HAVING in my firſt diſcourſe, from the words juſt read, attended to the evidence in ſupport of the truth of the Moſaic writings, I now proceed to conſider the truth of the other ſcriptures.

THAT the Iſraelites once inhabited the land of Canaan is as well known, and as univerſally believed by all ſorts of men, as any part of ancient hiſtory. Infidels have never denied this, nor that the Iſraelites were put into poſſeſſion of that country by conquering its former inhabitants. On that conqueſt they have raiſed one of their moſt formidable objections againſt the inſpiration of the Bible. This objection I ſhall conſider in another place. Tho' in conſiſtency with themſelves, they have rejected the account of the miracles which attended the conqueſt, they have admitted the narration in general which is contained in the book of Joſhua, as true.

AFTER the death of Joſhua followed the rule of the Judges; which was ſucceeded by kingly government. Towards the decline of the kingdom of Judah the hiſtory of other nations becomes more authentic, and corroborates ſcripture hiſtory. After the Babylonian captivity the hiſtory of the Jews is more and more connected with that of the Aſſyrians, the Perſians, the Grecians, and other nations. The return of the Jews from Babylon happened about five hundred and thirty-ſix years before Chriſt. The account given of it by Ezra and Nehemiah, whoſe books the deiſts allow to be genuine, confirms the truth of the predictions of Jeremiah and other prophets to whom were diſcloſed the captivity and return of the Jews, before either of thoſe events took place. Beſides, the writings of Ezra and Nehemiah refer to all the hiſtorical books which relate to the children of Iſrael, from the time of Abraham to the days in which they lived. Thus we ſee that the Old Teſtament hiſtory is eſtabliſhed beyond all reaſonable doubt.

IN whatever light infidels are diſpoſed to conſider the Jewiſh prophets who lived before the Babylonian captivity, in the time of it, or afterwards, they cannot deny that ſuch perſons exiſted, without executing a taſk which they have never attempted, and that is the overthrow of the whole hiſtory of the Old Teſtament. The prophecies and the hiſtorical books are ſo interwoven that they muſt ſtand or fall together.

THE difficulties which ariſe from the dates and numbers in the Old Teſtament, are not many; and the few miſtakes in theſe particulars are eaſily accounted for. It would be ſtrange if the tranſcribers of the bible, a book much oftener copied than any other in the world, had in no inſtance erred. The Jews, as well as all the other ancient nations, made uſe of letters to expreſs numbers. The figures in arithmetic, with which we are ſo familiarly acquainted, are not to be found in the writings of antiquity. They were firſt introduced into Europe from Arabia, about a thouſand years after Chriſt. Several of the letters of the Hebrew Alphabet are very much alike in ſhape. A tranſcriber might eaſily miſtake one letter for another, where the ſimilarity between them is very great. An error of this kind might make a numerical calculation very wide from the truth. The Hebrew letter which ſignifies 4, differs very little in its ſhape from the one which ſignifies 200; and the one which ſtands for 8, from the one which ſtands for 400. The errors in copies of the ſcriptures that are of the numerical kind, do nothing towards deſtroying the truth of theſe writings. It has never been contended that the tranſcribers or printers of the Bible, were under immediate unerring ſupernatural influence. Chronological errors, eſpecially in things of ſmall conſequence, have never been conſidered as ſubverſive of profane hiſtory. There is no juſt cauſe why any thing ſhould operate as a valid objection againſt the truth of the ſcriptures, which is conceded to have no weight in ſetting aſide the truth of any other writing. It may be fairly concluded from the perfections of God, that he will preſerve the eſſentials of any book that has a juſt claim to inſpiration. What need we more?

WITHOUT dwelling any longer upon the truth of the Old Teſtament, I ſhall only obſerve, that when it was cloſed by the prophet Malachi, about four hundred years before Chriſt, the Jewiſh church received as authentic the ſame books which we have now in our Bible; and admitted no other as canonical.

As we come down to the New Teſtament, we fall within a more luminous period than that of Moſes and the prophets.

WE are witneſſes of the exiſtence of the chriſtian religion. However much this may have been, or is now, deſpiſed, no writer has undertaken to overthrow the belief that a perſon called JESUS CHRIST, made his appearance in Paleſtine near 1800 years ago, and that he has had followers in the world, from the time of his entrance on his public miniſtry down to the preſent day. The Roman Empire had reached its zenith, and human ſcience had riſen to a higher pitch than in any former period when Jeſus was born. There are now in many hands the writings of poets, orators, and hiſtorians, who flouriſhed a little before and a little after his birth. Theſe authors are held in high repute by thoſe who have a taſte for the fine arts; and the reading of them continues to form a part of a univerſity education. Evidence can be collected from ſome of thoſe eminent performances, in ſupport of the truth of the chriſtian ſcriptures.

A QUESTSON may ariſe in this place, in ſome minds, which demands an anſwer, and that is, why the teſtimony of pagans is appealed to in defence of the goſpel? To this it may be anſwered, that their teſtimony, is the teſtimony of avowed enemies; which according to common ſenſe, and the approved rules of judging, has no ſmall weight. The Heathens cannot be ſuſpected of attempting to build up a cauſe which they have ever ſought to deſtroy; or of aiding in the eſtabliſhment of the facts on which it reſts, unleſs compelled to it by the force of evidence. Let it alſo be remembered here, that the ſuffrages of pagan writers are not collected to prove that the ſcriptures are given by divine inſpiration, but for the ſingle purpoſe of confirming their truth.

THAT the religion of Jeſus Chriſt did exiſt in as early a period as his followers contend, may be fairly gathered from the writings of Tacitus, the Roman hiſtorian, which were publiſhed about ſeventy years after Chriſt's death. Speaking of the fire which happened at Rome about thirty years after the crucifixion, and of the ſuſpicions that the Emperor Nero enkindled it, he proceeds as follows: But neither theſe exertions, nor his largeſſes to the people, nor his offerings to the gods, did away the infamous imputation under which Nero lay, of having ordered the city to be ſet on fire. To put an end therefore to this report, he laid the guilt, and inflicted the moſt cruel puniſhments upon a ſet of people, who were held in abhorrence for their crimes, and called by the vulgar, Chriſtians. The founder of that name was Chriſt, who ſuffered death in the reign of Tiberius, under his procurator Pontius Pilate. This pernicious ſuperſtition, thus checked for a while, broke out again; and ſpread, not only over Judea, where the evil originated, but through Rome alſo, whither every thing bad upon earth finds its way, and is practiſed. Some who confeſſed their ſect were firſt ſeized, and afterwards by their information a vaſt multitude were apprehended, who were convicted, not ſo much of the crime of burning Rome, as of hatred to mankind. Their ſufferings at their execution were aggravated by inſult and mockery, for ſome were diſguiſed in the ſkins of wild beaſts, and worried to death by dogs— ſome were crucified—and others were wrapped in pitched ſhirts, and ſet on fire when the day cloſed, that they might ſerve as lights to illuminate the night. Nero lent his own gardens for theſe executions; and exhibited at the ſame time a mock circenſian entertainment, being a ſpectator of the whole in the dreſs of a charioteer, ſometimes mingling with the crowd on foot, and ſometimes viewing the ſpectacles from his car. This conduct made the ſufferers pitied; and tho' they were criminals, and deſerved the ſevereſt puniſhment, yet they were conſidered as ſacrificed, not ſo much out of a regard to the public good, as to gratify the cruelty of one man.Paley's view of the Evidences of Chriſtianity, Boſton Edition, pages 33, 34.

THAT Tacitus was a bitter enemy to the chriſtian religion no one can doubt who has attended to the foregoing paſſage. It will follow of courſe that this learned pagan adverſary, would have rejoiced at an opportunity to have proved it to be a fable, had it been poſſible. His teſtimony in ſupport of ſome of the principal facts on which it reſts, could have been extorted by nothing but irreſiſtible evidence. We obſerve that he teſtifies that there was ſuch a perſon as Chriſt, that he ſuffered death in the reign of Tiberius, and under the particular government of Pilate. He alſo confirms the account given in the New Teſtament of the temporary check of the prevalence of the goſpel, of the ſpread of it afterwards in Judea, the original or firſt ſpot where it was propagated, and of its extending its influence to Rome; where a chriſtian church was gathered in the ſame age in which Chriſt was crucified.

