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fied with this miraculous food in the barren 'wilderness, where it was impoffible for them to be fupplied by natural means, was impoffible to be miftaken. The Miracles of our Saviour were fo many, and fo publick and undeniable, that St. Peter ap peals to the Jews themselves, declaring that Jefus of Nazareth was a man approved of God among them by miracles and wonders and figns, which God did by him in the midst of them, as they themselves alfo knew, Acts ii. 22. The Nobleman's Son was cured at a diftance, and the multitude were witneffes to the request he made to our Saviour, and to our Saviour's anlwer upon it; and the Nobleman's family were withefles that the cure was effected at that very time. He caft Devils out of one known to have been a long time poffefs'd,and then fuffered them to go into the Swine,to make it appear, that they were indeed evil Spi rits, which had poffefs'd the man, contrary to the Doctrine of the Sadduces, who believed no fuch thing as Spirits. He cured the Leproly and fent the cured to the Prieft,as the Law required, that he by infpeation might examine,whetherit were a perfect cure or no. He gave fight to one born Blind, and this was upon examination attefted to the Pharifees themfelves. La zarus was raised to life again, after he had been dead four days, before fo many witU 2

neffes,

Hift. lib.

iv. c. iz.

nefies, that the Scribes and Pharifees were not able to contradict the Truth of it, but were mightily enraged against him for it, and confulted to put Lazarus to death, becaufe many were enduced to believe on Chrift, by reafon of fo great and manifeft a Miracle. Some who had been cured, and others who had been raised from the dead by our Saviour, were living for ma (Eufeb. ny years after, (b) as Quadratus teftified of his own time, in h's Apology to Adrian Hieron. the Emperor. The circumftances of thefe, Catalog. and the reft of our Saviours Miracles fhewed that they were really performed, and they were wrought with this intent and defign' to prove him to be the Christ. The nature therefore and end of them fhews, that nothing lefs than a Divine Power could have effected them: For God would never have fuffered them to wrought to vouch an Impofture to the world under his own Name and Authority. Ader me) A learned Phyfician has written a Trea dici enar- tife to fhew, that according to the Princi rationes de ples and Axioms of the beft Phyficians, all morbis in the Difeafes, which our Saviour cured, were Evangelio. incurable by natural means, and it is evident to every man that many of them were fo But I fhall infift more particularly upon the Refurrection of our Saviour, this being the most wonderful, and a confir mation of all his other Miracles, and of the whole Gofpel to us. CHAP

Guil

ægrotis &

be

CHAP. XIV.

Of the Refurrection of our B. Saviour.

HE Refurrection of our B. Saviour was prophefied of by David, Pfal. xvi. 8. Act, ii. 27. And it was prefigured by the Type of Ifaac's deliverance, when he had been offered up by Abraham, who both believed that God was able to raise him up even from the dead, and received him alfo from hence in a Figure, Heb xi. 19. and it was alfo prefigured by the Type of fonas, his being three days and three nights in the Whale's Belly, Matt. xii. 40. Our Saviour was three days and three nights in the Grave, (that is three up, or three natural days) according to the computation of the Jews in the eight days, which they reckoned for the circumcifion of their Children, and in their other accounts: for they computed inclufively any part of the day, in which the Child was born, for the whole thus the (a) Romans computed 4 Annum their Nundina and their Calends, &c. Andr runt, ut the Olymiads among the Greeks contained nonis mcyears inclufively;and thus we call that Tertian Ague, which has but one days inter- ufurparent million.

5

ita divife

do diebus arbanas res

reliquis

vii ut rura

colerent. Var. de Re Ruft. lib. ii. Præi. Tasustatu rovov ilα jue as. Dionyf. Halicarn. Antiqu. Rom. lib. vii.

1

But the Refurrection of Chrift which was the Accomplishment of thefe Types and Prophecies being matter of fact, muft be proved, as all other matters of fact are, by witneffes and the Apostles in a body offered themselves as witneffes to teftify this great Article of our Faith. This Jefus bath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses, Act. ii. 32. The thing therefore to be confidered, is, whether they were effectually qualified to be witneffes in this matter, and to prove that they had all the qualifications which can be required in any witness, I fhall fhew, 1. That they had certain knowledge of the thing, which they were witnefies of, and could not be deceived themselves in it. 2. That they would not deceive others, having no temptation to it, but acting againft all the Interefts and advantages of this world. 3. That they alledge fuch circumftances, as made it impoffible for them to deceive thofe, to whom they teftified the Truth ofChrift Refurrection,though they had had never fo much mind to do it. And when men teftify things, which they have fuch means and opportunities of knowing, as make it impoffible for them to be miftaken in them, when they can have no advantage but by telling the Truth, and can expect nothing but fufferings from it in this Life, when they produce fuch circum

ftances

ftances as put it out of their own power to deceive; and fuch as thofe, before whom they fpeak, may know to be falfe, if they be fo; this certainly is all that can be defired in any witness.

I. The Apostles, who were witneffes of our Saviour's Refurrection, could not be deceived themselves in it. They were ever far from being credulous, and eafy of belief, as they fhewed upon all occafions, I and particularly they never could be brought to believe the Doctrine concernof Chrift, till their own fenfes had convinced them, but before they had wrong notions and appre-henfions of it and either misunderstood and mifapplied all, that had been faid to them about it, or whatever they knew, or believed concerning it before, they had no expectations of it when he was once dead.

=ing the Refurrectione

Our Saviour had in exprefs terms fore told his Refurrection upon the third day feveral times, Matt. xvi. 21. xvii. 23. XX. 19. But his Difciples did not rightly ap prehend, or throughly confider what he faid to them, though he expreft himself in the plaineft words: For they were wholly taken up with great thoughts and expecta tions of an earthly Kingdom, and of temporal Power and Honour; at one time Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, u bob 4

fay