5 ei j The ¿vidences of the Truth 11. them. 1 hole Things are laid to be contingent in retp:, of us, which have no ncetfary caufe that we kno ét w of ; particu`arìy. thole Things which depend upon the Will of free Agents, either the Will of Men, or of God: And fuch were thofèThings which our Saviour foretold ; many of.them depen- ded upon the Will of Men, whether they fhould happen or not; fuppofing the permilhjvc Will of God ; that. is; that God had determined not to interpof and hinder them. The Death of Chrift, with all the wicked and opprobrious Circumflan ces of it, depended upon the Will of Men ; and therefore it was a Thing that no Man could forefee whether it would be or not.. So likewile the Re- fiflance and Oppoition that was made to the Gofpel by the Perfecutions of Men, and the Malice offalfe Prophets, did depend upon the Wills of Men. But many of there Events depended purely upon the Will of God, which no. Man could foreknow, unlefs he did reveal it to him ; and if he did, this was an Argument of lnfpiration, which is the thing we are contending; for. Of this kind were the Refàrrection of our Saviour from the Dead ; his being taken up into ,Heaven ; the miraculous Powers and Gifts wherewith the Apofties and Primitive Chriftians were endowed ; the fatal Deftruction of yerufd'em and the Jerrifh Nation, contrary to the Defign of thofè who brought it to pafs ; thePrevalency of the Gofpel in the World, in despite of all Oppofition made againft it. All there were brought to pafs in a more immediate Manner by the Power of God, and therefore depended purely upon his Will Secondly, Mott of the Things which our Saviour foretold, were not only purely contingent in celled of us, and therefore could not without lnfpi ration be certainly forefeen ; but were alío exceeding unlikely, and improba- hie in themfelves, andtherefore could not fo much as prudently have been conjectured, And to make this out more fully, I shall run over the feverai Inu ances of our Saviour's Predi&ions, and Phew how unlikely the Things which he foretold, were to have come to pats ; and if this appear, it mutt be granted that our Saviour was a Prophet. a. Our Saviour's Prediction concerning his own Death and Sufferings was a Thing very unlikely to havecome to pats. It was very hikelythat the Phari. fees and Chief "Prielis whore Inrereft was fo much firuck at, fhould have Malice enough againft him, to defign his ruin; but that ever they fhould have accomplifh'd it without a popular Tumult and Sedition, was very ran- likely, confidering the Efteem and Favour he had among the People. Who could have believed that the yews, who had Peen fo many of his Miracles, and received fo great Benefits by them, who were fuch Admirers of his Doctrine; and fo alloniflz'd at it, who would have made him King, fhould e- ver have contented to have put him to Death? Who could have thought that fo fòon after they had fo unanïmoufly brought him to yerufalem in'1'ri- umph with fùch Flofannds and Acclamations, the fame People fhould have been fo eager to have him crucified ? I know there ïs nothing more incon- ftant , than the giddy and fickle Multitude; nothing lets to be relied upon than the Opinion and Applaufe of the People : but becaufe the Humour of the People is fo uncertain, therefore for this Reafon it was hard to Prophe- fie what they would do. And nothing was more improbable, than that a- ny fhould certain), forerei where this Humour would at haft fix and fettle. Nay, it was very unlikely that they who had been railed to fo great and juft an Efteemof him, from a clear Conviction of his Innocency and Holi- nefs, and of the Divine Power which attended him, fhould have had either the Wickednefs, or the Confidence to have gone about to compafs the Death of fo innocent and Divine a Perron. i9nd
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