Jews, John xix. 38. Herod and Pontius Pilate, Annas and Caiaphas: and feveral other perfons particularly named, and most of them with no commendation, but with that Character, which the Truth of the Hiftory required, would be concerned themselves, or their Friends and Relations for them after their decease, to expofe any falfhood, that could have been discovered in the History of our Saviour,

The other Books of the New Teftament are explicatory and confequential to the Gospel or Hiftory of Chrift; and befides they contain many memorable and publick Facts, as the fpeaking of all forts of Languages, and working all kinds of Miracles at the folemn Feast of Pentecoft; and the converfion of many thousands thereby, the frequent examination of the Apostles before the Council at Jerufalem, their Preachings and Miracles in the most pub. lick places, as in the Temple, in the Streets,

c. thefe are things that could not be impofed upon the world in that very place, and in defiance of that very people, before whom they are faid to have been done. Gamaliel, Dionyfius the Areopagite, Sergius Paulus, Simon Magus, Felix, King Agrippa, Tertullus, Gallio, and others, were Names of too great Note and Fame to be used in a falfe ftory, in which they are fo much concerned. And all their Proceedings in

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the Courts of Judicature were kept upon record, and therefore could not be pretended, (without being discovered) by thofe, who always had fo many Adverfaries.

*

The Miraculous power beftowed upon the Apostles was chiefly employed in curing Difeafes, and for the health and prefervation of Mankind, but they had a power of inflicting Difeafes likewife and death it felf upon juft occafions, as in the cafe of Ananias and Saphira, Act v. of E lymas the Sorcerer, Acts xiii. and the inceftuous Corinthian 1 Cor. v. And when this was done by private men and divulged to the world, with the names of the per fons, who inflicted difeafes and death it felf, and of those, on whom they were inflicted, this is an evidence both ofthe truth of the matter of Fact, and of the power by which it was done for no Author could think to ferve his Friend or his Cause by relating things of this nature. unless they had been evidently done in a miraculous manner, and by a Divine Commiflion and Autho. rity.

The Conversion of St. Paul was a thing fo memorable, both for the manner of it, and for the bufinefs he was going about, and the perfons that employed him, and for his known zeal at other times, in perfecu ting the Church, that St. Paul appeals to

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King Agrippa, as one, who could not be ignorant of a thing fo notorious, Acts xxvi. 26. and it was the great providence and wifdom of God, that a man fo well known and esteemed by the Pharifees and Chief x Priefts before his converfion, fhould be the greatest instrument both by his preaching and writings for the propagation of the Gofpel; and both his Epiftles and the other Books of H. Scripture have the fame proof from the obfervations already men tioned, concerning the names and cha.. iracters of perfons, and other circumftances. And they were always read in the Affemeblies of Chriftians, and were appointed to be read in them, Coloff. iv. 16. 1 Theff.v.27. And the writings both of him, and of the Evangelifts, and the other Apoftles, are cited by Authors contemporary with the Apoftles, by Barnabas an Apostle himself, ! and by Clemens Romanus, Ignatius, Polycarp, c. and they have been acknowledged to be the genuine works of thofe whofe names they bear, both by Jews and Hea. thens, and particularly by Tryphon the Jew, in his Dialogue with Juftin Martyr; and by Julian (e) the Apoftate. It is enough in this place to obferve, that (ex Ape cepting fome very few Books, of which Cyril.lib.x an account shall elsewhere be given) the Books of the Scriptures of the New Teftament have been received as genuine from

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their first appearance in the world, during the Lives of their feveral Authors, and have been delivered down for fuch through the feveral ages of the Church. In the main they have been fo unanimoufly received, and fo fully attefted by Chriftians, that the Jews and Heathens themselves never denied them to be genuine, nor ever pretended the principal matters of Fact to be Enfeb lib falfe or doubtful. Many of the Eye-wit iii. c. 29. neffes to the Miracles of our Savicur and his Apoftles lived to a great Age, St. John himself above an hundred years, and he preached the Gofpel above feventy years. Simeon the Son of Cleopas, lived to an hundred and twenty years, and Polycarp the Difciple of St. John to fourfcore and fix, (f) Id' lib. of whom (f Ireneus in his Epiftle to Flov. c. 20. rinus a Marcionite declared, that he remembred exactly what he had heard Polycarp difcourfe, concerning the account of the Miracles and Doctrine of our Saviour, which he had received from St. John and others, who had converfed with Chrift and that it differed in nothing from the Scrip

tures.

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And befides the infpired Writings, the chief points of the Chriftian Religion were teftified in Apologies written from time to (3) Eufeb time to the Heathen Emperors themselves. Hift. lib.iv. (g) Quadratus, Bishop of Athens, in his AIrena.lih. Pology to Adrian declared, that perfons

c. 3. vid.

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lib.iv.c.26.

17.

who had been healed by our Saviour, and others that had been raifed from the dead by him, were ftill living in his time. Ariftides prefented an Apology to the fame. Emperor. Juftin Martyr wrote two Apologies, the first dedicated to Antoninus Pius and his two Sons, and the Roman Senate; the latter to M. Antoninus and the Senate ; (b) Melito Bishop of Sardis, and Apollinaris ( Eufeb Bishop of Hierapolis, likewife wrote a Vindication of the Chriftian Religion to M. Antoninus: Athenagoras offered his Apology to M. Aurelius and Commodus, (i) Meltiades (i) Eufeb: to Commodus, or to the Deputies of the lib. v. c. Provinces. (k) Apollonius, a Roman Sena Hier. (k) tor, made a publick defence of the Chrifti- Catal. an Religion in the Senate of Rome, and Eufeb. lib. Tertullian prefented his Apology to the Se nate, or to the Governors of the Provinces.. And the Apologifts did not dwell only up. on generals, but defcended to fuch parti culars, as to appeal to the publick Records for the truth of what they delivered con cerning the place of our Saviour's Birth, and the manner of his Death and his Refurrection fo that the principles and foundations of the Chriftian Religion, were from the beginning afferted in publick Writings, dedicated and prefented to the Heathen themfelves, who were most concerned and most capable of difproving it, if it had been falfe. (1) And

cerning

V. C. 21.