jj: 
 
 .
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 S. Quay Smith 
 
 
 5WF 
 
 . C 
 
 NOT TO BE TAKEM FOM THE ROC
 
 . 4
 
 "EnrOTT KmVAONE, E 
 
 BISHOP OF jmPm'ESTWTfflSCOPAL
 
 THE 
 
 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY; 
 
 IN T H EIK 
 
 EXTERNAL, OR HISTORICAL DIVISION: 
 
 EXHIBITED IN A 
 
 COURSE OF LECTURES, 
 
 BY 
 
 CHARLES PETTIT M'lLYAINE, D.D., 
 
 BISHOP OF THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN TUB BTATH OP 3 HIO. 
 Sint caste deliciae meoe scrlptura tuae; nee fulinr in eis, nee tellani ex eis. AUOUSTIHB. 
 
 TWENTY- SEVENTH THOUSAND. 
 
 REVISED AND 1MPKOVKI) BY TUB AUTHOR, WITH THE ADDITION 
 OF A PREFACE, 
 
 BY OLINTHTJS GREGORY, D.D., LL.D. 
 
 SMITH, ENGLISH.& CO., 
 
 40 NORTH SIXTH ST. 
 1861.
 
 Entered by the author, according to Act of Congress, in the yeu lt2, in tne 
 office of the Clerk of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 
 D.sthct of New York. 
 
 COLLINS. PRINTER
 
 //o/ 
 
 PKEFACE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION. 
 
 BY OLINTHUS GREGORY, D.D., LL.D. 
 
 THE English friends of the author of these Lectures on 
 the Evidences of Christianity are unanimous in deciding that 
 they will constitute a valuable addition to our sacred litera- 
 ture. On a subject which has been repeatedly treated, and 
 often by men of distinguished talent and learning, much that 
 is essentially new is not to be expected. Yet the specific 
 purpose for which a work of this kind is undertaken may 
 cause the main arguments to be placed in such a position, 
 while some of the subordinate topics may be exhibited in so 
 strong a light, as to give to the whole an air of light and fresh- 
 ness well fitted to convey high gratification in union with 
 rich instruction. Several, indeed, of the trains of reason- 
 ing pursued by the author seem to be entirely original ; at 
 the same time that they are conducted with considerable 
 skill, and by their accumulative property, lead to an ultimate 
 issue that must make a deep and salutary impression on the 
 mind of any candid investigator of this ever momentous 
 subject. It may, farther, be added, that the Christian feel- 
 ing, benevolence, and warmth with which the author con- 
 ducts his inquiry, in its several stages, honourably distin- 
 guish this work from many of its predecessors ; while they 
 show that, instead of regarding Christian truth as supplying 
 matter for a pleasing speculation, he considers it as that 
 which alone can make men truly holy, happy, honourable, 
 and useful, and transform the world from an Aceldama to 
 the Paradise of God. 
 
 May 1st, 1833. 
 
 938742
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THE history of the following lectures may be given in few words. In the 
 autumn of eighteen hundred and thirty-one, when the University of the City 
 of New York had not yet organized its classes, nor appointed its instructers, 
 it was represented to the Council, that a course of lectures on the Evidences 
 of Christianity was exceedingly needed, and would probably be well attended 
 by young men of intelligence and education. On the strength of such repre- 
 sentation, the author of this volume was requested, by the Chancellor of the 
 University, to undertake the work desired ; not, he is well aware, on account 
 of any special qualifications for a task which many others in the city would 
 have executed much more satisfactorily ; but because, having lectured on the 
 Evidences of Christianity, while connected with die Military Academy at 
 West Point, he was supposed to be in a great measure prepared at this time 
 for a similar effort. It was under a considerable misunderstanding of the 
 extent to which the proposed engagement would be expected to go, that the 
 author expressed a hesitating willingness to assume its responsibility. The 
 next thing was the honour of an appointment, by the Council of the University, 
 to the office of " Lecturer on the Evidences of Christianity," Alarmed at the 
 prospect of so much additional work, but desirous of serving a rising and 
 most hopeful institution, as well as of advocating the gospel of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ; he consented to the appointment, with the expectation of finding, in 
 the manuscripts of the former course, enough preparation already made to 
 prevent any considerable increase to his accumulated engagements. What 
 was his disappointment, on inspecting those compositions, to find himself so 
 little satisfied with their plan and whole execution, that instead of attempting 
 to mend their infirmities and supply their deficiencies, it seemed much better 
 to lay them all aside in their wonted retirement, and begin anew both in study 
 and writing! Thus, in the midst of exhausting duties, as a parish minister,* 
 and in a state of health by no means well established, he was unexpectedly 
 committed to an amount of labour which, had it been all foreseen, he would 
 not have dared to undertake. Mean while, a class of many hundreds, from 
 among the most intelligent in the community, and composed, to a considerable 
 
 The author was at that time Rector of St. Ann's Church, Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
 *
 
 11 PREFACE. 
 
 extent, of members of the " New York Young Men's Society for Intellectual 
 and Moral Improvement," had been formed, and was waiting the commence- 
 ment of the course. A more interesting, important, or attentive assemblage 
 of mind and character, no one need wish to address. The burden of prepara- 
 tion was delightfully compensated by the pleasure of speaking to such an 
 audience. The lecturer could not but feel an engrossing impression of the 
 privilege, as well as responsibility ef such an opportunity of usefulness. 
 He would thankfully acknowledge the kindness of divine Providence, in his 
 having been permitted and persuaded to embrace it, and for a measure of 
 health, in the prosecution of its duties, far beyond what he had reason to 
 expect His debt of gratitude is inexpressibly increased by the cheering 
 information, that much spiritual benefit was derived from the lectures by 
 some whose minds, at the outset of the course, were far from the belief of the 
 blessed gospel, as a revelation from God. 
 
 The idea of publication did not originate with the author. He began the 
 work with no such view. Had it not been for the favourable opinion of the 
 Council of the University, as to the probable usefulness of the step, and 
 the urgent advice of distinguished individuals of that body; he would have 
 shrunk from contributing another volume to a department of divinity, already 
 so well supplied by authors of the highest grade of learning and intellect 
 After the recent lectures of Daniel Wilson, D. D., the present excellent bishop 
 of Calcutta, not to speak of many other and earlier works in the same field, 
 it will not seem surprising to the present author if some should think it quite 
 presumptuous, at least unnecessary, fora writer of such inferior qualifications. 
 in every sense, to offer an additional publication. But all have not read, nor 
 may all be expected to read the books which have already been issued. 
 Nothing can be more conclusive; and yet, to multitudes of readers, they must 
 remain as if they were not. A work of inferior claims may find readers, and 
 do much good, in consequence of local circumstances drawing attention to its 
 pages, where all others would be overlooked. Vessels of moderate draught 
 may go up the tributary streams of public thought, and may deal advantage- 
 ously with the minds of men, where others of heavier tonnage could never 
 reach. Should such be an advantage of this unpretending publication, its 
 apparent presumption may be pardoned, and its author will, by no means, 
 have laboured in vain. That many faults will be found in it, he cannot but 
 anticipate. That any have arisen from haste, carelessness, or want of pains, 
 he will not dishonour his sense of duty, however he might excuse his under- 
 standing, by the plea. He can only say that he has tried to do well, and to do 
 good. If, in the opinion of any qualified critic, he has succeeded, he desires 
 to regard it as a matter of thankfulness to God, not of praise to himself, it 
 he has failed, let the infirmities of the lecturer, not the merits of the subject, 
 receive the blame. 
 
 That many books have been consulted in the preparation of this volume, 
 and that the author is greatly indebted to the more learned labours of numerous 
 predecessors, he need not acknowledge. It seems unnecessary to mention
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Ill 
 
 more particularly than is done in the margin, the various works from which 
 assistance or authority has been derived. Wherever quotations occur they 
 are marked, and almost always credited to their respective authors. The 
 elaborate work of Lardner on the Credibility of the Gospel History, and the 
 books of Josephus, being more frequently cited than any other ; it may be 
 well to mention that the edition of Josephus, referred to in the marginal notes, 
 is that of Whiston's translation, in one volume octavo, London, 1828; and 
 the quotations from Lardner are out of the quarto edition of his works, in five 
 volumes, London, 1815. 
 
 And now, without further preface, let this humble attempt to promote the 
 saving truth of Jesus Christ be committed to Him whose blessing alone can 
 honour it. Should it receive but little favour from man, and yet be made, in 
 the Lord's hand, the instrument of leading some misguided soul from the 
 darkness and barrenness of infidelity to the precious light and hope of the 
 gospel, its name will then be written in heaven, and its unworthy author will 
 have a rich reward. C. P. M. 
 
 PREFACE TO THE SIXTH EDITION. 
 
 So many, and such remarkable instances of a divine blesswig having 
 been graciously vouchsafed in the reading of this book, have come to the 
 author's knowledge, that he cannot but regard it as a duty to see that it 
 be no longer allowed to remain out of print, as it has been for some time 
 past. It would make a very interesting little book were it in the power 
 of the author to recollect and relate the particulars of the many cases of 
 persons who have ascribed their conversion from infidelity, and their af- 
 fectionate embracing of the gospel, under the blessing of God, to the use 
 of this little, unpretending work. In many instances, the accounts were 
 given to the author by the persons themselves, earnestly seeking an in- 
 terview for the purpose ; in others, by their friends made happy by their 
 conversion ; or by those who had advised the reading of the book, and 
 wished its writer to be partaker, with them, in the joy of knowing that it 
 had been made a signal blessing. Some are now in the ministry of the 
 gospel, who, when they began the perusal, were in the darkness of infidel- 
 ity. A copy of the first edition was sent by the author, as a present, to the 
 library of a literary institution. Some time after, he received a request 
 for another copy, with the reason that the first had got worn out belore it 
 ever reached its destination. The explanation was, that an officer of the 
 institution had lent it to a person living in a neighbouring village, who 
 was well known among the inhabitants as an infidel, and who had suc- 
 ceeded in poisoning the minds of many in the vicinity against the gospel. 
 God blessed the book to the breaking up of that man's whole boasted sys- 
 tem of opiniorj. He became a Christian, and then sent the volume, as a
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 missionary, among those whom he had poisoned. When its rounds were 
 done (which were greatly blessed), it was worn out, and a new one was 
 requested for the library. 
 
 The author is sensitively aware of the delicacy of his speaking of these 
 things, lest he -should seem to regard them with feelings of self-compla- 
 cency, and to mention them with a view to his own praise. God forbid ! 
 How can he take praise to himself for that which is, and must be so ex- 
 clusively, the work of the mighty power and unsearchable grace of God, 
 as the conversion of a sinner from a hardened infidel to being an hum- 
 ble, obedient follower of Christ] He has three motives in speaking of 
 these things. One is, that he may thankfully acknowledge the goodness 
 and condescension of God in having made use of an instrument so humble 
 and unworthy, for the accomplishment of such a wonderful and infinitely 
 precious end as the turning of immortal souls " from darkness to light, 
 and from the power of Satan unto God." Certainly, when these lectures 
 were composed, and when the author concluded to print them, he little 
 suspected ever to be greeted with such accounts of their usefulness as 
 have come to his ears. 
 
 Another motive is, that persons may be encouraged to put this, or 
 similar books, into the hands of those who unhappily have taken up with 
 sentiments opposed to the gospel of Christ. There is a mass and a so- 
 lemnity of strength in the evidences of Christianity, when properly pre- 
 sented ; there is visible upon them so distinctly the handwriting of God, 
 that they cannot fail to be exceedingly impressive to any mind that is 
 once induced to consider them. The author is persuaded that professing 
 Christians are too little informed on this subject for their own benefit and 
 usefulness, and that the importance of the general circulation of well-di 
 gested, serious, earnest, spiritually-minded works thereon is not rightly 
 appreciated by the Christian community. 
 
 A third motive is, to point out one reason which may account for the 
 fact that, in the circulation of this book and others of the same class, in a 
 certain respect which will presently be mentioned, there have occurred 
 so many more instances, not merely of the removal of skeptical doubts, 
 but also of the actual work of God's grace in turning sinners to himself, 
 than have usually been known in connection with books on the Evidences 
 of Christianity. No explanation can be found in any greater skill, or 
 weight of argument ; in any new evidences, or any new logical method 
 of arraying what had often been exhibited before. It seems to be in this, 
 that the argument is not presented merely as an argument, abstractedly 
 from the grfe'at and infinitely momentous interests which depend upon the 
 conclusion to which the reader shall come, but is kept in close connec- 
 tion with the question, What must I do to be saved 1 and thus its whole 
 force becomes a matter of serious and solemn impression, as well as oi
 
 PREFACE. V 
 
 intellectual conviction. This is seen in the admirable lectures on the 
 Evidences, by Bishop Wilson, and also in the forcible volume on the 
 same subject, by one whom the present writer cannot speak of without 
 an expression of veneration and love for one of the most eminent Chris- 
 tians and philosophers of his age his deceased friend, the late Olinthus 
 Gregory, LL.D. Those books exhibit gospel truth, as well as prove that 
 he gospel is ^fue. The earnestness of the Christian preacher accom- 
 anies the argument of the scholastic reasoner. The question stands be- 
 fore the reader as one of conscience as well as of judgment. It seems 
 invested with all that is serious in the worth of his soul and in the con- 
 sideration of eternity. God blesses such books of Evidences more than 
 others, as He blesses those sermons more than others which, though they 
 may be inferior in argument, in talent, in eloquence, have more of the 
 seriousness and earnestness of the gospel. Perhaps the writer may be 
 alloweo" to insert here, in confirmation of these views, the opinion of one 
 whose judgment he is glad of an opportunity of honouring. The present 
 noble president of the British and Foreign Bible Society, Lord Bexley, 
 addressed to the writer, in 1833, a very kind letter concerning this vol- 
 ume, in which he said, " In one important respect, it seems to excel other 
 works ol a similar kind, namely, that while the chain of argument is de- 
 duced with great clearness and force, no opportunity is lost of giving it a 
 practical application, and of impressing holiness on the heart, as well as 
 conviction on the understanding. The want of this renders many books 
 dry and repulsive, which are much to be admired for sagacity and extent 
 of information." 
 
 In the year 1833, this work was reprinted in England, under the advice 
 and superintendence of the late Dr. Olinthus Gregory, of the Royal Mil- 
 itary Academy ; and to that edition it is probably owing that a communi- 
 cation has been received from the committee of the venerable society of 
 the Church of England " for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge,' 
 requesting the author's approbation to its being adopted by that society 
 and printed as one of its works for distribution. 
 
 C. P. M-ILVAINE. 
 Gambier (Ohio), Jan., 1844.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS, p. 15. 
 
 The Difficulty of presenting the Evidences of Christianity arises, not from any 
 lack of Arguments, but from the Difficulty of a just Selection and Arrangement 
 where Materials are so abundant, p. 16. 
 
 I. The high Importance of the Investigation proposed, p. 17. 
 
 The Question is, 7s the Religion of Jesus Christ, as exhibited in the New Testa- 
 ment, a Revelation from God, and, consequently, possessed of a sovereign Right to uni- 
 versal Faith and Obedience ? p. 17. 
 
 We must have the Religion of Christ or none, p. 17. 
 
 Deism, the only imaginable Substitute, shown to offer no Refuge, p. 18 
 
 The Investigation urged on the experimentally convinced Christian, as a mat- 
 ter of spiritual Pleasure and Improvement, p. 25 ; and as a matter of Duty to the 
 Cause of Truth, and to the Good of his Neighbour, p. 25. 
 
 The same urged on the merely nominal Christian, as necessary to a rational and 
 steadfast Belief of what he professes not to doubt, p. 26 ; and for a deeper Impres 
 sion of the Solemnity of its Truth, p. 27. 
 
 The Investigation derives additional Importance from the peculiar Character of 
 the present Times, as those of Licentiousness, under the Boast of Freedom, in such 
 Inquiries, p. 28. 
 
 It derives, also, advantage from the present Times, as distinguished for scientific 
 Research and Discovery, p. 32. 
 
 II. The Importance of strict Attention to the Spirit in which this Investigation is con- 
 ducted, p. 34. 
 
 The Opposition between the Precepts of Christianity and the natural Disposi- 
 tions of Man makes the Question one of Feeling as well as Evidence, and has a 
 Tendency to magnify Objections, and to depreciate the Contrary, p. 34. 
 
 The Pride of humam Reason is often deeply offended at the Claims of Christian 
 ity, p. 36. 
 
 It is true of Christianity, as of many other very important Matters of Truth, that 
 Objections are more easily invented than answered, p. 39. 
 
 Phenomena which these Considerations account for, p. 40. 
 
 Docility of Mind ; 
 
 A deep Seriousness of Purpose ; 
 
 And Prayer, earnestly recommended as necessary to this Investigation, p. 40. 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 AUTHENTICITY OP THE NEW TESTAMENT, p. 42. 
 
 The Study of the Evidences of Christianity may be brief or extended, accord- 
 ing as the Object is simply Conviction ; or, in addition to that, the Pleasure of 
 collecting all the various Lights which may be concentrated on this Subject. 
 
 The Evidences are of two general Classes, viz., External or Historical, and In- 
 ternal, p. 42. 
 
 A brief^Account of what each Head includes, p. 42. 
 
 The present Course of Lectures confined to the External. 
 
 Th complete treatment of this Division would begin with the Necessity of a Di- 
 vine Revelation, as the History of Mankind exhibits it, p. 43. 
 
 We begin with the AUTHENTICITY op THE NEW TESTAMENT, p. 44. 
 
 Difference between Authenticity and Credibility, as used in these Lectures, p. 44. 
 
 The Question is, How does it appear that the several Parts of the New Testament 
 were written by the Men to whom they are ascribed, the original Disciples of Christ, 
 and are therefore Authentic ? p. 45. 
 
 The same Course pursued as in ascertaining the Authenticity of any other 
 Book, p. 45. A general Sketch of the Argument, p. 47. 
 
 vii
 
 Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 I. The Books of the New Testament are quoted, or alluded to, by a series of Writers, 
 who may be followed up in unbroken succession from the present Age to that of the Apos- 
 tles, p. 48. 
 
 This shown by reference to Catalogues, &c., from the 4th Century to the Age 
 of the Apostles, p. 48-57. 
 
 Particulars included in the above which require a more special Notice. 
 
 1st The Books of the New Testament, when quoted or alluded to, are treated 
 with supreme Regard, as possessing a singular Authority, and as conclusive in 
 Questions of Religion, p. 57. 
 
 2d. They were united at a very early Period in a distinct Volume, p. 58. 
 
 3d. They were at a very early Period publicly read and expounded in the 
 Churches, p. 58. 
 
 4th. Commentaries were written on them, Harmonies constructed, Copies dili- 
 gently compared, and Tfenslations made into different Languages, p. 59. 
 
 5th. The Agreement of the ancient Churches as to what were the Authentic 
 Books of the New Testament was complete, p. 60. 
 
 6th. There was as entire an Agreement among the Heretics of the earliest Cen- 
 turies as among the Orthodox, p. 61. 
 
 7th. These several Heads of Evidence cannot be pretended to be in favour of 
 any Apocryphal Scriptures, p. 62. 
 
 Six Evidences of Spuriousness, all of which are found in the Apocryphal Scrip- 
 tures, none of them in the New Testament, p. 64. 
 
 Confirmation given by the Existence of Apocryphal Writings to the Claims of 
 the New Testament, p. 65. 
 
 Lesson to the Believer from what has been exhibited, p. 67. 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGRITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, p. 68. 
 
 From the Tenor of the preceding Lecture, it is Evident that the Canon of the 
 New Testament was nut made without the most intelligent and careful Investigation, p. 68. 
 
 This farther appears from the numerous Catalogues that have come down to us, 
 p. 69. 
 
 From the Pains taken to procure Information, and the decisive Censure with 
 which an Attempt to pass a spurious Book was visited, p. 70. 
 
 The gradual Steps by which the Canon was completed afforded the best Oppor- 
 tunity for the settlement of the Claim of any Book to Authenticity, p. 70. 
 
 Some Remarks concerning the Formation of the Canon of the New Testament, 
 p. 71. 
 
 The canonical Authority of the Epistle to the Hebrews ; of James ; the Second 
 of Peter ; the Second and Third of John ; of Jude ; ami of the Book of Revelation, 
 p. 75-80. 
 
 The Testimony of the Adversaries of Christianity, p. 81. 
 
 The preceding Evidence confirmed by a Reference to 
 
 The Language and Style of the Books of the New Testament. 
 
 1st. They are in perfect Accordance with the local and other Circumstances of 
 the reputed Writers, p. 85. 
 
 2d. They are in perfect Harmony with the known Characters of the reputed 
 Writers, p. 88. 
 
 The Result is that, if the Books of the New Testament be not Authentic, no- 
 thing less than a Miracle can*account for their early and universal Currency, p. 89. 
 
 On the INTEGRITY of these Books, that they have undergone no material Al- 
 teration, we reason, 
 
 1st. From the perfect Impossibility of any material Alteration, p. 94. 
 
 1&. From the Agreement among the existing Manuscripts, p. 96. 
 
 3d. I 1 rom the Agreement of the Text with the numerous Quotations in the 
 Works of early Christian Writers, and with ancient Translations, p. 97. 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 CREDIBILITY OF THE GOSPEL HISTORY, p. 99. 
 
 A Book may be Authentic and not Credible, p. 99. 
 
 Aim of this Lecture to prove that what the Gospel History relates as Matter of
 
 CONTENTS. IX 
 
 Fact is worthy of Reliance as such, independently of all Inferences or Doctrines 
 connected therewith, p. 100. 
 
 The Credibility of the Gospel History ascertained precisely like that of any 
 other History, p. 100. 
 
 The Peculiarity of the present Case such as that, having proved the Authenticity 
 of the Books containing the Gospel History, we have proved the Credibility ot the 
 History.'p. 100. 
 
 But a broader Plan of Argument is taken : 
 
 A general View of the Proof of Credibility, p. 103. The two Points to be 
 made out in relation to any Historical Document are competent Knowledge and 
 trustworthy Honesty in the Writer, p. 105. 
 
 I. The Writers of the Gospel History had Opportunities of possessing adequate 
 Knowledge as to those. Matters of Fact which they related, p. 106. 
 
 II. There is abundant Evidence that they were too Honest to relate anything but truth, 
 p. 107. 
 
 1st. The Narratives are in a high degree Circumstantial, p. 107. 
 
 2d. The Authors manifest no Consciousness of narrating anything about which, 
 as a Matter of Fact, there was the smallest Doubt, p. 109. 
 
 3d. There is a minute Accuracy in all the Allusions to the Manners, Customs, 
 Opinions, political Events, &c., of the Times, p. 111. 
 
 4th. The Argument greatly strengthened by considering the New Testament 
 as a Collection of Writings by eight perfectly independent Authors, p. 1 12. 
 
 The Consideration that the Writers of the Gospels were Disciples and Minis- 
 ters of Christ should be regarded as strengthening their Testimony, p. 113. 
 
 Absurd Consequences of supposing them not to have been Sincere in their 
 Statements, p. 117. 
 
 The Gospel History has all the Testimony that could pr^sibly have been ex- 
 pected, in the Nature of Things, from the Enemies of Christianity, p. 119. 
 
 It was utterly impossible that the Gospel History should \ave gained such Cur- 
 rency as it had in the Apostles' Time, had it not been Trut, p. 121. 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 MIRACLES, p. 126. 
 
 Authenticity of the Books, and Credibility of the History contained therein, being 
 ascertained, we are prepared to open the Contents of the New Testament. The 
 first thing we perceive is, that it professes to teach a Divinely-revealed Religion. 
 And the Question is, 
 
 What are the Evidences that the Religion contained in the New Testament is a Di- 
 vine Revelation ? p. 126. 
 
 The Lord Jesus Christ constantly appealed to Miracles for his Credentials as 
 an Ambassador from God, p. 126. 
 
 The sufficiency of Miracles as Credentials, when well attested, acknowledged 
 by Infidels, p. 127. 
 
 Reasons for not proceeding directly to the Proof of such Credentials, p. 128. 
 
 The present Lecture devoted to certain preliminary Considerations. 
 
 I. There is nothing Unreasonable or Improbable in the Idea of a Miracle being wrought 
 in Proof of a Divine Revelation, p. 128. 
 
 II. If Miracles were wrought in Attestation of the Mission of Christ and his Apos- 
 tles, they can be rendered Credible to us by no other Evidence than that of Testimony 
 p. 131. 
 
 III. Miracles are capable of being Proved by Testimony, p. 133. 
 
 Hume's Argument against Miracles, in Proof of a Divine Revelation, stated 
 and answered, p. 134. 
 
 IV. The Testimony in Proof of the Miracles of the Gospel has not diminished in 
 Force by the increase of Age, p. 146. 
 
 V. In being called to examine the Credibility of these Miracles by the Evidence of 
 Testimony, we are more favourably situated than if we had been enabled to subject them 
 to the Evidence of the Senses, p. 148. 
 
 The whole Truth exhibited in this Lecture calls us to adore the Wisdom of 
 God, p. 152.
 
 X CONTENTS. 
 
 LECTURE VL 
 
 MIRACLES, p. 155. 
 
 Have we satisfactory Evidence that genuine Miracles were wrought by the 
 Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles ? p. 155. 
 
 This Question is settled by the Proof of Credibility. 
 
 Another line of Argument adopted. 
 
 The Religion of the Bible is the only one which, in its first Introduction, ap- 
 pealed to Miracles for Evidence of the Divine Authority of its Teachers, p. 156. 
 
 I. Supposing the Works related of Christ to have actually occurred, many of 
 them must have been genuine Miracles, p. 159. 
 
 II. The alleged Miracles of Christ were such as admitted at once of the Test of 
 the Senses, p. 160. 
 
 III. They were performed in the most public Manner, p. 160. 
 
 IV. They were very Numerous and of great. Variety, p. 161. 
 
 V. The Success was in every Instance Instantaneous and Complete, p. 1 62. 
 
 VI. There is no Evidence of an Attempt on the part of Christ or His Apostles 
 to perform a Miracle in which they were accused of a Failure, p. 163. 
 
 VII. The Length of Time during which they professed to perform miraculous 
 Works, p. 164. 
 
 VIII. Their Works underwent the most rigid Examination from those who had 
 every Opportunity of ascertaining their Character, p. 165. 
 
 IX. Their Adversaries had every Advantage in the Fact that these Miracles 
 were published and appealed to immediately after, and in the Places where they 
 occurred, p. 166. 
 
 X. These Arguments derive important Aid from a Consideration of the Agents 
 whose Works were subjected to such Scrutiny, p. 168. 
 
 XL None of those who were Eyewitnesses of what Jesus or His Apostles 
 wrought, were ever induced to confess themselves deceived, or that they had 
 ever seen anything but Truth in those miraculous Gifts by which they had been 
 persuaded to embrace the Gospel, p. 169. 
 
 XII. The Character of the Miracles themselves, p. 171. 
 XIII. Evidence from the primitive Adversaries of Christianity, p. 172. 
 
 XIV. Testimony of all who were converted to Christianity. Such Testimony 
 shown to be stronger than that of Adversaries, p. 176. 
 
 The Absurdities which must be believed by those who maintain that the Mira 
 cles were Fictions, and, consequently, that their Authors were Deceivers, p. 179. 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 PROPHECY, p. 184. 
 
 In having proved the Genuineness of the Miracles attesting the Divine Mission 
 of Christ and His Apostles, we have made out a complete Proof of the Divine Au 
 thority of Christianity. But our Object being, not only to prove this, but to show 
 by how many Ways it may be proved, we take up a new Line of Argument derived 
 from Prophecy, p. 184. 
 
 What a Prophecy is. The Application of fulfilled Prophecy to the Proof of a 
 Divine Revelation, p. 185. 
 
 Prophecy furnishes an Argument which, in point of Force, is continually grow 
 mg, p. 186. 
 
 In much of the Argument from Prophecy, the Evidence is before our Eyes, ad 
 dressed to our Senses, p. 188. 
 
 The Religion of the Bible is the only one which, on its first Introduction, ap- 
 pealed to Prophecy for the Credentials of its Founder, p. 190. 
 
 The Weight of the Evidence from Prophecy, and the moral Grandeur witn 
 which it appears in Evidence of Christianity, can be appreciated only by a fu! 1 
 View of the immense Scheme and Extent of the Prophecies in the Bible, p. 193. 
 
 The Fulfilment of a Selection of miscellaneous Prophecies exhibited, p. 198. 
 Prophecies concerning Zedekiah, p. 198 ; the Destruction of Babylon, p. 198 ; and 
 of Tyre, p. 199 ; concerning Egypt, p. 200 ; concerning the Country and Cities ot 
 . udea, p. 201 ; concerning the Jews, p. 202 ; concerning the Empires of Chaldea, 
 Persia, Macedon, and Rome, in Daniel, p. 206. 
 
 The Fulfilment of Prophecies concerning Christ, p. 208.
 
 CONTENTS. XI 
 
 1st. Those which relate to the Time and Circumstances of His Advent, p. 208. 
 2d. Those which speak of His Life, Sufferings, Death, Resurrection, and In- 
 crease of His Kingdom, p. 209. 
 
 The Idea of Chance, as explaining the Coincidences mentioned, p. 213. 
 Three Conclusions from the prophetic Argument, as exhibited, p. 215. 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 PROPHECY, p. 216. 
 
 Christ was the Author, as well as the Subject, of Prophecies. 
 
 By Prophecy, as well as Miracles, He proved His Divine Mission. None of 
 His Prophecies more Impressive than those concerning the Destruction of Jerusa- 
 lem. These selected for present Consideration, p. 216. 
 
 Is it well ascertained that these were published before the Event ? p. 217. 
 
 1st. The Prediction of the appearing of False Christs, deceiving Many, by 
 Signs and Wonders, prior to the main Event, p. 219. 
 
 2d. Of Wars and rumours of Wars preceding the Siege of Jerusalem, p. 220. 
 
 3d. Of Famines, Pestilences, and Earthquakes, in divers Places, p. 221. 
 
 4th. Of fearful Signs from Heaven, p. 222. 
 
 5th. Of the Persecution of Christians as one of the Signs of approaching Des- 
 olations, p. 224. 
 
 6th. A consequent declension of Religion among the professed Disciples of 
 Christ, p. 225. 
 
 7th. The preaching of the Gospel in all the World for a Witness before the 
 Event should come, p. 225. 
 
 8th. Jerusalem compassed with Armies, and the Escape of the Christians, p. 227. 
 
 9th. The Method of the Siege, p. 230. 
 
 10th. The unparalleled Tribulation, p. 231. 
 
 llth. The complete Destruction of the City and Temple, p. 234. 
 
 12th. The Captivity of the Jews in all Nations, p. 238. 
 
 Jerusalem trodden down of the Gentiles, p. 239. 
 
 Attempt of Julian to rebuild the Temple, p. 240. 
 
 Brief View of the Condition of Jerusalem to the present Time, p. 242. 
 
 Reflections on the preceding Particulars, p. 245. 
 
 Postscript, containing an Application of the Theory of Probabilities to the Proph- 
 ecies considered above, showing the Argument negatively, p. 247. 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 THE PROPAGATION OF CHRISTIANITY, p. 251. 
 
 The Proof of Christianity as a Divine Revelation has already been twice finish- 
 ed : first, by the Argument from Miracles ; secondly, by that from Prophecy, p. 251. 
 
 A third independent Proof is now to be undertaken. 
 
 In estimating the propagation of the Gospel as an Evidence of Divine Attesta- 
 tion, consider, 
 
 I. The Difficulties which its first promulgators encountered, p. 252. 
 
 1st. The "Novelty of the Idea of propagating a new Religion, to the Exclusion 
 of all others, p. 252. 
 
 2d. The Peculiarity of the Gospel, a* a System of Doctrine, and a Rule of Heart 
 ind Life, p. 254. 
 
 3d. From the above, it results that the Propagation of Christianity must have 
 '^een opposed by all the Influence of every Priesthood, Heathen and Jewish, p. 256. 
 
 4th. The Opposition of the Magistrate was added to that of the Priest, p. 258. 
 
 5th. To these associated Powers were added the opposing Prejudices and Pas- 
 'nns of all People, p. 259. 
 
 6th. The Wisdom and Pride of the Heathen Philosophers were not the least foi 
 nidabie Opponents, p. 260. 
 
 7th. All these Opponents derived the greater Influence Irom the peculiar Charac 
 to of the Age, p. 261. 
 
 8th. They appear the more formidable in contrast with the peculiar Character oj 
 he Men to whom the Propagation of the Gospel was committed, p. 262. 
 
 9th. And by a Consideration of the Circumstances of Depression and Discourage 
 ment under which those Men began their Work, p. 263.
 
 Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 10th. And of the Mode they adopted, p. 264. 
 
 llth. They were met everywhere by the fiercest Persecution, p. 285. 
 
 It is certain that they understood the Difficulties and anticipated the Dangers 
 of their Undertaking, p. 267. 
 
 II. The Success of the Apostles in propagating the Gospel, p. 268. 
 
 A brief View of the Progress of Christianity during about seventy Years from 
 the Commencement of its Promulgation, p. 268-274. 
 
 This rapid Extension compared with that of the Doctrines of Heathen Philoso- 
 phers, p. 274. 
 
 And with the Propagation of Mohammedanism, p. 275. 
 
 And with the Success attending Efforts at the present Day for the Establish- 
 ment of Christianity among the Heathen, p. 278. 
 
 The Propagation of the Gospel by the Apostles was a Miracle, p. 280. 
 
 The Absurdities necessarily attaching to any Effort to account for it on other 
 Grounds than that of the Power and Favour of God, p. 280. 
 
 The Argument from Propagation is not yet Complete. It is yet to receive im- 
 mense additional Force from the Success which is yet promised to the Gospel, 
 p. 283. 
 
 LECTURE X. ' 
 
 THE FRUITS OF CHRISTIANITY, p. 284. 
 
 A fourth Line of Argument, and a fourth independent Proof commenced in this 
 Lecture. 
 
 The true Results of any System of Doctrine are always a correct Exponent of 
 its Character, as True or False. 
 
 This is a Test to which the Saviour Himself directed us, p. 284. 
 
 It were well if Infidelity were more frequently tried by this Test, p. 285. 
 
 The Consideration of the Fruits of Christianity divided into, 
 
 I. The Effects of Christianity on Society in general. 
 
 II. Its Effects on the Character and Happiness of its genuine Disciples, p. 285. 
 The Former made the Subject of this Lecture. 
 
 A brief Survey of the moral Condition of the World at the first Publication of 
 the Gospel, p. 285. 
 
 1st. The Religion of the Heathen in the Age of the Apostles, p. 286. 
 
 2d. The Spirit of Cruelty that reigned among them, p. 288. 
 
 3d. Then: degrading Vices, p. 291. 
 
 The striking Contrast wherever genuine Christianity has reigned, p. 294-299. 
 
 There isno possible Way of accounting for this Contrast but by ascribing it to 
 the direct Influence of Christianity, p. 299-302. 
 
 Confessions of Infidels, p. 302. 
 
 Illustrations of the Fruit of Christianity in modem Missions among the Hea- 
 then, p. 302. 
 
 Defence of Christianity against the Charge of being the Cause of the Wars, 
 Persecutions, &c., which are connected with its History, p. 306. 
 
 Application of the Argument. The Absurdities necessarily involved hi th 
 Creed of the Infidel, p. 312. 
 
 LECTURE XI. 
 
 THE FRUITS OF CHRISTIANITY, p. 317. 
 
 The Trial of Christianity by its Fruits is as Philosophical as it is Scriptural 
 Eighteen Centuries have afforded all conceivable Opportunities of ascertaining 
 what are its genuine Fruits, p. 317. 
 
 The present Lecture confined to the Fruits of Christianity in the Character and 
 Happiness of its genuine Disciples, p. 318. 
 
 Reason for placing such Fruits among the external Evidences, p. 318. 
 
 I. The moral Transformations which the Gospel in all Ages has notoriously 
 wrought cannot be accounted for but on the Supposition of a Divine Power ac- 
 companying its Operations, p. 318. 
 
 II. The Fruits of Christianity in the Lives of its genuine Disciples contrasted 
 with those which notoriously characterize the Lives of its Opposers, p. 326.
 
 CONTENTS. Xlll 
 
 III. The Fruits, &c., as displayed in the Deaths of its genuine Disciples, con 
 trasted with those exhibited in the Deaths of its Opposers, p. 341. 
 Practical Conclusion, p. 356. 
 
 LECTURE XII. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT AND APPLICATION TO OBJECTIONS, p. 357. 
 
 The Recapitulation of the Argument in the preceding Lectures, p. 357-369. 
 
 This Review leads to the Consideration of, 
 
 1st. The Plainness and Simplicity of the Evidences of Christianity, p. 369. 
 
 2d. Their great Variety and Accumulation, p. 370. 
 
 3d. Their Impressiveness, p. 372. 
 
 4th. The whole Array is strictly Philosophical, p. 375. 
 
 The Objection founded on the Mysteriousness of certain Things in Christianity 
 answered, p. 382. 
 
 The Objection that we cannot understand the Reason of certain Things for 
 which Christianity is responsible answered, p. 385. 
 
 The Injustice done to Christianity by placing her so exclusively on the Defen- 
 sive. Let In fidelity be placed in the same Position, p. 389. 
 
 LECTURE XIII. 
 
 INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES AND CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS, p. 392. 
 
 Christianity and the Scriptures are essentially Associated. But the Proof of 
 Divine Revelation in the Former is no Proc of Divine Inspiration in the Latter. 
 Need of Inspiration in the Book which te^ us what Christianity is, p. 392 
 
 The Proposition to be sustained in this Lecture is, that 
 
 All Scripture is given by Inspiration of God, p. 393. 
 
 Inspiration defined, p. 393. 
 
 Having Established the Credibility of the Saviour and His Apostles as Messen- 
 gers sent of God, our direct Reference in the present Inquiry is to what they have 
 asserted, so that our simple Question is, Does the New Testament bear Witness that 
 the several Books of the Bible were treated by the Saviour or His Apostles as Divinely 
 inspired ? p. 394. 
 
 I. The Inquiry begun with regard to the Books of the Old Testament, p. 394. 
 1st. The Saviour and his Apostles regarded the Old Testament with at least as 
 
 much Reverence as did the Jews in their day, p. 394. 
 
 2d. We have the direct Assertion of the Inspiration of the Books of the Old 
 Testament by St. Paul, p. 396. 
 
 II. The Inquiry continued with regard to the Books of the New Testament. 
 1st. The Inspiration of the New Testament may be naturally and reasonably 
 
 inferred from that of the Old, p. 397. 
 
 2d. The same Conclusion necessarily follows from the evident Inspiration of 
 the Apostles in their Preaching and other official Acts, p. 399. 
 
 3d. If the Apostles did not intend to produce this Conviction, and it be not 
 well founded, they adopted the most likely Means of leading us into a most ira 
 porlant Heresy, p. 401. 
 
 Practical Address to Headers in Conclusion, p. 405. 
 
 1*
 
 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 I APPEAR before those who have come this evening to 
 fa Four me with their attention, as sustaining, under appoint- 
 ment from the University of the city of New York, the office 
 of Lecturer on the Evidences of Christianity. It is but jus- 
 tice to my own feelings, to assure you that I had not thought 
 of entering on so much responsibility until earnestly requested 
 to do so by respected individuals belonging to the Council of 
 that institution. I am not without much apprehension of 
 having ventured far beyond my qualifications in acceding to 
 their desires. When I think of the many in this city of 
 much superior furniture of mind and spirit, to whom the 
 office might have been intrusted, and of my own daily and 
 engrossing occupations in the duties of the ministry, leaving 
 so little time or strength for any other occupation, however 
 important, it is a matter almost of alarm that I find myself 
 committed to a series of lectures for which the very best in- 
 tellect, the soundest judgment, and the most deliberate study, 
 are so much needed. But having undertaken the work, 1 
 trust the Lord has ordered the step in wisdom, and, if I seek 
 his guidance, will enable me to go forward in a strength 
 above my own; so that I may be the instrument, under his 
 hand, of contributing something to promote the improve- 
 ment and everlasting happiness of those to whom I may have 
 the pleasure of speaking.
 
 16 LECTURE 1. 
 
 The present lecture will be exclusively of an introductoi y 
 kind. I pause at the threshold, in remembrance of the woid 
 "and promise of God : " In all thy ways acknowledge Him, 
 and He shall direct thy steps" I would devoutly acknow- 
 ledge God as the omniscient witness in this undertaking ; 
 the only source of wisdom, strength, and blessing, " from 
 whom all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works 
 do proceed." May his Holy Spirit, through the mediation of 
 Ms Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is " the way, the truth, 
 and the life," " God, blessed for ever," condescend to guide our 
 way and help our infirmities, that all may see and embrace 
 the TRUTH. 
 
 The subject to which we are to direct our attention, has 
 engaged the powers of wise, learned, and good men, in ^ most 
 all ages since the promulgation of Christianity. Minds of 
 every class, and in all departments of intellectual occupation, 
 have directly or indirectly, by design or unwittingly, contri- 
 buted materials for its elucidation. Thus it has come to pass 
 that the difficulty of an appropriate exhibition of the evi- 
 dences of Christianity is rather on the side of selection and 
 arrangement and the just proportioning of arguments, than 
 of their sufficient multiplication. To give the various branches 
 of the subject their just measure of relief and prominence ; 
 to determine what should be displayed strongly and com- 
 pletely, and what should be sketched with a lighter pencil, 
 and placed in the background of the picture ; to adjust the 
 numerous parts in such symmetry as will present the whole 
 with the most undivided and overcoming effect, is a difficulty 
 of no little magnitude, where attention to space and time is 
 of so much consequence as in the present undertaking. The 
 nicest discrimination, the most logical taste, and a talent for 
 extensive combination, may here find room for the exercise 
 of all their powers. The danger is that one will lose him- 
 self amidst the wide spread and accumulated treasures of 
 illustration and evidence ; that he will fail so entirely in their
 
 LECTURE I. 17 
 
 classification as to see and exhibit them confusedly and un- 
 justly, and for want of a good discipline among his own 
 thoughts will lead out his forces in feeble detail, instead of 
 forming them into compact masses, and meeting the enemy 
 on every side with a self-sustained combination of strength. 
 
 Before we proceed to the main question on which our sub- 
 sequent lectures are to be employed, it will be well to call 
 your attention to, 
 
 I. The high importance of the investigation on which we 
 are about to enter. You are to unite with me in examining 
 the grounds on which the religion of the gospel claims to be 
 received, to the exclusion of every other religion in the 
 world, as containing the only way of duty and the only 
 foundation of a sinner's hope of salvation ; so that you may 
 be enabled to answer satisfactorily to your own consciences 
 and to all who may ask a reason of your belief, this great 
 question : Is the religion of Jesus Christ as exhibited in the 
 New Testament, a revelation from God, and consequently 
 possessed of a sovereign right to universal faith and obe- 
 dience ? 
 
 There are considerations intrinsically belonging to this 
 question, which place it in an aspect of unrivalled importance. 
 
 We must have the religion of Christ or none. A very 
 little reflection will make it apparent, that the question as to 
 the truth of Christianity is not one of preference between two 
 rival systems of doctrine, having conflicting claims and 
 nearly balanced arguments and benefits ; it is not whether 
 the gospel is more true and salutary than some other mode 
 of religion, which though inferior would still secure many 
 of the most essential and substantial benefits for which reli- 
 gion is desirable. But it is no other than the. plain and 
 solemn question, shall we believe in the faith of Christ, or in 
 none? Shall we receive and be comforted by the light which 
 the gospel has thrown over all our present interests and fu- 
 'ure prospects ; or shall our condition in this life our rela-
 
 18 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 tion to the future what we are to be, and what we are to 
 receive hereafter and for ever, be left in appalling, impenetra- 
 ble darkness ? Such is the real question when we inquire 
 whether Christianity is a revelation from God. Do any ask 
 the reason ? Because if such be the divine origin and autho- 
 rity of the religion of Christ, there can be no other religion. 
 It claims not only to stand but to stand alone. It demands 
 not only that we believe it but that, in doing so, we consider 
 ourselves as denying the truth of every other system of faith. 
 Like the one living and true God, whose seal and character 
 it bears, it is jealous, and will not share its honour with ano- 
 ther ; but requires us to believe that, as there is but one Lord, 
 so there is but one faith the truth as it is in Jesus. On the 
 other hand, if Christianity be not of divine origin, it is no 
 religion; its essential doctrines must be false; its whole 
 structure baseless. Suppose then, for a moment, that such 
 were the case, what could we substitute for the gospel ? We 
 must either plunge into the abyss of atheism, or find some- 
 thing in the regions of paganism that would answer ; or be 
 content with the religion of Mohammed ; or else find what 
 our nature wants in that which is unjustly distinguished as 
 the Religion of Nature, in other words, we must become 
 Deists. But is there a creed among the countless absurdi- 
 ties of pagan belief and worship which any of us could be 
 persuaded to adopt? Could we be convinced of the pro- 
 phetic character of the Arabian impostor, and receive as of 
 divine authority the professed revelations and unrighteous 
 features of the Koran, after having rejected such a book as 
 the New Testament, and such evidences as those of Jesus ? 
 Where else could we flee ? To atheism ? But that is the 
 gulf in which all religions are lost. Darkness is on the face 
 of the deep. Nothing remains that does not acknowledge 
 the divine revelation of Christianity, but the self-styled reli- 
 gion of nature deism. And what shall be said of this ? I 
 am unable to give an account of it more definite than that it
 
 LECTURE I. 19 
 
 is the denial of Christianity, on the one hand, and of atheism, 
 on the other, and is to be found somewhere between these 
 two infinitely distant extremes: but is never stationary, 
 changing place with the times ; accommodating its charac 
 ter to the disposition of every disciple, and permitting any 
 one to assume the name of Deist who will only believe theso 
 two articles of faith that there is a God, and that Chris- 
 tianity is untrue. Such is the religion which, according to 
 Paine, " teaches us without the possibility of being mistaken 
 all that is necessary or proper to be known." And yet 
 notwithstanding this boasted fulness and infallibility of in- 
 struction, there is no agreement among Deists as to what 
 their natural religion consists in, or as to the truth of what some 
 of them consider its most fundamental doctrines. Their chief 
 writers are altogether at variance as to whether there is any 
 distinction between right and wrong, other than in the law of 
 the land, or the customs of society ; whether there is a Provi- 
 dence ; whether God is to be worshipped in prayer and praise, 
 or the practice of virtue is not the only worship required , 
 whether the practice of virtue forbids or encourages deceit, 
 suicide, revenge, adultery, and all uncleanness ; whether the 
 soul is mortal or immortal ; whether God has any concern 
 with human conduct. Now without spending a moment 
 upon the question as to what evidence or what adaptation to 
 the wants of men and of sinners, deism could pretend to, after 
 the rejection of evidence and excellence such as those of the 
 gospel ; let me ask whether deism can with any propriety be 
 called religion ? Does that deserve the name of a system of 
 religious faith which has no settled doctrine upon' the most 
 essential points of belief and practice ? which may acknow- 
 ledge as many contradictory forms, at the same moment, as il 
 has disciples, and never could remain long enough in one 
 position or under one countenance for the most skilful pencil 
 to take its portrait ? But aside from all this, it is too notori- 
 ous to be argued, that whatever pretensions may have been
 
 W LECTURE I. 
 
 advanced by Deists to something like a theory of religious 
 belief, it is at best a mere theory ; utterly powerless in prac 
 tice, except to liberate its disciples from all conscientious 
 restraint upon their passions, and promote in the public mind 
 the wildest licentiousness as to all moral obligation. Substi- 
 tute deism for Christianity, and none acquainted with the 
 nature or history of man can help acknowledging that as to 
 all the beneficial influence of religion upon heart and life, in 
 promoting either the moral purity of individuals, or the hap- 
 piness of society, we shall have no religion at all. "When 
 have Deists ever maintained a habit of private, family, or 
 public worship ? Attempts have been made among them to 
 keep up some mode of congregational service, but total failure, 
 in every instance, has proved how forced was the effort, and 
 how little it would have been thought of, had it not been for 
 the surrounding influence of Christianity. The first attempt 
 was by a man in England, who styled himself the Priest of 
 Nature. He relapsed from being a dissenting preacher in 
 England, of an orthodox creed, to socinianism, thence to 
 deism ; after which he set up in London a house of worship, 
 formed a liturgy, was patronised by some persons of influ- 
 ence, preached and collected some disciples. But most of 
 his people became Atheists ; and after an experiment of four 
 years, the congregation was reduced to notliing, funds failed, 
 and the effort was abandoned. The most formidable enter- 
 prise in this way took place in France during the revo- 
 lution. Having found by some experience that to acknow- 
 ledge no God was to have no law ; and to be without religious 
 institutions was to want civilization and peace ; certain per- 
 sons distinguished for learning, and calling themselves Theo 
 philanthropists, set up a society for the worship of God on 
 the principles of deism. The desolated churches of Paris 
 were given for their object. A directory of deistical worship 
 was published, containing prayers and hymns. Lectures 
 were substituted for sermons. The ceremonies were simple,
 
 LECTURE 1. 21 
 
 tasteful, and classical. Music added its charms. The form 
 of worship was sent into all parts of the country, and great 
 exertions were made by the powers of the state to get up this 
 religion in every town. Circumstances were exceedingly 
 propitious to the enterprise. Christianity had been banished. 
 Her witnesses were in sackcloth. She had none to oppose 
 themselves to the scheme of her enemies. The country was 
 sick of the horrors of atheism. Some religion was demanded 
 by public feeling. This contrivance had nothing in it offen- 
 sive to the sinner, while it seemed to be skilfully adapted to 
 the people and the times. Moreover, it was patronised by 
 government, and conformed to by the learned. The cere- 
 monies were well performed the musical accompaniments 
 excellent. But all would not do. No sooner had novelty 
 ceased, than the assemblies were thinned. The trifling 
 expenses of music and apparatus could not be raised out of 
 the liberality of the people. The society was split up with 
 lissensions, some refusing the manual of worship ; others 
 complaining against the lecturers as aiming at too much 
 power ; others demanding that the creed of the society 
 should be more liberal and allow a greater latitude of belief. 
 None at last could be got to lecture. To keep up the popular 
 interest, and to escape the charge of bigotry, religious festi- 
 vals were appointed, in which a union of service was 
 attempted to be formed between Jews, Protestants, Catholics, 
 Deists, and Atheists. There were festivals in honour of 
 Socrates, of Rousseau, and of Washington. At one of these 
 a banner inscribed with the name Morality was carried by a 
 man notorious as a professor of atheism. But all would not 
 do. The great principle of religion was wanting. There 
 was no devotional spirit. The body was dead, and therefore 
 eoon tumbled to dust. A short time after, a counsellor of 
 France, in a public address, declared the result of the expe 
 riment in these words : " For want of a religious education 
 for the last ten years, our children are without any ideas of a
 
 22 LECTURE I. 
 
 Divinity, without any notion of what is just and unjust ; 
 hence arise barbarous manners, hence a people become fero- 
 cious. Alas ! what have we gained by deviating from the 
 path pointed out by our ancestors ? What have we gained 
 by substituting vain and abstract doctrines for the creed 
 which actuated the minds of Turenne, Fenelon, and Pas- 
 cal ?"* I cannot omit, in connexion with these striking con 
 fessions, the description given by one of the most famous 
 infidels in those times, of all that class of philosophers whose 
 views and schemes we have been noticing. Thus writea 
 Rousseau : " I have consulted ou-r philosophers, I have 
 perused their books, I have examined their several opinions, 
 I have found them all proud, positive, and dogmatizing even 
 in their pretended scepticism, knowing every thing, proving 
 nothing, and ridiculing one another ; and this is the only 
 point in which they concur, and in which they are right. If 
 you count their number, each one is reduced to himself; they 
 never unite but to dispute. I conceived that the insufficiency 
 of the human understanding was the first cause of this pro- 
 digious diversity of sentiment, and that pride was the second. 
 If our philosophers were able to discover truth, which of them 
 would interest himself about it ? Where is the philosopher 
 who for his own glory would not willingly deceive the whole 
 human race ? Where is he who in the secret of his heart 
 proposes any other object than his own distinction 1 The 
 great thing for him is to think differently from other people. 
 Under pretence of being themselves the only people enlight- 
 ened, they imperiously subject us to their magisterial decisions, 
 and would fain palm upon us, for the true causes of things, 
 the unintelligible systems they have erected in their own 
 heads. Whilst they overturn, destroy, and trample under foot, 
 all that mankind reveres ; snatch from the afflicted the only 
 
 * For more particulars, see Alexander's Evidences Dwight's Sernuns 
 I 191.
 
 LECTURE I. 23 
 
 comfort left them in their misery ; from the rich and great 
 the only curb that can restrain their passions ; tear from the 
 heart all remorse of vice, all hopes of virtue ; and still boast 
 themselves the benefactors of mankind. ' Truth,' they say, 
 'is never hurtful to man.' I believe that as well as they ; and 
 the same, in my opinion, is a proof that what they teach is 
 not the truth."* Such are the singular expressions of a 
 noted infidel, into whose mind the truth sometimes forced an 
 entrance, in spite of all his levity of mind and profligacy of 
 life. They are the confessions of one of the chief actors in 
 the farce of natural religion, and by leading us behind the 
 scenes, display in a most impressive light, that if deism be 
 the only substitute of Christianity, we must have no religion 
 or that of Jesus. So that, in examining the evidences of 
 Christianity, we should solemnly feel that the question before 
 us is of no less magnitude than whether life and immortality 
 have been brought to light by the gospel, or they are still 
 involved in deep and confounding darkness ; whether Religion 
 is revealed in the Bible, or every thing on earth under the 
 name of religion is false and impotent. Now, when it is 
 considered what desolation would sweep at once over all the 
 interests of society, were the restraint of religion withdrawn 
 from the flood-gates of human corruption ; what immense 
 benefits have ensued, and must ensue, even by the confession 
 of some of its most violent opposers, from the diffusion oi 
 the gospel ; what happy effects upon the character and pre- 
 sent happiness of its genuine disciples it has always pro- 
 duced ; reforming their lives, purifying their hearts, elevating 
 their affections, healing the wounds of the guilty, taking 
 away the sting of death, and lighting even the sepulchre 
 with a hope full of glory ; when it is considered what high 
 claims the gospel asserts to an unlimited sovereignty over all 
 
 * Gandolphy's Defence of the Ancient Faith : quoted in Gregory's "Let- 
 ters, i., p. p. 6 and 7.
 
