Spirits of Men are commonly as low as their Education, and their Condition and Station in the World is, and are easily funk and deprefs'd much lower by any great and fudden Calamity and Men who were born in fo mean a Condition, and had entertain'd a Conceit of great and vain Hopes, and then as unexpe&tedly fell from them, must be fo dejected at it, that it is no wonder that they thought of nothing but their Sorrows, and had little Heart to imagine any Possibility of Relief from the Reviving of him, whom they had seen in that infamous and cruel manner put to death. They were fo poffefs'd with an Opinion of a temporal Kingdom, that when they had been convinced of the Truth of his Refurrection, and had afterwards convers'd a long time with him, they could not put it out of their Minds, Act. i. 6. and therefore it is no strange thing, that when they faw him dead and in the Grave, they were forfaken of all their former Hopes of the Redemption of Ifrael by him, (Luke xxiv. 21.) which before they had imagined to themfelves, was to be perform'd by his raising himself from that Meannefs to a Throne, not by his restoring himfelf to Life again, after he had been buried three days. The Notion which the Jews had of a Refurrection, was only that of the last day, John xi. 24. There was indeed a Rumour rais'd by fome, that John the Baptift was risen from the dead, and afterwards wrought thofe Miracles, which were done by Christ, under the Name of Jefus of Nazareth, as Herod's guilty Fears inclined him to believe, Luke ix. 7. Others faid that one of the Old Prophets is rifen again, ver. 19. But both these Reports the Difciples knew to be false; and therefore had little Reason, from fuch groundless Mistakes, to entertain a Belief, contrary to the general Opinion of the Jews, of an immediate Resurrecti on of any one from the dead. And whatever was faid of any other Resurrection, besides that at the day of Judgment, they look'd upon it to be meant only in Allufion

Allufion to that they questioned one with another what the rifing from the dead fhould mean, they understood not that faying, and were afraid to ask him, Mark ix. 10,32.

The Apostles therefore and other Difciples were fo far from being credulous, or forward to believe the Refurrection of Chrift from the dead, that they were not only inquifitive and careful not to be impofed upon, but they were exceeding diffident. The Women that went to the Sepulchre, were fo far from expecting to find him rifen from the dead, that they carried with them a Preparation of Spices to embalm his Corps, Mark xvi. 1. and not finding the Body of the Lord Jefus, they were much perplex'd at it, not remembring the Words which Jefus had spoke to them concerning the Resurrection, till the two Men, who stood by them in fhining Garments, had put them in mind of them, Luke xxiv. 4, 8. But when they returned from the Sepulchre, and told all these things to the eleven, and to all the reft, their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not, ver. 9, 11.

And

Mary Magdalen her felf, though she had seen this Vifion, yet went to them with this Complaint, they have taken away the Lord out of the Sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him, Joh. xx. 2. Then Peter

ran unto the Sepulchre, and ftooping down beheld the linnen-cloths laid by themselves, and departed wondering in himself at that which was come to pafs, Luke xxiv. 12. St. John ran to the Sepulchre at the fame time, and going into it, faw and believed, but he declares, that as yet they knew not the Scripture, that he must rife again from the dead, Joh. xx. 8, 9. Mary Magdalen ftands without ftill weeping, and complains to the two Angels, who ask'd her the Caufe, they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him, ver. 13. and again to our Saviour himself, not knowing him, but fuppofing him to have been the Gardner, Sir, if thou have born him hence, tell me where thou haft laid him, and I will take him away, ver. 15. And after she was

her

ر

her felf convinced of the Refurrection, when fhe told his Difciples, they believed not, Mark xvi. 11.

When our Saviour appear'd to the two Difciples, in the way to Emaus, he found them reafoning and talking together of all thofe things which had happen'd, and they were forrowful at the Thoughts of them, and when he enquired the Reafon, they give him fuch an account, as fhews the doubtful and defponding Apprehenfions they had of their prefent condition; infomuch that he anfwers them, with a severe Rebuke, O fools, and, flow of heart to believe all that the Prophet's have fpoken, Luke xxiv. 25. And afterwards, when these two were convinced themselves, and told the rest what had happen'd, neither believed they them, Mark xvi. 13. And when, immediately upon this, Jefus ftood in the midst of them, they were yet only terrified and frightned, and fuppofed, that they had feen a Spirit; and when he spoke to them, and difcourfed with them, Why are ye troubled, and why do thoughts arife in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I my self, handle me and fee, for a fpirit hath not flesh and bones as ye fee me have, and then fhewed them his hands and his feet; yet ftill after all this, they believed not for joy, but wondered, and were not fettled in their Belief of what they had seen and heard, till he took meat and did eat it before them, Luke xxiv. 36. and then he opened their underftandings, that they might understand the Scriptures, and declared them the Witneffes of his Refurrection. And ye are witnesses of these things, ver. 48.

