SERMON I.

LUKE iii. 3, 4.

The word of the Lord came unto John, the Son of Zacharias, in the wilderness; and he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the Baptifm of Repentance.

T

HE hiftory of Chrift was admirably

a

adapted to give, the most clear and venerable representation of Christianity, and, at the fame time, an obvious and frequent demonstration of its truth. For, as the fyftem of duty, contained in his moral and religious discourses, was in him visibly exemplified; fo also, a confiderable part of the evidence, that he came from God, arifes from the feveral acts and incidents of his publick life. There are two questions, that

An answer is given to the inquiry, why Chriftianity was delivered, in the hiftory of our Saviour, in preference to any other form, in a Commencement Sermon, Jeffery's Tracts. Vol. ii. at the end.

have immediate reference to them; the one, concerning their real existence, and the other, respecting the proofs, which they afford of a divine atteftation.

It may be observed, as to the reality of those facts, in the life of Chrift, upon which his Religion is founded, that the testimony of friends and adverfaries, has enabled us to trace the profeffion of Christianity, through all the intermediate ages, from our own times till it began. During that long interval, it will be found invariably distinguished, with the obfervance of the same stated day of worship, and with the use of particular Sacraments, either in exprefs memorial of different acts in the life of Christ, or in purfuance of his pofitive inftitution.

This uninterrupted continuance of the Christian profeffion, accompanied with these characteristical observances, in all conjunctures of things, and against all obftacles, through the feveral ages, between the present time and that of Tiberius, evidently implies, that, in

The prevalence of it, in Trajan's time, is attefted by Plin. Ep. 97. Lib. 10. See also Daubuz pro teftimonio Josephi. -Tacit. Annal. Lib. 15. cap. 44.-Sueton. Claud. cap.25.Julian, apud Cyrill. Lib. 6.

This argument is drawn out at large by Dr. Campbell in his Authenticity of the Gofpel Hiftory.

his days, fuch perfons first appeared as the disciples of Chrift, and publickly afferted, that they heard the doctrines, and beheld the facts, upon which he founded, and ⚫ commiffioned them to advance, the Chriftian Religion.

d

By their hands, or under the immediate direction and revifal of fome in their number, written histories were drawn up, and were received and used by the reft, as true narratives of what they had all heard and feen, during their intercourse with Christ. So far as to the real existence of the facts, upon which Christianity depends.

That the Gospels, extant at this day, are the genuine hiftories, which these witnesses, immediately converfant with Jefus, either penned or approved, may be grounded, not only upon the teftimony of heathen adverfaries, and Chriftian apologists, in every age, but also, as a celebrated writer obferves, 66 upon the general reception and credit, which they found, not only in all the churches, but with all the private Christians of thofe ages, who were able to purchafe copies of them; among whom,

< This is admitted by Julian, apud Cyrill. Lib. 9. 291. • See Le Clerc's 3d. Differt. fubjoined to his Evang. Harm. • Middleton. Free Inquiry, 4to. Ed. p. 155.

though it might perhaps be the defire of a few to corrupt, yet it was the common intereft of all, to preferve, and of none, to destroy them. And we find accordingly, that they were guarded by all with the ftrictest care, fo as to be concealed from the knowledge and fearch of their heathen adverfaries, who alone were defirous to extirpate them. After fuch a publication therefore, and wide difperfion of them from their very origin, it is hardly poffible, that they should either be corrupted, or fuppreffed, or counterfeited, by a few, of what character or abilities foever; or that, according to the natural course of things, they fhould not be handed down from age to age, in the fame manner, with the works of all the other ancient writers of Greece and Rome; which, though tranfmitted through the hands of many profligate and faithlefs generations of men, yet have suffered no diminution of their credit on that account; for though in every age there were feveral perhaps, who, from crafty and selfish motives, might be difpofed to deprave, or even to fupprefs, fome particular books, yet their malice could reach only to a few copies, and would be reftrained therefore from the attempt, or corrected