and SAVIOUR, JESUS CHRIST, and his APOSTLES, &C. 243 haft likewife greatly confirmed our faith having given us a certain token, whereby we are affured that thou knows all things, even the hearts and fecret thoughts of men, finse thou has anfwere& us a queftion which gave us great perplexity, and were defirous to afk thy opinion of, but were afraid: but now we are convinced, that thou art induedwith a truly divine power, and did indeed come forth from God. To which Jesus anfwered, and do you now at length firmly believe in me? Are you refolved to continue ftedfaft in this faith? Do you think yourfelves able to perfevere immoveably in the profeffion of it ? Be not confident of your own firength, but pray that ye may be delivered from temptation in time of diftrefs, fuch as will come upon you much fooner than ye ex- pea : for I tell you, that ye will all ofyou, within a few hours utterly forfake me, and fly, in hopes to fecure yourfelves, leaving me alone ; and yet I fhould not fay alone, frnce my Father is with me, who is more than all : I have thereforeacquainted you with thefe things beforehand, that your minds may be furnifhed with fufficient matter of comfort and flrength to bear up under all temptations, from the confidera- tión of my having foretold both what dif- treffes will befall you, and how ye fhall ter- minate your yiaory over all your enemies : TWO things I have fioken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye Jhall have tribulation : but be of good cheer ; I have overcome the world, John xvi. 33. Thus havingfinifhed his difcourfe, JESUS lift up 'his eyes to heaven, and prayed, Paying, O Almighty Father! now the time of my fuffering, for which I was fent into the world, is arrived; I intreat thee fup- port me under it, and make me triumph over death by a glorious refurreftion and afcenfion into heaven ; that by this means the glory may redound to thee, and caufe thy will to be believed and obeyed through all the world to the falvation of mankind; according to the full intent of that office and power with which thou didft originally inveft me to receiveall fitly difpofed per- font into the covenant of falvation, and to affift and preferve them in it unto ever- falling happinefs t the condition of this covenant is, that they firmly believe and obey thee, as the only true God, and Jesus CHRIST, as the true Meffiah whom thou haft fent. In order to the bringing about this great defign of falvation, I have declared thy will to mankind ; I have publifhed thy precepts, and difcharged the great miffion intrufted to me ; I have preached the doctrine of repentance to falvation, and have finifhed the work which thou fenteft me to do, to the glory of thy name upon earth ; and now to complete the great defign, do thou, O Al- mighty Father! likewife glorify me with thine own felf; fupport me under my fuf- ferings ; let me prevail and triumph over death, by a glorious refurreaion, and exalt me again to the fame glory in heaven which I had with thee before the creation of the univerfe. I have manifefled thy will to my difciples, the men that thou gaveft me out of the world, and to all fuch as were fitted and difpofed to receive it ; to fuch as by a pious habit, and teachable difpofition, were prepared to embrace whatever doctrine fhould appear to come from thee. To thofe perfons thou didft in thine infinite wifdom appoint, that thy truth fhould be made known, and not to the prejudiced and vicious world: there- fore, to them I have revealed the myfte- ries of thy kingdom, the precepts of thy gofpel, and the doctrine of thy falvation; and this doctrine they have willingly em- braced, ftedfaffly adhered to, and fincerely obeyed; as they are fully fatisfied and con- vinced, that what I taught them as from thee, was really a divine doctrine taught by thine immediate appointment and com- mand ; and that I did not preach any hu- man invention or inflitution of men, but was really fent by thy divine authority and commiffion. For thefe perfons, therefore, I now pray, that as thou haft begun the work
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