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lieve the Scriptures to be the word of God? the Anfwer is, upon the account of the Miracles and Prophecies, which concurring with all other circunftances requifite in a Revelation, confirm the Truth of them. If it be asked, how we know that these Prophecies and Miracles are true and effectual, and not feigned, or infufficient; I answer, because we have them fo related and attefted, that confidered barely as matter of Fact, they have all the credibility that any matter of Fa& is capable of, and therefore may as fafely be relied upon, as any thing which we do our felves fee, or hear. If it be further urged that for all this I may be deceived, fince all men are fallible, and no man is infallibly affured that there is fuch a place as Rome, who never faw it; though no man neither can any more doubt of it, than he can doubt whether there be fuch a place as London, who lives in it. I acknowledge that there is a bare poffibility of being deceived in all humane evidence, but yet I deny that we can poffibly be deceived in this cafe, becaufe, though the evidence itfelt be humane, yet the things which it concerns are of that Nature, that God would never fuffer the World to be thus long impofed upon in them, without all poffibility of finding out the Truth. So that here we refolve our Faith into the di

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vine Authority, by reafon of the fame Miracles, by reafon whereof the Eye-witneffes of them did refolve theirs into it, but they believed thefe Miracles as feen by themselves, and we believed them as feen, and witnessed by others, but both they and we believe them as the works of God himself.

It might have been alledged, if we had feen thofe Miracles that we might poffibly be deceived; and fo indeed we might, if we could not have fecurely relyed upon Gods Truth and Goodness, that they were defigned by him to confirm the Doctrine, for the fake of which they were wrought, and we may with equal fecurity rely upon the fame Truth and Goodness for the certainty of the Hiftory of them, as we could have done for the fufficiency of them to the purpose for which they were wrought, though they had been performed in our fight, fince it is as impoffible to find out any deceit in the account given of them, as it would have been for us to find any in the Miracles themfelves at the time of their performance.

Humane Teftimony is the conveyance and the means of delivering the Truths contained in the Holy Scriptures down to us; and we, who could neither fee the Miracles nor hear the Doctrines at the first hand, have at this diftance of time the

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truth of them ascertained by a continued fucceffive Teftimony, till we arrive at such as were immediate witnefles of them. Now those that faw and heard all things which are delivered to us in the Scriptures, could not esteem their fences infallicle, but they notwithstanding believed our Saviour and his Difciples to be fo, of whom yet their fenfes only could give them means of affurance that they were infallible. They knew their fenfes might deceive them (or, that they might be mistaken concerning the objects of fence) but nevertheless they believed that our Saviour and the Apo ftles could not deceive them, upon this only ground, that their fences or their reafon by deduction from fence told them fo. There was not one man of them perhaps but had often obferved his fenfes mifreprefent objects to him, and yet in this cafe upon the fole Teftimony of their fenses they grounded an infallible Faith: because, though their fences had mifre prefented objects, yet it was in a wrong medium, at an undue diftance, or by reafon of fome indifpofition of the fenfe it felf, and ftill their fences, or rather their reafon by the help of their fences difcovered that their fences had led them into mistakes. But in the prefent cafe, when the Object was placed in open and frequent view, to the greatest advantage,

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when it was publick and exposed to mul titudes, when all agreed in the fame o pinion concerning it, and when the matter was of infinite importance, here they had reafon to conclude, that the God, who framed their Sences, would not fuffer them to be fo hurtful to them, as they must needs have been, if they had been deceived by them. In like manner, in the Teftimony, which defcends to us from former Ages, we fee with other mens eyes, and hear with other mens ears; and though the Teftimony hay often fail us, and is fubject to a double inconveniency, through the incapacity and unfaithfulness of witneffes, yet, as in the former cafe, so here, when all circumftances are weighed and confidered, and after the utmost tryal, no reafon can be found to with-hold our affent, but all things ftand undisproved, and no juft fcruple appears, but only a bare poffibility of being deceived; and this arifing not from any defect, but that of humane nature itself, here Gods Goodnefs and his Truth muft needs interpofe, to take away that only impediment, which otherwise must unavoidably hinder any thing from ever being known to be infallible.

The only certainty which we can have that our fences are true, is this, That God will not fuffer them to be deceived, where

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the difpofition of the medium, and diftance of the Object, and all other circumftances are rightly qualified: bec ufe that would be inconfiftent with his Attributes of Juftice, Goodness and Truth, but it would be inconfiftant with thefe Attributes, not upon the account of our Bo dies; for they would be provided for as well, though our fences were deluded; we should see, and hear, and taste just as we do now, though we were never fo amuch deceived in these fenfations: therefore the Truth, and Goodnefs, and Justice of God are engaged not to fuffer us to be deceived, in refpect to to our Souls, hot in regard to our Bodies and if we have no certainty that our fences do not deceive us, but because God would not fuffer fuch a cheat to be put upon us, as we are intelligent and rational Beings; we have the fame an much greater reafon to conclude, that he would not fuffet us to lye under fuch a delufion in reference to our eternal Interft.If God would not fuffer our minds unavoidably to lye under a temporal delufion of no great confequence, have owe not have we not much more reafon to conclude, that he would not suffer us unavoidably to be deceived by any means whatfoever, in refe renee to our eternal Interest? For in this cafe, to be deceived is to be deftroyed and to fuffer it is a thousand times worse, H h than

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