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in behalf of his Deaf and Dumb Son; If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth; and upon that humble and passionate Declaration, Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief, the evil Spirit was cast out of his Son, Mark ix. 23, 24.

The End and Design of Christ's Miracles required, that those, who were Cured by him, should believe in him. For they were wrought with a design to convince Men that he was the Son of God, and that he was come not so much to Cure their Bodies, as to save their Souls, and he forgave their Sins at the same time that he healed them of their Diseases, Mark ii. 5. And fince Faith is so necessary a Doctrine of the Gospel, it was as requisite that Christ should teach this, as any other Doctrine: But how could he do it more properly and more effectually than by requiring Faith in those who came to be healed? If they would partake of his Mercy, they must qualifie themselves for it, by believing that he was the great Prophet and Messias, who was then so much expected, and of whom it was foretold, that he should make the Blind to see, and the Lame to walk, and the Deaf to hear, &c. Luke vii. 22. Ifa. xxxv. 5. And unless their Bodily Cure did conduce to the Cure of their Souls by Faith and Repentance, it would be but ill bestowed upon them, and therefore with great Reason might be denied them. And upon this Account, we find our Blessed Saviour both requiring Faith in fome, and rewarding it in others, to whom his miraculous Power was extended, Luke viii. 48. xviii. 42. And St. Paul perceiving that the Cripple at Lystra had Faith to be healed, immediately healed him without being ask'd to do it, Acts xiv. 9.

2. Faith, in the Miracles of Christ, is required of Men in all Ages of the World, though Miracles are ceased; and if this be reasonable now, it could not but be fitting then, that those who came to Christ, should believe in him for the sake of the Miracles which they had been certified that he had done upon others. For Miracles, when they are fully attested, are as fufficient a Ground of Faith, as if we had seen them done; and to manifest that they are so, our Saviour might require Belief in his former Miracles, of those who expected any Advantage from such as they desired him to do. If they would give no Credit to the Miracles, which were so notorious, and so abundantly testified by Multitudes who saw them done, how should others believe in Times to come, when no more Miracles should be wrought for the Conviction of Unbelievers ? Might no Man be required to believe, unless he saw the Miracles himself? Then how should the Church subsist in future Ages, when Miracles would be no longer wrought, but were for great Reasons to be with-held? We must now believe upon the Account of the Miracles which were then done; and why therefore should they not be required to believe upon the Account of them, who lived at the very Time, and in the same Country where they were wrought, though they had never seen them? Our Saviour, in these Instances, might introduce that Method, and establish the Evidence and Certainty of those Means and Motives, whereby Faith was to be produced in Men of all fucceeding Ages, and might hereby signifie and declare, that he requires the same Faith of us from the Testimony of others, that he would do, if we had feen and experienced his miraculous Power our selves.

CHAP.

CHAP. ΧΧΧΙ.

Of the ceasing of Prophecies and Miracles.

Prophecies are generally of more Concernment,

and afford greater Evidence and Conviction in future Ages, than when they were first delivered. For it is not the Delivery, but the Accomplishment of Prophecies, which gives Evidence to the Truth of any Doctrine: The Events of Things in the Accomplishment of Prophecies are a standing Argument to all Ages, and the length of Time adds to its Force and Efficacy; and therefore when all that God faw requisite to be foretold, is deliver'd to us in the Scriptures, there can no longer be any need of New Prophecies; which would be of less Authority than the ancient ones, inasmuch as their Antiquity is the thing chiefly to be regarded in Prophecies. For, if to foretel Things to come be an Argument of a Divine Prescience, the longer Things are foretold before they come to pass, the better must the Argument needs be. He therefore that requires New Prophecies to confirm the Old, little confiders the Nature of Prophecies, and wherein the Evidence and Use of them lies; but in great Wisdom and Caution will give no Credit to the best Evidence, unless there were something less evident to prove it by.

The chief Enquiry then seems to be concerning the Cessation of Miracles; but from what has been elfewhere said, the Reason may appear, why the miraculous Power, which the Apostles received by the defcent of the Holy Ghost, was not to be of perpetual continuance in the Church, but was to cease in future Ages. For the Cause and End of the Gift of Miracles bestowed upon the Apostles, was to make them capable of being Witnesses to Christ; and when the Gospel

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of Christ was sufficiently testified, there could be no longer need of fuch a Power, which was given to enable Men to bear Testimony to it. For what is once effectually proved by sufficient Witnesses, is for ever proved, and needs no after-Evidence, if this Proof be preserved and tranfmitted down to Pofterity. The Power of Miracles continued till the Gospel had been preached not only in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, but unto the utmost Parts of the Earth; which was the declared Intention of our Saviour in bestowing it, Acts i. 8. And when the Gospel had stood all the Tryals, and conquered all the Opposition that could be made against it by Jews, and Heathens, and Apoftates themselves; when Miracles had been wrought for several Ages, before all forts of Men, upon all Occafions, and had extorted a Confeffion from the Devils themselves of the Divine Power, by which they were wrought; when the Books of the Apoftles and Evangelists, in which these Miracles are recorded, had been dispersed in all Nations and Languages, so that it was impoflible that the Memory of them should be loft; when once the Gospel was thus divulged and attested to the World, it could not be necessary that this miraculous Power should be any longer continued : Because this is the only Reafon and Design why Miracles should be wrought, to awaken Mens Attention, and prepare them for the Reception of the Doctrine which is revealed, and convince them of the Truth of it.

If then it be enquired, Why the miraculous Gifts, which were at first bestow'd upon the Church, were not continued to it in all fucceeding Ages? The plain Answer is; Because this Power was bestowed for the Establishment of the Christian Religion in the World, by convincing Men of its Truth and Authority; and therefore, when a fufficient Evidence had been given in all Parts of the World, of the Divine Authority of that Religion, upon the Account whereof thefe

Gifts were bestowed, the Reason for the bestowing of them must cease, and the Reason why they should be bestowed ceasing, these miraculous Gifts must of consequence cease with it. God appointed in the Church, first Apostles, secondarily Prophets, thirdly Teachers; after that, Miracles, then Gifts of Healings, -Helps, Governments, Diversities of Tongues, 1 Cor. xii. 28. It appears, therefore, from the Order of the Institution, that the miraculous Powers were inferior and subservient not only to the Apoftolick and Prophetick Office, but to that of the Preathers of the Gospel. So that when the Doctrine was once fully taught and received, there could be no longer need of Miracles to recommend and enforce its Reception,

And thus it was likewise under the Law. It is observable, that we read of no miraculous Power bestowed upon any Man before Moses. The Creation of the World was delivered down with undeniable Certainty, and the miraculous Judgments of God in drowning the Old World, in the confusion of Tongues, and in the Punishment inflicted upon Sodom and Gomorrah, were fufficient to keep up a Sense of the True Religion. But when a new Institution of Religion was to be introduced by Moses, miraculous Gifts were necessary to give Authority to it, and to oppose those false and lying Wonders which were in use among the Magicians in Egypt and other Places. In the former Ages Predictions were very frequent, and they were delivered by the Patriarchs, who were Men of unquestionable Credit and Authority, and could have no need of Miracles to confirm the truth of their Prophecies, which were so usual in those Times; and when the Lives of Men were so long, divers Prophe cies of the fame Persons had been verified by the Event. But Moses had a new Law to deliver, and both He and the Prophets had a stubborn People to deal with, to whom the Message they were charged withal, was commonly very unwelcome; so that till Gg 2 this

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