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CONTROVERSIAL DISCOURSES,

&c. &c.

DISCOURSE XVI.

FAITH WELL FOUNDED ON CHRIST'S RESURRECTION.

ACTS x. 40, 41.

Him God raised up the third day, and showed him openly; Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.

To fill the character, and answer the purposes, of a mediator, it was judged necessary by Almighty God, that Christ should suffer death, and rise again from the dead, before he had seen corruption. His sufferings gave weight to his intercessions; and no other miracle could so strongly prove his mission, as his resurrection.

If the latter was a real resurrection, then the truth of Christianity is equal to its importance; but if it was not, if Christ did not come to life again after he was dead, then our religion was an imposture from the beginning, and we are deceived in adhering to it. If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith also is vain.'

The apostles, and the rest of Christ's disciples, after seeing all his other miracles, and working many themselves, rested their faith or disbelief on the experiment about to be made upon his dead body, in order to see whether the divine power would actually attend him in his grave. And the Jews, who had him now at the utmost disadvantage, when, as they thought, he could not make even an attempt to impose on them with an appearance of a resurrection, took all the proper precautions to prevent its being attempted by any body else. For this purpose they sealed his tomb,' which was in a rock, and 'set a guard of soldiers' to watch the entrance. Impostures of all kinds are most easily passed upon the

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world in ignorance and obscurity, and by surprise. They who carry them on, do it among the ignorant, and without giving sufficient warning beforehand of what they intend to do; lest the persons whom they would impose on, being prepared, should look sharp, and, by examining closely into every circumstance, should discover the deceit.

Far otherwise was the case in respect to the resurrection of Christ. It had been foretold many ages before, that 'God would not leave his Holy One,' the Messiah, in hell,' that is, the grave, nor suffer his flesh to see corruption :' and, when the time drew near in which this wonderful experiment was to be made, lest the persons concerned should not be sufficiently attentive, Christ took care to give both his friends and enemies timely warning of his intention to rise the third day after his death, that the latter might do their utmost to prevent it, and the former have the fullest evidence of the fact when done.

Now his enemies were persons of great understanding, and of malice, in regard to him, sufficient to put them upon doing every thing that could prevent the possibility of imposition. They had him entirely in their power; they took care to have more than sufficient proof of his death, before they suffered him to be taken from the cross; and although they permitted him to be buried in the tomb of a disciple, yet they kept that tomb absolutely in their power, and subject to their own inspection.

Taking it for granted, that Christ was, at least, a man of common sense (and his enemies allow him to have had a very extraordinary understanding), how can we account for his putting the divinity of his person, the credit of his mission, and the success of his religion in all ages, on so difficult a proof, nay, on a proof so impossible to be given, had he not known that infinite power was ready to give it? No one, who attempts to impose on others, gives warning long and often beforehand of what he intends to do.

Our Saviour, considered merely as a man of common sense, could not have proposed suffering death only to impose on others, especially as death must deprive him of all power to deceive, and of all advantages to be hoped for from the deceit.

As a man of common sense, he could not hope that the

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