in the face of the whole world. 5. And that in the presence if not upon the persons, of the enemies themselves. All this appeareth in the whole story of the Gospel.

More than once did Christ feed many thousands with a few loaves, by miracles: oft did he heal and cast out devils in the presence of the multitude; so that the Pharisees took their advantage by it, because he would heal on the Sabbath day. They examined the blind, the lame, and others, whom he healed, and had their own confession of the cure. He turned water into wine, publicly at a marriage feast. He would not raise Lazarus till he was ready to stink, that the glory of God might be manifest in his resurrection; his disciples were the constant witnesses of other miracles, and might most easily discern whether he were a deceiver or not; and would they follow one through such difficulties and misery, and to death itself, in hope of a resurrection to glory, by him whom they knew to be a deceiver? At his death, the earth did quake, the temple rent, the land was shut up in darkness for three hours together, without any eclipse. Were there not witnesses enough, then, of this? His resurrection the soldiers could partly witness by the terror, and the disciples by their frequent sight of him. And Thomas must be convinced himself by putting his finger into his side, till he was forced to cry out, "My Lord and my God!" who (but even now) said, "Except I see and feel, I will not believe." Yea, above five hundred brethren saw him at once. But yet there is more than all this; the Holy Ghost fell so publicly on the disciples, that the Jews and men of all countries that were then in Jerusalem, came flocking together, to hear them speak every one in his own tongue, which they had never learned, nor understood before. Gifts of healing and casting out devils were common among the disciples in all churches long after this. Christ chose especially these two, both to signify his healing, recovering work and office, and his love to man's welfare, and his enmity to Satan, and that he came to destroy his work and kingdom, and save men from him. It continued long after this the ordinary practice of the disciples to speak in strange languages in the open assembly; so that unbelievers that came in among them, were ordinary witnesses of it; so that all the world that lived near them might see the Spirit of Jesus in his church, not to speak of all the other miracles which the apostles did. This Spirit, residing in men's souls, appearing visible in the actions, audible in the prophecies, languages, and other

gifts of the disciples, prevailing against the devil, and healing the diseased, and thus openly manifesting itself in all parts of the world, and before all the people where Christianity was entertained, is such a witness to Christ, and his testimony and doctrine, and to those writings which the chief actors of those miracles published, that he that denieth it, renounceth sense and reason, and openly fighteth against the God of heaven. If here were not witness enough, then we were incapable of a sufficient testimony. And yet I shall say more to this anon, from the sanctifying work of the same Spirit.

2. All that remains for the further clearing of this, is to inquire whether there be also a certainty of the history which delivereth the report of those things down to us. I have formerly proved to you herein, 1. That the authors of those histories or reports deceived not the world, but published only undoubted truths; 2. And that we have most certainly received their writings, or records, without any considerable corruption or alteration. I will now suppose you remember what I have said of both these already, and will only add these few words more.

1. I have told you already that the law of nature effectually teacheth all men, 1. To love themselves, and their own lives and liberty; 2. And to love truth, and hate known falsehood, where they have not some carnal advantage to make it seem lovely, that it is not possible that so many thousands of men could be found that would, to their own utter undoing in the world, take on them to work so many miracles, and see them wrought, and would follow a profession in mere delusion of others, or as willingly deluded themselves. That which now I will say, is only these two things:

1. The history of these things was not only delivered by these writings, which we call the Scriptures, but so generally received both before they were written and since, by the very evidence of the actions themselves, that churches of Christ were gathered and planted thereby, through a great part of the world; so that the conversion of so many countries by the very present power of the Holy Ghost appearing in them, and among them, which, undoubtedly, had an evidence and glory as great as the work which was wrought thereby, were a living public history of the glorious works of the Spirit which did convince them. The world, which was brought to believe by these miracles of the Holy Ghost, was the legible history of the truth of those miracles.

2. But the main thing that I would have you note, is that which my text affordeth, that those things were generally published, both by word and writing, through all countries, and especially in that same country where they were chiefly done; and that in the very same age, and among the same people, that are mentioned as witnesses of these things. This is a proof beyond all exception: it was not like a story raised in the next age, when all the witnesses were dead. Now, I desire every tempted or doubting soul seriously to think of this one plain truth. When all the writers, and many preachers of the gospel, shall publish up and down Judea, that Christ at such a time and in such a place fed so many thousand miraculously, turned water into wine, healed such multitudes, raised the dead, could not any man have discerned the falsehood of this, if it had been false ? Nay, when they mention the pharisees' own examination and conviction of the matter of fact, would not these enemies of the Gospel have easily confuted them? Nay, what need the pharisees, then, and the Jews, to this day, father all these works on the devil, if they were not really done? For men to write and tell the world, that on such a day, at such an hour, there was an earthquake, and a general darkness, and the temple rent, if this were no such matter, would it not make them the shame and scorn of the world for liars?

