that were done by the Hands of his Apostles and Disciples the truth of which was likewise owned and acknowledged by avast Multitude more both of such as believed the Gospel and of such as rejected and opposed it and violently Persecuted the Teachers of it To omit the Testimony of true Believers thus it is Recorded concerning those upon whom the Gospel of Christ had no Power nor Influence The Rulers Elders Scribes and High Priests among the Jews when they summoned Peter and John before them for curing a Lame Man could not deny but that a notable Miracle had been done by them which was manifest to all them that dwelt at Jerusalem They were afterwards filled with Indignation and took Counsel to slay them because they could not restrain them from doing more Miracles in the Name of Christ but they never questioned the Truth of the Facts Stephen full of Faith and Power did great Wonders and Miracles among the people but he was accused and condemned by the Council of the Jews not for deceiving the People with false Miracles but for speaking things against the Holy Place and the Law for saying that Jesus should destroy that Place and change the Customs which Moses delivered them when at the same time it is said that all that sat in the Council looking stedfastly on him saw his Face as it had been the Face of an Angel Neither had they any Thing to object against his Life or his Works Simon the Sorcerer to whom all the people in Samaria gave heed from the least to the greatest looking upon him to be the great Power of God was himself as well as those that were bewitched by him Baptized by Philip and believed when he beheld the Miracles and Signs that were done But afterwards we find by the wickedness of his heart which he discovered to Peter that he was an Enemy to the true Doctrine of the Gospel Elymas the Sorcerer who was struck Blind by Paul and yet not converted to the Faith is another unwilling Witness of the Power of the Apostles The People of Lystra confirm the same Truth who took Paul and Barnabas for Gods in the likeness of Men by reason of the Miracles they saw performed by them and afterwards by the Instigation of the Jews stoned Paul The Damsel possess'd with a Spirit of Divination and her Masters who saw the hope of their gains gone by Paul's commanding the Spirit to come out of her several Vagabond Jews Exorcists who took upon them to cast out Evil Spirits in the Name of Jesus but suffered very much for the Impudence of their Pretences and a great many other such like were Witnesses of the Miracles of the Apostles who by reason of some wicked or dishonourable Motives rejected the Doctrine they taught or profess'd to imbrace it upon ill Designs or after they had received it made Shipwrack of the Faith Great Complaints of all which sort of Men we find in the Epistles Thus are the Miracles of the first Apostles and Disciples of Christ declared and attested But moreover it is Recorded of them that they had not only a Power of working Miracles themselves but that they were Authorized and Enabled by Christ and his Spirit to convey the like Power to others And accordingly we find a great many Instances in the New Testament where Miracles were wrought by private Christians by Virtue of a Power they had received from the Apostles which was conferred upon them by Prayer and Imposition of Hands After which Actions of the Apostles they are immediately said to be filled with the Holy Ghost and to have received the Gifts of the Spirit which according to the different exigencies of the Church and the different qualifications of the Persons indued with them were divers And among these are reckoned the Gifts of Tongues and of Interpretation the Gifts of Healing and of Miracles which Gifts are said to be very common among the first Converts to Christianity in all places where the Gospel was Preach'd and the same is plainly implied by the frequent Rules and Cautions that are given by the Apostles concerning the due Exercise of them and the fear and apprehension they often express lest the Christians thus impowered should by coveting one anothers Gifts or being puft up with those they were severally possessed of neglect to apply themselves as they ought to do to the Edification of the Church of Christ This is the Scripture-Account of Miracles and these were those wonderful Facts believed by the first Christians their full assurance of the Truth of which was the chief Ground and Motive of their imbracing the Gospel or Doctrine of Christ There were likewise other strange Matters of Fact called Prophecies which were most surely believed among them and which contributed very much to their receiving the Gospel and continuing in the Profession of Christianity without wavering and these I shall consider in the same Way and Method I did Miracles For there are several Prophecies Recorded in the New Testament as uttered by our Saviour himself together with several other spoken with relation to him and fulfilled by him others there are mentioned as spoken by the Apostles and Disciples of Christ who had received the Power of Prophecy immediately from him 'T is plain also from several Instances and Passages in the Sacred Writings that the Spirit of Prophecy was conveyed by the first Apostles and Disciples to private Christians and was very common among them The Prophecies spoken by our Saviour were most of them delivered in private to his Disciples some of which were not written till after the things happened and the truth of these the Disciples are wholly answerable for and some of them were Published in Writing before the things happened and these might then and may still be examined by the Circumstances of them others of