more than other Women, an exceeding great reward is prepared for you. Oh, ye Wives of the Prophet! ye are not like other Women of the World; fear God, and believe not in the discourse of fuch as have a defign to feduce you; Speak with Civility, abide in your Houses, go not forth to make your Beauty appear, and to make a Shew, as did the ignorant of old. This explains what was mention'd before of a Revelation Mahomet pretended to have concerning fomething that one of his Wives was to fay to him; he had a mind to make them believe that he knew whatever they did or faid, that fo he might keep them in awe, that they might not dare to prove falfe to him. с His Pride is evident in this which follows, Te that believe, enter not into the Houses of the Prophet without permiffion, except at the hour of Repast, and that by chance, and without defign; if ye are invited, enter with freedom; when ye shall have taken your Repaft, depart out of the Houfe, and tarry not to difcourfe one with another, this molefteth the Prophet, he is afhamed to tell you the Truth. But this is not all, his Number of Wives made him incurably jealous, and therefore he adds, you ought not to importune the Prophet of God, neither to know his Wives, this would be a moft enormous Sin. d The Fierceness of Mahomet's Spirit may be seen by this one Saying, He that is angry that God giveth SucCour and Protection to Mahomet in this World, let him tie a cord to the Beam of his Houfe, and hang himself, he fhall fee if his Choler will be allay'd. It is notorious, that he fet up his New Doctrine in oppreffing his own Country-men, who would not fubmit to his Impofture first, and in Rebellion against the Emperor Heraclius, then at war with the Perfians, afterwards; and his Alcoran is fit only for a Saracen Camp, prea Ibid. Bb 4 ching ching Luft to his Followers, but Blood and Destruction towards all others. This may fatisfy any Man, that there is nothing in the Author of the Mahometan Religion, nor in the Religion itfelf, which may incline him to believe it to be of Divine Revelation. But whoever would know more of this vile Imposture, may fee it fully dif play'd in the Life of Mahomet, lately publish'd by the Learned Dr. Prideaux. THE 737 THE REASONABLENESS and CERTAINTY OF THE Christian Religion. PART IV. CHAP. I. That there is as great Certainty of the Truth of the Chriftian Religion, as there is of the Being of God. F ROM what has been discours'd, the Truth of the Christian Religion is evident, by all the Arguments, by which any Religion can poffibly be prov'd to be Divine; and if there be any fuch thing as true Religion, the Chriftian Religion must be it: And if this be made appear, it is all that need be faid in defence of the Christian Religion, to any one but an Atheist. The Scriptures are defective in nothing that is requifite in a Divine Revelation, but have all that can be required in the highest degree. To inftance here only in Miracles, and in thofe only of our Saviour and his Apostles: Our Saviour wrought his Miracles in the midst of his Enemies, and extorted a Confession from the Devils themselves, of his Divine Power. And And if the Apostles had not been well affured, and abfolutely certain of his Resurrection, they would never have had the Confidence, and the Folly, (for it could have been no lefs) to maintain fo foon after his Death, in Jerufalem, the City where he was crucify'd, that he was rifen from the Dead; they would never have chofen that, above all places, to preach this Doctrine, and work their Miracles in, if they had not been true: at least, they would never have done it, at the great and folemn Feaft of Pentecoft, to provoke the Jews to expose them to all the World for Impoftors; no, they would have taken time to have laid their Design with fome better Appearance and Contrivance to be fure, they would have avoided Jerusalem as much as they could, and above all times, at fo folemn a Festival as that of Pentecost, they would have gone rather to the remotest Corners of the Earth to have told their Story, than have run the Hazard of fuch a Discovery. But when they stood the Teft of all that the Jews could fay or do to them, when in that very City, where he had been fo lately crucify'd, they told the Jews to their face, and before that numerous Concourse of People, which was then met together at Jerufalem, that they were Murtherers, that they murther'd their Meffias, but that he was risen from the Dead, and that by virtue of his Resurrection they spoke those Languages, and did thofe Works, which they then faw and heard. This was plain and open Dealing, and there could be no Deceit in it; if any thing of this could have been difprov'd, they had been for ever filenced, but their worft Enemies were fo far from being able to difprove what they said, that about three thousand Converts were made on the day of Pentecoft. The innocent and divine Life of our Saviour, the Holiness and Excellency of his Doctrine, the Simplicity, and Meeknefs, and Conftancy of his Disciples, the Continuance of Miracles for feveral Ages in the Churchy Church, the wonderful Propagation of the Gospel by a few poor, ignorant, despised, and perfecuted Men, every Passage, every Circumstance, in the whole Difpenfation of the Gofpel, is full of Evidence in proof of it. But thus much in this place fhall fuffice, all Particulars having been largely infifted upon in their proper places. That no manner of Confirmation might be wanting to our Religion, Apoftates themselves have given to all the Arguments above mention'd, an additional, accidental Strength and Force, which they fo little need. Judas had been the Disciple and constant Attendant of Christ, and knew all that an Accufer would defire to know of one, whom he had betray'd. But what could he lay to his Master's Charge? Could he difcover, or durft he invent, any thing against him? Did he not die in the Confeffion of Chrift's Innocence, and of his own Guilt in betraying him? Porphyry had taken great pains in ftudying all the Sects of Philofophy, and in examining all Religions, but he became fuch an Enthusiast, that no Philofophy, no Religion, could please him: He reprefented Socrates under a very ill Character, but gave this Teftimony of Christ, after he had renounced the Chriftian Religion; that he was a moft pious Perfon, and is gone to Heaven, and ought not to be reviled. The Emperor Julian had been a Reader in the Church, and had exact Knowledge of the Manner of Life and Difcipline and Doctrine among Chriftians; he had all the Opportunities of acquainting himself with whatever the Jews or Heathens, formerly or in his own time, had fuggested, and knew how to make the most Advantage of any thing, that fell under his own Obfervation, or which he had by the Information of others, against a Religion, which all his Power, and Learning, and b a Porphyr. apud Cyrill. contr. Jul. l. vi. p. 185, 186. Ed. Lipf. b Apud Eufeb. Demonftr. 1. 3. c. 6. Subtilty, |