 24 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 our affections and faculties, requiring our entire submission, 
 promising to every devout believer eternal life, and to all that 
 refuse its claims everlasting wo : it must at once be evident 
 that the subject before us is no matter of mere intellectual 
 interest, but one in which every expectant of eternity has an 
 immeasurable stake. No mind has any right to indifference 
 here. Without the most wonderful folly no mind can be 
 indifferent here. Whether the claims of the gospel are the 
 claims of God is a question to which in point of importance 
 no other can pretend a comparison, except this one Believ- 
 ing in those claims, am I surrendered to their governance 7 
 But I speak to a great many who have no difficulty on this 
 head, being fully satisfied that the gospel of Christ is a divine 
 revelation. What concern have they with the investigation 
 before us ? " Much every way." The question for them to 
 ask, is, on what grounds are we satisfied ? Are we believers 
 in Christianity because we were born of believing parents, 
 and have always lived in a Christian country ; or because 
 we have considered the excellence and weighed the proofs of 
 this religion, and are intelligently persuaded that it de- 
 serves our reliance ? I am well aware that there are many 
 truly devoted followers of Christ who have never made 
 the evidences of Christianity their study, and in argument 
 with an infidel, would be easily confounded by superior skill 
 and information ; but whose belief nevertheless is, in the 
 highest degree, that of rational conviction, since they possess 
 in themselves the best of all evidence that the gospel of 
 Christ is " the power and wisdom of God," having experi- 
 enced its transforming, purifying, elevating, and enlightening 
 efficacy upon their own hearts and characters. Did such 
 believers abound, Christianity would be much less in need of 
 other evidence. Were all. that call themselves Christians 
 thus experimentally convinced of the preciousness of the 
 gospel, I would still urge upon them the duty and advantage 
 if studying as far as possible the various arguments which
 
 LECTURE I. /SO 
 
 illustrate the divinity of its origin. I would urge it on con- 
 siderations of personal pleasure and spiritual improvement. 
 There is a rich feast of knowledge and of devout contempla- 
 tion to be found in this study. The serious believer, who has 
 not pursued it, has yet to learn with what wonderful and 
 impressive light the God of the gospel has manifested its 
 truth. Its evidences are not only convincing, but delight- 
 fully plain ; astonishingly accumulated, and of immense 
 variety, as well as strength. He who will take the pains 
 not only to pursue the single line of argument which may 
 seem enough to satisfy his own mind ; but devoutly to follow 
 up, in succession, all those great avenues which lead to the 
 gospel as the central fountain of truth, will be presented, at 
 every step, with such evident marks of the finger of God ; 
 he will hear from every quarter such reiterated assurances of: 
 " this is the way ; walk thou in it /' he will find himself so 
 enclosed on every hand by insurmountable evidences shut- 
 ting him up unto the faith of Christ, that new views will 
 open upon him of the real cause and guilt and danger of all 
 unbelief ; new emotions of gratitude and admiration will 
 arise in his heart for a revelation so divinely attested ; his 
 zeal will receive a new impulse to follow and promote such 
 heavenly light. 
 
 But I would urge this study on all serious believers, who 
 have the means of pursuing it, as a matter of duty. It is 
 not enough that they are well satisfied. They have a cause 
 to defend and promote, as well as a faith to love and enjoy. 
 [t is enjoined on them, by the authority of their Divine, 
 Master, that they be ready to give to every man that asketh 
 them, a reason of the hope that is in them. They must be 
 able to answer intelligently the question : Why do you believe 
 in Christianity ? For this purpose, it is not enough to be 
 able to speak of a sense of the truth, arising from an inward 
 experience of its power and blessedness. This is excellent 
 evidence for one's own mind ; but it cannot be felt or under 
 
 2*
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 stood by an unbeliever. The Christian advocate must have 
 a knowledge of the arguments by which infidelity may be 
 confounded ; as well as an experience of the benefits for 
 which the gospel should be loved. To obtain this in pro- 
 portion to his abilities, he is bound by the all-important con- 
 sideration that the religion of Jesus cannot be content while 
 one soul remains in the rejection of her light and life. She 
 seeks not only to be maintained, but to bring all mankind to 
 her blessings. The benevolence of a Christian should stimu- 
 late him to be well armed for the controversy with unbe- 
 lievers. Benevolence, while it should consjtrain the infidel 
 most carefully to conceal his opinions lest others be so 
 unhappy as to feel their ague and catch their blight, should 
 invigorate the believer with the liveliest zeal to bring over 
 his fellow-creatures to the adoption of a faith so glorious in 
 its hopes and so ennobling in its influence. Even on the 
 supposition that Christianity were false, unspeakably better 
 should we think it, to be deluded by consolations which, 
 though groundless, would be still so precious ; than enlight' 
 ened by an infidelity which shrouds its disciples in such 
 darkness, and drowns them in such confusion. 
 
 But if such are the weighty considerations which should 
 induce an experienced Christian to study the evidences of 
 Christianity, while he carries in his own breast the strongest 
 of all assurances of its having the witness of the Spirit of 
 God, how much more should this subject receive the attention 
 of that numerous portion of the population of a Christian 
 land who, while they are called Christians, have never expe- 
 rienced in their hearts the blessedness of the gospel. These 
 are eminently dependent on this study for all rational and 
 steadfast belief. Being destitute of the anchor obtained by 
 ail inward sense of the divine excellence of the truth as it is 
 in Jesus, they must spread their sails to the influence of 
 external evidence, or be liable to be tossed about with every 
 wind of doctrine, and wrecked against the cliffs of infidelity
 
 LECTURE I. 27 
 
 It is a matter of great importance that the attention of this 
 class should be much more extensively obtained to the proofs 
 of the religion in which they profess to believe. Multitudes 
 of men, well informed on other subjects, are believers, for 
 hardly any other reason than because their parents were so, 
 and the fashion of society is on this side. The same con- 
 siderations that make them Christians in this land, would 
 have made them enemies of Christianity in others : Pagans 
 in India, Mohammedans in Turkey. They can give a better 
 reason for every other opinion they profess, than for their 
 acknowledgment of the gospel of Christ. The efforts of 
 infidels, combining ingenious sophistry with high preten 
 sions to learning, and coming into alliance with strong dis- 
 positions of human nature, have an open field, and must be 
 expected to do a fearful work among minds thus undisci- 
 plined and unarmed. It is only in the lowest possible sense 
 of the word that they can receive the name of believers, 
 Instead of adding strength to the cause of Christianity, by 
 their numbers, they rather embarrass it by their ignorance 
 of its weapons, and bring it into disrepute by the ease with 
 which they are entrapped in the snares of the enemy. They 
 have no conception what a truth that is which they so care- 
 lessly acknowledge ; how impressively it is true ; with what 
 awful authority it is invested ; what a wonder is involved in 
 professing to believe and refusing to obey it. Do I speak to 
 any who are thus situated? I would earnestly exhort them, 
 for their own satisfaction and steadfastness as believers in 
 revelation, for the purpose of realizing how solemnly the 
 living God has called them to submit as well as assent, to 
 the gospel of Christ, and for the honour of a religion which 
 so abounds in the best of reasons, to make a serious study of 
 the evidences of Christianity. 
 
 To any whose minds are not settled with regard to this 
 momentous question ; or who consider themselves as having 
 arrived at a definite opinion against the divine authority ot
 
 28 LECTURE I. 
 
 the gospel, need I say a word to show why they, of all others, 
 should give the subject in view their most serious and dili- 
 gent attention ? Suppose they should become fixed in the 
 rejection of Christianity, and to the influence of their exam- 
 ple on the side of infidelity, should add the effort of argument, 
 tending to weaken the faith of others, and to increase the 
 number of enemies to Christ ; and finally, should be con- 
 vinced on the verge of the grave (as many of this mind have 
 been most painfully convinced,) or in eternity, should have 
 it discovered to them that what they have been setting at 
 nought was no less than God's own revelation, the gospel of 
 him who cometh to judge the quick and dead ; and that 
 what they had embraced, and led others to embrace, in its 
 stead, was only a miserable offspring of human pride and 
 folly, a spirit of delusion and eternal destruction ; what then 
 would seem the importance of a serious application of mind 
 and heart to this study ; the madness of treating it with in- 
 difference, or pursuing it without the strictest impartiality ? 
 That such a discovery is at least as likely as the contrary, 
 even infidels, in their continual declarations that all beyond 
 the grave is unknown, have given impressive confessions. 
 That it is at least exceedingly probable, independently of 
 positive evidence, the unbeliever cannot but fear when he 
 surveys the history of the world, and sees what minds and 
 what hearts, what men of learning and of holiness have been 
 ready to suffer any earthly loss or pain, rather than be unas- 
 sociated with the eternal blessedness of the discipleship of 
 Christ. 
 
 I have now exhibited something of the incomparable im- 
 portance of the question before us, as considered by itself. 
 There is an additional importance in its present investiga- 
 tion, arising out of the peculiar character of the present 
 times. 
 
 We rejoice with others in the belief that this age, in com- 
 parison with all before it, merits distinction as an age of free-
 
 LECTURE I. 2S 
 
 dom. We rejoice that it is an age of freedom, as well in the 
 investigation of all truth as in the assertion of all political 
 rights. But what is called the spirit of freedom is not every 
 where identical with the cause of truth and right. In one 
 region, it is the calm, deliberate determination to be governed 
 only by just and equal laws ; in another, it is the furious, 
 desolating despiser of all laws, but those of one's own pas- 
 sion and selfishness. This is seen, as well in the discussion 
 of religious truth, as in the vindication of assumed principles 
 of civil liberty. There are certain just and necessary laws 
 to govern us in reasoning, as much as in acting ; to regulate 
 the investigation of moral and religious, as well as physical 
 and political subjects. True liberty of mind consists in the 
 right of being governed by these laws, and no other ; and at 
 the same time asserts their absolute necessity. But there is a 
 spirit abroad which, under the name of freedom of opinion, 
 would set at defiance all the fundamental laws of reasoning; 
 and denounce, as the oifspring of intellectual despotism, 
 whatever principles of moral evidence are at variance with 
 itself. This is licentiousness ; not freedom. It is the enemy 
 of law, not of oppression: the very menial of mental degra- 
 dation, instead of what it boasts itself, the prompter of manly, 
 elevated, independent intellect. This spirit of evil is greatly 
 on the increase, because the name and boast of freedom are 
 circulating far more rapidly in this world, than the know- 
 ledge of its character or the possession of its blessings ; be- 
 cause it is so much easier for the mass of society to burst at 
 once the whole body of law by which mind is restrained, 
 than to separate between the precious and the vile; and 
 chiefly because with the many, there is too little reflection 
 and too little moral principle, when religion is in question, 
 to appreciate the important difference between the oppression 
 of opinion in matters of reason, and the just government oi 
 reason in matters of opinion. Nothing, in truth, has so pro- 
 moted the freedom of thought, of opinion, and of action, as
 
 30 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 Christianity. If any thing, under her name, has been guilty 
 of the opposite, it has been, so far forth, the corruption of 
 her character and the denial of her principles. Pure Chris- 
 tianity has ever proclaimed liberty to the captive, as well in 
 mental as in physical slavery. The ages of the purest 
 freedom have been those of her greatest advancement. She 
 courts investigation when it is .free; but rejects it when 
 licentious. She is the patroness of law, and will be judged 
 only by law. Bring her trial to the judgment seat of that 
 inductive philosophy which one of her own children first 
 illustrated, and which, on other subjects, the world has 
 learned to use so well and prize so highly : let her be judged 
 by the evidence of fact, and she is satisfied. But this reason- 
 able privilege it is more than ever the spirit of self constituted 
 philosophers, in their loud declamation against the slavery of 
 opinion, and their licentious rebellion against all the laws of 
 reasoning, to refuse. Hence the greater importance that our 
 present subject, in all its departments, from the most funda- 
 mental principles of evidence, to the highest point of induct- 
 ive argument, should be thoroughly studied by all whose 
 interest it is to know, and whose duty it is to vindicate, the 
 truth. 
 
 But there is one more consideration, in connexion with 
 the present age, illustrating the peculiar importance of the 
 study you are now commencing. The evidences of Chris- 
 tianity, while specially assailed, in these times, with a licen- 
 tiousness and effrontery which the dignity of no truth can 
 countenance, and the chastity of religious truth should never 
 meet, are favoured, at the same tune, with advantages for 
 convincing illustration such as no preceding -age ever fur- 
 nished. Time, while it has impaired the strength of none of 
 our ancient arguments, has greatly increased the weight of 
 some, and has added, and is daily adding, new auxiliaries to 
 a body of proof which its enemies have never ventured to 
 attack in front. Every new year, in the age and trials of our
 
 LECTURE I. 31 
 
 holy faith, is an additional evidence that, like the pyramids 
 of Memphis, it was made to endure. It wears well. Chris- 
 tianity has been journeying, for the last eighteen hundred 
 years, through unceasing trials. While as yet an infant in 
 a land of almost Egyptian darkness, a Jewish Pharaoh 
 attempted to strangle her in the cradle. She grew up in 
 contempt and poverty, and began her course, like Israel of 
 old, through a Red Sea of relentless persecution. Bitter 
 waters awaited her subsequent progress. Amalek with all 
 the principalities and powers of earth, during more than 
 three centuries, opposed her march. Fiery serpents in the 
 wilderness of sin have ever been stinging at her feet. The 
 world has opened no fountain, nor vouchsafed any bread to 
 sustain her. What alliances the nations have ever made 
 with her cause have only given them the greater power to 
 encumber and divide her strength. Her drink has been 
 drawn from the rock ; her bread has been gathered in the 
 desert. Nothing that malice, or learning, or power, or per- 
 severance, could do to arrest her goings, has been wanting. 
 Even treachery in her own household has often endea- 
 voured to betray her into the hands of the enemy. No age 
 has encountered her advance with such a dangerous variety 
 of force ; or with a more boastful confidence of success, than 
 the present. And yet in none, since that of the primitive 
 Christians, has her triumph been so glorious, or her conquest 
 so extensive. At a time of life when, considering her fiery 
 trials, one ignorant of her nature would expect to see her 
 wrinkled with age and crippled with manifold infirmities, it 
 may be said of her, with perfect truth, that though for more 
 than eighteen hundred years she has been journeying through 
 conflicts and trials innumerable, her eye is not dim, nor her 
 natural force abated. She remains unchanged by time, the 
 same precisely as when first proclaimed in the streets of 
 Jerusalem. The shield of faith, the breastplate of righteous- 
 ness, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the spirit are
 
 32 LECTURE I. 
 
 neither oroken nor decayed, but as ready as in the begin- 
 ning, to go forth " conquering and to conquer." This long 
 and hard experiment proves that she is made for eternity, 
 It is the privilege of our age to appreciate the evidence of 
 this with more satisfaction than any preceding it. But how 
 different, this sublime immutability of Christianity, so much 
 like the eternity of God, from the childish fickleness of inn. 
 delity. What is the history of infidelity, but a history ol 
 changes ? Where is the resemblance between the writings 
 of its modern and those of its ancient disciples ? What 
 Celsus and Porphyry attempted to maintain against primi 
 tive Christianity, none at present wouid think of advocating, 
 while the positions and reasonings of recent infidels would 
 have been subjects of ridicule among their earliest brethren. 
 " The doctrines winch Herbert and Tindal declared to be so 
 evident that God could not make them more evident, were 
 wholly given up as untenable by Hume ; and the scepticism 
 of Hume sustained no higher character in the mind of 
 D'Alembert. Mere infidelity gave up natural religion, and 
 atheism mere infidelity. Atheism is the system at present in 
 vogue. What will succeed it, cannot be foreseen. One 
 consolation, however, attends the subject, and that is: no 
 other system can be so groundless, so despicable, or so com- 
 pletely ruinous to the morals and happiness of mankind."* 
 
 But there is another aspect in which the study of the 
 evidences of Christianity is presented as especially interesting, 
 in connexion with the present age. This is an age pe- 
 culiarly distinguished for scientific research and discovery. 
 Never did science travel so widely, explore so deeply, analyze 
 so minutely, compare so critically the present with the past, 
 orinciples with facts ; histories of ancient times, with monu- 
 ments of ancient things ; truths of revealed religion, with 
 results of experimental philosophy. And what is the con- 
 
 * Dwight on Infidel Philosophy.
 
 LECTURE I. 00 
 
 sequence ? Has the Pentateuch suffered by him who found 
 the key, and applied it to the hieroglyphical memorials on the 
 marbles and porphyries of Egypt? Did the geological 
 researches of the lamented Cuvier enfeeble his belief in the 
 Mosaic history?* 
 
 I venture to say there never was an age in which it could 
 be asserted, with so much practical witness, that science and 
 every extension of human knowledge are strengthening and 
 multiplying the evidences of Christianity. Add to this, the 
 ever accumulating force of the argument from prophecy, a 
 source of evidence in which we exceed by far the primitive 
 times of the gospel, and which must be increasing as long as 
 one prediction of the Bible remains to be fulfilled. Then 
 consider what new exhibitions the present age of signal 
 enterprise, in all things, has furnished, and is daily presenting 
 of the power attendant upon the gospel to overcome every 
 obstacle, and make the moral desert a garden, and savages 
 meek and lowly of heart. Look at the missionary stations 
 of the Pacific and of Hindoostan, and among our own frontier 
 tribes. There it will be seen that Christianity has still her 
 apostles, her martyrs, her conquests. The idol cast to the 
 ground ; the idol temple purged of its pollutions, and conse- 
 crated to Jehovah ; the multitude, once naked devotees of 
 demons, now clothed and in their right mind, and sitting at 
 the feet of Jesus ; these are some of our additional testimonies 
 to the gospel, that her arm is not shortened that it cannot save. 
 But they are not all. Every new traveller into regions 
 hitherto but little known, as he developes the condition of 
 nations destitute of the gospel, increases our evidence of the 
 utter helplessness of human reason, and the total prostration 
 
 * It is an interesting fact, well worthy of being recorded, that Cuvier, 
 whose death has been recently announced, was to have presided at the next 
 annual meeting of the Bible Society of Paris ; and had proposed, as the topic 
 of his address, the agreement between the Mosaic history and the modein dis 
 coveries in geology. 
 
 9
 
 34 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 of human nature, without the light which we enjoy, and 
 consequently, our evidence of the universal need of a reve- 
 lation like ours, as well as of the benefits which have follow 
 ed in the train of Christianity wherever she has been re- 
 ceived. And last, but not least, our experience of the tender 
 mercies of infidelity is more impressive than that of prece- 
 ding ages. Its nature, spirit, personal and public consequen- 
 ces have now had time to speak out, and make a full display 
 of their benefits to all classes of mankind. Our times have 
 seen enough ; any of us have heard enough to form some 
 adequate idea of what society would be favoured with, in 
 personal consolations ; in domestic peace and purity ; in pub- 
 lic security and order, should the principles of infidelity be 
 generally adopted as the basis of individual, family, and na- 
 tional government. 
 
 I have now endeavoured to illustrate the importance of a 
 diligent attention to the great subject we have undertaken to 
 treat, by considerations arising out of its own intrinsic nature, 
 and from its special aspect as associated with the distinctive 
 character of the present age. I will occupy but a little while 
 longer in speaking of, 
 
 II. The importance of strict attention to the spirit in 
 which we should examine the evidences of Christianity. 
 
 " Blessed (said the Saviour) is he whosoever shall not be 
 offended in me." There is a great deal in the religion of 
 Jesus at which the natural dispositions of man are offended. 
 He is proud the gospel demands humility ; revengeful the 
 gospel demands forgiveness. Man is prone to set his affec 
 tions on things on the earth ; the gospel requires him to set 
 them on those which are above. He is wedded to selt- 
 indulgence, glories in being his own master, idolizes himself, 
 encourages self-dependence, boasts his own goodness, lives 
 without God in the world. All this the gospel peremptorily 
 condemns ; requires him to repent of it, to deny himself, 
 renounce all right over himself, give up his will to that of
 
 LECTURE I. 35 
 
 Gi.d, live for the Lord Jesus, and lean upon and glory in him 
 alone as all his strength, hope, and righteousness. Hence it 
 is evident that the natural heart and the precepts of Chris- 
 tianity are directly at variance. " The mystery of an incar- 
 nate and crucified Saviour must necessarily confound the 
 reason and shock the prejudices, of a mind which will admit 
 nothing that it cannot perfectly reduce to the principles of 
 philosophy. The whole tenor of the life of Christ, the 
 objects he pursued, and the profound humiliation he exhi- 
 bited, must convict of madness and folly the favourite pur- 
 suits of mankind. The virtues usually practised in society, 
 and the models of excellence most admired there, are so 
 remote from that holiness which is enjoined in the New Tes- 
 tament, that it is impossible for a taste which is formed on the 
 one to perceive the charms of the other. The happiness 
 which it proposes in a union with God, and a participation 
 of the image of Christ, is so far from being congenial to the 
 inclinations of worldly men, that it can scarcely be men- 
 tioned without exciting their ridicule and scorn. General 
 speculations on the Deity have much to amuse the mind, and 
 to gratify that appetite for the wonderful, which thoughtful 
 and speculative men are delighted to indulge. Religion 
 viewed in this light appears more in the form of an exercise 
 to the understanding, than a law to the heart. Here the soul 
 expatiates at large, without feeling itself controlled or alarmed. 
 But when evangelical truths are presented, they bring God 
 so near, if we may be allowed the expression, and speak with 
 so commanding a voice to the conscience, that they leave no 
 alternative, but that of submissive acquiescence or proud 
 revolt."* 
 
 Hence the question as to the truth of Christianity is pecu 
 liar, You can investigate the truth of a narrative in com- 
 
 * Robert Hall
 
 36 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 mon history, or of a phenomenon in physical science, or of 
 a principle of political economy, with the coolness of a mere 
 intellectual exercise. One sets out in such pursuits with no 
 feelings already enlisted. Had this been the case, with regard 
 to the divine origin of Christianity, " a tenth part of the tes- 
 timony which has actually been given, would have been 
 enough to satisfy us; the testimony, both in weight and 
 quantity, would have been looked upon as quite unexampled 
 in the whole compass of ancient literature."* But here the 
 question is one of feeling, as well as evidence ; enlisting the 
 heart, as well as the head. Powerful dispositions crowd 
 around the investigation. Hence one is in danger, unless 
 his natural inclinations be subdued, of looking at the argu- 
 ment through a medium which, while it diminishes the 
 importance of the evidence, will magnify the objections. 
 This explains sufficiently how it has happened that there 
 have been men of learning and talents and much practical 
 wisdom, in many departments, who have become and con- 
 tinued unbelievers. Their dispositions were stronger than 
 their talents, and moulded the latter to their own service, 
 instead of yielding to their guidance. The examination 
 was conducted rather by the test of inclination, than of 
 evidence. Now it is no part of the profession of Christianity 
 to furnish eyes to those who will not see. Evidence that 
 will force its way irresistibly through prejudice and unwil- 
 lingness, compelling submission, she does not promise. 
 Enough to satisfy, abundantly, every candid, serious, dili- 
 gent, humble inquirer, she does profess to give. If she ever 
 exhibit more, it is beyond her stipulation, and more than any 
 have reason to demand. 
 
 The pride of human reason is often deeply offended at 
 the claims of Christianity. The gospel demands to l>e 
 received as a revelation of truth, communicated by autho- 
 
 * Chalmers.
 
 LECTURE I. 37 
 
 nty, so that a wise man shall have no room to ascribe his 
 knowledge of God and of His will, to his own powers of 
 discovery ; but has to sit, just where the ignorant and lowly 
 must sit, at the feet of Jesus. This pleases not the specula- 
 tive and ambitious turn of the human intellect. Men like to 
 find out truth by reasonings of their own, instead of the 
 authoritative declarations of another, even though that other 
 be infallible wisdom. They love to theorize and conjecture, 
 and try the ingenuity of their own faculties, so as to praise 
 themselves for whatever is ascertained. Hence, in matters 
 of science, there was a long and hard struggle before they 
 could be brought down from the proud flights of speculation, 
 and consent to the self-denial of the inductive method, sub- 
 mitting to be instructed only by the revelations of experiment, 
 and in the unpretending school of fact. To adopt the same 
 method in matters of religious investigation, many are not 
 yet willing. To give up all speculation philosophy, " falsely 
 so called" and consent to receive, instead of being ambitious 
 to discover, religious truth ; to receive it at a source where 
 the humblest and the loftiest mind must drink together, out 
 of the same cup ; to receive it on the simple testimony of a 
 well attested revelation, which lies as open to the peasant as 
 the philosopher : this the wise men of the world are slow of 
 heart to consent to. Their pride of reason is offended. Did 
 an account come to them from the other continent of certain 
 novel and interesting phenomena recently observed in the 
 heavens; they would see at once how unphilosophical it 
 would be to commence theorizing upon the question of their 
 truth, and then reject them because inconsistent with certain 
 previous speculations of their own. They would institute 
 but the one inquiry: Is there reason to depend upon the 
 accuracy of the observations, and the honesty of the reports 
 of those from whom these statements proceed ? Satisfied on 
 this head, they would at once receive the phenomena, and 
 every truth resulting therefrom, on the great principle o'
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 modern science, that whatever is thus collected by induction 
 must be received, notwithstanding- any conjectural hypothesis 
 to the contrary, until contradicted or limited by other phe- 
 nomena equally authenticated. Now we only ask them, not 
 to disown the philosophy of Newton in examining the evi- 
 dence of the religion of Christ ; to try the celestial wonders, 
 the " mecanique celeste" as given by Christ and his apostles, 
 not by theory or speculation, but precisely as they would try 
 any other, in the open field of fact and induction. We do 
 not ask them to believe, unless upon the credit of facts. But 
 we do ask that whatever is thus proved, they will receive, 
 notwithstanding any conjectural hypothesis to the contrary. 
 The whole argument for Christianity, so far from being in 
 any degree theoretical or speculative, is eminently one of 
 experimental evidence and inductive simplicity. We take 
 the position that our Lord Jesus Christ professed to make a 
 revelation from God. It is conceded that if he attested his 
 communications by miracles, he sealed that profession as 
 true. We say he did thus attest them. But miracles are 
 facts phenomena to be proved by the testimony of eye- 
 witnesses, like any phenomena in physics. To such testi- 
 mony we appeal. We ask the unbeliever to refute it ; and 
 if he cannot, to receive the revelation, and bow to its decla- 
 rations as the attested word of God. But here, unfortunately, 
 we set the rule of sound philosophy against the dispositions 
 of an unhumbled heart. The latter has the victory, often ; 
 and the wise man goes to work to oppose our facts, with his 
 theories ; our testimony, with his speculations, till he flatters 
 himself, because he has covered up his eyes in his own 
 mazes, that he has refuted the evidences of Christianity. 
 Hence, therefore, another cause that learned men are not all 
 believers in Christianity. They are not all humble enough, 
 in a question with which heart and life are so much con- 
 nected, to abide by the results to which the principles of phi 
 losophical investigation would naturally lead them. But
 
 LECTURE I. 39 
 
 hence, also, a most important reason that whoever of you 
 may have doubts as to the gospel of Christ, should, in the 
 pursuit on which we have entered, be cautious, candid, ready 
 to learn, and determined to embrace the truth wherever it 
 should be found. 
 
 One consideration more. It is true of Christianity, as of 
 many other excellent subjects, that objections are more easily 
 invented than answered. Objections in such matters are 
 usually light affairs, floating on the surface of men's thoughts. 
 Answers, to be solid, must be heavier and lie deeper, requiring 
 like the pearl, both labour and skill to bring them up and 
 fashion them for use. But Christianity is peculiarly exposed 
 to objections ; from the simple fact that as it meets every 
 body and compels every body to say yea or nay to its require- 
 ments, every body must needs have something to say, how- 
 ever unreasonable, in its favour or against it. Few indeed 
 would venture to give an opinion, without some study, on a 
 question in science or polite literature ; but the most ignorant 
 and unthinking will undertake an opinion upon the merits 
 of the gospel, and raise an objection in a breath which would 
 require much patience and some learning to refute. Hun- 
 dreds hear the objection ; thousands relish, retain, and are poi- 
 soned by it ; while, perhaps, not one of them has the dispo- 
 sition to hear, or patience enough to understand, the reply. 
 Evil hearts can do what only good and well instructed minds 
 can undo. " Pertness and ignorance may ask a question, in 
 three lines, which it will cost learning and ingenuity thirty 
 pages to answer. When this is done, the same question will 
 be triumphantly asked again the next year, as if nothing 
 had ever been written on the subject. And as people, in 
 general, for one reason or another, like short objections better 
 than long answers ; in this mode of disputation (if it can be 
 styled such) the odds must ever be against us ; and we must 
 be content with those for our friends who have honesty and
 
 40 LFCTURE I. 
 
 erudition, candour and patience, to study both sides of the 
 question."* 
 
 These observations explain the lamentable fact, that, in a 
 large portion of society, there is so much more acquaintance 
 with the cant and slang of infidelity, than with the reason- 
 ings in support of Christianity ; that our young men are often 
 so familiar with the boasting and floating calumnies which 
 the troubled sea of infidelity is ever casting up, with its mire 
 and dirt, in the face of the gospel ; while, with the innume- 
 rable efforts by which Christian science has scattered all such 
 poisonous exhalations to the winds, many have not the most 
 trifling acquaintance. 
 
 All these considerations are at least sufficient to impress us 
 with the eminent importance of the most serious attention to 
 the spirit and manner in which one proceeds in the study of 
 the evidences of Christianity. 
 
 Let me urgently recommend docility, in this pursuit. By 
 this, I mean nothing resembling credulity ; but an open- 
 hearted and humble-minded readiness to weigh evidence 
 with simplicity of purpose in the most even scales of truth ; 
 and then to submit to, and follow the truth, wherever it may 
 lead, with singleness of heart, in the fear of God. 
 
 Let me also recommend a deep seriousness of purpose, in 
 this pursuit. I mean that calm and settled earnestness of 
 mind, which a just sense of the unspeakable importance of 
 the subject, and of the responsibility under which all, even 
 the most indifferent, must treat it, will necessarily inspire. 
 
 Lastly, prayer is by all means to be employed in this pur- 
 suit. It is written most wisely : " If any man lack wisdom, 
 let him ask of God." But do I forget that I am speaking 
 from the chair of a lecture room, instead of the pulpit of a 
 church ? Prayer ! How do I know but that I am addressing 
 many who are already on the side of infidelity ? Would I 
 
 * Home's Letters on Infidelity.
 
 LECTURE I. 41 
 
 say to them, study the evidences of Christianity with prayer ? 
 Is it not equivalent to begging the question ? Is it not asking 
 them to do what, as professors of infidelity, they object to 1 
 In one sense, I verily believe it is begging the question. A 
 spirit of serious, earnest prayer, for the knowledge of truth, 
 is utterly inconsistent with the spirit of infidelity. Who does 
 not feel the singularity involved in the idea of seeing a tho- 
 rough infidel engaged in secret, earnest prayer, to be pre- 
 served from all bias in search of truth, and to be led in the 
 way in which God would have him to go ? And yet, if he 
 be not an Atheist, he can have nothing to say against the 
 propriety of such a step. But is it true that infidelity and 
 the spirit of prayer are practically so inconsistent ? Is it 
 true that we have already accomplished at least half our 
 work of conviction, when we have persuaded an unbeliever 
 to make religious truth a subject of serious supplication at 
 the throne of grace 1 What does this say for the gospel ? 
 
 Any, who are very anxious to continue in unbelief, had 
 better not pray. They might find out more than would be 
 convenient, by such an effort. Infidelity cannot tolerate so 
 much seriousness. But if any feel that they lack wisdom, 
 in this great concern of eternity, and desire to know the way 
 of light and life : " let them ask of God, who giveth to all 
 men liberally and upbraideth not ; and it shall be given 
 them."
 
 ** LECTURE II. 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 AUTHENTICITY OP THE NEW TESTAMENT. 
 
 OUR last lecture was only introductory to the importan 
 subject to which I have undertaken to lead your attention. 
 In the present, we enter directly upon one of its principal 
 branches. 
 
 The study of the evidences of Christianity may be either 
 brief or extended, according to the object with which it is 
 pursued. If it be merely the possession of some one distinct 
 and conclusive train of reasoning, perfect "in itself, the inves- 
 tigation may soon be ended. The student may take any 
 single miracle or fulfilled prophecy ; he may choose his 
 premises from the narrative of the resurrection of Christ, or 
 the conversion of St. Paul, or the propagation of Christianity, 
 and, confining his argument to the point selected, may deduce 
 a finished proof of the divine authority of the gospel. But 
 if he desire not only rational satisfaction for his own mind, 
 but a full view of all those great highways of evidence 
 which, from every quarter, concentrate upon Christianity; if 
 he would behold, not only that it is capable of conclusive 
 proof, but how variously and wonderfully its Divine Author 
 has encompassed it with proofs of every kind, drawn from 
 innumerable sources, and prepared, at all points, for every 
 objection, he may lay himself out for a work of extensive 
 research, as well as of rich gratification and improvement. 
 
 The evidences of Christianity are classed under two gene- 
 ral denominations : external or historical, and internal evi- 
 dence. Under the latter, are included whatever proofs of 
 divine original may be drawn from the doctrines of the gos- 
 pel ; its incomparable system of morality; the adaptation of 
 the religion of Christ to the condition and wants of mankind ;
 
 LECTURE II. 43 
 
 the holy and elevated character of its Founder ; together 
 with all those incidental, but striking and various marks of 
 uprightness, accuracy, and benevolence, which appear in the 
 spirit and manner of the New Testament writers, or which 
 are seen by a comparison of their several books one with 
 another. Such are the principal heads of internal evidence. 
 Under the name of external or historical evidence, we find 
 whatever exhibits the need of a revelation, as apparent in 
 the state of human opinion and practice among the most 
 enlightened nations at the commencement of the gospel ; the 
 argument establishing the authenticity of the scriptures, and 
 the credibility of the history contained therein ; the proofs 
 arising from miracles ; from fulfilled prophecy ; from the 
 propagation of Christianity, and from the social and personal 
 benefits which have always accompanied its promotion, 
 according to the degree in which its native character and 
 influence have had room to appear. Such are the principal 
 heads of external evidence. 
 
 The present course of lectures, for want of time to carry 
 it further, will be confined to the department last described ; 
 which is chosen in preference to the other, not because it is 
 more important or conclusive, but as more capable of having 
 justice done it, in a series of discussions such as that to which 
 the circumstances of these lectures restrict us. 
 
 Should we embrace in our view of this grand division of 
 evidence whatever belongs to it, your attention would first 
 be called to the indispensable necessity of a divine revcla- 
 tioti, as the history of the ancient world displays it, and as it 
 is still exhibited in the dark places of the earth. This, how- 
 ever, we have not room to include in our course. Though 
 extremely impressive, and worthy of investigation, it is not 
 an essential argument. The straight forward method of phi- 
 losophical inquiry directs its attention to the testimony sim- 
 ply that an event did occur, and will not suspend assent til) 
 the need of such an event shall have been fully explained
 
 4KI LECTURE II. 
 
 * 
 
 If convincing evidence be adduced to the matter of fact that 
 a revelation has been given; we may be reasonably content, 
 while our limits forbid the proof that it was needed. Who- 
 ever should desire to read on this head will find it well dis- 
 cussed in the first volume of Wilson's Lectures on the Evi- 
 dences, &c., or in the admirable letters on the same subject, 
 by Olinthus Gregory, L. L. D., Professor of Mathematics 
 in the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, one of the 
 most scientific and pious laymen of the age ; or, more at 
 large, in the learned volume of Leland, on the Advantages 
 and Necessity of a Divine Revelation. 
 
 Let us begin with the authenticity of the New Testament. 
 We possess a venerable volume, under this title, consisting 
 of twenty-seven independent books or writings, reputed to 
 have been composed by eight different authors. It professes 
 to contain, and is continually appealed to as containing, not 
 only an accurate account of the history and doctrine of Jesus 
 Christ, but an account written in the first age of Christianity, 
 by its earliest disciples and advocates, who were contempo- 
 raneous with its author, and were, most of them, eyewit- 
 nesses of the events related. Now, before we can be rea- 
 sonably warranted in placing implicit reliance in the New 
 Testament, as the book of the facts and doctrines of the gos- 
 pel, two important questions must be determined. First : is 
 there satisfactory evidence that the several writings, of 
 which it is composed, were written by the men.to whom they 
 are ascribed ? This involves the AUTHENTICITY OF THE 
 NEW TESTAMENT. Secondly: is the New Testament de- 
 serving of implicit reliance as to matters of historical detail, 
 so that we may receive any narrative, as unquestionably 
 true, because contained therein 7 This refers to the CREDI- 
 BILITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 
 
 Thus you perceive, that whether a volume be authentic, 
 and whether credible, are two widely separate questions, 
 neither, necessarily implying the other, however the evidence
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 45 
 
 of one may bear upon the proof of the other. Writings 
 may be authentic, composed by the men whose names they 
 bear, and yet not credible. They may be credible, because 
 correct in their statements, and yet not authentic. The 
 question of authenticity refers to the author; that of credi- 
 bility to the narrative. " The Pilgrim's Progress" is authen- 
 tic, because it was actually composed by John Bunyan, to 
 whom it is ascribed ; but as a narrative, it is not credible, 
 being an allegory throughout. The book entitled " Travels 
 of Anacharsis the Younger," is credible, so far as it professes 
 to exhibit a view of the antiquities, manners, customs, reli- 
 gious ceremonies, &c., of ancient Greece ; but it is not authen- 
 tic, having been written in the eighteenth century by Barthe- 
 lemy, and fictitiously ascribed to the Scythian philosopher. 
 " Marshall's Life of Washington" is both authentic and 
 credible, being a true history, and worthily honoured with 
 the name of that eminent and excellent man, from whose 
 pen it professes to have come. That the New Testament is 
 also authentic and credible, we undertake to show. We 
 exclude the more ancient portion of the sacred volume, not 
 because of any deficiency in its evidence, but for the sake 
 of unity and clearness in our inquiries ; and because, when 
 the argument for the New Testament is set forth in a 
 conclusive form, the authenticity and credibility of the 
 other is rendered, as will hereafter appear, a necessary infe- 
 rence. The two questions will be the subjects of different 
 lectures. To that of authenticity our attention will, this 
 evening, be confined. Let us begin with the following : 
 
 How does it appear that the several writings composing 
 the volume of the New Testament were written by the men 
 to whom they are ascribed the original disciples of Christ 
 and are consequently authentic ? 
 
 We pursue precisely the same method in determining the 
 authorship of the New Testament, as in ascertaining thai 
 of any other book of a passed age. For example ; we 
 
 4
 
 46 LECTURE II. 
 
 possess a celebrated poem entitled Paradise Lost. It bears 
 the name of Milton. How do we know that Milton com- 
 posed it ? The answer is easy. Our fathers received it, as 
 his production, from their fathers ; and they, from theirs. 
 By such steps, we ascend to the very year in which the book 
 was first published, and find it invariably ascribed to Milton. 
 Moreover, the history of the age in which he lived, speaks 
 of it as unquestionably and notoriously his work. Writers 
 of every succeeding age refer to, and quote it as well known 
 to be his. The language of the poem bears the characteristic 
 marks of Milton's times. Its spirit, genius, and style, dis- 
 play the distinctive features of Milton's mind and character. 
 And, finally, though Milton had many enemies, and lived 
 in a time of great divisions, and this poem redounded greatly 
 to his praise, and many must have been disposed, had they 
 been able, to discover some false pretensions in his claim to 
 its authorship ; no other person in that age was ever men- 
 tioned as disputing his title, but all united in acknowledging 
 him as the writer of Paradise Lost. On this evidence, 
 although the poem professes to have been written as far back 
 as the year 16T4, we are so perfectly certain of its authentici- 
 ty, that the man who should dispute it would be justly 
 suspected of idiocy or derangement. And had Milton lived 
 in the 7th, instead of the 17th century, a similar body of 
 evidence would have been equally satisfactory. If, instead 
 of the 7th century, he had lived in the first of the Christian 
 era, similar evidence, reaching up to his time, would still 
 prove, beyond a question, that he wrote Paradise Lost. 
 Thus it is evident that time has no effect to impair the force 
 of such proof. Whether a book be ascribed to the Christian 
 era or to five centuries before or after ; the evidence, being 
 the same, is equally satisfactory. It as well convinces us 
 that the history ascribed to Herodotus, in the 5th century, 
 before Christ, was written by that historian, as that the 
 jEneid was writlen by Virgil, a little before the birth of
 
 LECTURE II. 47 
 
 Christ ; or the " Faerie Queene" by Spenser, in the 1590th 
 year after that event. We are no less satisfied of the authen- 
 ticity of the orations of Demosthenes, than of Newton's 
 Principia ; though between the dates of their publication, 
 there is an interval of more than two thousand years. So 
 little does the age of a book affect the evidence required to 
 establish its authenticity. 
 
 Now in ascertaining the authorship of the New Testa- 
 ment, we are furnished with evidence precisely similar to 
 that which settles the question so conclusively as to either of 
 the works above mentioned.* An unbroken chain of testi 
 mony ascends from the present generation to the preceding, 
 and thence to the next beyond, and thence onward again, till 
 it reaches the very age of the apostles, exhibiting an uninter- 
 rupted series of acknowledgments of the New Testament, 
 as having been written indeed by those primitive disciples to 
 whom its several parts are ascribed. Besides this, historians 
 and other writers of the age ascribed to this volume, as well 
 Heathen and Jewish, as Christian, not only recognise its 
 existence in their day, but speak of it as notoriously the 
 production of its reputed authors. The language is charac- 
 teristic of their age, nation and circumstances. The style 
 and spirit exhibit the well-known peculiarities of their re- 
 spective minds and dispositions. And again, although the 
 New Testament at the time of its first appearance, either in 
 parts or collectively, was surrounded with numerous, learned, 
 and ingenious, as well as most bitter enemies, both among 
 Heathens and Jews ; and although there arose at an early 
 period, many animated controversies between the real be- 
 lievers in gospel truth, on one side, and sundry heretical 
 
 * " We know," says St. Augustine, " the writings of the Apostles, as we 
 know the works of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Varro, and others ; and as we 
 know the writings of divers ecclesiastical authors; for as much as they have 
 the testimony of contemporaries, and of those who have lived in succeeding 
 apes."
 
 48 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 pretenders to the Christian faith, whose cause would often 
 have been materially served by a well sustained denial of the 
 authenticity of certain of the books of the New Testament ; 
 none in the primitive ages, whether heretics or open enemies, 
 ever denied that this volume contained the genuine writings 
 of the original apostles and disciples of Christ. On the 
 contrary, all received, argued, and acted upon it as unques- 
 tionably authentic. Thus we have the same evidence that 
 the books of the New Testament were written by those 
 whose names they bear, as that Paradise Lost was written 
 by the man whose name it bears. The force of this evidence 
 is in no wise diminished by the consideration that the apos- 
 tles lived in the first, and Milton in the seventeenth century. 
 
 Thus have you received a general outline of the argu- 
 ment. We proceed to a more particular view. 
 
 I. The books of the New Testament are quoted or alluded 
 toby a series of writers who may be followed up in unbroken 
 succession from the present age to that of the apostles. In 
 proof of this, it is unnecessary for the satisfaction of any 
 person of ordinary information to trace the line of testimony 
 from the present time, or from any point of departure lower 
 down than the fourth century. Whoever has the least 
 acquaintance with the history of the civilized world, as far 
 upward as the fourth century, must know that the acknow- 
 ledgment of the New Testament, as composed of authentic 
 writings, is interwoven with all the literature, science, and 
 political, as well as religious institutions, of every subsequent 
 age. We begin, therefore, the chain of testimony at the 
 fourth century. 
 
 It is a very impressive evidenceof the high estimate in which 
 the New Testament was universally held at this period, that 
 beside innumerable quotations in various writings, no less 
 than eleven distinct, formal catalogues of its several books, 
 were composed at various times, during the fourth century, 
 by different hands ; and two of them by large and solemn
 
 LKCTURE II. 49 
 
 councils of the heads of the Christian church. All of these 
 are still extant ; and all agree, in every particular important 
 to the present argument, with the list of the New Testament 
 writings as at present received. In the year 397, a national 
 or provincial council assembled at Carthage, consisting of 
 forty-four bishops Augustine, bishop of Hippo, was a mem- 
 ber. The 47th canon of that council is thus written : " It 
 is ordained that nothing beside the canonical scriptures be 
 read in the church under the name of divine scriptures ; and 
 the canonical scriptures are these," &c. In the enumeration, 
 we find precisely our New Testament books, and no more.* 
 
 About the same time Augustine wrote a book entitled " Of 
 the Christian Doctrine" in which is furnished a catalogue of 
 what he considered the authentic writings of the evangelists 
 and apostles, agreeing entirely with ours. " In these books 
 (saith he) they who fear God, seek his ?/n//."t 
 
 A short time before this, Rufinus, a presbyter of Aquileia, 
 published an " Explication of the Apostles' Creed" in which 
 he includes a catalogue of the scriptures. It commences 
 thus : " It will not be improper to enumerate here, the books 
 of the New and Old Testament, which we find, by the monu- 
 ments of the fathers, to have been delivered to the churches, 
 as inspired by the Holy Spirit." This list differs in nothing 
 from ours.J 
 
 Jerome, a contemporaneous writer, universally allowed 10 
 have been the most learned of the Latin fathers, in a letter 
 concerning the study of the scriptures, enumerates the books 
 of the New Testament in precise correspondence with our 
 volume. With regard to the Epistle to the Hebrews, he 
 states that by some it was not considered as the work of 
 Paul ; though it is evident, from other places of his writings, 
 that he was satisfied of its authenticity, and numbered it 
 among the canonical scriptures. 
 
 * Lardner's Credibility of the Gosp. Hist. ii. 574. 
 
 t Lardner, ii. 578. t Tb. ii. 573. 3 Ib. ii. 548. 
 
 4*
 
 50 LECTURE II. 
 
 In the year 380, wrote Philastrius, bishop of Brescia. In 
 a book " Concerning Heresies" he gives a catalogue agree- 
 ing entirely with ours, except that it omits the Epistle to the 
 Hebrews, and the Book of Revelation. But it does not fol- 
 low that these were not considered canonical. The object of 
 his catalogue is to enumerate the books appointed to be read 
 in the churches. The Epistle to the Hebrews, he says, was 
 read in the churches " sometimes." " Some pretend (he 
 writes) that additions have been made to it by some hetero- 
 dox persons, and that for that reason it ought not to be read 
 in the churches, though it is read by some." Philastrius 
 himself received it, and frequently quoted it as the work of 
 St. Paul, and reckoned it a heresy to reject it. He received 
 also the book of Revelation, mentioning its rejection by 
 some among the heresies of the age. " There are some 
 (he writes) who dare to say that the Revelation is not a 
 writing of John the apostle and evangelist."* 
 
 About the year 370, flourished Gregory Nazianzen, bishop 
 of Constantinople, who in a work " On the True and 
 Genuine Scriptures" enumerates all the present books 01 
 the New Testament, except that of Revelation. This how- 
 ever he has quoted in his other works.t 
 
 At the same time, wrote Epiphanius, bishop of Conslantia, 
 in Cyprus ; " a man of five languages." He wrote against 
 heresies, and gave a list of the New Testament books which 
 agrees exactly with ours.J 
 
 About the year 350, another catalogue was published by 
 the Council of Laodicea, differing in nothing from ours but 
 m the omission of Revelation. The decrees of this council 
 were, in a short time, received into the canons of the univer- 
 sal church ; so that as early as about the middle of (he 4th 
 century, we find a universal agreement, in all parts of the 
 world in which Christianity existed, as to the constituent 
 
 * Lardner, ii. 522. t Ib 470, 71. t Ib. 6.
 
 LECTURE II. 51 
 
 parts of the New Testament, with the single exception of 
 the book of Revelation. That this was also generally 
 received, and why any doubted its authenticity, will appear 
 in our subsequent progress.* 
 
 Athanasius and Cyril, the latter bishop of Jerusalem, a 
 little earlier in the century, have furnished catalogues that 
 of the former agreeing entirely with ours that of the latter 
 in every thing but the omission of the Revelation of St. 
 John. 
 
 The last catalogue to be mentioned in the 4th century, is 
 that of Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, who flourished about 
 the year 315. " A man (says Jerome) most studious in the 
 divine scriptures, and very diligent in making a large collec- 
 tion of ecclesiastical writers." In his Ecclesiastical History, 
 he mentions, as belonging to the canon of scripture, all our 
 present books. While he speaks of the Epistle of James, 
 the second of Peter, the third of John, and the book of Re- 
 velation, as questioned by some, he states that they were 
 generally received, and declares his own conviction that they 
 ought not to be doubted.t 
 
 The above testimonies, though capable of great multipli- 
 cation, are amply sufficient to exhibit the universal confi- 
 dence of Christians, of the fourth century, in the authen- 
 ticity of the New Testament. Let us proceed to the third. 
 In this, among other important names, we find that of the 
 celebrated Origen, who flourished about the year 230, having 
 been born A. D. 184. Jerome speaks of him, as the greatest 
 doctor of the churches, since the apostles that he had the 
 scriptures by heart, and laboured day and night in studying 
 and explaining them.J Great numbers of all descriptions of 
 men attended his lectures. Heathen philosophers dedicated 
 their writings to him, and submitted them to his revisal. lie 
 
 * Lardner, ii. 414. Alexanderon the Canon, p. 150. 
 t Ib. ii. 368 &c. t Ib i. 527,
 
 52 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 wrote a three-fold exposition of the books of scripture, on 
 which he bestowed all his learning. He lived within a hun- 
 dred years of the death of St. John, and was therefore so 
 near the time of the publication of the books of the New 
 Testament, that he could hardly avoid obtaining the most 
 accurate knowledge of their origin and authors. His enu- 
 meration of these writings contains no other books than 
 those of our sacred volume, and includes all that we receive, 
 except the Epistles of James and Jude, which could not have 
 been omitted by design, as in other places he expressly 
 acknowledges them as part of the sacred canon. 
 
 Beside Origen, we have in the third century, v Victorinus, a 
 bishop in Germany ; Cyprian, bishop of Carthage; Gregory, 
 of Neo-Caesarea, and Dionysius, of Alexandria, in whose 
 writings are found most copious quotations from almost 
 every book of the New Testament. 
 
 We proceed to the second century. Here we meet with 
 Tertullian, a native of Carthage, born about the year 150, 
 within fifty years of the last of the apostles, and renowned 
 in his day as a learned, vigorous, and voluminous writer in 
 defence of Christianity. His works abound in quotations of 
 the most direct kind, and with long extracts from all the 
 books of the New Testament, except four of the minor 
 Episties, which, as he nowhere professes to give a formal 
 cataxogue, he may easily be supposed to^have passed un- 
 quoted, without entertaining any opinion unfavourable to 
 their authenticity. Tertullian's quotations occupy nearly 
 thirty folio pages. " There are more and larger quotations 
 of the small volume of the New Testament in this one 
 Christian author, than of all the works of Cicero in the 
 writers of all characters for several ages. 1 "* 
 
 The same is true with regard to Irenasus and Clement, of 
 A.lexandria ; both writers of the second century. In what 
 
 * Lardner, i. 435.
 
 LECTURE II. 53 
 
 spirit these early Christians regarded the authority of the 
 New Testament books, may be judged from the manner of 
 their quotations. Irenaeus writes : " As the blessed Paul 
 says, in the Epistle to the Ephesians, v. 30 : ' For we are 
 members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.'" And 
 so Clement, " The blessed Paul, in the first Epistle to the 
 Corinthians : ' Brethren, be not children in understand- 
 ing,' " &c. 
 
 It deserves to be specially noted that, in this early age, the 
 book of Revelation is expressly ascribed to St. John. The 
 testimony of Irenseus to this effect is so full and strong, that 
 it may justly be considered as putting its authenticity entirely 
 beyond reasonable dispute.* 
 
 There is abundant evidence that, in the second century, 
 the books of the New Testament were open to all, and well 
 known in the world. In Tertullian's Apology, addressed to 
 the Roman presidents, he challenges an inspection of the 
 scriptures. "Look into the words of God, our scriptures, 
 which we ourselves do not conceal, and many accidents 
 bring into the way of those who are not of our religion." 
 In this appeal, he calls the attention of the heathen rulers 
 to the Epistles and Gospels, as constituting, " the words of 
 God, our scriptures."! 
 
 There is good reason to believe that, in the time of Ter- 
 tullian, the very autographs, or original letters of the apos- 
 tles, were in the possession of those churches to which they 
 had been specially directed. " If (says this ancient writer) 
 you be willing to exercise your curiosity profitably in the 
 business of your salvation, visit the apostolical churches, in 
 which the very chairs of the apostles still preside ; in which 
 their very authentic letters are recited, sounding forth thti 
 voice, and representing the countenance, of each one of 
 them. Is Achaia near you ? You have Corinth. If you 
 
 * Lardner, i. 372 t Ib. i. 434.
 
 54 LECTURE II. 
 
 are not far from Macedonia, you have Philippi, you have 
 Thessalonica," &c.* If Tertullian did not mean that the 
 original manuscripts, but only authentic copies of the Epis- 
 tles to the Corinthians, Philippians, &c., were to be seen by 
 application to those churches, why send inquirers thither ? 
 Could an authentic copy of the Epistle to the Philippians 
 be seen nowhere but at Philippi ; or of that to the Corin- 
 thians, nowhere but at Corinth ?t 
 
 The quotations from the New Testament, in the writings 
 of the second century, are so numerous that were the sacred 
 volume lost, a large part of it might be collected from them 
 alone. Passing by the testimonies of Melito, bishop of 
 Sardis, who wrote a commentary on the book of Revelation, 
 and of Hegesippus, converted from Judaism, and of Tatian, 
 who composed a harmony of the gospels, all born about the 
 time of the death of St. John, we come to Justin Martyr, 
 born about ten years prior to that event. Before his conver- 
 sion from heathenism, he studied philosophy in the schools 
 of the Stoics, Peripatetics, Pythagoreans, and Platonics. 
 After becoming a Christian, he occupied a high stand in 
 learned writing and holy living. His remaining works con- 
 tain numerous quotations from, as well as allusions to, the 
 four Gospels, which he uniformly represents as containing 
 " the genuine and authentic accounts of Jesus Christ and of 
 his doctrine." The same is true in relation to the Acts of 
 the Apostles, and the greater part of the Epistles. The 
 book of Revelation is expressly said by Justin to have been 
 written by " John, one of the apostles of Christ." Having 
 lived before the death of that apostle, he had the best opportu- 
 nity of knowing. 
 
 We finish the second century with Papias, bishop of 
 Hierapolis in Asia, whom Irenaeus speaks of as a hearer of 
 John, and a disciple of Polycarp, a pupil of John the apostle.t 
 
 Lardner, i 424. t Alexander on the Canon, p. 143. t Lardner, i. 336.
 
 LECTURE II. 55 
 
 How he obtained his information, will appear from the only 
 fragment of his writings remaining. It is found in Eusebius. 
 "If at any time, I met with one who had conversed with 
 the elders, I inquired after the sayings of the elders (presby- 
 ters): what Andrew or what Peter said; or what Philip, 
 Thomas, or James, had said ; what John or Matthew, or 
 what any other of the disciples of the Lord, were wont to 
 say."* Thus we have a witness who lived near enough to 
 the beginning, to inquire of those who had conversed with 
 the apostles, if not to listen to St. John himself. Too little 
 remains of .his writings to furnish many testimonies, especially 
 as he had it not in view to confirm the authenticity of any 
 part of scripture ; but still he gives a very valuable testimony 
 to the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, and the first Epistles 
 of Peter and John. He alludes to the Acts and the book 
 of Revelation. 
 
 Thus we have ascended to the apostolic age. But we 
 may reach still higher. We have in our possession the well 
 authenticated writings of five individuals and fathers in the 
 primitive church, who, because they were contemporary 
 with the apostles, are called apostolical fathers. Three of 
 them, Barnabas, Clement, and Hernias, are mentioned by 
 name in the New Testament;! the fourth, Polycarp, was 
 an immediate disciple of St. John ; the fifth, Ignatius, enjoyed 
 the privilege of frequent intercourse with the apostles. 
 There is scarcely a book of the New Testament, which one 
 or another of these writers has not either quoted or alluded 
 to. Though what is extant of their works is very little, it 
 contains more than two hundred and twenty quotations, or 
 allusions to the writings of our sacred volume, in which 
 they are uniformly treated with the reverence belonging to 
 inspired books, calling them " the Sacred Scriptures? ''the 
 
 * Lardner, L 337. 
 
 t Acts xiii. 2, 3; 46, 47. 1. Cor. ix. 47. Phil. iv. 3. Rom. xvi. 14
 
 56 LECTURE II. 
 
 Oracles of the Lord" Their testimony is not universal, 
 inasmuch as it is incidental. They had no design of enu- 
 merating for posterity, or their contemporaries, the books of 
 scripture. There was no controversy on that subject in their 
 age. It would have seemed a needless waste of words, had 
 they attempted to decide a question which no one asked. It 
 is very natural, therefore, considering the brevity of their 
 remaining works, and the incidental character of their quo- 
 tations, that some of the shorter writings of the New Testa- 
 ment should not be alluded to ; while the fact that, by one 
 or another, almost every book is quoted or alluded to, and 
 that the whole number of quotations or allusions is upwards 
 of two hundred and twenty, accompanied with every mark 
 of reverence and submission, is a most impressive proof that 
 the authenticity and inspired authority of the New Testa- 
 ment books were then notorious and unquestioned among 
 Christians. 
 
