they are themselves perfect, they are able to make the man of God perfect; which they could not do if there were any imperfection in them at all. The alteration of a word will frequently change the meaning of a sentence; and if the Scriptures were not perfect, men would be constantly, as they might suppose, improving them; and had such a supposition not been repudiated from the beginning, long ere this the Scriptures would have been so altered as to have been wholly corrupted; and probably the meaning would now be totally lost in obscurity; and they would thereby have lost their glorious character as the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. Thirdly, in respect of their infallibility and certainty. He who esteems them less than fully inspired, cannot consider them infallible, neither can he wholly and unreservedly commit himself to their direction. As the basis of his confidence and hope, he must consider them uncertain; and, if so, he is left without an infallible directory to which he can commit himself in the most solemn concerns of his present or future existence. But he who esteems them to be fully inspired, finds them a sure foundation both for time and for eternity.

PART II.

EVIDENCES OF THE DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE SCRIPTURES.

I. Presumptive evidence. 1. The possibility of such a revelation. 2. The probability of it. 3. The necessity of it. 1st. From the capacity of man for moral government. 2nd. From the ignorance of man respecting God. 3rd. From his ignorance respecting the worship of God. 4th. From his ignorance concerning the past, and also of the future destiny of mankind. II. External evidence. 1. The evidence of miracles. 1st. This evidence conclusive to those who witnessed them. 2nd. A miracle defined. 3rd. A miracle an unusual event. 4th. A miracle not necessary in the natural, but in the moral, government of God. 5th. A real miracle will bear the closest investigation. 6th. Many miracles recorded during the period of inspiration. 7th. All authenticating miracles ceased with divine revelation. 8th. Some Old Testament miracles noticed. 9th. The New Testament miracles. 10th. The Scripture miracles possess all the marks of genuineness. 11th. The Old Testament miracles tested. 12. The commemorative institutions of them. The commencement of the year changed. The feast of the Passover instituted. All the firstborn of the children of Israel sanctified to the Lord. 13th. The New Testament miracles tested. 14th. The commemorative institutions of them. The Lord's Supper. Baptism. The Lord's Day. The Christian ministry. 2. The evidence of prophecy. 1st. God Himself appeals to it. 2ud. Prophecy defined. 3rd. This evidence applicable to us in the present day. 4th. Prophecy an evidence of divine knowledge. 5th. Scripture prophecies not ambiguous, but plain and direct. 6th. The chain of prophecy. 7th. The argument applied. 8th. Conclusion. III. Internal evidence. 1. Its character stated. 2. The Bible adequately and exactly adapted to man. 3. The harmony and connexion of all the parts of Scripture. 4. The beneficial tendency of the Scriptures. 5. Their perfection. 6. Their effects. IV. Collateral Evidence.

1. Its sources noticed. 2. Uninspired history. 3. Geology. 4. Monuments, medals, &c. 5. Uninspired writers and objectors. 6. Conclusion.

I. PRESUMPTIVE evidence that the holy Scriptures are a revelation of God.

1. There is a possibility of such a revelation. This possibility is apparent from the power of God, who is able to make such impressions and significations upon the human mind as He sees to be requisite; and also from the suitability of the intellectual faculties of man to receive such impressions and significations. No doubt can be entertained by any one who believes in God, but that He possesses the power and understanding requisite to communicate His mind to man. To Him with whom all things which do not imply a contradiction are possible, whose power is almighty, and whose understanding is infinite, there cannot be any impediment to the revelation of His will to an intelligent creature, who is capable of receiving such a revelation. An infinite and eternal Spirit must know all things, and have access to all minds in the universe; He, therefore, can give direction to thought, or impress ideas upon the human mind, or give instruction according to His own will. There is, therefore, no impediment to the revelation of the divine mind or purposes to man; neither is there any hindrance to the assurance that such is a divine communication; for he who can teach man knowledge, can also teach him the source from whence it is derived.

