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EVIDENCES 
 J 
 
 OF 
 
 NATURAL AND REVEALED 
 
 RELIGION; 
 
 ALSO. 
 
 QL\)t ^Doctrines ant) Jnatituftons 
 
 CHRISTIANITY 
 
 WITH QUESTIONS FOR USE IN BIBLE CLASSES. 
 
 IN PAROCHIAL, FAMILY. SUNDAY. 
 
 AND OTHER SCHOOLS. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF 
 'REASONS WHY I AJM A GHUSCHMAN." 
 
 N E W - Y O R IC : 
 
 GENERAL PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL & S. UNION, 
 Depository 20 Johii S 
 1343. 
 
$% 
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1848. 
 
 BY JOHN W. MITCHELL, 
 
 (As Treasurer of The General Protestant Episcopal S. S. Union,) 
 
 in the Clerk's Ornce of the District Court of the United States, 
 
 for the Southern District of New York. 
 
 — - f 
 
 The Library 
 of Cong^ 
 
 C. DAVISON &: CO., Stereo 
 
 - jet, New York. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The present work is offered to the public in the 
 belief, that among the numerous treatises extant on 
 the Evidences of Natural and Revealed Religion, 
 there is not one which answers all the purposes of a 
 book for general reading and for instruction, on 
 this most important subject, in our parochial, Sun- 
 day and other schools. To provide such a book has 
 been the object in preparing the following pages. 
 The author has aimed, where so much might be said, 
 at comprehensiveness, brevity and perspicuity. The 
 testimony of the Church, as " the pillar and ground 
 of the truth," will be found running through the 
 chain of evidence. The objective Doctrines and 
 Institutions of Christianity, in the concluding chap- 
 ters, will not, it is hoped, be found out of place at 
 the present day. 
 
 In using the work as a book of instruction, much 
 must be left to the living teacher. A few leading 
 questions are appended to each page ; the faithful ' 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 teacher, however, will not confine his attention to 
 these, but will see to it that the pupil is thoroughly 
 acquainted with the subject examined. Particular 
 care should be taken not to hurry forward too rapidly. 
 A few pages will be sufficient for a single lesson, ex- 
 cept in reviews, which should be frequent, repeated 
 and thorough. 
 
 Should the present volume shield any of the young 
 from the enticements and the doom of the skeptic, or 
 should it, in a single instance, lead to a more intelli- 
 gent, ennobling service of the one only and true 
 G-od, in the way of His appointment, many an hour 
 of arduous, pleasing labor will not have been spent 
 in vain. 
 
 I 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Page 
 Evidences of the Existence of God, from the Light of 
 Nature 7 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Attributes of God, as proved from the Light of Nature . . 22 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Probability and Necessity of a Revelation 41 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Authenticity of the Old Testament 61 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Same subject continued — Mosaic Account of the Deluge 
 
 examined and confirmed 87 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Prophecy, Proof of the Inspiration of the Old Testament 108 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Authenticity and Genuineness of the Books of the New 
 
 Testament 126 
 
 1* 
 
VI CONTENTS, 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Inspiration of the New Testament — Miracles and 
 Prophecy U9 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Internal Evidence of the Inspiration and Truthfulness of 
 the New Testament 167 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Revelation contains both Doctrines and Institutions 185 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 Institutions of Christianity defined and proved 200 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 EXISTENCE OF GOD PROVED FROM THE LIGHT 
 OF NATURE. 
 
 There are multitudes of persons, who, if they were 
 required to state definitely what they mean by the 
 Being of God, and why they believe in His existence, 
 would find their ideas on the subject consisting only 
 of a few vague generalities. 
 
 On the subject of religious truth generally, there 
 is a tendency abroad to rest satisfied with a few un- 
 defined impressions, which float like shadows across 
 the surface of the mind, but which are found to lack 
 reality, when tested by a thorough examination. 
 
 Here is one strong reason why many who have 
 been educated under religious influences, and are 
 perhaps professed believers in revealed religion, are 
 seen, under a change of circumstances, swelling the 
 number of the scoffers and the profane. They never 
 were thoroughly instructed in the principles of Chris- 
 
 1. What is the subject of the present chapter 1 
 
 2. What is too generally true respecting this subject 1 
 
 3. What general remark is too often true 1 
 
 4. What is often seen as a consequence of this 1 
 
 5. What was true of them 1 
 
8 EXISTENCE OF GOD PROVED 
 
 tianity. They are conscious of exercising belief 
 without evidence, and hence feel that they have no 
 power to withstand the assaults of the enemies of the 
 Cross of Christ. 
 
 Hence it is the imperious duty of every believer 
 of natural and revealed religion, to examine the foun- 
 dation on which he stands. And it is also the bounden 
 duty of all parents and sponsors, and all religious 
 teachers, to fortify the faith of those who are placed 
 under their care with reasons which the enemy can 
 neither gainsay nor resist. 
 
 To assist in this important work is the object of the 
 following pages. TTe propose to examine with some 
 minuteness the Evidences of Natural and Eevealed 
 Eeligion ; and trust they who give to the subject their 
 attention will find themselves amply rewarded, not 
 only in their ability to resist attacks from without, 
 but, what is far more, in the acquisition of a more in- 
 telligent Faith, of more animating hopes, and of 
 more intimate acquaintance with the God of all Truth. 
 
 The subject of our present examination is, The 
 Beixg and Existence of God.; on which subject we 
 propose to answer two questions— 
 
 I. "What do we understand by the Being of God ? 
 
 6. What are they conscious of* 
 
 7. What are they the victims of? 
 
 8. What duty arises 1 
 
 9. What is the object of the following pages'? 
 
 10. What do we propose to examine ? 
 
 11. What encouragement is offered to us 1 
 
 1*2. What is the first subject examined in the present chapter 1 
 
FROM THE LIGHT OF NATURE. 9 
 
 II. Why do we believe in His existence ? 
 
 Let ns implore, that He, whose existence, perfec- 
 tions, and works, are to form the subject of our study, 
 will vouchsafe the constant assistance of His Holy 
 Spirit. 
 
 I. In respect to the first inquiry, there have been 
 held erroneous views as to the nature of God. A 
 glance at two or three of these views, will enable us 
 more intelligently to fasten our minds upon the 
 truth. 
 
 One erroneous conception of the nature of God, is 
 that which regards Him, not as a person, but only as 
 a principle. According to this theory, God is only 
 that principle of life which pervades the animal and 
 vegetable world ; that principle which, year after 
 year, clothes the earth with verdure, and covers the 
 forests with beauty. And as all things are found to 
 be instinct with life, so God is said to be every thing 
 and every thing God. This doctrine is usually de- 
 nominated Pantheism. It had once obtained great 
 prevalence among the more enlightened heathen na- 
 tions. It has had great influence in shaping modern 
 systems of corrupt Christianity. Even at the present 
 day, much of the Rationalism which exists under a 
 
 13. What is the second 1 
 
 14. Respecting the first inquiry, what errors have been held 1 
 
 15. What is the first erroneous idea mentioned 1 
 
 16. What has it been called 1 
 
 17. When had it great prevalence? 
 
 1 8. Where does it exist now 1 
 
 19. What is such corruption usually called % 
 
10 EXISTENCE OF GOD PROVED 
 
 Christian name, seems to be little else than the Pan- 
 theism of pagan times. 
 
 In this theory there may be ingenuity and appa- 
 rent beauty. But it is stamped with guilt of the 
 deepest dye — for it denies to G-od the possession of 
 the most essential attributes of His character, and 
 robs Him of that homage and worship which are His 
 due. 
 
 Such a theory is gloomy and comfortless to those 
 who embrace it. Like the marble statuary, it may 
 have the semblance of life ; but yet it is cold and 
 cheerless as death in an hour of need. Instead of 
 teaching that all things will work for good to those 
 who love God, it makes the God of heaven and earth 
 a mere imaginary principle, without the possession 
 of wisdom, volition, love, or power. 
 
 Again : Another erroneous view of the Being of 
 G-od, is that, which, while it allows Him to be a per- 
 son, in distinction from a principle, yet regards Him 
 as subject to a law of inevitable fatality ; and teaches, 
 that whatever has been, is, or shall be, takes place not 
 by the permission or direction of God, but by the 
 same law of fatality. 
 
 Such a theory, like that just noticed, is in the high- 
 est degree derogatory to the character of God. It 
 
 20. What is said of the guilt of this theory ? 
 
 21. Why must this be true 1 
 
 22. What is its tendency 7 
 
 23. What is another erroneous view held 1 
 
 24. How does this affect the character of God 7 
 
 25. How does it derogate from Him 1 
 
FROM THE LIGHT OF NATURE. 1 1 
 
 denies to Him the essential perfections of His cha- 
 racter. It teaches that He neither chooses, wills, nor 
 controls ; that he neither can punish nor reward moral 
 action, according to its deserts ; but that He sits an 
 unconcerned spectator of what is passing before Him. 
 
 This theory has another necessary consequence. 
 It blots out the line of distinction between virtue and 
 vice, It needs no argument to prove that no virtue 
 can attach to actions which are not voluntary, and 
 that no vice can belong to conduct which is the result 
 of an inevitable fatality. And yet this theory has, in 
 past ages, been extensively held, and even in modern 
 times, is one of those hiding-places of lies where de- 
 pravity has sought to conceal itself. 
 
 In speaking of erroneous conceptions of the Being 
 of G-od, we have made no mention of the Atheist, 
 who denies entirely that there is a God. Few indeed 
 there are, who can shut their eyes at noon-day, and 
 profess to believe that all is dark around them. So 
 overpowering and so varied are the evidences of the 
 existence of the Supreme Being, that even from the 
 Atheist the confession is sooner or later wrung, 
 " Yerily there is a G-od that dwelleth on the earth." 
 
 In distinction from these erroneous conceptions of 
 the nature and being of God, we believe, that He is a 
 
 26. What is another consequence ? 
 
 27. Must this be its necessary result % 
 
 28. What do you say of its prevalence 1 
 
 29. Of what have we made no mention ? 
 
 30. Have such notions often been held 1 
 
 31. What is our definition of the Being of GodI 
 
12 EXISTENCE OF GOD PROVED 
 
 person, In distinction from a principle, and that He 
 is free and voluntary in all things, governed only by 
 His most high and holy will, instead of being con- 
 trolled by the laws of an irresistible fatality. 
 
 Our idea of God may be expressed in saying, that 
 He is a Spiritual Being, possessing, naturally and 
 eternally, every absolute possible perfection, in an 
 infinite degree. 
 
 II. Our next general inquiry is. Why do we be- 
 lieve THAT GrOD EXISTS ? 
 
 In examining this important question, fundamental 
 in all true religion, one thing we must take for grant- 
 ed 5 to wit, our own existence, and our oMlity and au- 
 thority to draw certain inevitable conclusions. If any 
 man therefore denies his own existence, or the neces 
 sity of certain axioms which are as evident as his ex- 
 istence, with him we have no controversy. These 
 axioms men, all men, feel, not only that they are true, 
 but that they cannot be false. 
 
 One of these axioms, which we make the basis of 
 our present argument, is, that wherever there 
 
 EXISTS INDISPUTABLE MARKS OF CONTRIVANCE, THERE 
 MUST HAVE BEEN AT WORK THE HAND OF A CONTRIVER. 
 
 For illustration, a traveller upon the high seas is 
 thrown by accident upon the shores of an unknown 
 
 32. How may this idea be expressed 1 
 
 33. What inquiry next arises % 
 
 34. What do we take for granted 1 
 
 35. What do you say of such axioms 1 
 
 36. What one is here the basis of our argument ? 
 
 37. Give the illustration. 
 
 
FROM THE LIGHT OF NATURE. 13 
 
 coast. He begins to explore its curiosities. He 
 wanders here and there, amidst its valleys and groves, 
 and discovers before him an imposing building. He 
 notices first, the strong foundation, on which the mas- 
 sive superstructure is reared : the towering walls, 
 strongly compacted together ; the windows, freely 
 admitting the light, yet excluding the storms and the 
 cold; the lofty spire, pointing toward heaven, sur- 
 mounted by a deep-meaning symbol ; the doors by 
 which a congregation might enter, and well-arranged 
 seats for their accommodation ; the altar for the 
 offering up of prayer and praise, and the pulpit, 
 whence a congregation might be addressed; the 
 niches, here and there, where stand monuments of 
 holy men of &od, and the entablature, recording lives 
 well spent. He gazes, and upon the canvass before 
 him is a living picture of the Crucifixion of his 
 Saviour. There is depicted the cruel torture, the 
 convulsive writhing of every muscle ; the deep, soul- 
 subduing agony which fills the countenance ; the 
 eyes upturned to heaven for help ; and yet, over all 
 is impressed the subdued serenity which seems to 
 say, " Even so, Father, for so it seemeth good in thy 
 sight." — He gazes upon the lengthened aisles, the 
 fluted columns, the vaulted arches, while the dim re- 
 ligious light, of every varied hue, is diffused around 
 him. He listens, and from the tower above him the 
 clock strikes accurately the hour of time. He sees, 
 
 38. What does he find % 
 
 39. Mention every mark of contrivance. 
 
14 EXISTENCE OF GOD PROVED 
 
 he hears, he feels all this ; and he knows, as he knows 
 the fact of his own existence, that all this is not the 
 work of chance. He could not be more confident than 
 he is, that no possible combination of the powers of 
 nature, no accidental confusion or blending of the 
 elements, ever brought into one harmonious whole 
 such beautiful and varied results as he sees around 
 him. He knows that this must be the effect of deep 
 design, of laborious contrivance ; and that in what he 
 sees around him, there has been at work the hand of 
 a skilful contriver. 
 
 Now precisely this, is the argument for the exist- 
 ence of God. It is an argument which applies in its 
 fullest strength. For never in human art has there 
 been exhibited such marks of design, as are exhibited 
 in that Great Temple of the Most High God, the 
 natural world. St. Paul thus states the argument : 
 " The invisible things of Him from the creation of 
 the world, are clearly seen ; being understood By the 
 things that are made, even his eternal power and 
 Godhead." Rom. i. 20. 
 
 Wherever we turn amid the works of nature, so 
 called, we find ourselves met at every point by the 
 most obvious proofs of contrivance and design : evinc- 
 
 40. What conclusion does he draw ? 
 
 41. Does he feel that he can be mistaken % 
 
 42. What does contrivance prove in this case 1 
 
 43. Does this argument prove the existence of God 1 
 
 44. Does this argument exist in its full strength 1 
 
 45. What does St. Paul say ? 
 
 46. Where do we find contrivance 1 
 
FROM THE LIGHT OF NATURE. 15 
 
 ing, beyond question, the hand of a Contriver. We 
 behold, every where, perfect adaptation of means to 
 ends ; systematic order ; matchless skill ; exquisite 
 beauty ; endless variety. 
 
 Amidst the ten thousand illustrations of the fact 
 that contrivance proves a Contriver, we select the com- 
 mon fluid, water ;. not as being the most striking, but 
 as among the most familiar and useful. 
 
 One of the two elements of which water is com- 
 posed (hydrogen), is a destructive poison. The con- 
 trivance by which the two are united,, renders the 
 combination into one, essential to human health and 
 comfort. Again : had the vast body of water on the 
 globe remained perfectly motionless, it must have 
 become a stagnant mass, charging the atmosphere 
 with deathful exhalations. Hence the contrivance of 
 the ebb and flow of the tides, the extensive currents 
 of the sea, which, with the winds, keep it in constant 
 and healthful agitation. 
 
 Again : had this element been limited to one place, 
 the whole animal and vegetable world must have 
 perished by thirst and drought. Hence the contri- 
 vance of the system of evaporation, by which the 
 water, though more dense than the atmosphere, is yet 
 drawn up into it, is there cleansed and made fit for 
 use, is rendered almost tasteless and colorless, as beicg 
 thus fitted for combinations, and is then suffered to 
 
 47. What illustration is selected 7 
 
 48. What contrivance in respect to agitation of the tides 1 
 
 49. What contrivance brings it within reach of all 1 
 
16 EXISTENCE OF GOD PROVED 
 
 descend again, not in overwhelming torrents, but so 
 gently as not to injure the most sensitive plant and 
 flower. 
 
 Again : had this element remained on the surface 
 of the earth, it would soon have become useless : or 
 had it descended deep into the earth, it would have 
 become inaccessible. Hence the contrivance of those 
 little rivulets, which, shielded alike from summer's 
 heat and winter's cold, burst forth in cool and re- 
 freshing streams, ministering to the necessities of ail 
 living things, and spreading beauty and verdure over 
 the landscape. 
 
 Again : had this element been suffered to remain 
 on the surface of the earth, it must soon have gathered 
 into vast and destructive quantities ; and hence the 
 contrivance of rills, brooks and rivers, which roll their 
 waters back again to the ocean, turning meanwhile 
 the wheels of industry, and bearing upon their bosom 
 to the busy marts of commerce, the varied productions 
 of the lands through which they flow. 
 
 Again : had this element, in high latitudes, been 
 suffered to be exposed to the extreme colds, it must 
 soon have become a solid mass, covering vast portions 
 of the globe with perpetual desolation. Hence the 
 contrivance of the expansion of water, in the form of 
 ice. by which its specific gravity being less, it rises to 
 
 50. What contrivance preserves it in a fit state for use 1 
 
 51. What contrivance in respect to disposal of it'? 
 
 52. What contrivance renders it useful ? 
 
 53. "What contrivance protects it from cold? 
 
FROM THE LIGHT OF NATURE. 17 
 
 the surface, and offers a sufficient protection from the 
 rigor of the cold to the depths below. 
 
 Again : a not less wonderful instance of contrivance 
 is seen in the newly discovered power which water 
 becomes in the form of steam, and which promises to 
 affect deeply the commercial, social, and religious in- 
 terests of mankind. 
 
 Such are some of the proofs of contrivance in one 
 of the most familiar objects in nature. 
 
 Now, this argument from contrivance, in proof of 
 a Contriver, is not to be estimated by a single illus- 
 tration. The argument is almost endlessly cumula- 
 tive. It increases in strength with every new instance 
 in which contrivance is manifest. And such instances 
 multiply and become more and more striking, just 
 in proportion to the accuracy and minuteness of cur 
 examination. They are seen in the peculiar con- 
 struction of every species of insect, bird, fish, animal, 
 and plant ; adapting each to their own peculiar sphere 
 of existence and to no other. Instances of contrivance 
 are seen in every blade of grass, and in the formation 
 of the various parts of every delicate flower. As we 
 examine with the microscope the more delicate works 
 of nature, as, for instance, the myriads of animalculae 
 in the smallest drop of water — and scan the wonders 
 which are never seen by the multitude with the naked 
 
 54. What renders it subservient to other purposes 1 
 
 55. Is this the whole strength of the argument ? 
 
 56. Is it only the beginning of the argument 1 
 
 57. Where is contrivance further seen 1 
 
 58. What do you say of microscopic observations ? 
 
 2* 
 
18 EXISTENCE OF GOD PROVED 
 
 eye, there we find growing still upon us, proof on 
 proof of contrivance varied and multiplied in every 
 form which every where exists. 
 
 And so again, if, with the telescope, we turn our 
 eye to the heavens above, and read the laws of order, 
 the proofs of wisdom, power, and goodness which there 
 abound, still it is only one accumulating mass of 
 proof, growing continually upon us, to convince us 
 of the power and the wisdom of the Creator. 
 
 And so, in every place, and on every hand, from 
 the rolling of a planet to the microscopic mite, there is 
 never lacking the most complete adaptation of every 
 thing to its own end ; the nicest arrangement of 
 every thing to its own sphere ; in a word, the most 
 conclusive evidence of contrivance, proving the ex- 
 istence of a Contriver. And that Contriver is God. 
 
 Here, then, is our first argument for the existence 
 of God. Contrivance proves a Contriver. All these 
 multiplied exhibitions of wisdom, skill, power, design, 
 are not the offspring of mere chance. On the con- 
 trary, " the invisible things of Him, from the crea- 
 tion, are clearly seen, being understood by the things 
 that are made, even His eternal power and God- 
 head." 
 
 III. Our next argument in proof of the existence 
 of God, is of a different kind. It is less imposing at 
 
 59. "What of telescopic 1 
 
 60. What is seen every where ? 
 
 61. What conclusions do we form % 
 
 62. Does St. Paul endorse this argument % 
 
 63. What is the next general argument 1 
 
FROM THE LIGHT OF NATURE. 19 
 
 the first, but yet will bear the strictest examination. 
 It is drawn from the general consent of mankind. In 
 all ages of the world, ia all countries of the world, in 
 all degrees of civilization, the belief has prevailed that 
 thep.e is a God. If there have been found excep- 
 tions to this rule, they are insignificant in number, 
 and do not affect the main fact, that the whole world 
 of mankind, <m^diluvian and ^os/diluvian, patriarchal, 
 Jewish, Christian, gentile, Mahometan and pagan, all 
 have consented to this one fact, of the Being of a God. 
 Nor is the argument weakened by the fact, that crude 
 notions respecting the Deity have extensively pre- 
 vailed. The argument arises from the universality of 
 the belief, that there is a God, and does not seem 
 accountable upon any other supposition than that He 
 really is. 
 
 His existence appears to have been one of those 
 first great truths about which the world have never 
 been divided — a truth which doubtless had its origin 
 in the early history of the world, when God spake to 
 mankind face to face — a truth handed down from 
 generation to generation by tradition — a truth which 
 His works confirm from age to age. 
 
 IV. We shall not enter upon another argument, 
 
 64. What do you say of it 1 
 
 65. Where has this belief been held 1 
 
 66. What do you say of exceptions 1 
 
 67. What follows from this universality 1 
 
 68. Whence must it have arisen 1 
 
 69. How was it handed down 1 
 
 70. How was it confirmed 1 
 
20 EXISTENCE OF GOD PROVED 
 
 sometimes urged to prove the existence of God, viz., 
 the intuitive perceptions of the human mind. 
 
 It has been sometimes supposed by certain mys- 
 tics, that the soul is conscious of the immediate exist- 
 ence and presence of the Great Spirit, even as spirit- 
 ual beings are conscious of the presence of each other. 
 As if God so fills immensity with His presence, that 
 the spirit within us, in a manner to us incomprehen- 
 sible, knows and feels that He is. 
 
 However convincing this argument may be to those 
 who embrace it, we choose rather to rely upon those 
 evidences only which will bear the test of our under- 
 standings and our judgment. 
 
 And such are the arguments which have been 
 already presented ; the argument drawn from the 
 visible works of God, and that from the general con- 
 sent of mankind. And with these two main argu- 
 ments, we now leave the subject with the reader. 
 
 Conclusion. — If we do not need to be convinced of 
 the fact, do we not, at least, need more deeply to 
 realize the truth of the existence of the Deity ? As 
 we go forth to our daily walks and business ; as we 
 enter the holy sanctuary of the Most High God ; as 
 we visit the sacred retirements of the closet, how 
 
 71. What argument is not urged 1 
 
 72. Who have held itf 73. State the argument. 
 
 74. On what arguments do we rely 1 
 
 75. Repeat the two arguments to prove the Being of God. 
 
 76. What do all need in respect to this argument 1 
 
 77. Where ought the recollection of this truth to follow us 1 
 
from: the light of nature. %1 
 
 would our indifference or our irreverence vanish be- 
 fore the thought of the omnipresence of the Godhead, 
 who is carefully noting all our thoughts, words, and 
 actions : and who will hereafter bring every work 
 into judgment, whether it be good or whether it be 
 
 78. What effect would it produce upon us 7 
 
 79. What truth, respecting God, should render us watchful ? 
 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 ATTRIBUTES OF GOD, AS PROVED FROM THE 
 LIGHT OF NATURE. 
 
 Two illustrations will first be given of the import- 
 ance of our present course of examination. 
 
 It was the confession of a man particularly distin- 
 guished for elevated and deep devotion and piety, that 
 while he had never felt much inclination to those sen- 
 sual religious enjoyments, which are the snare of 
 thousands, by which he meant the awakening of the 
 religious sympathy properly so called, yet that he had 
 sometimes been tempted to a total relinquishment of 
 his faith and to utter apostacy ; and he attributed 
 this temptation to a deficiency of thorough instruction 
 in the fundamental principles of Christianity. 
 
 How often the observation of modern times gives 
 us examples like the following : 
 
 A young man had enjoyed the privilege of being 
 
 
 1. What is the subject of this chapter? 
 
 2. What do you mean by this 1 
 
 3. What was the confession of a distinguished man ? 
 
 4. What were his doubts owing to ? 
 
 5. What illustration is next given 1 
 
ATTRIBUTES OP GOD PROVED. 23 
 
 born in a Christian land, had been favored with the 
 prayers of a pious mother, had believed in Christian- 
 ity as thousands believe in it, from mere habit and 
 custom, and at an early age had taken his position in 
 the Church and in the Sunday school, and was already 
 regarded with high hope and strong confidence by 
 Christian friends. A spirit of enterprise called him 
 from home awhile, to reside in the more distant parts 
 of our western country. New influences and associa- 
 tions now surrounded him. Christianity was hardly 
 known there as a practical system, and was scarcely 
 ever named except in derision. Objections against 
 the Bible (which have been answered a thousand 
 times) now filled his ear, to which he was utterly 
 unable to reply. He found himself continually baf- 
 fled in argument, and at once regarded as ignorant, 
 bigoted, and superstitious. The crafty infidel marked 
 him as his prey ; and by means of intrigue, ridicule, 
 sophistry, and flattery, soon demolished every frag- 
 ment of his belief in the Gospel. His belief and his 
 practice, as is usual in such cases, soon, corresponded 
 with each other. His prayers were deserted, His 
 Bible was thrown aside. Irreverence and impiety 
 were stamped upon his character. 
 
 At length he returned home again to the bosom 
 of his friends ; but, alas, it was only to robe them in 
 sackcloth, and plunge them in deeper woe than they 
 
 6. How was he early situated % 7. What was his character % 
 
 8. To what influences was he exposed 7 
 
 9. How did he meet them 7 
 
24 ATTRIBUTES OF GOD PROVED. 
 
 would have felt in standing around his opened grave. 
 Bitter indeed were the tears of a broken-hearted mo- 
 ther, which she shed, not over the death of the body, 
 but over the spiritual death of his soul. And yet 
 upon herself did a great share of that responsibility 
 rest, in that she had failed to instruct him in the first 
 principles of the Christian faith. 
 
 There may be among those who peruse these pages, 
 some who are not utter strangers to such temptations 
 — some who at certain earnest moments of their lives, 
 stop and ask, Is it not possible that I am mistaken in 
 all my views of essential truth ? — some, in whose 
 minds such doubts have never been solved, and will 
 follow them down to the very chambers of death ? 
 
 We must not always call such suggestions as these 
 the temptations of Satan. Alas ! there is too much 
 occasion for them, in that want of early instruction 
 which prevails, and in that lack of thorough acquaint- 
 ance with the fundamental truths of our most holy 
 religion. Too often we fail to fortify our minds with 
 evidences of truth, and then call our honest doubts 
 devices of Satan ; and then, amid the heart-searching 
 realities of death, are confused with uncertainties and 
 doubts, because the power of truth does not support 
 our souls. 
 
 Here, too, is the secret of that lamentable fact, that 
 so many who go forth into the more destitute portions 
 
 10. To what was his apostacy owing 1 
 
 11. Are such doubts common'? 12. What is their origin? 
 
 13. How are they to be avoided % 
 
 14. Are they temptations of Satan? 
 
FROM THE LIGHT OF NATURE. 25 
 
 of our country, though once professed believers in 
 Christianity, though nominal, and perhaps exemplary 
 disciples of Christ, soon lose their religious character, 
 become apostates from the faith, and at length the 
 most bitter revilers of that holy name and cause once 
 so dear to their hearts. 
 
 Such facts show us the importance of fortifying our 
 minds with the truth, and of instructing the rising 
 generation thoroughly in the first principles of the 
 religion of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Another consideration deserves notice. There is 
 at the present day probably far less thorough acquaint- 
 ance with the first truths of religion, and far more 
 secret unbelief than is generally supposed, or than 
 might be expected from the general prevalence of 
 education. Religious education is little attended to, 
 though it is the most important of all themes. Know- 
 ledge, on all subjects, though more generally diffused 
 than formerly, is yet less thorough and onore super- 
 ficial. First principles are too little regarded ; while 
 the prevailing habit is, to fill the mind with a vast 
 collection of facts, thrown together in a chaotic state, 
 without order, system, or arrangement. 
 
 Hence, we see the importance of pursuing with 
 attention the course of argument in the present vol- 
 ume. In God's strength (without which we can do no- 
 
 15. What are the frequent results of such ignorance 1 
 
 16. What should we infer? 
 
 17. What is the next consideration'? 
 
 18. What characterizes the present system of education'? 
 
 19. How should this lead us to regard the present examination ? 
 
 3 
 
26 ATTRIBUTES OF GOD PROVED 
 
 thing) may we be able to throw a shield of faith around 
 some Christian heart, which the darts of the enemy 
 cannot penetrate ; to dispel doubts from some in- 
 quiring mind, and thus arm the soul against the mys- 
 terious trials of life, and the stern conflicts of death. 
 
 In our former chapter, we attended to some proofs 
 of the existence of G-od, showing what is meant by the 
 Being of God. and why we believe in His existence. 
 
 The next question which naturally arises, and which 
 is necessary as an introduction to our future investi- 
 gation, is, what is the character of that Being whose 
 existence we have already proved ? What attributes 
 are proved to belong to Him, as reflected from the 
 mere light of nature ? For, on these evidences we 
 are to rely, as we shall approach other questions, here- 
 after of great practical moment. 
 
 Is that God, whom the works of nature indicate. 
 one, or many ? infinite, or finite 1 omnipotent, or im- 
 potent ? omnipresent, or confined ? benevolent, or 
 malevolent ? 
 
 We think we can easily perceive, that from the 
 works of nature alone, the God of nature is one, eter- 
 nal, infinite, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, and 
 benevolent Being. 
 
 This field, as every person will notice, is one of 
 great magnitude ; to explore which, with the least 
 
 20. On what are we dependent % 
 
 21. What was the subject of the last chapter'? 
 
 22. Where do we now look for our arguments 1 
 
 23. What shall we find the attributes of God to be 1 
 
 24. What is the character of this fields 
 
FROM THE LIGHT OF NATURE. 27 
 
 faithfulness, must require strict attention, for it is as 
 boundless and diversified as the universe of God ; and 
 might well demand years of labor, rather than the 
 few brief moments to which we are now necessarily 
 limited. 
 
 Still, as the naturalist, by examining a mere frag- 
 ment of the fossil remains of antiquity, is able to pro- 
 nounce confidently as to the species to which the 
 relics belonged ; and as the perfection of an artist, a 
 sculptor, or a painter, is often exhibited by a mere 
 touch of his nand, so also, in our present examination, 
 if we can pronounce definitely upon a single one of 
 the attributes of the Supreme Being, we shall thus 
 catch at least a glimpse of the ineffable glory and 
 majesty which encircle His throne. Besides, the pos- 
 session of one infinite perfection, is a strong presump- 
 tive argument that He possesses every such perfection. 
 
 First. The light of nature proves the attribute of 
 the Unity of God, or that God is one. 
 
 The argument is briefly this ; that throughout the 
 whole natural world, we discover every where a unity 
 of plan, a unity of order, and of purpose, which proves 
 that that God who is the author of the natural world, 
 is, and must be one, and not many. 
 
 For, if there were more gods than one, we might 
 
 25. What illustration is employed 1 
 
 26. Is the possession of one attribute of the Deity any pre- 
 
 sumptive argument of others 1 
 
 27. What attribute is first examined 1 
 
 28. WTiat is the course of argument 1 
 
 29. If there were more gods than one, what would follow 7 
 
23 ATTRIBUTES OF GOD PROVED 
 
 have expected to find the results of that multiplicity 
 in the contrariety of counsels by which they would be 
 governed. We should have seen law warring against 
 law, system against system, and disorder and confu- 
 sion reigning in ruinous conflict. 
 
 But it is not so. Every thing in the natural world 
 exhibits the most perfect unity and complete har- 
 mony, both of counsel and action. "While there ap- 
 pears before us variety of skill, and endless diversity 
 of execution, yet there are, in. through, and above all. 
 exhibited marks of one great, superintending, and 
 presiding Spirit, controlling and directing all things 
 to one great end. 
 
 What we call the '• laws of nature," are so many 
 proofs of the Unity of God. They are strong proofs 
 of the uniformity of plan and counsel of Him who is 
 the great author of all. Thus, throughout the whole 
 animal world, and throughout the vegetable world, 
 we always find certain uniform laws in existence, and 
 we never find either animal or vegetable life without 
 them. 
 
 So also in the matter of which the earth is com- 
 posed, we discover certain properties belonging to all 
 bodies, and we never find the existence of matter 
 without them. In every continent, in every newly 
 discovered island, these same laws of nature alwavs 
 
 30. Are there any proofs of this 1 
 
 31. What is perceptible in the laws of nature? 
 
 32. What do we always find in the animal and vegetable world? 
 
 33. How extensive are these laws % 
 
 34. Is matter ever found without them 1 
 
 
FROM THE LIGHT OF NATURE. 29 
 
 exist. As we turn the telescope toward the heavenly 
 bodies, and bring them more perfectly within our 
 field of vision, we there discover the very same laws 
 which prevail on the earth. We witness their annual 
 and diurnal revolution — their succession of seasons 
 and of day and night, and the undeviating accuracy 
 with which they move on in pleasing harmony together. 
 
 Nay, more than this. In modern times, astrono- 
 mers have detected some apparent irregularity in the 
 motions of some of theso bodies. They thought they 
 detected some causes interfering with perfect har- 
 mony, and the known regularity of nature's opera- 
 tions led them to suppose that that disturbing cause 
 must be some planetary body not as yet discovered. 
 Not only this, but having ascertained where a heav- 
 enly body might be situated, which would exert the 
 very influence, not attributable to any known cause, 
 they turned the telescope to that point in the heav- 
 ens, when, lo! behold! there lay concealed in the 
 depths of space, the heavenly body, exerting its potent 
 influence ; proof beyond dispute both of the harmony 
 of nature, and also of the Unity of Gtod. 
 
 The supposition is not groundless, that the whole 
 starry heavens, including all the fixed stars, are parts 
 of one great system, moving on in harmony and order 
 around one common centre — system within system — 
 urging on their silent, peaceful course together. 
 
 35. What recent discovery illustrates this % 
 
 36. How was that planet first discovered % 
 
 37. What is probable concerning the starry heavens 1 
 
 3* 
 
30 ATTRIBUTES OF GOD PROVED 
 
 For, as we lose sight entirely of some fixed stars 
 in one portion of the heavens, while stars of the first 
 magnitude facie away almost imperceptibly, so in an 
 opposite direction, new fields of light break upon the 
 vision ; and as the relative position of some heavenly 
 bodies gradually changes, so it is supposed that the 
 very point may yet be found, with some degree of 
 certainty, around which the visible Universe of God 
 revolves. 
 
 Again : the uniformity of the laws of nature is an 
 acknowledged fact, upon which all men continually 
 act. 
 
 "We believe that the sun will continue to rise and 
 set, that the seasons of the year will succeed each 
 other with perfect order, that the rains and dews will 
 descend, that the seed of the husbandman will vege- 
 tate in the earth — because we have learned, as a fact 
 of experience, the uniformity with which the laws of 
 nature are executed. And yet, all this is a strong ar- 
 gument for the Unity of God. 
 
 For, if there were many gods, each being the source 
 of law, and the idea of God supposes this, then the 
 sun might sometimes cease to rise : and the earth. 
 instead of rolling on in its orbit around its central lumi- 
 nary, might rush impetuously into the depths of 
 space, a world in ruins ! While every law of our 
 own being, and of all being, might cease to act. 
 
 38. Do all men practically believe in the uniformity of the 
 laws of nature ? 39. State this more distinctly. 
 
 40. State various circumstances in which they thus act. 
 
 41. What is the next position 1 
 
FROM THE LIGHT OF NATURE, 31 
 
 But of all this we now have no apprehension, and 
 imply truly, from this admitted fact, that God is and 
 must be One. 
 
 Second. The light of nature proves that God is not 
 only One, but that He is a Being, of eternal exist- 
 ence, of infinite knowledge, is everywhere present, and 
 possessing almighty power. 
 
 The proof from the light of nature that there is a 
 God, and that that God is one, proves also, of necessity, 
 that He exists in the possession of all those attributes 
 just now named. For the light of nature proves, not 
 the fact of the bare existence of a Being whom we 
 call God, but also the existence of certain attributes, 
 which are combined together to form the perfect cha- 
 racter of that Person whom we call God. If, there- 
 fore, God is, and if He is One, as we have already 
 proved, then He is One in the implied possession of 
 all those attributes of character, which, as we have 
 seen, shine forth in His works, and which prove His 
 existence. 
 
 He must be Eternal ; for He could not have been 
 the Author of all things, without a previous eternal 
 self-existence. 
 
 He must be Omniscient; for He could not have 
 
 42. What does the light of nature Drove in respect to these 
 attributes 1 
 
 43. Are not these attributes the result of the proof of His exist- 
 
 ence 1 44. If God is one, what follows 1 
 
 45. Why must He be Eternal 1 
 
 46. Why must He be Omniscient 1 
 
32 ATTRIBUTES OF GOD PROVED 
 
 been the wise Author of all things without a most 
 perfect knowledge of all. 
 
 He must be Omnipresent, or He could not have 
 filled immensity with His ever present sustaining 
 power. 
 
 And He must be Omnipotent ; for surely. He could 
 not have brought into being all the works of His 
 hands, without possessing boundless might. 
 
 So that, as we perceive, the possession of these and 
 all other perfect attributes of character follows, as a 
 matter of necessity, upon our belief in Him as being 
 one God. 
 
 He must be before ail : He knows all : He is 
 present every where : He can do all things. 
 
 Third. Let us now. for a moment, consider the im- 
 mensity of God's Being and Power. Let us fasten in 
 our minds the truth of His Omnipresence and Omnip- 
 otence. 
 