 Thus we have ascended the line of testimony into the 
 presence of the apostles. Our evidence has been collected 
 from only a few out of the many witnesses that might have 
 been cited. It has been derived from writers of different 
 times, and of countries widely separated from philosophers, 
 rhetoricians, and divines, all men of acuteness and learning 
 in their days, all concurring in their testimony that the 
 books of the New Testament were equally known in distant 
 regions, and received as authentic by men and churches that 
 had no intercourse with one another. The argument is now, 
 therefore, reduced to this. The apostles and disciples of Christ 
 are known to have left some writings. That those writings 
 have been lost, none can give a reason for believing. It is 
 not pretended that any other volume than that of the New 
 Testament contains them. The books contained in this 
 volume, were considered to be the writings of the apostles, 
 by the whole Christian church, as far back as those who 
 were their contemporaries and companions, being continu-
 
 LECTURE II. 67 
 
 ally quoted and alluded to as such. It was impossible that 
 such witnesses should be deceived. . Contemporaries and 
 companions must have known whether they quoted the 
 genuine works of the apostles, or only forgeries pretending 
 to their names. Our evidence, therefore, is complete. What 
 I have presented, exceeds, above measure, the evidence for 
 the authenticity of any other ancient book. Should the 
 fiftieth part of it be demanded for any Roman or Grecian 
 production, its character must be condemned as unworthy of 
 confidence. 
 
 Before relinquishing this department of evidence, there 
 are certain very important particulars which, though em- 
 braced in what has been already advanced, require a more 
 special notice. 
 
 1st. It is worthy of distinct remark, that when the books 
 of the New Testament are quoted or alluded to by those 
 whose testimony has been adduced, they are treated with 
 supreme regard, as possessing an authority belonging to 
 no other books, and as conclusive in questions of religion. 
 For example ; Irenseus, born about A. D. 97, calls them 
 " divine oracles ;" " scriptures of the Lord" He says that 
 the Gospel was " committed to writing, by the will of God, 
 that it might be, for time to come, the foundation and pillar 
 of our faith."* " He fled to the Gospels, which he believed 
 no less than if Christ had been speaking to him ; and to the 
 writings of the apostles, whom he esteemed as the presby- 
 tery of the whole Christian church." Origen, born about 
 A. I). 184, says, " Christians believe Jesus to be the Son of 
 God, in a sense not to be explained and made known to 
 men, by any but by that scripture alone which is inspired by 
 the Holy Ghost ; that is, the evangelic and apostolic scrip- 
 ture, as also that of the law and the prophets."t Cyprian, 
 bishop of Carthage, born about the end of the second cen- 
 
 * Lardner, i. 372. t Ib. i. 545.
 
 53 LECTURE II. 
 
 tury, earnestly exhorts "all in general, but especially Christian 
 ministers, in all doubtful matters, to have recourse to the 
 Gospels and the Epistles of the apostles, as to the fountain 
 where may be found the true original doctrine of Christ." 
 " The precepts of the Gospel (he says) are to be considered 
 as the lessons of God to us ; as the foundations of our hope, 
 and the supports of our faith."* 
 
 2d. The books of the New Testament were united at a 
 very early period in a distinct volume. Not to mention, in 
 evidence of this, that in all the earliest writers, the Gospels 
 and Epistles are spoken of as constituting a notorious col- 
 lection of sacred authorities, divided into those two parts ; 
 we have Tertullian, born only fifty years after the death of 
 St. John, calling the collection of the Gospels the " evange- 
 lical instrument /' the whole volume, the " New Testa- 
 ment ;" and the two parts, the " Gospels and apostles" 
 
 3d. The books of the New Testament were, at a very 
 early period) publicly read and expounded in the congrega- 
 tions of Christians. Chrysostom, born about A. D. 347, 
 testifies that " the Gospels, when written, were not hid in a 
 corner, or buried in obscurity, but made known to all the 
 world, before enemies as well as others, even as they are 
 now." Irenaeus, about two hundred years earlier, says that, 
 in his time, " all the scriptures, both prophecies and Gospels, 
 are open and clear, and may be heard of aZ/."t Still earlier, 
 we find Justin Martyr giving the emperor an account of the 
 Christian worship, in which it is written : " The memoirs of 
 the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, accord- 
 ing as the time allows ; and when the reader has ended, the 
 president makes a discourse, exhorting to the imitation of so 
 excellent things.''! The custom here mentioned, is evidently 
 spoken of as notorious and universal. This was about the 
 year 140. But a practice thus general and familiar could 
 
 * Lardner, li. 27, and 592, 3. t Ib. i. 372. t Ib. i. 345.
 
 LECTURE II. 59 
 
 hardly have grown up in less than forty years before the 
 writing of this last witness. Thus we reach the life of St. 
 John, and may, therefore, consider it as satisfactorily proved 
 that, at a period as early as the last years of St. John, the 
 scriptures of the New Testament were publicly read and 
 expounded in the churches of Christians. Such is the 
 natural inference, from many passages in the works of 
 Augustine, of the fourth century. For example, " The 
 canonical books of scripture being read every where, the 
 miracles therein recorded, are well known to all people." 
 " The Epistles of Peter and Paul are daily recited to the 
 people." And to what people ? And to how many people? 
 Listen to the Psalm : " Their sound hath gone out into all 
 the earth? Again : " The genuineness and integrity of the 
 same scriptures may be relied on, which have been spread 
 all over the world, and which from the time of their publi- 
 cation were in the highest esteem, and have been carefully 
 kept in the churches* 
 
 4th. During the primitive ages of Christianity r , commen- 
 taries were written upon the books of the New Testament ; 
 harmonies of them were formed, copies diligently com- 
 pared, and translations made into different languages. In 
 proof of these assertions, it is needless, after the citations 
 already made, to call up testimony. It may be found abun- 
 dantly in Paley's Evidences ;t where it is well said, that " no 
 greater proof can be given of the esteem in which these an- 
 cient books were holden by the ancient Christians, or of the 
 sense then entertained of their value and importance, than 
 the industry bestowed upon them. Moreover, it shows that 
 they were then considered as ancient books. Men do not 
 write comments upon publications of their own times : 
 therefore the testimonies cited under this head, afford an 
 evidence which carries up the evangelic writings much be- 
 
 *Lardner, ii. 593, 4. t P. 1. c. ix. c vi.
 
 f>0 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 yond the age of the testimonies themselves, and to that o4 
 their reputed authors." There is but a single example of a 
 Christian writer during the three first centuries, composing 
 comments upon any other books than those in the New Tes- 
 ment. Clement, of Alexandria, is mentioned by Eusebius as 
 having written short notes upon an apocryphal book, called 
 the Revelation of Peter; but that he did not consider it 
 as having authority, may be inferred from the fact men- 
 tioned by Eusebius, that in his other works it was nowhere 
 quoted.* 
 
 5th. From the view we have taken of primitive testimony, 
 it appears that the agreement of the ancient church as to 
 what were the authentic books of the New Testament, is 
 complete. Out of twelve catalogues, the earliest of which was 
 furnished by Origen, living within a hundred years of St. 
 John ; all of which were drawn up, either by solemn coun- 
 cils, or distinguished heads of the church residing in various 
 and widely remote parts of the world ; out of twelve, 
 seven, including the earliest, agree exactly with our New 
 Testament list ; three others differ only in the omission of 
 the book of Revelation, for which they had a special reason 
 not implicating its authenticity; and in the two which remain, 
 the books omitted and spoken of as doubtful, in the esti- 
 mation of some, were acknowledged and quoted as authentic 
 by the framers of the catalogues. The fathers, in. all their 
 writings and of all ages and countries, appeal to the same 
 scriptures as infallible authority. The consent of the ancient 
 church was therefore universal. So far as the argument for 
 the divine revelation of Jhe Gospel is connected with the 
 authenticity of any of the books it was without exception. 
 The books omitted in some writers and catalogues, have no 
 essential reference to the great question whether the Gospel 
 of Christ is of divine revelation. 
 
 Lanlner I i.410.
 
 LECTURE II. 61 
 
 Gth. The agreement among the various sects of heretics 
 in the earliest centuries, is as entire as that of the orthodox 
 fathers. The authenticity of the books of the New Testa- 
 ment was acknowledged even by those to whose sectarian 
 interest their authority was extremely detrimental. Instead 
 of venturing to dispute their having been written by their 
 reputed authors, they sought refuge in arbitrary interpreta- 
 tions of such passages as opposed their favourite views. 
 Some among the Gnostics, for example, unable to escape the 
 apostolic character of the sacred books, maintained the ne- 
 cessity of giving an allegorical turn to their declarations. 
 And when, in the course of time, heretics did undertake to 
 question the authenticity of some portions of the New Tes- 
 tament, their accusation was not based upon any historical 
 or testimonial objections, but confined to some trifling and 
 pretended internal causes of exception, which only their 
 own convenience could discover. Some of these later here- 
 tics, being opposed to the doctrine of the influences of the 
 Holy Spirit, denied the gospel of St. John, because it con- 
 tains the promise of that divine Teacher and Comforter. 
 But with regard to those of an earlier date, Irenseus of the 
 second century, writes, " So great is the certainty in regard 
 to our Gospels, that even the heretics themselves bear testi- 
 mony in their favour ; and all acknowledging them, each 
 endeavours to establish from them his own opinions."* Ori- 
 gen, on account as well of his candour and acquaintance 
 with the heresies of his times as of the early age in which 
 he lived, should be considered a competent witness on this 
 head. He states that the heretics endeavoured to impose 
 upon people by alleging texts of scripture for their particu 
 lar tenets, though they quoted them in a very unfair and 
 mutilated manner ; and that they appealed to them because 
 they were the only writings whose authority was umver- 
 
 * Storr & Flatt's Bib. Theol. i. C7. 
 5*
 
 G2 LECTURE II. 
 
 sally allowed.* Testimony more impressive than this, to 
 the apostolic authorship of the New Testament books, can- 
 not be demanded. 
 
 7th. The several heads of evidence which have now been 
 made out in proof of the authenticity of the New Testa- 
 ment, cannot be pretended to with regard to any of those 
 ivritings which are called Apocryphal Scriptures. To some 
 who are aware that in the early ages of Christianity there 
 existed a variety of apocryphal gospels and other composi- 
 tions, pretending to have been written by the apostles, it may 
 be difficult to imagine by what rule the true works of the 
 inspired writers were separated, without embarrassment and 
 with sufficient confidence, from all mere pretenders to that 
 high original. But it greatly enhances one's sense of the 
 prodigious weight of evidence in support of the true scrip- 
 tures, to learn how broad and unquestionable was the dis- 
 tinction. 
 
 Among the apocryphal writings, there are two classes. 
 One is that of histories which assumed the names of the 
 apostles, but were literally forgeries and therefore spurious, 
 as well as apocryphal. The other consists of certain writings 
 of a christain character, and either entirely or in part histo- 
 rical, which are not spurious, but called apocryphal because 
 their age and authors are unknown, or their authority is of 
 no weight. 
 
 Of the first class, it may be asserted, without any hazard, 
 that none are quoted within three hundred years after the 
 birth of Christ, by any writer now extant or known ; or if 
 any are quoted, it is invariably with marks of censure and 
 rejection.! The only possible exception is the gospel accord- 
 ing to the Hebrews, "which (says Lardner) was probably 
 either St. Matthew's gospel in his original Hebrew, with some 
 additions ; or, as I rather think, a Hebrew translation of St. 
 
 * Lardner, iv. 521, 2. t 6 Paley's Evidences.
 
 LECTURE II. 63 
 
 Matthew-'s Greek original, with the additions above mention- 
 ed." But this is quoted nowhere, without marks of discredit 
 except in one place in the works of Clement of Alexandria. 
 
 Of the second class, none but a book called the Preaching 
 of Peter, and another entitled the Revelation of Peter, are 
 quoted, without positive condemnation, by any writer of the 
 three first centuries. These are spoken of only by the same 
 Clement of Alexandria. Compare with these facts, the 
 immense mass and variety of concurrent testimonies to the 
 books of the New Testament in the writers of the three first 
 centuries ; testimonies from all countries and all classes 
 orthodox or heretics ; remember for example that you may 
 find in the extant works of Tertullian, or of Irenseus, or of 
 Clement of Alexandria, more and larger quotations of the 
 small volume of the New Testament, than you can find in 
 writers of all characters, for several ages, of the works of 
 Cicero, though voluminous and always so universally popu- 
 lar ; and it will be evident that the apocryphal writings 
 could have presented no difficulties in ascertaining the 
 authentic books of the apostles. None of them were read 
 as having apostolic authority in the churches of Christians ; 
 nor admitted into their sacred volume; nor included in their 
 catalogues ; nor noticed as authentic by the adversaries of 
 Christianity ; nor appealed to by all parties calling them 
 selves Christians, as authority in their controversies ; nor 
 treated with sufficient respect to be made the subjects of 
 commentaries, collections or translations, unless the brief 
 notes on the Revelation of Peter, by Clement of Alexandria, 
 should merit exception. .So wide was the contrast between 
 the true and the false ; so easily were the true scriptures dis 
 tingui-shed from all unauthorized pretenders to that honoura- 
 ble name. 
 
 But this is capable of being exhibited still more impres- 
 sively. We have stated several important evidences of 
 authenticity, all of which are found in the New Testament,
 
 64 LECTURE II. 
 
 and none in any of the apocryphal writings. We will now 
 exhibit certain evidences of spuriousness, all of which are 
 found in the apocryphal writings, and none in those of the 
 New Testament. The reasons which render the authen- 
 ticity of a work suspicious, are thus enumerated in the 
 learned Introduction to the New Testament by Michaelis : 
 
 1. When doubts have been entertained, from its first ap- 
 pearance, whether it was the work of its reputed author. 
 
 2. When his immediate friends who were able to judge, 
 have denied it to be his. 3. When a long series of years 
 has elapsed after his death, in which the book was unknown^ 
 and in which it must have been mentioned or quoted, had it 
 been in existence. 4. When the style is different Trom that 
 of his other writings ; or in case no others remain, different 
 from what might be reasonably expected. 5. When events 
 are recorded which happened later than the time of the pre- 
 tended author. 6. When opinions are advanced contradic- 
 tory to those which he is known to have maintained in other 
 writings.* Now it may be affirmed, without fear of contra- 
 diction, that the apocryphal books exhibit all these evidences 
 of spuriousness ; none of them being exempt from nearly 
 the whole list, and few of them deficient in any particular. 
 While, with equal confidence, it is asserted that the books of 
 the New Testament exhibit none of them. In no book of 
 that holy volume, are opinions professed that are contradic- 
 tory to any which the reputed author is known elsewhere to 
 fiave maintained; nor are facts recorded which happened 
 later than the age in which he lived ; nor is the style differ- 
 ent from that of his other writings; or from what might rea- 
 sonably have been expected from his pen. No book of the 
 New Testament was unknown during a long series of years 
 subsequent to the death of the individual to whom it is 
 ascribed ; none can be shown to have been denied by the 
 
 * Michaelis' Int., i. p. 25.
 
 LECTURE II. 65 
 
 near friends of the reputed author as his production ; no 
 doubts can be proved to have been entertained of the au 
 thenticity of any part of the New Testament at the time of 
 its first publication. 
 
 That apocryphal writings existed in the first centuries, is 
 a fact which so far from embarrassing the evidence for the 
 authenticity of the New Testament books, and the truth of 
 the gospel history, very materially confirms it. Had it not 
 been notorious that the apostles did write Gospels and Epis- 
 tles, it is not likely that so many would have attempted to 
 pass off spurious Gospels, &c., in their names. Had it not 
 been that the fame of Christ and his apostles was very great 
 in all lands, from the beginning, it is not probable that all 
 these apocryphal authors would have thought of writing 
 about them, or in their names ; much less that they would 
 have expected a market for their works. Had it not been 
 notorious and universally allowed that Christ and his apos- 
 tles wrought miracles, and did many wonderful works, it is 
 not probable that all these writers would have taken it for 
 granted, and sought to build up their particular opinions 
 upon the assumption. " They all suppose the dignity of 
 our Lord's person, and a power of working miracles, toge- 
 ther with a high degree of authority, as having been con- 
 veyed by him to his apostles."* 
 
 That apocryphal books should have been published in 
 the name of the apostles, is precisely what was to be ex- 
 pected from the wid-e circulation, great popularity, and emi- 
 nent reverence, which their authentic writings had obtained. 
 Current notes soon awaken a disposition to counterfeit them. 
 Popular medicines soon bring into the market apocrypha) 
 inventions wearing their names. The effort to pass off the 
 latter is the best proof of the estimation of the former. 
 
 The New Testament writers have been treated, in this 
 
 *Lardner, iii. 131
 
 66 LECTURE II. 
 
 respect, precisely like others. So writes Augustine : " ISo 
 writings ever had a better testimony afforded them than 
 those of the apostles and evangelists ; nor does it weaken 
 the credit and authority of books received by the church 
 from the beginning, that some other writings have .been 
 without ground, and falsely, ascribed to the apostles ; for 
 the like has happened, for instance, to Hippocrates ; but 
 yet his genuine works have been distinguished from 
 others, which have been published under his name."* 
 Such, also, has been the case with many others. Several 
 spurious orations were published under the names of Lysias 
 and Demosthenes. Works were ascribed to Plautus, and 
 Virgil, and Horace, which had no title to their names. But 
 it was no difficult matter for the Greek and Roman critics to 
 separate the genuine from the apocryphal works of those 
 authors. Thus it was also with the early Christians. They 
 proved all things, and held fast that only which was good. 
 " We receive Peter and the other apostles, as Christ (said 
 Serapion, bishop of Antioch) ; but as skilful men, we reject 
 those writings which are falsely ascribed to them." 
 
 Here we might safely leave the question of authenticity ; 
 for, if the evidence adduced does not prove the New Testa- 
 ment books to have proceeded from the apostles, no book of 
 a passed age has any pretension to authenticity ; that Milton 
 wrote Paradise Lost must be considered unworthy of credit ; 
 that the orations bearing the name of Cicero, were composed 
 or delivered by that orator, must be condemned as one of the 
 apocryphal inventions of some age of monks and darkness 
 " I find more sure marks of authenticity in the New Testa- 
 ment (said Sir Isaac Newton), than in any profane history 
 whatever." 
 
 But inasmuch as your minds cannot be furnished with 
 too much information on this fundamental subject, 1 
 
 * Lardner, iii. 134.
 
 LECTURE II. 5 
 
 will reserve some important views for a subsequent lec- 
 ture. 
 
 There is a lesson for the believer, in what -has been exhi- 
 bited, of great practical interest. It is manifest, from the 
 testimonies adduced, that the scriptures of the New Testa- 
 ment were treated, among the primitive Christians, not only 
 as true and possessed of inspired authority, in reference to 
 all questions of doctrine and obedience ; but as very pre- 
 cious, " more to be desired than gold." They loved them as 
 an inestimable treasure ; they kept them, consulted them, 
 and exalted them in their hearts, and houses, and assemblies, 
 as a companion for every trial ; a guide in every difficulty ; 
 a gift of God, for the preservation and honour of which they 
 were ready to shed their blood. They felt them to be " pro- 
 fitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in 
 righteousness." How does all this rebuke the lukewarm- 
 ness with which the scriptures are regarded by too many 
 professing Christians of the present day. In primitive times, 
 believers would read them, though they paid for the privilege 
 with their lives. In these days, multitudes who call them- 
 selves believers, can hardly be persuaded to search the scrip- 
 tures, though every facility is afforded, and the Bible is in 
 honour. What a tremendous account must he give to God, 
 who neglects His word ! Let us imitate not only the affec- 
 tionate devotion with which the primitive Christians read 
 the Bible, but also the diligent zeal with which they sur- 
 mounted innumerable obstacles, in circulating copies of its 
 books through the world. We possess facilities for such an 
 object which they had not. The press is placed in our hands 
 for this very purpose. It is our gift of tongues. Let us 
 realize the responsibility we are under, for the improvement 
 of so rich a talent ; and speed its work, and multiply its 
 branches of application, till the sound of the Gospel has gone 
 out into all the earth, and the words of Jesus to the ends of 
 the world ; and there is nothing hid from the light thereof
 
 63 LECTURE III. 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGRITY OF THE NEW 
 TESTAMENT. 
 
 OUR attention was exclusively occupied, during the last 
 lecture, in tracing up the line of testimony by which the 
 church of Christ, in these days, is certified that her sacred 
 books, composing the volume of the New Testament, are 
 those very books which were written by the apostles of the 
 Lord Jesus. A series of attestations was followed up, by 
 which we were conducted into the very age and presence of 
 the apostles, and enabled to inquire of those who, having 
 been their contemporaries, and in habits of intercourse with 
 them, must necessarily have known what books they wrote. 
 A mass of evidence was obtained, by which the authenticity 
 of the New Testament was placed on the most immoveable 
 basis. But, inasmuch as we are now laying the foundation 
 of our subsequent and more direct arguments for the truth 
 of Christianity as a divine revelation, it is of the greatest 
 importance that, in respect to this preliminary subject, every 
 mind be well assured, and that nothing of importance to the 
 impressiveness, as well as sufficiency, of the evidence, be 
 omitted. In the present lecture, therefore, we pursue still 
 farther the question to which the last was devoted. 
 
 From the whole tenor of the previous lecture, it is evi- 
 dent that the canon of the New Testament ; in other words, 
 the collection of those books which were considered as the 
 mspired and authoritative writings of the apostles and evan- 
 gelists, to the exclusion of all others, was not made without 
 great care, and the most deliberate, intelligent investiga- 
 tion Such is the witnessing of an eminent writer of the
 
 LECTURE III. 69 
 
 fourth century. " Our canonical books (says Augustine), 
 which are of the highest authority among us, have been set- 
 tled with great care : they ought to be few, lest their value 
 should be diminished; and yet they are so many, and writ- 
 ten by so many persons, that their agreement, throughout, is 
 wonderful."* The method pursued by the early Christians 
 in determining what books had a just claim to the character 
 of canonical scriptures, was precisely that by which we have 
 been investigating the same subject. It was not enough, for 
 the reception of a writing, that it came to them under the 
 name of an apostle, and was considered by some as justly 
 entitled to that honour. Its descent was carefully traced. 
 How was it regarded by the preceding generation, and by 
 the generation before that? Was it known by those who 
 lived nearest the time and the person associated with its 
 claims ? Had it been received by the churches ; referred to 
 and quoted, as possessing canonical authority, by Christian wri- 
 ters since the period of its general publication ? Had it been 
 handed down by the general and concurrent tradition of the 
 church, written and unwritten, as the work of the writer 
 whose name it bears? Such was the mode which, we know 
 from the remaining works of Irenseus, Tertullian, Eusebius, 
 Cyril, and Augustine, &c., was employed in their days, and 
 in all times of the primitive church. " The books of the 
 canonical scriptures (says Augustine), established in the times 
 of the apostles, and confirmed by the testimony of the suc- 
 cession of bishops and churches, in all following times, are 
 placed in a peculiar degree of authority, to which the judg- 
 ment and understanding of all pious men are subject." 
 
 The numerous catalogues which have descended to us 
 from the early centuries, are sufficient evidence of the care 
 with which the canon of the New Testament was settled. 
 Ln primitive times, when, from a variety of causes, spurious 
 
 * Lardner, ii. 596. 
 f>
 
 70 LECTURE III. 
 
 books abounded, and the distant and scattered churches, 
 incapable of much intercourse with those near the centre 
 of Christian light, were most liable to be deceived, these 
 catalogues were of the greatest importance. How nume- 
 rous they must have been, may be, in somewise, conceived 
 from the fact that, although a very small portion only of 
 the works of the first four centuries are extant, there are 
 among them no less than thirteen independent catalogues, 
 all of them composed by authors scattered over only about 
 one hundred and eighty, out of the first four hundred years 
 after the birth of Christ. 
 
 The same care is seen in the pains that were taken to 
 obtain the most exact information as ,o the authenticity of the 
 books bearing apostolic names ; as well as from the decisive 
 censure and aversion with which an attcm )t to pass a spu- 
 rious work upon the church, was visited. Pious and learned 
 heads of the churches used to journey to Palestine, and reside 
 there for a considerable length of time, for the express object 
 of obtaining whatever valuable k: \owledge might be found 
 there, as to the New Testament writings. And of the treat- 
 ment bestowed upon attempted lo rgeries, we have an example 
 in the case of 'a certain presbyte: of Asia, soon after the death 
 of St. John, who publish d a book, Wtiich is still extant, un- 
 der the title of the Acts of Paul and Thecla. The attempt 
 at imposition was charged upon the author, and confessed. 
 Whereupon he was degraded from his office, and the whole 
 matter was notified to the churches, that they might feel the 
 aeed of the strictest care thereafter.* 
 
 The gradual steps by which the books of the New Testa- 
 ment were multiplied to their present number, afforded the 
 best opportunity for a careful and accurate determination of 
 their authenticity. Had they all appeared at once, claiming, 
 in their collective form, to be received by the churches as in- 
 
 * Lardner, i. 435.
 
 LECTURE III. 71 
 
 spired scripture ; the attention of Christians being thus divi 
 ded among twenty-seven independent writings which pro- 
 fessed to have been written by eight different authors, the 
 diligence of their investigation would have been also divided; 
 its accuracy would have been endangered, and the opportu- 
 nity of imposition greatly increased. But such was not the 
 case. The books of the New Testament were published 
 Singly. They came before the churches, one by one, with 
 considerable intervals between them, thus giving time for the 
 claims of each to be deliberately and singly examined. The 
 Epistle to the Romans appeared at the bar of the church in 
 the city of Rome, and had its authority as a writing of St. 
 Paul determined, without embarrassment from any question 
 as to the authenticity of the Epistle to the Ephesians. The 
 Ephesians received the Epistle directed to them, and could 
 sit in judgment upon its claims, without any necessity of de- 
 ciding, at that time, upon the authenticity of the Epistle to the 
 Romans, or Corinthians, or Philippians. Thus were there 
 several years between the beginning and completion of the 
 canon of the New Testament. For a little while, a portion of 
 the church might possess an additional book, which a distant 
 region, on account of the difficulty of multiplying and trans- 
 mitting copies, would not have received. It may have been 
 a period of some years before a church in the distant parts of 
 Asia received and was enabled satisfactorily to authenticate 
 the Epistle to the Romans. Meanwhile the canon of scrip- 
 lure might be composed of more books at Rome than at the 
 church supposed. 
 
 How long this state of things continued ; or when precisely 
 the canon was closed, is a question rather of curiosity than of 
 importance ; the authenticity and canonical character of any 
 particular book being independent of its determination. We 
 know that the principal parts of the New Testament were 
 collected before the death of St. John, or at least not long sub- 
 sequent to that event. But what individual, or what assem-
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 blage of persons, collected them; where, and precisely when. 
 the work was done, we may indulge in plausible conjecture, 
 but cannot certainly ascertain. But what connexion have 
 such matters with the question of apostolic origin ? If the 
 Epistle to the Romans, or the gospel of Matthew was written 
 by the disciple whose name it bears, it surely matters little 
 when it became the companion of other authentic books in 
 the formation of a separate volume ; or who arranged its 
 place in that volume ; or when an assemblage of Christian 
 fathers inserted its name in a catalogue, and published it to 
 the churches as a canonical writing. It was canonical as 
 soon as it was composed. It was a part of the New Testa- 
 ment from the moment of its birth. Had the books of scrip- 
 ture never been collected into a volume, but kept in separation, 
 as they were first published, to the present time, although 
 their preservation would have been more difficult, their au 
 thority would have been the same, and the canon of the New 
 Testament complete. Had no father of the church, nor any 
 ecclesiastical council ever issued a declaration of opinion as 
 to what writings should be included in the list of canonical 
 scriptures, we should have wanted indeed much valuable 
 testimony now possessed from such sources ; but the essential 
 claim of each inspired book to a place in the canon would 
 have remained unaltered. To substantiate the title of any 
 portion of the New Testament to so honourable a place, we 
 need only the proof that it was written by the apostle or 
 evangelist to whom it is ascribed. For this we require the 
 testimony of primitive antiquity. So far as the opinion of 
 ancient councils or authors is deserving of attention, as a 
 matter of testimony, it is of value in the settlement of the 
 canon; and in this view, such opinion is unquestionably of 
 the highest -importance; and what we have already exhi- 
 bited of this kind, deserves the greatest consideration. But 
 the point to be especially noted is, that the proof of authen- 
 ticity in the subject before us, is the proof of canonical autho-
 
 LECTURE III. 73 
 
 rily , that the canon began when the first Gospel or Epistle 
 was published ; that it increased with every additional pub- 
 lication by inspired men, and was complete and closed, the 
 moment the last writing of the New Testament was issued 
 to the churches ; though at the same time but few of them 
 may have been acquainted with it ; no ecclesiastical assem- 
 bly may have sanctioned it, and no union had been made 
 with other inspired books, so as to present them to the 
 churches as a collection of canonical writings, under the 
 general name of the New Testament. 
 
 As to the arrangement of these books in a single volume, 
 it must have been a work of time, according to the relative 
 situation and intercourse of any particular region of Chris- 
 tianity. "Those churches which were situated nearest to 
 the place where any particular books were published, would, 
 of course, obtain copies much earlier than churches in remote 
 parts of the world. For a considerable period the collection 
 of these books in each church must have been necessarily 
 incomplete, for it would take some time to send to the church 
 or people with whom the autographs were deposited, and to 
 write off fair copies. This necessary process will also account 
 for the fact, that some of the smaller books were not received by 
 the churches so early, nor universally, as the larger. The soli- 
 citude of the churches to possess, immediately, the more exten- 
 sive books of the New Testament, would doubtless induce 
 them to make a great exertion to acquire copies ; but, proba- 
 bly, the smaller would not be so much spoken of, nor would 
 there be so strong a desire to obtain them without delay. 
 Considering how difficult it is now, with all our improve- 
 ments in the typographical art, to multiply copies of the 
 scriptures with sufficient rapidity, it is truly wonderful how 
 so many churches as were founded during the first century. 
 to say nothing of individuals, could all be supplied with 
 copies of the New Testament, when there was no speedier 
 method of producing them than by writing every letter with 
 
 6*
 
 74 LECTURE III. 
 
 the pen . Even as early as the time when Peter wrote his 
 second Epistle, the writings of Paul were in the hands of 
 the churches, and were classed with the other scriptures.* 
 And the citation from these books by the earliest cliristian 
 writers, living in different countries, demonstrates that, from 
 the time of their publication, they were sought after with 
 avidity, and were widely dispersed." " How intense the 
 interest which the first Christians felt in the writings of the 
 apostles can scarcely be conceived by us, who have beon 
 familiar with these books from our earliest years. How soli- 
 citous would they be, for example, who had never seen Paul, 
 but had heard of his wonderful conversion and extraordinary 
 labours and gifts, to read his writings ? And probably they 
 who had enjoyed the high privilege of hearing this apostle 
 preach would not be less desirous of reading his Epistles ! 
 As we know from the nature of the case, as well as from 
 testimony, that many uncertain accounts of Christ's dis- 
 courses and miracles had obtained circulation, how greatly 
 would the primitive Christians rejoice, to obtain an authentic 
 history from the pen of an apostle, or from one who wrote 
 precisely what was dictated by an apostle ? We need no 
 longer wonder, therefore, that every church should wish to 
 possess a collection of the writings of the apostles ; and 
 knowing them to be the productions of inspired men, they 
 would want no further sanction of their authority. All that 
 was requisite, was to be certain that the book was indeed 
 written by the apostle whose name it bore."t Hence the care 
 of St. Paul, as he commonly wrote by an amanuensis, to 
 I lave the salutation in his own hand, or to annex his signa- 
 ture : as, for example, in the second Epistle to the Thessa- 
 lonians : " The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, 
 which is the token in every Epistle : so I write." Hence, 
 .ilso, the care so often manifest in the Epistles, to designate 
 
 * 2 Fetcr, in. 14, 15. t Alexander on the Canon, p. 138, &c.
 
 LECTURE III. 75 
 
 those by name to whom the office of carrying them, whitl ter 
 they were addressed, was intrusted. 
 
 From the authorities quoted in the previous lecture, it 
 must be full in your recollection that while the agreement 
 of the ancient churches may be considered to have been 
 complete, so far as is important to the argument for the di- 
 vine origin of Christianity ; still there was a difference of 
 opinion as to the authenticity and canonical authority of the 
 Epistle to the Hebrews; of the Epistle of James; the se- 
 cond of Peter ; the second and third of John ; the Epistle of 
 Jude ; and the book of Revelation. This diversity was not, 
 by any means, so great or important as some suppose. Had 
 it not been for the great care and candour of those early 
 Christians, from whom we learn the fact, it would have 
 seemed of too limited an extent, and too inconsiderable in its 
 origin, to merit any more than a very transient notice in their 
 writings. But we have no reason to regret the publicity 
 they have given it. They have thus put into our hands a 
 very strong proof of the discriminating care and jealous vigi- 
 lance with which the primitive churches investigated the 
 title of any book to admission into the canon of the New 
 Testament. That some were doubted, though afterwards 
 universally acknowledged, exhibits in a very strong light the 
 certain authenticity of all those of which there was never a 
 question. 
 
 The canonical authority of the six Epistles above named, 
 as well as of the Apocalypse, has no material connexion with 
 the argument of the ensuing lectures. The evidence of the 
 divine oripin and revelation of Christianity is entirely inde- 
 pendent of the question of their authenticity. Should we 
 acknowledge them to be spurious, no point of Christian doc- 
 trine or duty would be removed ; no gospel truth would bo 
 shaken ; no evidence of divine revelation would be dimin- 
 ished. To vindicate their authenticity cannot, therefore, be 
 required of a lecturer on the evidences of Christianity. It is
 
 76 LECTURE III 
 
 the appropriate office of the biblical critic, and belongs to dis- 
 cussions on the canon of scripture, and to the prolegomena 
 of a commentary, instead of the course we are now pursuing. 
 But lest the mere statement of the fact that doubts were once 
 entertained as to the authenticity of these writings, should 
 leave on some minds an impression unfavourable to their 
 character, as inspired scriptures, it will be well to bestow a 
 moment's attention to the amount of importance to which 
 those doubts are justly entitled. 
 
 With regard to the Epistle to the Hebrews, no question 
 was entertained as to its being the work of St. Paul, among 
 the churches of the earlier centuries, except those of the 
 Latin Christians. The fact that the Arians were the first in 
 the Greek churches who are said to have denied that it was 
 written by St. Paul, is an important testimony in its favour. 
 The objections of the Latins did not pretend to any ecclesi- 
 astical tradition, or any authority of earlier churches, in op- 
 position to its Pauline origin ; but were based entirely on its 
 internal character, and especially on the handle which the 
 fourth and fifth verses of the sixth chapter seemed to afford 
 the sect of the Montanists, in vindication of their prominent 
 doctrine, that those guilty of grievous transgressions should 
 be irrevocably cut off from the church. Hence it was that 
 Jerome and Augustine, though of the Latins, could not adopt 
 the opinions held by many of their contemporaries, being 
 convinced of their incorrectness, by the testimony of the an- 
 cient churches to the authenticity of the Epistle. 
 
 It should be remarked, that all those who questioned the 
 canonical authority of this Epistle, treated it with high re- 
 spect as a Christian and very ancient writing of the apostolic 
 age, if not by an apostle's hand. They ascribed it either to 
 Barnabas or Clement. But for this they had no testimony to 
 appeal to. On the contrary, the testimony of the earliest 
 Christian writers is very decidedly for St. Paul. The fathers 
 of the Greek church unanimously ascribed it to him. Je-
 
 LECTURE III. 77 
 
 rome, of the fourth century, testifies that it was received as a 
 production of that apostle, not only by the eastern churches, 
 but by all the Greek ecclesiastical writers. " I receive it 
 (said he) as genuine guided by the authority of the ancient 
 writers." Eusebius, the historian of the church of the fourth 
 century, quotes it as the work of St. Paul, and says it had, 
 not without reason, been reckoned among the other writings 
 of the apostle. Theodoret positively asserts that Eusebius 
 received this Epistle as St. Paul's, and that he manifested 
 that almost all the ancients were of the same opinion. Au- 
 gustine said " he followed the opinion of the churches of the 
 east, who received it among the canonical scriptures." Ori- 
 gen, born A. D. 184, expresses his opinion that "it was not 
 without cause that the ancients (i. e. the immediate succes- 
 sors of the apostles) regarded this as an Epistle of Paul." 
 The internal evidence is decidedly in favour of its having 
 been written by that apostle. The salutation from the Jew- 
 ish Christians who had been driven out of Italy (Heb. xiii. 
 24.), and the mention of Timothy as his fellow traveller (xiii. 
 23.), are very applicable to Paul. Not only does the general 
 scope of this Epistle tend to the same point on which so 
 much stress is laid in his other writings, that we are justified 
 only by faith in Christ, and that the works and institutions 
 of the law are of no avail to our salvation ; but there are 
 also various propositions found in it which are conspicuous 
 in his other works. The same characteristic warmth and 
 energy of expression appear in this as in all writings ascribed 
 in the New Testament to the pen of St. Paul. Hebraisms 
 abound in it as in his other Epistles. It contains particular 
 expressions, phrases, and collocations of words, which are 
 either peculiar to him, or are most frequent in his composi 
 tions.* But as this is not the place to do justice to a question 
 of so much importance, and yet not material to the argument 
 
 * Smueker's translation of Storr and Flatt's Bib. Theology.
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 of these lectures, 1 must refer you, for further knowledge and 
 satisfaction, to the learned and complete work of professor 
 Stuart, of Andover, on the Epistle to the Hebrews, or to an 
 excellent article in the " Biblical Notes and Dissertations," 
 recently from the pen of Joseph John Gurney, of the society 
 of Friends, in England. 
 
 The Epistle of James, being addressed to Jewish believers, 
 was for some time, to a considerable extent, unknown to the 
 Gentile Christians. While this was the case, its authenticity 
 was questioned, or rather was not certified among the Gen- 
 tiles. As soon as this ceased to be the case, its authenticity 
 was undoubted. It is of great importance to the character 
 of this Epistle, that in the Syriac version, made at the end of 
 the first or the beginning of the second century, while the 
 second Epistle of Peter, the second and third of John, and 
 the Apocalypse, are omitted, the Epistle of James, written 
 particularly to the people for whom the version was made, is 
 included and placed on an equality with all those books about 
 which there was never a question in the church. In pro- 
 portion as it became known among the Gentile Christians, it 
 passed through a severe and accurate scrutiny, till, in a short 
 time, it was universally received, and has ever since been 
 universally honoured, as an authentic and inspired portion 
 of the oracles of God. 
 
 With regard to the remaining Epistles, concerning the 
 authenticity of which doubts were for a while entertained, it 
 will suffice to remark in this place, that the fact of their not 
 having been immediately recognised throughout the church 
 is the works of the apostles, only shows that the persons 
 who were in doubt had not yet received sufficient informa- 
 tion to make up their judgment ; and that the primitive 
 Christians, so far from being so greedy after additions to the 
 sacred canon as to be easily deceived by a plausible preten- 
 sion to apostolic origin, were extremely deliberate and cautious 
 in examining every candidate for admission into the cata-
 
 LECTURE III. 79 
 
 logue of scripture. Such being the case, tl le subsequent re- 
 ception of these Epistles, as soon as full time was given them 
 to be uni versally circulated and known, is pt rfect proof that 
 they were capable of enduring the most trying investigation 
 of their inspired origin, and were honoured with a unanimous 
 verdict as the veritable writings of those to whom they were 
 ascribed, and as part and parcel of the word of God. The 
 reader may find abundant satisfaction, with regard to them, 
 in Dr. Alexander's excellent work on the canon ol' scripture. 
 It has been stated, that at one period doubts were entertain- 
 ed in the churches as to the authenticity of the book of Reve- 
 lation. Those doubts imply no deficiency of testimony. 
 Until the fourth century, the character of this book was un- 
 doubted, and its authority was universally acknowledged ; 
 only one writer questioning whether John the evangelist was 
 its author, and even he admitting that it was written by in- 
 spiration of God. About the commencement of the fourth 
 century, the Millenarian controversy having arisen and dis- 
 tracted the churches, and the mysterious character of the 
 book having been extensively employed in the support of 
 new and extravagant doctrines, its character declined; and 
 without any reference to testimony in the case, its authenti 
 city was by some, though by no means universally or for a 
 long time, brought into question. Thus Eusebius, of that 
 century, after having given a catalogue of the books univer- 
 sally acknowledged, writes : " After these, if it be thought fit, 
 may be placed the Revelation of John, concerning which we 
 shall observe the different opinions at a proper time." And 
 in another place : " There are, concerning this book, different 
 opinions." " This is the first doubt expressed by any re 
 spectable writer, concerning the canonical authority of this 
 book ; and Eusebius did not reject it, but would have placed 
 it next after those which were received with universal con- 
 sent. And we find, at this very time, the most learned and 
 judicious of the fathers received the Revelation without scru-
 
 80 LECTURE III. 
 
 pie, and annexed it to their catalogues of the books of the 
 New Testament."* It is of no small importance that a book 
 so full of evidence against the heresies of the celebrated Dr. 
 Priestley, should have received from his pen the following 
 testimony : " This book of Revelation, I have no doubt, was 
 Avntten by the apostle John. Sir Isaac Newton, with great 
 1 ruth, says, he does iiotjind any other book of the New Testa- 
 ment so strongly attested, or commented upon so early as 
 this. Indeed I think it impossible for any intelligent and 
 candid person to peruse it without being struck, in the most 
 forcible manner, with the peculiar dignity and sublimity of 
 its composition, superior to that of any other writing what- 
 ever; so as to be convinced that, considering the age in 
 which it appeared, none but a person divinely inspired could 
 have written it."t It is true, and at first may seem surpris- 
 ing, that while a majority of the ancient catalogues contain 
 this book, there are many in which it is omitted ; though it 
 is known that the authors of some of these acknowledged its 
 authenticity. The omissions are satisfactorily explained by 
 the consideration that the object of these catalogues was the 
 guidance of the people in reading the scriptures ; and since 
 the mysteriousness of this book and the use made of it, on 
 the side of the Millenarian errors, when the catalogues were 
 chiefly composed, seemed to render it inexpedient that it 
 should be as generally read as the other scriptures, its name 
 was excluded from several lists of books for universal use, 
 without any intention of pronouncing upon its canonical 
 character. 
 
 Having now exhibited satisfactory evidence of the authen- 
 ticity of all the books of the New Testament, be it remarked 
 that, while every part of the sacred volume is of inspired au- 
 thority, and therefore of such importance as that no man can 
 take away from it or add unto it without heinous offence 
 
 * Alexander on the Canon. t Priestley's Notes on Scripture.
 
 LECTURE III. 81 
 
 against God ; still the argument for the divine mission of 
 Jesus and for the divine origin of Christianity depends chiefly 
 upon the historical portions, and would exhibit no deficiency 
 were no attention paid to the authenticity of the others. In 
 what remains to be said, by way of addition to the various 
 and unequalled evidence already adduced, we shall have a 
 view particularly to the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles. 
 
 The testimony of the adversaries of Christianity. 
 
 It may be said, with some appearance of a plausible ob- 
 jection to the testimony hitherto produced, that it is all de- 
 rived, either from the devoted friends of the gospel, or else 
 from those who professed to be its disciples. Is there no 
 testimony from enemies ? The books of the New Testament 
 were widely circulated ; Christian advocates, in their contro- 
 versies with the Heathen, freely appealed to them ; Heathens, 
 in their works of attack and defence, must have spoken of 
 them. In what light did they regard them ? Did they as- 
 cribe them to their reputed authors, or question their authen- 
 ticity? Now we do not grant that the testimony already 
 produced is justly liable to the least disparagement on account 
 of its having been derived exclusively from the friends of 
 Christ. That certain ancients believed the facts contained 
 in Caesar's Commentaries has never been supposed to dimin- 
 ish the value of their testimony to the authenticity of that 
 work. We will take occasion, by and by, to show that the 
 very fact that an early witness to the New Testament his- 
 tory was not an enemy, but a friend, of the gospel, and had 
 become a friend from having been once an enemy, is just the 
 ingredient in his testimony that gives it peculiar conclusive 
 ness. Still, however, we are under no temptation to under 
 value the importance of an appeal to the opinions of adver- 
 saries. Let us inquire of enemies as well as friends and 
 first of Julian. 
 
 Julian, the emperor, united intelligence, learning, and 
 power, with a persecuting zeal, in a resolute effort to root out 
 
 7
 
 82 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 Christianity In the year 361, he composed a work ajrainst 
 its claims. We may be well assured that if any thing could 
 have been said against the authenticity of its books, he would 
 have used it. His work is not extant; but from long ex- 
 tracts, found in the answer by Cyril, a few years after, as 
 well as from the statements of his opinions and arguments 
 by this writer, it is unquestionable that Julian bore witness 
 to the authenticity of the four Gospels and of the Acts of 
 the Apostles. He concedes, and argues from, their early 
 date ; quotes them by name us the genuine works of their 
 reputed authors ; proceeds upon the supposition, as a thing 
 undeniable, thai they were the only historical books which 
 Christians received as canonical the only authentic narra- 
 tives of Christ and his apostles, and of the doctrine they 
 delivered. He has also quoted, or plainly referred to, the 
 Epistles to the Romans, Corinthians, and Galatians, and 
 nowhere insinuates that the authenticity of any portion of 
 the New Testament could reasonably be questioned.* Let 
 us ascend a little higher. 
 
 Hierocles, president of Bithynia, and a learned man, of 
 about the year 303, united, with a cruel persecution of 
 Christians, the publication of a book against Christianity, 
 in which, instead of issuing even the least suspicion that 
 the New Testament was not written by those to whom its 
 several parts were ascribed, he confines his effort to the hunt 
 of internal flaws and contradictions. Besides this tacit 
 acknoAvledgment, his work, or the extracts of it that remain, 
 refer to, at least, six out of the eight writers of the books 
 of the New Testament, t Let us ascend still higher. 
 
 Porphyry, universally allowed to have been the most 
 severe and formidable adversary, in all primitive antiquity, 
 wrote, about the year 270, a work against Christianity. It is 
 evident that he was well acquainted with the New Testament. 
 
 * Lardner, iv. 341. t Ib. iv. 259.
 
 LECTURE III. 83 
 
 In the little that has been preserved of his writings, there 
 are plain references to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, 
 and John, the Acts of the Apostles, and the Epistle to the 
 Galatians.* Speaking of Christians, he calls Matthew their 
 evangelist. " He possessed every advantage which natural 
 abilities or political situation could afford, to discover whether 
 the New Testament was a genuine work of the apostles 
 and evangelists, or whether it was imposed upon the world 
 after the decease of its pretended authors. But no trace of 
 this suspicion is any where to be found ; nor did it ever occur 
 to Porphyry to suppose that it was spurious." t How well 
 this ingenious writer understood the value of an argument 
 against the authenticity of a book of scripture, and how 
 greedily he would have enlisted it in his war against Chris- 
 tianity, could he have found such a weapon, is evident from 
 his well known effort to escape the prophetic inspiration of 
 the book of Daniel, by denying that it was written in the 
 times of that prophet. We may ascend still higher. 
 
 Celsus, esteemed a man of learning among the ancients, 
 and a wonderful philosopher among modern iniidels, wrote 
 a laboured argument against the Christians. He flourished 
 in the year 176, or about seventy-six years after the death 
 of St. John. None can accuse him of a want of zeal to 
 ruin Christianity. None can complain against his testimony, 
 as deficient in antiquity. An industrious, ingenious, learned, 
 adversary of that age, must have known whatever was 
 suspicious in the authorship of the New Testament writings 
 His book entitled " The True Word" is unhappily lost , 
 but in the answer, composed by Origen, the extracts from 
 it are so large, that it is difficult to find of any ancient booh, 
 not extant, more extensive remains. The author quotes, 
 from the Gospels, such a variety of particulars, even in 
 these fragments, that the enumeration would prove almost 
 
 * Lardner, iv. 234. t Marsh's Michaelis, i. 43.
 
 84 LECTURE III. 
 
 an abridgement of the Gospel narrative. * Origen has noticed 
 in them about eighty quotations from the books of the New 
 Testament, or references to them. Among these there is 
 abundant evidence that Celsus was acquainted with the 
 Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John. Several of Paul's 
 Epistles are alluded to. His whole argument proceeds upon 
 the concession that the Christian scriptures were the works 
 of the authors to whom they were ascribed. Such a thing 
 as a suspicion, to the contrary, is not breathed ; and yet no 
 man ever wrote against Christianity with greater virulence. 
 Hence it appears, u by the testimony of one of the most 
 malicious adversaries the Christian religion ever had, and 
 who was also a man of considerable parts and learning, that 
 the writings of the evangelists were extant in his tune, which 
 was the next century to that in which the apostles lived ; 
 and that those accounts were written by Christ's own disci- 
 ples, and, consequently, in the very age in which the facts 
 there related, were done, and when, therefore, it would have 
 been the easiest thing in the world to have convicted them 
 of falsehood, if they had not been true." t " Who can for- 
 bear (says the devout Doddridge) adoring the depth of divine 
 wisdom, in laying up such a firm foundation of our faith 
 in the gospel history, in the writings of one who was so 
 inveterate an enemy to it, and so indefatigable in his attempts 
 to overthrow it."t Who, I will add, can help the acknow- 
 ledgment that in Celsus, Porphyry, Hierocles, and Julian, 
 all of them learned controversionalists, as well as devoted 
 opponents and persecutors of Christians, extending their 
 testimony, from the seventieth year after the last of the 
 apostles, to the year of our Lord 361 every reasonable de- 
 mand for the testimony of enemies is fully met, and a gra- 
 
 * Doddridge, in Lardner, iv. 145 and 7. 
 
 t Answer to "Christianity as old as the Creation," by LelanJ, vol. ii. e. 
 v. p. 150154. 
 t Doddridge, in Lardner, iv. 147
 
 LECTURE III. 85 
 
 cious Providence has perfected the external evidence for the 
 authenticity of the New Testament ? 
 
 We proceed to confirm the abounding proof, already ad- 
 duced, by a brief reference to the language and style of the 
 New Testament. 
 
 I. The language and style are in perfect accordance with 
 the local and other circumstances of the reputed writers. 
 They were Jews by birth; Jews by education; Jews by 
 numerous and strong attachments ; Jews in all their asso- 
 ciations of thought and feeling. Jews were, in great part, 
 the persons to whom they wrote. Jewish prejudices, objec- 
 tions, and peculiarities, were, to a great extent, the obstacles 
 in their way. The religious and political institutions of the 
 Jewish nation, though perfectly exterminated in a few years 
 after they wrote, were in full establishment till after the death 
 of all of them except St. John. Hence it is reasonably ex- 
 pected that Jewish peculiarities should be found frequently 
 and broadly stamped upon any writings truly professing to 
 have proceeded from their pens. Such, notoriously, is the 
 case with the writings of the New Testament. None but 
 Jews could have composed them. None but Jews who lived 
 before the destruction of their temple, and city, and polity, 
 and nation, could have cast them in their present mould ; or 
 marked them with all those indescribable and inimitable 
 touches of a Jewish hand, which their style and language 
 every where exhibit. The use of words and phrases which 
 arc known to have been peculiar to Judea in the times of the 
 apostles ; the continual, familiar, and natural allusions to the 
 ceremonies and temple service of the Jews, as then existing, 
 and which soon passed away ; the universal prevalence of 
 a mode of thinking and of expression, which none but a 
 Jew, brought up under the Old Testament, always accus- 
 tomed to think of religion through the types and shadows of 
 the law, and reared amidst the usages, prejudices, associa- 
 tions, and errors of the Jewish people, as subsisting in the 
 
 7*
 
 80 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 times of the apostles, could have, introduced without awk- 
 wardness and obvious forgery ; all bear decided witness, not 
 only that the writers of the New Testament were Jews origi- 
 nally, in every sense ; but that they must have formed their 
 habits of thinking, feeling and writing, before the destruction 
 of the Jewish state ; in other words, before the fortieth year 
 after the death of Christ. From that time, so entirely was 
 every vestige of the religion and polity of the Jews destroyed, 
 that, except among those whose minds had been moulded 
 under pre-existing circumstances, the writing of a book in 
 the language and style, and abounding in the peculiarities 
 of the New Testament, would have been, at least, next to 
 impossible. 
 
 This conclusion will appear the more inevitable, when you 
 consider the characteristic features by which the Greek of 
 the New Testament is distinguished. In the times of the 
 
 V 
 
 apostles, Greek was almost a universal language. It was 
 spread over all Palestine. The Jewish coast, on the Medi- 
 terranean, was occupied by cities, either wholly, or half 
 Greek. On the eastern border of the land, from the Arnon 
 upwards, towards the north, the cities were Greek; and, 
 towards the south, in possession of the Greeks. Several 
 cities of Judea and Galilee were either entirely, or, at least, 
 half peopled by Greeks. " Being thus favoured on all sides, 
 this language was spread, by means of traffic and inter- 
 course, through all classes, so that the people (though with 
 many exceptions), considered generally, understood it ; 
 although they adhered more to their own language."* But 
 the Greek, thus spoken in Palestine, was not like that of 
 Attica, nor of the cities of Asia Minor ; but having become 
 
 ' O 
 
 degenerated, in consequence of its associations witli people 
 whose native tongue was Hebrew, by means of Chaldee and 
 
 * HUG on the Greek languages in Palestine. Bib. RepositiTy, No. III. 
 Andover
 
 LECTURE III. 87 
 
 Syriac intermixtures, into Western Aramean, it contained a 
 large share of the idioms and other peculiarities belonging 
 to this heterogeneous neighbour. Such was the language 
 in which the apostles must have written. Now, if the books 
 of the New Testament be their writings, they must contain 
 the characteristic features of that Palestine Greek. Such is 
 most manifestly the case. These books are in Greek, but 
 not pure and classic, such as a native and educated Grecian 
 would have written ; but in Hebraic Greek ; in a language 
 mixed up with the words and idioms of that peculiar dialect 
 of the Hebrew which constituted the vernacular tongue of 
 the inhabitants of Judea and Galilee in the age of the apos- 
 tles. Had it been otherwise ; were the language of the New 
 Testament pure and classic; then the writers must have 
 been either native and educated Grecians, or else Jews, of 
 much more Attic cultivation than the apostles of Christ. 
 In either case a suspicion would attach to the authenticity 
 of our sacred books. Neither case being true, the evidence 
 of authenticity is materially confirmed. 
 
 But we go further. The Greek of the New Testament 
 could not have been written by men who had learned their 
 language after the age of the apostles. This mingling of 
 Grecian and Aramean, as it is preserved in the New Testa- 
 ment, ceased to be the familiar tongue of Christians in Pales- 
 tine before the death of St. John. When Jerusalem, with 
 the whole civil and religious polity of the Jews, was, in the 
 ^seventieth year of the Christian era, entirely destroyed, and 
 the descendants of Abraham were rooted out of the land, 
 and foreigners came in from all quarters to take their places ; 
 the language of the country underwent such a change thatj 
 except with the scattered few who had survived the desola- 
 tion of their country, the Greek of the New Testament was 
 no more a living language. When St. John died, there was 
 probably not a man alive who could speak or write precisely 
 that tongue. In the second century, an attempt to compose
 
 88 LECTURE III. 
 
 a book in the name of the apostles, and in imitation of their 
 Greek, would have been detected as easily as if a full bred 
 Frenchman, never out of France, should attempt to com- 
 pose a volume in a dialect of English, and endeavour to 
 pass it off as the work of a plain, sensible, but unpolished 
 Yorkshireman. Hence, while doubts were entertained for 
 a while, in some parts of the church, as to the authenticity 
 of some portions of the New Testament, it Avas never 
 doubted whether they were written by men who had lived 
 when the Greek of Palestine, as it had been in the apostolic 
 age, was yet alive. 
 
