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racters. Is this the man, who is to confute the holy fcriptures? Weak champion of an unworthy caufe!

What he means by an inconfiftency between Lukei.34, 35. and Luke xiv. 22. I cannot understand, and conclude there must be an error of the prefs, of which I think no author can have lefs reafon to complain than David Levi.

These two unprofperous attacks being the whole of what he attempts upon the inconfiftency of the facred hiftorians with themselves, I fhall no longer detain my readers, than whilft I notice one more cavil, which this author points against the divine miffion of Chrift, as compared with that of Mofes, viz. That God fpeaking with Mofes face to face in the prefence of fix hundred thoufand men, befides women and children, as mentioned in Exod. xix. 9. was fuch an effential proof of the divine miffion of Mofes, as is wanting on the part of Jefus; and therefore he concludes, that taking the miracles of Mofes and this colloquy with the Supreme Being together, the evidences for him aremuch stronger than for Chrift.

A man, who does not inftantly difcern the
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futility of this argument, muft forget all the feveral incidents in the hiftory of Chrift, where the voice of God audibly teftifies to his divine miffion; for instance Matth. iii. 16, 17. And Jefus, when he was baptized, went up ftraitway out of the water, and lo! the heavens were opened unto him, and he far the Spirit of God defcending like a dove, and lighting upon him; and lo! a voice from heaven, faying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleafed. The fame is repeated by Mark, i. 10, 11.; again by Luke, iii. 21, 22.; again by John, i. 32, 33,

34.

If these fupernatural figns and declarations do not evince the fuperiority of Chrift's miffion above that of Mofes; if Christ, to whom angels ministered, when the devil in defpair departed from him, Christ, who was transfigured before his dif ciples, and his face did fhine as the fun, and his raiment was white as the light, and behold! there appeared unto them Mofes and Elias talking with him; Chrift, at whofe death the vail of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent, and the graves were opened, and many

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many bodies of faints, which flept, arofe, and came out of the graves after his refurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many; in conclufion, if Chrift, whose refurrection was declared by angels, feen and acknowledged by many witneffes, and whose afcenfion into heaven crowned and completed the irrefragable evidence of his divine miffion; if Chrift, whofe prophecies of his own death and refurrection, of the destruction of Jerufalem and the fubfequent difperfion of the Jews, have been and are now so fully verified, cannot, as our caviller afferts, meet the comparison with Mofes, then is the Redeemer of loft mankind a lefs fublime and important character than the legiflator of the Jews.

I have now attempted in the first place to discover how far the world was illuminated by right reafon before the revelation of Christ took place; for had men's belief been fuch, and their practice alfo fuch as Chriftianity teaches, the world had not ftood in need of a Redeemer.

The refult of this enquiry was, that certain perfons have expreffed themselves well and juftly upon the fubject of God and reli

gion in times antecedent to the Christian æra, and in countries where idolatry was the eftablished worship:

That the nation of the Jews was a peculiar nation, and preserved the worship of the true and only God, revealed in very early time to their fathers, but that this worship from various circumftances and events, in which they themselves were highly criminal, had not been propagated beyond the limits of a small tract, and that the temple of Jerufalem was the only church in the world, where God was worshipped, when Christ came upon earth:

That from the almost universal diffusion of idolatry, from the unworthy ideas men had of God and religion, and the few faint notions entertained amongst them of a future state of rewards and punishments, the world was in fuch deplorable error, and in fuch univerfal need of an inftructor and redeemer, that the coming of Chrift was most seasonable and neceffary to falvation:

That there were a number of concurrent prophecies of an authentic character in actual. existence, which promised this falvation to the world, and depicted the person of the Meffias,

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Meffias, who was to perform this mediatorial office in fo ftriking a manner, that it cannot be doubted but that all thofe characteristics meet and are fulfilled in the perfon of Chrift:

That his birth, doctrines, miracles, prophecies, death and paffion, with other evidences, are fo fatisfactory for the confirmation of our belief in his divine miffion, that our faith as Chriftians is grounded upon irrefragable proofs:

Laflly, That the vague opinions of our own diffenting brethren, and the futile cavils of a recent publication by a distinguished writer of the Jewish nation, are fuch weak and impotent affaults upon our religion, as only ferve to confirm us in it the more.

If I have effected this to the fatisfaction of the ferious reader I fhall be moft happy, and as for those who feek nothing better than amusement in thefe volumes, I will apply myself without delay to the easier task of furnishing them with matter more fuited to their taste.

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