eyes saw the Power of God so efficacious to heal the sick were struck with fear and extasie and forced to cry out We have seen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 strange and unheard of Miracles Mark 2.12 Luke 19.37 John 3.2 such as we never saw before and such as onely God could do whence they so freely owned Gods power in them and gave him the glory The Multitude cry out with much astonishment He hath done all things well Mark 7.37 he maketh both the deaf to hear and dumb to speak When they beheld his Power over evil Spirits they were amazed saying Luke 4.36 37. What a word is this for with authority he commandeth the unclean spirits and they come forth Upon all these accounts Mark 1.28 John 2.23 his fame was spread throughout the Regions round about and many who had seen his Miracles believed on him concluding from the wonders he performed that God had visited his people Luc. 7.16 Mat. 21.11 Joh. 3.1 that a Great Prophet was risen up among them and that this Prophet was one sent from God and one assisted by his power that he was the Son of David the true Messiah Joh. 4.29.6.14 the Shilo that was for to come And generally they expressed their confidence and full conviction of his power to work the greatest Miracles The Leaper saith unto him if thou wilt thou canst make me cleane Mat. 8.2 v. 8. The Centurion speak but the word only and my Servant shall be healed The Ruler of the Synogogue come and laye thy hands one my Daughter Mat. 9.18 21. and she shall live The Diseased woman if I may but touch his Garment I shall be whole The people of Gennesereth as soon as he was entred into their coasts run through the Regions round about Mat. 14.35 36. Mark 6.56 and carry out in Beds those that were sick to all places where he was And whithersoever he entred into Villages or Cities or Countries they laid the sick in the Streets and besought that they might touch if it were but the border of his Garment and upon all occasions the multitude are flocking after him 8ly His Apostles did avouch with greatest confidence that what they thus ascribed to their Master were things notorious to the Jew and what their consciences bore witness to by these sayings they converted those that heard them Thus in that Sermon of Saint Peters which added to the Church 3000 souls Jesus of Nazareth is said to be a man demonstrated to be the Christ by signes and wonders Act. 2.22 and powerful operations done in the midst of those to whom he spake for which he presently appeals unto their consciences in these words This you also know In another Sermon preached to Cornelius and his Friends he speaks thus You know 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the thing done throughout all Iudea viz. how Iesus of Nazareth Act. 10.36 37. whom God annointed with the Holy Ghost and with power went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed with the Devil for God was with him Now all these things had they not been beyond the possibilitie of just exception are such as could not be delivered in those ages and by those persons by whom pretended to be done and presently obtain upon the Faith of thousands at a bare relation and engage so many of that very Nation besides a world of Gentile Converts to seal the truth of things so hard to be believed and harder to be done with their hearts dearest blood and rather suffer all that malice could invent than disbelieve them Impossible it is that men pretending that the miraculous operations of Jesus were so many that should they all be written the world would scarce be able to contain the Records Job 21.15 That he went about among them doing Good and healing all that were possessed of the Devil and all that were afflicted with any manner of Disease That he did this often in the presence of the greatest multitudes as well of Pharisees and Doctors of the Law as of the ruder sort and commonly upon their persons That by these actions he astonished and amazed his adversaries and forced them notwithstanding all that prejudice they had against him to own him for a Prophet and one sent from God and made them throng and strive to touch him and upon all occasions bring the diseased for cure to him and that even Gentiles did confess the thing I say impossible it is that men declaring that these things were acted and experimented in the places where those persons lived who embraced this Doctrine and for whom those Gospels were indited which contained these things should by such Gross untruths prevaile upon these persons to embrace that story which told these Barefaced lyes for a divine unerring History fit to be sealed with their Blood In a word let it be considered whether any person can imagine this to be the likely'st way to gain a reputation in the World Or whether any reasonable man can think it fit to suffer death in attestation of such things which all his neighbours must know to be untruths or whether he were like to gain belief by doing so And 2ly whether a story of like nature pretended by 12 Quakers to be done in England by one James Nailer or the like were likely to prevaile upon one single person not to say the Nation or the whole world of Christians to desert that Faith they own at present and embrace another which condemns and vilifies it and casts reproach upon the Nation Moreover these Disciples tel us that