SERMON XII. Sermon Of the Miracles wrought in Confirmation of Chriftianity. The Second Sermon on this Text. HEB. II. 4. God alfo bearing them witness, both with Signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the holy Ghost, according to his own will. Have begun to difcourfe upon thefe words, from which I told you, three things offer themselves to our Confideration. Volume First, That Miracles are a Divine XII. Teftimony to a Perfon or Doctrine, God is here faid to bear witness to the Apostles, by figns, and wonders, and miracles. Secondly, That God gave this Teftimony to the Apoftles, and firft Publifhers of the Gospel, in a very eminent manner; for fo the phrafe fignifies, God bearing them witness with figns, and wonders, and miracles; so many words to the fame fenfe, being purpofely used to fignifie the greatnefs of the thing. Thirdly, The Reasons, why Miracles are now ceafed in the Church, and have been for feveral Ages; fo that there have been no footsteps of this miraculous Power for feveral Ages paft. The first I have fpoken to, and proceed now to the Second Thing which I proposed to confider, viz. That God gave Teftimony to the Apostles, and first Publifhers of Chriftianity, in a very eminent manner; for fo the expreffion in the the Text fignifies, where fo many feveral words are used for the fame Sermon thing, to exprefs according to the XII. manner of the Hebrew Phrafe, the greatness of the thing, God bearing them witness both with figns, and wonders, and divers miracles, and gifts of the holy Ghoft, that is, with many and great Miracles, Kai pero põis,and distributions of the holy Ghoft, according to his own will; that is, God diftributed thefe feveral miraculous Powers and Gifts among the Apoftles and first Preachers of the Gospel; not all to every one of them, but fome to one, and fome to another, as to him feemed beft, and was most for the Benefit and Edification of the Church. The Hiftory of it in fhort is this. When our bleffed Saviour afcended into Heaven, he promised to fend down his Spirit in miraculous Gifts upon his Apostles, to give credit to his Doctrine, and to qualifie them for the more fpeedy planting and propagating of it in the World; and accordingly, not many days after he was afcended into Heaven, as an Evidence of the Power and Glory he was invest ed XII. ed withal, he, according to his proVolume mife immediately before his A cenfion, fent down the Holy Ghoit upon the Apoftles in a vifible manner, that is, in the form of fiery cloven Tongues, as an emblem of one of the principal Gifts they were endowed withal, viz. the knowledge and ability of peaking feveral Languages, which they had never learned. And thus happened upon the day of Pentecoft, that fo the Gofpel might exactly correfpond to the Difpenfation of the Law, which was the type and figure of it. And therefore as our Saviour dyed at the time of the Jewish Paffover, which was the type of his Sufferings; fo the Gofpel, which was the Perfection and fulfilling of the Law, began to be publifh'd at the very fame time that the Law was given from Mount Sinai, viz. at the end of the seven weeks afthe Paffover. For at this time the Holy Ghost defcended upon the Apoftles in miraculous Powers and Gifts; when this new law was to come forth out of Sion, and the law of the Lord from Jerufalem. ~ And among these Gifts, the first Sermon we find mentioned was the gift of XII. Tongues; without which, the Gofpel muft of neceffity have been very flowly propagated in the World: for had the Apostles been first to learn the feveral Languages of the Nations they were to Preach to, how tedious a work would that have been? it requiring the industry of fome years, to gain fo perfect a maftery of a strange Language, as to be able to use it with that freedom and readiness which is neceffary for fuch a work. And this Gift all the Apoftles had, because they had all occafion for it, being defigned by our Saviour to be the chief Publishers of his Gofpel to the World. And this Gift did also continually refide upon them, and not only at fome times, as fome other Gifts did, because they had conftant ufe of this Gift of Tongues. The interpreting of things fpoken in a ftrange Tongue was alfo a Gift diftinct from the Gift of Tongues, tho' attending it; infomuchthat fome Perfons |