Witness of the Holy-Ghost which I now chiefly design was that which was given to him after his Ascension into Heaven and was an evident Token that all power in Heaven and Earth was then committed to him I mean those Gifts of the Holy-Ghost which he showred down on his Apostles on the Day of Pentecost when being met together Acts 2.1 c. there came suddenly a sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty Wind which filled all the House where they were sitting and there appeared unto them Cloven Tongues like as of Fire which sat upon each of them whereupon they wre all filled with the Holy-Ghost and began to speak with other Tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance And this Testimony of the Holy Ghost our Saviour promis'd before should be given to him Joh. xv 26. When the Comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the Father even the Spirit of Truth which proceedeth from the Father he shall testifie of me And the Testimony indeed was very plain and full for by this it clearly appear'd that all his former Miracles had been true and had been wrought by a divine Power when even after he had left this World he was still able to make good this Promise to his Disciples and to empower them to do greater Works in his Name than he himself had done while he was living upon Earth This was a clear Demonstration that he was the beloved Son of the Father and was as St. Peter says Act. 2.33 exalted at God's right hand when he did shed forth that wonderful power upon his Apostles of which all that then dwelt in Jerusalem or had come thither from all parts of the World to Worship were Eye and Ear-Witnesses And this Testimony of the Holy-Ghost was given to our Saviour not at that time only not one Day and no more but was continu'd to be given to him all the time of the Apostle's Preaching who were also enabled to communicate to others by laying on of Hands Act. 2.38.8.17.10.44.19.6 the same Miraculous Gifts of the Holy-Ghost which they themselves had receiv'd until they had finish'd their Ministery and planted Christian Churches in all the Countries of the then known World Thus I have briefly mention'd the great Evidence that the Gospel History affords of the Truth of our Saviour's Testimony of himself the Matters of Fact I have taken for granted as being parts of the Gospel-History the Truth of which has been I hope already sufficiently prov'd and the Evidence it self is so clear and full that I thought it needless to open it in more Words than I have done for that the Testimony which God did by all these ways give to our Saviour is a rational Inducement to believe the Truth of what he said concerning himself is what I think can't be doubted by those that allow themselves any time to consider things This I 'm sure I may say that if this strong Evidence that the Gospel-History affords of our Saviour's divine Mission be not sufficient to prove it there never yet has been sufficient Evidence of the Truth of any divine Revelation I had almost said nor ever can be but that I know it is not for us to say what Infinite Power and Wisdom can do But as some Jews in our Saviour's time said Joh. 7.31 when Christ cometh will he do more Miracles than these which this Man hath done So I may ask and I believe it will be very difficult to make answer to it when Christ cometh if indeed he be not already come if indeed that Jesus on whom we believe be not he how shall we do to know him What greater Assurance can he give us that he is the Christ than Jesus hath given What better Reason can we ever have to believe any Messenger that shall be sent from God than we have to believe our Saviour For we have as much Reason supposing the Gospel-History to be true to believe him to be sent from God as we have to believe any thing we are as secure that we are not deceiv'd in him as we are that we are not deceiv'd in the plainest Matters of sense For the best the only security that we have that our senses do not deceive us and that every thing in the World is not quite otherwise than it appears to us to be is the Goodness of God and this same security we have that we are not deceiv'd in our Saviour's divine Mission Nay we are more secure of this than we are of that because it is more plainly inconsistent with the Goodness of God to deceive us in a Matter on which our everlasting Welfare depends than in Matters only of this Life which are the chief things for which our bodily Senses are of use to us And if indeed we are deceiv'd in our Saviour it must be said that God himself has deceiv'd us having given us all the Reason imaginable to believe him to be as he said he was the Son of God And now having been so large in shewing the Evidence that there is from the Matters of Fact recorded in the History of the New Testament that our Saviour himself was a Teacher sent from God I shall not need to spend much time in shewing that his Apostles were likewise Commission'd by God to instruct the World and consequently that we ought also to receive all the Doctrines taught by them whether in their Epistles or in their Discourses interwoven by St. Luke with his History of their Acts as true and divine for 1. There is