heal'd all manner of Infirmities by his miraculous Power and when his Disciples brought him Meat he refused it saying he had Meat to eat which they knew not of and that his Meat was to do the Will of him that sent him He lived in extream Poverty and Want He had not where to lay his Head and was destitute not only of the good things of this World but of all the lesser Conveniences of this Life And yet we see when he sent for an Ass and Fole to ride into Jerusalem with the Owners let them go and when he ordered to have such a room prepared for him to eat his last Supper in 't was presently got ready for him and both upon the bare Saying of his Disciples that the Master had need of them His Meekness Lowliness and Humility are very conspicuous throughout his whole Conduct and Behaviour and in several particular Instances as his conversing freely with Persons of the meanest Rank chusing such to be his constant Companions and most intimate Friends declaring that he came to minister to others and not to be ministred to ordering those he cured not to publish what he had done for them refusing to be King when the People would have made him so washing his Apostles Feet c. Notwithstanding which in many other Instances he discovers himself in very signal Characters of Greatness Majesty and Power For not to mention what we have before rank'd under the Stile of Miracles and Prophecies he taught as one having Authority so that not only the People but their Rulers and Teachers were astonished at his Doctrine he reproved the Scribes and Pharisees with Boldness he enter'd into Jerusalem with all the highest Solemnities of Triumph and drove out of the Temple all those that prophaned that Holy House by applying it to common Uses he spake the Word and whoever he call'd immediately left all they had and followed him he took upon him to forgive Sins and he gave his Disciples the same Power as likewise a Power against unclean Spirits to cast them out and to heal all manner of Sickness and all manner of Diseases to tread on Serpents and Scorpions and over all the Power of the Enemy so that nothing should by any means hurt them Besides all which and many other Marks of Greatness Power and Authority that appeared in the Actions of Christ the things which he declares of himself and which are attributed to him by his Disciples give us a much higher Idea of him He says of himself that he is greater than the Prophet Jonah and Solomon he proves that David call'd him his Lord he affirms that before Abraham was he is that Abraham rejoiced to see his day that he is the Christ the Messiah expected and prophesied of the Son of God the Way the Truth and the Life that all things are delivered to him of the Father who was Lord of Heaven and Earth and that all things which the Father hath are his that he and the Father are one that he is in the Father and the Father in him that he came forth from his Father when he came into the World that he is the Bread of Life that came down from Heaven that this Bread is his Flesh which he will give for the Life of the World that he has overcome the World that no Man took his Life from him but that he laid it down of himself and had Power to take it again and that when he leaves the World he goes to his Father He owns that he is a King but that his Kingdom was not of this World He tells us that all Power is given to him both in Heaven and in Earth that hereafter he should be seen sitting at the Right Hand of the Power of God and that he will come in his Glory and all the Holy Angels with him to judge the World that then he shall sit upon the Throne of his Glory and before him shall be gathered all Nations and receive their Sentence from him according to their Works He assures his Twelve Apostles that he will send the Comforter to them who shall teach them all things and guide them into all truth and show them things to come that he himself will be with them always unto the end of the World that whatsoever they shall ask the Father in his Name that he will do that he will prepare a place for them in his Fathers House and that when he comes to judge the World they shall sit upon twelve Thrones judging the twelve Tribes of Israel To all those that labour and are heavy laden he promises that they shall find rest to those that sell what they have and follow him that they shall have Treasure in Heaven to those that love him that they shall be loved of his Father and that his Father and he will come and make their abode with them Whosoever drinketh of the water that he shall give him he says shall never thirst but that water shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life and whoso eateth his flesh and drinketh his blood hath eternal life and he will raise him up at the last day He tells one of the Thieves upon the Cross That he should be with him that day in Paradise and in general to all those that believe in him and obey his Word and Commandments he gives assurance of Salvation and Eternal Happiness in another World besides many other occasional Blessings and Assistances in this and those that will not believe in him and obey his Gospel he threatens with Eternal Punishment in another life and with many Troubles and Calamities while they continue here Agreeable to which Declarations made by himself are the Language and Practice of his Disciples to him and of him in his Life time and after his Death They call him Lord and God Preach Baptize and Bless in his Name and attribute a great many glorious things to him which are in other places in the same Manner and Expression attributed to the One Only Supream God They Worship