to make this out, he tells us, he wants the AflMlance of fome Jkilful Pro- fejfors in Phyfick and Surgery, a?id wonders that none of them., who fnay he fuppofed to he a little ■difaffeFced to Chriflianity., have as yet hent their Thoii^ots this JVa). The certain Caufe which the Gentleman has fo much at Heart is, I fup- pofe, pretty well underftood. But I have known, that even a good Caufe has fuffered under better Management than this. If I could believe the Gentleman to be in earnefl, I would advife him to confult fome experienced Phy- ficians and Surgeons, and hear what they have to fliy. The decent Manner in which he has treated this learned Faculty, with the good Senfe of the Quefrion he has to propofe to them, no doubt will procure him a Reception fuitable to his Merit. But '^ what then., fays the Objedor, was the Reafon o/Jefus'i tifing this fir ange Eye Salve., fince it had no medicinal Virtue ? To which Queflion he fhall receive an Anfwer in due Time. At prefent we have no Occafion to ccnfider [21] confider this Point ; becaufe whatever was the Reafon, why Jefm ufed this Ointment, the Mi- racle will ftandjuft as it does. We are there- fore got through thefe fix Cafes, and it appears that taking them as they are recorded by the Evangelifts, they are all of them Miraculous. This was our firft Head of Enquiry. The fecond is, whether thefe Cafes Hand conne6tcd with any fuch Circumflances, as are fufficient to fupport the Charge of Abfur- dity laid againll them. This is what I am next to confider -, and with a View to this Quefliion, I fhall once more run over thefe Cafes in the Order in which I have placed them. The firfb Cafe is that of Chrift^s curing the Madmen \ to which Miracle, there is this Cir- cumfi:ance connedled, That this Madnefs was occaftoned by evil Spirits^ who had taken Pojfejfi^ on of them \ who being caft out^ were permitted to enter into a Herd of Swine, who thereupon ran down a Precipice, and were all choaked in the Sea, In this Circumfiiance, one Thing per- haps, that may give the Gentleman Ofi^ence is. That the Gofpel afierts the Being of evil Spi- rits, and their Agency in bringing bodily Dif- cafes, and other Mifchiefs upon Men. He does not indeed offer this as an Objedlion in dired Terms, in the Story before us: But fince he has * elfewhere given us plainly enough f Second D'tfcenrfe p, 40. to 45, [22] 10 underlhnd that he laughs at every Thing of this Kind, it will not be improper once for all to fay in a few Words, what may rea- fonably be faid upon this Subjedl. It mull be obferved then, that the Na- ture of the Argument does not oblige us to fet out our Proofs that there are fuch Beings as evil Spirits, or to determine how far they are concerned in the Affairs of this World. The Gofpel fuppofes fuch Beings, and that they fometimes are fuffered to have an Influ- ence in the Affairs of this World. This is made an Objection againft the Authority of the Gofpel. To maintain this Objedion there- fore, thofe who make it muft prove, either that there are no fuch Beings, or that if there are, they cannot poflibly have any thing to do with human Afli^irs *, otherwife the Suppofiti- on of fuch Beings will be no Obje6lion againffe the Gofpel or any part of it. And what can any Man have to fay in order to fhew that there are no evil Spirits, that is not the Effed of mere Prejudice? W^hen we fpeak of a Spirit, we fpeak of an invifible Being. And that there is one invifible Being at leaft, all mu(t confefs wlio are not downright Atheifts : For God is, though we fee him not. And that there may poilibly be a great Variety of invifible Beings as well as one, nothing can hinder any Man from conceiving but a certain Narro\ynefs of Thought, which a very little Philofophy will enable [ 23 ] enable us to conquer, and is incident only to thole who are not at all accuftomed to think. 'I doubt not but that if fome Gentlemen had lived a hundred Years ago, and had been told of that numberlefs Variety of imperceptible Animals, that have lately become i^vifible by the help of Glafles, they would have made as great a Joke of them as they do now of Spi- rits. If the being of fuch Animals does not prove the being of Spirits, (as it certainly docs not) it will help us to conceive that there may be Spirits ; for it fhews there are many real Beings that are invifible to us ; and is not this the flrongeft Prejudice againfl the belief of Spirits, that they are 'invifible ? Con- cerning the Nature or Subftance of a Spirit wc know nothing more than that it is greatly different from every thing whereof we have any Experience. But this can be no good Objection •, for who will fay it is not as eafy for God to make Creatures of different Sub- fiances *, as it is to make Creatures of the dime Subftance differing in Shape and Propor- tion ? As litde room for Objedion is there againfl the Office or Employment which the Gofpel affigns to thefe invifible Beings-, namely, their being made ufe of as Inftruments in the Hand of God to execute the Works of his Provi- dence with regard to Men. He hath made the Creatures of the vifible World Inftruments both [24] both of Good and Evil to us, and why not thofe of the invifible World likewife ? Why may not God permit us to be hurt by evil Spirits, as well as by evil Men, or by evil Beafts? Or why may not the Operation of an evil Spirit upon the Body create Diftempers, as well as the Operations of many natural Sub- fiances? I am perfuaded that no Anfwer can be given to thefe Queftions, which can in the Jeaft ftand as a Prejudice to the Gofpel with reafonable Men. And therefore to go on a little farther. What flicks with fome People, I know, is this, That we fhould hear fo much of evil Spirits taking PoflefTion of Mens Bo- dies, during the Time of the firfl: Publication of the Gofpel, and nothing at all of it either before or fince. To which the Anfwer is ve- ry plain and eafy, that then only were thefe Beings known and heard of, becaufe then on- ly thofe Powers were exercifed, which alone were able to bring their Doifigs to Light. The Difeafes were vifible; but the Caufe of them was unknown, till he who wrought the Cure made it evident by his Power what it was. And pollibly fhould the fame Power again revive, we might again hear of juft the fame Effe6ls of it. We know little by our Rea- fon or our Senfes, of the being of evil Spirits, or of their Power, and therefore are apt to make no Reckoning of them in confidering the poflible Caufes of thofe Effects which we daily [ 25 ] daily fee before us j but fliouJd any one fay, that even now a great many of thofe Difea- fes which afBid Mankind, are caufed by evil Spirits ; Some modern Writers would find much more Ufe of their Talent for Ridicule, than of their Reafon and Underflanding, in confuting him. Let us now come to the Matter iri Hand, and try the Weight of the Gentleman's Ob- jedlion, which mull, I think, be conceived to ftand thus, viz. That * it is ahfurd and unrea- finable to believe that the Devils or evil Spirits when caft out of the Madmen Jhould he permitted to enter into an Herd of Swine to their Dejiru5fi- on. This pretended Abfurdity is fupported by two Obfervations, viz. i. That there were no Swine kept in that Country. 