nities to know it. III. Whether they were Men of Integrity, that, without Artifice or Defign, truly declared what they knew. I. That the Apoftles were Men of fufficient Understanding, to become Witneffes of a Matter of Fact, was never doubted by any one, nor can it be queftion'd by fuch as peruse their Writings: And indeed, Who is there of any common Senfe, that is not a competent Witness of what he fees, and hears, and has the experience of, for fo long time together? For, II. By their Conversation with our Saviour, both before his Paffion, and after his Refurre&tion, the Apoftles had fuch Opportunities of knowing what they attefted, that it was impoffible for them to be deceiv'd in any part of it. It was a neceffary Qualification of all the twelve Apoftles, that they fhould have convers'd with our Saviour before his Death, and have feen him after his Refurrection. For when one was to be ordain'd in the room of Judas, to be a Witness with the reft, of Chrift's Refurrection, he was to be one that had companied with them all the time that the Lord Jefus went in and out among them, beginning from the baptifm of John, unto that fame day that he was taken up from them, Acts i. 21, 22. They faw his Miracles, and heard his Doctrine, and knew his manner of Life, and had all the Opportunities, and used all the Means to inform themselves, that it was poffible for Men to do: They were eye-witnesses of his majesty, 2 Pet. i. 16. They had heard, and feen with their eyes, and had looked upon, or beheld and discern'd for a long time together, and their hands had handled that which was the Subject of their Teftimony, 1 John i. 1, 2, 3. They had made all the Search into it, and had used all the Exactness that could be; and were as diftruftful and as hard of belief, as any Men could have been, who are moft fufpicious and jealous of being impofed upon. And of thefe Apostles, two wrote the Life of our Saviour; and all bore witness to the Truth of what what these wrote, and preach'd the fame things, where-ever they came: Of the two other Evangelists, St. Mark had his Information from St. Peter, whose Difciple and Companion he was; and St. Luke wrote his Gospel from the Account he had of those who were eye-witneffes and minifters of the word, Luke i. 2. And he was the Companion and Difciple of St. Paul, who was fuch an Enemy to Chriftianity before his Converfion, that nothing lefs than a miraculous Power could have made that fudden Change in him; he probably must have seen our Saviour before his Paffion, and then faw him again at his Converfion, and heard him fpeaking to him from Heaven: Am not I an Apoftle? fays he, in vindication of his own Authority; have I not feen the Lord Chrift? 1 Cor. ix. 1. So that St. Paul, as well as the other twelve Apoftles, had feen and heard our Saviour; and they were all convinced by their own Senfes, of what they deliver'd to others; and befides thefe, he was feen after his Refurrection by many others, both Men and Women, and at one time was feen by above five hundred together, 1 Cor. xv. 6. Of all the Writers of the Books of the New Teftament, there are but two who were not Eyewitneffes to what they relate, and these two had their Relations from the Apostles and others whọ were Eye-witnesses. III. The Apoftles were Men of Integrity, and without any Artifice or Defign truly declared what they knew. 1. They had no worldly Intereft to advance by their Teftimony, but fuffer'd by it, and had a certain profpect of Suffering. 2. There are peculiar Marks of Sincerity in all their Writings. 1. They had no worldly Intereft to ferve by their Teftimony, but fuffer'd by it, and had a certain profpect of Sufferings. They could propose no Advantage to themselves, of Gain, or Honours, or Pleafures; but on the contrary, underwent a voluntary Poverty, and Infamy, and Torments; which was all T 3 that that they met with in this World for their Pains, and all that they could expect to meet with. They for fook all which they had; St. Matthew, a gainful Employment; and St. Paul, who wrote the most of any of the Pen-men of the New Teftament, loft the Fa vour of the Chief-Priefts, and the Preferments which a Perfon of his Learning and Zeal might promife himfelf from them: St. Luke, a Phyfician by his Profef fion, left an Employment both of Honour and Advantage; and the reft loft all they had; and can any Man lofe more? All of them left an honeft and fecure Lifelihood, and expofed themselves to the Hatred and Contempt of all their neareft Friends and Relations, whofe Love and Efteem, both by Nature and Education, they must be inclined moft to defire; and they became obnoxious to all the Affronts, and Outrages, and Torments, which a furious Zeal could inflict upon them. All which was no new or unexpected