greater benefit of those churches, and to relieve him from some of that anxiety he had for their welfare.

Now as christianity is nothing (befides the doctrine our Saviour himself taught) but the teftimony and doctrine (and, if you will, the predictions) of the apoftles; fo these feveral powers of inflicting difeafes on obftinate offenders, and of healing diftempers, in the manner they could heal; and above all, the power of imparting the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of their hands (and the power of feeing things at a distance in St. Paul) were "the proofs of the truth of their testimony, "and of their doctrine” (and their predictions); fo that those who faw them exert those powers could no longer doubt of the truth of what they teftified and taught (or foretold), as I have shewn more fully elsewhere'. This was what made their teftimony, and their doctrine (and their predictions), fo generally received; and without which all would have been queftioned. It was for this reason that our Saviour did not fo much as expect that they should go and teftify, and teach, much lefs that they should be received, until they had these powers imparted to them. For our Saviour orders them to "tarry at Jerufalem, "until they were endued with power from "on high;" and tells them, "that they

* See the First Essay.

"fhould receive power, after that the Holy "Ghost should be come upon them, and that "(then) they should be witneffes." Accordingly they continue at Jerufalem together in an upper room, until the Holy Ghost comes down upon them, teaches them the doctrine they were to teach, and gives them the courage neceffary to their teftifying and teaching, and the powers neceffary to prove the truth of their teftimony and of their doctrine: and then they go and testify, and teach what they had feen and heard, and what they had been taught, with the greatest resolution and fuccefs; and without ever fainting, or growing weary in their work. And because the apoftles were to have fuch great and peculiar powers to prove the truth of their teftimony, for that reason they alone were ordered, or commiffioned, to witness or testify. And because they were fuch bold, fuch unwearied, fuch convincing witneffes of the truth of the great facts of chriftianity, as well as because they had the only commiffion to testify them, they are therefore spoken of every where in the New Teftament, as the only witneffes and teftifiers of thefe facts to the world.

Those who affumed the apoftolical character, giving themselves out for apostles, could not expect to be received without endeavouring to imitate and counterfeit fome of their powers, as well as pretending to new revela

tions.

tions. Our Saviour foretold this before his death; faying, that " false prophets as well as falfe Chrifts fhould arife, and fhould fhew

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W

great figns and wonders, infomuch that if "it were poffible they fhould deceive the very "elect"." St. Paul speaks of falfe apostles in his time, as well as St. John in the latter end of his ; and St. Paul calls them "deceitful “workers, transforming themselves" by their deceitful works as well as their falfe pretentions) "into the" appearance of the "apoftles "of Chrift." It is highly probable these are those whom St. Paul defcribes , and whom he calls "feducers "," and " as having a form or falfe appearance "of godliness, whilst

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they denied the power thereof;" and who, as I think, he intimates withstood him, as Jannes and Jambres the two Egyptian magicians did Mofes; namely, " after the working "of Satan, with lying wonders, and all de"ceitfulness"; as St. Paul on another occafion writes to the Theffalonians; even fuch, as they fhould believe though a lye and a "meer appearance; who love not the truth." Such deceitful workers were Simon Magus, who bewitched the people giving out or pretending himself fome great one; and who

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99

as

as he seems to have been the first of these deceitful workers, those in after-times fprung from. Such was Elymas the forcerer. Such afterwards, if the accounts of the fathers are to be depended on, were Menander that difciple of Simon Magus, the Bafilidians, the Carpocratians, Marcus, &c.; who feem, by the accounts that are given us of them, rather to have wrought feeming than real miracles; fince one of the marks or figns which fome of the fathers give us, to diftinguifh the real from their feeming miracles was whether the effect produced, or pretended to be produced, was permanent, or no. Thus, as the apostles had their real and true, the false apostles had their falfe and pretended miracles (regaтα Eudes), and in great abundance. But I can find but little pretenfions in these falfe apostles or hereticks, to counterfeit the gifts of illumination. They feem to have ftruck them all as they did Simon Magus at the firft. I remember no pretence to the fainteft refemblance of thefe gifts of illumination but in one fingle inftance. Irenæus tells us, that Marcus, after he had made women partakers of the eucharift (which he fays he confecrated by fome magical verfes, and changed the colour of the wine by it) made them fo mad, that they thought themfelves turned into propheteffes f; and that Paredrus feemed to prophefy; and would imIren. l. ii. c. 57. xv. c. 6. Ibid. i. 19. f Ibid. ii. c. 2.

part

part his enthufiaftick fury to women, by some verfes pronounced among them.

I cannot but defire my reader to stop here a little with me, and review with himself what I have faid of the apostles; and from thence confider the great importance of their office to mankind, and how well that confideration fuits with the last prayer our Saviour made, just before he was apprehended, and but a few hours before he was to die; and, confequently, where we may be fure to find what was most upon his heart. The greatest part of this prayer by far is for the apoftles alone, namely, from the 6th verfe to the 20th. And for them," with the reft that should "believe on him through their word," from the 20th verfe to the 26th. That he begins to pray for the apoftles in the 6th verse, appears from the phrafe he uses, "I have mani"fefted thy name unto the men which thou gaveft me out of the world; thine they "were, and thou gavest them me." This phrase, I think, denotes the apostles, whereever it occurs in this chapter, and particularly ver. 9, 11. and most evidently in the 12th. and chap. xviii. 9. But befides the great share our Saviour gives them in this his last prayer, let us confider fome paffages of it. He fays, ver. 4. "I have glorified thee on the earth; "I have finished the work which thou gavest

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• Iren. l. i. c. 12.

" me