thing solid to rest upon: indeed to say the truth, it was never proposed to them or taught them publicly, but confined to the schools of philosophers. Nay, it had not convinced them of many most important truths; or of the duty of professing honestly the important truths of which they were convinced: for they all conformed to the established idolatries. Now these things plainly shewed, that reason alone would never make known so much of religion, as men had need to know; and therefore revelation was infinitely desirable. Yet at the same time, no age before had ever been so unlikely to embrace a false revelation, as that was. The improvement of knowledge had thoroughly enabled them to distinguish between truth and imposture: the many cheats of Paganism had put them on their guard: the prevailing sect of the times was the Epicurean, which believed nothing of religion. And even the prevailing wickedness of the times would be sure to keep men from admitting, too hastily, a religion, so strictly virtuous, as the Christian; and indeed, to discourage any, that were cunning enough to be deceivers, from ever hoping to impose by artifice and fraud such a set of precepts on such an age. Had it been one of as great simplicity of manners, as some of the foregoing; it might have been pretended, that the goodness of the morality of the Gospel had made its other doctrines pass without evidence. But to require of a generation, so extremely vicious, what had never been required of man before, an absolute denial of every wrong inclination of every kind, was a full proof of honesty in the teachers: and, if they prevailed, a strong presumption of the truth of what they taught. Now we know they did prevail. And as, without the least learning, they delivered a sublimer and purer

religion; so, without the least worldly help, they produced, in a few years, a greater reformation, than all the wit and power of man had ever been able to do before of both which arguments Christianity must have been deprived, had God revealed it, before philosophy and human policy, had tried their own strength.

But further yet, when our Saviour appeared, and scarce till then, the greatest part of the known world was peaceably settled under one empire, that of the Romans. On which account, men were much more at leisure for attending to a new religion: travelling and sending intelligence was much more commodious: Christianity therefore was easily propagated; and its proofs as easily examined. Besides this, its being persecuted so soon, and so long, through the whole of that vast dominion, shewed its professors to have no worldly interest in view : which they possibly might, if the same extent of country had still been divided amongst different princes; one of whom perhaps would have protected them against another. And their getting the better, by mere argument and patience, of this most formidable power, was a strong proof that truth, and the God of truth, was their support. To which it must be added, that the scene of this noble struggle being at the same time the seat of learning, we have a sufficient account of it handed down to us from the first, both by friends and enemies: whereas in the more ignorant countries, where Christianity was taught, (and the observation is greatly to its honour) it either could not get footing, or could not keep it; and where it lasted longest, little or no history of it remains.

These advantages then our religion had, from not being published till the age, in which it was. If any

former might possibly be as proper in some respects, yet none will be found so proper in all. And if what hath been said hath only weight enough to remove an objection against the Gospel, no more is necessary. But I hope it will be thought a powerful circumstance in its favour, that the time of its promulgation was so evidently the right one. And I hope also, that considerate men will take occasion from this instance to reflect, that in others too the ways of God may be very just and wise, where perhaps, on a hasty view, they may seem very exceptionable.

But I must not conclude without adding, that the care, with which our Saviour chose for our sakes the fittest season of coming, should make us very careful for our own sakes to be fit for receiving him. The whole benefit to us of what he did then, depends entirely on what we shall do at present: and all he hath gone through to help and save us, will only increase our misery, if we neglect to help ourselves, by performing, (through the means which he hath procured for us) all the duties of a godly, righteous and sober life, in the constant expectation of his coming again. Permit me therefore to conclude in the Apostle's words. We then, as workers together with him, beseech you, that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of Salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of Salvation*.

* 2 Cor. vi. 1, 2.

SERMON XXVI.

JOHN XX. 29.

Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed; blessed are they, that have not seen, and yet have believed.

THESE words relate to the strange unwillingness of one of the Apostles to admit the testimony of our Saviour's resurrection. And there is something so remarkable and instructive in the account, which the Evangelists give not only of the behaviour of St. Thomas in the single instance before us, but of the whole behaviour of the various persons concerned in the history of our blessed Lord, and especially in the concluding part of it, that I shall desire your attention awhile to that matter in general before I proceed to our Apostle's case in particular.

Throughout the Gospels, the characters of all who appear in them, though very unlike each to the other, and some of them very uncommon, are drawn so agreeably to nature, and presented so consistent; (while yet the writers plainly used no art on the occasion, and indeed were incapable of using it to any purpose) that a considerate person, without farther evidence, must conceive the descriptions to be taken from the life. Supernatural things indeed, of the most amazing kind, are intermixed. But then the cause was worthy of them in the highest degree: and

all the mere human part of the narration, if I may call it by that name, is so entirely free from any thing forced and romantic, and represents the heads and hearts of men working so exactly as they do in fact work, yet so differently from what the unskilful would be apt to expect from them, that it very strongly confirms the truth of all that is related. I shall specify only such proofs of this point, as occur in the short story of our Saviour's death and return to life.

The picture, which we have there, of the bigotry and superstition of the Jews, how astonishing is it, and yet how just! Zealous professors of a religion which prefers justice and mercy to all things; yet excited by that very zeal to the grossest violations of both abhorring from principle the Roman power: yet making it in form their charge against the meek and lowly Jesus, that he was dangerous to that power: determined to have his life, though visibly innocent: suborning false witnesses; raising tumults for that wicked end; yet much too scrupulous to go into the Judgment-hall, lest they should be defiled, and made unfit to eat the Passover. At the same time, Pilate, the Roman governor, appears in quite another light: a perfectly natural one indeed for a man of the world; but which plain country people, and such the first believers were, would never have placed him in, from their own invention. Contemptuously indifferent about the religious accusations brought against the prisoner: very clear, that the political ones were groundless, and therefore in earnest desirous to save him: but however, making a compliment of him at all adventures to Herod, the moment that he had hopes it might reconcile, as it