them were spoken publickly and frequently before great Multitudes of People as those about his Suffering and Resurrection c. and several besides their being spoken openly in the presence of many were also spread abroad in Writing long before the Events actually happened as particularly that remarkable one concerning the Destruction of Jerusalem Prophecies spoken of Christ in former times with relation to his Person Actions Sufferings and Doctrine with the several Circumstances belonging to the whole Dispensation of his Gospel are to be found written in the Books of the Old Testament which were manifestly wrote long before his coming into the World and are now Extant and might then and may still be compared with those Events related in the New which are pretended to be completions of them And some Prophecies there are concerning our Saviour spoken by Holy Persons a little before and after his Birth and at his Presentation in the Temple as also others concerning John his Forerunner and all the Preaching of John was Prophetical of Christ The truth of all which Matters of Fact does not depend wholly upon the Credit of the Prophets themselves
to him and Expounding the Scriptures of the Old Testament in such a manner that all that heard him were astonished at his Vnderstanding his Doctrine and Answers His usual way of Teaching the People that believed on him and reproving the Scribes and Pharisees and others that were unbelievers and sought occasion to find fault with what he said was by Parables which were such familiar Resemblances of or Allusions to the common and most observ'd accidents of Life as were more easily apprehended by ordinary Capacities better attended to and remembred and not so liable to Censure and Misinterpretation as plain and proper expressions of the same Truths that were delivered this way would have been But sometimes he both taught and reproved openly without any disguise or reserve and some of his Parables were such as were not understood even by his Disciples till he was pleased in private to shew them the meaning of them and acquaint them with the reason of this part of his Conduct His Answers to those that accused him of any crime as of eating with Sinners breaking of the Sabbath Blasphemy and the like or that sought to entrap him in his Discourse and to find matter of Accusation against him were very surprizing and unexpected and such as always silenced and disappointed his Enemies His Exposition of some parts of the Scriptures of the Old Testament and the Inferences he draws from them seem'd wholly new to all the Jewish Teachers and Expositors that heard him and yet we do not read that they confuted or so much as opposed either his Comments or his Arguments And in fine his whole Behavior and Conversation were so carefully and wisely ordered that though he was constantly watch'd and observ'd by cunning and malicious Men of different Opinions Designs and Interests yet no Man was ever able to convince him either of Sin or Ignorance as is manifest from the Answers he gave to those who Censured or Despised him or thought to puzzle him by difficult Questions and from the whole Process against him when he was condemn'd to die Thus lived Jesus Christ a perfect Pattern and Example of the Religion he established in all Holiness and unblameableness of Conversation shewing in all the Actions of his Life recorded of him an entire Submission and Resignation to the Will of God and exceeding great Charity and Compassion towards Men. And the same reason for which he came into the World and was obedient to the Law of Moses for which he published his Gospel and upon that account endured the Contradiction and Persecution of Sinners was that also which made him lay down his Life and submit to all the Indignities and Torments that accompanied it the only Cause Motive and End of all these Actions and Sufferings of Christ was the love of Mankind As he came into the World to save Sinners so he gave his Life a ransom for many To free Men from Eternal Misery render them capable of Eternal Happiness and to direct and assist them in the way of Salvation was his sole Work and Design These are the largest and most remarkable lines in the Character of Jesus Christ the first Author of that Religion we profess and defend In the next place I shall endeavour to give a short draught or representation of his Doctrine or Gospel or as we now call it The Christian Religion so far as it is plainly delivered in the Writings of the New Testament But all Religion as every one know consisting of Faith and Practice things to be believed and things to be done in consequence of such Belief I shall first consider the Christian Faith and afterwards what concerns the Practice of a Christian The sum of the Christian Faith is to believe in One God such as he is in the New Testament set forth to us and in Jesus Christ his only begotten Son our Lord according to the History and Character before given or whatever else the Scriptures say of him and by Faith in him accompany'd with a Sincere Vniversal and Persevering endeavour of Obedience to the Rules and Laws prescribed by him and a hearty Repentance for the Sins and Frailties we do at any time fall into to expect eternal inexpressible Happiness or in case of Infidelity or Disobedience attended with Impenitency to be assured of suffering Eternal inexpressible Misery in another Life The particular Doctrines which give us an account of these things more at large may be considered under these three Heads God Christ and Man The God proposed in the New Testament to be believed in is represented as a Spirit Invisible Incorruptible Eternal that is that was and is to come Almighty