of divine power Pharaoh and all the Egyptians were fo terrified and fubdued, that, unwilling as they before had been to part with fuch useful fervants, they were now defirous of getting rid of them, at any rate.

Upon a greater scale still was the paffage of the whole nation of Ifraelites, though not fewer than two millions of people, marching at their leisure, with all their cattle and baggage, through an arm of the Red Sea, while the water rose on each fide of them, and all the Egyptians who had ventured to follow them were drowned. There could be no impofition on the fenfes in fuch a scene as this, or in the fimilar miracle of the paffage of the river Jordan, in the fame manner. The fame may be faid of other miraculous appearances in the time of Mofes, especially that of the delivery of the ten commandments in an articulate voice, heard by all the Ifraelites, then, as I obferved, more than two millions of people, from mount Sinai; in a river (for it could not be lefs) iffuing from a rock at the word of Mofes, for the blow of his staff could not have had any fuch effect; and the descent of the manna every morning, with the remarkable and conftant exception of one particular

particular day in the feven, on which no manna fell, for the space of forty years; and the pillar of a cloud by day, and of fire by night, which also attended them the fame time, and directed all their marches. He must have been a bold impoftor indeed who should have attempted any thing of this kind, and not fo reluctant and fo timid a leader as Mofes evidently was.

Among the miracles which were on fo large a scale as to exclude all idea of deception, I may mention the falling down of the walls of Jericho on the ark being carried round the place seven times; the falling down of the idol Dagon in the prefence of the ark; the calamities which befel the cities of the Philistines to which it was fent, and the circumstances of its conveyance back into the land of Canaan, viz. in a carriage drawn by cows whofe calves were kept at home.

Of the miracles that come under this class, was the ftrength imparted to Samson, by which he was able to take down the gates of a city, and carry them to the top of a hill, and after lofing his ftrength, his recovering it again, fo as to pull down the building in which were affembled all the lords of the Philistines,

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Philistines, when they were all killed. Such alfo was the burning of the facrifice of Elijah, on mount Carmel, while the priests of Baal attempted the fame in vain, he being alone, and they four hundred men, favoured by an idolatrous king, who was himself present, and the people in general alfo favouring them. I might add, under this head, feveral other miracles recorded in the Old Testament, and must not omit to mention in this view alfo, the cafe of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were preferved unhurt in the fiery furnace at Babylon, and also the delivery of Daniel from the lions, in the fame city.

The miracles recorded in the New Testament are not, in general, on fo large a scale as many of thofe recited in the Old, but they are fufficiently fo to be out of the reach of any charge of trick and impofition. Such were the cures performed by Jefus, of fuch difeafes as, though fometimes curable by medical treatment, always require a long time; whereas his cures were always inftantaneous, and yet complete. Such, were his cures of blindness, efpecially of the man who was born blind; of fevers, which are never cured but by coming to a certain crifis; of leprofy;

of

of the dropfy; and especially of infanity, called the cafting out of demons, the fuppofed caufe of that disorder. Of this class, more especially, was his raifing to life the daughter of Jairus, at Capernaum, the widow's fon at Nain, and of Lazarus at Bethany. Of miracles of this clafs, were his feeding first five thoufand, and afterwards four thoufand perfons, with a few loaves and fishes; his stilling a tempeft, his walking on the sea, and a ftormy fea, and laftly his refurrection and afcenfion.

In the hiftory of the apoftles, the miracles. of this clafs are thofe called the gift of tongues, by which thousands of perfons were enabled to exprefs themselves in languages which they had not learned; the cure of the beggar, who was known to have been lame from his birth, at the gate of the temple; the deliverance of Peter and John, and afterwards of Peter only, out of prison, when every precaution had been taken to fecure them; and alfo the cure of many difeafes by Peter and others, fimilar to the cures performed by Jefus. Several other miracles might be mentioned under this head, but these are abundantly fufficient for the purpose, that is, they

were

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were appearances with refpect to which there could not have been any deception. Perfons who were prefent could never have been under any mistake with respect to the facts, and the facts were of fuch a nature, that they must neceffarily have been miraculous, how ignorant foever we may be of the powers, or laws, of nature in other respects.

3. Many of the miracles recorded in the fcriptures, and almost all those that are mentioned under the preceding head, were performed in the prefence of a great number of perfons. At the miracles performed by Mofes, all the inhabitants of Egypt, and the whole nation of Ifraelites, were prefent. All the latter must have feen every thing that paffed in the wildernefs. The whole nation paffed through the river Jordan, and faw the falling of the walls of Jericho. The whole nation of the Philiftines could not but know of the triumph of the ark of God over their idol Dagon, and the manner in which it was conveyed back to the land of Canaan. Ahab and his court, and no doubt thoufands of the common people, were prefent at Elijah's facrifice. Nebuchadnezzar, and all the people of Babylon, muft have known of the deliverQ2

ance