foretold by the Prophets, in Capital Letters upon his Grofs.

Thus were the Prophecies concerning the Birth, and Life, and Death of the Meffias, exactly fulfilled in our Blessed Saviour, which were fo many, that they could not be fulfilled by chance; and the fulfilling of them depended fo much upon the words and actions of others, and even of his worst Enemies, that it could proceed from no defign or contrivance of him or his Difciples: They were fulfilled in him by the malice chiefly of his Enemies, and according to the interpretation which they themselves were wont to give of

them.

IV. His Refurrection likewife and Afcenfion were the fulfilling of exprefs Prophecies, as the Apoftles proved to the face of his Crucifiers, Acts ii. And these were fuch Accomplishments of Prophecies as depended upon the fole Will and Power of Almighty God, and yet as certainly came to pass, as the Birth, and Life and Death of Christ did: As fhall be proved in due place.

Of the Prophecies and Miracles of our Blessed Saviour.

S our Blessed Saviour was prophefied of by all A the Prophets who were before him, fo he was himself the Great Prophet that was to come, and was at the time of his being in the world expected of the Jews; and he fulfilled that Prediction by the many eminent Prophecies which he spake. He foretold the Treachery of Judas, and knew from the beginning who it was that should betray him; he foretold the manner of his own Death, that it was to be by crucifixion, though

though the Jews often fought opportunities to put him to death privately, and that was a kind of punishment which the Jews could not inflict, but if they had killed him themselves, and had not brought him to the Roman Judicature, they would have done it by ftoning, as they murthered St. Stephen. He foretold all the circumstances of his Sufferings, that he should be delivered unto the Chief Priefts, and unto the Scribes, and that they should condemn him to death, yet that they ould not take away his Life themselves, but should deliver him to the Gentiles, and that they should mock him, and should fcourge him, and should spit upon him, and Should kill him, and that he would rife again the third day, Mark x. 33, 34. which his Enemies took fuch notice of, that they ufed all their vain endeavours to prevent it. He declared, that he would go unto the Father, John xiv. 18. by his Afcenfion, John vi. 62. He affured his Difciples, that his Gospel fhould be preached over the whole world, and that one particular Action, which they were offended at, of the Woman who anointed his Head, fhould never be omitted wherefoever it should be preached, Matth. xxvi. 13. he declared, that there fhould arife falfe Chrifts and falfe Prophets; but that his Religion fhould prevail against all the oppofition which it would meet withal, and continue to the end of the World. He foretold the denial of St. Peter, and the manner of his Martyrdom, and both were foretold to St. Peter himself, and his denial, but a very little while before it came to pafs, when St. Peter looked upon it as a thing impoffible, who alone could have it in his Power to hinder it. He prophefied of the deftruction of Jerufalem, which came to pafs about forty years after his own Death, within the compafs of that Generation, as he had foretold. The very Foundations of the Temple and City were deftroyed, and the Ground plowed up, fo that one stone was not left upon another of all the magnificent Buildings of the Temple,

R

which

a

b

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which the Disciples fo much admired, when our Saviour told them that this fhould be the Fate of that glorious Pile, Matth.xxii.2. And as I have already obferved upon another occafion, when Julian with a defign to defeat this Prophecy, endeavoured to have it rebuilt, both the Works and the Workmen were miraculously destroyed by a fire bursting out of the ground. Tacitus mentions the Prodigies foregoing the Destruction of Jerufalem. And the History of the Jewish War by Jofephus, is the best Commentary upon the Predictions of our Saviour: There we read of all the Prodigies, and Signs, and Wonders, whether in Heaven or in Earth, and of all the Calamities, whether by Pestilence, or Famine, or Sword, which our Saviour had foretold. The Inhabitants fell by the Edge of the Sword, and were led away captive into all Nations, Luke xxi. 24, the chiefeft place of fecurity was the mountainous part of Fudaa, which our Saviour forefaw, when he advised his Difciples to flee to the Mountains, Matt. xxiv. 16. And Ceftius Gallus compaffed Jerufalem with his Army, which was a warning to the Chriftians to depart, and then by raising the Siege unexpectedly, and against all Reafon, gave them an opportunity to efcape to Pella, in the Mountains of Perea, exactly according to Luke xxi. 20, 21. And what Dion Caffius relates in the Reigns of Claudius, Nero, Vitellius, and Titus, may ferve as a Comment upon our Saviour's Prophecy;

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• Titus used all his endeavour to preserve the Temple, Jof. de Bell. Jud.1.6. c. 26. Destruction of it, 1.6. c. 29,

ο Ψωδῶς ἀπελέγξαι τας χειs προςήσεις. Sozom. lib..

