45O Provingplus to be the Mefîas. Vol., f lieved, by fomething that is more incredible, which yet they cannot be- caufe they fee it done. Thus our Saviour proves himfelf to be an extraordinary Perfon, by doing fuch things as never man did; he convinceth theta, that they ought to believe what he Paid, becaufe they faw him do thofe things, which were harder to be believed (if one had not fen them) than what he faid. Miracles are indeed the greateCt external confirmation and evidence that can be given to the truth of any Dottrine, and where they are wrought with all the advantages they are capable of, they are an unquehonable demonftration of the truthof it; and fuch were our Saviour's Miracles here in theText, to prove that he was the true Meffias 5 here are Miracles of all kinds, the blind receive their fight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleanfed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are rai- fed up. For the natut'eof them, they are Inch as are moft likely to be Divine and to come from God, for they were healing and beneficial toMankind. Our Sa- viour here inftanceth in thofe things which are of greateft benefit and advantage, and which free Men from the greateft miferies and inconveniencies; the reftot- ing of fight to the Blind, and hearing to the Deaf; foundnefs and health to the Lame and the Leprous, and life to the Dead. And then for the number of them, they were many; not one inftance of a kind, but feveral of every kind, and great multitudes of molt of them, and for the manner of their operation, they were publick, in the fight and view of great multitudes of People; to free them from all fufpicion of fraud and impofture, they were not wrought privately and in corners, and given out and noifed abroad, but before all the People, fo that every one might fee them, and judge of them; not only among his own Difciples and Followers, as the Church of Rome pretends to work theirs, but among his Enemies, to convince thofe that did not believe; and this not done once, and inone place, but at feveral times, and in all places where he came, and for a long time, for three years and a half; and after his death, he endowed his Difciples and Followers with the fame power, which lafted for fomeAges. And then for the quality of them, they wereMiracles of the grea- teft magnitude; thofe of them, which in themfelves might have been performed by natural means, as healing the Lame and the Leprous, and the Deaf, he did in a miraculous manner, by a word or a touch, yea and many times at a great di- fiance. But others were not only in the manner of their operation, but in the nature of the thing unqueftionabiymiraculous, as giving of fight to thcfe that had been born blind, and railing np the dead to life, as Lazarus, after he had lain in the grave four days; and himfelf afterwards, the third day after he had been buried ; which, if there ever was or can be any unquefionable Miracles in theWorld, ought certainly to be reputed fuch. So that oui blelfed Saviour had all the Atteftation that Miracles can give, that he came from God. And this is the fir/ Evidence of his being the Meffias. The Jews acknowledge that the Meffias when he comes, thall work great Mi- racles ; and their own Talmud confeffeth, that Jefiar the Son of Jofeph and Mary didwork great Miracles; and the Hiftory of the Gofpel does particularly relate more and greater Miracles wrought by him, than by Mofes and all the Prophets that had been fines the World began 5 fo that we may ftill put the fame queftion to the ,7ews, which they did in our Saviour's time to oneanother; when Chrfl cometih, when the Meflias whom ye expett conies, will he do more Miracles than thefe which this Man hath done ? But, Secondly, this will yet more clearly appear by the correfpondency of the things here mentioned, with what was foretold by the Prophets concerning the Meflias. Notto mention innumerable Circumfiances of his Birth, and Life, and Death, and fiefurrettion, and Afcenfion into Heaven, together with the fuccefs and-preva- lency of his Dottrine in the World, all which are pun&wally foretold by force or other of the Prophets: I (hall confine my felt to the particulars here in the Text. Firfl, It was foretold of the Meffias, that he fhould work miraculous Cures. Ifa. 35. 4, 5, 6. fpeaking of the Meffias, he will come and fave you; tien the eyes of the blind fallbe opened, and the ears of the deaf. (hail he unflopp'd; then
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