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of years, so that we are convinced that none but God could have known or foretold them.

The first of these prophecies which we shall select for illustration, will be that one which relates to the siege of their city, and the distress incident thereon. It was thus predicted: "The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth." This enemy was to be cruel, oppressive, and unrelenting, until he had utterly destroyed them. "And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down wherein thou trustedst." None but God could then know that they would have a city with walls and gates; and no human mind could then conceive the distress of that siege and overthrow. "The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, and toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear; for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates." (Deut. xxviii. 49–58.)

These predictions were fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. Every particular seems to have been accomplished, even to the utmost letter of it, the eagle, the ensign of the besieging nation, being specified. Vespasian and Adrian, the two great conquerors and destroyers of the Jews, literally came from the ends of the earth, viz., from commanding in Britain. They spared neither old nor young of either sex; and the distress was so great from famine, that wives snatched the food out of the mouths of their husbands, and so did parents from their children, and children from their parents. All natural affection and ties appeared to be abolished; and "the tender and delicate woman,”- -a woman illustrious for her family and riches, -boiled her own child, and ate part of it, and hid the remainder for future sustentation. And every feature of this fearful prophecy was fulfilled in the experience of the Jews. These predictions were uttered when the Israelites were a wandering tribe in the wilderness, and when they were without one city of habitation; and for centuries before the founders of that empire were born, by whose armies they were besieged and destroyed. Fifteen hundred years elapsed before this prophecy was finally accomplished; and yet that which was to be done in the secret chambers was fully revealed. No human mind could have conjectured such circumstances at so distant a period, much less have described them with such minuteness; and the only rational conclusion is, that the man who uttered them was under the inspiration of God.

Another prediction consequent upon those to which we have just referred is equally demonstrative of divine inspiration. "And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again; and there ye shall

be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you." (Deut. xxviii. 68.) This, also, was fulfilled under Titus: innumerable multitudes of the Jews were carried into Egypt by ships, and sold for slaves; thousands of them died of starvation; unknown numbers perished by shipwreck; and the remainder, for whom purchasers could not be found, were massacred.

There is one of these prophecies so evident to ourselves that we cannot pass it without observation: it refers to the dispersion of the Jews into all the earth, and the contempt in which they should be held by all the nations into which the Lord should drive them; the fulfilment of which is now transpiring, and which is a direct tangible and impressive witness to the truth and divine inspiration of the prophet who uttered the prediction : "And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the Lord shall lead thee." (Deut. xxviii. 37.) That the nationality of the Jews should be preserved for so many centuries of dispersion into all nations, is of itself a miracle; and yet such is necessary for the fulfilment of this prophecy: they are, therefore, an astonishment; and that they are a proverb and byword even to this day, we are personal witnesses. Three thousand years have passed into eternity since this prediction was uttered, and yet we see it daily fulfilled. God knew this, and made it known as a witness for Himself, and for the inspiration of His servant; and so long as the Bible shall be read, and the Jews be a distinct people, so long will the God of the Bible have a standing witness in the earth that He knows all things, and can declare that which is to come. We imagine no stronger proof can be given of a divine revelation than that which is derived from prophecy, that it carries irresistible conviction to a candid mind, and that it is perfectly demonstrative of divine inspiration.

8th. Thus have we glanced at the "External Evidence" of the divine origin of the Holy Scriptures, each section of which is quite unexceptionable. Those who were contemporary with the men who wrought miracles must have been convinced that they acted by divine authority; and the miracles recorded in the Bible were of such a character that no fraud could have been practised in the accomplishment of them; they were manifestly proofs of a commission from God; and the monuments and records of their reality are the highest historical authorities in the world. The prophecies of the Bible are not less satisfactory and demonstrative to us, who could not be witnesses of the miracles: indeed, prophecy is as much a miracle as any effect upon the material universe. If any difference can be supposed, prophecy stands the highest; for it demonstrates universal prescience, as well as almighty power. That cannot be other than divine knowledge which runs through ages, centuries, yea, thousands of years, with unerring precision; but in the case of the Jew we have seen such knowledge, and the record of it is tenaciously preserved by those against whom it is spoken. That eye which is omniscient traced the wanderings of the unborn Jew, and beheld his terror, his oppressions, his sorrows, and distresses. His groans, his cries, his

