during that Time; and this clearly appears to be the Cafe by comparing his abridg'd Account with the more particular Accounts already mentioned. Luke xxiv. from ✯ 36, to 40 inclufive -you have the fame Account of what paffed>John xx. 19, 20. at the first Appearance which St. John gives. At 49. you have what paffed at the Meeting in Ga-Mat. xxviii. 16,&c. At 50, 51. you have what paffed at the last Meeting at Jerufalem, before the Afcenfion mentioned in the Acts i. 6—9. Mark xvi. 19. St. Luke fays, that our Lord came to the Eleven just as the two Difciples had reported what had paffed in the Journey to Emmaus; and as our Lord expounded to them the Scriptures and eat with them, fo now he gives the fame Evidence and the fame Expofition of the Scriptures to the reft: And furely it was a natural Thing to take up the fame Discourse, and open the Understandings of the Eleven, as he had opened the Understanding of the two before, and to give them the fame Evidence of the Reality Reality of his Refurrection, and this takes up from 41. to 48. St. Mark's Narration is fhorter than St. Luke's, but plainly of the fame Kind: He begins with an Account of our Saviour's appearing, as St. Luke does, xvi. 14. and ends with his Afcenfion, 19. But as much abridged as thefe Acounts are, one material Thing there is, which none of the Writers have omitted, viz. the Commiffion then given to the Apoftles to teach all Nations, and in Confequence of it a Promife of Power and Affiftance from above. St. Luke fays, Acts i. 3. that the Subject of his Difcourfes to his Difciples were the Things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. Thefe Things are tranfmitted to us by every Writer; and though none has mentioned every particular Appearance, yet the Sum of what was faid at all the Appearances is faithfully recorded by all. I have ftated this Part of our Saviour's Hiftory for the Sake of those who have Patience and Attention enough to confider it; and I hope fuch may find fome Light and Satisfaction from what has been faid. But with regard not only to this, but to all other Parts of the History, it may be proper to obferve, that the Number of Writers makes amends for the Deficiencies of any one. The Chriftian has a large Field to Mat. xxviii. 19, 20. 48, 49. John xx. 21, 22. Mark xvi. 15. Luke xxiv. 47 S 2 range range in; he is not to feek his Faith in one Evangelift, but in all. In all together he is fure to find a fatisfactory Account of his Mafter's Life and Doctrine; abundantly fufficient to direct his Judgment, to convince his Understanding, and to give him the Satisfaction that is proper for a rational Being. It is to no Purpofe to go over the Confiderer's Objections to this Part of the History. If the Reader has the Curiosity to fee them, he will find them all collected together at Pages 68, 69, of the First Edition, and 55, 56, of the Third. All he has faid will, by comparing it with, the foregoing Account, be found to be built on his own Miftakes. Some of them feem to be wilful; he supposes Matthew and Mark, who report our Lord's Order to meet him in Galilce, to be contradicted by St. Luke, who reports an Order to them not to depart from Jerufalem. He could not, I think, but fee, that these were different Orders, given at different Times, and upon different Occafions. But be it to himself, His Objections to the Relation given of the Afcenfion of Jefus, are of the fame kind, and they will be eafily accounted for, by confider ing the Series of the Tranfactions above. It is fcarce worth while to obferve, because it is obvious to the moft indifferent Reader, that after the Revolt of Judas, The Eleven was the First Edit. p. 58. Third Edit. p. 47. currrent current Style for the whole College of Apostles; and after the Call of Matthias to the Apoftolate, they were again called the Twelve. In Virtue of this Style, a general Meeting of the Apostles, is called a Meeting of the Eleven, or of the Twelve, though one or more may happen to be abfent. This is agreeable to both ancient and modern Ufage in the Cafe of Senates, Councils, and the like. Hence it is that St. Luke fays, xxiv, 20. the Eleven, were gathered together, though it appears by St. John, XX. 24. that Thomas was abfent. St. Paul, I Cor. xv. 5. calls it a Meeting of the Twelve, because he was not converted till after the EleЄtion of Matthias, when that came again to be the ufual Style, Had the Confiderer had Senfe enough to have feen this (and a very little would have been fufficient for the Purpose) he might have spared himself the Trouble and the Shame of charging St. John, St. Luke, and St. Paul with contradicting one another. But he might perhaps hope that his Readers would excufe a fmall Blunder, for the Sake of fome Beauties, that rife out of it; fuch as his Query (pag. 66.) with Regard to St. Paul's Account, whether Judas was there to make up the Number? And his Excufe for the Apostle (p. 68.) that perhaps be had forgot that one of them was fallen afleep. Conceits which he is fo fond of, that they have paffed the Cenfure of his and his Friend's fecond Thoughts, and have ftill a Place in the last Edition, pag. 53-55 The The Story which St. John has left us of St. Thomas is fo ftrong a Proof of the Resurrection of Chrift, and fo remarkable an Evidence of the Reality of his Body, that I do not wonder to find the Confiderer displeased with it. He has attacked it with a double Portion of the Spirit of Folly and Impiety, and has not that I can find dropt any thing, that carries the Face of an Objection. He thinks his Infidelity very extraordinary, because he would not believe that fefus was rifen from the Dead, except he faw and felt the Wounds that caufed his Death, and afks if these were better to be known than the Form of his Perfon, which they had so often feen 1. This I am afraid carries an Implication with it, which the Confiderer was not aware of; that Thomas had no Reafon to be so nice and fcrupulous; that the Evidence of Sight, and the well known Idea of his Face and Perfon were fufficient for Conviction. Truth, I find, will fometimes obtrude itfelf upon a Man, even against his Thoughts and Inclinations. As to the Wounds that caused his Death there is not, that I can find, one Word about Wounds in this whole Story. The τύπος τῶν ἥλων, the Print of the Nails, or the Scar that was left after the Wounds were cured is two or three Times repeated, but nothing further. Why then does the Confiderer talk of Wounds? Why, to introduce this very wife Queftion, Is it to Ibid. be |