cealed obfcurity, they mention their history as a matter which must be either known to all their contemporaries, or which could be examined and its truth or falfhood difcovered without much trouble. The confidence and fure conviction with which they write is particularly apparent where they speak of the exercise of their miraculous powers. They relate these aftonifhing facts without any ornaments of language, or oratorical flights, but with the most common expreffions, and in the most concife and fimple manner; when they speak of them, they bring to the remembrance of their contemporaries the artful religious deceits with which the heathen priests impofed on the people, and led them like irrational animals"; they appeal to these their fupernatural gifts in oppofition to those which they fharply reproved; and this, when ad

dreffing themselves to communities in which they had many perfonal enemies. In fhort, they speak with fuch certainty, with fo much felf-conviction, and with fuch confidence, of the truth of their hiftory, that affuredly we can no longer confide in any hiftorianwhatever, if we entertain the leaft doubt concerning the honefty of the writers of the New Teftament.

SECT. VI.

They relate Events which happened in their own Times.

THE writers of the New Testament relate their hiftory at a time when it was almoft impoffible to have forged it. -They inform us not of events which happened at the other extremity of the world many ages ago: as that a person perfectly unknown to pofterity had

Cor. xii. xiv. Gal. ii. 1-4.

many

many centuries before their times, performed wonderful things in Britain. No, on the contrary-at Jerufalem they relate events which they affert to have happened at Jerufalem.-Events which took place in the times, and, in ́ part, before the eyes, of perfons who were then alive.-Events which tended to injure, and reflect difhonour on, the principal perfons in the city.Thefe events they relate not in obfcure corners of the town, in the prefence of one or two infignificant perfons: but in public places, in the fchools of the Jews, before the highest tribunal of the nation. In the courts of juftice of the Jewish kings and Roman governours they relate that Jefus, who in the prefence of all the people and of the chief and most learned men of their nation had proved himself by miraculous actions to be the long expected

Acts ii. 22-24.

Meffiah,

Meffiah, had given to the human race the moft noble and falutary doctrines, and led a moft holy, innocent, and beneficent life, had been perfecuted with ferocious cruelty by the chiefs of the people, until they brought him to the cross; that this fame Jefus, neverthelefs, a few days after his death had arifen, and had been seen at Jerufalem by many perfons. This the Apostles avow freely, publicly, and in the prefence of men who flourished at the time they affert their hiftory to have happened. They are thrown into prifon, laid in irons, fcourged, fome of them put to death, and the others threatened with a fimilar fate. But not a fingle perfon arifes to fhew the falfhood of their narrative.-They not only relate this viva voce, but also publish it in writings, addreffed to places where confiderable Jewish communities then exifted; and at a time when they univerfally opposed the fpread of Chriftianity

tianity with the greatest violence.Four men publish accounts of these events at different times. None of the fucceeding hiftorians would certainly ever have ventured to have laid them again before the public, if the narrative of the preceding had already been acknowledged falfe. And this their history is the relation of public and very interesting events, of a tendency no lefs important than the reformation of the whole exifting world.-A man must not only be deceived, or a notorious impoftor, to utter falfhoods under fuch circumstances, but abfolutely infane. We muft, therefore, pronounce the writers of the New Teftament either to have been out of their senses; -or grant-that they did not forge their narrative, but, as to themselves, were perfectly convinced of its truth.