Christ whilst he continued upon Earth gave them commission to heal all manner of diseases Mat. 10.1.8 and to cast out Devils to raise the Dead and triumph over all the power of the enemy assuring them that neither serpent nor any other thing should hurt them Luc. 10.19 Luc. 9.6 Luc. 10.17 18. Marc. 6.13 And they accordingly did preach the Gospel healing every where casting out many Devils and making Satan fall as quick as lightening from the Heavens rejoycing that evil spirits were made subject to them anointing many with oyle and healing them And that this Power was more abundantly confer'd upon Them and upon their Converts when their Lord had left this world hath been sufficiently shewed in the foregoing chapter and may more fully be evinced by these considerations 1. That they have left on record in the Books they published and committed to their new converts as the Rule of Faith and which were owned by many thousands as Divine Christs Promise that his power should miraculously assist his Church that his Spirit should be confer'd upon as many as the Lord should call and this by virtue of a promise which he stood obliged to fulfil by powring his Spirit on all flesh to make their Sons and Daughters prophesie their young men to see visions and their old men to dream Dreams They gave it out that
in the Church for divers Centuries The confirmation of this second Argument The result of these Particulars FOURTHLY Arg. 4 Those Miracles which Christ and his Apostles wrought in confirmation of the Christian Faith are a most signal Demonstration of its truth and certainty as will appear if we consider 1. The Design on which our Saviour came into the World For it was requisite that he who came to baffle and pull down the Devils Kingdom should shew his Power over those evil Spirits which upheld it Needful it was that he who taught the World to slight and to detest those Heathen Deities which had so long obtained in the World and had confirmed it in their service by seeming Miracles vid. Not. in cap. 9. num 5 6 7 8. Predictions gifts of Healing and the like should by more powerful works convince the World he was more worthy of their Adoration And it was also requisite that he who gave it out that he came down from God to manifest the will of heaven to the world should by unquestionable signs of Gods assistance prove the truth of his Commission from him And lastly It was requisite that he who came to null that Law of Moses which was established or by the Jews conceived to be established by many Miracles should give a greater proof of his Commission from the God of Heaven then were the Miracles of Moses Secondly This will be farther evident if we consider that the Jews expected great and many Miracles from their Messiah They tell us Midrash Coheleth in Eccles 1.11 that the Miracles of Moses should not be remembred by reason of those greater Miracles which their Messiah should perform That the signs of the Messiah should be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 substance vid. Raymund Pugfid p. 610. whereas the signs of the departure out of Aegypt compared with them should be only accidents And this their Expectation was grounded upon these Predictions of their Prophets that their Messiah should make the blinde to see the deaf to hear Isaiah 35.6 the dumb to speak the lame to walk Thirdly The Jews and Heathens did in effect confess that sutably to these Predictions of the Prophets and to the expectation of the Jews they did work Miracles For to ascribe them to 1 Shem Hamporash or to the Arts of 2 Magick as Jews and Heathens did is to confess that they were done by Christ since nothing but the evidence of Fact could tempt his most malitious Enemies to use such slight Evasions and to confess as did the Pharisees and the Chief Priests that Christ did Miracles so many and so powerful that if he had been let alone Joh. 11.48 all men would have believed on him The wiser Heathens as 3 Celsus 4 Porphyry 5 Hierocles and 6 Julian confess'd the thing 7 Pilate who lived upon the place where his Disciples tell us that all his Miracles were done and who passed Sentence on him gave such a large account to Tiberius both of the Wonders of his Life and Death and Resurrection as made the Emperor 8 propose him to the Senate as one fit to be admitted among the Roman Gods And this account the Christians frequently appealed to and sent the Romans to their own Archives to be convinced of its truth Others conclude that he did his Wonders by that Art of Magick which he had learn'd from the 9 Aegyptians vid. Annot in cap. 9.1 and think it is sufficient to oppose against him an 10 Apollonius or an Apuleius as Men of equal Fame for working Wonders which had the truth of what the Christian Records do affirm concerning them been questionable they could have had no reason and no temptation to have done it being sufficient for their purpose to have questioned or disproved what was delivered by those Records But fourthly His Apostles do affirm his Miracles were very many and done in many places They tell us that he compassed all a Matt. 4.24 18.16 9.35 Galilee and all the cities and villages of Iudea preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom and healing all diseases and all sicknesses among the people He b Mat. 12.15 15.30 19.2 healed many that were sick of