died, he died unto Sin once; but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God: likewife reckon ye jourselves to be dead indeed unto Sin, but alive unto God, through Jefus Christ our Lord: That is to fay, After the Example of Chrift's Death and Re furrection, account ye yourselves oblig'd to die to Sin, and to live to Righteousness.

Lastly, To name no more Texts, the fame Ufe doth the Apoftle make of Chrift's Refurrection, in Coloff. 3. 1, 2. If ye then (faith he) be rifen with Chrift, feek thofe Things which are above, where Chrift fitteth at the Right Hand of God, i. e. You by entring into the Chriftian Covenant, are incorporated into Chrift; He is your Head, you are his Members; and therefore, fince he no longer leads a Life of this World, it will by no means become you to live like Worldlings or Epicures; but being rifen with him (as the Members ought to do with the Head) to mind thofe Things that are above, where he is, to fet your Affections (as he goes on) on the Things above, and not on the Things of the Earth. For ye are dead, and your Life is hid with Chrift in God.

Thefe Things plainly fhew, that the Apostles delivered the Doctrine of Chrift's Refurrection, as a Practical Doctrine; as a Point, which if Christians believed as they should do, it would ingage them to mortifie their Lufts, to die to the World, to place their Affection on Spiritual Things, to have their Conversations in Heaven where Chrift our Head, our Life, now fits at the Right Hand of God.

VOL. I.

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II. Great

II. Great will the Influence and Power of Christ's Refurrection upon our Lives appear to be, when we confider, that it is, indeed, the principal Evidence that we have for the Truth of our Religion, the very Defign of which is to make us Vertuous and Holy.

If any Thing in the World can make a Man Good, it must be a hearty Belief of the Gospel. And if any Thing in the World can make a Man heartily to believe the Gospel, it must be the Resurrection of our Saviour from the Dead. All that Power therefore, that the Gospel of Christ hath to make Men good; all that Force and Efficacy, that its Arguments, its Promifes, its Precepts, its Encouragements, its Threatnings, have upon the Understandings and Wills of Men, in order to bring them to Vertue and Holiness; I fay, all this may, in a great measure, ultimately be refolved into the Article of Chrift's Refurrection. For this Refurrection of his, was the Thing that did from the Beginning, and doth now, and ever will ascertain Mankind of the Truth of Chrift's Religion. This was, and will be for ever, the convincing Evidence, that what Jesus taught was true Doctrine; that what he commanded was of perpetual Obligation; that what he promised or threatned, he was able to make good.

If Christ had not risen from the Dead, but had for ever been detained in the Grave, notwithstanding all that might be urged from the Goodness of his Doctrine, and the Innocency of his Life, and the Multitude of his Miracles

for

for the Proof of the Truth of Chriftianity (though yet very ftrong and concluding Proofs these are) I doubt it would hardly have met with that ready Entertainment in the World, that we find it did: But a great many both then and now, would have made the fame Objection against Jefus Chrift and his Gospel, that the Pharifees did of old; that is to fay, That all his great Works and Miracles were done by Sorcery and Magick. And that as for the Innocency of his Life, and the great Vertue and Strictness that he expreffed in his Conversation; that was only used as a Trick and an Artifice, the more easily to impose upon the World. But now, when it appears that Jefus, who taught this Holy Religion; who did those Miracles; who liv'd that vertuous Life; did, after he was put to a cruel Death, rife again to Life, and converfed upon Earth for Forty Days together; and after that, in the Prefence of many Spectators, did afcend into Heaven; I fay, when this appears (as, God be thanked, it is evident be yond all Contradiction) here is no room left for any Sufpicion of this Nature, but all Pretences of Impofture do perfectly vanish. It is impoffible for any confidering Man to believe Chrift's Refurrection, and at the fame Time to doubt of the Truth of his Religion.

For thus let us reafon; Chrift over and over again told his Apoftle, that he should be put to Death; but after that, he would within Three Days rife again, Mat. 16. 21. 17. 22. John 16. 16.

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Nay,

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Nay, he told this not only to the Apostles, but to all the People; nay, more than that, he gave this as a Token, as an Evidence to them, whereby they fhould know, and be convinced, that he was what he gave himself out to be, the Son of God, and the great Prophet and Saviour that was to come, John 2.19.

Nay, in the laft Place, he not only refers the Jews to his Refurrection, as an Evidence of his being the Chrift; but as the last and greateft Evidence that he had to give, and fuch as if they were not convinced by, they muft expect no other, Matt. 12. 39, 40.

Our Saviour now laying fuch a mighty Stress upon this Point of his Refurrection, putting his whole Caufe (as I may fpeak) upon this Iffue: I ask, How is it poffible to imagine, that God Almighty should make these PrediЄtions of our Saviour good; if he was not really what he pretended to be?

If Chrift had been an Impoftor, it had been the easiest Matter in the World to have ftifled all his Pretences for ever. It had but been to have let him mouldred to Duft in his Grave, as all other Men do, and as He, without the Help of Omnipotency, would have done; and then all the World would have seen that he was a Deceiver.. But now, when instead of perishing in the Grave, he was, after three Days, reftored to Life again, as he had foretold the People; nay, to a glorious immortal Life ; what are we to conclude from hence?

Did not God in this, appear with a Witness, as a Voucher and Approver of his Cause? Was

Was not this a Demonstration to all the World, that Chrift Jefus was no Deceiver, but that he came from God; and that whatever he delivered, was the Truth of God, and to be received as the Oracles of God? Certainly it was.

For that a Man fhould be raised from the Dead by any other Power, than the very Power of God, all the World knows to be impoffible. The Devil, though he can do very ftrange Feats in the natural World; yet I never heard or read, that either he, or any of his Agents or Minifters, fo much as pretended to raise the Dead to Life again: And certainly, if he could have done it, he would have done it often before this, (as in the Cafe of Apollonius Tyanaus, Mahomet, and others) if it had been for no other Reason, than to baffle thereby the Evidence of our Saviour's Refurrection, to render it unconcluding.

It must therefore certainly be the Power of God that raised up Jefus from the Dead. But then to fuppofe, that God fhould employ this Power, for the giving Teftimony to a Falfhood, that he should fet his own Seal to atteft an Untruth, as he must be supposed to have done, if Jesus was not his Son; what an unaccountable Thing is this? No Man that believes that God is faithful, and just, and true, and that he governs the World, can poffibly imagine fuch a Thing. For this had been to have contradicted all his own Attributes, and to have laid an invincible Temptation and Snare before all Mankind, to believe an Impious Lye. You fee then what an unexcepA a 3 tionable