 ^Ve begin to perceive the immensity of God ; s 
 Being in what He is doing for ourselves. We cannot 
 lift a finger, move a muscle, or exercise a volition with- 
 out Him: and yet. all that He. is doing for each one 
 of us. He is also doing, at the same moment, for each 
 one of the hundreds of millions of human beings who 
 live on the earth. But this thought scarcely touches 
 the immensity of His Being. He exercises the same 
 
 47. Why must He be Omnipresent % 
 
 48. Why must He be Omnipotent 1 
 
 49. To what considerations are we next directed 7 
 
 50. What do we mean by the immensity of God's being 1 
 
 51. How do we see it 1 52. How and where does it exist? 
 
FROM THE LIGHT OF NATURE. 33 
 
 care, every moment, over every bird that flies in the 
 air, every insect which creeps upon the earth, every 
 fish which swims in the seas — nay, over every leaf of 
 the forest, every lily and flower of the field, and every 
 spire of grass. The idea of that immensity of 
 Being greatly enlarges, as we consider the worlds on 
 worlds in the realms of space ; which, though they 
 seem like sparkling gems to the naked eye, become 
 vast globes as viewed through the glass of the astron- 
 omer, and seem fitted up for the abodes of living 
 beings. What immensity of Being belongs to that 
 God, on whom depends every living being which in- 
 habits those innumerable worlds. And as we remem- 
 ber that space is boundless, is infinite, who can con- 
 ceive of the unknown worlds of life, and light, and 
 love, with which that same Being has filled those un- 
 fathomable depths ? 
 
 Let us consider, also, the immensity of God's 
 Power. 
 
 We speak of the power of man, as seen in the monu- 
 ments of ancient and modern times. And yet, na- 
 ture is filled with monuments of God's Power, beyond 
 all comparison, greater than these. 
 
 The power of nations is seen in their navies and 
 fleets ; and yet are they tossed like a feather upon 
 God's mighty deep. 
 
 We often speak of the grandeur of cities ; and yet 
 the mere shaking of the earth overthrows them. 
 
 53. Has space any limits? 54. What follows? 
 
 55. What consideration next follows 1 
 
 56. In what is the power of nations seen 1 
 
34 ATTRIBUTES OF GOD PE.OVED 
 
 Man's power is adequate only to mould or fashion 
 the works of God already existing — God's Power is 
 creative. He speaks, and creation springs forth at 
 His word ; He speaks again, and creation vanishes in 
 the twinkling of an eye. 
 
 We cannot conceive adequately of the Power of 
 God. We see one illustration of that Power in the 
 force with which the planetary bodies move in their 
 orbits. With a diameter of scores of thousands of 
 miles these immense worlds speed their way, through 
 their vast orbits with inconceivable velocity, and yet 
 so gently that an infant's slumber is not broken. 
 And, as we conceive of immensity of space, filled with 
 such worlds and systems of worlds, all revolving with 
 awful rapidity, and yet all upheld by the Arm of 
 God, we have a thought of the Omnipotent Power of 
 God, even as reflected in the light of nature, sufficient 
 to appal the stoutest heart. Let us adore His ma- 
 jesty. Let us revere His goodness. Let us avoid 
 His displeasure. 
 
 Fourth. The light of nature proves God to be a 
 Benevolent Being. 
 
 The heathen philosophers inferred from the mere 
 light of nature that God must be good. The great 
 moralist, Seneca, says : " The first act of worship is 
 
 57. Hoy/ is the power of God contrasted 'l 
 
 58. Illustrate God's power in the motions of the planets. 
 
 59. Their size and their orbits. 
 
 60. How must we regard the pow r er of God ? 
 
 61. What attribute of God is next examined? 
 
 62. What did Seneca say 1 
 
FROM THE LIGHT OF NATURE. , 35 
 
 to believe the Being of G-od ; and the next, to ascribe 
 majesty or greatness to Him, and to ascribe goodness, 
 without which there can be no greatness." And this 
 belief in G-od's goodness, Seneca also says, was the 
 foundation of all their religion, their prayers, and 
 their praise. 
 
 We have- proofs of G-od's goodness in the adapta- 
 tion of the physical creation to the promotion of 
 human happiness. 
 
 There was no necessity that G-od should paint the 
 sky, the fields, and the forests, with the most agree- 
 able of all colors to the natural eye. 
 
 There was no necessity that God should perfume 
 the air with fragrance, or spangle the earth with 
 flowers. 
 
 There was no necessity that he should give the at- 
 mosphere power to fall upon the ear in such sweet 
 and rich harmony of sounds. 
 
 Surely, there was no necessity why G-od should thus 
 make 
 
 " All nature beauty to the eye. 
 And music to the ear ;" 
 
 and yet, G-od has filled creation with beauty, and 
 glory, and wonder ; has lavished the treasures of his 
 
 63. Where haye we proofs of the goodness of God 1 
 
 64. What proof in the prevalence of certain colors 1 
 
 65. What in the existence of the flowers of the field 1 
 
 66. What in the atmosphere 1 67. What has God done 1 
 
 68. Was there any necessity of this ? 
 
 69. Is this adaptation proof of goodness 1 
 
36 ATTRIBUTES OF GOD PROVED 
 
 wisdom in multiplying sources of enjoyment on every 
 
 hand. And then. He has hidden in the human soul 
 a deep fountain of feeling, a susceptibility of emotion 
 from the presentation of such objects. 
 
 Having drawn across that sacred harp within the 
 tender strings, taste, sentiment, love of the beautiful. 
 He has then given to nature without, power to awaken 
 from that harp tones of the sweetest music. 
 
 There was no necessity for this wonderful and wide- 
 spread adaptation of the natural world to human hap- 
 piness. Its existence, therefore, is a signal proof of 
 the benevolence of (Job, 
 
 TVe see another illustration of the benevolence of 
 God in still other sources of happiness provided for 
 his intelligent creatures. In the pleasures of thought, 
 the pleasures of memory, the pleasures of the imagi- 
 nation and fancy, the pleasure felt in the conscious 
 power of soaring above a physical world into regions 
 of truth, and holding communion with the great 
 Author of all being. 
 
 Again : We see another illustration of the benevo- 
 lence of God in the happiness 'with which the animal 
 world is filled. 
 
 Let him who doubts whether God is benevolent. 
 take his position, at some hour of the morning, upon 
 the banks of the rolling stream, beneath the over- 
 
 70. With what has God endowed man ? 
 
 71. What proof in the sources of intellectual enjoyment 1 
 
 72. What are these ? 73. Are they important 1 
 
 74. What proof in the animal creation ? 
 
 75. What is the objector exhorted to do 1 
 
 
FROM THE LIGHT OF NATURE. 37 
 
 hanging foliage of the forest, as the rising sun awa- 
 kens the tide of life, and then decide the question as 
 to the goodness of God. 
 
 Beneath him, the fish are leaping up from their na- 
 tive element in sportive enjoyment ; around him are 
 innumerable tribes of happy insects, rejoicing in their 
 being : above him, the trees are full of warbling birds, 
 and the whole forest is vocal with the sweetest music. 
 The air, perfumed with flowers, is wafted to him from 
 the fields of nature. And, as his soul drinks in this 
 full tide of beauty, and music, and. love, let him say 
 whether the Author of all this must not be a benevo- 
 lent Being ? 
 
 Fifth. In contrast with all this, there may seem, to a 
 superficial observer, to be a darker shade to the pic- 
 ture — as in the lightnings and storms, the raging of 
 the elements of nature ; in the sickness, disappoint- 
 ments, and trials incident to human existence even in 
 its best estate ; in the sufferings of the brute and ani- 
 mal creation ; and in the admission into the world of 
 so much moral evil. 
 
 But, in the language of the poet, 
 
 " There is some soul of goodness in things evil, 
 Would men, observingly, distil it out." 
 
 76. What does he find around him 1 
 
 77. Have we ever felt the force of this argument ourselves 1 
 
 78. Must not the Source of so much love be Himself Love 1 
 
 79. Is not this true of human character? 
 
 80. From what does an objection sometimes arise % 
 
 81. Name the sources of some of these objections. 
 
 4 
 
33 ATTRIBUTES OF GOD PROVED 
 
 The raging of the elements, the lightnings, and the 
 storms, purify the atmosphere from noxious vapors, 
 and render it healthful. 
 
 The trials, disappointments, and sorrows of life are 
 far from being unmixed evils. They are disciplinary 
 in their character ; the loving chastisements of a Fa- 
 ther, and adapted to develope the noblest feelings of 
 our nature. 
 
 The sufferings of the animal and brute creation 
 may be greatly exaggerated ; may be really as nothing 
 in comparison with the amount of happiness actually 
 enjoyed ; may arise from a constitution of their being, 
 on the whole, benevolent, and may have other moral 
 and salutary uses, which now we cannot understand. 
 
 And, as to the admission into the world of moral 
 evil, of sin and its consequences, it may have arisen 
 from that freedom of volition which God has not 
 deemed it, on the whole, wise to prevent ; while we 
 may observe here, that this whole subject of moral 
 evil can only be understood aright in its relation to 
 the character of God, when viewed in the light of that 
 great Remedy, adequate to man's wants, found in the 
 gospel of God's Son. 
 
 82. What would you reply respecting the existence of storms ? 
 
 83. What respecting trials and afflictions ? 
 
 84. Do they prove that God is not good ? 
 
 85. May they not be proofs of goodness 1 
 
 86. What would you say respecting suffering in the animal 
 
 or brute creation 1 
 
 87. What would you reply respecting moral evil ? 
 
 88. Does not the revelation of a Remedy throw great light 
 
 upon this subject? 
 
FROM THE LIGHT OF NATURE. 39 
 
 Thus Vanish away the apparent objections to the 
 benevolence of God, 
 
 Our examination, in the present chapter, has made 
 us acquainted with several of the attributes of Goo 
 as exhibited in the works of His hand. We have seen 
 that the God of nature must be an eternal, omniscient, 
 omnipresent, omnipotent, and benevolent Being. 
 
 Concluding Reflections. — First. How important 
 and profitable to us to contemplate the character of 
 God, as seen in His works ! 
 
 If, by a law of our being, association with others of 
 our own species wiser and better than ourselves, tends 
 to impress upon ourselves something of that wiser and 
 better character, then how will familiar contemplation 
 of the perfect character of God, as seen in His works, 
 tend to spiritualize and ennoble our minds ! 
 
 At least, it will help to check presumptuous trans- 
 gression, to curb unholy tempers, and to reform the 
 irregularity of the life, if we will bring, frequently and 
 vividly, before our minds the truth of the omniscience, 
 omnipresence, omnipotence, and benevolence of the 
 Divine Being. No depths of depravity, no shades of 
 adversity, no bitter waters of affliction, no bright 
 scenes of bliss, can ever prevent our being the crea- 
 tures of such a God. 
 
 69. What, then, do God's attributes seem to be 1 
 
 90. What is the first concluding reflection 1 
 
 91. What would be the effect of contemplating the divine 
 
 character 1 [power of God. 
 
 92. Can we flee from the presence, or hide ourselves from the 
 
40 ATTRIBUTES OF GOD PROVED. 
 
 Second. If this world, which is but the Tootstool of 
 the Almight y. bears so many marks upon it of beaut j 
 and love, what a world of perfection and beauty that 
 must be. which is the more immediate abode, and is 
 honored with the abiding presence of the Deity. 
 
 " Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have 
 entered into the heart of man, the things which God 
 hath prepared for them that love Him/' 1 Cor. ii. 9. 
 
 93. What is the next reflection % 
 
 94. Is there not in all probability a world more beautiful than 
 
 this ? 95. What considerations imply this 1 
 
 96. Have there not been conceptions of such a world among 
 
 all nations 1 
 
 97. What motives may be drawn from it 1 
 
'CHAPTER 111. 
 
 PROBABILITY AND NECESSITY OF A REVELATION 
 
 In the previous chapters we have proved, from the 
 light of nature, the facts of the existence of God, and 
 of His possessing certain attributes of character. We 
 have read, even in the book of nature, that God is 
 One. Infinite. Eternal, Omniscient, Omnipotent. Om- 
 nipresent, and Benevolent. 
 
 As we advance, however, with the subject, we ap- 
 proach other questions of great importance, and of 
 deep, personal interest. Let us, as becomes searchers 
 after truth, divest ourselves of all prejudice, and give 
 to the subject our earnest attention, and the exercise 
 of an unbiassed judgment. 
 
 The question which we now approach, is, Has 
 God, whose existence and attributes we have proved, 
 besides that manifestation of his character which ap- 
 pears in His works, also made a more perfect reve- 
 lation of His will, in what is called His word ? It 
 
 1. What subjects have been examined in previous chapters 1 
 
 2. With what feelings should we approach questions now be- 
 
 fore us 1 3. What is the subject of the present chapter 1 
 4* 
 
42 PROBABILITY AND NECESSITY 
 
 is the question of a revelation which shall be to us 
 the medium of clearer knowledge, the rule of our 
 life, the measure of our hopes, as well as the source 
 of our fears. 
 
 First. There is nothing absurd or improbable in the 
 supposition, that God should make a more particular 
 revelation of His will to His intelligent creatures 
 than He has already made in His works. 
 
 To suppose that God could not do this, would im- 
 peach His omnipotence, an essential attribute of His 
 character. 
 
 To suppose that He would not do it, might be to 
 impeach His wisdom and benevolence. 
 
 To suppose, as some infidels have, that no evidence 
 can be sufficient to us, of such a revelation having 
 been made, is to take for granted the very thing to 
 be proved. 
 
 But, in truth, there is nothing at all improbable in 
 the supposition of such a revelation. 
 
 God has brought into existence an order of rational, 
 intelligent beings, formed with a union of the ma- 
 terial body with the immaterial soul — the immaterial 
 being made dependent upon the material for much of 
 its knowledge and happiness. That immaterial mind, 
 having the powers of memory, of consciousness, of 
 reason and of anticipation, feels within itself a thou- 
 sand wants which the book of nature cannot supply, 
 
 4. State the argument from the perfections of God. 
 
 5. State the argument from the twofold nature of man. 
 
 6. State the argument from the ignorance of man. 
 
OF A REVELATION. 43 
 
 and asks a thousand questions which the light of* na- 
 ture cannot answer. These wants and these questions 
 are but the natural language of the mind, as created 
 by its Author. And there is nothing improbable in 
 supposing that He, who formed the mind, should make 
 provision for these its real necessities. 
 
 For example, it is a question which the mind has 
 often asked, Is the soul itself immortal ? And yet, 
 that question, so important, the light of nature never 
 fully or clearly answered ; and that question, once 
 raised, involves others of the greatest moment. For, 
 if immortal, where shall it be ? how shall it be ? 
 And if its present state of being is preparatory to 
 another, as analogy from nature might lead it to sup- 
 pose, what is that needful preparation ? Surely, it is 
 not improbable that a G-od of wisdom and love should 
 furnish the answer to such questions. 
 
 Besides these questions, it has wants of another 
 kind. The soul feels within itself the existence, the 
 claims, and the power of a law of rectitude, commonly 
 called conscience. And yet it is equally conscious of 
 having neglected duties imposed by that law, and vio- 
 lated that law, and hence of incurring guilt. The 
 mind asks, then, what must be the consequence, the 
 penalty of a violation of this inward law of conscience, 
 this law of G-od % Will the Author of that law, whose 
 displeasure is thus incurred, inflict punishment % if 
 so, what degree % and can that displeasure be avert- 
 ed, and the offence be forgiven ? 
 
 7. What are some of those questions which the light of na- 
 ture does not answer 1 
 
44 PROBABILITY AND NECESSITY 
 
 These are important questions. It will not silence 
 the restlessness of the mind to reply that these, its 
 yearnings after truth, pertaining to its duty and des- 
 tiny, are of little moment. It feels, and feels deeply, 
 that the question of its own immortality is one of 
 momentous import. And certainly there is nothing 
 improbable in the supposition, that a God of wisdom 
 and love should make a revelation to the mind suited 
 to these its real wants. 
 
 Again : Not only does it seem probable that God 
 should make a revelation to his intelligent creatures, 
 but the wisest men who have ever lived without the * 
 light of revelation, have acknowledged its necessity. 
 
 The pagan philosopher, Plato, relates the following 
 affecting story in point. He says that Alcibiades, on one 
 occasion, was going up to a heathen temple to offer up 
 his prayers, when he was met by the heathen philoso- 
 pher, Socrates. Socrates began to urge upon Alcibi- 
 ades that he did not know what to pray for, and that 
 it was not safe for him to pray till God should dispel 
 the darkness of his mind, that he might discern be- 
 tween good and evil. Alcibiades replied, " I think I 
 must defer my sacrifices to that time." Socrates 
 answered, ". You have reason ; it is more safe to do so 
 than to run so great a hazard." 
 
 Here we have three among the wisest of men who 
 ever lived without revelation, Plato, Socrates, and 
 
 ! 
 
 8. Are these questions important 1 
 
 9. State the next general argument. 
 
 10. Give the statement of Plato. 
 
OF A REVELATION. 45 
 
 Alcibiades, acknowledging the great blindness of 
 man as to his chief good, under the mere light of na- 
 ture. 
 
 Another pagan of great note, Jamblichus, in his 
 life of Pythagoras, says, " It is manifest that those 
 things are to be done which are pleasing to G-od ; but 
 what they are it is not easy to know, except man were 
 taught them by God Himself, or by some person who 
 had received them from God, or obtained the know- 
 ledge of them by some divine means." — Jamb, in Vit. 
 Pythag., cap. 28. Indeed, all the greater philosophers, 
 especially the later followers of Plato, owned the 
 absolute necessity of divine illumination, or revelation 
 from G-od. 
 
 Cicero, the great Roman orator, speaking of the ig- 
 norance of the philosophers, uses this language : 
 " With Zeno, as we understand him, Arcesilas pre- 
 scribes to himself a universal uncertainty ; not from 
 perverseness, nor from the desire of victory, as indeed 
 it seems to me, but from the obscurity of those things 
 which led Socrates to the confession of his ignorance ; 
 and before the time of Socrates, Democritus, Anaxa- 
 goras, Empedocles, almost all the ancients ; who 
 maintained that nothing could be understood, nothing 
 could be perceived, nothing could be known ; that the 
 senses of men were narrow inlets, that their minds 
 were imbecile, that the race of life was short, and that 
 truth was buried in the deep ; in fine, that everything 
 
 11. Relate the testimony of Jamblichus. 
 
 12. What does Cicero say concerning the ignorance of men % 
 
46 PROBABILITY AND NECESSITY 
 
 was surrounded with darkness." — Cic. Acad., lib. I. 
 xii. 44, p. 127: Paris, 1768. 
 
 And a more modern writer, Laving shut his eyes 
 upon revelation, and consulted the old philosophers 
 has the following language : " I consulted the philoso- 
 phers ; I ransacked their books ; I examined their 
 various opinions. I found them all proud, dictatorial, 
 dogmatical, even in their pretended skepticism ; pro- 
 fessedly ignorant of nothing, yet proving nothing. I 
 conceived that the weakness of the human understand- 
 ing is the first cause of this prodigious diversity of 
 sentiment, and that pride is the second. We are ig- 
 norant of ourselves, we know neither our nature nor 
 our active principle — impenetrable mystery surrounds 
 us on every side — they are above the region of our 
 sensation ; in order to penetrate them we think that 
 we have intelligence, and we have nothing but imagi- 
 nation." — Rousseau, Emile, torn. II., p. 140. 141. 
 
 Such is only a brief specimen of the confessions of 
 the wisest of men who have lived, having no other 
 light than that of nature — confessions proving that, 
 clearly as that light reflects some most important 
 truths, yet that there are other questions, of vast im- 
 port, on which the light of nature throws not one 
 glimmering ray. 
 
 Again : We shall see the need and probability of a 
 revelation still more clearly in the fact, that not only 
 
 13. State the confession of Rousseau. 
 
 14. What is the inference from this testimony 7 
 
 15. What is the next general argument ? 
 
OF A REVELATION. 47 
 
 under the light of nature is there great ignorance re- 
 specting truth and duty, but that truths and duties, 
 so far as made known, lack power of motive to render 
 them efficacious. 
 
 Admit that certain duties to G-od, to our fellow- 
 men, and to ourselves, were discoverable by the light 
 of nature ; yet they were only perceived by a few 
 philosophers, who had little agreement among them- 
 selves as to what those duties are ; and between whom 
 and the great mass of mankind there was little mutual 
 sympathy. Plato says, " The generality of men were 
 unfavorably affected towards philosophy ; and thus 
 the future world, at best being but a conjecture, a 
 final retribution conceived of, rather as a dream than 
 a living reality ; even though some philosophers des- 
 canted upon the pleasures, and some poets sang the 
 beauties of virtue, yet what power could virtue have, 
 when so taught and so feebly felt, to stem the torrent 
 of human passion, to overthrow and uproot the vices 
 of the world, and to make men virtuous and happy !" 
 
 Over the world of moral darkness no light was 
 thrown save that which glimmered from here and there 
 a wandering star ! The instrument for the destruc- 
 tion of vice at best a dull one, and yet no power 
 found to bring it to bear upon the root of the tree ! 
 Virtue dimly seen, and no motive strong enough to 
 
 16. Were moral duties clearly perceived ? 
 
 17. Did the philosophers agree among themselves 1 
 
 18. Had these duties any hold upon the public mind 1 
 
 19. Was there not need of motive to enforce them 1 
 
 20. What motives have we which they had not % 
 
48 PROBABILITY AXD NECESSITY 
 
 make it efficacious upon the hearts and lives of men ! 
 As Lactantius. a heathen philosopher says. " Their 
 precepts have no weight because they are human, and 
 need a greater authority, even a divine one. No man. 
 therefore, believes them, because he that hears them. 
 looks upon him that gives those precepts to be a man 
 as well as himself." — Lac. Divin. Ins.. lib. iii., cap. 27, 
 p. 330. 
 
 Again : If we examine the actual condition of man- 
 kind, under the mere light of nature, we shall see that 
 all which has been said of the obscurity of truth, and 
 the weakness of the power of motive, is practically 
 true. 
 
 This is evident in the number and the character of 
 the gods which have been worshipped. Having re- 
 volted from the true God, men have placed upon the 
 throne, and have fallen down and worshipped before 
 an endless variety of imaginary deities. Gods were 
 multiplied to such an extent, that whatever in nature 
 was looked upon as a source of good or evil, came to 
 be regarded as a deity, or as having within itself a 
 deity. 
 
 In Hindostan, as a learned writer states, ;: the poly- 
 theism is of the grossest kind : not fewer than three 
 
 21. What does Lactantius confess'? 
 
 22. What is the next general argument 1 
 
 23. What do you know respecting the number of gods ? 
 
 24. What was the character of their gods? 
 
 :25. What is the prevalence of polytheism in Hindostan? 
 
 26. What is polytheism 1 
 
 27. Which command of the decalogue is thus broken ? 
 
OF A REVELATION. 49 
 
 hundred and thirty millions of deities claiming the 
 adoration of their worshippers." — Home's Int., vol. i., 
 p. 21. While the " Chinese have gods celestial, ter- 
 restrial, and subterraneous ; gods of the hills, of the 
 valleys, of the woods of the districts, of the families, 
 of the shop, and of the kitchen ; gods that are sup- 
 posed to preside over the thunder, the rain, the fire, 
 over the grain, over diseases, births, and deaths." — 
 Ibid,, p. 21. 
 
 These deities were also of every variety of character. 
 Egypt, in her brightest days, worshipped a calf, and 
 paid homage to almost all kinds of brutes and ani- 
 mals, even the most loathsome and disgusting, as ser- 
 pents and reptiles. Plutarch asserts, that among 
 pagans worship was paid to evil beings, as such, while 
 to their deities were ascribed all the vile passions of 
 our own impure nature. So polluting are the pages 
 of heathen mythology, even of the most enlightened 
 nations of the pagan world, as Greece and Rome, that 
 they are unfit to be spread before the mind of a vir- 
 tuous youth. And yet these are the gods of human 
 nature, in its brightest days, without a Revelation 
 from Heaven. 
 
 The worship and sacrifices offered to these gods 
 
 28. Describe the polytheism of China. 
 
 29. What was the polytheism of Egypt *? 
 
 30. Was Egypt highly civilized 1 
 
 31. Were "evil beings" worshipped % 
 
 32. What author asserts this 1 
 
 33. What is the character of heathen mythology % 
 
 34. What was the character of the worship 1 
 
 5 
 
50 PROBABILITY AND NECESSITY 
 
 were equally corrupt. The Sibylline oracles, which 
 were held among the Romans in the highest venera- 
 tion, expressly demanded human sacrifices for the 
 gods : while on the banks of the Ganges, and before 
 the car of Juggernaut, in China, and in Africa, mil- 
 lions of children and infants, of widows and orphans, 
 of the old and the young, have been slain on the altars 
 of their deities. 
 
 Their rites were also exceedingly impure. Before 
 some of the gods the most scandalous vices were 
 practised, as tributes to their deities. The feasts of 
 Bacchus and Saturn, and others of their gods and 
 goddesses, were celebrated with every species of drunk- 
 enness and debauchery. 
 
 If such was the character of their gods and of their 
 worship, what was the moral condition of the people 
 themselves 2 
 
 St. Paul draws the following sketch of men under 
 the light of nature : " Given up unto vile affections," 
 " filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wicked- 
 ness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, mur- 
 der, debate, deceit, malignity ; whisperers, backbiters, 
 haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors 
 of evil things, disobedient to parents, without under- 
 standing, covenant breakers, without natural affection, 
 implacable, unmerciful 51 (Rom. i. 29-31). And the 
 
 35. What did the Sibylline oracles demand? 
 
 36. Is this true in other places, and where ? 
 
 37. What were the rites ? 
 
 38. What was the character of the people 1 
 
 39. Relate St. Paul's description. 
 
OF A REVELATION. 51 
 
 true history of the heathen world is but a living com- 
 mentary on the statement of the inspired page. 
 
 Many of the great sages of the pagans, by their 
 instructions, actually countenanced the practice of 
 almost every vice. Lycurgus, *the Spartan lawgiver, 
 encouraged by express statute the crime of theft. 
 Seneca and Cicero pleaded for self-murder. Menander 
 said, that u a lie is better than a hurtful truth." 
 Plato said, " He may lie who knows how to do it 
 in a suitable time." Other examples need not be 
 repeated. 
 
 The example of these teachers corresponded with 
 their teachings. Cato, dissatisfied with the world and 
 with Providence, committed the crime of self-murder. 
 Brutus exclaimed, " Virtue ! I have pursued thee in 
 vain, and found thee to be an empty name " — and 
 then put an end to his own life. Among the people, 
 every species of vice, crime, and cruelty, was eagerly 
 pursued. Falsehood, deceit, theft, cruelty, ingrati- 
 tude, perjury, revenge, murder, slaughter of prisoners, 
 these have been prevalent vices among them. In the 
 province of Bengal, for example, it was said lately, that 
 not less than ten thousand children are murdered 
 every month ; while in almost every portion of the 
 
 40. Where is that description found 1 
 
 41. Does profane history confirm it ? 
 
 42. What do you mean by profane history 1 
 
 43. Was vice encouraged % 44. When, and by whom 1 
 
 45. What was the example of the teachers 1 
 
 46. What was the state of public morals ? 
 
 47. State the condition of society in Bengal, 
 
52 PROBABILITY AND NECESSITY 
 
 heathen world, may be heard the shrieks and groans 
 of helpless victims. 
 
 It is true, that we sometimes hear men speak of 
 society in its native state, under the light of nature. 
 as one of great simplicity and innocence. And, be- 
 yond doubt, the darkest shades of depravity exist 
 where the greatest degree of light has been resisted. 
 But yet a state of innocence and simplicity, under the 
 mere light of nature, or any thing like this, is a mere 
 land of dreams, which has never yet been found to 
 exist. 
 
 What, for example, was the moral state of society 
 among the aborigines of this Western Continent. 
 when it was first brought within the knowledge of the 
 Eastern world ? In Mexico, of all places on the con- 
 tinent, civilization seemed to have done most to raise 
 men in the scale of being. Here, then, we might 
 surely look to find the light of nature exerting its 
 power to render society pure and happy. 
 
 But as a matter of fact, the historian tells us ano- 
 ther story. He says, " Like the rude tribes around 
 them, the Mexicans were incessantly engaged in war ; 
 and the motives which prompted them to hostility 
 seem to have been the same. They fought, in order 
 
 48. Is society sometimes described differently ! 
 
 49. Has such a state ever been found'? If so. where ? 
 
 50. Where must the greatest depravity always exist 1 
 
 51. What lesson of instruction do we learn from this? 
 
 h'2. Might we have expected the most favorable picture in our 
 
 own country, when first discovered 1 53. Why ? 
 54. What people are selected as an example'? 55. Why 7 ? 
 
 t 
 
OF A REVELATION. 53 . 
 
 to gratify their vengeance by shedding the blood of 
 their enemies. No captive was ever ransomed or 
 spared. All were sacrificed, without mercy, and their 
 flesh devoured with the same barbarous joy as among 
 the fiercest savages. On some occasions, it rose to 
 
 even wilder excesses Their funeral rites were 
 
 not less bloody than those of the most savage tribes. 
 On the death of any distinguished personage, espe- 
 cially of the emperor, a certain number of his attend- 
 ants were chosen to accompany him to the other 
 world, and those unfortunate victims were put to 
 death without mercy, and buried in the same tomb." 
 — Robertson's Hist. Am., vol. ii. §§ 20, 21. 
 
 The early Spanish historians tell frightful stories 
 of the sacrifice of human life in Mexico to their gods. 
 One author, Gromara, relates, that no year were there 
 less than 20,000 human victims offered to their divini- 
 ties, and that some years the number was as great as 
 50,000. Another author, Herrera, states, that some- 
 times not less than 20,000 human victims were sacri- 
 ficed in a single day. Another author, Torquemada, 
 says, that 20,000 children were slaughtered annually, 
 exclusive of other victims. And Zumarraga, the first 
 Bishop of Mexico, declares, in A.D. 1631, that the 
 
 56. How did they treat prisoners of war 1 
 
 57. Why did they engage in war ? 
 
 58. What were their funeral rites % 
 
 59. Were human victims offered in sacrifice 1 
 
 60. What does Gomara relate ? 
 
 61. Give the testimony of other authors. 
 
 5* 
 
54 PROBABILITY AND NECESSITY 
 
 Mexicans sacrificed annually 20.000 human victims. 
 — Robertson's Hist. Am., vol. ii., p. 276. 
 
 Even allowing that these statements by these seve- 
 ral authors were greatly exaggerated, and we still 
 have proof enough of the thick moral darkness which 
 overhung Mexico when the light of nature was their 
 only guide. For we behold a nation, so far civilized 
 as to have built large cities, and erected splendid 
 monuments which are at once our wonder and admi- 
 ration, yet, notwithstanding all this, actually feasting 
 as cannibals upon the warm blood of their victims 
 slain in war, and butchering thousands and tens of 
 thousands of their own little children, every year, 
 upon the altars of their gods. 
 
 And where, throughout the whole pagan world, 
 shall we find the prospect more cheering ? Shall it 
 be in civilized China, where the crime of infanticide 
 destroys thousands of infants every year % Shall it 
 be in Hindostan, where but lately ten thousand 
 widows were annually burnt on the funeral pile with 
 their husbands ? Shall it be in the dark, gloomy 
 recesses of Africa, where virtue has fled for shame, 
 and where every vice fearfully prevails ? 
 
 The truth is, that every where beneath the sun, so 
 far as information has made known their condition to 
 us, the same melancholy picture meets us, concerning 
 the condition of society when left to themselves. 
 
 62. What conclusion do we draw 1 
 
 63. Is the picture elsewhere more cheering ? 
 
 64. What other portions of the world give their testimony 1 
 
OF A REVELATION. 55 
 
 Amid the classic fields and academic shades of 
 Greece, the cry comes up — from the altars of heathen- 
 ism, where Alcibiades and Socrates bowed in blind- 
 ness, the voice is heard — from the thousands and tens 
 of thousands of human victims offered in sacrifice in 
 the Temple of the Sun, the echo answers — from the 
 cries, the weeping, the lamentation, under which the 
 earth groans, and over which Heaven weeps, angels 
 pity, and God compassionates — from all these scenes 
 of mental ignorance, moral bondage, and spiritual 
 death, the cry arises, calling upon a God of Nature 
 and of Love, to pour upon them light from heaven — 
 the light of a clearer Revelation ! — to tell them what 
 they are, whither they are bound, and how they shall 
 live, if they live at all, in that futurity which throws 
 its dim and distant light upon their bewildered 
 vision ! 
 
 This, then, is our argument, drawn from the moral 
 condition of society, to prove the probability that 
 God would not turn away his eye from the real wants 
 of his creatures. 
 
 Again : Our next and final argument upon this 
 subject, is drawn from the almost universal belief, not 
 
 65. Has any nation ever been discovered without a Revela- 
 
 tion, which did not need it 1 
 
 66. If God has made a Revelation ought it to be withheld 1 
 
 67. Have we a right to withhold it because it may be abused ? 
 
 68. Is not this sometimes urged ^ 
 
 69. With whose prerogative does it interfere ? 
 
 70. Are not duties ours, and events God's ? 
 
 71. What is the next general argument 1 
 
56 PROBABILITY AND NECESSITY 
 
 g 
 
 only in the necessity of a Revelation, but also in the 
 fact that a Revelation has actually been made. 
 
 For some reason, almost the whole *vorld of man- 
 kind have agreed in bearing testimony to the fact, 
 that Groo, or the gods, have made revelations to men. 
 As we read the literature of the pagan world, of 
 Greece and Rome — as we study the writings of their 
 poets and philosophers, we find almost every page 
 breathing with the supposed presence of their divini- 
 ties, speaking in oracles and uttering responses, and 
 these pretended' revelations gaining the credence of 
 almost the whole world around them. 
 
 No Jew ever read the books of Moses, no Christian 
 the pages of the New Testament, with more implicit 
 confidence, than the Mahometan turns to the pages 
 of the Koran, or than the Egyptians, the Greeks, the 
 Romans, the Chinese, or the Hindoos, consult the 
 pretended oracles of their gods. This consultation 
 of the deities became a science, Theurgy, so called, 
 or magic, in which men were trained up to the em- 
 ployment of reading the mysteries of the invisible 
 world. Hence arose the astrologers, the necroman- 
 cers, and magicians, whose hold upon the popular 
 mind was stronger almost than the power of Christian 
 faith upon its believers ; and without whose permis- 
 sion no war was undertaken, or worldly business 
 prosecuted. 
 
 At some times, the more enlightened of the hea- 
 
 -■ 
 
 72. Have not society believed in the fact of a Revelation ? 
 
 73. What does this general belief imply ? 
 
OF A REVELATION. 57 
 
 thens, seeing the open frauds and bare-faced Imposi- 
 tions which were practised under the pretence of 
 religious sanction ; seeing, too, how readily and 
 foolishly the masses of the people stupidly swallowed 
 down the grossest impostures, seem to have thoroughly 
 revolted from the whole system. And yet they saw, 
 also, that without such a sanction, religion would have 
 no hold upon the people, and society would rage in 
 chaos; and so they absolutely dare not disturb a 
 system which they could not receive, which they 
 knew to be rotten to the core, and- yet which they 
 saw so necessary to be believed on the part of the 
 people. 
 
 And yet, even these sages and wise men seem at 
 times to have bowed down to their idols as stupidly 
 as the most abject slave. Even Socrates, the great 
 and the wise, ordered that at his death a fowl should 
 be sacrificed to Esculapius, the god of medicine. 
 The truth was, they saw and felt that there must be, 
 somewhere, the presence and intervention of an over- 
 ruling Deity, and yet they saw with equal clearness 
 that the whole system of popular mythology, in which 
 more than thirty thousand gods were blended together, 
 warring with each other, must be a gross delusion. 
 
 We offer, then, this fact, of the universal belief of 
 
 74. Did not the wiser pagans reject the heathen mythology 1 
 
 75. Why 1 76. Did they publicly proclaim their disbelief? 
 
 77. Were they not grossly inconsistent ? 
 
 78. Did they not thus acknowledge the necessity of a Reve- 
 
 lation ? 79. Relate the account of Socrates. 
 80. What do we infer from this general argument 1 
 
58 PROBABILITY AND NECESSITY 
 
 a Revelation, as an argument in proof that God has 
 made sncli a Revelation, suited to the acknowledged 
 wants and necessities of bis creatures. 
 
 To say that no Eevelation was necessary, is to 
 deny the fact of the acknowledged wants of a world. 
 To say that none has ever been made, is to dispute 
 the universal consent of mankind. 
 
 "We commend the arguments already adduced to 
 the inquiring and candid reader, in proof of the prob- 
 ability and necessity of a Revelation from God to man. 
 
 The fact of man's acknowledged ignorance by nature 
 upon questions of the greatest moment to him ; — 
 
 The fact, that the wisest of men, without a Revela- 
 tion, have often borne witness to its necessity : — 
 
 The fact, that natural duties, even so far as taught, 
 lack power of motive to make them efficacious ; — 
 
 The fact of the degraded moral condition of man, 
 when left to himself, as seen even under the most 
 favorable circumstances : — 
 
 And the fact, that a universal belief in a Revelation 
 is found to prevail. 
 
 These are some of the main arguments to prove 
 that a God of Wisdom and of Love would, in all 
 probability, make provision for such essential wants. 
 
 81. Relate in their order the arguments in proof of the prob- 
 ability and necessity of a Revelation. 
 8*2. Which of these do you regard as the strongest 1 
 
 83. If God has made a Revelation ought we not to receive it, 
 
 whether we can see the reasons or not 1 
 
 84. Have we not proofs, in the above reasons, of the wisdom 
 
 and love of God ? 
 
OF A REVELATION. 59 
 
 m Let the reader ponder well these arguments, in all 
 their bearings, and then say, if we have not proved 
 that a Kevelation from God to man is both probable 
 and necessary. 
 
 Concluding Reflection. — The course of argument 
 pursued in this chapter, exhibits at once the great- 
 ness and the weakness of the human mind. 
 
 As we see man. unaided by Revelation, looking 
 from nature up to nature's God ; as we see him, from 
 things tangible and visible, grasping after things in- 
 visible ; from things mortal, dreaming of an immor- 
 tality to come : from things temporal and changing, 
 conceiving in his own mind of things eternal and un- 
 changeable : — 
 
 As we turn and survey his works of art — splendid 
 cities, imposing columns, monuments towering in the 
 heavens ; — 
 
 Or, as we admire the triumphs of genius, in the 
 harmony of its numbers, in the sweetly-flowing melody 
 of its verse, in the masculine power of its oratory, and 
 especially in the living, breathing exhibitions of the 
 marble and the canvass — we cannot withhold the 
 tribute of our wonder and admiration. 
 