that knoweth all things and yet whose Judgments are unsearchable and his ways past finding out Creator of the World and all things therein who upholdeth all things by his Power in whom we live and move and have our being of whom and through whom and to whom are all things Most Holy Just Righteous and Perfect who is to be worshiped in Spirit and in Truth and with purity of Heart no respecter of Persons of great goodness and forbearance and yet who will render to every Man according to his deeds to them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for Glory and Immortality Eternal Life but to them that do not obey the Truth but obey unrighteousness indignation and wrath of whom it is further said That he is the Father the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and our Father a Title he is frequently and peculiarly distinguished by all over the New Testament That he sent his Son into the World to die for us and by him reconciled us to himself That the Sins of Ignorance he winked at but that now at the appointed time when Christ came into the World he calleth all Men every where to repent That at sundry times and in divers manners he spake in times past by the Prophets but in these last days hath spoken unto us by his Son whom he hath appointed Heir of all things by whom also he hath made the World that he foreknew predestinated and Elected some in Christ and adopted them for Sons to be Heirs of Salvation and to obtain a Heavenly Inheritance all which are said to be Sanctified by the Spirit of God who is often called the Holy Ghost or Spirit and the Spirit of Christ and of the Son in several places of Scripture is joined together with the Father and the Son and frequently talk'd of as a Person acting after such and such a manner as God is in other places represented to do and many of the same Titles Characters and Attributes are ascribed to him as are ascribed to the One Only Supreme God The principal things that are taught us in the writings of the New Testament concerning Christ besides what we have already mentioned in his History and Character are That he came into the World took upon him the nature of Man was obedient to the Law
and his Birth proclaim'd by Angels That his Coming into the World was signified by a Star which brought Wise Men from the East to worship him That mighty Things were immediately before and after his Birth said of him by Angels and Just Persons moved by the Spirit of God From the Birth of Christ 'till he was thirty years of Age very little is mentioned of him besides some Discourse he held with the Doctors in the Temple at Twelve but when he began to be about thirty he was baptized by John who is stil'd his Forerunner that prepared the way for him and at his Baptism the Heavens were opened and the Spirit of God descended upon him like a Dove and a Voice was heard from Heaven saying This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleas'd The principal Things that are afterwards recorded of him are his calling of Disciples and Apostles his Sermons and Instructions to the People his Miracles and Prophecies and his Sufferings Death and Burial with some other remarkable Passages that happened after his Death His Disciples and Apostles but more especially Twelve of them were favoured with a nearer and more intimate Conversation than any of the rest he directed his Instructions to These were the constant Companions of his Labours and Witnesses of his most private Behaviour These he instructed in a more plain and open manner than he did others and communicated several things to Them which he kept secret from his common Auditors and Followers To these he gave a Commission to teach and instruct the Jews and to do mighty things among them while he lived and to preach to all Nations after his Death and propagate his Doctrine with Signs and Wonders He himself is represented as preaching and teaching throughout all Judea and several of his Publick Sermons and Discourses as also many things which he said in private to his Disciples are every where throughout the several Gospels repeated sometimes in short and only the Substance of them sometimes more at large in the same Form and Manner in which they were delivered The Miracles or wonderful Things mentioned to be done by Christ exceeding all the Observation and Power of Mankind are these Fasting Forty Days and Forty Nights together turning Water into Wine Stilling Tempests walking upon the Sea telling the secret Thoughts of Men's hearts curing the Blind Lame and Maimed healing all manner of Diseases with a word or touch of his Garment casting out Devils and unclean Spirits and restoring Men possessed with 'em to their former state of health and sense feeding vast multitudes of People with a few small Loaves and Fishes by his bare Word causing a Fig-Tree immediately to wither great numbers of Fish to be taken in a Net and a single Fish to come to the Hook with Money in its mouth to pay his Tribute with transfiguring himself before some of his Disciples so that they saw the fashion of his Face alter'd and his Raiment chang'd raising the Dead and rising himself after his Burial appearing to his Disciples after he was risen and conversing with them Forty Days sometimes being known by them and sometimes not according as he pleased and at last in their Presence ascending up into Heaven The Matters we find in the Gospels foretold by Jesus Christ were his own Passion Death Resurrection Ascension and Mission of the Holy Spirit or Comforter with several particular Circumstances of them the Persecutions and Sufferings of his Disciples the Death of some of them and the manner in which they were to dye as also their future