W our lot to converte with Christ and his apoftles, and to be eye-witneffes of their miracles; we fhould, by fuch an advantage, have been fecured from any degree of doubt or infidelity: Whereas certain it is, that is, that they, who at this distance from the firft rife of the gofpel, after weighing the feveral evidences of it, waver in their faith, would have wavered though they had feen the first promulgers of it work wonders. Even that fight itfelf did not hinder many, to whom the golpel was firit preached, from turning it into lafcivioufefs, and enying the Lord Jefus, as St. Jude complains. Deceived we are, if we think, that God hath not furnished every age of the church with fufficient inducement to embrace the Faith; and the lateft ages, perhaps, with the firongest inducements to it. Indeed, the luftre of the primitive miracles is now wanting to us: But then we are freed from feveral inconvenien čes, under which the firft Chriftians laboured, and we enjoy likewife feveral advantages which they wanted. We have no original prejudices a gainst the gospel to fubdue, as they had; for we have been educated in the belief of it: We are not tempted, as they were, to revolt from it, by the dread of dangers and death; for all manner of encouragements attend our profeffion of it. The miraculous fuccefs of the apoftles preaching, and the accomplishment of many of their predictions, which to thofe early Chriftians were matter of faith only, are to us matters of fight and experi ence. And we, that live at the greatest distance from the age of the apoftles, have in this the ad vantage of fuch as were much nearer to them: VOL. II Ꮐ That That even these last and worst of times have produced the best apologies for our faith, the most accurate, and rational, and unanfwerable accounts of the truth of Chriftianity. To apply, therefore, the words of Solomon to the prefent cafe; "Say not thou, what is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou doft not enquire wifely of this thing. The last inference, which the doctrine delivered fuggefts to us, is, that we fhohld be invited from thence to magnify and to adore the divine wisdom, which hath fo ordered the first proofs and evidences of our faith, that they will be equally fatisfactory and convincing to the end of the world. “I know” (faith the wife man) "that whatfoever God doth,it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it; and God doth it, that man fhould fear before him," Eccl. iii. 14. Accordingly, he hath proposed a standing revelation, fo well confirmed by miracles, once for all, that it fhould be needlefs to recur to them, ever afterwards, for the conviction of any man, who was born within the pale of Christianity. This was the shortest, the fitteft, and wifeft way that could have been taken; the best fuited to the majesty of God, and to the other methods of his providence; and the best accommodated alfo to the nature, capacities, and interefts of men. It had been below him, by an immediate interpofition of his omnipotence, to have been appealing every day to his creatures for the truth of his religion; an endless and an unbecoming task, to put upon offering fuppernatural proofs, for the conviction of impious men, as often as their infidelity should be pleased pleased to demand them! Not fo doth he proceed in the government of the natural world: He made it, indeed, at the first, after a miraculous and incomprehenfible manner; but he steers a d directs the affairs of it, ever fince, by ftanding rules and laws, and by the ordinary miniftry of fecond causes. With equal wifdom hath he tempered the conduct of the moral world also: for though he ushered in the Mofaic and Christian inftitutions, by a great variety of amazing signs and wonders; yet, as foon as the truth of those revelations was thus illuftriously manifefted, and the accounts of these things were committed to writing, miracles, in great measure, ceafed; and the appeal afterwards was to the written word [to the law, and to the teftimony], which fupplied the room of them. Indeed, motives that addrefs themselves coolly to our reason, are fitteft to be employed upon reasonable creatures; it is no ways congruous, that God fhould be always frightening and aftonishing men into an acknowledgement of the truth, who were made to be wrought upon by calm evidence and gentle methods of perfuafion. Should fuch a miracle as that which is mentioned in the text be indulged to one, others would think themselves equally entitled to it; and, if indulged to many, it would no longer have the effect of a miracle, its force and influence would be loft by the frequency of it. Or, fuppofing it to continue in its full ftrength, how often foever repeated; yet the faith it produced would not be fo free and voluntary an act, as that ought to be, to which are annexed all the glorious and invaluG 2 able able privileges of believing. In a word, good men have no need of a miracle; for they are convinced, without it: And it would be of dangerous confequence to the bad; for they, we find, would not, even with it, be convinced. And therefore, the allowance of fuch a favour to them, would ferve only to render them more obdurate and more inexcufable; it would enhance their guilt, and increase their condemnation. plicitly Let us then, from thefe, and fuch confiderati ons as thefe, be led to reverence the infinite wifdom and goodness of God in all his tranfacti ons with men! Let us learn, not to difpute the methods of his providence, but humbly and implicitly to acquiefce in them, and to adore them, et us fatisfy ourselves, That every thing is cer tainly ordered by him after the apteft, and beft, and most becoming manner, though our first apprehenfions fhould fuggeft otherwife to us; and that no contrivance, no policy, no prudence whatsoever can, in any respect, deviate from his fcheme, without leaving us in a much worfe condition than it found us! For, "Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord "God Almighty! Juft and true are all thy ways, thou King of faints !" To thee (Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft) be rendered, as is most due, all poffible Fonour, ado ration, and praife, now, and for ever! A SER |