2. That if there were, Jefus's deftroying fo many Swine by fuffering the Devils to enter into them, and drive them into the Sea, was an A61 of Inju- ftice. To the firft of thefe Obfervations ic may be anfwered, that there might be Swine kept in that Country; for that f Gadara W2is inhabited by Greeks as well as Jews who might both keep and eat Swine ; though the Jews were forbidden by their Laws to do either. As to the other Obfervation, I will only afk the Gentleman this plain Queftion, viz. Whether fuppofing Jefus to have been a Prophet, and * Firfi Difcotirfe, p. 33. & feq. t ^iA'^/ "/ ^^- David'i Vindic. p. 199, D in [26] in Confequence hereof to have aded by Com- mifTion from God , he was , or could be guile y of any Injuftice in this Adlion ? It is plain he could not*, becaufc upon this Suppo- fition the Ad will come to be confidered not as his A6t, but as an Ad of Providence. If Jefis had no Right to dcftroy the Peoples Swine, God, who is the fupreme Proprietor of the whole Earth, mod certainly had •, And wi'l you complain of him for fuch a Punifli- mcnt as this, when you every Day fee more furprizing Inftances before your Eyes ? The Gentleman afls.s, What had this People done to * deferve fuch Ufagc from Jefus? Would the Queftion be endured if he fhould afk, What had they done to deferve fuch Ufage from God? Is God accountable to fuch Reafoners as thefe, when Hiey fliall demand why he pu- niuies, or why he forbears? Or when we fee liim laying whole Nations wade with Pefti- knee, with Famine and with Earthquakes, Ihali v/e confefs his fovereign Authority in thefe Cafes, and yet upon the Lofs of /ze.7? thopfand Swine cry out and fiy, Why haft thou done thus? If you are inclined to doubt of the divine CommiilTion of Chrijl, yet it muft be for otiier Reafons and not for this. For it can be no Reafon for denying his divine Com- miinon, becaufe he once or twice did the fame * ih}d^ ibid. p. 34. Thing [27] Thing which God docs daily. And upon this Occafion I cannot help wifliing, that thole who feem to call in Queftion the Authority of the Chriftian Religion, and yet pretend to be real Deifts, would take Care that they do not in their Zeal againd Revelation advance fuch Notions, which mud, if there be any Thing in them, entirely fubvert the belief of a Providence and all natural Religion. It is hardly worth while to take Notice of fome other little Circumftances in this Story, which the Gentleman has been pleafed to fee down as Objedionsagainfl the Credibility of it. As, * Hozv came thofe Madmen to have their Dwel- ling among the Tombs of a burying Ground? Where was the Humanity of the People that did not take care of them ? I prefume the Gofpel Hiftory may ftand very fafe though we cannot anfwer for the A6lions of Madmen •, and if the meaning of the Objeflion is only this, that the People of the Country ought to have been more care- ful than to permit Perfons in this Condition to wander up and down where they pleafed ; this likewife may be admitted without Pre- judice to the Evangelifts. For what? Is not an Hiftorian to be credited, unlefs we can in every minute Circumftance account for the Condudl of all whom the Hiflory concerns? Iwilh the Gentleman would try his critical Skill *p. 31, D 2 upon [28] upon fome other Writers and fee what Con- fequences would arife in Virtue of fuch nota- ble Obfervations as thefe. If fome Author of good Account fhould tell us of a wild Bull that had broke loofe from his Keepers, and done great Mifchief among the People *, fuch a Story, I fuppofe, might eafily enough find Cr^it, becaufe there is fcarcely a Country in which Inilances of this kind do not fome times happen. And yet ihould this Objedtor take in Hand to difparage fuch a Writer, might he not cry out with the very fame Reafon that he does here, Ts it pofTible ? What fort of Peo- ple were thefe, that they did not tye him up faft, or knock him o' the Head? I do not find that thefe poor Creatures had really hurt any Body, but only that the People were afraid of them •, nor does it appear but that reafona- ble Care had been taken to prevent Mifchief. For the Hiflory fays, that thefe Men had been often hound with Fetters and Chains^ hut that 710 Chains would hold them. This fays the Gentleman is hardly credible. Perhaps fo, to him, who con- fiders this only as a common Cafe of Madnefs. But if he admits (what the Hiftory fays) that evil Spirits were concerned, he will not, I prefume, pretend to determine the Extent of their Power. Befides by this Expreffion we are not obliged to underftand any more than that the ufual Methods of chaining and fettering Mad- [29] Mad-men had been tried, but to no Purpofe j which I fuppofe no reafonable Man will fay is fo ftrange a Thing as to furpafs all Credibili- ty. And were it fuch an ImpofTibility for Mad-men in any Country to be at Liberty, perhaps we fliould not have had the Trouble of confidering thefe Objedions. But there is one Objedion more, which may perhaps feem to have greater Weight in it, and that is this * H'^hen our Saviour was brought before Pilate to be arraigned^ tryed^ and condemned^ Pilate put this ^eflion to the Jewsy ja')ing^ What Evil hath he done ? Upon which the Gentleman obferves, that // this Story had been literally true ^/Jefus, there had been no need of falfe Witneffes againfl him ; for the Gadarens viiglot have depofed^ that he had deflroyed two thoufand of their Swine, But perhaps the Peo- ple of that Country, had not Jearn'd to call that Injuflice^ in which they plainly faw the Hand of God, and therefore were not difpo- fed themfelves to complain. And as for the chief Priefts, they had good Reafon not to put the Caufe upon this Iflue. If the Lofs of thefe Swine had been pleaded, the firft Queftion would have been, how did Jefus de- flroy them ? And this would have led dired- ly to an Inquiry into his Miraculous Power, ^ Point which, as their whole Condu(5l upon * P' 38. this [30] this Occafion fhews, the Jews were refolute- ly determined not to meddle with. What Sort of an Advocate this Gentleman might have been for the Jews^ if he had been there, I cannot tell. If he had believed any Thing of evil Spirits, he might confidently enough with his own Opinion, have faid * that he he- lieved Chrift to he a Wizzard, and that the Swine were loft through his Fafcinations, But the Jews could with no Sort of Decency have objefted in this Manner. Beelzebub was the common Cry, when they wanted fome- thing to fay : But this was not a Plea to be trufted too, fince they had nothing to alledge againft J^fa^^ upon this particular Cafe, to fhew that he made ufe of a diabolical Power, which would not have fallen harder upon fome of their own Prophets. They could not have forgot what Mofes, in whom they trufted^ did to Corah and all his Company, whom he fent down alive into the Earth, which opened her Mouth to fwallow them up. ( Numb, xvi. ) Nor what Eli]ah did, when he commanded Fire to come down from Heaven, and con- fume a hundred Men, whom Aha->dah fent to apprehend him. (2 King, i. 10.) Nor what his Succeflbr Elijha did, when he called forth two Bears out of the Wood, who tare in Pieces two and Forty Children. (iKing, ii. 23.jThefe • p. 39. and [30 and Tome other Inftances of Severity, execut- ed by their Prophets, they muft have remem- bred : And what was the Lofs of two Thou- flind Swine to fuch Deflrucftions as thefe ? No wonder then if they chofe to avoid an Ar- gument, whicli might fo eafily have been turned upon themfelvcs, and had recourfe to general Accufations of Sedition and Difaf- fc6lion to CcBfcv\ that common Artifice, by which Thoufands have been deflroyed or ill treated, whofe only Faults have been, that their Virtues were too confiderable. Other Anfwers might be given to this Ob- jedlion, but I take this one to be fufficient ; and fince the Gentleman has once again cal- led us, to the Confideration of the Matters objed:ed to our Saviour at his Tryal before Pilate^ I will beg leave in my Turn, to pro- pofe one Difficulty to him, which he may confider of at his Leifure. He tells us that Jcfus was a Cheat. If fo, he was furely the moft lucky Tmpoftor that ever was, if amidfl fuch an Infinite Variety of Impoftures (for fo we muft now call all his Miracles) he was not fometimes detedled. The Gentleman fays, that he was deteded in the Cafe of Lazarus : And it feems utterly incredible, that he fhould not have been detedled in many other, if any Thing was to be difcovered that was other- wife than it ought to have been. Why then this deep Silence upon this Head, and why fo C 32 1 fo much fubornlng of Witneflcs In other Cl- fes? Why fo much Strefs laid upon a few mi- ftaken Words of his about deftroyirig the Tern- ^le, and why not one Word upon thefe mani- feft Cheats ? What was a general Charge of Sedition and Difalfedion compared to a Proof that he was a common Cheat, and had en- deavoured by Craft and Artifice to make him- felf popular? But to return. The two following Cafes will give us little Trouble. In the Story of the Woman that was ^ifeafed ivitb an TJfue of Blood the Gentleman has found noCircumftances to cavil at : Nor in that of the other Woman that was bound down hy a Spirit of Infirmity, unlefs it be that the Devil was concerned in the Matter ; which is a Point that has been already fpoken to. But the Hiftory of the lame Man that was cured at the Pool