fo to make all, as they speak, natural and easy. Wherein, if they could prevail, the natural and eafy refult would be, not to believe one word in all thofe facred oracles. For if things be not as they are told in any relation, that relation must be falfe. And if false in part, we cannot truft to it, either in whole or in part.

Here are to be excepted, mif-translations and errors, either in copy or in prefs. But where there is no room for fuppofing of thefe, as where all copies do agree; there muft either receive all, or reject all. I mean in any book that pretends to be written from the mouth of God. For in other common hiftories, we may believe part, and reject part, as we fee cause.

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But to return. The paffage of the Ifraelites over Jordan, in' memory of which thofe ftones at Gilgal were fet up, is free from all thofe little carpings before-mentioned, that are made as to the paffage through the Red Sea. For notice was given to the Ifraelites the day before, of this great miracle to be done. Joh. iii. 5. It was done at noon-day, before the whole nation. And when the waters of Jordan were divided, it was not at any low ebb, but at the time when that river overflowed all his banks, ver. 15. And it was done, not by winds, or in length of time, which winds must take to do it: but all on the fudden, as soon as the feet of "the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the "water, then the waters which came down from above, ftood "and rofe up upon an heap, very far from the city Adam, that "is befide Zaretan: and those that came down toward the fea of "the plain, even the falt fea, failed, and were cut off: and the

people paffed over, right against Jericho. The priests stood in "the midst of Jordan, till all the armies of Ifrael had paffed

over. And it came to pafs, when the priests that bare the ark "of the covenant of the Lord were come up, out of the midst "of Jordan, and the foles of the priests' feet were lift up upon "the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their "place, and flowed over all his banks as they did before. And "the people came out of Jordan, on the tenth day of the first "month, and encamped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho, "and those twelve ftones which they took out of Jordan, did "Joshua pitch in Gilgal. And he spake unto the children of "Ifrael, faying, When your children fhall afk their fathers in "time to come, faying, what mean these ftones? Then fhall ye let your children know, faying, Ifrael came over this Jordan

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"on dry land. For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were paffed over; as the Lord << your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over. That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye "might fear the Lord your God for ever." Chap. iv. from ver. 18.

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If the paffage over the Red Sea, had been only taking advanof a fpring tide, or the like, how would this teach all the people of the earth, that the hand of the Lord was mighty? How would a thing no more remarkable have been taken notice of through all the world? How would it have taught Ifrael to fear the Lord, when they must know, that notwithstanding of all these big words, there was fo little in it! How could they have believed, or received a book, as truth, which they knew, told the matter fo far otherwife from what it was?

But, as I faid, this paffage over Jordan, which is here compared to that of the Red Sea, is free from all those cavils that are made, as to that of the Red Sea, and is a further attestation to it, being said to be done in the fame manner as was that of the Red Sea.

Now to form our argument, let us fuppofe, that there never was any fuch thing as that paffage over Jordan. That these stones at Gilgal were set up upon fome other occafion, in some after age. And then, that fome designing man invented this book of Joshua, and faid, that it was wrote by Joshua at that time. And gave this ftonage at Gilgal for a testimony of the truth of it. Would not every body say to him, we know the stonage at Gilgal: but we never heard before of this reafon for it? Nor of this book of Joshua? Where has it been all this while? And where, and how came you, after so many ages, to find it! Befides, this book tells us, that this paffage over Jordan was ordained to be taught our children, from age to age: and therefore, that they were always to be inftructed in the meaning of that ftonage at Gilgal, as a memorial of it. But we were never taught it, when we were children; nor did ever teach our children any fuch thing. And it is not likely that could have been forgotten, while fo remarkable a ftonage did continue, which was fet up for that and no other end!

And if, for the reasons before given, no fuch impofition could be put upon us as to the ftonage in Salisbury-plain; how much lefs could it be to the ftonage at Gilgal?

And if where we know not the reafon of a bare naked monu. ment, fuch a fham reason cannot be imposed, how much more is it impoffible to impose upon us in actions and observances, which we celebrate in memory of particular paffages? How impoffible to make us forget thofe paffages which we daily commemorate; and perfuade us, that we had always kept fuch inftitutions in me-" mory of what we never heard of before; that is, that we knew it, before we knew it.

And if we find it thus impoffible for an impofition to be put upon us, even in fome things which have not all the four marks before-mentioned; how much more impoffible is it, that any deceit fhould be in that thing where all the four marks do meet !

This has been fhewed in the first place, as to the matters of fact of Mofes.

2. Therefore I come now (fecondly) to fhew, that as in the matters of fact of Mofes, fo likewife all thefe four marks do meet in the matters of fact, which are recorded in the Gospel of our blessed Saviour. And my work therein will be the shorter, - because all that is faid before of Mofes and his books, is every way as applicable to Chrift and his Gofpel. His works and his miracles are there faid to be done publicly in the face of th world, as he argued to his accufers, I fpake openly to the wed, and "in fecret have I faid nothing," John xviii. 20. It is told, Acts ii. 41, that three thousand at one time; and, Acts iv. 4, that above five thousand at another time, were converted, upon conviction of what themselves had feen, what had been done publicly before their eyes, wherein it was impoffible to have impofed upon them. Therefore here were the two firft of the rules before-mentioned..

