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in their place in the Jewish Wars*. Suetonius, Tacitus, Dio Caffius, have, all three, written of the reign of Tiberius. Each has mentioned many things omitted by the rest†, yet no objection is from thence taken to the refpective credit of their hiftories. We have in our own times, if there were not fomething indecorous in the comparison, the lifet of an eminent perfon, written by three of his friends, in which there is very great variety in the incidents felected by them; fome apparent, and perhaps fomé real contradictions; yet without any impeachment of the fubftantial truth of their accounts, of the authenticity of the books, of the competent information or general fidelity of the writers.

But these discrepancies will be still more numerous, when men do not write hiftories but memoirs; which is perhaps the true name and proper description of our Gofpels that is, when they do not undertake, or ever meant to deliver, in order of time, a regular

Lard. part i. vol. ii. p. 735, et feq. Ib. p. 743

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and complete account of all the things of importance, which the perfon, who is the fubject of their history, did or faid; but only, out of many fimilar ones, to give fuch paffages, or such actions and discourses as offered themselves more immediately to their attention, came in the way of their enquiries, occurred to their recollection, or were fug gefted by their particular design at the time of writing,

This particular defign may appear fometimes, but not always, nor often, Thus I think that the particular defign which St. Matthew had in view whilft he was writing the hiftory of the refurrection, was to attest the faithful performance of Chrift's promife to his disciples to go before them into Galilee; because he alone, except Mark, who feems to have taken it from him, has recorded this promife, and he alone has confined his narrative to that fingle appearance to the difciples which fulfilled it. It was the preconcerted, the great and most public manifeftation of our Lord's perfon. It was the

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thing which dwelt upon St. Matthew's mind, and he adapted his narrative to it. But, that there is nothing in St. Matthew's language, which negatives other appearances, or which imports that this his appearance to his disciples in Galilee, in pursuance of his promife, was his first or only appearance, is made pretty evident by St. Mark's Gospel, which uses the fame terms concerning the appearance in Galilee as St. Matthew uses, yet itself records two other appearances prior to this: "Go your way, tell his difciples. and Peter, that he goeth before you into Galilee, then shall ye fee him as he faid unto you." (xvi. 7.) We might be apt to infer from these words, that this was the first time they were to fee him; at least, we might infer it, with as much reason as we draw the inference from the fame words in Matthew ; yet the hiftorian himself did not perceive that he was leading his readers to any fuch conclufion; for, in the twelfth and two following verfes of this chapter, he informs us of two appearances, which, by comparing the order of events, are fhewn to have been

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prior to the appearance in Galilee. “He appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country; and they went and told it unto the refidue, nei ther believed they them: afterwards he appeared unto the eleven, as they fat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief, because they believed not them that had seen him after he was rifen.'

Probably the fame obfervation, concerning the particular design which guided the hiftorian, may be of use in comparing many other paffages of the Gospels.

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CHAP.

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CHAP. II.

Erroneous Opinions imputed to the
Apoftles.

Species of candour which is fhewn towards every other book, is fometimes refufed to the Scriptures; and that is, the placing of a diftinction between judgement and teftimony. We do not ufually question the credit of a writer, by reafon of any opinion he may have delivered upon subjects unconnected with his evidence; and even upon fubjects connected with his account, or mixed with it in the fame difcourfe or writing, we naturally separate facts from opinions, teftimony from obfervation, narrative from argument.

To apply this equitable confideration to the Chriftian records, much controverfy and much objection has been raised concerning

the

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