and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour Eph. 5.2 2. The death of Christ is to be considered as the death of a Testator for so is Christ to be considered also He himself calls his bloud the bloud of the New Testament or the New Testament in his bloud I very well know that the Greek word which we render Testament does signifie Covenant but yet it does not always do so in the New Testament For sometimes it signifies the last Will or Testament of a Testator And when it does so it does not exclude the notion of a Covenant neither but rather imply it For the right we have to the inheritance is one part of the Covenant but then the declaration of that right is peculiarly and properly the part of a Testament which signifies the last will of a man by which he disposeth of his goods Matt. 26.28 Mark 14.24 Luk. 22.20 Our Blessed Saviour is said to be the heir of all things And we are elsewhere told that the Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into his hand And we are farther informed upon what account it is that the Father loveth the Son and consequently hath given all things into his hands in these words of our Saviour Therefore doth my Father love me because I lay down my life From whence it is Evident that upon the account of the voluntary death of Christ this full power and authority is given to Christ as the great Mediator between God and man Christ was in the form of God and thought it not robbery to be equal with God But made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men and being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the Cross Heb. 1.2 Joh. 3.35 10 17. Phil. 2.6 Thus low did the Son of God stoop for our Salvation from being equal with God to the likeness of men and from the form of God to that of a servant from life to death from glory to shame and contempt If you would know the effects of all this the next words will inform us Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name That at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father Our Blessed Saviour a little before his death bequeaths a Kingdom to his followers as a Testator in these words and I appoint unto you a Kingdom 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as my Father hath appointed unto me Luk. 22.29 But then by his death he procured our right to this glorious inheritance For where a Testament is there must also of necessity be the death of the Testator For a Testament is of force after men are dead otherwise it is of no strength at all whilst the Testator liveth 'T is the death of the Testator that makes way to the Heir He hath no claim till the Testator dye But upon his death his title is unquestionable and it is not in any man's power to alter what is thus setled and confirmed Though it be but a man's Testament yet if it be confirmed no man disanulleth or addeth thereto Heb. 9.16 17. Gal. 3.15 Our Lord suffered the most shamefull and painfull death He did this voluntarily and not by Constraint He dyed not intestate nor yet like other Testators who when they have made their Testaments do avoid death with all their care and skill and are not willing to part with their lives for the benefit of their Heirs or Successours 'T was otherwise with our Saviour I lay down my life says he no man taketh it from me but I lay it down of my self I have power to lay it down and have power to take it again Joh. 10.17 18. Now after Christ had suffered death and risen from the dead he tells his Followers of the plenitude of his power and authority All power is given unto me says he in heaven and in earth And a while after his own ascension into heaven he sends the Holy Ghost which is the earnest of our inheritance Mat. 28.18 Eph. 1.14 3. The death of Christ is to be considered as the death of a Martyr or a Witness Our Blessed Saviour had professed himself to be the light of the World the Messias whom the Scriptures had foretold and that he came from heaven and that he was the Christ the Son of the Blessed It is of great moment that these truths should be sufficiently confirmed to us Upon these things depends the whole Religion that he taught If these things be sufficiently proved we can make no doubt of the truth of any part of the Doctrine which Jesus taught Joh. 8.12 c. 5.39 6 40. Mark 14.61 62. Now it will appear that the death of Christ does mightily confirm these truths and that Jesus gave up himself to death for the same end and purpose When Pilate asked Jesus whether he were a King or not Jesus answered thou sayest that I am a King that is Jesus answered in the affirmative To this end was I born and for this cause came I into the World that I should bear witness unto the truth With respect to the undaunted courage of Jesus before Pilate St. Paul saith that before Pontius Pilate he witnessed a good confession Joh. 18.37 1 Tim. 6.13 'T was upon this account that Jesus was put to death He was accused indeed of something else that was charged upon him But the Testimony was weak and incoherent that with which he was born down was that he professed himself to be Christ a King Or as it is in St. John because he made himself the Son of God Our Saviour was silent when the false witnesses accused him But when the High Priest asked him if he were the Christ the Son of the Blessed and he answered I am c. We find thereupon the High Priest renting his Cloaths and saying what need we any farther witnesses ye have heard the blasphemy what think ye and they all condemned him to be worthy of death Luk. 23.2 Joh. 19.7 Mark 14.61 Our Saviour dyed for his adhering to this great truth and that he did so must be acknowledged a great confirmation of it and of the Religion which he planted Life is too sweet a thing to be trifled away for nothing Much less will a man in his wits dye in confirmation of a lye Had Jesus been disposed he might have kept out of the way of his enemies or have saved himself by denying the truth He had now a great temptation before him either to renounce what he had professed or by some trick or mean art or other to escape the danger But he is far from taking any such course to deliver himself but instead thereof confirms
