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⚫ing to the perfection of man's nature,' * reuniting the fame foul to the fame body which was buried, and fo rofe the fame man according to the teftimony of fufficient and credible witnesses, thoroughly informed concerning the fact. These witnesses were the pious women, who, thinking with fweet fpices to have anointed him dead, found him rifen. The apoftles, who conversed with him frequently after his refurrection, were fatisfied he had a real body, by his eating. and drinking with them. And one of them fearched the holes that the nails had made in his hands, and thruft his hands into his fide. All the other difciples teftified the fame, to whom he also appeared, even to five hundred brethren at one time. Then he was feen of James; appeared to Stephen at his martyrdom, and to St. Paul at his converfion in his way to Damafcus. And the veracity of these witneffes cannot be doubted of; because the doctrine they taught forbad all falfhood upon pain of damnation: Again, the fealing the truth of this fact with their blood is a fufficient evidence of their veracity.

Whoever looks into the preaching of the apoftles will find the refurrection was the great article they infifted on. -And St. Paul knew the weight of this article, and the neceffity of teaching it, when he said, If Christ be not rifen, our faith is vain. I am fenfible it is common for men to die for falfe opinions; but even in those cases their fuffering is an evidence of their fincerity, and it would be very hard to charge men, who die for the doctrine they profefs, with infincerity in the profeffion; mistaken they may be, but every mistaken man is not a cheat. Now if we do but allow the fuffering of the apostles to prove their fincerity, which no man can well difallow, and confider that they died for the truth of a matter of FACT, which they had seen themselves, we shall perceive the objections ufually brought against this article of our faith will quickly vanish. In doctrines and matters of opinion men mistake perpetually; and it is no reason for me to take *up with another man's opinion, because I am perfuaded he is fincere in it but when a man reports to me an uncommon FACT, yet fuch a one as in its own nature is a plain object of

See the 4th Article of Religion.

fenfe,

fenfe, if I believe him not, my fufpicion does not arife from the inability of human fenfes to judge in the cafe, but from a doubt of the fincerity of the reporter: in such cases therefore there wants nothing to be proved, but only the fincerity of the reporter; and fince voluntary fuffering for the truth is at leaft a proof of fincerity, the fufferings of the apoftles for the truth of the refurrection is a full and unexceptionable proof. I am fenfible there are many instances of men's fuffering and dying in an obftinate denial of the truth of facts plainly proved; but then, when criminals perfift in denying their crimes, they often do it, and there is reafon to fufpect they do it always, in hopes of a pardon or reprieve. But what are such inftances to the prefent purpose? All fuch men fuffer againft their will, and for their crimes; and their obstinacy is built on the hope of efcaping, by moving the compaffion of the government, or the fpectators. Seeing then that the apostles died in afferting the truth of Chrift's refurrection, it was always in their power to quit their evidence and fave their lives: even their bittereft enemies the Jews required no more of them than to be filent: But that, it fpread no far→ ther among the people, let us ftraitly threaten them that they Speak henceforth to no man in this name, Acts iv. 17. Did not we ftrictly command you, that you should not teach in this name? And bebold, ye have filled Jerufalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us, Acts v. 28. Others have denied facts, or afferted facts, in hopes of faving their lives, when they were under fentence of death; but these men attefted a fact at the expence of their lives, which they might have faved by denying the truth: fo that between criminals dying and denying plain facts, and the apostles dying for their teftimony, there is this material difference; criminals deny the truth in hopes of faving their lives, but the apostles willingly parted with their lives rather than deny the truth. But to return. And have we not the teftimony of his very enemies to bear witnefs of this great truth? thofe foldiers that watched at the fepulchre, and pretended to keep his body from the hands of the apofties, felt the earth trembling under them, and faw the countenance of an angel like light'ning, and his raiment white as fnow; they who upon this

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fight did shake, and became as dead men, while he whom they kept became alive: even fome of these came into the city, and fhewed unto the chief priests all the things that Teftified by were done, when Chrift rofe from the dead. And angels. the angels, that heavenly hoft, which brought the glad tidings of his birth to the shepherds, bore evidence to the truth thereof. One came and rolled back the stone from the door, and fat upon it. Two, in white, fitting one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jefus had lain, faid unto the women, Why feek ye the living among the dead? he is not here, but is rifen, Luke xxiv. 5.