To the teſtimony of Tacitus might be added that of ſeveral other pagan writers. I ſhall only add that of Pliny the younger, the Roman Governor of Bythynia and Pontus, places remote from the capital. His famous letter to Trajan the Emperor, was written about the ſame time with the paſſage adduced from Tacitus; but relates to the affairs of his own time. He ſpeaks of the chriſtian religion, as a religion well known, and as having made very extenſive progreſs in the places under his immediate government. Speaking of the chriſtians, he ſays, There are many of every age, and of both ſexes—nor has the contagion of this ſuperſtition ſeized cities only, but ſmaller towns alſo, and the open country.Paley's view, p. 36.

PLINY in the ſame letter mentions the worſhip of the chriſtians, and gives explicit teſtimony to the purity of their morals. He writes, That having examined the chriſtians, ſetting aſide the ſuperſtition of their way, he could find no fault; and that this was the ſum of their error, that they were wont to meet on a fixed day, before light, and ſing a hymn to Chriſt as God, and to bind themſelves by a ſolemn oath or ſacrament, not to any wicked purpoſe; but not to ſteal, nor rob, nor commit adultery, nor break their faith, nor detain the pledge.

IT is natural to inquire what teſtimony has been given to the appearing of Jeſus Chriſt, and the progreſs of his religion, by the Jewiſh nation, from which he deſcended as a man. According to the Evangeliſts Chriſt's perſonal miniſtry was almoſt wholly confined to that people, and by their influence he was condemned to die. It is certain that the Jews ever ſince the coming of Jeſus of Nazareth into the world, have admitted that he was born in the days of Herod the great—that he entered upon his public miniſtry in Judea—that he did many wonderful things—that he gained a number of diſciples—that by the inſtigation of their rulers he was put to death—that according to the report of his followers he was reſtored to life on the third day after his crucifixion—and that his religion had an early and extenſive ſpread. The body of the Jewiſh nation did not receive him as the Meſſiah; for they expected, and ſtill expect, a temporal prince under that character. They believed, in the days in which Jeſus appeared, that if he were the promiſed Shiloh, he would have brought them out from under the Roman yoke, and have raiſed their nation to the ſummit of earthly glory. The Saviour whom chriſtians acknowledge, declared, both by words and actions, that his kingdom is not of this world; and condemned in a pointed manner, the reigning corruptions in the faith and practice of the Jews. They rejected this illuſtrious meſſenger of the Lord of hoſts, they charged him with caſting out devils by Beelzebub the prince of devils, and purſued him with implacable malice and rancour until they had brought him to the croſs. We are not therefore to expect honorable mention of Jeſus Chriſt or of his religion by them. Some indeed of the modern Jews acknowledge that the chriſtian Meſſiah inculcated many good moral precepts, and juſtly reproach many of his profeſſed followers with a total want of his ſpirit; but they conſider him ſtill as an impoſtor. On the whole, we can collect as much evidence from the Jewiſh nation in favor of the early exiſtence of the chriſtian religion, as could under all circumſtances be expected; allowing it to be true.

WHEN we recur to the whole ſeries of chriſtian writers, from the beginning of the chriſtian inſtitution down to the preſent time, we find that they all proceed upon the general account, which is contained in our ſcriptures, and upon no other. The ordinances of Baptiſm and the Lord's Supper, and the Sabbath, have been kept up in the chriſtian church from the time of the Apoſtles to the day in which we live. The few exceptions found among ſmall and temporary ſects of chriſtians, do not affect the general argument, or the uſage of the church at large. The foregoing rites conſidered in this connexion, afford no ſmall proof of the facts which they recognize; ſuch as the death and the reſurrection of Jeſus Chriſt, as ſet forth in the hiſtory of the New Teſtament. We juſtly conſider the declaration of the Independence of the United States of America, as a great and memorable event. Should the day on which it was declared, be marked with peculiar public tokens of reſpect from generation to generation, will not evidence be fairly collected hundreds of years hence, by thoſe who ſhall then live, that the political birth of our republic happened on the 4th of July 1776? The application to the ſubject which this ſuppoſition is deſigned to illuſtrate, is too plain to be miſunderſtood.

IN further confirmation of the truth and authenticity of the books of the New Teſtament, we find the four goſpels written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and the Acts of the Apoſtles, are quoted, or plainly alluded to, by a ſucceſſion of chriſtian writers, beginning with thoſe who lived in the ſame age with the Apoſtles, and continuing through all the ſubſequent periods to the preſent time. By the works of thoſe writers it appears that the ſtory of the birth, life, miniſtry, death and reſurrection of Chriſt, and the effects that ſoon followed, was the ſame from the firſt as now. Quotations from the early ages of the chriſtian church, have been made from the Epiſtles as well as from the hiſtorical books of the New Teſtament. Whoever receives the hiſtorical books as authentic and genuine, cannot juſtly doubt concerning the Epiſtles; for the latter proceed on the ſuppoſition of the truth of the former: as muſt appear to every one who attentively reads the New Teſtament. Its hiſtorical books are quoted, or plainly alluded to, by Barnabas, Clement of Rome, Hermas, Ignatius, and Polycarp, as we find by their writings that have come down to us. Thoſe fathers, as is generally admitted, were cotemporary with the Apoſtles, and were the hearers and companions of ſome one or more of the twelve. In the ſecond century from the birth of Chriſt, we collect teſtimony of the kind now under conſideration from the writings of Juſtin Martyr, Irenoeus, Theophilus, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian. In the third century, quotations from, and references to, the New Teſtament, are numerous in the chriſtian writers of that period: among whom are to be enumerated Origen, Dionyſius, and Cyprian. As we advance far into the fourth century, we find the books written by chriſtians to be as full of ſcripture paſſages, as the printed ſermons of modern divines; it is therefore unneceſſary to name any more chriſtian writers under this head. If we be ſatisfied by the teſtimonies in ſupport of the truth and authenticity of the New Teſtament, that can be adduced from the firſt three centuries, we ſhall find nothing to perplex our belief in the ages that have followed.

THE force of the teſtimony which has been brought, is greatly ſtrengthened by the agreement of the ſeveral writers with each other, in their references to the books of the New Teſtament. They alſo refer to thoſe books as clothed with divine authority, and conſider the ſcriptures as the only writings which are given by inſpiration of God. If it ſhould be ſaid that the writers of the ſecond century were kept from contradicting themſelves, or others, in quoting from the New Teſtament, by attending to the quotations made by the writers of the firſt century, and that the writers of the third century obſerved the ſame precaution it may be obſerved. 1ſt. That ſuch an agreement in a forgery, if the goſpel be falſe, among ſuch numbers, in places ſo remote from each other, and for three hundred years, is without a parallel in the annals of mankind; and ſince no miraculous evidence is appealed to for the proof of ſuch an unprecedented fact, the objection has no weight. 2d. The chriſtian writers of the firſt century lived in countries remote from each other. Clement flouriſhed at Rome, Ignatius at Antioch, and Polycarp at Smyrna.

THE identity or ſameneſs of the chriſtian ſtory, in every age ſince it was firſt promulgated, may be fairly concluded from the early collection of the books of the New Teſtament into a diſtinct volume, and the uſe that was made of them. They were publicly read and expounded in the religious aſſemblies of the chriſtians who lived in the early ages. Commentaries were written upon them; and they were tranſlated into different languages. Attempts were alſo made in the infancy of the chriſtian church, to reconcile with each other the different accounts of the four evangeliſts, as recorded in the copy which we have in our hands.