the truth with his own Bloud He was so far from disowning himself to be the Son of God that he continues in that profession to the last breath And when he hung upon the Cross he twice calls God his father when he prayed for his enemies and gave up the Ghost This did mightily confirm his Doctrine and was one great end of his sufferings Luk. 23.34.46 Hence it is that the bloud or the sufferings of Christ especially his death is reckoned among those who bear witness in earth And Jesus Christ is called the faithfull witness And we are then said to be partakers of Christ when we hold the beginning of our Confidence stedâ—ast unto the end 1. Joh. 5.8 Rev. 1.5 The bloud of Christ did not onely wash away our sins but did also clear the innocency of our Blessed Saviour And it was attended with so many rare circumstances and fulfilled so many prophecies and was born with such an admirable patience that it did convince men of the innocence of Jesus and consequently of the truth of his Doctrine The veil of the Temple was rent the earth did quake the rocks clave in sunder and graves were opened and the Sun drew in its light insomuch that the Centurion that beheld these things could not forbear to say Truly this was the Son of God Mat. 27.54 And no wonder after all this that those who renounced Christianity are said to count the bloud of the Covenant i. e. the bloud by which the new Covenant was ratified and confirmed wherewith he was sanctified that is Christ was consecrated or sanctified see Joh. 17.19 an unholy thing i. e. the bloud not of an innocent person but of a Criminal Heb. 10.29 Having considered the death of Christ as the death of a Victim or Sacrifice of a Testatour and of a Martyr or Witness 4. I shall now consider it as a Pattern and great example to us And thus the Scriptures represent it He suffered for us leâ—ving us an example that we should follow his steps Our Saviour gave us an example that we should follow his steps 1. Pet. 2.20 Our Saviour gave us a most excellent example in his whole life But then at his death he gave us also a very eminent example of the following vertues and graces 1. Of Patience and meekness under all his sufferings and reproaches And his example was without a parallel Never was there so great a mirrour of these graces He did no sin neither was there guile sound in his mouth Who when he was reviled reviled not again when he suffered he threatned not but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously In this Jesus was so conspicuous that when we are exhorted to Patience we are directed to look upon him the authour and finisher of our faith And it will be a very usefull meditation for us under all our sufferings and all the reproaches which we meet withall He was guilty of no sin but yet was numbred among transgressours He had but few followers and by one of them he is Letrayed denied by another and in his greatest extremity forsaken by all the rest He is pronounced innocent and yet sentenced to death by the same breath absolved and condemned by one and the same Judge He is forced to bear his own Cross reviled and buffeted derided and scoffed at by an inhumane multitude whom he came to save and whom he had obliged by the greatest benefactions He was innocent and deserved not this usage Omnipotent and able to revenge it But instead of that he does not so much as threaten those whom he could easily have destroyed He bears all with an unparallelled meekness and patience and made it appear that these vertues were as invincible as his cause was just He is silent under the greatest clamours of his Enemies His persecutours have less patience than he that suffers And when the whole creation trembles when the Sun withdraws its light and the rocks rend in pieces and the graves give up their dead and the Veil of the Temple is torn in pieces then is Jesus quiet and still This example does most powerfully reprove our peevishness and discontent our anger and our heat under the obloquy and other sufferings which we endure and generally have deserved 1 Pet. 2.22 23. Heb. 12.1 2. II. Of forgiveness of Enemies They were our Lord's enemies to whom he was the greatest friend And of all Enemies 't is the hardest to forgive them He that did eat of his bread lift up his heel against him His own Disciple betrays him and his own People thirst after his bloud and his wounds he receives from those whom he came to seek and save A robber is preferred before him and he is numbred with transgressours He had fed their hungry healed their sick dispossessed their Daemoniacks restored sight to their blind given strength to their infirm life to their dead Many good turns