 II. The language and style of the New Testament are 
 in perfect harmony with the known characters of the reputed 
 writers. The apostles and evangelists were men of plain, 
 sound understanding, but without any polish of education, 
 and not likely to adorn their writings with much rhetorical 
 dress. Paul, the only exception to this character, was well 
 read in Jewish, and, we have reason to believe, in Grecian 
 literature. From other sources, besides the New Testament, 
 we are informed of certain peculiarities of natural character, 
 as having distinguished some of those to whom the books of 
 the New Testament are ascribed. John, for example, is 
 always represented in ecclesiastical history as having been 
 remarkable for meekness, and gentleness, and a manner and 
 spirit full of mild affection. Paul, we always read of as 
 characterized by prompt, energetic zeal and animated bold- 
 ness. If the books bearing their names were written by 
 those apostles, we must expect to find in them the distinctive 
 stamp of their respective characters. So it is. In the his- 
 torical books, none of which the educated Paul composed, 
 there is no ornament of style; but merely the simplicity, 
 and directness, of plain, sensible men, honestly relating what 
 they familiarly knew, and disregarding style in their intent- 
 ness upon truth. In the Epistles of Paul, however, the 
 case is entirely different. There we behold the style of a
 
 LECTURE III. 89 
 
 writer brought up in the schools, though obviously in the 
 schools of Judca. Accustomed to writing and to argument, 
 he reasons precisely as we should expect of Saul of Tarsus, 
 after having been educated at the feet of Gamaliel, and ar- 
 rested by divine power and grace on the road to Damascus 
 and made to " count all things but loss for the excellency of 
 the knowledge of Christ." Every where in the epistles, 
 bearing his name, are written the strong characters of the 
 peculiar zeal and boldness, as well as education, that belonged 
 to Paul ; while throughout the writings ascribed to John, 
 there breathes the sweet spirit of gentleness and tender 
 atFection, so characteristic of "that disciple whom Jesus 
 loved." Similar statements might be made with regard to 
 other writers of the New Testament, in proportion as their 
 peculiarities of temperament are known and conspicuous. 
 
 From all that has now been said, it may easily be made 
 to appear, that if the historical books of the New Testament, 
 the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles, on which our subse- 
 quent argument will chiefly depend, be not authentic; in 
 plainer terms, if they be forgeries, nothing less than a mira 
 cle can account for their early and universal currency. Re- 
 member that John lived to the end of the first century. It 
 cannot be supposed that books, falsely pretending to have 
 been written by those very evangelists, with whom he had 
 been so intimately associated, and one-of them professing to 
 have l)een written by himself, could have gained a reputable 
 currency in the churches while he lived. He certainly knew 
 what he and the other evangelists had published ; and no 
 motive can be assigned that could have induced him to suffer 
 a forgei y to pass unexposed. We conclude, therefore, that 
 if these books be not authentic, they must have been palmed 
 on the churches after the death of John ; that is, after the 
 beginning of the second century. Suppose we descend to 
 the third. Can it be imagined that the deception was intro- 
 duced after this century commenced? Impossible ; since by
 
 90 LECTURE III. 
 
 this time, the books in question were read, every Lord's 
 Day, in all the churches ; quoted by writers of all countries ; 
 universally received as the oracles of God. If a deception 
 was introduced at all, it was brought in somewhere between 
 the death of John and the third century somewhere in the 
 course of the second. Now, to obtain a clearer view of the 
 difficulties which such an attempt must have had to over- 
 come, let it be supposed that during the present year, a vol- 
 ume containing a digest of laws, under the title of " Laws 
 of the city of New York" should appear among us, pre- 
 tending to be a code of municipal regulations, composed, 
 about seventy years ago, by a few of the most distinguished 
 inhabitants of that period ; and to have been received by the 
 citizens, and appealed to in their municipal courts ever since, 
 as the book of the laws of this city ; claiming, moreover, to 
 be acknowledged and obeyed by the present generation as 
 the very code inherited from their fathers. What would be 
 its chance ? A moral impossibility would prevent its sue 
 cess. Nothing but lunacy would undertake such a scheme. 
 It would be enough for lawyers and judges and people to 
 say : " It was never heard of before. It has never been 
 known in our courts." But this is only a feeble illustration 
 of the case before us. If the books in question were forged 
 in the name of the evangelists, you must suppose, that at 
 some period, within a hundred years of St. John, while 
 many were living who had either known him personally or 
 conversed with those who did enjoy that privilege, a volume 
 appeared among the churches, differing widely from those 
 books which, as works of the evangelists, they had received 
 and read from the beginning, and yet demanding to be con- 
 sidered as nothing more nor less than those very works. 
 You must suppose the abettors of the imposition to have 
 said to the various nations of Christians : " These are 
 the genuine Gospels in which you were educated ; which 
 your fathers died for ; which your persecutors endeavoured
 
 LECTURE III. 9) 
 
 to destroy, and your martyrs laboured to save ; which have 
 been daily read in your families, expounded in your churches, 
 quoted in your writings, and appealed to in all your con- 
 troversies with heretics and enemies." And yet it must 
 be supposed that Christians, notwithstanding their notorious 
 Jove for the writings of the evangelists, and their great care 
 in preserving them, were so easily and universally imposed 
 on, as never to perceive that these fraudulent works, instead 
 of having been expounded and read and quoted and appealed 
 to in all their churches, had never been heard of before. 
 You have to suppose, moreover, that while Christianity was 
 surrounded on all sides and opposed at every step by keen- 
 sighted and determined enemies Jews, on the one hand, 
 with all their cunning Greeks and Romans on the other, 
 with all their skill and power, ever watching, accusing, and 
 persecuting none of them ever pretended to the discovery 
 that these books, so fraudulently introduced, were not those 
 which the apostles wrote and Christians had always read ; 
 but all believed them to be the identical writings to which 
 the churches had invariably referred as the law and the 
 testimony. 
 
 You must go still further, and suppose that notwithstand- 
 ing the wide publicity which the genuine works of the 
 apostles had obtained among the primitive churches, so 
 immediately did these spurious productions expel them from 
 the notice and recollection of all people, that no interval is 
 known during which the question between the two conflicting 
 volumes was so much as even debated. Instantly, (you 
 must suppose), that the spurious were treated every where 
 with the reverence belonging to inspired books ; that though 
 divers sects of heresies were starting up in various parts, all 
 recognised their authority ; that the churches of Rome, Co- 
 rinth, Ephesus, Colosse, Philippi, Galatia, and Thessalo- 
 nica, all believed that these several epistles, falsely pretending 
 to have come to them from St. Paul, were those /ery ones,
 
 92 LECTURE ill. 
 
 the autographs of which were then in their possession, and 
 copies of which they had been continually reading in public 
 from the time the originals were received from the apostle. 
 Lastly, it must be supposed, that so perfect was the forgeiy, 
 that although every weapon and artifice that wit, and learn- 
 ing, and power, could contrive, has been employed, during 
 eighteen hundred years, for the single purpose of under- 
 mining the foundations of Christianity, no labourer in the 
 cause has yet succeeded in picking a flaw in the authenticity 
 of its books. He that can digest all this for the purpose of 
 maintaining that our sacred writings are not authentic, can 
 swallow the most abject absurdity. He supposes an endless 
 succession of miracles wrought upon innumerable minds for 
 the promotion of imposture. He believes the laws of nature 
 to have been continually violated, under the government of 
 a holy God, to countenance unrighteousness. In sustaining 
 this belief, he must adopt a principle with regard to miracles, 
 the boldness and novelty of which, even Hume would have 
 been jealous of. He was so modest as only to maintain that 
 no testimony can prove a miracle. Here, however, the scep- 
 tic must maintain that the most absurd miracle can be proved, 
 not only without any testimony, but against all testimony. 
 
 Enough has now been said to enable you to judge whether 
 the learning or the honesty of the miserable Paine is most to 
 be admired, when he says : " Those who are not much ac- 
 quainted with ecclesiastical history, may suppose that the 
 book called the New Testament has existed ever since the 
 time of Jesus Christ ; but the fact is historically otherwise. 
 There was no such book as the 'New Testament till more 
 than three hundred years after the time that Christ is said 
 to have lived" Whether we ought to save this poor sceptic 
 from the charge of a gross and deliberate falsehood, by im- 
 puting to him disgraceful ignorance, I leave you to decide. 
 
 And now, having maintained our cause, permit me to say, 
 that in a . ument with unbelievers, we cannot, in justice, be
 
 LECTURE III. 93 
 
 required to present any of the evidence to which you have 
 been listening. The whole burden of proof lies with the 
 objector. Should the authenticity of Paradise Lost be called 
 in question, no believer in its Miltonian origin would feel 
 himself called upon to prove it. We should wait in calm- 
 ness, till the sceptic had sustained his objection. The book 
 has lived long enough with a fair reputation to be considered 
 authentic, till proved to be spurious. So would common 
 justice warrant us in saying with regard to the New Testa- 
 ment. Eighteen centuries of high and holy reputation are 
 enough to sustain its authenticity, till sceptics, besides pro- 
 nouncing, shall prove it a forgery. Let the objector be kind 
 enough to state the proof of its spuriousness ; let him show 
 (he deficiencies in its evidence ; let him establish objec- 
 tions to its legitimacy, which all the enemies that sur- 
 rounded its birth were unable to venture ; then will it be 
 time for friends to stand on the defensive, and prove its 
 apostolic parentage. But this we know not that any opposer 
 of Christianity ever pretended to have done. How these 
 tooks were forced upon the world ; when Christians were so 
 asleep as not to perceive that they were not the books which 
 they had always been reading, and consulting, and expound- 
 ing, and loving, and suffering for; when the enemies of 
 Christians were so miraculously blinded and the den of lions, 
 in which the church for so many centuries existed, \vas so 
 miraculously hushed and overruled, that such an imposture 
 could gain admission, and dwell in universal quietness, with- 
 out so much as one paw to pounce on the prey, or one vigil 
 ant foe to discover its existence what is the evidence that 
 such an event ever took place ; I never heard of a human 
 being undertaking to show. You might as well pretend to 
 prove that the Declaration of Independence, circulated in 
 numberless copies through the country, is not authentic ; 
 that our revolutionary fathers published no such document, 
 
 or else that ours is not the declaration which they published 
 
 8
 
 94 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 The adversaries of Christianity are wary. It would require 
 learning, and time, and talents, to make even a plausible 
 show of strength, in conflict with the testimony to. the au- 
 thenticity of the New Testament; but it takes no time, re 
 quires no talent, or knowledge, for such persons to insinuate 
 that its books are forgeries to put out a wise suspicion that 
 they were not written by the original disciples. No argu- 
 ment can refute a sneer, nor any human skill prevent its 
 mischief. They know that many a mind will catch thf 
 plague of infidelity by the touch of their insinuation, with- 
 out ever finding, or caring to seek, the antidote. Any body 
 can soil the repute of an individual, however pure and 
 chaste, by uttering a suspicion, which his enemies will be- 
 lieve, and his friends never hear of. A puff of idle wind 
 can take up a million of the seeds of the thistle, and do a 
 work of mischief which the husbandman must labour long 
 and hard to undo ; the floating particles being too trifling to 
 be seen, and too light to be stopped. Such are the seeds of 
 infidelity so easily sown so difficult to be gathered up, 
 and yet so pernicious in their fruits. It is the work of God, 
 much more than of man, that they do not spread more ra- 
 pidly and widely. The hand of Divine Providence inter- 
 poses to arrest it, where the regular array of human reasoning 
 would have no room to use its strength. 
 
 Here we should leave the subject, were it not that one 
 question of importance remains to be answered. How do 
 we know that the New Testament has preserved its integ- 
 rity ? While it appeals so conclusively that our present 
 books are verily those which the evangelists and apostles 
 wrote, and the primitive churches loved and read ; how does 
 it appear that they have undergone no material alteration 
 since those times? On this head, the answer is complete. 
 
 We may reason from the perfect impossibility of any ma- 
 terial alteration. The scriptures, as soon as written, were 
 published. Christians eagerly sought for them ; copies
 
 LECTURE III. 95 
 
 were multiplied ; carried into distant countries ; esteemed a 
 sacred treasure, for which disciples were willing to die. 
 They were daily read in families, and expounded in churches ; 
 writers quoted them ; enemies attacked them ; heretics en- 
 deavoured to elude their decisions ; and the orthodox were 
 vigilant, lest the former, in their efforts to escape the inter- 
 pretation, should change the text. In a short time, copies 
 were scattered over the whole inhabited portion of the earth. 
 Versions were made into different languages. Harmonies, ' 
 and collations, and commentaries, and catalogues, were care- 
 fully made and published. Thus universal notoriety, among 
 friends and enemies, was given to every book. How, in such 
 circumstances, could material alterations be made without 
 exposure ? If made in one copy, they must have been made 
 universally | or else some unaltered copies would have de- 
 scended to us, or would have been taken notice of and quoted 
 in ecclesiastical history, and the writings of ancient times. 
 If made universally, the work must have been done either 
 by friends, or by heretics, or by open enemies. Is it suppo- 
 sable that open enemies, unnoticed by Christians, could have 
 altered all or a hundreth part of the copies, when they were 
 so continually read, and so affectionately protected ? Could 
 the sects of heretics have done such a work, when they were 
 ever watching one another as jealously, as all their doings 
 were continually watched by the churches? Could true 
 Christians have accomplished such a task, even if any mo- 
 tive could have led them to desire it, while heretics on one 
 hand, and innumerable enemies on the other, were always 
 awake and watchful, with the scriptures in their hands, to 
 lay hold of the least pretext against the defenders of the 
 faith ? It was at least as unlikely that material alterations 
 in the New Testament should pass unnoticed and become 
 universal, in the early centuries and in all succeeding ones, 
 as that an important change in a copy of the constitution of 
 the United States should creep into all the copies scattered
 
 96 LECTURE III. 
 
 over the country, and be handed down as part of the original 
 document, unnoticed by the various parties and jealousies 
 by which that instrument is so closely watched, and so con- 
 stantly referred to. Such was the precise assertion of a 
 writer of the fourth century, on this very subject. "The in- 
 tegrity (says Augustine) of the books of any one bishop, how- 
 ever eminent, cannot be so completely kept as that of the 
 canonical scripture, translated into so many languages, and 
 kept by the people of every age ; and yet some there have 
 been, who' have forged writings with the names of apostles. 
 In vain, indeed, because that scripture has been so esteemed, 
 so celebrated, so known."* Reasoning with a heretic, he 
 says : " If any one should charge you with having interpo- 
 lated some texts alleged by you, would you not immediately 
 answer that it is impossible for you to do such a thing in books 
 read by all Christians ? And that if any such attempt had 
 been made by you, it would have been presently discerned and 
 defeated by comparing the ancient copies ? Well, then, for 
 the same reason that the scriptures cannot be corrupted by 
 you, neither could they be corrupted by any other people."t 
 The agreement among the existing manuscripts of the 
 New Testament, proves that this holy volume has not teen 
 corrupted. Of no ancient classic are the extant manuscripts 
 so numerous, as those of the New Testament. Griesbach, 
 in making his edition, collated more than three hundred and 
 fifty. These were written in different ages and countries. 
 Some of them are as old as the fourth or fifth century. 
 Some contain all, others only particular books or parts of 
 books of the New Testament. Several contain detached 
 portions or lessons, as appointed to be read on certain occa- 
 sions in the churches. In none of them have we any thing 
 differing in essential points from the text at present received. 
 It is true, and it sounds to uninformed ears quite alarming- 
 
 * Lardner, ii. 594. t Ib. ii. 228.
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 97 
 
 that in the manuscripts collated for Griesbach's edition of the 
 New Testament, as many as one hundred and fifty thou- 
 sand various readings are said to have been found. But all 
 alarm will seem Gratuitous when it is known that not one in 
 
 O 
 
 a thousand of these various readings makes any perceptible, 
 or at most any important variation of meaning ; that they 
 consist almost entirely in manifest mistakes of transcribers, 
 such as the omission or transposition of letters, errors in 
 pointing, in grammar, in the use of certain words instead' of 
 others of similar meaning, and in changing the position of 
 words in a sentence. The very worst manuscript, were it 
 our only copy of the New Testament, would not pervert one 
 Christian doctrine or precept. By all the omissions and all 
 the additions contained in all the manuscripts, no fact, no 
 doctrine, no duty, presented in our authorized version, is ren- 
 dered either obscure or doubtful. The diversity of readings 
 is ample proof that our present manuscripts were made from 
 various copies in ancient times ; while the inconsiderable 
 importance of this diversity of readings shows how nearly 
 those copies conformed to the original scriptures, and how 
 little difference would be seen between our present New Tes- 
 tament and the autographs of its writers, could they be now 
 collated. No ancient book has preserved its text so uncor- 
 rupt as those* of the New Testament. None is attended with 
 so many means of detecting an inaccurate reading. A com- 
 mon reader, could he compare the various manuscripts, 
 would be sensible of no more difference among them than 
 among the several copies of his English Bible, which have 
 been printed during the last two hundred years. 
 
 The uncorrupt preservation of the text of the New Testa 
 ment is also evident from its agreement with the numerous 
 quotations in the works of early Christian writers, and with 
 those ancient translations which are now extant. In the 
 remaining books of the fathers of the first three centuries, 
 
 quotations from the New Testament are so abundant, that 
 
 8*
 
 98 LECTURE III. 
 
 almost the whole of the sacred text could be gathered from 
 those sources. Excepting some six or seven verses, the 
 genuineness of which is not perfectly settled, there is an 
 exact agreement, in all material respects, between those quo- 
 tations and the corresponding parts of our New Testament. 
 The same confirmation, though still more satisfactory, is 
 derived from ancient versions. We possess, in various lan- 
 guages, versions of the New Testament, reaching as far 
 baek as the early part of the second century. The Mseso 
 Gothic version, discovered by Mai in 1817, and made by 
 Ulphilas, bishop of the Maeso Goths, in the year 370, of 
 which only fragments were possessed before, has the same 
 text as ours. The old Syriac version, called Peshito, is con- 
 sidered by some of the best Syriac scholars to have been 
 made before the close of the first century. It was certainly 
 in existence and general use before the close of the second. 
 Though never brought into contact with our copies of the 
 New Testament, because not known in Europe till the six- 
 teenth century ; though handed down by a line of tradition 
 perfectly independent of, and unknown to, that by which our 
 Greek Testament was received ; yet, when the two came to 
 be compared, the text of the one was almost an exact version 
 of the text of the other. The difference was altogether 
 unimportant. So clearly and impressively has* Divine Pro- 
 vidence attested the integrity of our beloved scriptures. 
 
 It is now high time we had relieved your attention. You 
 will allow me to proceed, in the subsequent lectures, on the 
 belief that the authenticity and integrity of the New Testa- 
 ment have been satisfactorily proved. But let us not sepa- 
 rate without acknowledging, in thankfulness of heart, our 
 debt of gratitude to Him who, on a subject of such unspeak- 
 able importance, has given us such abundant reason for 
 complete conviction. He has made the great truth, for 
 which we have been contending, like "the round world, so 
 mire, that it cannot be moved"
 
 LECTURE IV. 99 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 CREDIBILITY OF THE GOSPEL HISTORY. 
 
 IN the last two lectures our attention was occupied with 
 the authenticity and integrity of the New Testament. A 
 body of proof was presented, of such variety and conclu- 
 siveness, as should cause us to feel that, in taking these 
 important points for granted in our subsequent course, we 
 assume nothing which every candid mind should not acknow- 
 ledge to have been satisfactorily established. You will 
 allow me, therefore, to treat the books of the New Testa- 
 ment as needing no further argument to prove that they were 
 written in the age to which they are ascribed, and by the 
 authors whose names they bear. 
 
 But it should be remembered, that a book may be authen- 
 tic, and yet not credible. It may have been written indeed 
 by the reputed author, and yet its narrative may not be 
 worthy of confidence. This, I say, is a possible case. Ex- 
 amples illustrating it are not numerous. So generally do 
 authentic histories prove to be true, that when we have ascer- 
 tained a book to have been composed by the individual whose 
 name is on it, we have a strong presumptive argument for 
 the truth of all the conspicuous and important features in its 
 narrative. But inasmuch as these two things are not always 
 associated, an important question remains to be determined, 
 before we can open the New Testament as the book of the 
 life and religion of the Lord Jesus Christ, and worthy of 
 entire reliance, as an account of what was done and taught 
 by himself and his apostles. Does the New Testament con- 
 tain a true history of events connected with the ministry of
 
 100 LECTURE IV. 
 
 Jesus and his primitive disciples, so that we may receive as 
 historically accurate whatever is related therein? This 
 refers to what is usually called the credibility of the gospel 
 history, and expresses the subject of our present lecture. 
 
 13i 1 1 lest the bearing of my remarks should not be distinctly 
 understood, I will endeavour to state the subject still more 
 precisely. Observe then ; it is not the inspiration of the 
 gospel history, or that it was written by holy men as they 
 were moved by the Holy Ghost, that we shall seek to prove 
 this evening ; nor that it contains a revelation from God ; 
 nor that its doctrines are true ; nor that any of its facts were 
 miraculous ; these are subjects which it would be premature 
 to introduce at present. All at which we now aim, is to fur- 
 nish conclusive evidence that the gospel history is true, in 
 the same sense as Marshall's Life of Washington is true 
 that what it relates, as matter of fact, is worthy of entire 
 reliance as matter of fact, independently of all inferences or 
 doctrines with which it may be connected. 
 
 How do we prove the credibility of the gospel history ? 
 I answer : precisely as you would ascertain the credibility of 
 any other history. Though, as in the case of authenticity, 
 we are ready to produce a variety and an abundance of evi- 
 dence, far exceeding what the best established and the most 
 unquestionable books of ancient profane history can pretend to, 
 still the nature of the evidence is the same in one case as the 
 other. The fact that one history is called sacred, and the 
 other profane ; that in one book, the actions of a holy and 
 extraordinary philanthropist, named Jesus, are related ; and 
 in another the actions of a wicked and extraordinary man- 
 slayer, named Caesar, are related ; occasions not the least 
 difference in the nature of the evidence by which the credi- 
 bility of both must be ascertained. 
 
 Here it would be perfectly safe and reasonable to rest the 
 question of credibility upon the proof arrived at in the last 
 lecture. Although it does not follow, in all cases, that to
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 101 
 
 prove a book authentic, is to prove it credible also, with 
 regard to its principal events, yet in the case before us, the fact 
 that the books of the New Testament were written in the 
 first century of Christianity, and by the apostles and original 
 disciples of Christ, is complete evidence that, in respect to 
 the main events of the gospel history, they are true. If one 
 should write a romance, calling it the memoir of some well 
 known and distinguished personage, and publish it, not as 
 grave, credible biography, but under the character of a novel, 
 the authenticity of the work would have no connexion with 
 its truth. But should he issue a book professing to be the 
 true biography of Washington ; should he vouch in every 
 way for its truth, and stake his reputation upon its accuracy, 
 in the midst of a generation familiar with the life of that 
 noble man, and still containing some who were his compan- 
 ions and the eye-witnesses of many of his deeds, it would bo 
 reasonably inferred that, unless the author were an idiot or a 
 madman, his work must be correct, at least, in the great mass 
 of its statements and in all its conspicuous events, fie must 
 be aware that, under such circumstances, no important nar- 
 rative without truth could escape detection. The fact, there- 
 fore, that he has published, in the midst of this generation, 
 what he expects to be received as a correct biography of 
 Washington, is sufficient warrant that, however inaccurate 
 it may be in minute details, and however deficient in many 
 respects of good writing and useful history, we may safely 
 receive its principal narratives. Such a thing cannot be pro- 
 duced as a book published in the age to which its events 
 are said to have occurred, and among the people to whose 
 minds those events are said to have been familiar ; a book 
 which its author gravely avowed, and defended, as true and 
 accurate ; and yet in its principal narratives, in its prominent 
 characters and occurrences, was not in accordance with fact, 
 Men have too much sense, if not too much honesty, to at- 
 tempt such a Quixotic adventure ; especially when character
 
 102 LECTURE IV. 
 
 and worldly interests are committed by the falsehood. But 
 there is no book, to which this remark is so applicable as the 
 New Testament. Not only was it published in the age in 
 which the events related are asserted to have occurred, and 
 among the people to whom they are said to have been noto- 
 rious ; but in an age and among a people awake to the whole 
 subject of its history ; determined to sift its correctness to 
 the uttermost; capable of the severest scrutiny, and anxious 
 to take advantage of the smallest inaccuracy. This the 
 writers were perfectly aware of. They must have known 
 that in the brevity of the history ; in the fewness of its prin- 
 cipal facts ; in the great prominence and notoriety of each ; 
 in the few persons to whom they belong, as their leading 
 agents ; in the few places and the confined region in which 
 they are said to have occurred ; and in the brief space of 
 time within which they were all embraced ; their adversaries 
 possessed advantages for investigation which nothing but 
 bold and plain truth could confront, and no fiction could pos- 
 sibly elude. That, in the face of all these advantages, they 
 did publish, and stake their characters and lives upon the 
 correctness of their narratives, is a full warrant that they 
 published truth. This argument can only be escaped by 
 charging the writers of the New Testament with a degree of 
 idiocy or madness, which the eminent wisdom and excellence 
 of their works prove to have been impossible. I venture to 
 say, that should the same argument be alleged with equal 
 force in behalf of any other ancient book of history, its 
 credibility, as to the main events related would be considered, 
 independently of any other evidence, as placed beyond a 
 reasonable suspicion. 
 
 Here, then, we might proceed to open the New Testament 
 as a book of correct narrative ; certified that, because authen- 
 tic, it is therefore, as to all important matters of fact, credible. 
 But we are not restricted to a single method of proof. The 
 subject is compassed about with a cloud of witnesses. We
 
 LECTURE IV 103 
 
 take up another and broader plan of argument, the force of 
 which none can mistake. 
 
 Let me ask by what sort of evidence you would feel 
 assured of the credibility of any history, professing to relate 
 events of a passed age? Suppose you should discover a 
 volume hitherto concealed, professing to have been written 
 by some well known individual of the Augustan age, and to 
 contain a narrative of events in the personal history and 
 domestic life of Augustus Caesar. You would first examine 
 into its authenticity. That settled, you would inquire into 
 the credibility of its narrative. The first question would be, 
 did the writer possess every advantage of knowing the events 
 in the personal history of Augustus? May I depend on the 
 sufficiency of his knowledge ? Now he may not have lived 
 with Augustus, and yet his knowledge may have been per- 
 fectly adequate. But your mind would be fully satisfied on 
 this head, should it appear that the writer was not only a 
 contemporary, but that he was domesticated with Augustus ; 
 conversed familiarly with him, lived at his table, assisted at 
 his councils, accompanied him on his journeys. 
 
 The question of adequate knowledge being thus at rest, 
 another would remain May I depend on the honesty of the 
 writer ? In ordinary cases, you would be satisfied if nothing 
 appeared in the book itself, or in the testimony of contempo- 
 raneous writings, impeaching his honesty. But your satis- 
 faction would be much increased should you discover, in the 
 style and spirit of the narrative, in its simplicity, modesty, 
 and freedom of manner, in the circumstantial character of 
 its details and the frequency of its allusions to time, place, 
 and persons, those internal features of honesty, which it is 
 so extremely difficult, if not impossible, to counterfeit. Your 
 confidence would grow exceedingly if, on a comparison of 
 the book with other well established histories of the same 
 times, you should discover, not only that there is no contra- 
 diction in any particular, but that all its allusions to the
 
 104 LECTURE IV. 
 
 customs, institutions, prejudices, and political events of the 
 times, are abundantly confirmed from other sources. This 
 would set the honesty of the writer in a very favourable light. 
 
 But suppose that, at this stage, you should discover three 
 other books, upon the same subject ; each evidently written 
 by a person in the family and confidence of Augustus, or 
 else with equally favourable opportunities of knowing him ; 
 each evidently an independent work, .and having all the 
 inward and outward marks of truth before detailed. Sup- 
 pose, that on comparing these four histories together, you 
 find that, while each contains some minor facts which the 
 others do not, and relates, what all contain in common, in 
 its own style and language, there is no disagreement among 
 them ; but on the contrary, the most perfect confirmation, 
 one of another. Surely, after this no further evidence could 
 be demanded of the veracity of all those historians. But 
 still, though you would have no right to require, you might 
 perhaps discover additional evidence. You might search 
 collateral history for the private characters of those writers ; 
 and how would it heighten your satisfaction to find that 
 universally they were esteemed beyond reproach, even by 
 their personal opponents. You might also inquire what mo- 
 tive they could have had for deception ; and how conclusive 
 would it seem in their favour to discover that, so far from 
 any suspicion of such a motive attaching to them, they had 
 undertaken to publish what they did, with the certainty of 
 sacrificing every thing earthly, and actually plunged them- 
 selves by it into poverty, contempt, and suffering. One can 
 hardly imagine stronger evidence of truth. None could, 
 with any reason, require it. 
 
 But yet there might be additional evidence. These hilto- 
 rians, perhaps, had many and bitter personal adversaries. 
 How did they treat their books ? The books were published 
 during the lifetime of many who had seen Augustus, and 
 had witnessed the principal events described: they were
 
 LECTURE IV. 105 
 
 published in the very places where those events took place, 
 and in the midst of thousands who knew all about them, 
 How, then, did their enemies treat these histories? Now, 
 should you discover that the personal adversaries of these 
 four writers, however disposed, were unable to deny, but on 
 the contrary acknowledged, assumed, and reasoned upon 
 their narratives as true ; and furthermore, that the thousands 
 who had witnessed the principal events recorded, never 
 contradicted those narratives, but in numerous instances af- 
 forded all the confirmation they were capable of ; 1 am sure 
 you would think the whole evidence for the credibility of 
 those four histories, not only conclusive, but singularly and 
 wonderfully so. 
 
 I have thus sketched a mass of evidence, and a variety of 
 adequate evidence, which, were the half of it required for 
 any book of ancient history but the Bible, would bring its 
 credibility into utter condemnation. If a book, with all this 
 in its favour, ought not to be believed, historical truth, or 
 the possibility of ascertaining it, must be given up. But 
 who would think of resisting such evidence? What would 
 be thought of the intellect, not to speak of the candour of 
 the man, who, with all this before him, should take up the 
 memoirs of the life of Augustus Caesar, as above supposed, 
 and not feel that it were the absurdest folly to question the 
 accuracy of their statements ? In laying out this sketch, I 
 have exhibited a general view of the evidence for the credi- 
 bility of the gospel history. In proceeding, now, to more 
 particular details, I hope to show you that every branch of 
 the evidence I have glanced at, however vain to seek it in 
 favour of any other ancient history, can be cited in attesta- 
 tion of the credibility of that in the New Testament. 
 
 From the brief view we have taken of the evidence which 
 may be brought for the credibility of any historical docu- 
 ment, it appears that the great points to be made out in favour 
 of the writer are these two competent knowledge and trust-
 
 IOC LECTURE IV. 
 
 worthy honesty. Did he know enough to write a true ac- 
 count? and then, was he honest enough to be unable to 
 write any other than a true account ? Establish these, and 
 the book is established the question is closed. Let us take 
 tins plan as to the history before us. We have several inde- 
 pendent writings containing the gospel history. Let us 
 select that of St. John, and try the question first upon it. 
 We begin, then, with this most important inquiry : 
 
 I. Had the writer of this book sufficient opportunities of 
 possessing adequate knowledge as to those matters of fact 
 which he has related ? I do not suppose that much array of 
 argument can be necessary to prove that he had every oppor- 
 tunity. It is to be first considered that the amount of 
 knowledge required to enable John, or either of the other 
 evangelists, to give an accurate account of so much of the 
 life of Christ and of the transactions connected with his 
 cause, as he has embraced in his narrative, was not very con- 
 siderable. The gospel history is contained in a small space. 
 Twenty-nine or thirty pages, of a common family Bible, 
 comprise the whole of what John has related. It is a plain 
 straight forward account of a very simple intelligible train 
 of events. There are no labyrinths of historical truth to 
 trace out no perplexed involutions of circumstances to un- 
 ravel. Consequently, when you consider that John, by the 
 testimony of all tradition, as well as that of the gospel history, 
 was a member of the household of Christ admitted into his 
 most unreserved and affectionate intercourse the disciple 
 whom he specially loved who accompanied him in all his 
 journeyings, followed him into his retirements, stood beneath 
 his cross, and was a constant companion of the other disci- 
 ples, and a witness of their actions you will readily grant 
 that John must have possessed all desirable opportunities of 
 knowing, and must actually have known the gospel history 
 so perfectly as to be fully competent ( to write an accurate 
 account. I shall therefore refrain from any further remark?
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 10: 
 
 upon this branch of the argument, and shall pass to the 
 second, in entire confidence that I leave no mind in any 
 reasonable doubt of the adequateness of our historians 
 knowledge. 
 
 The second and the main question to be pursued is this : 
 Have we reason to rely with implicit confidence upon the 
 honesty of this historian? Believing him to have known 
 enough to relate the truth, may we also believe that he was 
 too honest to relate any thing but the truth? This is a fair 
 and plain question. Prove the negative, and John's history 
 must be given up. Prove the affirmative, and it " is worthy of 
 all acceptation." We begin the argument for the affirmative. 
 
 II. There is abundant evidence that the writers of the 
 gospel history were too honest to relate any thing but truth, 
 
 We will apply, in the first place, to the history itself. 
 There are certain characteristic marks of historical honesty, 
 which can hardly be counterfeited to any extent, and always 
 produce a favourable impression. Take up the history 
 written by St. John. I call your attention to the obvious 
 fact that ; 
 
 1st. Its narrative is in a very high degree circumstantial. 
 A false witness will not need to be cautioned against the 
 introduction of many minute circumstances into his statement. 
 The more he connects it with the particulars of time, and 
 place, and persons, so as to locate his facts and bring in 
 living men as associated with them, the more does he multi- 
 ply the probability of detection. He gives the cross-examina- 
 tion every advantage. It would be impossible for a false 
 statement, abounding in such details, and at the same time 
 exciting general interest in the neighbourhood where, and 
 soon after, they are alleged to have occurred, to escape 
 exposure. Consequently, when we take up a narrative thus 
 minutely circumstantial, and which we are sure did excite 
 among all classes, where its events are located, the very 
 highest und most scrutinizing interest, and that, too, within
 
 108 
 
 LECTURE JV. 
 
 a short time after the period to which the events are referred ; 
 we always feel impressed with a strong persuasion that the 
 writer had the consciousness of truth and the fearlessness of 
 honesty. It is evident that he had no disposition, and there- 
 fore no cause, to shun the closest investigation. On the 
 other hand, if you take up any books professing to be histories 
 of events within the reach and investigation of those among 
 whom they were first published, but yet in a great measure 
 untrue, you will find a great deficiency of such minute 
 details of time, place, and persons, as would serve to test 
 their faithfulness. Compare them with the histories of the 
 Peloponnesian and Gallic wars, by Thucydides and Julius 
 Caesar, and you will see directly how strong a feature of 
 true narrative, in distinction from whatever is in a great 
 degree invented, is a circumstantial detail of minute par- 
 ticulars. 
 
 Generality is the cloak of fiction. Minuteness is the 
 natural manner of truth, in proportion to the importance 
 and interest of the subject. Such is the precise manner and 
 continual evidence of the honesty of St. John. His history 
 is full of the most minute circumstances of time, place, and 
 persons. Does he record, for example, the resuscitation of 
 Lazarus? He tells the name of the village, and describes 
 the particular spot where the event occurred. He gives the 
 names of some of the principal individuals who were present; 
 mentions many unbelieving Jews as eye-witnesses ; states 
 the precise object for which they had come to the place ; 
 what they did and said ; the time the body had been buried ; 
 how the sepulchre was constructed and closed; the impres- 
 sion which the event made upon the Jews ; how they were 
 divided in opinion in consequence of it ; the particular ex- 
 pressions of one whose name is given ; the subsequent 
 conduct of the Jews in regard to Lazarus. This, you 
 perceive, is being very citcumstantial. It is only a specimen 
 of ihe general character of St. John's Gospel. It looks
 
 LECTURE IV. 109 
 
 very much as if the writer was not afraid of any thing the 
 people of Bethany, or the survivors of those who had been 
 present at the tomb of Lazarus, or the children of any of 
 them, might have to say with regard to the resurrection. 
 Now, when you consider that John's history was widely 
 circulated while many were yet living, who, had these events 
 never been, in Bethany, must have known it ; and among a 
 people, who, in addition to every facility, had every desire to 
 find out the least departure from truth, I think you will 
 acknowledge that the circumstantial character of this book 
 is very strong evidence that the author must have written in 
 the confidence of truth. 
 
 2d. Another striking evidence, to the same point, is seen 
 in this, that the author exhibits no consciousness of narra- 
 ting any thing, about which, as a matter of notorious fact, 
 there was the smallest doubt. He takes no pains, evinces 
 no thought of attempting, to convince his reader of the 
 truth of what he relates. On the contrary, the whole 
 narrative is conducted with the manner and aspect of one 
 who takes for granted the entire notoriety of his statements. 
 He comes before the public as one familiarly known, needing 
 no account of himself or of his pretensions to universal 
 confidence. He goes straight forward with his story, de- 
 livering the least and the most wonderful relations in the 
 same simple and unembarrassed manner of ease and confi- 
 dence, which nothing but an assurance of unimpeachable 
 consistency can explain. Nothing is said to account for 
 what might seem inexplicable ; to defend what would 
 probably be cavilled at ; to anticipate objections which one 
 feeling himself on questionable ground, would naturally 
 look for. The writer seems to be conscious that, with 
 regard to those for whom especially he wrote, all this were 
 needless. He is willing to commit his simple statement 
 alone, undefended, unvarnished, into the hands of friend 
 
 or foe. 
 
 9*
 
 .110 LECTURE IV. 
 
 Nothing is more remarkable in this connexion than that, 
 while he could not have been ignorant that he was relating 
 many very extraordinary and wonderful events, he shows 
 no wonder in his own mind, and seems to expect no wonder 
 among his readers. This looks exceedingly like one who 
 writes, not of extraordinary events, just contrived in his 
 own imagination, but of extraordinary events which, what- 
 ever the wonder they excited when first known, are now 
 perfectly notorious, not only to himself, but to all his 
 readers. It is one thing to relate a series of astonishing 
 occurrences which we feel are perfectly new to the readers, 
 and a very different thing to relate the same to those who 
 have long since been familiarly acquainted with their promi- 
 nent particulars, and desire only a more circumstantial and 
 confidential account. In the former case, the writer would 
 naturally, and almost necessarily, betray in his style and 
 the whole texture of his statement an expectation of the 
 wonder and probable incredulity of his readers. In the 
 latter, he would deliver his narrative as if he were thinking 
 only of an accurate detail of truth, without particular refe- 
 rence to whether it was astonishing, or the contrary. Thus 
 it is with St. John. There is no appearance of his having 
 felt as if any of his Gospel would be new, or excite any 
 new emotions of wonder in his readers. The marvellous 
 works of Christ were, at that time, notorious. When first 
 heard of, they excited universal astonishment. " His fame 
 went abroad, and all the people were amazed." But so 
 much time had now elapsed, that emotions of wonder had 
 subsided, under the influence of repetition and familiarity. 
 In striking consistency with this is the whole aspect of 
 St. John's narrative. He goes directly forward in the rela 
 tion of events, in themselves exceedingly impressive and 
 astonishing, exhibiting no sign of any astonishment in his 
 own mind, anticipating none in his contemporaneous readers. 
 How is this to be explained ? One can discover no plausible
 
 LECTURE IV. 11 J 
 
 explanation but in the supposition that he was conscious 
 of recording events, with which, in their chief particulars, 
 the public mind had been entirely familiarized. This may 
 deservedly be considered a strong indication of truth. 
 
 3d. I see another plain evidence, to the same point, in 
 the minute accuracy which marks all the allusions of this 
 narrative to the manners, customs, opinions, political events, 
 and other circumstances of the times. The situation of 
 Judea, in the time of the Saviour, was such as to bring 
 it frequently under the eye of the profane writers of that 
 age. From them we derive a great many particulars, 
 illustrating the several modifications in the civil and religious 
 institutions of the Jews, by their subjection to Rome. And 
 hus we have a great many points of comparison between 
 the gospel history and the other histories of the same times. 
 The former contains innumerable references to the pecu- 
 liarities then existing in the Jewish state its laws, courts, 
 punishments as well as to the opinions, prejudices, and 
 customs then prevailing. This was dangerous ground for 
 the inventor of a story. The continual fluctuations in public 
 affairs ; the numerous and complex changes in the supreme 
 officers of Judea and the neighbouring provinces ; as well 
 as in the boundaries and character of their governments, 
 within the period embraced in the gospel history, must have 
 added greatly to the difficulty of an inventor of a narrative 
 located in such circumstances, and filled with allusions 
 to them. We have a Jewish historian of the same age, with 
 which to confront the gospel history. Josephus has furnished 
 us with a full and minute account of those internal affairs 
 if the Jews, both civil and religious, to which allusions are 
 nade in the gospel history. It would be evidently very far 
 beyond the limits of a lecture, to attempt a proof that all 
 the minutest allusions in our sacred history are not only 
 uneontradicted, but wherever the same things are spoken of, 
 are positively confirmed by the secular authority to which
 
 112 LECTURE IV. 
 
 we have referred. But we assert it as a fact, well known to 
 every student of the gospel history, and of which any who 
 have the disposition to examine the question, may easily be 
 satisfied. Now it seems to me it would have been next to 
 impossible for the inventor of a story, exciting such general 
 and intense interest, branching out into such circumstantial 
 details, and connected, at so many points, with the pecu- 
 liarities of the times, to tread upon ground so covered with 
 snares, without being caught. 
 
 4th. Hitherto we have directed your attention to the 
 gospel history as furnished by only one of its witnesses. 
 But suppose you should unexpectedly discover in the ruins 
 of Herculaneum three distinct writings, heretofore entirely 
 unknown, but containing the most satisfactory evidence of 
 authenticity, and evidently written in the first century of 
 Christianity, by three several and independent authors, each 
 possessed of the best opportunities of knowledge. And 
 suppose that in every one of them there should be found 
 a history of Christ and his Gospel ; what an uncommon 
 opportunity would it seem of trying the accuracy of this 
 book of St. John. Even if these three newly discovered 
 authors were bad men ; yet if their statements should agree 
 with his, it would determine the accuracy of his history. 
 But if it should appear that they were all good men, how 
 much more complete would be their confirmation. Suppose, 
 however, it should turn out that these three writers were 
 not only good men, but, like St. John, disciples of Christ 
 and ministers of his Gospel, what effect would their concur- 
 rent testimony then have upon his accuracy? Would it be 
 diminished in conclusiveness by the discovery of their 
 Christian character ? I believe that, in the minds of multi- 
 tudes, it would ; but most unjustly. Precisely the contrary 
 should be the consequence. If four of the chief officers in 
 Napoleon's staff had published memoirs of his life, I venture 
 to say that the concurrence of their several statements
 
 LECTURE IV. 113 
 
 instead of having its evidence weakened, because they were 
 all attached to Napoleon and admitted to his domestic circle, 
 would be greatly strengthened, in your estimation, by that 
 very circumstance, inasmuch as it would ensure the accuracy 
 of their knowledge, without impeaching their integrity. 
 But some seem to suppose that the laws regulating the force 
 of testimony are all changed as soon as the matter of fact, 
 in question, is removed from the department of profane to 
 that of sacred history. 
 
 How much has been made of the testimony of the Roman 
 historian, Tacitus, to some of the chief facts of the gospel 
 history. It is the testimony of a Heathen, and, therefore, 
 supposed to be incomparably valuable. Now suppose that 
 Tacitus the Heathen had not only been persuaded of the 
 facts he has related, but had been so deeply impressed with 
 the belief of them as to have renounced heathenism and 
 embraced the Christian faith, and then published the history 
 we now possess who does not know that, with the infidel, 
 and with many a believer, his testimony would have greatly 
 suffered in practical force ? No reason for this can be given, 
 except that we have a vague idea that a Christian in the 
 cause of Christianity must be an interested witness. To be 
 sure he is interested. But is his testimony the less valuable ? 
 
 A scientific man, bearing testimony to a phenomenon in 
 natural history, is an interested witness, because he is de- 
 voted to science, but his testimony is not the less valuable. 
 A good man, bearing testimony to the character of another 
 good man, is an interested witness, because he is the friend 
 of virtue and of all good men, but his testimony is not the 
 less valuable. In this, and no other sense, were the original 
 disciples interested witnesses. They were interested in 
 Christianity, only so far as they believed it true. Suppose 
 them to have known it to be untrue, and you cannot imagine 
 the least jot or tittle of interest they could have had in it 
 In such a case, on the contrary, the current of all their
 
 1 14 LECTURE TV. 
 
 interests and prepossessions would run directly and power- 
 fully in opposition to Christianity. This then, being all the 
 way in which they can be regarded as interested, the force 
 of their testimony, so far from being in the least impaired, 
 is greatly enhanced by the consideration. The bare fact 
 that any primitive writer, bearing witness to events related 
 by St. John, was not a Heathen, or a Jew, but a Christian, 
 is the very thing that should be regarded as completing his 
 testimony. Is the evidence of Tacitus, who relates such 
 events, but remained a Heathen, any thing like so strong ; 
 as if we could say, it is the evidence of Tacitus, who was a 
 Heathen, but believed those events so firmly that he became 
 a Christian ? If a man speak well to me of the virtues of 
 a certain medicine, but does not use it himself, is his opinion 
 half ^o weighty as if he were to receive it into his own 
 vitals, and administer it in his- family? Would it be 
 reasonable, in this case, to refuse his testimony, because you 
 might denominate him an interested witness 1 
 
 I have thus enlarged upon this head, because I am going 
 to present you with the concurrent testimony of seven 
 ancient writers, in confirmation of the accuracy of the gos- 
 pel history, as given by St. John. They are writers whose 
 testimony has this particular value, that, whereas once they 
 were Jews and enemies to the gospel, they were afterwards 
 converted to its belief and service ; became Christians, and 
 as Christians wrote, and gave every practical evidence that 
 what they wrote they believed. Of these, three composed 
 regular histories of the life and labours of Christ, similar in 
 object to that of John. One of them, beside a memoir of 
 Christ, has carried on the subsequent history of Christianity, 
 under the name of the Acts of the Apostles. Four others 
 composed various letters to different individuals, or bodies of 
 Christians, in which they allude continually to events related 
 in the narratives of the former. Now all these several 
 writings are perfectly independent, each of the rest. We
 
 LECTURE IV. 115 
 
 have them bound up in one volume, and are apt to overlook 
 the fact that they are as independent productions as if they 
 had never been in contact with one another. Written by 
 various authors in widely remote countries, in ah 1 parts of 
 the first century from its forty-first to its ninety-seventh year, 
 in as many different styles and methods as they had writers ; 
 these productions cannot, with the least reason, be suspected 
 of having been composed in concert. Of the competency of 
 the knowledge of each writer, we can have no more doubt 
 than in the case of St. John. In each of their histories we 
 see the same circtimstantiallty, the same striking internal 
 characteristics of honesty as we have already noticed in that 
 of the other evangelist. Now, let us divest ourselves of the 
 delusion so apt to arise out of the thought that they are Chris- 
 tian witnesses ; and as if this were a question as to the truth 
 of a history of Pythagoras, by one of his disciples, and these 
 other writers were also contemporaneous disciples of Pytha- 
 goras, let us bring them face to face, and see how they agree. 
 Here, then, we have four independent histories of the life of 
 Christ, all of them by his contemporaries, besides the other 
 documents we have mentioned. Now, " it is an extraordi- 
 nary and singular fact that no history since the commence- 
 ment of the world has been written by so great a number of 
 the companions and friends of an illustrious person, as that 
 of our Saviour. One contemporary history is a rarity 
 two is a coincidence scarcely known four is, so far as 
 appears, unparalleled."* We have therefore, an unequalled 
 opportunity of coming at the truth. We compare our seve- 
 ral histories. If we find them contradictory, our confidence 
 declines. If they bear a systematic, particular, and yet com- 
 prehensive resemblance, we must suspect collusion. But we 
 perceive neither the contradiction nor the resemblance. We 
 see great variety. What one relates, another sometimes 
 
 * "Wilson's Lectures.
 
 116 LECTtRE IV. 
 
 leaves out. They differ in arrangement, in minuteness, and 
 sometimes as to fact, in such manner that the reader might 
 be alarmed at first view, lest there should be found a contra- 
 diction ; while such is the actual agreement, that all difficul- 
 ties vanish before a strict investigation ; and, down to the 
 utmost minuteness of statement, their mutual support is 
 undiminished by a single opposing representation. The 
 attempts of infidels to make out the appearance of a con- 
 tradiction, show to what shifts they have been driven, and 
 how accurate is the concurrence. Now this unfailing agree- 
 ment of four several, independent, and contemporaneous 
 historians each so circumstantial each so full of allusions 
 to the events, and institutions, and customs of the times 
 and none contradicted by any evidence whatever is as 
 convincing an evidence of the honest accuracy of all, as 
 any mind should require. Were the gospel history untrue, 
 such evidence would have been morally impossible. It is 
 peculiar to that history. No other can plead it, to any simi- 
 lar extent. And here we feel that we might safely leave the 
 question of credibility. But there are two or three points 
 remaining, which must not be left unnoticed. 
 
 Should I occupy enough of your time to take any thing 
 like a full view of the whole of this argument, I should here 
 introduce the uncontradicted acknowledgment of Jewish and 
 Heathen enemies of the gospel, to the purity and integrity 
 of the primitive disciples of Christ ; the strong evidence of 
 their having possessed these virtues, exhibited in the pecu- 
 liarly modest and humble manner in which the evangelists 
 speak of themselves, never concealing or excusing what 
 might make exceedingly against thenij but always mention- 
 ing what might seem humiliating or honourable to them- 
 selves in the same plain, simple way as they relate any 
 other matter of fact. We should also introduce the variety 
 of incidental confirmations obtained from profane writers, 
 and from coins, of various particulars contained in the gos-
 
 LECTURE IV. 117 
 
 pel history. We should cite especially the testimony of 
 Tacitus to the time and the fact of the Saviour's crucifixion ; 
 as well as the records called the Acts of Pilate, bearing wit- 
 ness to the same event, and appealed to by early Christian 
 writers as notoriously laid up among the papers of the 
 Roman Senate. But since we have not room for every 
 thing, we must dispense with these particulars.* 
 
 Let it be remembered that we are still employed upon the 
 honesty of the writers of the gospel history. Suppose, then, 
 for a moment, that they were not honest in their statements 
 that they knew they were endeavouring to pass off a down- 
 right imposition upon the world. We will not speak of 
 their intellect in such a case, but of their motive. Now, it 
 would be difficult to suppose that any man could devote 
 himself to the diligent promotion of such an imposture 
 without some very particular motive. Much more that, 
 without such motive, the eight various writers concerned in 
 the New Testament should have united in the plan. What 
 motive could they have had ? If impostors, they were bad 
 men ; their motive, therefore, must have been bad. It must 
 have been to advance themselves, either in wealth, honour, 
 or power. Take either, or all of these objects, and here, 
 then, is the case you have. Four historians, with four other 
 writers of the New Testament all, but one of them, poor 
 unlearned men undertake to persuade the world that certain 
 great events took place before the eyes of thousands in Judea 
 and Galilee, which none in those regions ever saw or heard 
 of, and they know, perfectly well, did never occur. They see 
 beforehand that the attempt to make Jews and Heathens be- 
 lieve these things will occasion to themselves all manner of dis- 
 grace and persecution. Nevertheless, so fond are they of thei r 
 contrivance, that though it is bitterly opposed by all the habits 
 prejudices, dispositions, and philosophy all the powers and 
 
 * See Home's Introd. vol. i. 
 10
 
 118 LECTURE IV. 
 
 institutions of all people they submit cheerfully to misery 
 and contempt they take joyfully the spoiling of their goods 
 they willingly endure to be counted as fools and the offscour- 
 mg of all things yea, they march thankfully to death out 
 of a mere desire to propagate a story which they all know 
 is a downright fabrication. At every step of their progress 
 they see and feel, that instead of any worldly advantage, 
 they are daily loading themselves with ruin. At any moment 
 they can turn about and renounce their effort, and retrieve 
 their losses ; and yet, with perfect unanimity, these eight, 
 with thousands of others equally aware of the deception, 
 persist most resolutely in their career of ignominy and 
 suffering. Not the slightest confession, even under torture 
 and the strong allurements of reward, escapes the lips of 
 any. Not the least hesitation is shown when to each is 
 offered the choice of recantation or death. He that can 
 believe such a case of fraud and folly as this, can believe 
 any thing. He believes a miracle infinitely more difficult 
 of credit than any in the gospel history. I charge him 
 with the most superstitious and besotted credulity. In 
 getting to such a belief, he has to trample over all the 
 laws of nature and of reasoning. Then on what an un- 
 assailable rock does the honesty of the writers of the New 
 Testament stand, if it can be attacked only at such sacrifices. 
 How evident it is, not only that they could have had no 
 motive to deceive, but that in all their self-devotion and 
 sacrifices they gave the strongest possible evidence of having 
 published what they solemnly believed was true. * 
 
 Now, if I have produced satisfactory proof from all the 
 unquestionable marks of honesty in the gospel history; 
 
 * " We cannot make use (says Hume) of a more convincing argument" 
 (in proof of honesty) " than to prove that the actions ascribed to any persons 
 are contrary to the course of nature, and that no human motives, in such 
 circumstances could ever induce them to such a conduct." Philosophical 
 Essays.
 
 LECTURE IV. 119 
 
 from the concurrence of profane historians with many of 
 its facts ; from their being contradicted by none ; from the 
 unprecedented harmony of eight independent writers in 
 their minutest events and allusions ; from the impossibility 
 of supposing any motive to deception, and from the sacrifices 
 the apostles endured in the promotion of Christianity ; if 
 from these sources I have satisfactorily shown that the 
 writers of the gospel history could not have intended to 
 record any thing but truth then, having previously ascer- 
 tained that they must have known whether what they wrote 
 was true or false, we have those two requisites which ensure 
 the credibility of any history knowledge and honesty. This 
 shuts up the question. But it is not the whole strength of 
 the argument. A question may be shut up and locked; 
 but then it may have bolts and bars besides. The truth of 
 the gospel history is not only sealed, but sealed seven-fold. 
 
 It has all the testimony that could possibly have been 
 expected, in the nature of things, from the enemies of 
 Christianity. It would have been unreasonable to expect 
 that a Heathen or Jew would come forward with a detailed 
 statement to acknowledge the events narrated by the 
 evangelists. We ha^ve not this ; but we have much better. 
 We have the confession of the whole nation of Jews and of 
 all the Greeks to the same point. None ever ventured in 
 any publication to deny the statements of the evangelists. 
 Unquestionably they would have done it, every where, had 
 they been able. When Luke published in Jerusalem, that 
 a man lame from the birth was healed by Peter and John, 
 while sitting, begging, at the gate of the temple, and that a 
 great multitude came together on account of the wondei ful 
 deed ; had the Jews of Jerusalem been able to deny it, 
 would their persecuting enmity have permitted them to be 
 silent ? Be it remembered that the gospel history was pub- 
 lished in the places where its events are said to have 
 occurred in the lifetime of many enemies who are said to
 
 120 LECTURE IV. 
 
 have seen them. Now it is certain that no adversaries 
 either in Judea, or Greece, or Rome, rested their opposition 
 to the gospel, in any degree, on the denial of these events. 
 What is the consequence? They could not deny them. 
 What is the meaning of this silence? Being interpreted, 
 it is nothing less than a universal testimony from all Jews 
 and Heathens, who were capable of knowing any thing of 
 the matter, that these things were so. But they did not stop 
 here. Tacitus, the Roman historian, positively asserts some 
 of the chief events of the gospel. * Celsus, a bitter anta- 
 gonist of Christianity, in the second century ;t Porphyry, a 
 learned as well as earnest opposer, in the third ; 1 and 
 Julian, the apostate emperor, in the next century ; all 
 acknowledge not only the authenticity of the New Testament 
 books, but, so far as they refer to them, the historical correct- 
 ness of their narratives, even as to the most extraordinary 
 particulars, not excluding the miracles of Christ. But we 
 have stronger witness still. 
 