 But then again, on the other hand, how are all these 
 beautiful associations lost in shame and mortification, 
 
 85. Does not a survey of the heathen world display the capa- 
 city of the human mind % 86. Show how. 
 
 87. Does it not prove its weakness 1 88. State why. 
 
 89, What feelings towards God should we cherish in view of 
 the above argument 7 
 
60 PROBABILITY AND NECESSITY OF A REVELATION. 
 
 as we turn and see. in contrast with all this, Egyptian 
 mind in its loftiest heights, and Grecian and Roman 
 intellect, even in its most brilliant triumphs, bowing- 
 down to worship, not only the most loathsome reptiles 
 of the earth, but making to itself gods, which are mon- 
 sters of cruelty and crime ! 
 
 Such is the human mind, when estranged from the 
 true God. Let the deepest gratitude warm our hearts, 
 that the God whom we worship is infinitely worthy 
 of our devoutest love, our humblest adoration, our 
 loftiest praise, our most perfect obedience. 
 
 90. What conduct should we exhibit 1 
 
 91. What is the amount of our responsibility 1 
 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 AUTHENTICITY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 
 
 In our last chapter, we examined the subject of the 
 Probability and Necessity of a Revelation from G-on. 
 We inferred that probability and necessity from the 
 known character of the Supreme Being, from man's 
 acknowledged ignorance upon questions of the great- 
 est moment to him, from the inability of the mere 
 light of nature to answer those questions, from the 
 openly and oft-avowed confession of such necessity on 
 the part of those destitute of Revelation, and from the 
 deplorable moral condition of the great mass of man- 
 kind who have lived in such destitution. 
 
 We come now to another most important point. 
 We have in our hands a Book, which professes to be 
 that Revelation from God. It is divided into the 
 Books of the Old and New Testaments. 
 
 The question upon which we enter , in the present 
 chapter, is, what evidence have we that the scriptures 
 
 1. What was the subject of the last chapter? 
 
 2. What was the basis and substance of our argument 1 Re- 
 
 peat it. 3. What subject is next introduced ? 
 6 
 
62 AUTHENTICITY OF 
 
 of the Old and New Testaments are a Revelation from 
 God? 
 
 We think we have proved already the probability 
 and necessity of a Revelation. Even if we have failed 
 in presenting that argument, the Revelation itself 
 comes to us, not merely with the authority of a proba- 
 bility or necessity, which we have inferred, but upon 
 the strength of its own external and internal evidences ; 
 and upon the strength of such other testimony as God 
 in His wisdom and goodness has thrown around it. 
 
 To the examination of these evidences we now 
 come. The field is a vast one. The evidences are 
 of different kinds. All that we can attempt is, to 
 bring together, in a brief compass, a few of these 
 proofs ; enough, however, we hope, to satisfy the mind 
 of an inquirer of the claim which the word of God has 
 upon his reception and obedience. 
 
 The reader is requested not to pronounce his final 
 decision upon the considerations given in the presen 
 chapter, but to suspend the verdict of his judgmen 
 until we shall have laid before him, in the present 
 and a few following chapters, some of those arguments 
 which have carried the conviction of the greatest 
 minds, that the Bible is, indeed, what it professes to 
 be, a Revelation to us from our kind Heavenly Father. 
 
 The points which are to occupy our attention in 
 the present and the two following chapters, are the 
 
 4. Upon what arguments does this question rest ? 
 
 5. What is the character of this field 1 
 
 6. What are the evidences 1 7. What is asked of the reader 1 
 8. What points are to be examined % 
 
 i 
 
THE OLD TESTAMENT. 63 
 
 genuineness, the authenticity, and the inspiration of 
 the Holy Scriptures — to each of which terms we will 
 first offer a brief explanation. 
 
 By genuineness j we mean that the Books of the Old 
 and New Testaments are the genuine works of the 
 persons whose names they bear, or to whom they are 
 ascribed ; and not the spurious productions of other 
 persons, and other times. 
 
 By authenticity ', we mean that these books are works 
 which can be safely relied upon, as containing true 
 and reliable statements upon the subjects of which 
 they treat. 
 
 By inspiration, we mean that God " imparted such 
 a degree of divine assistance, influence, or guidance, 
 as should enable the authors of the Holy Scriptures 
 to communicate religious knowledge to others without 
 error or mistake, whether the subjects of such com- 
 munications were things then immediately revealed 
 to those who declared them, or things with which they 
 were before acquainted." 
 
 In distinction from this view of inspiration, two 
 opposite and dangerous errors have been held, which 
 deserve attention. 
 
 Thus, on the one hand, it has been supposed, that, 
 if the Bible is inspired at all, that inspiration must 
 
 9. "What do you mean by the Genuineness of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures 1 10. What by its Authenticity? 
 
 1 1 . What by its Inspiration 1 
 
 12. Are these important points 1 
 
 13. What opposite errors are named respecting Inspiration 7 
 
 14. Name the first. 
 
64 AUTHENTICITY OF 
 
 pertain to its grammatical construction, and even its 
 orthography, and its endorsement of all the customs, 
 and the state of natural science to which it might in- 
 cidentally allude ; and that this inspiration must pro- 
 tect the sacred record from all possible mistakes, in 
 its transmission from age to age, so that not a single 
 letter shall be omitted, or a word be lost. 
 
 On the other hand, it has been supposed that in- 
 spiration is little or nothing more than a remarkable 
 degree of intellectual vigor, or excellence, such as 
 may belong to any eminent production of human skill. 
 In this sense, an elegant poem, a fine painting, and 
 piece of exquisite sculpture, may be said to be the 
 work of inspiration. The reader cannot fail to see 
 that this loose view virtually denies the existence of 
 an inspiration in any sense worthy of the name. 
 
 Inspiration, as defined above, stands in contradis- 
 tinction from both these extreme views. Certain por- 
 tions of the Old and New Testaments, for example, 
 are historical. The sacred writers recorded that which 
 in part transpired under their own observation. In- 
 spiration, in such a case, would only protect them from 
 committing essential errors in their record. 
 
 Other portions of the Sacred Scriptures are pro- 
 phetic ; either expressly declarative of future events, 
 or more obscurely pointing forward to them by way 
 
 15. Name the second. 
 
 16. Does not this do away with Inspiration ? 
 
 17. What is Inspiration 1 
 
 18. How would Inspiration affect historical records'? 
 
 19. How does it relate to prophecy 1 
 
THE OLD TESTAMENT. 65 
 
 of types and shadows. Here inspiration seems to us 
 to perform its highest office. Inspired men, in such 
 a case, had no data of their own on which to stand. 
 All to them was new and unknown. Holy men of 
 old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 
 And yet, even in this highest degree of inspiration, 
 the sacred writers still evidently exhibit their own 
 peculiarity of style and mode of expression. What- 
 ever the subject of prophecy, we observe the ma- 
 jesty of Isaiah, the fragrant beauty of the psalmist 
 David, the plaintive eloquence of Jeremiah, the severe 
 reasoning and massive grandeur of the apostle Paul, 
 and the tender simplicity of the beloved John ; all 
 these writers speaking under the highest degree of 
 inspiration, and yet all clearly exhibiting their own 
 marked peculiarity of manner and of style. 
 
 So also in respect to the transmission of the Sacred 
 Scriptures, unless a perpetual miracle had intervened, 
 they must have been handed down in the same man- 
 ner with other ancient writings. Nor can we say that 
 the transcribers of these records would never find a 
 manuscript almost illegible, or that they should all 
 transcribe with the same degree of neatness, care, and 
 diligence, or that they should never in a solitary in- 
 stance have made a single mistake in the shape, for- 
 mation, or omission of a letter or single word. As 
 matter of fact, it is cause of great surprise, that, con- 
 
 20. What, even in this, is to be anticipated 7 
 
 21. Is not this so in fact 1 22. Illustrate this. 
 
 23. What do you say of the transmission of Inspiration ^ 
 
 24. What is remarkable in that transmission ? 
 
 6* 
 
66 AUTHENTICITY OF 
 
 sidering the size of the manuscripts, the great length 
 of time through which they were transmitted in man- 
 uscript, they should have been preserved with such 
 remarkable uniformity and accuracy. The slight ver- 
 bal differences which have been detected, can all be 
 accounted for by the similarity of some of the He- 
 brew characters with each other, and the great age of 
 some of the manuscripts. All that inspiration need 
 to suppose in such a case is. that the great truths of 
 Revelation have been faithfully preserved, and that 
 no such serious errors have been permitted as would 
 frustrate the great ends for which a Revelation was 
 given. 
 
 These remarks upon the nature of Eevelation. while 
 they seem reasonable and just in themselves, so they 
 will also enable us to meet the ordinary objections 
 which are urged against Revelation, and are, as we 
 think, necessary to meet those objections. 
 
 With these introductory observations, showing what 
 we mean by the genuineness, the authenticity, and the 
 inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, we come now to 
 an examination of those Scriptures themselves. 
 
 On some accounts there would be a propriety in 
 beginning first with the Xew Testament, as being- 
 more recent in its origin. It lies more fairly within 
 our reach — its evidences are more numerous and more 
 easily appreciated — its mass of historical testimony 
 
 25. What is necessary to be supposed 1 
 
 26. What will these previous remarks enable us to do? 
 2/. Why might we begin with the New Testament 1 
 
 
THE OLD TESTAMENT. 67 
 
 more systematically arranged; — and because, more- 
 over, having established the authority of the New 
 Testament, we might then go back with all this author- 
 ity to the Old Testament, both portions of the Sa- 
 cred Scriptures mutually corroborating and sustaining 
 each other. 
 
 But yet, as the Old Testament is first in order of 
 time, we propose to go back first to the fountain-head, 
 and trace the stream of inspiration, first in its gentle 
 meanderings, and then through the long track of years 
 down to the full, deep tide of that inspiration, in later 
 
 And may He, the Ancient of Days, who spake in 
 times past through the seers, assist us now reverently 
 to follow these the footsteps of his wisdom and grace. 
 
 Let us first examine, briefly, the history of the Scrip- 
 tures of the Old Testament. 
 
 At the commencement of the Christian era, before 
 one word of the New Testament was written, we find 
 the Old Testament then existing, containing the same 
 books which we have now. In proof of this is the 
 fact, that the Jews and the Christians, who then be- 
 came separated by dividing lines strongly marked, 
 have yet, both as Jews and as Christians, handed 
 down to our own times the same writings of the Old 
 Testament. The Christian writers of the first cen 
 
 28. Why do we begin with the Old? 
 
 29. Upon what is our attention first directed 1 
 
 30. What do we find existing at the commencement of the 
 
 Christian era 1 
 
 31. What has been handed down, and by whom 7 ? 
 
68 AUTHENTICITY OF 
 
 turies named those books, wrote commentaries upon 
 them, translated them into the Greek and Syriac 
 languages, which translations still exist. These wri- 
 ters were Jerome, Origen, Melito, Theodoret, and 
 others. 
 
 We have also Jewish testimony to the existence of 
 the Scriptures of the Old Testament at that time. 
 Philo, and Josephus (who were cotemporary with the 
 apostles), name the Books of the Old Testament. 
 They divide them by a threefold division : the Laws, 
 or the five Books of Moses, reaching almost down 
 through the first three thousand years ; the Prophets, 
 reaching to the death of Artaxerxes king of Persia : 
 and the Hymns or Psalms : — and Josephus says, that 
 " they comprehend the history of all former ages, and 
 are justly regarded as divine." The writers of the 
 Talmud, also Philo and Josephus. testify that the in- 
 spiration of the Old Testament was an article of faith 
 with the Jews at the time of Ghrist. 
 
 Thus. Jews and Christians both testify to the exist- 
 ence and integrity of the Old Testament, since the 
 time of Christ : and by their mutual jealousies of each 
 
 32. Who gave catalogues of them 1 
 
 33. Into what did they translate them 1 
 
 34. Are those translations in existence 1 
 
 35. Who are those writers'? 
 
 36. What Jewish testimony have we ? 
 
 37. What divisions do they make ? 
 3S. What Jewish authors are named ? 
 
 39. What natural guard have we therefore 1 
 
THE OLD TESTAMENT 69 
 
 other, would afford protection against corruption of 
 the sacred volume on the part of either. 
 
 We go back two hundred and thirty years before 
 Christ, and we find the son of Sirach, Jesus by name, 
 writing the Book of the Apocrypha called Ecclesiasti- 
 cus, who quotes some of the larger prophets, alludes 
 to the twelve minor prophets, and speaks of the Law, 
 or the Books of Moses, affording evidence that the 
 Old Testament then existed, in the same divisions as 
 now. 
 
 We go back fifty years more, or two hundred and 
 eighty- two years before Christ, and we come to the 
 time when a translation of the Old Testament was 
 commenced from the Hebrew into the Greek language, 
 at Alexandria, and called the "Septuagint." Copies 
 of this translation were scattered into all parts of the 
 known world. Beference was constantly made to it 
 by our Saviour and his apostles, as being generally 
 known, rendering the fact one of absolute certainty, 
 of the existence of the Old Testament at the time of 
 the translation, and forming an effectual barrier 
 against the corruption of the sacred text afterwards. 
 
 We go back about three hundred years further, or 
 to the time of the captivity of the ten tribes ; and we 
 
 40. What do we find respecting the son of Sirach 1 
 
 41. What does he say % 
 
 42. What do we find fifty years earlier 1 
 
 43. What was this translation called ! 
 
 44. Who made it % 45. Into what language 1 
 
 46. What was thas rendered impossible'? 
 
 47. What took place three hundred years earlier ! 
 
70 AUTHENTICITY OF 
 
 find copies of the Books of Moses carried by the 
 Israelites into Assyria, into Media, to Babylon, and 
 afterward into Egypt, and scattered into all parts ,of 
 the world ; rendering it impossible that they should 
 have been seriously corrupted in later times. 
 
 We have now reached a point, subsequent to which 
 several of the Books of the Prophets were written, and 
 but little prior to which the most ancient of them had 
 their date. 
 
 We go back still further, or about one thousand 
 years before Christ (B.C. 975), and we find an event 
 occurring, which throws great light upon the authen- 
 ticity and genuineness of the earlier writings of the 
 Old Testament — we allude to the revolt of the Ten 
 Tribes under Jeroboam, and to the implacable ani- 
 mosities which thenceforth existed between Judah 
 and Israel. This deadly hatred between them, would 
 have prevented the Samaritans afterward from forging 
 the Pentateuch in connection with Judah, while the 
 threatenings in it against the existing idolatry, and 
 many other corruptions among themselves, would have 
 disinclined them to do it. And yet, from an early 
 period, we find the Samaritan Pentateuch, and the 
 Hebrew Pentateuch, handed down with the greatest 
 religious veneration and reverence by both these 
 
 48. What point of time have we now reached % 
 
 49. What event is next adduced 1 
 
 50. Between whom was there hatred 1 
 
 51. What would this have prevented 1 
 
 52. What other reason would have disinclined them 1 
 
 53. What- do we actually find 1 
 
THE OLD TESTAMENT. 71 
 
 divisions of that people ; showing the fact of its early 
 existence, and of its established authority among that 
 people. 
 
 This Samaritan Pentateuch was in existence among 
 the Samaritans at the time of Christ. The early 
 Christian writers allude to it, as Origen, Eusebius, 
 Cyril, and Jerome. Afterwards it was lost sight of 
 for more than a thousand years, until the year A.D. 
 1616, when a copy was discovered in Egypt ; and 
 afterwards the learned Usher received six copies of it 
 from the East. 
 
 Here, then, in these two Pentateuchs, the Jewish 
 and the Samaritan, handed down by these two op- 
 posing people ; we have every proof of the existence 
 of the Books of Moses, even at that early day. 
 
 This brings us back to the days of Solomon father 
 of Kehoboam — to the period of great national pros- 
 perity on the part of the Jewish people, when Tyre 
 contributed to build its navies ; when the Queen of 
 the South came to witness the grandeur of the Tem- 
 ple, and observe the wisdom of the king. 
 
 The historical books, which relate to the rise and 
 progress of the Jewish nation, are the Books of Joshua, 
 of Judges, the first and second of Samuel, the first 
 
 54. What does this prove 1 
 
 55. When do we find this Samaritan Pentateuch 1 
 
 56. Who allude to it % 
 
 57. How long was it lost sight of* 
 
 58. What do these Pentateuchs prove 7 
 
 59. How far back are we now brought 1 
 
 60. What are the historical books of that nation ? 
 
72 AUTHENTICITY 0£ 
 
 and second of Kings, and the two Books of Chroni- 
 cles. 
 
 We are brought back now to the Pentateuch, or 
 Five Books of Moses — books remarkable for their an- 
 tiquity, as monuments standing up. lone survivors 
 amid the wreck of empires : remarkable still more for 
 the light which they profess to throw upon the origin 
 of our world and of our race — remarkable for what 
 they tell us of that great moral change in the nature 
 of man since he was first made in the image of his 
 Maker — remarkable for the knowledge which they 
 give of the Institutions and Laws of God, and of His 
 judgments : as when the universal deluge filled all the 
 valleys, and swept over the hills and mountains, until 
 at last one unbroken wave rolled above the habitations 
 of men, over the earth — one solitary vessel alone, 
 freighted with rich gifts, floating securely on the face 
 of the mighty deep. 
 
 These five Books of Moses comprise a period of 
 history which reaches through the first two thousand 
 and five hundred years of the world. The second 
 Book, that of Exodus, which begins about the time of 
 the birth of Moses, and the three following Books, 
 comprise a period of only about one hundred and 
 thirty-seven years ; while the Book of Genesis, relat- 
 
 61. For what is the Pentateuch remarkable 1 
 
 62. What information does it give 1 
 
 63. What facts does it record 7 
 
 64. What period of time is comprised 1 
 
 65. What period is embraced in the Book of Exodus? 
 
 66. What in that of Genesis ? 
 
 
THE OLD TESTAMENT. 73 
 
 ing to transactions and events anterior to the birth 
 of Moses, comprises a period of two thousand four 
 hundred and sixteen years, or more than one half of 
 the whole distance of time from the creation of the ■ 
 world to the birth of Christ. 
 
 The question naturally arises, how could Moses 
 write a history of events which transpired so long be- 
 fore his own observation ? 
 
 To this there are three answers. 
 
 One is, that he wrote the Book of Genesis by imme- 
 diate inspiration of God ; receiving the account of the 
 creation, the fall of man, and other important facts, 
 in the same manner as he received the Decalogue. 
 
 But whoever examines the Book of Genesis them- 
 selves, in the original language, and notices the indis- 
 putable evidences of compilation, will doubt this an- 
 swer to the question. 
 
 Another supposition has been, that Moses derived 
 his knowledge of the events which he records, by tra- 
 dition. And when we regard the importance of the 
 facts recorded, the brevity of the history, the fact 
 that national and other events were in those times 
 treasured up and transmitted in this manner, such a 
 reply is not without show of reason. The great lon- 
 gevity of man in the early period of the world, would 
 
 67. What is the relative extent of this period % 
 
 68. What question arises 1 
 
 69. How many answers are given 1 
 
 70. What is the first — and what is said concerning it 1 
 
 71. What is the second 1 72. What reasons favor this 7 ? 
 73. What facts are mentioned ? 
 
 7 
 
i i AUTHENTICITY OF 
 
 contribute to give authenticity to traditionary know- 
 ledge. Thus. Methuselah lived with Adam more than 
 two hundred and forty years, and with Xoah full sis 
 hundred years. Terah. the father of Abraham, lived 
 with Xoah one hundred and thirty-eight years, and 
 Abraham lived to within two hundred and forty-seven 
 years of Moses. 
 
 Thus, the chain of tradition from Adam to Methu- 
 selah, and 3Iethuselah to Xoah. from Xoah to Terah, 
 and from Terah to Abraham, or through only five 
 persons, connects Moses, the great historian of the 
 world, with all the events which he records. So that, 
 had Moses depended upon tradition alone for the 
 events of the first two thousand years of the world, 
 his history would have been far more credible than 
 much of the early profane history which is yet most 
 confidently believed. And yet there are great diffi- 
 culties in the way of this supposition. 
 
 Another answer to the question, however, and one 
 which familiarity with the subject scarcely ever fails 
 to confirm, is. that the Book of Genesis is a collection 
 of manuscripts, or historic records, carefully treasured 
 up, and transmitted by the patriarchs, and preserved 
 by Moses. And the evidence from the internal cha- 
 racter of the book itself, goes to establish this suppo- 
 
 71 What chain of tradition is given ? 
 
 75. Are there not difficulties in this supposition? 
 
 76. What is the third supposition 1 
 
 77. What internal evidence is there of this! 
 73. What is the Book of Genesis 1 
 
 79. What proofs are there of this 1 
 
THE OLD TESTAMENT. 75 
 
 sition. The various titles which occur in the first 
 chapters of Genesis, and the variations of style, which 
 are very observable, render it almost certain that the 
 Book of Genesis is a collection of ancient documents, 
 which Moses, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, 
 compiled into one book, and enlarged, it may be, with 
 additions from such sources as were within his reach. 
 
 Second. Thus, in tracing down the history of the 
 Scriptures of the Old Testament, we have seen how 
 carefully guarded all the later portions of that volume 
 have been from corruption. 
 
 But an inquiry arises, what evidence have we that 
 the earliest portions of that volume, as the Book of 
 Genesis, which comprises so large a portion of the 
 world's history, is to be regarded as authentic, or as 
 entitled to our firm belief? The arguments which 
 will come up for examination in a later portion of this 
 work, will present this question before the reader in a 
 new position. But we have chosen to begin back and 
 examine these ancient records first alone, and by 
 themselves. And we shall find that these ancient 
 writings bear the most indisputable proofs of being 
 records of facts which must have transpired, and as 
 such records, entitled to our intelligent belief. 
 
 First, The style in which the Book of Genesis is 
 
 80. What did Moses do % 
 
 81. What conclusions may we now draw 1 
 fi2. What inquiry now arises ? 
 
 S3. What other argaments are alluded to ? 
 
 84. What do we propose first to do ] 
 
 85. What is the first argument adduced 1 
 
76 AUTHENTICITY OF 
 
 written, is a strong proof for its authenticity. Every 
 intelligent person knows, that, as a general thing, the 
 language of a nation or people is constantly changing. 
 The English language, for example, has changed 
 greatly within even the last two or three hundred 
 years, or since the days when Tate and Brady trans- 
 lated the Book of Psalms ; and when Spenser, and 
 long before him, Chaucer, were the great poets of our 
 mother tongue. 
 
 The Greek language has also undergone such 
 changes. From the time when the old blind poet 
 Homer sang, about nine hundred years before Christ, 
 down to the time when Demosthenes thundered in 
 the ears of the degenerate Athenians, about three 
 hundred years before Christ, within these six hundred 
 years the Greek language changed very considerably. 
 
 Now, in this growth or progressive change of lan- 
 guage, we have one argument for the antiquity of the 
 Pentateuch. No man, acquainted with the structure 
 of language, will say that the Book of Malachi was 
 written in the same age with the Prophecy of Isaiah, 
 sooner than he would say that the little child scarcely 
 able to walk, was born in the same year with the old 
 man tottering upon his two staves. Neither can it 
 
 86. What is true of language in general 1 
 
 87. Is this true of the English language 1 
 
 88. Give proofs of it. 
 
 89. Is this true of the Greek language 1 
 
 90. Give illustrations of this. 
 
 91. Is this an argument for the antiquity of the Pentateuch ' 
 
 92. Were Isaiah and Malachi of the same age *? 
 
THE OLD TESTAMENT. 77 
 
 be possible that the Prophecy of Isaiah was written 
 in the same age with the Pentateuch. The five books 
 of Moses, and especially the Book of Genesis, bear 
 internal marks of that great antiquity which is as- 
 cribed to tliem. And he must be blinded either by 
 ignorance or prejudice, who does not know the exist- 
 ence of this argument, and acknowledge its strength. 
 
 To show, by illustration, how the various portions 
 of the Old Testament thus differ from each other in 
 respect to style, would transcend our present limits. 
 But satisfactory treatises are within the reach of any 
 person who would inquire. 
 
 Second. As we examine the contents of the Penta- 
 teuch, and especially of the Book of Genesis, we find 
 there recorded the account of the creation of the 
 world and of man ; and the subsequent chronology of 
 the Scriptures places that event about four thousand 
 years before the time of Christ. 
 
 Here, then, is an important fact recorded. What 
 evidence have we to prove that this account, in respect 
 to the time of the creation, is authentic ? How do we 
 know that the world has not been in existence for a 
 much longer period than this ? that it has not stood, 
 
 93. Were Isaiah and the Pentateuch of the same age 1 
 
 94. Are there evidences from their style of this 1 
 
 95. Is not this a strong argument, and why % 
 
 96. Is not the fact of such diversity acknowledged ? 
 
 97. What facts are recorded in the Book of Genesis % 
 
 98. When does the Pentateuch regard these as taking place ? 
 
 99. May there not be some evidence in respect to this time ? 
 
 100. What question is now asked % 
 
 7 * 
 
78 AUTHENTICITY OF 
 
 and been peopled, by generation after generation, for 
 tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of years ? 
 "We answer, that we have *no evidence whatever that 
 the world has so existed ; while, on the other hand, 
 we have strong reason to believe that it has not so 
 existed. Indeed, all the light which science throws 
 around this subject, would forbid our belief that the 
 world has been inhabited longer than the time allotted 
 in Mosaic history. 
 
 The history of nations and kingdoms goes to authen- 
 ticate the Mosaic account of the time of the Creation. 
 In respect to all the kingdoms of the earth now in 
 existence, we can trace back their history to their 
 origin. England can be seen as she was in the times 
 of the Celts — when society was in its infancy; 
 when the mistleto was venerated : when Druids were 
 the priests ; when, at the beginning of winter, all fires 
 on every hearth were lit up on the same day, from the 
 fire of the Druids, that a propitious year might follow. 
 
 So also France, Spain, Russia, and all the European 
 nations, can at once be traced back to their early days. 
 
 As we turn to the more ancient kingdoms of Greece 
 and Home, history points us immediately back through 
 
 101. Have we any evidence whatever of any previous exist- 
 ence 7 102. What is the testimony of science 1 
 
 103. What is the evidence from national history 7 
 
 104. Do any nations ever known date earlier % 
 
 105. What can we do in respect to ail nations now known 1 
 
 106. What is true of English history 1 
 
 107. What is true of European nations 1 
 
 108. What is true of ancient nations 1 
 
 
THE OLD TESTAMENT. 79 
 
 the successive periods of old age. manhood, youth, and 
 infancy. 
 
 We recur to the still more ancient kingdoms of 
 Persia and Assyria, and their history and traditions 
 tell us the same story of their early days. The fact 
 is stamped upon ail their history that they were not 
 once — that they had an origin, and that origin is 
 always subsequent to the time of the creation, as re- 
 corded by Moses. 
 
 Here then is our argument, and it is a strong one. 
 If the world has existed for tens of thousands of 
 years, where are the kingdoms of the earth which then 
 flourished ? who were they ? where are their monu- 
 ments ? Are there any intimations of such kingdoms 
 having once existed, whose origin must have been 
 prior to the events recorded in the history of Moses ? 
 We answer, as has been answered before, no such 
 traces of national history have ever been found. And 
 the absence of all such proof is a most important fact. 
 
 Again : The history of the progress of the sciences 
 and arts, substantiates the account given by Moses 
 of the time of the creation. 
 
 We may truly say, that science is immortal. 
 Thrones may crumble, but Truth never. Greece her- 
 self has gone, but her literature and science are fresh, 
 
 109. What impression do we always find 1 
 
 110. What conclusions do we reach 1 
 
 111. What does this fact clearly imply % 
 
 112. What is the next argument? 
 
 113. What can we say of science? 
 
 114. Do we find this true? 115. Give illustrations of it. 
 
80 AUTHENTICITY OF 
 
 fadeless, undying. Demosthenes still fills our halls 
 of Congress with the echo of his eloquence, and Homer 
 fans the sacred flame of true poesy in the breasts of 
 the sons of song. 
 
 But, if the world, as infidels blindly say, has existed 
 for tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of 
 years, where is the literature, where is the science of 
 those by-gone days ? Are there any traces of them 
 left ? Not one. The most useful arts have, as we 
 know, had their origin within a few hundred years. 
 If the human mind had existence during that long 
 imaginary period, where are the efforts of that mind ? 
 How has it been that science and art have only borne 
 their fruits within a comparatively short space of 
 time ? 
 
 The entire absence of all such relics of art and 
 science during any time anterior to that which the 
 inspired page specifies, is one of the most conclusive 
 evidences that the human race itself did not then 
 exist. 
 
 Again : Another proof of the same kind, and com- 
 bining with the others to give . authenticity to the 
 Mosaic account as to the time of the creation, is found 
 in the progress of human language. 
 
 Language, spoken and written, as such, evidently 
 has had its period of comparative infancy. That 
 
 116. What question hence arises? 
 
 117. What answer must be given 1 
 
 118. What conclusion follows 1 
 
 119. What argument is next advanced ? 
 
 120. What is true of ancient language 1 
 
THE OLD TESTAMENT. 81 
 
 "power of language, which is the result of a combination 
 of words, and that fullness of language, which arises 
 from the use of abstract terms, this power and this 
 fullness, are the fruit not of ancient, but of more 
 modern times. 
 
 For, as we go back into the early history of the 
 world, we find every indication of an infantile con- 
 dition of language. The forms of expression, the use 
 of terms, the fewness of the words used, their evident 
 simplicity and naturalness, all indicate a state of soci- 
 ety which must have sprung into being at a compara- 
 tively recent date. This fact is altogether inconsis- 
 tent with the supposition that the world might have 
 existed and been inhabited for many thousands of 
 years. 
 
 This method of argument might be greatly ex- 
 panded. A more minute examination of the various 
 sciences, one by one, would only be new illustrations 
 of what is perhaps already sufficiently apparent. 
 
 This method of argument is of an important cha- 
 racter. It is not of a negative, but a positive nature. 
 It is based upon certain known and acknowledged 
 facts, which are inexplicable upon any other suppo- 
 sition than that the Mosaic account of the creation 
 of the world and of man is true. 
 
 Third. To meet this course of argument, an objec- 
 tion was formerly raised — an objection which is, how- 
 
 121. How does this show a state of infancy 1 
 
 122. What is remarkable in the ancient languages 1 
 
 123. Might not this method of argument be expanded 1 
 
 124. Is not this argument positive — and why % 
 
82 AUTHENTICITY OF 
 
 ever, seldom offered, except in ignorance, in modern 
 times. 
 
 It was argued by some, who wished to destroy all 
 confidence in the Mosaic record, that the discoveries 
 of modern science would bring to light abundant evi- 
 dence that the world had existed for a much longer 
 time than the Book of Genesis supposes, Some 
 Egyptian monuments, discovered in modern times, 
 and covered over with hieroglyphics, were significantly 
 pointed to, as containing chronological tables which 
 would reach back many thousands of years before 
 such men as Adam and Moses ever lived. 
 
 To use the beautiful language of another, these 
 assailants " had no hesitation in placing the formation 
 of the Sacerdotal Colleges in Egypt thirteen thousand 
 years before Christ , and calling that, the second period 
 
 of its history They called upon those huge and 
 
 half-buried colossal images, and those subterraneous 
 temples, to bear witness to the antiquity and early 
 civilization of the nation which erected them. They 
 appealed to their astronomical remains, to attest the 
 skill, matured by ages of observation, of those who 
 projected them. More than all, they saw in those 
 hieroglyphic legends, the venerable dates of sove- 
 reigns, deified long before the modern days of Moses 
 or Abraham. They pointed in triumph to the mys- 
 terious characters which an unseen hand had traced 
 
 125. What objections have been made 1 
 
 126. What monuments have been named % 
 
 127. What boasts were made by infidels? 
 
 128. What is the language of a modern writer? 
 
THE OLD TESTAMENT. 83 
 
 on those primeval walls, and boasted that only a 
 Daniel was wanted that could decipher them, to show 
 that the evidences of Christianity had been weighed 
 and found wanting. Yain boast ! The temples of 
 Egypt have, at length, answered their appeal, in lan- 
 guage more intelligible than they could possibly have 
 anticipated. For, a Daniel has been found, in patient, 
 persevering study: After the succession has been so 
 long interrupted, Young and Champollion have put 
 on the linen robe of the Hierophant, and the monu- 
 ments of the Nile, unlike the fearful image of Sais, 
 have allowed themselves to be unveiled by their 
 hands, without any but the most wholesome and con- 
 soling results having followed from their labors." — 
 Wiseman's Lectures, p. 253. 
 
 I need not mention that long list of names of men, 
 who, thinking to overthrow the system of revealed 
 religion, grasped at these Egyptian chronologies, and 
 defended u systems where all was brilliant, all was 
 imposing, all was confident, but where all was, at the 
 same time, hollow, and brittle, and unsound." 
 
 The successful labors of Champollion in decipher- 
 ing those hieroglyphics, have at last brought to light 
 the truth, that those monuments are not only of com- 
 paratively modern origin, but that some of them 
 actually commemorate events recorded on the sacred 
 page of the Old Testament. 
 
 129. What has been the result 1 
 
 130. What name is conspicuous in these antiquities 1 
 
 131. What antiquity is proved for those monuments'? 
 
 132. What do they corroborate % 
 
84 AUTHENTICITY OF 
 
 * Thus has modern science, so far from overthrowing 
 the testimony of God's word, actually confirmed its 
 truth, and left the Bible still more firmly riveted in 
 the intelligent, confiding faith of its believers. 
 
 So also in the East, objections of the same sort to 
 the truths of revelation have been urged, and yet 
 with the same ultimate result. The astronomical and 
 chronological systems of the Hindoos and the Chinese 
 were once pointed to, as carrying back those nations 
 an immense distance of time beyond that mentioned 
 by Moses as the period of the creation. Those sys- 
 tems also have been examined, and that by men who 
 had no private interests to serve, no interests at stake 
 other than to discover the truth. And yet, when the 
 mists of a false antiquity have been cleared away by 
 the labors of such men as Sir William Jones and 
 others, it has been discovered, to the confusion of 
 objectors, that none of their calculations reach back 
 to the time of the deluge ; and only, at the utmost, 
 show an existence of those nations in the East, at the 
 time when the Holy Scriptures themselves allude to 
 them as having there been planted. 
 
 Fourth. These are some of the considerations which 
 unite in giving authenticity to the account by Moses 
 of the time of the creation of the world. 
 
 133. What has science thus proved to be 1 
 
 134. What have all the discoveries of science tended to do ? 
 
 135. What systems are named'? 
 
 136. What boasts were made 1 
 
 137. What has been the result 1 
 
 138. What antiquit}' do they reach 1 
 
THE OLD TESTAMENT. 85 
 
 The known infancy of nations, the known infancy 
 of the arts and sciences, the known infancy of lan- 
 guage, all point to an antiquity of our globe, and of 
 our race, not greater than that given in the first book 
 of the Pentateuch ; while, also, the monuments of 
 ancient days, once appealed to to overthrow Revela- 
 tion, are now, at last, also found to cast their venera- 
 ble crowns at her feet. 
 
 In the view presented in the present chapter, an 
 effort has been made (we hope not in vain), to throw 
 the strongest probability around the history of Moses, 
 simply in respect to one point, the time of the crea- 
 tion. In a subsequent chapter, some other state- 
 ments of the sacred narrative will also be examined. 
 
 The present writer will be grateful to God if he 
 may strengthen even one link in that massive and 
 ever-increasing chain of evidence on which we receive 
 the revelation of our Heavenly Father, and thus give 
 tenacity and firmness to the anchor which shall moor 
 us safely in those troublesome waters over which we 
 must so soon pass. 
 
 May God show unto us, in this world, so far as 
 need be, the knowledge of His truth, and in the world 
 to come, grant us everlasting life. 
 
 Let us believe His word, obey His will, acknowledge 
 our transgressions, hope in His mercy, and at length 
 
 139. Recapitulate now the argument.: stated. 
 
 140. What has been the object thus far 1 
 
 141. What may be our inference from the preceding 1 
 
 142. What practical duties are suggested 1 
 
 8 
 
86 AUTHENTICITY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 
 
 enter into His glory, through the riches of His grace, 
 the sufferings and death, the prevailing merits and 
 continual intercession of His blessed Son, Jesus 
 Christ our Lord. 
 
 143. What was the great object of a Revelation 1 
 
CHAPTEE V. 
 
 AUTHENTICITY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT CON- 
 TINUED—MOSAIC ACCOUNT OF THE DELUGE. 
 
 In the last chapter we examined several arguments 
 in proof of the authenticity of the scriptures of the 
 Old Testament. 
 
 Our object, in presenting these arguments, is to 
 show that those sacred writings are entitled to our 
 belief, that the statements therein contained are to be 
 relied upon, and that the volume itself is fairly enti- 
 tled to the intelligent reception of every individual. 
 
 In our present chapter we propose to examine ano- 
 ther argument of the same general character. 
 
 In the Books of Moses there is a very important 
 historical fact recorded, and our object is to show that, 
 aside from, and independent of, the sacred narrative, 
 we have other external proofs, of the strongest charac- 
 ter, fully sustaining those records. 
 
 In the sixth, seventh and eighth chapters of the 
 
 1. What was the subject of the last chapter'? 
 
 2. What is the object of these arguments % 
 
 3. What is the object of the present chapter 1 
 
 4. What historical fact is examined 7 
 
 5. Where is that fact recorded 1 
 
S8 MOSAIC ACCOUNT 
 
 Book of Genesis, an account is given by Moses of a 
 deluge of the earth by water. It was a universal 
 deluge, for the waters prevailed over all the earth. It 
 was a complete deluge, for rt all the high hills, that were 
 under the whole heaven, were covered.'' " Fifteen 
 cubits upwards did the waters prevail, and the moun- 
 tains were covered. 55 
 
 It was a deluge that prevailed for a considerable 
 period of time. For, it was in the second month, and 
 the seventeenth day, that the fountains of the great 
 deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven 
 were opened ; and it was in the tenth month, on the 
 first clay of the month, that the tops of the mountains 
 first began to be seen. Forty days and forty nights 
 it rained without cessation ; the fountains of the 
 great deep were broken up ; the barriers of the ocean 
 seem to have been removed or passed over. During 
 one hundred and fifty days the waters of the flood 
 appear to have been constantly on the increase ; and, 
 from the time that the waters began to fall, until the 
 time when the tops of the mountains were first seen, 
 which was on the first day of the tenth month, were 
 two hundred and seventy days. And, for at least one 
 
 6. What was its extent ] 7. What was its degree 1 
 
 8. How high did the waters prevail ] 
 
 9. How much was this 1 10. When did it commence ? 
 
 11. When were the tops of the mountains first seenl 
 
 12. How long did it rain 1 
 
 13. What other source of waters is named? 
 
 14. How long did the waters increase 1 
 
 15. How many days until the mountains were seen ! 
 
OF THE DELUGE. 89 
 
 entire year, did Noah and his family remain in the 
 ark, before the waters had so far subsided, that he 
 could comfortably abide again upon the dry land. 
 
