heard the Voice from Heaven giving Atteftation to our Lord Chrift, 2 Pet. i. 16, 17, 18. he fays, v. 19. We have alfo a more fure Word of a Prophecy, for the Proof of this Jefus being the Meffiah; that is, the Prophefies which had gone before of Him, from the Beginning of the World, and all exactly fulfilled in Him.

Men may difpute an Impofition or Delufion upon our outward Senfes; but how that can be falfe which has been fo long, even from the Beginning of the World, and fo often, by all the Prophets, in feveral Ages, foretold? how can this be an Impofition or a Forgery?

This is particularly infifted on in the Cafe of the Jews. And even the Deifts must confefs, that that Book we call the Old Teftament was in Being, in the Hands of the Jews, long before our Saviour came into the World. And if they will be at the Pains to compare the Prophefies that are there of the Mafiah, with the fulfilling of them, as to Time, Place, and all other Circumftances, in the Perfon, Birth, Life, Death, Réfurrection, and Afcenfion of our bleffed Saviour, will find this Proof what our Apoftle here calls it, a Light shining in ́a dark Place, until the Day dawn, and the Day-ftar arife your Hearts. Which God grant. Here is no Poffibility of Deceit or Imposture.

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Old Prophefies (and all fo agreeing) could not have been contrived to countenance a new Cheat; and nothing could be a Cheat that could fulfil all these.

For this therefore I refer the Deifts to the Cafe of the Jews.

I defire them likewife to look there, Sect. XI. and confider the Prophefies given fo long ago, of which they fee the fulfilling at this Day with their own Eyes, of the State of the Jews for many Ages paft, and at prefent; without a King, or Prieft, or Temple, or Sacrifice; fcattered to the four Winds; fifted as with a Sieve among all Nations; yet preferved, and always fo to be, à diftinct People from all others of the whole Earth. Whereas thofe mighty Monarchies which oppreffed the Jews, and which commanded the World in their

Turns,

Turns, and had the greatest human Profpect of Perpetuity, were to be extinguished, as they have been, even that their Names fhould be blotted out from under Heaven.

As likewife, that as remarkable of our bleffed Saviour, concerning the Prefervation and Progress of the Chriftian Church, when in her Swadling-Cloaths, confifting only of a few poor Fisher-men: Not by the Sword, as that of Mahomet, but under all the Perfecution of Men and Hell, which yet should not prevail against her.

But tho' I offer these as not to be flighted by the Deifts, to which they can fhew nothing equal in all profane Hiftory, and in which it is impoffible any Cheat can lie; yet I put them not upon the fame Foot as the Prophefies before-mentioned, of the Marks and Coming of the Meffiah, which have been fince the World began.

And that general Expectation of the whole Earth, at the time of his Coming, infifted upon in the Cafe of the Jews, Sect. V. is greatly to be noticed.

But I fay, the foregoing Prophefies of our Saviour are fo ftrong a Proof, as even Miracles would not be fufficient to break their Authority.

I mean, if it were poffible that a true Miracle could be wrought in Contradiction to them: For that would be for God to contradict himself.

But no Sign or Wonder, that could poffibly be folved, fhould shake this Evidence.

It is this that keeps the Jews in their Obftinacy; tho' they cannot deny the Matters of Fact done by our bleffed Saviour to be truly Miracles, if fo done as faid Nor can they deny that they were fo done, because they have all the four Marks before mentioned; yet they cannot yield. Why? Because they think that the Gospel is in Contradiction to the Law; which if it were, the Confequence would be unavoidable, that both could not be true. To folve this, is the Business of the Cafe of the fews: But the Contradiction which they fuppofe is in their Comments that they put upon the Law; especially,

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efpecially they expect a literal Fulfilling of thofe Promifes of the Reftauration of Jerufalem, and outward Glories of the Church, of which there is fuch frequent mention in the Books of Mofes, the Pfalms, and all the Prophets. And many Chriftians do expect the fame; and take those Texts as literally as the Jews do. We do believe and pray for the Converfion of the Jews. For this End they have been fo miraculously preferved, according to the Prophefies fo long before of it. And when that Time fhall come, as they are the most honourable and antient of all the Nations on the Earth, fo will their Church return to be the Mother Chriftian Church, as she was at firft; and Rome muft furrender to Jerufalem. Then all Nations will flow thither: And even Ezekiel's Temple may be literally built there, in the Metropolis of the whole Earth; which Jerufalem must be, when the Fulness of the Gentiles fhall meet with the Conversion of the Jews. For no Nation will then contend with the Jerus; nor Church with Jerufalem for Supremacy. All Nations will be ambitious to draw their Original from, the Jews, whofe are the Fathers, and from whom, as concerning the Flesh, Chrift came.