ofBetbefda is full, it feems, of *y^^- furdities, Improhahilities , and Incredibilities, which have furnifhed him with much Matter of Ridicule. His principal Objections lie againft what we find in St. John's Gofpel con- cerning this Pool of Bethefda ; as that an Angel went down at a certain Seafon into the Pool and troubled the Water ; and that whofoever firji, after the Troubling of the JVater, fiepped in^ he was made Whole of whatfoever Bifeafe he had. But what is all this to our Saviour ? Has he * Third Difcourfe, p.34' faid [33] faid one Word about the Poo!, or the Virtues of it? Suppofe the Pool had no Virtue, Was the Man therefore not Lame ? Or was he there* fore not cured by our Saviour ? Whatever therefore becomes of this Story, our Saviour, it is certain, flands quite clear of it : For when he came to the Pool, and fliw the lame Man lying there, he only asked him, Whe:her he zvould be made whole ? and, having heard what he had to fiy, bad him rife a;:d lake up his Bed and walk. But concerning the Virtue of this Pool in curing Difeafes, what it was, or whence it came, he fays not one Word. If there be any Difficulty in the Cafe, St. John, the Writer of the Hiflory, is to anfvver for it, and per- haps he may have lefs to anfwer for than MrJK imagines. For in the firfl Place there is fome Reafon to fufpedt that the Paflage about the Angel's Defcent into the Pool and troubling the Wa- ter, at which Mr. fF's Ridicule is chiefly pointed, is no Part of St. John's original Go- fpel. In fome ancient Manufcripts it is en- tirely wanting -, in others not admitted into the Body of the Text, but fet down in the Margin by fome later Hand, as the learned Reader may find by confulcing Dr. Mi/Is, and his Editor Dr. Kujler, to whom it will be enough to refer him for farther Satisfadlion ^\ * Vid. Milli Prolegom. ad Nov. Ted. 433. d< Kullcr in Pr^fat, E But [34] But to give the EngUJh Reader a clear Notion of this Matter, I will fee down this PafTage in our Tranflation, as it is reprefented in a very- ancient Greek Manufcript in the ^ King of France's Library. Verf. 2. There is at Jerufiilem hy the Sheeps Market a Pool zvbich is eall'd in the Hebrew Tongue Bcthcfda, having five Porches, Vcrf. 3. In thefe lay a great Multitude of impotent Folk^ Blind, Halt, Wi- thered, * Verf. 5. And a certain Man was there zvhich had an Infirmity thirty and eight Tears. Verf. 6. PFhen]t{\x% fawhim lye, and knew that he had been now a long Time in that Cafie^ he fiaith unto him^ Wilt * Waiting for the Moving of the Waters, Vaf. 4. Tor an An- gel ivent down at a certain Sca/o7i into the Pod and troubled the Wa- ter — whafoe-ver then firjl, ajtcr the Troubling of the Water, jleppcd z«, ivas mads IV hole of what gjiftafe foever he had. thou he made whole? Verf. 7. The impotent Man anfwered^ Sir , / have no Alan when the Water is trou- hied to put me into the Pool, hut while I am coming another fteppeth down before me, &CC. Vid. Montfaucon Pauieog. Gr?sc. p. 214. You [35] You fee now that the Narnuion, as it (lands without the marginal Note, contains a full and perfedl Senfc, and gives an Account of the whole Adion of our Saviour fo far as it con- cerned the Jame Man and his Cure. It is ve- ry true that the feventh Verfe implies fome fuch Notion as the fourth diftindlly Specifies, viz, That upon a certain trouhlbig of the JVaters there was a Cure wrought or expeded to be wrought upon the Perfon that could firfl: get into the Pool, which was the Reafon that brought thefe fick Perfons together. If you Ihould infer from hence, that St. John wrote the fourth Verfe, I think you would infer too much. For perhaps when St. John wrote, the Notion which brought thefe People to the Pool might be fo well underflood, that he might not think it needful to give a particular Ac- count of it. But as the ancient Tradition be- gan to wear off, fuch an Explication was ne- ceflary to make the lame Man's talk to our Saviour, at the feventh Verfe, intelligible, which, without fuch Explication, 'tis certain, would not at this time of day have been under- flood. This might be the Reafon why, in fome Copies, it was at firtL inferred in the Margin of the Book ; and how eafily it might from thence, by degrees, creep into tlie Text every one underftands , who knows how fre- quent fuch Indanccg are in many ancient Wrr- ters. E 2 I a>u!l [ 36 ] I fnall leave it to the Reader to judge of this Account according to his Difcretion. I think it cannot be denied, that it has at leaft an Ap- pearance of Probability. Let us then confider the Cafe upon this Foot, and fee how it will ftand. You fay, you cannot believe that an Angel went at certain Seafons into the Pool and troubled the Water for the Benefit of a fingle Perfon. Well^ let it alone. Our Sa- viour, you have feen, in every View (lands clear of the Matter-, and if the foregoing Con- je6lure be admitted, fo will the Evangelift, who only reports what the lame Man faid. He certainly had fuch a Notion as this, and fo had many others, or they had never come thi- ther for a Cure : And if you fhould ask, Whe- ther this Notion was true or falfe } my Anfwer is, That it is nothing to the Purpofe. For admit that this was only a vulgar Superftition ; Is it any Obje6lion againft our Saviour, that he cured a poor fuperftitious Man of his Lame- nefs ? Or againft the Evangelift, That he re- ported , without difguife , his Converfation with our Saviour ? You may think it incre- dible, perhaps, that there fhould have been any fuch Superllilion. But go into Italy ^ Spain^ or Portugal^ and you may fee as ftrange Things every Day •, and in a lower Degree too much of it may be feen even in our own Country. B«c [37] But to wave all this, and to fuppofe this Account to be St. Johi's own. What mud we fay now ? Why fays the Gentleman, that here is an Account of an incredible Miracle. Why incredible ? If all Miracles are incredi- ble, this may be fo too •, but it is no more incredible than others are. If a Man reports only common Things that happen every Day, no one alive will fay he reports Miracles ; and therefore the very Nature of a Miracle requires, that the Matter of it fhould con- tain fomething uncommon, i. e. (as our Author will fay) fomething incredible. We cannot move Waters, and by moving them, give them a medicinal Virtue ; but does it follow that God cannot ? The Waters of Jordan at Our Command will not cure a Leprofie ; but does it follow that Naaman the S'jrian was not healed, when he ufed this Remedy by- God's Command ^. If you ask, why fuch a Miracle was vouchfafed the Jews in their worft and moft corrupted State ? I will an- fwer you, when you tell me why they were preferved in the Wildernefs after their many Rebellion^ againft God. Even in the com- mon Ad:s of Providence it is eafy to fee the Work, but often hard to fee the Reafon. In miraculous Works, which are out of the com- mon Road of Nature, it mud be much more fo : Which Obfervation may fcrve alfo for an At/kiK V'^ iv Ou.rftion of Mr. IV's, Why one fick [38] fick Perfon only was cured by the moving of the Waters, when there were many who wanted it? He has other Queftions alfo which I will repeat, that I may not feem to forget them -, As How often in a Week^ Months or Tear did the Angel vouchfafe his Befcent into the Pool ? For how many Ages before Chrift'i Ad- vent ; and why not fince, and even now^ was this gracious angelical Favour granted ? To all which, I anfwer, that I cannot refolve his Doubts : But furely, God may difpenfe his own Gifts, in what Manner, and in what Meafure he pleafes, and is not bound to fa- tisfy the Curiofity of fucl» forward and bufy Inquirers as this, when they fhall think fit to demand a Reafon of his Proceedings. Why is it a greater Objedtlon againft tliis Miracle, that the Angel cured but one, than it is againft Chrift'^ Miracle, that He cured but one? There were many infirm Perfons at the Pool when he came, and yet but one of them was healed. Right, fays the Gentleman, and there- fore I will believe neither the one nor the other. * 7/^Chrift could not cure them all, there is a End of his Power of Miracles ; and if he WOULD not, it was want of Mercy and Compaf^ fion in him. Which Way foever we take this Cafe it turns to the Bifhomur of]dm ! He that can want an Anfwer to fucH reafoning as thiSj, * p. so. I