508 Of the Miracles irbtight in Vol, IL in Heaven. Match. 21. 22. and Mark t r, 24.fays our Saviour there to his Difcirr ,pies; Have Faith in God: for verily Ifay unto you, whofoever (hall fay to this Mountain; be thou removed, and be thou call into the Sea, and (hall not doubt in his Heart, but (hall believe that thole Things which be faith (hall come to pats, he Thad have whatfoever he faith. And then immediately it follows, Therefore I fay moo you ; whatfoever Things ye defre, whenye pray, believe that ye receive them, andyyi (hall have them ; that is, whatever ye delire of God to do, hé fhall miraculoufly do it, -upon your Prayers, So likewife gabs/ 14. 12, 13, 14. Verily, verily I fay unto you, He that believeth on me, the Werks that I do, (hall he do alfo, and grea- ter Works than thefe fhall he do, becaufe I go unto my Father. And whatfoever ye Jima ask in my Name, that will 1 do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; 1f ye (hall ask any Thing in my Name, I will do it. Still you fee this extraordinary Efficacy of Prayer is joyned with the Power of Miracles, as one Part and Branch of it. More particularly, we find the Forgivenefs of the Sins of thofe whom they prayed for, exprefly promifed. t John S. a S. Andif we know that he heareth us, whatfoever we ask, we knew that we have the Petitions that we defired of him. And then it follows ; If any Man fee his Brother fin a Sin, which it not unto Death, he (hall ask, did he (hall give him Life for the Sin that is not unto Death. Where Forgivenefs of Sins, upon the Prayers of Chriftians for one another, is promifed, except in the Cafe of a Sin unto Death, by which is meant Apoflacy from Chriftianity to the Heathen Idolatry, which is the Reafon of the Caution which follows; Little Children, keep your felves from Idols. And this extraordinaryEfficacy of Prayer, we find promifed in a more efpecial manner io the Elders ofthe Church, games S. 14, 15. Is any .fick among youa let him cad for the Elders of the Church, and let them pray. over him, anointing him with Oil in the Name of the Lord: And the prayer of Faith (hall fave the fick, and the Lord (hall retire himup: andif he have committedfns, they fba&be forgivenhim. In comparing of all thefe Texts, it feems plain, that both the Power of remit- ting and retaining fins, and the orange efficacy of Prayer, which were promifed ro the Apoftles and firft Chriftians, had fomething miraculous and extraordinary in them, and were peculiar to the firfl Ages of the Church. I will not be peremptory in thefe things ; but this feems to be the moil genuine and reafonable interpreta- Lionof thefe Texts. Sixthly, And betides there which I have mentioned, therewas likewife a Power of' inffi/king Corporal Punifhments and Difeafes upon fcandalous and obftinate Chriftians ; which is in Scripture call'd, a deliveringmen up to Satan, for the cle- f/raying or tormenting of their bodies, that their fouls might be faved at lad. And of this kind were thofe Difeafes which befel the Corinthians, for their diforderly and irregular Carriage at the Sacrament, of which the Apoftle (peaks, s Cor. 11. 30. For this caufe many areweak and fickly among you, and many ¡deep ; that is, to Tome of them thefe Diftempers proved mortal. And we find that this Power did in force Cafes extend to the inflilting of fudden and prefent death; as in the cafe of Ananias and Sapphire. And indeedconfidering that Chriftianitywas at fiat deftitute of any Countenance from theCivil Power, forceEach Power as this was neceffary to maintain the Authority of the Apoftles aggainfl the Contumacious and Difobe- dient. And then, loflly, there wasthe Power of ceiling outDevils in thename of Chrift, which was common to the meaneft Chriftian, and continued in the Church a long time after mofk of theother Gifts wereceafed, as Tertullien, Minucias Felix, and Arnobius, do moll exprefly teftifie concerning their times. Thus you fee that there were almoft all imaginable kinds of miraculousPowers conferred upon the Apoftles and firft Chriftians, togive the greater Eftablifhment and Confirmation to the Chriftian Doétrine. All the refleCtion I (hall make upon what bath been Paid, (hall be this. Since bur Religion comes down to us confirmed by fuch miraculous Powers, we ought to take the moreearned heed to it, tobelieve it more ftedfaftly, and to praftice it more carefully in our lives. For if theword fpoken by Angels was fledfall, and every tranf- grefion anddifoiehience received a jufl Recompenceof Reward; How (ballwe efcape, if we neglect' fo great folvation 5 S E R
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