THE uſe that was made of the New Teſtament, in the controverſies that aroſe early in the chriſtian church, tends to the confirmation of the ſubject we are now conſidering. The ſeveral parties appealed to the ſame writings for proof of their reſpective opinions. Moſt even of the heretics acknowledged the whole of the New Teſtament; and the few who did not, received the greater part of it as true, and of divine original. It is eaſy to ſee that the different opinioniſts who had a reſpect for the ſame ſcriptures, to which they had equal acceſs, would ſerve as a check upon each other, againſt attempting any alteration of thoſe writings, had they been ſo diſpoſed. We argue with certainty in this caſe, becauſe we build upon the known feelings of human nature. To render the matter plain, let us come down to controverſies among chriſtians with which we are acquainted. Should the Preſbyterians attempt an alteration of thoſe texts which the Epiſcopalians employ in ſupport of their cauſe, the latter would not fail to detect and expoſe the fraud. The ſame remark may be made with reſpect to the vigilance of the Preſbyterians, in caſe the Epiſcopalians were guilty of the like fraudulent conduct. Were the Pedobaptiſts, or thoſe who hold to infant Baptiſm, to add to, or diminiſh from, the words in the Bible, on which the controverſy between them and the Baptiſts turn, the latter would hold up the deſigned deception to the world. Were the Baptiſts to alter the diſputed paſſages, the Pedobaptiſts would expoſe the forgery, or eraſement. What ever evils have flown from the diviſions in the chriſtian church, we diſcern that good has come out of them in this one reſpect at leaſt—The preſervation of the ſacred volume from being corrupted.

IN this connexion we may ſee, that a ſatisfactory anſwer can be given to the following inquiry, which we ſometimes hear, How ſhall illiterate people know that the preſent copies of the Bible, in the original tongues in which they were written, or in the tranſlation which they have are juſt? As they have no knowledge of thoſe ancient languages, how do they know but that they are deceived about the text? To this it may be replied—that perſons who are unacquainted with the languages in which the ſcriptures were firſt written, have no juſt cauſe to fear that any material errors have crept into the Hebrew or Greek copies, or into their tranſlations; becauſe learned men of various denominations, and who are, ſome of them, very wide apart in ſentiment, appeal to the ſame ſcriptures in their original tongues; and conſtantly ſerve as ſpies upon each other againſt any alteration of moment, either in the tranſcribing or tranſlating of them. The preſent tranſlation of the Bible into our language, is acknowledged by learned men of different denominations, to be done with great judgment and impartiality. The few who have wiſhed to raiſe an outcry againſt it, have not been highly reſpected by chriſtians in general, for their attachment to revealed religion. The preſent tranſlation was finiſhed almoſt two hundred years ago.

IT is indeed true that a knowledge of the languages in which the ſcriptures were firſt written, will be helpful in underſtanding them; becauſe the tranſlators were not wholly clear from miſtakes; and more eſpecially becauſe there are idioms in every language, or peculiar forms of ſpeech, that cannot be completely expreſſed in any other. But the Bible is ſo tranſlated, that no one will be led into any material error by the preſent verſion.

RETURNING from digreſſion, I proceed to obſerve that the ſame hiſtorical books of the New Teſtament, which we have in our hands, were early attacked by the adverſaries of our religion; as by Celſus, in the ſecond century, Porphyry, in the third, and Julian the apoſtate, in the fourth. Theſe learned pagans do not hint at any other hiſtories as received among chriſtians, concerning the life, miniſtry, death, and reſurrection, of Jeſus Chriſt, and the propagation of his religion, but thoſe contained in the four Evangeliſts, and in the Acts of the Apoſtles. Their violent enmity to the chriſtian religion, would have led them to deſtroy or weaken the authenticity of the books which its friends received, had it been in their power. As they never attempted this, but built their objections on the ſame books which are contained in our copies, the evidence is concluſive that the hiſtorical records to which chriſtians appealed then, were the ſame which we now have.

To the foregoing arguments may be added—that many formal catalogues of authentic ſcriptures were publiſhed within four hundred years from the birth of Chriſt, by his followers, which contain all the books both of the Old and New Teſtament, that are received by chriſtians, as canonical at the preſent time.

IT is well known to all who have gone far into the inquiry concerning the truth and authenticity of the New Teſtament, that many ſpurious or apocryphal writings appeared in ſome of the early ages of chriſtianity, under the names of the Evangeliſts, Apoſtles, and other perſons. Such fictions may be accounted for, from the fondneſs of the human mind to enlarge on a marvellous ſtory that had begun to engage general attention in many places, and from lucrative motives. We have certain proof that thoſe forgeries were never received by the chriſtian church as canonical. They did not appear in the firſt century from the birth of Chriſt; in which all the hiſtorical books of the New Teſtament were univerſally known and received by chriſtians. Primitive chriſtians never appear to have had any doubt concerning the truth and genuineneſs of the four Evangeliſts, and the Acts of the Apoſtles, which contain the principal facts on which the goſpel reſts. Of the apocryphal writings few have been preſerved entire to the preſent time. From theſe, as well as from the fragments of the reſt to be collected from other writers, thoſe ſpurious productions, the moſt of them, are diſcovered to be full of trifling, ſilly ſtories and contradictions, and to be compoſed in a very different ſtyle from the books which chriſtians receive. It is however apparent from all thoſe forgeries, that they allude to the ſame general hiſtory of Chriſt and his Apoſtles which is contained in the New Teſtament. None of the apocryphal writings were ever admitted into the ſame volume with the canonical books, nor into the catalogues of authentic ſcripture that have been publiſhed. They were not noticed by the adverſaries of the chriſtian religion in its infancy, nor were they appealed to, as an authority, by any of the ancient chriſtian writers, in their controverſies with each other.The reader who wiſhes to go into a full examination of the truth and authenticity of the New Teſtament, is referred to the authorities which have principally guided the writer of theſe diſcourſes, on that ſubject, viz. Jones's new and full method of ſettling the canonical authority of the New Teſtament, and Paley's view of the Evidences of Chriſtianity. The author regrets that he has not had acceſs to Lardner's Credibility of the goſpel hiſtory.

THE differences in the accounts given by the Evangeliſts concerning the life, miniſtry death and reſurrection of Jeſus Chriſt create no objection to the truth of their hiſtory. Some circumſtances are mentioned by one Evangeliſt which are omitted by another; but on examination it is found that they are all conſiſtent with the general ſtory, and with each other. Differences in hiſtory are not neceſſarily conſidered as contradictions. Two or more writers on the American Revolution, may mention different facts, and yet their narrations may be harmonious. The genealogies of Chriſt given by Matthew and Luke are different; but they are reconciled with truth, by conſidering that Matthew gives the genealogy of Chriſt in the line of Joſeph his reputed father, and Luke traces it in the line of Mary his real mother. The differences in the accounts given by the Evangeliſts of the Reſurrection of Chriſt, are reconcileable with each other.

THE evidence of the truth of the hiſtorians of the New Teſtament is greater, than if they all had mentioned the ſame facts and no other. In that caſe it might have been objected with more appearance of plauſibility, that they wrote in concert with a deſign to make out one ſtory, to impoſe on mankind. When a number of witneſſes teſtify to a complicated fact, before a court of juſtice, preciſely in the ſame words and with the ſame circumſtances, a ſuſpicion more eaſily ariſes in the minds of the Judges, of colluſion and fraud in the perſons who give teſtimony, than when they employ different words, and bring up different circumſtances that are reconcileable with the general fact, and with each other, and caſt light upon the whole affair.

IF any will be ſo abſurd as to diſcredit the Evangeliſts becauſe they narrate events that happened long ago, they muſt, to be conſiſtent reject all ancient hiſtory. They muſt diſbelieve that there ever were ſuch men as Cyrus, Alexander the great, or Julius Ceſar; for if their exiſtence be admitted, credit muſt be given to ſome of the records of ancient times. We all admit many things to be true of which we have not been eye-witneſſes, on human teſtimony. If the witneſſes be credible, we do not withhold our aſſent to what they teſtify, becauſe the facts they affirm happened at a time, or in a place, remote from us. If we will allow nothing to be true that has not been immediately addreſſed to our ſenſes, our knowledge will be confined within very narrow bounds indeed.—We of this audience, on that ſuppoſition, ought not to believe that there are ſuch places as London, Paris, or Amſterdam; for we have not beheld them with our own eyes.