divers maladies All the diseased throughout Syria Great multitudes yea all that could be c Luke 4.40 brought unto him He d Mark 1.34 cast out many devils and e Matt. 8.16 healed all that were possessed of the devil And then they adde that there were many other f John 20.30 signs which Iesus did which were not written by them From which compendious Repetition of them we may well infer his Miracles were more than they were able to recount particularly or more than they thought needful so to do Fifthly The same Apostles tell us they were mighty deeds for he rebuked the winds and g quell'd the ragings of the sea and h Matt. 8.26 14.25 walked upon it He i Mark 6.42 satisfied 5000 with two loaves and with five little fishes he gave sight unto the blinde and life unto the dead he cast out devils and knew the secrets of the heart He wrought his Miracles by inconsiderable means Matt. 8.3 16. Mark 8.7 13. Joh. 4.50 for he cast out the evil spirits and healed diseases with a word or by such means as were as insufficient by any natural Virtue to produce the Cure He raised the dead only by touching of the Bier on which they lay Luke 7.14 15 16. 18.54 John 11.43 45. or taking of them by the hand His word made Lazarus come forth though bound with Grave-cloathes and his Word made the Fig-tree wither Lastly The Wonders of his Death were as remarkable as were the Actions of his Life For then the Heavens were over-spread with darkness Matt. 27.49 52. the Temple vail was rent the Earth trembled the Rocks rent the Graves opened many dead Bodies did arise and shew themselves to many living in the holy City which when the People saw some of them being forced by remorse of Conscience Luke 23.47 smote upon their breasts and said of Christ Truly this was the Son of God this was a just and upright man and so notorious were these things that Heathens have recorded them But sixthly His Apostles tell us That he performed these things in publick and in the presence of the Pharisees Luke 5.17 6.17 18.19 Matt. 14.35 36. and Doctors of the Law of every Town of Galilee Judea and Jerusalem and from the Sea-coast of Tyre and Sidon which came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases That he did nothing privately but in the Synagogues Temples John 18.20 21. where his Accusers were still present And seventhly they affirm That these his Miracles had most remarkable Effects upon the Hearers and Spectators even the most perverse and spiteful of them Both Pharisees and Lawyers throughout Judea Jerusalem Luke 5.17 26. and Galilee when their
to conceive It blows off all our prejudices buoys up the sinking Spirit with fresh supplies of grace and spiritual assistance and all the comforts of a never failing promise that God will never leave us nor forsake us Heb. 13.5 but will make the heaviest of afflictions be instrumental to work together for our good Rom. 8.32 It quells all feares Jealousies of the desponding Spirit by giving full assurance of our pardon on the most reasonable and easy termes and representing our heavenly Father not only willing to receive but so gracious as to invite the Prodigal It rendreth our discouragements the best of motives assuring us that our afflictions will augment our joys and that our thorns will blossom into crownes of glory And what can weigh against such powerful motives when life the first of mercies and the foundation of all others and death the last and most dreadful evil are such low trifles as are not worthy to be compared to them § 5. AGEN it layes the highest obligations on us to endeavour the welfare of our Brothers Soul Heb. 5.2 2 Tim. 2.25 Luk. 17.3 Heb. 10.24 It calls upon us to a instruct the ignorant and them that oppose themselves to the truth to warne the unruly Person to rebuke him and not suffer Sin upon him It requires us to support the weak and to administer comfort to the feeble minds to stirr up and provoke each other to the greatest heights of love and piety and goodness In prosecution of these ends it shews how much our Lord hath done and suffered by emptying himselfe of all his glory and taking on him the infirmities of humane nature by entring on that life of miseries which did at last conclude in an accursed ignominious death by interceding dayly for mercy to us and by conveying of his Gifts and favors to all the members of his body lastly by guiding all the Acts and ways of Providence to the best compliance with the good welfare of his servants It shewes how much the God of Heaven hath been concern'd for them in employing his Wisdome from eternal ages in thoughts of mercy to them in sending his Beloved from his own bosome to redeem them by his bloudy sufferings his Spirit first to convince them of Sin and misery the more assuredly to fright them into the armes of mercy and then to sanctifie and by so doing to fit them for those mansions of eternal bliss he hath prepared for them and lastly sending his Embassadours by their most passionate entreaties to bessech them to be reconcil'd to him § 6. SUCH is the nature of the Christian Faith so good and pious are it's Precepts so well suted to the interests and apprehensions of man-kind whereas the wisdom of the hearthen world the faith they own'd the religious customes they espoused were such as overthrew religion in the foundations of it such as made it to be consistent