he had done them and yet they treat him rudely and barbarously they cry to have him Crucified and insult over him in his sufferings what doth our Lord do all this while does he call for Fire from Heaven to devour his enemies Does he menace them with an approaching destruction Does he exclaim against their proceedings No he opens not his mouth unless it be to pray for these his Enemies Father forgive them c. can we remember these things and bear a grudge against our Brother Can it now be hard for us to forgive our enemies when Christ with his last breath prayed for his Christ forgave and he died for our forgiveness and is it now a possible thing for us not to forgive even then when we commemorate the death of Christ Let all bitterness and wrath and aâ—ger and clamour and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice And be ye kind one to another tender hearted forgiving one another Even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you Luk. 23.34 Eph. 4.31 32. III. Of the profoundest humility and condescension The world never beheld a pattern of this grace which could compare with this of our Blessed Saviour's He stooped from Heaven to earth when he was born From the immensity and happiness the power and infinity of a God to the limits of a womb the miseries of a man the proportions and infirmities of a Child the weaknesses of a Mortal and the humble circumstances of a poor and mean condition If we look upon Jesus in the manger we shall see a glorious example of humility But if we turn our eyes upon him as he hung upon the Cross we shall see an example great enough to extinguish out of our minds every proud thought for ever Here we may see him who was found in the fashion of a man humbling himself lower still as he was obedient unto death even the death of the Cross Philip. 2.8 Methinks after this we should never be in danger of a proud thought of our selves we cannot sure after this example think any
much and more as we have for other things of the truth of which we neither do nor can reasonably make any manner of doubt as much as we can reasonably desire or expect And what that is we may learn from the following particulars 1. We have the most unexceptionable humane Testimony that can be desired that Jesus did rise from the dead For we have it from them who saw him and conversed with him to whom he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs being seen of them forty days From them who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead That there was such a persons as Jesus and that he died the Jews themselves do not deny That this Jesus did rise again we have the greatest assurance from those who saw him Act. 1.3 and ch 10.41 First he appeared to Mary Magdalen and to other Women And this appearance to Mary Magdalen was his first appearance Mark 16.9 Joh. 20.14 Matt. 28.9 Secondly he appeared to two of his Disciples going to Emmaus And they were Peter and Cleophas That Cleophas was the same with Alpheus as may be collected from Joh. 19.25 compared with Matt. 27.56 and Mark 15.40 and this appearance seems to be that which the Apostle mentions when he saith that he was seen of Cephas Luk. 24.13 18 34. 1. Cor. 15.5 Thirdly he appeared to the Eleven so indeed they are called though it is certain that there were but ten of them present at that time For Thomas was absent And yet St. Paul saith he was seen of the twelve And Thomas is called one of the twelve when yet the whole number was at that time but eleven Luk. 24.33 36. Joh. 20.19 Maâ—k 16.14 Joh. 20.24 1 Cor. 15.5 There is no cause that any man should upon this account Scoff at the Scriptures or call in question their divine authority Had the Writers of these books been evil and crafty men had they combined together to put a cheat upon the World they might easily have avoided such occasions of offence And it is to me no little argument of the truth of what they affirm that they all agree in the main and differ at the same time in some circumstances of delivering it down to us The difficulty before us is very small They are called the twelve because that was the full number of the Apostles of Christ before the defection and death of Judas as well as after the election of Matthias And nothing is more common than to call a society of men by that number of which they consist and by which they are generally called even when the intire number is not made up But then they are by the Evangelists called eleven that being the full number when Judas was gone off And Thomas may well be said to be one of the twelve with respect to the full number which was at first The Jews of all men have no reason upon this account to disparage the Evangelists because they do in this matter speak after the manner of those writings which the Jews allow to be divine The Sons of Jacob tell Joseph when they supposed him to be dead that they were twelve brethren when they acknowledge that one was dead The youngest this day is with our Father and one is not And though they were eleven as they verily beleived yet they call themselves the twelve brethren as they were at first And when the twelve Sons of Jacob are reckoned up it is said these are the Sons of Jacob which were born to him in Padan-Aram And yet it is evident that eleven onely of the twelve were born there This may seem too great a digression and therefore I return and shall under this head onely add that all