INFIDELS, in ſome of their objections againſt the Bible, have fallen into modes of reaſoning relative to facts, which they would be aſhamed to adopt when applied to any other ſubject. Hence, we have grounds to ſuſpect that they are governed by a wiſh to prove the ſcriptures to be falſe, rather than by the candor which they profeſs to take for their guide. They urge the ſupernatural events narrated in ſacred hiſtory as a ſufficient bar againſt admitting its truth. Mr. Hume, a deiſt of great ſubtilty, has labored to prove that experience is the only guide, to be relied on, in reaſoning concerning matters of fact. If he mean by experience, what falls under each man's particular obſervation, he muſt go all the abſurd lengths of diſcrediting the exiſtence of every thing which is not known either by the immediate teſtimony of the external ſenſes, or the immediate perceptions of the mind. If Mr. Hume acted upon his own ſcheme in the ſenſe in which it is now taken, he certainly did not believe in any part of ancient hiſtory, except in things daily occurring; ſuch as the riſing and ſetting of the ſun, the ebbing and flowing of the tide, the change of the ſeaſons, &c. Nor did he expect that the readers of his hiſtory of England, would give credit to a large part of it, unleſs governed by the credulity which he explodes. If by experience be meant the uſual courſe of events, it will follow that no report which relates to an uncommon event ought to be believed. On this hypotheſis, we have no ſufficient grounds to believe that King Charles I. of England, was beheaded in the year 1649, or that Louis XVI. of France loſt his life on the ſcaffold in 1793. It has not been uſual for kings to loſe their lives by the hand of the executioner, after the formalities of a law trial; and as we were not preſent when either of thoſe monarchs is ſaid to have had his head ſtruck off, we are juſtified in rejecting the report as a fable. Such abſurd conſequences as theſe will follow from the principles laid down by the moſt ſubtle deiſts, for the purpoſe of deſtroying the credibility of miracles. If the exiſtence of theſe is inadmiſſible, the Bible muſt be renounced as given by divine inſpiration.

THE portion of underſtanding which is ſo equally diſtributed among mankind, is fully competent to decide on the evidence derived from facts which take place before their eyes. None of the intricacies of abſtract reaſoning are needed in ſuch caſes. This remark agrees with the known ſenſe of all judicial bodies on the earth. To the ſame common ſenſe I appeal, whether the Apoſtles and other witneſſes of the facts recorded in the hiſtory of the New Teſtament, were not competent judges of the truth of what they aſſert? If they were, their teſtimony is to be received as valid; unleſs it can be ſet aſide from ſomething that appears in their characters, or in the circumſtances which attend their narration. No juſt objection can ariſe from either of theſe quarters, when we candidly attend to the caſe. The truth of the ſcriptures is fully eſtabliſhed by admitting, as all men do when not bewildered by ſophiſtry or prejudice, that credible human teſtimony is the ſole criterion of the truth of facts otherwiſe unknown. By this plain and approved ſtandard, we are willing that the truth of the ſcriptures ſhould be tried—We need not fear the reſult.

THE candor and impartiality of the writers of the New Teſtament, are too manifeſt to be denied. They narrate their own faults, without endeavoring to palliate them. This exonerates them from the charge of attempting to impoſe a forgery on the world. To this they had no inducement. The religion they publiſhed condemns falſehood in the ſtrongeſt terms, and dooms liars and deceivers, in particular, to eternal miſery. But had they been ſo hardened, as to have been in no fear from the judgment to come, they had no temporal inducement to ſupport their zeal for the propagation of the goſpel: for by becoming the open advocates of it, they had to renounce the pleaſures, the riches, and the honors, of the world, and expoſed themſelves to meet death in its moſt dreadful forms. But after all, had they been diſpoſed to deceive mankind with a falſe ſtory, it would have been wholly impracticable under the exiſting circumſtances. They publiſhed their hiſtory on the ſcene of action—they appealed to public facts—and they made the appeal while the facts were recent. Their enemies, who had both knowledge and power, would have unveiled the plot, had their ſcheme been built on a lie. The rulers of the Jewiſh nation were, as a body, wholly oppoſed to chriſtianity, and would have cruſhed it in the birth had their malice been able to have accompliſhed its wiſhes. Had the religion of Jeſus been a fraud, it would ſoon, like other frauds that are deteſted by thoſe in power, have periſhed from the earth. We are not to confine the ſcene to Judea, where chriſtianity was firſt diſplayed, it was carried into the leſſer Aſia, into Greece and Rome and other places, within a few years after the death of its founder. The malice, the learning, and the prejudices of Heathens as well as Jews were exerted againſt it. Its propagation was not in dark and obſcure places, but in the moſt noted places then in the world. It was too in the day when the famous Roman Empire had brought not only Judea, but all countries of much renown, to bow to her arms, and to pour their riches into her treaſury. At the ſame time that ſhe extended her ſceptre over the world, ſhe reigned miſtreſs of the arts. At the time when Chriſt appeared, the Roman Empire had reached the very meridian of its glory. It was the illuſtrious period, when power and policy receiving aid from learning and ſcience, and embeliſhment from the orators and the poets, gave law to the world, directed its taſte, and even controled its opinions. It was the age when inquiry was awake and active on every ſubject that was ſuppoſed to be of curious or uſeful inveſtigation, whether in the natural or in the intellectual world. It was, in ſhort, ſuch an age as impoſture muſt have found in every reſpect the leaſt auſpicious to its deſigns; eſpecially ſuch an impoſture as chriſtianity, if it had deſerved the name.White's Sermons, containing a view of Chriſtianity and Mahometaniſm, in their Hiſtory, their Evidence, and their Effects, p. 133, 134.

THE firſt planting of the goſpel in the world, and its prevalence for ſo long a time, under all the attending circumſtances, if it were a forgery, would be a greater miracle, than any it claims for its ſupport; and would be without a parallel in the hiſtory of mankind.

IN the two former diſcourſes from the text, we have attended to the truth of the ſcriptures of the Old and New Teſtament. I now proceed,

II. To explain in what ſenſe the phraſe Inſpiration of God, is to be underſtood when applied to all ſcripture.

BY inſpiration is to be underſtood, either an immediate communication of facts or doctrines from God, to the minds of the men who were employed in delivering the Bible to mankind, or in directing them what to write, or in ſecuring them from error. They had facts and doctrines communicated to them immediately from God, in ſome inſtances, as much as if it were now communicated to us what, is tranſacting, this moment, at the diſtance of thouſands of miles from us. Whenever they wrote any part of ſcripture they were directed from on High what to record, and at the ſame time they were ſecured from error in what they wrote to guide the faith and the practice of mankind. That part of ſcripture which does not fall under inſpiration in the firſt ſenſe that has been given, falls under it in the two laſt ſenſes; and hence it may be ſaid with ſtrict propriety, that all ſcripture is given by inſpiration of God, and forms an infallible rule of faith and practice.

THE meaning of inſpiration firſt given, will be eaſily underſtood by a few examples. To Noah was immediately revealed that a deluge would come upon the earth—To Abraham, that his ſeed ſhould be afflicted by a people in whoſe land they ſhould be a ſtranger, four hundred years—To Moſes, the deliverance of the Iſraelites from their Egyptian bondage by his hand—To Samuel, the overthrow of Saul, and the eſtabliſhment of David on the throne of Iſrael—To Jeremiah, the ſeventy years captivity of the kingdom of Judah—To Paul, the Antichriſtian apoſtacy—And to John, the duration of the reign of the man of ſin, and the principal events relative to the church to the end of the world. Inſpiration, in this high ſenſe, is not only employed in revealing facts but doctrines; ſuch as the mode of the divine exiſtence, the character and offices of Jeſus Chriſt, the immortality of the ſoul, the future judgment, and the reſurrection of the dead. Under this head may alſo be ranked poſitive precepts, or inſtitutions; whether binding on the Jewiſh or the chriſtian church.

