SECTION II.

On Miracles.

To fix the certainty of revelation, and

eftablish religion upon a fure foundation, it has pleased God to give it two kinds of proof, which were at the fame time fuited to the capacities of the most fimple, and fuperiour to the fubtilties of the incredulous; which vifibly bore the character of Omnipotence; and which neither all the endeavours of man, or cunning of devils, were able to imitate.

These two forts of proof confift in miracles and proph

ecies.

The miracles are plain, public, notorious, expofed to the eye of all the world, infinitely multiplied and diverfified, long foretold and expected, and continuing for a long feries of days, and fometimes of years. They are evident facts, memorable events, of which the dulleft understanding could not but be fenfible, whereof the whole people were not only fpectators and witneffes, but themfelves the matter and object; they reap the advantages of them, and perceive the effects, and have their own happinefs or mifery dependant on them. The family of Noah could not forget the deftruction of the whole world by the deluge, after the continued menaces of an age, nor the miraculous manner in which they alone were preserved in the ark. The fire which came down from heaven up. on the unrighteous cities; the whole kingdom of Egypt,

punished at different times, by ten terrible plagues; the fea opening a paffage to the Ifraelites, and closing to overwhelm Pharaoh and his army; the people of Ifrael fed with manna for forty years, and drinking of the brooks, which flowed out of the ftony rocks, covered with a cloud from the heat of the day, and enlightened by night, with a pillar of fire, their clothes and their fhoes not worn out in the course of so long a journey; the ftreams of Jordan forgetting to flow, and the fun standing still, to fecure the victory; an army of hornets marching before the people of God, to drive the Canaanites from their poffeffions; the clouds, at feveral times, converted into a fhower of hail ftones, to overthrow the enemy; the nations in league against Ifrael, dispersed by a vain terrour, or exterminated by a mutual flaughter, in turning their arms against one another; an hundred four fcore and five thousand ftruck with thunder in one night, under the wall of Jerufalem ; all these prodigies, and a thousand others of a like nature, whereof feveral were attefted by folemn facts, established on purpose to perpetuate their memory, and by facred fongs, which were in the mouths of all the Ifraelites, could not be unknown to the most stupid, nor called in queftion by the most incredulous.

Rollin's Belles Lettres.

THE SUBJECT CONTINUED.

THE late celebrated Dr. Johnson defines a miracle to be a fact above human and natural power, performed in atteftation of fome truth.

This great man obferves, that although God has made nature to operate by certain fixed laws, yet it is not unreasonable to think he may fufpend thofe laws, in order to establish a system highly advantageous to mankind. Now the christian religion is a most beneficial system, as it gives us light and certainty, where we were before in darkness and doubt. The miracles, which prove it, are attested by men who had no intereft in deceiving us; but who, on the contrary, were told that they should fuffer perfecution, and did actually lay down their lives, in confirmation of the truth of the facts, which they afferted. Indeed, for fome centuries, the heathens did not pretend to deny the miracles; but faid they were performed by the aid of evil spirits.

This is a circumftance of great weight. Then when we take the proofs derived from prophecies, which have been fo exactly fulfilled, we have most fatisfactory evidence. Suppofing a miracle poffible, as to which, in my opinion, there can be no doubt, we have as ftrong evi. dence for the miracles in fupport of chriftianity as the nature of the thing admits.

Bofwell's Life of Johnson.

THE SUBJECT CONTINUED.

MIRACLES being a very important part of revelation, it is proper to confider that fubject. And first, one would wonder that ever it fhould have occurred to any perfon, that the proof from miracles is a weak or fuspicious one, fuppofing the miracles to be really fuch, and

W

nothing inconfiftent in the doctrine they are brought in proof of. For nothing feems more reasonable to expect, than that, if the author of nature should choose to be likewife author of revelation, he should show his concern in the eftablishment or promulgation of fuch revelation, by exerting that power over nature, which we know he is poffeffed of, and for which we believe and adore him as the author of nature. Can any thing be more reasonable to expect, than that he who firft breathed into man the breath of life, fhould, in order to affure mankind, that a particular meffage comes from him, give power to those he employs in carrying fuch meffage, to restore life to the dead; or that he who, made the elements of the natural world, fhould authenticate his revealed laws, by giving to thofe whom he employs in promulgating them, a power over nature, a command of the elements of air and water, fo that winds may cease to rage, and waves to roll, at their word? There is, indeed, all the reason in the world to believe, that these very objectors against the power of miracles, as a proof of a revelation coming from God, would have found fault with christianity, had there been no account of miracles in fcripture, as deficient in one very ftrong and convincing evidence of a divine. original.

Burgh's Dignity of Human Nature.

THE SUBJECT CONTINUED.

CHRIST having performed his miracles openly, and before fo many witneffes, it is not found that the matter of fact was ever questioned by any, who lived in that age;

on the contrary, we fee it was acknowledged by his most vigilant enemies, the pharifees. They did not deny the miracles, but they afcribed it to the aid of the prince of the devils. So weak a fubterfuge against the evidence of their own fenfes, probably fatisfied neither themselves nor others, if it had the accufation of forcery, being capital by their law, and alfo by that of the Romans, would have been heard of when they were so much engaged to feek for crimes, wherewith to charge him on his trial. If any man fhould object, that this is arguing out of the gospels, in favour of the gospels, I contend that this matter of fact does not reft folely on the gofpel evidence, but also on collateral, hiftoric proof; for this very argument of the pharifees, and this only, is made ufe of by the Jews, whom Celfus brings in arguing against the chriftian religion; and these Jews, on this very account, rank Christ with Pythagoras; and I challenge the cavillers against Christ's miracles, either to controvert what is thus afferted, or to produce any other argument of Jewish origin, except that afcribed to the pharifees, by the gospel, cither from Celfus, or any other writer.

Cumberland's Obferver.

THE SUBJECT CONTINUED.

On the Benevolent Nature of Christ's Miracles.

THE nature of the miracles, which Chrift was to perform, had been foretold. His prodigies were not to be of that marvellous kind, which would only ferve to gratify vanity. He caufed neither mountains nor tem