sighs, his enemies' curse, and his oppressors' taunt, were heard by the Holy One of Israel, and described by the mouth of inspiration, before the nations whither he was driven were formed, or even anticipated by any human mind. And we imagine nothing can be stronger proof to us that the men who wrote the Bible were divinely inspired, than the fulfilment of its prophecies.

III. Internal Evidence that the Scriptures are a revelation from God. 1. This evidence, as the term implies, is derived from the Scriptures alone which possess within themselves proofs that they are inspired. This evidence comprises the excellency of their doctrines, the harmony and connexion between all their parts, their beneficial tendency, their perfection, and their effects.

2. The holy Scriptures excel all other books in doctrine. If the Bible be a divine production, all its doctrines must be true; they must be perfectly adapted to the nature and state of mankind, must embrace the present and eternal condition of all men, and reveal every truth requisite to be known for the direction and happiness of the human race. We have no hesitation in affirming that the doctrines of inspired truth excel all others in these and in every other view respecting the requirements, duties, and government of men as rational and immortal creatures, and that nothing can be added to or taken from them to make them better or more complete than they are. Glorious and adequate views of God are furnished by the Bible, so that every thing requisite for man to know of the divine Being is therein revealed. The nature, state, origin, and destiny of man, and of the creation in general, are therein made known. How fallen men can be restored to the image and favour of their Maker, and obtain the remission of their sins, and restoration to purity and holiness, is clearly declared; all moral and relative duties are defined and enjoined; and the final judgment and future destiny of all mankind are explicitly revealed. The wisest lawgivers, the greatest philosophers, the sublimest poets, and the collective wisdom of the world, have never been capable, without divine assistance, of giving mankind any solid ground upon which the soul can rest; but the word of God is sure, it contains all that is requisite for direction, instruction, and consolation in life and death, and opens to our view the glories of eternity.

3. The harmony and connexion between all the parts of Scripture is another internal evidence of their divine origin. When we consider the length of time from the commencement to the finishing of divine revelation, the number of persons employed to declare its truths, and the variety of character, of occupation, of age, of intellectual capacity, and literary attainments of the inspired writers; and when we find them all agreeing with each other respecting the most profound, incomprehensible, and difficult topics which can engage the human mind, the only reasonable conclusion at which we can arrive is, that they were all under the inspiration of One Spirit, who is the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.

Uninspired men differ from each other in opinion, in sentiment, in

ability to describe events and circumstances, and are thus either contradicting each other, or their discrepancies in recording a transaction create a difficulty in ascertaining the exact truth. The holy Scriptures present no such difficulty, but the utmost agreement is found in all their authors. This agreement exists not only between the writers of one age or dispensation, but throughout the whole period of inspiration: neither distance of time, nor change of dispensation, nor diversity of occupation of the sacred writers, causes any contradiction of sentiment, record, faith, or doctrine. In these all agree, whether patriarch, prophet, or apostle; whether they are men of finished literature, as Moses, Daniel, and Paul; or whether they are herdsmen and fishermen, as Amos, Peter, and John. It is true, God did not give to any one of them the entire revelation of His will, so as to supersede or render unnecessary the writings of any or of every other, but to each one his part, which, though complete in itself, is only a section of one grand and united whole. Some received larger and clearer manifestations of the divine mind than others; but no one ever received any thing contradictory to any other, nor any thing unnecessary for completing the Scriptures, so as to constitute them one perfect divine revelation. An indissoluble connexion is also found in the systems of doctrines contained in these successive discoveries. The religion of the Bible has not changed since the fall of our first parent, and it never will change: the outward circumstances have been altered, but the religion itself has not; its identity has been retained through every external manifestation of it. This harmony and connexion pervade all the inspired writers; they all teach us the fall of man from his original rectitude; reconciliation to God by Jesus Christ; and the renewing and sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit. The preceptive parts of Scripture teach us uniformly the love of God, and the love of all mankind. This universal harmony and connexion demonstrate, that all the holy Scriptures came from one source, that is, from God.