 It was a deluge, destructive of animal life. For all 
 flesh upon the earth — fowl, cattle, beast, creeping 
 thing, and man — all. in whose nostrils was the breath 
 of life, in the dry land died. Those only in the ark, 
 with Noah, remained alive. 
 
 This flood occurred, as Josephus says, about fifteen 
 hundred and fifty-six years after the creation of the 
 world. 
 
 Such is a brief, but general summary of the facts, 
 as recorded by Moses, concerning the deluge. 
 
 Now, if such a deluge, and attended with such con- 
 sequences, has actually occurred, there is at least a 
 strong probability that, aside from the Mosaic account, 
 there would have remained other proofs of such an 
 event. It is at least probable that a deluge, so uni- 
 versal and so disastrous, would have left some traces 
 of itself on the face of the earth. 
 
 It is probable, also, that all account of such a deluge 
 would not have been confined to the pages of the Old 
 Testament, but that the unwritten page of tradition, 
 blended, perhaps, with many fabulous stories, yet em- 
 bodying many of the most important facts, would have 
 
 16. How long was Noah in the ark 1 
 
 17. In what respects was it destructive ? 
 
 18. In what year of the world did U commence 1 
 
 19. Name any other events not here described. 
 
 20. Is there probability that traces of such a flood would 
 
 remain'? 21. Whyl 
 
90 mosaic account 
 
 treasured up. and handed down from age to age. the 
 recollection, however indistinct, of such a catastrophe. 
 
 Had there been, however, no marks discovered of 
 the deluge on the face of the earth, or had the voice 
 of tradition been entirely silent, the absence of such 
 testimony would not have disproved the clear state- 
 ments of God's Holy Word ; as negative testimony 
 must be much stronger than this to annihilate the 
 force of that which is clear, full and positive. "While, 
 on the contrary, if we discover on the surface, or near 
 the surface of the earth, evident marks of some such 
 violent and destructive calamity sweeping over it — 
 and if. moreover, tradition, so far from being silent, 
 is clear and full in handing down an account of all 
 the most important circumstances of the deluge — then 
 credibility of the strongest character is attached, not 
 only to this, but to other portions of the sacred narra- 
 tive. 
 
 Now, this is precisely the state of the argument : 
 
 There are, on the surface of the earth, the clearest 
 evidences of a universal deluge having once prevailed : 
 and there are also traditions handed down of a deluge, 
 so similar, in all its main features, to that described 
 by Moses, that there can be little or no doubt that 
 they both refer to one and the same event. 
 
 To an examination of some of these proofs let us 
 now attend. It is proper here to remind the reader, 
 
 22. Would the absence of such evidence disprove it ^ 
 
 23. Is the existence of such testimony valuable 1 
 
 24. Where do we find traces and proofs of the deluge 1 
 
OF THE DELUGE. 91 
 
 that in gathering the proofs, found on or near the sur- 
 face of the earth, the writer has derived most assist- 
 ance from the valuable labors of the learned Dr. 
 Buckland, Dr. Wiseman, and other distinguished 
 English and French scholars, who have given their 
 attention to the subject. 
 
 I. One proof on the surface of the earth of such a 
 deluge having once prevailed, is in the existence of 
 certain valleys, which have evidently been scooped 
 out of the earth by vast bodies of water passing over it. 
 
 To illustrate this proof. If. in the ruins of an an- 
 cient city, we discover portions of a wall, standing at 
 certain intervals of space here and there, all running 
 in the same direction, composed of the same materials, 
 lying in the same relative order, of the same precise 
 height, of the same apparent age — we should at once 
 conclude that formerly that wall was continuous and 
 entire, and that some irruption had broken down the 
 intervening portions which are now gone. So, also, 
 where thorough examination has been made, it has 
 been discovered, in many portions of the earth, that 
 opposite sides of valleys bear the same proportions to 
 each other ; that their sides are composed of the 
 same materials, lie in the same order, and appear to 
 have been once washed by some torrent sweeping 
 
 25. What authors are named 1 
 
 26. What is the first proof mentioned 1 
 
 27. Describe this proof more parti -.ularly. 
 
 28. How is it illustrated % 29. State the illustration. 
 
 30. What do valleys present on their sides 1 
 
 31. How are they composed, &c. 1 
 
92 MOSAIC ACCOUNT 
 
 through and tearing out the intervening valley, and 
 depositing the earth upon the sides and bottom of 
 the gorge. This argument presents itself more for- 
 cibly when exhibited to the eye, and as illustrated by 
 drawings or charts. The proofs that there are such 
 valleys, running parallel to each other, where no cause 
 for them now exists, their localities, the observations 
 which have been made with great accuracy, may be 
 found abundantly in scientific works upon the sub- 
 ject, to which we refer the inquisitive reader. 
 
 Y\ T e here only appeal to the undeniable fact, as one 
 to be accounted for by the existence and effects of 
 such a deluge of waters as that which Moses de- 
 scribes. 
 
 II. Another similar proof is found in large and 
 lofty rocks, standing very high like pyramids in cer- 
 tain places, the sides of which appear to have been 
 exposed to the washing and grazing of raging torrents, 
 and the earth around them to have been violently 
 torn away. 
 
 A French writer (Saussure), in speaking of Mount 
 Cervin, a pyramid, 3,000 feet high, upon the loftiest 
 Alps, says, " It is impossible for me to believe that 
 such an obelisk issued directly from Nature's hand in 
 this shape. The surrounding matter has been broken 
 off and swept away, for nothing is seen around it but 
 other pinnacles, springing like it abruptly out of the 
 
 32. What is the next proof offered ? 33. State this proof. 
 
 34. What author is named 1 
 
 35. Relate the fact mentioned by him. 
 
 36. What is his conclusion 1 
 
OF THE DELUGE. 93 
 
 ground, with their sides in like manner abraded by 
 violence." 
 
 An English writer of note says, " At Greiffenstein, 
 in Saxony, are a number of granitic prisms, standing 
 upon a plain, and rising to the height of a hundred 
 feet and upward. Each of these is again divided, by 
 horizontal fissures, into so many blocks ; and thus 
 they present the idea of a great mass of granite, the 
 connecting parts of which have been violently torn 
 away." 
 
 Such facts, of which only a specimen is given, sug- 
 gest at once that a violent inundation, like a raging 
 torrent, has left these as its monuments behind it. 
 
 III. Another similar proof, found on the surface of 
 the earth, of such an event as that which Moses de- 
 scribes, is seen in the fact, that vast deposits of sand 
 or gravel, belonging to certain localities, are often 
 found scattered along the surface of the earth, disap- 
 pearing gradually, evidently showing that once some 
 violent irruption swept across the earth, tearing down 
 mountains and hills, and bearing them over greater 
 or less distances, and depositing them gradually along 
 the direction of the current — and all this, in places 
 where no cause adequate to such effects is now in 
 existence. 
 
 37. What does an English writer say % 
 
 38. What cause seems to have once operated? 
 
 39. What is the next proof adduced 1 
 
 40. What are these deposits 1 
 
 41. What is their appearance 1 
 
 42. Are any causes now in existence 1 
 
94 MOSAIC ACCOUNT 
 
 So also, not only sand and earth, "but larger masses 
 of rock, varying from a few inches in diameter to the 
 weight of many tons, have been discovered, bearing 
 evidence of having been torn from their original bed, 
 and being borne by the raging element over great 
 distances, and actually scarring the earth in their 
 progress, or leaving marks produced by their transi- 
 tion from place to place. Great numbers of such facts 
 have been discovered in Warwickshire and Oxford- 
 shire, England ; in Sweden, Russia, Prussia, Poland, 
 and America, where numerous instances are seen of 
 rocks peculiar to certain localities having been torn 
 from their places, and scattered over a country to 
 which by nature they do not belong.* 
 
 Such are a few of the more prominent facts dis- 
 covered on the surface of the earth ; proving that the 
 earth has been subjected to the action of the raging 
 element, scooping out valleys, and leaving the sides 
 exposed ; tearing away the earth from rocks, and 
 leaving them to stand like pyramids, alone — their 
 sides scarred and torn by the torrent raging past 
 them ; and masses of earth, gravel and rocks, belong- 
 ing to certain localities, swept along and deposited in 
 
 * For details of proof, see Dr. Buckland's ''-Reliquics Dilu- 
 viance." 
 
 43. What else have been discovered 1 
 
 44. How large have these been found 1 
 
 45. What proofs of their transition from place to place ? 
 
 46. Where have such proofs been found ? 
 
 47. Repeat now these different proofs. 
 
OF THE DELUGE. 95 
 
 places where a different formation had previously pre- 
 vailed. 
 
 IV. Another species of evidence, of a still more 
 interesting character, proving the existence of such a 
 deluge as that which Moses describes, is found in the 
 discovery of antediluvian animals, which perished at 
 the " deluge, but which peculiar circumstances have 
 preserved and handed down to our times. 
 
 The Egyptian mummies, now disentombed from 
 the ancient catacombs, after a repose of three thou- 
 sand years, are not a more sure proof of the art of 
 embalming, which preserved them, than the animals 
 destroyed at the deluge, and handed down to our 
 own clay, are proof of the event which involved them 
 in one wide-spread and common ruin. 
 
 These animals are found in three different kinds of 
 circumstances ; — first, those which are discovered in 
 northern regions, where they have been preserved by 
 being frozen ; second, those which are found in cav- 
 erns and dens, where a sudden irruption of water and 
 earth secured them from the decomposing action of 
 the atmosphere ; and third, those discovered imbedded 
 in masses of earth and sand, in which they have lain 
 entombed in perfect preservation. 
 
 Of the first class, the following facts may be spe- 
 cified. In the year 1799, Schumackoff observed a 
 
 48. What is the next general proof of a deluge % 
 
 49. How do the Egyptian mummies illustrate this? 
 
 50. In how many different aspects may these remains be con- 
 
 sidered 1 51. What is the first % 
 52. What is the second 1 53. What is the third 1 
 
96 MOSAIC ACCOUNT 
 
 shapeless mass in the ice at the mouth of the river 
 Lena, in Northern Asia. In 1804. five years after, 
 it became detached, and fell on the sand. It was 
 found to be a species of elephant, its flesh so entire 
 that the dogs, and even the men partook of it. It was 
 different in some respects from the modern races of 
 that animal, showing that it belonged to a different 
 and ancient family, which has now ceased to exist. 
 Its skeleton was taken care of, and is now in preser- 
 vation at the Museum in St. Petersburgh. 
 
 In 1770, a French traveller, named Pallas, discov- 
 ered in the frozen mud, on the banks of the river 
 Viluji, a large animal of the rhinoceros tribe ; and 
 other travellers in Northern Asia have brought to 
 light similar discoveries, where it is thought the ani- 
 mals thus found differ from any ever known to exist ; 
 and to furnish the strongest proof of souie wide-spread 
 calamity which overwhelmed all in one common lot, 
 and embalmed them at one and the same moment. 
 Pallas, above named, confesses as follows : " That 
 until he had explored these parts, and witnessed such 
 striking monuments, he had never persuaded himself 
 of the truth of the deluge." 
 
 Next in order may be noticed the remains of ani- 
 
 54. What is a specimen of the first class ? 
 
 55. Describe this discovery. 56. Where is it now deposited 1 
 57. Wke7i did Pallas make a discovery ? 
 
 53. What and where was it ? 
 
 59. What was Pallas' confession 1 
 
 60. What is the next source of argument % 
 
OF THE DELUGE. 97 
 
 mals found in caverns, which have been discovered in 
 much greater variety and abundance. 
 
 As an example, may be mentioned a cavern, dis- 
 covered in Yorkshire, England, in 1821, which was 
 rich in such remains. Deeply imbedded in the bot- 
 tom of the cavern were found the bones of animals of 
 immense size, as the elephant, rhinoceros, &c, and of 
 vast numbers of hyaenas, and also of various kinds 
 of birds. The conclusion of the most learned men is, 
 that this cavern must have been for ages the haunt 
 of ravenous, wild beasts, who there devoured their 
 prey ; when some " irruption of water carried into the 
 cavern the loam in which they are now imbedded, and 
 which has preserved them from decay. Such a con- 
 clusion exactly accords with the character of the 
 deluge." Different explanations have been given as 
 to the manner in which the remains of these various 
 animals, as the elephant, rhinoceros, hysena, bear, 
 wolf, horse, hare, pigeon, lark, &c , &c, were brought 
 into the cavern ; whether they were dragged there by 
 the more ferocious of the wild beasts, or washed there 
 by the raging waters of the deluge ; but the most 
 learned geologists agree in the fact, that the preserva- 
 tion of these remains is strong proof of the deluge. 
 
 The next class of illustrations is found in those 
 
 61. How have they been found'? 
 
 62. Describe the cavern alluded to. 
 
 63. What is the conclusion of learned men concerning it 1 
 
 64. What explanations have been given % 
 
 65. In what has there been agreement ? 
 
 66. What is the next source of proof 1 
 
 9 
 
98 MOSAIC ACCOUNT 
 
 animals whose bones are discovered strongly cemented 
 together, and forming constituent portions of the 
 rocks in which they are imbedded. Discoveries of 
 such remains have been made in different parts of the 
 world, and have been attributed in their origin to 
 that one event, which was universally destructive of 
 animal life, and which doubtless wrought great 
 changes in the physical appearance of the earth. 
 
 Here, then, we conclude the first branch of our 
 argument. 
 
 That on or near the surface of the earth, we see 
 evidences of a wide-spread devastation by water, pro- 
 ducing great physical changes : while we have also 
 proofs of similar purport in the numerous animal re- 
 mains, which, having been overwhelmed in that watery 
 waste, have been embalmed by nature in this great 
 Mausoleum, and have come down to tell their own 
 story of the raging flood which overwhelmed them, 
 and all living things, in one universal watery grave. 
 
 Having noticed the traces of the " universal deluge," 
 as found on or near the surface of the earth, we come 
 next to examine another class .of evidence, viz., the 
 account of it as handed down by the human family 
 themselves. 
 
 First. So far from there being a universal silence 
 
 67. How are these remains found 1 
 
 68. Are such, remains extensively prevalent 1 
 
 69. Of what are they proof 1 
 
 70. Give a summary of the general argument thus far. 
 
 71. What is the next general argument 1 
 
 72. Has there been absence of all such proof? 
 
OF THE DELUGE. 99 
 
 on this subject, Josephus says (B. I. A. M. 2992, 
 Cli, I.), "All the writers of profane history make 
 mention of this flood and of this ark, among whom is 
 Berosus the Chaldean ; for when he was describing 
 the circumstances of the flood, he goes on thus : * It 
 is said there is still some part of the ship in Armenia, 
 at the mountain of the Cordyeans, and that some 
 people carry off pieces of the bitumen, which they 
 take away and use chiefly as amulets, for the averting 
 of mischiefs.' " 
 
 Josephus also adds, " Hieronymus, the Egyptian, 
 also, who wrote the Phoenician Antiquities, and Ma- 
 naseas, and many more, make mention of the same. 
 Nay, Nicolaus of Damascus, in his ninety-sixth Book, 
 hath a particular relation about them, where he 
 speaks thus : t There is a great mountain in Armenia, 
 over Ninyas, called Baris, upon which it is reported 
 that many who fled at the timo of the deluge were 
 saved; and that one who was carried in an ark, came 
 on shore upon the top of it," &c. 
 
 Second, Striking traditionary proof of the deluge 
 exists also in what has been handed down by the his- 
 torians Lucian and Plutarch, respecting what is 
 called " Deucalion's deluge." 
 
 Deucalion, as is said, was king of Thessaiy, in 
 
 73. "What does Josephus say 1 
 
 74. What heathen authors does he name 1 
 
 75. What does Berosus say 7 
 
 76. Repeat the words of Nicolaus. 
 
 77. What do these authorities clearly prove 1 
 
 78. What deluge is next spoken of 1 
 
100 MOSAIC ACCOUNT 
 
 Greece, in the year of the world 2431, about 700 
 years after the time of the flood. Whence was the 
 origin of the name " Deucalion's flood." there is doubt. 
 Some say that Deucalion taught the people religion, 
 and enforced it by the fear of God, whose wrath was 
 manifested in the flood, a history of which Deucalion 
 treasured up. But the traditionary account of " Deu- 
 calion's flood" harmonizes^ so closely with the history 
 of the deluge in the time of Noah, that they must 
 both have referred to one and the same event. It 
 says that he was a just and virtuous man, and hence 
 was saved, when the whole of mankind else perished ; 
 that he preserved himself, his wife and children : that 
 being forewarned, he built an ark ; that he took two 
 of every kind of living creatures into the ark : that 
 the ark rested on a mountain when the waters abated ; 
 that he sent out a dove to try whether the waters 
 were abated or not ; and that he afterwards built an 
 altar to the gods. 
 
 Indeed, so close is the analogy between what is 
 called i: Deucalion's flood" and that recorded by Moses, 
 that Sir Walter Raleigh felt and acknowledged the 
 force of the reasoning in proof that they were one and 
 the same thing. 
 
 79. Who was Deucalion ? 80. When did he live 1 
 
 81. How came the flood to be called :: Deucalion's Flood?" 
 
 82. How do the particulars of that flood agree with that de- 
 
 scribed by Moses 1 
 
 83. Who acknowledged that they seem to have been the 
 
 same flood 1 
 
 84. Does not the great variety of particulars, in which they 
 
 agree, prove them to be the same '"? 
 
OF THE DELUGE. 101 
 
 Third. Ancient medals also have been preserved, 
 on which are striking representations of the " univer- 
 sal deluge." 
 
 One of these, which originated in Phrygia, and was 
 called the " Apamean medal," has the following im- 
 pressions upon it. On the one side is the head of the 
 emperor, as usual. On the other side is the picture 
 of an ark, or chest, swimming upon the waters, with 
 a man and woman in it. Then, beside the ark, are 
 seen the man and woman, as if standing on dry land, 
 with their right hands raised as in admiration : while 
 above them is suspended in the air a dove, holding in 
 its claws an olive branch, as a symbol of peace ; while 
 upon the front part of the chest, is inscribed, in the 
 ancient Greek character, the word Noe. Seven or 
 eight of these ancient medals, it is said, are now 
 known to be in existence. 
 
 Fourth. Traditionary legends of the deluge are 
 also found in all parts of the world. To quote an 
 author who has been at great pains to collect these 
 facts, and who gives his authorities for his assertions, 
 u The orthodox among the ancient Persians believed 
 in a deluge, and that it was universal, and overwhelmed 
 the whole earth. Similar traditions have prevailed 
 
 85. What is the next source of proof from tradition 1 
 
 86. Describe the " Apamean Medal." 
 
 87. Where was it found 1 
 
 88. What representations are upon it 1 
 
 89. What word is upon it 1 
 
 90. How many of those medals have been found 1 
 
 91. Are traditions of the deluge very prevalent 1 
 
 9* 
 
102 MOSAIC ACCOUNT 
 
 in the East, among the Hindoos. Burmans, and Chi- 
 nese ; of these, the tradition of the Chinese is partic- 
 ularly worthy of note, as it not only refers both directly 
 and indirectly to the deluge itself, but also to the 
 cause of it. The same tradition of a general flood is 
 also to be traced among the ancient Goths and Druids, 
 as well as among the Mexicans, Peruvians. Brazilians, 
 and Nicaraguans : to whom may be added the very 
 lately discovered inhabitants of Western Caledonia, 
 the Cree Indians, in the polar regions of North 
 America, the Otaheitans, before their conversion to 
 Christianity, and also the Sandwich Islanders. * ? — 
 Home's Int., Vol. L, Ch. II., Sect. 2. 
 
 Surely stronger traditionary testimony of the fact 
 of the deluge could not exist. And they who deny 
 the fact of such a deluge, must answer another ques- 
 tion, how it has happened that so many of the heathen 
 nations of the earth, scattered every where upon it, 
 have, in their independent traditions, treasured up 
 in so many different ways, and with such remarkable 
 unanimity, the story of just such an event as Moses 
 has recorded on the inspired page ? 
 
 Such is a specimen of the evidence in proof of the 
 fact which Moses describes, the destruction of the 
 world by a flood of waters. Advances in modern 
 science, fresh discoveries on the surface of the earth, 
 newly gathered traditions in every quarter of the 
 
 92. What nations and people have such traditions ? 
 
 93. Is not this a strong proof of the deluge 1 
 
 94. Could there have been any other origin ? 
 
 95. Give a summary of the evidence in proof of the deluge. 
 
OF THE DELUGE. 103 
 
 world, all go to strengthen the belief, beyond all rea- 
 sonable doubts that once, in ages long gone by, a wild 
 waste of waters destroyed every living creature on 
 the face of the earth, save those miraculously pre- 
 served. 
 
 Did time and space permit, or were it necessary, we 
 would prove the authenticity of the Old Testament 
 by examining other events there recorded, in the light 
 of natural and civil history. But such facts as the 
 following — the creation of the world ; the formation 
 of man in the image of Goo, and his condition in 
 paradise ; his fall into sin ; the translation of Enoch : 
 the longevity of the antediluvians ; the building of 
 the tower of Babel ; the destruction of Sodom and 
 Gomorrah ; the departure of Israel from Egypt, and 
 their passage through the Bed Sea — these, and other 
 events recorded in the Old Testament, are abundantly 
 corroborated in the pages of profane history, and in 
 the traditions of the heathen world. 
 
 Before leaving this subject, we will further guard 
 the mind of the reader, by noticiDg a few objections 
 against the Mosaic account of the deluge. 
 
 First. It has been objected, that waters sufficient 
 to drown the world could not have been in existence. 
 
 But could not He who made the world have thrown 
 
 96. Are not all these extraneous of Revelation 1 
 
 97. Do they not add to the credibility of the Old Testament 1 
 
 98. What other events, recorded in the Old Testament, can 
 
 you name which are corroborated in a similar manner ? 
 
 99. What is the first objection noticed? 
 100. How is it answered ? 
 
104 MOSAIC ACCOUNT 
 
 down the barriers of those waters of the ocean which 
 cover so large part of the earth's surface % Or, could 
 He not have raised up by an earthquake from the 
 deep, a whole continent at once, and suddenly sub- 
 merged the earth ? Such an objection has no weight 
 with him who believes in the Providence and power 
 of GrOD. 
 
 Second. It is objected, again, that the ark was not 
 sufficient in size to contain all the animals said to 
 have been preserved. 
 
 But the great natural historian, Buffon, has shown 
 conclusively, that the number of distinct species of 
 animals on the earth is comparatively small ; and Dr. 
 Hales and others have met this objection again and 
 again, by showing that the ark was abundantly large 
 for all the purposes required. 
 
 Third. It has been objected also, that as the rain- 
 bow is caused by the reflection and refraction of the 
 sun's rays, so it must have existed before the flood, 
 while the language as recorded by Moses is, " I do set 
 my bow in the cloud." 
 
 But to this it is answered, the phrase might with 
 equal propriety be rendered, as every scholar knows. 
 ,; I do appoint my bow in the cloud," as something 
 already existing, to be a token of God's everlasting 
 covenant with his children, 
 
 Fourth. It has been objected, again, that mankind, 
 
 101. State the next objection. 
 
 102. What has Buffon proved 1 
 
 103. State the results of Dr. Hales' calculation. 
 
 104. What is the next objection ] 105. How is it answered ? 
 
OF THE DELUGE. 105 
 
 by their diversity of countenance and color, give evi- 
 dence that they could not have descended from the 
 one family of Noah. 
 
 But to this it is answered, that there are no greater 
 differences in the human race than may have been 
 produced by varieties of climate, modes of life, and 
 other causes positively known to exist. 
 
 Fifth. It is also objected, that the origin of the 
 race from one family, will not account for the peopling 
 of the American continent. To this there are numer- 
 ous answers — such as the near contiguity of the East- 
 ern and Western Continents on the north ; the preva- 
 lence of trade winds ; the possibility, and even proba- 
 bility of great physical changes having occurred on 
 the earth's surface. 
 
 In short, there never has been an objection against 
 the deluge, as recorded by Moses, to which reasonable 
 answers may not be given ; enough to satisfy a sincere 
 inquirer, though not enough to silence the obstinacy 
 of the wilful caviller. 
 
 Conclusion. — The destruction of the earth by the 
 deluge was a great and melancholy event. The over- 
 throwing of Sodom and G-omorrah, and the cities of 
 the plain, was an awful scene. The entombing of a 
 city, in more modern times, beneath the lava of the 
 
 106. What is the next objection'? 
 
 107. How may such varieties be traced? 
 
 108. What is the next objection ? 
 
 109. How may this be answered? 
 
 110. What was the character of the deluge? 
 
106 MOSAIC ACCOUNT 
 
 volcano, or in the chasm of the earthquake, has awak- 
 ened the sympathies of kingdoms. Nay. the frightful 
 havoc in the inundation of waters, when the rivers 
 overflow their borders and submerge beautiful cities 
 and villages, awakens strong feelings of sadness. But 
 this was not the destruction of a single city, or of a 
 valley filled with a thousand cities and villages. Con- 
 sternation and dismay were depicted on the counte- 
 nances of the inhabitants of every city and village on 
 the globe. The swelling floods drove them from emi- 
 nence to eminence, and from hill-top to mountain 
 brow, until all escape was cut off: and finally one 
 universal groan of despair was heard, and all was lost. 
 The earth itself, covered with cities, and villages, and 
 habitations of men, was involved in the general doom. 
 
 But, why teas this event permitted ? It was not acci- 
 dental. It was because u the wickedness of man was 
 great on the earth.'*' It was to testify God's deep 
 displeasure against sin, and to be a warning to us also, 
 " who have done those things which we ought not to 
 have done, and have left undone those things which 
 we ought to have done." 
 
 It teaches us, also, where alone is our safety and 
 hope. Upon the bosom of the angry flood, as we be- 
 hold the " ark of God," made according to his com- 
 mandment and appointments, while above, spanning 
 the heavens, is the " bow of promise," teaching us 
 
 111. What lessons of wisdom does it teach us 1 
 
 112. Why was the deluge permitted ? 
 
 113. What does it show'? 
 
 114. What two things does it prove 1 
 
MOSAIC ACCOUNT OF THE DELUGE. 107 
 
 how, in Jesus Christ, " mercy and truth have met to- 
 gether, righteousness and peace have kissed each 
 other," so let us find shelter within the ark of His 
 grace ; and then, as we survey the world in ruins, 
 Christian faith will bring to our trembling hearts the 
 olive branch of peace, and we shall look out upon the 
 scene without dismay. 
 
 Let us carry with us, into the business, cares, and 
 pleasures of the world, the thought of God's deep dis- 
 pleasure at sin. and that the bow of His promise spans 
 the cloud of His wrath. 
 
 115. Where should we all find refuge 1 
 
 116. Has God provided for our safety % 
 
 117. What should we at all times remember % 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 
 PROPHECY.. PROOF OF THE INSPIRATION OF THE 
 OLD TESTAMENT. 
 
 Ix the two previous chapters, our attention has 
 been directed to the authenticity or credibility of the 
 Scriptures of the Old Testament. 
 
 TTe have endeavored to show, that the various por- 
 tions of that book must have been written at about 
 the time usually attributed to them : and also that- 
 certain historical events there recorded, are sustained, 
 beyond all doubt, by the strongest chain of external 
 evidence. And hence we come to the conclusion, that 
 the book is entitled to credibility, or that it deserves 
 our intelligent reception. 
 
 In our present chapter we come to another distinct 
 and more important branch of the subject — not merely 
 to prove that the historical narrative of the Old Tes- 
 tament is true, but that the Old Testament is an in- 
 spired book. To show, that while human instrumen- 
 talities were employed in its composition and trans- 
 
 1. What vras the subject of the twD previous chapters ] 
 
 2. What is examined in the present chaj 
 
PROPHECY, PROOF OF INSPIRATION. 109 
 
 mission, yet that no other being than an omniscient 
 God could have dictated the truths therein contained. 
 In short, that the Old Testament is, in part, that very 
 revelation from G-od which, in a previous chapter, we 
 showed to be both' highly probable and indispensably 
 necessary. 
 
 The argument which, in our present chapter, we 
 propose briefly to examine, is that of prophecy. Let 
 us ask — 
 
 I. What is prophecy ? 
 
 II. How do the prophecies of the Bible differ from 
 the false pretensions to prophecy, as seen in the famous 
 oracles of the heathens ? 
 
 III. What are some of those prophecies of the Old 
 Testament on which we may safely rely, in proof that 
 the Old Testament is an inspired book ? 
 
 And first, What is prophecy % 
 
 An able writer gives to this question the following 
 answer. " Prophecy is a miracle of knowledge ; a 
 declaration, or description, or representation of some- 
 thing future, beyond the power of human sagacity to 
 discern or to calculate ; and it is the highest evidence 
 that can be given of supernatural communion with 
 the Deity, and of the truth of a revelation from God." 
 
 Hence, the mere foretelling of future events, how- 
 
 3. What is the first question to he asked % 
 
 4. What is the second point to be examined 1 
 
 5. What is the third % 
 
 6. How may prophecy be defined 1 
 
 7. What is it a miracle of? 8. What evidence is it ? 
 
 9. Is the foretelling of future events necessarily prophecy 1 
 10 
 
110 PROOF OF THE INSPIRATION 
 
 ever distant, is not necessarily prophecy : for it must 
 be of events beyond the power of human sagacity to 
 discern or to calculate. 
 
 Thus, the astronomer can predict an eclipse of tho 
 sun for a thousand years to come, if the solar system 
 shall so long exist ; but the predicting of that event 
 is not prophecy, because he has before him well 
 established data, on which he founds every one of his 
 conclusions. 
 
 A sagacious statesman may predict that great 
 changes may take place in any civil government now 
 existing, and those predictions may be verified in fact. 
 But yet his prediction is not prophecy, inasmuch as 
 he reasons from principles which he believes to be well 
 established, and from facts within his knowledge. 
 
 So also, again, a man may hazard a prediction, as a 
 mere matter of conjecture, and that conjecture may 
 chance to prove true ; but yet this would not be 
 prophecy, because prophecy is the declaration, descrip- 
 tion, or representation of something future, as abso- 
 lutely certain ; and of what it is beyond the power of 
 human sagacity to discover or calculate. 
 
 Now, it needs no argument to prove, that prophecy, 
 as thus defined, must possess the very highest degree 
 of moral evidence. 
 
 10. Why not ? 
 
 11. Illustrate by the calculations of the astronomers. 
 
 12. By the opinions of the statesman. 
 
 13. How is it with mere conjecture 1 
 
 14. Why must prophecy be of the very highest species of 
 
 evidence 1 
 
OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. Ill 
 
 We cannot tell what a single day will bring forth. 
 Much less can we look forward hundreds, and even 
 thousands of years, and describe with particularity 
 events which are to take place concerning nations and 
 individuals, for which now there are no perceptible 
 causes in existence. Surely, such a power belongs 
 only to the attributes of Him in whom are hid all the 
 treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 
 
 Such is prophecy, its nature, and its importance. 
 But again : 
 
 II. How do the prophecies of the Holy Scriptures 
 differ from the false pretensions to prophecy among 
 the heathens ? 
 
 Under the mere light of nature, there has almost 
 universally been exhibited a desire to lift the curtain 
 which hides futurity, and a power been claimed, by 
 supernatural communications with the unseen world, 
 to gratify that desire. 
 
 But, true and false prophecies differ from each 
 other in certain strongly marked particulars. 
 
 First. It has ever been a prominent object of false 
 prophecies, to gratify a morbid curiosity upon ques- 
 tions of no practical importance. Scriptural prophe- 
 cies reveal little, we may say absolutely nothing, of 
 this nature. 
 
 Second. The heathen oracles were induced to utter 
 
 15. How is it with man'? 
 
 16. How do true prophecies and false differ ? 
 
 17. Has there always been a disposition to look into the future % 
 
 18. Has there been this power claimed ^ 
 
 19. What is the first mark of distinction % 
 
112 PROOF OF THE INSPIRATION 
 
 their responses only at great pecuniary expense, and 
 upon the offering of costly oblations ; which responses 
 were ordinarily agreeable to those who sought them. 
 But the prophets of the true Goo prophesied often in 
 opposition to the wishes, and in defiance of the com- 
 mands and threatenings of those who consulted them ; 
 and so far from seeking or obtaining pecuniary re- 
 ward. " they were tortured, had trial of cruel niock- 
 ings, of scourgings ; yea, moreover, of bonds and im- 
 prisonment : they were stoned, they were sawn asun- 
 der, were tempted, were slain with the sword ; they 
 wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being 
 destitute, afflicted, tormented." 
 
 Third. There is another distinction between true 
 and false prophecy. 
 
 The oracles of the heathens, when at last they 
 uttered a response upon some one definite point (for 
 they were usually so general as to have no particular 
 meaning), often framed their language ambiguously, 
 so as to be capable of two different interpretations. 
 
 Thus, when Croesus, king of the Lydians, was about 
 to attack Cyrus, king of Persia, he consulted the ora- 
 cle at Delphi— this response was given him : that 
 - he would destroy a great empire ;' ? and so the event 
 proved, but contrary to his interpretation, that em- 
 pire proved to be his own. 
 
 So also, when, ages after, Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, 
 
 20. What is the second 1 21. What is the third % 
 
 22. Illustrate this in the case of Croesus. 
 
 23. Relate the case of Pvrrhus. 
 
OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 113 
 
 being about to make war upon the Ptonians, consulted 
 the gods as to the issue of the struggle, the juggling 
 oracle replied in words which might be understood as 
 follows : 
 
 " I say that thou, son of iEaeus, canst conquer the 
 Komans ; thou shalt go ; thou shalt return ; never 
 shalt thou perish in war." 
 
 Or, it might be understood as follows 
 
 " I say that the Romans can conquer thee, son of 
 iEacus ; thou shalt go ; thou shalt never return ; 
 thou shalt perish in war." 
 
 How different, in this respect, is the prophetic lan- 
 guage of the Old Testament ! Free from all ambi- 
 guity, it affirms boldly and unqualifiedly the truths 
 revealed, and leaves the ages to come, nearer or more 
 remote, to verify those predictions to the very letter. 
 
 With these preliminary remarks on the subject of 
 prophecy, there is another feature respecting it de-. 
 serving attention. It is the apparent obscurity of 
 prophecy. 
 
 Previous to the fulfilment of prophecy, there is 
 apparent obscurity in it. We seem to catch certain 
 distinct features of the image portrayed, but have no 
 power to adjust the parts in their appropriate relative 
 place ; but the fulfilment of the prophecy solves every 
 difficulty, and renders each part plain and simple. 
 
 24. Is such a species of juggling ever found in the Old Testa- 
 
 ment 1 
 
 25. What do you mean by the obscurity of prophecy 1 
 
 26. When is it obscure 1 27. When is it plain 1 
 
 10 # 
 
114 PROOF OF THE INSPIRATION 
 
 We see this especially in the prophecies of the Old 
 Testament relating to the coming of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Previous to His advent, all acknowledged that a 
 Messias was yet to come ; but His chequered history 
 was described in such mysterious language, such 
 almost irreconcilable points were to blend in His career, 
 that all felt the prophecy to be involved in the deep- 
 est obscurity. 
 
 There was great wisdom in this obscurity. It 
 effectually guarded against the delusion of impostors, 
 who might otherwise have attempted to personify a 
 prophecy clearly understood. Thus, previous to our 
 Saviour's advent, none dare attempt the fulfilment of 
 such a prophecy ; but. no sooner had the Son of God 
 appeared, and united strange mysteries of types, and 
 shadows, and prophecies in Himself, than multitudes 
 of impostors, catching the idea which our Saviour had 
 embodied, came forward, and pretended to be the 
 Saviour that was to come. 
 
 So also there is another benefit from the obscurity 
 of prophecy : — it leads to continual watchfulness. As 
 all, in all ages of the world, are alike uncertain re- 
 specting the time of the fulfilment, so all have equal 
 cause for perpetual watchfulness against the approach 
 of the event itself. This is eminently true of the 
 second advent of our blessed Saviour. 
 
 III. With these remarks upon the general subject of 
 
 28. Where do we see this 1 
 
 29. Why is there wisdom in this obscurity 1 
 
 30. How is this seen in respect to the Saviour 1 
 
 31. What is another benefit of this obscurity 1 
 
OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 115 
 
 prophecy, let us now examine a few of the more 
 prominent prophecies of the Old Testament, with 
 their fulfilment, and thus derive an argument that 
 the book which contains such predictions, must have 
 had its origin in the omniscience and wisdom of the 
 Supreme Being. 
 
 We pass by many predictions, the fulfilment of 
 which was more immediate, and of which there is 
 consequently less external proof; such as the plagues 
 with which God threatened and afflicted Pharaoh and 
 the Egyptians in the time of Moses, also many proph- 
 ecies pertaining to the departure, the journey, and 
 the settlement of Israel, and also many personal pre- 
 dictions respecting individuals, as Korah, Dathan, 
 Abiram, Ahab, Hezekiah, and Sennacherib. 
 
 We propose to examine a few prophecies uttered 
 long previous to their fulfilment, and of which there 
 is abundant external proof. 
 
 First. It was predicted respecting Abraham, at a 
 time when he was childless, and greatly advanced in 
 years, that his posterity should be greatly multiplied ; 
 should be strangers in a land not theirs ; should serve 
 their oppressors four hundred years ; that their op- 
 pressors should be judged and humbled; that his 
 descendants should come out of bondage with great 
 substance, and should possess all the country from the 
 
 32. What is the next subject of inquiry 1 
 
 33. What is passed by 1 34. What is examined 1 
 35. What prophecy is first examined % 
 
 3G. State the particulars of this prophecy respecting Abra- 
 ham. 
 
116 PROOF OF THE INSPIRATION 
 
 river of Egypt unto the great river Euphrates. (See 
 Gen. xv. and xvii.) 
 
 All these prophecies were literally and remarkably 
 fulfilled. Their bondage in Egypt : the judgments 
 upon the Egyptians : the final settlement of the Isra- 
 elites in Canaan : their prosperity : the extent of their 
 territory, and grandeur of their kingdom, especially 
 in the reigns of David and Solomon, are fully attested. 
 Within five hundred years from the promise to Abra- 
 ham, the number of the Israelites amounted to six 
 hundred thousand men, besides women and children. 
 
 Second. It was prophesied respecting Ishmael, the 
 son of Abraham and Hagar, that his descendants 
 should be numerous ; that he should beget twelve 
 princes ; that he should be a wild man ; that he should 
 be free as the wild ass ; that his home should be the 
 wilderness ; that he should scorn the habitations of 
 cities : that his hand should be against every man, 
 and every man's hand against him. (See Gen. xvi. 
 and xvii.) 
 
