To this Reply of the Rich Man, Abráham peremptorily rejoins in the Words of the Text; If they hear not Mofes and the Prophets, neither will they be perfuaded though one rofe from the Dead.

To omit leffer Matters that may be observed from thefe Words, the Point which pri marily, and moft naturally feems to be offered to our Confideration from them, is this; That those who give no Credit to a fettled Standing Revelation of God once well attefted, or are not thereby prevailed upon to reform their evil Manners; neither in all probability would they be prevailed upon, though a particular Miracle was wrought by God in order to their Converfion; as, for Inftance, though one should rife from the Dead and appear to them.

Now, to fatisfy every one of the Truth of this Propofition, it will be abundantly fufficient to make out thefe Two Things.

Firft, That there is really more Force, and Weight in a Publick Standing Revelation of God, fuch as that was by Mofes and the Prophets here mentioned, to convince Men, or to reclaim them; than there can be in a Private Miracle, though I fee it with my Eyes.

And Secondly, Though God fhould be pleafed to work a Miracle, or to fend an Apparition for the Conviction of an obftinate Unbeliever, or vicious Perfon; yet fuch a one would as easily find out Shifts and Ways to evade the Force of fuch an Argument, and to hinder the Effect it ought to have upon ST him,

him, as he formerly did, to put off the ordinary Standing Motives and Arguments of Religion and confequently, there is little probability, that he who is not gained by the former, will be wrought upon by the latter.

I begin with the Firft of thefe Things; That there is really more Force and Weight in a Publick Standing Revelation of God, to convince Men, or to reclaim them; than there can be fuppofed to be in a Private fingle Miracle, though a Man fees it with his Eyes: or than there can be in an Apparition from the Dead, if God fhould think fit to vouchsafe fuch a Thing.

In fpeaking to this, I mean not to concern myfelf or you, with the Revelation of Mofes and the Prophets, though that be the Revelation which the Text here fpeaks of. I think it will be more fuitable and useful to us, to confider the Propofition with relation to Chriftianity, or the Revelation of our Saviour and his Apoftles: That being the Dispensation we are now under, and in which we are more immediately concerned.

Understanding, therefore, our Propofition of that efpecial Revelation, which we call the Gospel, Two Things there are to be offered, which will undeniably make it out.

Firft, Thofe Perfons that lived in the Times of our Saviour, when this Publick Revelation of the Gospel was made and attefted, had greater Evidences and Motives to bring them over to the Belief and Practice of his Religion, than if any particular Miracle had been wrought in order to their Converfion.

Secondly,

Secondly, We at this Day, all Things confidered, have as ftrong Arguments to convince us, as powerful Motives to perfuade us, as thofe that lived in the Times of our Saviour, and were Witneffes of what he did and taught.

The unavoidable Confequences of which Two Points are thefe: That thofe who lived in the Time of our Saviour, and were not perfuaded by his Gofpel, would not have been perfuaded, though one had been fent to them from the Dead. And thofe that are now alive, and are not perfuaded by the Evidences and Motives of Chriftianity, which we now have among us, would not have been perfuaded if they had lived in the Times of our Saviour. So that in all Ages of Christianity, the Propofition will hold true, That those who give no Credit to the Standing Revelation of the Gofpel, or are not thereby induced to lead their Lives according to it, would not be prevailed upon, tho' a particular Miracle was wrought for their Converfion.

Firft then, Our Saviour's Gofpel, at the First Publishing of it, was a more effectual Means for the Converfion of any Man then living, than the fending to him one from the Dead.

Let us fuppofe the Parable we are now upon, to be a true Hiftory, and that this Rich Man had Five Brethren living at Ferufalem, at the Time when our Saviour fpoke it; and they were all Wicked, Lewd, Atheiftical Perfons; and God Almighty, in

pity to their Souls, is pleafed to grant that Requeft, which the Rich Man here makes to Abraham on their Behalf; and accordingly fends Lazarus from the Dead to preach Repentance to them: We cannot doubt, but fuch a Sermon, from fuch a Man, and in fuch Circumftances, would mightily awaken them, and put them upon a more ferious Confideration of the Folly of their Ways, and the Danger they exposed them to, than ever they entred into before; and this Confideration it is likely might work them to ferious Refolutions of quitting their prefent Courses, and entring upon a ftricter Life. Certainly fuch an Apparition as this, in Reason, should work fuch Effects; and, without doubt, upon many it would. But this we fay, Whether did not our Saviour perform a great deal more than all this comes to, in order to the Conviction and Converfion of all about him? And whether had not these Five Brethren, fuppofing them to live when he preached his Gofpel, and to be Witneffes of his Actions, much more Reason to be perfuaded by what he did, and taught, than by the aforefaid Vifion?

Our Saviour did, by all the Signs and Tokens in the World, evidence himself to be an express Meffenger fent from God, which they could not be certain that the Vision was.

The Prophetick Records of their own Country did all teftify of him; and they themfelves, by comparing his Life and them together, might fee they were fulfilled in him. N

VOL. I.

To

To omit the Circumftances of his Birth, which were fuch as never any befides himself was born with: After he came to enter upon his Publick Employment, God did more than once, by a Voice from Heaven, teftify, that he had fent him, and that all People were to hearken to him.

And the Truth of this he himfelf confirmed, not only by his Life, which was the most Innocent, and Virtuous, and Godlike that ever was: Not only by his Sermons and Doctrines, which were the moft perfect and unexceptionable, and every way the moft worthy of God, that ever were taught among Men but alfo, and moft chiefly, by his extraordinary Works, which were fuch, as none but God, or one acted by a Divine Power, could poffibly perform.

He did the greatest Things that ever were feen by Men. He fhew'd by his Actions, and those most publickly done, and frequently repeated, that he had an abfolute Sovereign Power over the Courfe of Nature, over the invifible Agents of this World, as well Angels as Devils and likewife over both the Bodies and the Souls of Men.

And particularly to make it appear, that his Teftimony was more authentick, his Authority more to be relied on, than that of any Ghoft, any Lazarus whatfoever, that should rife from the Dead; it was very ufual with him to fend again to the Living thofe that were once dead. And one Lazarus he really brought again from the Bofom of Abraham,

after