« replenished with all virtue, and who exhorted the "Jews to addict themselves thereto, and to execute "justice towards man, and piety towards God. Exshorting them to be baptized; telling them that bap"tifm fhould at that time be agreeable unto God, if "they should not only renounce their fins; but if, "to the purity of their bodies, they fhould annex the “cleanness of their fouls, repurified by justice: and "whereas it came to pass that divers flocked and fol"lowed him, to hear his doctrine, Herod feared left "his fubjects, allured by his doctrine and perfwa

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fions, fhould be drawn to revolt: for it seems they "would subscribe in all things to his advice. There"fore he thought it better, (to prevent any ill con→ fequence) to put him to death; than to expect fome "fudden commotion, which afterwards he might repent of. Upon this fufpicion Herod caufed him to "be bound, and fent to the caftle of Macheron, and "there he was put to death." (Vid. Lodge's Jofephus Antiq. book xvIII. chap. 7.) And in the fame book (ch. 4.) relating to the rebellion of the Jews, against Pontius Pilate, who was at the fame time governor of Judea, the fame hiftorian, has recorded, "At "that time was Jefus, a wife man, (if it be lawful to "call him a man) for he was the performer of divers "admirable works, and the instructer of those who wil"lingly entertained the truth, and he drew unto him "divers Jews and Greeks to be his followers. This "was Chrift, who being accused by the princes of our "nation before Pilate, and afterwards condemned to "the cross by him, yer did not those who followed him "from the beginning, forbear to love him, for notwith«standing

C

ftanding the ignominy of his death: for he appeared "to them alive the third day after, according as the

prophets had before teftified the fame, and divers "divine wonderful things of him, and from that time "forward the race of the Chriftians, who have de"rived their name from him, hath never ceased."

This faithful Jewish hiftorian was a difinterefted author, therefore must be very reasonably fuppofed to write nothing but truth, which agrees with the four Evangelifts; two of whom, viz. St. Matthew and St. John, were eye and ear witneffes: the others, St. Mark and St. Luke, wrote what they had perfect knowledge of, from those who were eye and ear witneffes, St. Mark from St. Peter's mouth, he being the disciple and companion of St. Peter. St. Luke, the beloved phyfician and companion of St. Paul, in the first four verses of his gofpel, acquaints us with the reasons which induced him to write, which were, because divers perfons in that age, had imprudently and inconfiderately fet upon writing of gofpels, without direction from the fpirit of God, whose errors and mistakes were to be corrected by a true narrative: this St. Luke declares he was able to make, having had perfect understanding and knowledge of the truth of those things he was about to relate, partly by his familiarity with St. Paul, and partly by his conversation with the other apoftles, who constantly attended the bleffed Jefus, and were eye and ear witneffes of those things that are the fubject matter of his gospel.

And in the three other gofpels of the evangelifts there can be nothing of fallibility or uncertainty in

them,

them, by reason they wrote nothing but what they either heard or faw themselves; and what they heard, they received from thofe that were eye and ear witnesses of the matter of fact it contains":

Please to reflect, and confider impartially and seriously, that these four hiftorians had not the least worldly intereft or advantage to be answered by writing, publishing and propagating the gofpel of their despised lord and mafter Jefus Chrift; but on the contrary they were forewarned by him, that they should be hated by mankind for his name's fake, and be perfecuted and delivered up to the fynagogue, and fcourged, and fent to prison, and brought before kings and rulers.

Therefore he moft tenderly cautions them, for to beware of men: "Behold (fays he) I fend you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wife

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1

as ferpents, and harmless as doves," Matt. x. 16. They were to provide "neither gold, nor filver, nor "brafs in their purfes; nor fcrip for their journey; "neither two coats, neither "fhoes, nor yet ftaves,' Matt, v. 10. They were not commiffioned by their lord and mafter to fet out in the world for the reformation of mankind on any lucrative views, but quite the contrary; which they readily and chearfully embraced with magnanimity and fortitude, going through numberless fatigues and hardships, perfecutions, imprisonments and fcourgings, and at last fealed the truth of their gofpels with their blood; attesting it by the facrifice of all that was near and dear to them, even their own lives.

Therefore the authenticalness of their writings muft be out of all doubt with every upright, fincere, unprejudiced mind, who attentively and thoroughly weighs all circumstances concomitant. The propagation of the glorious gofpel of the bleffed Jefus, the benefits and advantages which accrue to mankind from his grand embaffy; the tendency his moft pure and holy doctrines has to make them happy in this world, and to qualify them to be meet partakers for unspeakable glory and happiness, fuch has eye hath not seen nor ear heard, "neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him," Cor. ii. 9. are arguments, one would think, fufficient to convince any reasonable mind of the truth of Christianity.

I

At the auguft proclamation of the blessed Jefus's nativity, the harmless fhepherds were ftruck with a pannic at fuch a fudden vifit of the heavenly meffenger, attended with fuch brilliancy, who faid unto them,

Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people, for unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Sa"viour, which is Chrift the Lord,” Luk. ii. 9, 10, 11. "At which joyful occafion immediately a multitude of "the heavenly hoft joined chorus, praifing God, and

faying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth "peace, good-will towards men," ver. 13, 14. Soon after the inhuman tyrant, bloody king Herod, appre hended that he was born, he endeavoured to have him murdered by a general maffacre, which he caused to be executed

executed on all the children that were in Bethlehem, " and in all the coafts thereof, from two years old and "under," Matt. ii. 16. So likewife the hypocritical magistrates and fuperftitious high priests with great rage and malice did all in their power to ftifle Chriftianity in its dawn, which evidently appears in the following facred history, as recorded in Acts iv. 6 to 13. which I earnestly recommend to your examination, it containing undeniable evidences of the veracity of the Christian religion. For if these narratives had been spurious, worldly power and policy would have detected and fuppreffed them: "but all things must be fulfilled "which were written in the law of Mofes, and in the "prophets, and in the pfalms concerning him," Luke xxiv. 44.

Therefore the angel of the Lord proclaimed his name Jefus, because he was to fave his people from their fins. Agreeable thereto, as a preparatory for this most gracious defign, John the Baptift, as a prefage, preached repentance, baptifing those who confeffed their fins, Matthew iii. 2. 6. Declaring to them, "he *only baptized them with water unto repentance,

but he that cometh after me, is mightier than I, "whofe fhoes I am not worthy to bear; he shall bap"tife you with the Holy Ghoft and with fire," Matthew iii. II.

When the self-conceited fuperftitious Pharifees faw that the bleffed Jefus did not difdain and reject the company of publicans and finners, they asked his difciples the meaning of it: on which he discovered a moft friendly

good