in this Life; when they produce fuch Cirdumftances as put it out of their own power to deceive; and fuch as thofe, before whom they fpeak, may know to be falfe, if they be fo; this certainly is all that can be defired in any Witness.

1. The Apostles, who were Witneffes of our Saviour's Refurrection, could not be deceived themselves in it. They were ever far from being credulous, and eafie of belief, as they fhew'd upon all occafions, and particularly they never could be brought to believe the Doctrine concerning the Refurrection of Chrift, 'till their own Senfes had convinc'd them: But before, they had wrong Notions and Apprehenfions of it, and either misunderstood and mifapplied all that had been faid to them about it; or whatever they knew or believ'd concerning it before, they had no Expectations of it when he was once dead.:

Our Saviour had in exprefs terms foretold his Refurrection upon the third day, feveral times, Matth. XVI. 21. XVII. 23. xx. 19. But his Difciples did not rightly apprehend, or throughly confider what he faid to them, tho' he express'd himself in the plaineft words: For they were wholly taken up with great Thoughts and Expectations of an earthly Kingdom, and of temporal Power and Honour; at one time Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, faying, Be it far from thee, Lord, this fhall not be unto thee, Matth. xvi, 22. and at another time, juft before his Paffion, our Saviour had no fooner done fpeaking to them of his Crucifixion, and his Rifing again the third day, but the two Sons of Zebedee petition'd, that one might fit on the right-hand, and the other on the left, in his Kingdom, and the reft of the Difciples were mov'd with Indignation against them, for preferring fuch a Requeft; and it appears from our Saviour's Difcourfe to them upon it, that their Minds were all bent upon the Thoughts of Temporal Glory and Dominion, Matt. xx. 20. After our Saviour had told them, that

he must be put to death, and rife again the third day, St. Luke adds, that they understood none of thefe things, and this faying was hid from them, nei her knew they the things which were spoken, Luke xviii. 34. and we find the fame Expreffion before, Luke ix. 45. Even after our Saviour had eaten the Passover with them, and inftituted the Sacrament of his Body, which was just then to be given up and to be crucified, and of his Blood, which was to be fhed for them, they were still intent upon Temporal things, and had Expectations of being advanced to places of Authority and Preeminence. And there was a ftrife amongst them, which of them fhould be accounted the greatest, Luke xxii. 24. At his Paffion, as one of them denied him thrice, fo all the reft forfook him and fled.

The Apostles and Evangelifts write without any Defign, or any End to ferve, but that of telling the Truth; and therefore they conceal nothing of their own Failings and Faults, though they might prove never fo difgraceful to them. They acquaint us that they were ambitions, and had a vain Profpect of Temporal Grandeur; that they were timorous, and of little Faith, till the Defcent of the Holy Ghoft upon them; which appears in nothing more, than in this point of the Refurrection. They were Men of no great natural Capacity, or quick Apprehenfion, and they had fometimes found themselves mistaken in understanding that literally, which was spoken to them in Parables; and it is natural for Men to run from one Extreme to another, and ufual for ignorant and unlearned Men to imagine Difficulties, where there are none. And this meeting with their Wishes and Longings after temporal Greatnefs, made them take all that was faid to them concerning the Paffion and Refurre&tion of Chrift, in fome fuch fenfe as might answer their Hopes and Defires of Temporal Felicity: But when his Crucifixion had undeceiv'd them in this Conceit, they were in fuch Confufion and Confterna

