of the aforesaid four rules, whereby the certainty of matters of fact is demonstrated. First, For. Mahomet; he pretended to no miracles, as he confesses in his alcoran, chap. 6, &c. and those which are commonly told of him, pass among the Mahometans themselves but as legendary fables; and as such, are rejected by the wise and learned among them; just as the legends of their saints are, in the church of Rome. See Dr. Prideaux's Life of Mahomet, p. 34.

But, in the next place, those which are told of him, do all want the two first rules before mentioned. For his pretended converse with the moon; his Mersa, or night-journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, and thence to Heaven,&c. were not performed before any body. have only his own word for them.

We

And they

are as groundless as the delusions of Fox, or Muggleton, among ourselves.

The same is to be said in the second place, of the fables of the Heathen gods; of Mercury's stealing sheep, Jupiter's turning himself into a bull,and the like: besides the folly and unworthiness of such senseless pretended miracles. And moreover, the wise among the Heathen did reckon no otherwise of these but as fables,. which had a mythology or mystical meaning in them; of which several of them have given us the rationale, or explication. And it is plain enough, that Ovid meant no other by all his metamorphoses.

It is true, the Heathen deities had their priests: they had likewise feasts, games, and other public institutions in memory of them.-.

But all these want the fourth mark, viz. That such priesthood and institutions should commence from the time that such things as they commemorate were said to be done; otherwise, they cannot secure after ages from the imposture, by detecting it at the time when first invented, as hath been argued before. But the Bachanalia, and other Heathen feasts, were instituted many ages after what was reported of these gods was said to be done, and therefore can be no proof of them. And the priests of Bacchus, Apollo, &c. were not ordained by these supposed gods, but were appointed by others, in after ages, only in honor of them.. And therefore, these orders of priests, are no evidence to the truth of the matters of fact which are reported of their gods.

IV. Now to apply what has been said, you may challenge all the Deists in the world to shew any action that is fabulous, which has all the four rules or marks before mentioned. No; it is impossible. And to resume a little what is spoke to before, the histories of Exodus, and the gospel, could never have been received, if they had not been true;. because the institution of the priesthood of Levi, and of Christ, of the sabbath, the passover, of circumcision, of baptism, and the Lord's supper, &c. are there related, as descending all the way down from those times, without interruption. And it is full as impossible, to persuade men that they had been circumcised, baptized, had circumcised, or baptized their children, celebrated passovers, sabbaths, sacraments, &c. under the govern. ment and administration of a certain order of

priests, if they had done none of these things,as to make them believe that they had gone through: seas upon dry land, seen the dead raised, &c. And without believing of these, it was impossible that either the law or the gospel could havebeen received.

And the truth of the matters of fact of Exodus. and the gospel, being no otherwise pressed upon men than as they have practised such public: institutions, it is appealing to the senses of mankind for the truth of them and makes it impossible for any to have invented such stories in after ages, without a palpable detection of the cheat, when first invented; as impossible as to have imposed upon the senses of mankind,at the time when such public matters of fact were said to be done...

V. I do not say, that every thing which wants these four marks, is false; but, that nothing can be false which includes them all.

There is no manner of doubt that there was such a man as Julius Cæsar-that he fought at Pharsalia, was killed in the senate-house; and many other matters of fact of ancient times, though we keep no public observances in memory of them.

But this shews, that the matters of fact of Moses, and those of Christ, have come down to us better guarded than any other matters of fact, how true soever.* [GLORY TO GOD!]

And yet our Deists, who would laugh any

What must be the guilt of a determined Deist! Oh, that the terrific words of a gentle Saviour, might reach such men!" Ye "Vipers, HOW CAN ye escape the damnation of Hell !"

man out of the world, as an irrational brute,that should offer to deny Cæsar or Alexander, Ho.. mer or Virgil, their public works and actions do, at the same time, value themselves as the on ly men of wit and sense, of free, generous and unbiassed judgments,for ridiculing the histories. of Moses and Christ, that are infinitely better attested, and guarded with sure marks, which the others want!

VI. Besides, that the importance of the subject would oblige all men to enquire more nar. rowly into the one than the other. For what con-sequence is it to me, or to the world, whether there was such a man as Cæsar; whether he beat, or was beaten at Pharsalia: whether Ho-mer or Virgil wrote such books; and whether what is related in the Iliads, or Eneids, be true, or false? It is not two-pence up or down, to any man in the world. And therefore, it is worth no one's while to enquire into it, either to oppose or justify the truth of these relations.

But, our very souls and bodies, both this life, and eternity, are concerned in the truth of what is related in the Holy Scriptures; and therefore, men would be more inquisitive to search into the truth of these than of any other matters of fact; examine and sift them narrowly, and find out the deceit, if any such could be found for it concerned them nearly, and was of the last importance to them.

How unreasonable, then, is it to reject these mattters of fact, so sifted, so examined, and so attested, as no other matters of fact in the world ever were; and yet to think it the most highly

unreasonable, even to madness, to deny other matters of fact, which have not the thousandth part of their evidence, and are of no consequence to us at all, whether true or false !

VII. There are several other topics, from whence the truth of the Christian religion is evinced, to all who will judge by reason, and give themselves leave to consider: As the improbability that ten or twelve poor illiterate fishermen, should form a design of converting the whole world to believe their delusions; and the impossibility of their effecting it, without force of arms, learning, oratory, or any one visible thing that could recommend them; and to impose a doctrine quite opposite to the lusts and pleasures of men, and all worldly advantages or enjoyments.; & this in an age of so great learning and sagacity, as that wherein the gospel was first preached. That these apostles should not only undergo all the scorn and contempt, but the severest persecutions, and most cruel deaths, that could be inflicted, in attestation to what themselves knew to be a mere deceit and forgery, of their own contriving. Some have suffered for errors which they thought to be truth; but never any for what themselves knew to be lies. And the apostles must know what they taught to be lies, if it was so; because they spoke of those things, which they said they had both seen and heard, had looked upon, and handled with their hand, &c.*

: Neither can it be said, that they perhaps might have proposed some temporal advantages: Acts, iv. 20. 1 John, i. 1.