After all these Proofs, S. Thomas, one of the Twelve, not being with them when Jefus had appeared to them, the other Difciples told him, they had seen the Lord, but he was peremptory and refolute in it, that he would not believe him to be alive again, except he fhould fee in his hands the print of the nails, and put his finger into the print of the nails, and thrust his hand into bis fide. After eight days, Jefus came to them again,

and

and to convince St. Thomas, and take away all possible Pretences of Incredulity for the future, he grants him the Satisfaction he defired, and fays unto him, Reach hither thy finger and behold my hands, and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into my fide, and be not faithless but believing and St. Thomas, who before was fo doubtful, is now fully convinced by this infallible Evidence, and breaks out into this Confession, My Lord and my God, Joh. xx. 27, 28.

41.

:

Thus did Christ fhew himself alive to his Apoftles, after his paffion, by many infallible proofs, being feen of them forty days, Acts i. 3. and not of them only, but of above five hundred brethren at once, 1 Cor. xv. 6. But the Apostles were his chofen witnesses, who did eat and drink with him, after he rose from the dead, A&s x. And when he afcended into Heaven, he was taken up while they were in his prefence, and convey'd in a Cloud out of their fight; and whilst they were looking up after him ftedfaftly into Heaven, two Angels stood by them, and affured them, that as he afcended into Heaven, so he fhall in like manner come down from thence to judge the World. And he afcended not alone, but with a great Multitude of the Saints and Heavenly Hoft, as we learn from a Passage in a Difcourfe of the Apostle St. Thaddaus, preserv'd by Eufebius. The Afcenfion of Chrift into Heaven, was prefigur'd by the High-Priest's entring yearly into the Holy of Holies, on the day of Atonement, Heb. ix. 24, 25. and was likewife prophefy'd of by the Pfalmift, who reprefents the Angels, fome as attending him in his Afcenfion, others as opening the Gates of Heaven; and both Companies, at his Entrance, anfwering one the other in Hymns of Praife, (Pfal. xxiv. 7.) The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of Angels, who waited on his Triumph

с

Κατέβη μόνΘ ανέβη ἢ μὲ πολλὲ ὄχλο, Eufeb. Hift. lib. r.

when

when he afcended on high, and led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men, Pfal. lxviii. 17, 18. Eph. iv. 8. miraculous Gifts to the Apostles and others, who were eye-witnesses of his Majefty. When his Difciples murmured at his Doctrine of giving them his Flesh to eat, our Saviour alleges his Afcenfion, which was to be in their view, as that which would confirm them in the Truth of this, and all his other Doctrines: What and if you fhall see the Son of Man afcend where be was before? John vi. 62. It was not needful, that Chrift fhould be seen rising from the Grave; it was fufficient, that he was fo often and fo long feen after his Refurrection. But it was necessary, that there fhould be witnesses of his Afcenfion, because then he took his final leave of this World, as to his visible Abode in it. It would have been faid, that he was again dead, unless he had afcended in the view of many Witneffes. Chrift had foretold to his Difciples, that in a little time he would leave them by his Death, and that a little after, they should fee him again, before his going to the Father, John xvi. 16. But they were forrowful at the News of his Departure, as well as very much dejected at his Death; and without this Profpect and Afsurance of his Afcenfion into Heaven, his laft leaving them must have been to them a fecond Paffion, and another Death; but when they had seen him thus afcending, they were fo far from mourning for him as abfent, that they worshipped bim, as ever prefent with them in his Divine Nature, and returned to Jerufalem with great Joy, Luke xxiv. 52. After his Afcenfion, he was feen not only by St. Stephen to comfort and fupport him at his Martyrdom, but by St. Paul, who was thereby ftopt in the full fpeed of his Perfecutions: his Converfion was fo fudden and fo powerful, that that alone might be thought fufficient; but to give him the compleat Qualifications of an Apostle, to become a witness of Chrift's being