THOSE who acknowledge the exiſtence of God, will not deny the poſſibility of his communicating truth to the human mind in this extraordinary manner; whether by viſions, by an audible voice, or in any other way. No perſon demands credit from others, as having ſuch immediate intercourſe with the Deity, unleſs he evidence his illumination by means as extraordinary as the way in which he received his knowledge. Hence, we may ſee the importance of miracles to confirm the divine original of the Bible; as will hereafter be conſidered. We may be under as real obligation to receive as divine what is revealed immediately to others, as tho' it were revealed in the ſame way to us. The evidence that God hath commiſſioned others to ſpeak in his name may be ſo concluſive, as to leave us without excuſe in unbelief. Whether the Moſt High ſpeak to us without, or through, the inſtrumentality of creatures, his voice is the ſame, and his authority is equally binding. His right to be obeyed is not founded on the manner of communicating his will, but in his nature, and in our relation to him. Whenever we have certain proof ſet before us, that the righteous Lord of heaven and earth commands our faith or obedience, we are forbidden to withhold our homage a ſingle moment.

IN defining inſpiration it was obſerved, in the ſecond place, that the men who penned the ſcriptures were directed by God what to write. I need make no exception here for ſuch inſtances as that of Baruch, and others, employed by the inſpired men as ſcribes; becauſe theſe laſt were the mere organs of the men who took them into their ſervice, and pronounced the words which they wrote. If the Prophets, Evangeliſts, or Apoſtles, were, in any inſtance left to their own diſcretion what to record in the ſcriptures, theſe writings could not, with any propriety, be conſidered throughout as given by inſpiration of God; as Paul declares in the text. Beſides, if the inſpired men were, in any inſtance, left to their own diſcretion what to inſert in the Bible, we might mutilate it to ſuch a degree, as to render it a very unmeaning book. This has actually been done by ſome nominal chriſtians. They have profeſſed to believe in the facts and doctrines immediately revealed from heaven; but have conſidered the ſubſequent building upon them in the ſcriptures, as the opinions of fallible men. By treating the ſacred volume in this manner, they have brought it down to ſpeak a language which gives very little offence to open infidels. The approach of the former claſs of perſons to the latter is ſo near, as to render the difference ſcarcely diſcernible; and paves the way for their complete union.

IN perfect conſiſtency with what has been ſaid, it is admitted, that the Prophets, the Evangeliſts, and the Apoſtles, might have a knowledge of many things inſerted in the canon, by their own obſervation, and the accounts given them by other men. The revelations made to the patriarchs, and the facts handed down from one generation to another, probably were the ſources through which Moſes was furniſhed with matter for the book of Geneſis. At the ſame time he was directed by omniſcience what to record. This ſuperintending influence of the Holy Ghoſt, gave the ſame authority to what he wrote, as tho' it had been immediately communicated to his mind.

THE third ſenſe in which inſpiration is taken, and that is, ſecuring the ſacred penmen from error in what they wrote, is as neceſſary, as the former ones, to give to the ſcriptures the divine authority which they claim, in every thing that relates to our religious faith and practice. Whatever doctrines or laws may be ſuppoſed to have been given by the Moſt High, we can have no ſatisfactory evidence of their divine original, if the men who are ſaid to have recorded them, were not ſecured from error in committing them to writing.

IT may be obſerved here, that the infallibility of the ſcriptures is confined to the religious inſtruction which they contain. As they were revealed as much for the benefit of the unlearned as the learned, they are not employed in teaching human ſcience, or in correcting errors relative to it. Matters of this kind are but incidentally mentioned, and always for moral purpoſes. It is wholly foreign to their deſign to decide on the diſputes in natural philoſophy or aſtronomy. They leave theſe, and ſimilar things, as they find them. They, for inſtance, ſpeak of the riſing and the ſetting of the ſun, in a ſtile which is familiar to all mankind, and in the ſame manner which is uſed, even by thoſe who have gone fartheſt in the ſtudy of the kingdom of nature, at the preſent day.

IT is not contended that the perſons who were inſpired to write the Bible, were free from ſin or error, conſidered as men; for their faults and miſtakes ſtand on the ſacred pages. Even a meek Moſes offended, during the abode of the Iſraelites at Kadeſh, when he ſaid to them, "muſt we fetch you water out of this rock?" David, who wrote moſt of the Pſalms, committed an atrocious crime in the matter of Uriah. Peter denied his Lord and Maſter, and at the ſame time horribly tranſgreſſed the third commandment. The other inſpired men ſaid and did enough to convince all who have read their hiſtory, that they were men of like paſſions with others. But, as they were under the immediate or ſuperintending influence of inſpiration, they uttered nothing but what is true; either as matter of fact, or doctrine, or warning, or promiſe, or threatning, or is, in ſome way, related to the deſign of the author of the ſcriptures, in giving them to the human race. The ſacred penmen declared facts when they told their own ſins. The evangeliſts are to be credited, when they inform of the diſputes among the Apoſtles, who ſhould be the greateſt in the Meſſiah's kingdom, and of their ignorance of its nature. It is as really the deſign of the Holy Spirit to have the ſins, the follies, and the ignorance, of pious men, expoſed, whether inſpired or not, as to have doctrines and precepts recorded. It will appear, by a little reflexion, that thoſe blemiſhes may be improved to enforce the reproof and the correction named in the text. When we ſee a Moſes, a David, and a Peter, offend, is not the warning of the Apoſtle highly enforced, Let him that thinketh he ſtandeth take heed leſt he fall?

THE words and actions of Satan and wicked men are recorded in the ſcriptures; to lay open their characters, to juſtify God in puniſhing, and to warn againſt traveling in the path of his enemies. It is declared of the devil, "That he was a murderer from the beginning; and that he is a liar, and the father of it." We find this character exemplified in the hiſtory which is given of him. He came with the malicious deſign of a murderer, to our mother Eve, and with a lie in his mouth, when he ſaid, ye ſhall not ſurely die. This firſt lie that was ever told in our world, has often been repeated ſince; and the tempter ſtill continues to attempt the ruin of the human race by fraud and malice. Is there a falſe, ſubtle, a malicious, and a potent, enemy to mankind, conſtantly going about like a roaring lion, ſeeking whom he may devour? And is it not worthy of divine wiſdom and goodneſs, to appriſe and warn the human race of his deſtructive deſign? How can this be done, without giving to us ſome knowledge of the diſpoſition of the adverſary, and the evils he has introduced? It was certainly a high proof of the benevolence and mercy of Chriſt, when he ſaid to Peter, "Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath deſired to have you, that he may ſift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not."

WE have ſet before us the character of the wicked generation that lived in Noah's time, in Abraham's, and in ſubſequent ages previous to the coming of Chriſt, and ſince; to illuſtrate the depravity of the human heart, to proclaim the righteouſneſs of God in taking vengeance, and to diſplay the riches of his grace towards the ſaved. We are moreover warned by ſuch repreſentations againſt truſting in man, and are counſelled to put our truſt in the living God. Particular examples of wickedneſs in perſons of different ranks and ſtations, and ſome of them under the beſt external advantages, or under the moſt ſolemn admonitions, are adapted to convince us of the obſtinacy of ſinners, and that the change which is wrought in the renewed is effected by the ſovereign mercy of God. A hardened Pharaoh, a blaſpheming Rabſhakeh, a proud Nebuchadnezzar, a cruel Herod, and a treacherous Judas, ſtand as ſo many beacons, to reprove and warn mankind. It is as worthy of infinite truth and purity to delineate ſuch characters, as thoſe of a meek Moſes, a pious Hezekiah, a faithful Daniel, a believing Simeon, and an amiable John. When we behold ourſelves compaſſed about with ſo great a cloud of witneſſes, as ſacred hiſtory points out to us, we have every inducement to lay aſide every weight, and the ſin which doth ſo eaſily beſet us, and to run with patience the chriſtian race.

