DISC. IX.] .'FAITH BUILT ON KNOWLEDGE. 251 to lead the wise men from the east and from the rising sun, to a greater and sweeter light, " the Morning Star," and " the Sun of Righteousness." He sent a voice from heaven at his baptism and pronounced in distinct lan- guage, This is my beloved Son in whom lamwell pleased; Mat. iii. -7. Twice more did he speak from heaven, and with an audible voice, in the time of the life of Christ, attest this mission : A believer knows many of these things, and receives the testimony of God. And this is the witness of God, which he hash testified ofhis Son, that eternal lye is in him ; 1 John v. 9, 11. Christ himself is another witness that testifies his own ability to save sinners, and keep what is committed to him ; John viii. 18. I am one that bear witness ofmy- se°.; and the Father that sent me beareth witness ofme. And though he bear record of himself, yet his record is true and credible ; for he came from heaven, and was made man in an extraordinary way ; and he rose again after death, andascended to heaven ; which seems to be the meaning of those words, For I know whence Icame, and whither Igo; which are brought as a reason of the truth ofhis testimony; John viii. 14. He appeared amongst men with all the undisputed signs of the Messiah upon him ; and the doctrines that he preached, and the mi- racles that he wrought, and the convulsions of nature at his death, and the wonders of his resurrection, all agree to confirm the mission of Christ, and his ability to save. A Christian beholds the Son of God coming from the dead, with this message to him : " I am able to deli ,er from death those that believe in me ; to keep their " souls safe in my hand, and to raise their bodies up to " life everlasting : For, behold, I was dead and am alive ; and live, for evermore. Amen. Rev. i. 18. Or shall I rather say, that the miracles of Christ were the testimonies which the Holy Spirit gave to the mission of Christ, the Son of God ? For they are sometimes in scripture ascribed to the Spirit; Mat. xii. 28. I cast out devils by the Spirit of God. And one of the three witnesses in heaven to the gospel of Christ, is the Spirit of God; 1 John v. 6, 7. It is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. That Spirit and power by which " he opened the eyes of the blind, made the lame to walk," and " the dead to rise," does effectu-
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