impoffible can be fuppofed, to deceivé thofe, upon whom their Miracles had the effect of restoring to them the ufe of their feet, their fight, and their health, and even of raising them again from the dead.

And indeed none of the Adversaries of old of the Chriftian Religion ever denied, but that Miracles were wrought by the Apostles; they only difputed the Power, by which they were wrought; they never queftioned the reality of the Miracles themselves. The Books of the New Teftament, which give an account of these won. drous works, were written foon after the things related had been done, and thefe Books were in the hands of Heathens and Jews as well as Chriftians; and neither the Jews nor the Heathens could deny but that fuch works had been done, they only cavilled at the Power and Authority, by which they were wrought, which, how ground!efs and unreasonable soever it were, yet was the only evafion they could have, when there were fo many Christians, if they had denied the matter of Fact, who did the like Miracles every day to confute them. For,

H. The Apostles not only wrought Miracles themselves, but conveyed to others a power of working them. Thus when St Peter was fent for to Cornelius, the Holy Ghoft fell on all them which heard the word,

and

and they spake with Tongues, and magnified... God, Act. x. 44, 46. And fo at Ephelus, the H. Ghost came on those whom St Paul had laid his hands upon, and they spake with Tongues and Prophefied, Acts xix. 6. And this miraculous Power was in that evident manner received by the laying on of the hands of the Apostles, that Simon Magus offered them Money to purchase it, Acts viii. 18. Now as the Apostles could> neither be deceived themselves in the Mi racles which they did, nor deceive thofe, before whom they were performed, and upon whom they were wrought; fo certainly they could never deceive fuch as they conferred this Gift upon. When they not only did all forts of Miracles, and fpoke all Languages themselves, but conveyed a Power likewife upon others of fpeaking and doing, as themselves did, this was ftill a further evidence that all their pretences were real beyond all poffibility of Deceit.

Deceivers would never have done their Miracles fo openly, and fo frequently, at fuch a time and place; they would never have pretended to a gift of Tongues at a Festival, where men from all parts of the world were met together; fo that they could attempt to fpeak in no strange language, but fome prefent would have dif Sovered them, if they had not been Z able

able to speak it. But they would least of all have pretended to enable others in an instant, to work the fame wonders, and fpeak the fame Tongues, only by laying their hands upon them. Men that would attempt all this, though they were unable to perform it, must be so far from being capable of difcourfing and writing as the Apoftles did, that they must be void event of common fenfe and if they could fuc ceed in their designs, and make the world believe that they did act and speak in this manner, when they did not, they must have a Power over the understandings and fenfes of all with whom they converfed; which is as ftrange as this Miraculous Power itself. They muft work Miracles either upon the objects of fence, or upon the fences themselves: for in this cafe they could never have been able fo much as to deceive without a Miracle; and fince God would never have empowered them to work Miracles to deceive, we are certain Miracles were all wrought for that intent and purpofe, which they made profeffion of, and to confirm that Doctrine which they taught,

that t

And this Power of Miracles, which now defcended from Heaven upon the Apostles, and was conveyed by them to others, continued for fome Ages in the Church, and approved it felf to the worft Enemies

of

(d) Minut.

& c. 21.

of our Religion in fuch inftances, as must make them most concerned to examine it. (d) Several of the Primitive Writers wit Falix. nefs, that nothing was more notorious, Lactant. than that the Devils were wont to cry out lib.ii.c.15. for very anguish and torment, when they were adjured by the true God, (e) and ()ApoTertullian made publick challenges to the log. c. 23. Heathens, that if they would but admit them to this Tryal, the Chriftians would undertake to make their moft famous Deities acknowledge the Power of Chrift, and to make their very Gods confefs themfelves to be wicked and feducing Spirits, or elfe they would be contented to be flain upon the place; and this he wrote under perfecutions, and in Apologies de dicated and presented to their Perfecutors themselves.

And indeed the Oracles in all parts of the World foon began to fail, fo as they had been never known to do before: for their Power began to abate and decay upon the approach of our Saviours Birth into the World, till by degrees they quite ceafed, which the Heathens wondered at, and were much perplext about it, as we learn from what if they have left written () Cicer. upon that fubject. And though Julian Plutarch. the Apoftate ufed all the ways that he de oracul. could think of, to bring them into credit Defectu again, he was never able to effect it, but

Z 2

the

de Divinar.

the most famous of them confefs'd to him, when he confulted it, that a miraculous and Divine Power refiding in the Remains of a Chriftian Martyr after his Death, would fuffer no answer to be given. And it is fo remarkable,

once more, that that I muft mention it

when the fame Apoftate Emperor, in hatred and defpight to the Chriftian Religion, became a great Patron of the Jews, and encouraged them to re-build their Temple, great balls of fire broke forth under the foundation, and deftroyed both the work it felf and the perfons employed in it. And this we have related, not only by feveral Chriftian Writers that lived about that time, but by an (g) Heathen Hiftorian, who was then b. xxiii. living and wrote the Hiftory of thofe times, and has fhewn himself in no refpect over favourable to the Chriftians, but was a Soldier under Julian, and had no inclination to fay any thing that might feem to diminish his Character. The Judgments

Ammia

Marcellin.

C. I.

which befell feveral of the greatest Perfecutors of the Chriftian Religion, were fo miraculous and fo terrible, as to extort a confeffion from fome of them of God's (b)Eufeb. Juftice in their Punishment, and to force Hift. lib. them to re call their perfecuting Edicts and ix. c. 10, change them for others in favour of ChriLactant de ftianity. (b) The Edicts of Maximianus Mortib. and Maximin to this purpose are to be

viii. c. 17

Perfecut.c xxxiv. 49.

feen