plainly no Reason why we should not receive them as such because they are the very same that our Saviour taught and no other Some Points of Christian Doctrine are indeed more largely explain'd and handled by the Apostles in their Epistles than they are in those Discourses of our Saviour that are recorded by the Evangelists but between the Doctrines taught by our Lord himself and those taught by the Apostles there is such a perfect Harmony and Agreement that if we had only their own Word for it that they spake and wrote by the Inspiration of the Spirit we might securely believe them for tho' one Man may without Inspiration say the same thing which another before him has spoken by Inspiration yet if the second says that he also is inspir'd there can be no Hurt tho' there may be a Mistake in believing him seeing whether the Man was Inspir'd or no 't is certain that the Doctrine was But 2. If there be any Doctrines taught by the Apostles which we do not see were taught before by our Saviour I say there is however from the History of the Gospel Evidence enough of their divine Mission also so that we may very securely take upon their Credit as true and divine any Doctrine which they have instructed us in For 1. That they were sent by our Saviour is past all Dispute if the Gospel-History be true Joh. xx 21. As
my Father hath sent me so send I you and again Mat. xxviii 19 20. Go ye and disciple all Nations Baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you And that he had Authority to grant them such a Commission he shews in the words before All Power is given unto me in Heaven and in Earth Go ye therefore and teach all Nations c. And 2. That they were taught by God and enlightned by his Holy Spirit is what can't be doubted if we believe the power of our Saviour and the Truth of the Gospel for before our Lord went from them Joh 20.22 he breathed on them and said Receive ye the Holy Ghost And to what Purposes the Holy-Ghost was to be given them he had told them before Joh. 14.26 The Comforter which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in my Name he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your Remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you And when he the Spirit of Truth is come Joh. 16.13 he will guide you into all Truth being thus therefore taught by the Spirit of Truth our Saviour might well say as he does Luke x. 16. He that heareth you heareth me and he that despiseth you despiseth me and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me And 3. Lastly We have all the reason in the World to receive them as Messengers from God and to believe that all that they have taught is the Will of God because they had the same Attestation of God to the truth of their Doctrine that our Saviour himself had to his I do not mean that God did bear them Witness all those ways by which he bare witness to our Saviour for that could not be but he bare witness to them all those ways by which it was proper for him to do it and by which he had born witness to any former Prophets For he bare witness to them that they were sent by him Joh. 13.22.20 21. by the Testimony of our Saviour as he had done to our Saviour by the Testimony of John And if the Testimony of a Prophet was credible concerning our Saviour much more is the Testimony of the Son of God highly credible concerning a Messenger sent by him He bare witness to them also by enduing them with the Gift of Prophecy Joh. 16.13 for when the Spirit of Truth is come says our Saviour he will shew you things to come And lastly he bare witness to them by that which is the most plain and sensible proof of a divine Mission Mar. 16.20 viz. By the Power of Miracles and manifold Gifts of the Holy-Ghost The Lord worked with them and confirmed their word with Signs following says St. Mark And with great Power says St. Luke gave Acts 4.33 the Apostles witness of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus And the greater part of the History of the Acts of the Apostles is spent in relating the wonderful Works that they did by the Name of Jesus and the Power of the Holy-Ghost in confirmation of the Truth of their Doctrine But St. Paul perhaps it will be said of whose Writing are most of the Epistles was not one of them not called by our Saviour to be an Apostle as they were nor so much as an Eye and Ear-witness of our Lord's Miracles and Doctrine what Reason then have we to receive his Writings as Portions of Holy Scripture I answer as good tho' not in every particular just the same that we have to receive the Writings of the other Apostles as such For he was Converted and Ordain'd to be an Apostle in a more wonderful manner than they were as you may see in Acts 9. And as our Lord himself gave witness to their Divine Mission so he did also to his Acts ix 15. He is says our Lord a chosen Vessel unto me to bear my Name before the Gentiles and Kings and the Children of Israel To him also as well as to them Act. 20.22 25.27.10 22. 