that they had seen Jefus Chrift after his Refurrection: For one must thence fuppofe, that that great number of Perfons were not really Meff; and that whatever they had been during the rest of their Lives, they had put off their Humanity immediately after the Death of Jefus Chrift.

They were indeed Men till that time; and their Behaviour pretty well evinces that their Sentiments were fuch as felf-love and felf-preservation generally inspire us withal: for they expected and were in hopes of fomething. They followed none other but Chrift, because they expected from him what generally all the Jews expected from their Meffias, according to the Ideas they had form'd themselves of him. They were afraid of Death: They dreaded the Fury of the Sanhedrin: They flattered themselves with the Hopes of feeing themselves restored to their former Glory: They begg'd of Jefus Chrift to deliver them out of approaching Dangers, if at any time they were in hazard of their Lives, or expofed to any Tempeft.

But fince the Death of Jefus Christ, they feem'd to have put off their Humanity; Their Minds and Hearts were not difpofed like those of other Men. They neither hoped for, or expected any thing. For indeed what should they hope or expect from the Profession they made of being Difciples of Jefus Chrift, if they knew that he was not risen at all according to his promife? What could they hope for, if he who had promised them Eternal Life, and affirmed himself to be the Refurrection and the Life, was to be for ever fubject to the Power of Death? Before while they trusted in Jefus Chrift they were afraid Now when they trusted no more in him, their Fear vanished. Since they could not expect any thing from another Life, they were refolved not to be any way concern'd for this, but to mind

only

only a Future State. What is the meaning of this prepofterous Change? Formerly they thought they fhould do God great fervice, in fuffering for Chrifts fake, whom they supposed to have been their Meffias; and yet they were then faint-hearted and fearfull: but now that they were affured they did God no manner of service by adhering to the Gofpel; but rather blemish their own Reputation by maintaining a Cheat, they became on a fudden conftant and couragious, undaunted in the greatest Dangers, and invincible in the midst of the most violent Trials. Who can comprehend all this?

Certainly, if we have but the leaft Common Senfe we cannot but perceive that a Cheat in fo evident and fenfible a matter of fact as that must have been, could not be unanimously carried on by fo many thousands of People. For fuppofing one Man was dipofed to Lye, who knows but another would be as inclinable to tell the Truth; especially fince there was nothing to be got by Lying, but Prifons, Torments, and Death itself, whereas telling the Truth would have gained them Credit, Friends, and Eftates, by pleasing those in whose Power it was to difpofe of Riches and Offices of State, And had any one of them imagined that some of the rest would certain. ly contradict him or themselves, he would have been for that very Reafon incapable of agreeing with them to carry on that Cheat; Now it is naturally impoffible but that this Thought must have offered it felf to the Mind of every one of them, and confe quently fuch a mutual Compact or Agreement was abfolutely impoffible, unless it fo happen'd that that whole Multitude had fuddenly been bewitch'd and infatuated by the fame kind of Folly, and that too at one and the fame time, as foon as Jefus Chrift had given up the Ghost.

However they must have been void of all Self-Love, 0 4

and

and that natural Affection Men ufually bear to themfelves, nay they must have been altogether infenfible of the cruel Stripes they underwent, and the Perfecu- · tions wherewith they were almoft overwhelmed ; and that Infenfibility and Extravagance must not only have been an ordinary one, or of a fhort continuance, but of the longest Duration, and strongest Force that ever was known.

CHAP. IV.

The third Center of Truth. A particular Confideration of the Afcenfion of Jefus Christ.

T

HE Afcenfion of Jefus Chrift, is a third Center of Truth, which we ought to have continually before our eyes, in order to confider the Arguments it contains for the Truth of the Refurrection of Jesus Christ our Saviour.

This Afcenfion was preceded by several Apparitions of Jefus Chrift, and followed by an extraordinary Ef. fulion of the miraculous Gifts of the Holy Ghoft,fufficiently manifefted to all the Inhabitants of the City of Jerufalem; fo that it seems to want no Illustration.

It rather proves it felf,and that too by its own proper Characters: For it is a thing unheard of,that feveral Perfons fhould agree to teftify after that manner fo fignal an Impofture as that must have been, had not the Afcenfion of Jefus Chrift been a real Event. But let us throughly confider all the Circumstances of it.

As the Refurrection of Jefus Christ justified the wonderful Paffages of his Death, fo likewife does bis Afcenfion juftify those of his Refurrection: For tho' one should fufpect that the Eyes of the Disciples might by chance have been fuddenly dazzled, and fo they thought they had seen what they in reality

ne.

never faw,yet they had time enough to recover themfelves out of this dazzling Amazement; for it was forty days after Jefus Chrift was risen from the Dead before his Afcenfion. Had it been a Spirit that appeared to them, and frightned them, yet had they time enough to come to themselves again, and know certainly that the Spirit they saw was not really their Master. For they saw him and heard him: They handled him, they eat and drank with him. Had it been thro' the obscurity of a darksome Night that they had imagined they had seen some Reprefentation of their Master, instead of a true and foll fight of him, they could not long continue in their Error: But it was in full day that they saw the Stone rolled away from the Sepulcher: 'Twas in full bright day that Chrift so often manifested himself to them, and discoursed with them, and afterwards ascended into heaven before their eyes,

Had the force of their Defires, their Fears, or Affections, disturbed their Senfes, we fhould have less Reason to wonder at it, tho even in that cafe the thing would feem altogether unaccountable, it being morally impossible that the Senses of so many People fhould all at once be fo confined to one wonderful Object, and so disturbed at the same time. But they had time enough to get out of their Confufion and Astonishment; and their Minds were very fedate and at ease when Chrift made them Eye-Witnesses of his glorious Afcenfion. In a word, had it been a private and filent Interview, we might have much more Reason to doubt; but Christ appeared to his Disciples with a particular Design to difcourfe with them. He gave them several Inftructions; he forbad them to depart from Jerufalem, until they had received the Gifts of the Holy Ghoft. He made them feveral Promises, and fuch furprising ones, that they are fit only for a God to make, and a God

to

H

to perform: for he promised that he would be with them even unto the End of the World. He inftituted two Sacraments; he commanded them to baptife all Nations in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft, as well as to commemorate his Death in the Paffover. Nor was that all. He had many long and cohérent Difcourfes with them. He spoke to them, and they answered him. They were at firft incredulous; but he convinced them of the Truth of his Refurrection, notwithstanding their Scruples and their Infidelity. He rebuked them feveral times for their little Faith; at least they tell us fo. The Evangelifts relate what Chrift faid to Thomas, and what Anfwer Thomas made: And both their speeches were too furprifing to be fo foon forgotten. Thomas being ruck at the Wonders of his Refurrection, was the first that gave Chrift a Name which he was not wont to bear in the Stage of his Humiliation, calling him, My Lord, and my God, John 20. 28.

The Difciples asked him, Whether he would at that time restore the Kingdom unto Ifrael: but he anfwer'd them, that it was not for them to know the Times and Seafons which the Father only had in his power. Lastly, The Evangelifts give us no less the History of Jefus Christ rifen from the Dead, than that of Jefus Chrift living and converfing before his Death among the Jews: and we affirm, we have as much reason to believe one as the other. For indeed, Why do we believe there was ever any fach Perfon as Jefus Chrift? We believe it certainly, because it is, in humane fpeaking, morally impoffible that fo many Perfons fhould unanimously tell us they had feen him, that they difcours'd, eat and drank with him, nay faw him fuffer Death at Jerufalem; I fay, they would never have told us all this, fuppofing, there were nothing at all in it. But then ought not

that