And done

ftian

Caufe.

Refurrection; neither the Declaration of the Centurion, on the one, nor the Confeffion of the Soldiers, on the other Occafion, had wrought in them any Remorfe; we can hardly fuppofe, but that, had he fo appear'd, they would have offer'd to lay violent Hands upon him, as they had before defign'd to kill Lazarus, and for the fame Reafon: In which Cafe, had our Saviour vanished out of their Hands (as doubtless he would) what would they have concluded from hence, but that they had seen a Ghost, a Spectre, or Apparition; and what Conviction would that have wrought, but that their Senfes had been impos'd upon by fome magical Illufion; and what Effect would this have had upon their Minds, towards bringing them to a Belief that Chrift was truly rifen, and much less that he was the true Meffiah? None at all.

Many of the Jews (among whom we Injury to may fuppofe the Chief Priefts and Elthe Chri- ders, who hired the Soldiers to ftifle the Belief of Chrift's Refurrection, with a falfe Story of their own Invention) were given up to Hardness of Heart, and would not have believed, or, if they believed, would not have teftified, that they had ever feen Chrift after his Refurrection,

2 South's Serm. Vol. 5.

a

furrection. Now, they that are wicked enough to deny what they believe, will, at a pinch, deny alfo what they know to be true: and therefore, fuppofing that our Lord had fhewn himself to all his Enemies, and to all the People, and but fome of them (efpecially of the great Men in Authority) had denied that ever they faw him after his Refurrection, this would have exceedingly weaken'd the Teftimony of those, who vouch'd and confeffed it: For he, who appeals to the Knowledge of another for the Truth of a Matter of Fact, is fo far from gaining, that he lofes Credit by the Appeal, if the other Perfon denies that he knows any thing of it. If therefore our Lord had appeared to his Perfecutors (it being likely that his Difciples would appeal to their Knowledge) they, by protesting the contrary, would have made a terrible Advantage against the Chriftians upon that Appeal. Herein therefore is manifeft the Wisdom of Chrift, that, in making Choice of particular Witneffes, viz. fuch Perfons only, as would be fo far from diffembling their Knowledge, that they would always be ready to feal their Teftimony with their Blood, he hath fettled the Chriftian Faith upon a better FoundaCc 4 tion,

The Ex

tion, than if he had appeared in the Temple, or in the midft of Jerufalem, to the whole People of the Jews.

For let us fuppofe, on the other hand, cellency that our Saviour's appearing to the of the A- Chief Priefts and Rulers, upon his Repostles Teftimony. furrection, should have had a contrary

Effect; that, upon their Conviction, the whole Jewish Nation fhould be converted to the Chriftian Faith, and they, together with the Apoftles, fet out into foreign Countries, preaching the great Doctrine of Chrift's Refurrection, and exhibiting Teftimonials, under the Hands and Seals of the Grand Sanhedrim, that not only they themselves, but the whole Nation of the Jews was fully convinced of the Truth of it; yet we may very well queftion, whether this would have redounded to the general Advantage of Christianity. For might not fuch Perfons, as now make Objections to the Teftimony of the Apoftles, have made much greater and stronger to the united Teftimony of a Nation? And might not they have found out more room to fufpect an Imposture, than they can now? It might then have been called, with a better Grace, a ftale Trick, a political Juggle, a national Contrivance of the Jews, or any of thofe fignificant Names, that are now fo current among us. Fraud might

have

have then been fuppofed to fhelter itfelf under the Umbrage of Magifiracy; free Enquiries and Debates to be dif couraged by the Terror and Awefulness of Power; and a general Union of Belief more juftly reputed a general ConSpiracy but all this is happily evaded by the Method Chrift's infinite Wisdom took to propagate the Belief of his Refurrection.

In fhort, bit is not the Number of Witneffes, but the Character and Qualifications of the Perfons, and the Evidence itself, in its full Force and Circumftances, which are chiefly to be regarded in Matters of this Nature. If but a few Men can (as the Apostles did) by undeniable Miracles make it fufficiently appear, that what they fay is true, and that God himself confirms the Truth of it; they can appeal to every Man's own Senfes, before whom they work Miracles, and make every one, that fees them, a Witness to the Truth of their Doctrines. In this Case, God himself bears Witness to it; and what the High-Prieft faid upon a very different Occafion, every Stander-by finds himself conftrain'd to declare in this; What need have we of any farther Witnesses? For we our felves have heard

b

C

of

Jenkins's Reasonableness of Christianity, vol. 24 Matth. xxvi. 65.

From their

Charac

ter.

of their own Mouths (in the miraculous Gifts of Tongues) and feen with our own Eyes (in the many wonderful Works, which they have publickly wrought) a full and authentick Testimony of Christ's Refurrection.

The Refurrection of a Person from the Dead is indeed an Event fo extraordinary, that it may well be expected, a more than common Evidence fhould be requir'd, to fupport its Credibility. Let us then fee what the Credentials are, which the Witneffes of our Saviour's Refurrection have to exhibit upon this Occafion.

That the Apostles of our Lord were Men of Truth and Probity, void of perfonal Ambition and Self-defign, clear in their Account, and uniform in their Teftimony, is what I had occafion to fhew, when their Characters and Qualifications fell under confideration before; and tho' the Number of Perfons, who are the Their Witneffes of a Matter of Fact, abstractNumbers, ed from all other Confiderations, is not (as I just now hinted) of itself abfolutely convincing and conclufive; yet it carries this Perfuafion along with it, that though an Impofture may lie concealed for a while in a few Hands, it is next to impoffible that it should lie undiscover'd

Ditton on the Refurrection of Christ, p. 39.

in