2 Th. 2.3 c. 1 Tim. 4.1 c. 2 Tim. 3.1 c. the Spirit foreshew'd things to come several Proofs of which we may observe in the History of the Acts and in his Epistles And Lastly His Speech and his Preaching was 1 Cor. 2.4 2 Cor. 12.12 as theirs in Demonstration of the Spirit and of Power In him all the Signs of an Apostle were seen no less than in them viz. Signs and Wonders and mighty Deeds And of him with Barnabas in Company Acts 14.3 it is that St. Luke speaks when he says that the Lord gave Testimony to the word of his Grace and granted Signs and Wonders to be done by their Hands And the latter part of the History of the Acts from the 10th Chapter to the End contains little else but an account of St. Paul's Preaching and of the Miracles that were done by the Power of God to confirm the Truth of his Doctrine So that if we believe the Gospel-History we can no more doubt of his divine Mission and Inspiration than we can of theirs we must conclude that if they were Apostles so was he that if they were Ministers of Christ 2 Cor. 11.23 2 Cor. 11.5 2 Cor. 12.11 so was he too forasmuch as in nothing he was behind the very chiefest Apostles so that consequently we have as much Reason to believe his Writings to be Inspired as we have theirs And now by all that hath been said I hope I have fully made good the Point I was to prove viz. That if the Matters of Fact recorded in the New Testament are true they are sufficient Proofs of the Truth and divine Authority of all the Doctrines that are therein taught whether by Christ himself or by his Apostles For if it be true that they were sent by God to instruct the World and to declare the Will of God to Mankind and that they were is sufficiently prov'd by their Credential Letters which we have now perused and examin'd we can no more doubt the truth of those things which they as the Messengers and Ambassadors of God have deliver'd to us in his Name than if we had heard God himself uttering the same by a Voice from Heaven So that I cannot but perswade my self that the Proofs which have been offer'd in the foregoing Discourse of the Truth of all the Doctrines that are taught in the New Testament are sufficient to convince any Rational and Considering Man of the Truth of any Doctrine the Falsity whereof is not Notorious and Self-evident And therefore this I think is the only thing that can with any shew of Reason be pretended by any Person to justifie his not receiving the Gospel as a divine Revelation viz. That the Matter of it in some Particulars is such as will not admit of any Proof at all because no Arguments can make a
Mat. 26.31 He told the rest of the Disciples that they would all forsake him when they every one profess'd themselves resolv'd to suffer with him Joh. 3.14.8.28.12.32 rather than leave him He signified before by what Death he should die and who should be instrumental therein Mat. 16.21.26.32.28.16 He assured his Disciples that after three Days he would rise again and appointed them a Place in Galilee where they should all see him He Prophesied that notwithstanding the Contempt he was had in and the greater Contempt that his ignominious Death would bring upon him his Religion should by their means a Company of poor illiterate Fishermen be preached with good success in all Parts of the World Mat. 24.14.3.19 He foretold likewise the utter Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple Mat. 24. Mar. 13. Luk. 21. before that Generation passed away and the Dispersion of the Jews into all Nations And several other things which it would take up too much time now to mention he foretold should be just in that manner in which they afterwards came to pass Concerning which it may be noted that some of his Prophecies were fulfilled soon after they were spoken the punctual Accomplishment whereof was to those that both heard them spoken and saw them fulfilled an evident Proof of his Prophetical Spirit and a just Ground of expecting the Accomplishment of all his other Prophecies in their Season and that others were not to be fulfilled 'till a good while after the Accomplishment whereof at the time foretold and long after the Predictions thereof had been recorded by the Evangelists was a good Evidence to those that lived then and is also to us that live now and either read the Accomplishment thereof in History or see the same with our own Eyes that he was endued with a Divine Spirit and likewise takes away all reasonable Ground of a Suspicion which we might otherwise have had that in those Instances wherein both the Prophecy and the Accomplishment of it are related by the same Authors the Prophecies were forged after the Events were come to pass Now if this be true and it is certainly true if the Gospel-History be so that our Saviour did foretell many things which afterwards happened and those very casual and contingent things depending upon the free will of Men this was an evident token that he had a divine Spirit for none can certainly foretell such things but God only or those whom he enlightens with his Spirit And therefore the Prophet Isaiah made this Challenge to the Idols of the Heathens Isa 41.23 Shew the things that shall be hereafter that we may know that ye are Gods And if to this it should be objected that future Events have been sometimes foretold by such as have not been true Prophets of God nor enlightned by his Spirit as by Diviners Astrologers