rifen from the dead, and afcended into Heaven, he was pleased to appear to him from thence.

All circumstances therefore concur to fhew, that the Apostles had fufficient opportunity fully to inform themselves in all particulars; that they used all means to do it with their utmost care and diligence; that they were fufpicious and distrustful; and that nothing but the clear conviction of all their Senses, could have fatisfied them. The Apoftles had converfed with our Saviour for fome Years, and had feen his Miracles, and had been enabled by him to do the like, and they were never credulous, but always backward and flow of Belief; and the Refurrection of Chrift was a furprizing thing to them: For though he had often plainly foretold it to them, yet the difappointment of their hopes of a Temporal Kingdom, and the great terror and confternation that his Death had put them into, had quite broke their Spirits, and thrust all hopes or thoughts of a Refurrection out of their Minds, and they were very hardly brought to a belief of it. But he overcame their unbelief, and satisfied all their fcruples, by fuch ways as must be convincing, or else we can never be convinced, that there is any real Man befides our felves in the World, and that all the reft are not mere Shadows and Ghosts; they did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead; they all beheld the Marks in his Hands and in his Side, and one of them, who would not otherwise be perfuaded to the belief of his Resurrection, did thruft his Fingers into the Print of the Nails, by which he was faftued to the Crofs, and his Hand into the Wound of his Side, which was made by the Soldier's Spear, just before he was taken down from it; fo that they knew him as certainly to be rifen again, as they had ever known him to be alive before his Death.

The Apostles were fo diffident, that our Saviour upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart,

because

because they believed not them, which had feen him after he was rifen, Mark xvi. 14. But it is obfervable, that as St. Thomas was at firft abfent, and was fuffered afterwards to be fo very difficult of Belief; fo it is faid of the two Difciples, that were walking to Emaus, that their eyes were holden, that they should not know him. It was purposely fo ordered by the Divine Providence, that they might not readily know and acknowledge him, but that the manner of his Manifestation of himself to them might be an invincible argument against all oppofers, that no Man might have any thing to object, when every circumftance was as narrowly examined, and with as great caution and circumfpection and diffidence, as it could have been done by himself, if he had been there. For I think, we may challenge the boldest and fubtileft Adversary to fay, what he could have done more to discover the Truth, if he had been then living, and amongst the Apostles, than was done by them. That, which we have beard, fays St. John, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the word of Life, (for the Life was manifefted, and we have feen it, and bear witness) that which we have feen and heard, declare we unto you, 1 John 1.2, 3. which is all that is poffible for any witness to say, as to any matter of Fact; and they, who could fpeak and write in this manner, must be competent witnesses; if no other exception can lye against them, they certainly speak home to the purpofe, and all that any witness can be defired or fuppofed to speak.

2. As the Apostles could not be deceived themfelves, fo they would not deceive others, having no temptation to it, but acting against all the Interefts, and Advantages of this World. And thofe, who had denied or forfook Chrift when he was living, would never have been fo zealous and refolute to fuffer for him after he was crucified, if they had not been fully affured of his Refurrection. It is not to be imagined,

they

they would have füffered all manner of Torments and Deaths, only to bear witnefs to a thing they had known to be falfe; and it has been already proved that they could not be deceived in it, but must have known it to be falfe, if it had been fo; and therefore it must be true, that Chrift is rifen from the dead, or else we must fuppofe the Apostles to have been of so different a nature from all the reft of Mankind, as to delight in the things, which all others fear and abhor, even in Bonds and Imprifonments, in Infamy and Torments, and all the Punishments that can be inflicted he that would endure all these for the fake of what he knew to be falfe, muft furely not be of humane nature; and we may as well doubt, whether the Apoftles were Men, as we are, as whether Chrift did rife from the Dead.

