to be informed; and yet such as leave room for little exceptions and cavils to men of perverse and disputative tempers, who will not allow of any evidence, in behalf of Christianity, how strong and irrefragable soever, if they can but imagine to themselves any circumstance, whereby it might possibly have been made yet somewhat stronger; and do therefore pretend to doubt of the truth of Christ's resurrection, because he did not appear to all the people, to his very persecutors and murderers. I have proved, that it was highly improper, unnecessary, and unreasonable, that he should so have appeared ; and that it was expedient, highly expedient (because in all respects sufficient), that he should appear only to his friends and followers, and, amongst them, chiefly to his apostles, upon the single credit of whose testimony the belief of this great article was to depend. It remains that I should, in the

III. Third and last place, consider, how our Saviour spent his time with them.

The text tells us, that he employed it partly in giving them many infallible proofs of his being returned to life, and partly in discoursing to them of things pertaining to the kingdom of God. By the one he enabled them to prove the divine authority of his mission, and by the other he instructed them in all the parts of his heavenly doctrine, and by both together he qualified them for a successful propagation of Christianity.

- 1. He shewed himself alive to them ἐν πολλοῖς τεκungíos, by many clear signs and tokens, many infallible proofs (as our translation renders it). And such indeed they were in every respect. For he appeared to them, not once only, but often; not only to some of them, when separated from the rest, but to all of them, when assembled together, and when they were capable of satisfying each other by inquiries made at the same time into the truth of the same fact, and consequently of giving an united testimony to it. He appeared to them not in the dark, as spectres do, but in broad day-light;

sometimes at places where he had before appointed to meet them, sometimes occasionally, as they were travelling on the way, or sitting at meat, when their minds were freest from the clouds of melancholy, and their imaginations least apt to be imposed upon. He conversed with them at such times in the most easy and familiar manner: he eat and drank with them, and gave them, by that means, leisure to recover themselves from that surprise, and those fears, which the first sight of him might occasion, and with composed minds to hearken to all he should say to them. He not only repeated these conversations often, he continued them long; as appears from the subject of some of them, particularly of that, where he is said to have begun at Moses, and all the prophets, and to have expounded to them in all the Scriptures, the things concerning himself, Luke xxiv. 27. And, that nothing might be wanting to satisfy them to the uttermost, he was contented, not only to be seen and heard, but even handled by them : Reach hither, said he to one of them in the presence of the rest, thy finger, and behold my hands, and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side, and be not faithless, but believing, John xx. 27. Is it possible for scepticism itself to indulge its wild suspicions so far, as to think, the apostles might all this time be in a dream, or under a strong and continued delusion? They who think, or speak thus, seem to be under a judicial infatuation themselves: for they might, with as much probability and colour of reason, affirm, that all the facts, recorded in the gravest and most authentic writers, are figments, and the mere inventions of wanton pens: that there is no way of distinguishing between reality and appearance, even in the common occurrences of life, and consequently no difference between a romance and an history. Certain it is, that, unless the apostles be admitted as good witnesses in such a case as this, and the truth of what they relate be allowed, there is an end of the credibility of all human testimony.

2. But as our Saviour, during his forty days' stay on

earth, fully enabled his apostles to attest his resurrection, so did he qualify them duly to preach his doctrine; for he taught them τὰ περὶ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ Θεῦ, the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, i. e., to the Gospel dispensation, of which they were to be the ministers, and to his church, which they were to gather, constitute, and govern. Of these things the apostles were then very ignorant; and though, for their full and final instruction, our Lord referred them to the Comforter, yet he himself was willing previously to instruct and comfort them; to teach them the first rudiments of christian knowledge, and to fill their hearts with longing expectations of those further degrees of light and joy, with which they were afterwards to be blessed. This promise he had made them the very night before his passion. I will not leave you comfortless, John xiv. 18, &c., said he, even for so long a time, as till the promised Comforter shall come; I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me. At that day (the day of my return to you) you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me. Ye shall understand somewhat of that mystical union that is between my Father and me, and between me and my church, the society of Christian believers. Without all question, what he then promised, he now performed; and therefore, we may be sure, discoursed to them concerning the great articles of our faith, the high mysteries of Christianity.

The Scripture accounts of these things are short: however, even from these short accounts we learn, that he commanded them to make proselytes in all nations, and to baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Matt. xxviii. 19. And we cannot doubt but that, when he directed this form he made some discovery to them concerning the nature and offices of these three persons of the everblessed Trinity, in whose names they were to baptize.

He told them, that all power was given him, in heaven, and in earth, Matt. xxviii. 18; and in virtue of that power,

he gave them also power, not of baptizing only, but of remitting and retaining sins. He sent them, as he was sent by the Father; and sufficiently directed them to send others as they were sent, who were, in like manner, to continue that mission, by the promise he made to be with them always, even to the end of the world, Matt. xxviii. 20.

The sacrament of his body and blood he had instituted, while living; and now therefore he celebrated it together with them: for he took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave unto them, and was known of them in thus breaking of bread, Luke xxiv. 30, 35: a phrase, which in the Acts manifestly refers to the eucharist; and may justly therefore be understood of it here, in the story of our Saviour.

In a word, he opened their understandings, that they might understand the Scriptures, and all the prophecies concerning himself; and he bade them teach all nations to observe all things that he had commanded them, Matt. xxvii. 20. Which two passages comprise the knowledge of what relates both to the doctrine and discipline of the church, both to the faith and practice of a Christian.

But the chief way of our Saviour's spending his time with the apostles, after he arose from the dead, was, by affording them these illustrious, these infallible proofs of the truth of his resurrection. And God be thanked that he did so; since by thus settling his wavering disciples in an unshaken belief of this truth, he enabled them, with the utmost firmness and constancy, to propagate their belief of it, and even to seal their testimony with their blood; and hath by that means extended the efficacy and influence of those infallible proofs to us also, who live near seventeen ages after they were given. Our conviction depended upon theirs, is derived from it, and proportioned to it. And in virtue therefore of the evidence indulged to them (not for their sakes alone, but for the sake of all succeeding Christians) do we meet here this day, with joy and thankfulness to celebrate this festi

val, and to profess our faith in Him, that was dead but is alive; was crucified but is risen; and now sitteth at the right hand of the Father.

Blessed indeed, in many respects, beyond us, blessed were the eyes that saw these things, and the ears that heard them, for they saw, and heard, and believed; but blessed also are we, who receive their testimony, blessed even beyond them, in this respect, if not seeing we do yet believe. The lips of truth hath assured us, that in this case there is one beatitude more reserved for us, than belonged even to the apostles themselves, if we believe the resurrection of Christ upon their report; whereas they believed it only upon the testimony of their senses. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, wait with patience, that the trial of your faith (as St. Peter speaks) may be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ! whom having not seen, I trust, ye love, in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory; receiving, in his due time, the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls, 1 Pet. i. 7, 8.

And may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost, Rom. xv. 23.

I cannot dismiss this reflection without applying it to the blessed sacrament, of which we are going to partake, and by partaking of which, we profess, in a most especial manner, to exercise our faith in an invisible Jesus. He is there really, effectually, though spiritually present; the eye of faith can behold him, though that of sense cannot: for his flesh is meat indeed, and his blood is drink indeed, John vi. 55. That bread and that wine, which he there imparts to us shall become his very body and blood, in such a sense as he intended it, to every worthy and faithful receiver: it shall convey to us all the benefits of his body broken, and his blood poured out on the cross; and unite us to him in our bodies and souls, after such a wonderful manner, as none but they who feel it, can conceive, and even they who conceive it, cannot express.