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Then for the two fecond: Baptifin and the Lord's Supper were inftituted as perpetual memorials of these things; and they were not instituted in after ages, but at the very time when these things were faid to be done; and have been obferved without interruption, in all ages through the whole Chriftian world, down all the way from that time to this. And Chrift himfelf did ordain apostles and other minifters of his Gospel, to preach and adminifter the facraments; and to govern his church: and that always, even unto the end of the world *. Accordingly they have contipued, by regular fucceffion, to this day: and, no doubt, ever

* Matthew zyjii. 20.

fhall, while the earth fhall laft. So that the Chriftian clergy are as notorious a matter of fact, as the tribe of Levi among the Jews. And the Gospel is as much a law to the Chriftians, as the book of Mofes to the Jews: and it being part of the matters of fact related in the Gospel, that such an order of men were appointed by Chrift, and to continue to the end of the world; confequently, if the Gospel was a fiction, and invented (as it must be) in fome ages after Chrift; then, at that time when it was first invented, there could be no fuch order of clergy, as derived themselves from the inftitution of Chrift; which must give the lye to the Gofpel, and demonftrate the whole to be falfe. And the matters of fact of Chrift being preffed to be true, no otherwife than as there was at that time (whenever the Deifts will fuppose the Gospel to be forged) not only public facraments of Chrift's inftitution, but an order of clergy, likewife of his appointment to administer them; and it being impoffible there could any fuch things before they were invented, it is as impoffible that they should be received when invented. And therefore, by what was faid above, it was as impoffible to have impofed upon mankind in this matter, by inventing of it in after-ages, as at the time we thofe things were faid to be done.

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3. to engters of fact of Mahomet, or what is fabled of the deities, deque vant fome of the aforefaid four rules, whereby the certainty matters of fact is demonftrated. First, for Mahomet, he pretended to no miracles, as he tells us in his Alcoran, c. 6, &c. and those which are commonly told of him pass among the Mahometans themselves, but as legendary fables: and, as fuch, are rejected by the wife and learned among them; as the legends of their faints are in the church of Rome. See Dr. Prideaux his Life of Mahomet, page 34.

But, in the next place, thofe which are told of him, do all want the two first rules before-mentioned. For his pretended converse with the moon: his mersa, or night journey from Mecca to Jerufalem, and thence to heaven, &c. were not performed before any body. We have only his own word for them. And they are as groundlefs as the delufions of the Fox or Muggleton among ourselves. The fame is to be faid (in the fecond place) of the fables of the heathen gods, of Mercury's ftealing sheep, Jupiter's turning himself into a bull, and the like; befides the folly and unworthiness of fuch fenfeless pretended miracles. And moreover the wife among the heathen did reckon no otherwise of

thefe but as fables, which had a mythology, or myftical meaning in them, of which feveral of them have given us the rationale of explication. And it is plain enough that Ovid meant no other by all his Metamorphofes.

It is true, the heathen deities had their priests: they had likewife feasts, games, and other public institutions in memory of them. But all thefe want the fourth mark, viz. that such priest, hood and inftitutions fhould commence from the time that fuch things as they commemorate were said to be done; otherwise they cannot fecure after ages from the imposture, by detecting it, at the time when firft invented, as hath been argued before. But the Bacchanalia, and other heathen feafts, were inftituted many ages after what was reported of these gods was faid to be done, and therefore can be no proof. And the priests of Bacchus, Apollo, &c. were not ordained by these supposed gods: but were appointed by others, in after ages, only in honour to them. And therefore these orders of priests are no evidence to the matters of fact which are reported of their gods.

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IV. Now to apply what has been faid. You may challenge all the Deifts in the world to fhew any action that is fabulous, which has all the four rules or marks before-mentioned. Notis impoffible. And (to refume a little what what is fpe webefore) the hiftories of Exodus and the gofpel never could ceived, if they had not been true; because the priesthood of Levi, and of Christ; of the Sabbath, the Passover, of Circumcifion, of Baptism, and the Lord's Supper, &c. are there related, as descending all the way down from those times, without interruption. And it is full as impoffible to perfuade men that they had been circumcifed or baptized, had circumcised or baptized their children, celebrated paffovers, fabbaths, facraments, &c. under the government and administration of a certain order of priests, if they had done none of these things, as to make them believe that they had gone through feas upon dry. land, feen the dead raifed, &c. And without believing thefe, it was impoffible that either the law or the gofpel could have been received.

And the truth of the matters of fact of Exodus and the gofpel, being no otherwise pressed upon men, than as they have practifed fuch public inftitutions, it is appealing to the fenfes of mankind for the truth of them; and makes it impoffible for any to have invented fuch stories in after ages, without a palpable detection of