dent, great and fubftantial miracles, the effects whereof were not momentary but lasting, as curing the blind, healing difeafes, and raifing the dead, and fuch like, as we read in the holy fcriptures; in this cafe we muft acknowledge it is the finger of God. Nor ought it to be objected, that this is proving in a circle, the doctrine by the miracles, and the miracles by the doctrine; for in this way of reafoning, they are only the miracles that prove the doctrine; but in order to this, the doctrine is to be firft fuppofed to be fuch in its nature as to be capable of being proved by miracles, that is, either indifferent, or not abfurd, contradictory or impious. In the Old Teftament, the miracles wrought by Mofes in Egypt, were fufficient proofs that God fent him: For although it may be thought, that any one miraculous work, fuch as that of the Magicians feems to be, fhould be allowed an evidence as well as another; fuppofing that wrought by Mofes, being both equally fuperior to the power of natural causes; yet thofe wrought by Mofes, being evidently so much fúperior to those of the Magicians, and their power being reftrained by that fuperior power by which Mofes wrought, in that firuggle between him and the devil for fuperiority; renders the evidence brought by Mofes in degree greater than that by the Magicians. For they could indeed imitate the turning of rods into ferpents, and of water into blood, and alfo the bringing up of frogs; but not the inflicting the plague of lice or boils; nay, they could not defend themselves from the boils, nor ftand before Mofes, nor could their enchantments prevail any more: And therefore H As the Magicians themfelves did, Exod. viii. they they fubmitted, and acknowledged, that there was the finger of God . So alfo the miracles of Mofes, in making the Red-Sea dry land, and in fetching water out of the rock a, are an evidence that God was with him, and gave teftimony to his words, and the laws he published ". For the New Teftament. By the angels that appeared to the fhepherds, when Chrift was born; the voice from heaven at his baptifm, declaring "This is my beloved fon, in whom I am well pleated;" his curing all difeafes; his cafting out devils, and raising the dead to life; his being transfigured on the mount, when his face did fhine as the fun, and his raiment gliftered like flafhes of light, and a voice came out of the cloud, again declaring him to be the fon of God; the graves opening, and the fun being darkened at his paflion; his own rifing again, in fome refpect the greatest of all miracles, and afcending into heaven. And, Laftly, the miraculous power of the Holy Ghoft. I fay, by thefe God the father teftified the truth of all that our Lord Jefus Christ faid, as our Lord himfelf argued, "The works that I do, bear witnefs of me, that the father hath fent me;" and therefore we believe the doctrine that he delivered came from God. So for the apoftles, and many of the first Chriftians, the Holy Ghoft, that is, the gifts of the holy fpirit, were beftowed on them in an extraordinary manner , whereby they alfo healed difeafes, caft out devils, foretold things to come, and fpoke divers languages which they had never heard, and had a power of imparting thofe gifts of the Holy Ghost d y Exod. viii. 18, d See Mat. ii. 10, to z Exod. xiv 36. e John v. 19. and chap. ix. 11. to others. Hereby God himfelf gave teftimony to their words and writings; for that miraculous power with which they were in fo great a measure endued from on high, was God's feal to their commiffion, and fo was for the fatisfaction or convincing of all that beard them, or read their writings, that God was with them, and sent them to publish his holy will; and if they had delivered any thing that was not divine, a wife, true, and good God, would never have borne witnefs to it himfelf, nor indued them with fuch extraordinary ability to convince men. There is one confideration which adds further ftrength to this argument, and that is, the continuation of the miraculous powers in the next ages of the church, which the writers of those times do not only unanimously atteft, but challenge the emperors, and the refpective governors of provinces, to convince them by experiment, and dare them to contradict it; and even offer to caft their lives upon this proof. It is alfo to be remembered, that even the Jewish writers, own there was fuch a perfon as Jefus, who lived and died as the gofpels report, though they mention him with fcorn and difdain. They deny not the matter of fact, that he wrought divers miracles; but then they pretend, that power not to be a fufficient teftimony, because he might work by magic, and the power of Beelzebub, the chief H 2 8 As Juflin Martyr, Mark xvi. 20. Heb. ii. 4. Irenæus, Origen, Tertull. Min. Felix, and Lactantius, cited by Grot. in Mark xvi. 17. The particular miracle there mentioned, is, the cafting out devils. Origen mentions others (com tra Celfum, edit. Cantab. p. 62, & 80.) and further fays, that he was an eye-witnefs thereof, p. 124. Bishop Kidder's Demonft. of the Meffiah, vol. I. ch. v. Lighf Hor. ia Mat. xxii. 24. chief of devils; as their forefathers in Chrift's time had objected to himself: Whereas the power of miracles was the very fign which God gave their great master Mofes, for this very end, that they fhould believe in him. Here also we have a further confirmation of the divine authority of the Old Teftament, or the Canon of Holy Scriptures, received by the Jewish church, which was owned and confirmed by Chrift and his apostles, who referred to it, and quoted teftimonies out of it, as being the word of God, and of divine infpiration *. So that the fame miracles, which teftify the authority of Chrift and his apofles, do alfo evidence the divine authority of the Old Teftament; which the fame Chrift and his apoftles owned to be by infpiration. And thus it is manifeft, we have the most folid grounds for our believing the holy fcriptures, to be the word of God. And whereas fome may wonder, after fuch demonftrations of the truth of the Chriftian religion, how it fhould come to país, that the main body of the Jews, and afterwards thole wife and virtuous emperors, fuch as Vefpafian, Titus, Trajan, &c. and other inquifitive men of thofe times, did not only refuse to embrace, but even perfecuted it. Such may confider, First, That as Chrift's kingdom was not of this world, fo it was to be propagated by the wisdom and power of God, without the affiftance of, and even in oppofition to worldly wifdom, and worldly wifemen. Secondly, As for the incredulity of the Jews, that was in part occafioned by Chrift's mean appearance, whereas Exod. iv. I, to 10. 44. 2 Tim. iii. 15, 16. they * See John v. 39. Luke xxiv they expect their Meffiah fhould be a great temporal king; as alfo from the defpifed part of their country, where Chrift mostly refided, viz. Galilee; and from his expofing the worldlinefs, hypocrify, and vain tradition of the Pharifees, a leading party amongst them. And, Laftly, because the doctrine of the gofpel equalled the Jews, (the pofterity of Abraham, and God's peculiar people) with the rest of the world, as to their title in God's covenant and promifes '. Thirdly, No wonder that the great men of the world, fuch as emperors and minifters of ftate, fhould not take much notice of a doctrine, in appearance, new and ftrange, preached up by a few ignorant fishermen and tent-makers; or that perfons wholly given up to voluptuoufness, and pleasure, fhould contemn and deride a doctrine which taught the crofs, and a renouncing of prefent enjoyments, in hopes of better in another world. Or, Laftly, that fuch as esteemed themselves the only wife and knowing men, great philofophers of the age, fhould defpife the plain fimplicity of the gofpel". Fourthly, That there is more reafon to believe the doctrine of Chrift upon the account of his miracles, than to queftion the truth of his miracles upon the account of the unbelief of the Jews or Gentiles; and that becaufe this very unbelief was in itself foretold many ages before", that it fhould fo come to pafs in the days of the Meffiah. Which prediction, among others that related to him, being fulfilled, is the greater confirmation of the truth of the fame Jefus being the Meffiah, and of the doctrine which he taught. As 1 See the fecond and third general remarks on the gofpels. See further the fixth general remark on the Acts of the Apoitles. n Ifaiah liii. 1. and chap. vi. 9. |