4. The beneficial tendency of the Scriptures is also included in the internal evidence of their divine origin. In all nations where the Scriptures are unknown, men have fallen into either savage or refined vice. The souls of men are polluted with every evil imagination, and their outward actions are the expressions of their inward corruption. Ignorance, superstition, and misery are the invariable results of the absence of divine revelation, without which men become degenerated both in body and mind, and are the slaves of evil passions and general wickedness. But wherever the Scriptures are known, men rise in every position, both as citizens of this world, and of the world to come. Communities are raised in the scale of morality; individuals are improved in their inward enjoyments and state, and in their just and equitable deportment toward their fellow men. The knowledge of useful arts and of all things which ameliorate the condition of mankind follows the light of inspiration. Good and beneficial laws ensue, security is obtained, and peace and plenty result. The soul finds the true element of its bliss in the worship and service and

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realization of God. The mind is expanded by the knowledge of the past and future; and a general sobriety is induced. Personal, domestic, and relative happiness abounds: and the Bible is the remedy of all the moral evils to which we are exposed; it teaches us how to pass through this world, and how to attain eternal life in the world to come: if all men were to conform themselves to its teaching, all would be happy; wars would cease to the ends of the earth, violence would no more be heard, but all would dwell in harmony and love: every man would be contented with his lot here, and possess a lively hope of eternal glory hereafter: death would be divested of its terrors: to live would be happiness, and to die would be gain.

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5. The perfection of the Scriptures is another internal proof that they are divine. In them, every thing of the past, present, or future, that is requisite for man to know, is revealed; creation, providence, and grace are made known, and a complete rule of human actions given. The nature and character of God are therein revealed; every thing injurious to our present or eternal state forbidden, and every thing beneficial enjoined. "The law of the Lord is perfect," and is capable of making those who observe it perfect. All moral and relative duties are explicitly defined, and authoritatively enforced. Every motive that can induce confidence and trust in God is exhibited, and the plan of salvation is declared to be available to all mankind. Yea, the inspired volume is so perfect, that it challenges friends and foes to present a more complete code of laws, to devise a purer scheme of morality, to add a salutary injunction, to hold out an additional motive to virtue, trust, confidence, and hope, to present a more complete scheme of salvation, or a more efficient plan of restoration, to enforce obedience by higher sanctions, or to devise more terrible punishments for the disobedient; and, consequently, to present a more effectual barrier to evil, or to exhibit greater rewards for patient continuance in well-doing, or higher incentives to virtue. So perfect is this inspired word, that nothing can be added to it, or taken from it, without injury; it has its foundation in the eternal One, and it bears the moral image of its great original, who is perfect, holy, just, and good.

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6. The effects wrought by the Scriptures are classed amongst the internal evidences that they are divine. The Old Testament Scriptures are declared to possess of power converting the soul," of "making wise the simple," &c.; (Psalm xix. ;) and the New Testament Scriptures claim to be "the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." (Rom. i. 16.) Innumerable instances may be adduced in which this divine power has been demonstrated. In the days of the apostles, the Gospel proved itself to be spirit and life to multitudes of opposers and blasphemers; they were subdued by its truth, and became obedient to the faith they once attempted to destroy. The Gospel triumphed over the idolatry and superstitions of Rome, Ephesus, Athens, Corinth, and other seats of Satan; it raised thousands of barbarians into the privileges of the sons of God; and made the bondman a free man in Christ. It triumphed every

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