That JESUS CHRIST died precifely in the fame Manner as it was foretold that the MESSIAH should dye.

I

HAVE fhewed in my third part, that God had given to his church feveral oracles to explain diftinctly this great truth concerning the Meffiah.

1. He had fet this up for a rule by Mofes, Curfed is he that hangeth on

a tree.

2. He had propofed by David the idea of the Meffiah, as having his hands and feet pierced; the Gentiles and Jews uniting themselves against

him.

3. He had foretold by Isaiah that the Meffiah was to be accounted a malefactor, and put to death.

4. He had repeated the fame idea's by the Prophet Zechariah, who defcribes the manner of his being pierced, which has a natural reference to the notion of crucifixion.

I have alfo fet down the reafons for which God feparated the feveral parts of those prophetical defcriptions of fo furprizing an event; the difficulty there was on the one hand to make these idea's to be received, which feem full of contradictions; the Meffiah having been at first fet forth as the Fountain of Bleffing and on the other hand, their seeming incompatibility with the glory which God had promised to the Meffiah, and by him to the Ifraelites.

:

And at laft, I have fhewed that these oracles do exactly and clearly defcribe the things which were to happen to the Meffiah, which was to be fo, because of the nature of these events, which were fo ftrange, and at fuch a distance from the common idea's which men have for the most part of fuch things.

Our business therefore only is to confider at prefent, whether indeed Jefus Chrift died in the fame manner as the Prophets had foretold that the Meffiah fhould.

This character is a very illustrious one to confirm that Jefus Chrift is the Meffiah. For it is well known that a prifoner is no longer master of the things that happen to him, neither of the kind of his death, nor of the manner of his burial.

In fhort, nothing can be imagin'd more foolish than to fuppofe that the Disciples of Jefus Chrift fhould apply to their master, that he might pafs for the Meffiah, fuch oracles as had not ufually been applyed to the Meffiah by the Jews, amongst whom they lived, and whom they endeavoured to difpofe for the receiving of Jefus Chrift as the promised Meffiah.

Now we cannot conceive any thing more exact than the agreement which we find between the prophecies and the event.

1. When Jefus Chrift by his triumphant entry into Jerufalem, riding on an ass, had put his Difciples in mind of one paffage in Zachary, he obliged them alfo to caft their eyes upon another, when he foretold his

death,

death, and their flight, as the accomplishment of this oracle, I will smite the shepherd, and the flock fhall be scattered, Zach. XIII. 7. (y).

2. He was befet with a band of Roman fouldiers, and the fervants of the principal men amongst the Jews, who apprehended him, under the conduct of Judas; which exactly anfwers, 1. To the defcription which, we find Pfal. XXII. Dogs, that is Heathens, whom the Jews treated as fuch, and ftrong Bulls, that is Jews, represented by clean Beafts, have befet me round. And fecondly, to that other prophecy, He that eats bread with me hath lift up his heel againft me.

3. He offers himself freely to death, according to that of Ifaiah, That he gave his foul an offering for fin. This appears not only by his going into the garden, where he knew that he thould be taken; but alfo by his telling the fouldiers that he was the man they looked for; he opposed S. Peter's attempts towards his refcue, and declares that he did not fly from death, but was willing to fatisfie the intent of the prophecies.

4. He is forfaken by his Disciples, as he himself had teftified of it as foretold by the Prophets, Zach. XIII. 7.

5. He is ftruck on the face before Annas, as Jeremiah had foretold Lament. III. 30. He giveth his cheek to him that fmiteth him.

6. He appears before Caiaphas, furrounded by every thing that was great amongst the Jews, whether lawyers or church-men, according to Pfalm II.

7. He is filent before his unjuft judges, and neglects to answer the accufations which the false witneffes depofed against him, according to the prophecy of Isaiah, As sheep before his fhearers is dumb, fo he openeth not his mouth, Ifaiah LIII. 7. and the description which David gives of him. Pf. XXXI. and XXXIX.

8. They opened their mouths against him, in accufing him of blafphemy, as David had figuratively expreffed it, Pfal. XXII. 13.

9. They spit in his face, they buffetted and abufed him the whole night, according to that oracle of Ifaiah XLIX. 6.

10. When Judas faw that Jefus Christ was delivered to Pilate by the Jews, who demanded his crucifixion, he returned the thirty pieces of filver, wherewith they purchased the Potters field, afterwards called the Field of Blood, and fet apart by the Jews for the burial of ftrangers, as was foretold by Zachariah XI. 12. and by Jeremiah XXXII. 25.

