salvation, and called men to repentance, and, choosing twelve to be more constantly with him than the rest, and to be witnesses of his works and doctrine, he revealed the mysteries of the kingdom of God; he went up and down with them, teaching the people, and working miracles, to confirm his doctrine; he told them, that he was sent from God, to reveal his will to lost mankind, for their recovery, and to bring them to a fuller knowledge of the unseen world, and the way thereto; and to be a Mediator and Reconciler between God and man, and to lay down his life as a sacrifice for sin; and that he would rise again from the dead the third day; and, in the mean time, to fulfil all righteousness, and give man an example of a perfect life; which, accordingly, he did: he never sinned in thought, word, or deed; he chose a poor, inferior condition of life, to teach men, by his example, to contemn the wealth and honours of this world, in comparison of the favour of God, and the hopes of immortality. He suffered patiently all indignities from men; he went up and down as the living image of divine power, wisdom, and goodness, doing miracles to manifest his power, and opening the doctrine of God to manifest his wisdom; and healing men's bodies and seeking the salvation of their souls to manifest his goodness and his love. Without any means, by his bare command, he immediately cured fevers, palsies, and all diseases, cast out devils, and raised the dead to life again; and so open, uncontrolled, and numerous were his miracles, as that all men might see that the omnipotent God did thereby bear witness to his word. Yet did not the greatest part of the Jews believe in him, for all these miracles, because he came not in worldly pomp to restore their kingdom and subdue the world; but they blasphemed his very miracles, and said, he did them by the power of the devil; and fearing lest his fame should bring envy and danger upon them from the Romans, who ruled over them, they were his most malicious persecutors themselves. The doctrine which he preached was not the unnecessary curiosities of philosophy, nor the subservient arts and sciences, which natural light revealeth, and which natural men can sufficiently teach but it was to teach men to know God, and to know themselves, their sin, and danger, and how to be reconciled to God, and pardoned, and sanctified, and saved; how to live in holiness to God, and in love and righteousness to men, and in special amity and unity among themselves, who are his disci

ples; how to mortify sin, and to contemn the wealth and honours of the world, and to deny the flesh its hurtful desires aud lusts; and how to suffer any thing that we shall be called to, for obedience to God, and the hopes of heaven; to tell us what shall be after death; how all men shall be judged, and what shall become both of soul and body to everlasting. But his great work was by the great demonstrations of the goodness and love of God to lost mankind, (in their free pardon and offered salvation,) to win men's hearts to the love of God, and to raise their hopes and desires up to that blessed life, where they shall see his glory, and love him, and be beloved by him for ever. At last, when he had finished the work of his ministration in the flesh, he told his disciples of his approaching sufferings and resurrection, and instituted the sacrament of his body and blood in bread and wine, which he commandeth them to use, for the renewing of their covenant with him, and remembrance of him; and for the maintaining and signifying their communion with him and with each other. After this, his time being come, the Jews apprehended him, and though upon a word of his mouth, to show his power, they fell all to the ground; yet did they rise again and lay hands on him, and brought him before Pilate, the Roman governor, and vehemently urged him to crucify him, contrary to his own mind and conscience. They accused him of blasphemy, for saying he was the Son of God; of impiety, for saying, “ Destroy this temple, and in three days I will rebuild it ;" he meant his body: and of treason against Cæsar, for calling himself a king; though he told them that his kingdom was not worldly, but spiritual. Hereupon, they condemned him, and clothed him in purple, like a king, in scorn, and set a crown of thorns on his head, and put a reed for a sceptre into his hand, and led him about to be a derision; they covered his eyes, and smote him, and buffetted him, and bid him tell who struck him: at last, they nailed him upon a cross, and put him to open shame and death, betwixt two malefactors; of whom, one of them reviled him, and the other believed in him. They gave him gall and vinegar to drink. The soldiers pierced his side with a spear, when he was dead. All his disciples forsook him and fled; Peter having before denied thrice that ever he knew him, when he was in danger. When he was dead, the earth trembled, the rocks and the vale of the temple rent, and darkness was

ƒ Vid. 'Microlog. de Eccles.' observ, cap. 23.

