raged against him for it, and confulted to put Lazarus to death, because many were enduced to believe on Christ, by reafon of fo great and manifeft a Miracle. For Bethany was but about Two, Miles diftant from Jerufalem, and this Miracle was the Caufe of his Reception there with the Hofanna's and Acclamations of the People: And when the Pharifees, and the Chief-Priefts were inform'd of it, they assembled in Council, to advife, what was to be done: What do we? for this man doth many miracles, (Joh. xi. 18, 47. xii. 17, 18.) They acknowledg'd, that he had wrought many Miracles, and when they afcribed them to Belzebub, this was a Confeffion, that Miracles were perform'd by him, tho' they blafphemed the Power, by which they were effected. And not only the Jews of that Age, but their Pofterity, have not deny'd, that Chrift wrought Miracles, which was alfo confefs'd by © Julian the Apoftate. Some who had been cured, and others who had been raised from the dead, by our Saviour, were living for many years after, s as Quadratus teftified of his own time, in his Apology to Adrian the Emperor. The Circumstances of these, and the rest of our Saviour's Miracles, fhew'd that they were really perform'd, and they were wrought with this Intent and Design, to prove him to be the Christ. The Nature therefore and End of them fhews, that nothing less than a Divine Power could have effected them: For God would never have fuffer'd them to be wrought to vouch an Imposture to the World under his own Name and Authority. A learned Phyfici

f

Ἐρ[ασά πιθ (ὁ Ἰησᾶς) παρ ̓ ὅν ἔξη χρόνον ἐδὲν ἀκοῆς ἄξιον, εἰ μὴ τις οἴε) του κυλλὸς, καὶ τυφλὲς ἰάσαθς, καὶ δαιμονῶντας έφορ κίζειν ἐν Βηθσαιδῷ, καὶ ἐν Βηθανία, * κώμας τις μεγίσων ἔργων , Julian. apud Cyrill. 1. 6. p. 191. Ἰησᾶς δε, ὁ τοῖς πνεύμα σιν ἐπλάτων, καὶ βαδίζων ἐπὶ τ θαλάσης, ἢ τὰ δαιμόνια ξε λαύνων, λauyev, ib. p. 213. Edic. Lipf.

gelio.

Eufeb. Hift. L.iv. c. 13. Hieron. Catalog.

Guil. der Medici enarrationes de agrotis & morbis in Evan

an has written a Treatife to fhew, that according to the Principles and Axioms of the best Phyficians, all the Diseases, which our Saviour cur'd, were incurable by natural means, and it is evident to every Man, that many of them were fo. He manifefted his miraculous, divine Power upon his Enemies, in curing the Ear of Malchus; (Luke xxii, 51.) in caufing those who were fent to apprehend him, to fall to the Ground ftruck down only by the Word of his Mouth; and in procuring the Difmiffion of his Disciples upon demand, in order to fulfil one of his own Prophecies, (Joh. xviii. 6, 8.) But I fhall infift more particularly upon the Refurrection of our Saviour, this being the most wonderful, and a Confirmation of all his other Miracles, and of the whole Gospel to us.

CHA P. XIV.

Of the Refurrection and Afcenfion of our Blessed Saviour.

THE

HE Refurrection of our Bleffed Saviour was prophefied of by David, Pfal. xvi. 8. Act. ii. 27. And it was prefigur'd by the Type of Ifaac's Deliverance, when he had been offer'd up by Abraham, who both believed that God was able to raise him up even from the dead, and received him alfo from thence in a figure, Heb. xi. 19. and it was alfo prefigured by the Type of Jonas his being three days and three nights in the Whale's Belly, Matt. xii. 40. Our Saviour rofe, as he foretold he would do, on the third day, including the day of his Burial, Matt. xvi. 21. xvii. 23. XX. 19. Act. x. 40. He was three days and three nights in the Grave, (that is, three vuxenue, or three natural days) according to the Computation of the Jews in the eight days, which they reckon'd for the Circumcifion of their Children, and in their other accounts for they computed inclufively any part of the