Then will be fulfilled that outward Grandeur and Re-. ftauration of the Jews, and of Jerufalem, which they. expect, pursuant to the Prophefies.

They pretend not that this is limited to any particular Time of the Reign of the Meffiah: They are fure it will not be at the Beginning; for they expect to go through great Conflicts and Trials with their Meffiah. (as the Christian Church has done), before his final Conqueft, and that they come to reign with him. So that. this is no Obftruction to their embracing Chriftianity. They fee the fame Things fulfilled in us, which they expect to themselves; and we do expect the fame Things they do.

I tell this to the Deifts, left they may think that the Jews have fome ftronger Arguments than they know of; that they are not perfuaded by the Miracles of our bleffed Saviour, and by the fulfilling of all the Prophefies in him, that were made concerning the Messiah.

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As I faid before, I would not plead even Miracles against these.

And if this is fufficient to perfuade a Jew, it is much more fo to a Deist, who labours not under these Objections.

Befides, I would not seem to clash with that (in a found Senfe) reasonable Caution used by Chriftian Writers, not to put the Iflue of the Truth wholly upon Miracles, without this Addition, when not done in Contradiction to the Revelations already given in the boly Scriptures.

And they do it upon this Confideration, That tho' it is impoffible to fuppofe that God would work a real Miracle in Contradiction to what he has already revealed, yet Men may be impofed upon by falfe and feeming Miracles, and pretended Revelations (as there are many Examples, efpecially in the Church of Rome); and fo may be fhaken in the Faith, if they keep not the Holy Scriptures as their Rule.

We are told, 2 Theff. ii. 9. of him whofe Coming is after the working of Satan, with all Power, and Signs, and lying Wonders. And Rev. xiii. 14. xvi. 14. and xix. 20. of the Devil and falfe Prophets working Miracles. But the Word in all thefe Places is only Enea Signs, that is as it is render'd, Matth. xxiv. 24.; which tho' fometimes it may be ufed to fignify real Miracles, yet not always, not in these Places: For tho' every Miracle be a Sign and a Wonder, yet every Sign or Wonder is not a Miracle.

X. Here it may be proper to confider a common Topick of the Deifts, who, when they are not able to ftand out against the Evidence of Fact, that fuch and fuch Miracles have been done, then turn about and deny fuch things to be Miracles; at least, that we can never be Jure whether any wonderful Thing that is fhewn to us be a true or a falfe Miracle.

And the great Argument they go upon is this, That a Miracle being that which exceeds the Power of Nature, we cannot know what exceeds it, unless we knew the utmoft Extent of the Power of Nature; and no Man pre

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tends

tends to know that: Therefore that no Man can cerand con- : tainly know whether any Event be miraculous ;

fequently he may be cheated in his Judgment betwixt true and falfe Miracles.

To which I answer, That Men may be fo cheated; and there are many Examples of it.

But that tho' we may not always know when we are cheated, yet we can certainly tell, in many Cafes, when we are not cheated.

For tho' we do not know the utmoft Extent of the Power of Nature, perhaps, in any one Thing, yet it does not follow, that we know not the Nature of any thing, in fome Meafure, and that certainly too. For Example: Tho' I do not know the utmost Extent of the Power of Fire, yet I certainly know, that it is the Nature of Fire to burn; and then, when proper Feel is administered to it, it is contrary to the Nature of Fire not to confume it. Therefore if I fee three Men taken off the Street, in their common wearing Apparel, and, without any Preparation, caft into the midst of a burning fiery Furnace, and that the Flame was fo fierce that it burnt up thofe Men that threw them in, and yet that these who were thrown in fhould walk up and down in the Bottom of the Furnace; and I fhould fee a Fourth Perfon with them, of glorious Appearance, like the Son of God; and that thefe Men fhould come up again out of the Furnace without any Harm, or so much as the Smell of Fire upon themfelves or their Cloaths; I could not be deceived in thinking that there was a Stop put to the Nature of Fire, as to thefe Men; and that it had its Effect upon the Men whom it burned at the fame time.

Again; tho' I cannot tell how wonderful and fudden an Increase of Corn might be produced by the Concurrence of many Caufes, as a warm Climate, the Fertility of the Soil, &c. yet this I can certainly know, that there is not that natural Force in the Breath of two or three Words fpoken, to multiply one fmall Leef of Bread fo faft, in the breaking of it, as truly and really, not only in Appearance and Shew to the Eye, but to fill the Bellies

of