him when alive with all the external signs of Divine Adoration and Pray to him after his Death and expect all manner of Grace Assistance and Spiritual strength from him here and an Eternal Reward of their Labours Sufferings and Obedience from him hereafter And as these are all Evident Marks and Tokens of an amazing Greatness and Power in Jesus Christ so are all his Sermons and Discourses his manner of Preaching and Conversing and the whole Scheme both of his Life and Doctrine manifest proofs of an extraordinary kind of Wisdom It does not appear from the History of the Gospel or any other parts of the New Testament that Christ had read any other Book but the Old Testament or that he had had the advantage of being instructed in the meaning and sense of that by any Master or Teacher whatsoever yet we find him Teaching Reasoning Answering Questions that were put
upon the prospect of which the whole Religion is founded might not shock the Faith of Mankind what wiser and more convincing Method could be taken than by various Instances of things actually done in their Presence of as strange and surprizing a Nature as those foretold and some of them of the very same kind as the Resurrection of the Dead Ascension into Heaven c. How I say could Men be better satisfied than by such present Experience of the Divine Power that nothing was impossible to God and that there might be such things in a Future State which Eye had not yet seen nor Ear heard nor had entered into the Heart of Man to conceive Thus have I proved in short that the Prophecies Miracles and Doctrines contained in the New Testament and consequently the whole Christian Religion which were before shewn to exceed all Humane Reach and Capacity did certainly proceed from God After which proof the third thing proposed will be very easily made out viz. that 't is very improper and absurd to ascribe these things to Evil Spirits All that we know of Good or Evil Spirits without Revelation is that there have been some Men unaccountably assisted by some invisible Power to say and do certain things which they knew they could not have said or done without such Assistance that if what was said or done this way was serious and concerning and seem'd to contribute any thing to the Good of Men it was reckoned to proceed from a Good Spirit appointed by the Supreme God for that End if the things said or done were Trifling or Hurtful they were thought to come from Evil Spirits permitted by the Supreme God to Amuse or Punish Men and that Sacrifices and other Religious Rites were performed by the Persons particularly concern'd to express their Thanks to the One or to appease the Other these Good and Evil Spirits being esteemed as Gods of a Lower Order who had different Offices assign'd them by the Supreme In the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament we have a more particular account of Good and Evil Spirits the first occasion of their Distinction and their different Offices and Imployments as such and there we find that what was said or done by Angels or Good Spirits was by the express Order and Command of God and is Attributed to him in the same manner as if it had proceeded immediately from himself and what was said or done by Devils or Evil Spirits was by the Permission of God for the Trial or Punishment of Men. The Power God suffered Evil Spirits to Exercise and the Signs and Wonders he permitted them to do in order to tempt Men from the Belief or Practice of those things he had injoined and commanded them were so easily distinguishable from the positive express Manifestations of Divine Power that any Man was justly to be Condemn'd for being deceived by them For besides that Miracles done by the help of Evil Spirits were Pascal as a Judicious Author well observes always foretold or outdone or both and consequently could never be of force enough to invalidate a Divine Revelation Besides this I say the Works of the Devil and the Doctrines of Devils are so contrary to the Reason and truest Interests of Mankind and so easily known to be so especially when compared with the Doctrine of God and the Fruits of it that no Miracles or Signs whatsoever can be sufficient to establish their Credit And therefore 't is very absurd and contrary to all that the Scriptures inform us of concerning Devils or Evil Spirits to suppose that they should imploy all their Power and Cunning to promote a pure and holy Service of One God and to destroy all the Pretences of Superstition and Idolatry 'T is contrary to all the Policy of the Kingdom of Darkness as our Saviour argues that it should be divided against it self and that some Evil Spirits should disturb and oppose the rest when they are all carrying on the same Work But neither Jews Christians or Heathens ever entertained any such Notions of Devils or Evil Spirits as to make them the Authors of any thing that recommended and establish'd what they call'd Vertue in the World or contributed to the Peace Welfare or Happiness of Mankind 'T is manifest then that such a Scheme as we have seen the Christian Religion is could not be Contrived and Propagated through the World in such a manner by Evil Spirits neither was it possible that the first Preachers and Professors of this Religion should derive their extraordinary Characters from the Possession and Influence of Devils These are such Notorious Truths that there is no need of further Inlargments upon this Head Thus have I finished what I undertook under my Second General and by a full and direct Proof made it very Evident that all the principal Matters of Fact related in the New Testament are