Chriflianity is especially built, may be depended upon, as certainly true. How do I know the congruity of the prophecies with the event? How do I know the miraculous conception of the Lord Jefus Chrift, the atteftation of the angels to his birth; or that he wrought such miracles in confirmation of his divine mithon; and that he rofe again from the dead; and afcended up to heaven? How do I know that his apoflles were infpired with such extraordinary and divine gifts; or that they perform'd fuch miraculous operations?

To this I anfwer, that fome of the evidences which I have offered, are what directly, upon the very first view, you may know, and cannot but know, to be certainly and infallibly true, if you will but open your eyes to observe them — You do certainly know, that human nature is dreadfully corrupted and vitiated, that it is oppofite to the holiness and purity of the divine being; and that there is therefore great neceflity of a Saviour, to bring us to God, and to rectify our depraved nature. You may certainly know, that there are a great variety of predictions of fuch a Saviour, difperfed through the whole Old Teftament; and that the whole nation of the Jews always did, and ftill do, from thence live in raised expectations of a Meffiah. You may certainly know, that there were a great number of rites and ceremonies religiously obferved and practifed among the Jews; and that facrificing in particular, was not only enjoin'd upon them, but early and generally practifed among all nations. For none of which things can there be any manner of reafon given or imagined, unless they were types and adumbrations of an expected Saviour.. You may certainly know, that the time prefixed in the Jewish Prophecies for the manifeftation of the Messiah, was the very time, in which by the concurring teftimony both of the friends and enemies of Chriftianity, the Lord Jefus did appear. You may certainly know, that: the Jewish prophets did foretel a fuffering Saviour, a Saviour that fhould be wounded for our tranfgreffions, bruifed for our iniquities, that should make his foul an of -` fering for our fin; and that should be cut off, but not for himself: and you are equally certain from all other

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hiftorians, as well as from the Evangelifts, that our Lord Jefus did undergo fuch opproby, mifery, and death, as was foretold of the Meffiah by the prophets. You may certainly know, that it was foretold in the prophets, that the fcepter fhould not depart from Judah, and a lawgiver from between his feet, until the coming of the Meffiah: But that after his death, the Jewish facrifices fhould ceafe and their holy city and fanctuary be destroy'd ard made defolate: and that the event does affure us, that the circumftances of the Jewish nation did exactly answer to these prophecies, both before and after the death of Jefus Chrift. You may certainly know, both by the Jewish and Christian prophecies, that under the Gofpel-difpenfation, the Jews were to be rejected of God: and to continue, defpifed and difperfed among all nations; but the Gentiles to come to the light of the Meffiah, and fee his righteousnefs and glory and that the event is agreeable to the prediction. You may certainly know, that the rife of Antichrift was predicted to be after the fall of the Roman Empire, when that could no longer let or reftrain him; that he should appear under the guife of a minister of religion, in the temple of God; that he should pretend to all power, and figns, and lying. wonders that he fhould make war with the faints, and overcome them; that he should refide in the great city, that was then built upon feven mountains, and reigned over the kings of the earth, which was true of the city of Rome only. And you may alfo confider, whether all this is not true of the Pope and the Roman Papacy. You may certainly know the amazing progrefs of the Gofpel in the firft ages of Chriftianity, in the face of the most formidable and powerful oppofitions; and its continuing progrefs, against all the attempts of its heathen and Papal enemies. You may know the excellency of its doctrines, and the glorious effects it hath upon the hearts and lives of true believers. You may know (as, blessed be God, multitudes do know, by experience) how it conquers mens corruptions, changes their natures, pacifies their confciences, fills their fouls with light and joy, strengthens them against temptations, veetens the afflictions of life; and fortifies them agaiuft

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all the pains and terrors of death. And you alfo may know, that this Gofpel is the Gofpel of Chrift, and con-fequently that these wonderful effects, which fo apparently carry a divine fignature upon them, are produced by him. All these things, and others of a like nature which might be mentioned, are immediately open to your view, most visible and certain; and one would think, that these alone would fatisfy the mind of a ferious and impartial enquirer into the truth of Chriftianitv.. And especially when these are accompanied with fuch other credentials of our holy religion, which (though not so directly in view, yet) by neceffary confequence, give us the fame affurance and certainty of the truth.

But it's time I should come more directly to answer the objection; and to fhew you, how it may by neceffary confequence be known, that the facts upon which Christianity principally depends, are certainly true.

