affured us that the Dead fhall be raised:
For no one can foretell the Time and Cir-
cumstances of a dead Man's rifing to Life,
who has not the Power, or is not com-
miffioned by Him who has the Power, of
Life and Death. So that the Authority of
our Saviour's Word after his Refurrection
was not barely the Authority of one coming
from the Dead, but it was the Authority
of Him who has Power to raise the Dead;
which Authority we know belongs not to
Man, and therefore is greater than the Au-
thority of
any Man either from the Dead
or the Living. So that our Saviour's Re-
furrection proves a Commiffion from the
Higheft Power to teach the World; which
cannot be proved merely from the Ap-
pearance of one from the Dead. And here
lies the true Difference between the Refur-
rection of Chrift, and the Refurrection of
those whom our Saviour himself raised from
the Dead. We have been afked, why
Lazarus and the reft did not publish their
Knowledge of the other World? One plain
Answer is, they were not commiffioned fo
to do: Their Refurrection was a Proof of
his Power and Commiffion, who raised them
to Life, but of their own Power and Com-

miffion

7

miffion it was no Proof: They were merely paffive in their Refurrection, and brought no more Authority from the Grave, than they carried to it; and therefore had no Right to fet up for Teachers.

Then, as to the Reality of our Saviour's Refurrection, there was Warning given to expect it; which of itself is a great Evidence of fincere Dealing. Men do not use to give public Notice of the Cheats they intend to play; or, if ever they have, the Success has been answerable to the Management, and yielded nothing but Shame and Confufion to the Contrivers. And, after his Resurrection, his Stay upon Earth was fo long, as to give full Satisfaction, to all concerned, of the Truth and Reality of what they faw. At his first Appearance, the Disciples were in the fame Cafe with others who think they see Spectres and Apparitions; that is, they were confounded and amazed, and did not know well what they faw: And, had not the Frequency of our Saviour's Appearances made them familiar to them, fo that they bore the Sight of him with the fame Sedateness of Mind as they did in his Life-time, and confequently had all the neceffary Qualifications to judge rightly concerning what they heard

or

or faw; had it not been for this, I fay, their Evidence in this Cafe would not have been equal to the Weight of those Truths it is to fupport. And farther, fince this Appearance was in confequence of the Prediction he made of his own Refurrection, there is no room to doubt that it was a true and proper Refurrection of his Body: For it is much easier to imagine that he should come to Life, and fulfil his Prediction, than that he should, being really dead, contrive and execute any thing that should seem to fulfil it.

Poffibly this may be allowed, and yet not give Satisfaction in this Matter: For it is not, you will fay, that the Refurrection of our Saviour is fuch a Work as is not proper to fatisfy all Doubts, that makes you defire to see one from the Dead; but it is, that you would willingly be fatisfied by your own Eyes, and not depend upon the Credit of another for a Thing of this Nature: Had you been in the Place of the Apostles, and feen our Lord come from the Grave, that then you would not have defired to have feen any body else; but now you think you might find that Conviction in seeing one come from the Dead yourself, which you

cannot

cannot find in the Reports of those who pretend to have seen one.

Let us confider this Cafe then; Whether he who believes upon the Credit of a private Apparition to himself, believes upon a furer Evidence, than he who receives the Gospel Account upon that Evidence on which it at present stands. I will not deny but that a Man's Fancy may be more powerfully wrought on, not only by feeing, but even by fuppofing that he fees, one from the Dead: But this is fo far from being an Advantage, that in truth it is quite otherwife; for, the more Work Things of this Nature find for the Imagination, the lefs Room do they leave for the Judgment to exercise itself in. Our Senfes at all times are liable to be impofed on, but never more than when we are in a Fright or Surprize. In fuch Cafes it is common to overlook our Friends, and not to know who was with us, or who not: And the very Surprize, that would neceffarily attend upon feeing one come from the Dead, would be a great Reason for us to fufpect afterwards the Report our Senfes made of what they had feen. And this was indeed the Cafe of those who faw our Saviour upon

his first Appearance: Nor could any thing have cured this, but his ftaying with them so long as he did; so that at last they were able to fee him without being disturbed, or fuffering any Alteration in their usual Temper: And this qualified them to judge, for themselves, and report to others with Authority what they faw. So that the Circumftances of our Saviour's Refurrection were such as admitted a due Teftimony; whereas it is very much to be doubted, whether he who fees one come from the Dead be capable to give himself Satisfaction afterwards, either as to what he faw, or what he heard. And judge you, whether you would chufe to believe the concurring Testimony of many Perfons in their right Senfes, fo well qualified to judge, or rely upon yourself, at a Time when you are hardly Master of your Senfes.

But farther; Suppose you could converse with a Man from the Dead with the fame Temper and Calmnefs, that you do with one of your Friends or Acquaintance; what would be the Confequence? You would probably rest affured that you had seen a Man from the Dead, and perhaps be more fatisfied of this, than at prefent you are that