Could not all the country tell whether it were true or not? Would not this have made those that followed them all forsake them, and proclaim their shame? If thousands of men should seek credit to their testimony by telling us in England that there were earthquakes and general darkness at such an hour, would they get any followers by this report, if it were false? Paul saith, that of the five hundred brethren that saw Christ at once after his resurrection, the greater part were alive at the time when he wrote it. If this were false, how easily were it disproved, when it is written and published that men of all nations about did hear the disciples speaking in their own tongues the wonderful works of God at Jerusalem, when the Holy Ghost fell upon them: if this had been false, would it not have made all men forsake such notorious liars, and those that before did believe them to turn off? or, at least, would not the enemy have refuted the report? But, to come nearer the scope of my text, when it shall be written and published that the Holy Ghost was so common in every church, and on all Christians everywhere, that all had either gifts of healing, or tongues, or miracles, or pro

phesying, or interpretation of tongues, or the like; if this were false,

1. Every unbeliever that was near them could know it to be false; and then, 1. Some would have confuted it. 2. None would have believed it, and been converted by it.

2. Every Christian would have known this to be a false report, for men to write and publish that they had those gifts, which they knew they had not; and do those works which they do not, it would certainly have made all Christians deride and forsake them, and some of them publish the deceit. But yet to come closer to my text: when the apostle shall reprove the church, as Paul did the Corinthians, for too much using and affecting the gift of tongues, and endeavour to restrain them in it, and bid them use it but by two or three, and not so much neither without an interpreter, if there had been no such gift as this of tongues among them, (or the rest which he mentioneth of healing and miracles,) would not these Corinthians have derided Paul? Would they not have been unchristianed and unchurched by such reproofs as these? But yet, to come nearest of all, when false teachers come among them, and persuade them of the necessity of obeying the law of Moses in conjunction with Christ; and some bring the person of the apostle Paul into disgrace with them for opposing this: when the apostle shall make this open challenge to them to answer this argument, 'Did you receive the spirit, and do you work miracles by the works of the law, or by faith in Christ?' When he shall appeal to the miracles which he wrought among them, to prove the truth of his apostleship, "Verily the marks of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs and wonders, and mighty deeds." (2 Cor. xii. 12.) deliver offenders to Satan, and spared. (1 Cor. v., and 2 Cor. ii.) the Spirit in themselves, received by his ministry, and tell them, "He that hath not the spirit of Christ is none of his; and Christ dwelleth in them, unless they are reprobates." And if he do dwell in them, and they have the Holy Ghost, it was by his ministry and the faith of Christ. (2 Cor. xiii. 5.) Is it possible that any man of reason should be deceived by them that spoke such things, if they were not true?

When he shall threaten to make them supplicants to be Nay, when he shall appeal to

When men's minds are exasperated against us, they will be glad of any matter against us: so were many of the Corinthians and Galatians against Paul; they were become his enemies for telling

them the truth, in opposition to the jewish Christians. Now was this a likely way for him to vindicate himself or the christian doctrine, to make solemn appeals to themselves, even the whole churches, whether the Holy Ghost which they generally had, and the miracles which were commonly done among them, were not by the doctrine and faith of Christ? Yet so he doth in my text; 1. To call them angrily, bewitched fools and madmen, for going against the same doctrine, by which themselves had received the Spirit, and by which miracles were still done among them would they not all have hated the very name of Christianity, if this had been false? I pray do but put the like case to ourselves, if we were in a case of doubt between several teachers, and one of them should write thus to public churches, even the churches of England, Scotland, Holland, Germany; 'I appeal to yourselves, whether you did not by that doctrine which I delivered to you, receive the Holy Ghost, by which you all received either gifts of tongues, healing, prophesying, or the like, by which miracles are still wrought among you? I challenge you to answer this argument; if you were not bewitched fools and madmen, you would never offer to turn from that doctrine by which yourselves do these things, to that by which you never received the Spirit.' If all this were false, would not all these churches forsake that teacher, and renounce the doctrine which depended upon so notorious an untruth? And could not every enemy, yea, every silly person, know whether this were true or no? Would they not all say, ' Why, what doth the man mean to talk of common miracles, and that done among us, and by ourselves, and of the Spirit in us, when we know we have no such thing?' And yet Paul's epistles to the Corinthians and Galatians run in this strain: I think God suffered those false teachers to oppose the truth the rather that we might see afterward how it was defended. I conclude, therefore, that if ever any history in the world had certain evidence of the truth of the fact in it, and that there was no deceit, or overreaching of the ignorant by shows, then certainly this history of the Gospel hath much more; for greater is scarce possible.

2. And that we have the records or transcripts of those histories or writings, without any considerable corruption, is a truth that any learned man may be as easily satisfied in, without any special illumination of the Spirit; a truth that hath fuller evidence than for any other book in the world can be pro