 About thirty-two years after the crucifixion, took place the 
 first Roman persecution, under Nero. The number of 
 Christians discovered in the one city of Rome, and con- 
 demned, is called by Tacitus "a vast multitude."^ Of 
 course they must have been exceedingly numerous in all 
 other places taken together. These but a few years before 
 were all either Jews or Heathens. Many resided in Jerusa- 
 lem, Capernaum, Antioch, Philippi, Ephesus, Corinth, &c. 
 By the time of this persecution, all the Gospels, but one, as 
 well as the Acts of the apostles, had been published. The 
 events recorded in these books are said to have taken place 
 before the eyes of the people of the cities just mentioned. 
 It was an easy thing for those people to ascertain whether 
 tney, or their neighbours, or parents, had seen them. What 
 
 Lardner, iii. 611. t Ib. iv. 121130; 133, 4. * Ib. 2348. Ib. 341 2. 
 N Tac. Annal., lib. xv. c. 44. Lardner, iii. 610 14.
 
 LECTURE IV. 121 
 
 did they do ? They came forward in great multitudes ; 
 they threw off Judaism ; threw off paganism ; espoused the 
 gospel, and suffered unto death, sooner than renounce it. This 
 was but thirty-three years after the events recorded of Christ; 
 it was in the life-time of Paul. I say, therefore, that every 
 Christian of those days was a witness the strongest 
 witness far more impressive in his attestation than any 
 enemy could have been, to the shining, powerful truth of 
 the gospel history. "We are compassed about," therefore, 
 '' with a great cloud of witnesses ;" witnesses who did not 
 just acknowledge these things, and still remain what they 
 were before ; but witnesses adding to their acknowledgment 
 the testimony of their conversion ; the evidence of their 
 lives, which were wholly devoted to these things ; the seals 
 of ten thousand martyrdoms, endured solely on account of 
 their perfect assurance of these things. 
 
 Now consider a moment, and see the utter impossibility 
 that the gospel history should have gained such currency 
 for a single year, had it not been notoriously true. In about 
 eight years after the crucifixion, Matthew publishes his 
 Gospel among the Jews. He tells the people of Jerusalem 
 that, only eight years from that time, while a great multitude 
 of them were witnessing the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus, 
 there was darkness over the whole land, from twelve to three 
 o'clock in the afternoon, and " the veil of the temple was 
 rent in twain, and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.-' 
 Suppose all this to have been a fabrication ; would Jerusa- 
 lem have held her peace ? could a book of such barefaced 
 untruth have lived an hour 1 
 
 The book of the Acts of the Apostles was published about 
 thirty years after the ascension of Christ, and was immedi- 
 ately circulated among the churches, and open to the perusal 
 of the enemies of Christianity. It is related in the second 
 chapter of that work, that on the day of Pentecost, soon 
 
 after the death of Christ when a great multitude, collected 
 
 10*
 
 122 LECTURE IV. 
 
 from all parts of the earth, were assembled at Jerusalem, a 
 deep impression of astonishment was produced on the public 
 mind by a rumour of certain miraculous events in the com- 
 pany of the apostles, so that " the multitude came together 
 and were confounded, because that every man heard them 
 speak in his own language." Parthians, and Medes, and 
 Elamites, and Cretes, and Arabians ; dwellers in all coun 
 tries ; men of every speech, were amazed at hearing those 
 Galileans, who were well known to have learned no other 
 tongue than that of Palestine, speaking in all varieties of 
 foreign languages, the wonderful works of God. Such is the 
 relation in the Acts of the Apostles. How could a writer, in 
 his senses, attempt to pass it upon his readers had it not been 
 notorious that such things had actually occurred? The 
 lapse of thirty years could not have so obliterated every 
 recollection of that feast ; or so swept the world of surviving 
 witnesses, as to prevent the certainty, that wherever this book 
 should circulate it would meet with persons capable of 
 remembering or of ascertaining whether these things were so. 
 Had not the fact of the apostles having spoken in the pre- 
 sence of thousands, in various tongues, been undeniable, wit- 
 nesses innumerable would have arisen against the book that 
 related it. Had no such event occurred, the Acts of the 
 Apostles could have gone into no part of the world without 
 finding those who would stand up and declare that they were 
 at the feast referred to, and saw nothing and heard nothing 
 of the marvellous things declared by its author. I say, 
 therefore, the fact that the gospel history was received, loved, 
 and read, every where among Christians ; that it has out- 
 Jj>ed all the withering of time, and all the weapons of 
 enemies ; that Jews could not gainsay it, nor Heathens resist 
 it ; that eighteen centuries of scrutiny and trial have only 
 added new assurance to its truth, is one which reduces the 
 supposition of imposture to a perfect and ridiculous absurd- 
 ity. Therefore was it not in the power of such modern
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 123 
 
 infidels as Hobbes, and Chub, and Bolingbroke, to deny the 
 point in question. The latter, as an example of the others, 
 speaking of John and Matthew, acknowledges that " they 
 recorded the doctrines of Christ in the very words in which 
 he taught them; and they were careful to mention the sev- 
 eral occasions on which he delivered them to his disciples or 
 others. If, therefore, Plato and Xenophon tell us, with 
 a good deal of certainty, what Socrates taught, these two 
 evangelists seem to tell us, with much more, what the Sav- 
 iour taught, and commanded them to teach." 
 
 Here I think we may safely leave the question of credi- 
 bility. So conclusive and certain have seemed to my mind 
 the several consecutive arguments to which you have listened, 
 that instead of feeling at each step as if any candid hearer 
 would wait for additional proof, I have felt not unfrequently 
 as if I were tiring your attention with an unnecessary accu- 
 mulation. Why this heaping of argument upon argument, 
 one may say, when from the very outset of the question, 
 from the certain authenticity of the Gospels, united with 
 their internal evidence, we have a proof of credibility with 
 which any rational mind should be perfectly satisfied? We 
 acknowledge the reasonableness of the inquiry. If the 
 history under consideration related to the life of Alexander 
 the Great and his generals, instead of that of the meek and 
 lowly Jesus and his apostles, who would think it necessary 
 to go into all this detail of evidence to establish its truth 1 
 That it contained no internal marks of dishonesty ; that it 
 was uncontradicted by contemporaneous writers and by 
 other histories of the same times ; that it had been received, 
 ever since, as a true account ; would be considered an ample 
 warrant of its historical correctness. Few, if any, profane 
 histories, can produce more positive proof of credibility than 
 this. Try them by the scale on which the gospel history is 
 measured ; require them to present one half of the weight 
 of evidence which infidels demand, and Christians bring in
 
 124 LECTURE IV. 
 
 support of the sacred narrative ; and you must exclude them 
 from all claim to the confidence of their readers. We migh* 
 speak of the unfairness of requiring so much more in proof 
 of a history because its character is sacred, and its facts are 
 connected with religion. I see not that the inferences arising 
 from an event, are entitled to any influence in changing the 
 amount of evidence necessary to its proof. Whether an 
 evangelist be worthy of dependence, when he relates the 
 works of Jesus, is a question of testimony to be determined 
 by the same degree of proof as should satisfy us as to the 
 accuracy and honesty of any other writer, on any other sub- 
 ject of history. But we have no disposition to complain 
 that so much has been demanded in evidence of the gospel 
 narrative. It has only served to quicken the investigations 
 of the friends of truth, and to exhibit, with a more impres- 
 sive assurance, those great events, on which all that is 
 precious in a Christian's faith is founded. It has showed, 
 not only how amply, but how wonderfully the God of truth 
 and grace has made the anchor of our hope to be sure and 
 steadfast. It teaches how, in the hands of Divine Wisdom, 
 the wrath of man is made subsidiary to the praise of God ; 
 how the fiery darts of the wicked are not only broken against 
 the shield of faith, but made the means of increasing the 
 light by which the Christian is guided, and often of carrying 
 back confusion into the ranks of the enemy. It should lead 
 the believer to adore, with admiring gratitude, the goodness 
 of Him, who, for the sake of those that love Him, causes all 
 the schemes and assaults of unbelievers to work together 
 for good ; making it more and more manifest, by the defeat 
 of eveiy new attack, that this is "the true light" "the 
 shining light, which shineth more and more unto the 
 perfect day." 
 
 Had we time, or were it needful, to enter upon a particular 
 view of the authenticity and credibility of the Old Testa- 
 ment volume, this would be the place for the argument
 
 LECTURE IV. 125 
 
 But we have room only to advert to it. The connexion 
 between the truth of the Christian scriptures and that of the 
 Jewish is so obvious and essential; the dispensation of 
 Christ so continually assumes the divine authority of that 
 of Moses, and is so evidently built on its foundations ; the 
 writings of the apostles so frequently quote and refer to the 
 law and the prophets, as authentic, credible, and inspired 
 scriptures ; the argument for the books of the Old Testa- 
 ment is so parallel, in its mode and means, to that for the 
 books of the New ; and the cavils of sceptics, in relation to 
 the former, are so similar in objection, principle, and reason, 
 ing, to those with which they assail the latter ; that in hav- 
 ing established the authenticity and credibility of the one, we 
 may be fairly said to have done the same, in outline, for the 
 character of the other. Certain we are, that one who is 
 intelligently convinced of the authenticity and credibility of 
 the New Testament, will not halt between two opinions as 
 to the writings of Moses and the prophets, but will read 
 them as assuredly the writings of those whose names they 
 bear ; and deserving, in relation to all matters of fact, the 
 character of credible scriptures.
 
 126 LECTURE V. 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 MIRACLES. 
 
 OUR last lecture was on the CREDIBILITY OF THE GOSPEL 
 HISTORY. In a previous one, we ascertained the AUTHEN- 
 TICITY of the books in which it is contained. If the 
 evidence adduced in proof of both these fundamental articles 
 appeared as satisfactory to the hearers, as to the speaker, we 
 are then prepared to open the New Testament with the 
 assurance that the books it contains were written by those 
 original disciples whose names they bear ; and that we may 
 confidently depend on the historical correctness of their 
 statements. The seals, therefore, of the volume are now 
 unloosed. Immediately on inspecting the contents, it appears 
 that the grand and continual reference is to Jesus Christ, as 
 a Teacher and Saviour sent from God, to communicate 
 personally, and by his apostles, a revelation of truth and 
 duty to man. This revelation, the New Testament professes 
 to contain. Now, the grand question is, what are the evi- 
 dences that the religion contained in thf New Testament is 
 a divine revelation? 
 
 When an ambassador from a foreign power presents him- 
 self at our seat of government, charged with certain commu- 
 nications from his sovereign, he first exhibits his credentials 
 of appointment. These being satisfactory, whatever he may 
 communicate, in his official character, is received with as 
 much reliance as if it were heard from the lips of his sove- 
 reign himself. It is treated as a revelation of the mind or 
 will of that sovereign. In the New Testament we read that 
 our Lord Jesus Christ appeared among men as an ambassa
 
 LECTURE V. 127 
 
 dor from God, charged with certain important proposals to 
 the world. Before we can be justified in receiving them as a 
 divine revelation, we must know the credentials of the ambas- 
 sador ; we must have sufficient evidence that he was sent of 
 God. Furnish this, and we are bound to receive his commu- 
 nications, as confidently as if they should be heard directly 
 from the throne of the Most High. Thus the Jews said to 
 him : " What sign showest thou, that we may see and believe 
 thee ? What dost thou work ?"* The Saviour, admitting 
 the propriety of the demand, appealed to his works, as his 
 credentials. " The works that I do, they bear witness of me.' 
 On another occasion, he called up his miracles. " The blind 
 (said he) receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are 
 cleansed, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up."t As if 
 he had said : " Such works can only be done by the direct 
 and supernatural interposition of the power of God. They 
 are done at my word and will. They are therefore a perfect 
 attestation that God is with me, and that my claim to your 
 confidence as His ambassador is true." Nicodemus under- 
 stood this, and expressed no other than the plain dictate of 
 common sense, when he said to Jesus : " We know that thou 
 art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these mira- 
 cles which thou doest except God be with him."* The 
 credentials of the apostles, as subordinate agents of divine 
 revelation, are expressed in like manner. " God also bear 
 ing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with 
 divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost." None can 
 question the absolute certainty of such credentials. This 
 has been acknowledged even by the most famous advocates 
 of infidelity. Woolston says : " I believe it will be granted 
 on all hands that the restoring a person indisputably dead to 
 life is a stupendous miracle, and that two or three such mira- 
 cles, well attested and credibly reported, are enough to 
 
 * John, vi. 30 ii. 18. t Mat. xi. 5. t John, Hi. 2. S Heb. ii. 4
 
 123 LECTURE V. 
 
 conciliate the belief that the author of them was a divine 
 agent, and invested with the power of God."* Make good, 
 therefore, the evidence that the Saviour and his apostles 
 wrought miracles in attestation of their divine mission, and 
 the Christian religion, as contained in the New Testament, 
 and taught by them, must be a divine revelation. 
 
 Our way, therefore, is plain. We must inquire into the 
 evidence on which it can be established, that the Saviour 
 and his apostles did work miracles. To this inquiry we 
 should proceed immediately, were it not for the peculiar 
 circumstances which meet us in the way. The adversaries 
 of the gospel have had wit enough to see that either the 
 evidence of miracles must be overthrown, or they must 
 surrender the contest. Unable to meet the direct and 
 abounding testimony by which the wonderful works of 
 Christ and his apostles are proved, they have taken position 
 and entrenched themselves upon the advanced and desperate 
 ground of the insufficiency of any testimony to prove a 
 miracle. Thus have we a redoubt in our way, command- 
 ing the whole field of controversy, which, though easily 
 carried when properly assailed, would be of great damage, 
 if left in our rear. The present lecture will be occu- 
 pied, therefore, with the discussion of certain preliminary 
 subjects, anticipating a direct application to the evidence 
 of miracles, in our next. We commence with the following 
 proposition. 
 
 I. There is nothing unreasonable or improbable in the 
 idea of a miracle being wrought in proof of a divine reve- 
 lation. I know not but that all persons, of ordinary infor- 
 mation, have a sufficiently correct idea of what is meant by 
 a miracle, without the aid of a definition. No one would 
 mistake the restoration of sight to the blind, by the use of 
 human skill, however wonderful it might be considered, for 
 
 * Scheme of Literal Prophecy, pp. 321, 322.
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 a miracle. No one could mistake the sudden communication 
 of sight to one born blind at the mere word of another, 
 
 O * 
 
 without any intervening cause, for any thing else than a 
 miracle. The former result, though astonishing, would be 
 according to the common course of nature, or to what are 
 called the laws of nature. The latter would be beyond, or 
 different from those laws. One would be a natural, the 
 other a supernatural event, or a miracle* 
 
 Now the idea of a revelation from God, and the idea of a 
 miracle to attest the divine commission of those who make 
 it, are essentially connected. If one or more individuals be 
 sent to communicate the revelation, they must prove their 
 mission by some credentials. What can their credentials be 
 but miracles? The necessity of these will be evident from 
 a little consideration. They can appeal to but three sorts of 
 proof; the internal excellence and fitness of their communi- 
 cations ; their own integrity and judgment ; and the miracu- 
 lous works attendant on their ministry. With regard to the 
 two former, it is manifest that, in the most favourable circum- 
 stances, they would need too much time, and evidence, and 
 discrimination, for their own establishment; and would 
 always remain of a character too uncertain to permit their 
 being used with any effect in proof of a divine revelation. 
 They would answer well as auxiliaries ; but would require 
 something of a much more positive nature to sustain the 
 chief burden of proof. The claim to be received as a mes- 
 senger of God, for the purpose of making a revelation to the 
 world, could never be substantiated on such grounds. Evi- 
 dence is needed which all minds may appreciate. It must 
 be something that has only to be seen, to be understood and 
 acknowledged. When a plenipotentiary presents himself at 
 the seat of government, intrusted with certain communica 
 tions from a foreign power, of great importance on both 
 
 * See Gregory's Letters, i. 167.
 
 130 LECTURE V. 
 
 sides, and requiring to be immediately acted upon, it would 
 not answer for him to plead, in evidence of his delegated 
 authority, that his personal integrity is unimpeached, and 
 his communications are such as might be expected from his 
 government. The time for action would be lost while such 
 proof was being proved. He must exhibit credentials which 
 carry on their face the direct evidence of his commission. 
 He must show the broad seal of his sovereign stamped upon 
 their hand writing. So must an ambassador from God. 
 What then can he show but miracles ? What else can 
 set to his communications the seal of God? "In fact, the 
 very idea of a revelation includes that of miracles. A reve- 
 lation cannot be made but by a miraculous interposition of 
 Deity."* 
 
 So that the idea of miracles can be unreasonable or 
 improbable only so far as it is unreasonable or improbable 
 that God should commission one or more persons to make a 
 revelation of his truth and will. That such a revelation 
 was needed in the world at the time when Christ appeared, 
 can be denied only by asserting that the additional light now 
 possessed, in consequence of the gospel, is superfluous and 
 useless. This denial can only be maintained by showing 
 that the world, sunk in idolatry, vice, and darkness, as it 
 was universally before the gospel came, had all the know- 
 ledge of God, and all the assurance of his will, and of the 
 retributions of a future state, that were important to its hap- 
 piness. A matter of proof which I suppose no one here 
 imagines to be possible. Then if it cannot be shown that 
 a revelation was not needed ; it cannot be proved that the 
 idea of a revelation, from a God of infinite goodness and 
 mercy, was either unreasonable or improbable. But a reve- 
 lation can be attested only by miracles. They are insepara- 
 ble. Consequently, in the idea of miracles being wrought 
 
 * Gregory's Letters.
 
 LECTURE V. 131 
 
 n proof of divine revelation, there is nothing either unrea- 
 sonable or improbable. 
 
 It would not be difficult to show, that, in the circum 
 stances of the world at the Christian era, a revelation was 
 not only probable but necessary ; and, by manifest conse- 
 quence, that miracles, as its necessary attestations, were also 
 not only probable but necessary. Having thus endeavoured 
 to show that there is no presumptive evidence against a 
 miracle, except as it lies equally against a revelation ; and 
 that the one is probable, in proportion as the other may be 
 expected ; let us proceed to our second proposition. 
 
 II. If miracles were wrought in attestation of the mission 
 of Christ and his apostles, they can be rendered credible to 
 us by no other evidence than that of testimony. There are 
 various descriptions of evidence, as the evidence of sense 
 the evidence of mathematical demonstration the evidence 
 of testimony. Each of these has its own department of 
 subjects. A question of morals cannot be demonstrated by 
 mathematics, or proved by the senses. A question of his- 
 torical fact can be settled only by testimony. It might as 
 well be put to the tests of chymistry, as to have applied to it 
 either the evidence of mathematical demonstration, or of the 
 senses. 
 
 Not only is there a separate department for each of these 
 species of evidence ; but each is sufficient, in its appropriate 
 place, for the complete establishment of truth. By this 1 
 mean, that when the quantity of an angle is proved by 
 mathematical demonstration, we have a result of no more 
 practical confidence than when the existence of this house 
 is proved by the senses, or that of the city of London is 
 proved by testimony. Proof in either case is the foundation 
 of entire belief. We are just as certain that such a man as 
 Napoleon once lived, as that any proposition in geometry is 
 true though one is a matter of testimony, the other of 
 demonstration. We are quite as sure that arsenic is poison-
 
 132 LECTURE V. 
 
 ous, as that food is nutritious though one is, to most of us 
 at least, a matter of testimony only ; while the other is, to 
 all, a matter of sense. We are perfectly certain of all these 
 things. 
 
 It is likely that some minds are led into erroneous notions 
 of the comparative conclusiveness of testimony on one side, 
 and that of mathematical demonstration and of the senses on 
 the other, on account of the technical name by which the 
 former is distinguished in philosophical discussions.* It is 
 called probable evidence. It would seem to some as if, 
 because probable, it must be less satisfactory than the other 
 kinds ; since in common speech, what is merely probable is 
 not certain. But in philosophical language, the word pro- 
 bable is used, not in distinction from certain evidence, but 
 simply from that which is sensible or demonstrative, without 
 reference to the measure of certainty attached to it. Thus, 
 our belief that the sun will rise to-morrow, or that we are all 
 to die, or that London was once visited with a dreadful 
 plague, is founded on what is called probable evidence; 
 though we should be suspected of lunacy did we question 
 the propriety of acting upon it with perfect assurance. 
 Such, then, being the sufficiency of testimony to convey a 
 perfect assurance of any thing in its appropriate sphere, 
 however distant in point of time or place ; I return to the 
 proposition that if miracles were wrought by Christ and his 
 apostles, they can be rendered credible to us, of the nineteenth 
 century, by no other evidence than that of testimony. Mathe- 
 matical evidence is evidently inapplicable to the question. It 
 is a matter of fact belonging to another century, and therefore 
 intangible by sense. Nothing remains but testimony. This 
 is perfectly appropriate to the question. If, therefore, the 
 gospel miracles are true, they must be substantiated by tes- 
 timony, or not at all. We proceed to the next proposition, 
 
 * Stewart's Phil. ii. p. 179.
 
 LECTURE V. 133 
 
 III. Miracles are capable of being proved by testimony. 
 This I consider as true and obvious as that miracles are 
 capable of being proved by the evidence of the senses. 
 That a certain person was dead and buried yesterday ; and 
 that he is alive and walking the streets to-day ; the senses 
 are perfectly competent to decide. I never heard of this 
 being questioned. But if I and twenty others saw these 
 facts, is there no way of making them credible to my neigh- 
 bour who did not see them ? Will it be pretended, that if 
 twenty men of unquestionable honesty and intelligence, 
 should solemnly and by every means of conviction in their 
 power, assure me that they saw the man dead, buried, and 
 in corruption, I would have no sufficient reason to believe 
 their assertion 1 Will it be pretended, that if the same men 
 should in the same way assure me, that subsequently they 
 saw the same man alive, and conversed with him ; I would 
 have no reason to believe their assertion 1 I think there are 
 none among us who could avoid belief in such a case. It 
 would evidently be a case of miracle, believed on testimony ; 
 and to maintain that it would be believed without reason, 
 and that no conceivable addition of honest testimony could 
 furnish reason for the belief of those two simple facts, that 
 the man was dead yesterday and is alive to-day, would seem 
 an absurdity too gross to be touched by argument. 
 
 Here I should leave the mattter, confident in the common 
 sense of my hearers, were it not that the very absurdity, in 
 view, has been so mystified with the drugs of false phi- 
 losophy, so disguised under the dress of logical forms and 
 ceremonies, and so followed, in its circulation, with the 
 influence of one of the chief names in modern scepticism, 
 as to perplex many minds unaccustomed to the entangle 
 ments of sophistry. The principle that no conceivable 
 amount of testimony can prove a miracle, with David 
 Hume for its original champion, has been eagerly adopted 
 by the many whose convenience makes them unbelievers 
 
 11*
 
 134 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 but whose convenience it would not suit to attempt an 
 honest, manly answer to the abounding testimony by which 
 the miracles of the gospel are proved: A labour-saving 
 machine was wanted, by which the whole business of 
 silencing the inconvenient variety and troublesome multitude 
 of Christian evidences might be done at once, as well by the 
 ignorant as the learned. Hume invented it. Any body can 
 work it. It is not necessary, any more, that a man should 
 study the Bible, to refute its claims. He may never have 
 seen it ; but if he can only retain in his memory these few 
 talismanic words, " No testimony can prove a miracle" it is 
 enough. At the rubbing of this marvellous lamp, the 
 fabric of Christianity passes away. The terrible genii of the 
 gospel mysteries dissolve in air. Like a similar assertion, 
 and equally philosophical doctrine of the same writer, that 
 there is no external world that this house is nothing but an 
 idea, built not of matter, but only of mind this happy 
 invention of sceptical ingenuity digs so far below the founda- 
 tions of all truth and common sense, that the man whose 
 convenience bids him use it, may feel assured that not many 
 advocates of Christianity will descend low enough to spoil 
 him of his consolation. 
 
 A brief attention to this matter will not be out of place at 
 present. 
 
 The argument of the writer referred to, is abridged, in 
 the Encyclopedia Britannica, as follows : " Our belief of 
 any fact from the testimony of eye-witnesses is derived from 
 nc other principle than our experience of the veracity of 
 human testimony. If the fact attested be miraculous, there 
 arises a contest of two opposite experiences, or proof against 
 proof. Now a miracle is a violation of the laws of nature ; 
 and as a firm and unalterable experience has established 
 these laws, the proof against a miracle, from the very 
 nature of the fact, is as complete as any argument from 
 proerience can possibly be imagined ; and if so, it is an unde-
 
 LECTURE V. 135 
 
 niable consequence that it cannot be surmounted by any 
 proof whatever, derived from human testimony." 
 
 Now all this is very conclusive, provided we admit its 
 premises. The grand hinge of the whole is this, that our 
 belief in testimony is founded on no other principle than 
 
 OUR EXPERIENCE OF THE VERACITY OF HUMAN TESTIMONY. 
 
 Hence the reasoning is, that a miracle being, in the author's 
 estimation, contrary to experience, opposes and contradicts 
 the very foundation of its evidence, and therefore destroys 
 itself. But let me ask, admitting that a miracle is contrary 
 to experience, (which is not true,) what experience is it 
 contrary to? The argument requires that it should be 
 contrary to our experience of the veracity of human 
 testimony. To say merely that it is contrary to experience 
 of some sort, without specifying this particular sort, does not 
 touch the question. It is its contrariety to that particular 
 kind of experience, on which our faith in testimony (accord- 
 ing to Hume) is built, that must destroy the credibility of 
 a miracle, if it is to be destroyed at all. But this, it would 
 be ridiculous to assert. So far from miracles being incon- 
 sistent with our experience of the veracity of human te^ti 
 mony ; the truth is directly on the other side. Deny that 
 miracles were ever wrought, and your whole experience oi 
 the truth of testimony is directly and violently opposed. 
 
 But again Is our belief in testimony founded in our 
 experience of its veracity 7. Prove that it is not, and the 
 whole argument of our author is undermined. The proof 
 is easy. None depend more absolutely upon testimony than 
 those whose experience is almost a nullity. Children are 
 perfect believers in its veracity. All writers on the philoso- 
 phy of the mind, but the one before us, consider it an 
 original principle of nature that we should rely on testimony, 
 until there is proof, either of suspicious competency to know, 
 or of suspicious honesty to speak, the truth. This principle 
 is necessarv to human nature, long before any experience
 
 136 LECTURE V. 
 
 can be gathered up. Without it, how could children begin 
 to learn 1 How could they avoid poison, or receive whole- 
 some food, if they must wait for an experience of the 
 veracity of their parents, and nurses, and teachers, before 
 they can believe what they testify ? The plain truth is, that 
 instead of experience being our whole dependence for the 
 credibility of testimony, it is just the school that makes us 
 sometimes suspicious of that credibility. It teaches us that 
 testimony may be false, and furnishes the characteristics by 
 which we may distinguish between that which is suspicious, 
 and that which may be confidently relied on. We deny, 
 therefore, and with evident reason, the whole foundation of 
 the argument we are considering. 
 
 But again. Another essential hinge, in this argument, is 
 the assertion that a miracle, being, as the author defines it, 
 " a violation of the laws of nature," is contrary to experience. 
 Here we might deny that a miracle is a violation of the 
 laws of nature. It is only a deviation from those laws, or 
 from the customary mode of the divine operations. But, 
 waving this, what is meant by a miracle being contrary to 
 experience? Have we, or others ever experienced the 
 opposite of any of the miracles of Christ ? I cannot con- 
 ceive how this could be, unless we had been on the spot 
 when the miracle is said to have taken place, as when 
 Lazarus is said to have risen from the dead ; and instead of 
 seeing him rise, had seen him continue dead. That is the 
 only way in which I can conceive of opposition between 
 experience and a miracle. The resurrection of Lazarus is 
 not contrary to my experience, any more than a volcano is 
 contrary to it. All I can say of either, in this respect, is, 
 that I have never experienced it. It is beyond, not in 
 opposition to, my experience. 
 
 But when our author asserts that miracles are contrary to 
 experience, what are we to understand? Does he mean 
 one's own personal experience? or the experience of all
 
 LECTURE V. 137 
 
 mankind? If the former, then it would follow that testimony 
 can render no event credible to us which we have not 
 personally experienced. But this would be too sweeping, 
 even for the most absolute scepticism. On this ground, a 
 native of the torrid zone might refuse the testimony of the 
 rest of the world in evidence of the fact that water in winter 
 is so congealed that we can drive our carriages upon its 
 surface. He need only say, " It is contrary to my experience. 
 I have never seen it, and therefore no testimony can make it 
 credible." * 
 
 But does our author mean to be understood as affirming 
 that miracles are contrary to the experience of all mankind ? 
 His argument will then stand as follows : 'Belief in testimony 
 is founded on experience. But miracles are contrary to the 
 experience of all mankind. They contradict, therefore, the 
 credibility of testimony, and cannot be proved by it.' But this 
 is a manifest assumption of the whole question. Whether 
 miracles are contrary to the experience of all mankind, is 
 the precise point in debate. "We assert that mankind, in 
 different ages and places, have experienced them. Our 
 author is at liberty, if he pleases, to assert the contrary. But 
 it is too much to expect us to receive his assertion until it is 
 proved. And if his argument cannot be sustained without 
 thus taking for granted, in one of its 'premises, what it 
 seeks to demonstrate in the conclusion, its correctness is 
 certainly very suspicious. 
 
 The admission of the principle on which the argument 
 under consideration is founded, would lead to perfect ab- 
 surdity. " There was a time when no one was acquainted 
 with the laws of magnetism ; these suspend in many 
 instances the laws of gravity ; nor can I see, upon the 
 principle in question, how the rest of mankind could have 
 
 * On Hume's argument, in general, see the references in Home's IntroA, 
 vol. i. p. 213
 
 138 LECTURE V. 
 
 credited the testimony of their first discoverer ; and yet to 
 have rejected it, wou.d have been to reject the truth. But 
 that a piece of iron should ascend gradually from the earth, 
 and fly at last with an increasing rapidity through the air, 
 and, attaching itself to another piece of iron ore, should 
 remain suspended, in opposition to the action of its gravity, is 
 consonant to the laws of nature. I grant it ; but there was 
 a time when it was contrary, I say not to the laws of nature, 
 but to the uniform experience of all preceding ages and 
 countries ; and at the particular point of time, the testimony 
 of an individual or of a dozen individuals, who should have 
 reported themselves eye-witnesses of such a fact, ought, 
 according to the argumentation (of Mr. Hume) to have been 
 received as fabulous. And what are those laws of nature, 
 which, according to this writer, can never be suspended? 
 Are they not different to different men, according to the 
 diversities of their comprehension and knowledge? And 
 if any one of ihem (that, for instance, which rules the opera- 
 tions of magnetism or electricity) should have been known 
 to you, or to me alone, whilst all the rest of the world were 
 unacquainted with it ; the effects of it would have been new 
 and unheard of m the annals, and contrary to the expe- 
 rience, of mankind, and therefore ought not in your opinion 
 to have been believed."* If this be the legitimate result 
 of the principle in question ; if no testimony could have 
 rendered the phenomena of magnetism credible, in the 
 dawn of knowledge on that subject, because they were con- 
 trary to experience ; it is evident that a certain truth in 
 Hume's principle would have been, in that case, directly in 
 opposition. But whether the experience of mankind be 
 opposed by phenomena above the laws of nature miracles 
 or by phenomena which, though in reality according to 
 those laws, are perfectly new, and, to all human view, incon- 
 
 * Bishop Watson.
 
 LECTURE V. 139 
 
 sistent with the established order of nature, is of no conse- 
 quence to the argument. Experience is opposed in both 
 cases alike. It cannot be less absurd in one than in the 
 other, to maintain, that because the phenomena have never 
 been experienced, no testimony can make them credible. 
 
 But if the argument of Hume, with all its assumptions, 
 and false statements, and equivocal expressions, were true ; 
 it would prove not only that miracles cannot be proved by 
 testimony, but that they cannot be proved at all. Now, that 
 it is possible for God to work a miracle, none will deny. 
 Consequently, that it is possible that the miracles related in 
 the New Testament are true, none will deny. Suppose them 
 to be true, how can they be proved to us ? If testimony will 
 not do, what remains? Mathematical evidence the evi- 
 dence of the senses are perfectly inapplicable. But there 
 is no other description of evidence. If, therefore, those 
 miracles are to be proved to us, it must be done by some 
 species of evidence not now in existence, entirely foreign to 
 the laws of nature. In other words, it must be miraculous. 
 Miracle must be brought to prove miracle. And since no 
 testimony, according to the principle we are considering, can 
 prove a miracle, the very miracle which is brought in proof 
 of those in the New Testament, must itself be proved by 
 another before it can be believed by any who did not see it. 
 But what an absurdity is here ! If Jesus did open the eyes 
 of the blind, who can maintain that God has no way of 
 giving all generations reason to believe it without an unceas- 
 ing series of miracles in all places, for the purpose 7 
 
 There is but one way of evading this extreme and absurd 
 conclusion. It must be denied that we have any reason to 
 believe that God can work a miracle. For as long as it is 
 acknowledged to be possible that God, by the apostles, did 
 work miracles, the possibility of His making them credible to 
 us, without other miracles to prove them, and by the natural 
 means of human testimony, must alsc oe acknowledged :
 
 140 LECTURE V. 
 
 (he latter, to say the least of it, being no greater effort of 
 power than the former. To this necessity, the sagacity of 
 our philosopher was not blind. Nor does he scruple at em- 
 bracing it, rather than give up his favourite discovery. 
 Speaking of some alleged miracles, he writes : " What have 
 we to oppose to such a cloud of witnesses, but the absolute im- 
 possibility or miraculous nature of the event ?" In this sen- 
 tence, it is evident that "absolute impossibility " and "miracu- 
 lous nature" are used as equivalent expressions. But else- 
 where he endeavours to persuade us that there is no reason 
 to suppose that a miracle is possible with God. " Though 
 the Being (he says) to whom the miracle is ascribed, be, in 
 this case, Almighty, it does not, on that account, become a 
 whit more probable ; since it is impossible for us to know 
 the attributes or actions of such a Being, otherwise than 
 from the experience which we have of his productions, in 
 the usual course of nature." This brings us directly to 
 atheism. The argument is thus. We know the attributes 
 of God only by the experience of his works in the usual 
 course of nature. But, according to our philosopher, we 
 have no experience of a miracle among those works. Con- 
 sequently, we have no knowledge that there is any divine 
 attribute by which God can produce a miracle. Now, 
 besides the folly of denying the possibility of a miracle, 
 because nothing like it is found in the usual course of nature, 
 when a miracle, by its definition, is out of the usual course 
 of mature ; we have here the plain denial of the omnipo- 
 tence of God. For if we have no reason to believe that 
 God can produce an event differing from and above the 
 ordinary course of nature, we have no reason to suppose 
 that he is Almighty ; or that he is the Sovereign of Nature ; 
 or that He created, and preserves, and governs, all things. 
 The nature and majesty of God are denied by this argu- 
 ment. It is atheism. There is no stopping place for con- 
 sistency between the first principle of the essay of Hume,
 
 LECTURE V. 141 
 
 and the last step in the denial of God with the abyss of 
 darkness for ever. Hume, accordingly, had no belief in the 
 being of God. If he did not positively deny it, he could not 
 assert that he believed it. He was a poor, blind, groping 
 compound of contradictions. He was literally "without 
 3od and without hope ;" " doting about questions and strifes 
 :>f words ;" and rejecting life and immortality out of defer- 
 t nee to a paltry quibble, which common sense is ashamed of. 
 "An unfortunate disposition to doubt every thing," said 
 Lord Charlemont, one of his particular friends and admirers, 
 " seemed interwoven with the nature of Hume, and never 
 was there, I am convinced, a more thorough and sincere 
 sceptic. He seemed not to be certain even of his own 
 present existence, and could not. therefore, be expected to 
 entertain any settled opinion respecting his future state." 
 
 But it was very needless for our author to give himself so 
 much intellectual effort as must have been required for the 
 invention of this short and easy method of undermining the 
 evidences of Christianity, when he had previously produced 
 a much shorter and easier plan. He had already proved, in 
 his estimation, that there is no external world nothing but 
 ideas ; consequently there can be no external miracles 
 nothing but miraculous ideas. Why not hold to this'/ 
 It was certainly just as reasonable ; just as consistent with 
 philosophy and common sense, as the idea that no testimony 
 can prove a miracle. 
 
 But our sweeping sceptic was not quite so well satisfied 
 with his arguments against all testimony and all sense, as 
 would at first appear. Speaking of his speculations, he 
 says : " they have so wrought upon me, and heated my 
 brain, that I am ready to reject all belief and reasoning, and 
 can look upon no opinion even as more probable or likely 
 than another. Where am I, or what 1 From what causes 
 do I derive my existence, and to what condition shall I 
 return ? Whose favour shall I court, and whose anger must 
 
 12
 
 142 LECTURE V. 
 
 I dread 1 What beings surround me, and on whom have 1 
 any influence, or who have any influence on me ? I am 
 confounded with all these questions, and begin to fancy 
 myself in the most deplorable condition imaginable, envi- 
 roned with the deepest darkness, and utterly deprived of the 
 Use of every member and faculty." A sad confession this 
 of the satisfaction of what he calls " ike calm, though obscure 
 regions of philosophy" 
 
 But he proceeds : " Most fortunately it happens that since 
 reason is incapable of dispelling these clouds, nature herself 
 suffices to that purpose, and cures me of this philosophical 
 melancholy and delirium, either by relaxing this bent of 
 mind, or by some avocation and lively impression of my 
 senses, which obliterates all these chimeras. I dine. I play 
 a game of back-gammon, I converse and am merry with my 
 friends ; and when, after three or four hours amusement, I 
 would return to these speculations, they appear so cold, and 
 strained, and ridiculous, that I cannot find in my heart to 
 enter into them any farther." A sad exhibition this of the 
 dignity and consolations of scepticism. But if Mr. Hume 
 was sometimes constrained to look upon his own specula- 
 tions as strained and ridiculous, we may be pardoned if they 
 appear to us in the same aspect. Indeed, it was more than 
 he could do, to write consistently with them, for any length 
 of time. His own common sense insisted, sometimes, on the 
 privilege of speech ; so that, after all the show of reasoning 
 to which we have been attending; after having asserted 
 that " a miracle, supported by any human testimony, is more 
 properly a subject of derision than of argument" we find 
 him apparently coming to himself, and making the following 
 most singular acknowledgment : " I own there may possibly 
 be miracles of such a kind as to admit of proof from 
 human testimony. 1 " He then states an imaginary case of 
 miraculous occurrence, attested by a measure of proof, 
 which, he says, philosophers ought to receive as certain
 
 LECTURE V. 143 
 
 testimony. But how is this ? Has he entirely abandonee! 
 his ground ? One would think so. But mark his method 
 of escape. We quote his words: "But should this miracle 
 be ascribed to a new system of religion, men in all ages 
 have been so imposed on by ridiculous stories of that kind, 
 that this very circumstance would be a full proof of the 
 cheat." Here, evidently, the whole ground is changed. Mi- 
 racles are no more considered as incapable of proof by 
 testimony. They are no more set at nought because con- 
 trary to experience. It is admitted they may be proved by 
 testimony, whether with object or without it, except when 
 the object is religion. It is nothing, therefore, in the nature 
 of a miracle, but only in its application, that renders it 
 incredible. This is indeed a change. A miracle may be 
 proved any where but in the service of a revelation from 
 God. But why ? Because, says our author, " men in all 
 ages have been so imposed on by ridiculous stories of that 
 kind." Now, besides that it is untrue that any religion, but 
 that of the Bible, ever attempted to set up its claims by the 
 credentials of miracles, this is utter trifling. After all the 
 metaphysical parade to which we have been attending ; are 
 we brought to this, that, because some men have been knaves 
 and fools, therefore all must be such ? Can we believe in 
 the sincerity of none, because hypocrites have been many 1 
 Must we refuse belief in any accounts of physical phe- 
 nomena, because men in all ages have been imposed on by 
 ridiculous accounts of such things? Must we decline 
 accepting any notes issued by our banks, because men have 
 so often been imposed on by counterfeit currency ? On the 
 3ontrary, counterfeit currency is positive proof that there is 
 >uch a thing as a sound and honest currency. And in like 
 nanner, the fact of spurious pretensions to miracles, so far 
 jom being a reason for rejecting all accounts of miracles, is 
 i strong presumptive proof that some of them are true. An 
 argument which finds itself constrained to seek refuge
 
 144 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 under the shadow of such a position as this, must indeed 
 have been reduced to an extremity. 
 
 We have dwelt on this desperate effort of the most noted 
 and acute sceptic of modem times, much longer than was 
 called for by any thing either difficult or important in itself, 
 because it affords a very strong presumptive proof of the 
 impossibility, by any force of talent or skilfulness of ma- 
 noeuvre, of breaking the solid mass of testimony by which 
 the miracles of the gospel are defended. Such a mind, as 
 that of the historian of England, would never have descended 
 to the absurdity of denying the credibility of any testimony 
 in proof of a miracle, had it not been that all his efforts to 
 pick a flaw in the testimony of those of Christianity had 
 utterly failed. Show me a man endeavouring to pick his 
 way through the stone wall of a prison, and I need not 
 be told that he is shut up, and has despaired of escape 
 by the door. 
 
 The pains which all sceptics have taken to escape from 
 being shut up to the faith of Christ, adopting every other 
 conceivable method than the one simple and equitable plan 
 of refuting the direct evidences of Christianity, should be 
 considered unequivocable proof that there is a force in those 
 evidences which their enemies dare not encounter face to 
 face something that persuades the bold champion of infi- 
 delity that in this warfare, " discretion is the better part 
 of valour." 
 
 But we cannot relinquish this division of our lecture, 
 without pausing to draw a lesson from the scepticism of 
 Hume. Tnat he was a learned and very ingenious writer 
 none can deny. That he was much more amiable and less 
 unexemplary in his temper and habits than infidel cham- 
 pions generally are, we have no disposition to question. 
 But these commendations only render his case the more 
 affecting, and his insidious sophistry the more dangerous. 
 The pride of reason was his master. The praise of a phi-
 
 LECTU11E V. 
 
 145 
 
 losopher was his idol ; to doubt what others believed, his 
 habitual tendency; to maintain a paradox against the 
 world, his prevailing ambition. Under the influence of these 
 dispositions, the very fact that the religion of Christ was a 
 revelation, requiring him to sit at its feet and learn, instead 
 of a theory, flattering the sufficiency of his own powers to 
 discover truth, was its condemnation. The more it possessed 
 the sanction of ages and of the greatest minds, the more did 
 it rouse him to its rejection. The imposing multitude and 
 weight of its evidences were the strongest stimulants of his 
 unbelief. He first denied the miracles of the gospel, and 
 then set his wits to contrive some grand argument by which 
 all the testimony in their favour might be undermined. He 
 reasoned himself almost out of his own existence, and sur- 
 rounded himself with impenetrable darkness. The present 
 was all contradiction, the future all " an enigma," to his 
 mind. Poor, unhappy, philosopher ! How little his learn- 
 ing could do in the search of truth, for want of humility ! 
 How easily can all human knowledge, and all mortal wisdom, 
 become foolishness, when the wise man leans to his own 
 understanding, instead of acknowledging and seeking God 
 in all his ways ! That Hume was accustomed to pray for 
 guidance in his investigations of truth, it is impossible to 
 suppose. The great fountain of light being thus denied, 
 God gave him up to the devices and desires of his own 
 heart. Yerily, " He taketh the wise in their own craftiness." 
 Thus, most justly, did our philosopher meet with darkness 
 in the day-time, and was permitted to grope in the noonday 
 as in the night. One just view of himself as a sinner would 
 have refuted and broke up his whole system of proud unbe- 
 lief. I have known a good deal, by experience, of the conflict 
 which infidels maintain behind the entrenchments of Hume 
 and other champions of their cause ; I have known also 
 something, personally, of conversions among such people , 
 and it has often astonished me to see how immediately a 
 
 12*
 
 146 LECTURE V. 
 
 whole system of well jointed infidelity tumbles to pieces ; 
 how entirely the most darling argument against the gospel 
 is changed into folly, and given to the winds, as soon as 
 one realizes that he is a sinner, and must stand before God 
 in judgment. 
 
 IV. Let us pass to our fourth proposition. The testimony 
 in proof of the miracles of the gospel has not diminished 
 in force by the increase of age. It is not an uncommon 
 idea that the transmission of remote events, by successive 
 testimony, from generation to generation, weakens their 
 evidence in proportion to the time. 'It is supposed, that had 
 we lived in the fourth instead of the nineteenth century, we 
 should have possessed the testimonial evidence of the Chris- 
 tian miracles in much greater force than it is now enjoyed. 
 But we deny that there is any reason for this supposition. 
 Mere oral tradition must weaken with age. But written 
 testimony cannot suffer loss as long as the genuineness of the 
 document containing it is unimpaired, and the character of 
 the witnesses is substantiated. For example : suppose it be 
 recorded on the minutes of the Young Men's Society of New 
 York, that on the 13th day of January, 1832, this lecture 
 was delivered to its members, on the Evidences of Chris- 
 tianity, and those minutes be laid up among its records ; 
 and the society exist from generation to generation, keeping 
 a regular account of its transactions, for 400 years ; and at 
 the end of that time, some one, searching into its early 
 papers, should read the minutes of the above event ; the 
 evidence of the fact would be considered as conclusive, as if, 
 instead of 400 years, only 50 had elapsed since its occur- 
 rence. The event would be as certain as the genuineness 
 of the record, and would have no reference to the age of 
 either. Let the society continue 1 000 years, and its records 
 being still preserved uncorrupted, the evidence will remain 
 undiminished. We rely upon the testimony in proof of the 
 invasion of Britain by Julius Caesar, or of Italy by Hanni-
 
 LECTURE V. 147 
 
 bal, with quite as much confidence as we resoi of the wars 
 of Charles the First in England. And if our present ac- 
 counts of those widely remote events shall be preserved to 
 the end of the world, the confidence of our posterity at that 
 time in their historical correctness, cceteris paribus, will be 
 as complete as ours. Indeed, it is only with regard to the 
 facts related in the Bible that men ever talk of any diminu- 
 tion, by the lapse of years, in the credibility of testimony. 
 But with how little reason is evident when you remember 
 that a matter of -historical fact is of the same nature in re- 
 gard to testimony, whether it be found between the covers of 
 the Bible, or those of a Roman historian. For precisely the 
 same reason that the event of this lecture, recorded in the 
 minutes of the Young Men's Society, would retain its evi- 
 dence unimpaired as long as the Society and its minutes 
 should exist together, does the testimony to the great events 
 of primitive Christianity continue to this day unabated. * 
 
 The Christian church is also a society which was in 
 existence when the events recorded in its scriptures occurred. 
 Its principal institutions are founded upon them. Our New 
 Testament books are its records, which, like those of any 
 other institution of past ages, have been handed down from 
 generation to generation. The members of the Christian 
 church have died from age to age, but the church, the 
 society, the living keeper of these records, the librarian of 
 the scriptures, has never died. The passing away of the 
 several individuals who, since the commencement of Chris- 
 tianity, have belonged to this society, has no more to do with 
 the permanence of the institution itself, than have the rapid 
 changes in the particles of the human body, with the perma- 
 nence of the man. There is a personal identity in the 
 midst of continual change. The man of seventy is the 
 very identical man that he was at twenty, though many 
 
 * Gregory's Letters.
 
 14.8 LECTURE V. 
 
 times have the particles composing his body been entirely 
 changed. Thus the Christian church in her nineteenth 
 century is the same identical society that existed under 
 that name in the days of the apostles, though so many 
 generations of members have lived and died. She is as 
 capable of remembering the events of her youth, as we 
 are of remembering the events of ours. The records made 
 by her members in testimony of those events, and in the 
 age of their occurrence, having been preserved in her 
 possession with the greatest vigilance and the most zealous 
 attachment, are as certain evidence at present, as when 
 they were written, of the facts related therein. She has 
 been reading those records in her places of worship, in all 
 parts of the world, ever since they were written ; and she 
 knows as well that they have preserved their personal 
 identity, and, in all important respects, their uncorrupt, un- 
 mutilated character, as any of us can know that our family 
 bibles are the same now as when they were purchased. Thus, 
 I think, we are warranted in considering our proposition 
 sustained, that the testimony in proof of the miracles of the 
 gospel has not diminished in force by the increase of age* 
 
 V. We proceed to our last proposition, that, in being called 
 to examine the credibility of the gospel miracles by the evi- 
 dence of testimony, we are more favourably situated in 
 regard to moral' probation and discipline, than if we had 
 been enabled to judge of them by sensible evidence. This 
 will appear from the consideration, that evidence obtained 
 by investigation, and appreciated by reflection, is more con- 
 sistent with the state of probation, and of moral discipline 
 and responsibility in which we are placed, than evidence 
 forced upon us by the involuntary agency of the senses. 
 
 We are under trial and discipline, as well as to our under- 
 standing, as our conduct. We are responsible as well for 
 
 * Wilson's Lectures.
 
 LKCTURE V. 149 
 
 what we believe, as what we do. Precisely the same causes 
 that would persuade a man to immoral practice, may per- 
 suade him to immoral principle. The same disposition that 
 would induce him to disobey the precepts, may lead him to 
 deny the doctrines and evidences of the gospel. It is there- 
 fore his trial, in part, whether in forming his opinion of 
 religious truth, he will so resist evil example and prejudice 
 and so deny himself the influence of all sinful inclinations 
 and partialities, as to enter with honest candour upon the 
 investigation of what he ought to believe and do, with a full 
 determination to embrace the truth wherever it may appear. 
 Now, with the nature and responsibility of this probationary 
 condition, the evidence of testimony in proof of the Christian 
 miracles is specially consistent. Did those miracles appear 
 before us, as once for special reasons they did before 
 multitudes, forcibly arresting our senses; not only com- 
 pelling attention, but almost compelling submission, by the 
 palpable and amazing evidences attending them ; it is evident 
 that there would remain comparatively but little room for 
 any freedom of mind or will ; and consequently for any 
 moral probation. Liberty of will and of* decision would 
 be suspended in proportion to the degree in which the 
 senses should be directly and impressively addressed. But 
 the miracles of the gospel addressing, not our senses, but our 
 minds, through the medium of testimony, possess a degree 
 of evidence which, while amply sufficient to satisfy all who 
 examine it with suitable impartiality, is not so overcoming 
 but that one may reject it, if he choose ; not so irresistible, 
 but that persons of indolence and indifference, or of pride 
 and prejudice persons who examine to refute it, more 
 than to ascertain its truth, or whose habits and dispositions 
 set them in direct opposition to the holiness of the gospel 
 may receive their reward in being allowed to continue un- 
 convinced. They are thus dealt with in a way peculiarly con 
 sistent with their character as moral and accountable agents.
 
 150 LECTURE V. 
 
 The exercise of an active solicitude for the discovery of 
 truth thus presented, and of a fair, impartial consideration 
 of its evidence before conviction, is as truly an exercise of 
 morality ; as much an act of moral discipline and of a cor- 
 rect temper of mind, as a correct religious practice would be 
 in one already convinced. It is also as really an exhibition 
 of immorality and dissoluteness to manifest a spirit of in- 
 difference, or of prejudice, or aversion, in relation to a 
 matter of such infinite importance, as if one should display 
 the same spirit in regard to the most necessary duties of 
 moral living. " Thus, that religion is not intuitively true, 
 but a matter of deduction and inference ; that a conviction 
 of its truth is not forced upon every one, but is left to be by 
 some collected with a heedful attention to premises ; this as 
 much constitutes religious probation; as much affords oppor- 
 tunity for right and wrong behaviour, as any thing what- 
 ever." * It tests the heart of the inquirer. 
 
 But to illustrate our doctrine, take the case of one who is 
 disposed to put religion away from him ; who comes to its 
 evidences with a decided wish that it may appear untrue, 
 and examines thern under strong aversions and prejudices. 
 Suppose him suddenly arrested by the sight of a miracle 
 wrought in his presence, so that in spite of all his dislikes 
 and evil dispositions, he cannot escape believing. Take then 
 the case of another, bearing a precisely similar character, 
 who, having no evidence but that of testimony, is obliged, 
 either to discipline his mind into a frame for candid, honest 
 investigation ; or else hazard the consequences of an inquiry 
 conducted under the influence of habits and tempers directly 
 hostile to the clear view and impartial acknowledgment of 
 tiuth. Suppose him to choose the latter alternative, and that 
 he is permitted, in reward for this voluntary perversion of 
 his judgment, to continue in unbelief. I ask which of these 
 
 * Butler's Analogy, p. li. c. vi.
 
 LECTURE V. 151 
 
 individuals is treated in a way most consistent with his con- 
 dition as a moral and accountable agent ?* 
 
 But besides the greater adaptation to a probationary state, 
 there is greater spiritual profit in the way by which we of 
 latter days must arrive at the truth of the miracles of the 
 gospel. Take the case of two Christians ; let one be a 
 disciple of these days, and the other, Thomas, one of the 
 apostles. They are equally convinced of the Saviour's resur- 
 rection, but by different means ; Thomas by the force of 
 sight and touch ; the other, by a careful, honest examination 
 of the testimony we now possess. Which, in becoming a 
 disciple, expressed the greater love of the truth ? Which, the 
 greater readiness to receive and submit to it ? Thomas had 
 
 * "If (says Butkr) there are any persons who never set themselves heartily 
 and in earnest to be informed in religion ; if there are any who secretly wish 
 it may not prove true, and are less attentive to evidence than to difficulties, 
 and more to objections than to what is said in answer to them these persons 
 will scarce be thought in a likely way of seeing the evidence of religion, 
 though it were most certainly true, and capable of being ever so fully proved. 
 If any accustom themselves to consider this subject usually in the way of 
 mirth, or sport; if they attend to forms and representations, and inadequate 
 manners of expression, instead of the real things intended by them, (for 
 signs often can be no more than inadequately expressive of the tilings sig- 
 nified), or if they substitute human errors in the room of divine truth why 
 may not all, or any of these things, hinder some men from seeing that evi- 
 dence which really is seen by others, as a like turn of mind, with respect to 
 matters of common speculation and practice, does, we find by experience, 
 hinder them from attaining that knowledge and right understanding, in mat- 
 ters of common speculation and practice, which more fair and attentive minds 
 can attain to 7 And in general, levity, carelessness, passion, and prejudice, 
 do hinder us from being rightly informed with respect to common things; and 
 they may in like manner, and perhaps in some farther providential manner, 
 with respect to moral and religious subjects ; hinder evidence from being 
 laid before us, and from being seen when it is. The scripture does declare 
 that every one shall not understand. And it makes no difference by what 
 providential conduct this comes to pass; whether the evidence of Christianity 
 was originally and with design, put, and left, so that those who are desirous 
 of evading moral obligations, should not see it, and that honest-mindec/ 
 persons should; or whether it comes to pass by any other means." 
 
