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tom of the glass, in the same manner that the sand runs through. The Neapolitans (as fit subjects to be imposed upon as the most servile bigotry and superstitious credulity can make them) esteem this annual miracle as a mark of the protection of Heaven, and whenever the blood fails to melt, a general panic ensues. Now, upon a supposition that I have assigned the real cause, the priests can prevent the success of the miracle whenever they please; and accordingly we know that they actually do so, when they have any prospect of advancing their own interest, by infusing a notion into the minds of the Neapolitans that Heaven is angry with their nation P.

But why do I send you to the extremities of Italy, to see this notable miracle performed by papists? An itinerant chymist, some years ago, entertained the protestant inhabitants of Great Britain with the same feat, for the small price of a shilling; and I am told that it is a standing exploit in the experiment room of Mr. King, who, I believe, does not pretend to be a conjurer, or worker of miracles, on the strength of it.

To mention any more standing miracles would

P Some few years ago the court of Naples having quarrelled with the pope, his holiness prevailed upon Januarius not to let his blood melt that year.

q Not only the church of Rome, but the eastern churches also, have their standing annual miracles. An instance of which we have in Maundrell's account of his Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem; where the reader will find a particular description of the manner in which the patriarch of the Armenians brings fire out of the holy sepulchre. This annually repeated operation carries so visibly the air of an imposture, in

be unnecessary, as none I ever heard of can vie in reputation with the melting of Januarius's blood, which, as we have shewn, may be a trick worthy of a juggler, rather than a miracle performed by Hea

ven.

The pretended miracles of paganism and popery have, I hope, been sufficiently exposed by placing them in their true light, as being either the interested contrivances of imposture, or the fanciful misconceptions of credulity. But little has been done to establish the credibility of the gospel miracles, if I rest here; if I do not convince you, by an accurate view of the evidences supporting them, that they can be easily distinguished from those spurious events of the marvellous kind, which infidelity has set up in opposition to them.

This task I now enter upon; and I shall begin it by shewing, that the objections which effectually disprove the miraculous nature of those boasted cures of diseases, just examined by me, will not hold good when applied to the cures performed by Jesus, and recorded in the Gospels.

What, then, was the natural cause which I assigned as adequate to bring about the cures attributed to the intercession of the abbé Paris? This appeared to be strong impressions made on the minds of fanciful enthusiastic persons, by the confidence they had in praying to their saint. Now it is evident that this cannot be affirmed of many of the objects relieved by Jesus.

When he first appeared as a worker of miracles,

the judgment of the ignorant Turks, that it does infinite disservice to the cause of Christianity amongst them.

he stood singly, backed by no sect, espoused by no party. He was not revered, from the beginning, by any number of followers, wrapped up with high notions of his sanctity, or opinion of his power; but gained his followers in consequence of the works which he performed, to make himself known. Nay, far from having any party for him, every body had the strongest prejudices against him. That he was a Galilean, and that he was a carpenter's son, had this effect amongst the Jews. The supplicants at the tomb of the abbé Paris were, previously to their application to him, his followers and admirers, and consequently had the strongest confidence in the efficacy of their application. But how could the obscure, the despised Jesus, find the first persons who were cured by him, with their minds thus affected, with a confidence thus fixed on him? True, indeed, when once his fame had gone about through Judæa, and his reputation had been spread by those whom he had healed, then may we suppose that some of those who were brought before him to be cured, had a confidence and expectation of relief. Yet, even in this period of his ministry, many cures were performed under such circumstances, that the relief received could not be owing to the above-mentioned cause. In the cure of the Roman centurion's servant, related both by St. Matthew and St. Lukes, we may observe, that the sick person was lying at home, and that the application for relief was not made to Jesus by the servant himself, but by his master. A similar instance we have in the case of the nobleman's son of Capernaum related by St. Johnt.

r Matth. viii. 5, &c.

t

s Luke, the beginning of the seventh chapter. John iv. 46.

Again; we have several instances in the Gospels of cures performed on persons who, though present, made no application to Jesus for relief, as not knowing at all, or else not believing, that he had power to heal them. Of this sort are the cures of the infirm man lying at the pool"; of the man born blindx; of the dropsical person, and of him who had the withered handz. In all which cases there could be no impressions made on the minds of the patients, that could contribute any thing to the relief received.

But, secondly; though we were to grant that every one cured by Jesus had a confidence in the efficacy of their application to him, there is one very remarkable circumstance which clearly demonstrates that the benefit they received could not be owing to this cause. And this is, the success of the application to Jesus was equal on all the patients, and every one who applied to him was cured. This fact appears indubitably from the Gospels, and

x John ix. all the chapter. z Mark iii. I-5.

u John v. from the beginning. y Luke xiv. 2, 3, 4.

a It may not be improper to confirm this, by collecting the following texts: Healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. Matth. iv. 23, 24. And he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick. Matth. viii. 16. And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. Matth. ix. 35. Great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all. Matth. xii. 15. And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with

furnishes us with the strongest argument that these cures could not be occasioned by the force of any impressions made on their minds. For, whence

compassion towards them, and he healed their sick, Matth. xiv. 14. And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought unto him all that were diseased; and besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment and as many as touched were made perfectly whole. Matth. xiv. 35, 36. Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them. Luke iv. 40. And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all. Luke vi. 19. From these and many other texts, which for brevity I omit, I think it plain that every one who applied to Jesus was healed. Indeed there is one or two texts which, at first sight, may be thought to contradict this. We read, Mark vi. 5, that Jesus could do no mighty works there, (in his own country,) save that he laid his hands upon a few sick, and healed them. But what St. Mark tells us Jesus could not do, St. Matthew relates simply as what he did not do: and he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief; Matth. xiii. 58. So that from comparing these two texts, it appears that if Jesus did not perform many mighty works in his own country, this was not because there was any failure of power in him, but because of their unbelief, which deprived him of opportunities of displaying his miraculous power, (as few would, in this case, bring their sick to be healed by him,) and which rendered it unfit that he should perform many mighty works among them; as their prejudices against him, on account of his low estate, would, he knew, make his miracles of no effect. He therefore abstained from performing them amongst his countrymen, benevolent even in this, as their guilt would have been aggravated, if, in spite of miracles, they had continued to reject the gospel. And if, in other places of the Gospels, we find Jesus requiring faith, in the persons who applied to him for relief, the reason of this was not that their faith was a cause which contributed to their cure, in a natural way, but only that it rendered them fit objects of having so great a blessing conferred on them.

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