upon the earth, though there was no natural eclipse, which made the captain of the soldiers say, "Verily this was the Son of God." When he was taken down from the cross, and laid in a stone sepulchre, they set a guard of soldiers to watch the grave, having a stone upon it, which they sealed; because he had foretold them that he would rise again. On the morning of the third day, being the first day of the week, an angel terrified the soldiers, and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it; and when his disciples came, they found that Jesus was not there, and the angel told them, that he was risen, and would appear to them: accordingly, he often appeared to them; sometimes as they walked by the way, and once as they were fishing, but usually when they were assembled together. Thomas, who was one of them, being absent at his first appearance to the rest, told them he would not believe it, unless he saw the print of the nails, and might put his finger into his wounded side. The next first day of the week, when they, were assembled, Jesus appeared to them, the doors being shut, and called Thomas, and bade him put his fingers into his side, and view the prints of the nails in his hands and feet, and be not faithless but believing. After this he often appeared to them, and once to above five hundred brethren at once. He earnestly pressed Peter to show the love that he bare to himself, by the feeding of his flock. He instructed his apostles in the matters of their employment. He gave them commission to go into all the world, and preach the Gospel, and gave them the tenour of the new covenant of grace, and made them the rulers of his church, requiring them by baptism solemnly to enter all into his covenant who consent to the terms of it, and to assure them of pardon by his blood, and of salvation if they persevere. He required them to teach his disciples to observe all things which he had commanded them, and promised them that he would be with them, by his spirit, and grace, and powerful defence, to the end of the world. And when he had been seen by them for forty days, speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, being assembled with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but wait till the Holy Spirit came down upon them, which he had promised them but they, being tainted with some of the worldly expectations of the Jews, and thinking that he who could rise from the dead would surely now make himself and his followers glori

All this is written by the four Evangelists.

ous in the world, began to ask him whether he would at this time restore the kingdom to Israel; but he answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father hath put into his own power; but ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses to me both at Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth. And when he had said this, while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly towards heaven, as he went up, two men stood by them in white apparel, and said, Why gaze ye up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." Upon this they returned to Jerusalem, and continued together till ten days after. As they were all together, both the apostles and all the rest of the disciples, suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing, mighty wind, and the likeness of fiery, cloven tongues sat on them all, and they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance. By this they were enabled both to preach to people of several languages, and to work other miracles to confirm their doctrine; so that, from this time forward, the Holy Spirit, which Christ sent down upon believers, was his great Witness and Agent in the world, and procured the belief and entertainment of the Gospel wheresoever it came; for by this extraordinary reception of the Spirit, the apostles themselves were more fully instructed in the doctrine of salvation than they were before, notwithstanding their long converse with Christ in person, it being his pleasure to illuminate them by supernatural infusion, that it might appear to be no contrived design to deceive the world. And they were enabled to preach the word with power, and by this Spirit were infallibly guided in the performance of the work of their commissions, to settle Christ's church in a holy order, and to leave on record the doctrine which he had commanded them to teach: also, they themselves did heal the sick, and cast out devils, and prophesy, and by the laying on of their hands the same Holy Spirit was ordinarily given to others that believed: so that Christians had all one gift or other of that Spirit, by which they convinced and converted a great part of the world in a short time: and all that were sincere had the gift of sanctification, and were regenerate by the Spirit, as well

h Acts i.

i Acts ii.

as by baptismal water, and had the love of God shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Ghost, which was given them. A holy and heavenly mind and life, with mortification, contempt of the world, self-denial, patience, and love to one another, and to all men, was the constant badge of all Christ's followers. The first sermon that Peter preached did convert three thousand of those sinful Jews that had crucified Christ. And after that many thousands of them more were converted. One of their bloody persecutors, Saul, a pharisee, that had been one of the murderers of the first martyr, Stephen, and had haled many of them to prisons; and as he was going on this business was struck down by the highway, a light from heaven shining round about him, and a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest; it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men that journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man: and so Saul was led blind to Damascus, where one Ananias had a vision, commanding him to baptise him, and his eyes were opened." This convert, called Paul, did henceforward preach the Gospel of Christ, from country to country, in Syria, in Asia, at Rome, and a great part of the world, in marvellous, unwearied labours and sufferings, abuses, and imprisonments, converting multitudes, and planting churches in many great cities and countries, and working abundance of miracles where he went. His history is laid down in part of the New Testament: there are also many of his epistles, to Rome, to Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse, Thessalonica, to Timothy, to Titus, and to Philemon, and the Hebrews, as is supposed: there are also the epistles of Peter, James, John, and Jude; with the revelation of John, containing many mysterious prophecies. An eunuch, who was of great power, under the Queen of Ethiopia, was converted by Philip, and carried the Gospel into his country. The rest of the apostles, and other disciples, carried it abroad a great part of the world, especially in the Roman empire: and though every where they met with opposition and persecution, yet, by the power of the Holy Ghost appearing in their holiness, languages, and miracles, they prevailed and planted abundance of churches, 1 Acts ix.

Acts ii. and iii.