 Butler's Analogy, p. ii. o vi.
 
 152 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 only to open his eyeSj and reach forth his hand ; the other 
 pursued a course of candid, patient, serious reflection. Thomas 
 required for his conviction that the Saviour should stand 
 before him, and say : " Be not faithless, but believing." The 
 other went forth seeking " the truth as it is in Jesus," through 
 all the reasoning and objections ; all the patient consideration 
 and Study, which circumstances placed in his way, not de- 
 manding to be constrained by the arrest of his senses, but 
 prepared to submit as soon as the testimony was sufficient. 
 Now it is plain that in this case there is a simplicity of 
 heart; a love of truth; a candour in its pursuit, and a 
 willingness to bow to it at all cost, such as are by no means 
 implied in the conviction of Thomas. It is plain, also, that 
 the moral discipline to which the former was subjected and 
 the state of mind involved in the mode by which he came 
 at the truth, are far more conducive to his happiness, and 
 afford a much higher promise of steadfast and elevated at- 
 tachment to the service of the truth, than if, like Thomas, it 
 could be said of him : "Because thou hast seen, thou hast 
 believed." So that we may now acknowledge the truth of 
 those words, "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet 
 have believed ; and may repeat our proposition, that in 
 having to try the credibility of the gospel miracles by the 
 evidence of testimony, we are more favourably situated, in 
 a very important sense, than had we been present to judge 
 them by the evidence of our senses* 
 
 From the whole truth exhibited in this lecture, we are 
 called to adore the wisdom of God. " His ways are not as our 
 ways ; neither his thoughts as our thoughts." Why, in such 
 a momentous business as that of religion (demands some 
 weak mortal), was not truth rendered intuitively certain, so 
 that the most careless could not mistake? Why (asks 
 another) should such tremendous matters be necessarily 
 
 * See Saurin, on Obscure Faith.
 
 LECTURE V. 153 
 
 settled by investigation and argument; by the weight of 
 testimony, and the records of distant ages ; instead of bring- 
 ing them at once to the test of every one's experience ? 
 " Show us a sign /" is still the requisition of multitudes, 
 who, if they must believe, desire to do it without trouble ; 
 but would much rather be excused from both. God is infi- 
 nitely wiser. " He knoweth whereof we are made." He 
 has dignified us with reason, as well as sense ; and made us 
 capable of learning by reflection and study, as well as of 
 knowing by instinct and necessity. He deals with us as 
 rational beings. He makes us responsible for the use of our 
 minds, as well as of our limbs. He requires the obedience 
 of the will, the labour of our thoughts, and the pains-taking 
 of all our intellectual and moral faculties, in order that we 
 may know and serve him as becometh our natures. m To 
 this end, He has so constructed religion, and delivered to us 
 its evidences, that whoever is sufficiently interested in His 
 will to bestow his best thoughts, and affections, and efforts, 
 upon the work of its discovery, truly desirous oi knowing 
 that he may embrace it, and earnestly looking up to God for 
 protection against prejudice, and for guidance in the way of 
 light, will certainly come to the knowledge of the truth, what- 
 ever the grade of his intellect, and will arrive at it by a way 
 most wisely adapted to make him hold fast and obey it. On 
 the other hand, God has so framed the gospel, and set before 
 us its credentials, that whether one will believe or not, is left 
 to his free and voluntary choice ; his probationary character 
 is inviolate ; his reason and his will are perfectly responsible. 
 If he desire not to believe ; if his heart revolt against the 
 gospel on account of the humility, and repentance, and holi- 
 ness, and self-denial, it demands of him ; if he study its 
 nature and evidence carelessly, proudly, and partially ; if he 
 consult more the objector than the advocate, and try to invent 
 reasons for unbelief more than arguments for the contrary : 
 if he love vice, and would retain his sins ; he may easily con- 
 
 13
 
 154 LECTURE V. 
 
 vince himself against the claims of the gospel. God has 
 left unclosed many avenues by which such a man may 
 escape into infidelity. He is wisely punished by being per- 
 mitted to go in thereat. God may justly take him at his 
 word, and condemn him to the darkness and final misery of 
 rejecting what he investigated so unjustly. It is the wisdom 
 of God that His truth does not, in offering conviction to 
 such examiners, afford at the same time, encouragement to 
 such unworthiness.
 
 LECTURE VI. 155 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 M I R ACL ES. 
 
 OUR last lecture was occupied in settling certain prelimina- 
 ries, for the purpose of being enabled, in this, to enter 
 directly upon the work of weighing the testimony to the 
 miracles of Christ and his apostles. The question to which 
 we now proceed may be stated thus : The Lord Jesus Christ 
 claimed to be received as a teacher, come from God for the 
 purpose of communicating a divine revelation. His apostles 
 claimed to be received as his inspired and divinely com- 
 missioned agents in publishing that revelation. All appealed 
 to miracles, as the credentials of their embassy. None can 
 deny that such credentials, plainly ascertained, are certain 
 proof of the sanction of God. The appeal to them is, there- 
 fore, unquestionably fair. The point, then, which remains 
 to be determined, is : Have we satisfactory evidence that 
 genuine miracles were wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ 
 and his apostles ? 
 
 In answer to this question, we might proceed on a plan 
 of argument which would occupy but a few moments. In 
 the lecture preceding the last, we ascertained the credibility 
 of the gospel history ; in other words, that we have the strong- 
 est reason to rely implicitly on the narratives contained there- 
 in, as to all matters of fact. Now it is there related, that 
 on a certain occasion our Saviour was followed by five 
 thousand men, into a desert place, where they were an 
 hungered that all the food in his possession was five barley 
 loaves, and a few small fishes that of these he commanded 
 his disciples to distribute to the multitude ; and after they 
 had all eaten and were filled, the fragments remaining were
 
 156 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 much more, in quantity, than the original loaves and 
 fishes. These are plain statements, related in the gospel 
 as unquestionable facts. The gospel history being credible, 
 they must be true. To call that a credible history, and then 
 suppose it unworthy of reliance in such prominent particu- 
 lars, would be absurd. But these facts constitute a miracle. 
 There must have been a miraculous multiplication of the 
 loaves and fishes. Consequently, in having proved the 
 credibility of the Gospel history, we have proved that in this 
 case a miracle was wrought. 
 
 Thus might we proceed with regard to a great variety of 
 other statements, as to the works of Christ and his apostles ; 
 and I fully believe that, in strict justice, nothing more ought 
 to be required in evidence of the gospel miracles, than what 
 has been already adduced in proof of the credibility of the 
 narratives contained in the New Testament. But inasmuch 
 as our object is not merely to exhibit a sound and conclusive 
 argument, such as ought to satisfy every mind, but so to 
 present the great variety and abundance of proof in support 
 of Christianity, that no attentive candid mind can help being 
 satisfied, we will adopt a broader plan. 
 
 Before proceeding any further, let it be remarked, that the 
 religion of the Bible is the only one which, in its first intro- 
 duction, appealed to miracles for evidence of the divine 
 authority of its teachers. Under the religion of the Bible I 
 include the dispensation of Moses and that of Christ, as exhi- 
 biting essentially the same religion ; though more largely 
 and clearly revealed under the latter than under the former. 
 Both dispensations were introduced and sanctioned by mira- 
 cles. Now, I know, it is a common supposition, that the 
 same mode of attestation was resorted to by all the false 
 religions that ever gained acceptance in the world ; and that 
 this was the chief cause of their ascendency in the public 
 mind. But the truth is, that no religion, except that of the 
 Ribie. was ever set up by appeal to miracles as the crederi-
 
 LECTURE VI. 157 
 
 tials of its founder. We speak of miracles which are capa- 
 ble of being witnessed and investigated by others. It is not 
 asserted that many wonderful things, of a miraculous nature, 
 have not been pretended to and boasted among the disciples 
 of sundry false religions. The annals of paganism abound 
 with relations of auguries, and oracles, and apparitions, 
 many miraculous, not to say ridiculous, marvels are asserted 
 of Mohammed. But the remark is applicable to all of these 
 tilings, and is of great importance in connexion with our 
 present object, that they were asserted not as proofs of re- 
 ligions appealing to them for credentials, but only as ap- 
 pendages of religions already set up, and received on con- 
 siderations entirely independent of their truth or falsehood. 
 Jt was the credit and influence of the established religion 
 which gave them all their currency ; and not their evidence 
 which established the religion with which they were re- 
 spectively connected. The prodigies of heathenism, unac- 
 companied as they were by any pretence of proof, had no 
 mariner of reference to the setting up of a new system of 
 faith, or of a teacher pretending to a divine commission. 
 Miraculous stories were published of Mohammed by writers 
 of six and eight centuries after his death ; but no such pre- 
 tensions were made by himself. On the contrary, he ex- 
 pressly disclaimed miraculous powers. In the Koran it is 
 written of him : " Nothing hindered us from sending thee 
 with miracles, except that the former nations have charged 
 them with imposture." Again : " They say, unless a sign 
 be sent down unto him from his Lord, we will not believe 
 answer, signs are in the power of God alone, and I am no 
 more than a public preacher. Is it not sufficient for them 
 that we have sent down unto them the book of the Koran, to 
 be read unto them?'' We grant that Mohammed did give 
 out to the credulity of his followers a few marvellous doings ; 
 but they were such as cannot be included under the title of 
 sensible miracles, inasmuch as he always took the discreet 
 
 13*
 
 158 LECTURE VI. 
 
 precaution of having no witness but himself, entirely avo ; J- 
 ing the hazardous experiment of resting the evidence of 
 his divine mission upon the testimony of any eyes more 
 disinterested than his own. 
 
 But how can it be accounted for, that one of such high 
 pretensions aware, as he was, of the success which mira- 
 cles had obtained for the gospel in times past should have 
 neglected so powerful a means of proselyting the world? It 
 was not for want of importunity on the part of others ; for 
 his opposers were constantly teazing him with their demands 
 on this head. It was not because he could anticipate no 
 favourable influence from a well-sustained pretension to 
 miracles; for his adversaries assured him, even by oaths, 
 that on the evidence of one such sign they would own his 
 claims. Nor was it that Mohammed was too honest. The 
 marvellous tales of the nocturnal visits of Gabriel ; of bis 
 own night-journey ; arid of the transmission, from time to 
 time, of parcels of the uncreated book from heaven, prove 
 what this impostor was capable of attempting when allured 
 by a prospect of success. Nor was it that this unequalled 
 adventurer was deficient in an unusual degree of craft and 
 address for the management of bold imposture. His whole 
 biography would refute such an opinion. Nor was it that 
 he was surrounded with a people peculiarly prepared, by 
 knowledge and cultivated discernment, for the detection of 
 such frauds. The age was one of the darkest in the annals 
 of man, and his country, one of the darkest of that age. 
 Nor could it have been that his cause needed no such auxil - 
 iary ; for the fruits of his labour; during the first three years, 
 were only fourteen disciples ; and in ten years his cause had 
 not advanced beyond, and had made but little progress 
 within, the walls of Mecca. Then if Mohammed was 
 neither too honest to attempt the forgery of miracles, nor too 
 iinskilful to manage it with cunning and address ; if his 
 cause needed it, and his enemies demanded it. and the bar-
 
 LECTURE VI. 159 
 
 barity of the people and age favoured it ; no earthly reason 
 can be given for his having disclaimed the attempt, except 
 that he considered it too difficult and hazardous ; too certain 
 of detection, even among a barbarous, credulous, and super- 
 stitious race. The religion of the Bible is the only one that 
 ever ventured on such evidence in proof of divine original. 
 This single fact, united with the well known truth that, 
 however her miracles may have been derided and suspected 
 by enemies, none ever pretended to have discovered an impo- 
 sition, is strong presumptive evidence that they had a reality 
 which no human device could rival a truth which no 
 human scrutiny could alarm. 
 
 In coming, therefore, to our present examination, we 
 should feel that the religion of the Bible stands alone, not 
 only as to the wisdom and grandeur of her communications, 
 but equally so as to the boldness of her evidence ; the subli- 
 mity of her credentials ; and the godlike dignity with which 
 she cometh to the light, that her deeds " may be made mani 
 fest that they are wrought in God." 
 
 We proceed to the testimony connected with the miracles 
 of Christ. 
 
 I. We observe, in the first place, that supposing the works 
 related of the Lord Jesus to have actually occurred, many 
 of them must have been genuine miracles. They cannot 
 be ascribed to natural causes. If five thousand men were 
 fed, when all the food to feed them with, prior to the act of 
 Jesus, was a few loaves and fishes ; if the centurion's servant 
 was healed, at the word of Jesus, while the latter was no- 
 where within the sight, or hearing, or knowledge, of that 
 servant ; if the man born blind was made to see by no other 
 physical act than that of Jesus putting clay on his eyes, and 
 his washing it off in the pool of Siloam ; if Lazarus, having 
 been dead four days, did come forth from the sepulchre, at 
 the word of Jesus ; then we have facts for which no natural 
 causes can account. They are unquestionable miracles, and
 
 J LECTURE VI. 
 
 we are forced to the alternative of either denying, in the 
 face of all evidence, the truth of the statements contained 
 in the gospel history ; or else acknowledging that miracles, in 
 the fullest sense, were wrought at the word of Christ. 
 
 II. The miracles of Christ were such as could at once be 
 brought to the test of the senses. It is an essential requisite 
 to a rational belief in miraculous agency, that one be pre- 
 sented with facts of such a nature as that the senses of those 
 present could easily decide upon their reality and their super- 
 natural character. Now, that the senses of the mot ignorant 
 were as competent as those of the most learned ; that the 
 senses of any man or woman in Judea were perfectly compe- 
 tent to decide whether the son of the widow of Nain, having 
 been dead and carried out to be buried, did arise and sit up 
 at the word of Christ, and continue thereafter to reside, a 
 living man, in Nain ; that any one's senses were perfectly 
 competent to judge whether thousands of men were fed with 
 a few loaves and fishes, or the blind received their sight, or 
 the lepers were cleansed, or those, notoriously lame from 
 their birth, were enabled to walk at the bidding of Christ, it 
 would be folly to doubt. 
 
 III. The miracles of Christ were performed for the most 
 part in the most public manner. It is the detracting cir- 
 cumstance of all the most plausible pretensions to miracles, 
 exclusive of those of the scriptures, that they were done in 
 a corner, or in the presence only of those already inclined to 
 believe them, or under favour of circumstances calculated 
 to prevent a free examination. Just the contrary is the 
 fact with regard to a great portion of the wonderful works 
 of Christ. Not only were they accessible to the senses of 
 witnesses ; but to the senses of multitudes of witnesses, of 
 witnesses of the most eager and violent enmity to the claims 
 of Jesus ; witnesses of all ranks and classes in society the 
 learned and mighty, as well as the ignorant and feeble the 
 scribes and Pharisees, the priest and the centurion, as well
 
 LECTURE VI. 101 
 
 as the publicans and beggars. It was in the synagogues, in 
 the streets, in the open fields, surrounded by thousands in 
 the midst of Jerusalem, and at the time of the great annual 
 festivals, when an immense concourse of Jews, from all parts 
 of the world, crowded the holy city, that almost all of the 
 mighty works of Jesus were performed. In this way, as in 
 other ways, he could say to his persecutors, " I spake openly 
 to the world? 
 
 His miracles were wrought upon subjects so numerous, in 
 so many places, and in such circumstances, as that none 
 could suspect the cases to have been previously selected and 
 prepared. What the condition of the subject had been 
 before the miracle, thousands knew, and all could easily 
 ascertain. What it was, for a long time after the miracle, 
 was equally notorious. Those who were cured of blindness, 
 or leprosy, or lameness, or palsy, or who had been raised from 
 the dead, did not die immediately after, nor hide themselves 
 from public inspection ; but continued to go in and out 
 among the people, as living examples of the power of Christ. 
 The grave of Lazarus was surrounded with unbelieving Jews. 
 They saw him come forth. They had as much opportunity, 
 as disposition, to find out whether it was Lazarus or some 
 one else ; whether the man was alive, or only pretending to 
 be alive. Instead of being immediately snatched from their 
 view, he was seated some time after as one of the guests at 
 a supper, in Bethany ; and so well known was the fact, 
 that " much people of the Jews" came to the place to have 
 a sight of one who had been raised from the dead. " The 
 chief priests consulted that they might put him to death, 
 because that, by reason of him, many of the Jews went 
 away and believed on Jesus." 
 
 IV. The miracles of Christ and his apostles were very 
 numerous, and of great variety. It has been a characteris- 
 tic of all cases of imposture, that the wonderful works pre- 
 tended to were but few in number, and of great sameness
 
 162 LECTURE VI. 
 
 The sect of the Jansenists, in the church of Rome, pretended 
 to miracles at the tomb, and by the posthumous intercessions, 
 of the Abbe Paris. But, besides the want of evidence thai 
 any of the facts recorded were miraculous, they were rieithei 
 numerous nor various. Could this be said of the works of 
 Christ, it would deprive them of one of the most palpable 
 evidences of the fearless integrity in which they were 
 wrought. But his history is full of miraculous works. 
 Besides about forty that are related at large, we frequently 
 meet with such accounts as this : " His fame went through- 
 out all Syria, and they brought unto him all sick people 
 that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and 
 those which were possessed with devils, and those which 
 were lunatic, and those that had the palsy, and he healed 
 them." Similar declarations are made as to the miracles of 
 the apostles. As, for example, in Acts, v. 16 : " There came 
 also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, 
 bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with un- 
 clean spirits ; and they were healed every one." 
 
 But the miracles of the Saviour and his apostles were 
 also of great variety. It was not disease of one or two 
 classes only that Jesus removed, but disease of all kinds. 
 Not diseases only, but all kinds of human calamity, departed 
 at his will. Even death surrendered his captives at his com- 
 mand. The blind from their birth ; the hopeless leper ; 
 those that were lame from the womb ; those that had long 
 been bowed down with infirmity ; the withered, the palsied, 
 the insane all were alike delivered of their affliction. On 
 two occasions, thousands were fed with a mere pittance of 
 food. Thrice, beside the instance of his own resurrection, 
 did Jesus raise the dead. A corresponding variety character- 
 izes the works of his apostles. 
 
 V. It is a matter of great importance to remark, that 
 amidst all this variety, the success in every instance was 
 instantaneous and complete. The sick were perfectly healed.
 
 LECTURE VI. 163 
 
 The deaf, and blind, arid lame, were perfectly delivered 
 from their infirmities ; the leper was entirely cleansed ; the 
 dead arose, not merely to life, but to health and strength. 
 These effects were as immediate as they were perfect. No 
 sooner was the voice spoken, or the thing done, that was 
 required of the applicant, than all was finished. Did Jesus 
 say, "Let there be light?" there was light; let there be 
 health ? there was health. He left no time for second causes 
 to operate no room for human means to intervene. " He 
 spake, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood fast." 
 VI. There is no evidence of an attempt, on the part of 
 Christ or his apostles, to perform a miracle in which they 
 were accused of having failed. It is notoriously true of the 
 wonderful works ascribed to the tomb of the Abbe Paris, for 
 example, that the cases in which any beneficial effects 
 resulted to the applicants were very inconsiderable in num- 
 ber, compared with those in which there was a manifest 
 and total failure. But although the ministry of Christ lasted 
 between three and four years, during which he was continu- 
 ally resorted to by multitudes, with a great variety of cases, 
 seeking his miraculous aid ; and although the ministry of 
 his apostles continued many years longer, during which time 
 they are said to have been attested by " divers miracles? no 
 case is mentioned in which an attempt was unsuccessful, or 
 in which an applicant was denied. The language of the 
 history in relation to the multitudes that applied to Christ 
 is continually, " he healed them ALL." The enemies of the 
 gospel, who were eye-witnesses of these applicants, did never 
 maintain that the power of Christ, or of his disciples, was 
 exerted unsuccessfully in a single instance. Had such an 
 event taken place, would they not have discovered it ? Had 
 they discovered it, would they not have proclaimed it far 
 and wide ? Would any of the books, written against Chris- 
 tianity in the first centuries, have omitted so important a 
 fact ? The total absence of all insinuation of such a thing
 
 164 LECTURE VI. 
 
 in the whole controversy between the primitive Christians 
 and their adversaries, is certain evidence that an unsuccessful 
 attempt was never made, and that an unsuccessful appli- 
 cant was not known.* 
 
 Now, on the supposition that the miraculous doings 
 recorded in the gospel were all a cheat, what a miracle is 
 here ! That all was contrivance, and imposture, and acci- 
 dent, and yet not an enemy ever detected an instance of 
 failure ; that the machinery was never out of place, out of 
 time, or out of order; that it was equally successful in all 
 cases, equally ready at all seasons, always invisible, yet 
 always at hand, and always instantaneously effectual what 
 a miracle ! Who is the man of weak credulity ? the 
 believer or the infidel ? 
 
 VII. The length of time, during which the Saviour and 
 his apostles professed to perform miracles, should be specially 
 considered. Seventy years elapsed between the commence- 
 ment of the ministry of Christ and the death of the last of 
 the apostles. During all this interval, the miraculous gifts, 
 in question, were exercised. Now, as every repetition in 
 case of imposture multiplies the dangers of detection, and 
 every extension of time makes it the more difficult to keep 
 up the confederated plan, it is no inconsiderable evidence of 
 the genuineness of the miracles of the gospel, that they 
 continued to be wrought and inspected during a period of 
 so many years, and yet so securely. 
 
 This consideration is the more important when you reflect 
 that the miracles were not confined to one or two places ; 
 were not wrought in little villages, or among the poor and 
 ignorant only but that the scenes of most of them were in 
 
 * The case mentioned in Mat rvii. 14 21, would have been an example 
 of failure, had the narrative ended with the inability of the disciples. But 
 the Master performed v/hat they, being as yet in their noviciate, had attempted 
 v* vain.
 
 LECTURE VI. 165 
 
 the chief cities of the Roman empire. Instead of remaining 
 tog-ether in one place, or moving together wherever they 
 desired to produce an impression, and then confining them- 
 selves to such places as might be most easily deceived ; the 
 apostles, with singular folly, on the supposition that they 
 were confederated for an imposture, separated to all parts of 
 the world. They went alone to the most populous, polished, 
 and enlightened cities. They put themselves in the most 
 public places of those cities; thus making combination im- 
 possible, and rendering their success, as mere counterfeiters 
 perfectly miraculous. 
 
 Vlli. We have the most perfect certainty that the miracles 
 of the gospel underwent, at the time they were wrought, 
 and for a long time after, the most rigid examination from 
 those who had every opportunity of scrutinizing their 
 character. Forged miracles may pass current, where power 
 and authority, or the favourable dispositions of the people 
 protect them from too close an inspection. But let the power 
 of the magistrate, the authority of public opinion, and the 
 partialities of those concerned, be once leagued in opposition, 
 and the imposture cannot escape. Such was the league 
 against the miracles in question. Never was the power of 
 the state in more perfect alliance with public opinion, or more 
 zealously supported by all the envy, hatred, and malice, of 
 which popular feeling is capable, than when it set its face 
 against the gospel. Not only were these miracles exposed, 
 by their great publicity, to universal examination, but they 
 were of such a nature that any mind was capable of examin- 
 ing them. Not only did they present themselves to the wise 
 and the great, in the chief places of concourse, and in the 
 great cities of the world ; but they were such as necessarily 
 provoked every description of scrutiny. Being performed in 
 avowed support of a religion which could not be successful 
 without destroying the whole hierarchy of the Jews, and 
 advancing its victories over the ruins of heathenism ; they 
 
 14
 
 106 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 roused at once into united and stem opposition, all the civil 
 power of the governments; all the enmity of Jewish 
 and Pagan priesthoods ; all the partialities, and prejudices, 
 and national attachments, of all people. The enmity of the 
 scribes and Pharisees; of the doctors, and lawyers, and 
 priests, of the Jews, must have been fired with peculiar 
 indignation. As miracles multiplied and disciples increased, 
 the deepest interest must have been awakened in relation to 
 them among all classes of society. This we know to have 
 been the case. Hence it is certain that they did not escape 
 the most thorough examination ; that all the ingenuity and 
 diligence of contemporaries and eye-witnesses, animated by 
 the strongest motives, and favoured by every conceivable 
 advantage, were enlisted in the trial; and this, not for a day, 
 or a week, or a month, but as long as miracles were pro- 
 fessed, and a hope of detection remained. 
 
 IX. It is a matter deserving of special remembrance, that 
 the adversaries of the gospel were placed in the most favoura- 
 ble circumstances for a thorough investigation of the reality 
 of its 'miracles, by their being published and appealed to 
 immediately after, and in the very places where, they occur- 
 red. The miracles ascribed to the founder of the society of 
 Jesuits are sufficiently answered by the fact that, during his 
 life, and for many years after his death, nothing was heard 
 of them. Those of Francis Xavier, one of the first disci- 
 ples of Loyola, are deficient in evidence, because, having 
 been wrought (as it is stated) in the far distant East, they 
 were first published in the western world; and the narratives, 
 if they ever reached the places to which they relate, could 
 not have been known there till long after the opportunity 
 of a close investigation had passed away, and must have 
 been published among a people too indifferent to be at the 
 pains of inquiring into their truth or falsehood. But the 
 miracles of the gospel were published immediately after, and 
 in the eery places of, their occurrence. Tt is true, indeed,
 
 LECTURE VI. 167 
 
 that the earliest gospel, that of St. Matthew, is not by any 
 supposed to have been published earlier than the seventh or 
 eighth year after the death of Christ. Supposing this to 
 have been the first publication of the miracles, it was suffi- 
 ciently near their date to afford every reasonable opportu- 
 nity of investigation. 
 
 But we know from the gospel history, that during the 
 three years of the Saviour's ministry, and all the while the 
 apostles laboured, their miracles were notorious. The 
 scribes and Pharisees met in council on the subject. Many, 
 unable to deny them, ascribed them to demoniacal power. 
 Herod, when he heard of them, said : " This is John the 
 Baptist ; he is risen from the dead ; and therefore mighty 
 works do show forth themselves in him."* The fame of the 
 miracles of Jesus, at the beginning of his ministry, " went 
 throughout all Syria," so that multitudes, with all kinds of 
 afflictions, flocked to him from all quarters to be healed, and, 
 vheri healed, returned to publish still more widely the 
 arorks of their deliverer.! The raising of Lazarus was so 
 widely published in Bethany, where it took place, and in the 
 region round about, that, in a few days, " much people of 
 the Jews came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might 
 see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead."t 
 When, at the word of Peter and John, the impotent man, at 
 the gate of the temple, had been made whole, they imme- 
 liately published the miracle on the spot, to the multitude of 
 Jerusalem ; appealing to it in evidence of the power of their 
 Lord. " His name (said they), through faith in his name, 
 hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know : yea, 
 the faith which is by him, hath given him this perfect sound 
 ness in the presence of you aZ/." Only about fifty days 
 was Jesus risen from the dead, when his disciples began to 
 proclaim every where, and first at Jerusalem, among those 
 
 * Mat xiv. 1 and 2. t Ib. iv. 2325. t John, xii. 9. 5 Acts, iii. 16.
 
 168 LECTURE VI. 
 
 who slew him and had set the guard at the sepulchre, this 
 chief of miracles. They appealed to it in every discourse ; 
 challenged every examination ; defied all contradiction. All 
 the miracles of Christ, they declared before the very people 
 whom they asserted to have witnessed them. " Ye men of 
 Israel, hear these words (said Peter) ; Jesus of Nazareth, a 
 man approved of God among you by miracles, and wonders, 
 and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye 
 yourselves also know."* How eminently this bold and im- 
 mediate publication must have aided, as well as stimulated, 
 the investigation of the enemies of the gospel, furnishing 
 those, who had every disposition, and all power, and all 
 intelligence and cunning, with every opportunity to try the 
 minutest circumstance, and ferret out every clue to the 
 detection of imposture, I need not show. 
 
 X. Now consider, who the agents were, whose works were 
 obliged to stand such trials. Had they been men of learning, 
 of power, of wealth, accustomed to any thing that was 
 calculated to furnish them for the work of imposing upon 
 mankind, the case would not be quite so strong. But, on the 
 supposition that Christ was a mere man and pretender, what 
 was he or what were his apostles, by education or standing 
 in society, that they should be qualified for such an unparal- 
 leled effort of ingenuity and concealment? Is there any 
 miracle more marvellous than that which is involved in the 
 idea of a poor and unlearned individual of Nazareth, followed 
 by twelve obscure, unlettered Jews, for the most part accus- 
 tomed to nothing but their nets and fishing-boats, having 
 practised such a system of imposture, under such circum- 
 stances of risk and exposure, without an individual among 
 their numerous enemies to discover their secret, or detect 
 the deceit ? 
 
 XI. Consider, moreover, that notwithstanding all thai 
 
 * Acts, ii. 22.
 
 LECTURE VI. 100 
 
 was done to entice and intimidate the early Christians who 
 were eye-witnesses of what Jesus or his apostles wrought, 
 none were induced to confess themselves deceived ; or that 
 they had seen any thing but truth in those miraculous gifts, 
 by which they had been persuaded to embrace the gospel. 
 It is not asserted that none who professed to be converted 
 from Judaism or paganism to Christianity, ever renounced 
 the cause of Christ. The persecution of enemies was some- 
 times successful in forcing their victims to forsake the gospel, 
 and do sacrifice to idols, rather than be burned at the stake, 
 or thrown to wild beasts. But the case cannot be brought 
 of one such unhappy deserter, whether man or woman, 
 having been persuaded to bear witness against the Christian 
 miracles. A convert, after having united himself to the 
 apostles ; been received to the fellowship of the church ; and 
 become an agent in advancing its cause ; must have become 
 acquainted with its secrets. He must have often looked 
 behind the scenes, and had many opportunities of knowing 
 the hidden machinery by which the imposition, if any existed, 
 was carried on. Had the evidence of contrivance and 
 forgery been ever seen by the primitive Christians ; those 
 who deserted the cause had every motive to divulge it. 
 Their own indignation at having been deceived ; the rewards 
 which they might have expected from the enemies of 
 Christianity, would have been sufficiently persuasive. That 
 none ever went a step further than simply to give up the 
 profession of the gospel, through fear of torture ; that none 
 ever turned round upon the apostles by whose miracles they 
 had been convinced, and charged them with fraud ; is abso- 
 lutely inexplicable on any other supposition than their 
 thorough conviction that fraud did not exist. 
 
 This evidence is specially strong in the case of Judas 
 Iscariot. He was one of the twelve who always companied 
 with Jesus. He was the treasurer of the family admitted 
 to every opportunity of knowing whatever secrets may have
 
 170 LECTURE VI. 
 
 \ 
 
 belonged to the works of Christ. That he knew what and 
 where the imposition was, if any existed in the gospel 
 miracles, cannot be doubted. That he was treacherous 
 enough to betray it, is manifest from his having betrayed 
 the Master himself. That he had every inducement to do 
 so, none can question who knows how precious the chief 
 priests and Pharisees would have considered such a disclo- 
 sure. Did he come forward with any such thing? He 
 delivers up the person of Christ ; does he accuse his charac- 
 ter ? deny his works ? expose his cause ? The Saviour is 
 arraigned before his powerful enemies witnesses are called. 
 Where is Judas ? False witnesses are brought. Where is 
 Judas ? Has he nothing to say against him whom he has 
 already sold for thirty pieces of silver? The enemies of 
 Christ cannot be ignorant of the importance of such a witness ; 
 nor can he be ignorant of the gain that would accrue from 
 his delivering such testimony. But he is not there. The 
 Jews never pretended to have obtained any accusation from 
 that traitor. Not a word is spoken, in all the controversy with 
 primitive adversaries, about the treachery of Judas as having 
 turned to their advantage. On the contrary, it is written in 
 the gospel history, and was never denied by those men, that 
 he not only abstained from any accusation, but in the strong- 
 est possible manner confessed the truth and excellence of 
 Jesus and his cause. Under the stings of conscience, and in 
 spite of the covetousness of his disposition, he went and 
 delivered up the money he had received for his iniquity into 
 the hands of those who had paid it. Nor was this all. He 
 was constrained to confess to the chief priests and elders, 
 whose wrath he knew it would inflame to the uttermost, 
 saying : " I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent 
 blood." " And he cast down the pieces of silver in the tem- 
 ple, and departed, and went and hanged himself."* Stronger 
 
 * Mat. xxvii. 3, 4, 5.
 
 LECTURE VI. 171 
 
 evidence of truth and righteousness, it is impossible for any 
 works or any cause to possess. 
 
 XII. Having considered in another place the character of 
 the individuals by whom the miracles of the gospel were 
 performed, it is important now to remark the character of 
 the miracles themselves. Either they were real miracles, or 
 false. If false, the individuals who performed them could 
 not, by any excess of infatuation, have supposed them true. 
 They must, therefore, have been the deliberate asserters of a 
 divine commission, which they knew had not been given 
 (hem ; and the persevering exhibiters of credentials which 
 they knew were forgeries. Hence it is not possible that 
 they could have been honest men; much less, good men. 
 And inasmuch as they must have acted from some motive 
 and with some object in view, and we cannot suppose that 
 such impostors would be sacrificing themselves merely out 
 of a benevolent disposition to promote the happiness of their 
 fellow-creatures and relieve their woes ; it must have been 
 some object of ambition or of gain which they were pur- 
 suing. We do not pause now to show what perfect idiots 
 they must have been to select such a scheme out of ambi- 
 tious or pecuniary motives. But since, on the supposition 
 that their works were fictitious, we can imagine no other, 
 the question arises, how do these miracles correspond with 
 the idea that the agents were impostors, and their motives 
 ambitious or covetous ? 
 
 Now I maintain, that considering how many and various 
 are the miracles recorded in the New Testament, in what 
 various circumstances and by what various agents they were 
 performed, and that not for a month or year only, but many 
 years, in full assemblages of enemies ; it would have been 
 quite miraculous, supposing them false, had they been in 
 every instance garnished with a concealment so perfect, that 
 nothing low, or mean, or undignified nothing betraying 
 the spirit of designing, ambitious, or covetous men should
 
 172 LECTURE VI. 
 
 ever have been manifested. Take up the accounts of any 
 confessedly fictitious miracles, in any age or country, and 
 you will soon detect the hand-writing of the spirit and mo- 
 lives that produced them. But most singularly contrary 
 to all experience and all law, on the assumption that the 
 miracles of Christ and his apostles were fictitious, you dis- 
 cover nothing in them but what is entirely worthy of the 
 majesty, holiness, justice, and goodness of that God, by 
 whose power they professed to be wrought. The most 
 perfect correspondence appears between the exalted and holy 
 character and office in which the Saviour and his apostles 
 claimed to be received, and the works by which their claim 
 was sustained. Propriety, dignity, disinterestedness, benevo- 
 lence of the loveliest spirit, and compassion of the tenderest 
 sensibility, distinguished them. Not the least trace is mark- 
 ed on them of any ambitious or other suspicious motive. 
 Though the Lord Jesus and his apostles were compassed 
 about with reproachful and persecuting enemies, you discern 
 nothing vindictive or resentful. Though always in personal 
 poverty, " despised and rejected of men" their miracles 
 discover nothing ostentatious nothing to gratify curiosity 
 no anxiety for repute no aim at wealth or temporal pow- 
 er. While feeding the hungry by thousands, Jesus continued 
 in poverty. While, as the good Shepherd, ever following 
 the lost sheep through suffering and want, that he might 
 administer to their necessities, he showed no sign of any 
 care for himself. Now, if Jesus and his apostles did not 
 work miracles in truth ; if their high claims were false, and 
 they consequently were prosecuting a scheme of imposture 
 with selfish purposes, either of ambition or gain ; there is 
 something in all this singularly unaccountable very unlike 
 the iaws of nature exceedingly miraculous. 
 
 XIII. But that the miracles of the gospel were not ficti- 
 tious, but genuine and undeniable, we have the plainest and 
 strongest confession from the primitive adversaries of Christ
 
 LECTURE VI. 173 
 
 and his cause. In the first place ; we have a very conclu- 
 sive and impressive confession, though silent, from the whole 
 Jewish nation and the whole Gentile world. It consists in 
 this unquestionable fact, that no individual among them 
 ever detected, or was publicly supposed to have detected, an 
 imposture. You are to remember that these miracles were 
 addressed to the senses ; performed in open daylight ; with 
 all possible publicity; that they were exceedingly numerous 
 and various ; wrought by many different agents ; in many 
 and remote countries ; before citizens of the most enlightened 
 cities, and in the most enlightened age of the Roman empire ; 
 that those of the Apostles did not cease until nearly seventy 
 years from their commencement, during all which time they 
 must have endured the very closest scrutiny that the com- 
 bined forces of learning, enmity, and political authority, 
 could institute. You are to remember, also, what kind of 
 men were those who performed them, and that the accounts 
 of them which we now possess were published far and wide 
 m the very places where the works were done, and among 
 the very people who are said to have witnessed them. You 
 are to remember, for example, the miracle of the gift of 
 congues on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem, how it was 
 published abroad in Jerusalem and the whole empire, that, 
 on that day, an immense multitude of people of all languages 
 were amazed at hearing the twelve apostles, who were well 
 .mown as unlettered Jews, preaching the gospel in so many 
 different languages, that all, whether Cretes, Arabians, Meso- 
 potamians, or of any other name, all heard, in their respec- 
 tive tongues, the wonderful works of God. You are to con- 
 sider, that in publishing an account of this astonishing 
 transaction, as was done by the apostles in all their preach- 
 ing, and a few years afterwards, by Luke in the Acts of the 
 Apostles ; an open, honest appeal was made to all the hun- 
 dreds of thousands who had been assembled on that day m 
 Jerusalem, to come forth and deny that these things did then
 
 174 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 and there occur. Hence was every possible facility afforded 
 for the detection of imposture. Without a miracle for its 
 concealment, it could not have escaped. Had there been a 
 detection with regard to but one of all the miracles, we 
 should have heard of it. Judea, and Greece, and Rome, 
 would have rung with the news. The books of Jewish 
 and Heathen adversaries would have reiterated its publica- 
 tion in illuminated pages and golden capitals. All the 
 generations of succeeding adversaries would have quoted it 
 as one of the dearest bequests of classic antiquity. Is there 
 any such thing 1 ? I sound the inquiry through the whole 
 region of Jewish, and Grecian, and Roman history, and I 
 hear nothing in answer, but the echo of my own voice : 
 "Is there any such thing?" I must answer it myself. 
 There is no such thing, in all that has come to us from 
 antiquity, as even a pretence to the detection of imposture 
 in the gospel miracles. 
 
 This I think you will join me in considering a very im- 
 pressive and conclusive confession, though a silent one, from 
 the whole Jewish nation and Gentile world, to the undeniable 
 reality of the miracles of Christ and his apostles. It is all the 
 evidence we could with any reason expect from enemies. 
 When Deists bid us produce the testimony of enemies, as 
 well as friends, it is perfectly unreasonable to require that we 
 should find enemies, in those days of bitter hostility to Chris- 
 tianity, positively acknowledging that it was attested by 
 miracles. That they did not deny it ; that Jews and Gentiles; 
 that the Mosaic and the Pagan priesthoods ; that the Phari- 
 sees of Jerusalem, and the philosophers of Corinth, and 
 Ephesus, and Rome, were silent, on this head, one would 
 suppose, is a great deal to get from such adversaries. 
 
 But we can go further. Unreasonable, as it is, to demand 
 more positive testimony from enemies, we can meet the de- 
 mand. Having, in a previous lecture, ascertained the credi- 
 bility of the gospel history, we may now appeal to it for
 
 LECTURE VI. 175 
 
 the acknowledgment of enemies. Peter on the day of 
 Pentecost assumed the fact that the multitudes of Israel, to 
 whom he was speaking, acknowledged that Jesus of Naza- 
 reth had approved himself among them by " miracles, and 
 wonders, and signs."* " This man doeth many miracles] t 
 was the confession of the chief priests and Pharisees, in 
 council, relative to Jesus. " What shall we do to them ? 
 (said the Jewish rulers, in relation to Peter and John) For 
 that indeed a notable miracle has been done by them is 
 manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot 
 deny it "I You know that the only way of escape the Jewish 
 rulers could find, while they could not deny the miracles, 
 was to ascribe them to magic, or the power of demons. " He 
 casteth out devils by Beelzebub" &c. But we have similar 
 testimony, without recourse to the scriptures. The Jewish 
 rabbies, in the Talmud, acknowledge these miracles, and 
 pretend that they were wrought by magic, or by the power 
 attendant upon a certain use of the name Jehovah, called 
 tetragrammaton, which, they pretend, Jesus stole out of the 
 temple. But we have positive testimony also from Hea- 
 thens. Celsus, who wrote in the latter part of the second 
 century, not only allows the principal facts of the gospel 
 history, but acknowledges that Christ wrought miracles, by 
 which he engaged great multitudes to adhere to him as the 
 Messiah. That these miracles were really performed, so far 
 from denying, he tries to account for by ascribing them to 
 magic, which (he says) Christ learned in Egypt. || 
 
 * Acts, ii. 22. -f John, xi. 47. t Acts, iv. 16. 
 
 Quod Christus per hoc nomen quoque miracula sua ediderit, probavit ante 
 multos annos Purchetus. Ejus tamen fabulse illustrandse causa, hoc addo, 
 quod apud Talmudicus reperi. Ut Christus in ea historia refertur descriptum 
 Shemhamphorasch (id est, nomen expositum, quod est ipsum nomen rnrr>), in- 
 clusisse in discissam cutem pcdis, et ex templo eduxisse, ut sic per ejus vim 
 miracula postmodum ediderit. Buxto^f 
 
 II Lurdner, iv. 120 130.
 
 176 LECTURF VI. 
 
 Hierocles, president of Bythinia, and a persecutor of Chris- 
 tians, in a work written against Christianity, does not deny 
 the miracles of Christ, but compares them with those which 
 he pretended had been wrought a long time before, by on* 
 Apollonius, of Tyanea, a heathen, complaining at the 
 same time that Christians made so much ado about the 
 works of Jesus, as to worship him for God.* 
 
 Julian, the emperor, in the fourth century, acknowledges 
 the miracles of Christ, and contents himself with trying to 
 depreciate their importance. " Jesus," he says, "did nothing 
 worthy of fame, unless any one can suppose that curing the 
 lame and the blind, and exorcising demons in the villages ol 
 Bethsaida, are some of the greatest works." He acknow- 
 ledges that Jesus had a sovereign power over impure spirits 
 and that he walked on the surface of the deep.t Now, it 
 is a matter of no little wonder, to say the least of it, that in 
 this nineteenth century, men should be so sagacious as t< 
 discover that Christ and his apostles did not attest then 
 claims and doctrines with miraculous powers, when learned 
 sagacious, and sufficiently hostile unbelievers of the earliest 
 centuries of Christianity, having opportunities for discovering 
 the state of the case such as they cannot pretend to, wert 
 constrained to acknowledge precisely the contrary. I marve 
 that Celsus, and Porphyry, and Hierocles, and Julian, anc 
 the Scribes, and Pharisees, can rest in their graves, whei 
 such reflections are cast upon the zeal and talents with whicl 
 they searched for imposture in the works of Christ. 
 
 XIV. But we have even better testimony than that ol 
 enemies. Had Celsus found himself not only unable to den} 
 the miracles of Christ, but persuaded, by the mere force o 
 their truth, to renounce heathenism, and consecrate his life 
 in the face of persecution and death, to the service of the 
 gospel, would not his testimony have been greatly increasec 
 
 Lardner, iv. 354. t Lardner, vol. iv. 332342.
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 177 
 
 in importance ? Would not the very fact of his becoming a 
 Christian, under the power of evidence, be the consideration 
 which, instead of injuring his testimony as that of a friend 
 would have given it peculiar force as that of a friend who 
 was once an enemy ? Then if I find cases precisely cor 
 responding with this if I present you with hundreds and 
 thousands of such cases, and tens of thousands will yon 
 not own that their positive testimony is far stronger than 
 even that of the adversaries whom we have cited, and the 
 strongest of which in the nature of things we could be pos 
 sessed ? I find precisely such cases in the apostles of Christ 
 They are regarded as interested witnesses, because they 
 were friends. But what made them friends ? Were they 
 not men like others ? Jews, like others ? Consider Paul, 
 once a fierce persecutor of Christians ! What made him a 
 friend ? Consider the three thousand, converted from bitter, 
 persecuting Judaism to the faith of Christ, on the day of 
 Pentecost. What made friends and disciples of them? 
 Was it that they expected any earthly honours or gains from 
 taking up the cross of a crucified Master, in whose wonder- 
 ful works they did not believe ? Was it that they coveted 
 reproach, enjoyed suffering, and loved death ? or because, by 
 careful consideration, they were so convinced that the mira 
 cles of Christ, especially that of his rising from the dead, 
 were true, that no certainty of persecution, no sacrifices o/ 
 property, character, friends, or life, were sufficient to prevent 
 them from confessing him before men ? To these add the 
 hundreds of thousands, who, during the ministry of the 
 apostles, from having been Jews or Heathens, and ene 
 mies of the gospel, became its devoted followers and heroic 
 confessors. They bore witness, by word and deed, in 
 torture and death, to the great fact that the miracles of 
 Christ were, true. And what is their testimony worth' 2 
 What possible motive can you assign for the total change 
 which took place in all their habits, attachments, manners, 
 
 15
 
 178 LECTURE VI. 
 
 and affections, when they became Christians, other than that 
 of deep, solemn conviction ? To suppose they were not con- 
 vinced, is to suppose that they made the most tremendous 
 sacrifices, not only without motive, but in direct opposition 
 to the most powerful motives of the human breast. They 
 well knew the poverty, and persecution, and martyrdom, to 
 which they exposed themselves. Why, then, did they become 
 Christians ? When afterwards pursued as the off-scouring 
 of all things, and pests of the world ; when no name was so 
 odious as that of Christian ; when to bring those who bore 
 it to torture was universally accounted meritorious ; when it 
 was the study of magistrates and soldiers to invent new 
 modes of tormenting them ; when thousands of all ranks 
 and ages were daily slain for the testimony of Jesus, who, 
 by the act of a moment, could have stilled the storm to perfect 
 peace ; why did they persist and die ? To pretend to explain 
 their steadfastness, except on the supposition bf their having 
 firmly believed what they professed, were perfectly absurd. 
 But did they not know 1 Living in the same age with the 
 apostles ; living in the very places where the miracles were 
 performed ; they, if any on earth, must have possessed the 
 opportunity of discovering the truth with regard to them. 
 We have, then, the impressive fact of hundreds of thousands 
 of the adversaries of the gospel, in the first century of 
 Christianity, Jews, and Greeks, and Romans, many of whom 
 had been persecutors of Christians, bearing the most positive 
 testimony to, what they had every opportunity of investiga- 
 ting, the reality of the miracles of Christ ; and sealing their 
 testimony in the renouncing of all that was dear to them by 
 birth, habit, or education, and embracing Christianity at the 
 expense of the keenest reproach and the most painful death. 
 Testimony stronger or more undeniable than this, I cannot 
 imagine. If this be not sufficient to prove a plain matter of 
 fact, such for example as that Lazarus was seen alive after 
 he was known to have been dead ; then farewell all history
 
 LECTURE VI. 179 
 
 and all knowledge. Nothing can be reasonably believed, 
 except on evidence of sense, and hardly then, after reject- 
 ing this. 
 
 We have now arrayed as many of the materials of the 
 argument for the gospel miracles as our time would permit. 
 It only remains that we put them together into one view, so 
 as to enable you to appreciate their united strength. I know 
 not how to do this in a better way, than to take the supposi- 
 tion that all the miracles of Christ and of his apostles were 
 Actions, and consequently their authors, deliberate deceivers ; 
 and then consider how far the supposition will carry us. 
 Let us do so. You understand the supposition. What must 
 be believed by those who will maintain it ? 
 
 They must believe that Jesus and his apostles, being 
 obscure, unlettered Jews, without a single circumstance to 
 give them influence, were so perfectly silly and mad as to 
 flatter themselves that they could set up a scheme of religion, 
 which, though in utter contradiction to the habits, passions, 
 prejudices, and institutions, of all the world, should succeed 
 in overturning tb.3 religious systems and institutions of the 
 most enlightened nations ; and yet that, with this unacounta- 
 ble infatuation, they were so singularly wise, as to maintain, 
 throughout all the miracles which they professed to work in 
 proof of their system, the most perfect consistency with the 
 dignity and disinterestedness of the office they assumed, and 
 with the majesty, holiness, and goodness of that God in 
 whose name they professed to come. 
 
 They must believe that Jesus and his apostles were so 
 wicked, as to attempt an imposture which involved not only 
 continual dishonesty, but downright blasphemy, and this 
 from motives of mere ambition or avarice ; and yet that 
 during the space of seventy years they kept up such an 
 invariable show of eminent goodness and disinterestedness, 
 as in all their works to manifest not the smallest appearance 
 of selfishness or any evil design ; but, on the contrary, the
 
 ISO LECTURE VI. 
 
 utmost evidence of self-denial, of self-humiliation, of purity, 
 of holiness, of the tenderest compassion, and the most labori- 
 ous benevolence ; so that even their enemies never brought 
 inconsistency to their charge. 
 
 They must believe the apostles to have been so strangely 
 in love, either with wealth, or honour, or power, or some- 
 thing else, to be willing, even out of their obscurity and 
 weakness, as to seek it by such a desperate scheme as that 
 of Christianity ; and yet that, when honours were offered, 
 they earnestly refused them ; when they saw the triumph of 
 their enemies in the crucifixion of Christ, and that nothing 
 awaited his followers but disgrace, poverty, and persecution, 
 they persisted in advocating the cause of their fallen leader ; 
 and when the storms of persecution grew darker and darker, 
 and ruin and death were the certain consequences of perse- 
 verance, and one word of confession would have saved them, 
 such was their infatuated attachment to this scheme of im- 
 posture, such their singular devotion to self, to honour, or 
 wealth, or power, or something else, that they drove on from 
 suffering to suffering, from shame to shame, ending at last 
 their pursuit in a bitter death, with the full belief, as Jews, 
 that in eternity they should be condemned to an awful retri- 
 bution for their whole career. 
 
 They must believe that while the apostles were so utterly 
 destitute of common ingenuity that they selected precisely 
 that kind of credential which it was the most difficult to 
 forge, and instead of seeking, as other impostors would have 
 done, private, or confined, or solitary places, for their mira- 
 cles, chose those of the greatest resort and publicity, and then 
 placed and left their miracles directly under the senses of the 
 multitude; that while they had so little contrivance that 
 instead of selecting a few masked friends, or the most igno- 
 rant of the populace for witnesses, they seemed rather to 
 prefer having hardly any witnesses but enemies, and those 
 frequently of the highest, most literate, and powerful classes;
 
 LECTURE VI. 181 
 
 that while so utterly wanting in the common cunning of 
 impostors, that instead of keeping their doings to one or a 
 few places, they performed them any where, upon any sub- 
 jects, however suddenly or confusedly presented, and, instead 
 of ceasing when they had done a few with success, continued 
 the hazard for many years, in innumerable instances, and 
 while they were widely separated from one another ; I say 
 it must be believed, that Christ and his apostles, with all 
 these evidences of extraordinary idiocy or lunacy, were yet 
 so wonderfully ingenious, wary, and wise ; so singularly 
 skilled in imposture ; so learned in human nature and the 
 world ; such a marvellous match for the combined efforts of 
 the wise, and mighty, and diligent, of Judea, and Greece, 
 and Rome ; laid their plans so deeply ; concerted their move 
 ments so skilfully ; kept their secrets so closely ; carried on 
 the whole complicated plot for many years so consistently, that 
 though ever watched while together and while separated; con- 
 tinually scrutinized by all sorts of witnesses and of enemies ; 
 none could ever detect the least flaw in their pretensions ; 
 none could discover that the blind did not see ; the lame did 
 not walk ; the dead did not rise. On the contrary, the peo- 
 ple of Bethany were so deceived as actually to believe that 
 they daily saw one of their townsmen, whom they knew to 
 have died, living and eating among them. The people of 
 Jerusalem were so deceived as to believe, that they saw a 
 man whom they knew to have been lame from his birth, 
 daily walking among them perfectly well. The five thousand 
 were fully persuaded that they did all eat and were filled with 
 a few loaves and fishes. The people of Syria were so 
 tricked as really to believe that their multitudes of sick with 
 divers diseases and torments, whom they had brought to 
 Jesus, went home with them perfectly well, without an ex- 
 ception. Yea, the whole Jewish and Heathen world was so 
 imposed upon by these unlettered, simple, despised, persecu- 
 ted Jews, as tacitly to confess the genuineness of their mira- 
 
 15*
 
 182 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 cles. Philosophers and rabbles, when they attacked chris* 
 tianity, did not deny it ; several of them positively, in their 
 books, acknowledged it ; and hundreds of thousands in the 
 age of the apostles, out of the most polished cities and most 
 respectable classes, were so entirely taken captive and spell- 
 bound by the magic scheme of these weak men, that they 
 forsook all and took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, and 
 yielded themselves to fire and sword and wild beasts, rather 
 than not confess and follow Christ. 
 
 Such are the wonderful things ; such the violations of the 
 laws of nature and of common sense ; such the wicked and 
 contradictory miracles which necessarily follow as true, as 
 soon as the miracles of Christianity are rejected as false. 
 Now, tell me on which side the charge of credulity lies with 
 the greatest weight. Now, give the reason why our modern 
 unbelievers, instead of meeting the testimony of the gospel 
 miracles in front, are so conscientiously scrupulous never to 
 know any thing about it, and always expend their ingenuity 
 in ridiculing the dignity, or in picking out what they would 
 represent as inconsistencies in the books, of scripture. Now 
 explain the singular phenomenon that the grand high-priest. 
 of modern infidelity should havo invented the convenient 
 principle which sceptical philosophy had ever before so 
 painfully sighed after, that no testimony can prove a miracle. 
 Ah ! yes. It was his only hope. The testimony of the 
 Christian miracles is perfect. It is so overwhleming, that if 
 there be any difficulty about them, it arises from the very 
 brightness of their evidence itself. It is almost inconceiva- 
 
 O 
 
 ble that such works, wrought so publicly and frequently, and 
 with such incontrovertible marks of a divine hand, should 
 not have made more converts ; that all who beheld them did 
 not yield at once to the great Teacher whom they attested, 
 and espouse his cause. But the explanation is not difficult. 
 The human heart is depraved enough for the most desperate 
 rejection of such a master as the Lord Jesus. Men will go
 
 LECTURE VI. 183 
 
 to the greatest lengths of folly and unbelief to gratify their 
 passions, foster their pride, retain their prejudices, and escape 
 the necessity of making sacrifices for conscience's sake. The 
 truth that so many Jews and Heathens, with this blaze of 
 testimony before them, did not submit to the gospel, is not so 
 astonishing as what is seen every day among ourselves : 
 persons believing the New Testament, and that Christ is the 
 only Saviour of sinners that eternal blessedness awaits 
 those who follow him, and eternal wo those who neglect his 
 salvation and yet, for all practical ends, as unmoved by 
 these truths as if they were fables as little engaged in the 
 service of Christ as if they had never heard his name. 
 
 But we must conclude. I trust you will henceforth allow 
 me to consider the miracles of the gospel as proved to be 
 genuine. If so, we must consider the credentials of Christ 
 and his apostles as acknowledged. They were therefore 
 what they professed to be, divinely commissioned and in- 
 spired teachers. God was with them. What they published 
 as a revelation from God, we are consequently bound to 
 receive as a revelation from God. That publication is con- 
 tained in the New Testament. We have already ascertained 
 the authenticity and credibility of the New Testament as 
 containing it. We cease, therefore, this evening, with the 
 conclusion that the religion published in the New Testament 
 is a revelation from God. 
 