true III. I shall strengthen and confirm the same Truth by shewing the improbability and absurdity of a contrary Supposition and the weakness of all the Difficulties and Objections rais'd against the Scriptures and the Matters contained in them which is the third thing I proposed to make good in order to my main Design which is to establish a firm Belief of the Christian Religion and all the Obligations of it It has been sufficiently proved already that if all the common Matters of Fact related in the New Testament or only the principal of them such as have been before mentioned are true in the Manner and Circumstances there set down it necessarily follows from hence that the Miracles and Prophecies there Recorded must be true also and if the Miracles and Prophecies are true they must certainly be the Effects of Divine Assistance and Revelation and consequently the Doctrines delivered by Persons so assisted must come from God This I say has been fully made out beyond all possibility of a a reasonable Contradiction and every thing that could be supposed all the different Accounts that could be given of these Matters in order to invalidate the strength of the Inferences drawn from them have been shewn to be false and groundless The next Pretence which the Enemies of Revealed Religion make use of in the behalf of Infidelity is that the whole Body of the Scriptures of the New Testament are Forged and Suppositious that all the principal Matters of Fact there Recorded with all the Strange and New Doctrines built upon them were purely the Inventions of Men and that the Books were given out by the Contrivers of them as containing the Revelations of God in order to Establish their Credit and Authority in the World This is the worst that the utmost Malice of Scoffers and Unbelievers can suggest but the Folly and unpresidented Absurdity of this Plea will easily appear upon a slight Examination of it For first 'T is very manifest from what has been said already that it has been a constant and universal Tradition in this part
and worship God in Spirit and in Truth with purity of heart and intention to submit our Wills to his and to aquiesce in all the dispensations of his Providence with the utmost resignation of Mind and Judgment possible To love our Neighbours as our selves to do unto all Men as we would they should do unto us to forgive and love our Enemies to bless and pray for those that despightfully use us and persecute us to do good against evil and to endeavour as much as in us lies to live peaceably with to do good unto and to promote the Salvation of all Men. To deny our selves and to mortifie all our Lusts and Affections to take off our Affections from things on the Earth and set them upon things above and to have our conversation in Heaven to live chastly and soberly in this present World avoiding all manner of excess and intemperance to bridle our Tongues to take care that we offend not in word and to bring every thought into Captivity to the Law of Christ to think lowly of our selves with all humility preferring each other to humble our selves in the presence of God and when we have done all that we can to say we are unprofitable Servants to take up the Cross of Christ and not only to bear Afflictions patiently but to glory in them and rejoyce that we are thought worthy to suffer These and all other the particular Duties derived from them we are required constantly and sincerely to endeavour to perform without a willful allowance of our selves to offend in one point or to do evil that good may come of it and whenever we have transgress'd any of these Rules of Life prescribed us to act by we are immediately to break off our sins by repentance All which we are obliged to do for the Glory of God in pure obedience to his Word and Command in love and gratitude for all the Mercies we receive from him and in hope and expectation of enjoying Eternal Happiness and escaping Eternal Misery in another life and upon no other account or prospect whatsoever these being the only true Ends and Motives of Human Action and the only Grounds of Duty and Obligation We have considered the Character of Jesus Christ and taken a short view of the Gospel or Religion he taught and recommended to Mankind In the next place let us see who and what sort of Men they were that first believed in him who assisted in the publishing and propagating his Gospel and who they were that opposed the Establishment of it and persecuted Christ and all that bore Testimony to him Those that were any ways concern'd in the receiving publishing and propagating the Gospel of Christ were John his Forerunner his Twelve Apostles other Apostles and Disciples and such as were particularly set apart for the Ministry and Common Believers John who is stil'd The Forerunner of Christ and one that was to prepare the way before him was born of Parents who were righteous before God and walked in all the Commandments of the Lord blameless his Conception and Birth were attended with many extraordinary Signs and Wonders then it is said of him That he grew and waxed strong in Spirit and was in the Desarts till the day of his shewing unto Israel and his Rayment was of Camels hair and his Meat was Locusts and wild Honey afterwards he came Preaching in the Wilderness of Judea saying Repent ye for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and many were baptized of him in Jordan confessing their sins all he Preached to and baptized he acquainted with the Character and near approach of Jesus Christ whom in a particular manner he preferr'd to himself and and by that means satisfied them