IF any will go about to vilify the ſcriptures, becauſe they contain an account of the corruptions of the human race, they betray great ignorance and wickedneſs. Such repreſentations as the Bible contains on this ſubject, are ſo far from fixing a ſtain on the character of Jehovah, that, in the connexion in which they ſtand, they paint his hatred of ſin in the moſt glaring colours. No perſon of an honeſt heart, and who is tolerably acquainted with the ſacred writings, can long remain at a loſs what things are held up in them to be imitated, and what to be avoided. The ſcriptures collectively may be ſtiled The Word of the LORD, as they inform us, what the Lord directs us to believe, what to practiſe, and what to ſhun. Their general deſign is the ſame; whether they are delivered in the form of doctrine, precept, or hiſtory.

A LARGE proportion of the Bible is hiſtorical. This form of writing is well ſuited to engage the mind of the reader, as it communicates inſtruction in a pleaſing manner. Of the truth of this every one may be convinced, by reflecting on the effects which he perceives from liſtening to an intereſting ſtory. Who can avoid being moved in reading the life of Joſeph; the preſervation of Moſes when expoſed on the banks of the river of Egypt, in his infancy; the life of Elijah, and others. The accounts which are given of particular perſons in ſcripture, are not deſigned to amuſe, like a romance; but to afford moral and religious inſtruction. The hiſtory of the birth, life, death, reſurrection, and aſcenſion, of Jeſus Chriſt, compriſes events of greater magnitude, and higher importance, than any other that have been publiſhed in this world.

SCRIPTURE hiſtory confirms the truth of the prophecies, by conducting us to the fulfilment of many of them. It unfolds the happy tendency of piety and virtue, and the miſery that is derived from ſin. By the hiſtory of the Jewiſh nation, in particular, are exhibited the effects of obedience, and of diſobedience, as they reſpect communities. Peculiar as was the form of government under which that people were placed, important inſtructions are given by the divine conduct towards them, to all mankind. The riſe and fall of heathen empires, narrated in the ſacred writings, proclaim the doctrine of divine providence; and announce, that however nations may be lifted up with their conqueſts and proſperity, they will, ſooner or later, have their reckoning day. The Lord will cauſe the arrogancy of the proud to ceaſe, and will lay low the haughtineſs of the terrible.

THE long liſts of names which are found in ſeveral of the ſcripture books, are not without uſe. Among the ſeveral purpoſes anſwered by the inſertion of thoſe catalogues, the two following are obvious, and important: the one is, to confirm the deſcent of all nations from Shem, Ham, and Japheth; the other is, to evince that Chriſt, as concerning the fleſh, deſcended from Abraham, in the line of Iſaac and Jacob, the tribe of Judah, and the houſe of David, agreeably to prediction and promiſe.

MANY of the common affairs and occurrences of life are recorded in the Bible. Were all theſe excluded, we ſhould not have evidence, at leaſt in its preſent degree, that the ſacred volume was deſigned for the uſe of mankind. It deſcribes them not only with reſpect to their moral ſtate, and future deſtination, but in their various concerns with the preſent world. Our race, for inſtance, are repreſented in the ſcriptures, as having need of food for ſuſtenance, and raiment for clothing, ſo long as they remain on the earth. The neceſſity of theſe is not diminiſhed by poſſeſſing the ſpirit of piety, or of inſpiration. God enjoins in his word a temperate and charitable uſe of worldly goods, but he doth not require that abſtraction from them of the living, which can be found only among thoſe who are lodged in the grave. All temporal enjoyments, including natural life, are to be given up, and literally to be parted with, rather than deny Chriſt. At the ſame time it is to be obſerved, that the ſacrifices which are made of earthly bleſſings to indulge a capricious ſanctimony, are not the fruits of evangelical love, but the offspring of pride. Religioniſts have appeared under the chriſtian name, who have repreſented the perfection of piety as very much conſiſting in "neglecting of the body," and in "abſtaining from meats which God hath created to be received with thankſgiving of them who believe and know the truth." The Apoſtle Paul in writing for the cloak that he left at Troas, for the books, and the parchments, ſhows, that as a man he had the ſame wants, and might be benefitted by the ſame outward conveniences, as other men. The inſertion of this paſſage in the ſcriptures, as well as of other incidents of a like kind, does not appear trifling, after what has been ſaid on the propriety of introducing in the Bible the common affairs of life. It is as really the mind of the author of that ſacred book, that ſuch things ſhould be incidentally inſerted, as thoſe that were immediately revealed from on high.

THERE are ſome things which the ſcriptures declare to be lawful, that may not be expedient under certain circumſtances. To a caſe of that kind the Apoſtle Paul refers in 1 Cor. vii. 6. But I ſpeak this by permiſſion, and not of commandment. Under the head of expediency is alſo to be placed the advice of the Apoſtle in the 25th verſe of the ſame chapter, Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment of the Lord; yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful. The Apoſtle is here conſidering whether it were eligible for chriſtians to marry while ſuffering perſecution, as they were when he wrote this epiſtle. He gives it as his opinion that it would be better for them to remain in a ſtate of celibacy. He leaves it, however, with individuals to determine for themſelves. As God hath, by a perpetual law, authorized marriage between the ſexes, without the forbidden degrees of conſanguinity, and where nothing with reſpect to character forbids, the Apoſtle could not be commiſſioned to deliver a prohibitory precept in the preſent inſtance. To the Corinthians, who had written to him to inquire whether it were proper that marriages ſhould go on as uſual among their members, it was of no leſs importance to be informed what was left to individual choice, than to know what was poſitively binding on all in other things. The whole church of Chriſt is as really inſtructed by the text under conſideration as by any other. Beſides, it is foretold in 1 Tim. iv. that, among the apoſtates in the latter times, there ſhould riſe up thoſe who would forbid to marry. This prediction has been verified by the decrees of the church of Rome, and of ſome other nominal chriſtians. The event has therefore ſhown the importance of a ſcripture paſſage, in which an Apoſtle declares that God never prohibited marriage in times of perſecution; but that even in ſuch ſeaſons he has left it to the judgment of individual chriſtians, whether to enter into the matrimonial bond or not. If the foregoing remarks be juſt, it will follow, that the text in queſtion was inſerted in the Bible by the ſuperintending influence of the ſpirit of inſpiration.

WHEN the Apoſtle ſays in the beginning of the 12th verſe, But to the reſt ſpeak I, not the Lord, his meaning apparently is, that he was going to deliver ſomething to guide the practice of the church, which had not been before particularly revealed: It is for this reaſon he declares, "ſpeak I, not the Lord." That he is ſo to be underſtood, appears from the words which immediately follow in the 12th and 13th verſes compared with the 10th and 11th verſes. The paſſages which ſtand next in order to the clauſe already cited, are, If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and ſhe be pleaſed to dwell with him, let him not put her away. And the woman which hath an huſband that believeth not, and if he be pleaſed to dwell with her, let her not leave him. On the converſion of a huſband, or a wife, from heatheniſm to chriſtianity, a queſtion naturally aroſe, whether the believer was to renounce matrimonial connexion with his or her unbelieving correlate, as the Jews who had married idolatrous wives, were commanded to do, in the days of Ezra. The Apoſtle forbids divorces on that ground; and the prohibition that he delivers, appears to be clothed with the ſame divine authority as the one named in the 10th and 11th verſes, which contain the following words, And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord. Let not the wife depart from her huſband: But, and if ſhe depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her huſband: and let not the huſband put away his wife. In this laſt quotation, the words "not I, but the Lord," refer to what Chriſt had before ſpoken on the ſubject of divorce, recorded in Matthew v. 32, and xix. 9. Mark x. 11, 12. Luke xvi. 18. With the thoughts kept in mind which have been ſuggeſted in anſwer to the difficulties, which have ariſen from ſome parts of the ſeventh chapter of the firſt epiſtle to the Corinthian church, it will, I apprehend, be eaſy to maintain that the whole chapter claims a place in the inſpired volume, as much as any other. If the original penmen of the Bible were, in any inſtance, left to their own diſcretion what to inſert, it will be impoſſible to defend againſt infidels, that all ſcripture is given by inſpiration of God, as is affirmed in the text. The Prophets, the Evangeliſts, and the Apoſtles, when their matter was immediately revealed from on high, or when it was received in other ways, were guided by the Holy Ghoſt what to write, and were ſecured from error in writing. I proceed,