 May the greatest and best of all the works of the Lord Jesus 
 be wrought in all of us ; even the blessed work of his grace, 
 awakening the sinner from spiritual death ; changing, exalt- 
 ing, purifying all the affections of his depraved nature ; open- 
 ing the eyes of his understanding to behold the glory of God ; 
 leading him, in repentance and faith, to the cross for pardon 
 and peace ; shedding abroad in his heart the spirit of divine 
 love ; and causing him to rejoice in the blessed assurance 
 of a crown of glory that fadeth not away !
 
 184 LECTURE VII. 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 PROPHECY. 
 
 HAVING shown the genuineness of the miracles recorded 
 in the New Testament, in attestation of the divine mission 
 of the Saviour and his apostles ; we are now to take up the 
 subject of prophecy. But while proceeding to this additional 
 source of evidence, it is important to be observed, that we 
 do so, not because we consider the reasoning in proof of 
 Christianity, as a divine revelation, to which you have 
 already listened, in any sense incomplete. Had our course 
 of lectures been terminated with the last, the argument 
 would have been brought to an incontrovertible issue. Hav- 
 ing made out the great point that genuine miracles were 
 wrought by the Saviour and his apostles, in attestation of 
 the divine authority of what they did and taught ; we have 
 established, by necessary consequence, the great truth that 
 Jesus Christ was a teacher come from God, and that the 
 New Testament, as an authentic publication of the religion 
 taught by him, is to be received as containing a divine reve- 
 lation of truth and duty. One line of evidence, therefore 
 one road leading to the scriptures, as the great central 
 fountain of divine truth, we have travelled over ; and it has 
 set us down beside the water of life. Now, if this were the 
 only road, it would be amply sufficient. The loftiest intel- 
 lect need not be ashamed ; the weakest need not fear to walk 
 therein.* But God has not only furnished us with the 
 plainest, but with the most various and abundant evidence. 
 
 * A celebrated infidel once acknowledged that even atheism would bo 
 refuted by die proof of a single miracle of the gospel. Spinoza declared that
 
 LECTURE VII. Ib5 
 
 And since the object of these lectures is not only to prove 
 the divine authority of the gospel, but also to give you an 
 idea of the diversified character of the many ways by which 
 the proof may be established; we propose now to return 
 from the position we have reached by the argument of our 
 last lecture, and endeavour to arrive at it again by a route 
 entirely different. We take up the prophecies, recorded in 
 the scriptures, and shall endeavour to produce from them 
 satisfactory and impressive evidence that in the Bible we 
 have divine inspiration, and in Jesus Christ a teacher sent 
 of God. 
 
 What is a prophecy, according to the sense of scripture, 
 and as we are now about to consider it ? It is a declaration 
 of future events, such as no human wisdom or forecast is 
 sufficient to make ; depending on a knowledge of the innu- 
 merable contingencies of human affairs, which belongs 
 exclusively to the omniscience of God; so that, from its 
 very nature, prophecy must be divine revelation. " The 
 prophecy came not in old time by the will of man ; but holy 
 men of' God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" 
 A prophecy, considered in itself, separately from its fulfil 
 ment, is no evidence of revelation. But as soon as fulfilled, 
 it is complete. The hand of God in it, is then attested. 
 The evidence that the person by whom it was uttered was 
 under the influence of the spirit of divine omniscience, is 
 finished. Then prophecy takes the place of miracle, and 
 becomes at once the highest and most unquestionable proof, 
 not only that the individual who declared it was the agent 
 of communicating, in that particular, a divine revelation ; 
 but also that a divine sanction is impressed upon that whole 
 
 he \vould have broken his atheistic system to pieces, and embraced without 
 repugnance the ordinary faith of Christians x could he have been persuaded 
 of the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead ! Was it not a foresight of the 
 arguments that would necessarily result from the proof of this miracle that 
 prevented him from being persuaded of its truth 1
 
 186 LECTURE VII. 
 
 system of religion with which his prophecies may be con- 
 nected.* " Future contingencies, such, for example, as those 
 which relate to the rise and fall of nations and states not yet 
 in existence, or to the minute concerns of individuals not yet 
 born, are secrets which it is evident no man or angel can 
 penetrate, their causes being indeterminate, their relations 
 with other things fluctuating and unknown. It follows. 
 therefore, that the prediction of such contingent events 
 cannot otherwise than proceed from God ; and farther, since 
 God cannot without a violation of His perfect holiness and 
 rectitude, visibly aid delusion and wickedness, the inference 
 is equally cogent and necessary, that the accomplishment 
 of predictions delivered by those who profess divine authority 
 amounts to a full proof that they really possess the authority 
 they assume. Other arguments may be evaded; other evi- 
 dence may not convince. Strange effects (though not 
 miraculous ones) may be produced by other than divine 
 power."! But this can only be evaded by refusing to behold 
 it, and only counterfeited by him who is ingenious enough 
 to borrow omniscience in aid of imposture. " To declare a 
 thing shall come to be, long before it is in being (says Justin 
 Martyr); and then to bring about the accomplishment of 
 that very thing, according to the same declaration ; this, or 
 nothing, is the work of God." 
 
 There are considerations connected with this particular 
 source of evidence, which render it specially interesting and 
 valuable. 
 
 Prophecy furnishes an argument, the force of which is 
 continually growing. The argument began, when first a 
 single prophecy was fulfilled. It increased more and more, 
 as predictions and fulfilments multiplied. In the age of the 
 
 * " All prophecies (says Hume) are real miracles, and as such only, can 
 be admitted as proofs of any revelation." Philosophical Essays. 
 t Gregory's Letters.
 
 LECTURE VII. 187 
 
 apostles, it was a powerful, as well as favourite weapon in 
 proof of the gospel. But during that period, many new pre- 
 dictions were published, and many ancient ones remained to 
 be accomplished. The argument, consequently, was not yet 
 at its height. It has been growing ever since, as one century 
 after another has rolled out an additional fulfilment, or 
 completed and enlarged those already advanced. We, in 
 the present age, enjoy an expanse, and variety, and complete- 
 ness of prophetic evidence far exceeding those which the 
 chart of history presented to St. Paul. There is to us, a. 
 voice from the silent solitudes where Babylon and Tyre once 
 stood in pride, and reigned in power; from the modern his- 
 tory of the prostrate Egypt ; from the wonderful annals and 
 present condition of the Jewish race ; from the desolate state 
 of the holy land and adjoining countries ; from the rise and 
 present aspect of the mystic Babylon which the primitive 
 Christians had not the privilege of hearing. The force of 
 this argument is yet to grow continually. A few years 
 hence, in all probability, will exhibit it invested with a bright- 
 ness and glory, compared with which, all present evidence 
 will seem but as morning twilight. The end of the world 
 will be its full maturity. Prophecy having begun with the 
 history of sin, extends to the completion of its tragedy ; and 
 not till the blazing of the great conflagration when " the 
 earth and all that is therein shall be burned up," will its 
 every prediction be fulfilled ; or the fulness of glory with 
 which it was designed to show the truth of God in the gospel 
 of his Son, be made to appear. 
 
 Now it is this continual growing of prophetic evidence 
 that makes it so peculiarly valuable. The argument derived 
 from miracles, though it could never have been more con- 
 clusive than it is to us, was certainly more impressive to 
 those who saw the miracles, or who lived in the age in 
 which they were wrought. And it is very difficult for most 
 persons to distinguish between the conclusiveness and the
 
 1S8 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 irnpressiveness of evidence. Because the lapse of centuries, 
 by removing the Christian miracles far from us, has dimin- 
 ished the sensible effect they would otherwise have had 
 upon our minds, it is very generally supposed that the same 
 cause has enfeebled the evidence on which their genuineness 
 is maintained. This idea, though unfounded entirely, is 
 too natural, to those who do not think deeply, to be easily 
 removed. But with regard to the evidence arising from 
 prophecy, it cannot exist. Predictions, now in progress 
 of fulfilment, are miracles which centuries can only render 
 more certain and impressive. If there was a peculiar pri- 
 vilege conferred on those who saw, in the miracles of Christ, 
 manifest to sense, the wonderful works of God's omnipo- 
 tence ; there is also a similar privilege conferred on us, who, 
 in consequence of the ever increasing fulfilment of prophecy, 
 may see in the scriptures, more brilliantly illuminated than 
 ever, the hand-writing of God's omniscience. 
 
 There is another peculiarity in much of the evidence 
 from prophecy, which renders it peculiarly valuable. It is 
 evidence before our eyes, addressed to our senses. By 
 this we do not mean that the evidence arising from the 
 miracles of Christ and his apostles would be any more 
 conclusive, however much it would be increased in its 
 impression on our minds, did we behold the miracles, instead 
 of reading of them in well attested history. We believe, on 
 the contrary, that this description of evidence, as addressed 
 to us, is perfect. But still there is, and perhaps ever will be. 
 a class of minds that, like the disciple Thomas, will requirr 
 to see before they will believe. Either their indifference c r 
 sluggishness prevents them frcm pursuing a line of argM- 
 ment that would carry them back amidst the testimonies of 
 antiquity; or else their willing scepticism, by ingeni3i;< 
 sophistry, would shield them from all the evidence derived 
 from miraculous agency, by the assumption that no testimony 
 caix prove a miracle. The utter fallacy of this position, we
 
 LECTURE VII. 189 
 
 trust, was satisfactorily shown in a preceding lecture. But 
 here are evidences with which, were it true, it cou^d have 
 no connexion. God, in his infinite wisdom and mercy, has 
 provided for all classes of mind, and all descriptions of infideli- 
 ty : so that all unbelievers may be without excuse. The argu- 
 ment from prophecy may be rendered brief enough for the 
 most sluggish tangible enough for the most obstinate oppo- 
 sers of historical testimony. They have only to read in the 
 Bible the predictions with regard to the once proud cities of 
 Babylon and Tyre, or the once powerful empire of Egypt, and 
 then to open their ears to the accounts which almost every 
 wind conveys, or go and see for themselves the obscure rem- 
 nants of the ruins of those cities, and of that once mighty 
 empire ; they have only to read in the books of Moses, what, 
 3300 years ago, was foretold of the history of the Jewish 
 people ; and then to lift up their eyes, and behold the present 
 condition and the notorious peculiarities of that wonderful 
 race; to see that the prophecies of the Bible have been 
 plainly and most particularly fulfilled fulfilled in a manner 
 which no human sagacity could have foreseen, which no 
 human power could have brought to pass ; and consequently 
 that the authors of those prophecies were inspired, men, and 
 the religion they taught was the word of God. In these and 
 various other examples, which might be adduced, of the 
 present and visible fulfilment of prophecy, the miracles of 
 the Jewish and Christian dispensations are in fact continued 
 among us. " Men are sometimes disposed to think that if 
 they could see a miracle wrought in their own sight, they 
 would believe the gospel without delay, and obey it unre- 
 servedly. They know not their own hearts. ' If they believe 
 not Moses and the prophets, neither would they believe 
 though one rose from the dead.' But in the whole range oi 
 prophecy now fulfilling before their eyes, they have in fact a 
 series of divine interpositions, not precisely of the nature oi 
 miracles, in the sense of brief, and instant, and visible sus 
 16
 
 190 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 pensions of the laws of nature, but evidently so in the sense 
 of supernatural interference, in the rise and fall of cities, and 
 nations, and empires; in the arrangement of times and circum- 
 stances ; in that wonderful display of infinite foreknowledge 
 and infinite power, apparent in the control of the wills of un- 
 numbered free and accountable agents to a certain result."* 
 In our last lecture we stated that the religion of the Bible 
 is the only one which, on its first introduction, appealed to 
 miracles in evidence of the divine authority of its teach- 
 ers. We make a similar remark, with still more evident 
 truth, with regard to prophecy. The sublime appeal of men, 
 professing to be commissioned of God, to the events of 
 thousands of years thereafter, as witnesses of their truth ; 
 the moral grandeur of that appeal, which, after having 
 deposited in the hands of nations, a prediction of minute 
 transactions, which the innumerable contingencies of a 
 long retinue of centuries are to bring out, stakes its whole 
 cause upon a perfect fulfilment, thus resting itself singly 
 upon the omniscience and omnipotence of God, and separa- 
 ting to an infinite distance all possibility of human support ; 
 this is a dignity to which nothing but the inspiration of the 
 scriptures can pretend; a noble daring on which nothing 
 else was ever known to venture. The corruptions of Chris- 
 tianity, as existing in the church of Rome, have attempted 
 to prop up their feeble foundations on the credit of miracles, 
 easily refuted indeed, but widely boasted of. But prophecy, 
 even the effrontery of that " man of sin," " whose coming 
 (saith St. Paul) is with all deceivableness of unrighteous- 
 ness," has never pretended to. Although Mohammed did 
 not profess to support his pretensions by miracles, and the 
 Koran expressly concedes that miraculous power was not 
 given him ; yet his followers, hundreds of years after his 
 death, related many miracles as having been performed 
 
 * Wilson's Lectures.
 
 LECTURE VII. 191 
 
 under his hand. But that Mohammed, though styled the 
 prophet of God, never declared a prophecy, on the fulfilment 
 of which he rested his claims to inspirations, none ever 
 asserted. 
 
 The history of pagan nations, indeed, abounds with stories 
 of auguries, and oracles, and detached predictions ; but it 
 was with no reference to the establishment of paganism that 
 they were uttered. On the contrary, the fact that paganism 
 was established already gave them all their reverence. But 
 what an immeasurable distance separates all the pretended 
 oracles of paganism, from the dignity of the prophecies in 
 the Bible. The avowed end of the former was to satisfy 
 some trivial curiosity, or aid the designs of some military or 
 political leader. The influence of intimidation or of bribery 
 produced them. They were never spontaneous. The ora- 
 cles were careful to take advantage of the security of silence, 
 until obliged to speak in answer to a direct appeal. Then 
 they never uttered a syllable without getting time for prepa- 
 ration. Inquiries were rendered as difficult and as expensive 
 as possible, in order, not only to enrich the oracles, but to 
 diminish the occasions of exposure. Every inquiry must be 
 attended with numerous and minute ceremonies on the part 
 of the applicant, as well as the prophet ; in order that omis- 
 sions or mismanagements might afford frequent excuses for 
 the failure of the response, without implicating the inspira- 
 tion of its author. The god was not always in a humour to 
 be consulted. " Either he was talking, or he was pursuing., 
 or he was in a journey, or peradventure he was sleeping. 
 and must be awakened." This afforded a very convenient 
 opportunity of putting off a difficult case. " Omens were to 
 be taken, and auguries examined, which, if unfavourable in 
 any particular, either precluded the inquiry for the present, 
 or required further lustrations, ceremonies, and sacrifices, to 
 purify the person who had consulted, and render him fit to 
 receive an answer from the gods, or to bring their wayward
 
 192 LECTURE VII. 
 
 deities to a temper suitable to the inquiry."* When no means 
 of evasion remained, the answers given were either so am- 
 biguous as to suit any alternative, or so obscure as to require 
 a second oracle to explain them. When the prediction failed, 
 there was no want of subterfuges by which to maintain the 
 credit of the oracle. It was conveniently discovered, either 
 that the gods were averse to the inquirer, or that he had not 
 been in a proper state for the consultation, or that some in- 
 dispensable ceremony had been omitted or mismanaged. But 
 all these precautions and artifices were not sufficient to pre 
 vent those oracles from falling into utter contempt with the 
 more enlightened heathens.! Who could think of comparing 
 such pitiful mockeries of divine omniscience with the 
 dignified, and sublime, and holy prophecies which are spread 
 out so openly and widely in the scriptures 1 To point out 
 the particulars in which the prophets of the Bible were dis- 
 tinguished above all the oracles of the Pagans, were to 
 suppose a measure of ignorance among my hearers, as to the 
 most conspicuous features of the scriptures, with which I 
 cannot believe them chargeable. But our assertion remains, 
 and deserves to be repeated, that neither in the rise, nor in 
 the progressive advancement of any religion, but that of the 
 Bible, have prophecies been professed or appealed to ; in 
 evidence of its truth. This single fact, that all other reli- 
 gions have shrunk from attempting such dangerous ground ; 
 that notwithstanding the boldness with which other descrip- 
 tions of evidence have been counterfeited among Pagans and 
 Mohammedans, and in support of the corruptions of popery, 
 all have kept aloof from this ; and yet that this very evidence, 
 so extremely hazardous so certain of ultimate exposure in 
 case of imposition is every where professed in the Bible, 
 and forms the golden chain that holds all its parts together, 
 
 * Nare's View of Prophecy. 
 
 t Stillingfleet's Orig. Sacr<e, 1. 2, c. R, p. 221.
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 193 
 
 and by which it spans the world, touching at once its 
 beginning and ending, the first and the last; this, I say, 
 independently of the question of fulfilment, is a strong 
 presumptive argument that the Bible contains something of 
 great importance which no other religion possessed ; some- 
 thing to warrant it in venturing where nothing but Divine 
 Omniscience is able to tread ; in other words, that its writers 
 were holy men, who " spake as they were moved by the 
 Holy Ghost." 
 
 The overpowering weight of the evidence from prophecy, 
 and the moral grandeur with which it attests the inspiration 
 of God and the Messiahship of Christ, can only be appre- 
 ciated by a full view of the immense scheme and the vast 
 extent of the prophecies in the Bible. Their record occupies 
 a large portion of the scriptures. In the third chapter of 
 the Bible, it begins ; in the last, it ends. Its spirit arose with 
 the fall of man in Eden ; its predictions will only end with 
 his perfect recovery in heaven. During the progress of 
 more than four thousand years, the scheme of prophecy was 
 continually opening ; its predictions were continually multi- 
 plying; its grand object and purpose were continually 
 becoming more distinct and luminous. The spirit of pro- 
 phecy first uttered its voice when as yet our fallen parents 
 had not been expelled the garden of innocence. Cain heard 
 in it the warning of his punishment. Enoch continued its 
 declarations. Noah transmitted its strain. Abraham's whole 
 life was guided and encouraged by its inspirations. Isaac 
 was the child, as well as the instrument of prophetic com- 
 munication. Jacob with his last breath foretold the future 
 history of his twelve sons in their generations, and the reign 
 of a lawgiver in Judah till Shiloh should come. The harp 
 of prophecy remained in silence, while the posterity of Jacob 
 remained in Egyptian bondage; but no sooner was Israel 
 free, than the Spirit again breathed upon its strings, and in tho 
 hand of Moses it spake of the great Prophet who was to come 
 
 16*
 
 194 LECTURE VII. 
 
 to the church, and sketched the Jewish history, with wonder- 
 ful minuteness, down even to the present and far future times. 
 Between Moses and David, lived Samuel, a prophet of the 
 Lord. Immediately after him, began what may be styled, 
 with emphatic distinction, "the age of prophecy" It opened 
 with the elevated and sublime poetry of David. It advanced 
 with the stem ministry of honoured Elijah. As he went 
 up in the flaming chariot, translated to heaven, his mantle 
 descended upon the "man of God" Elisha. Among- the 
 minor prophets who carried on the spirit of this age of seers. 
 were Hosea, Amos, and Micah. Then followed Isaiah, as 
 full of the spirit of the gospel, as of the spirit of prophecy ; 
 and Jeremiah, overflowing as well with tender lamentation 
 for the affliction of Israel, as with the sublimest predictions 
 of the days when the Lord would heal and comfort them ; 
 then Ezekiel, with as many visions of the future, as the 
 eyes in his mysterious wheels, prophecying " in the midst of 
 the valley which was filled with bones." Ezekiel connected 
 in his person the age of prophecy with that of the captivity 
 of Judah. Daniel succeeded him, and beside the prophetic 
 interpretation of the hand-writing on the wall, foretold the 
 succession of the four powerful monarchies, and the feeble 
 rising and ultimate dominion of the fifth, and determined 
 the time when the daily sacrifice would cease, and Messiah 
 be cut off not for himself. Haggai and Zechariah contin- 
 ued the prophetic strain, after the return of Judah from cap- 
 tivity. Malachi terminated the line of Old Testament 
 prophets and the canon of Old Testament scriptures, with 
 the sublime annunciation of one who was to come, in the 
 spirit and power of Elijah, to prepare the way of the Lord. 
 Again the harp of prophecy was silent as during the bond- 
 age of Egypt, until "that Prophet" like unto, but infinitely 
 greater than, Moses arose. JESUS, the great object of pro- 
 phecy from the beginning himself " the spirit of prophecy ;" 
 foretold, besides his own death and resurrection, the
 
 LECTURE VII. 195 
 
 calamities that should befall Jerusalem, as well as the utter 
 destruction of the Jewish state. Paul followed his Master's 
 steps, as well in the walks of prophecy, as of martyrdom, 
 forewarning the church of " that man of sin, the son of 
 perdition, whose coming is after the working of Satan, with 
 all power, and signs, and lying wonders."* John closed the 
 succession of prophecy, and the canon of scripture together, 
 with predictions, the awful sublimity of which no pen can 
 rival, and the wonderful expanse of which, nothing but the 
 events of all future time can measure. 
 
 Thus have we a train of holy men, reaching from the 
 earliest age of mankind, through a period of more than four 
 thousand years, and extending their prediction to the world's 
 end. I see in them the utmost variety as well as to condi - 
 tion and character, as to the ages in which they lived 
 princes, patriarchs, priests, legislators, shepherds, jisher- 
 men. Exceedingly various in natural qualifications, in 
 education, habits, and employments ; they wrote in various 
 styles, but each as he was moved by the Holy Ghost. Now 
 when, in connexion with this variety in the prophets them- 
 selves, I consider the vast variety and extent of the subjects 
 on which their predictions are employed, embracing not only 
 the history of the Jews for many centuries, but that also of 
 the minor nations immediately around, with that of the 
 more remote empires of Egypt, and Assyria, and Chaldea, 
 and Persia, and Macedon, and Rome ; when I consider that 
 in this immense vastness of extent, so great is their minute- 
 ness of detail, that sundry particular events and features in 
 their destruction, not only of the city of Jerusalem, but also 
 of Nineveh, and Babylon, and Tyre, are predicted with the 
 most graphic and striking precision ; when, in the midst of 
 such wonderful diversity of authors, ages, circumstances, 
 and of subjects, from the downfall of an empire, to the 
 
 * 2 Thess. ii. 39.
 
 196 LECTURE VII. 
 
 tumbling of a wall, I perceive not the smallest inconsistency 
 or collision, but, on the contrary, the utmost harmony, as well 
 of execution as of purpose and of spirit the whole array 
 of prophecy, from first to last, bearing down and concentra- 
 ting upon one grand object the testimony of Jesus the 
 rise, progress, and eternal accomplishment of his plan of 
 redeeming love ; in a word, when I behold a scheme so vast, 
 as to embrace all time, and yet so minute that it can detail 
 the events of an hour ; so general that, in a few lines, it 
 predicts the history of the four mightiest empires, and yet so 
 particular that chapters are devoted to the history of one 
 individual ; so diversified in its materials, as to be made up 
 of contributions from men of all ages and minds, during a 
 period of four thousand years ; and yet so identical that one 
 spirit and one grand, harmonious purpose animate the 
 whole; when I compare all this, arrayed, as it is, in the 
 richest poetry and loftiest eloquence that eye of man ever 
 read, with whatever else in the world ever pretended to 
 the praise of prophecy ; I behold a grandeur of conception 
 a sublimity of design an all-controlling power of execu- 
 tion a unity and self-depending supremacy of mind which 
 bespeak the omniscience and omnipotence of Him who 
 " icas, and is, and is to come, the Almighty" I say nothing 
 yet of the fulfilment of any portion of this stupendous plan ; 
 1 only say, look at the plan itself in all its comprehensive- 
 ness and minuteness, and tell me if it be not utterly at vari- 
 ance with all human experience, and in itself perfectly 
 incredible, that imposture should have conceived such a 
 scheme, or should ever have dared to commit its cause to a 
 venture that could only succeed by a continuance of miracu- 
 lous fortune through all ages of the world. Consider the 
 plan itself, the various minds that carried on the succession 
 of its several predictions, forming a line of holy men from 
 the earliest periods of antediluvian history, down to the last 
 of the apostles of Christ ; see how they all agree in spirit
 
 LECTURE VII. 197 
 
 and purpose, while yet so different in character and circum- 
 stances; see how they all unite in testifying of Christ, so 
 that, as the last of them said, " the testimony of Jesus is the 
 Spirit of prophecy ;" then tell me how imposture can be 
 supposed to have wrought, unexposed, for so many thousands 
 of years ; how it could have chosen its agents out of forty 
 centuries out of circumstances so disadvantageous, and bid 
 them embrace such an immense range of subjects for their 
 predictions, and yet without any inconsistency, or want of 
 harmony, or any thing incompatible with the idea of one 
 all-pervading mind having regulated the whole. I do not 
 now say that so much as one prophecy has been fulfilled. 
 I only say, and I challenge all denial, that not a single pre- 
 diction in the whole succession can be shown to have failed ; 
 or to have been contradicted by the times or events to which 
 it referred. I only assert that, while many of the prophe- 
 cies remain unfulfilled, because the times they relate to have 
 not arrived; a very great number must have either been 
 fulfilled already, or have utterly failed ; and yet no unbeliever 
 could ever put his hand on that portion of history which 
 contradicted the truth of any. I ask you to remember this 
 important and undeniable fact, and then say whether it is 
 not most impressive evidence that another mind than that of 
 man was the author of the prophecies of the Bible ; whether 
 it can be supposed possible in the nature of things that 
 human ingenuity could have contrived a volume of predic- 
 tions reaching so far extending so widely telling so 
 much assuming such particularity, without having been 
 contradicted by a single event in the history of nearly six 
 thousand years. 
 
 We now enter upon the question of fulfilment. 1 under- 
 take to show that the history of the world has wonderfully 
 responded to the prophecies of the Bible, and echoed back to 
 the holy men who uttered them, a complete assurance that 
 they "spake, as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. But
 
 198 LECTURE VII. 
 
 where shall I begin ? It were easier to write a volume on 
 this one subject, than to compress the matter within our 
 necessary limits, so as to do it any tolerable justice. Select- 
 ing some insulated portions of the train of prophecy, we 
 must content ourselves with exhibiting their accomplishment 
 as specimens of the whole. To this, the remainder of the 
 present lecture, and the whole of the next, will be devoted. 
 
 As an example of minute prediction and singular fulfil- 
 ment, compare Jeremiah, xxxiv. 2 and 3, with Ezekiel, xii. 
 13. In the former scripture, it was foretold by one prophet, 
 that Zedekiah, the king of Judah, should be delivered into 
 the hand of the king of Babylon, and behold his eyes, and 
 speak with him mouth to mouth, and go to Babylon. In 
 the latter, it was foretold by another prophet, that Zedekiah 
 should not see Babylon, though he should die there. But is 
 there not a contradiction here? How could Zedekiah be 
 taken to Babylon, and behold her king, and die there, and 
 yet never see the city 1 The history of the kings of Judah, 
 written without any design of pointing out the fulfilment 
 of prophecy, fully explains the difficulty. Zedekiah was 
 delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon, and beheld 
 his eyes, and spake with him mouth to mouth ; not, how- 
 ever, at Babylon, but at Riblah. There his eyes were put 
 out by command of his captor. In this state, he went to 
 Babylon, and died there, having- never seen the city of his 
 captivity. 
 
 Another example of wonderful minuteness is found in 
 the prophecies of the fall and destruction of Babylon. We 
 can notice only a small part of them. " It shall never be 
 inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in, (said the prophet,) from 
 generation to generation. Neither shall the Arabian pitch 
 tent there, neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. 
 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there, and the houses 
 shall be full of doleful creatures ; and owls shall dwell there, 
 and satyrs shal 1 dance there, and the wild beasts of the
 
 LECTURE VII. 199 
 
 desert shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in theii 
 pleasant palaces."* "I will also make it a possession foi 
 the bittern, and pools of water : and I will sweep it with the 
 besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts." These 
 words were uttered when Babylon was " the glory of king- 
 doms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency," about 160 
 years before she was brought down. " How hath the golden 
 city ceased !" " Her pomp is brought down to the grave." 
 Sixteen centuries have passed since her foundations were 
 inhabited by a human being. Deterred by superstitious 
 fears of evil spirits, which are said to haunt the place where 
 she stood, and by the more rational dread of reptiles and 
 wild beasts, the wandering Arab never pitches his tent there. 
 In a plain once famous for the richness of its pasture, the 
 shepherds make no fold. Reptiles, bats, and " doleful crea- 
 tures" jackals, hyenas, and lions inhabit the holes, and 
 caverns, and marshes, of the desolate city. In the fourth 
 century, Babylon was a hunting ground for the Persian 
 monarchs. By the annual overflowing of the Euphrates, 
 pools of stagnant water are left in the hollow places of the 
 ancient site, by which morasses have been formed, so that 
 Babylon has indeed become a possession for the bittern, 
 and pools of water. It has been swept with the besom 
 of destruction. The fertile plain of Shinar, renowned foi 
 its ancient abundance, is an uninterrupted desert, strewed 
 with the confused ruins of Grecian, Roman, and Arabian 
 towns. A modern traveller, in his " search after the walls 
 of Babylon? describes " a mass of solid wall, about thirty 
 feet in length, by twelve or fifteen in thickness," as the only 
 part of them that can now be discovered.! Thus, accord- 
 ing to the words of the prophet, is she cast up as heaps, 
 destroyed utterly ; nothing of her is left.l 
 
 Tyre was once the emporium of the world, " the theatre 
 
 * Is. xiii. 20 21, 22. t Buckingham's Travels * Ter. 1. 26.
 
 200 LECTURE VII. 
 
 of an immense commerce and navigation, the nursery of 
 arts and science, and the city of perhaps the most industrious 
 and active people ever known."* Situate at the entry of 
 the sea, she was a merchant of the people for many isles. 
 All nations were her merchants in all sorts of things. The 
 ships of Tarshish did sing of her in the market ; and she 
 was replenished and made very glorious in the midst of the 
 seas."} It was of this mistress of princes, that Ezekiel 
 prophesied in the name of the Lord : " I will scrape her dust 
 from her, and make her like the top of a rock. It shall be 
 a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea."l 
 How singularly particular ! She was not only to be utterly 
 destroyed, but the use that would be made of her site, and 
 the kind of men who would inhabit it were pointed out more 
 than a thousand years before her complete destruction. 
 How precise the fulfilment ! Shaw, in his book of travels, 
 describes the port of Tyre as so choked up, that the boats 
 of the fishermen, who now and then come to the place, and 
 dry their nets upon its rocks and ruins, can hardly enter. 
 Bruce describes the site of Tyre as " a rock whereon fishers 
 dry their nets." But the testimony of the infidel, Volney, is 
 more valuable. " The whole village of Tyre contains only 
 fifty or sixty poor families, who live obscurely on the produce 
 of their little ground and a trifling fishery. "\\ 
 
 Egypt, the most ancient, was also the most powerful and 
 wealthy of kingdoms. But a prophecy went forth against 
 her while yet she was in all her pomp and pride, that the 
 pride of her power should come down ; that her land and all 
 that was therein should be made waste by the hand of stran- 
 gers ; that there should be no more a prince of the land of 
 Egypt, and the sceptre of Egypt should depart 
 
 * Volney's Travels. 1 Ezek. xxvii. t Ib. xxvi. 4, 5. 
 Shaw's Travels, ii. p. 31. II Travels, ii. p. 212. 
 T Ezek. xxx. 6, 12, 13. Zcch. x. 11.
 
 LECTURE VII. 5iU. I 
 
 How universally this once fertile country, the granary of 
 the world, has been wasted, and her innumerable cities have 
 been buried; how remarkably the hand of strangers has 
 done it, and how deplorably the remnant of this populous 
 nation is now, and has been for many centuries, under 
 slavery, and ignorance, and poverty, and rapine, and every 
 crime, I need not describe. The most remarkable portion of 
 the prophecy is that which declares that there shall be " no 
 more a prince of the land of Egypt." From the conquest 
 of the Persians, about 350 years before Christ, to the present 
 day, the sceptre of Egypt has been broken ; she has been 
 governed by strangers ; every effort to raise an Egyptian to 
 the throne has been defeated. Out of the mouth of Volney, 
 the Lord has caused to be declared the fulfilment of 
 His word. Of Egypt, that most unwilling agent in esta- 
 blishing the truth of scripture writes : " Deprived, twenty- 
 three centuries ago, of her natural proprietors, she has 
 seen her fertile fields successively a prey to the Persians, 
 the Macedonians, the Romans, the Greeks, the Arabs, the 
 Georgians, and at length the race of Tartars, distinguished 
 by the name of Ottoman Turks. The Mamalukes, pur- 
 chased as slaves and introduced as soldiers, soon usurped the 
 power, and elected a leader. If their first establishment was 
 a singular event, their continuance is not less extraordinary. 
 They are replaced by slaves brought from their original 
 country. The system of oppression is methodical. Every 
 thing the traveller sees or hears reminds him he is in the 
 country of slavery and tyranny."* 
 
 Among the most interesting fulfilments of prophecy, are 
 those discovered in the present condition of the country and 
 cities of Judea. For a very striking view of them, the 
 reader is referred to Keith on Prophecy, a valuable work 
 lately republished in this country. But there is one predic- 
 
 * Travels, ii. p. 74, 103, 110, 198. 
 
 17
 
 202 LECTURE VII. 
 
 tion in this department which I cannot pass over. After 
 describing the divine judgments upon the land, the prophet 
 adds : " The generation to come of your children, and the 
 stranger that shall come from afar land, shall say, when they 
 see the plagues of that land, and the sickness which the Lord 
 hath laid upon it : { Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto 
 this land ? What meaneth the heat of this great anger ?' "* 
 About three thousand years after these words were written, 
 a famous traveller, a scoffer at the scriptures, walks through 
 this smitten country. He is a stranger from a far land. 
 Deeply impressed with the aspect of all things around him, 
 and in all probability entirely ignorant of the prophecy he is 
 about to fulfil, he exclaims : " Good God ! from whence pro- 
 ceed such melancholy revolutions ? For what cause is the 
 fortune of these countries so strikingly changed ? Why are 
 so many cities destroyed ? Why is not that ancient popula- 
 tion reproduced and perpetuated." "I wandered over the 
 country. 1 traversed the provinces. I enumerated the king- 
 doms of Damascus and Idumea, of Jerusalem and Samaria. 
 This Syria, said I to myself, now almost depopulated, then 
 contained a hundred flourishing cities, and abounded with 
 towns, villages, and hamlets. What are become of so many 
 productions of the hands of man ?"t &c. 
 
 No prophecies deserve more of the attention of the student 
 of scripture than those concerning the Jews, which are scat- 
 tered from one end of the Bible to the other. Their wonder- 
 ful accomplishment is in every one's view. We can only 
 glance at some of the many particulars which they em- 
 brace. Three thousand two hundred years a:o, it was 
 written by Moses : " The Lord shall scatter thee among all 
 people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other ; 
 and among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither 
 shall the sole of thy foot have rest ; and thou shalt become an 
 
 * Deut. xxix. 22, 24. t Volney's Ruins, c. ii. p. 8.
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 astonishment, a proverb, and a by-word among all the nations 
 whither the Lord shall lead thee ; and thou shalt be only 
 oppressed and crushed alway ; and the Lord will make thy 
 plagues wonderful, and the plague of thy seed, even great 
 plagues and of long continuance."* But notwithstanding all 
 this, the Jews were not to be destroyed without recovery. 
 " Yet for all that (saith the prophet), when they be in the land 
 of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I ab- 
 hor them to destroy them utterly ."t " I will make a full end 
 of all the nations whither I have driven thee, but I will not 
 make a full end of thee."J " For the children of Israel shall 
 abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and 
 without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an 
 ephod, and without teraphim : afterwards shall the children 
 of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David 
 their king ; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the 
 latter days." 
 
 There is nothing in the history of nations so unac- 
 countable, on human principles, as the destruction and the 
 preservation of the Jews. " Scattered among all nations ;" 
 where are they not ? Citizens of the world, and yet citizens 
 of no country in the world ; in what habitable part of the 
 world is not the Jew familiarly knoAvn ? He has wandered 
 every where, and is still every where a wanderer. One 
 characteristic of this wonderful race is written over all their 
 history, from their dispersion to the present time. Among 
 the nations, they have found no ease, nor rest to the soles of 
 their feet. Banished from city to city, and from country 
 to country; always insecure in their dwelling places, and 
 liable to be suddenly driven away whenever the bigotry, or 
 avarice, or cruelty of rulers demanded a sacrifice ; a late decree 
 of the Russian Empire has proclaimed to the world that 
 
 * Deut. xxviii. t Lev. xxvi. 44. t Jer. xlvi. 27, 38. 
 
 Hos.ea, iil 4, 5.
 
 204 LECTURE VII. 
 
 their banishments have not yet ceased. Never certain of 
 permission to remain, it is the notorious peculiarity of this 
 people, as a body, that they live in habitual readiness to 
 remove. In this condition of universal affliction, how sin- 
 gular it is that among all people the Jew is " an astonishment, 
 a proverb, a by-word." Such is not the case with any other 
 people. Among Christians, Heathens, and Mohammedans, 
 from England to China, and thence to America, the cunning, 
 the avarice, the riches of the Jew are proverbial. And how- 
 wonderful have been their plagues ! The heart sickens at 
 the history of their persecutions, and massacres, and im 
 prisonments, and slavery. All nations have united to oppress 
 them. All means have been employed to exterminate them. 
 Robbed of property; bereaved of children; buried in the 
 dungeons of the inquisition, or burned at the stake of de- 
 plorable bigotry ; no people ever suffered the hundredth part 
 of their calamities, and still, they live ! It was prophecied 
 that, as a nation, they should be restored ; consequently they 
 were not only to be kept alive, but unmingled with the na- 
 tions, every where a distinct race, and capable of being 
 selected and gathered out of all the world, when the time for 
 their restoration should arrive. The fulfilment of this, forms 
 the most astonishing part of the whole prophecy. For nearly 
 eighteen hundred years, they have been scattered and mixed 
 up among all people ; they have had no temple, no sacrifice; 
 no prince, no genealogies, no certain dwelling places. For- 
 bidden to be governed by their own laws ; to choose their 
 own magistrates ; to maintain any common policy ; every 
 ordinary bond of national union and preservation has been 
 wanting; whatever influences of local attachment, or of 
 language, or manners, or government, have been found 
 necessary to the preservation of other nations, have been 
 denied to them ; all the influences of internal depression and 
 outward violence which have ever destroyed and blotted out 
 the nations of the earth, have been at work with unprece-
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 205 
 
 dented strength, for nearly eighteen centuries, upon the 
 nation of Israel ; and still the Jews are a people a distinct 
 people a numerous people, unassimilated with any nation, 
 though mixed up with all nations. Their peculiarites are 
 undiminished. Their national identity is unbroken. Though 
 scattered upon all winds, they are perfectly capable of being 
 again gathered into one mass. Though divided into the 
 smallest particles by numerous solvents, they have resisted 
 all affinities, and may be traced, unchanged, in the most con- 
 fused mixtures of human beings. The laws of nature have 
 been suspended in their case. It is not merely that a stream 
 has held on its way through the waters of a lake, without 
 losing the colour and characteristic marks of its own current : 
 
 O * 
 
 but that a mighty river, having plunged from a mountain 
 height into the depth of the ocean, and been separated into 
 its component drops, and thus scattered to the ends of the 
 world, and blown about by all winds, during almost eighteen 
 centuries, is still capable of being disunited from the waters 
 of the ocean ; its minutest drops, having never been assimi- 
 lated to any other, are still distinct, unchanged, and ready to 
 be gathered, waiting the voice that shall call again the out- 
 casts of Israel and the dispersed of Judah. Mean while, 
 where are the nations among whom the Jews were scattered? 
 Has not the Lord, according to his word, made a full end of 
 them?* While Israel has stood unconsumed in the fiery 
 furnace, where are the nations that kindled its flames? 
 Where the Assyrians and the Chaldeans ? Their name is 
 almost forgotten. Their existence is known only to history. 
 Where is the empire of the Egyptians ? The Macedonians 
 destroyed it, and a descendant of its ancient race cannot be 
 distinguished among the strangers that have ever since 
 possessed its territory. Where are they of Macedon ? The 
 Roman sword subdued their kingdom, and their posterity 
 
 * Jer. xlvi. 28. 
 
 17*
 
 206 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 are mingled inseparably among the confused population of 
 Greece and Turkey. Where is the nation of ancient Rome, 
 the last conquerors of the Jews, and the proud destroyers of 
 Jerusalem? The Goths rolled their flood over its pride. 
 Another nation inhabits the ancient city. Even the language 
 of her former people is dead. The Goths ! where are they 1 
 The Jews ! where are they not ? They witnessed the glory 
 of Egypt, and of Babylon, and of Nineveh ; they were in ma- 
 ture age at the birth of Macedon and of Rome ; mighty 
 kingdoms have risen and perished since they began to be 
 scattered and enslaved ; and now they traverse the ruins of 
 all, the same people as when they left Judea, preserving in 
 themselves a monument of the days of Moses and the Pha- 
 raohs, as unchanged as the pyramids of Memphis, which they 
 are reputed to have built. You may call upon the ends of 
 the earth, and will call in vain for one living representative 
 of those powerful nations of antiquity, by whom the people 
 of Israel were successively oppressed ; but should the voice 
 which is hereafter to gather that people out of all lands, be 
 now heard from Mount Zion, calling for the children of 
 Abraham, no less than four millions would instantly answer 
 to the name, each bearing in himself unquestionable proofs 
 of that noble lineage. 
 
 What is this but miracle ? Connected with the prophecy 
 which it fulfils, it is double miracle. Whether testimony can 
 ever establish the credibility of a miracle, is of no import- 
 ance here. This one is obvious to every man's senses. All 
 nations are its eye-witnesses. 
 
 Among the most striking and comprehensive, and yet 
 particular prophecies, are those of Daniel. The history of 
 the four great empires of Chaldea, Persia, Macedon, and 
 Rome, is embraced in his predictions. We mention these, 
 not that we intend to trace out their fulfilment, but merely, in 
 passing, to insert a remarkable testimony concerning them 
 from one of the most learned expositors of the prophetic
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 207 
 
 scriptures, and another from the most learned and acute 
 of the ancient opposers of Christianity. Bishop Newton, 
 speaking of that portion of Daniel's prophecies which relates 
 to the kingdoms of Egypt and Syria, from the death of Alex- 
 ander the Great to the time of Antiochus Epiphanes. a 
 period of 148 years, remarks: "There is not so complete 
 and regular a series of their kings there is not so concise 
 and comprehensive an account of their affairs to be found 
 in any author of those times. The prophecy is really more 
 perfect than any history. No one historian hath related so 
 many circumstances, and in such exact order of time, as 
 the prophet hath foretold them ; so that it was necessary 
 to have recourse to several authors, Greek and Roman, 
 Jewish and Christian, and to collect here something from 
 one, and to collect there something from another, for the 
 better explaining and illustrating the great variety of par- 
 ticulars contained in this prophecy."* Thus far, the testimony 
 of a learned friend of Christianity. The corresponding 
 testimony of a learned enemy, we have in the celebrated 
 Porphyry, of the third century, to whom the exact corre- 
 spondence between the predictions and the events was so 
 convincing, that he could not pretend to deny it. lie rather 
 laboured to confirm it ; and from the very exactness of the 
 fulfilment, forged his only weapon of defence, in the asser- 
 tion that the prophecy could not have been written by 
 Daniel, but must have been written by some one in Judea, 
 in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes.t Others after him 
 have asserted the same thing, not only without any proof, 
 but contrary to all the proofs which can be had in cases of 
 this nature. They preferred the denial of the plainest his 
 torical evidence of the time when the prophecy was written, 
 to the acknowledgment that its author must have written 
 " by inspiration of God." Paine, however, whose willing 
 
 * Newton on Prophecy, ii. 149. t Lardner, iv. 211 .
 
 208 LECTURE VII. 
 
 ness to escape the argument from prophecy cannot be 
 questioned, and who was probably ignorant of what Por- 
 phyry had acknowledged as to the correspondence between 
 the words of this prophet and those of subsequent history, 
 confessed the authenticity of the book of Daniel. Here, 
 then, we have one famous infidel acknowledging that the 
 prophecy was written at the time and by the man to whom 
 it is ascribed; and another, verifying the exactness of its 
 fulfilment in the history of a subsequent age. Paine denied 
 the fulfilment; Porphyry, the authenticity. Porphyry ac- 
 knowledged the fulfilment; Paine, the authenticity. "He 
 taketh the wise in their own craftiness." 
 
 I now call your attention to the prophecies concerning our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. They are scattered every where through- 
 out the prophetic portions of the Bible. " To him bear all 
 the prophets witness." None of them could lay down the 
 pen of inspiration till they had written something, directly or 
 indirectly, of Jesus. 
 
 1. The first class of these predictions consists of those 
 which relate to the time and circumstances of the advent of 
 Christ. Daniel, A. C. 556, determined the year of his com- 
 ing, when 490 years should be accomplished from the going 
 forth of the command to rebuild Jerusalem. Jacob, more 
 than a thousand years before Daniel, had said it would be 
 when the sceptre was departing from Judah, and a lawgiver 
 from between his feet.* Haggai and Isaiah declared that it 
 would be before the destruction of Jerusalem, and during the 
 existence of the second temple.t Micah designated Bethle- 
 hem Ephratah as his birth-place.t Many prophecies pre- 
 dicted that he should come, not only of the stock of Judah, 
 but of the stem of Jesse. Isaiah and Malachi spake of the 
 messenger who should go before him, in the spirit and power 
 of Elijah, to prepare his way.il 
 
 * Gen. xlix. 10. t Is. xl. 9 xli. 27. Hag. ii. 6 8. t Mic. v. 2. 
 i*. x\. 1. I Is. xl. 3. Mai. iii. 1 iv. 5.
 
 LECTURE VII. 209 
 
 2. The next class of predictions, concerning our Lord, 
 contains those which speak of his life, sufferings, death, 
 resurrection, and the increase of his kingdom. These are 
 so numerous and particular, and so familiar to most readers 
 of the Bible, that we shall content ourselves with a rapid 
 summary. They predicted that Christ, or Messiah, would 
 be born of a virgin ;* that he should enter Jerusalem on the 
 foal of an ass ;t that in his manner of teaching he should 
 be characterized by special gentleness and compassion ;t that 
 he would be distinguished as wise "to speak a word in 
 season to him that is weary ;" that he should blind the 
 eyes of the learned and proud, II and preach good tidings to 
 the poor and despised; that under his ministry the lame 
 should be made to walk, the deaf to hear, the blind to see, 
 the dumb to speak, the captive to be loosed, and the dead 
 raised up ;[\ that he should teach the perfect way, and be the 
 instructer of the Gentiles ;** that he should be a sacrifice 
 for sin, be rejected of the Jews, who themselves should be 
 rejected of God ;tt " that the kings of the earth and all peo 
 pie should worship him ;U but that the people who rejected 
 him should continue a distinct people, and yet be scattered 
 over all nations, and wander about without princes, without 
 sacrifices, without an altar, without prophets, looking for 
 deliverance and not finding it, till a very distant period. 
 
 The correspondence between the several particulars re- 
 lated of the death of Christ, and the predictions scattered 
 through the Bible, is extremely striking. The evangelists, 
 in this respect are but echoes of the prophets. I can give but 
 a rapid sketch. These predictions include the treachery and 
 awful end of Judas ; || I! the precise sum of money for which 
 
 * Is. vii. 14. t Zech. ix. 9. t Is. xlii. 1. 2, 3. Is. 1. 4. 
 II Is. v. 15. IT Is. xxxv. 5, 6 ix. 2. ** Is. xlii. 6. 
 
 tt Is. liii. viii. 14, 15. Is. Ix. 10, 11, 12, &c. liii. 12. 
 Jer. xxxi. 36. Hos. iii. 4, 5. Illl Ps. xli. 9 Iv. 12, 13 14, 15
 
 210 LECTURE VII. 
 
 he betrayed his Master ; and the use to which it was put.* 
 They specify not only the sufferings of Christ, but of what 
 they should consist. That his back should be given to the 
 smiters, his face to shame and spitting ;t that he should be 
 put to death by a mode which would cause his hands and his 
 feet to be pierced ; that he should be wounded, bruised, and 
 scourged ;J that, in his death, he should be numbered with 
 transgressors, and in his sufferings, have gall and vinegar 
 given him to drink; II that his persecutors should laugh him 
 to scorn, and shake their heads, reviling him, and saying : 
 " He trusted in the Lord that he would deliver him ; let him 
 deliver him."T Although it was the custom to break the 
 bones of those who were crucified, and although the bones 
 of the thieves crucified with him, were broken, yet it was 
 predicted that " not a bone of him should be broken ;"** and 
 moreover, that his garments should be divided, and lots cast 
 for his vesture ;tt that while he should "make his grave with 
 the wicked," as he did in being buried like the wicked com- 
 panions of his death, under the general leave for taking down 
 their bodies from the cross, he should at the same time make 
 his grave " with the rich," as was done when they buried 
 him in the sepulchre of Joseph of Arimathea.tt I might 
 enumerate many more details of prophecy centering upon 
 the life and death of Christ. What have been mentioned 
 are abundantly sufficient for our present argument. I have 
 only recited a concise list of the predictions. I cannot sup- 
 pose any of you so unacquainted with the history of Christ 
 as not to be able, familiarly, to refer to all those passages in 
 ^ is life and death by which they were minutely and wonder- 
 
 * Zech. xi. 12, 13. t Is. 1. 6. t Zech. xii. 10. Ps. xxii. 16. 
 
 5 Is. liii. 4, 5, 8, and 12. II Ps. Ixix. 21. IT Ps. xxii. 7, 8. 
 
 ** Numb. ix. 12. Ex. xii. 46. Ps. xxxiv. 20. ft Ps. xxii. 18. 
 
 tt Is. liii. 9. The translation of this verse in Lowth's Isaiah is much 
 more to the point than that of the common text : " And his grave was ap 
 vointfd with the wicked; but with the rich man was his tomb."
 
 LECTURE VII. 211 
 
 folly fulfilled. Now, consider that no question is raised by 
 any one, whether these predictions were made and published 
 several centuries before the birth of Christ. The enemies 
 of Christ, his crucifiers, have been the librarians of these 
 writings.* The Jews preserved them for us, with sacred 
 care, for many hundreds of years. They were translated, 
 from Hebrew into Greek, at least two hundred years before 
 Christ. The Jews then understood them to refer to the 
 Messiah, as we do now ; and it was on account of some of 
 them that a general expectation of the speedy coming of 
 Messiah, prevailed so widely in Judea at the time of the 
 public appearance of Christ. 
 
 That all these particulars were most remarkably combined 
 in the person, character, works, sufferings, and burial of the 
 Lord Jesus, I need not say. If the predictions did not ori 
 ginally refer to him, and only happened to be accomplished 
 in him, it would be reasonable to suppose that out of the 
 innumerable millions of men that have lived since they were 
 published, some other individual, if not hundreds, would 
 have appeared, exhibiting the same correspondence. Where 
 is the record of such an event ? Can the person be men- 
 tioned, in whom there was even an approximation to the 
 fulfilment exhibited in the history of Jesus? I need not 
 say, that no one ever pretended to be able to find such a per- 
 son. These prophecies describe a combination of gentleness 
 with power ; merit with ignominy ; benevolence with con- 
 tempt ; they bring together details of ancestry, of family, of 
 
 * Augustine, in the fourth century, spoke very often of the great advan- 
 tage which Christians had in their arguments for the truth of the gospel, from 
 the subsistence and dispersion of the Jewish people, who every where bear 
 testimony to the antiquity and genuineness of the books of the Old Testa- 
 ment ; so that none could say they were afterwards forged by Christians. 
 He therefore calls the Jews the librarians of the Christians ; he compares 
 them to servants that carry books for tlie use of children of noble families; or 
 that carry a chest or bag of evidence for a disputant. Lardne.r^ ii. 598
 
 212 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 but!?, of time, of works, of sufferings, of death, which it 
 were ridiculous to pretend have been united in any individual 
 whose name is in the annals of man, except the Son of man, 
 Christ Jesus. 
 
 But it may be said, that among these predictions, there are 
 some wLich human design might have brought to pass. I* 
 may be suggested, that a band of men undertaking to pro 
 mote an imposture, and having these predictions before them, 
 might have selected for their leader one who had been born 
 at Bethlehem, of the lineage of David, and might have 
 ordered his appearance at the precise time of the prophecy. 
 Let this be supposed, and let us overlook the fact that no 
 possible motive can be assigned that could induce a band 
 of impostors to desire the setting up of such a cause as that 
 of Christ ; still, how would imposture contrive to unite in 
 its leader the fulfilment of prophecies which, on one hand, 
 foretold him as eminent for wisdom and benevolence ; and 
 on the other, for shame and suffering 1 How, on this supposi- 
 tion, could all those predictions have been accomplished 
 which relate to the agonies of the cross? Would a deceiver 
 seek crucifixion for the sake of fulfilling prophecy? How 
 was it managed that one should betray him ; and afterwards, 
 out of remorse, hang himself? How was it contrived that 
 the enemies of Christ should measure the price of his blood 
 at the exact sum predicted; and then, that the mercenary 
 traitor should return it to them again, and they should use it 
 in purchase of the predicted potter's field? How did im- 
 posture so artfully combine in its cause all the persecutors of 
 Christ, that, without any design to advance its interests, they 
 should have chosen precisely that mode of execution ; those 
 expressions of contempt; those instruments of torture; those 
 companions of his sufferings ; that mixture for his drink ; 
 that severity to his body, while he was alive, and that for- 
 bearance to it after he was dead, which, if they had been 
 anxious to prove him the true Messiah, foretold in the scrip-
 
 LECTURE VII. 213 
 
 tures, woukl have composed the most effectual means they 
 could possibly employ ? Most evidently, the bitter adversa- 
 ries of Christianity not its friends brought out the demon- 
 stration that Jesus was he to whom gave all the prophets 
 witness. 
 
 And now is there any possible escape from the absolute 
 necessity of acknowledging that the Spirit of God was in 
 the writers of the Bible, and that this Spirit has testified of 
 Jesus? Will any one pretend that in the idea of chance 
 there is any explanation of the coincidences which have 
 been mentioned ? It will not be useless to spend a moment 
 on this matter of chance. It is conceivable that a prediction, 
 uttered at a venture, confining its terms to but one event, and 
 expressing that in a general way, may happen to result so 
 plausibly as to seem like a genuine prophecy. But only let 
 it descend to the minutiae of time, place, and incidents, and 
 it is evident that the possibility of its success, by a fortui- 
 tous concurrence of events, will become extremely desperate. 
 Hence the oracles of heathen antiquity always took good 
 care to confine their predictions to one or two particulars, and 
 to express them in the most general and ambiguous terms. 
 Hence, in the whole range of history, except the prophecies 
 of the scriptures, there is not a single instance of a predic- 
 tion, expressed in unequivocal language, and descending to 
 any minuteness, which bears the slightest claim to the praise 
 of fulfilment. But to set this in a more impressive light, I 
 will quote a few sentences from one of the most scientific 
 laymen of the present day. " Suppose (says Olinthus Gregory) 
 that instead of the spirit of prophecy, breathing more or less 
 in every book of scripture, predicting events relative to a 
 great variety of general topics, and delivering besides almost 
 innumerable characteristics of the Messiah, all meeting in 
 the person of Jesus ; there had been only ten men in ancieni 
 times who preiended to be prophets, each of whom exhibited 
 only jive independent criteria as to place, government, con- 
 
 18
 
 214 LECTURE VII. 
 
 comitant events, doctrine taught, effects of doctrine, character, 
 sufferings, or death ; the meeting of all which in one person 
 should prove the reality of their calling as prophets, and of 
 his mission in the character they have assigned him : sup- 
 pose, moreover, that all events were left to chance merely, 
 and we were to compute, from the principles employed by 
 mathematicians in the investigation of such subjects, the 
 probability of these fifty independent circumstances happen- 
 ing at all. Assume that there is, according to the technical 
 phrase, an equal chance for the happening or the failure of 
 any one of the specified particulars ; then the probability 
 against the occurrence of all the particulars in any way, is, 
 that of the fiftieth power of two to unity ; that is, the proba- 
 bility is greater than eleven hundred and twenty-fioe millions 
 of millions to one, that all these circumstances do not turn 
 up even at distinct periods."* But this calculation, you must 
 observe, specifies no particular period for these things to 
 take place ; but allows, from the time of uttering the predic- 
 tions, to the end of the world, for all the fifty particulars to 
 occur. But if a time be fixed, at or near which they must 
 happen, the immense improbability that they will take place 
 exceeds all the power of numbers to express. This, more- 
 over, is on the supposition of every thing being under the 
 disposal of that fiction of unbelief, a blind chance. How 
 infinite does the improbability appear, when it is remembered 
 that "all events are under the control of a Being of matchless 
 wisdom, power, and goodness, who hates fraud and decep- 
 tion ; who must especially hate it when attempted under his 
 name and authority." This is enough, one would think, to 
 silence for ever all pleas of chance, as furnishing an unbe- 
 liever the least opportunity of escape from the evidence of 
 prophecy. What then is the conclusion to which, by the con- 
 siderations presented in this lecture, we are authorized to come? 
 
