"eases," when either of them might have been better left out, than any necessary article of the gospel, to make his history concise.

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We see what our Saviour was sent for. In the next place, let us look into the commission he gave the apostles, when he sent them to preach the gospel. We have it in the tenth of St. Matthew, in these words: "Go not into the way of the gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not. But go rather "to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, PREACH, SAYING, THE KINGDOM of HEAVEN 66 IS AT HAND. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, "raise the dead, cast out devils: freely have ye re"ceived, freely give. Provide neither gold, nor silver,

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nor brass in your purses, nor scrip in your journey; "neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves, (for "the workman is worthy of his meat.) And into

whatsoever city, or town, ye shall enter, inquire who "in it is worthy, and there abide until ye go thence. "And when ye come into any house salute it. And "if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it; "and if it be not worthy, let your peace return to

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you. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor "hear your words; when ye depart out of that house, "or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land "of Sodom and Gomorrha, in the day of judgment, "than for that city. Behold I send you forth as sheep, "in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as ser"pents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men; "for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they "will scourge you in their synagogues. And ye shall "be brought before governors and kings for my sake, "for a testimony against them and the gentiles. But "when they deliver you up, take no thought, how or 66 what ye shall speak for it shall be given you in that same hour, what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the spirit of your Father, which "speaketh in you. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child, and "the children shall rise up against the parents, and "cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated

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" of all men, for my name's sake: but he that en"dureth to the end shall be saved. But when they per"secute you in this city, flee ye into another; for verily

I say unto you, ye shall not have gone over the cities "of Israel until the Son of man be come. The disciple " is not above his master, nor the servant above his "lord. It is enough for the disciple, that he be as "his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have "called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much ". more shall they call them of his household? Fear them "not therefore; for there is nothing covered, which "shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be "known. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in "light; and what ye hear in the ear, that preach yé "upon the house-tops. And fear not them which kill "the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather "fear him, which is able to destroy both soul and body "in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? "And one of them shall not fall to the ground without "your Father. Father. But the But the very hairs of your head are all "numbered. Fear ye not therefore; ye are of more "value than many sparrows. Whosoever therefore shall "confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father, which is in heaven. But whosoever shall "deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father, which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at "variance against his father, and the daughter against "her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her "mother-in-law. And a man's foes shall be they of "his own household. He that loveth father and mo"ther more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that "loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy "of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and fol"loweth after me, is not worthy of me. He that "findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his "life for my sake, shall find it. He that receiveth you, "receiveth me: and he that receiveth me, receiveth "him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in "the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet's re"ward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the

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"name of a righteous man, shall receive a righteous "man's reward. And whosoever shall give to drink "unto one of these little ones, a cup of cold water "only, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you,

he shall in no wise lose his reward. And it came to "pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding "his twelve disciples "

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"

This is the commission our Saviour gave his apostles, when he sent them abroad to recover and save "the "lost sheep of the house of Israel." And will any of the unmasker's intelligent and observing men say, that the history of the scripture is so concise, that any passages," any essential, any material, nay, any parts at all of the apostles commission," are here omitted by "the sacred penman?" This commission is set down so at full, and so particularly, that St. Matthew, who was one of them to whom it was given, seems not to have left out one word of all that our Saviour gave him in charge. And it is so large, even to every particular article of their instructions, that I doubt not, but my citing so much, "verbatim," out of the sacred text, will here again be troublesome to the unmasker. But whether he will venture again to call it tedious, must be as nature or caution happen to have the better on it. Can any one, who reads this commission, unless he hath the brains, as well as the brow of an unmasker, allege, that the conciseness of the history of the scripture has concealed from us those fundamental doctrines, which our Saviour and his apostles preached; but the sacred historians thought fit by consent, for unconceivable reasons, to leave out in the narrative they give us of those preachings? This passage here, wholly confuteth that. They could preach nothing but what they were sent to preach: and that we see is contained in these few words, "preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at "hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils;" i. e. acquaint them, that the kingdom of the Messiah is come, and let them know, by the miracles that you do in my name, that I am that King and Deliverer they expect. If there were any other necessary articles that were to be believed, for the

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saving of the lost sheep they were sent to, can one think that St. Matthew, who sets down so minutely every circumstance of their commission, would have omitted the most important and material of it? He was an ear-witness, and one that was sent and so (without supposing him inspired) could not be misled by the short account he might receive from others, who by their own, or others forgetfulness, might have dropped those other fundamental articles, that the apostles were ordered to preach.

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The very like account St. Luke gives of our Saviour's commission to the seventy, chap. x. 1-16, "After "these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, "and sent them two and two before his face, into every city and place, whither he himself would come. "Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore "the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth "labourers into his harvest. Go your ways: behold I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the 66 way. And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, "Peace be to this house. And if the Son of peace be "there, your peace shall rest upon it; if not, it shall re"turn to you again. And in the same house remain,

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eating and drinking such things as they give for "the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house "to house. And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they "receive you, eat such things as are set before you. "And heal the sick that are therein, and SAY UNTO THEM, "THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS COME NIGH UNTO YOU. "But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, even the very dust of your city, which "cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you; notwithstanding, be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God "is come nigh unto you. But I say unto you, that it "shall be more tolerable, in that day, for Sodom, than "for that city. Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto "thee, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been "done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in

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you, they had a great while ago repented sitting in "sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable "for Tyre and Sidon, at the day of judgment, than "for you. And thou Capernaum, which art exalted "to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell. He that "heareth you, heareth me: and he that despiseth you, despiseth me: and he that despiseth me, despiseth "him that sent me."

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Our Saviour's commission here to the seventy, whom he sent to preach, is so exactly conformable to that which he had before given to the twelve apostles, that there needs but this one thing more to be observed, to convince any one that they were sent to convert their hearers to this sole belief, That the kingdom of the Messiah was come, and that Jesus was the Messiah: and that the historians of the New Testament are not so concise in their account of this matter, that they would have omitted any other necessary articles of belief, that had been given to the seventy in commission. That which I mean is, the kingdom of the Messiah is twice mentioned in it to be come, verse 9 and 11. If there were other articles given them by our Saviour, to propose to their hearers, St. Luke must be very fond of this one article, when, for conciseness sake, leaving out the other fundamental articles, that our Saviour gave them in charge to preach, he repeats this more than

once.

The unmasker's third particular, p. 76, begins thus: "This also must be thought of, that though there are "several parts and members of the christian faith, yet "they do not all occur in any one place of scripture." Something is in it, (whether owing to his will or understanding, I shall not inquire,) that the unmasker always delivers himself in doubtful and ambiguous terms. It had been as easy for him to have said, "There are "several articles of the christian faith necessary to be

believed to make a man a christian," as to say, (as he does here,) "There are several parts and members "of the christian faith." But as an evidence of the clearness of his notions, or the fairness of his arguing, he always rests in generals. There are, I grant, several