and otherwise concerned with the transactions as the books require, but who had invented many hiftories and circumstances, &c. not to have been deficient, fuperfluous, and erroneous. No man's memory or knowlege is fufficient for fuch an adaptation of feigned circumstances, and especially where the mention is incidental. Let any one confider how often the best poets fail in this, who yet endeavour not to vary from the manners and cuftoms of the age of which they write; at the fame time that poetry neither requires nor admits fo great a minuteness in the particular circumftances of time, place, and persons, as the writers of the New Teftament have defcended to naturally and incidentally.

Secondly, That Chrift preached in Judaa and Galilee, made many difciples, and was crucified under Pontius Pilate, at the inftigation of the chief men among the Jews; alfo that his difciples preached after his death, not only in Judæa, but all over the Roman empire, that they converted multitudes, were perfecuted, and at last suffered death, for their firm adherence to their master; and that both Chrift and his difciples pretended to work many miracles; are facts attefted by civil hiftory in the ampleft manner, and which cannot be called in queftion. Now these facts are fo connected with the other facts mentioned in the New Teftament, that they must ftand or fall together. There is no probable account to be given of these facts, but by allowing the reft. For the proof of this, I appeal to every reader who will make the trial. It may also be concluded from the remarkable unwillingness of the prefent unbelievers to allow even the plaineft facts in exprefs terms. For it fhews them to be apprehenfive, that the connexion between the feveral principal facts mentioned in the New Teftament is infeparable, and that the atteftation given to fome by civil hiftory may eafily be extended to all.

It has been objected, That more mention ought to have been made of the common facts by the profane writers of those times, alfo fome acknowledgment of the miraculous ones, had they been true. To this we may answer, Firft, That Judaa was but a small and distant province of the Roman empire, and the Jews themselves, with whom the Chriftians were for a long time confounded, much despised by the Romans. Secondly, That hiftorians, politicians, generals, &c. have their imaginations fo much preoccupied by affairs of state, that matters purely religious are little regarded by them. Gallio cared for none of these things. Thirdly, That a perfon who attended in any great degree to the Chriftian affairs, if a good man, could scarce avoid becoming a Christian; after which his teftimony ceases to be Pagan, and becomes Christian; of which I fhall speak under the next head. Fourthly, That both those who were favourers of the Christians, and those averfe to them in a moderate degree, one of which must be the cafe with great numbers, would have motives to be filent; the half-chriftians would be filent for fear of being perfecuted; and the others would affect to take no notice of what they disliked, but could not difprove; which is a fact that occurs to daily observation. Lastly, When these things are laid together, the atteftations of the profane writers to the common facts appear to be fuch as one might expect, and their filence as to the miraculous ones is accounted for.

Thirdly, All the Chriftian writers, from the time of the apostles and downwards, bear teftimony to the genuineness of the books of the New Testament, and the truth of the facts, in a great variety of ways, direct and indirect, and in fuch manner as might be expected. Their quotations from them are numberlefs, and agree fufficiently with the present copies. They go every where upon the fuppofition of the facts,

as the foundation of all their difcourfes, writings, hopes, fears, &c. They discover every where the highest regard, and even veneration, both for the books and the authors. In fhort, one cannot fee how this testimony in favour of the books of the New Testament can be invalidated, unless by fuppofing all the ecclefiaftical writing of the first centuries to be forged alfo; or all the writers to have concurred to write as if they believed the genuineness and truth of these books, though they did not; or to have had no ability or inclination to diftinguish genuineness and truth from forgery and falfehood; or by fome other fuch fuppofition, as will scarce bear to be named.

Here three queftions may be asked, that bear fome relation to this fubject; and the answers to which will, I think, illuftrate and confirm what has been advanced in the last paragraph.

Thus, Firft, It may be afked, why we have not more accounts of the life of CHRIST tranfmitted to us. To this I anfwer, that it is probable from St. Luke's preface, that there were many fhort and imperfect accounts handed about very early; the authors of which, though they had not taken care to inform themfelves accurately, did not, however, endeavour to impofe on others defignedly; and that all these grew into difufe, of courfe, after the four gofpels, or perhaps the three firft, were published, or, at leaft, after the canon of the New Teftament was formed; alfo that after this the Chriftians were fo perfectly fatisfied, and had the four gofpels in fuch efteem, that no one prefumed to add any other accounts, and especially as all the apostles were then dead.

The Second Question is, How come we to have fo little account, in the primitive writers, of the lives, labours, and fufferings of the apoftles? I answer, that the apostles feem to have refided in Judæa, till Nero's army invaded it, and afterwards to have tra

velled into diftant parts; and that neither their converts in Judæa, nor thofe in the diftant barbarous countries, into which they travelled, could have any probable motive for writing their lives: alfo, that, as as to other Chriftians, they had neither opportunities nor motives. The Chriftians looked up to CHRIST, as their master, not to the apoftles. Their great bufinefs was to promote Christianity, not to gratify their own or others fruitless curiofity. They were not learned men, who had spent their lives in the study of annalists and biographers. They did not fufpect, that an account of the lives of the apostles would ever be wanted, or that any one could call their integrity, infpiration, miracles, &c. in question. St. Luke feems to have defigned by his Acts, chiefly to fhew how the gospel first got firm footing amongst Jews, profelytes of the gate, and idolatrous gentiles; in order to encourage the new converts to copy the examples of the apoftles, and first preachers, and to publish the gospel in all nations. Laftly, The primitive Chriftians had early difputes with Jews, heathens, heretics, and even with one another; which took up much of their attention and concern.

Thirdly, It may be asked, Who were the persons that forged the fpurious acts and revelations of feveral of the apoftles, &c. I anfwer, that, amongst the number of those who joined themselves to the Christians, there must be many whofe hearts were not truly purified, and who, upon apoftatizing, would become more felf-interefted, vain-glorious, and impure, than before. These were antichrifts, as St. John calls them, who left the church because they were not of it. Some of thefe forged books to fupport themselves, and establish their own tenets. Others might write partly like enthufiafts, partly like impoftors. And, laftly, There were fome both weak

and wicked men, though not fo abandoned as the ancient heretics, who in the latter end of the second century, and afterwards, endeavoured to make converts by forgeries, and fuch other wicked arts. How. ever, all those who are ufually called fathers, in the firft ages, stand remarkably clear of fuch charges.

Fourthly, The propagation of Christianity, with the manner in which it was oppofed by both Jews and Gentiles, bears witnefs to the truth and genuinenefs of the books of the New Teftament. But I forbear entering upon this argument, as it will come more properly in another place. Let me only obferve here, that there are many paffages in the Talmudical writings, which afford both light and confirmation to the New Teftament, notwithstanding that one principal defign of the authors was to difcredit it.

PROP. XXV.

The Agreement of the Books of the Old and New Teftaments with themfelves and with each other is an Argument both of their Genuineness and Truth.

THE truth of this propofition will be evident, if a fufficient number of thefe mutual agreements can be made out. It is never found that any fingle perfon, who deviates much from the truth, can be fo perfectly upon his guard as to be always confiftent with himself. Much lefs therefore can this happen in the cafe of a number, living alfo in different ages. Nothing can make them confiftent, but their copying faithfully after real facts. The inftances will make this clearer.

The laws of the Ifraelites are contained in the Pentateuch, and referred to in a great variety of ways, direct and indirect, in the hiftorical books, in