thing to them; they faw what their Master had fuffer'd, and could hope to fare no better than he had done. They were often forewarn'd by Christ long before-hand, what muft befal them; they were told, that they must take up their Crofs and follow him, and could be his Difciples upon no easier terms. He had fet forth the Reception which they muft expect to meet with in the World, juft in the fame manner as they found it, under the moft frightful Appearance that Words could reprefent. And this they foon found as punctually true, as all the reft that he had foretold to them: But tho' they found it fo, and fometimes were difmifs'd with a fevere Charge to defift from preaching the Gospel, and at other times efcaped, and had an Opportunity given them to avoid any farther Danger, by preaching it; they ever perfevered in it with the greatest Zeal and Conftancy, defpifing all Dangers, and all forts of Torments and Deaths, and glorying ftill and rejoycing that they fuffer'd in fo good a Caufe; Çaufe; and at laft they feal'd their Doctrine with their Blood. St. Paul was in great reputation with the Chief: Priefts, and Scribes and Pharifees, before his Converfion, and was employ'd by them in perfecuting the Church; and as often as he appear'd before them, they had nothing to accufe him of, but his Profeffion of a Religion, which obliges all Men to the ftrictest Juftice and Holinefs. If the Apoftles had not been the beft, they must have been the worft of Men, for impofing upon the World, under the pretence of a Divine Miffion and Authority; and yet this they muft do with no other Defign, but to promote Virtue and Holiness; which no ill Man could defign, to his own certain Lofs and Deftruction in this World and the next: and the lefs Men believe of the next World, the more fond they are to make fure of this. · Ambition, and a Defire of Fame, and a Name af ter Death, rarely happens to Men of obfcure Birth and mean Education; and it was naturally impoffible, that it should now befall fo many of them, without a ny ground or reafon to expect it, when in all humane. Confideration, they had a certain Profpect of nothing but Infamy after Death, as well as of Difgrace, and Want, and Torment, during their Lives. And no Man could refolve upon attefting any thing on fuch terms, unless he had been abfolutely certain of the Truth of it, much lefs could fo many fet upon fuch a Defign together for as they could have no Arguments to perfuade one another to enter upon fuch an Attempt; fo if they had once confpir'd in it, they would foon have deferted and difcover'd each other, when they lay under all the Disadvantages and Diffi→ culties imaginable, and had nothing to fupport and unite them, but the Truth and Reality of what they deliver'd. And it is farther obfervable, that in the first Ages of the Church, and the nearer Chriftians were to the Apoftles, the more zealous they were to live accor Ꭲ 4 ding ding to the Gospel of Chrift, and to die in defence of it: for they had then greater Opportunities of informing themselves of the Impofture, if there had been any, and had therefore the greater means of being certified that there was none. And Men of great Parts and Accomplishments, fuch as Sergius Paulus, Governor of Cyprus, Dionyfius the Areopagite, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and others, who were inquifitive Men, and able to make a true Judgment of things, upon a full Examination of all Particulars, became early Converts to the Christian Religion. 2. There are peculiar Marks of Sincerity in all the Writings of the Apofties and Evangelifts. They were not ambitious of being known to the World by their Writings, but wrote only as they were aby neceffity drawn to it, for the farther propagation of the Gofpel. And upon all occafions they declare their own Frailties and Faults, and many times fuch as could never have been known but from themselves. St. Matthew had spent the former part of his Life in no very creditable Employment, but among Publicans and Sinners, as he fays himfelf: for he leaves recorded to all Pofterity, the Cenfure of his own Life, faying, that he fat at the receipt of custom, Matt. ix. 9, 10. and ftyling himself Matthews the Publican, Matt. x. 3. Eufebius obferves, that none of the other Evangelifts have mention'd a thing fo reproachful of him, as his having been a Publican, but St. Matthew only has written it of himfelf: For it was the opinion not only of Eufebius, but of Origen, and of Heracleon, that St. Matthew and Levi, mention'd Mark ii. 14. Luke v. 27. were two different Perfons; and Grotius is of the fame opinion. Or if Matthew and Levi were the fame Perfon, St. Mark writes, that Jefus fat at meat in Le a Eufeb. Eccl. Hift. lib. iii, c. 23. Orig. contra Celf. lib. i. He- |