11. He is accused before Pilate, and brought before Herod, without juftifying himself of the crimes laid to his charge, as it is Pfalm XXXVIII. and XXVII. 12.

12. Pilate and Herod agree in confpiring the death of Jesus Christ, according to the defcription of Pfalm II.

13. Pilate defiring to fave Jefus, the Jews demand Barabbas might be released, and Jefus punished, as David had foretold Pfalm XXII. 14. 14. Jefus Chrift was fcourged by Pilate's order, which was foretold Pfalm XXXVIII. and LXIX. Ifaiah LIII. verf. 5. and Chap. LXIII. 15. He is brought forth by Pilate to the people with an Ecce Homa, Behold the Man, which was foretold by Ifaiah, When we fhall fee him, there is no beauty that we should defire him, he is defpifed and rejected of men, we did efteem him ftricken, fmitten of God and afflicted.

Gg 4

(y) Matth, xxvi. 31.

16. He

16. He is afterwards delivered to the fouldiers, who before they crucified him, infulted over him with a thousand indignities, and fcourged him again, according to the prophecies so often before alledged.

17. They crucifie him with two robbers, which answers to that prophecy Ifaiah LIII. 12. He was numbred with tranfgreffors.

18. They give him gall and vinegar to drink, as was foretold Pfalm LXIX.

19. They pierce his hands and feet in nailing him to the cross, which anfwers to Pfalm XXII. 17, 18.

20. They part his garments, which is represented in the fame Pfalm, verfe 19. and caft lots on his vefture, according to the fame Pjalm in the very fame place.

21. He fuffers a thousand reproaches upon the cross, according to what we find Pfalm XXII. verje 8. and Pfalm LXIX. ver. 8, 10.

22. And in particular the Jews and Scribes reproach him in the very words of Pfalm XXII. verfe 8.

23. Jefus Chrift cries out, applying to himself the beginning of Pfalm XXII. My God! My God! Why haft thou forfaken me? as he had before applied to himself the prophecy concerning the Meffiah in the third of Daniel.

24. He commends his foul into the hands of God, in the very words which we read Pfalm XVI.

Thefe are the principal circumftances of the death of Jefus Chrift, which one fee's to be exactly agreeable to the prophecies going before concerning them: let us now confider those which followed his death, which we fhall not find to be lefs particular.

1. The bones of Jefus Chrift were not broken. as those of the two thieves, which one may fee foretold Pfalm XXXIV. verse 21.

2. They open'd his fide with a fpear, according to the idea of Zechariah, Chap. X. verfe 12. They fhall look upon him whom they have pierced. 3. His body is buried by Jofeph of Arimathea, in a new sepulchre, which answers to the prophecy of Ifaiah, Chap. LIII.

Thefe remarks do, in my judgment, clearly prove, that in the death of Christ all the characters by which the Prophets have distinguished the death of the Meffiah, are actually found.

But that we may yet be more fenfible how juftly thefe oracles are applyed to Jefus Chrift; here are fome reflexions upon the application which the Apoftles make of these particular facts which happened to Chrift, to those oracles which I have now mentioned.

The firft is, That the relation of these facts is joyned with an account of the weakness whereinto they all fell: they relate their own flight, and forfaking their mafter, with S. Peter's denying of him, whilft they fet down the courage of those women, and that entire love which they fhewed to the perfon of Jesus.

The fecond is, That the account of the accomplishment of these ancient oracles is interwoven with the accomplishment of those which were uttered by Jefus Chrift, which alone are fufficient to make good his claim.

The third is, That our Saviour did never on any occafion more openly stand to his pretenfion of being the Meffiah, than when he applyed to himself

himself those oracles which by their publick confent were referred to the Meffiah, which the Jews at that time more obftinately contefted than

ever.

The fourth is, That there never was a more exact description of all circumftances which might affure us of the truth of any relation, than that which the Evangelifts have given us of the death of Jefus Chrift, in which we find the places, the time, the perfons, their difcourfes, and other things of that nature, fet down with extream care.

The fifth is, That as this fact, with all its circumftances, is the most exactly described of any thing that ever was, so it was a matter, concerning which it was fcarce poffible to impofe upon any one. All was done in the face of the whole nation, who were met together at their most folemn festival: all was done in the prefence of the foveraign Heathen magiftrate, of the council of the Jews, of Herod, and of those who followed him to ferufalem.