with the most vile impurities only serviceable in the promotion of the devils Kingdom or such as did exceedingly deface the beauties of it and obstruct it's influence Morality was either wholy slighted and Vice or Vertue deemed to be only what humane laws commanded and forbid or their conceptions of it were so gross and so exceeding various that not one duty of the moral Law was left unquestioned by them The 1 common issue of their search after the knowledge of those things was only Scepticisme and the most knowing men were they who did renounce all knowledge of them § 7. TO touch upon those things which do exceedingly obscure the influence or ruine the foundations of true Piety some of those heathens plainly deny'd the 2 being of a God and many of them 3 doubted and demur'd upon it especially when a 4 cross act of providence did tempt them to it As for his over-ruling providence we find it exploded by the school of 5 Epicurus By 6 Aristotle and his party it was confined to heaven whence it is well infer'd by †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 apud Euseb praep l. 15. c. 5. Atticus that his opinion is in effect the same as to the interest of Vice and Virtue with that of Epicurus This great concerne was by the 7 Platonist and 8 Pythagorean that I add not the 9 whole heathen world committed to inferior demons this being their professed Tenet August de C. D. l. 9. c. 16. quod nullus Deus miscetur homini by which denyal of Gods immediate power engaged to create preserve and govern us they 10 rob'd us of our chiefest motives to adore and imitate him who thought us thus unworthy of his care Some 11 doubted of the thing others allowed a general but 12 denied a special providence and hence took liberty to sin at pleasure The 13 Stoicks mostly did restrain the actings of this providence unto the great concerns of earth and held it unconcern'd for lesser matters Scarce any of the heathens could afford a satisfying answer to that grand objection which was made against it from those adversities which hapned to the best and those prosperities which did attend the vilest persons § 8. 2ly THEY were as much mistaken in their conceptions of his attributes and the nature of a Diety renouncing the only true God they knew not where to stint the number of their Deities some held them 14 thirty thousand others conceiv'd them to be numberless and yet they stood obliged to worship all the rabble of them that none might be offended because slighted by them for as Tertullian tells them Cum alii alios colitis Apol. c. 13. utique quos non colitis offenditis praelatio alterius sine contumelia alterius esse non potest quia nec electio sine reprobatione and therefore when calamities befel them they paid their homage to an 15 unknown Deity and made addresses in these doubtful formes Quisquis es sive Deus sive dea Plaut Rud. Act. 1. Sc. 4. Plutar qu. Rom. 61. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to that unknown God or Goddess who as they presum'd might be incensed by the neglect of service And albeit the wiser sort of heathens acknowledged one Supreme and all-ruling Deity yet did they worship Demons not only such as they accounted good but 16 evil and pernicious least they should destroy them They pay'd their homage to the 17 Sun and Moon and to the whole host of heaven to 18 men with whom their Forefathers had conversed and to whose 19 departed souls their superstition did give an Apotheosis upon designs of policy To 20 Emperors and all that had been knowing men especially if they had suffered for their Country They advanced the 21 meanest creatures into Deities earth fire water aer the herbs and cattle of the field the fishes of the sea their leeks and onions and pay'd their homage to those Idols which were nothing in the world and which is yet more vile they worshipped those parts which nature
pull the greatest prejudice on their cause to blast their Growing hopes and frustrate their bold adventure by an undue concealment of what their Masters promise and predictions had made so necessary to be divulged But § 2. 2ly I premise that common prudence would not suffer the Disciples of this JESUS to pretend such things in confirmation of their testimony which must infallibly render it the scorn and hatred of the world Wherefore they could not possibly pretend such things were newly acted on a publick stage and in the face of their professed adversaries which owed their being only to their phancies and of which their story gave the first account unto the world For men to certify to all Jerusalem that lately there was such a man as JESUS known throughout all Judea to be mighty both in words and deeds Luc. 24.19 Matt. 20.18 19. Mark 10.33 34. Mar. 8.31 Matt. 27.63 v. 66. one who did publickly foretell unto the Scribes Pharises the place and manner of his death the time and glorious issues of his resurrectiō and to averre that this prediction was notorious to his mortall enemies and the contrivers of his sufferings and made them industrious to secure his body watch the motions of his friends and carefully provide against what ever the most subtile malice could invent to gull their senses and put a cheat upon them 3ly To pretend the earth did quake and tremble and the watch grow pale and that dead bodys did arise and shew themselves to many which a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 id est Messias resuscitabit dormientes in pulvere Midrash Tillin f. 42. 