think [ 39] I think is hardly capable of any. That Jefu$ could have cured all tljofe Tick Perfons, and all fick Perfons in the World befides, with as much Eafe as he cured that one, no body can doubt. And could not God, whofe Minifter he was, have as eafily done the fame Thing at any Time, either before or fmce ? Can he not do it as eafily even now, or at any Time here- after ? If he CANNOT then is an End of his God- head, If he WILL not^ it is want Of what 1 Mercj and Compajfwn you fay. Does then the Mercy and CompafTion of God oblige him not to permit Sicknefs and Difeafes in the World ? The Gentleman pretends to be a Chriftian, but this is certainly the Language of pure Atheifm. But to fpeak clearly to this Cafe j the true Ufe of Miracles is to give Evidence of the Power of God for fome particular Ends of his Providence. And whatever was the Intent of the Angel's defcending into the Water (if he really did defcend) this we are fure, thac the end of this Manifeftation of the Divine Power by the Miracles of fefiis was to give the Sandion of his Authority to the Dodlrine he was to publifh in his Name. Now though one Miracle requires as much Power as a hun- dred, yet a Variety of Miracles renders the Evidence of this Power more confpicuous, and the Credit of thofe who fliould record them to Pofterity lefs liable toSufpicion, than it would have [40] have been If one only had been wrought and recorded ; and this, I prefume, may be admit- ted as a general Reafon why Jcfiis wrought many Miracles and not ©ne Miracle only. But if you fhould afl^, Why fo many and no more? Or why upon this Perfon and not upon an- other was this Divine Power manifefted ? Thefe are Queftions not to be anfwered, nor is there any Senfe in requiring or expecSting that they fhould. Becaufe as God is abfo- lute Mailer of his own Gifts, fo he beft knows when and upon whom to beftow them. To this Purpofe the Words of our Saviour himfelf {Liikeiv. 25.) are pertinent and ftrong. I tell 'jou of a Truths tnan'j Widows ivere in Ifrael hi the Days of Elias, when the Heaven was /hut up three I'ears and fix Months^ when great Fa- 7nine was throughout all the Land j hut unto none of them was Elias fent^ fave unto Sarepta a City of Si don, unto a Woman that was a Widow. And many Lepers were in Ifrael in the Time of Elifaeus the Prophet: And none of them was clean- fed^ faving Naaman the Syrian. This was faid in Anfwer to his Countrymen, who afked him (or were ready enough to ask him) Why he did not work Miracles among them as well as at Capernaum ? And the Senfe of the Paf- fage is to this Effedl, viz. *' That they had no " Eight to demand a Reafon in this Cafe ; for " that God would a6l according to his own fo- *' vereign Will, and had done fo in Inllances " acknow- [41 ] " acknowledged by themlelves ". It is not to be fuppofed that the Gentleman believes thefe Miracles appealed to by our Saviour, any more than he believes thofe which were wrought by our Saviour himfelf. But no Matter for that. The Anlwer in all thefe Ca- fes is one and the (lime, viz. That God may do what he pleafes, and is not bound to give us a Reafon why he does ir •, and furely if there are any Cafes in which it is meet for us to fubmit to his Wifdom, this is one. I wonder the Gentleman, when he was confider- ing the RefiirreBion Miracle^., did not offer tiiis Objedlion, and fay that he would not believe that Jefus raifed any one from the dead, be- caufe he did not raife all. But this Reafoninc^ o he there difclaims, and confeffes that ^ tivo cr three Injlances will be fufficiefit. But why J^fus was more obliged to heal all the Sick than to raifc all the Dead, it will be proper for him to fhew ; and let him fhew it when he can. It appears then, that Jefus's curing that one Man only among the Multitude, that Jay at the Pool of Bethefdaj is no Objedion againfl the Credibility of this Miracle. And how the Angel's curing but one by his Defcent in- to the Pool is a greater Objedlion againft the Credibility of that Miracle, it will be very * pjth Difcourfcf p. 20. F hard [ 42 ] hard to fhew. The great Difficulty lies here ; To what End or Purpofe did that Miracle ferve? This the Hiftory does not at all ex- plain , and it may perhaps be no eafy Mat- ter to determine upon any lure Grounds. To have Recourfe to any typical Ufe would avail little with this Writer, who, as fond as he feems to be of myftical Interpretations, will ad- mit of no Types but his own. All I fhall fay to the Matter therefore is this, that there rnight be a Reafon for this Miracle though we know not what it is. Upon the whole then, if this Paflage rela- ting to the Angel's Defcent into the Water be an ancient Interpolation, as perhaps it may, Mr. IV, has been fighting with a Shadow, and all his Arrows have fallen fhort of the Mark which he aimed at, the Credit of Chrijl or his Evangel ifl. But if the Paflage be St. Jobn^s own, it is certain we are not anfwer- ^ble for more than St. John has faid, and he has barely related the Fad, (which confidered ais a Miracle can never be proved to be ab- furd or incredible) But to \yhat Purpofe the Miracle was intended, or when it began, how often it was repeated, or when it ceafed, or why it was confined to one Perfon only, he has not told us -, and I know no Obligation we are under from our common F'aith as Chrijlians to anfvver fuch QuedionSo To [ 43 ] To go on now to the fifth Cafe, which is that of our Saviour's reftoring the blind Man to his Sight h^ anointing his Eyes icith Ciay^ &c. What the Gentleman has to objed ngainft the Miracle in this Cafe has been already feen. What we are now in fearch after is, Circum- ftances, if any fuch there are, which affe(ft the Credibility of the Relation, or which ftand as an Objedion againft our admitting the Fadt to have been as the Evangelift has here repre- fented it. One Circumftance then of this Sore I meet with, and but one, which is Jefu^^i ^ tifmg this Ointment made of Dirt and Spittlcy which ^ fays the Objedlor, if it had no Effe^ in the Cure (as for certain it had none) was a vain and trifling Operation, or, as he fpeaks elfe where, abfurd, fenfelefs, and unaccountable. In this Objedion, the Gentleman mud be un- derftood as affirming, that it was Senftlefs and Abfurd that Cafes of this fort iObould be at- tended with any ex:ternal Aftion or Operation which had not fome natural Effed in the Cure •, which is certainly the mofl fenfelefs Thing he could have faid. He himfeJf eon- fefles, as you have before feen, that // Jefus had cured the Man only with a Word of his Mouthy here would have been a great Miracle \ and he does not pretend to objedl any Abfur- dity or Incongruity againft the Relation fo eir- * Tourth DifcoHrfe, p. 15, 21. cumftantiated. [44] ciimftantlated. But if an Abfurdity in ufing tliis Ointment is to be inferred merely from its Infignificancy with refpe6l to the Cure, the fame Abfurdity might as reafonably have been objedled if our Saviour had only fpoke a IVcrd', for the fpeaking of a Word no more avails to the Cure of Blindnefs, than the Ufc of fuch an Ointment as this can be fuppofed to do. One would think that it were no eafy Matter for any Man to miftake in fo clear a Cafe as this. Jefus, in reftoring a blind Man to his Sight, makes ufe of an Ointment which had no natural Virtue to cure Blindnefs ; and upon this the Gentleman afks. Why he ufed this Ointment? The fame Jefus in reftoring pother blind Man to his Sight, only fays. Receive thy Sight -, which Words have no na- tural Virtue to cure Blindnefs neither : And may it not then as reafonably be afked. Why be fpake them ? In this latter Cafe, I fuppofe, €very body would find a ready Anfwer, and fay. That Jefus fpake thefe Words to give Evidence that a Miracle was wrought, and that he was the Perfon who wrought it. A blind Man's coming fuddenly to his Sight, abftradted from the Agency of any Perfon, as foreknowing or forefeeing the Event, is either no Miracle at all, or if it be a Miracle, has not the Appearance or Evidence of a Miracle : But if fuch an Effed follows in Confequence of any Adt or Operation performed by any Per* fon [ 45 ] fon as Declarative of what will happen, this fhews both the Miracle and the Worker. When Jefus faid to the blind Man, Receive thy Sight ', he only declared what was to