Serm. LA'VI. prav'd by bps Refürredion. 48. of God, come down from the Crofr : Others under the Notion of the King of If- nut, v. 42. If he be the King of Ifrael, let him come db nn from the Crofs. From all which it is plain that the Pews expeEed and believed, that the true Meffias was to be the Son of God, and the King of ',Pad; and whoever was not fo, was a Deceiver and Impoftor. But our Saviour affirmed himfelf to be the true Meffi- as, and the Son of God. Now Godby railing him from the dead, did abundantly vindicate him to the World, fromall fufpicionof Impofture; and gave Teftimo- ny to him, that he was all that he faidof himfelf; viz. the true Meffias, and the Son of God. Which will further appear, if we confider (2dly.) What were the Crimes which the jems laid to our Saviour's Charge, and for which they condemned him; and they were mainly thefe two, That by giving himfelf to be the Meae, he made himfelf Icing of Ifrael, and the Son of God. Of the firft of thefe they accufed him to Pilate, . hoping by this Acculation to make him guilty of Sedition againft the Roman Government; for laying, that he was the King of Ifrael. Of the other they accufed him to the Chief Priefts, as, being guilty of Blafphemy, in that not being the Mews, he call'd himfelf the' Son of God. And upon this they laid the main ftrefs, as being a thing that would condemn him by their Law. They charged him with this in his life-time, as appears . by thofe Words of our Saviour, John so. 36. Say ye of himwhom the Fathers hath fanElifred, and feint sntòthe World, Thou blaflihemefl, becaufe I Paid I am the Son of God ? And when he was arraigned before the Chief Priefts, they accufed him of this, and he own- ing this Charge, that he call'd himfelf the Son of God; upon this they judged him guilty of Death. Matth. 26. 65, 66. Then the High Priefb rent his Cloaths, and faid, He bath fßoken Blaf fhenry 5 what farther need have we of witnefr? Behold, now ye have heard his Blafßhemy. What think ye ? They anfwered, He is guilty Of Death. And.when Pilate told them, that he found no Fault in him, they (tíll inftance in this as his Crime,. John 19. y. We have a Law, and by our Law he ought to die, becaufe he made himfelf the Son of God. Now this being the Crime which was charged upon him, and for which he was Crucified, and put to Death; God, by raifing him up from the Dead, and taking himup into Heaven, gave Teftimony to him, that he was no Impoftor; and that he did not vainlyarrogate to himfelf to be the Meffias and the Son, of God. God by railing him from the dead, by the Power of the Holy Ghoft, gave a mighty Demonftration to him, thathe was the Son of God. For which Reafon he is faid by the Apoftle, r Tim. 3. 16. to be juitfied by the Spirit. The Spirit gave Teftimony to him at his Baptifm, and by the mightyWorks that appeared in him in his Lifetime; but he was molt eminently and remarkably jufiifned by the HolyGhofl, by his Refurreëíion from the Dead; God hereby bearing him Wit- nefs, that he was unjuftly condemned, and that he ail-lamed nothing to himfelf, but what of right did belong to him, when he laid he was the Meffias, and the Son of God. For how could a Man that was condemned to dye for calling him- felf the on of God, be. more remarkably vindicated, and more clearly proved to be fo, than bybeing railed from the dead, by the Power of God ? And, idly, God did çonfequently hereby give Teftimony to the Truth and Divinity of our Saviour's Doftrine. Being proved by his Refurreftion to be the Son of God, thisproved him to be a Teacher fent byhim, and what he declared to the World was the Mind and Will of God. For this none was more likely to know, and to report truly to. Mankind, than the Son of, God, who came from the Baton: of his Father. And becaufe the Refurredion of Chrift is fo great a Teftimony to the Truth of his Doftrine, hence it is that St. Paul tells us, that the belief of this one Article of Chrift'. Refurreftion, is fufficient to a Man's Salvation, Rom. io. 9. If thou (halt confefs, with thy Mouth the Lord 7efus, and (halt believe in thy Heart, that God hath raifed him from the dead, thou (halt be faved. The Reafon is plain, becaufe the Refurreltion of Chrift confirmed the Truthand Divinity oft his Doftrine ; fo that the belief of our Sa- viour's Refúrreftion does by neceffary Confequence infer the belief of his whole Doftrine. That God railed him from the dead after he/was condemned and 2q9 put
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