these appearances of our Lord happened upon the same day that he rose from the dead Gen. 42.13 and ch 35.26 Joh. 20.24 Fourthly he appeared to the disciples when Thomas was with them and this was as it is very probable the week after his Resurrection and upon the first day of the week Those words in St. John after eight days will very well bear this sense Joh. 20.26 Fifthly he appears again to seven of his disciples at the Sea of Tyberias The occasion of their being there seems to be this It is well known that our Saviour had told his disciples that after his Resurrection he would go before them into Galilee After Christ was risen the Angel bad the women go and tell his disciples and Peter that they should see him in Galilee as he had said unto them Accordingly the disciples go down thither to meet their Lord while they were there and waited for the appearance of Jesus Peter and six more go a fishing and then Jesus appeared to them of which we have a more particular account Joh. ch 21. With respect to this appearance St. John says This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples after that he was risen from the dead And so indeed it was the third time of his appearing to the greater number of his disciples though he had appeared before to Mary Magdalen at first and to two of his disciples Peter and Cleophas at another time So that though I reckon this the fifth appearance of Christ yet it is still but the third time which he shewed himself to the greater number of his disciples Joh. 2.1 1. Matt. 28.16 Matt. 26.32 Mark 16.7 Joh. 21.14 Sixthly our Saviour appeared again to the eleven disciples at the mountain in Galilee This Galilee was the Countrey in which he had lived where he was well known where he had done many miracles and whence he had chosen several if not most of his disciples This was a more solemn appearing of our Lord It was by appointment and it was foretold before his death and his followers are reminded of it after his Resurrection and it is very probable that at this time it was that he appeared to five hundred at once which will still speak this appearance the more conspicuous and remarkable Matt. 28.16 17.1 Cor. 15.6 Seventhly He appeared to James and to all the Apostles We have an account of his appearing to all the Apostles upon his ascending up to Heaven 1. Cor. 15.7 Act. 1.1 Here are a great number of very unexceptionable witnesses They were those who knew him before those who saw him and conversed with him They saw him often and a great number they were that did so It is not onely reported by a few terrified Women or a Melancholick follower or two but all his Apostles who had conversed with him for a considerable time and many others who knew him well bear witness to this truth 2. We have also the Testimony of an Angel who told the Women that sought the body of Jesus He is not here for he is risen Nor is it one Angel onely but two as appears from the other Evangelists These Angels who are not sent upon mean and
judge another man as we would escape a severer Judgment our selves It forbids us to be busie-bodies or to intermeddle in other mens matters And is so far from allowing the tongue in lying or swearing that it may not be suffered in an idle word or an unbecoming jest It tells us we must be blameless and harmless and then if it be possible and as much as lieth in us we must live peaceably with all men Unto all this we may add that it will not allow any other Religion The Heathen world must abandon their Idols if they receive the Gospel of Christ They must forsake that Idolatry under which their Fathers prospered long and they were brought up in Diana of the Ephesians must be no longer adored and all her Priests and Silversmiths must be laid aside All Idols must be removed where Christ comes and all the ancient ceremonies and solemnities with which they were worshipped must for ever be disused That which was but now worshipped and had been so of old time must be cast to the moles and to the batts But who shall perswade and obtain this None can do it without the help of that God who made Heaven and earth For here is all the power and malice and cunning of men and Devils to be encountred with The Devil had gotten an old and long possession the Heathen world is strong and mighty cunning and prejudicate of a vast extent and a mighty force Who shall perswade the Greeks to leave off their Robberies and to live righteously Or the warlike Romans to put up their swords and revenge no injuries Who shall obtain of the world to throw away their Idols and receive a Crucified Christ Who can ever hope that those nations that grew to their greatness by bloud and violence should ever learn the way of peace and destroy no more Will they that boasted in doing injuries be taught to bear them Or they that were wont to kill without remorse be afraid of being angry without a cause Will they that were adulterers become afraid of an unchast thought or glance Will the wise and conceited Orators become fools that they may be wise who can expect that they that had as many Gods as territories and provinces should be perswaded to have but one Or that those men that were indulged their lusts by the example of their Gods or the permission of their laws should ever accept of a Religion that is so severe that it requires them all to be rooted out Certainly this will be too great a work for a few Galilileans to bring