follow ; and this Declaration being verified by the Event, proved the Miracle. If Peter or John had faid the fame Words, and the fame Effedb had followed , the Miracle would have been the fame, but with this Difference, that Peter or John would have been the Worker, and not Jefiis, May not all this as well be applied to the Ufe of the Ointment under Confideration ? It was an external Adlion, declarative of our Saviour's Intention to cure the Man *, and ac- cordingly he was cured. And the A<5lion of Jefus was as fignificant and exprefTive of what he intended to do, as if he had faid in fo ma- ny Words, Receive thy Sight : So that the only remaining Queftion is this, Whether of feveral outward Adlions equally demonftrative of his divine Power, he might not, confiftently with Reafon and good Senfe, chufe which he had a Mind to : A Queftion which I (hall leave every Man to anfwer for himfelf. The Sixth and only remaining Cafe, is that of our Saviour's curing a Man that was Sick Qj the Pcdfj, who y fays the Hiftory, was home of four : And when they could not come nigh kirn for the Throngs they went up to the Houfe-topy and let him down through the Tilings with his Conchy into the Midji before Jefus, t46] Jefus. This Circumft^nce has given the Ob- jedorfo much uneafinefs, that he fcarce knows where to End his Complaints : But, in Ihort, he tells us, That ^ the Story of this Miracle — h fucb an Accumulation of Abfurdities^ Imp'o- habilities^ and Incredibilities^ that a Man of the mofl eafy Faith ^ if he at all thinks^ cannot digefi it. Let us confider the Particulars, and fee what thefe Abfurdities, Improbabilities, and Incredibilities, are. The firft Circumflance that the Evange- lift takes Notice of is, that when Jefus was at Capernaum, and it was noifed abroad^ that he was in the Houfe ; many were gathered together^ infofnuchy that there was no Room to receive them^ no not fo much as about the Door, Mark ii. i^ 2. One would hope, that this Part of the Story at leaft might appear credible i and yet it feems the Gentleman knows not well how to digeft it. For f what did they fo throng and prefs for ? Was it to fee Jefus ? — Or to hea:^- him preach ? — Or to behold him working Mira- cles ? I fuppofe fo, Sir. One, or all thefe Induce- ments may reafonably enough be prefumed to have occafioned this Concourfe of People ; and if the Gentleman is determined to go on in his learned Way, in proving by Mood and Figure that this was not at all worth thein while, and that they might have employed * ibid. p. 6r. t ?• 53' 54' themfelves J [ 47 ] themfelves better-, I fliall be very eafy with this, till he can likewife fliew, that the Peo- ple of Capcnmtan were not of a different Opi- nion •, for this Matter depends upon their Way of thinking, and not upon Mr. ^'s ; and they did no more in this Cafe, than what the Peo- ple of any Country in the World, wout^do in a like Cafe. The Gentleman is pleafed to orbferve that Jefus, as a Prophet^ was withoiU Hov.our at Capernaum his own Count r'j^ which is his Miftake. Capernaum is called his own Cit^^ as he had lately chofe it for the Place of his Abode : But his Country^ that is the Place of his Education, where he had lived from his coming out of Egypt, till his Entrance upon his publick Miniftry, is well known to have been Na^zareth, It was of chis Place that our Saviour fpake when he fiid that a Prophet haci no Honour in his own Country ; and of this Place likewife that it is faid, that he did not many mighty Works there ^ becaufe of their unbelief. But is it credible that Jefus fhould have been without Honour at Capernaum^ which had been the Scene of fome of the mofl wonder- ful Tranfaftions of his Life? Or is it incredi- ble, that when he had been abfent from thera for a while, and but newly returned, the People (who doubtlefs had likewife heard of his Fame abroad) Ihould croud about the Houfe where he was to fee and to hear him .? It is a Shame that we lliould be put upon an<:ing fuch Que- flion'^ {48] ftiotisas thefc; but the Gentleman's Head is fo full of Myfteries, that he forgets the mod obvious Paflages in his Bible, and is a Stran- ger to the mod common Obfervations upon human Life. To go on. In Confequence of this Croud about the Door ; the Hiftory farther fays, that thofe who were bringing the Tick Man to J ejus y could not come nigh him. How ? Says the Gentleman. * IVould not the People make Way for the Lame, Blind, and Paralytic, to t§me /^Jefus ? Was not this frujlrating their own Hopes and Expectations of feeing Miracles wrought ? What is this to the Purpofe ? The People he fays a5led unreafonahly. Be it fo i yet he fhould not have faid, that they a6led more unreafon- ably than ever Mob didy or can he fuppofed to do 5 becaufe there is not a Creature, that has ever feen what he calls a Mob, that does not know the contrary. Was the Gentleman, I wonder, never in Weft jninjier- Hall? If he has, I fupr pofe, he may have obferved many crouding ^p to the Bar, and juftling out thofe that have had more Bufinefs there than themfelves ; and perhaps too, it may have been found that in fome remakable Cafes, fuch Tumults have been raifed, that one half of thofe whq came to hear the Tryal, have not been able to underftand one Word that the Judge or * p. 54. Witneflcs I [49] Witnefifes have H^id. Hundreds of Inllancea like this are feen every Day, where great Throngs of People by their over Eagernefs, and Impatience, have fruftrated thofe Hopes and Expectations which brought them toge- ther But it is doing too much Credit to a mean and trivial Objection to anfwer it fe- rioufly •, and therefore to proceed to the only Circumftance in this Story, v/hich looks any thing (Irange, their lifting up the Tick Man to the Top of the Houfe, and letting him down through the Roof. The firft Quedion that the Gentleman afks upon this is, * JVhat need was there of fuch Hafte^ and Fains to get to Jefus/^r a Cure? What if there was no Need of fo much Hafte ? Is the Evangelifl: not to be believed, becaufe the Man did a needlefs Thing ? What fhall we make of Numberlefs Fads credibly reported by Hiftorians if we ad- mit fuch Cavils as thefe? But perhaps if the poor Man v/as here to anfwer for himfelf, he would fay. That he was afraid that before he might find an Opportunity of getting in at the Door, Jefus might have withdrawn him- felf privately to another Place, which was no unufual Thing with him : And if there was any other pofTible Way of coming at him, who will blame the Man that he was glad to make ufe of it ? But t ^^^- main ^tejlion iSy Whether fuch an * p-sr tP- 5<^- [so] Enter prize as the Evangel ifl here fpeaks of *ilbas or could he feifahle ? I have no Conception^ fays the Gentleman, of the Pojfibility of it. Fory adds he, if they could not get into the Door of the Hon fe for the Prefs^ of Consequence they could not come at the Sides of it •, which is jutl: as good Reafoning as if he fhould have faid, that if there were People enough abroad to cover five Rods of Ground, of Confequence there vv^ere enough to cover threefcore. All that can be gathered from the Hiflory is, that the Door-way and Places near adjoining, were very much thronged, which is natural enough in all fuch Cafes. But what then P Does ic follow from hence, that no part of the Houfc befides was accefTible j or that there was no coming at the Sides of it but over the Peoples Heads ? The Gentleman fee out v/ith a Refolu- tion to find Impoflibilities in this Story, or he could never have thought of fuch Confeq^uences as thefe. I will beg Leave then to fuppofe ic very credible, that the fick Man might fome Way or other have been eafily conveyed to the Walls of the Houfe ; and what fhall -we *do with him now? Mr. W, makes a heavy Rout about ^ Pidlies and Ropes, and Ladders^ and Hauling and Heaving, as if the poor Man had been to be hoifted up to the Top of Pauls. But that fuch Engines as thefe * F- 57. t were [51] were at all necefriry, he can never prove. Whatever elfe was wanting, Hands certainly were not. F(is Bearers were four, and when they came there, I fuppofe, they might meet at leaft with half a Dozen or half a Score more, who, admitting that the Houfe was flat roofed, and not above eight or nine Foot high (which are Circumftances not at all un- likely) might by the Help of any