tion of Mind, as not to be able to recollect themfelves, or to promise themselves any thing by his Refurrection, of which they had no Hopes or Expectation. The Spirits of Men are commonly as low as their Education and their Condition and Station in the World is, and are easily funk and deprefs'd much lower by any great and fudden Calamity; and Men who were born in fo mean a Condition, and had entertain❜d a Conceit of great and vain Hopes, and then as unexpectedly fell from them, must be fo dejected at it, that it is no wonder that they thought of nothing but their Sorrows, and had little Heart to imagine any poffibility of Relief from the Reviving of him, whom they had seen in that infamous and cruel manner put to death. They were fo poffefs'd with an Opinion of a temporal Kingdom, that when they had been convinced of the Truth of his Refurrection, and had afterwards convers'd a long time with him, they could not put it out of their Minds, A., 6., and therefore it is no ftrange thing, that when they faw him dead and in the Grave, they were forfaken of all their former Hopes of the Redemption of rael by him, (Luke xxiv. 21.) which before they had imagi ned to themselves, was to be perform'd by his raifing himself from that Meanness to a Throne, not by his, reftoring himself to Life again, after he had been bu ried three days. The Notion which the Jews had of a Refurrection," was only that of the last day, John xi. 24. There was indeed a Rumour rais'd by fome, that John the Baptift was risen from the dead, and af terwards wrought thofe Miracles, which were done by Chrift, under the Name of Jefus of Nazareth, as Herod's guilty Fears inclined him to believe, Luke ix. 7. Others faid that one of the Old Prophets is risen again, ver. 19. But both thefe Reports the Difciples knew to be falfe; and therefore had little Reason, from fuch groundlefs Miftakes, to entertain a Belief, contrary to the general Opinion of the Jews, of an

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immediate Refurrection of any one from the dead. They had indeed known Inftances of Men rais'd by Chrift from the dead; but this was no Argument to them, that he fhould raise himself. Elijah they knew, who rais'd a Child to life again, did not die; but Elifba, who had likewife rais'd a Child, when he was dead himself, never came again to life. And whatever was faid of any other Refurrection, befides that at the day of Judgment, they look'd upon it to be meant only in Allufion to that: they questioned one with another what the rifing from the dead fhould mean, they understood not that faying, and were afraid to ask him, Mark ix. 10, 32.

The Apoftles therefore and other Difciples were fo far from being credulous, or forward to believe the Refurrection of Chrift from the dead, that they were not only inquifitive and careful not to be impofed upon, but they were exceeding diffident. The Women that went to the Sepulchre, were fo far from expecting to find him rifen from the dead, that they carried with them a preparation of Spices to embalm his Corps, Mark xvi. 1. and not finding the Body of the Lord Jefus, they were much perplex'd at it, not remembring the Words which Jefus had fpoke to them concerning his Refurrection, till the two Men, who ftood by them in fhining Garments, had put them in mind of them, Luke xxiv. 4, 8. But when they re-. turned from the Sepulchre, and told all these things to the eleven, and to all the reft, their words feemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not, ver. 9, 11. And. Mary Magdalen her felf, though fhe had feen this Vifion, yet went to them with this Complaint, they have taken away the Lord out of the Sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him, Joh. xx. 2. Then Peter ran unto the Sepulchre, and stooping down beheld the lin nen-cloths laid by themselves, and departed wondering in himself at that which was come to pass, Luke xxiv. 12. St. John ran to the Sepulchre at the fame time, and

going into it, faw and believed, but he declares, that as yet they knew not the Scripture, that he must rife again from the dead, Joh. xx. 8, 9. Mary Magdalen ftands without ftill weeping, and complains to the two Angels, who ask'd her the Caufe, they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him, ver. 13. and again to our Saviour himself, not knowing him, but fuppofing him to have been the Gardner, Sir, if thou have born him hence, tell me where thou haft laid him, and I will take him away, ver. 15. And after fhe was her felf convinced of the Refurrection, when she told his Difciples, they believed not, Mark xvi. 11.

When our Saviour appear'd to the two Difciples, in the way to Emaus, he found them reasoning and talking together of all thofe things which had happen'd, and they were forrowful at the Thoughts of them; and when he enquired the Reafon, they give him fuch an account, as fhews the doubtful and defponding Apprehenfions they had of their prefent condition, infomuch that he answers them, with a fevere Rebuke, O fools, and flow of heart to believe all that the Prophets have spoken, Luke xxiv. 25. And af terwards, when these two were convinced themselves, and told the reft what had happen'd, neither believed they them, Mark xvi. 13. And when, immediately upon this, Jefus ftood in the midst of them, they were yet only terrified and frightned, and fuppofed, that they had seen a Spirit; and when he fpoke to them, and difcourfed with them, Why are ye troubled, and why do thoughts arife in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I my felf, handle me and fee, for a Spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye fee me have, and then fhewed them his hands and his feet; yet ftill after all this, they believed not for joy, but wondered, and were not fettled in their Belief of what they had seen and heard, till he took meat and did eat it before them, Luke xxiv. 36. and then he opened their understandings, that they might understand the Scriptures, and declared

them