And

Why be ap

The reason why he only appeared to his followers, and not to the Jewish nation is, because it was only of nepeared only ceflity, that thofe, who were to be the first pubto bis difci- lifhers of the gospel, should have the utmost eviples. dence and fatisfaction concerning the truth and reality of Chrift's refurrection; for, by the fame reason that he was obliged to have appeared to the Jewish nation, it might be pleaded, that the whole Roman empire ought to have had the like manifeftation, and that he should have fhewn himself to the unbelieving in all fucceeding ages.

divinity,

It was neceffary Christ should rife from the dead, to fhew the debt, he died for, was discharged; and that his fatisfaction was accepted in heaven. If Christ be not rifen, ye are yet in your fins. Befides, he rofe to prove himself to be the Meffiah, and to evidence the truth and divinity of his docTo prove his trine, which he had injoined to be obferved by all men. He had appealed to it as a fign of his being a true prophet, and therefore, by the way of trial, which God prefcribed the Jews, viz. the accomplishment of predictions, he had appeared to be a falfe prophet, had he failed therein; for, if Chrift be not rifen, your faith is vain. God having raised our Saviour from the dead, after he was condemned and put to death for calling himself the Son of God, is a demonstration, that he really was the Son of God; and, if he was the Son of God, the doctrine he taught was truth from God, and is our guide to heaven.

Again,

Again, the refurrection of Chrift is an argument of our refurrection; because, by his rifing from the dead, To prove the he became the firft fruits of them that flept; by refurrection this is fecured our refurrection to eternal life, that of our bodies he, who hath promised to raise us up, did raise himself

from the dead.

V. In the fixth ARTICLE of our christian faith we profess to believe that JESUS afcended into heaven, and fit- The afcenfiteth at the right-hand of God, the Father almighty; on of brift. for the fame Jefus, who by his own power rofe again for our juftification, having for the space of forty days confirmed the truth of his refurrection, by appearing feveral times to his difciples, difcourfing with them, and fpeaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God, finished his course upon earth with bleffing his difciples; for while he was bleffing them, and they beheld and looked ftedfaftly towards heaven, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their fight and behold, Jesus being afcended up into the highest heavens, two angels appeared unto the difciples with the comfortable promife, that as Jefus was taken from them into heaven, fo he should in a glorious manner return again to judge the world. And all this was done for the confirmation of the certainty and reality of this great mystery of our faith. Here was need of eye-witneffes, which was not neceffary in the act of his refurrection; because whatWhy in the ever was a proof of his life after death was a demon- fight of his stration of his refurrection: but the apostles not difciples. being able to see him, when in heaven, it was neceffary they should be eye-witneffes of his act of afcending, that fo they might be able to bear their teftimony thereto. Befides, before the apoftles faw our Saviour afcend, he had told them whither he was going, and what power and dignity would be conferred upon him; and, as an evidence of his exaltation on the right-hand of God, had promised to send down the Holy Ghost upon them in a fenfible manner; so that they afterwards receiving the wonderful effects of his being there, had abundant evidence of his exaltation, namely, his afcenfion into the heaven of heavens, the prefence of God, where his human nature is feated far above all angels and H arch

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arch-angels, all principalities and powers, even at the righthand of God the Father. Therefore,

Since this our Lord's afcenfion is of that great advantage And not of to mankind, it may and has been asked, Why he the Jews. did not afcend in the fight of the Jews, that they, who had been deceived before at the time of his crucifixion, might have received a conviction of their error? To which it is answered, that it was only abfolutely neceffary that they who were to preach the gospel should have the utmost evidence of those matters of fact they testified. God's defign was to bring the world to falvation by the exercise of faith, which is an act of affent upon the teftimony of another, which is inconfiftent with fight. Moreover, it is to be doubted whether they who afcribed our Saviour's miracles to the power of the devil, and fuborned the foldiers to fay upon his refurrection, that his difciples ftole him away, would not have called his afcenfion, if they had feen it, a phantafm and vain apparition of the spirit of fome corrupt man. Or, let the reafon be what it will, God appointed it fo to be: it is not the business of the creature to afk the Creator his reafons for fuch and fuch acts of his omnipotency.

SUNDAY IV. PART II.

VI. Chrift, being now feated at the right-hand of God, is Of his office become a perpetual patron and advocate in our in heaven. behalf, to plead our caufe, to follicit our concernments, to represent our wants, and to offer up our prayers and requests to God, by virtue of his meritorious facrifice, which he offered upon the cross for the fins of the whole world. And this his fitting at the right-hand of God is exprefly foretold in thefe words, The Lord faid unto my Lord, fit thou on my right-hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. And we are affured by the holy penmen, that our Jefus is actually there; for one tells us, that he was received up into heaven, and fitteth at the right-hand of God; and another records, that God raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right-hand in heavenly places. But such fcripture phrafes are not to be taken in a strict and proper, but in a figurative fenfe, as fpoken in condefcenfion to our

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