You yourself mult own, it's impoffible that thofe doctrines can be falfe, which are attefted by fo many and fuch kind of miracles, as are faid to be wrought by our Lord-Jefus Christ and his apoftles. For God cannot fet his feal to a lie; nor confirm a horrible imposture: by his immediate attestation from heaven.

You must own, that it's impoffible for the apostles: and other witneffes of thefe miraculous operations, to be: themselves deceived, while they had all the means of certainty in the cafe before us, that ever any man had in any case whatsoever.

You must likewife own, that it's impoffible for a great number of fober, judicious, and apparently honeft men,, to spend their lives in a continued confpiracy againít their own ease, comfort, honour, life, and eternal welfare, for no other motive but to deceive the world; and bring eternal ruin upon themselves and their fellowcreatures; as these must have done, if they knew thofe facts to be falfe which they publish'd at their peril, and fealed with their blood.

You must also own that it was impoffible to deceive: the world about them, at the time when thefe facts were: done, by reporting, that fuch miraculous operations;

were openly perform'd before them all; which none of them knew any thing about.

You will certainly own, it's impoffible that they could deceive the churches to whom they wrote, by vain pretences, that each one of these had themselves the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, fuch as tongues, miracles, healing, prophecy, and the like, when every one of them knew that there was nothing in it.

You muft in like manner own it impoffible for fuch multitudes of people, for fo long a tract of time, to be impofed upon by pretences of miraculous operations; and none of them ever detect the impofture, fo much as in one single inftance, while all of them had the opportunity of doing it when they pleafed, if the facts had not been true.

Can you imagine it any ways poffible, that fuch multitudes in the firft ages of Chriflianity, in fuch diftant countries and nations, fhould confpire together to acknowledge these facts, and the doctrines founded on them, at the peril of their lives; and no man among these profeffors themselves, or among the heretics, and apoftates that fell away from them, fhould difcover the fraud, either living or dying?

You will certainly own it utterly impoffible, that so many thousands, in fo many lands, could with joy and chearfulness submit to such poor and afflicted lives, and to fuch cruel and barbarous deaths, as were the common lot of the first Christians, in confirmation of a reli gion, founded upon facts which they knew to be falle.

And you must acknowledge it also altogether impof fible, at any time after thefe facts were pretended to be done, to palm the history of them upon the world, if in was false; and to perfwade fo many nations to receive it for truth. It were impoffible to perfwade any nations, and much more all the early nations of Chuifsendom, that at some distant forgotten age there were a Bumber of men that came among them, taught them the doctrines of Chriftianity, confirm'd the fame by mi racles, baptiz'd them into the faith; and established a fettled order of the ministry in their churches: from which time, they have all of them profeffed the Chrif

tian faith; had the New Teftament in their hands; and enjoy'd a continued fucceffion of minifters and ordinances. Let an attempt of this kind be made upon our Indians, and try, if any one man among them can be impos'd upon to believe these things.

To this I may add, that it is abfolutely impoffible, at any one time, to have obtruded the infpired writings. upon the world, if they were indeed fpurious; and to have made all the Chriftian nations believe, that these were written in the apoftolic age, fpeedily tranflated into divers languages, publickly kept, and publickly read and preached in their churches; that they and their fathers before them had always reverenced and efteemed them as the rule of their lives; and their guide to eternal happiness. What fuccefs, but fcorn and derifion, could be hoped for from fuch an attempt ?

I may once more fubjoin to all this, that it is at least highly improbable, that the early writers against Chrif tianity fhould never deny thefe facts, if they were not notoriously true, when they could not want advantages to detect any fraud or deceit, that can poffibly be fuppofed in a cafe of this kind. And it is yet more improbable, that any of the adverfaries of Chriftianity fhould confirm the truth of these facts, as we find some of them do, if they had not been moft apparently and undoubt edly true.

And now, Sir, what can be wanting, what can you demand or defire more, to confirm you in the faith of Chriflianity? It is established upon the veracity of God himself; upon thofe facts, by which he has from heaven attested to the truth of it; and these facts are verified by evidences, which cannot poffibly deceive us. By believing therefore, we fet to our feal that God is true: But he that believeth not, maketh him a lyar : because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.

You may perhaps tell me, that if you had feen these miracles yourfelf, you would have believed them. But han't every body else the fame claim to this fort of fatisfaction as you; and the fame reason to defire, to be eye and ear-witneffes of fuch miraculous operations?. Az