 From Ishmael sprang the various tribes of Arabs, 
 also called Saracens by Christian writers. And their 
 
 37. Where are these prophecies contained 7 
 
 38. Have you examined thern % 
 
 39. Were these literally fulfilled 1 
 
 40. What was the number of the children of Israel at a cer- 
 
 tain time 1 
 
 41. What was the prophecy respecting Ishmael ? 
 
 42. Who was Ishmael 1 
 
 43. Where are these prophecies contained? 
 
 44. Who sprang from Ishmael 1 
 
OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 117 
 
 history, as known to the world, confirms the above 
 prophecy in every particular. 
 
 During the middle ages, when the Saracens made 
 extensive conquests, they became a great and power- 
 ful nation. They remain to this day an unconquered 
 people. Their hand has been against every man, and 
 every man's hand against them ; they have remained 
 to this hour a wandering, lawless band of robbers, 
 scorning the abodes of civilized life, and roving over 
 the same lands whither they went forth more than 
 three thousand years ago. In ancient times, Sesos- 
 tris, Cyrus, Pompey ? and Trajan, attempted in vain 
 to subjugate them ; and yet, to this day, they have 
 maintained their independence against all modern 
 attempts to conquer them : and they offer, at this 
 moment, the strongest possible proof of the truth of 
 prophecy. 
 
 Third. Eespecting the Jews, remarkable prophecies 
 were uttered, which have been as remarkably fulfilled, 
 
 It was prophesied concerning them, that they 
 should be besieged, and their cities taken ; that they 
 should suffer such grievous famines, that mothers, ten- 
 der and delicately brought up, should eat the flesh of 
 their own infants and children ; that they should be 
 
 45. Does their history answer to that prophecy 1 
 
 46. When were they a strong nation 1 
 
 47. What is, and ever has been, their character 1 
 
 48. Who tried to subdue them 1 
 
 49. Are they not a proof of the truth of this prophecy 1 
 
 50. What prophecies are next examined ? 
 
 51. State the particulars of that prophecy. 
 
118 PROOF OF THE INSPIRATION 
 
 scattered, and become wanderers among all nations : 
 should become few in number among the heathen, and 
 should become a proverb and a byword unto all na- 
 tions. (See Dent, xxviii. Ezek. v. Isaiah xxiv. 
 Hos. iii. 4; viii. 8: ix. 17, &c.) 
 
 All these prophecies have been verified to the very 
 letter. Under the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babyloni- 
 ans, and especially the Romans, they have suffered 
 every vengeance threatened upon them ; and they 
 remain to this day a standing monument, a living 
 witness, a perpetual miracle of truth, to confirm those 
 prophecies uttered hundreds and thousands of years 
 before concerning them. As a modern writer on 
 prophecy says, 
 
 " There is not a country on the face of the earth 
 where the Jews are unknown. They are found alike 
 in Europe, Asia, America, and Africa. They are 
 citizens of the world without a country. Neither 
 mountains, nor rivers, nor deserts, nor oceans, which 
 are the boundaries of other nations, have terminated 
 their wanderings. They abound in Poland, in Hol- 
 land, in Russia, and in Turkey. In G-ermany, Spain, 
 Italy, France, and Britain, they are more thinly scat- 
 tered. In Persia, China, and India, on the east and 
 west of the Granges, they are few in number among 
 
 52. Where are those prophecies contained 9 
 
 53. Under whom did they suffer 1 
 
 54. When especially did they suffer from hunger 1 
 
 55. What is true of their dispersion 1 
 
 56. Where are they found ? 
 
 57. Repeat the testimony of the author quoted. 
 
OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 119 
 
 the heathen. They have trod the snows of Siberia, 
 and the sands of the burning desert ; and the Euro- 
 pean traveller hears of their existence in regions 
 which he cannot reach, even in the very interior of 
 Africa, south of Timbuctoo." — Keith's Evidence, 8vo. 
 p. 84. 
 
 There are very remarkable prophecies unfulfilled 
 respecting the Jews, which neither our argument nor 
 our limits will allow us to examine. 
 
 Fourth. Concerning Tyre, remarkable prophecies 
 were uttered. It was declared that the Chaldeans 
 and Babylonians should come upon it and destroy its 
 walls, and break down its towers ; that its riches and 
 merchandise should be spoiled ; that the noise of its 
 songs and sound of its harps should be no more 
 heard ; that it should be like the top of a rock, and 
 a place to spread nets upon ; that it should be a deso- 
 late city, and never be found again. (Ezek. xxvi. and 
 xxvii.) And yet, at the uttering of this prophecy, 
 Tyre was one of the most opulent and flourishing 
 cities in the world, and prosperously engaged in com- 
 mercial enterprise. Persia, and Assyria, and Arabia, 
 and Egypt, and the whole surrounding country, were 
 tributary to its glory and riches. 
 
 But this once flourishing city is now utterly de- 
 
 58. Are these prophecies, respecting the Jews, yet unfulfilled 1 
 
 59. What prophecies are next examined % 
 
 60. What was prophesied concerning it ? 
 
 61. Where are those prophecies contained? 
 
 62. What was the condition of Tyre then 7 ? 
 
 63. Where was Tyre situated 1 
 
120 PROOF OF THE INSPIRATION 
 
 stroyed. Successively it was weakened by conquest 
 after conquest over it; and the lamentations of Eze- 
 kiel upon its overthrow are the sad and striking pic- 
 ture of its utter ruin. 
 
 A modern traveller says, " Besides an old Turkish 
 ungarrisoned castle, you see nothing here but a mere 
 Babel of broken walls, pillars, vaults, &c, there being 
 not so much as one entire house left ; its present in- 
 habitants are only a few poor wretches, harboring 
 themselves in the vaults, and subsisting chiefly upon 
 fishing, who seem to be preserved in this place by 
 Divine Providence, as a visible argument how &od 
 has fulfilled His word respecting Tyre, that it should 
 be as the top of a rock, a place for fishers to dry their 
 nets on." — MaundrelV s Travels, p. 48. 
 
 Two modern travellers, in 1823, describe the town 
 and harbor as environed by rocks, on the ledges of 
 which are scattered in every direction the fragments 
 of ancient columns, and express their conviction that 
 the waves of the sea now roll where once stood the 
 vast and magnificent palaces of Tyrian wealth and 
 luxury. And another traveller, actually describes the 
 fishermen of Tyre as spreading their nets to dry upon 
 the rocks, strewed with crumbling columns, thus veri- 
 fying to the letter the ancient prophecy. 
 
 64. What is its condition now ? 
 
 65. What does a modern traveller say ? 
 
 66. What did travellers in 1823 find 1 
 
 67. What is their opinion 1 
 
 68. Where are those columns found ? 
 
 69. Is not this a fulfilment of prophecy? 
 
OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 121 
 
 Fifth. Our limits will not allow us to examine the 
 prophecies of the Old Testament respecting Ethiopia, 
 and Nineveh, and Babylon ; prophecies, on which, if 
 standing alone, we would be willing to rest the whole 
 argument from prophecy for the inspiration of the 
 Bible. (See Is. xviii. 1-6 ; xx. 3-5 ; xliii. 3. Ezek. 
 xxx. 4-6. Nahum i. 8, 9; ii. 8-13; iii. 17-19. Is. 
 xiii., xliv. Jer. 1., Ii.) 
 
 Sixth. The prophecies referring to Egypt are of 
 peculiar interest. Egypt was one of the powerful 
 nations of ancient times. It was the great nursery 
 of the arts and sciences. Its geographical position, 
 and the untiring industry of its inhabitants, made it 
 one of the most prominent actors in the drama of the 
 ancient world. It is said to have contained at one 
 time eighteen thousand cities, and seventeen millions 
 of people. The ruins of Thebes, with its hundred 
 gates, and the pyramids, still towering in the heav- 
 ens in solitary grandeur, are proofs now of what 
 Egypt was once. 
 
 Yet Egypt, while still in her glory, was the subject 
 of prophecy. It was predicted that Egypt should be 
 
 70. What prophecies are passed by 1 
 
 71. Are they not important % 72. Where are they found 1 
 
 73. What prophecies are next examined'? 
 
 74. Are these important — and why ? 
 
 75. What was the former condition of Egypt 1 
 
 76. What gave it prominence 1 
 
 77. What was once its population % 
 
 78. What proofs of its magnificence remain % 
 
 79. Can you describe these 1 
 
 11 
 
122 PROOF OF THE INSPIRATION 
 
 '•the basest of kingdoms:" neither should " it exalt 
 itself among the nations any more :" that her rivers 
 should become dry. and her land be sold into the hand 
 of the wicked. &c. (See Ezek. xxix., xxxii. Is. xix. 
 Jer. xliii. 8-13.) Two thousand and four hundred 
 years have passed by since such things were spoken, 
 and when such results seemed most improbable. 
 
 And yet, every particular of that prophecy has 
 proved signally true. Conquered successively by 
 Babylonians. Persians. Macedonians. Romans, and 
 Saracens, it finally became a wretched tributary to 
 the Turks, under whom it is still held in servile 
 bondage. The winds and sands of the deserts sweep 
 over her ruined cities : her rivers, or aqueducts, which 
 once watered the country, are dried up ; deserts, 
 dreary and wide spreading, stretch across her coun- 
 try : vegetation is withered ; and it is a truthful and 
 melancholy picture of Egypt as beheld by the seer's 
 eye ages since, and a most complete fulfilment of the 
 prophecy of G-od. 
 
 Seventh. Before leaving the subject of Old Testa- 
 ment prophecy, we must glance at one remaining ob 
 ject of prophecy, towards which the great mass of those 
 predictions pointed as steadily as the needle to its 
 
 80. What is the condition of the country now 1 
 
 81. Who have been its conquerors 1 
 
 82. Where are its cities ? 
 
 83. Who hold it in bondage now 1 
 
 84. Is the prophecy fulfilled ? 
 
 85. What is the last subject of prophecy examined? 
 
 86. Is it most important — and why ? 
 
OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 123 
 
 pole. I need not say that that object was Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 From the first Book of the Old Testament down to 
 the time when prophecy for the time ceased, was there 
 a series of predictions, all pointing forward to One 
 who was to appear in the world. Even the heathen 
 world caught the news of a coming Deliverer and 
 Saviour, and embalmed in its immortal verse the story 
 of the Eedeemer yet to come. 
 
 These prophecies were uttered during a period of 
 almost four thousand years, by a great variety of 
 persons, who spoke " at sundry times and in divers 
 manners ;" they are specific in their meaning, and 
 comprehend a minute description of every important 
 event in His remarkable history. The condition of the 
 world, and of the Jewish nation at the time when He 
 should appear ; the tribe, the family, and the person 
 from whom He should descend ; the town in which 
 He should be born ; His flight into Egypt ; the mur- 
 der of the innocents ; His humility, in all its details ; 
 His miracles ; His instructions ; His rejection ; His 
 sufferings ; His crucifixion ; His agony : the disposal 
 of His garments ; the ignominy of the cross ; the 
 wormwood and the gall ; His burial ; His resurrec- 
 
 87. Where are these prophecies found % 
 
 88. Did the heathen world hear of them % 
 
 89. What was the character of these prophecies % 
 
 90. Describe them particularly. 
 
 91. What particulars were subjects of prophecy % 
 
 92. What in our Saviour's life % 
 
 93. Were all these fulfilled % 
 
124 PROOF OF THE INSPIRATION 
 
 tion, and His ascension ; all these are stated with the 
 greatest particularity. 
 
 So remarkably minute and circumstantial are these 
 prophecies, that the question has been raised whether 
 some of them were not actually written subsequent 
 to His advent ; when the whole Jewish writings, scat- 
 tered every where over the world, hundreds of years 
 previous to His birth, prove the utter impossibility 
 of such a supposition. 
 
 Such an assemblage of prophecies, undeniably ful- 
 filled in the person of Jesus Christ, form one of the 
 strongest possible arguments for the inspiration of the 
 volume in which they are contained, and throughout 
 the whole of which, like gems, they are scattered. 
 
 Eighth. Such, in conclusion, is a brief presentation 
 of the argument from prophecy that the Old Testa- 
 ment is an inspired book. The half has not been told, 
 and yet enough has been said. 
 
 As we go forth into a doubting, scoffing world, where 
 ignorance, wickedness, and ingenuity, meet us at every 
 corner of the streets, we are bound, in duty to our- 
 selves and to our Goo, to arm ourselves with the 
 panoply of Truth, that we may be able to give to every 
 man that asketh a reason for the hope that is in us. 
 
 This argument, from prophecy, for God's truth, is 
 
 94. What question has been raised 1 
 
 95. Is this supposition impossible — and why 1 
 
 96. Is this argument very strong 1 
 
 97. Review the whole argument from prophecy. 
 
 98. What is a concluding reflection 1 
 
 99. What duty do we owe ? 
 
OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 125 
 
 one which we need not hesitate to believe, or fear to 
 urge. It will bear the severest test. Thousands of 
 the greatest minds have bowed to its authority. As 
 the spirit within us trembles with apprehension in 
 view of the dark futurity to come, it may here gather 
 strength. As it is cast down with afflictions and sor- 
 rows, the inevitable lot of all, it may here gather balm 
 for a broken, bleeding heart. As it sinks under the 
 consciousness of ill desert, it may here listen to the 
 whispers of pardon and peace. 
 
 Will the reader carry with him into the temptations 
 of the world, and to the realities of a dying hour, the 
 intelligent conviction of his understanding and of his 
 judgment, that in planting himself upon the truth of 
 G-od's Holy Word, he is not following a cunningly 
 devised fable. 
 
 Study this sacred volume. Listen to its teachings. 
 Folioy/ its precepts. Avert from you its threaten- 
 ings. Hear the sweet music of its tones of love and 
 mercy. Live in the light of its unseen truths — and 
 may we all, through the riches of God's grace in His 
 Son, finally attain the fullness of its promises. 
 
 100. How should we regard the Scriptures of the Old Testa- 
 ment'? 101. What can you say of this argument 1 
 102. What are some of the duties resulting from the subject 1 
 
 11* 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 AUTHENTICITY AND GENUINENESS OF THE 
 BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 
 
 In the last chapter we examined the evidences of 
 the inspiration of the Old Testament, derived from 
 the prophecies therein contained which have been 
 already fulfilled. 
 
 We now propose to examine another portion of the 
 sacred volume. 
 
 We have in our hands a book usually known as the 
 New Testament, which professes to give an account 
 of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Saviour of the 
 world ; of His birth, life, sufferings, death, burial, 
 resurrection, and ascension. Also of His miracles, 
 doctrines, disciples, apostles, and institutions. It is 
 a volume of which the contents are infinitely import- 
 ant to us, in what they teach us respecting our present 
 existence and our eternal destiny. 
 
 1. What was the subject of the last chapter 1 
 
 2. What does the New Testament contain 1 
 
 3. What do you mean by the Authenticity of the New Testa- 
 
 ment? 4. What by its Genuineness? 
 
AUTHENTICITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 127 
 
 "We propose now to show that this volume was writ- 
 ten at the time when it purports to have been writ- 
 ten, by certain persons to whom it is usually ascribed ; 
 that these writings have been handed down uncor- 
 rupted to our own day, and that they are fully en- 
 titled to an intelligent reception. 
 
 This subject is worthy of our most earnest atten- 
 tion. If we were describing titles to worldly estates, 
 about which there was some dispute, or were we ex- 
 amining evidences on which we rely in guarantying 
 to ourselves, at no distant day, the possession of mar- 
 ble palaces, and golden crowns, and splendid cities, 
 and the most delightful entertainments, surely the 
 subject would receive attentive examination. 
 
 And yet, treasures infinitely more valuable than 
 these are to have their titles discussed ; treasures too 
 lightly appreciated, and in respect to which our faith 
 is too weak, our hopes too faint, and our love too cold. 
 
 In the present chapter we propose to show — 
 
 First. That the system of Christianity was estab- 
 lished in the world at the time usually ascribed to 
 its establishment. 
 
 Second. That certain sacred writings, now known 
 
 5. What is the subject of this chapter ? 
 
 6. Is it an important subject — and why % 
 
 7. How should, we examine titles to earthly possessions 1 
 
 8. Is this subject of less importance 1 9. Why not % 
 
 10. State the need of examining this subject. 
 
 11. What are we to show respecting the establishment of 
 
 Christianity 1 
 
 12. What respecting the New Testament 1 
 
123 AUTHENTICITY AND GENUIKESESS 
 
 as the u Xew Testament," were, in the earliest ages 
 of Christianity, in existence ; were universally appealed 
 to as the productions of the apostles and early preach- 
 ers whose names they bear ; were appealed to as con- 
 taining the principles and doctrines of Christianity ; 
 and 
 
 Third. That those same sacred writings have been 
 handed down, uncorrupted, to our own day. 
 
 The establishment of these three important posi- 
 tions, will form the subject of our present chapter. 
 
 Our first position is, that Christianity was estab- 
 lished in the world at the time usually ascribed .to it. 
 
 This position is not now usually denied. Some of 
 the false religions of the world claim an antiquity 
 which is beyond doubt fabulous : but the bitterest re- 
 vilers of Christianity have never been able seriously 
 to question the fact that Christianity had its origin 
 in the world at the time usually claimed for and con- 
 ceded to it. A few authorities, therefore, will suffice 
 under this head. 
 
 Josephus, the Jewish historian, who was born but 
 a few years after our Saviour, in the eighteenth book 
 of his Jewish Antiquities, has a passage in which he 
 mentions particularly one whose name was Jesus, and 
 whom he describes as a wise man, " if he may be called 
 a man." The genuineness of this passage has, how- 
 ever, been questioned, and we will not dwell upon it. 
 
 13. What respecting its transmission ? 
 
 14. What is the first position^ 15. Is it usually denied ? 
 
 16. May not any fact be ignorantly or wilfully denied 7 
 
 17. Relate the testimony of Josephus. 
 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 129 
 
 The early Church historian, Eusebius, relates an- 
 other curious historical relic. It is that of a letter, 
 said to have been written by Abgarus, king of Edessa, 
 who was sick, and sent to Jesus, requesting that He 
 would come and heal him. He also gives the letter 
 of Jesus, in reply, in which He promises, after He 
 should be received up to Heaven, to send one of His 
 disciples, who should cure him. This historical fact 
 is supported by such authority as Dr. Cave and Dr. 
 Pearson, but is questioned by others. 
 
 We advance, therefore, to proof of which there can 
 be no doubt. Such proof is found in the letter of 
 Pliny the younger to the Emperor Trajan. Pliny 
 was a Koman governor of the provinces of Pontus and 
 Bithynia, in the year A.D. 103, and Trajan was em- 
 peror of Rome, both being of the pagan religion. 
 During Trajan's reign a severe persecution was waged 
 against the Christians, and Pliny writes a letter to 
 Trajan, giving an account of the persecution, of the 
 conduct of the Christians, of their number, of their 
 fortitude, of their worship, and asks advice of Trajan 
 how to proceed. 
 
 18. Relate the incident recorded by Eusebius. 
 
 19. When and where was Eusebius born % Arts. In Csesarea, 
 
 in Palestine, about A.D. 270. 
 
 20. For what are his labors valuable 1 
 
 21. Has there been doubt respecting this incident concerning 
 
 our Saviour % 22. Who gives us other testimony 1 
 23. Who was Pliny 1 24. When did he live ? 
 25. Was he a Christian 1 26. To whom did he write 1 
 27. On what account ! 
 
130 AUTHENTICITY AND GENUINENESS 
 
 n is 
 
 This correspondence between Pliny and Trajan 
 of the highest value to us. Its genuineness has never 
 been questioned. Pliny states that the whole fault 
 of the Christians " lay in this ; that they were wont 
 to meet together, on a stated clay, before it was light. 
 and sing among themselves alternately a hymn to 
 Christ, as a God, and bind themselves, by an oath, 
 not to the commission of any wickedness, but not to 
 be guilty of theft, robbery, or adultery, never to falsify 
 their word, nor to deny a pledge committed to them 
 when called upon to return it." 
 
 Pliny speaks also of the great number of persons 
 who are in clanger of suffering. For many of all ages, 
 and every rank, of both sexes, are accused. That 
 " the contagion of this superstition (as he calls it) has 
 seized not only cities, but the lesser towns also, and 
 the open country." And he describes the heathen 
 temples as almost deserted ; and that they who are 
 really Christians could not by any means be brought 
 to revile the name of .Christ. 
 
 Now, we refer to this correspondence, between a 
 Roman governor and his emperor, as decisive upon 
 the point before us. It is not the testimony of Chris- 
 tians, but of the enemies of Christianity, and is clear 
 and explicit in proving, that as early as the year of 
 
 28. Has this testimony been questioned 1 
 
 29. What is the testimony'? 
 
 30. What does he say of the existence and spread of Chris- 
 
 tianity ? 
 
 31. What concerning the character of the Christians ? 
 
 32. What is the sum of this testimony % 
 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 131 
 
 our Lord 100, the religion of Jesus Christ had be- 
 come thoroughly planted in the cities, villages, and 
 small towns of Pontus and Bithynia ; while we know 
 from other sources, that it had become spread exten- 
 sively in other parts of the world. 
 
 The Latin historian Tacitus gives testimony equally 
 decisive. After describing the terrible fire at Rome, 
 in the tenth year of the reign of Nero, and the sixty- 
 fourth of our Lord, in which a great part of the city 
 was destroyed, he says, that " Nero, to suppress the 
 common rumor and infamy of having set the city on 
 fire, procured others to be accused, and inflicted exquisite 
 punishments upon those people who were in abhor- 
 rence for their crimes, and were commonly known by 
 the name of Christians. He says, they had their 
 denomination (or name) from Christus, who in the 
 reign of Tiberius was put to death as a criminal by 
 the Procurator, Pontius Pilate. He says, " They 
 were condemned, not so much for burning the city, as 
 for their enmity to mankind. That their executions 
 were so contrived as to expose them to derision and 
 contempt. Some were covered over with the skins of 
 wild beasts, and torn to pieces by dogs. Some were 
 crucified. Others, having been daubed over with 
 combustible materials, were set up as lights in the 
 night time, and thus burned to death : and that Nero 
 acted a chief part in these cruel tragedies, and that at 
 
 33. What other author affords testimony in point 1 
 
 34. Who does he say set the city on fire 1 
 
 35. For what reason 1 
 
 36. What were the sufferings of the Christians 1 
 
132 AUTHENTICITY AND GENUINENESS 
 
 length so much suffering, merely to gratify the cruelty 
 of one man. began to awaken public commiseration." — 
 Tacit. Ann., xv., c. 44. 
 
 Now, Tacitus, though an enemy to Christianity, 
 thus bears the strongest testimony to the existence 
 of Christianity at that early day — also to the life, 
 sufferings, and death of Jesus Christ, under Pontius 
 Pilate, as also to the sufferings of the Christians, 
 merely to gratify the vindictive malice of Nero. 
 
 These proofs from Pliny and Tacitus, pagan writers, 
 are enough, without appealing to Christian authorities, 
 to prove our first position, that Christianity had its 
 origin in the world at an age or period of time usually 
 ascribed to it. 
 
 Second. We come next to our second position, that 
 there were then in existence certain sacred writings, 
 now known as the Books of the New Testament, 
 which were then universally appealed to as the pro- 
 ductions of the apostles, or evangelists, whose names 
 they bear, and as containing the fundamental truths 
 and doctrines of Christianity. 
 
 This is a position of great importance, and worthy 
 of our earnest consideration. ' So far from it being 
 true, as revilers sometimes say, that the New Testa- 
 ment was written we know not when, or by whom, 
 perhaps at a later and corrupt age, or perhaps has been 
 essentially altered from its original purity and simplici- 
 
 37. Does he not acknowledge the existence and prevalence of 
 
 Christianity at that day 1 
 
 38. State the substance of his testimony. 
 
 39. What is the next general position % 
 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 133 
 
 ty ; we have it in our power to show, that these sacred 
 writings are sustained by an authority of historic evi- 
 dence of the most satisfactory character, and such as 
 must forever silence all such objections. 
 
 We appeal, in proof 7 first to the early enemies of 
 Christianity, not because we are willing to give up the 
 testimony of the early Christians, or that their testi- 
 mony of itself is not conclusive, but to show how 
 strong is that chain of testimony on which we rely. 
 
 Among the ablest and bitterest enemies of Chris- 
 tianity in the early times, was Celsus ; who, in the 
 year AD. 176, and in the time of the Emperor Mar- 
 cus Antoninus, undertook an elaborate argument 
 against Christianity. Considering the time when, 
 and the object for which he wrote, his works are of 
 the greatest use to us in settling the point before us, 
 to wit, that the early Christians had even then the 
 writings of the New Testament. For, as Chrysostom 
 says, u Celsus and Porphyry are sufficient witnesses 
 to the antiquity of our Books. For, I presume, they 
 did not oppose writings which have been published 
 since their own time." 
 
 Qelsus quotes constantly and at length from the 
 four Gospels, as also from the Epistles of the New 
 Testament; and with such particularity, that from 
 
 40. In what way were the writings of the New Testament 
 
 appealed to 1 41. Who was Celsus ?- 
 42. When did he live 1 43. What were some of his labors 1 
 
 44. Why are his labors valuable to us 1 
 
 45. What does Chrysostom say 1 
 
 46. What books of the New Testament does Celsus quote ? 
 
 12 
 
134 AUTHENTICITY AND GENUINENESS 
 
 his writings alone, almost every incident in the life 
 of our Saviour could be gathered. There is scarcely 
 one event in His history, from His birth in the man- 
 ger to His ascension, to which Celsus does not allude. 
 His labors, miracles, instructions, sufferings, agony, 
 trial, crucifixion, prayer, and burial, seem to have 
 been taken for granted by Celsus. An able writer 
 remarks, that there are in his writings about eighty 
 quotations from the Books of the New Testament, or 
 allusions to them. Indeed, he must have set down 
 to his work with the writings of the New Testament 
 open before him. He alludes to the leading events 
 therein recorded. He does not pretend to deny the 
 facts there stated, for the world then was full of proof 
 of their truthfulness. He admits the facts, and 
 then tries to evade their force. The miracles of our 
 Saviour he admits, but attributes them to magic and 
 divination. The Apostles he ridicules because they 
 were fishermen and men in humble life. The doc- 
 trines of Christ he derides, as unlike the wisdom of 
 the world. And yet, in all this, he undesignedly, but 
 most unequivocally bears testimony of the strongest 
 character to the existence of those sacred books in 
 which these facts are recorded. Besides, he alludes 
 to no books which are not now contained in the New 
 
 47. In what way does he allude to the Saviour? 
 
 48. How many quotations from or allusions to the New Tes- 
 
 ment does he make 1 
 
 49. Does he deny the leading facts in the New Testament? 
 
 50. How does he account for them 1 [now known 1 
 
 51. Does he allude to any books of the New Testament not 
 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 135 
 
 Testament ; so that his testimony is proof of the in- 
 tegrity or completeness, as well as the existence of the 
 writings of the New Testament. 
 
 We presume it will not he affirmed that Celsus, 
 universally acknowledged to have lived but a little 
 more than one hundred years after Christ, should 
 have made more than eighty quotations from ; or allu- 
 sions to the New. Testament, when no such books had 
 then an existence. 
 
 We have dwelt more at length upon the testimony 
 of Celsus, because of its importance ; because it can- 
 not be regarded as the partial statement of a friend, 
 but is the involuntary acknowledgment of an enemy, 
 to the fact of the existence of the sacred writings at 
 that early day. The writings of other enemies of 
 Christianity, as Porphyry and Julian, are scarcely 
 less clear and explicit, 
 
 Early Christian writers give us more particular tes- 
 timony respecting the origin, compilation, and trans- 
 mission of the Books of the New Testament. 
 
 It appears from them, that certain of the Apostles 
 and early disciples who were personally conversant 
 with our Saviour, wrote that account of His life which 
 we have in " the Four Gospels." That a little while 
 subsequently, certain of the Apostles, having planted 
 churches in various places, wrote to them Epistles, 
 
 5*2. Must not the New Testament have been in existence thenl 
 
 53. Could it have been the production of a later age ^ 
 
 54. What do early Christian writers sayl 
 
 55. Who wrote " the four Gospels V 
 
 56. On what occasion were the Epistles written '] 
 
136 AUTHENTICITY AND GENUINENESS 
 
 instructing them more perfectly in the faith of 
 Christ, rebuking certain errors in doctrine and prac- 
 tice, and enjoining certain duties. These Epistles 
 from the inspired Apostles were very early copied, and 
 distributed from church to church. They were soon 
 known to the whole Church, were publicly read in their 
 Christian assemblies, and copies of them deposited in 
 their churches. A broad line of demarcation was 
 soon drawn between writings of a higher, and those 
 of a loiver authority— or writings which, though in- 
 structive and useful, yet were not regarded as of divine 
 authority. 
 
 The early Christian writers, as the apostolic Fathers 
 and those after them, constantly refer to the Books 
 of the " New Testament " as being well known. 
 
 Thus Barnabas, who is frequently mentioned in the 
 " Acts of the Apostles," in an Epistle still extant, 
 quotes directly from the Gospel of St. Matthew, and 
 makes frequent allusions to the Epistles. 
 
 St. Clement, Bishop of Borne, who was cotemporary 
 with St. Paul, and called by him in the " Acts of the 
 Apostles" his "fellow-laborer," quotes one of the 
 Books of the New Testament by name, and makes fre- 
 quent and very distinct allusions to others. He seems 
 to allude to the Gospel of St. Matthew, to the Acts 
 
 57. How were they used in the early Church 1 
 
 58. How do the Apostolic Fathers speak of the books of the 
 
 New Testament ? 
 
 59. What books does Barnabas quote 1 
 
 60. Who was St. Clement of Rome ? 
 
 64. What books does he quote or mention? 
 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 137 
 
 of the Apostles, to St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans ; 
 to both the Epistles to the Corinthians ; to the Epis- 
 tles to the Gralatians. Ephesians, Philippians, Colos- 
 sians, first Epistle to the Thessalonians, first and sec- 
 ond Epistles to Timothy, to the Epistle to Titus, to 
 the Hebrews, the Epistle of St. James, the first and 
 second Epistles of St. Peter. He makes no allusion 
 to any book now regarded as apocryphal. 
 
 Hermas, who also lived in the times of the Apostle 
 Paul, and is mentioned by him (Rom. xvi. 14), in a 
 book written in the year A.D. 92, makes constant allu- 
 sions to the writings of the New Testament ; to three 
 of the Gospels, to the Book of the Acts, to fifteen of 
 the Epistles, and to the Book of the Revelation. 
 
 Here, then, during the very first century, within 
 the life-time of one of the Apostles, we have quotations 
 from the Books of the New Testament by name, and 
 allusions to the great mass of these sacred writings. 
 
 As we enter the second century, we find proofs of 
 the existence of the Books of the New Testament 
 multiplying in great abundance. 
 
 Ignatius, in the year A.D. 107, mentions one of the 
 Books of the New Testament by name (St. Paul to 
 the Ephesians), and makes constant allusions to 
 others. 
 
 62. When did Hermas live 1 
 
 63. To what books does he allude 1 
 
 64. Repeat the testimony of the first century. 
 
 65. Could those writers have been mistaken 1 
 
 66. What writer of the second century is first mentioned 1 
 
 67. When did he live 1 68. What book does he quote 1 
 
 12* 
 
138 AUTHENTICITY AND GENUINENESS 
 
 Polycarp, of the year A.D. 108. calls the writings 
 of the New Testament " the Holy Scriptures," and 
 appeals constantly to them. 
 
 Justin Martyr, only thirty years afterward, in his 
 two Apologies to the Eoman Emperors, and his Dia- 
 logue with Trypho the Jew, appeals to these sacred 
 writings publicly, and before the world, as being books 
 well known, calls them " Christ's memoirs," " Com- 
 mentaries of the Apostles," &c., and mentions also that 
 they were read and expounded in the solemn assem- 
 blies of the Christians. 
 
 St. Irenseus, thirty years after, A.D. 178, gives us 
 the names of the authors of the " Four Gospels," and 
 mentions the subjects upon which they wrote. He 
 also distinctly mentions the u Acts of the Apostles," 
 and twelve of St. Paul's Epistles by name. He dig- 
 nifies them by the titles, " Divine Scriptures," " Di- 
 vine oracles," and u Scriptures of the Lord." 
 
 St. Clement of Alexandria, twenty years after, ex- 
 pressly owns the " Four Gospels," fourteen Epistles 
 of St. Paul, the first and second Epistle of St. John, 
 the first Epistle of St. Peter, the Epistle of St. Jude, 
 
 69. When did Polycarp live ? 70. What is his testimony 1 
 
 71. When did Justin Martyr livel 
 
 72. What works of his can you name 1 
 
 73. How does he speak of the New Testament 1 
 
 74. When did St. Irenaeus live ! 
 
 75. How does he speak of the sacred books 1 
 
 76. What does he call them 1 
 
 77. When did Clement of Alexandria live ? 
 
 78. What books does he name 1 
 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 139 
 
 and the Book of the Revelation ; and he calls them 
 the " Divine Scriptures," the " Divinely inspired 
 Scriptures," and the " Holy Books." 
 
 To close the second century, Tertullian, the most 
 ancient Latin father, has left behind him proofs that 
 he had before him and received all the Books of the 
 New Testament which are now commonly acknow- 
 ledged, except the Epistle of St. James, the second 
 of Peter, and the second and third of John. And he 
 speaks of the Holy Scriptures as open to all, and as 
 well known to the world in his own time. 
 
 As we enter the third century, we begin to find 
 still more systematic order and arrangement observed 
 in respect to the Books of the New Testament. Com- 
 plete catalogues of the Books begin to appear. Spu- 
 rious and apocryphal books are more clearly distin- 
 guished from those that are genuine and canonical. 
 Commentaries, or expositions upon the sacred writings, 
 begin to meet us, and great efforts are apparent to 
 excite all men to a diligent perusal of the inspired 
 volume. Especially is this true of that great scholar 
 and laborious commentator upon the Sacred Scrip- 
 
 79. What does he call them 1 
 
 80. What author is next named 1 
 
 81. What books had he before him'? 
 
 82. Give the sum of the evidence of the first and second cen- 
 
 turies. 
 
 83. As we enter the third century, what is the character of 
 
 the evidence 1 84. Do catalogues appear ? 
 
 85. Mention the fact respecting commentaries. 
 
 86. Was the Bible read by the people 1 
 
140 - AUTHENTICITY AND GENUINENESS 
 
 tures, Origen, who flourished in the early part of this 
 century. 
 
 As we leave the third and enter the fourth century, 
 testimony to the existence and integrity of the Books 
 of the New Testament becomes more and more abun- 
 dant. In the writings of this century, we find not 
 fewer than ten distinct catalogues of those Books. Es- 
 pecially now do we meet with those great lights of the 
 early Church, Eusebius and Athanasius, both of 
 whom give us exact lists of the Books of the Old and 
 New Testaments, and such treatises upon their con- 
 tents, as assure us that the Ganon of the New Testa- 
 ment had become already well established. 
 
 It is here deserving of note, that the list of the 
 canonical Books of the New Testament seems not to 
 have been framed, at first, by the authority of any 
 council. The usage of the early Church, and the gen- 
 eral consent of the early Fathers of the Church, appear 
 to have settled that question before any council had 
 acted upon it. 
 
 Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, in the latter part of 
 the fourth century, thus fairly states the case : 
 
 " We know the writings of the Apostles, as we know 
 the words of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Yarro, and 
 
 87. What great commentator is named of this century 1 
 
 88. As we enter the fourth century, what testimony appears 1 
 
 89. How many catalogues have been discovered 1 
 
 90. What great historians then lived 1 
 
 91. What testimony did they leave 1 
 
 92. How was the Canon of the New Testament framed % 
 
 93. What does Augustine of Hippo say 7 
 
OF THE XEW TESTAMENT. 14 i 
 
 ethers, to be theirs : and as we know the writings of 
 divers ecclesiastical authors ; forasmuch as they have 
 the testimony of contemporaries, and of those who 
 have lived in succeeding times." 
 
 The Council of Laodicea, held AD. 363, was the 
 first council which attempted to establish the list of 
 the canonical Books of the New Testament. 
 
 Before leaving this part of the subject, it should 
 be observed, that never by the early Church were any 
 of those Books regarded as inspired, or canonical, 
 which are now thought to be apocryphal, although 
 certain ancient writings were sometimes publicly read 
 in the churches, as containing godly and useful in- 
 struction : while, again, on the other hand, some of 
 those Books which are now regarded as canonical, 
 while approved by the greater part of the early Church, 
 yet by some were controverted. This is true espe- 
 cially of the Epistle of St. Janies, that of St. Jude, 
 the second of St. Peter, and the second and third of 
 St. John. Yriiile, concerning the four G-ospels, the 
 Acts of the Apostles, thirteen Epistles of St. Paul, 
 the first Epistle of St. Peter, and the first Epistle of 
 
 94. Vvliat council first acted on the subject of the canonical 
 
 hooks ? 
 
 95. "Were any pf those books, now regarded as apocryphal, 
 
 ever thought in the early Church to be canonical 1 
 
 96. How ought those apocrypha] books to be regarded now % 
 
 Ans. As containing valuable historical knowledge and 
 instruction, but not as being inspired. 
 
 97. Was the complete list of canonical books settled at first 1 
 
 98. Is not this easily accounted for 1 
 
142 AUTHENTICITY AND GENUINENESS 
 
 St. John, there was never any doubt, This fact shows 
 with ichat extreme caution writings addressed to differ- 
 ent and distant parts of the Church at length found 
 their way to universal confidence. The following list 
 of ancient writers is given, of those who had the very 
 same canonical list of the Books of the New Testa- 
 ment which is received in our times. Epiphanius, 
 Basil, Gregory Nazianzen, Amphilochius, Gregory 
 Nyssen, Jerome, Bufinus, the Third Council of Car- 
 thage, Augustine, Innocent I., Isidore of Pelusium; 
 Cyril of Alexandria, Cassian, Prosper of Aquitain, 
 Yincent, Eucherius Bishop of Lyons, Sedulius, Leo 
 Bishop of Borne, Salvian, Dionysius, Gelasius Bishop 
 of Borne, Andrew, Facundus. All of these authori- 
 ties, within the first five centuries of the Christian 
 Church, may be brought in proof of the canonical 
 authority of all those Books of the New Testament 
 which we now receive. 
 
