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After this he commanded the Apostles to eat Bread and drink Wine, in remembrance of him, when he should be taken from them; plainly fignifying, in the very words of the inftitution, that his body was to be wounded, and his blood shed, for all mankind. Then upon Peter's affuring him, that he would lay down his life for his fake, JESUS first replied to him; that notwithstanding his warm affurances at that time, before the dawn of the next day he would even thrice deny that he knew him †, to avoid the danger that would then feem to threaten him. And having thus foretold to Peter what would fo foon befal him in particular; he addreffed himself immediately to All; telling them, that though when he had for merly fent them round about the villages, to preach repentance, and heal the fick, they had met with no difficulties; the cafe would be far different when he should be taken from them: that now they would find it neceffary to arm themselves with courage and refolution, to face the dangers that would affault them; Becaufe what was written in the prophets concerning the Mef fab, that he was numbered with the tranfgreffors, (or, executed as a malefactor) was now to be fulfilled in Him."

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The Difciples, as was natural, being exceed ingly alarmed at this difcouraging difcourfe of their Master, and especially at the last part of it s to prevent them from giving way to thofe fears, with which he faw them perplexed; JESUS immediately addreffed them with this exhortation :

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe alfo in Me §. In other words, “Let not

* Matth. xxvi. 26-28. 19-21. 1 Cor. xi. 23-25 + John xiii. 36-38. Ibid. ver. 38.

Mark xiv. 22-24. Luke xxii.

† Luke xxii. 35-37

§ John xiv. 1.

"what

"what I have juft told you; that I shall be taken " from you, and be put to death as a malefactor, " opprefs you with fear; Fe believe in God, that every thing he has declared, and all the pro "mifes he has made in the Old Testament, and "thofe more efpecially which relate to the Mef "fiah, will certainly be fulfilled; Believe alfo in "Me that I have told you nothing but the truth, “in telling you that I am He, the promised Meffiah, and the Son of God; as I have feveral "times declared; and that I will certainly fulfil

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all the Promifes I have made you."In my Fa ther's boufe are many manfions; if it were not fo I would have told you: Be not difmayed therefore at what may befall Me;-I go to prepare a place for you*; That, as I faid to Peter, though ye cannot follow me now, ye may follow me afterwards, And if I go, and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myfelf, that where I am, there ye may be alfo +.:

After this he exhorts them to believe him, for the very works fake ; on account of the miracles they had feen him perform. And to comfort them ftill more, he then promifes, that he would enable all who believed on him; all who believed him to be what he had just declared himself to be, the promifed Meffiah, and the Son of God; to do greater works after he was taken from them, than he himfelf had done before them; and would do every thing they should then afk of him. And fur ther, That he would pray the Father, and he would give them another Comforter, to abide with them for ever even the Spirit of Truth;who dwelt with them, and fhould be in them §. And that the Comforter, the Holy Ghoft, whom the Father would fend in his name,

fhould teach them all things, and bring all things to their remembrance, whatfoever be bad faid unto them.

After this he again reminded them of the defign of what he had faid to them; And now I bave told you, before it come to pass; before his be ing taken from them by being put to death; that tohen it is come to pafs; even when ye fhall have feen me crucified; YE MIGHT BELIEVE+:- In other words, that notwithstanding my ignominious death, fo oppofite to all your expectations concerning the Meffiah, you may ftill reft fatisfied, that I am indeed that very perfon, whom I have profeffed myself, and you acknowledged me to be, the promised MESSIAH; and that every thing I have declared to you will affuredly prove true.

L

They then went out to the Mount of Olives +; where Jesus again difcourfed with his Difciples, fuitably to the occafion of his being juft going to be taken from them: telling them-That be laid down his Life for his Friends And that when the Comforter was come, who should teftify of him, they also fhould bear witnefs, because they had been with bim from the beginning § That notwithstanding Sorrow bad filled their hearts, his going was neceffary, that he might fend the Comforter to them: That whatfoever they should ask the Father in his name, be would give it them; For, that the Father bimfelf loved them, because they bad loved him, AND HAD BELIEVED THAT HE CAME OUT FROM GOD ↓ Then he declared to them, That when he came into the world, be came out from the Father; and fhould go to the Father, when be left the world; upon which they replied (because he had refolved their doubts without their propofing them to him;) * John xiv. 25, 26. + Ibid. ver. 26, 29. John xiv. 31, compared with Matth. xxvi. 30. § Ibid. ver. 26, 27. ¶ John xvi. 6, 7. 4 Ibid. ver. 27.

4

John xv. 13.
Ibid. ver. 23.

Now

Now we are fure that thou knoweft all things: by this WE BELIEVE that thou cameft forth from God. In answer to this declaration of their Belief in him, JESUS directly foretold to them, that they would all very fhortly forfake him*; and then addreffed himself to the Father, to glorify him, HIS SON; with the glory, which He had with the Father before the world was: affirming, in this addrefs to the Father himself, that the Father bad given HIM power to beflow eternal life; And that this was eternal life, To know him, the only true God, and JESUS CHRIST whom he had fent; And declaring to the Father, That his Difciples had known furely that HE CAME OUT FROM HIM, and had BELIEVED THAT HE DID SEND HIM TO

After perufing this short abstract of Jesus's laft difcourfe to the Apostles, from which it is fo abundantly evident, that in commanding them to Believe in Him, his true and obvious meaning was, that notwithstanding they would fo foon fee him ignominiously put to death, they should reft affured of his being the promifed Meffiah; and depend upon the accomplishment of whatever he had declared; I will leave the Author to reconfider his own interpretation of the paffage, and to fuch reflexions as muft naturally arife, upon fo ferious an occafion, in the breaft of what he would certainly, be thought, an honeft man. And when he has thus compared the unquestionable meaning of the paffage itfelf, with that meaning which he has endeavoured to put upon it; it may poffibly be of fome fervice to him to confider again the truth of the principle he has laid down; That Belief

always arifes out of fufficient evidence, and can 66 never arise at all where fuch evidence is want "ing "For from this inftance it appears, either

John xvi. 31, 32. t John xvii. 1-8.

3

P. 309

that

that this principle is abfolutely falfe, and that the Author himself believes the meaning of this very paffage to be, what the whole evidence clearly Thews it cannot be; or elfe, that the Author does not really believe JESUS's meaning to have been, what he profeffes, to believe it; and fo is difhoneftly attempting to perfuade his reader to believe, what he himself knows to be false.

The Author's flagrant perverfion of the paffage juft confidered naturally leads us to inquire into the truth of what he has not fcrupled to affert in another place, to ferve the fame defign.

I do not find, fays he, that CHRIST himself દર ever affumed a higher character, than that of a "Meffenger from God; and fuch he well might "be faid to be, as he was employed in the repub

litation of the religion of nature, which is the "law of God: Nor was it neceffary for him to "produce a commiffion immediately from God, "to claim the regard and attention of mankind "feeing that what he taught them was plain and

clear, and had a natural tendency to promote their happiness f."That is, in other words, The New Teftament does not reprefent CHRIST himfelf, as pretending to produce any particular commiffion from God; or laying claim to any higher character than that of a mere man, who chose to spend his time in inculcating the duties of morality

alone.

Before we inquire into the truth of this affertion, it may be proper to take notice how confiftent the Author is with himself in making it. Here we find him acquainting us, that JESUS produced no commiffion immediately from God but within eight pages after he exprefsly declares, That JESUS worked miracles for an external proof of the truth P. 8.

+ P. 8.

of