2. It is probable that such a revelation would be made to man. God invariably acts in accordance with wisdom, rectitude, and love; and the relation which exists between Him and His creatures renders it proper that He should be their Governor; and, in the case of man, who is an intelligent creature, a moral agent, and responsible for his actions, it is imperative that he should be placed under a law comporting with his nature and destiny. It would have been contradictory to wisdom, rectitude, and love, to have given existence to a creature capable of moral government, and to have left him without a rule of action. Such an omission is in the highest degree improbable, if not impossible. Destitution of divine knowledge is inimical to the happiness of the human soul; the possession of it has been the desire of the wisest and best men of every age, as the chief good. As our intellectual faculties were given us by God, it is a reflection upon His wisdom, rectitude, and love, to suppose that He has so endowed a creature, without intending that his powers should be exerted, or, if exerted to the utmost, should fail to attain the object of their pursuit. The glory of the Creator, and the happiness of man as a creature, are so involved in this event, that we may legitimately conclude, that it is not only probable, that God would make a revelation of Himself and of His will to man, but that it is highly improbable that it should be otherwise.

3. It is necessary that God should make a revelation of His will to man. When, however, we say there is a necessity for the revelation of the divine will, it is not to be understood in an absolute

sense. God cannot be necessitated by any power or motive external to Himself; but there is a moral necessity for such a revelation arising from His own immaculate purity and rectitude; a necessity under which He has voluntarily laid Himself for the fulfilment of His own designs; and which arises from the relations and obligations existing between the creature and the Creator.

1st. Man is capable of moral government. Government supposes a law to which the subject is amenable, and in accordance with which his actions are to be performed. Every creature must be governed by some law, which in the nature of things must be the will of the Creator. An intelligent creature, such as man, is capable of instant mental action; and the claims upon him as a subject of the divine government being commensurate with his existence, render it necessary for the regulation of his whole conduct, that he be instantly made acquainted with the design of his existence, and the rule of his action. A sensible and communicated manifestation of the Creator's will is requisite for an intelligent creature, that he may not be left in doubt or uncertainty respecting his deportment, which would be the case without such a revelation. Wherefore we conclude that the moral government of God renders it necessary that He should make such a revelation of His will as might be perfectly understood as a rule of action; and this necessity, arising from such relations, must be indissoluble and universal; so that, in the case of man, who is now a fallen creature, this assertion is equally applicable as it was during his original state; although we may reasonably conclude that the revelation must be in accordance with his moral condition and position in the divine government. In a state of rectitude the inclinations of man naturally accorded with the will of his Maker: in his fallen state he is wholly estranged from Him; he has lost all divine knowledge, and is a rebel against his lawful Sovereign. If there was a necessity for man to have a divine rule for the government of his actions when he was pure and holy, that necessity must certainly exist now he is fallen from rectitude and truth; and also such a revelation must be extended to his present requirements, and must agree with his general fallen condition, so as to embrace him perfectly, not as a creature merely, but also as fallen from holiness, and yet, through grace, capable of restoration.

2nd. That a necessity exists for a perfect revelation of God and of the divine will to man in his fallen state is evident from the ignorance in which all men are involved through sin. No man or number of men have been able, unaided by divine revelation, to form any adequate notions of God, or to acquire the knowledge of His will, or to devise a form of worship acceptable to Him. If this knowledge had been attainable by unassisted man, certainly it would long since have been discovered. But we find not a ray of light, either among the wise of ancient or modern days, upon this important subject, except such as, either directly or indirectly, has been derived from the fountain of inspiration.

The histories of all nations of antiquity, and of the present day,

prove, that where there is no inspired revelation, there is no correct knowledge of God. The multiplied forms by which Deity has been represented, demonstrate that all idolaters were in time past, and still are, without this knowledge. Almost every object in creation has been deified; representations of men, of four-footed beasts, birds, and creeping things, have been used in endless variety by the highest and lowest classes of idolaters as objects of adoration. The sun, the moon, and all the hosts of heaven, have been worshipped as deities; and when all nature has failed to supply an object, the mind has united the most unseemly and monstrous combinations to supply the defect. Every such effort shows that the knowledge of the true God was either lost or not acquired; and the multitude of absurdities and contradictions which resulted from such conceptions, made the more thinking part of the heathen suppose, either that there was no divine Being, or that they were wholly ignorant of Him. Hence we conclude, that there is a necessity for a direct revelation from God, that we may be made acquainted with His glory, and with His claims upon us.