that he was not the Christ which before they doubted of Little more is recorded of his Preaching or Discourses but only some particular advice to some Persons that enquired of him what they should do and his reproof of the Multitude that came to him and of Herod for which last he was put in Prison by him and afterward beheaded He did no Miracles but the Austerity of his Life the Authority of his Preaching and Baptizing and the Holiness of his Conversation made him lookt upon by all People as a Prophet Jesus Christ says of him that he was more than a Prophet and even Herod himself that beheaded him fear'd him while alive and observ'd him and when he heard him he did many things and heard him gladly knowing him to be a just Man and a holy The Twelve Apostles were all of them Persons of a low Rank and mean Occupations all the time they followed Christ they seem'd not to be fully acquainted who he was or what he design'd several of his Discourses they understood not but wondered what the meaning of them should be they were several times by their Master reproach'd for want of apprehension and knowledge in the Scriptures after the plain Discourses he had made of himself to them and for want of Faith and Courage notwithstanding the many Miracles and mighty Works he had done before them and they themselves had done by his Commission they lookt upon him as a Temporal Messiah or Deliverer who was to restore the Kingdom again to Israel and they had several little Contests among themselves who should be greatest in the Kingdom they fancied their Master came to establish they acknowledg'd him to be the Christ the Son of God but they seem'd not to have rightly understood what they said when he was apprehended to be put to death one of them betrayed him all the rest were offended because of him and fled but one of them that return'd after him solemnly deny'd him and immediately repented and he that betrayed him repented and hang'd himself After his death we find some of them bewailing themselves as disappointed in all the hopes and expectations they had conceived of him and when it was reported that he was risen again none of them would believe it till they saw him themselves and one of them was more remarkably incredulous in this point than the rest till he had received the satisfaction he desired But after the Ascension of Christ and the choice of another Apostle in the room of him that had hang'd himself we find the Twelve Apostles maintaining a different Character from what they had in their Master's life-time Now they appear perfectly instructed in all things concerning Christ whatsoever before seem'd strange to them either in his Actions or Discourse is all unriddled and the Scriptures which before were difficult to be understood are now made plain and manifest And as their Knowledge is enlarg'd their Faith is strengthened no doubts or distrusts are now entertain'd but they Preach the Gospel of Christ with Authority and full Assurance insomuch that we find many more converted at their Preaching than at Christ's they are endued with new Powers which they had not whilst their Master lived and which did not shew forth
them Among the Chief Rulers many believed on him but did not confess him lest they should have been put out of the Synagogue His Country-men acknowledg'd that mighty Works were wrought by his hands but were offended because so mean a Person did them whose Birth Relations and Education they knew The Gergesenes were astonished at the wonderful Things he did though they besought him to depart out of their Coasts And the Devils confessed his Power before they were cast out though he came to torment them before the time A great many were convinced of the Truth of his Miracles but did not hearken to what he taught because none of the Rulers or Pharisees believed on him and because they took him for a Galilean and thought that no Prophet arose out of Galilee Several would not believe on him because they knew whence he was and when Christ came no Man they supposed knew from whence he was though they were thus answered by others who believed when Christ cometh will he do more Miracles than these which this Man has done Some were entirely satisfied of his Miraculous Power by being healed by him as Nine of the Ten Lepers and nevertheless regarded him not Abundance of People accompanied him where-ever he went and were continual Witnesses of the Signs and Miracles done by him and yet followed him not for the sake of them but because they were fed by him And many there were that believed in his Name when they saw the Miracles that he did but Jesus did not commit himself to them because he knew all Men. So that all these bore Testimony to the Truth of the greatest part of Christ's Miracles as well as those who became his Disciples and imbraced his Doctrine But other Miracles there are Recorded of Christ which were done in the presence of his Apostles and Disciples only who already believed on him some of which continually attended him and others of them were very frequently with him Several of these Miracles were done in his Life-time sometimes before the whole Twelve who are peculiarly Styled Apostles sometimes before a Select Number of the Twelve sometimes before a promiscuous Company of his Apostles and Disciples together After his Death he appeared at several times to different Persons and different Companies but his Resurrection and whatever he did or said during Forty Days Conversing upon Earth after he was risen his Ascension into Heaven and Mission of the Holy Ghost with many extraordinary Signs and Wonders none were Witnesses