of Orange, King WILLIAM, of immortal memory: which (by the favor of a kind and watchful Providence) laid the foundation of a later escape; when by the contrivance of a perfecuting, reftlefs, and bigoted faction, a Popish pretender was ready to afcend the throne. Then it was, that King William's noble legacy took place, by the coming-in of the illuftrious House of Hanover; a family which were among the first Protefters against Popery, and who have ever fince continued Proteftants: and (which has been, in a diftinguishing manner, the duty of that illuftrious houfe, and attended with the greatest and moft diffufive bleffings) they have, upon many occafions, been ftrenuous affertors of the liberties of mankind, both civil and religious.

The happy effects of this they themselves faw and experienced during the rebellion, 1745, when their enemies were intimidated, by the remarkable zeal and number of their friends; when perfons of all ranks and orders, and of almost all fects and parties, fo zealoufly entered into affociations against a Popish, abjured pretender, and his highland banditti; and in the fupport of our Proteftant royal family in the poffeffion of the British crown.-Bleffed be God for fuch a royal family; and let all the people fay, Amen! May they and their defcendants continue friends to mankind throughout all coming generations; and experience the joys and ample bleffings which attend the fincere love of truth, virtue, religion, and liberty!

It is faid that this corrupt and perfecuting religion gains ground in this Proteftant nation; and even in this day of light, liberty, and freedom of inquiry. But, furely, this muft proceed from fome neglect among Proteftants. And what madness muft poffefs fuch as would bring us back again into this fpiritual Egypt, when all wife men would carefully avoid her crimes, for fear of at last partaking in her plagues!

It is the duty of parents and tutors, in the education of children and of minifters, in the inftructions which they give to their people; diligently to train them up in the true principles of the Proteftant religion. And it is the duty of all Proteftants to give up whatever abfurd doctrines, or impofing principles, they may have hitherto mixed with what is truly reasonable and Christian. Till thefe things be done, it must be expected that Popery will always be thrufting in its cloven foot among us.

Thanks be to God, that we have the Scriptures fo common, not only in the original, but in our own language; that we are allowed the liberty of private judgment, and bleffed with o many, and fuch excellent helps to understand our Bible! that such a spirit of liberty and free enquiry hath, in this laft age, gone out into the land! May kind Heaven diffuse this happy fpirit every where, and grant it the moft lafting duration!

It is not three hundred years fince our ancestors were required to believe the grofleft abfurdities, and to practise the most flagrant fuperftition and idolatry; and that upon pain of forfeiting all that was dear to them in this world, and of being fentenced to eternal dam

nation in the world to come.-Though the firft Reformers made noble stand, and went great lengths, in a little time; yet they could not shake off one of the worst parts of Popery, viz. the fpirit of infallibility and perfecution. And a race of tyrannical kings, fupported by covetous and ambitious priefts, continued to practife upon their fellow-proteftants, that cruelty which all Proteftants fo much and fo juftly exclaimed againft, when practifed by Papifts upon themfelves. By thefe means, it has come to pafs that true liberty and free enquiry are but of yesterday, a bleffing reserved by Providence for us!

The moft acceptable way of teftifying our gratitude to Almighty God, for fo great, fo ineftimable a bleffing, is to study the Scriptures with care and diligence; and to form our faith and worship, our temper and practice, accordingly; freely to allow others that liberty of private judgment, which we ourselves fo ardently and reasonably defire; to avoid uncharitableness towards such as differ from us; and to fhew our good-will even to the perfons of the Papifts, whilft we fo much and fo juftly abhor their religion. Let us do all we can to carry on the reformation to greater purity and perfection; and particularly take care to watch against a narrow, bigotted, perfecuting fpirit, in all the branches and degrees of it. Let us lay the ftrefs in religion where reason and fcripture have laid it (not in abftrufe notions and unintelligible fubtleties, not in forms and ceremonies of human invention, nor in an empty profeffion of the pureft and beft religion in the world; but) upo: the fincere love of God and of one another; upcn a due government of our paffions, affections, and appetites; and the habitual love and practice of univerfal holinefs. For what avails it, what church any man belongs to, what advantages he enjoys, or what profeffion of religion he makes, if he does not love God and keep his commandments; if he abufes his li berty to licentioufnefs; and, in the midft of fuch marvellous light, manifefts that he prefers darknefs, by leading a wicked life; which, of all others, is the blackeft herefy, or the moft flagrant and moft notorious corruption and apoftafy?

OBSER

OBSERVATIONS

UPON THE

HISTORY

OF THE

RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST, &c.

§1. JOHN, Chap. xx.

"THE firft day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early,

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"THE when it was yet dark, unto the fepulchre, and feeth

"the ftone taken away from the fepulchre. Then the runneth "and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other difciple whom "Jefus loved, and faith unto them, They have taken away the "Lord out of the fepulchre, and we know not where they have laid "him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other difciple, and came to the fepulchre. So they ran both together; and the other "difciple did out-run Peter, and came firft to the fepulchre; and "he ftooping down, and looking in, faw the linen clothes lying, yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, "and went into the fepulchre, and feeth the linen clothes lie, and "the napkin that was about his head, not lying with the linen "clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in "alfo that other difciple, which came firft to the fepulchre, and he "faw and he believed; for as yet they knew not the fcripture that "he must rise again from the dead: Then the disciples went away "again unto their own homes. But Mary stood without, at the "fepulchre, weeping and, as the wept, fhe ftooped down, and "looked into the fepulchre, and feeth two angels in white, fitting, "the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body "of Jefus had lain; and they say unto her, Woman, why weepeft "thou? She faith unto them, Because they have taken away my "Lord, and I know not where they have lain him. And when the

had thus faid, fhe turned herself back, and faw Jefus ftanding, "and knew not that it was Jefus. Jefus faith unto her, Woman, "why weepest thou? whom feekeft thou? She, fuppofing him to "be the Gardener, faith unto him, Sir, if thou haft borne him "hence, tell me where thou haft laid him, and I will take him away. "Jefus faid unto her, Mary! She turned herself, and faith unto "him, Rabboni! which is to say, Mafter. Jefus faith unto her, "Touch me not, for I am not yet afcended unto my Father: But go to my brethren, and fay unto them, I afcend unto my Father and VOL. V. "your

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66 your Father, and to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene "came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he "had spoken thefe things unto her."