Glory and Office at the end of the World the Rejection of the Jews Vocation of the Gentiles Success and Continuance of the Gospel or Christian Religion the Appearance of False Prophets and Teachers and False Christs the springing up of Heresies and falling away of Professors the Destruction of the Jewish Temple and Constitution and Dispersion of that whole People with many strange and terrible Signs foregoing and lastly the second Appearance of himself in Glory to judge the World which is set forth in a very large and pompous Description of the whole Scene As to his Sufferings Death and Burial and what followed afterwards which are the next things that challenge our Consideration we read that he was betrayed by one of his Disciples denied by another and deserted by all the rest that he was taken and carried first before the High Priest of the Jews and afterwards before Pilate and Herod that he was scourged mocked spit upon reviled and at last upon false and frivolous Accusations condemn'd by Pilate contrary to his Conscience only to please the Jews and then crucified between Two common Malefactors one of which reproached him the other believed in him while he was upon the Cross the Sun was dark'ned the Veil of the Temple was rent in twain and the Earth quaked and the Rocks rent and the Graves were open'd and many Bodies that slept arose and came out of their Graves after his Resurrection and appear'd unto many his Body being taken down from the Cross unbroken was laid in a Sepulchre hewn out of a Rock with a Stone roll'd to the door of it and the Sepulchre was made sure by sealing the Stone and setting a Watch notwithstanding which he rose again the Third day after he was buried and appear'd to his Disciples and many others But the Soldiers that were appointed to watch the Sepulchre being affrighted by the appearance of an Angel who descended from Heaven and roll'd back the Stone from the door came into the City and shew'd the Chief Priests all the things that were done and had Money given them to say his Disciples came by Night and stole him away after this the Disciple that betray'd him repented of the Fact brought back the Money he had received for betraying him and hang'd himself This is the summ of what is contained in the Four Gospels In the next Book call'd The Acts of the Apostles we find the Eleven who are peculiarly stiled Apostles after their return from beholding the Ascension of their Master assembled together at Jerusalem with the rest of those who were more particularly distinguished by the Name of Disciples where they make choice of another Apostle to supply the room of Judas that had hang'd himself After which choice the twelve being all with one accord in one place they were filled with the Holy Ghost and spake with other Tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance which wonderful Gift of divers Languages was conferred upon them with very strange amazing Signs and Appearances viz. a sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty Wind cloven Tongues like as of Fire c. Having received this extraordinary Assistance we find them wholly employ'd in preaching the things concerning Jesus interpreting the Scriptures of the Old Testament with relation to him baptizing in his Name converting People to the Belief of those Facts recorded in the Gospels and the Doctrines built upon them
exhorting Men to the Practice of the several Duties enjoin'd them by God and delivered to them by the Ministers of the Gospel of Christ and bidding them expect Salvation by Christ only ordaining several Persons under different Characters to assist in the Ministry healing all manner of Diseases raising the Dead and doing many other Signs and Wonders where-ever they come and conveying the same Powers and Gifts to others they had received themselves By which means we read that the Gospel was spread and the number of Believers encreased many Churches or Congregations were every where established and the Members of them kept so united by those that were set over them first in Judea and Samaria then in remoter Parts abroad where the Jews were scattered afterwards in several Cities Islands and Nations of Asia and Europe With the Progress of the Gospel or Christian Religion we have an Account likewise of several Attempts made in many Places to hinder and oppose the Establishment of it together with the Sufferings and Persecutions of the first Apostles and others chosen afterwards to be Assistants to them in carrying on the same Work many of which were beaten imprison'd and many other ways afflicted and distressed and some were put to death But a more particular relation is given of the Conversion Travels and Sufferings of Paul all which appear to be very extraordinary Several Discourses of Paul and other Apostles and Disciples of Christ are set down at large Some Prophecies also are mentioned of Holy Men who are represented as being filled with the Holy Ghost and speaking by the Spirit of God and some remarkable Judgments of God upon wicked Persons are there recorded These are the principal Matters which compose the History of the Acts of the Apostles All the following Tracts or Volumes of the New Testament are written in the form of Letters or Epistles sent from such of the Apostles and Disciples of Christ as we find mention'd in the Gospels and Acts and directed some of them to particular Persons some to large Societies of Men of several different Countries who had embraced the Christian Faith In which Epistles are contained most of the same Rules and Precepts that are laid down in the Gospels and Acts many large and particular Explications of several Doctrines there delivered and several