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SERM. God for the discharge of their duty herein, was all the XXIX. argument which did induce them to undertake this at

V. 29.

2 Cor. ii. 17. iv. 2.

16.

10.

testation, all the reason that could fupport them in it; neither of which could be confiftent with the refolved maintenance of fuch a falfehood. They could not indeed but grievously be tormented with remorfe in their minds, they could not but dread severe vengeance from heaven, had they been confcious to themselves of fo villanous a design of mocking God, (whose name and express command they pretended, whofe teftimony and judgment they Afts iv. 19. appealed to in this affair,) and together of abufing the world with such an imposture. Such must have been their inward fenfe, and fuch their expectations, had they pro2 Cor. ix. ceeded with guilty confcience in this bufiness: but they do seriously profess otherwise, and the condition of things 1 Tim. iv. might affure us they were in good earnest; eis Touro, For this end, faith St. Paul, we both labour and fuffer reproach, because we truft in the living God, who is the Saviour of 2 Cor. i. 12. all men, fpecially of thofe that believe: and, Our rejoicing is this, the teftimony of our confcience, that in fimplicity and godly fincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our converfation in the world: 1 Cor. v. 11. and, Knowing the fear of the Lord, (that is, being fenfible of our duty toward God, and fearful of his judgment, if we tranfgrefs it,) we perfuade men; but are made manifeft unto God. So they declare what principle it was that moved them to this practice: and the hope encouraging Rom. viii. them in it they often exprefs; If, faid they, we fuffer with Chrift, we shall be glorified together with him: and, 2 Cor.iv.10. We always bear about in the body the dying of the Lord Jefus, that the life alfo of Jefus may be made manifeft in 2 Tim.ii.11. our body: and, It is a faithful faying, if we are dead with (1 Pet. i. 7. him, we shall alfo live with him; if we fuffer with him, we Shall alfo reign with him; if we deny him, he also will 2 Tim. iv.8. deny us: and, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my courfe, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteoufnefs, which the Lord, the righteous judge, fhall give me at that day. So they profess concerning the grounds and reasons of their maintaining

17.

iv. 13.)

this teftimony (and the points connected therewith) with SERM. so great present inconvenience to themselves: and the XXIX. ftate of things rendereth their profeffion moft credible; for they appear not fo blind as not to fee thofe inconveniences, nor fo fond as to like them for themselves, or upon no confiderable account: they confefs, that they should be very stupid and senseless people, if they had incurred and underwent all this to no purpose, or without hope of good recompenfe for it after this life; If Chrift 1 Cor. xv. be not rifen, faith St. Paul, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is alfo vain; yea, and we are found falfe witneffes of God, that he raised up Chrift;—then we have only hope in this life; and, if in this life only we have hope in Chrift, we are of all men most miserable.

14, 15, 19,

30, 31,

7. And how indeed is it conceivable, that such persons fhould be fo bewitched with fo paffionate an affection, or fo mighty a respect, toward a poor dead man, (one, who was born fo obfcurely, who lived fo poorly, who died fo miferably and infamously, as a malefactor; who indeed fo died to their knowledge most defervedly, fuppofing they did know their teftimony to be false; one who never was capable to oblige them, or to recompenfe them for their actings and fufferings in any valuable measure,) that merely for his fake, or rather not for his fake, but only for a smoke of vain opinion about him, (which could nowise profit either him or them,) they should with an inflexible obftinacy defy all the world; expose themselves to all the perfecutions of the world, and to all the damnations of hell. St. Paul furely had another opinion of Jesus, when he said, Who shall separate us from the love of Rom. viii. Chrift? fhall tribulation, or diftrefs, or perfecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or fword? - Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us : for I am perfuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things prefent, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any creature, fhall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Chrift Jefus our Lord. Could they, think we, speak thus, who knew Jefus to be a wicked deceiver, worthily hated of God and men? No affuredly; their

35, &c.

XXIX.

SERM. fpeech and behaviour do palpably fhew that therefore they did bear fo vehement an affection, and so high a Rom. x. 9. respect toward Jefus, because, as with their mouths they openly profeffed, fo they were in their hearts thoroughly perfuaded, that he was the Son of God moft dear unto him; who died for their fake; who was to their knowledge raised again; who also, according to his promises, would recompenfe their faithful adherence to him with eternal joy and blifs.

Vid. Chryf. toin. vi. Or.

lxi. p. 61.

56.

John xx.

19.

8. Again, we may confider thefe witneffes to have of themselves been perfons very unlikely to devise such a plot, very unfit to undertake it, very unable to manage and carry it through: perfons they were of no reputation for birth, for wealth, for any worldly intereft; perfons of no education, no improvement, no endowments of mind (natural or artificial) anywife confiderable: b they were, as to condition and manner of life, fishermen, publicans, and mechanics; as to abilities of mind, they were (as they Acts iv. 13. report themfelves) ayрáμμaтos xai idia, illiterate and Matt. xxvi. fimple: they were also men of no great natural spirit or courage, but rather irrefolute and timorous; as their deserting their Master, their renouncing him, their flying 1 Cor. i. 27, and fculking, reported by themselves, declare: the base, or ignoble, the despicable, or abject, the weak, the foolish things of the world, they did ftyle themfelves; and in that no adverfary will, I fuppofe, contradict them. And is it poffible, that a few (in this refpect I mean very few) perfons thus conditioned and qualified, fhould have the wit to contrive, or the courage to maintain a forgery of fuch importance? What hope they could frame to themselves of any fuccefs therein, upon fo extreme difadvantages, is to any man very obvious. No kind of friends in all the world could they imagine ready to back them, or yield them any encouragement; but heaven, hell, and earth, they had reafon to expect all to be combined in oppofition to them and their defign: they had all reason to fear, that God

28.