day,

a

day, in which the Child was born for the whole: Thus the Romans computed their Nundina and their Calends, &c. And the Olympiads among the Greeks contain❜d five years inclufively; and thus we call that a Tertian Ague, which has but one day's Intermission. But the Resurrection of Chrift, which was the Accomplishment of thefe Types and Prophecies, being Matter of Fact, must be prov'd, as all other Matters of Fact are, by Witnesses and the Apostles in a body offer'd themselves as Witnesses to teftify this great Article of our Faith. This Jefus hath God raifed up, whereof we all are witnesses, A&t. ii. 32. The thing therefore to be confider'd, is, whether they were effectually qualified to be Witnesses 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 Witnesses of, and could not be deceiv'd themfelves in it. 2. That they would not deceive others, having no Temptation to it, but acting against all the Interests 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 of Chrift's 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 mistaken in them, when they can have no Advantage but by telling the Truth, and can expect nothing but Sufferings from it in this Life, when they produce fuch Circumstances as put it out of their own power to deceive; and fuch as those, before whom

a Annum ira diviferunt, ut nonis modo diebus urbanas res ufurparent reliquis feptem ut rura colerent, Var. de Re Ruft.lib.ii.Præf. Tas μelažuTMs àsogûv éπla users, Dionyf Halicarn. Antiq. Rom. 1.7.

Sed horum omnium Janelas maximè notandis Temporibus Græci obfervant, i. e. quaternum annorum circuitus, quas vocant Olympiadas, Cenforin. de Die Natali, c. 18.

R 4

they

they speak, may know to be falfe, if they be fo; this certainly is all that can be defired in any Witness.

1. The Apostles, who were Witneffes of our Saviour's Refurrection, could not be deceiv'd themselves in it. They were ever far from being credulous, and eafie of belief, as they fhew'd upon all occafions, and particularly they never could be brought to believe the Doctrine concerning the Refurrection of Christ, till their own Senfes had convinc'd them; but before, they had wrong Notions and Apprehenfions of it, and either mifunderstood and mifapplied all that had been faid to them about it, or whatever they knew or believ'd concerning it before, they had no Expectations of it when he was once dead.

Our Saviour had in express terms foretold his Refurrection upon the third day, feveral times, Matt. xvi. 21. xvii. 23. xx. 19. But his Difciples did not rightly apprehend, or throughly confider what he faid to them, though he exprefs'd himself in the plaineft words: For they were wholly taken up with great Thoughts and Expectations of an earthly Kingdom, and of temporal Power and Honour; at one time Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying. Be it far from thee, Lord, this fhall not be unto thee, Matt. xvi. 22. and at another time, just before his Paffion, our Saviour had no fooner done fpeaking to them of his Crucifixion, and his Rifing again the third day, but the two Sons of Zebedee petition'd, that one might fit on the right-hand, and the other on the left, in his Kingdom, and the rest of the Difciples were mov'd with Indignation against them, for preferring fuch a Request; and it appears from our Saviour's Difcourfe to them upon it, that their Minds were all bent upon the Thoughts of Temporal Glory and Dominion, Matt. xx. 20. After our Saviour had told them, that he must be put to death, and rife again the third day, St Luke adds, that they understood none of these things, and this faying was hid from them, neither knew they the

things which were spoken, Luke xviii. 34. and we find the fame Expreffion before, Luke ix. 45. Even after our Saviour had eaten the Passover with them, and inftituted the Sacrament of his Body, which was just then to be given up and to be crucified; and of his Blood, which was to be shed for them, they were still intent upon Temporal things, and had Expectations of being advanced to places of Authority and Preeminence. And there was a strife amongst them, which of them fhould be accounted the greatest, Luke xxii. 24. At his Paffion, as one of them denied him thrice, fo all the rest forfook him and fied.

The Apostles and Evangelifts write without any Design, or any End to ferve, but that of telling the Truth; and therefore they conceal nothing of their own Failings and Faults, though they might prove never fo difgraceful to them. They acquaiut us that they were ambitious, and had a vain Prospect of Temporal Grandeur; that they were timorous, and of little Faith, till the Defcent of the Holy Ghost upon them; which appears in nothing more, than in this point of the Refurrection. They were Men of no great natural Capacity, or quick Apprehenfion, and they had fometimes found themselves mistaken in understanding that literally, which was spoken to them in Parables; and it is natural for Men to run from one Extreme to another, and usual for ignorant and unlearned Men to imagine Difficulties, where there are none. And this meeting with their Wishes and Longings after temporal Greatnefs, made them take all that was faid to them concerning the Paffion and Refurre&tion of Christ, in fome fuch fense as might answer their Hopes and Defires of Temporal Felicity: but when his Crucifixion had undeceiv'd them in this conceit, they were in fuch Confufion and Confternation of Mind, as not to be able to recollect themselves, or to promise themselves any thing by his Refurrection, which they had no Hopes or Expectation of. The Spirits