and South-Sayers and by the Oracles of the Heathens this may be granted without any weakning of the Argument I am now upon for the Proof of our Saviour's divine Mission For there may be some future Events upforeseen by us and yet depending so intirely upon the Course of Natural Causes that unless hindred by a Miracle they will as certainly come to pass as the Sun will rise tomorrow And these the Devil who understands much better than we do the Power and Course of Nature may foresee and consequently foretell and When such a thing is foretold we who understand very little of Nature may think it a Prophecy whereas in truth there is no more of a Prophetical Spirit in the Devil when he foretells such things than there is in a skilful Astronomer when he Calculates and foretells to a Minute for several Ages to come the Motions and Eclipses of the Sun Moon and Planets And even in future Contingencies 't is no wonder that the Events have sometimes verified the Predictions of the Devil and his Prophets for this also may well enough be accounted for without allowing that any Being hath a certain Foreknowledge of future Contingencies but God only if we do but suppose as we may very reasonably do that the Devil hath a perfecter Knowledge than we can have of the Counsels Intrigues and Interests of Men that he understands their Tempers and Inclinations that he hath lived a great while and made very exact observations that he hath had a long Experience of things and hath also a notable sagacity much beyond what is in any Man for so even a wise observing and experienc'd Man may without a Spirit of Prophecy see much further before him than Men commonly do and may foretell by a Guess that shall rarely fail a great many things which a less thinking and experienc'd Man would never have thought of And when the thing happens that was foretold it may be past the Skill of others to judge whether it was foretold by a Sagacious Guess or by a certain Foreknowledge of what would be And that the Predictions of Diviners and the Oracles of the Heathens concerning future Contingencies have been no more than only probable Conjectures unless when they have been borrowed from divine Prophecies as they may have often been is evident by their uncertain Accomplishment Some things indeed have happened as they have been foretold but others have not so happened and because the Devil could not always certainly tell what the Events of those things would be which he was Consulted with about he commonly gave out his Oracles in ambiguous Expressions that so whatever happen'd he might be thought to have foretold it And when the Predictions of any Person pretending to Prophecy have fail'd in some Instances tho' in others they have been accomplish'd this is a certain Argument that he did not Prophesie by a divine Spirit according to what is said Deut. xviii 21 22. If thou say in thine heart How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken When a Prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord if the thing follow not nor come to pass that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken but the Propheth hath spoken it presumptuously In which words it seems to be implied tho' it be not expresly said that if the thing foretold did come to pass and especially that if of many things which the Prophet had foretold and which could not be fore-known by the greatest Skill in Natural Causes such as are the Actions of a free Agent not one thing fail'd but his words were made good by the Event in every particular they might then depend upon it that he was a true Prophet except only in one Case mentioned in Deut. 13. Deut. 13.1 2 3. viz. When he made use of that Credit which the Accomplishment of his Predictions had gain'd him to draw Men from the Worship of the true and only God to the Worship of Idols And accordingly 't is observ'd in 1 Sam. iii. 19 20. that because the Lord did let none of Samuel's
well be accounted a Martyr for the Testimony of Jesus no less than the other Apostles altho' he did not actually expire under his Sufferings as they did Now if it be supposed that a Man especially one who stands much upon his Credit may be willing after he has told a Lye to suffer a great Deal rather than own himself a Lyar tho' I think it cannot reasonably be supposed either that any Man would suffer so many other great Evils as the Apostles did only upon a Point of Honour or that the Apostles did stand so much upon their Honour yet when it is brought to this that a Man who has told a Lye must either retract it or die for it and that he may in all Probability save his Life by retracting it it is not to be supposed that any Man will be a Martyr for a known Falshood for it is a very true Saying and to which there is hardly any Exception tho' it was spoken by the Father of Lyes Job 2.4 that Skin for Skin yea all that a Man hath he will give for his Life 'T is not credible therefore that so much as one Man should be found so foolish as to sacrifice his Life to a known Lye and that too an unprofitable Lye to himself to his Family and to all The World and this only to save his Reputation It is much less credible that so many Men viz. all