CCXXXVI. man demonftrate a propofition in Euclid; in thefeS ER M. cafes, though a man be never fo credible, yet he is not to be credited. But the refurrection of CHRIST is no fuch thing; no man that believes that GOD can make a living body out of nothing, can think it abfolutely impoffible to raise a dead body to life; nor was it a thing they could not be prefumed to be com petert witneffes of: for that which they atteft concerning the refurrection of CHRIST, is that which every man may give evidence in, for it requires nothing but common fenfe and understanding; as to touch and handle a body, and know that it is a body; to fee a man perform the operations of life; to fee him walk, and eat, and hear him speak: and this they attest of CHRIST, after he was crucified, dead, and buried, that they faw him feveral times, and converfed with him; and they could not be miftaken in the perfon, being fo intimately and familiarly acquainted with him in his life-time. 2. We will confider a little the circumftances of his refurrection. He had foretold in his life-time, that he would rife again the third day. The chief priefts and the Pharifees remembered this faying, and therefore left his disciples fhoule come by night and steal him away, they make the fepulchre fure, feal the stone, and fet a guard of foldiers. The dif ciples whom they were afraid of, they were scatter ed with fear; and that it might appear that it was the work of Gop, there was a great earthquake which made the guard to tremble; and in their fight an angel appearing in a moft glorious manner, rolled away the ftone; and when he was rifen and appeared to his difciples, they were terrified, and thought it had been a fpirit, till our SAVOUR bids them CCXXXVI. SERM.them "fee him, and handle him, that he had flesh "and bones, which a spirit could not have.", He converfed familiarly with them; and for their greater fatisfaction did eat with them; and to fatisfy the fcrupulous unbelief of Thomas, he bids him put his hand into the hole of his fide, and fee in his hands the print of the nails, to fhew that it was the fame body that was crucified. Now the greater their jealoufy and unbelief was, the greater is the evidence of the thing; and it fhews that it was upon great conviction, and when they could no longer refift the evidence of the thing, that they did believe it: and after all this, they saw him ascend up into heaven, and found the promise of the Spirit made good to them, to furnish them with power and gifts, for carrying on the work of the gospel. 3. We will confider the ftrange and wonderful effects that this report and relation had in the world. The preaching of CHRIST crucified, and rifing from the dead, had a strange operation upon the world. With fuch admirable fuccefs did this prevail, that in a few years the gofpel was entertained in a great part of the world. The plain and naked relation of this, by men that were deftitute of fecular learning and arts, without the help of power, or policy, or any other worldly advantage, did prevail with men to entertain and embrace that profeffion, against the prejudice of education, the biafs of corrupt nature, and the advantages of worldly interefts: nor could all the oppofition of the great and the wife, the princes and the philofophers of the world, give a check to the prevalency of it. Surely nothing but truth could have wrought thofe great wonders and effects, naked and unarmed. Thofe ftrange and મ CCXXXVI. miraculous effects which are matter of fact, and un-SER M. deniable, one would think, fhould render it very, eafy to any man to believe the miracle of CHRIST'S refurrection. 4. We will confider the circumstances of the perfons who entertained the belief of it. Many of them were very rational, and serious, and inquifitive perfons, who had opportunity to fatisfy themfelves about the truth of it; and if there had been any reafon to difbelieve the testimony that was given, had fuch great and generous fpirits, that if it had been for their advantage and intereft to have believed it, yet out of the greatness of their minds they would not have entertained any ungrounded relation, much less a religion built upon it. Such were fome eminent among the Jews and heathens for their great learning, and knowledge of philosophy, and all excellent endowments, who were early converted to christianity. And as for the multitude who embraced the gospel, the doctrine of it was fo contrary to their lufts, and the profeffion of it to their intereft, that nothing can be imagined to have perfuaded them to the belief of it, but a high fatisfaction of the truth of it; and particularly of this great miracle of CHRIST's refurrection, upon which principally the gospel doth rely. And thus I have endeavoured to give you the best evidence I could of the truth of this miracle. I fhould now proceed to take notice of the objections that may be made against it: but this I fhall referve to the following difcourse. SER SERMON CCXXXVII. The evidences of the truth of the christian religion. SERM CCXXXVII. 2 COR. iv. 3, 4. But if our gofpel be bid, it is bid to them that are loft in whom the god of this world bath blinded the minds of them which believe not, left the light of the glorious gofpel of CHRIST, who is the image of GOD, fhould fhine unto them. I HAVE been confidering the evidence which those who lived in our SAVIOUR'S time had of The his divine authority, from the power of working mifourth fer-racles, with which he was endued. mon on this text. The miracles which concern our SAVIOUR I reduced to three heads; thofe of his life; thofe wrought at his death; and the great miracle of his refurrection from the dead, together with those two that were confequent upon it; his visible afcenfion into heaven, and his fending the holy Ghoft. As to the refurrection of our SAVIOUR, I have produced the testimonies for it, and have added fome confiderations that may give ftrength and adyantage to that testimony; and shall now proceed to take notice of the moft confiderable exceptions that may be made against it. And all the excep : CCXXXVII. tions that can be brought against it, that are ofS ER M. 1. That they who deny this, have this difadvan- 2. These exceptions look very like envy; for they do not concur to make up one strong objection against the teftimony of CHRIST's refurrection; but each of them contradicts the other, and is inconfiftent with them: for if the tradition of the Jews be true, that he was ftolen out of the grave after he was dead and buried, and that the ftory of his appearing to them was a forgery, then the two latter exceptions are false, and fo of the reft; fo that these exceptions look very like the falfe witneffes that were fuborned againft CHRIST, that "they do not agree together." But to the objections themselves I answer, First, the tradition of the Jews, that his body was stolen out of the fepulchre, and all that which is related afterwards of his appearing to his difciples, |