new Doctrines which we do not meet with in those Books the Truth and Obligation of all which are frequently enforced by Arguments Most of the principal Matters of Fact recorded in the Gospels and Acts are reserr'd to in the Epistles and alledged as Proofs of the Truth of the Doctrines there taught and of the Authority of the Teachers Here are likewise several new Matters of Fact incidentally mentioned which we do not find in those former Books and some of the Facts there related are repeated here with new Circumstances All the Epistles do abound throughout with Exhortations to a steady Belief of those wonderful things said and done by Christ and his Apostles and to a constant Practice of the Duties enjoin'd by them In several of them there are some Prophecies too intermixed with these other Matters before taken notice of And the last Epistle directed to the seven Churches in Asia which is by a peculiar Title stiled The Revelation is almost wholly prophetical Some of them also conclude with Salutations to and from several particular Persons therein named These are the most remarkable things that occurr to a Man upon reading the Epistles Thus have I run through all the Variety of Particulars treated of in the New Testament But in order to form a juster and fuller Idea of the Subject of this Book 't is necessary to add some farther Considerations not formally express'd in any one particular Volume or Chapter but fairly and evidently collected from the whole Composure or from several plain Passages here and there dispersed through the several parts of it Such as are the Characters of Jesus Christ and his Doctrine of those that believed in him and that assisted him in the publishing and propagating his Gospel and of those that persecuted him and all that bore Testimony to him and opposed the Establishment of his Religion As to the Character of Jesus Christ so far as it can be collected from the several Writings of the New Testament it is in short this His Birth Life and Death were attended with extraordinary Circumstances of different kinds Those who are called in Scripture his Parents are said to be descended from the Family of David the greatest King that ever reigned over Judah and Israel but their present Condition when this Child was born is set forth as very low and the Employment that maintained them then and afterwards very mean but they were Persons that feared God and lived very conformably to the Law of Moses The first Appearance of Christ in the World was prepared accompanied and followed by Prophecies Visions Signs and Wonders Ministry of Angels Adoration of Wise Men Jealousies and Fears of a Great King together with the Doubts Ignorance Amazement Necessities and Flight of his Father and Mother His Education was fuitable to the meanness of his Birth Thirty years were spent at home in Obscurity and Retirement where he was subject and obedient to his Parents but at the same time he waxed strong in Spirit and encreased in Wisdom and the Grace of God was upon him to the Astonishment of all his Kindred and Countreymen who could not imagine whence he had that Wisdom His whole Life afterwards was taken up in preaching and instructing and confirming his Doctrine and Authority by Signs and mighty Works and by Arguments drawn chiefly from the Prophecies and other Passages of the Old Testament He went about every where teaching and doing Good He taught in the Temple and other publick Places of Jerusalem he passed through all the Cities and Villages of Judah and Samaria and the Neighbouring Coasts preaching and expounding the Scriptures to the People in their Synagogues In the Fields the Desarts and upon the Sea-shore we find him attended with great multitudes who heard him gladly Thus was he constantly employed from the first discovery of himself and his Gospel to the World 'till by Treachery and Malice he was apprehended and put to Death In all which time that he publickly convers'd with Men we have a great many surprizing things related of him which do very much distinguish his Character from that of any other Person He is represented as sensible of Human Passions Appetites and Infirmities and yet free from all Sin and endued with a Power of not feeling and relieving those very wants he suffered He loved grieved and was angry but these Affections were occasion'd in him by a just Concern for the Glory of God and the Success of that great Work he came about the Salvation of Mankind and they never exceeded their due bounds He felt Hunger and Weariness yet fasted Forty days and Forty nights together fed vast multitudes and
upon the prospect of which the whole Religion is founded might not shock the Faith of Mankind what wiser and more convincing Method could be taken than by various Instances of things actually done in their Presence of as strange and surprizing a Nature as those foretold and some of them of the very same kind as the Resurrection of the Dead Ascension into Heaven c. How I say could Men be better satisfied than by such present Experience of the Divine Power that nothing was impossible to God and that there might be such things in a Future State which Eye had not yet seen nor Ear heard nor had entered into the Heart of Man to conceive Thus have I proved in short that the Prophecies Miracles and Doctrines contained in the New Testament and consequently the whole Christian Religion which were before shewn to exceed all Humane Reach and Capacity did certainly proceed from God After which proof the third thing proposed will be very easily made out viz. that 't is very improper and absurd to ascribe these things to Evil Spirits All that we know of Good or Evil Spirits without Revelation is