to pass They might as soon hope to remove mountains and shake all the pillars of the earth yet was this brought to pass and that by the foolishness of preaching also the fierce warriour becomes tame the persecutor becomes a preacher the nations that served many Idols now onely acknowledge the one true God and whom he hath sent Jesus Christ Now this could never have been done had not God almighty done it nor would he ever have done it had not Jesus been the Christ But it will be the more strange still that this doctrine should prevail if we do but duly consider 3. The Praemia the rewards or the promises of the Gospel to those that should receive it and obey it We shall find them such as were very unlikely to prevail with a wicked and unbeleiving world It promises them no prosperity in this world nor yet any sensual delights in that which is to come as the Religion of Mahomet does And yet these were the things which the Heathen world most admired who always lived by sense and not by saith It promises them no Kingdoms or Consulships no Victories or triumphs no wealth or honours nor yet the pleasures of Wine or Women in a word it is so far from offering to them these things that it teaches them aye and obliges them also to despise all these things to undervalue them to be dead to all these allurements and to mortifie and root out of their Souls all those irregular desires which transport them after any of these things The Gospel promises good things indeed but they are spiritual and so very unlike to obtain upon Carnal men They are good things but they are unseen and so not likely to prevail upon those that live by sense they are good indeed but yet they are removed and at a distance and who could expect the world should deny themselves of their present enjoyments out of the hopes of these spiritual and unseen reversions Who shall perswade the rich to abandon their wealth for the hopes of the Kingdom of Heaven Or who can prevail with the voluptuous to renounce their sensual pleasures out of the hopes of those joyes that are at God's right hand What Rhetorick shall perswade the ambitious man to prefer a future glory before the honours he derives from his Prince or acquires by his valour We find this a very hard matter now when these men profess the Gospel but how much harder must it needs be then when the Gospel was a stranger to the world when it had scarcely any friends and very many and great opposers What is there offered in the Gospel that could tempt an unbelieving world Had it offered riches there might well have been a crowd of covetous worldlings ready to embrace it Had it offered sensual pleasures it would have been welcome to the whole herd of Epicures could it have secured its professors of worldly honours nothing should have been more acceptable to all that were ambitious But here is none of those things to be had but it tells us of things to come and we must have faith to believe them as well as patience to wait for them Now then certainly this Religion which offered no other rewards could never have prevailed upon the world as we know it did had it not been from God and had not Jesus whom we preach been the Christ But this will be the more unlikely still that the Gospel should prevail if we consider 4. The Pericula the dangers and afflictions and many miseries that the embracing the Gospel would expose them to that should entertain it This rises higher and makes the success of the Gospel more improbable than before We saw before that it promises no worldly happiness but now we shall find that it exposes its professors to many miseries and afflictions and tells them sad stories of disgrace and contempt bonds and imprisonment and perhaps death it self It foretells that they which do live Godly shall suffer persecution and that we must through many tribulations enter into the Kingdom of Heaven What I named last brought no temptation to draw the world to this profession but this one would think should bring discouragement enough to affright them from it Instead of promising ease and pleasures it rather brings with it great afflictions and tribulations Jesus tells his Disciples what they must expect The time cometh that whosoever
chains and death it self cannot stop its course It must needs be a good cause that bears up against all the malice the meanaces the punishments that a wicked world could devise or inflict Aye and that persons of all sorts and degrees should seal this Doctrine with their Bloud too young as well as old rich as well as poor people as well as their Teachers women as well as men those that were remote and far distant from one another Nemo gratis malus It cannot be imagined that so many persons of all sorts and so remote from one another should conspire and consent together to bear witness to a lye That they should venture their lives and all that which the world calls good upon an untruth Certainly no man can be so fond as to believe this This Martyrdom of Christians and the growth of Christianity under it is a good proof that Jesus is the Christ and that the Religion of Jesus came from God For certainly had it not been from God it could never have born up from so small a beginning against so mighty an opposition And therefore it was a wise speech of Gamaliel to the men of Israel who were so forward to persecute the first preachers of the Gospel I say unto you says he refrain from these men