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detailed narratives which they have given of Jesus Christ, no allusion is ever made to his personal appear

We are as much unacquainted with his stature, his aspect, his complexion, and his gait and manner, as if the Gospels had never been written. There is profound wisdom in this silence: yet I doubt whether any writers, following merely the impulse of their own feelings, would have avoided every allusion to this subject.

V. There is no just ground of objection to the testimony, on account of the paucity of the witnesses. In regard to most facts handed down to us by authentic history, it is seldom, that we have more than two or three historians, testifying the same things; and in many cases, we receive the testimony of one as sufficient, if all the circumstances of the fact corroborate his narrative. But here, we have four distinct and indepen. dent witnesses, who were perfectly acquainted with the facts which they relate. Two of these, Matthew and John, were of the number of the twelve, who accomcompanied Jesus, wherever he went, and saw, from day to day, the works which he performed. Mark and Luke might also have been eye-witnesses. Many think that they were of the number of the seventy disciples, sent out by Christ to preach ; but if they were not, they might have been his followers, and have been often present, in Jerusalem and other places, where he exhibited his miracles. It is not necessary, however, to resort to either of these suppositions. They were contemporaries, early disciples, constant companions of the apostles, and travelled much among the churches. Mark was, at first, the companion of Paul and Barnabas,

, and afterwards, attached himself to Peter, from whose preaching, according to the universal tradition of the

early Fathers, he composed his Gospel. Luke was chosen by the churches in Asia to accompany Paul in his labors, and was almost constantly with him, until his first imprisonment at Rome; at which time, his history of the life and labors of that apostle terminates.

Besides these four evangelists, who have professedly written an account of the miracles of Jesus Christ, we Imave the incidental testimony of those apostles, who wrote the epistles, especially of Paul. It is true, Paul was not one of the twelve apostles who accompanied Christ on earth; but he became an apostle, under such circumstances, as rendered his testimony as strong, as that of any other witness. He informs us, that he was met by Jesus near to Damascus, when he was “breathing out threatning and slaughter" against the disciples of Christ: who appeared to him in the midst of a resplendent light, and spoke to him. From that moment he became his devoted follower, and the most laborious and successful preacher of the Gospel. He abandoned the most flattering worldly prospects, which any young man in the Jewish nation could have. He possessed genius, learning, an unblemished character for religion and morality; was in high favor with the chief men of his nation, and seems to have been more zealous than any other individual, to extirpate Christianity. How can it be accounted for, that he should suddenly become a Christian, unless he did indeed see the risen Jesus? Instead of bright worldly prospects, which he had before, he was now subjected to persecution and contempt, wherever be went. The catalogue of only a part of his sufferings, which he gives in one of his epistles, is enough to appal the stoutest heart; yet, he never repented of his becoming a Christian, but continued to devote all his energies to the promotion of

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the Gospel, as long as he lived. This change, in a person of Paul's character and prospects, will never be accounted for upon principles of imposture, or enthusi

* Here, then, we can produce what deists often demand, the testimony of an enemy. Not of one who was unconvinced by the evidence of Christianity, which would be an inconsistent testimony, and liable to great objections, but of one whose mind had been long inflamed with zeal against Christianity; and yet, by the force of evidence, was converted to be a zealous disciple, and retained, all his life, a deep and unwavering conviction of the truth of the Gospel. This man, although he has not written a Gospel, has given repeated testimonies to the truth of the leading facts, which are now in question. Especially, he is one of the best witnesses on the subject of the resurrection of Christ; for he not only saw and conversed with Jesus after his ascension, but has informed us of some circumstances, of great importance, not mentioned by any of the evangelists. He asserts that Christ was seen by five hundred persons at one time, most of whom were still living when he wrote. If there had been any falsehood in this declaration, how soon must it have been detected ? His letters, no doubt, were immediately transcribed, and conveyed to every part of the church; and how easy would it have been to prove

* See Lord Lyttleton's Conversion of Paul.

+ There is a remarkable testimony to the extraordinary character and works of Jesus Christ, in Josephus, which has been rejected as spurious by modern critics; not for want of external evidence, for it is found in all the oldest and best MSS., but principally because it is conceived, that Josephus being a Jew, and a Pharisce, never could have given such a testimony in favor of one in whom he did not believe.

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the falsehood of such a declaration, if it had not been a fact? But almost every page of Paul's writings recognises as true, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is constantly assumed as a truth most assuredly believed by all Christians. It is the great motive of exertion and source of consolation, in all his epistles. And when he would convince certain heretics of the absurdity of denying the resurrection of the body, he reduces them to this conclusion, that “if the dead rise not, then is Christ not risen,” which would be, at once, to subvert the Christian religion. His appeal to the common assured belief of Christians, is remarkably strong, and pertinent to our purpose; “If,” says he, “ Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ, whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.” Would any man in his senses, have written thus, if the resurrection of Christ had not been a fundamental article of faith among Christians; or if he had not been fully persuaded of its truth? Had Paul been an impostor, would he have dared to appeal to five hundred persons, most of whom were living, for the truth of what he knew to be false? How easy, and how certain, must have been the detection of an imposture thus conducted?

The same is evident from the epistles of the other apostles, and from the Apocalypse.

Now, when we can clearly ascertain what any persons believed in relation to a fact, we have, virtually their testimony to that fact; because, when they come forward and give testimony, explicitly, they do no more than

express the conviction of their own minds. Cer

tainly, then, if we can by any means, ascertain what the primitive Christians believed in regard to the resurrection of Christ, and other miraculous facts, we are in possession of all the testimony which they could give.* This is an important point as it relates to the number of witnesses. Now, that all Christians, from the beginning, did believe in the facts recorded in the Gospels and Epistles of the apostles, we have the strongest possible evidence. It is proved incontestably, from the fact of their becoming Christians; for how could they be Christians without faith in Christianity? unless any one will be so extravagant as to believe, that not only the apostles, but all their converts, were wilful deceivers. It is proved also from the manner in which Christians are addressed by the apostles, in all the epistles. Suppose, for a moment, that the Corinthian church had no belief in the resurrection of Christ, when they received the above-mentioned epistle from Paul; would they not have considered him perfectly insane? But the universal reception of the Gospels and Epistles, by all Christian churches, throughout the world, is the best possible evidence that they believed what they contained. These books were adopted as the creed and guide of all Christiang. It is manifes', therefore, that we are in possession of the testimony of the whole primitive church, to the truth of the miracies recorded in the Gospels. Suppose a document had come down to us, containing a profession of the belief of every person who embraced the Christian religion, and a solenn attestation to the facts on which Christiani'y is founded, would any