The fixth is, That we find an account of fome miracles interwoven with this relation of the Evangelifts concerning the death of Chrift, and thofe miracles as publick, and as little fubject to suspicion, as the death it felf of Jefus Chrift, if we take the pains to examine them.

They who come to take Jefus fall down backward to the ground; Jefus Chrift reftores the ear of the high priest's fervant which was cutoff: there was darkness over all the land from nine a clock in the morning till noon; the vail of the temple is rent. These are miraculous actions, and fuch as the fews might eafily have refuted, wherefoever they had been propofed, if the truth of them had not been beyond all question.

From all these remarks it evidently follows, That it is impoffible to difpute the application which the Apostles make of thefe oracles which are fo particular to the perfon of Jefus Chrift, as the true Meffiah: we find every part of their relation exactly answering to the prophefies; how then can any one doubt of their being fulfilled in him? efpecially feeing it is evident by fo many other proofs that he was indeed the Meffiah, and that God has been pleafed fo many other ways to confirm the fame truth.

CHA P. XIII.

That JESUS CHRIST was raifed again the third Day according to the PROPHETS, and afterwards afcended into Heaven.

AVING fhewed in the foregoing Chapter that Jesus Christ H was crucified under Pontius Pilate, for maintaining that he was Xx the promised Meffiah, I am now to fhew, that according to the prophecies fet down in my third part, he rofe again the third day, and afterwards afcended into heaven. As these two facts are the most im

portant

portant of all that are contained in the Gospel, because if they be denied, all the Divine worship given to Jefus Chrift, by the Apostles, and a great number of Jews and Gentiles, who received him for their mafter. in matters of religion, is abfolutely unlawful; fo we ought folidly to prove that they are indifputably true. Of which we shall be fully convinced by making fome obfervations upon the relation which the Evangelifts give us concerning them, and we shall easily find therein all the characters of truth.

There is no neceffity of obferving, that a refurrection from the dead, is a fact which can hardly be believed; and that tho' the Jews did not all of them look upon it as an impoffible thing, yet there were Sadduces amongst them, whofe doctrine was publickly taught. It is certain, that tho' the Disciples had feen Jefus Chrift, raifing three perfons from the dead, and amongst others Lazarus, a little before his death, yet we find that they were not thereby more difpofed to believe that Chrift was to rife from the dead.

In fhort, tho' the Evangelifts tell us, that Jefus Chrift himself had foretold, that he was to rise again the third day, which was a thing fo commonly known, that the priests to elude the prophefie, defired of Pilate, that a guard might be fet on Jefus his grave, yet they exprefly tell us, that the Difciples, none excepted, were in fuch a confternation at the death of Jefus Chrift, that they had entirely loft the hopes of seeing the accomplishment of that prophefie. Some pious women, who had accompanied him to the cross, and were defirous to fhew fome marks of their veneration after his death, came indeed to his fepulchre, but with fpices to embalm his dead body, fo far were they from expecting to find him rifen from the dead. Tho' thefe holy women were convinced of the refurrection of Jefus Chrift, by the apparition of an angel, by the discourse of our Saviour himself, and by the repetition of his order, that they fhould go to Galilee, where they fhould fee him, yet the relation which they give of these things, is accounted fabulous, fo that two only of all the Apoftles had the curiofity to go to the grave and inform themfelves. Here is a great unbelief amongst the Apoftles, which was to be cured this was a condition wholly inconfiftent, if we fuppofe them impoftors, and that they intended to impofe upon the world.

A fecond thing we may obferve is, That as the incredulity of our Saviour's own Difciples was extraordinary, fo we cannot imagine any more efficacious means than were employed to overcome this their doubtfulnefs. If one joyns the relations of the Evangelifts together, one may find feveral degrees of evidence, in those proofs which confirm the truth of the refurrection of our Saviour.

The first is the manner of their being informed of the refurrection of Jefus Chrift; Angels at firft declare his refurrection to fome women; Jefus Chrift afterwards appears to Mary Magdalen, all alone; afterwards he appears only to two of his Disciples, then to St. Peter, afterwards he appears to feven of them at once, then to all his Disciples except Themas, and foon after to the eleven, Thomas being one of them. After all this, he appears to a greater number of his followers, till at last, having been feveral times feen of them all, he appears to them all affembled together, and is taken up into heaven in their fight. It is evident, that

as