III. To bring arguments to prove that all ſcripture is given by inſpiration of God.

THE firſt argument may be taken from the nature of the religion contained in the Bible. In this book the Deity is repreſented as a ſpirit, poſſeſſed of an eternal, underived, and independent exiſtence; as being every where preſent at one and the ſame time; as being infinite in knowledge, and in power, and in every other attribute that is neceſſary to conſtitute abſolute greatneſs. JEHOVAH, the God whom chriſtians adore, is not only infinitely great, but infinitely good—He is love. He is the rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth, and without iniquity; juſt and right is he. He is the LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, long-ſuffering, and abundant in goodneſs and truth. By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the hoſt of them by the breath of his mouth. He gathereth the waters of the ſea together as an heap; he layeth up the depth in ſtorehouſes. Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world ſtand in awe of him: for he ſpake, and it was done, he commanded, and it ſtood faſt. He made the world, and all things therein. He hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation. In Him all creatures live, and move, and have their being. The counſel of the Lord ſtandeth forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all. The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Promotion cometh neither from the eaſt, nor from the weſt, nor from the ſouth; but God is the Judge: he putteth down one, and ſetteth up another. The Moſt High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomſoever he will. He is the bleſſed and only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. He is the one Lawgiver, who is able to ſave, and to deſtroy. He hath opened a door of hope to a ſinful world through Jeſus Chriſt. By his ſpirit he forms the hearts of ſinners to holineſs, and prepares them for eternal glory. He is the Judge of all the earth, and will render righteous retribution to all intelligent accountable creatures, forever.1 John iv. 16. Deut. xxxii. 4. Exod. xxxiv. 6. Pſalm xxxiii. 6—9. Acts xvii. 24, 26. Pſalm ciii. 19. cxiii. 4. lxxv. 6, 7. Dan. iv. 17. 1 Tim. vi. 15. James iv. 12, and many other places. Doth not ſuch a God deſerve the devout and thankful homage of man's heart? "O come, let us worſhip and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our Maker! For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praiſed: he is to be feared above all gods."

THE moral law, delivered from Mount Sinai, conſiſts of ten precepts; the four firſt of which point out our duty to God, and the ſix laſt our duty to mankind. The ſum of the whole is, to love the Lord our God with all our heart, and with all our ſoul, and with all our ſtrength, and with all our mind; and our neighbor as ourſelves. The ſpirit of this law was binding on man from the creation, and every one of its precepts will remain obligatory upon him for ever. What can be more reaſonable than that an intelligent creature be required to place his ſupreme affections upon that infinite Being, who gave birth to him and all things around him? And preſerves and governs his workmanſhip, and is the ſum of perfection and bleſſedneſs? The other branch of the moral law, which reſpects our neighbor, is built upon truth and equity. The portion of rational moral exiſtence in our fellow-creatures is of as much worth as ours, and deſerves the ſame regard. Beſides, it muſt follow from our ſocial nature, and the neceſſity of its indulgence for our happineſs, that if we are ſtrangers to holy love, we cannot enjoy ſociety in perfection, or have any of its pleaſures long continued to us.

A CODE of laws was given to the Jews, beſide the ten commandments, reſpecting their peculiar government and worſhip, which was deſigned to laſt only until the time of reformation, or the eſtabliſhment of the New Teſtament worſhip; when alſo the lamp of divine truth was to be carried, as we have ſeen to the Gentile nations. The peculiar inſtitutions given to the Iſraelites under the Moſaic economy, were partly adapted to their uncultivated ſtate: ſuch, for inſtance, was that of the cities of refuge, to provide for the ſecurity of thoſe who might undeſignedly take away the life of any perſon. This inſtitution, however, with many others, was deſigned to teach the neceſſity of an atonement for ſinful man, and of his flying to it as the only way of eſcaping from the curſe of God's holy law. Jehovah taught the children of Iſrael, for a long time concerning the advent of the Meſſiah, and the nature of his kingdom, by types and ſhadows. Particular precepts which may appear to us, under our circumſtances, and at our diſtance of time from their exiſtence, of ſmall moment, were of great importance to that people; as calculated to keep them diſtinct from other nations, and to wean them from idolatrous rites, to which they were ſtrongly inclined. We may add, that in all probability, had the Jewiſh ritual been as ſimple as the Chriſtian, the Iſraelites could not have been kept to the obſervance of it in any tolerable degree, with their general character, without a conſtant ſeries of miraculous interpoſitions: But ſuch conſtant departures from the laws of nature, would, in time, have ceaſed to excite wonder, and the end for which miracles are wrought, would have been defeated.

WE may determine from the conduct of infinite wiſdom, that it was not proper that divine revelation ſhould communicate all the light to mankind in the days of Moſes, which it has communicated ſince. The communication of truth was gradual, as appears from comparing the two Teſtaments together. Light was conſtantly increaſing in the Jewiſh church, by the riſe of new prophets, or the fulfilment of former prophecies, until the Sinai covenant was aboliſhed. Comparatively dark as the ancient diſpenſation was, which continued for more than fifteen hundred years, every devout worſhipper knew, that to obey was better than ſacrifice; and that the ſum of duty conſiſts in doing juſtly, and in loving mercy, and in walking humbly with God. The Jews were abundantly taught that the Meſſiah would become incarnate, and dwell among men; and that by his advent light would break forth in greater brightneſs than in any former period. Hence, the woman of Samaria, who believed in the Old Teſtament, ſaid, in her conference with Chriſt, in John iv. "I know that Meſſias cometh, which is called Chriſt: when he is come, he will tell us all things."

THE manner in which God is to be worſhipped, as revealed in ſcripture, is pure and rational: and contains an admirable diſplay of infinite majeſty and condeſcenſion. The homage required is adapted to fill the ſoul with holy reverence, and to inſpire it with hope; "For thus ſaith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity, whoſe name is holy, I dwell in the high and holy place, with him alſo that is of a contrite and humble ſpirit, to revive the ſpirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."Iſaiah lvii. 15.

How apoſtate man may come before the Lord and find acceptance, is a queſtion on which the light of nature is wholly ſilent. It is only in the inſpired volume that the doctrine of the atonement, which hath been made by the Son of God, is revealed. The mediatorial plan was promulgated early after the apoſtacy of our firſt parents, even before they were baniſhed from the garden of Eden for their diſobedience. In the fulneſs of time the promiſed Saviour appeared in the world, made his ſoul an offering for ſin, roſe from the dead, and aſcended to ſit at the Father's right hand. Through him penitent ſinners draw near to God, are delivered from the wrath to come, and are made heirs of eternal life. Whatever difficulties attend the expiatory ſcheme exhibited in the goſpel, we may clearly diſcern in it, the infinite purity and rectitude of God's character and law—his hatred of ſin; and the riches of his grace. Theſe prominent features of the ſcripture doctrine of atonement, declare it to be worthy of the wiſdom of the divine mind; and recommend it in the higheſt manner to our fallen race. It is only in conſequence of the interpoſition of Jeſus Chriſt, that any of mankind have obtained the heavenly happineſs; whether before or ſince the actual incarnation of the Son of God: "Neither is there ſalvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we muſt be ſaved."

REVELATION brings to light the future exiſtence of man, the reſurrection of the body, the future judgment, and the portion of the juſt and the unjuſt in the world to come. Theſe are ſolemn truths; ſuited to deter the wicked, and to encourage the good patiently to continue in well-doing. Nothing ſtamps value on time—on man's preſent life, like the eternal ſtate which is to follow; in which each one is to receive from the righteous judge of the living and the dead, according to the deeds done in the body. The puniſhment threatened to the impenitent is calculated to diſplay the divine holineſs and juſtice; is fitted to their character, and to excite dread. The reward promiſed to the righteous, correſponds only with the temper of thoſe whoſe hearts are united with the God of love.