From this paffage of the Gofpel of St. John, it is evident, ift, That Mary Magdalene had not seen any vifion of angels before the ran to Peter; and confequently, that fhe was not of the number of those women who went into the fepulchre, and were there told by an angel that Jefus was rifen: for had she, before she went to Peter, feen any angels, fhe would certainly have added fo extraordinary a circumftance to her account; and, had the been informed by an angel that Jefus was rifen, fhe could not have perfifted in lamenting at not being able to find the body; nor have enquired of him, whom fhe took to be the Gardener, where he had put it, that he might take it away. It is alfo farther obfervable, that, when after her return to the fepulchre with Peter and John, and their departure from thence, the faw a vifion of angels, she was standing without, at the fepulchre, weeping;--that ftooping down, and looking (not going) into the fepulchre, the faw two angels in white," fitting, the one at the head, the other at the feet, where the body "of Jefus had lain," who faid no more to her than "Woman, "why weepest thou?" to which the answered, "Because they have "taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have lain him." From all which circumftances it appears, 2dly, that neither after her return to the fepulchre with Peter and John, was the with thofe women who went into the fepulchre, &c. that he had not heard any thing of Chrift's being rifen from the dead; and that therefore those women, who were told by an angel that he was rifen, were not at the fepulchre when the returned thither with Peter and John. And indeed, from the whole tenor of the above-cited paffage of St. John's gofpel, throughout which no mention is made of any other woman befides Mary Magdalene, it is more than probable she was alone, when the faw the angels, and when Chrift appeared to her immediately after. That he was alone when Chrift appeared to her, is plainly implied in what St. Mark fays, who tells us exprefsly, that Chrift appeared firft to Mary Magdalene, which, had the been accompanied by the other Women, could not have been spoken of her with any propriety of speech. In the 3d place, it is plain, from the above relation, that the angels were not always vifible, but appeared and disappeared as they thought proper; for John and Peter going into the fepulchre faw no angels; but Mary, after their departure, looking in, faw two, one fitting at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

*

2. LUKE, Chap. xxiv. 13.

"The fame day two of them (the difciples) went to a village "called Emmaus, which was from Jerufalem about threefcore fur"longs; and they talked together of all these things that had happened. "And it came to pafs that, while they communed together, and reafoned, Jefus himself drew near, and went with them; but ** their

*Chap. xvi. ver. 9

*their eyes were holden, that they should not know him. And he "faid unto them, What manner of communications are thefe, that *6 ye have one to another, as ye walk and are fad? And one of them, "whofe name was Cleopas, anfwering, faid unto him, Art thou only 66 a stranger in Jerufalem, and haft not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he faid unto them, What "things? And they faid unto him, Concerning Jefus of Nazareth, "which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God, and all "the people; and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him "to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trufted "that it had been he which should have redeemed Ifrael: and, befides "all this, to-day is the third day fince these things were done. Yea, "and certain women alfo of our company made us aftonished, which were early at the fepulchre; and when they found not his body, they came, faying, that they had also seen a vifion of angels, which "faid that he was alive; and certain of them which were with us, "went to the fepulchre, and found it even so as the women had faid; "but him they faw not."

The latter part of this paffage, which contains an abridgement of a report made by fome women to the apoftles before thefe two difciples had left Jerufalem, suggests the following obfervations: Ift, The angels feen by these women at the fepulchre told them, that Jefus was alive, whence it follows, that this report was not made by Mary Magdalene; for the angels, which the faw, faid no fuch thing to her. 2dly, As there is no notice taken of any appearance of our Saviour to these women, it is also evident, that this report could not have been made by the other Mary and Salome, to whom, as they were going to tell the difciples the meffage of the angels which they had feen at the fepulchre, Jefus appeared, as I fhall presently fhew from St. Matthew. 3dly, There were therefore feveral reports made at different times to the apoftles, and by different women. At different times; for the two difciples, who, before they left Jerufalem, had heard the report now under confideration, had not heard thofe of Mary Magdalene, of the other Mary and Salome. By different women; for it having been juft now proved that this report could not belong to either of the last-mentioned women, it must have been made by fome other; and no other being named by any of the Evangelifts but Joanna, it came in all likelihood from her, and those that attended her. 4thly, Some of the difciples, upon hearing this report, went to the fepulchre, and found "it even fo as the women had faid," i. e. in the most obvious sense of these words. They faw the body was gone, and they faw fome angels. But I fhall not infift upon this interpretation; but only obferve, that if Peter be supposed to have been one of thofe difciples who, upon this information of the women, went to the fepulchre, this must have been the second time of his going thither. That Peter went a fecond time to the fepulchre, I shall fhew more at large, when 1 come to confider the former part of this chapter of St. Luke.

Thefe feveral conclufions being admitted, I think it will be no difficult matter to defend the Evangelifts against the imputation of

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con