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ISAIAH Ixvi. 7, 8.

Before he travailed fhe brought forth; before her pain came, he was delivered of a man child.

Who hath beard fuch a thing? Who hath feen fuch things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day, or fhall a nation be born at once?

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which we

HE works of nature, every day contemplate, lie within the compass of our reason, and if we cannot fee into their first causes, yet we can trace them in their powers and effects, fo as to be able to give some ease and fatisfaction to our natural defire after knowledge. Our observations on material objects being frequently repeated, and our fenfes giving certain evidence of their truth, lead us into a competent skill to judge of the rife, progrefs, and decay of many fubftances, or natural beings. Various are the inftances of this kind, in which we may fafely say, that we cannot be deceived, or that we must firft forfeit both our fenfes, and our reafon, before we can fuffer any delufion to pass upon us in these common occurrences. There are in

deed fome truths which are equally certain with these more obvious ones, and in thefe one man may be more capable of being imposed upon than another, from the unequal degrees of knowledge, or the indifferent exercifes and attainments of their rational faculties; but fil there are common cafes in which every man above the class of an ideot is an equal judge, and wherein the clown and the philofopher are upon the fame level.

If a man cannot tell what degrees of motion kindle a flame, yet he can certainly know as well as the best naturalift, that one flame will kindle n. ther; if he cannot tell how the food fupplies the body with additional parts for its preservation and increase, yet he can perceive it is nourished and increased by the food that is conveyed into the veffels. In these operations of nature, which are the objects of our daily experience, we may lay it down as a maxim, that it is impoffible to be deceived. And yet there is a church, and a mighty one too, which in direct contradiction to the evidence of fenfe, the natural refults of reafon, would, and does impose the groffeft cheats imaginable upon its members, under the notion that their fenfes are deceived in the most obvious and plain experiments in life. With them it is no difficulty, for a body to be

in ten thousand places at one time, for the fubftance which you fee, feel, finell, and taste, to be a different fubftance to what all thefe fenfes reprefent it to be; or, in the inftance. of my text, for a woman to bring forth, before fhe travails, and be delivered of a man child, befo e her pain comes.

And now if we fhould add with the prophet, who has heard fuch a thing, who has feen fuch things? Their answer is ready, the church out of its holy treasury of legends furnishes us with a thousand inftances equally improbable, equally contradictory to the received notions, and certain experience of all mankind. There are not only those who have heard of thefe natural impoffibilities, but those who have feen them, and will witnefs to their truth; they have ocular demonftrators against common fense, and hearsay evidences innumerable for the proof of facts which never have been. The earth fall be made to bring forth in one day, and a nation shall be made at once; that is, the ordinary methods of a beginning from fome certain principle, and a gradual encrease by regular and natural means fhall be fuperfeded, and that which requires time, pains, and industry for its growth, be formed and perfected at one inftant, or in fo short a space as to be equally the object of wonder, as if

it had been produced and finished at once. Such a cafe as this, in which Isaiah appeals to the teftimony of the world, if ever they had heard of, or feen fuch a thing, is a flight and common matter with the church of Rome, whofe forge of miracles is always at work, and fo many conftant artificers employed in that pious drudgery, that though it has produced wonder after wonder for these many a century, it fill labours on, and with very little pains, and a competent ftock of assu rance, ftill brings forth more and more, fo that they are now become like the multitude mentioned in the Revelations, which no man could number. But that ye, brethren, may be warnd from falling into the errors and fuperftitions of those who lay in wait to deceive yous and that you may fly from the fnare, which is fet for the weak and ignorant; I fhall take occafion from the words I have named to you, to fhew you in particular,

First, The monftrous abfurdity of that church in its perpetual forgery of new miracle, and how much it derogates from the honour and truth of christianity.

And in the fecond place, I will plainly tell you the end and design of their pretensions to miracles.

And

And in the last place, make a particular application of the words of my text, to the occafion of the present time.

Firft then; It is abfurd in the church of Rome for to pretend to the exercise of a miraculous power in that filly and ridiculous manner it does, and brings a very great difcredit upon miracles themselves, and fo reflects a dishonour upon Christ and his followers, who never had recourse to that method of conviction, but upon proper and extraordinary occafions. The miracles which were worked by our bleffed faviour, were in teftimony of his mission, that he came from God for those purposes which he informed his hearers he did, and therefore he very often for the truth of his miffion and doctrines appeals to his miracles; as when he fays, if they would not believe him, they should believe his works. In the fame manner the apostles have recourfe to the mighty works which they wrought for the confirmation of the doftrine which they received from their mafter, and propagated in his name. And certain it is, that whoever offers any thing to the belief of another, pretending that he comes from God, must have fome evident proof of his divine miffion: fince no man is obliged to believe him meerly upon his own testimony.

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