3. They alledged fuch circumftances, as made it impoffible for them to deceive thofe to whom they te ftified the Truth of Chrift's Refurrection, thought they had had never fo much mind to do it. They de clared that that Jefus whom the Jews had caused to be crucified, and had then placed a Guard of Soldiers to fecure his Sepulchre, left his Difciples fhould take him away, was, notwithstanding all their care, rifen from the Dead; and that that Report of the Jews, that his Difciples came by night, and stole him away while the Watch flept, was utterly falfe; nay, that it was a fuborned Story, and that the Chief Priests, had given the Soldiers Money to fay it. Now if Chrift had not really been rifen, how easily had all this been difproved, and what a Provocation was this to the Chief Priefts to difprove it, if they could? Their Honour and Reputation, and their Intereft with the People, was highly concerned to vindicate the Truth of the Report, which they had hired the Soldiers to give out and if there had been no fuch Report, what reafon could St. Matthew have to pre tend there was? And if against all Reafon and com

mon Sense, he had pretended fuch a Report, when there had been none, it must have been the greatest differvice to his Caufe, that could have been thought of. But when there was fuch a report amongst the Jews, that his Difciples had ftoln him away by night, if this could have been made good against them, would his Disciples fo foon after in the very City where he had been crucified, declare to the Face of the Chief Priests affembled in Council, the God of our Fathers bath raifed up fefus, whom ye flew and hanged on a Tree, him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, and to give repentance to Ifrael, and forgiveness of fins, and we are his witneffes of these things, Acts v. 30, 31, 32. Was not this as much as could be faid, to challenge them to produce thofe Soldiers to confront them? But befides the fenflefs Story, that Men fhould be able to know what was done, when they confefs themselves to have been asleep; the Apoftles could foon have confuted that Calumny by the Miracles, which they wrought by virtue of his Refurrection if the Soldiers had been asleep, when the Body was taken away, yet the Jews were certainly awake, when they invented and spread the Report, and when they faw the Miracles, and heard the strange Languages, by which the Apostles proved it to be falfe, and declared, that Chrift was rifen by the Omnipotent Power of God.

Befides, St. Matthew writes, that the Graves were opened, and many bodies of Saints which flept, arofe and appeared unto many, Matt. xxvii. 52, 53. Many faw them, who are appealed to as witnesses of their Refurrection. And the miraculous Events at the Death of our Saviour, which were fo many certain prefages and fore-runners of his Resurrection; as the Earthquake, and the darkness of the Sun for three hours together, in the midst of the Day, contrary to the courfe of Nature, the Moon being in the full; the rending the Veil of the Temple, and the like; these

were

were things which must be notorious, and which could not have been pretended to have happened, but the whole People of the Jews must be appealed to, as witnesses of them.

And it being a custom for the Deputies and Governours of Provinces to certifie the Emperor of whatever happened confiderable under their Government, the Refurrection of our Saviour, with the Miracles which accompanied it, were fo remarkable, and so notorious, that it had not been safe for Pontius Pilate to fend no Information concerning him, but he found himself obliged to give an account both of his Miracles, and his Death and Refurrection to the Emperor Tiberius; who thereupon proposed it to the Senate, to have him taken into the number of their Gods, and made it punishable to accufe any Man for being a Chriftian during his Reign. And this Information of Pantius Pilate was entred upon Record at Rome; to which Justin Martyr appeals, in his Apology to the Emperor Antoninus Pius, and the Senate; and Tertullian in his Apology, which was likewise presented to the Senate of Rome, or at least to the Governours of the Provinces. They both lived in the next Age, and were both educated in a different Religion, and upon thefe and fuch like proofs, became Chriftians; and they were Men of excellent Learning and Judgment: but no Man, who could write an Apology, can be fuppofed to have fo much confidence, and fo little understanding, as to appeal to that account which

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Eufeb. Hift. 1. 11. c. 2.

او

Καὶ ταῦτα ὅτι γέγονε, διίαπε μαθῶν ἐκ ἢ ἐπὶ Ποντίκ ПINTE QUOμsúar "Axlar. Juft. Mart. Apol. ad Antonin. Pium. Tiberius ergò, cujus tempore nomen Chriftianum in feculum intravit, annunciata fibi ex Syriâ Palaftinâ, qua illic veritatem illius Divinitatis revelarant, detulit ad Senatum, cum Prærogativâ fuffragii fui. Sena tus, quia non ipfe probaverat, refpuit Cafar in fententiâ manfit, comminatus periculum accufatoribus Chriflianorum. Tertull. Apol. c. 3. Ea omnia fuper Chrifto Pilatus, & ipfe jam pro fuâ confcientiâ Chrifliamus, Cafari tunc Tiberio nunciavit. Id. ib. c. 21.