common Conveniency eafily get him up to the Top of it. The Gentleman is pleafed to fay, that it '\ is 7iot of much Confequence^ in this Cafi, of "juhat Heighth the Houfe zvas: A Miftake in which, I prefume, any common Labourer may- be able to fet him right. Yet he does not care, I find, that it fliould be thought to have been a very low one. For ancient and 7nodcrn Commentators (to whom he pays the utmofl Deference when they will ferve his Purpofe) are^ it feems, pretty well agreed that it was an up- per Room where Jefus was ; and eonfequenthj the Houfe was at leaf two Stories high. He does not tell us who thefe Commentators are. But whoever they are I am very fufpicious that they knew as little of the Matter as the Gen- tleman himfelf. That Jefus had any Houfe of his own, I fuppofe no Commentators have told him ; and whofe Houfe this was the Ht- flory docs not fay. But it is very likely that it was the Houfe of Siinon and /l}idrci:\ who G 2 as [52] (as v/e find, Mark i. 29.) had a Houfe in that City whereto Jefus reforted ; and I am not perfedlly fan's fied that Fifljermen at that Time a. Day dwelt in Houfes two Stories high. Dr. Light foct fays, that it * was cujio77iary for the Pharifees and the Dofbors of the Law^ when, they difcGurfed of the Law or Religion to go into the upper ChaTiiber ; and fuppofes therefore that Jefus was now in an upper Chamber fitdng with the Pharifees and Lowers ^ who (as St. Luke reports, Chap. v. f 17.) carne out of every Town of Galilee, ^c. I Ihall not difpute whether this PafTage of St. Luke relates to the prefent Story, which perhaps may be juftly queftioned. What I obferve is, that Dr. Lightfoot does not fay, nor indeed can it be faid, that our Savi- our never difcourfed with the Pharifees and Doofors hut in an upper Chamber ; for the contrary is evident from many Places. If there was no upper Room in this Houfe, they could not fit in an upper Room , wl^ether there v/as or not the Hiftory is filent ; and confequently, that this Floufe was two Stories high cannot be affirmed upon any certain Grounds. But what if it was two Stories high ? Does this Gentleman know what Conve- niency ih^Jews had to get up to the Tops of their Ploufes from, without. The very fame. Commentator (whom Mr. TV. has lame- ly quoted) tells us of two Ways into an * In ]oc. Houfe [53l Houfe ; one called the iVay through the Gate, or Door ; and the other the Wa-j through the Roof. And he gives an Inftance of one that -was deaA whom becaufe his Bier could not be car- ried out thro' the Door, tvhich was tooftrait, thej: letdown thro' the Roof, or thro' the JVaj of the Roof. And cannot any one of common Apprehen- fion as eafily conceive how a fick Man might be lifted up to the Top of the Houfe, a? how a dead Man might be let down from it? Let us fuppofe then t\.tParalpic conveyed to the Top of the Houfe (which he very eafily might, for aught that appears to the contrary) what now remains ? Why only to get him down into the Room; in which I hope there will be no great Difficulty. St. Luke fays, that they let him down through the tileing with h^s Couch. St. Mark fays, that they iroke up the Roof and let down the Bed ; which Words, whether they are confiftent or not confiftent with fuppofing, that they only made the com- mon Roof-door a little wider, and let him down through that, it is not worth while to dif- pute Let us fuppofe the Meaning to be (as the Gentleman would have it to be) that they made a Hole capacious enough for the Man and his Bed to he let through. Where is the Abfur- dity of this? As to the Bed, it needs not give him any Difturbance : For we are not to fup- pofe, that the Beds or Couches in thofe Eaftern Countries, (which, as the facred H.ftory (hews, [54] ihews, a Man might carry about him) were Things fluffed with Feathers like ours : They were probably of the Thicknefs and Size of a common Carpet -, and fomething of this Sore was necelTary to let a Man down in, who was in no Condition to help himfeJf. But for the Ttles and Rafiers Why here is the Diffi- culty, and the Gentleman makes as much a Stir about them, as if the Houfe were a going to be pulled down about their Ears, and all the Company in danger of being knocked o» the Head. But as to this Matter he may be at Reft too. Of whavDimenfions the Tiles were we cannot tell, they might be very broad and lightly laid on, and poffibly the removing half a Dozen might do the Bufinefs. And as to the Rafters which fupported the Covering, let him prove that there was a Neceffity of Re- moving any of them, which he can never do without Ihewing (which is impoffible) that the Space between each Timber was not widee- nough to receive the Body of a Man properly difpofed. So that the Queftion, fo far as the * Poffibility of the Fad is concerned, is, I t The Poflibility of this Fad depends entirely upon the Manner of Building in that Country, >vhich was certainly very different from ours. Whoever will con- fult Lamy de Tabeniaculo, Lib. II. Cap. 6. Se5i, 2. will find every Circumftance that I have fuppofed in order to folve thu Difficulties of this Story, confirmed by good Authority ; as that the Jswijli Houfes had Stairs without, hope, iss] hope, now quite at an End. But -f vjbere "u^as the good Alan of the Hoiife all ibis while ? Says tlie Gentleman in a Chafe. Why ixjoidd be juf- fer bis Houfc to be thus broken up ? Perhaps he could not help it, Sir; or perhaps he had fo much Humanity as to confent that it fliould be done. Some Damage there might be •, but if the Mafter of the Houfe was content with it, who elfe has any Right to find fault ? The Gentleman is pleafed farther to inquire ; Whether Jefus could not have made the Accejs to himfelf more eafy ? Whether he could not have defiredj or even forced the People to make Way for this poor Man and his Bearers ? Or whether, to prevent this Trouble and Damage^ he ini^H not have afcended to the Houfe Top^ and there have fpoke the heali72g Word ? But it were loil Time to flay to give a diftincfl Anfwer to fuch mere Impertinencies as thefe ; the plain Senfe and Conftrudlion of the whole being in fliort, nei- ther more nor lefs than this. That this Gentle- man pretends to be wifer than God, and thinks leading up to the Top ; that the Roofs of them were not ridged but flat; that the Tiles were large, hke our Butch Tiles, and fo difpofed that they might be remov- ed at Pleafurc ; all which Circumftances, being luppofed the Difficulty vaniflies at once ; which I thought fit to note thus briefly to fave the Trouble of entring mto ma- ny Particulars. Modern Travellers alfo affure us, that the Houfes in thofe parts are at this Day low built and flat roofed. See Sandys, p. 36. 149, 160. t tl'id. p. 58. that f5«] that he knows what was proper to be done in this Cafe better than he. So that having now confidered all Mr. JV's particular Objedlions, I fhall clofe this Difcourfe with fome general Obfervations, which may be proper to be born in Mind , in confidering not only thefe Cafes , but all other Cafes of the like Sort, which are recorded in the Gofpels. It has elfewhere been obferved, that there are two Points upon which the Credit of an Hiftorian ftands, his Knowledge and his Inte- grity. As to the firft there is no room to pre- tend, that the Evangelifls had not Opportu- nity to fatisfy themfelves whether thefe Cures were wrought or not : Skill in Difeafes the A- poftles had none : Nor is it at all neceflary to fupport the Credit of their Relations, that they fhould have had any. Eyes and Underftand- ings they certainly had , in Vcrtue of which they were Judges, as all Men elfe are, of the common Appearances of Diilempers ; fuch as Madnefs, Blindnefs, Lamenefs, Crookednefi, and the like. Some Diftempers, 'tis true, may be counterfeited, whereof we have every Day a great many Examples : And whether the Appearances, in any of thefe Cafes, were fuch as could not be counterfeited, it is a very dif- ficult Matter to determine. But that in fadt they were not counterfeited we have all the Reafon in the World to fay. For why do Men counterfeit Difeafes ? Why generally to ferve themfelves [57] themfelves with a Pretence for Idlenefs and Begging. But this could not be the Cafe of any of thefe Peifons ; for Cheats of this Sore are never known to apply themfelvcs to others, as wanting the Benefit of a Cure. Ic would not be lefs abfurd to fay, that thefe Perfons were Confederates wkhjefus^ and counterfeited thefe Diftempers to give him a Name among the People as a Worker of Miracles. For bc- fides that no Reafon can be given why they (hould have entred into any fuch Confederacy, but a great many to the contrary, it v.