and let them alone for it this counsel or this work be of men it will come to nought But if it be of God ye cannot overthrow it lest happily ye be found to fight against God Act. 5.38 39. And this he well perswades from the destruction of Theudas and his Complices and also of Judas the Galilean and those that obeyed him To which may also well be added this that whoever since hath pretended himself to be the Messias or his forerunner hath been so far from perswading it that he hath indeed come to nought and miserably cheated and abused his credulous followers Thus we know that about two and fifty years after the destruction of the Jewish Temple by the Romans Buxtorf Lexicon Rabbime in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there did arise a certain man that pretended himself to be the Messias and was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Son of a Star alluding 'tis like to the prophecy Num. 24.17 but this man was destroyed by Adrianus with many thousands of the Jews besides So that now the Jews are not ashamed to call him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the Son of a Lye Maimon Epistol ad Judaeos Massilienses Maimon tells us of another who deceived the poor Jews under a pretence that he was the forerunner of the Messias who having boasted vainly that he should rise again after his death in token that he came from God was beheaded by a certain Arabian King and so perished and left the Jews that gave him credit in great calamity and distress It were a very easie thing to give in an account of the cheats and impostors who have arisen in the several ages of the world Euseb Eccl. Hist l. 4. c. 6. Hieron Catal. Scrip. Eccl in Agrippa Origen contra Cels p. 44. Vorstii observat ad Gantz p. 292. Juchasin fol. 38. Zemah David p. 150. under a pretence of being the Messias or his forerunner by whom the Jews have been miserably imposed upon and deluded from time to time This is reported not onely by the Christian writers but by the Jewish also The Jews have often been frustrated in their expectations and the cheat hath quickly been discovered And they have for many Generations expected their Messias in vain There hath appeared no man under pretence of the Messias or his forerunner but he hath soon come to nought And no wonder for a lye though it may prevail for a while will not obtain long The heat of persecution will fetch off its paint and false colours 'T is truth alone that can endure a Trial. Facile res in suam naturam recidunt ubi veritas non subest A lye may for a little while out-face the truth and prevail upon the easie and credulous part of mankind especially where it meets with no severe and potent opposition but when once the Authours of a forgery are discovered when they are brought to punishment who contrived the cheat and were the abettors of it then it falls to the ground and spreads no farther It hath not power enough to stand up against so great a violence But Christianity prevailed in spight of all the malice and force and combined endeavours of the Devil and all his instruments to root it out CHAP. X. The CONTENTS What was predicted of the Messias was fulfilled in our Jesus This appeared in the birth of Jesus in his Office and Character in his Works in his Sufferings and Resurrection and the spreading of his doctrine The adoreable providence of God in bringing Events to pass This shewed in very many particulars This is a farther proof that Jesus is the Christ IF what hath been said before be duly considered we shall upon sufficient evidence conclude that our Jesus is the Christ and that the Christian Religion came from God Not that I have said all which might have been said in so weighty an argument but that which hath before been insisted upon is sufficient to convince a lover of truth That there was a Messias promised and described in the old Teslament is not contested between the Christians and the Jews nor do the Jews deny that Jesus lived and that he suffered by the hands of their forefathers as we say he did We believe the writings of the old Testament which the Jews themselves acknowledge to be Divine Neither they nor any man living hath any just cause to call in question the authority of the books of the New Testament which give us an account of the birth and life of the miracles and doctrine of the death and Resurrection of the Ascension and intercession of Jesus Here 's nothing reported in these books in it self incredible nothing that is light and trifling nothing unbecoming God nothing against good manners but we have the same reasons to believe the truth of these things which we have for any other History which we do believe without doubting The same we have and much more Allowing then but the truth of the matter of fact which we have no shadow of reason to call in question it will abundantly appear from what hath been said that Jesus is the Christ For there was not a word that fell to the ground which was predicted of the Messias but it was fulfilled in our Jesus There was nothing so minute or small but it was accomplished and fulfilled Let us to this purpose recollect those particulars mentioned before and consider their exact accomplishment in our Jesus I will begin with his birth We find that the first promise which was made of the Messias was under the Character of the seed of the Woman Gen. 3.15 And this Woman was to be a Virgin also according to