THE piety and virtue inculcated in the oracles of truth, breathe a ſpirit to which the proud and ſelfiſh hearts of mankind are wholly oppoſed. Love to God and man is the root of the graces and virtues, which compoſe the character that meets the approbation of the infinite mind.

THE man whoſe piety is evangelical, makes an unfeigned dedication of himſelf to God; and the feelings of his heart, ſo far as he is ſanctified, fully harmonize with the divine law and government. He approaches his heavenly Father with filial reverence, and can, without reſerve, adopt the form of prayer that Chriſt taught his diſciples; Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name: Thy kingdom come: Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever, Amen. This prayer, as one obſerves, for a ſucceſſion of ſolemn thoughts, for fixing the attention upon a few great points, for ſuitableneſs to every condition, for ſufficiency, for conciſeneſs without obſcurity, for the weight and real importance of its petitions, is without an equal or a rival. The pious man is humble: He feels his abſolute dependence on God for good of every kind. He mourns for ſin, and begs for pardon through Him who died that ſinners might live. While he avoids exerciſing himſelf in things that are too high for him, he makes it his ſtudy to know and do the will of God—to maintain ſobriety—and to keep alive a devotional temper. Taught that he is not his own, and that he is under the wiſe, holy and gracious dominion of the ſovereign Lord of heaven and earth, he denies himſelf, he endures afflictions with patience, he encounters evils with fortitude, and reſigns every enjoyment to Him who guides the faithful through this diſciplinary ſtate. Not intimidated by the frowns, nor allured by the flatteries of the world, he, by divine aid, holds on his courſe till he finiſhes it with joy. He daily recounts in his cloſet, in ſocial prayer, and in meditation, the mercies of the ſupreme benefactor, and is awakened to gratitude and praiſe. In ſolitary devotion he ſhuns the notice of mortals, ſhuts the door on the noiſe and buſineſs of the world, and prays to his father who is in ſecret. Modeſt and unaſſuming he is far removed from the oſtentatious parade of the ancient Phariſees; who profeſſed religion to be ſeen of men, and choſe the corner of the ſtreet, to attract the public notice while they recited their forms of devotion. The real diſciple of Jeſus Chriſt does not think highly of his own attainments; but in honor prefers his fellow-chriſtians to himſelf. Knowing that every moral action begins in the heart, he labors to keep it with all diligence, and is incited to watchfulneſs. Being a conſtant witneſs of remaining inward corruptions, he cenſures himſelf in thouſands of inſtances where he ſtands acquitted in the eyes of mankind.

CHRISTIANITY breathes a kind, meek, and forgiving ſpirit. The heart of him who is under its influence is moved at the cry of diſtreſs, and his hand is open, according to his ability, to ſupply the wants of the poor, and to alleviate the miſeries of the wretched. In almſgiving he does not ſound a trumpet before him, but, as much as poſſible, diſpenſes his benefactions in ſecret. He does not indulge envy, malice, or revenge; but ſtrives to overcome evil with good. He is not under the government of thoſe paſſions which chaſtity forbids, but looks with abhorrence upon them; as unfitting the mind for pure enjoyment, and the inlet of innumerable evils to the human race. In his intercourſe with mankind, he is juſt in his dealings, faithful to his engagements, and the fulfilment of the duties of his particular truſt. He bears on his mind and heart the words of Chriſt, in Matthew vii. 12. Therefore all things whatſoever ye would that men ſhould do to you, do ye even ſo to them: for this is the law and the prophets. The ſpirit of chriſtian virtue tends to the diffuſion of peace and happineſs thro' families, ſocieties, and the great brotherhood of man. How far do the moſt improved in the family of Chriſt on the earth, fall ſhort of the pattern exhibited by his doctrine and example! But imperfect as his followers are, the internal beauty of the goſpel remains; and its influences upon them ſpeak in its praiſe. It is a part of its peculiar glory, to train up men from ſmall beginnings of holineſs to a ſtate of perfect purity and joy.

IN a review of the argument in ſupport of the inſpiration of the Bible from the religion it contains, it is natural to inquire whence came ſuch a ſcheme of faith and practice?. Where did Moſes and the Iſraelites get ſuch ideas of Deity as are exhibited in the Old Teſtament? They did not derive them from Egypt; for that kingdom was overrun with idolatry during their abode in it. They could not acquire their theology from any of the nations that bordered on Egypt, or Canaan, or from any other then on the earth; for they were all involved in the darkneſs of paganiſm, and remained in that ſtate until the days of the Apoſtles. Hence, the ſacred writers who followed Moſes could not have been enlightened in the knowledge and worſhip of the one living and true God, by any men on the earth. It is well known that the heathens hold to a vaſt number of gods. Athens—learned and polite Athens, is ſaid to have acknowledged deities to the number of thirty thouſand. The objects to which pagans have paid divine homage, were, many of them fabricated by art; and to all their gods have been attributed ſenſual appetites, and paſſions, or affections, unworthy of divinity. They are repreſented by thoſe who adore them, as engaged in the amours of the libidinous, and as parties in the quarrels of proud and malicious men. Many of the heathen rituals enjoined the offering of human ſacrifices; and others encouraged drunkenneſs, obſcenity, and whoredom. Some of the wiſer men among the pagans have confeſſed the need of a ſupernatural revelation, to teach mankind how to worſhip the Deity aright. Modern infidels have gloried in the wiſdom of a heathen Socrates. He was indeed one of the moſt deſerving characters that can be found in the annals of pagan antiquity. This renowned philoſopher, meeting Alcibiades, who was going to the temple to pray, proves to him that he knew not how to perform that duty aright, and that therefore it was not ſafe for him to do it; but that he ſhould wait for a divine inſtructor to teach him how to behave both towards the gods and men; and that it was neceſſary that God ſhould ſcatter the darkneſs which covered his ſoul, that he might be put in a condition to diſcern good and evil.Leland's View of deiſtical writers, in 2 vol. page 11th of vol. I. Were Socrates again to appear in the world, with his former belief, he would diſown thoſe as his diſciples, who boaſt of his knowledge, as a proof of the ſufficiency of human reaſon to direct mankind in the duties of piety and benevolence. But to return, I further aſk, whence came the doctrine of the atonement, of the reſurrection, and of the future ſtate of rewards and puniſhments, as contained in the ſcriptures? Who communicated the piety and virtue which are deſcribed and recommended in theſe writings? No one who is acquainted with the pagan theology, can, with the leaſt colour of reaſon, pretend that the religion of the Bible was copied from the religion of idolaters. Does the ſpirit of the book, whoſe divine original I am endeavoring to maintain, carry the air of human invention? Good men would not impoſe a forgery on the world for truth. Bad men could not have a ſingle motive to prompt them to deviſe ſuch a ſcheme of faith and practice: For had they knowledge equal to the taſk, they would not have employed it in the eſtabliſhment of a plan, which expoſes and condemns them in its whole deſign. The drift of all the ſacred books from Geneſis to the Revelation of John, is directly in the face of fraud and every ſpecies of iniquity, both public and private. Beſides, the humble, pious, and diſintereſted, ſpirit of the goſpel, has not one charm to the unholy and the ſelfiſh. To admit that ſuch characters as theſe laſt would invent ſuch a religion, if competent in point of ability, would be as abſurd as to grant, that a malicious man will direct every effort to promote the good of the one he inveterately hates, or that a ſelfiſh man will act from diſintereſted motives, or that a covetous man will make it his whole aim to be liberal.

THERE is no anſwer to be given to the queſtion, whence came the religion contained in the Bible? that can ſatisfy a candid reflecting mind, but this, IT CAME FROM GOD! And therefore the men who announced it to the world, ſpake as they were moved by the Holy Ghoſt.