-as impoflible that they fhould have fucceeded in any fuch Attempt. For no Man can be blind, lame, deaf, and the like, for any confiderable Time, but all who know him mud likewife be acquainted with his Condition. And there- fore had it been pretended by any Perfpn that he was born blind, or that he had been fome Way or other difabled in his Limbs, fuppofe, for ten, twenty or thirty Years, and had been cured by Jrv/zj, the Cheat muft prefently have been difcovercd ; for many would have been ready to have born wicnefs, that they well .knew this Perfon, but never underftood that he laboured under any fuch Diltemper. There is therefore no fhew of Probability in faying that the Apollles were deceived, or could have been deceived in judging whether thefe Cures were wrought or not. That the Perfons became found and whole they favv plainly before their. Eyes. If H they they had doubted whether the Dlflempers^ which in Appearance they had, immediately before the fuppofed Cures were wrought, v/ere real or counterfeited, they might eafily fatisfy themfelves in this Point by enquiring of the By-llanders and Relations ; and admitting the Apollles to have been Men of Probity and Integrity, and that they had any Regard up- on what Grounds they themfelves accepted Jefus as the Mefiiah, it is necefliiry to fup- pofe that they did fo, unlefs ( which is moft probable) the general Acquicfcence and Suf- frage of the People who knew the Perfons and their Cafes, made fuch an Enquiry need- lefs. If you Hiy that the Apoftles were not deceived in thefe Cafes (which they knew well enough to be Cheats) but joined themfelves in Confederacy with Jefus to carry on an Impo- flure (which is all that is now left to fay) this will bring us to the other Queftion con- cerning the Apoftles Fidelity ; and if this could with any Realon be called in Queftion, there would be an end of thefe Miracles and of all the reft. But not to repeat thofe ge- neral Arguments which have heretofore been offered to fhew that the Apoftles could have no Motive to engage themielves in the Caufe of C/^W/?, but what arofe from the moft firm and abfolute Perfuafion of his divine Power evidenced by thofe Miracles of which they were themfelves Eye-witnelTes j let us at pre- fent [59] fipnt only confider how impra6licable ic would have been for them, to have carried on fuch an Impofture, fuppofing that they had at- tempted it. That the Perfons upon whom thele Cures are faid to have been wrought could have no Confederacy with Jcfus has been ihewn already, and is farther evident from hence, that whatever Reafons there are to fuppofe a Confederacy in thefe particular Ca- fes under Confideration, they will as well hold with Refped to all the reft. But will you fay, that all the Perfons recorded in the Go- fpels as cured by our Saviour were in Confe- deracy with him to deceive the reft of the World? "Where is the Senfe of it? It is plain from the Hiftory, that Jefiis performed his Cures upon Perfons of all Ranks and in all Places cafually as he happened of them in his Travels \ and there is hardly an Inftance to be given of any of them, who can upon any reafonable Grounds be prefumed to have had any other Knowledge of him than what they had received from the common Reports of him as a Prophet, mighty in Word and Deed. What Room then is there to fuppofe a Con- federacy with thefe Perfons? Or what Notion can any one frame of a Plot in which fuch Multitudes, both of Men and Women in di- ftant Places were concerned? The Confede- racy then (if there was a Confederacy) muft needs be confined to Jefus only, and fome H 2 few [6o ] tew of his Difciples as Aclors in it ; and a Confederacy it was againft the whole Jewifh Nation, threatning Nothing lefs, in thcjr Opinion, than the Subverfion of their Religi- on, and the total Abolition of the Law of Moft'S^ to which they were addided even to Superfcition. And what Courfe do they take to carry on the Cheat ? Why in the very Country, where the whole Scene of theTranf- acl:ion was to lye, Jefus is extolled as a Pro- phet, and as proving his MifTion by fuch Cures as were never before heard of, in which Account the Difeafes cured, and the Manner of the Cure, are for the mod Part fuecifi- ed, as alio the Places where the Perfons lived upon whom thefe Cures were wrought, with many other particular Circumflances. For Infbance, at Jenijalem^ at the Feaft of the PafTover, he cures a Man that had been lame eight and thirty Years, by bidding him arife and walk. In Galilee in one of their Synago- gues on the Sabbath Day ; he reilores a Man that had a withered Hand, by bidding him ftretch it forth. At Capernaum he heals a Cen- iurion^s Servant, who was fick of the Paify, only by fpeaking a Word ; and cures a No- bleman's Son of a Fever. At Bethfaida he reflores a Blindinan to his Sight, ^c. Thefe and abundance more fuch Inflances are reported of him •, in Confequence of which, Jefus aftd his Difciples gain Credit every Day among the * People^ [6i] People, who come over in great Nijmbers to their Party, and yet, it feems, not one Word of thefe Reports was true ! It is to no Pur- pofe to diftinguifh here and fay, that fome of them might be true. For if you can ^believe one, you may as well believe the reft *, and if one was a Cheats they were all Cheats. But can any one believe this ? Suppofe that fome body at this Time a Day, ihould pre- tend a CommilTion from God, to fee up a new- Religion in Oppofition to Chriftianity, and to countenance his Pretenfions, fhould fay, that at London he cured an Alderman's Son of Fits: At St. Albans^ a Gentleman's Servant of a broken Leg : At Dover ^ reftored a blind Man to his Sight, and fo on. Is it pofTible that fuch a Pretender as this Ihould gain Cre- dit ? Would not every Mortal think himfelf concerned to make ftrid Examination, whe- ther thefe Reports were true or not ? Would not the People in every Place, to which ap- peal was made, teftify that no fuch Things were ever feen or heard of among them? And would not thelmpoftor, inftead of gaining Pro- felytes be expofed, and grow contemptible in the Eyes of the People .? The Gentleman with whom I am now concerned, has been pleafed to take Notice of the extream Tendernefs and Senfibility of the Clergy, when any Attempt is made upon Religion. This I hope is no Fault. All Men are, or ought to be, render of their 62 ] their Religion -, and as eafy a Matter as he thinks it to be to gain the Reputation of a ^Wonder- Worker, fhould he make the Expe- riment upon his Countrymen in Favour of his new myftical Sedl, he would foon find his Mi- flake. I can readily enough apprehend, how eafy it is to impofe upon the vulgar in many Cafes ; and that Men of Craft and Artifice may make the World believe ftrange Things of them, where Mankind is not enough intereiled in the Affair, to make it worth the while to take Pains in examining into the Bottom of their Pre- tenfions. But that in a Matter of the laft Impor- tance, where the Appeals to publick Fadls were fo frequent ; and the Subjedl of thefe Appeals was of fuch a Sort, as all Mankind were ca- pable to judge of, a Cheat fhould fuccefsful- ly have been carryed on ; with me furpaffes all reafonable Apprehenfion. I have given you, in a few Words, the Evi- dence, by which this Part of the Gofpel Hi- flory is fupported •, and whether the Objedi- ons produced by Mr. /F". are fufficient to out- weigh it, let any reafonable Perfon judge. There is one general Miftake, upon which the Gentleman fets out, and perpetually dwells in confidering thefe Cafes : It is this 5 That * if our Saviour had intended that any rational Argument for his divine Authority — Jljould bs * Second Difcourfe, p. 4i 5. urged [63] urged from his Miraculous Hcalirg Power •, the Difiafes which he cured^ would have been accu- rately defiribed, and his Manner of Operation fo cautioujly exprejfcd^ that we might have been^ fure the fVvrk was fupernatural^ and out of the Power of Art and