 Such is a slight sketch of the proof upon our sec- 
 ond important position, that the Books of the New 
 Testament were universally known and appealed to 
 in the early Church as the works of the Apostles and 
 apostolic men, and as containing the fundamental 
 truths of Christianity. 
 
 III. We now come to our third position, that those 
 
 99. What does this prove 1 
 
 100. What books were always thought canonical ? 
 
 101. Name the early writers who had the same list of canoni- 
 
 cal books with us. 
 
 102. Was not the canonical authority of all the books early 
 
 settled 1 103. What is the third general position 1 
 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 143 
 
 same sacred writings of the New Testament, as they 
 existed in the early Church, have been handed down 
 uncorrupted to our own day. 
 
 A brief statement of the arguments upon this point 
 is all that our limits will allow. Enough however 
 will be said, we trust, to satisfy the inquiring. 
 
 And first, we have a strongly presumptive argu- 
 ment that the sacred writings have been safely trans- 
 mitted to us, in the truth of the Providence of God. 
 He who gave His Truth to the world, without doubt, 
 would have a care for its preservation and transmission. 
 And we believe also that He has made the Church 
 of His love, of which we shall speak more particularly 
 hereafter, the Witness and Keeper of Holy Writ, or, 
 as St. Paul expresses it, " the 'pillar and ground of the 
 truth" — 1 Tim. iii. 15. 
 
 Second. The importance of these writings themselves, 
 has ever secured for them the greatest veneration, and 
 the utmost possible care in transcribing them. So par- 
 ticular were the early copyists and scribes, before the 
 art of printing was discovered, that they not only 
 transcribed with the greatest accuracy, but even the 
 number of the words in the Holy Scriptures was 
 counted, in order to assist in avoiding mistakes. 
 
 Third. Another fact, which vouches for the integ- 
 
 104. State the presumptive argument for the safe transmission 
 
 of the sacred oracles. 
 
 105. Is not this a strong argument 1 
 
 106. What is the Church said to be 1 
 
 107. How has she proved so? 108. State the next argument. 
 109. What fact can you mention 1 
 
144 AUTHENTICITY AXD GENUINENESS 
 
 > con- 
 
 rity of the New Testament, is the use which has 
 stantly been made of the sacred writings in religious 
 controversy. The New Testament was in the hands 
 of all parties. Infidels violently assaulted every doc- 
 trine therein contained, Errors and heresies sprang 
 up in the Church in its early days, the teachers of 
 which constantly appealed to the Books of the New 
 Testament. Had any alterations "been made in the 
 sacred volume, by way of omission, interpolation, or 
 addition, by any party, the fact would have been in- 
 stantly detected and exposed. This eagle-eyed vigi- 
 lance, therefore, proved a most effectual safeguard 
 of the purity of the sacred volume. 
 
 Fourth. Another important proof of the genuine- 
 ness of the Books of the New Testament, is the fact 
 of the great number of quotations from them by the 
 early Christian writers. 
 
 Dr. Lardner says, %i There are, perhaps, more and 
 larger quotations of the small volumes of the New 
 
 110. What effect had early controversies on this subject 7 ? 
 
 111. Upon what doctrine did heresy early arise ? Ans. The 
 
 Divinity of Christ. 
 
 112. Whofifst called it in question? Ans. The Arians, so 
 
 called from Arius, their leader. 
 
 113. In what creed was the true faith expressed in opposition 
 
 to this heresy % Ans. The Nicene Creed. 
 
 114. What effect would these controversies have upon the 
 
 sacred text ? 
 
 115. Would not the least alteration have been exposed % 
 
 116. What is the next general argument for the genuineness 
 
 of the writings of the Xew Testament'? 
 
 117. What does Dr. Lardner say? 
 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. - 145 
 
 Testament in this one Christian author, Tertullian, 
 than of all the works of Cicero, though of so uncom- 
 mon excellence for thought and style, in the writers 
 of all characters for several ages. And there is a 
 like number of quotations of the New Testament in 
 St. Irenseus, and St. Clement of Alexandria, both 
 writers of the second century." — Lardner's Works, 
 Vol. II., p. 306. -London. 8vo. 1838. 
 
 The following fact will express the strength and 
 value of this argument. At a party of literary gen- 
 tlemen in Edinburgh, the question was asked, " Sup- 
 posing all the New Testaments in the world had been 
 destroyed at the end of the third century, could their 
 contents have been recovered from the writings of the 
 three first centuries ?" About two months after, 
 Lord Hailes, who was of the party, remarked to a 
 friend as follows : 
 
 "On returning home, as I knew I had all the 
 writers of those centuries, I began immediately to 
 collect them, that I might set to work on the arduous 
 task as soon as possible." Pointing to a table covered 
 with papers, he continued, " There have I been busy 
 for these two months, searching for chapters, half 
 chapters, and sentences of the New Testament, and 
 have marked down what I have found, and where I 
 have found it ; so that any person may see and ex- 
 amine for themselves. / have actually discovered the 
 
 118. Repeat the account of an examination on this subject. 
 
 119. How much of the New Testament can be found in the 
 
 writers of the first three centuries ? 
 13 
 
146 AUTHENTICITY AND GENUINENESS 
 
 whole of the New Testament from those writings, except 
 seven or eleven verses, ichich satisfies me that I could dis- 
 cover them also. 1 '' 
 
 Here, then, we have another unexpected proof of 
 the genuineness of the sacred writings, as the numer- 
 ous quotations from the New Testament} would be 
 almost an insuperable obstacle in the way of their 
 corruption. 
 
 Fifth. The most effectual method, however, for pre- 
 serving the integrity of the writings of the New Tes- 
 tament, was by their early translation into various 
 languages of the world. 
 
 In the latter part of the first, or early in the second 
 century, a translation of them was made into the 
 Syriac tongue. So also the Coptic, the Ethiopic, the 
 Gothic, the Latin Yulgate, and the Sahidic versions 
 were all of an early date. And in these versions the 
 Scriptures were scattered into all parts of the world. 
 By this means any essential perversion of the sacred 
 text became next to impossible. In modern times, 
 copies of those old manuscripts have been brought to 
 light, disclosing a very remarkable agreement of all 
 these versions with each other, and showing how the 
 
 120. What has been a still greater protection of the purity of 
 
 the sacred writings 1 
 
 121. How early were translations made ? 
 
 122. Into what languages were the books of the New Testa- 
 
 ment translated 7 
 
 123. Do copies of those translations still exist 1 
 
 124. What do they prove 1 
 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 147 
 
 Providence of God has effectually guarded the sacred 
 volume from corruption. 
 
 Such are the main arguments on which we rely to 
 prove that the sacred writings of the New Testament 
 have been handed down uncorrupted to our own day. 
 Even Rousseau, a disbeliever, avowed his astonish- 
 ment at the strength of the historical testimony, and 
 also confessed that the inventor of the narrative ap- 
 peared to him more remarkable than the hero. 
 
 All that has been attempted in this chapter has 
 been to show the authenticity and genuineness of the 
 writings of the New Testament. For about eighteen 
 hundred years, they have stood, a beacon on a bold 
 and dangerous coast, throwing their strong and steady 
 light across the stormy waste of waters. Many a 
 tempest-tossed mariner has guided his bark by their 
 aid, and been saved. Many a heedless wanderer has 
 recklessly plunged into unseen dangers, and sunk to 
 rise no more. 
 
 That same Almighty arm which stirreth up the 
 winds and the waves, planted this Beacon, to be " a 
 light to our feet and a lamp to our path." 
 
 Let the reader be exhorted to study the writings 
 of the " New Testament." It, and it alone, casts its 
 
 125. Repeat now, from the beginning of the chapter, the 
 
 arguments for the Authenticity and Genuineness of the 
 Books of the New Testament. 
 
 126. Is not the argument unanswerable 1 
 
 127. To what may the Holy Scriptures be compared % 
 
 128. What is God's word said to be 1 
 
 129. How ought it to be treated ? 
 
148 AUTHENTICITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 
 
 bright beams across the River of Death, and reveals 
 the distant shores of the future world. In its light, 
 through the dark mists of the future, Eternity rises 
 up to our view, a great and awful reality. 
 
 Such as this Book was to Apostles, and martyrs, 
 and confessors, such it is now ; clear in its direction, 
 terrific in its threatenings, glorious in its promises ; 
 the Christian's safe G-uide Book through a dangerous 
 world. 
 
 " Search the Scriptures," said the incarnate God, 
 " for they are they which testify of me : and in them 
 ye think ye have eternal life." — St. John v. 39. 
 
 130. What light respecting the future does the Bible reveal 1 
 
 131. What must be the consequence of rejecting it ? 
 
 132. What was our Saviour's command'? 
 
 133. Is it still binding on us 1 
 
 134. Is it right to withhold, alter, add to, or take away from 
 
 the word of G od 1 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 INSPIRATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT— MIRA- 
 CLES AND PROPHECY. 
 
 The last chapter was devoted to the subject of the 
 Authenticity and Genuineness of the New Testa- 
 ment ; or, in other words, it was shown that the 
 Books of the New Testament were written by certain 
 men, whose names they bear, and that these writings 
 have been handed down uncorrupted to our own 
 day. 
 
 This prepares the way for another important sub- 
 ject, upon which we now enter, viz., the Inspiration 
 of the New Testament. We shall not here repeat 
 the argument of the Probability and Necessity of a 
 Revelation, which formed the subject of a preceding 
 chapter, but shall advance at once to the proof, that 
 the writings of the New Testament are a Revelation 
 from God, who, " at sundry times and in divers man- 
 ners," conveyed the knowledge of His will to cer- 
 tain of our race, who left behind them the record, 
 
 1. What was the subject of the last chapter'? 
 
 2. What point is now to be examined 1 
 
 3. What points were previously examined 1 
 
 13* 
 
150 INSPIRATION 
 
 which record has been transmitted in its integrity to 
 our own day. 
 
 I. We believe that the writings of the New Testa- 
 ment are a Revelation from God, because they are 
 confirmed by the evidence of Miracles. 
 
 Jesus Christ Himself wrought great numbers of 
 miracles ; His disciples also wrought miracles in His 
 name ; and these miracles were wrought in evidence 
 of the divine origin of our Saviour's mission, instruc- 
 tions and doctrines. 
 
 Thus, when the disciples of John the Baptist came to 
 Jesus Christ to know who He was, He sent them back 
 with this message : " Go your way, and tell John what 
 things ye have seen and heard ; how that the blind 
 see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf 
 hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the Gospel is 
 preached." Luke vii. 22, 
 
 This argument from miracles, if sustained by ade- 
 quate proof, is one of the most conclusive and unan- 
 swerable. 
 
 What is a miracle % It is a suspension of, or devi- 
 ation from, the ordinary course of nature. And, as 
 the laws of nature are appointed and executed by 
 God, so the suspension or interruption of those laws 
 can only take place by His special permission. 
 Whenever, therefore, doctrines or instructions are 
 
 4. What is the first general proof offered 7 
 
 5. Who wrought miracles % 6. Why were they wrought 1 
 
 7. How can you show that they were wrought for this pur- 
 pose 1 8. What is a miracle % 
 9. By whose power must every miracle be performed % 
 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 151 
 
 made known, which are confirmed to us by the evi- 
 dent suspension or violation of the known laws of the 
 natural world, we have every reason to believe that 
 those doctrines and instructions have their origin in 
 the great Author of all things, that is, in God Him- 
 self. 
 
 Now, such evidence as this have we to its fullest 
 extent to prove the Inspiration of the New Testa- 
 ment. 
 
 For, those who were born blind were made to see ; 
 those who were afflicted by incurable diseases were, 
 by a single word, made whole ; those who had been 
 for a considerable time dead came forth from the 
 grave ; while, at a single word, storms were hushed, 
 the winds ceased, and the raging sea slept. Such 
 were some of the special attestations to the divine 
 origin of the truths of the New Testament. 
 
 II. But what evidence have we that such miracles 
 were actually wrought ? 
 
 These miracles were not wrought secretly, or only 
 in the presence of a few sworn friends, but in the 
 sight of thousands, both of friends and foes, who 
 could not by any means have been mistaken as to the 
 fact of these miracles. They were wrought under a 
 great variety of circumstances, where there could 
 have been no room for deception or mistake ; they 
 
 10. What musi we say of all doctrines thus confirmed 1 
 
 11. Have we this evidence for the New Testament 1 
 
 12. What miracles were wrought % 
 
 13. How were these miracles wrought 1 
 
 14. Under what circumstances 1 
 
152 INSPIRATION 
 
 were borne witness to and attested by competent 
 witnesses, who possessed every opportunity of know- 
 ing that which they affirmed ; they were attested and 
 proclaimed by persons who had nothing to gain but 
 everything to lose by such testimony : by persons 
 who taught openly and continually that all liars and 
 false swearers must be for ever excluded from the 
 Divine favor : they were proclaimed by persons who 
 suffered every method and degree of torture and suf- 
 fering, such as bonds, imprisonment, and cruel death. 
 and who never hesitated as to the truth of what they 
 witnessed: and. besides all this, they were appealed 
 to confidently in the presence of crowds of the bit- 
 terest enemies of the Gospel, who could not but have 
 known the truth or falsity of the things declared, and 
 who lacked neither the ability nor disposition to dis- 
 prove the things stated, if this were by any means 
 possible. The Gospels and Epistles were written 
 and sent abroad at an early period in the history of 
 Christianity, when detection would have been com- 
 paratively easy ; and at a time when the advanced 
 
 15. What was the character of the witnesses ? 
 
 16. What motives alone could influence them 1 
 
 17. What did they teach respecting speaking the truth ? 
 
 18. What did these witnesses suffer 1 
 
 19. Before whom did they appeal 1 
 
 20. Would not these enemies have known the truth of the 
 
 miracles 1 21. Did they deny them 1 
 
 22. At what period were the Gospels and Epistles written 1 
 
 23. What would then have been easy 1 
 
 24. Were they ever denied ? 
 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 153 
 
 state of human learning in the eastern world ren- 
 dered it abundantly easy to expose deception had it 
 been possible. 
 
 Such were the circumstances under which the mira- 
 cles, in corroboration of the New Testament, were 
 wrought and published ; and yet, under all these cir- 
 cumstances, St. Paul publicly pointed the enlight- 
 ened Corinthians to more than five hundred witnesses 
 of the miracle of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, of 
 whom he declared the greater part to be still alive. 
 1 Cor. xv. 6. And the early Apostles and preachers 
 of the Gospel boldly appealed to the whole world to 
 bear witness to the truth of Christianity, and yet its 
 facts could neither be denied nor disproved. 
 
 Nay, more, the early enemies of Christianity actu- 
 ally admitted the fact, that the miracles recorded in 
 the New Testament were wrought. Celsus, the great 
 enemy of the early Church, admitted the fact that 
 Jesus Christ wrought miracles, and attempted to 
 account for them upon other grounds than His mirac- 
 ulous power, or as a teacher come from G-od. But 
 he does not pretend to deny the fact itself of miracles. 
 He concedes the fact that Jesus Christ cured the 
 sick, raised the dead, multiplied the loaves, healed the 
 
 25. What was the state of learning then ? 
 
 26. To whom did St. Paul appeal ? 
 
 27. What was the character of the Corinthians 1 
 
 28. What did the enemies of the Gospel confess % 
 
 29. What was the testimony of Celsus ? 
 
 30. How does he account for them % 
 
 31. What particular miracles did he acknowledge 1 
 
154 IX5P [RATION 
 
 lame and the blind. Indeed, almost a complete 
 account of the life, history, and actions of Jesus 
 Christ, could be gathered from the writings of Cel- 
 sus ; who, while he employs every art of ridicule and 
 cunning, does not pretend to deny the important facts 
 themselves recorded in the New Testament. 
 
 Other heathen testimony can be brought in corrob- 
 oration of the miracles recorded in the New Testa- 
 ment. 
 
 The early Christian Fathers, for instance, allude 
 to the obscuring of the sun at the time of our Saviour's 
 crucifixion, as having been described by heathen tes- 
 timony. Africanus says, that Thallus, a pagan writer, 
 calls this darkness an eclipse of the sun ; when it is 
 evident, from the position of the heavenly bodies at 
 that time, being at the Jewish Passover, that no such 
 eclipse of the sun could have occurred from natural 
 causes. Origen says, that u Phlegon, another Pagan 
 writer, in the fourteenth Book of his Chronicles, writes 
 of the defection of the sun under Tiberius Caesar, in 
 which reign it is manifest that our Lord suffered." 
 And Eusebius writes in his Chronicles, at the eigh- 
 teenth year of Tiberius, " Christ suffered this year." 
 In which time we find in other commentaries of the 
 heathens these words : tt There was a defection of the 
 
 32. What may be gathered from his writings 1 
 
 33. Is there other similar testimony 1 
 
 34. What did Thallus say 1 
 
 35. What was Phlegon's testimony 1 
 
 36. Give the statement of Eusebius. 
 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 155 
 
 sun, Bithynia was shaken with an earthquake, and 
 many houses fell down in the city of Nice." 
 
 Here, then, we find abundant corroboration of the 
 fact of those miracles which took place at the cruci- 
 fixion of Jesus Christ, and for which facts no natural 
 causes could have been in existence. 
 
 This, then, is our first general argument for the 
 inspiration of the Scriptures of the New Testament — 
 the argument of miracles — miracles wrought in great 
 numbers, and before all the world ; miracles testified 
 to by a great number of competent witnesses, who 
 could have had no worldly motive for deception, and 
 who sealed that testimony with their blood ; miracles 
 acknowledged again and again to have been wrought, 
 by the confessions of the bitterest enemies and revilers 
 of the cross of Christ. 
 
 TABLE OF THE MIRACLES OF JESUS CHRIST, 
 
 ARRANGED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER. 
 
 Water turned to wine, St. John ii. 1-11. 
 
 Nobleman's son cured, * St. John iv. 46-64. 
 
 Miraculous draught of fishes, St. Luke v. 1-11. 
 
 Demoniac cured, St. Mark i. 22-28. 
 
 Peter's wife's mother healed, St. Mark i. 30, 31. 
 
 A leper healed, St. Mark i. 40-45. 
 
 Centurion's servant healed, St. Matt. viii. 5-13. 
 
 IThe widow's son raised. St. Luke vii. 11-17. 
 
 The tempest calmed, St. Matt. viii. 23-27. 
 
 The demoniacs of Gadara cured, St. Matt. viii. 28-34. 
 
 A man sick of the palsy cured, St. Matt. ix. 1-8. 
 
 37. Repeat the first argument. 
 
 38. How many and what miracles did Jesus Christ perform 1 
 
156 INSPIRATION 
 
 Jairus 5 daughter restored, St. Matt. ix. 18-26. 
 
 Diseased woman cured, St. Luke viii. 43-48. 
 
 Two men blind restored to sight, St. Matt. ix. 27-3L 
 
 Dumb spirit cast out, St. Matt. ix. 32, 33. 
 
 Infirm man at Bethesda cured, St. John v. 1-9. 
 
 Man with a withered hand cured, St. Matt. xii. 10-13. 
 
 Demoniac cured, St. Matt. xii. 22, 23. 
 
 Five thousand miraculously fed, St. Matt. xiv. 15-21. 
 
 Daughter of the woman of Canaan 
 
 healed, St. Matt. xv. 22-28. 
 
 A man dumb and deaf healed, St. Mark vii. 31-37. 
 
 Four thousand miraculously fed, St. Matt. xv. 32-39. 
 
 A blind man receives sight, St. Mark xiii. 22-26. 
 
 A boy possessed of a devil cured, St. Matt. xvii. 14-21. 
 
 A man born blind restored to sight, St. John ix. 
 
 A woman with an infirmity eighteen 
 
 years healed, St. Luke xiii. 11-17. 
 
 One sick with dropsy cured, St. Luke xiv. 1-6. 
 
 Ten lepers cleansed, St. Luke xvii. 11-19. 
 
 Lazarus raised from the dead, St. John xi. 
 
 Two blind men restored to sight, St. Matt. xx. 30-34. 
 
 The fig-tree cursed, St. Matt. xxi. 1 8-22. 
 
 Malchus' ear healed, St. Luke xxii. 50, 51. 
 
 Miraculous draught of fishes, St. John xxi. 1-14. 
 
 III. Our next general argument for the inspiration 
 of the New Testament, is drawn from the prophecies 
 therein contained. What prophecy is, and the nature 
 and importance of the argument, have been considered 
 in a previous chapter. 
 
 First. All those historical facts recorded in the 
 New Testament which are the fulfilment of prophe- 
 cies in the Old Testament, bear upon their face pre* 
 
 39. What is the next general argument 1 
 
 40. What presumptive argument is stated % 
 
OF THE NEW 7 TESTAMENT. 157 
 
 sumptive proof of having been indited by the Spirit 
 of God. For, as all are parts of one comprehensive 
 whole, so, when we see the prophecies of Isaiah, Dan- 
 iel, Malacki, and others, respecting our Saviour, ex- 
 actly fulfilled in the recorded history of the w Four 
 Gospels of the New Testament," we cannot resist the 
 impression, that both the recorded prophecy and the 
 recorded fulfilment, were indited by the Spirit of all 
 Truth. 
 
 Second. The argument from prophecy drawn from 
 the New Testament, is conclusive, as we examine the 
 language of that prophecy and its fulfilment. In those 
 pages, many events then future were clearly predicted, 
 Some of these prophecies have been fulfilled — some 
 of them are now fulfilling — of some the fulfilment is 
 yet future. 
 
 Thus, Jesus Christ foretold with great particularity 
 the circumstances of His own death ; that one of His 
 own disciples should betray Him ; that He should fall 
 into the hands of the chief-priests and scribes ; that 
 He should be condemned, mocked, scourged, and cru- 
 cified. (St. Mat. xvi. 21 ; xx. 18, 19 ; xxvi. 23-31. St. 
 Mark x. 33, 34.) 
 
 He foretold, also, His own resurrection — that He 
 should rise from the dead, and that on the third day. 
 (St. Matt xvi. 21 ; xx. 19 ; xxvi. 32. St. Mark x. 
 34. St. Matt, xxviii.) 
 
 41. What events were predicted ? 
 
 42. "What did our Saviour predict concerning Himselfl 
 
 43. Where are they recorded 1 
 
 14 
 
158 INSPIRATION 
 
 He foretold the outpouring of the Holy Spirit 
 (St. Luke xxiv. 49, and St. Mark xvi. 17 and 18), 
 fulfilled in Acts ii. 
 
 He foretold to His disciples that they should suffer 
 great persecutions, should be hated, be brought before 
 kings and rulers for His name's sake, and some of 
 them be put to death : and that yet the Gospel should 
 be preached in all parts of the Koman world. (St. 
 Luke xxi. 12, 14. St, Matt. xxiv. 9-14.) 
 
 x\ll these prophecies were literally fulfilled. 
 
 He predicted with great particularity the destruction 
 of the city of Jerusalem, over which, as He pronounced 
 its awful doom, the tears of pity which flowed down 
 His cheeks, bore witness as well to the intensity of 
 His love as to the depths of His knowledge. He de- 
 clared that Jerusalem should be encompassed with 
 armies ; should be destroyed and trodden down of the 
 Gentiles ; that the temple should be so thoroughly 
 demolished, that not one stone should be left on 
 another ; that there should be such tribulation as had 
 not been from the beginning of time, and should not 
 be again ; and that previous to this, there should be 
 famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes ; that there 
 should arise false Christs and false prophets : that 
 there should be wars and commotions ; that there 
 
 44. What was His prophecy respecting the Holy Spirit 1 
 
 45. What concerning His disciples'? 
 
 46. Where are these recorded 1 
 
 47. Were all these prophecies fulfilled 1 
 
 48. What did He predict respecting Jerusalem % 
 
 49. Repeat these prophecies. 
 
 
 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 159 
 
 should be fearful sights and signs seen in the heav- 
 ens, and that Jerusalem should be trodden down of 
 the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be ful- 
 filled. (See St. Luke xix. 43, 44, and xxi. 6-24. 
 Also St. Matt. xxiv. 21.) 
 
 Every reader of Jewish history knows how the 
 melancholy doom which befell Jerusalem filled out 
 all the dark outlines of that picture, which the blessed 
 Saviour had previously described. The Jewish his- 
 torian, Josephus, could not have more clearly given 
 a statement which should meet the very predictions 
 of Jesus Christ, than in his account of the destruc- 
 tion of Jerusalem by the Roman army. He tells us 
 of the wars and commotions, the famines and pesti- 
 lences which preceded the destruction of the city. 
 He describes the supernatural premonitions and warn- 
 ings which appeared in the heavens ; that a sword was 
 seen to hang over the city; that armies appeared in 
 the heavens, marshalled in battle array, and chariots 
 also in the clouds ; that the great gate of the temple, 
 which the force of twenty men could scarcely shut, 
 flew open of its own accord; that in the night, a 
 great light shone upon the temple, and upon the altar, 
 as if it had been noonday ; while the priests in the 
 temple, at midnight, heard a great noise as of a mul- 
 titude moving from the place, and a voice which seemed 
 
 50. Where are they recorded 1 
 
 51 . How were these prophecies fulfilled 7 
 
 52. What historian describes these events *? 
 
 53. Repeat his testimony. 
 
 II 
 
160 INSPIRATION 
 
 to say. u Let us go hence." — -Wars of the Jews, book 
 vi. ? ch. 5. 
 
 Our Saviour uttered another prophecy : " Jerusa- 
 lem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the 
 times of the Gentiles be fulfilled " (St. Luke xxi. 24). 
 At the time this prophecy was uttered, nothing was 
 more improbable than the destruction and perpetual 
 desolation of the Holy City. The Romans and the 
 Jews were at peace. The temple was of such beauty 
 and grandeur that Titus determined to save it. 
 (Jewish Wars, book vi., ch. 2.) And yet, by a strange 
 concurrence of circumstances, not one stone of the 
 temple was left upon another, and Jerusalem has 
 been, and still is, fulfilling the prediction that it 
 should be trodden down of the Gentiles until the 
 times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. 
 
 Forty-seven years after the destruction of the city, 
 Hadrian the Roman emperor attempted to rebuild it, 
 gave to it a new name, JElia, founded a colony in it, 
 and dedicated a temple to Jupiter Capitolinus in the 
 place of a temple to Jehovah. Such profanation 
 pushed the Jews to madness. They once more took 
 the city and burnt it. Hadrian rebuilt the city, 
 
 54. Where are his statements found 1 
 
 55. What other prophecy did He utter respecting Jerusalem % 
 
 56. Was this then improbable — and why % 
 
 57. Did Titus destroy the temple willingly'? \ 
 
 58. Who attempted to rebuild the city — and when 1 
 
 59. What name did he give to it % 60. What did he dedicate 1 
 
 61. What was the effect on the Jews 1 
 
 62. What did they do % 63. Who then rebuilt the city 1 
 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 161 
 
 ordered an infamous statue to be placed over the gate 
 towards Bethlehem, and forbad the Jews, under pen- 
 alty of death, to enter the city, or even to look upon 
 it from a distance. The Emperor Constantine re- 
 stored the name Jerusalem to the city, and greatly 
 improved it ; but cruelly persecuted the Jews, and 
 dispersed them over all the empire as fugitives and 
 slaves. The Emperor Julian the apostate favored 
 the Jews, and attempted to put the lie upon prophecy 
 by rebuilding the temple ; but was miraculously com- 
 pelled to desist from the undertaking. Succeeding 
 emperors renewed the severities against the Jews, and 
 obliged them to give money to be allowed to go and 
 look upon and weep over the ruins of their city and 
 temple. Afterwards it passed successively into the 
 hands of the Persians, the Saracens, and Turks, when 
 it fell for a time into the power of the Crusaders ; 
 after which it was given back to the Turks, who have 
 retained possession of it down to this day. For 
 eighteen hundred years the eagles of idolatrous Home, 
 the banners of the Crusaders, and the crescent of 
 Mahomet, have been displayed among the ruins of 
 that holy place, and still Jerusalem stands, at this 
 moment, a lonely, desolate city, like a widow in mourn- 
 ing and weeping, a most striking and continual proof 
 
 64. How did he treat the Jews 1 
 
 65. "Who attempted to rebuild the temple — and why % 
 
 66. What was his character 1 
 
 67. How were the Jews treated after this 1 
 
 68. Into whose hands did the city pass 1 
 
 69. What is the condition of the city now 1 
 
 14* 
 
162 INSPIRATION 
 
 of the spirit of truth in which the Holy One spake 
 when He said, " Jerusalem shall be trodden down of 
 the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be ful- 
 filled.' 1 
 
 There was still another prophecy uttered by our ♦ 
 Saviour, brief in its language, but weighty in its pur- 
 port, and in its fulfilment arresting the attention of 
 the whole world of mankind. It is this : u And they 
 (the Jews) shall fall by the edge of the sword, and 
 shall be led away captive into all nations" (St. Luke 
 xxi. 24). 
 
 There is no one fact in the history of the world 
 more remarkable, or unaccountable, than that of the 
 history of the Jewish people for the last eighteen 
 hundred years. Other people and nations have had 
 their rise, progress, decline, and utter extinction, but 
 not so with the Jews. They are, indeed, a perpetual 
 miracle. Scattered every where, yet every where a 
 distinct people : persecuted and oppressed for more 
 than a thousand years, and still they remain unde- 
 stroyed. As a Jewish writer says, " What a marvel- 
 lous thing is it, that after so many wa»s, battles, and 
 sieges ; after so many fires, famines, and pestilences : 
 after so many rebellions, massacres, and persecutions ; 
 after so many years of captivity, slavery, and misery ; 
 
 70. What does all this prove 1 
 
 71. What was another prophecy 1 
 7*2. Where is it contained 1 
 
 73. What has there been peculiar in the history of the Jews ? 
 
 74. How may they be regarded ? 
 
 75. Repeat the words of the Jewish writer. 
 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 163 
 
 they are not destroyed utterly, and though scattered 
 among all people, yet subsist as a distinct people by 
 themselves. Where is there any thing comparable to 
 this to be found in all the histories and in all the 
 nations under the sun ?" 
 
 Such is the prophecy concerning them, and its ful- 
 filment. 
 
 We have now examined some of the prophecies of 
 the New Testament, clearly uttered, and unquestion- 
 ably fulfilled ; and proving most abundantly the in- 
 spiration of that blessed volume in which they are 
 contained. 
 
 It falls not within our present purpose to speak at 
 length of the prophecies of the New Testament which 
 as yet are unfulfilled — prophecies relating to Jerusa 
 lem and to the Jews ; when " the times of the Gentiles 
 shall be fulfilled f when " the natural branches shall 
 be graffed into their own olive-tree ;" when " all Israel 
 shall be saved f when K the Deliverer shall turn 
 away ungodliness from Jacob " (Romans xi. 24-26). 
 There are also prophecies yet unfulfilled concerning 
 the ultimate triumph of the Church of Christ, and 
 the blessed condition of mankind ; prophecies con- 
 cerning the final day of judgment, and the awful man- 
 ner in which that day will be ushered in ; prophecies 
 also in the Revelation of St. John, dark and doubtful 
 in their interpretation, but fearful in their import j 
 
 76. What prophecies are yet unfulfilled 1 
 
 77. What respecting the Jews % 
 
 78. What concerning the Church of Christ % 
 
164 INSPIRATION 
 
 and which will, beyond question, one day receive their 
 literal and full accomplishment. 
 
 IV. Such, in brief, is the argument from miracles 
 and prophecy for the inspiration of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures of the New Testament. It is an argument 
 which cannot be appreciated without careful consid- 
 eration, and which will, we trust, strengthen the be- 
 lief, and confirm the faith of all who will duly ponder 
 it. 
 
 Multitudes of the noblest sons of earth have scruti- 
 nized these evidences with unsparing severity, and 
 have yielded to them the tribute of their understand- 
 ings and the homage of their hearts. Be it ours to 
 believe these testimonies of God, by which He con- 
 firms unto us His truth. And, though babbling 
 ignorance may scoff, and blind depravity may mock 
 at the truths of the Most High (and in modern times 
 depravity is the fruitful source of infidelity), we need 
 not hesitate to acknowledge the justice of such enno- 
 bling claims upon our faith and practice. 
 
 There will be moments in every one of our lives 
 when we shall need the evidence which has just been 
 laid before us. We shall look within ourselves, and 
 find these truths suited to our wants. We shall hear 
 
 79. What respecting the condition of the world 1 
 
 80. What and where are other prophecies 1 
 
 81. What is necessary to appreciate these arguments ? 
 
 82. How should we regard them 1 
 
 83. What is the origin of modern infidelity % 
 
 84. Is it not duty to believe on sufficient evidence 1 
 
 85. When shall we need such evidence % 
 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. l65 
 
 the echo coming back from our own hearts in their 
 yearning after the clearer light of Goo's holy word, 
 and shall listen with the deepest satisfaction to the 
 music from the lyre within, as the Master's hand 
 sweeps across its golden strings. Our reason, our 
 judgment, our conscience, our instinct, will tell us at 
 such a moment, that these are truths precisely suited 
 to our wants. 
 
 It was to meet such wants that God gave the word, 
 and confirmed it by signs, and wonders, and gifts of 
 miracles and prophecy. 
 
 Conclusion. — If the New Testament is, as we have 
 seen, the inspired word of God, with what reverence 
 and attention ought we to ponder its disclosures of 
 duty and of truth. It tells us of God, and of our- 
 selves ; of our duties, our dangers, and our destiny. 
 It tells us how that He who came once the Babe of 
 Bethlehem, in great humility, to be rejected, insulted, 
 reviled, unjustly condemned, and crucified ; who rose 
 again and ascended to heaven, will come again, in 
 power and great glory, and all the holy angels with 
 Him, and then He will reward every man according 
 to his works. 
 
 This Book has its mysteries and wonders, such as 
 might be anticipated, in a gift from the Incomprehen- 
 
 86. To what is Revelation suited? 
 
 87. Why did God give it 1 
 
 88. How ought we to regard the Bible 1 
 
 89. Are there mysteries in it ? 
 
166 INSPIRATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 
 
 sible and Holy One. But its practical duties and 
 precepts are so plain and simple, that a wayfaring 
 man, though a fool, need not err therein. 
 
 90. How are its practical duties revealed 1 
 
 91. What does Revelation make known 1 
 
 9*2. What are some of its most important precepts ? 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 INTERNAL EVIDENCE OF THE INSPIRATION AND 
 TRUTHFULNESS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 
 
 In the last chapter we examined the subject of the 
 external argument, from miracles and prophecy, that 
 the New Testament is an inspired book. 
 
 "We propose, in the present chapter, to open the 
 Book itself, to see what it contains, and attend to the 
 internal evidence that the Book is, what it professes 
 to be, a Revelation from God. 
 
 This is a legitimate subject of inquiry, and the 
 argument deduced from it one of great strength. 
 
 This method of argument is susceptible of great 
 abuse. The subjecting of revealed truth to the tri- 
 bunal of human judgment, may lead, and has led, to 
 great irreverence for sacred things. It may end, at 
 last, in profane trifling with the mysterious things of 
 G-od. But then, this is only an abuse of an argument 
 which is in itself one of great importance. 
 
 1. What was the subject of the last chapter 1 
 
 2. What is the subject of the present chapter 1 
 
 3. To what abuse is this method of argument liable % 
 
1G8 INSPIRATION AND TRUTHFULNESS 
 
 Nothing is more obvious, than that the testimony 
 of witnesses in a court of justice derives great value 
 from the perfect harmony of such testimony with 
 itself, as well as from the manner in which that testi- 
 mony is rendered. 
 
 So also, it may be reasonably supposed — -none we 
 presume would call it in question — that the truths of 
 the New Testament will be found consistent with all 
 that we know of the wisdom, love, and truth of God ; 
 and also that the manner in which those truths are 
 made known to us, shall bear, at least, the ordinary 
 tests of truthful evidence. 
 
 This argument, from the internal evidence of Chris- 
 tianity, while it is one of the most conclusive, at the 
 same time, requires examination. It must be care- 
 fully weighed and pondered ; and the more careful 
 the examination, the more thoroughly will the mind 
 be impressed with its value. 
 
 Within our present limits, we can do little more 
 than allude to the argument. We can hardly hope 
 to present it in its full force. 
 
 First. The moral duties and rules of life given by our 
 Saviour in the New Testament, are. in themselves, em- 
 phatically distinguished from the duties and rules taught 
 by worldly moralists. 
 
 Our Saviour, in giving direction for human con- 
 duct, departs entirely from the beaten track of earthly 
 
 4. How is this argument illustrated ? 
 
 5. What might we suppose concerning the truths of Revela- 
 
 lation ] 6. How must this argument be examined 3 
 7. What is the first general argument 1 
 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 169 
 
 teachers. He either makes little of, or sternly rebukes 
 those dispositions which, in the eye of the world, are 
 most commonly approved and cultivated, and which 
 are thought to make great men and heroes ; while, on 
 the other hand, He enforces, as of chief importance, 
 another and opposite class of duties, dispositions, and 
 virtues, and which the world commonly and practically 
 despises. He enforces, for example, meekness under 
 insult, patience under suffering, forbearance under 
 provocation, humility under prosperity, forgiveness of 
 injuries, and love even toward enemies. His lan- 
 guage is, " Resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite 
 thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also ; 
 and if any man will sue thee at the law, and take 
 away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also ; and who- 
 soever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him 
 twain. Love your enemies ; bless them that curse 
 you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for 
 them that despitefully use you and persecute you." 
 St. Matt, v. 38-44. 
 
 He who has seen and known any thing of the spirit 
 of the world, knows full well, that in all the rules of 
 worldly morality, we find no such golden maxims for 
 the guidance of human conduct. " Blame me not," 
 said an infidel to an infidel friend, as he placed the 
 
 8. What are those dispositions which our Saviour rebukes 1 
 
 9. How are they generally regarded 1 
 
 10. What dispositions does he enjoin'? 
 
 11. What is the language of our Saviour 1 ? 
 
 12. Is this the spirit of the world 1 
 
 13. What was the confession of an infidel 1 
 
 15 
 
170 INSPIRATION AND TRUTHFULNESS 
 
 New Testament in the hands of an only daughter, 
 " until you can find a book teaching purer morality 
 than this." 
 
 Second. Our Saviour's instructions, as recorded in 
 the New Testament, are marked by another peculiarity 
 — by His method of reforming the human character. 
 
 Instead of banishing transgression from the world 
 by external restraints, as worldly moralists have 
 attempted, He proposes a new remedy. His language 
 is, " Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, 
 adulteries, fornications, &c. — these are the things 
 which defile a man/' 5 St. Matt. xv. 19. 
 
