and SAVIOUR, JESUS, CHRIST, In the fecond place, it may be fippofed, that in cafe our bleffed Saviour had {hewed himfelf publicly, the whole nation of the Jews mull have believed, and that future generations would thus have had the fulleft evidence of the truth of his refurreftion, beyond all poffìhility of a doubt. However, this will not appear to be the cafe, if we confider, that the greateft part of our Lord's enemies having not given themfelves the trouble of attending him often, cannot be fuppofed to have been fo well acquainted with his perfon as to know him with certainty; for which reafon, though he had (hewed himfelf to them, even their belief of his refurreftion mull, in a-great meafure, have depended on the tefl.imony of his difciples and friends : if fo, it is not very probable that his appear- ing publicly would have had any great eneft on the Jews, to perfuade them to embrace a crucifiedMeffiah. It is far more . reafonable to believe, that theywould have rejefted the whole; and continued in their infidelity, unlefs a divine power interpofed to remove the veil from their hearts. In order to give the argument all the force the Deills can delire, let us further füppofe, that, in confequence of our bleffed Saviour's appearing to all the people. of the Jews, the nation in general would have been convinced of the truth of his refur- rerion, and become his difciples ; what advantage would the caufe of Chriflianity have reaped from fuch effefts ofour Lord's public appearance? Would the evidence of his refurreftion have become thereby the more unquellionable ? Orwould the mo- dem infidels have been the better difpofed to believe in this crucified Jesus? By no means : for we do not find that men of this clafs are at all the more ready to be- lieve the miracles of Mofes in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the Wildernefs, be- caufe the whole nation were witneffes of them. The truth is, had our bleffed Re- deemer perfuaded all the people of the Jews, by appearing perfonally to them, the objeftions agáinn his refurref}ion No. 25. and his APOSTLES, '&c 289 would have been ten times more numer- ous and forcible than they areatprefent ; for would not the whole have been called a {late-trick, a Jewifh fable, a mere poli- tical contrivance, to patch up their broken credit, after they had fo long talked of a Mefliah, who was 'to come at that time ? Befides, we fhould certainly have been told, that the government being engaged in the plot, a fraud ofthis kind might have eafily been carried on, efpecially as the people in general would eagerly fall in with it ; becaufe it was fo exa&ly adapted to their prejudices, and becaufe the few who had fagacity enough to deteft the fraud, could have no opportunity of exa- mining into it; or, if they did examine and deteft the fraud, would not have dared to make any difcovery of it,- in oppofition to the whole weight of the Rate : fo that they would let it pats quietly, without once calling it in queffion. The refurrefrion of our great Redeemer univerfally believed amongft the Jews, and publifhed to the world by the unanimous voice of the nation, would, to fay the truth, have been liable to an infinite number of objef}ions,:;which are all effefkually cut off by the method made choice of by the wif- dam of Providence ; for as the people in general, and the rulers in particular con- tinued in theirinfidelity, the perfon con- cerned in this fuppofed fraud, muff have carried it on under the greateft difadvan- tages. The reafon is, that inflead ofmak- ing many friends to affin them, which a fraud of this kind requires, all men were their enemies, and interef'ed to difcover the cheat. The Jewifh rulers, in particular, gave all poffible encouragement to make the ftridleft fcrutiny into the faf2, and into all it's circumftances ; and many, doubtlefs, zealoufly made the inquiry with the utmoft exafinefs. The apofiles who preached the refurreftion, expofed themfelves to the fierceft refentment of the men in power ; becaufe the refurreEtion of our great Re- deemer caft the greateft refeftion upon thofe who had put him to death. Itfhould 4 A alfa r-
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