of but his own Disciples and Followers and therefore the Truth of all these Miracles must principally depend upon the Credit of the Disciples of Christ that relate them Besides all these wonderful things immediately attributed to Christ himself we meet with several others in the New Testament which are represented as done by some other Power but are such as have a manifest relation to Christ and are designed to confirm the truth of his Pretences Such were the Appearance of Angels to Mary the Mother of Christ Zachariah the Father of John and to the Shepherds the appearance of a Star in the East to the Wise-Men the Dumbness of Zachariah and other Signs that attended the Birth of John and Christ the Dove and Voice from Heaven at the Baptism of Christ the Darkness Earthquake Renting of the Vail of the Temple and Resurrection of dead Bodies at his Crucifixion Several of these things could not be known immediately to the Evangelists that relate them or to any other Disciples of Christ but to those only whom they are told of and upon their credit we must in a great measure rely for the truth of them but several of them were very publick and consequently the truth of these rests upon the Testimony of a great number of Witnesses besides those that relate them In this manner are the Miracles of Christ and all the Wonders and Signs that accompanied him from his Conception to his Mission of the Holy Spirit upon his Apostles Related and Attested in the New Testament But of the same Jesus Christ who has so many wonderful things there reported of him it is farther testified that he conferred a power of working Miracles upon a great many of his Followers who believed in him and that a great many Miracles were accordingly performed by their Hands In his Life-time 't is said that he gave this Power to Twelve Apostles and Seventy Disciples whom he sent out into all the Towns and Villages of Judea with a Commission to Preach his Gospel to cast out Devils and to cure Diseases and they went about Preaching the Gospel and Healing every where and the Devils were subject to them through his Name This we have their own Testimony for and whoever were Cured or Dispossessed by them and all that saw what they did are so many more Witnesses of the Miracles they wrought but none of the Particular Facts or Circumstances of them are mentioned After the Ascension of Christ we read that the Twelve Apostles being all with one accord in one place received a larger power of working all kind of Miracles by the Mission of the Holy Ghost who according to the promise of Christ was to be constantly with them to guide and assist them in the whole course of their Ministry This Power immediately shewed it self by their speaking in several different Languages before unknown to them the Witnesses of which Fact are not only these Apostles themselves but a great many others that heard them Parthians and Elamites and the Dwellers in Mesopotamia and in Judea and Cappadocia in Pontus and Asia Phrygia and Pamphylia in Egypt and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene and Strangers of Rome Jews and Proselytes Cretes and Arabians who were amazed to hear Galileans speak in their Tougues the wonderful things of God Those also confirm the truth of the Fact who foolishly imputed it to New Wine After this we read of a great many other Miracles of different kinds performed by several Apostles and Disciples who received their Power immediately from Jesus Christ and by the account that is given us of them we find that the particular Facts were more numerous more frequent and more publick then those of their Master Christ himself The time of Christ's Ministry was but Three Years or thereabouts the Exercise and Manifestation of his Power was confined to the Country of Palestine and whatever mighty things he did he did them in his own single Person Whereas the Apostles and Disciples of Christ were a great many all which were constantly imployed in Preaching the Gospel and confirming it every where with Signs and Wonders during the whole course of their several Lives and they performed this Work with Diligence not only in Judea and Samaria but in divers other Cities and Countries throughout the whole Roman Empire By which Account it plainly appears that most of the same Persons who were Witnesses of those Miracles of Jesus Christ were also Witnesses of those
of the World they continued still in their Sins and never lived up to those holy Rules he prescribed These who never felt the power of the Christian Religion could never be so concerned for the Interests of it as constantly to vouch and maintain an unprofitable Lye in its defence when 't is very probable they might have had easier Consciences and better Fortunes for disproving the Pretences it was built upon Others of them made Shipwrack of their Faith and turn'd again unto those beggarly Elements or Idols they were freed from neither can these be suspected of justifying what they knew to be false in behalf of a Religion they had forsaken 'T is more reasonable to suppose had they been privy to any deceit that they would have been very zealous in the discovery of it Then as to those who rejected the Authority and Doctrine of Christ and continued in the Religion they were at first Educated in notwithstanding all the Miracles they saw who as we find by the History of the Gospel were frequently reproached by Christ and his Apostles for their Infidelity and obstinate adherence to the Religion and Traditions of their Fathers the greatest part of whom and those Persons of the greatest Dignity Authority and Learning among them