confessed, that no one, but God can do? that is, in other terms, how can a man prove his mission but by a miracle? Will it be said, that the doctrine he brings, may be so pure and holy, and every way worthy of God, as to carry the stamp and evidence of its own divine original; that the very nature of the message may clearly and fully evince, from whence the inessenger came? Ï see not how this can well be. A doctrine may be very holy and good, and every way agreeable to the conceptions we have of God, and yet not be of divine revelation. The philosophers among the Heathens uttered many such truths, as might have become them, had they been really inspired; and yet we believe not, for this reason, that they were inspired, but that they spake merely from the dictates of their own reason, and from the general consent of the wisest part of mankind: and so may any other man also, let the doctrine he teaches be never so just and holy, unless he produces somewhat beside the doctrine itself, to prove that it was revealed to him. For though the badness of any doctrine, and its disagreeableness to the eternal rules of right reason, be a certain sign that it did not come from God, yet the goodness of it can be no infallible proof that it did. Indeed when a good man publishes a good doctrine, and affirms that he had it from God, we may, for his own sake, and for his doctrine's sake, be disposed to give credit to him; we may be inclined, perhaps, rather to be of opinion, that the thing is as he says, than that it is not; but we cannot be wrought up into a firm belief, an unshaken assurance concerning it, merely by his affirmation. He may, at the bottom, not be so good a man as he seems to be; and may therefore (it is possible) intend to deceive me; or he may have been himself deceived, and mistaken a dream, or strong imagination, for a reality. Such things have sometimes happened, and such things may therefore happen again; and, while I have these doubts and possibilities before my eyes, it is impossible I should embrace his authority with the full and entire assent of my mind. But if to his own solemn

affirmation he adds the performance of some work, which, all things considered, I have the utmost reason to think he could not perform, without immediate divine assistance; that indeed, and nothing less than that, is a proof, which I ought not, and am not able to withstand.

It will, perhaps, be further objected, that if the doctrine taught appears to be in itself good and reasonable, it is no matter whether it is proved to be of immediately divine authority. For a good man will receive a doctrine evidently good and reasonable, whether any one be divinely inspired to preach it, or not; and a doctrine evidently evil and absurd, he will not receive, on the account of whatever pretended inspiration. And therefore, what need of miracles to make way for an opinion, which, if agreeable to reason, will make its own way without their assistance; and if contrary to reason, can never be entertained by a reasonable creature, though it should have ten thousand miracles to support it?

Now it must be confessed, that this objection is so far of force, as it relates to moral truths, and to whatever is discoverable by the light of natural reason. There is indeed no necessity for miracles to induce a belief of these; nor is it pretended that God ever employed them to this purpose, to convince men either of his being, or providence, or of the eternal differences of good and evil, because these truths were of themselves sufficiently obvious and plain, and needed not a divine testimony to make them plainer. But the truths, which are necessary in this manner to be attested, are those, which are of positive institution; those, which if God had not pleased to reveal them, human reason could not have discovered; and those, which, even now they are revealed, human reason cannot fully account for, and perfectly comprehend. Such, for example, are the doctrines of baptism and the supper of the Lord, of the resurrection of the same body, of the distinction of persons in the unity of the divine essence, and of the salvation of mankind by the blood and intercession of Jesus. It is this kind of truth

that God is properly said to reveal; truths, of which, unless revealed, we should have always continued ignorant; and 'tis in order only to prove these truths to have been really revealed, that we affirm miracles to be necessary. And though in the body of the revelation itself, known and unknown truths may be mixed, doctrines evident by the light of nature, with such as we receive only by inspiration; yet 'tis for the sake of the latter of these, that miracles must be done, not at all on the account of the former. So that reason being no competent judge of those doctrines, to the confirmation of which miracles are specially adapted, cannot, I say, by examining into the nature of such doctrines, determine, that a proof of them, by miracles, is needless.

Hitherto I have only considered the general nature of miracles, as they are acts of supernatural power, necessarily attendant on revealed doctrines, in order to promote their reception.

