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A DISCOURSE concerning our Saviour's RESURRECTION.

John XX. 29.

Jefus faith unto him, Thomas, because thou haft feen me, thou haft believed: Blef Jed are they, who have not feen, and yet have believed.

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HRIST, the great Sun of Righteoufness, and Saviour of the World, having by a glorious Rifing, after a Red, and a Bloody Setting, proclaim'd his Deity to Men, and Angels; and by a complete Triumph over the two grand Enemies of Mankind, Sin and Death, fet up the Everlasting Gofpel in the room of all falfe Religions, has now (as it were) changed the Perfian Superftition into the Christian DevoVOL. V.

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tion; and without the least Approach to the Idolatry of the former, made it henceforth the Duty of all Nations, Jews, and Gentiles, to worship the Rifing Sun.

But as the Sun does not difplay his Rising to all Parts of the World together, nor to the fame Region fhews his whole Light at the fame inftant; but by weaker Glimmerings at the firft, gradually afcends to clearer and clearer Discoveries, and at length beams it forth with a full Diffufion : So Chrift here discover'd himself after his Rifing, not to all his Apostles at once, nor to any of them with the fame Evidence at first, but by several afcending Inftances and Arguments; till in the end he fhone out in his full Meridian, and made the Proof of his Refurrection complete in his Afcenfion.

Thomas we have one of the laft in this Chorus, refolving to tie his Understanding close to his Senses; to believe no farther than he could fee, nor to venture himfelf but where he could feel his way: He would not (it feems) take a Miracle upon Hearfay, nor refolve his Creed into Report, nor, in a word, fee with any Eyes but his own. No, he must trace the Print of the Nails, follow the Spear into our Saviour's Side, till he even touched the Miracle, and felt the Article of the Refurrection.

But

But as in the too inquifitive Beholder, who is not content to behold the Sun by Reflexion, but by a direct Intuition of his glorious Body, there comes fuch a Light, as at the fame time both informs, and chaftifes the over-curious Eye; fo Chrift here, in his discovering himself to this doubting Apostle, condescends indeed to convince him in his own way; but fo, that while he complies with his Infirmity, he also upbraids his Infidelity; humouring his Patient, but not fparing his Diftemper: And yet all this with fo gentle an Hand, and fuch an Allay of Sweetnefs, that the Reproof is only collateral, or confequential, not directly reproaching him for his Unbelief, but implicitly reflecting upon it, by commending the Belief of others. Nothing in the mean time fharp, or corrofive, dropping from his healing Lips, even in paffing fuch a Reprehenfion upon his Difciple. He only fhews him his blind Side in an oppofite Inftance, and fo leaves him to read his own Cafe in an Antithe fis, and to fhame himself by a Comparison.

Now, inasmuch as the diftinguishing Eminency of the Bleffing fo emphatically here pronounced by our Saviour upon a Faith or Affent fpringing not from Sight, but a much higher Principle, muft needs import a peculiar Excellency of the faid Faith; for it's furmounting all thofe high Difficulties and Im

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pediments attending it, though ftill with a fufficient Reafon to found it upon : (For that Chrift never rewards any thing with a Bleffing, but so far as it is a Duty; nor makes any thing a Duty, but what is highly rational) This, I fay, is most certain. But then as for those various and different Objects, which a genuine Faith ought to come up to the Belief of, we must not think that the fame ftrength, as to the Kind, or Degree of it, will be able to match them all; for even the particular Refurrection of our Saviour, and that general one of all Men at the laft Day, will be found to ftand upon very different Bottoms; the many Difficulties, if not alfo Paradoxes, alledgable against the Refurrection of a Body, after a total Diffolution thereof, being infinitely greater, and harder to be accounted for, than any that can be brought against the Resurrection of a Body never yet diffolved, but only once again united to the Soul, which it had belonged to before.

Befides which, there have, as to this latter fort of Refurrection from the Dead, been feveral Instances of Persons so raised again, both before, and in our Saviour's Time. And in truth, as to the very Notion of the Thing itfelf, there appears not the least Contradiction in it to any known Principle of Reason: No, nor yet (which is more) does there feem any

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greater Difficulty to conceive, how God should remand a departed Soul into its former Body, while remaining entire and undiffolved; than that after he had formed a Body for Adam, he fhould prefently breathe into it (fo formed) a Living Soul, as we read in the fecond of Genefis.

So that S. Paul's Question, in Acts xxvi. 8. proceeded upon very obvious, as well as great Reafon, Why (fays he) fhould it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God Should raife the Dead? pointing therein, no doubt, only to the latter fort of Refurrection, fpecified in the Perfon of our Saviour, and which alone he was at that time difcourfing of.

But on the contrary, if we confider that other fort of Refurrection of a Body raised after an utter Diffolution of it into its firft Materials; neither has the World yet, as ɔ matter of Fact, ever feen any Example thereof; nor, as to the Theory of the fame, does the Reason of Man well comprehend, how it can be done. So that the Belief of this must needs have been exceedingly more difficult, than that of the former.

Which Obfervations having been thus promifed; I fhall now proceed to close them all with fomething more direct to the main Subject of the Text, our bleffed Saviour's Refurrection. Touching which, though (as it has

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