the Apostles and Evangelists and most if not all the rest of our Lord 's immediate Disciples should be guilty of such prodigious and unheard of Folly and it is least of all credible that among so many as there were that bore Witness of the Facts recorded in the Evangelical History not so much as one Man should be found that was honester and wiser than the rest not one that could be persuaded to give Glory to God by the Confession of his Fault and satisfaction to the World by a publick owning of the Cheat he had been engaged in not one that wou'd chuse to undergo the Disgrace of a Lyar rather than the shameful Death of a Malefactor These are in short the Evidences we have of the Honesty and Faithfulness of the Evangelical Historians those Evidences I mean which they themselves have given thereof and they are plainly as good as could be desired they are the best that could be given by Men. And putting together all that hath been said on this and the foregoing Heads now and in my last Discourse for the Proof of the Truth of the Evangelical History I think we may truly and confidently affirm that altho' we consider it only as a meer humane History we have much greater Reason to give Credit to it than to any History in the World besides But if we receive the witness of Men and who is there that does not 1 Joh. 5.9 the Witness of God is greater And therefore in Order to shew further that there is sufficient Reason to give full Credit to the Evangelical Historians in their Relations of those Matters of Fact which they have recorded I proposed to be considered in the Fifth and last Place 5 The Confirmation that was given to the Truth of their History by God himself For what St. Paul says of his own was likewise true of the Speech and Preaching of all the other Apostles viz. That it was in Demonstration of the Spirit and of Power 1 Cor. 2.4 5. that the Faith of their Hearers should not stand in the Wisdom of Men but in the Power of God And so St. Luke says Acts 4.33 With great Power gave the Apostles Witness of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus For at the same Time that they Witnessed the Miracles of their Master they gave Assurance to Men of the Truth of their Testimony by doing the like Miracles themselves healing the Sick casting out Devils raising the Dead c. just as Jesus himself had done And at the same time that pursuant to their Commission they preached the Gospel to Men of all Nations and Languages they plainly demonstrated both that they had such a Commission from God and that it was the Truth of God which they preached by speaking to every Man of every Nation in his own Tongue Thus as the Author to the Hebrews says Heb. 2.4 God did bear them Witness both with Signs and Wonders and with divers Miracles and Gifts of the Holy Ghost according to his own Will And he might well say that God did hereby bear them Witness because that Power wherewith they were endued was so evidently from on high that none that saw their Works Luke 24.49 and considered withall the Purity and Excellence of the Doctrine of Christianity that was thereby establish'd could have any reasonable Doubt whether they were done by the Power of God or no. We know Joh. 3.2 said Nicodemus to our Saviour that thou art a Teacher sent from God for no Man can do the Miracles that thou doest except God be with him Joh. 14.12 But the same Works that Jesus did did his Disciples also after he had sent down the Promise of his Father upon them on the Day of Pentecost yea and greater Works than those did they do so that whoever beheld their Works might so far as Miracles are Evidences of a Divine Power be rather more certain that God was with them than Nicodemus could be that he was with our Lord himself For tho' their other Miracles that were of the same sort with those which our Saviour had done were such Proofs of Divine Assistance as could not with any Reason be gainsaid yet I think it may truly be affirm'd that the Gift of Tongues which was peculiar to them and wherein they did as we may say excell even our Lord himself was more convincing than any of them For he that saw one of their other Miracles might possibly entertain some little Doubt whether the Effect that appeared to him to be Miraculous might not yet be done by some secret Power of Natural Causes that was unknown to him But we all know the Power of Nature so well that we are sure the Knowledge of a Language cannot possibly be attained Naturally even by a Person of the quickest Parts and faithfullest Memory but in so much time at the least as it will necessarily take up to be told by Tutors or to learn from Lexicons what every particular word of the Language to be learnt is by the People of that Language designed to signifie because Words have not a Natural Relation to the Notions or Things thereby expressed but are meer arbitrary Signs thereof So that whoever knew the Education of the Apostles and that they were before altogether ignorant and unlearned and yet saw them every one on a sudden on the Day of Pentecost able to speak readily in all the Languages of all the Nations under Heaven from whence had come some of the Jews that were present at Jerusalem at that