 He would gain external purity of conduct by se- 
 curing internal purity of the heart. He lays the axe 
 at the root of the tree. He cleanses the streams by 
 purifying the fountain-head. He does more than this. 
 He teaches, that beyond the outward form and letter 
 of the Law, there is a spirit and intent of the Law, 
 which may be summed up in one word — Love ; 
 supreme love to G-od, and a benevolent love to man, 
 in which are contained all the Law and the Prophets. 
 And in thus directing attention to the principle which 
 comprises the whole Law, and. in His teaching the 
 necessity of purity of the affections, and of control 
 over the thoughts and intents of the mind, we per- 
 
 14. What is the second general argument ? 
 
 15. How does He reform the human character 1 
 
 16. What is His language 1 
 
 17. Does not this method seem to us the only one adequate ^ 
 
 18. In what does He place the substance of the law 7 
 
 19. Is this the spirit of the world 1 
 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 171 
 
 ceive one of the most marked peculiarities of the in- 
 structions of our blessed Saviour. 
 
 Third. Our Saviour's instructions are peculiar for 
 another reason — in His method of enforcing moral 
 duties. 
 
 He avoided the use of those motives by which 
 worldly teachers have usually commended their in- 
 structions. Such persons have always made great use 
 of such motives as these : fame, human applause, the 
 approbation of the people. A great heathen moralist 
 once addressed his disciples, " Act as if the eyes of 
 all Rome wore fastened upon you." And the great 
 men of the world often appeal to their country, to the 
 world, and to posterity, as the tribunal before which 
 they wish to be tried. 
 
 Not so with our Saviour. He places human obli- 
 gation upon an entirely different basis. He does not 
 teach that the voice of the people is the voice of God ; 
 but commands, " when thou doest alms, let not thy 
 left hand know what thy right hand doeth" — u when 
 thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou 
 hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in 
 secret." St. Matt. vi. 3 and 6. 
 
 Not that Jesus Christ would have His disciples 
 careless of their reputation, or needlessly to oppose 
 public sentiment : but He places the claims of duty 
 on higher and holier ground than the changing opin- 
 
 20. What is the third general argument 1 
 
 21. How are worldly duties usually enforced 1 
 
 22. How does oar Saviour enforce His instructions 1 
 
 23. What was His language 1 
 
172 INSPIRATION AND TRUTHFULNESS 
 
 ions of an inconstant world ; upon the inward con- 
 sciousness of rectitude, and the approbation of God, 
 the Supreme Judge of all. 
 
 Fourth. Our Saviour's instructions, as recorded in 
 the New Testament, are remarkable for another reason. 
 
 The teachers of false religions, both in ancient and 
 modern times, have always sought to commend their 
 systems by appealing to the love of the marvellous ; 
 by seeking to gratify curiosity, in revealing invisible 
 and eternal things ; and have also often sought to 
 awaken intense religious emotion, by impassioned, 
 rapturous ejaculations. The Koran of Mahomet, and 
 the pretended revelations of modern times, are full 
 of such minute fictitious disclosures of a future world, 
 serving no other possible end than to gratify a morbid 
 craving after the marvellous in religion, and thus 
 awaken a false, misguided zeal. 
 
 Our Saviour, however, has left recorded in the New 
 Testament very little — nothing, indeed, for the mere 
 gratification of a vain curiosity. His rules for prac- 
 tice are exceedingly plain and clear, and He tells us 
 enough of the bliss and glory of the future world to 
 awaken an earnest anticipation after it — but this is all. 
 
 Neither in His own conduct and example did He 
 
 24. What is the fourth general argument ? 
 
 25. In what do erroneous systems of religion abound 1 
 
 26. How is it with the Koran 1 
 
 27. How is it with modern impostors ? 
 
 28. Is any benefit derived by such disclosures 1 
 
 29. Did our Saviour make them 1 
 
 30. How is it with His rules for practice 1 
 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 173 
 
 ever appeal to the passions of His followers. In His 
 devotions. He was always calm, sober, and collected. 
 Even in the most trying moments of His life, on the 
 cross, where blind enthusiasm would have poured 
 itself out in fervent ejaculations, we behold Him sim- 
 ply using two expressions from the Jewish Liturgy. 
 In this grand, yet placid simplicity of his character, 
 we seem to have before us " the High and lofty One 
 who inhabiteth Eternity." 
 
 Fifth. In the account of our Saviour's character, as 
 drawn in the New Testament, we see another pecu- 
 liarity. 
 
 He stood entirely aloof from the prejudices of the 
 age, and the follies of the people among whom He 
 lived. 
 
 The Jewish religion, at the time of our Saviour's 
 birth, had become strongly technical, outward, and 
 ceremonial. They had made void the Law, through 
 their traditions ; and even the most learned of the 
 Jews had become habituated to agitating curious 
 questions of casuistry, but of no great practical mo- 
 ment, as, " which is the greatest of the command- 
 ments ?» &c. 
 
 As we open the Book of our Saviour's instructions, 
 
 31. Would men be happier with the knowledge of the future 1 
 
 32. What was the character of our Saviour's devotions 
 
 33. Give an example. 
 
 34. Was He not an example in this respect 1 
 
 35. How are the devotions of the Church conducted in this 
 
 respect 1 36. What is the fifth general argument ^ 
 37. How was the Jewish religion characterized 1 
 15* 
 
174 INSPIRATION AXD TRUTHFULNESS 
 
 we discover nothing of all this. His all-seeing eye 
 penetrated infinitely beyond the mists which hung 
 around the most learned doctors of the law. As they 
 listened to Him, they felt and confessed that a He 
 spake as never man spake," and that u His word was 
 with power/ 5 They saw that His instructions were 
 unmixed with the follies and conceits of the age. 
 Why was this ? ' ; How knoweth this man letters, 
 having never learned V He had never, as the disci- 
 ple of philosophers, sat beneath the academic shades. 
 His father was a carpenter, with whom He spent the 
 earlier period of His life, in a remote and obscure 
 province of Palestine. And yet, from such depths of 
 obscurity, He came forth, having in Himself " all the 
 treasures of wisdom and knowledge." 
 
 His instructions are inexplicable, except upon the 
 supposition that they are divine. 
 
 Sixth. The jjersonal character of Christ was as re- 
 markable as His instructions. 
 
 For five hundred years after His birth, even among 
 the bitterest revilers of Christianity, not a charge was 
 ever made upon His character. In this respect es- 
 
 38. Is this true of our Saviour's instructions ! 
 
 39. Did He awaken attention on this account ? 
 
 40. Give an illustration. 
 
 41. Did He learn this wisdom in the schools 1 
 
 42. How was His early life spent 1 
 
 43. What was the source of this transcendent wisdom 1 
 
 44. Is there any other answer to be given ? 
 
 45. "What is the sixth general argument ? 
 
 46. How was His character esteemed 1 
 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 175 
 
 pecially at that day, He was greatly distinguished. 
 The most eminent teachers of human philosophy were 
 far from irreproachable. Zeno and Diogenes were 
 guilty of the foulest impurities. The great Solon 
 allowed enormous crimes. Lycurgus tolerated theft. 
 Plato and the two Catos are stained with loathsome 
 vices ; and all those great masters of antiquity who 
 sing of virtue, cannot bear the scrutiny into their own 
 personal history. Mahomet made his heaven to con- 
 sist in scenes of shameful indulgence and sensuality, 
 wholly unlike that pure and holy heaven of truth and 
 love which Jesus promised to His disciples. 
 
 Examine the personal history of Jesus Christ, as 
 drawn out in the pages of the Four Gospels. 
 
 What habitual devotion — what deep humility — 
 what benignity and gentleness — what sympathy for 
 the afflicted — what lenity and mildness — what moral 
 courage and holy boldness — what freedom from guile 
 — what forgiveness of injuries — what self-possession 
 in danger — what unwearied zeal in doing good — what 
 entire submission of His will to the will of G-od — in 
 short, what an assemblage of the most ennobling vir- 
 tues are blended together to form the sum of His 
 unequalled character ! 
 
 And thus do we see that the instructions of Christ, 
 and the personal history of Christ, are every way 
 
 47. What was the personal character of the philosophers 1 
 
 48. Name examples. 
 
 49. What rewards did Mahomet premise 1 
 
 50. Give an analysis of our Saviour's character. 
 
 51. Which were some of the brightest traits in His character 1 
 
176 INSPIRATION AND TRUTHFULNESS 
 
 worthy of that divine original which belongs to the 
 Sacred Scriptures in which they are recorded. 
 
 Seventh. "V7e turn next, from the doctrines and 
 character of Jesus Christ, to the writers of the New 
 Testament. And we observe that there is an air of 
 truthfulness every where pervading their pages. 
 They write like men thoroughly- impressed with the 
 truth of what they record. It is not possible that 
 they could have written with a combined attempt to 
 palm off their story upon the world. For while there 
 is a general harmony pervading the whole, there is at 
 the same time an individuality belonging to each, so 
 strongly marked at times as to refute the charge of 
 combination of plan. In describing the same event, 
 for example, they detail, some one, and some another 
 circumstance connected with it, some giving more, and 
 some less of detail : never differing so far as to disa- 
 gree with or contradict each other, but yet differing 
 far enough to shut out the possibility of there having 
 been an attempt to deceive. 
 
 They also write like honest men, teliiog the truth 
 and the whole truth, rather than as men who sit down 
 " to make out a case.'' They relate with undisguised 
 frankness, the failings and faults of the disciples, the 
 Saviour's reproofs, the denial of Christ by Peter, and 
 the desertion of Him by all, without any attempt at 
 palliation or excuse. 
 
 52. Give the next general argument. 
 
 53. What characteristic pervades their pages 1 
 
 54. Was there combination in plan 7 55. Why not 7 
 
 56. How do the)- describe the faults of the disciples 1 
 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 177 
 
 They also write the account of the opposition of 
 enemies, of the unjust trial of Christ, of the false 
 witnesses, the mockery, the reviling, the cruel spear, 
 and crown of thorns ; but there is no language of ex- 
 aggeration, none of abuse or reproach ; they simply 
 relate facts, just as they occurred, leaving the reader 
 to make his own inferences and draw his own conclu- 
 sions. As an able writer says, " No remarks are 
 thrown in to obviate objections ; nothing of that cau- 
 tion which never fails to distinguish the testimony of 
 those who are conscious of imposture ; — no endeavor 
 to reconcile the reader's mind with what may be ex- 
 traordinary in the narrative." — Dr. Beattie. 
 
 Such is the truthful manner in which the writers 
 of the New Testament appear before us on the sacred 
 page. 
 
 Eighth. There is still another test, by which the 
 writers of the New Testament may be tried. 
 
 It is their historical accuracy, and their historical 
 agreement with each other, and with themselves. 
 
 This is an important argument. 
 
 The first of these points has been elaborated by a 
 very distinguished scholar (Dr. Lardner). The latter 
 point has been the subject of one of the most unan- 
 
 57. How do they mention the enemies of Christ 7 
 
 58. Do they ever indulge in abuse 1 
 
 59. Do they ever anticipate objections 1 
 
 60. Relate the words of Dr. Beattie. 
 
 61 . Is there not great force in this argument 1 
 
 62. What is the eighth general argument 1 
 
 63. Who has examined the first point ? 
 
173 INSPIRATION AND TRUTHFULNESS 
 
 swerable demonstrations of the truth of these sacred 
 writings on the part of an able writer. The latter 
 writer (Dr. Paley) goes into an examination of what 
 he terms the u undesigned coincidences " of the writers 
 of the Xew Testament. He takes up. for example, 
 the history of the Apostles as written in the Book of 
 the Acts, by St. Luke : and then the thirteen Epis- 
 tles of St. Paul, written at different places, at different 
 times, on different subjects, and to different persons ; 
 and he exhibits the mutual, yet undesigned coinci- 
 dences of facts, as thus stated by these different wri- 
 ters. This is a severe test. It is one which nothing 
 can bear but the most careful record of truth. It is 
 that species of examination which scarcely ever fails 
 to embarrass and confuse the false witness in a court 
 of justice. And yet the result, in this case, shows 
 beyond all question, the entire accuracy and truthful 
 agreement of the sacred narratives. 
 
 The former writer subjects the historical portions 
 of the Xew Testament to another test. The sacred 
 writers of the Xew Testament allude to facts pertain- 
 ing to a great number of provinces, cities, individuals, 
 and institutions throughout theKoman empire. 
 
 This author examines these allusions one by one, 
 and he shows that the sacred writers must have been 
 
 64. Who has examined the second point 1 
 
 65. What do you mean by undesigned coincidences ? 
 
 66. How is this an argument 1 
 
 67. What portions of the New Testament are selected in 
 
 proof? 68. Is not this a valuable argument? 
 69. What is the next particular % 
 
 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 179 
 
 entirely familiar with the state and condition of soci- 
 ety at the time when they pretend to have written ; 
 and that in these statements of facts, they are abun- 
 dantly corroborated from the pages of profane history, 
 by cotemporaneous writers of the same age. 
 
 Thus, we read in the New Testament that u Arche- 
 laus did reign in Judea in the room of his father 
 Herod " — that in the fifteenth year of the reign of 
 Tiberius Caesar, Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and 
 his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea, and of the 
 region of Trachonitis " — that •' Herod married Hero- 
 dias, his brother Philip's wife " — that " Herod went 
 down from Judea to Cesarea, and there abode," and 
 there died a loathsome death ; — that " Felix (a Ro- 
 man) came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jew- 
 ess " — that " Grallio was deputy of Achaia " — that the 
 Pharisees held to many doctrines which the Sadducees 
 denied, as the doctrine of the resurrection, and of the 
 existence of angels and spirits — that Caiaphas, at a 
 particular period, was high priest — that the title of 
 Jesus was, according to custom, put on the cross — 
 that He was scourged, and bore His own cross — that 
 Paul received forty stripes save one, while yet it was 
 unlawful to scourge a man who was a Roman — that 
 Paul found an altar dedicated " to the unknown Grod," 
 &c. These are only specimens of allusions to historic 
 facts, or to customs spoken of as then existing. Now, 
 
 70. What historical incidents occur in the New Testament ^ 
 
 71. Are they numerous and particular 1 
 
 72. Name some of them. 
 
180 INSPIRATION AND TRUTHFULNESS 
 
 it has been shown, beyond question, that these allu- 
 sions are abundantly sustained by collateral testimony 
 of profane authors, and that the sacred writers could 
 not have been ignorant or mistaken respecting the 
 state of things in the world at the time when they 
 wrote ; and hence that it is not possible that the New 
 Testament could have been written ages after, or at 
 any other time than that when it dates. Historic 
 fidelity is stamped upon its every page. 
 
 Ninth. Our next and final argument in favor of the 
 divine origin of Christianity and of the inspiration 
 of the New Testament, is drawn from the acknow- 
 ledged success of Christianity. Not, however, from 
 the simple fact that the Gospel of Jesus Christ tri- 
 umphed, for Mahometanism and other false religions 
 can plead such an argument : but from the fact that 
 such causes brought about such results ; that such means 
 were able to secure suck ends. 
 
 There is no mystery in the spread of Mahometan- 
 ism. It panders to the vilest passions of human 
 nature. It gained its conquests by fire and the sword. 
 These were its weapons, these its arguments, and it 
 was powerless till it made use 'of them. 
 
 Not so with Christianity. A despised Nazarene 
 
 73. How have these allusions been verified ? 
 
 74. Could the New Testament have been written long after 
 
 the time when it dates ? 75. Why 7 
 
 76. What is the ninth general argument ? 
 
 77. Is mere success of any system an argument in its favor 1 
 
 78. How did Mahometanism prevail ? 
 
 79. Does this prove that system divine ? 
 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 181 
 
 was the leading spirit of the Gospel. A few unlet- 
 tered fishermen were His co-laborers. His doctrines 
 were a stumbling-block to the self-righteous Jew, and 
 foolishness to the philosophical Greek. Persecution 
 and death were the earthly rewards promised to His 
 disciples — self-denial the rule of life enjoined. " If 
 they have hated me, they will also hate you ; if they 
 have persecuted me, they will persecute you also." 
 And the events answered to the prediction. The 
 whole power of the Roman government, and the learn- 
 ing of a golden age, were arrayed against the infant 
 Church. And yet, having no sword but the sword 
 of the Spirit, this little, feeble, unlettered band of 
 despised men, went forth, lifting up their voices in 
 the presence of kings and mighty men, preaching the 
 truth as it is in Jesus, and yet u mightily grew the 
 word of the Lord, and prevailed " — not only without 
 the aid of worldly weapons, but in absolute defiance 
 of them, and in unyielding opposition to them, the 
 inherent life of the Gospel proclaimed its own origin, 
 and that the arm of the Omnipotent God was uplifted 
 in its behalf. 
 
 Within thirty years after the death of our Saviour, 
 the Gospel had spread into almost all parts of the 
 
 80. How does Christianity differ in these respects 1 
 
 81. What weapons were used? 
 
 82. What was the character of the leaders 1 
 
 83. What earthly reward was promised to them'? 
 
 84. What did they expect on earth % 
 
 85. What power opposed them ? 86. What was the result 1 
 87. What was the success of the Gospel in thirty years 1 
 
 16 
 
182 INSPIRATION AND TRUTHFULNESS 
 
 Roman world, and even into Parthia and Persia. 
 About eighty years after the ascension, the younger 
 Pliny complains, not only that the Gospel had spread 
 through the cities, but the lesser towns and the open 
 country ; while the pagan temples were almost aban- 
 doned, the solemnities deserted, and the victims left 
 unsold. Twenty years after, Justin Martyr declares, 
 that there was no nation, of either Greeks or Barba- 
 rians, who did not offer prayers and thanksgivings to 
 the Father and Maker of all, in the Name of Jesus 
 the Crucified. 
 
 And now the question comes back upon us, if the 
 Gospel was the work of man, a mere human institu- 
 tion, why was it that a cause which offered no human 
 inducements or motives ; a cause which set itself in 
 open opposition to the tastes, the customs, the vices, 
 the prejudices, and even the wisdom of the world ; a 
 cause which was maintained by men unskilled in 
 learning and the arts of rhetoric ; by men opposed, 
 harassed, persecuted even unto death ; that such a 
 cause, notwithstanding all this, triumphed over the 
 learning and eloquence of that golden age, and gained 
 a victory over the mistress of t'he world ? 
 
 The truth was, that this cause was upheld and car- 
 ried forward by that Omnipotent Arm which made 
 the weakness and ignorance of His disciples triumph- 
 ant over the wisdom and power of the world. This 
 
 88. Give the testimony of Pliny. 
 
 89. What does Justin Martyr say? 
 
 90. State now the argument. 
 
 91. What power must have carried on the Gospel 1 
 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 183 
 
 is the solution of the mystery, and besides this there 
 is no other. 
 
 In the success of the Gospel, therefore, we have an 
 argument for its divine origin. 
 
 Conclusion. — In our past labors we have examined 
 the authenticity and genuineness of the Books of the 
 New Testament. We have seen that the miracles 
 and prophecies therein contained prove its divine 
 inspiration. 
 
 We have now briefly examined the pages of the 
 volume itself, and have seen how unlike are its doc- 
 trines and precepts to the spirit of the world. We 
 have borne witness to the blameless and holy life of 
 our great Exemplar, and have noticed how the truths 
 contained in the New Testament are consistent with 
 each other, and are illustrated and confirmed by all 
 cotemporary history. We have witnessed also the 
 weakness of the instruments employed in propagating 
 the Gospel, the power of the opposition, and have 
 seen how it gathered strength amid conflict, beauty 
 amid obloquy, and life amid its own ashes ; until at 
 length it went forth conquering and to conquer the 
 world. 
 
 It is not too much to say, that Christianity, sup- 
 ported by such an accumulation of evidence (and the 
 half has not been told), is and must be true, is and 
 must be a Revelation from God. 
 
 92. Repeat the subject of our examination thus far. 
 
 93. What ought to be the result of this examination on our- 
 
 selves 1 
 
184 TRUTHFITLNESS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 
 
 Happy, dear reader, if. by these humble labors, in 
 any instance the unbeliever shall be convinced, or the 
 Weak be strengthened. 
 
 Thrice happy, if. in any heart by Divine grace, 
 without which we can do nothing, stability shall be 
 imparted to your faith, firmness to your constancy. 
 intelligence to your understanding, depth of devotion 
 to your love. 
 
 Happier still, if any one shall be induced to conse- 
 crate himself with more entireness of purpose to the 
 Gospel of Jesus Chuist. 
 
 Let us not always be babes in knowledge, but rather 
 go on unto the stature of full-grown men in Christ. 
 
 Feebly as we have written of Zious strength and 
 beauty, while we have lingered around her glorious 1 
 walls, yet surely she does stand upon the Everlasting 
 Rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against 
 her ! 
 
 ; - He that falleth upon this stone shall be broken. 
 but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to 
 powder/' But to him that believeth and obeyeth. her 
 walls are. for salvation, and her gates praise. 
 
 94. How ought we to regard the ultimate principle of the 
 el 1 95. Will it finally prevail ] 
 
 96. Have we a pledge of this 2 
 
 97. What is the consequence of rejecting i: 7 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 REVELATION CONSISTS OF DOCTRINES AND IN- 
 STITUTIONS. 
 
 The evidences of Natural and Revealed Religion 
 have hitherto engaged our attention. "We have en- 
 deavored to prove the existence and perfections of 
 God from the light of nature : the probability and 
 necessity of a Revelation of His will to His intelligent 
 creatures. We have endeavored to show that such a 
 Revelation has actually been made ; that that Reve- 
 lation bears all the external and internal evidences 
 of its divine origin : and, as such, is commended to 
 our intelligent and hearty reception. 
 
 But such an examination, so far from exhausting 
 the subject, only prepares the way for entering upon 
 another equally important inquiry, What are those 
 things which Gtod has revealed ? 
 
 This is a great question ; to meet which, in all its 
 bearings, would require far more time and attention 
 
 1. What general subject has been hitherto examined 1 
 
 2. What have we proved % 
 
 3. Does this examination exhaust the subject ? 
 
 4. What is the question now to be answered % 
 
 16* 
 
186 DOCTRINES AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 than we have now at command. Upon this theme, 
 minds of the greatest strength, and enlightened by 
 the most profound attainments, have been employed. 
 
 But our intentions are humbler. T^e are not to 
 enter into a minute examination of the mysterious 
 doctrines of Revelation : we would rather, if we might, 
 present the outlines of that system which God has 
 graciously made known ; and having given a right 
 direction to the thoughts of the reader, leave him to 
 pursue the subject further, as he shall have oppor- 
 tunity. 
 
 I. "We observe, in general, that -God. in revealing 
 what men are to believe and to practise, has made 
 that Revelation, in the form of doctrines and of desti- 
 tutions. And both doctrines and institutions are to 
 be regarded as indebted for their existence to His 
 wisdom, for their authority to His appointment and 
 commandment, and for their blessing to His power, 
 truth, and love. 
 
 In respect to this position, which we ask the reader 
 most carefully to ponder, there are misapprehensions 
 and errors abroad directly at variance with the posi- 
 tion, and against which we should be on our guard. 
 
 Thus, in the estimation of some, Revelation is sup- 
 posed to consist more particularly of institutions — 
 
 5. What do yon say of it ? 6. How are we to treat it 1 
 
 7. What is the first position % 
 
 8. How are these to be regarded 3 
 
 9. What is their origin and authority'? 
 
 10. Are there errors taught concerning them 1 
 
 11. What is the first error named 1 
 
DOCTRINES AND INSTITUTIONS. 187 
 
 visible and perpetuated institutions — very considera- 
 ble degrees of power being given to such institutions 
 over the doctrines of Revelation. 
 
 An error directly opposed to this is, that Revela- 
 tion consists mainly, or almost wholly, in doctrines ; 
 visible institutions being regarded as matters of sec- 
 ondary importance, and, as such, liable to be abroga- 
 ted, altered, or amended, as mere matters of expe- 
 diency. 
 
 Still another error, differing from both these, is 
 gaining currency in modern times. That God has 
 revealed neither doctrines nor institutions, which are 
 to be regarded as perpetually and unchangeably bind- 
 ing on men ; but that the Bible, and this alone, is to 
 be regarded as obligatory on the reception of God's 
 creatures, without either positive form of doctrine, or 
 positive form of institution. 
 
 We do not propose now to refute these opinions ; 
 we state them for the purpose of presenting with 
 greater distinctness, the truth as it is in Jesus Christ ; 
 and we think the reader will, in the conclusion of our 
 examination, infer for himself that each of the above 
 positions is essentially wrong. For, the reader will 
 perceive, that it must be, as it has been, the natural 
 tendency of the first error to blot out all the essential 
 doctrines of the Gospel ; of the second, to do away 
 
 12. What is an opposite error ? 
 
 13. What is another error named ? 
 
 14. Are we to refute these errors 1 
 
 15. Why are they named 7 
 
 16. What is the tendency of the first error 1 
 
188 DOCTRINES AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 with the positive institutions of Christianity ; and of 
 the third, to banish all those landmarks which have 
 in all ages been the test of the truth, in opposition to 
 the wildest radicalism, and even the most open infi- 
 delity. 
 
 In distinction from all these errors, it will appear, 
 that God's will has been revealed to the world in the 
 form both of doctrines and institutions ; which, to- 
 gether, are to be regarded as the special gifts of God, 
 and, as such, obligatory perpetually ; neither of which 
 are to be subject to human change. 
 
 First. All those presumptive arguments in favor of 
 a Revelation, which are drawn from the probability 
 and necessity of a Revelation, imply, that that Reve- 
 lation shall consist, partly at least, in doctrine. 
 
 For. man's ignorance concerning God, himself, his 
 duty, and destiny ; man's acknowledged sinfulness, 
 his consciousness of guilt, his need of a knowledge of 
 grace and pardon ; all these imply that a Revelation 
 suited to such wants shall consist of doctrines con- 
 taining corresponding instructions. 
 
 Second. As God Himself is a God of truth, is in- 
 visible and spiritual, so it is in accordance with these 
 essential properties of His nature, that a Revelation 
 from Him to His creatures shall consist, partly at' 
 
 17. What of the second 1 18. What of the third ? 
 
 19. What position is advanced % 
 
 20. What is the first argument in fa^or of the Revelation of 
 
 doctrines ? 
 
 21. Do these wants require doctrine 1 
 
 22. What is the next argument of this class 1 
 
DOCTRINES AND INSTITUTIONS. 189 
 
 least, of doctrines, or of truths which are to be be- 
 lieved. 
 
 Third. It is also presumable, that a Revelation 
 from God to such a creature as man. shall consist 
 partly of visible institutions. 
 
 The twofold nature of man renders such a mode of 
 Revelation probable. It is not wholly material, or 
 wholly immaterial, but exists in a mysterious union 
 of both. "While, therefore, purely spiritual or imma- 
 terial beings, such as angels, might be addressed in a 
 purely spiritual manner, yet the twofold nature of 
 man renders it at least probable, that, while God 
 might reveal some truths addressed directly to his 
 spiritual apprehension, yet that He would embody 
 other truths in visible forms, or institutions. 
 
 Fourth. This method of Revelation by visible in- 
 stitutions, is in close analogy with what God has 
 actually done in the natural world. 
 
 He there communicates to us, not simply the bare 
 fact that He possesses certain attributes or properties, 
 but He makes a striking exhibition of those attributes 
 in the visible works of His hands. Wisdom, Beauty, 
 Love, Power, as attributes of the Godhead, are made 
 known to us not by simple affirmation, but are mir- 
 rored forth in the starry heavens, the verdant, bloom- 
 
 23. What is an argument for Institutions 7 
 
 24. What is the nature of man 1 
 
 25. What is another argument of this kind ? 
 
 26. Does not God make such exhibitions of His attributes 1 
 
 27. How are His perfections exhibited 1 
 
 28. What are some of these ? 
 
190 DOCTRINES AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 ing. fragrant fields, the echoing forests, and the 
 boundless sea, And if God manifests His perfections 
 in the natural world by means of visible forms, so it 
 is not improbable that in making a Revelation of His 
 will to mankind. He should do it in the form of visi- 
 ble institutions. 
 
 Fifth. Visible institutions are adapted to the nature 
 of man in another respect. Man is naturally endowed 
 with the gifts of taste and sentiment. Even when 
 the intellectual and moral faculties are most thorough- 
 ly cultivated, these powers, so far from losing their 
 hold upon him. still remain among the master-spirits 
 of the human mind. Visible institutions are peculi- 
 arly adapted to such emotions and susceptibilities of 
 the mind : and religion, therefore, would fail to ad- 
 dress man where most susceptible of impression, did 
 it not appeal to him in the form of such institutions. 
 
 Such are some of the reasons why it is at least 
 strongly probable, that a revelation from God to man 
 should consist partly of doctrines, and partly of visi- 
 ble institutions. 
 
 Sixth. TVe come now to our next position, that God 
 has. as a matter of fact, actually revealed His will in 
 the form both of doctrines and institutions. 
 
 This was true, in respect to His ancient people, the 
 
 29. What is another argument for institutions ? 
 
 30. Are these gifts destroyed by education ? 
 
 31. Have they great influence over society? 
 3*2. Is it wise to neglect them 1 
 
 33. "What is the next position 1 
 
 34. Was this true of the Jews 1 
 
DOCTRINES AND INSTITUTIONS. 191 
 
 Jews. He revealed certain moral truths to be be- 
 lieved, and certain duties and precepts to be obeyed. 
 He also appointed certain visible institutions, gave to 
 those institutions organic forms, and rendered an ob- 
 servance of them in the most minute particular bind- 
 ing upon the conscience. He gave minute directions, 
 respecting the construction of the temple, and its fur- 
 niture, adornments, and worship. He appointed the 
 priesthood, sacrifices, rites, and ceremonies of the 
 Jewish Church. He even manifested His own pres- 
 ence in the temple, by means of the Shechinah, 
 showing forth thus visibly His own power and glory. 
 
 Seventh. When Jesus Christ came into the world, 
 to make farther revelation of His Father's will, He 
 still made use of the same method of communication. 
 He was, in His own person, an exhibition of this very 
 point under consideration. For, although He was 
 full of grace and truth, yet He took not on Him the 
 nature of angels, but He took on Him the seed of 
 Abraham. And " forasmuch as the children are 
 partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise 
 took part of the same." 
 
 So also, in making a clearer and fuller revelation, 
 He did not overlook the twofold nature of mankind, 
 but suited the method of that revelation to the con- 
 dition and wants of those to whom He came. He 
 
 35. What did God reveal to them 1 
 
 36. What did He appoint ] 37. How was He manifested 1 
 
 38. What was the course pursued by our Saviour 1 
 
 39. Was His Incarnation an argument— and how 1 
 
 40. What was the character of His Revelation 1 
 
192 DOCTRINES AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 announced some doctrines : He revealed the Godhead, 
 as existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy 
 Ghost ; He brought life and immortality to light in 
 the Gospel ; He gave assurance of pardon of sin on 
 specific conditions ; and then added the most weighty 
 motives to secure compliance with those conditions. 
 
 And having done all this, so far from leaving those 
 truths and' doctrines to be perpetuated by secondary 
 means of human origin and appointment, He did not 
 separate the body and soul of religion ; He appointed 
 a new and living temple ; He established a Christian 
 ministry, and Christian sacraments, and Christian 
 worship. So far from dispensing with visible institu- 
 tions, He established the Church to be " the pillar 
 and ground of the truth ;" the medium, by which the 
 doctrines should be witnessed, kept and proclaimed 
 in the world. He joined together institutions and 
 doctrines by a sacred and holy bond, and hence left 
 no liberty to put asunder what He had so firmly 
 united. 
 
 Eighth. To learn what these doctrines, and what 
 these institutions are, we are to go back to the days 
 of Christ and the Apostles : not with a spirit of 
 vain curiosity, not as if to ascertain what is, on the 
 whole, the best form of Christian doctrine, or what are 
 
 41. What did He reveal 1 * 
 
 42. What were some of the doctrines ? 
 
 43. By what motives did He enforce them 1 
 
 44. Did He appoint Institutions ] 
 
 45. How are we to ascertain what these were 1 
 
 46. What inquiry should we make 1 
 
DOCTRINES AND INSTITUTIONS. 193 
 
 the best forms of Christian institutions, but rather what 
 are the doctrines which Christ taught, and what are 
 the institutions which Christ appointed. And such 
 doctrines, and such institutions, when ascertained, 
 come to us, not with the claim of mere preference, but 
 with the higher claim of authority and obedience. 
 
 We are, therefore, to tax the best powers of our 
 minds, our judgment and our understanding, we are 
 to listen to the teachings of God's providence and 
 grace, not with a view of forming for ourselves new 
 doctrines, or framing up new institutions, but rather 
 of ascertaining the important fact — tohat were the 
 doctrines which Jesus Christ delivered ? what were 
 the institutions which Jesus Christ established ? 
 
 Now, our blessed Saviour, after His resurrection, 
 did not go forth in person to establish His Church, 
 neither did He immediately ascend to Heaven ; but 
 He remained with the Apostles forty days, u being 
 seen of them, and speaking of the things pertaining 
 to the kingdom of God," or the Church. Acts i. 2, 3. 
 And just before His ascension He gave them power 
 and commission in these words : " All power is 
 given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye 
 therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them 
 
 47. How should we regard such doctrines and institutions T 
 
 48. "What efforts should we make in this inquiry % 
 
 49. What two questions should we answer 1 
 
 50. Did our Saviour go forth in person to establish the Church 
 
 after His resurrection 1 
 
 51. Through whom did He do if? 
 
 52. What was the language of their commission 1 
 
 17 
 
194 doctrines and institutions. 
 
 in the name of the father, and of the son, and 
 of the Holy Ghost : teaching them to observe 
 all things whatsoever i have commanded you i 
 and lo. i a3i with you alway, even unto the end 
 of the world." St. Matt, xxviii. 18-20. 
 
 And the Apostles, clothed with this power and 
 commission; and endued with the miraculous gifts 
 of the Holy Ghost, as the credentials of that power, 
 went forth to exercise that power, and fulfil that com- 
 mission : and hence it follows that the doctrines taught 
 by the Apostles, and the institutions planted by the 
 Apostles, thus sanctioned by the miraculous influences of 
 the Holy Ghost, -were the doctrines and institutions of 
 Jesus Christ, in whose name, poicer and commission 
 they went forth. 
 
 Ninth. This method of argument is becoming more 
 and more important, with the progress of time. For, 
 at the present day, among those who differ most radi- 
 cally from each other in respect to important doctrines 
 and institutions, yet all appeal with equal pertinacity 
 to the Bible, as their common standard, culling out 
 passages here and there to suit their private novel 
 speculations. Now, in respect to the constitution of 
 civil government, it is customary to settle disputed 
 points by going back to the practice of the very men 
 who framed that constitution : so in regard to the 
 
 53. With what were they endued 1 
 
 54. What conclusion necessarily follows '] 
 
 55. What do you say of this method of argument ? 
 
 56. What fact is obvious? 57. Do all claim to be right 7 
 58. In civil questions what course is taken 1 
 
DOCTRINES AND INSTITUTIONS. 195 
 
 doctrines and institutions of Christ, if doubts arise, 
 how much more important to refer at once to the 
 practice and teaching of those inspired men who were 
 immediately commiss^ned by the Great Head of the 
 Church, who were personally taught by Him, and who 
 were specially qualified by the Holy Ghost for this 
 work. 
 
 Tenth. The good providence of God, who watches 
 even the falling sparrow, has provided abundant facil- 
 ities for deciding concerning the faith and practice of 
 the Church. In respect to both doctrine and institu- 
 tions (besides historic testimony), the Church, which 
 is " the pillar and ground of the truth," bears testi- 
 mony enough to satisfy the humble soul, which meekly 
 listens to the divine teaching. 
 
 The essential doctrines of Revelation, as it appears, 
 were early grouped together into what St. Paul calls 
 " a form of doctrine " (Rom. vi. 17), and by a stronger 
 term still in the original, a "form of sound words" 
 (2 Tim. i. 13), and which was carried by the Apostles 
 into all the world whither they went. These essen- 
 tial doctrines were embodied in what was afterwards 
 known as the " Apostles' Creed," the truths of which 
 
 59. What, should we do 1 
 
 60. Has God made provisions for such questions 1 
 
 61. Was this one object of the Church 7 
 
 62. What is it said to be 1 
 
 63. How were the doctrines of the Gospel grouped 1 
 
 64. What does St. Paul call them 1 
 
 65. Where were they practised 1 
 
 66. Are they still found thus spread every where V 
 
196 DOCTRINES AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 were proclaimed without material variation in the 
 remote isles of Britain, through all southern Europe 
 and northern Africa, and in the interior of Central 
 and then populous Asia. It contains no metaphysical 
 speculations, or scholastic subtleties, such as afterward 
 distracted the attention of believers. It simply con- 
 tains the great facts and doctrinal truths of Revela- 
 tion. 
 
 These truths were afterwards more clearly denned 
 in the Nicene Creed. 
 
 To those old creeds, then, we are still to go, and 
 listen to them as faithful witnesses to the doctrines 
 of the Revelation of God. 
 
 The Church hath also power to witness against and 
 reject all errors and heresies, as they may from time 
 to time spring up. This she hath already done, in 
 her Articles and Homilies, and may continue still to 
 do. as necessity may arise. 
 
 Eleventh. In respect to the institutions of the 
 Gospel, there exists the same rule of evidence, the 
 same source of appeal, as in respect to doctrine. 
 
 The Holy Scriptures inform us what those institu- 
 tions were. And where doubts or controversies arise, 
 we have but to appeal to the practice of the apostles, 
 and of the universal Church in her purest days. We 
 
 67. What is the character of the Apostles' Creed 1 
 
 68. What was afterwards compiled? 
 
 69. Have we equal evidence as to institutions ? 
 
 70. What is our first source of evidence % 
 
 71. In case of dispute, what must we do 1 
 
DOCTRINES AND INSTITUTIONS. 197 
 
 find there the institution of the visible Church of 
 Christ. 
 
 We find there the institution of two, and only 
 two, Christian Sacraments, viz., Baptism and the 
 Lord's Supper. 
 
 We find the institution of the Christian ministry 
 appointed, commissioned, and sent forth by Jesus 
 Christ, and that ministry consisting of three orders, 
 Bishops, Presbyters, and Deacons. 
 
 We find the institution of the Christian Sabbath, 
 the day being changed from the seventh to the first 
 day of the week, in commemoration of the resurrection 
 of Christ. 
 
 We find the institution of the Bite of Confirmation, 
 or the laying on of hands. 
 
 We find the institution of Christian worship, and 
 the offering up in Christian assemblies of the sacrifices 
 of prayer, praise, and thanksgiving. 
 