III. Thirdly, I proceed now, in the last place, to shew, how well they are suited to this purpose, by reason of some peculiar characters and properties that belong to them. For, first, they are extremely fit to awaken men's attention.-Secondly, they are the shortest and most expeditious way of proof.-And, thirdly, they are an argument of the most universal force and efficacy, equally reaching all capacities and understandings.

1. In order to the propagation of a new doctrine, the first thing requisite is, to create attention, and rouze the minds of men, possessed with prejudices, immersed in pleasures, or business, into an impartial consideration of what is proposed. And this is best effected by miracles; which being strange and unusual events, cannot fail of drawing men's eyes towards the doer of them, and of commanding their attention and observance. Curiosity is the first step towards conviction; and when once men are possessed with a due regard for the messenger, they will be sure to listen carefully to the message he brings. The fathers of the eastern mission knew this well, and

being therefore destitute of the power of miracles, which might excite men to inquire after their opinions, and infuse a reverence for their persons, endeavoured to make up this disadvantage another way, and gain admission into the presence of the princes and great men of the East, by some curious and surprising works of art. And having in this manner raised an opinion of themselves first, they preached the Gospel with some degree of success afterwards their performances in mechanics and astronomy being instead of miracles to them, by which they procured a favourable hearing of the doctrines they afterwards delivered.

2. "Tis another great advantage, which belongs to miracles, that they are the shortest and most expeditious way of proof. All other ways of evincing the divine original of any doctrine (supposing there were any such) must needs be long and laborious; such as it will take up much time fully to explain and clear; and such therefore, as must operate but slowly, and can make no great advances, in any one man's life, towards converting the world. For instance, suppose the truth and credibility of a revealed doctrine could be made out, by shewing its connexion with, and dependance upon, other truths, and by a regular deduction of it, through a long train of consequences, from known and avowed principles of reason; yet would this be a very tedious and irksome task, and would in a long time, gain but a little ground upon an opinionative and disputing world. Had this been the method made use of to propagate Christianity at first, how would the course of it have been retarded! How impossible had it been for the apostles to have obeyed their great Master's commands, and to have preached the Gospel to all nations! At this rate, it is probable, that, instead of traversing the several parts of the earth, and reducing multitudes of every nation and climate to the obedience of Christ, they had stuck in that very spot, where they first entered upon their ministry, and begun and finished all their labours within the short limits of Palestine. But by the help of

miracles, they were enabled effectually to discharge their high office these were engines fitted and proportioned to the work assigned to them. One dead man raised, or blind man restored to sight, who saw the thing done; and ten thousands came in afterwards, upon the report of it. Other kinds of proofs were fitted only leisurely to loosen the knots, which the disputers of this world tied, in order to give the apostles disturbance in the execution of their ministry. But miracles, like the hero's sword, divided these entanglings at a stroke, and at once made their way through them.

3. The third and last advantage of this way of proof is, its universal force and efficacy, as being equally adapted to all capacities and understandings.-Rational and discursive methods are fit only to be made use of upon philosophers, men of deep reason and improved minds; the generality of mankind would be utterly insensible of their force. The lower, that is, the far greater part of the world, are too much taken up in providing the necessaries of life, to be at leisure to consider long consequences, and weigh arguments. Or had they opportunities for such a search, yet have they not the abilities requisite to pursue it. To them therefore some plainer and more sensible proof must be addressed; somewhat that lies level to their capacities, and of which they understand the force at the first proposal: and such a sort of argument is that, which is drawn from miracles. There is no man of so rude and unpolished a mind, no man so stupid and insensible, but can carry his reasoning thus far; that, whoever does such things, as he could not do, unless God were with him, if at the same time he affirms, that he received such and such doctrines from God, we ought to believe him. There is no subtlety, no reach of thought requisite, to make this reflection; and this single reflection is sufficient to make a man a Christian. Whereas, if the world must have been convinced of old, as the men, who doubt of every thing, and disbelieve every thing, expect we should convince them now, by strict demonstrations, and long intricate