Laftly, Chrift's defcending into the Infernal Regions, and thereby answering the whole Law of Death in our stead, may give us abundant Encouragement to rely upon him as the Saviour of the World, and to caft ourfelves upon his Allfufficient Sacrifice and Atonement. DISCOURSE XVIII. I COR. XV. 4• latter part. That he rofe again the third Day according to the H Scriptures. AVING finifh'd the fourth Article of the Creed, containing the feveral Steps of our Saviour's Humiliation, in which we faw him crucify'd, dead, bury'd, and defcended into Hell: I proceed now to the Fifth, which contains the first Step of his Exaltation; in thefe Words, The third day be rofe again from the dead. In our last we left our Saviour in the State of the Dead, his Body in the Grave, and his Soul in Hades, with a Band of Soldiers guarding and watching his Sepulchre; let us now behold him with Glory rifing and returning from thence, and from the Agonies of his Death pass to the Triumphs of his Refurrection: which I fhall do from thefe words of our Text, agreeable with those in the Creed; That he rose again the Third day. In difcourfing whereof, I must fhew, First, the Truth of his Refurrection, that he indeed rofe from the Dead. Secondly, The Time of his Rifing again, and that was the Third Day. Thirdly, The Manner of his Resurrection. And, First, The Truth of his Refurrection, because no Article of our Faith either deferv'd or needed a stronger Confirmation, we have a full and undoubted Proof of it. But to clear our way, By Refurrection here we understand, the reproducing of fomething that was, and after was not, to the fame again; or more plainly, the restoring of something that was dead to Life again. Now that Chrift did thus truly and properly rife from the dead, we have abundant Confirmation. That he was truly dead, there can be no doubt: his Soul being really feparated from his Body, the one laid up in the Grave, the other in Hades, the Receptacle of departed Spirits. That he truly came to Life again, by the return of the fame Soul, and Re-union of it to the fame Body, so as to become again the fame Man, is no lefs evident by many palpable Proofs; for he appear'd again alive to those that faw him dead, to the great Joy of his Friends that lamented it, and to the great Confufion of his Enemies that effected and rejoyc'd at it. That they might not take him for a Ghoft or Spirit, appearing only in an airy fantastick Body, he bid them handle him and fee him, for a Spirit has not Flesh and Bones, as they faw and felt him to have; Luke 24. 37, 39. To convince them that the Body, in which he appear'd, was the fame in which he before liv'd and dy'd, he wills them to behold his Hands and his Feet, that it was he himSelf and no other: Yea, he bids doubting Thomas reach hither his Finger, to feel and fee the Print of the Nails that faften'd him to the Crofs, and thrust his Hand into his Side, where the Soldier's Spear had pierc'd; willing him to be no longer faithless, but believing. Moreover, to remove all their Scruples, he call'd for Meat, and did eat and drink with them after he rose from the dead. He talk'd and convers'd with them, difcourfing to them out of the Scriptures the things concerning himself, how it is written, Thus it behov'd him to fuffer, and to rise again the third Day; Luke 24. 46. And because our Text tells us, that this was done according to the Scriptures; 'twill be requifite to fhew how this was foretold in the Old Testament, and fulfill'd under the New. For the First, we have many Types and Prophecies in the Old Teftament, foretelling the Meffias's rifing again from the dead. Ifaac's living after Abraham's intended facrificing of him, was a Type of our Saviour's Refurrection, who came to Life after the real Sacrifice of himself. Joseph's living and coming to great Honour, after he was fold, and defign'd by his envious Brethren to be murder'd and made away, reprefented the reviving and advancing of the Meffias, after all the Outrage and Cruelty of his Enemies. More plainly, Fonas's being fwallow'd up by a Whale, and lying three Days and three Nights in his Belly, was a plain Type, and is accordingly apply'd to Chrift's being swallow'd up of the Grave, and lying fo long in the Heart of the Earth; Mat. 12. 40. And his coming forth out of the Belly of that great Fish, and being reftor'd alive on the dry Land, fignify'd the Meffias's being taken out of the Jaws of Death, and reftor'd again unto the Land of the Living. And as this was reprefented in Types, fo was it held forth in Prophecies. Fob in the midst of all his Mifery and Trouble declar'd, He knew that his Redeemer liveth, and that he fhall stand at the latter day upon the Earth: and tho after his Skin, Worms deftroy'd his Body, yet in his Flesh he Should fee God, whom he should behold with his own Eyes, tho his Reins were confum'd within him; Job 19. 