ἐστράκινα σκεύη.

2 Cor. iv. 7.

b Oüri yàg Xóywv irxvi, &c. Chryf. tom. v. Or. 64. Tín Jappńoartes; äga vặ καλάμῳ καὶ τῷ ἀγκίςρῳ, ἢ τῇ σμίλῃ καὶ τῷ τρυπάνῳ, &c. Ibid,

C Καὶ οὐκ ἂν οὕτως εὐτελέσι καὶ ταπεινοῖς πλάσαι τί τοιοῦτον ἐπῆλθε εἰ μαίνεσθαί τις αὐτοὺς φαίη καὶ παραπαίων, &c. Ibid. in Babylam.

ποτέ, πλὴν

himself would crofs them and blaft their wicked endea- SERM. vours to propagate the belief of fuch a lie, which moft XXIX. profanely they dared to father on him, and to vent in his name. They could not hope the father of lies himself, or any powers of darkness, would be favourable or helpful to them; whose interest they fo manifeftly impugned; that the fuccefs of their doctrine, whether true or false, could not but much prejudice their kingdom; as in effect we fee that it did in a manner quite fubvert it: they were fure among men to encounter the most potent and most earnest adversaries that could be; all the grandees of the world, both political and religious, deeply concerned in honour and intereft to labour with all their power the detection of their cheat, and overthrow of their defign: whence it must be a boldness more than human, more than gigantic, that could bear up against all these adverfaries, if their teftimony was in their confcience false; against all these oppofitions and disadvantages, what could those poor men have to confide in, befide the natural prevalence of truth, and divine affiftance thereto; being in their hearts affured of the former, and therefore greatly hoping for the latter?

9. And how indeed could fuch a cheat, contrived and conducted by fo, to human esteem, weak and filly a knot of people, so easily profper, and obtain fo wonderful a progrefs, so as presently to induce very many persons, pupiάdes WETIσTEUXÓTWY, (myriads of believers, as it is Acts xxi. 20.) many of them confiderable, (even woλuv oxλov Acts vi. 7. iepéwv, a great crowd or company of priefis, as it is faid in the Acts,) to embrace it, together with all the crosses and damages attending it? fo as to escape all inquifition about 2 Theff. iii. it, and overbear all perfecution against it, being neither Acts xix.20. convincible by proof, nor controllable by force; but in de- vi.7.xii. 20. κατὰ κράτος spite of all assaults holding its ground, and running for- užavi, grew ward with huge fuccefs; according to that in the Acts, by main So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.

10. The matter of their teftimony (if we confider that as we should do) and its drift were very implaufible, such as no impoftors would be likely to forge, and no hearers,

1.

force.

SERM. without great evidence of truth, would be ready to adXXIX. mit. dIt was no fine ftory apt to please the lufts, to flatter the humours, or to gratify the fancies of men; but rather very diftafteful to flesh and blood, (whofe inclinations it mainly thwarted,) likely to offend the ears of all men who should hear it; apt to raise fierce anger and indignation in Jews, great contempt and fcorn in Gentiles toward it. The Jews, to whom it was first addressed, it did plainly charge with heinous iniquity and impiety in cruelly murdering a Perfon most innocent, most excellent in virtue and dignity, most dear to God; it withal defeated their longings for a gaudy Meffias, who should restore and rear them into a lofty state of temporal profperity, fubftituting in the room a spiritual King, with overtures of felicity invifible and future, little fuiting their grofs conceit and carnal guft of things; it also imported the abrogation of those ritual laws, and revolution of those special privileges, wherein they did so please and Vid. A&t. pride themselves; it opened the enclosures of God's favour and grace, making them common to all people; it croffed their fecular interefts of emolument and honour annexed to the present outward frame of religion, which it diffolved; it menaced fevere vengeance and horrible defolation to their nation and city: and was such a report likely to be entertained by them otherwife than with displeasure and deteftation? Neither unto the Gentiles was it likely to be acceptable; for it did alfo fubvert all the religion established among them by law and custom, deftroying confequently all the interefts of those who were concerned in upholding thereof; fuch as those who made that famous uproar, crying out, Great is Diana of Acts xix. the Ephefians: it seemed to thwart the common maxims of policy, and dictates of worldly prudence; it could not but appear, to men prepoffeffed with admiration of fecular

xxii. 21, 22.

28, 34.

4 Τί δὲ περὶ αὐτοῦ λέγοντες ἐδόκουν ἂν εἶναι πιθανοί; &c. Chryf. in 1 Cor. Or. v. Si rem credibilem crediderunt, videant quam fint ftolidi qui non credunt : fi autem res incredibilis credita eft, etiam hoc utique incredibile eft, fic creditum effe quod incredibile eft, &c. Aug. de Civitate Dei, xxii, 5. Vid. Chryf. tom. vi. Or. 61.

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