dertook to display, not in such idle and useless tricks as slight of hand might perform, but in such solid and important works, as appeared worthy a divine interposition, and entirely superior to human power; restoring, as they pretend, sight to the blind, soundness to lepers, activity to the lame, and, in some instances, life to the dead. Nor were these things undertaken in a corner, in a circle of friends or dependants, nor were they said to be wrought on such as might be suspected of being confederates in the fraud; but they were done often in the public streets, in the sight of enemies, on the persons of such as were utter strangers to the apostles, but sometimes well known to neighbours and spectators, as having long laboured under these calamities, to human skill utterly incurable. Would impostors have made such pretensions as these? Or if they had, must they not immediately have been exposed and ruined?

Nor is there any room at all to object, that perhaps the apostles might not undertake to do these things on the spot, but only assert they had done them elsewhere: for even then, it would have been impossible they should have gained credit; and they would have seemed the less credible on account of

such a pretence. Whatever appearances there might have been of gravity, integrity, and piety, in the conversation of Peter, (for instance,) very few, especially few that had known but little of him, would have taken it upon his word, that he saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead at Bethany; but fewer yet would have believed it upon his affirmation, had it been ever so solemn, that he had himself

raised Dorcas at Joppa; unless he had done some extraordinary work before them, correspondent, at least, if not equal to that. You will easily think

of invincible objections, which otherwise might have been made; and undoubtedly, the more such assertions have been multiplied, every new person, and scene, and fact, had been an additional advantage given to the enemy, to have detected and confuted the whole scheme, which Peter and his associates had thus endeavoured to establish.

But to come still closer to the point.-If the New Testament be genuine, (as I have already proved it) then it is certain, that the apostles pretend to have wrought miracles in the very presence of those to whom their writings were addressed; nay more, they profess likewise to have conferred those miraculous gifts, in some considerable degrees, on others, even on the very persons to whom they write, and they appeal to their consciences as to the truth of it. And could there possibly be room for delusion here? It is exceedingly remarkable to this purpose, that Paul makes this appeal to the Corinthians, and Galatians, when there were amongst them some persons disaffected to him, who were taking all opportunities to sink his character, and destroy his influence; and could they have wished for a better opportunity than such an appeal? An appeal which, had not the fact it supposed been certain, far from recovering those that were wavering in their esteem, must have been sufficient utterly to disgust his most cordial and steady friends.—And the same remark may be applied to the advices and reproofs, which the Apostle there gives relating to

the use and abuse of their spiritual gifts; which had been most notoriously absurd, and even ridiculous, had not the Christians to whom he wrote been really possessed of them. And these gifts were so plainly supernatural, that (as it has often been observed), if it be allowed that miracles can prove a divine revelation, and that the First Epistle to the Corinthians be genuine, (of which, by the way, there is at least as pregnant evidence as that any part of the New Testament is so,) then it follows, by a sure and easy consequence, that Christianity is true. Nevertheless other arguments are not to be forgot in this survey. And therefore, as I have proved under this head, that had the testimony of the apostles been false, it is not to be imagined that they could have gained credit at all; and especially, when they had put the proof of their cause on such a footing, as we are sure they did. I am now to show you,

5. That it is certain in fact, that the apostles did gain early credit, and succeeded in a most wonderful manner; from whence it will follow, that their testimony was true.That the apostles did indeed gain credit in the world, is evident, from what I before offered to prove, the early prevalence of Christianity in it; and may farther be confirmed from many passages in the New Testament. And here I insist, not so much on express historical testimonies, though some of them are very remarkable; especially that of the brethren at Jerusalem, who speak of many myriads of believing Jews assembled at the feast of Pentecost: but I argue from the epistles written to several churches, which plainly prove, that there were congregations of Christians in Rome, Corinth,

Ephesus, Colosse, Thessalonica, Philippi, Smyrna, Laodicea, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Crete, Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, and many other places; in so much that one of the apostles could say, that Christ had so wrought by him, to make the Gentiles obedient, not only in word or profession, but in deed too, that from Jerusalem, even round about to Illyricum, he had fully preached the Gospel of Christ, or, as the word imports, had accomplished the purposes of it.—And there is a great deal of reason, both from the nature of the thing, and from the testimony of ancient history, to believe, that others of the apostles had considerable success elsewhere: so that Paul might with reason apply to them and their doctrine, what is originally spoken of the luminaries of heaven, and the instruction they communicate, "Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world."

So great was the number of those who were proselyted to Christianity, by the preaching of the apostles; and we have all imaginable reason to believe, that there were none of all these proselytes, but what were fully persuaded of the truth of the testimony they bore; for otherwise, no imaginable reason can be given for their entering themselves into such a profession. The apostles had no secular terrors to affright them, no secular rewards to bribe them, no dazzling eloquence to enchant them: on the contrary, all these were in a powerful manner pleading against the apostles; yet their testimony was received, and their new converts were so thoroughly satisfied with the evidence which they gave them of

their mission, that they encountered great persecutions, and cheerfully ventured estate, liberty, and life itself, on the truth of the facts they asserted; as plainly appears from many passages in the epistles, which none can think the apostles would ever have written, if these first Christians had not been in a persecuted condition.

Nor will it signify any thing to object, that most of these converts were persons of a low rank, and ordinary education, who therefore might be more easily imposed upon than others: for (not to mention Sergius Paulus, Dionysius the Areopagite, or the domestics of Cesar's household, with others of superior stations in life), it is sufficient to remind you, as I have largely shown, that the apostles did not put their cause on the issue of laboured arguments, in which the populace might quickly have been entangled and lost, but on such plain facts as they might judge of as easily and surely as any others; indeed on what they themselves saw, and in part too, on what they felt.

Now I apprehend, this might be sufficient to bring the matter to a satisfactory conclusion. You have seen, that as there is no reason to believe, that the apostles, who certainly knew the truth, would have attempted a fraud of this kind;-so, if they had attempted it, they could not possibly have succeeded; nevertheless they did succeed in a very remarkable manner; -whence it plainly follows, that what they testified was true. And the reasonableness of receiving the Gospel, on admitting the truth of what they testified concerning Christ, is an easy consequence.