25, &c. This is a plain Prediction both of Chrift's, and his own Refurrection and it must be to the Eternal Infamy of Chriftians, who live after the Accomplishment of this great Action, if they come fhort, in their Belief of this Article, of this good Man, who liv'd fo long before it, and among thofe that had no Apprehenfion of it. David likewife, who forefaw the Refurrection of Chrift, fpake no lefs plainly of it; faying prophetically in the Perfon of the Meffias, that God would not leave his Soul in Hades, nor fuffer his Body to stay fo long in the Grave as to fee Corruption. : But what was thus plainly typify'd and foretold in the Old Teftament, we find as pun&tually fulfill'd in the New, by the Refurrection of our Saviour; which being a matter of Fact done near feventeen hundred Years ago, requires full Evidence to create and continue the Belief of it; and being the great Fundamental Article of Faith, upon which the whole Fabrick of the Chriftian Religion ftands, the Holy Spirit of God hath not been wanting to give us the clearest Evidence about it. Now the proper Proof in this cafe, being a matter of Fact, is the Teftimony of credible Witneffes who faw it done, and of able and faithful Perfons, who have recorded and deliver'd it down ever fince: and if it hath this, 'tis as much as the Truth of the thing requires, and the Nature of it will bear. And upon this ground it is, that our Belief of this great Truth is founded, S 4 For For befide the Teftimony of God himfelf, who rais'd him from the Dead, and by many Signs and Wonders attefted the Truth of it; and likewife the Teftimony of the Holy Angels, who told thofe pious Women that came to feek his Body in the Sepulchre, that they vainly fought the Living among the Dead, for he was not there, but was risen: I fay, befide this infallible Teftimony, we have the Relation of Eye and Ear-Witneffes, who not only preach'd and publish'd it to the World, but by many Miracles and Sufferings feal'd the Truth of it. Now to corroborate their Testimony, there was fuch a full Concurrence of all Circumstances in their Evidence, as is fufficient to filence all Cavils against it. As, 1. If we confider the Number of the Witneffes, they are enough to put it out of all doubt: This Jefus (fay the twelve Apoftles) hath God rais'd up, whereof we all are Witnefes; Acts 2. 14, 32. St. Paul in this Chapter tells us, that he was feen not only of the Twelve, who might eafily believe what they earnestly defir'd, but of above five hun dred Brethren at once; and of him too, who once perfecuted all that believ'd it. Yea, the whole Chriftian Church have borne witness to it ever fince: and if out of the Mouth of two or three Witneffes fhall every Word be establish'd, how firmly must this Truth ftand, that hath proceeded out of the Mouth of fo many? Again, 2. The Perfons that attefted this, were not Strangers to our Saviour, or fuch as had not the Oppertunity of knowing the Fact; but fuch as convers'd and were familiarly acquainted with him, having been with him from the Beginning, and going in and out with him till the time of his Afcenfion. Moreover, 3 This thing was not done in a Corner, or fo as they might be deceiv'd or miftaken about it, but openly, in the view of the World; which made them fay, We have not follow'd cunningly-devis'd Fables, when we made known unto you the Power and Prefence of our Lord Fefus, but were Eye-witneffes of his Majefty: and elfewhere, We speak unto you what we have heard and feen; what we saw with our Eyes, and our Hands have handled of the Word of Life, that report we unto you; 1 John 1. 1. Yea, we read, fome select Perfons fitted for this purpofe were predefign'd and pick'd out, in an extraordinary manner, to be the Witneffes hereof to the People, 4. Thefo 4. These Witneffes, fo chofen, were not a few credulous Persons, apt to believe any Report, and eafy to be impos'd upon, but were at firft very diffident in this matter, and had mighty Prejudices and Doubts about it; for we read, when the Women firft brought the News of it, their Words feem'd to them as an idle Tale, and they believ'd them not; Luke 24. 11. yea, we find St. Thomas fo very distrustful of the matter, as to declare exprefly, that unless he could fee in his Hands the very Print of the Nails, and thrust his Finger into his Side, he neither could nor would believe it. And yet, 5. Thefe very Perfons receiv'd fuch full Satisfaction of the Truth of it, as banifh'd all their Doubts, and made them publish it with boldnefs in all places where they came; for with great Power (faith St. Luke) gave the Apostles witnefs of the Refurrection of the Lord Jefus and even St. Thomas himself, for whofe fake our Saviour condefcended to all the palpable Proofs he defir'd for his Conviction, in the ftrength of his Faith cry'd out, My Lord, and my God! 6. So bold and undaunted were thefe Witneffes in the Delivery of this Truth, that no Bribes or Menaces could tempt them either to deny or conceal it; for when the Chief Priests and Elders ftrictly charg'd them under the fevereft Penalties to fpeak no more of it, or to preach in his Name; they boldly declar'd, that they were to obey God rather than Man, and no Bonds, Imprifonment, or Death itfelf, could prevail with them to tifle that Meffage they had in Commiffion to deliver. To which if we add, Laftly, The mighty Succefs this Doctrine hath met with in all Times and Places ever fince, it may ferve_to build us up the more firmly in this moft Holy Faith; for, by the Bleffing of God upon it, the whole World is profelyted to this Belief: and tho great Endeavours have been us'd to ftop the Progrefs and Propagation of it, yet it hath gain'd Credit every where, and like the Palm-tree rife the higher by the Attempts made to deprefs it: fo mightily grew the Word of God and prevail'd! But because the Teftimony of an Adverfary hath been ever thought to add great Advantage and Confirmation to any Truth, we must not omit the Teftimony given to Chrift's Refurrection by the very Enemies and Oppofers of it; for many of the Jews, who were the Inftruments of his Death, became the Witneffes of his Refurrection: yea, the Soldiers that watch'd the Sepulchre, 2 |