made it their business to Persecute Christ and his Apostles and all that professed the Christian Religion 'T is plainly as impossible to imagine that Persons of this Character should agree to own the truth of Christ's Miracles which they knew to be false as that honest sincere Christians who abhorred a Lye and were throughly perswaded Eternal Misery was the certain Punishment of Lying should conspire to deceive the World by contriving spreading and continually supporting what they were sure was the grossest Cheat imaginable But without considering the Characters of the Witnesses the Manner and Circumstances in which they first gave Testimony to the truth of Christ's Miracles makes a confederacy to deceive utterly impossible For in many Instances of Publick Miracles in the New Testament we find that upon the sight of something done by Jesus Christ the whole Multitude of Spectators immediately declared their Belief and Admiration by openly glorifying God or expressing their Wonder to one another So that it plainly appeats from hence that they were all severally convinced of the truth and wonderfulness of what they saw before they could know one anothers Minds concerning it and therefore the agreement of their Testimony could not be the effect of any antecedent concert among themselves Thus have I evidently proved the truth of the Publick Miracles of Jesus Christ and whatever has been said upon this Subject will hold with the same or rather greater degrees of certainty concerning the Publick Miracles of the first Apostles and Disciples of Christ who received that Power immediately from their Master and of all other Christian Believers to whom the same Gifts were conveyed by their Hands For the Signs and Wonders Recorded to have been done by any of them were as easily known and distinguished by vulgar Senses and Capacities as those of Christ the Characters and Circumstances of the Witnesses so far as concerns the credibility of their Testimony was very near the same But the number of those who by an intimate consciousness of their own Power knew they performed such Works of those who felt the Effects of this Miraculous Power in themselves and of those who saw the External Signs and Appearances of it in the Facts that were done was very far greater than in the former Case and the impossibility of a general agreement to deceive more manifest here than there and consequently the truth of all these Facts is as evident as that of the other before proved As to the more Private Miracles done by Jesus Christ himself in the presence of his Disciples only and the Signs and Wonders imployed by some other Power for the manifestation of Christ to a few chosen Persons we have these reasons to believe them true The Facts were of the same nature and as easy to be known and discerned as the other before mentioned the several Witnesses of these things which happen'd at several times taken altogether were a great many which makes an agreement of them all to deceive and a constant invincible Perseverance in a Cheat very difficult to imagine the Characters of them as far as appears from the History of the New Testament were such as leave no room to suspect the Fidelity of their Relation for they are all of them the Apostles and first Disciples especially who are principally concern'd in the present Cause represented as honest sincere undesigning Persons that feared God and loved Mankind that were free from Pride and Vanity and were so far from seeking their own Interest or Advancement in this World that they were despised and set at nought and evilly intreated whereever they came and were as to this Life of all Men most miserable for constantly asserting the truth of the Resurrection and Ascention of Christ and such other Facts now in question all which they were as firmly perswaded of as of any of the Publick Miracles of Jesus Crrist and several of them they Preach'd up as more necessary and impottant to be believed Besides all this many of these Miraculous Facts which were fully discovered only to a few were accompanied with several Circumstances more publickly known with which they have so near and almost necessary a connexion that 't is very difficult to imagine these Circumstances should be true and not the principal Facts also as will easily appear from the Instance of the Resurrection of Christ In the account of which wonderful Fact we find that it was known to the Chief Priests and Pharisees among the Jews that Christ had said while he was yet alive after three Days I will rise again for which reason they make Application to Pilate to secure his Sepulchre that his Disciples might not come and steal him away by Night and take occasion from thence to give out he was risen from the Dead The Sepulchre was accordingly made sure by rolling a great Stone to the Door of it by Sealing the Stone and setting a Watch But 't is further said that at the time appointed and foretold for the rising of Christ there was a great Earthquake and that then the Angel of the Lord descended from Heaven and rolled back the Stone from the Door of the Sepulchre and sat upon it that his Countenance was like Lightning and his Raiment White as Snow that the Keepers saw all these things and for fear of the Angel did shake and became as dead Men Afterwards we read that some of the Watch came into the City and shewed unto the Chief Priests all the things that were done that the Chief Priests when they were Assembled with the Elders and had taken Counsel gave large Money to the Souldiers to say his Disciples came by Night and stole him away while they Slept which the Souldiers