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convinced by the miraculous cure which the prophet SERM. Elisha wrought on him, 2 Kings v. 15. "Behold! " now I know that there is no God in all the earth " but in Ifrael."

And fo likewise the divinity of our SAVIOUR and $his doctrines is refolved into the evidence of his mira-' cles. This is the evidence CHRIST gives of himself, when John fent his disciples to enquire whether he was the Meffias, Matt. xi. 2. "Now when John had " heard in the prison the works of CHRIST, he fent " two of his disciples, and faid unto him, art thou he "that should come: or do we look for another? "JESUS answered and faid unto them, Go and shew " John again those things which you do hear, and " fee: the blind receive their fight, and the lame " walk, the lepers are cleanfed, and the deaf hear, the " dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel " preached unto them. And blessed is he whofoe"ver shall not be offended in me." So John v. 36. "But I have greater witness than that of John: " for the works which the Father hath given me to "finish, the fame works that I do, bear witness of

me, that the Father hath fent me." Chap. Χ. 25. "JESUS answered them, I told you, and ye believed

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not: the works that I do in my Father's name, "they bear witness of me." Ver. 37, 38. " If I do " not the works of my Father, believe me not: but " if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the "works: that ye may know and believe that the 'Father is in me, and I in him." Chap. xiv. 11. "Believe me that I am the Father, and the Father " in me: or else believe me for the very works fake." Chap. xx. 30, 31. "And many other signs truly did JESUS in the prefence of his difciples, which are " not written in this book. But these are written, " that

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SERM." that ye might believe that Jesus is the CHRIST, CCXXII. "the Son of God, and that believing, ye might have

" life through his name." And from hence our Saviour aggravates the unbelief and impenitency of the Jews, because they resisted this highest evidence, Matt. xi. 20, 21, 22, 23, 24. "Then began " he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty " works were done, because they repented not. Wo " unto thee Chorazin, wo unto thee Bethsaida: for " if the mighty works which were done in you, had " been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have " repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I

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say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre " and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. " And thou Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell. For if the mighty works which have been done in thee, had " been done in Sodom, it would have remained un" til this day. But I say unto you, that it shall be " more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day " of judgment, than for thee." John xv. 24. "If I " had not done among them the works which none " other man did, they had not had fin: but now " have they both seen, and hated both me and my " Father." And so the apostle tells us, that miracles are the great confirmation of the gospel, and are so clear an evidence of the truth of it, that they render all unbelievers inexcusable, Heb. ii. 2, 3. " if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward: how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed un" to us by them that heard him ?"

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In particular, the great weight of the gospel is laid

upon

H upon the miracle of CHRIST's refurrection from the SERM.

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dead, which our SAVIOUR mentions as the "only CCXXII. "sign that should be given to that generation," that is, the clearest. And the apostle, Rom. i. 4. faith, that "he was declared to be the Son of God with

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power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the " refurrection from the dead." This put it out of all question. And St. Paul, in his Sermon to the Athenians, Acts xvii. 30, 31. insists upon this as the great evidence; " and the times of their ignorance "GOD winked at; but now commandeth all men " every where to repent: because he hath appointed " a day in which he will judge the world in righte" ousness by that man whom he hath ordained, "whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in "that he hath raised him from the dead." And this was the proper work of the apostles, to be witnesses to the world of this great miracle, Acts i. 21, 22. "wherefore of these men which have companied with " us all the time that the LORD JESUS went in and " out among us, beginning from the baptifm of John " unto that same day that he was taken up from us, "must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his " refurrection." So St. Peter in his fermon, Acts ii. 32. "him hath God raised up, whereof we all

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are witnesses." And to mention no more, Acts x. 38, 39, 40, 41. "God anointed JESUS of Na" zareth with the holy Ghost and with power, who " went about doing good, and healing all that were " oppressed of the devil: for God was with him. " And we are witnesses of all things which he did " both in the land of the Jews and in Hierufalem; "whom they flew and hanged on a tree: him GOD " raised up the third day, and shewed him o"penly; not to all the people, but unto witnesses " chofen

'SERM. " chosen before of God, even to us who did eat CCXXII. ،، and drink with him after he rose from the dead."

2. What assurance of miracles is sufficient to persuade men to believe the revelation or testimony, for the confirmation of which they are wrought. Of this assurance there are three degrees, all which do oblige men to believe the divine revelation for which they are wrought.

(1.) If we have the evidence of our own senses for it, that is, if we see them wrought. This evidence the disciples of our LORD had, and the Jews, and therefore their unbelief was inexcusable; and the blafpheming the Spirit, whereby they faw such miracles to be wrought, was the fin against the holy Ghost.

(2.) If we have the credible report of eye-witnesses of those miracles, who are credible perfons, and we have no reason to doubt of their testimony; that is, if we have the reports of them immediately from the mouth of those who were eye-witnesses of them. That this lays likewise an obligation on men to believe, appears by our SAVIOUR'S reproof of Thomas, who would not believe except he himself saw: but most expaesly from that text, Mark xvi.

14.

" he upbraided them with their unbelief and " hardness of heart, because they believed not them "which had seen him after he was rifen."

(3.) If the credible report of eye-witnesses concerning such miracles be conveyed to us in such a manner, and with fo much evidence, as we have no reason to doubt of it. For why should we not believe a credible report, conveyed to us in such a manner as we have no reason to question, but that it hath been faithfully conveyed and tranfmitted to us? St. John thought this to be affurance sufficient to induce belief,

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lief, John xx. 31. " but these things were written, SERM.
" that ye might believe," &c. And this is that
assurance which we, who live at this distance from
the age of CHRIST and his apostles, have of the
miracles wrought in confirmation of the gospel.
I shall have occasion to enlarge upon these heads

hereafter.

3. What assurance miracles give us, that the scriptures are a divine revelation. And this contains four distinct questions in it.

1. What assurance we have from hence, that the doctrine contained in the scripture is from God? To which the answer is easy; because these miracles were wrought for the confirmation of this doctrine.

But

2. The question is, what assurance the miracles
give us, that those persons who are said to be the
pen-men of the several books of scripture, were re-
ally fo? To this I answer; none at all: for I do not
know of any miracle that was wrought to prove
Mofes wrote the pentateuch, or that St. Matthew
wrote the gospel which goes under his name.
if the question be, how then am I affured of this?
I answer, by credible and uncontrol'd report. It
bears his name, and hath always been received for
his: and if this will not fatisfy, I cannot prove it
farther, it is too late now to prove it by any other
argument. St. Matthew is dead, and those who
saw him write it, and those who received it from
them; so that we cannot go to enquire of them in
order to our fatisfaction: but the best of it is, that
as it cannot now be proved at this distance, other-
wise than by constant and uncontrol'd report; fo
no man at this distance can have any reason to doubt
of it; and so long as no man can have any reason to
doubt of it, there can be no need of proving it, espe-

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