1. Justi quos suscitabit Deus è mortuis in diebus Messiae Gloss in Bab 102. Sanhed f. 92. Non tantum ex libris Mosaïcis verum etiam Propheticis constat resurrectionem mortuorum conjunctam fore adventui Messiae Manasse Ben Israël de Resur l. 3. c. 2. Vide Cochum in duos Tit. Talmud p. 317. resurrectiō was a thing expected by the Jewes upon the advent of their Shilo I say to testify all this unto those persons who could as readily confute as they relate it yea whose interest it was to confute it was the most certaine way to ruine and confound their testimony had it been found a lye and consequently assures us that it must be true These things premised our Arguments will naturally result from a due estimate of these particulars The testimony and the persons testifying § 3. FOR 1. it was a relation in it self incredible whose fundamentall article contained the ignominious and accursed death of the beloved Son of God and the miraculous resurrection of a man condemned for blasphemy A thing which they might easily foresee could gain no reputation to them but of fools and madmen especially considering it found so little credit in that City where it was pretended to be done It was 2ly a testimony which did acquit this Jesus from all the calumnies and false aspersions of the Jew pronounced their greatest Rabbies an evill brood of vipers hypocrites Matt. 3.7 Matth. 16.3 ch 23. Matt. 23.17.33 Matt. 12.39 Matt. 23.33 Act. 4.11.12 Matt. 28.18 Matt. 24. Maro 13. Luc 19. fools and blind serpents and vipers a wicked and adulterous generation a divelish damned crew nay their whole Nation Guilty of the most horrid crime that could be charged upon man even the murther of the Lord of life and which assured them there was no salvation to be hoped but from that very person whom they had taken and by wicked hands had crucifyed and slaine and that all power both in heaven and earth was given to him which told them also that he would shortly come and execute the most dreadfull vengeance on their Nation which ever yet befel mankind that he would cancell their Laws bury their temple in its own ruines and cut them off from being any more a people 3ly It was a testimony delivered at such a season when all the Jews seem'd to be crouded into one Metropolis and their dispersions recollected for t' was the †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2700000 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Joseph de Bell. Jud. l. 7. c. 17. Passeover and so that time when all stood bound to worship at Jerusalem Deut. 16.5.6 and when the Messias was become the universall matter of their expectation and therefore such a testimony as must be throughly sifted both by the Jew who were it true must be the greatest sinner and after a few days the greatest sufferer and by the Gentile for whom it did pretend the greatest kindness and undoubtedly would have been suppress'd had not the evidence of truth upheld it since 4ly This testimony avouched a thing no sooner done than certified to the world and the same Theatre which saw it acted heard it as soon proclaimed to the face of the professed adversaries of Christ Earthquakes and apparitions of dead men the consternations of the watch and their confessions thereupon the testimony of five hundred men eye witnesses of his ascension and many of them living when St Paul indited his Epistle to the Church of Corinth were all produced in evidence of the fact and therefore means of information could not be wanting in this case to those that sought them For can we think those Jews who persecuted Paul whilst preaching in the Synagogues of Asia and afterwards impeached him at Jerusalem would not enquire into the truth of this his confident report among them or that St Paul should be so wholly void of reason as to divulge a lye so palpable in such a place where there were Jews abundant to evince its falshood and in an Epistle to be read in all the Churches of the World And yet this testimony so incredible in it self so contradicted by the Jew so punctual and yet so various in its circumstances so fresh in its delivery which underwent so critical and severe a scrutiny I say this testimony found a reception more incredible than it self For the bare relation of it converted thousands which nothing but the insuperable force of truth and the more pierceing influence of Heaven could so miraculously have effected § 4. OUR second demonstration of the Resurrection of our Saviour will arise from three conclusions First that our Saviours body was removed from the Grave For its continuance there must surely have discovered the falsehood of this bold assertion and made all other ways of confirmation of it not only needless but absurd whilst by an ocular demonstration any one might have perceived the truth and discovered the impudent folly of all those who durst affirm that it was risen from the dead 2ly The disciples of our Saviour cannot be justly charg'd with its conveiance from the Sepulcher for besides the no advantage nay the assurance of the worst of miseries which could attend the promulgation of this doctrine they dream'd of a Messiah who should sway the Scepter and subdue the Nations under them and when they found it