taken care of by the Gadarens; and the Swine, whether they belonged to the Jews or Gentiles, might juftly be deftroyed by Jefus, confider ing him as a Prophet fent from God, and acting by the Authority of him, who is Proprietor of all the World; and, laftly, that before the coming of Chrift, there were few or no Exorcifmns among the Jews; or that if there were any, they were but a Proof and Confirmation of the Truth and Reality of what our Saviour did of this kind, THE 12th Section treats of his Transfiguration on the Mount. Whereupon it is objected, That Chrift being the Wisdom, as well as the "Power of God, 'tis hard to conceive, for what end and purpose he thus transfigured himfelf, why he did it on a Mountain, rather than in a Valley; and why before Friends "and Followers, rather than Enemies and Unbelievers, unless there was fome management in the thing: That his Apoftles may be juftly enough fufpected of partiality; or, being in "a vehement fright, might make feveral miftakes in their Account of it, as it feems likely they did, from their telling us, that Mofes and Elias were at the Transfiguration, and did confabulate with Jefus, without ever fignifying the Reafon why thefe two Prophets appeared only; or mentioning one "Word of the Difcourfe which paffed between. them, tho' of the laft importance for the "Chriftian World to know." To which it is replied, That the proper Ufe and Defign of our Saviour's Transfiguration was, to fortify his Apoftles against what fhould fhortly come upon both their Master and themselves; that as to the Place where the Transfiguration was wrought wrought, fome Analogy might be had to what befel Mofes on Mount Sinai; but no Umbrage could be given for any Sufpicion of the leaft Fraud or Impofture: That the Teftimony of three competent Witneffes was fufficient for the purpose, and fome disturbance might poffibly have accrued to the State, (which our Saviour was always far from encouraging) had the whole Multitude been admitted to the fight of it; and, laftly, that, at this Transfiguration, there is great reafon to prefume that Mofes and Elias were both prefent in their proper Perfons, and difcourfed with Chrift on the great argument of Man's Redemption by his meritorious Death and Paffion, " T THE 13th Section treats of his healing the Woman of her Iflue of Blood. And to this it is objected, "That the Evangelifts being very -inaccurate in their manner of defcribing Difeafes, it is no eafy matter to determine what this Woman's Disorder was; tho', in all probability, it was a very flight Indifpofition, a "little bleeding of the Nofe, or fome other Evacuation, (fince he was able to press thro® the Croud to come at Chrift) and that her Cure was effected, rather by the Strength of her own Imagination, than any Virtue pro"ceeding from him upon her touching his 66. Garment." To which it is replied, That as the Evangelifts write in a plain and familiar manner, adapted to the Capacity of all; and like Hiftorians, not like profeffed Phyficians or Chirurgeons; fo they could not have impofed upon the World by falfe or unfair Accounts of Chrift's miraculous Cures, had he not actually done them: and, that it appears from the Context, that this Woman's Diftemper in particu lar lar (tho' it might not hinder her from getting to Chrift) was above the Power of Imagination to cure, and removed only by Christ's fanative Virtue, in conjunction with the Strength of her own Faith in him, THE 14th Section treats of his curing the Woman of ber Spirit of Infirmity, to which it is objected, "That St. Luke (who was a Phyfi 1 cian) had he been Mafter of his Profeffion, "could not but have given us a full Reprefenta❝tion of this Woman's Malady; and yet all that he tells us of it is, that he had a Spirit of weakness, i. e. that he was a poor-fpirited "Creature, of a difconfolate and dejected Temper; and therefore her Cure could be "nothing elfe but Jefus's coming to her, and "giving her fome comfortable Advice and Ad"monition: whereupon fhe, having an high "Opinion of his Wifdom and Goodness, might "recover, and afterwards become more brisk "and chearful; fo that taking the Devil out "of the question, fhews nothing at all in the "Cure. To which it is replied, that according to the Defcription given us by St. Luke, the Condition of this Woman was convulsed, and convulfed by a Tenfion of the Mufcles, which bend the Body forward; and that the immediate Caufe of this her Infirmity, was from the influence of an evil Spirit: That it is manifeft from Scripture, as well as the acknowledgement of all Ages, that there were fuch Spirits before Chrift; that there are Reasons to be given, why, before his Advent, their Appearances and Ope rations were more frequent; that there are grounds to believe, that they have their Influ ence and Power of acting even ftill; and, that upon these Confiderations, as well as the whole 1 tenour tenour of the Context, wherein we have the Governour murmuring, Chrift justifying his Action, the Woman glorifying God, and People rejoicing at what they had feen, it plainly appears, that the Woman's Cure was truly miraculous. THE 15th Section treats of bis prophetical Converfation with the Samaritan Woman. Where it is objected, "That all this was no more than mere Fortune-telling, that Jefus, by *fome private Intimations or other, might get intelligence of this Woman's Life; and, by the help of these, firlt raise her Admiration, and then poffefs her with a notion of his being the Meffiah, which we find him more ready to declare to her, than ever he was to wiser People." And to this it is replied, That the Samaritans, who received the Law of Mofes, did thereupon found their Expectation of a Meffias to come: That our Saviour, upon feverál Occafions, declared himself to be that Meffias, and for what Reafons he might, at this time more particularly, difcover it to this Woman; and laftly, that he could have no previous knowledge of the Woman, because this was the first interview he ever had with her, and the manner of his Converfation with her, wherein he endeavours to inftruct her in the moft fublime Truths, is not at all agreeable to the Character of an Impoftor. " THE 16th Section treats of his curfing the barren Fig-tree. To which it is objected, That if not a malicious and ill-natured Act, for any wife Man to do; that it is incongruous to think, that Jefus, who was God as well as Man, fhould be driven to fuch extremity of Hunger, this was too abfurd and ridiculoud, That "fhould "fhould not know that the Tree was barren before he came to it; or fhould be fo un"reasonable as to expect Fruit on it, at an im"proper Seafon; that had there been Fruit "on it, he, however, without leave from the "Owners, had no right to gather it, much lefs to curfe the Tree, which was certainly a "paffionate Act, of high Injustice, and not at "all fuitable to the beneficent Nature of his "other Performances." To which the Anfwer is, That fince our Bleffed Saviour, who took not on him the Nature of Angels, but the Seed of Abraham, was in all things made like unto his Brethren, and subject to Hunger, and the other innocent Infirmities of human Nature; which nevertheless he thought not proper, by any miraculous means, to remedy, or to exert his divine Power upon every little Occurrence of Life; fince it is apparent, both from facred and prophane History, that there were in Judea Fig-trees of a very early kind, which had Fruit in full Maturity, before the time of the Paffar ver or at the time, when our Saviour, in his return to Bethany, went to find Fruit on this, nor are the Words of St. Mark incompatible with this Circumftance; fince this Tree, barren as it was, was nevertheless intended to be the Subftance of a Miracle; and, by its hafty withering away at our Saviour's Execration, a Type and Figure of the speedy Deftruction of the Jewish Nation; fince had it borne Fruit, its ftanding in the way made it of common Right, or had it been enclosed, a particular Law [Deut. xxiii. ver. 24, 25.] provided for that purpose, fubmitted it to the Ufe of every Traveller, who was minded to gather of it and, laftly, fince a Miracle of this kind, ferving 3 to |