 We read also many other things, pertaining to the 
 holy living of the primitive Christians, written for our 
 instruction, that we, with them, through grace, may 
 finally inherit the promises. 
 
 Such, in brief, are the institutions of revealed re- 
 ligion in Christian times. We do not here present 
 
 72. What was one institution 7 
 
 73. What was another 1 How many sacraments 1 
 
 74. What was another 1 In how many orders ^ 
 
 75. What was another 1 What change of day % 
 
 76. What was another 7 
 
 77. What is the last named 1 
 
 78. Do all these seem to be scriptural and apostolic 1 
 
 17* 
 
198 DOCTRINES AND INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 the arguments by which these institutions are de- 
 fended. This will be done in a concluding chapter. 
 All that we have now designed is, to show, that God, 
 in revealing His will, has done it not only in the form 
 of doctrines, but also of institutions. 
 
 Conclusion. — How important are the considera- 
 tions which have now been presented. Amidst the 
 exciting topics of the day, the strifes and care of 
 worldly business, and the allurements of science, we 
 should not lose sight of an object more important than 
 all these. The world and its cares are lighter than 
 vanity ; even science and art vanish into insignifi- 
 cance, in comparison with another greater question 
 than all these — What hath God revealed to us, as 
 His immortal, accountable children ? 
 
 If the great heathen orator commended human 
 learning above worldly riches, because it follows us 
 to our business, to our retirements, and abides with 
 us continually, by how much stronger claim are these 
 things of God enforced, which follow us even into the 
 unseen world ! 
 
 Let us not regard the Revelation of God as a mere 
 theory, a vain speculation, but rather as containing 
 practical duties, which are to be believed and obeyed. 
 
 79. Are the evidences and arguments stated 1 
 
 80. What concluding reflections are drawn % 
 
 81. Are these questions of curiosity 1 
 
 82. How ought we to receive them 1 
 
 83. How did Cicero enforce the claims of learning 1 
 
 84. How much stronger is the claim of Religion 1 
 
DOCTRINES AND INSTITUTIONS. 199 
 
 And thus, Faith, and Hope, and Love, will all be in- 
 vigorated ; while we may be animated with the reflec- 
 tion, that the partial obscurity of our present vision 
 will soon open into the light of perfect day. 
 
 What benefit follows a reception of it 1 
 What promise follows 1 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 In the former chapter we endeavored to prove, by 
 numerous arguments, that Revelation contains both 
 doctrines and institutions. It was also stated where 
 those doctrines may be found, and what those insti- 
 tutions are. 
 
 So strong, however, is the tendency, at the present 
 day, to overlook the importance of the institutions of 
 Christianity : so often are we called upon to bear wit- 
 ness against dangerous innovations, and in favor of 
 apostolic and divine institutions : that we propose, as 
 a suitable conclusion to this whole subject of Natural 
 and Revealed Religion, to present a few of the main 
 arguments in support of the institutions of our most 
 holy religion. 
 
 The institutions of Christianity are — 
 
 I. A visible Church of Christ. 
 
 1. What was the subject of the last chapter 1 
 
 2. What tendency exists at the present day 1 
 
 3. What are we often called to do 1 
 
 4. What is to be now examined 1 
 
 5. What are the institutions of Christianity 1 
 
INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY. 201 
 
 II. A Christian Ministry, consisting of three orders. 
 
 III. The Christian Sacraments of Baptism and the 
 Lord's Supper. 
 
 IV. The Christian Sabbath and Christian Worship. 
 Y. The Kite of Confirmation. 
 
 Each of these institutions, we believe, belongs to 
 the Christian religion, and imposes upon us duties 
 and obligations, by which we are religiously bound. 
 
 Concerning the precise nature of some of these in- 
 stitutions there may be found some diversity of opin- 
 ion ; but, concerning the fact itself, that they are 
 institutions of the Gospel, we suppose there should 
 be no difference of sentiment. We enter, there- 
 fore, at once upon a consideration of the promi- 
 nent arguments by which these institutions are sup- 
 ported. 
 
 I. In the system of Kevealed Religion there is the 
 institution of a visible Church. 
 
 We are not, however, to regard the visible Church 
 as first instituted by our Saviour at the time of His 
 advent : for St. Stephen, addressing the Jewish coun- 
 cil, speaks of the Church as existing in the time of 
 Moses, when he says, " This is He that was in the 
 Church in the wilderness." Acts vii. 38. That same 
 Church was perpetuated to our Saviour's time ; by 
 Him it was somewhat modified but not destroyed ; 
 
 6. What is said concerning the nature of some of these ? 
 
 7. Of what is there no dispute 1 
 
 8. What institution is first considered 1 
 
 9. Was this first planted by Jesus Christ at His advent 1 
 10. When did it exist 1 11. What did He do 1 
 
202 INSTITUTIONS OF . CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 the plan of salvation was more completely developed ; 
 that Church has been continued to our own day, and 
 will be handed down till the end of time. All that 
 we now propose to prove is, that the visible Church 
 was spoken of as existing in the time of our Saviour, 
 and is one of the institutions of Christianity. 
 
 Thus, in speaking of a brother who hath trespassed, 
 our Saviour says, " If he neglect to hear them, tell it 
 unto the Church ; but if he neglect to hear the 
 Church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and 
 a publican," St. Matt, xviii. 17. 
 
 After the ascension of our Saviour, we find the 
 sacred writers using language like this: "At that 
 time there was a great persecution against the Church, 
 which was in Jerusalem." Acts viii. 1. "Prayer 
 was made without ceasing of the Church unto God 
 for him." Acts xii. 5. u Then pleased it the Apostles 
 and elders, with the whole Church." Acts xv. 22. 
 "Let him call for the elders of the Church." (St. 
 James v. 4. 
 
 The Greek word Ecclesia, translated Church, occurs 
 in the New Testament one, hundred and fourteen 
 times ; and in a very great number of these instances 
 is so used that it must necessarily refer to a visible 
 institution. This frequent use of the term is suffi- 
 cient proof that there was such an institution in the 
 
 12. What are we now to prove 1 
 
 13. Give the scriptural authority for this 1 
 
 14. How often does the Greek word occur in the New Testa- 
 
 ment 1 15. What does this prove 1 
 
INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY. 203 
 
 time of our Saviour and His Apostles, as a visible 
 Christian Church. 
 
 The manner in which it is spoken of shows the ex- 
 alted character which belongs to it. It is the object 
 of our Saviour's strongest love. For " Christ loved 
 the Church, and gave Himself for it." Eph. v. 25. 
 4i It is the fullness of Him that filleth all in all," 
 Eph. i. 23 — and ao is the medium of the richest bless- 
 ings to the world. High destinies await her here- 
 after. If glorious things were spoken of th@ city of 
 Gtod in olden time (Ps. Ixxxvii. 3), more emphatically 
 is this true of that Mount Zion, that heavenly Jeru- 
 salem unto which we are come. Heb. xii. 22 and 23. 
 
 Enough has been said to prove, that the visible 
 Church of Christ is an institution of revealed re- 
 ligion. 
 
 II. Another institution of revealed religion is the 
 Christian Ministry ; and that ministry consisting of 
 three orders, known as Bishops, Priests, and Deacons. 
 
 First. The importance of this ministry is every 
 where apparent. It is so in the value attached to it. 
 It is called a ;i treasure." " We have this treasure in 
 earthen vessels." 2 Cor. iv. 7. It is so in its origin, 
 which is said to be the "grace of God." Eph. iii. 7. 
 It is so in its object : viz., " the perfecting of the saints, 
 
 16. How do you prove its dignity and importance 1 
 
 17. In what manner do the Holy Scriptures represent it 1 
 
 18. What institution is next named % 
 
 19. In how many orders does it exist 'i 
 
 20. How do you prove its importance 1. 
 
 21. What is its origin and object 7 ? 
 
204 INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 the edifying of the body of Christ ;" and, u as ambas- 
 sadors for Christ, to reconcile the world unto God/' 
 Eph. iv. 12, and 2 Cor. v. 18-20. 
 
 Second. There was a ministry, and that in three 
 orders, in the Jewish Church. From among all the 
 Jews, the tribe of Levi was specially called to the 
 work of the holy ministry. Num. viii. 5-26. The 
 business of the Levites was to wait upon the priests, 
 and to assist in the service of the tabernacle and tem- 
 ple. Num. iii. 9. 1 Chron. xxiii. 28. These were the 
 third order of the Jewish ministry. 
 
 From this tribe the family of Aaron was called to 
 the special office of the priesthood. The business of 
 the priests, or second order, was to serve immediately 
 at the altar, to prepare the victims, and offer the 
 sacrifices. Ex. xxix. Lev. viii., ix. 
 
 Over all these was the high priest, the first order 
 of the ministry. He alone might enter into the 
 • k holy of holies," and to him was committed the 
 supreme administration of sacred things. Ex. xxix. 
 Lev. xvi. 
 
 Third. Now, as the various rites in the Jewish 
 Church were types of good things to come ; as circum- 
 cision and the passover pointed forward to correspond- 
 ing things in Christian times ; so the ministry, and 
 the form of the ministry, in the Jewish Church, 
 
 22. What argument is drawn from the Jewish Church ? 
 
 23. What was the business of the Levites 1 
 2-4. What was the business of the Priests'? 
 
 25. What was the office and duty of the High Priest 1 
 
 26. To what did Jewish institutions correspond ? 
 
INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY, 205 
 
 would iinply a similar institution in the Church of 
 Christ, unless it can be shown that there are no 
 duties and offices to be performed, no sacraments to 
 be administered, no worship to be celebrated, no 
 spiritual sacrifices of prayer, praise, and thanksgiving 
 to be offered. But this will not be pretended — and 
 we should be led to look, therefore, for a ministry in 
 the Christian, corresponding to that in the Jewish 
 Church, 
 
 Fourth. So also, as a matter of fact, we find our 
 blessed Saviour, after His resurrection, and previous 
 to his ascension, appointing, commissioning, and send- 
 ing forth a ministry. That commission was given to 
 the Apostles, and them alone. Acts i. 2 and 3. It 
 contains, first, a declaration of the power by which He 
 was then solemnly acting : " All power is given unto 
 me in Heaven and on earth." It then appoints the 
 Apostles to the office : u Go ye." It then specifies the 
 work assigned them : " Teach all nations, baptizing 
 them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
 of the Holy Ghost, and teaching them to observe all 
 things whatsoever I have commanded you." It then 
 conveys the promise of His presence with that minis- 
 try till the end of time : " Lo, I am with you alway, 
 even unto the end of the world." St. Matt, xxviii. 18- 
 
 27. Is there any work calling for a ministry now — and what 1 
 
 28. At what period of our Saviour's life did He commission 
 
 a ministry 1 29. To whom was the commission givenl 
 
 30. By what poiver did He act ? 
 
 31. What duties did He impose on them 7 ? 
 
 32. What promise did He give them 1 
 
 18 
 
206 INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 20. Here, in language which could not have been 
 more explicit there is recorded the institution of a 
 ministry : the appointment of men to that ministry ; 
 the duties of that ministry : and the perpetuity of 
 that ministry alicay, or to the end of time. 
 
 Fifth. The Apostles always spoke of the ministry 
 as a divine, and not a human institution. " The min- 
 istry which I have received of the Lord Jesus." Acts 
 xx. 24. " God hath given to us the ministry of recon- 
 ciliation. Now. then, we are ambassadors for Christ." 
 2 Cor. v. 20. " No man taketh this honor upon him- 
 self, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron." Heb. 
 v. 4 and 5. 
 
 Hence, then, we prove the Christian ministry to be 
 an institution of our blessed religion. 
 
 Sixth. That ministry was a threefold ministry, or 
 consisted of three orders. 
 
 In the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, in several 
 of the Epistles, and in the Book of the Revelation of 
 St. John, we find constant reference made to — first, 
 Apostles ; secondly, presbyters, also called elders ; and 
 thirdly, deacons. In a little time, the name Apostle 
 was, as a mark of honor, appropriated to those whom 
 our Saviour first called ; and their successors in office 
 were called Bishops : which apostolic office, together 
 with that of presbyters and deacons, has been handed 
 down to our own days. The name '-bishop," signify- 
 
 33. Is the ministry a human or Divine institution 1 
 
 34. Have you scriptural authority — and where ? 
 
 35. What is that ministry in its form ? 
 
 36. How many grades of ministers are spoken of? 
 
INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY. 207 
 
 ing overseer, and the name " deacon/' signifying ser- 
 vant, having at the first no technical character, were 
 then used with more latitude of expression. Thus 
 the Apostles Peter and John are said to be presby- 
 ters. (1 Pet. v. 1. 2 John. i. 1.) And St. Paul de- 
 clared that himself and Apollos were deacons, as the 
 original word is diaconoi. 1 Cor. iii. 5. But this does 
 not prove that they were deacons in the technical or 
 specific sense of the word, or that they were not 
 Apostles. It is enough to show, as can easily be 
 done, that the offices of Apostles (afterwards called 
 bishops), and of presbyters, and of deacons, were dis- 
 tinct from each other, and that these offices were 
 established in the Church. 
 
 Seventh. It is sometimes asked, why is there not a 
 command in the New Testament that there shall be 
 three orders in the ministry % But why, it may be 
 asked in reply, is there not a command on other dis- 
 puted doctrines ; as that of the trinity, of infant bap- 
 tism, and of the Christian Sabbath % 
 
 An answer to the inquiry may be found, however, 
 in the fact, that the writings of the New Testament 
 were not composed until churches were extensively and 
 thoroughly planted. The " Acts of the Apostles " 
 
 37. How are the words, " Bishop " and " Deacon," used in 
 
 the New Testament 1 
 
 38. When did they have a technical meaning as applied to 
 
 permanent offices 1 39. What is it enough to show 1 
 
 40. What question is sometimes asked ? 
 
 41. Concerning what other things may it as well be asked 1 
 
 42. How else would you answer if? 
 
208 INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 was not written until about thirty years after the 
 Ascension. Some of the Epistles bear a much later 
 date. Before this time, churches were planted in 
 various parts of the Roman empire ; in Rome, Phi- 
 lippi, Corinth, Ephesus, Crete, &c, &c. We should 
 not expect to find commands in reference to that 
 which already existed ; while we should expect to find 
 frequent allusions to practices and institutions exist- 
 ing under the Apostles : and so it is. In the histori- 
 cal portions of the New Testament, we find frequent 
 allusions to the three orders of the ministry, actually 
 engaged in the peculiar work of their respective offices. 
 
 Eighth. Thus we find the Apostles, and them only, 
 ordaining men to the sacred office of the ministry, 
 and administering the rite of confirmation. 
 
 The Apostles (and not the people) ordained the 
 seven deacons. Acts vi. 3-6. 
 
 The Apostles Paul and Barnabas ordained presby- 
 ters in every church where they travelled. Acts xiv. 23. 
 
 Timothy, young in years (1 Tim. iv. 12), is advised 
 whom he must admit to the order of presbyters, then 
 called bishops, and whom to the office of deacons. 
 1 Tim. i. 3; iii. 10. Titus was left by St. Paul in 
 Crete, to ordain elders or presbyters in every city 
 
 43. When were the Books of the New Testament written 1 
 
 44. What would this lead us to anticipate 1 
 
 45. What allusions do we find 7 
 
 46. Whom do we find ordaining 1 
 
 47. Are Presbyters and Deacons ever found ordaining 1 
 
 48. Who ordained the seven deacons % 
 
 49. What other instances of the Apostles' ordaining ? 
 
INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY. 209 
 
 throughout the island. Tit. i. 5. St. John, in the 
 Revelation, written at a late period, addresses some 
 one in each of the seven churches in Asia. He calls 
 him an angel, or, as the term signifies, Apostle. He 
 regards him as having the care of those churches, and 
 as responsible for the doctrines there taught ; one of 
 which churches (that at Ephesus) had, long since, its 
 presbyters and deacons. 
 
 We find also the Apostles, and them only, adminis- 
 tering the rite of confirmation, or laying on of hands. 
 The Apostles Peter and John administered it in 
 Samaria. Acts viii. 17. St. Paul did the same in 
 Ephesus. 
 
 This order of the ministry had also supervision 
 over their respective churches, and power to adminis- 
 ter authority and discipline. 2 Cor. xi. 28. 1 Tim. v. 
 19 and 20. Tit. ii. 18. Rev. ii. 14-20. 
 
 Ninth. Next after the Apostles, we find the order 
 of elders, or presbyters. 
 
 At the early Council of the Church at Jerusalem, 
 called to decide concerning the question of circum- 
 cision, a formal decree, and carefully drawn up, was 
 sent forth in the name of the Apostles, and elders or 
 
 50. Who ordainea in Crete 1 
 
 51. Were there many cities and congregations there'? 
 
 52. What do yon find in the seven churches of Asia 1 
 
 53. What other act did the Apostles perform 1 
 
 54. Have we any proof of other orders performing this 1 
 
 55. What other power had they 1 
 
 56. What is the next order of the ministry 1 
 
 57. Where are they officially named ? 
 
 18 # 
 
210 INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 presbyters, and brethren, in which this second order 
 of the ministry is clearly and formally recognized, as 
 distinct both from the " Apostles " on the one hand, 
 and the " brethren " on the other. Acts xv. 23. 
 
 They were an order of the ministry. St. Paul ad- 
 dresses the presbyters of Ephesus as such. Acts xx. 
 28. The qualifications required of them also proves 
 this. For they must be " apt to teach ;" " one that 
 ruleth his own house well," 1 Tim. iii. 2 and 5. And 
 they were admitted by ordination to their sacred 
 office. For Paul and Barnabas " ordained elders or 
 presbyters in every city." Acts xiv. 23. This was 
 also one important object of Titus in the island of 
 Crete. Titus i. 5. 
 
 Tenth. Next after the presbyters was the order of 
 deacons. They were an order of the ministry. They 
 were admitted to this office by ordination, at the hands 
 of the Apostles. Acts vi. 6. And St. Paul sa\s, 
 " They that have used the office of a deacon well, pur- 
 chase to themselves a good degree ;" or, are entitled 
 to advancement in the sacred ministry. 1 Tim. iii. 13. 
 
 The qualifications demanded of them implies their 
 ministerial character. They ' must be " full of the 
 
 58. Was that decree an official document 1 
 
 59. What do these names prove ? 
 
 60. How do you prove that they were an order of the ministry'? 
 
 61. Give the scriptural proofs of this. 
 
 62. What was the next order of the ministry 1 
 
 63. Prove that they were an order of the ministry. 
 
 64. How were they admitted to office % 
 
 65. What do you say of their qualifications ? 
 
INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY. 211 
 
 Holy Ghost and of wisdom." Acts vi. 8. They must 
 be *• grave, holding the mystery of the faith in a pure 
 conscience, ruling their children and their house well." 
 1 Tim. iii. 8, 9, 12. They also performed ministerial 
 acts, in that they preached and baptized. Acts viii. 
 5, 12, 38. 
 
 Such is a brief sketch of the scriptural argument 
 for the three orders of the Christian ministry — Apos- 
 tles (afterward called bishops), presbyters, and dea- 
 cons. It is an argument which increases in strength, 
 the more attentively the pages of the sacred volume 
 are read in their connection with each other. 
 
 Eleventh. The three orders of the ministry are 
 clearly proved by the writings of the apostolic fathers, 
 and the testimony of the early Church. 
 
 The apostolic fathers were men who lived in the 
 days of the Apostles, and so were eye-witnesses of 
 their labors ; or immediately after them, and so could 
 not have been mistaken as to the facts to which they 
 bear testimony. Their writings are invaluable to us 
 in many respects, as proof respecting the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, the doctrine, ministry, and worship of the early 
 Church. The chief of these apostolic men whose 
 writings have come down to us, are Clement of Rome, 
 
 66. What acts did they perform ? 
 
 67. What argument have we thus far presented 1 
 
 68. What source of proof is now offered 1 
 60. Who were the apostolic fathers 1 
 
 70. Why is their testimony valuable 1 
 
 71. On what other subjects are they valuable witnesses 1 
 
 72. Name some of them. 
 
212 INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 Ignatius, Polycarp, Justin Martyr, and a little later, 
 Irenseus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, 
 and others. As we descend a little further, such 
 writings become more numerous and voluminous. 
 
 Now the writings of these apostolic men are very 
 decided upon this point of the three orders of the 
 ministry. 
 
 Ignatius, who lived in the first century, says, u I 
 salute your very worthy bishop, and your venerable 
 presbytery, and your deacons, my fellow-servants." — 
 Ep. ad Smyr., sec. 12. 
 
 Again : " I have been thought worthy to see you, by 
 Damas, your godly and excellent bishop, and by your 
 worthy presbyters, Bassus and Apollonius, and by my 
 fellow-servant, Sotio the deacon.' 1 — Ep. ad Mag., sec. 2. 
 
 Again : " For there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and one cup in the unity of His blood ; one 
 altar, as there is also one bishop, together with the 
 presbytery, and the deacons my fellow-servants." — 
 Ep. ad Phil, sec. 4. 
 
 Clement of Alexandria, a little later, says : " There 
 are other precepts in the Holy Scriptures, without 
 number, which concern men in particular capacities ; 
 some which relate to presbyters, others which belong 
 to bishops, and others respecting deacons." — Pcedag., 
 lib. iii., cap. 12. 
 
 Tertullian says, u The chief or highest priest, who 
 
 73. Are the writings of those men voluminous ? 
 
 74. What does Ignatius say 1 
 
 75. Does he name distinctly Bishops, Priests and Deacons 1 
 
 76. What does Clement say ? 
 
INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY. 213 
 
 is the bishop, has the right of giving "baptism, and 
 after him the presbyters and deacons, but not without 
 the bishop's authority." — Lib. tie Bcop. : cap. 17. 
 
 Origen says, speaking of '- debts " in our Lord's 
 prayer, " Besides these general debts, there is a debt 
 peculiar to widows who are maintained by the Church, 
 another to deacons, another to presbyters, and another 
 to bishops, which is the greatest of all." 
 
 Such is only a specimen of the testimony of the early 
 Church respecting the organization of the ministry in 
 apostolic times ; testimony clear, full, and explicit ; 
 testimony of men who lived at a time when they could 
 not have been mistaken ; men who died by the most 
 cruel deaths, martyrs to the truth. And yet, without 
 one exception, they testify to this universal fact, the 
 establishment of a ministry in three orders throughout 
 the whole Church. During the first fifteen hundred 
 years after Christ's time, we find no trace of any 
 other ministry in existence. Throughout Asia, Afri- 
 ca, and Europe, under every form of civil government, 
 in every shade of refinement, the Church was estab- 
 lished under such a ministry. And although, about 
 three hundred years since, a different state of things 
 began to exist, yet more than nine-tenths of the Chris- 
 
 77. State the testimony of Tertullian. 
 
 78. Give the quotation from Origen. 
 
 79. Are there other proofs similar to these 1 
 
 80. Is their testimony full 1 
 
 81. How did they confirm their statements'? 
 
 8*2. Were the three orders universal % 83. For how long 1 
 84. How prevalent is that ministry now 1 
 
214 INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 tian world, at this day, have preserved the same three- 
 fold ministry. 
 
 Such is the institution of the Christian ministry in 
 the Church of G-od. We have dwelt the longer upon 
 it, because of its importance. We commend the sub- 
 ject to the more thorough examination of the reader. 
 
 III. Another institution of revealed religion ,was 
 that of the two sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's 
 Supper. 
 
 Both these were instituted by Jesus Christ. Both 
 are visible institutions, having an outward and visible 
 form. Both are means whereby we receive inward 
 and spiritual grace. Both are enjoined upon all the 
 disciples of Christ. 
 
 In our Saviour's last commission to the Apostles, 
 He appointed the Holy Sacrament of Baptism. He 
 commanded them to baptize all nations, and gave 
 them the form of that baptism. It should be " in the 
 name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
 Holy &host." St. Matt, xxviii. 19. 
 
 So also, the night in which He was betrayed, He 
 established the Holy Sacrament of His Supper. " He 
 took the bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave 
 it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat, this is my 
 
 85. What is another institution % 86. Who appointed them ? 
 87. Have they an outward form 1 88. What is that form 1 
 
 89. Have they inward grace when rightly received 1 
 
 90. Are they obligatory on all 1 
 
 91. When was the Sacrament of Baptism appointed 1 
 
 92. What form did He give % 
 
 93. When did He establish the Lord's Supper % 
 
INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY. 215 
 
 body. He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave 
 it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it, for this is my 
 blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many 
 for the remission of sins." St. Matt. xxvi. 26-28. 
 
 " This do ye, as oft as ye drink it in remembrance 
 of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink 
 this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till He come." 
 1 Cor. xi. 23-26. 
 
 This sacrament, thus instituted by Christ, was re- 
 ligiously received in both kinds by the Church in its 
 early days, as it has been ever since. In the Acts 
 of the Apostles we read, - ; Upon the first day of the 
 week, when the disciples came together to break 
 bread." Acts xx. 7. As if this was their habitual 
 practice. And in St. Paul's first Epistle to the Co- 
 rinthians, his rebuke of the abuses of this sacrament 
 implies, beyond doubt, the fact of its habitual recep- 
 tion, and that in both kinds. 
 
 Again : The sacrament of baptism was designed to 
 be administered, and ought to be administered to in- 
 fants, as well as adults. 
 
 The following summary of arguments for infant 
 baptism is briefly presented. 
 
 First. The covenant of grace, by which men are 
 saved, is the same in its main features in all ages of 
 the world. And as infants were admitted to that 
 
 94. Where are the accounts found ^ 
 
 95. Was this Sacrament continued in the early Church 1 
 ! 96. Give the scriptural proof. 
 
 97. Was Baptism designed for infants ? 
 
 98. What is the first argument 1 
 
216 INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY, 
 
 covenant, at God's command, by circumcision, so. as 
 a matter of course, they are to be admitted to it now 
 that the seal has been changed. Gen. xvii. 1 — 14. 
 
 Second. The Apostles expressly told the Jews, that 
 the blessings of the Gospel of Christ belonged not 
 only to them, but to their children. Acts ii. 38, 39, 
 The Jews, as a matter of fact, never objected to 
 Christianity that under it infants were excluded from 
 the covenant of grace. 
 
 Third. The command, " Repent and be baptized" 
 does not exclude infants from baptism, on the ground 
 that they are incapable of repentance, any more than 
 the condition, u He that believeth not shall be damned" 
 excludes them from the promise of salvation on the 
 ground that they are incapable of believing. Both 
 conditions are addressed to those capable of under- 
 standing them. Infant baptism is another and dis- 
 tinct question. 
 
 Fourth. Our Saviour expressly affirms that the 
 Church, or the kingdom of God, has infants among 
 its members. a Suffer little children, and forbid them 
 not, for of such is the kingdom of God." St. Matt. xix. 
 14. 
 
 Fifth. In the history of the Church in the New 
 Testament, we read of the baptism of whole families, 
 where the form of expression, " his house," &c, implies 
 that the whole family were baptized upon the conver- 
 
 99c What is the second argument? 
 
 100. What is the third argument 1 
 
 101. What is the fourth argument? 
 
 102. What is the fifth argument ? 
 
INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY. 217 
 
 sion of the heads of the family. Acts xvi. 33 ; 1 Cor. 
 i. 16. 
 
 Sixth. The history of the early Church leaves us 
 no room to doubt as to the practice of the Apostles in 
 this respect. 
 
 Justin Martyr, who lived immediately after the 
 Apostles, says, " There are among us those of both 
 sexes, of seventy and eighty years of age, who were 
 made disciples of Christ when they were infants." 
 
 Origen, a little after > says, " Infants are baptized 
 for the remission of sins," And at a council called 
 by Cyprian bishop of Carthage, of sixty-six bishops, 
 AD, 253, the question was discussed, whether infants 
 might be baptized before the age of eight days ; but 
 concerning the doctrine itself, there was no dispute. 
 The depriving infants of this sacrament is one of the 
 modern corruptions of later times. 
 
 Such are some of the arguments in favor of infant 
 baptism. 
 
 IV. Another institution of revealed religion is that 
 of the Christian Sabbath, and Christian worship. 
 
 First. The institution of a Sabbath, or appointment 
 of every seventh day as a day of holy rest, was not 
 first made by Christ and His apostles, nor was it a 
 
 103. What is the sixth argument 1 
 
 104. Give the testimony of Justin Martyr. 
 
 105. What does Origen say % 
 
 106. What question arose at Carthage % 
 
 107. What do all these arguments prove 1 
 
 108. What is the next institution of Revealed Religion ? 
 
 109. Was this a Jewish institution 1 
 
 19 
 
218 INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 day of Jewish origin. This day was set apart by God 
 Himself, immediately after the creation. It is said, 
 " He rested on the seventh day from all His work 
 which He had made. And God blessed the seventh 
 day, and sanctified it, because that on it He had rested 
 from all His work which God created and made." 
 Gen. ii. 2 and 3. 
 
 Here is the first institution of the Sabbath, and the 
 reason for it : clearly proving that the day is not a 
 Jewish institution. 
 
 Second. The frequency with which the word K sev- 
 en " occurs in the early history of the world, as a 
 division of time, seems to have had its origin in the 
 Sabbatical rest, occurring on every seventh day. Gen. 
 viii. 10-12: xxix. 18-27, &c 
 
 Third. The day was plainly observed before the 
 giving of the Moral Law on Mount Sinai. Thus, in 
 the journey of the Israelites, the Lord said to Moses 
 respecting the manna, "On the sixth day they shall 
 prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice 
 as much as they gather daily ;" and "on the seventh 
 day they found none.'' Ex. xvi. 5, 27. 
 
 Fourth. The very language of the moral law re- 
 specting the Sabbath, implies a previous existence of 
 the Sabbath. It is not " Thou shalt observe the seventh 
 
 110. When was it appointed ? 
 
 111. For whom was it appointed 1 
 
 112. What number frequently occurs in the Old Testament 7 
 
 113. When do we find the day observed % 
 
 114. Was this previous to the giving of the Law on Sinai 1 
 
 115. What does the language of the commandment prove ? 
 
INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY. £19 
 
 day to keep it holy," but " Remember the Sabbath 
 day," as if it were something already existing ; and 
 the reason for its observance points us back at once 
 to its first institution, at the time of the creation. 
 
 Fifth. The moral nature of the Sabbath is an 
 iirgunient for its early origin and universal obligation. 
 It is a day of physical repose ; a cessation from 
 worldly care and -business ; an opportunity of prepa- 
 ration for that Sabbath which shall never end. 
 
 All history shows, that the non-observance of the 
 Sabbath as a day of holy rest, has always been attended 
 by the extinguishment of all true religion. This will 
 hold true both as a public and private test. 
 
 Sixth. Our blessed Saviour, having u all power in 
 heaven and on earth," as " Head over all things to 
 the Church," changed the day from the seventh to the 
 first day of the week. He continued the same division 
 Df time, still setting apart " the seventh day," pre- 
 serving the moral character of the institution, but He 
 changed the day itself from the seventh to the first 
 day, in commemoration of another and greater event 
 than the creation of a world at the first, viz., a new 
 moral creation, in virtue of His own death and resur- 
 rection. 
 
 That the day was thus changed a few proofs will 
 suffice to show. 
 
 116. What is the nature of the commandment ? 
 
 117. What has been its history in the world? 
 
 118. What did our Saviour do? 
 
 119. Had He power to do this ? 
 
 ?20. What did He change % 121. What did He continue 1 
 
220 INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 On the first day of the week, after our Lord's re- 
 surrection, we find the disciples assembled together, 
 and Jesus with them. St. John xx, 19. 
 
 After eight days, again, the disciples were together, 
 and Jesus came and stood in the midst of them. St. 
 John xx. 26. 
 
 In the Book of the Acts of the Apostles we find 
 this day statedly and religiously kept. 
 
 It was upon the first day of the week that the Holy 
 Ghost descended on the Apostles, as u they were all 
 with one accord in one place." Acts ii. 1. 
 
 Upon the first day of the week we find the disci- 
 ples habitually assembling to receive the Lord's Sup- 
 per, and St. Paul preaching to them. Acts xx. 7. 
 
 On the first day of the week, St. Paul exhorts the 
 Corinthian Christians, to lay aside their alms, as God 
 had prospered them. 1 Cor. xvi. 2. 
 
 This day was known as the Lord's day, and St. 
 John says, " I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." 
 Rev. i. 10. 
 
 The early Church statedly and religiously kept 
 the first day of the week as the Christian Sabbath. 
 
 Ignatius says, " No longer observing Sabbaths, but 
 keeping the Lord's day, in which also our life is 
 
 122. Prove that the day was changed. 
 
 123. Did He keep the first day of the week 1 
 
 124. Did the Apostles keep it 1 
 
 125. What was this day called 7 
 
 126. Why was the first day selected 7 
 
 127. Was this day kept in the early Church % 
 
 128. Gluote from Ignatius. 
 
INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY. 221 
 
 sprung up by Him." Ep. ad Mag., sec. 9. And 
 again, " Let every one that loves Christ, keep holy 
 the Lord's day, the queen of days, the resurrection 
 day, the highest of all days." 
 
 Irenaeus Bishop of Lyons, A.D. 167, says, " On 
 the Lords day every one of us Christians keep the 
 Sabbath, meditating on the Law, and rejoicing in the 
 works of God." 
 
 Clement of Alexandria, A.D. 192, says, " A Chris- 
 tian, according to the command of the Gospel, ob- 
 serves the Lord's day, thereby glorifying the resur- 
 rection of the Lord." 
 
 These specimens, from the early writers, are suffi- 
 cient to prove that the primitive Christians, imme- 
 diately after the xVpostles, perpetuated the religious 
 observance of the first day of the week, which, as we 
 have seen, was instituted by our blessed Saviour and 
 His inspired Apostles. 
 
 Seventh. This day was devoted to religious, public 
 worship, The quotations from the Acts of the Apos- 
 tles and from the Fathers prove this. 
 
 Dionysius says, "This being the Lord's day we keep 
 it holy." And Justin Martyr declares, " On Sunday 
 all Christians in the city or country meet together, 
 because that is the day of our Lord's resurrection ; 
 and then we read the writings of the Prophets and 
 
 129. State the words of Irenseus. 
 
 130. GLuote from Clement. 131. What do all these prove \ 
 
 132. How was this day kept 1 
 
 133. Give the statement of Dionysius. 
 
 134. Repeat the language of Justin. 
 
 19* 
 
222 INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 Apostles ; this being done, the president makes an 
 oration to the assembly, to exhort them to imitate 
 and do the things they heard ; then we all join in 
 prayer, and after that we celebrate the Sacrament." 
 Just. Mart Apol. iii., p. 96, 99. 
 
 Such is the evidence of the institution and due ob- 
 servance of this holy day — a day which must still be 
 kept holy, by abstaining from worldly avocations and 
 pleasures, by devout and regular attendance upon 
 .God's worship in His courts, by receiving His holy 
 Sacrament, by private, religious reading, meditation 
 and prayer, and by works of necessity and mercy. 
 
 V. The other institution of Eevealed Religion is 
 that of Confirmation, or " the laying on of hands," by 
 the chief minister on those who have been baptized. 
 
 That this is such an institution we cannot doubt. 
 The Apostles practised it. When Philip, one of the 
 seven deacons, had preached and baptized certain con- 
 verts at Samaria, the Apostles at Jerusalem went down 
 to do that which Philip the deacon could not do, 
 namely : administer " the laying on of hands," and 
 confer larger measures of spiritual blessings." Acts 
 viii. 5-13. And St. Paul, in explaining the system 
 of the Gospel more perfectly to the Jews, names the 
 " doctrine " of u the laying on of hands" as one of the 
 first principles of the doctrine of Christ. Heb. vi. 1, 2. 
 
 135. How ought this day to be observed ? 
 
 136. What are violations of this day 1 
 
 137. What institution is next considered 1 
 
 138. Who practised it 1 139. Give an instance of this. 
 140. What is it said to be % 
 
INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY. 22$ 
 
 The early writers speak distinctly of this institu 
 tion of Christianity. 
 
 Tertullian, of the second century, says, " Hands 
 are imposed upon those who had been baptized, with 
 prayer and the invocation of the Holy Ghost." 
 
 Cyprian Bishop of Carthage says, " Those who 
 have been baptized in the Church are brought to the 
 president of the Church, that by our prayer and im- 
 position of hands, they may receive the Holy Ghost, 
 and be consummated with the Lord's seal." 
 
 At the Reformation, they, on the continent, who 
 rejected other apostolical institutions (which they did 
 not do from choice), either retained Confirmation or' 
 desired to retain it. The Lutherans practise Confir- 
 mation even to this day. 
 
 Calvin says, " It was an ancient custom in the 
 Church for the children of Christians, after they were 
 come to years of discretion, to be presented to the 
 bishop, in order to fulfil that duty which was required 
 of adults who offered themselves to Baptism." And 
 he calls it " the imposition of hands." CaL Ins., B. iv 
 
 The propriety of this rite, the blessings attending 
 it, and the conditions or qualifications for it cannot 
 now be considered. I am only concerned to prove. 
 
 141. Repeat the language of Tertullian. 
 
 142. Give the statement of Cyprian. 
 
 143. How was this regarded ai the Reformation'? 
 
 144. Who retained it ^ 145. What does Calvin say of it 
 
 146. Is it an important rite ? 
 
 147. Where are the qualifications found 1 
 
224 INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 wliat I think is already apparent, that Confirmation 
 is one of the institutions of our most holy religion. 
 
 Conclusion. — Such, the reader will bear in mind, 
 are the institutions of our blessed religion. We 
 have aimed at saying little or nothing respecting the 
 practical duties which at once spring up from such 
 institutions. 
 
 The writer leaves these to be presented by the liv- 
 ing teacher of God's truth, and refers the reader to 
 those numerous publications, to which he will read- 
 ily find access. All that we have now attempted, 
 has been to show distinctly this one thing — that in 
 the system of Revealed Religion God has seen fit to 
 make known to us certain visible institutions, which, 
 as they are devised by His wisdom, so they are estab- 
 lished by His authority, and are to be received by us 
 as the gifts of His love. 
 
 And we now fervently commend the reader, and 
 the fruits of our present labors, to the blessing of 
 
 GoD THE FATHER, God THE SoN, AND GoD THE HoLY 
 
 Ghost, three Persons and one God, to whom be 
 rendered undivided homage, praise and thanksgiving 
 for ever and ever. 
 
 148. What has now been presented 1 
 
 149. To what have we been limited 1 
 
 150. What duties at once arise ? 
 
« 156 
 
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