when the waters of Jordan were divided, it was not at any low ebb, but at the time when that river overflowed all its 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 sudden: 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, stood and rose up upon an heap, very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan; and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off and the people passed over, right against Jericho." The priests stood in the midst of Jordan, until all the armies of Israel had

pass

ed over. "And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lift 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 up out of Jordan,on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho. And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying; When your children shall ask their fathers, in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? then ye shall let your children know; saying, Israel came over this Jordan, on dry land. For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed 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, forever:" Ch. iv. from ver. 18.

If the passage over the Red Sea, had been only taking advantage of a spring-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 Israel to fear the Lord; when, they must know, that, notwithstanding all these big words, there was so little in it! How could they have believed, or received a book as truth, which they knew told the matter so far otherwise from what it was !

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

Now, to form our argument, let us suppose there never was any such thing as that passage over Jordan; that these stones at Gilgal were set up on some other occasion, in some after age; and then that some designing man invented this book of Joshua, and said it was written by Joshua at that time; and gave this stonage 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 reason 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? Besides, this book tells us, that this passage over Jordan was ordained to be taught to our children, from age to age; and therefore, that they were always to be instructed in the meaning of that stonage at Gilgal, as a memorial of it but we were never taught it when we were children, nor did ever teach our children any such thing: and it is not likely that could have been forgotten, while so remarkable a stonage did continue, which was set up for that, and no other end.

And if, for the reasons before given, no such imposition could be put upon us as to the stonage in Salisbury Plain; how much less could it be as to the stonage at Gilgal.

And if, where we know not the reason of a bare naked monument, such a sham reason cannot be imposed; how much more is it impossible to impose upon us, in actions and observances which we celebrate in memory of particular passages! How impossible to make us forget those passages which we daily commemorate, and persuade us, that we had always kept such institutions in memory of what we never heard of before; that is, that we knew it before we knew it!

And if we find it thus impossible for an imposition to be put upon us, even in some things which have not all the four marks before mentioned; how much more impossible is it, that

E

any deceit should be in that thing where all the four marks do meet ?

This has been shewed, in the first place,as to the matters of fact of Moses.

2. Therefore I come now, secondly, to shew, that, as in the matters of fact of Moses, so likewise all these four marks do meet in the matters of fact which are recorded in the gospel of our blessed Saviour. And my work herein will be the shorter; because all that is said before, of Moses and his books, is every way applicable to Christ and his gospel. His works and miracles are there said to be done publicly, in the face of the world; as he argued to his accusers; I spake openly to the world, and in secret have I said 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 seen, what had been done publicly before their eyes, wherein it was impossible to have imposed upon them. Therefore, here were the two first of the rules before mentioned..

Then for the two second. Baptism and the Lord's supper, were instituted as perpetual memorials of these things: and they were not instituted in after ages, but at the very time when these things were said to be done; and have been observed without interruption, in all ages, through the whole Christian world; down all the way, from that time to this. And Christ himself did ordain apostles, and other ministers of his gospel, to preach, & administer these sacraments, and to govern his church; and that al

ways, even unto the end of the world.* Accordingly they have continued by regular succession, to this day; and, no doubt, ever shall, while the earth shall last. So that the Christian 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 Christians, as the book of Moses 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 Christ, and to continue to the end of the workl; consequently, if the gospel was a fiction, and invented (as it must be) in some ages after Christ; then,at that time, when it was first invented, there could be no such order of clergy as derived themselves from the institution of Christ; which must give the lie to the gospel, and demonstrate the whole to be false. And the matters of fact of Christ, being pressed to be true, no otherwise than as there was, at that time, (whenever the Deists will suppose the gospel to be forged) not only public sacraments of Christ's institution, but an order of clergy likewise, of his appointment to administer them; and it being impossible there could be any such things before they were invented, it is as impossible that they should be received when invented. And therefore, by what was said above, it was as impossible to have imposed upon mankind in this matter, by inven ting of it in after ages, as at that time when those things were said to be done.

3. The matters of fact of Mahomet, or what is fabled of the Heathen deities,do all want some

Matthew xxviii. 20.