156 The Evidence of Vol. Ire naturally impoffiblë, that any one Man inhis Senfes, much more fo many Hun- dreds of Perfons, fhould in fachCircumflances be grofly deluded in a plain fen- fibleMatter of Fa&. _ Fourthly, andLaffly ; Here is the fubje&Matter of our Saviour's Difcourfe with his Difciples,cdncerning Thingswhich pertain to the Kingdom ofGod g or as it is in the Verre before, after he had by the Holy Ghoft ( which was not given him byMeafure, as the Evangelift tells us elfewhere) given Commandment to his Apoffles, whom he had chofen : That is, after be had given the full Orders and Inftru&ions concern- ing theDo&rine which they were to publish, and all otherThings pertaining to that Spiritual Kingdom which he was fetting up in the World : By the Agree- ment of all which, with what he had raid to them in his Life-time, they were more and more confirmed, that it was the very fame Perfon whom they had con- verfed with before, for above three Years together. And yet in this Difcourfe concerning his Kingdom, he referved fome Things to be afterward revealed to them by the Holy Ghoft, according as he had promifed, that when the Spirit of Truthwas come, hefhoùld teach them all Things, particularly concerning the Spiritual Natureof his Kingdom, which they did not yet fully underftand, as appears by that Queftion which they put to him, Ver. 6. Lord, wilt thou at this Time reftore the Kingdom unto Ifrael ? They ftill dreamed of a Temporal Kingdom, in which our Saviour would appear in great Pomp and Splendor, to fubdue the World to them. From all this Difcourfe which I have made, you fee what Evidence the Apo- files, who were to be the firft Publifhers of the Gofpel, and Witneffesof Chrift's Refurre&ion, had of the Truth andReality of it; fo plentiful and clear, and con- vincing, as nothing more could either be defired or expe&ed. And we have a credible Relationof thefe Things brought down to us, abundantly fufficient to fa- tisfy thofe who are free from the Biafs of Paffion or Interest, or the Prejudice and Prepoffeflion of a contraryReligion, in which they have been educated and brought up ; and fufficient to gainfome few ingenious and teachable Perfons here and there, who do more impartially confider Things ; and tho' they have been educated in a contraryReligion, yet have preferved in themfelves a greater Free- dom of Judgment than Education does ufually leave in the Minds of Men. But yet this credible Relationof A&ions and Miracles done long ago, how true foever in it felf, does not carry fo prefent, and fenfible, and ftronga Convi&ion with it, -as to be able to bear down in the common People, the violent Prejudice of Education in a contrary Religion, and confequently is not likely to do any great Matter of it felf toward the Converfron of Infidel Nations. And therefore the Divine Wifdom, which does nothing that is fuperfluous and unneceffary, thought fit not only to fend the Apof ties armed with this Evi- dence, which hadabundantlyconvinced them, to teftify the Refurre&ion ofChrift to the World, but alfo to give an immediate Testimony to them, by enabling them to workprefent Miracles upon the Spot, for the Confirmationof, theirTefti -. mony. And this Divine Power which went along with them, was a fenfibleTefti- mony andConvi &ion both to the knowing and ignorant Part of Mankind, that they were Teachers and Witnesfes fent by God ; and therefore our Lord com- mands them, not to depart from Jerufalem, till they hadreceived Power from on high, to qualify them to be Witne,(fes ofChrift's Refurre&ion, notonly in yerufatem, and 7adea, and Samaria, but to the utmoft Parts of the Earth. And this I frill believe to be the Cafe of thofe many Nations of the World that are yet under the violent, and almoft invincible Prejudice of Education in another Religion. That which may reafonably fatisfy us who are brought up in the Christian Religion, is not likely to be effe&ual enough to convince them ; and therefore I think it still verycredible, that if Perfons of fincere Minds did go to preach the pure Chriftian Religion, free from thofe Errors and Superftitions which have crept into it, to infidel Nations, that God would still enable fuels Perfons to work Miracles, without which there would be little or no Probability of Succefs. For as the Wifdom of God is not wont to do that which is fuperflu- ous, fo neither to be wanting in that which is neceffary ; and rho' the Morality 5 of
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