C. 21.

Visa per cælum concurrere Acies, rutilantia Arma, & fubito Nupium igne collucere Templum expaffa repente Delubri fores, &c. Tacit, Hift. 1. s.

4 Παραλογώτατα ἀπὸ ε πόλεως ἀνεξαξεν. Jofeph. de Bell. Jud. 1. 2. C. 40. Eufeb. Hift. 1. 3. f. 5:

for

for there were famines and peftilences, fearful fights and great figns from heaven, and great earthquakes, the fea and the waves roaring, xxi. 11, 25. The Sun was darkned, and the Moon did not give her light, Matt. xxiv. 29. Mens hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after thofe things which were coming on the earth, Luke xxi. 26. and there was fo terrible an eruption of Vesuvius, that the Ashes were carried by the winds into Africk, and into Egypt and Syria, with fo great fmoak and darknefs, that it was thought the world had been at an end.

Christ promised to fend down the Holy Ghoft upon his Difciples, with a Power of working Miracles, of Prophefying, and of speaking with New Tongues: and this was to be bestowed upon them at Jerufalem, from whence they were commanded by him, not to depart till the Promife had been fulfilled, which was to be not many days after his Afcenfion, Mark xvi. 17. Luke xxiv. 49. Acts i. 4, 5. And accordingly it came to pass but Ten days after, on the Feast of Pentecoft.

Our Saviour's Miracles verified the Prophecies, which had been concerning the Meffias; for the Jews expected, that the Meffias fhould manifeft himself by Miracles to the World, as they concluded from the ancient Prophets and therefore St. John Baptift did no Miracles, that he might not be mistaken for the Meffias, of whom Miracles were a principal Token to know him by. His Miracles were wrought in the midst of his Enemies, and extorted a confeflion from the Devils themselves of his Divine Power; they were of that nature, that it was impoffible for them before whom they were wrought, to be impofed upon by them, and as impoffible for them to be performed but by the immediate Power of God. The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes was twice done, and the perfous who were witneffes to it, were at one time five thousand men, befides women and children, Matt. xiv. 21. and the other time four thousand men, befides women and children, Mat. xv. 33. a Miracle wrought

The

at two feveral times, and obvious to all the fences of fo many thousand Men, befides Women and Children, who being hungry, found themselves filled and fatiffied with this miraculous Food in the barren Wildernefs, where it was impoffible for them to be fupplied by natural means, was impoffible to be mistaken. The Miracles of our Saviour were fo many, and fo publick and undeniable, that St. Peter appeals 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. Nobleman's Son was cured at a distance, and the multiude were witneffes to the request he made to our Saviour, and to our Saviour's Answer upon it, and the Nobleman's Family were witnefles 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 Spirits, which had poffefs'd the Man, contrary to the Doctrine of the Sadduces, who believed no fuch thing as Spirits. He cured the Leprofie, and fent the cured to the Priest, as the Law required, that he by inspection might examine,, whether it were a perfect cure or no. He gave fight to one born Blind, and this was upon examination attefted to the Pharisees themselves. Sometimes he made the Blind to fee, only by touching their Eyes; at other times, he did but command them to receive their Sight, Luke xviii. 43. The Cure was always performed without any Operation, or Application of Remedies; and it was inftantly perfected: So that their Eyes could immediately endure the Light, which no Eye can do, that is cured otherwise than by Miracle. Lazarus was raised to life again, after he had been dead four days, before fo many witneffes, that the Scribes and Pharifees were not able to contradict the Truth of it, but were mightily en

raged