3rd. Again, the necessity of a divine revelation is apparent from the ignorance of mankind respecting the mode of true and acceptable worship. All men and all nations have proved themselves to be ignorant of this. Rites and ceremonies the most absurd and impious have characterized the service of men unacquainted with divine revelation. Obscene ceremonies, corporeal tortures, and murderous sacrifices, have ever been the features of false worship. The deluded votary, in the restless anxiety of his mind after peace, has made sacrifices of the dearest blessings of life, and has perpetrated acts of appalling cruelty, and even murder, to propitiate an imaginary deity; and has, after his utmost endeavours to obtain favour, found himself involved in deeper woe. The cruel and sanguinary rites of ancient and modern idolaters show the necessity of being taught from an infallible source that worship which is acceptable to God, and which alone can bring peace to

man.

4th. And, lastly, the total ignorance of man respecting the past, and also of the future destiny of mankind, is evidence of the necessity of such a revelation. That no man could have known the truth concerning the creation of the world, and of all things therein, without divine teaching, is manifest. No man can know the things which transpired previously to his existence, except by the testimony of others who were acquainted with them; and, without revelation, the first man could not have known anything more of the origin of the world, or of himself, than the last; and hence the foolish opinions of the wisest heathens respecting the origin of the world and of man to dwell upon it. And as they were not acquainted with the events of creation, so neither were they with those obligations which arise from the relationship of the creature to the Creator, and of one creature to another; nor with the future destiny of the human race. It is granted that some few vague notions of a future existence were occasionally received by some distinguished heathens; but the manner in which they treated this solemn subject shows great darkness and uncertainty

respecting the real character of immortality; and that the doctrine exerted very little, if any, moral influence upon them. These subjects are highly important, both in respect to the present and future welfare of man; and they could not have been known, unless they had been revealed by One who is not only acquainted with all things from the beginning, but also who knows what shall be hereafter for ever; and hence we perceive the necessity of that revelation which He has given us in His holy word.

II. The external evidences that the sacred Scriptures are a divine revelation are derived from two sources, viz., miracles and prophecy : these are the most direct and convincing of any of the proofs adduced in confirmation of the divine origin and authority of the holy Scriptures. These are evidences to which God Himself appeals, and which amount to demonstration.

1. The evidence of miracles. In such a transaction as the revelation of His will to man, we cannot imagine that God would leave Himself without an indubitable witness of the reality of that revelation. And as some particular men were employed to declare this will, it was requisite that these should themselves be furnished with such credentials as to command their own attention and belief. And some convincing credential was equally requisite for the satisfaction of those who were to receive their revelations, that they might be certified of the truthfulness and authority of the messenger who came thus attested; and might receive the message, and obey it as an imperative and binding command.

1st. Miracles afforded proof to those who witnessed them, that those who wrought them were sent of God. It was requisite that the inspired men in their own day, and at the time of fulfilling their com. missions, should possess such proofs of their divine call to that work, that those with whom they were immediately concerned, and to whom they were sent, should be fully justified to recognise their position. All subsequent claims of credence would be invalid upon the consideration of miracles, had not those who witnessed them been convinced of their reality, and also that they were attestations of a divine commission; so that they were not only convinced that such things transpired, but also that they transpired by direct interposition of God, for the specific object of authenticating the commission of His servant and the declaration of His will. The evidence of miracles is so conclusive, and carries so much conviction to the understanding, that false prophets and impostors of the vilest description, have professed the power to work them, for the purpose of imposing upon their deluded votaries. It will, therefore, be requisite to define what is a miracle.

2nd. A miracle is an act whereby God, by special intervention, produces an effect either contrary or superior to the usual laws of nature; and which is wrought in proof of the divine commission of some particular person, or to establish the divine authority of some particular doctrine.

3rd. A miracle is therefore an unusual act, and one in which God