that there have been some Men unaccountably assisted by some invisible Power to say and do certain things which they knew they could not have said or done without such Assistance that if what was said or done this way was serious and concerning and seem'd to contribute any thing to the Good of Men it was reckoned to proceed from a Good Spirit appointed by the Supreme God for that End if the things said or done were Trifling or Hurtful they were thought to come from Evil Spirits permitted by the Supreme God to Amuse or Punish Men and that Sacrifices and other Religious Rites were performed by the Persons particularly concern'd to express their Thanks to the One or to appease the Other these Good and Evil Spirits being esteemed as Gods of a Lower Order who had different Offices assign'd them by the Supreme In the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament we have a more particular account of Good and Evil Spirits the first occasion of their Distinction and their different Offices and Imployments as such and there we find that what was said or done by Angels or Good Spirits was by the express Order and Command of God and is Attributed to him in the same manner as if it had proceeded immediately from himself and what was said or done by Devils or Evil Spirits was by the Permission of God for the Trial or Punishment of Men. The Power God suffered Evil Spirits to Exercise and the Signs and Wonders he permitted them to do in order to tempt Men from the Belief or Practice of those things he had injoined and commanded them were so easily distinguishable from the positive express Manifestations of Divine Power that any Man was justly to be Condemn'd for being deceived by them For besides that Miracles done by the help of Evil Spirits were Pascal as a Judicious Author well observes always foretold or outdone or both and consequently could never be of force enough to invalidate a Divine Revelation Besides this I say the Works of the Devil and the Doctrines of Devils are so contrary to the Reason and truest Interests of Mankind and so easily known to be so especially when compared with the Doctrine of God and the Fruits of it that no Miracles or Signs whatsoever can be sufficient to establish their Credit And therefore 't is very absurd and contrary to all that the Scriptures inform us of concerning Devils or Evil Spirits to suppose that they should imploy all their Power and Cunning to promote a pure and holy Service of One God and to destroy all the Pretences of Superstition and Idolatry 'T is contrary to all the Policy of the Kingdom of Darkness as our Saviour argues that it should be divided against it self and that some Evil Spirits should disturb and oppose the rest when they are all carrying on the same Work But neither Jews Christians or Heathens ever entertained any such Notions of Devils or Evil Spirits as to make them the Authors of any thing that recommended and establish'd what they call'd Vertue in the World or contributed to the Peace Welfare or Happiness of Mankind 'T is manifest then that such a Scheme as we have seen the Christian Religion is could not be Contrived and Propagated through the World in such a manner by Evil Spirits neither was it possible that the first Preachers and Professors of this Religion should derive their extraordinary Characters from the Possession and Influence of Devils These are such Notorious Truths that there is no need of further Inlargments upon this Head Thus have I finished what I undertook under my Second General and by a full and direct Proof made it very Evident that all the principal Matters of Fact related in the New Testament are true III. I shall strengthen and confirm the same Truth by shewing the improbability and absurdity of a contrary Supposition and the weakness of all the Difficulties and Objections rais'd against the Scriptures and the Matters contained in them which is the third thing I proposed to make good in order to my main Design which is to establish a firm Belief of the Christian Religion and all the Obligations of it It has been sufficiently proved already that if all the common Matters of Fact related in the New Testament or only the principal of them such as have been before mentioned are true in the Manner and Circumstances there set down it necessarily follows from hence that the Miracles and Prophecies there Recorded must be true also and if the Miracles and Prophecies are true they must certainly be the Effects of Divine Assistance and Revelation and consequently the Doctrines delivered by Persons so assisted must come from God This I say has been fully made out beyond all possibility of a a reasonable Contradiction and every thing that could be supposed all the different Accounts that could be given of these Matters in order to invalidate the strength of the Inferences drawn from them have been shewn to be false and groundless The next Pretence which the Enemies of Revealed Religion make use of in the behalf of Infidelity is that the whole Body of the Scriptures of the New Testament are Forged and Suppositious that all the principal Matters of Fact there Recorded with all the Strange and New Doctrines built upon them were purely the Inventions of Men and that the Books were given out by the Contrivers of them as containing the Revelations of God in order to Establish their Credit and Authority in the World This is the worst that the utmost Malice of Scoffers and Unbelievers can suggest but the Folly and unpresidented Absurdity of this Plea will easily appear upon a slight Examination of it For first 'T is very manifest from what has been said already that it has been a constant and universal Tradition in this part