Nature to perfonn. But on the contrary^ he tells us, that the beft and the greatejl Miracles of Jefus — are fo blindly and lamely^ and imperfctlly reported^ as that by Rea- finings upon the Letter of the Stories of them^ they may be dwindled away^ and reduced to no Wonders, As to the Manner in which thefc Cures were wrought, it is impofTible that there can be any Exception againft it. All that Je- fus ever did in thefe Cafes was to fpeak a Word, or to lay his Hands upon the Difeafed, or to ufe fome outward Application, evident- ly of no Significancy, in any other Senfe, tJian as it was intended to give Evidence of his Power, upon which the Cure inftantly and immediately followed. Now if Difeafes, real Difeafes, were cured in fuch a Manner as this, it will be the greateft Abfurdity in the World to Queftion, Whether the Opera- tion was fuperv.aturaU cind out of the Power of Art and Nature to perform. Art here is none, and Nature affords no fuch Inftances as thefe. The only Point then, is whether the Difer'es were real; and this it feems wc cannot kaow unlefs thofe Difeafes had been ac- curately defcnhed. You fee now upon what ' Terms [64] Terms this Gentleman would have been wil- ling to accept the Gofpel. I have fliewn you before, in treating upon the RefurreElion Mi- racles^ that what he expedled was that the E- vangelifts iliould have given us the Hiftory of the Lives of all Perfons on whom Jefus wrought a Cure. Now it feems this is not fufficient, unlefs, with the Hiftory of their Lives, we had Jikewifc a Hiftory of their Difeafes, and the New Teftamcnc had contain- ed as great a Variety of Cafes as the Books of Hippocrates ! What Senfe there is in this, let all Mankind judge. Lay down but this one Principle that the Evangelifts were Perfons of Credit, and you need nothing more. What if they were not exadly fldll*d in Symptoms and Signs .'^ Does not every Countryman know when his Neighbour is lame or blind, or mad, -or has the Dropfy? And even in fecret Dif- eafes is not there a Way of comeing at a Satif- fadory Knowledge of them either by the Re- lation of the Perfons themfelves, or of thofc about them ? There can be no Queftion, but that the Evangelifts had recourfe to all thefe Methods fo flir as they were needful. What Occafion then could there be for any fuch ac- curate Defcription of Difeafes as this Gentle- man calls for? It is enough that they had the common Evidences in fuch Cafes that the Diftempers were real. And to fay that we will not believe them upon their Teftimony, is to give [65] give up the Gofpel all at once upon the mod weak and abfurd of all Principles, viz. That it is unreafonable to admit any thing as Truth, of which we are not WitnelTes ourfelves. It is this, I fear, that lies at the Bottom of all this Gentle- man's Cavils at our Saviour's Cures. He tells us, that * // the Evangelijis had told us of Men^ that wanted one or both their Legs and how Jefus commanded Nature to extend itfelf to the entire Reparation of fuch BefeolSy here would have been Jiupendous Miracles indeed^ which no Sce;pticif7n or Infidelity could have cavilled at. If he Means that he would have been convinced- by fuch a Report, I much queftion the Truth of what he fays. There is, as he obferves, 7w SUCH Miracle recorded in the Gofpel •, but We can fhew him greater Things. Infbances we have of dead Men raifed to Life again, and yet Scepticifm and Infidelity can cavil at thefe, notwithflanding the common Evidences of Death have been fet forth beyond all reafon- able Exception. The Gentleman it feems un- derftands what it is to want a Leg ; and does he not underftand what it is to be dead as well ? Yes ; but he denies that any fuch Thing was done as raifing the Dead to Life. And might he not as eafily deny any other Fa6l? What Credit then could the Gofpel have gain- ed, with him,, from the moft minute and circum- * ibid. I llantial [66] ftantial Defcriptlon of Difeafes that could have been given ? So that the Matter at lafl mud reft here. Either the EvangeJifts are credible Witnefles, or they are not. If you confefs that they are ; you have all you want ; and the moft indiftindt Accounts of Cures wrought by our Saviour, may be admitted as Eviden- ces for the Truth of the Gofpel. But if you will hold it out againft Senfe and Reafon, that they are not credible Witnefles •, all Accounts, whether diftind or indiftind, are alike, and this is a Degree of Infidelity for which there is no Remedy. And now I have done with this Point, and likewife with that Part of the Controverfy which concerns the Credibility of the Scripture Hiftory. There are yet four or five Miracles excepted againft by this Gentleman which I have not confidered, but concerning thefe I have little to add to what has been already ob-^ ferved by other Writers. FINIS. Pag, 23. Hn. 6. for mvi/ihle r. vifible. BOOKS printed for]. Pemberton at the Buck againjl St. Dunftan'j Churchy Fleetftreet. I. A Defence of the Scripture- Hiflory, fo far as it Jv. concerns the Refurredlion of Jarius's Daughter, the Widow of Nains Son, and Lazarm. In Anfwer to Mr. Woolftons Fifth Difcourfe of our Saviour's Miracles, With a Preface containing fome Remarks on his An- fwer to the Lord Bifhop of St. David's. 2. The Foundation of Moral Goodnefs ; or, A Fur-^ ther Enquiry into the Original of our Idea of Virtue. Efl quidam vera lex, re5la ratio nature congruens, diffufa in omnest conftans, fempiterna.'—— Cicero. 3. The Second Part of the Foundation of Mo- ral Goodnefs ; illuilrating and enforcing the Principles znd Reafonings contained in the former: Being an Anfwer to certain Remarks commi^nicated by a Gentleman to the Author. Virtus efi ahijjimis defixa radicibus. Cicero. Jsl. B, Thefe two are written by the Author of the Letter to a Deifi. 4. The Ufe and Intent of Prophecy, in the feveral Ages of the World : In fix Difcourfes, delivered at the Temple-Chmch, in ^pril and May 1714. PubliOied at the Defire of the Matters of the Bench of the two Honour- able Societies. To which are added, Three Diflerta- tions. I. The Authority of the Second EpiHIe of St. Peter. II. The Senfe of the Antients before Chriji, up- on the Circumflances and Confequenccs of the Fall. III. The Bleffing of ':}udah. Gen. xlix. The Second Edition correded. 5. A Sermon preach'd before the Sons of the Clergy, at St. Paul's, December 5. 17 10. 6. A Sermon preached before the Right Honourable the Lord-Mayor, CT'f. at St. Paiil's^ November 5. 1711. 7 7- A ^00 K^ printed for], Pemberton. 7. A Sermon preached before the Honourable Houfe of Commons, at Sr. Margarets Weflminjier, Mar. 8. 17 14. 8. A Sermon preached at the r«//7//«- Church, Novem- ber 20. 1715. 9. A Sermon preach'd before the Society for the Pro- pagation of the Gofpel in Foreign Parts, at St. Mary-le- BozVf Fehuary 17, 17 15. 10. A Sermon preach'd before the Honourable Houfe of Commons, at Sr. Margaret's Weftminjier June"), 1716. 11. A Sermon preach'd before the Right Honourable the Lord-Mayor, zirc, at St, Bridget's Church, on Tuef- day in Ea/ler Week, u^pril 23, 17 17. 12. A Sermon preach'd at St. Sepulchres Church, May II, 17 19. Being Thurfday in Whitfon-Week,' at the An- niverfary Meeting of the Children Educated in the Charity-schools in and about the Cities of Londori and Wefiminfler. 13. A Sermon preach'd before the Right Honourable the Lord-Mayor, ^c at St. Bridget' ^ Church, on Eafter Monday, April 22, 1728. AU written by the Right Reverend Father in God Thomas Lord Bijhop of Bangor. 14. Twenty Eight Sermons and Difcourfes upon plain and pradlical Suhjeds, very ufeful to be read in Fami- lies, undtr the folio wmg Heads, viz... i. Godlinefs the Defign of the ChriiHan Religion, z. Of the Wifdom and Goodnefs of Providence. 3. Of Religious Melan- choly. 4. Of the Immortality of the Soul. 5. Of the NecelTity of Holinefs in order to Happinefs. 6. Of the Truth and Excellency of the Gofpel. 7. Of good and bad Examples. 8. Of Publick Prayer and Thankfgiving. 9. Of the Future Judgment. 10. Of Faith and Works. n. Of fetting God always before us. 12. Of perfect- ing Holinefs in the Fear of God. 13. Of doing Good to ail Men. By the Right Reverend Dr. "^ohrt Moore, late Lord Biftiop of Ely. PubUfhed with a Recommen- datory Preface to each Volume, By Samuel Clarke^ D.D. Redor o£ St. James's Wejiminjler. ^ ^'Xh^ \