 * Gregory * Letters.
 
 LECTURE VII. 215 
 
 First: That in the Bible, there is a great variety of 
 prophecy relative to the Messiah, which has been so re- 
 markably fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and so entirely unfulfilled 
 in any other individual of whom we have any history, that 
 the correspondence necessarily proves the predictions to have 
 been given by inspiration of God, and Jesus Christ to be the 
 person to whom that inspiration, in the uttering of those 
 predictions, referred. 
 
 Secondly: That the Bible, in thus containing genuine 
 prophecies scattered through its several books, contains a 
 revelation from God, and exhibits numerous and wide-spread 
 impressions of the seal of divine authority. 
 
 Lastly : That Jesus Christ, being thus pointed out and 
 honoured by the Spirit of God, breathing on the lips of holy 
 men, who in various centuries before his coming concurred 
 in rendering him their testimony, as they were moved by the 
 Holy Ghost, was and is to come, no other than what he 
 said the Son of God the Saviour of sinners " King of 
 kings and Lord of lords." 
 
 "Behold (saith He) I come quickly: blessed is he that 
 keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book." " He that 
 confesseth me before men, him will I also confess before my 
 Father who is in heaven." But " how shall we escape if we 
 rv gleet so great salvation?"
 
 216 LECTURE vm. 
 
 LECTURE VIIL 
 
 PROPHECY. 
 
 OUR blessed Lord was a prophet, as well as the grand sub- 
 ject of prophecy. Not only did he possess omnipotence to 
 call up the dead from the sepulchre, but omniscience also to 
 bring forth from the darkness of the future what to uninspired 
 man lies as secret as the mysteries of death. By prophecy, 
 as well as miracles, he established the divinity of his mission. 
 In the latter, his appeal was to the senses of eye-witnesses : 
 " The works that I do, they bear witness of me" In the 
 former, it was to the testimony of subsequent history : "Now 
 I tell you before it come to pass, that when it is come to pass, 
 ye may believe that I am he" He predicted not only his 
 own sufferings, and death, and resurrection, but the manner 
 and circumstances attending them ; the treachery of Judas ; 
 the denial of Peter ; the particulars of his ignominious treat- 
 ment in the council of the Jews, and under the hands of 
 Pilate and his soldiers. He foretold the rapid spread of the 
 gospel ; the persecutions of his disciples ; the precise manner 
 of Peter's martyrdom ; the continuance of John till after the 
 destruction of Jerusalem ; the rejection of the Jews, and the 
 bringing of the Gentiles into the church of God. 
 
 But none of our Saviour's prophecies are more impressive 
 than those concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, contained 
 in the Gospels of Mark and Luke ; but most at large in the 
 twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew. These we select as the 
 subject of our consideration at present ; believing we shall be 
 enabled to show, by most impressive evidence, that Jesus did 
 indeed possess the spirit of prophecy, and consequently was 
 divinely commissioned in setting up the faith of the gospel.
 
 LECTURE VIIT. 217 
 
 There is but one preliminary question to be answered, at 
 It *, commencement of this investigation : Is it well ascer- 
 tained that these prophecies were published before the de- 
 struction of Jerusalem ? 
 
 This has been already settled, in our lecture on the subject 
 of authenticity; in which it was shown that the several books 
 of the New Testament were written in the age to which they 
 are referred, and by the men whose names they bear. It will 
 be sufficient to state in this place, that of the three evangelists 
 who have related these prophecies, Matthew and Mark are 
 well ascertained to have died, and there is good reason to 
 suppose that Luke also was dead, before the destruction of 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 The Gospel of Matthew, which contains the most com- 
 plete account of the predictions in question, is commonly 
 acknowledged to have been written first. Its date is about 
 the eighth year after the death of Christ. The destruction 
 of Jerusalem being in the seventieth year of the Christian era, 
 the prophecies in relation to it were published by Matthew 
 about thirty years, and were declared by our Saviour about 
 thirty-seven years, before their fulfilment. Several years 
 elapsed, also, between the publication of the same prophecies 
 by Mark and Luke, and the events to which they relate. 
 John, the only one of the four evangelists that lived and 
 wrote subsequently to the ruin of the holy city, is the only 
 one that omits an account of the predictions concerning it 
 But we have the most satisfactory evidence that no suspicion 
 of an ex post facto origin can justly attach to these prophe- 
 cies, in the important fact, that although familiarly quoted 
 by the early Christian writers as striking evidence of the pro- 
 phetic character of Jesus, we read of no writer against 
 Christianity in the primitive centuries having attempted to 
 paralyze the argument by maintaining that they were not 
 published till Jerusalem was destroyed. If enemies, so near 
 the events predicted, had nothing to say ; will any deny us 
 
 18*
 
 218 LECTURE Till. 
 
 the privilege of proceeding in our present investigation tin 
 embarrassed by any question on this head ?* 
 
 There is a history of the destruction of Jerusalem, which, 
 if it had been composed for the express purpose of attesting 
 the complete accomplishment of our Lord's predictions, could 
 have hardly been made more appropriate to our present 
 object. It was written by an eye-witness of the tragedy ; a 
 learned witness ; a witness who, having been first an eminent 
 leader among the troops of Judea, and then a prisoner to the 
 Roman commander, and continually kept about his person 
 for the sake of his services, cannot be accused of having 
 written without accurate information. His book was com- 
 posed at Rome ; and having been presented by the author to 
 the emperor Vespasian, and to his son Titus, who had com- 
 manded at the siege of Jerusalem, the latter not only desired 
 its publication, but subscribed his own hand in confirmation 
 of its correctness. It was also presented to, and approved by, 
 several Jews, who had been present at the scenes described.! 
 We could not desire a more complete attestation of the 
 fulfilment of our Saviour's prophecies than this book affords. 
 And yet the writer was a Jew to the day of his death, and 
 consequently an enemy of Christianity, and could have had 
 no design in favour of the prophetic spirit of its founder. I 
 speak of Josephus. It is remarkable that one of the most 
 minute prophecies in the Bible should have, from an enemy, 
 the most minute of histories to show its fulfilment. No great 
 event in profane history is related with so much attention to 
 all the particulars connected with it, as is the destruction of 
 Jerusalem by this Jewish writer. When we consider these 
 things, and remember the extraordinary manner in which 
 Josephus was several times protected from almost inevitable 
 death, we may clearly discern the hand of a wise Providence, 
 
 * On this subject, see some excellent remarks in Paley's Evidences, Part 
 ii. c. i. 
 t Josephus' Life, 65, p. 23. Contr. Apion h. i. 9
 
 LECTURE VIII. 219 
 
 preparing the way of the gospel. A witness was preserved 
 and chosen of God, to write an account of the divine judg- 
 ments upon Jerusalem, whose testimony neither Jews nor 
 Heathens could deny or suspect. We proceed to compare his 
 statements with the prophecies in question. 
 
 I. Let us begin with those events which the Saviour 
 foretold as signs of approaching desolation. Thus it is 
 written : " Take heed that no man deceive you, for many 
 shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall 
 deceive many"* Here are two distinct predictions. Many 
 pretenders to the character of the Messiah, and their success 
 in deceiving many. As the prophecy draws nearer to the 
 chief event, it enlarges on this particular sign : " There shall 
 arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great 
 signs and wonder's." Here it is intimated, that as the great 
 catastrophe should approach, these deceivers would multiply ; 
 and that they would pretend to signs and miracles. The 
 very places where they would appear, and whither they 
 would lead their followers, are also pointed out. " If they 
 shall say unto you, Behold he is in the desert; go not forth : 
 Behold he is in the secret chambers ; believe it not."i 
 
 Now it is worthy of note, that, until the day when these 
 words were uttered, there had been no events in Jewish 
 history in any manner corresponding with those which they 
 describe. Two years, however, had not elapsed before their 
 fulfilment began. Simon Magus, very soon after the crucifix- 
 ion, was heard boasting himself as the son of God ; deceiving 
 the people of Samaria with sorceries ; to whom, they all gave 
 heed, saying this man is the great power of God.% Anotner, 
 named Dositheus, a Samaritan, pretended that he was the 
 Christ foretold by Moses. In about the tenth year after the 
 death of Christ, appeared one Theudas, who assured the 
 people that he was a prophet, promising to show a miracle 
 in dividing the waters of Jordan. "By such speeches," 
 
 * Mat. xxiv. 4, 5. t Ib. xxiv. 26. t Acts, viii. 9, 10. 
 
 5 The impostor, mentioned above, must not be confounded with him of the
 
 220 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 says Josephus, in the very words of the prophecy, " he 
 deceived many."* As we approach nearer the final event, 
 (A. D. 55.), these deceivers multiply. " The country was 
 filled with impostors who deceived the people," and " persua- 
 ded them to follow them into the wilderness ; where, as they 
 said, they should see manifest wonders and signs."! Not 
 only were the people thus seduced into the deserts, but also 
 into " the secret chambers" The inner apartments of the 
 temple were the secret chambers referred to in the prophecy. 
 Josephus relates that a great multitude whom the Roman 
 soldiers destroyed in the " cloisters" of the temple, had been 
 led there by a false prophet, who had made a public procla- 
 mation, that very day, that God commanded them to get 
 upon the temple, and that there they would receive miracu- 
 lous signs for their deliverance. At that crisis, " there was 
 a great number of false prophets."! Thus have we have all 
 the particulars of the prophecy, so far as it has been quoted : 
 Many false Christs and prophets, deceiving many ; pre- 
 tending to signs and wonders ; leading their followers into 
 the deserts and secret chambers ; and multiplying- as the 
 destruction drew near. 
 
 II. " Ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars : see 
 that ye be not troubled : for all these things must come to 
 
 same name, spoken of by Gamaliel, Acts, v. 36. There were two noted 
 characters of the name of Theudas. The one referred to by Gamaliel appear- 
 ed about thirty years prior to the time of the council which that learned 
 Pharisee addressed. But he was a mere insurrectionist, making no pretension 
 to any of the honours of that great prophet whom the Jews were expecting. 
 The oerson referred to in the text, appeared in Judea in the time of Cuspius 
 Fadus, the governor, and professed to be inspired, to be a prophet, and to 
 have the gift of miracles. Judas of Galilee, or the Gaulonite, mentioned also 
 by Gamaliel, was a political partizan, in opposition to the enrolment made 
 by Cyrenius in Judea, whose doctrine was that the Jews were free, and 
 should acknowledge no dominion but that of God. Neither he, nor the elder 
 Theudas, can with any propriety be numbered among " false Christs," or 
 " false Prophets," such as the Saviour spoke of in the prophecy under consi 
 deration. See Lardner, i. 221225. 
 
 * Tosephus' Antiquities of the Jews, b. 20. c. v. 1. t Ib. c. viii. 5. 
 
 T Josephus' Wars of the Jews, b. 6. c. v. 5 2 and 3.
 
 LECTURE VIII. 221 
 
 pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against 
 nation, and kingdom against kingdom"* At this time, 
 the Jews were at peace among themselves, and with all 
 nations. To human view there was so little reason to 
 expect a war, that even some years after when the emperor 
 Caligula ordered his statue to be set up in the temple, and 
 there was danger of slaughter, on account of the resistance 
 of the Jews, Josephus remarks that " some of them could 
 not believe the stories that spoke of a war."t Nevertheless, 
 such became in a short time the rumour of war, that the 
 fields remained uncultivated on account of the public anxiety. 
 The country was soon filled with violence. In Alexandria, 
 Caesarea, Damascus, Ptolemais, Tyre, and almost every other 
 city in which many Jews and Heathens were mingled, fierce 
 contentions arose, and dreadful slaughter ensued. In the 
 words of the Jewish historian : " The disorders all over 
 Syria were terrible. For every city was divided into parties 
 armed against each other ; and the safety of the one depended 
 on the destruction of the other. The days were spent in 
 slaughter, and the nights in terrors."* In addition to these 
 calamities, the Jewish nation rebelled against the Romans ; 
 Italy was convulsed with contentions for the empire ; and, 
 as a proof of the troublous and warlike character of the 
 period, within the brief space of two years four emperors of 
 Rome suffered death. 
 
 III. Another class of signs was predicted, as follows: 
 " There shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, 
 in divers places. n \\ These, together with the signs previously 
 mentioned, the Saviour said would be " the beginning of 
 sorrows." There came a famine not long before the war, 
 which extended all over the country of the Jews, and lasted 
 with severity for several years.T Both before and after this 
 there were famines in Italy, which are mentioned by histo- 
 
 * Mat. xxiv. 6, 7. t Wars, &c. b. 2. c. x. 1. 
 
 t Wars, &c., b. 2. c xviii. 1 and 2. Keith on Prophecy. 
 
 Mat. xxiv. 7, 8. T! Acts xi. 25 30. Ant. b. 20, c. ii. 6 ; c *. A
 
 LECTURE VI II. 
 
 rians of those days.* Pestilences raged in various places, as 
 the full time for Jerusalem's cup of trembling drew nigh.t 
 Josephus speaks of one at Babylon. Five years before the 
 destruction of the holy city, there was a great mortality at 
 Rome, while various parts of the empire were visited with 
 similar calamities. Earthquakes were also among the signs 
 of the times. Of these, the heathen historians, Tacitus, 
 Suetonius, Philostratus, &c., speak of many. Crete, Italy, 
 Asia Minor, and Judea, were visited at different times, and 
 some of them repeatedly, with earthquakes. t Josephus 
 describes one, in Judea, as so extraordinary in its awfulness, 
 that "any one (he remarks) might easily conjecture that 
 these wonders foreshowed some grand calamities that were 
 coming." 
 
 IT. To the signs already mentioned, we find, in Luke's 
 account of these prophecies, the addition of "fearful sights, 
 and great signs from heaven" These sights and signs 
 Josephus sets himself to the work of narrating, with as much 
 particularity as if he had been specially bent upon making 
 good the words of Christ. He relates that just before the 
 desolating war, " a star resembling a sword stood over the 
 city, and a comet that continued a whole year." At the 
 feast of unleavened bread, and " at the ninth hour of the 
 night, so great a light shone round the altar and the holy 
 house, that it appealed to be bright daytime ; which light 
 lasted for half an hour." " The eastern gate of the inner 
 court of the temple, which was of brass and vastly heavy, 
 and had been with difficulty shut by twenty men, and had 
 bolts fastened very deep into the firm floor, was seen to be 
 opened of its own accord about the sixth hour of the night." 
 This, the learned of Jerusalem understood as a signal of 
 approaching desolation. Moreover, "before sun-setting, 
 chariots and troops of soldiers, in their armour, were seen 
 running about among the clouds and surrounding cities." 
 
 * Ant. b. 3. c. xv. 3. t La-dner, Hi. 499. t Ib. iii. 499. 
 5 Wars, &c., b. 4. c. iv. 6 *
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 223 
 
 At the feast of Pentecost, as the priests were going by night 
 into the inner court of the temple, they felt a quaking, and 
 heard a great noise, and after that they heard the sound as 
 of a multitude, saying : ' Let us remove hence.' " But the 
 sign which Josephus considered the most impressive, was 
 that of a man named Jesus, who, four years before the war, 
 at a time of entire peace, having come to the feast of taberna- 
 cles, began suddenly to cry aloud : " A voice from the east 
 a voice from the west a voice from the four winds a voice 
 against Jerusalem and the holy house a voice against the 
 bridegrooms and the brides ; and a voice against the whole 
 people." With this cry he went through all the city, day and 
 night. No severity of punishment : no acts of kindness 
 could silence this voice. He spoke neither good nor ill to 
 any, whether they gave him food or scourging. For seven 
 years and five months, his solemn cry continued ; until its 
 warning was just about to be fulfilled. A little while before 
 the city was taken, as he was going round upon the wall, he 
 cried with his utmost force : " Wo, wo to the city again, and 
 to the people, and to the holy house ;" and just as he added, 
 " wo to myself also," a stone from one of the engines killed 
 him immediately.* 
 
 However incredible the narrative of these signs may seem 
 to some, it is not a little in its confirmation that the Roman 
 historian, Tacitus, speaking of the same time and place, 
 says : " There were many prodigies presignifying their ruin, 
 which were not to be averted by all the sacrifices and vows 
 of that people. Armies were seen fighting in the air with 
 brandished weapons. A fire fell upon the temple from the 
 clouds. The doors of the temple were suddenly opened. At 
 the same time there was a loud voice, declaring that the 
 gods were removing, which was accompanied with a sound as 
 of a multitude going out. All which things were supposed 
 by some to portend great calamities."t Whether all these 
 
 * Wars, &c. b. 6, c. v. 3. 
 
 t Lardner, iii. G13. Tacit. Hist. b. 5, c. ix. xiii.
 
 224 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 things did really take place, or whether some or all of them 
 were not the conceits of superstitions and excited minds, I 
 shall not discuss ; nor is the question at all material to our 
 present object. Certain it is that they^were regarded as reali- 
 ties at the time, and consequently were in effect, "fearful 
 sights and great signs from heaven" to the Jews, whatever 
 they may have been in reality. It required as much of the 
 spirit of prophecy to predict that the Jews should believe 
 such things to have occurred, as to predict any thing else 
 that did certainly occur. Whatever we may conclude, 
 therefore, concerning the singularly concurrent testimony 
 of the Jewish and Roman historians, the prophecy of the 
 Saviour was most impressively fulfilled. 
 
 Y. From the calamities of the nation and city, our Lord 
 continued his prophecy to those of his own followers : {; Be- 
 fore all these, they shall lay their hands on you and perse- 
 cute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and into 
 prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my 
 name's sake."* " They shall kill you; and ye shall be hated 
 of all nations for my name's sake."\ " / will give you a 
 mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be 
 able to gainsay nor resist."t For the proof of the accom- 
 plishment of all this, the Acts of the Apostles afford abundant 
 evidence. Remember how Saul made havoc of the church, 
 entering into every house; punishing the Christians in every 
 synagogue, and persecuting them even unto strange cities. 
 Peter and John were delivered to councils. Paul was brought 
 before kings. The former were also imprisoned. Paul and 
 Silas were not only imprisoned but beaten.^ There was 
 given them indeed a wisdom, which their adversaries were 
 not able to gainsay nor resist. The very discourses of 
 Peter that caused his persecution subdued thousands into 
 obedience to the faith of Christ. || The murderers of Stephen 
 
 * Luke, xxi. 12. t Mat. xxiv. 9. t Luke, xxi. 15. 
 
 Acts, viii. 3 xxvi. 10, 11. iv. 5. xviii. 12. xxiv. and T. iv. 3. 
 
 I Acts, ii. 41.
 
 LECTURE VIII. 225 
 
 .jil 
 
 were not able to resist the wisdom with which he spake* 
 The jailer that incarcerated Paul and Silas in the evening, 
 was their convert before the morning.t Felix trembled, and 
 Agrippa was almost persuaded to be a Christian, under the 
 speech of Paul. Stephen and James were put to death. 
 There is reason to believe that none of the original apostles 
 or evangelists, but John, died a natural death. Christians 
 were counted as the fifth of the world, being literally hated 
 for the very name they bore. About six years before the 
 destruction of Jerusalem, arose the tremendous persecution 
 under Nero, when it was enough that any one was called by 
 the name of Christian, to lead him to torture. Tacitus bears 
 witness, not only to their exquisite sufferings, but also to the 
 fact that they were held in universal hatred on account of 
 their religion and name.t 
 
 VI. " Then shall many be offended, and shall betray one 
 another, and hate one another ; and because iniquity shall 
 abound, the love of many shall wax co/c?." The apostle of the 
 Gentiles, in his epistles, complains of Demas, and Phygellus, 
 and Hermogenes, and many others in Asia, who turned away 
 from him ; and that when he first appeared at the bar of Nero, 
 no man stood with him, but all forsook him.ll And Tacitus 
 speaking of the persecution by Nero, says : "At first, those who 
 were seized confessed their sect ; and then, by their indica- 
 tion, a great multitude were convicted.^ 
 
 VII. Immediately after the prediction of the outward 
 persecutions and internal defections by which the servants 
 of Christ were to be troubled, there follows this remarkable 
 prophecy : " This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached 
 in all the world, for a witness unto all nations ; and then 
 shall the end come."** The end, referred to, was that of the 
 Jewish polity, which entirely ceased at the destruction of the 
 Jewish metropolis and temple. Jesus prophesied that before 
 
 * Acts, vi. 10. t Acts, xvi. 32 4. t Lardner, iii. 498. Tac. Ann. 15. c. 44. 
 Mat. xxiv. 1012. II 2 Tim. i. 15. vi. 10. iv. 16. IT Ann. b. xv. 
 * Mat. xxiv. 14. 
 
 19
 
 226 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 this, that is, in forty years from the time when he uttered 
 these words, the gospel would be preached in all the world 
 Of all that was then in futurity, what could have been more 
 improbable, or to human view, more impossible than this 1 
 The gospel was then received but by a handful of unlettered 
 Jews. In a few days after, its author was crucified as a 
 malefactor; his disciples were scattered and discouraged; 
 his enemies triumphant, and the gospel seemed at an end. 
 When the infant church was gathered together in Jerusalem, 
 immediately after the ascension of its Head, the number of 
 the disciples that could be collected, was but one hundred and 
 twenty. What, but the omniscience of God could have 
 foreseen, that in less than forty years that church would be 
 extended into all countries of the known world 1 But thus 
 it came to pass : " It appears from the writers of the history 
 of the church, that before the destruction of Jerusalem, the 
 gospel was not only preached in the Lesser Asia, and Greece, 
 and Italy, the great theatres of action then in the world, but 
 was likewise propagated as far northward as Scythia, as far 
 southward as Ethiopia, as far eastward as Parthia and India, 
 as far westward as Spain and Britain."* The epistles of 
 Paul, in the New Testament, were directed to churches 
 then flourishing in Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, 
 Colosse, and Thessalonica. In the Epistle to the Romans, 
 he asserts that the Christian faith was then (ten years before 
 the end) " spoken of throughout the world "t To the Colos- 
 sians, about three years after, he asserts that " the gospel had 
 (then) been preached to every creature under heaven" t 
 mea rung that to all nations, without distinction, it had beeu 
 published. Tacitus bears witness that, in the sixth year 
 before the destruction of Jerusalem (Nero's persecution), the 
 religion of Christ had not only extended over Judea, but 
 through Rome also; and that its followers were then so 
 numerous, that " a vast multitude" were apprehended and 
 condemned to martyrdom. Thus, impossible as such an 
 
 * Newton, ii. 257. 8. t Rom. L 18. t Col. i. 23. Tac. Ann. b. xv.
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 227 
 
 rrent must have seemed at the time when this prophecy was 
 ittered, the end did not come until the gospel of the kingdom 
 rf Christ was preached " in all the world? We know not 
 which should be considered the most impressive evidence that 
 God was with the gospel ; this wonderful fact, brought to 
 pass oy such means, and in the face of such universal and 
 deadly opposition ; or trie prophetic eye by which the Saviour 
 predicted, in circumstances so unpromising, that thus il 
 would be. 
 
 VIII. The next prophetic sign brings us almost to the 
 awful catastrophe. " When ye shall see Jerusalem com- 
 passed with armies ;" or, as the expression is in Matthew : 
 " When ye shall SKH the abomination of desolation stand in 
 the holy place" " then know that the desolation thereof is 
 nigh." " Then let them which be in Judea Jlee to the moun- 
 tains : let him that is on the house-top not come down to take 
 any thing out of his house : neither let him which is in the 
 field return back to take his clothes"* 
 
 By the abomination of desolation standing in the holy 
 place, Matthew expresses the same thing as when Luke 
 speaks of Jerusalem being compassed with armies. The 
 standards of the Roman armies had on them images to which 
 idolatrous worship was paid, and which were therefore an 
 abomination to the Jews. On this account, we read that a 
 Roman general, when conducting his army through Judea 
 towards Arabia, was besought by the principal Jews to lead 
 it another way.t "Every idol and every image," says 
 Chrysostom, " was called an abomination among the Jews." 
 These idolatrous ensigns being connected with a desolating 
 army, constituted them the abomination of desolation ; and 
 when the Roman army planted its standards around the holy 
 city, the abomination of desolation literally stood in the holy 
 place, or on holy ground. This the Saviour predicted. I'. 
 was to be the signal to Christians that the desolation of 
 Jerusalem was nigh. Then they were to escape with haste 
 
 * Luko xxi. 20. Mat. xxiv. 15 16, 17, 18. * Ant. b. 18, c. vi. 3.
 
 228 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 to the mountains. The warning implied that, even after the 
 city was encompassed with armies, they would have an oppor- 
 tunity of escape ; but, at the same time, that the opportunity 
 would be brief. All this came to pass. One would suppose 
 that the Christians, in having delayed till the city was sur- 
 rounded with a besieging host, would thus have waited till 
 all escape was cut off. But a rematkable providence took 
 care that they should await the sign, and yet obey the admo- 
 nition to flee. Cestius Gallus, the Roman general, at the 
 commencement of the war, besieged the city; took possession 
 of the suburbs ; encamped over against the royal palace ; and 
 might easily, Josephus says, have got within the walls, and 
 won the city. Indeed "many of the principal men were 
 about to open the gates to him." But although the abomina- 
 tion of desolation was thus in the holy place, the followers of 
 Christ were there also. The time of the end, therefore, was 
 not yet come. An opportunity must be found for them to 
 flee. The Lord sees to this. Just as the city was ready to 
 open its gates to the Roman chief, " he recalled his soldiers 
 from the place without having received any disgrace ; and 
 retired from the city, without any reason in the world? This 
 the Jewish historian expressly ascribes to a special interposi- 
 tion of Providence ; though he knew not its object. It could 
 be accounted for on no military or prudential considerations. 
 Josephus relates that many principal men of Jerusalem em- 
 braced this opportunity to depart from the city as from a 
 sinking ship.* A short time after, when the Roman armies 
 were again approaching with the abomination of desolation 
 towards the holy place, our historian states that a great 
 'multitude fled to the mountains^ Among these, were 
 probably the disciples of Christ. But we learn more certainly 
 from ecclesiastical historians, of the early centuries, that, at 
 this crisis, all the followers of Christ took -refuge in the 
 mountainous regions beyond Jordan ; thus obeying the pro- 
 phetic warning of their Lord; so that there is nowhere any 
 
 * Wr k. a. ~ 1. f lb. h. 4. c. viii. 5 2.
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 229 
 
 mention of a single Christian having perished in the siege 
 and destruction of Jerusalem.* But as the Saviour fore- 
 warned them : what they were to do, they had to do quickly. 
 For as soon as Jerusalem was again encompassed with 
 armies, it was surrounded entirely with a wall, so that, in the 
 words of the historian, " all hope of escaping IPOS now cut 
 off' from the Jews.^ 
 
 Who the enemy would be, and the power, and fury, and 
 universal spread of his desolations, the Saviour foretold, by 
 the use of this proverbial expression : " Wheresoever the 
 carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. ''''I 
 Prophecy often speaks a great deal in a few words. The 
 carcass was the Jewish nation given over, as thoroughly 
 corrupt and forsaken of God, to be devoured as by birds of 
 prey. An army is distinguished by its banners. They con- 
 stitute its characteristic insignia. The banners of the Roman 
 army were surmounted by eagles emblems of strength, of 
 swiftness, and ferocity. By these the Saviour described it as 
 that which would desolate Jerusalem. Literally, wherever 
 the carcass was, these eagles were gathered. Josephus testi- 
 fies that all parts of the land participated in the desolations 
 of Jerusalem. The legions of Rome, like flocks of birds of 
 prey, flew from city to city, spreading devastation and 
 slaughter wherever they planted their standards. With 
 eagle-swiftness, they descended upon the unprepared popula- 
 tion ; with eagle-strength, they triumphed over every oppo- 
 sition ; with eagle-fierceness, they devoured and tore in 
 pieces, sparing neither age nor sex, sending into hopeless 
 slavery the few to whom the sword denied its mercy. The 
 melancholy record of Jotapata relates that all its population 
 were slain but infants and women. , These were carried into 
 bondage. The rest, forty thousand, were slaughtered. Joppa 
 was demolished ; the neighbouring villages were destroyed ; 
 the whole region was laid waste. Of all the population of 
 
 * Lardner, iii. 507. Newton, ii. p. 266. t Wars, h 5, c. xii. 2, 3. 
 t Mat. xxiv. 28. Wars, b. 4, c. viii. 1. 
 
 19*
 
 230 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 Gamala, two women alone escaped. Here, not even infants 
 were spared the sword. Such was the extreme awfuhiess of 
 the slaughter, that many Jews in preference threw theii 
 children, their wives, and themselves, from the hill, on which 
 the citadel was built, into the deep abyss below. The num. 
 her that porished thus, was computed at five thousand. 
 These are but a few cases out of the many which illustrate 
 the perfect accomplishment of the prediction before us.* 
 
 IX. But our Lord foretold not only the enemy by whom 
 Jerusalem would be destroyed, but the means by which it 
 would be taken. " The days (said he) shall come upon 
 thee that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and 
 compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side.\ A 
 trench and a wall or embankment always go together in 
 military operations. Both were certainly intended here. 
 But it was exceedingly improbable that such a measure 
 would be resorted to in the siege of Jerusalem. The nature 
 of the ground, and the great extent of the city, rendered it 
 extremely difficult. It had never been attempted in the 
 previous sieges of the same place. It was not necessary, 
 because, had the Roman general been content to wait a little, 
 the famine and the contending factions within the city would 
 soon have delivered it into his possession. After all, it was 
 contrary to the advice of his chief men, and was adopted 
 only because a more protracted siege would have been less 
 
 * How minutely were the enemy and his desolations described by Moses 
 ns much as one thousand five hundred years before the war ! " The Lord 
 shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift 
 as the eagle flieth ; a nation whose tongue thou shall not understand ; a 
 nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor 
 shew favour to the young: and he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the 
 fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed : which also shall not leave thee 
 either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, 
 until he have destroyed thee. And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until 
 thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all 
 thy land ; and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land 
 which the Lord thy God hath given thee. Dent, xxviii. 49 52. 
 
 r Luke, xix. 43.
 
 LECTURE VIII. 231 
 
 glorious. The higher cause, however, was, that he was 
 God's instrument unwittingly, to fulfil the words of Christ. 
 Titus must confirm the prophetic character of Jesus. By 
 building a wall about Jerusalem, he was to build up the 
 defence of the gospel. The city was therefore literally com- 
 passed round, and its inhabitants were kept in on every side 
 by a wall and trench, put up by the troops of Titus, and 
 measuring about five miles in circumference. Josephus is 
 very particular in stating precisely the direction of the wall 
 in its whole circuit.* 
 
 X. "These be the days of vengeance" said the Lord; 
 "for then shall be great tribulation, such as was not from 
 the beginning of the world to this time, nor ever shall 6e."t 
 Days of vengeance, indeed, they were, when all that was 
 written and threatened in Moses and the prophets was ful- 
 filled. As if Josephus had written with the very words of 
 the Saviour in view, he bears record, that in his opinion, 
 " no other city ever suffered such miseries ; nor was there 
 ever a generation more fruitful in wickedness, from the 
 beginning of the world" " It appears to me, that the mis- 
 fortunes of all men from the beginning of the world, if they 
 be compared to these of the Jews, are not so considerable." 
 " For in reality it was God who condemned the whole nation, 
 and turned every course that was taken for their preservation 
 to their destruction." It is impossible to describe the truth 
 in this case. " The multitude of those who perished (says 
 our historian) exceeded all the destructions that man or 
 God ever brought on the world."! At the commencement 
 of the siege, immense multitudes having come up from all 
 parts of the country to the feast of the passover, the nation, 
 literally, was crowded into Jerusalem ; so that the city was 
 supposed to have in it upwards of two million, seven him 
 dred thousand souls. The miseries endured by this impri 
 
 * Wars, &c. b. 5, c. xii. 2. t Luke, xxi. 22. 
 
 t Wars, &c. b. 5, c. x. 5. Preface to Wars, 4. Wars, b. 6, c. Tiii 
 14. b p iC . ix. 4.
 
 232 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 soned multitude are minutely detailed in the history of the 
 siege. Famine commenced, and numbered its thousands of 
 unburied and loathsome victims. This destroyer raged ro 
 widely that the people devoured their shoes and girdles, the 
 soldiers the leather on their shields. Wisps of old straw 
 were turned into food. That which before they could not 
 endure to see, they now consented to eat. United to these 
 desolations were the remorseless cruelties of contending fac- 
 tions. The city was filled with robbers, who divided its 
 population into parties, more destructive than all the soldiery 
 of the besiegers. Filled with rage and instigated by hunger, 
 they alike refused to be at peace with each other, or to capitu- 
 late to the common enemy. They robbed the temple ; slew 
 the priests at the altar ; defiled the sanctuary with a sea ot 
 blood. To keep each other from food, they fired storehouses 
 containing provisions for a siege of many years. Whenever 
 any com appeared, bands of robbers instantly seized it. 
 They searched every house in which they suspected there 
 was food. Parents snatched it from their children ; chil- 
 dren spoiled it from the mouths of their parents. There 
 was a lady of high birth and much wealth, who had come 
 from the country, and was kept in Jerusalem by the siege. 
 All her effects, and all the food she had saved for herself 
 and children, had been taken by the prowling bands that 
 continually ranged the streets for prey. By imprecations 
 and reproaches, she endeavoured in vain to provoke them 
 to take her life as well as bread. At last she prepared a 
 feast. Keen hunger found out a lamb. A mother's despera- 
 tion slew and served it. Having consumed a part, the rest 
 was concealed. The smell of food soon brought in the 
 wolves. They threatened instant death unless she disco- 
 vered it. With bitter irony she assured them that a fine 
 portion had been saved for them, and then uncovered what 
 remained of the lamb. It was the half-eaten body of her 
 infant son. Struck motionless with horror, they would not 
 partake of it. Then she upbraided them as pretending to
 
 LECTURE VIII. 233 
 
 more tenderness than a woman, and more compassion than 
 a mother. All the city, and the whole Roman camp, were 
 filled with astonishment at this horrid evidence of the reign- 
 ing wretchedness ; so that the dead were envied for having 
 escaped the sight of such miseries.* But the wo went on. 
 The prisoners taken in endeavouring to desert the city were 
 nailed on crosses by the Roman soldiers, " some one way, 
 some another, as it were in jest," around the outside of the 
 walls, " till so great was the number, that room was wanting 
 for crosses, and crosses were wanting for bodies."! Thus 
 had the Jews, forty years before, crucified the Lord of glory 
 without the walls, with cruel jesting and bitter mockery.! 
 Those who continued within the city took refuge in caverns, 
 aqueducts, sewers, and other secret places, to escape from one 
 another. Titus, as he beheld the dead bodies that had been 
 thrown from the walls into the valleys, "lifted up his hands 
 to heaven, and called God to witness that this was not his 
 doing." The number of those who perished during these 
 " days of vengeance," is computed by Josephus at upwards 
 of one million, three hundred thousand ; and of these, one 
 million, one hundred and fifty thousand were of Jerusalem, 
 beside ninety-seven thousand carried into slavery, and an 
 innumerable multitude who perished uncounted in various 
 places, through famine, banishment, and other miseries.il 
 Add to this destruction of life, the complete ruin of their 
 holy city and magnificent temple, dearer to the Jews than 
 
 * How exactly did Moses, at least fifteen hundred years before, depict this 
 very scene ! He described even the rank, quality, and habits of the unhappy 
 woman. " The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not 
 adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and ten- 
 derness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward 
 her son, and toward her daughter, and toward her young one that cometh out 
 from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear : for she 
 shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness where- 
 with thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates." Deut. xxviii. 56, 57. 
 
 t Wars, &c. b. 6, c. iii. 4. b. 5, c. xi. 1. 
 
 t " His blood be on us and on our children." 
 
 f B. 5. c. xii. 4. II Lardner, iii 529.
 
 234 LECTURE VI 11. 
 
 life; add moreover the universal desolation and almost 
 depopulation of Judea ; and you will find no difficulty in 
 interpreting the Saviour's prediction of " a tribulation such 
 as was not from the beginning of the world." It was when 
 our compassionate Redeemer had all this in full prospect 
 that " he beheld the city" from the mount of Olives, " and 
 wept over it, saying, if thou hadst known, even thou, in this 
 thy day, the things that make for thy peace, but now they 
 are hid from thine eyes."* How did the anticipation of all 
 this misery affect him, when, as he was going to his cross. 
 he turned to the women who wept and wailed because of 
 him, and said : " Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, 
 but weep for yourselves and your children ; for behold the 
 days are coming, in the which they will say, Blessed are the 
 barren and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which 
 never gave suck. Then shall they begin to say to the moun- 
 tains, fall on us, and to the hills, cover us !"t Who can help 
 reflecting here upon that solemn question, " What shall the 
 end be of them that obey not the gospel of God ?" 
 
 XI. We come now to the work of destruction, which 
 forms the most ' remarkable particular in this wonderful 
 prophecy. The ruin of the city was foretold in these words : 
 "They shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children 
 within thee : and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon 
 another that shall not be thrown down"l The ruin of the 
 temple was foretold as follows. As the disciples were show- 
 ing to Jesus the stupendous buildings of the temple, he 
 answered : " Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left 
 here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down?h 
 Most wonderfully was the spirit of prophecy manifested in 
 these words. Every thing conspired to make the events 
 appear improbable, and to prevent their occurrence, when 
 the time predicted had arrived. Jerusalem was surrounded 
 with three massive walls of immense strength, rendering its 
 
 * Lukfi, xix. 42. t Luke, xxiii. 28, 29, 30. t Luke, xix. 44. 
 
 S Matthew, xxiv. 2.
 
 LECTURE VIII. 235 
 
 garrison almost, unassailable, except by famine, or pestilence, 
 or internal discord.* Never were men more perfectly de- 
 voted to the defence of a city than those of Jerusalem. None 
 cared for life at the expense of her ruin. The garrison was 
 ten times the number of the besiegers. It was, therefore, 
 exceedingly improbable that the city would even be entered 
 by the Romans. Such was the testimony of Titus, as he 
 looked around upon its towers. " We have certainly," said 
 he, " had God for our helper in this war. It is God who has 
 ejected the Jews out of these fortifications. For what could 
 the hands of men, or any machines, do towards throwing 
 down such fortifications.''! But it was equally improbable, 
 even if the city were taken, that such complete destruction 
 would be made of all therein. Think of the difficulty of 
 completely destroying such an immense extent of triple wall, 
 and of buildings within. Think of the temple ! What a 
 pile to be laid low ! Its walls enclosed more than nineteen 
 acres ; that of the eastern front rose to a height of nearly 
 eight hundred feet from its base in the valley beneath. In 
 this, and the other walls, the stones were immense, the largest 
 measuring sixty-five feet in length, eight in height, and ten 
 in breadth. How great the difficulty of a thorough level- 
 ling of such a structure, even under the instigation of the 
 strongest motive ! But what motive was likely to excite the 
 Romans to such destruction ? They prided themselves upon 
 a veneration for the arts, and upon the sacred care with 
 which, in all their conquests, the monuments of architectural 
 taste were protected. The temple was emphatically such a 
 monument. The immensity of its walls ; its splendid gates 
 and beautiful marble colonnades ; the glory of its golden 
 sanctuary; the . grandeur of its whole appearance; and all 
 
 * Gibbon, speaking of the strength of Jerusalem at this time, says: " The 
 craggy ground might supersede the necessity of fortifications, and her walls 
 and towers would have fortified trie most accessible plain." 
 
 Decline and Fall, vol. viii. c Iviii. p. 144. 
 
 t Wars, b. 6, c. ix. 1.
 
 236 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 its associations of antiquity and of sacredness, constituted 
 the temple of Jerusalem precisely such an object as Roman 
 commanders had always gloried in preserving from the deso- 
 lations of conquest. Even barbarians were used to spare 
 such monuments in their march of devastation. Genseric, 
 when, with his Moors and Vandals, he had sacked the city 
 of Rome, spoiled her wealth and carried away the ornaments 
 of her temples and capitol, but spared her noble structures ;* 
 and to this day, after all the scenes of war that have raged 
 through her streets, the pillar of Trajan, the triumphal arch 
 of Titus, the unmutilated Pantheon, and the noble Colis- 
 seum, with numerous other monuments of art, attest the 
 ancient glory of the mistress of the world. How often have 
 hostile armies filled the streets of Athens, and hordes of 
 Gothic barbarians encamped amidst her sanctuaries ; and 
 yet the beautiful temple of Theseus is scarcely injured, as 
 a model of architecture, and the Parthenon, though defaced 
 and robbed, remains, a noble example still of the grandeur 
 and purity of Athenian taste in the age of Phidias and Peri- 
 cles. How improbable then must it have seemed to one 
 beholding the temple in the days of our Lord, that Romans 
 should lay it even with the ground. Much more improbable, 
 had the cultivated taste, and the mild, amiable, and humane 
 disposition of Titus, their commander, been anticipated. 
 Still more improbable, when it is remembered how strongly 
 tie was bent upon saving the city and temple from destruc- 
 tion ; how he employed all the means in his power to induce 
 the Jews to surrender, before such extremities were neces- 
 sary .t When he had reached the temple, and saw the danger 
 it was in of being sacrificed to the obstinacy of its defenders 
 and the rage of his own soldiers, he was " deeply affected," 
 and appealed to the gods, to his army, and to the Jews, that 
 ne did not force them to defile the holy house. "If (said he) 
 you will change the place whereon you will fight, no Roman 
 
 * Gibbon, v. 5. 
 
 t Wars, &c., b. 5, c. viii. 1. c. ix. 2. c. xi. 5 2. b. 6, c. ii. 1.
 
 LECTURE VIII. 237 
 
 shall either come near your sanctuary, or offer any affront 
 to it; nay, I will endeavour to preserve your holy house 
 whether you will or not."* But the Lord of that temple had 
 said : " Behold your house is left unto you desolate." God 
 would not suffer the prophetic words of his son to return 
 unto him void. Now, therefore, even the authority of Titus 
 was of no avail with his troops. Now the discipline of the 
 Roman legion was broken up that all that was written might 
 be fulfilled. When the fire first reached the temple, their 
 commander despatched a force to extinguish it. As it broke 
 out again, he again used his authority to save the edifice. 
 A soldier, disobeying the will of his general, threw fire into 
 the golden window of the inner sanctuary. At this, Titus, 
 followed by all his chief officers, rushed to the place, and 
 by voice, and gesture, and force, exerted himself most ear- 
 nestly to prevail with his troops to spare the building. He 
 ordered a centurion to punish the disobedient. But neither 
 his threatenings nor persuasions could arrest their fury. At 
 last, a soldier taking advantage of his absence, when he had 
 gone out of the sanctuary to restrain the others, " threw fire 
 upon the holy gate in the dark ; whereby the flame burst out 
 from within the holy house immediately ."t And thus was 
 it devoured by the fire. And now orders were given to 
 demolish to the foundation the whole city and temple. 
 Nothing was spared of the former but three towers, and so 
 much of the wall as was required for a shelter to the garrison 
 to be stationed there. " As for all the rest of the whole cir- 
 cumference of the city, it was so thoroughly laid even with 
 the ground, by those who dug it up to the foundation, that 
 there was nothing left to make those who came thither be- 
 lieve it had ever been inhabited.''! In quest of plunder, the 
 soldiers literally turned up the ground on which the city and 
 temple had stood, searching the sewers and aqueducts. Last 
 of all, it is related by the Jewish Talmud and Maimonides, that 
 
 Wars, b. 6, c. ii. 4. t Wars, b. 6, c. iv. 2, 3, 4, 5, &c. 
 t Wars, b. 7, c. i. 1. 
 
 20
 
 '^38 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 a captain of the army of Titus (Terentius Rufus), " did with 
 a ploughshare tear up the foundations of the temple."* 
 " A ploughshare," says Gibbon, " was drawn over the conse- 
 crated ground, as a sign of perpetual interdiction." Thus 
 literally fulfilling that prophecy of Micah : " Therefore shall 
 Zion, for your sakes, be ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem 
 become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high 
 places of the forest."t How forcibly is the perfect fulfilment 
 of the Saviour's prediction illustrated in the speech of Elea- 
 zer to a remnant of Jews in the city of Masada : " Where 
 is now that great city, fortified by so many walls, and for- 
 tresses, and towers ; which could hardly contain the instru- 
 ments prepared for the war, and had so many ten thousands 
 of men to defend it 1 Demolished to the very foundations ; 
 and hath nothing left but the camp of the destroyers among 
 its ruins ; some unfortunate old men also lie upon the ashes 
 of the temple, and a few women are there preserved alive, 
 by the enemy, for our bitter shame and reproach."? 
 
 XII. But the prophecy of our Lord did not end with the 
 destruction of the city and of the civil and ecclesiastical polity 
 of the Jews. His omniscient eye followed the unhappy race 
 in their subsequent dispersions and afflictions. " They shall 
 fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive 
 into all nations"^ How many fell by the edge of the SAvord, 
 in fulfilment of these words, I need not state. Blood flowed 
 through the streets of Jerusalem like a river. But many who 
 escaped the sword were led away captive into various parts 
 of the earth. Before the city was taken, it is related that an 
 " immense number" of deserters, having fallen into the hands 
 of the besiegers, were sold "with their wives and chil- 
 dren." II Besides ninety-seven thousand, who went into slavery 
 from Jerusalem alone, there were sent from Tarichea to Nero, 
 six thousand choice young men, while thirty thousand, from 
 the same place, were sold. Similar convoys of slaves were 
 
 * Whitby on Mat. xxiv. 2. t Mich. iii. 12. t Wars, b. 7, c. viii. I 7. 
 Luke, xxi. 24. II Wars, b. 6, c. viii. 2.
 
 LECTURE VIII. 239 
 
 marched from many other desolated towns. Of the captives 
 from Jerusalem, the tall and handsome were carried to Rome 
 to grace the triumphal entry of Titus. Of the remainder, 
 many were sent as slaves to the public works in Egypt ; but 
 the greater number were distributed through the Roman 
 provinces, literally " into all nations? to be slain by gladia- 
 tors, or exposed to wild beasts in the shows of the amphithea- 
 tre. From that time to the present, the history of all the 
 nations of Europe, Asia, and Africa, is filled with testimonies 
 to the prophetic spirit of him, who, when Jerusalem was in 
 peace and strength, predicted the approaching and yet existing 
 calamities of her sons. In what country of the world, as 
 then known, have they not been persecuted and enslaved ? 
 
 But in addition to the captivity of the people, " Jerusalem 
 (saith the Lord) shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until 
 the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." It is well ascertained, 
 by corresponding passages of the Bible, that by this expres- 
 sion, the times of the Gentiles being fulfilled, was intended 
 the universal ingathering of the nations to the faith of Christ. 
 This has not yet arrived. Jerusalem is therefore still trodden 
 down of the Gentiles, just as she has been, ever since the 
 ploughshare of the Roman desolation was first driven owr 
 the ruins of her temple. The hand of Providence, in the 
 uninterrupted fulfilment of this prediction down to the present 
 time, is wonderfully manifest. Two things are specially to 
 be noted in the prophecy : First, that the Jews were never to 
 be re-established in Jerusalem ; and secondly, that it was not 
 only to be in possession of, but to be " trodden down of the 
 Gentiles" until the times of the Gentiles should be fulfilled. 
 That the Jews have never been re-established in Jerusalem 
 since its destruction, has not been owing to any want of 
 desperate effort on their part ; nor because the power of tho 
 Gentiles . has not been vigorously employed in their behalf. 
 In about sixty-four years after their almost total expulsion 
 from Judea, under the conquest of Titus; Jerusalem was 
 partially rebuilt by the emperor Adrian. A Roman colony
 
 LKCTL'RE VIII. 
 
 was settled there, and all Jews were forbidden, on pain of 
 death, to enter therein, or even to look at the city from a 
 distance. Soon after this, the Jews revolted with great fury, 
 and made a powerful effort to recover their city from the 
 heathen. They were not subdued again without great loss 
 to the Romans, and immense slaughter among themselves. 
 
 In the reign of Constantino the Great, their effort was re- 
 peated, and terminated as before, in perfect defeat, with in- 
 creased massacre and oppression. But in the person of the 
 nephew of Constantine, their zeal for the rebuilding of their 
 temple was associated with the determination of the emperor 
 Julian to overthrow Christianity ; and between the power of 
 a Roman sovereign with a victorious army at his feet, and 
 the exulting enthusiasm of the whole remnant of the Jewish 
 people, a union was formed for the single object of rearing 
 up the temple with its ancient ritual, and of planting around 
 it a numerous colony of Jews, which, to all human judgment, 
 bore the assurance of complete success. The grand object 
 of Julian was to convert " the success of his undertaking into 
 a specious argument against the faith of prophecy, and the 
 truth of revelation."* A decree was issued to his friend 
 Alypins, that the temple of Jerusalem should be restored in 
 its pristine beauty. To the energies of Alypius, was joined 
 the support of the governor of Palestine. At the call of the 
 emperor, the Jews from all the provinces of the empire assem- 
 bled in triumphant exultation on the hills of Zion. Their 
 wealth, strength, time, even their most delicate females, were 
 devoted with the utmost enthusiasm to the preparation of the 
 ground, covered then with rubbish and ruins. But was the 
 temple rebuilt ? The foundations were not entirely laid ! 
 Why? Was force deficient? or zeal, or wealth, or perse- 
 verance, when Roman power and Jewish desperation were 
 associated ? Nothing was lacking. " Yet (says Gibbon) the 
 joint efforts of power and enthusiasm were unsuccessful, and 
 *he ground of the Jewish temple still continued to exhibit the 
 
 * Gibbon.
 
 LECTURE VIII. 241 
 
 same edifying spectacle of ruin and desolation." There was 
 an unseen hand, which neither Jews nor emperors could 
 overcome. The simple account of the defeat of this threat- 
 ening enterprise of infidelity is thus given by a heathen 
 historian of the day, a soldier in the service, and a philoso- 
 pher in the principles of Julian. " Whilst Alypius, assisted 
 by the governor of the province, urged with vigour and dili- 
 gence the execution of the work, horrible balls of fire break- 
 ing out near the foundation, with frequent and reiterated 
 attacks, rendered the place, from time to time, inaccessible to 
 the scorched and blasted workmen ; and the victorious ele 
 ment continuing in this manner obstinately and resolutely 
 bent, as it were, to drive them to a distance, the undertaking 
 was abandoned."* " Such authority should satisfy a believ- 
 ing, and must astonish an incredulous mind" acknowledges 
 even the sceptical Gibbon. He cannot but own that " an 
 earthquake, a whirlwind, and a fiery eruption, which over- 
 turned and scattered the new foundations of the temple, are 
 attested, with some variations, by contemporary and respecta- 
 ble evidence." One writer, who published an account of 
 this wonderful catastrophe, in the very year of its occurrence, 
 boldly declared, says Gibbon, that its preternatural character 
 was not disputed, even by the infidels of the day.\ Another 
 speaks of it thus : " We ar 3 witnesses of it ; for it happened 
 in our time, not long ago. And now, if you should go to 
 Jerusalem, you may see the foundations open ; and if you 
 inquire the reason, you will hear no other than that just 
 mentioned."* 
 
 Whether this attempt of Julian was defeated by miraculous 
 interposition, is a question which our present object does not 
 require us to argue. Two things are certain. First : That 
 the power and wealth of the Gentiles were united with the 
 
 * Ammianus Marcellinus. t Gibbon's Dec. and Fall, vol. iii. chap, xxiii. 
 t Chrysostom. See Lardner, iv. 324. 
 
 See the miraculous character of tnis event very ably advocated "m Bishop 
 Warburton's Julian.
 
 242 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 devoted enthusiasm of the Jews, to defeat the prophecy of 
 Christ, by rebuilding the temple, and by re-establishing its 
 ritual, and by reorganizing a Jewish population as possessors 
 of Jerusalem. Secondly : That contrary to all expectation, 
 when nothing was lacking for the work, and none in the 
 world lifted a finger against it, it was suddenly abandoned, 
 on account of sundry alarming and singular phenomena 
 bursting from the original site of the temple, by which even 
 the fanaticism of the Jews was deterred, and the enmity of 
 Julian to the gospel, defeated. These undeniable facts are 
 sufficient to show, with impressive evidence, the hand of God, 
 protecting the prophetic character of our Lord. When, in 
 connexion with these, you consider the great anxiety so 
 universally felt among the Jews of all centuries, to enjoy the 
 privilege of living and dying in Jerusalem ; that no risk of 
 life, or sacrifice of property, would be thought too great for 
 the purpose of once more setting up the gates and altars of 
 the holy city ; that the nation is now as numerous as at any 
 period of its ancient glory ; and yet that during almost the 
 whole period since the destruction of Jerusalem, so entirely 
 have Jews been prevented from living on her foundations, 
 that they have had to purchase, dearly, the permission to 
 come within sight of her nills ; and to this day are taxed 
 and oppressed to the dust / as the cost of being allowed to walk 
 her streets, and look, at a distance, upon her mount Moriah ; 
 you will acknowledge that th prediction of our Saviour, in 
 reference to their exclusion from Jerusalem, has been not 
 only most strikingly fulfilled, but fulfilled in spite of the most 
 powerful causes and efforts for its defeat. 
 
 But it was predicted that Jerusalem should not only be pos- 
 sessed by the Gentiles, but "trodden down" by them, till their 
 times should be fulfilled. What the soldiers of Titus did, 
 has already been stated. From that time, during sixty-four 
 years, a Roman garrison alone inhabited the ruins. At the 
 end of these years, the city was rebuilt by the emperor Adrian, 
 under the name of (Elia; a Roman colony was planted
 
 LECTURE VIII. 243 
 
 there ; all Jews were banished on pain of death ; every 
 measure was used to destroy sacred recollections, and dese- 
 crate what were esteemed as holy places. The city was 
 consecrated to Jupiter Capitolinus ; a temple was erected to 
 the pagan god, over the sepulchre of Jesus, a statue of Venus 
 was set up on mount Calvary ; and the figure of a swine, 
 placed in marble on the gate that looked towards Bethlehem. 
 Jerusalem continued in possession of the Roman emperors 
 till subdued in the year 637 A. D. by the Saracens. The 
 king of Persia had, in the mean while, besieged and plundered 
 it, but his dominion was too short-lived to claim an excep- 
 tion from this statement.* In the hands of Mohamme- 
 dans, sometimes of Arabian, sometimes of Turkish, and 
 sometimes of Egyptian origin, it continued to be literally 
 trampled down and desecrated, during a period of more than 
 four hundred years ; when having been taken by the crusa- 
 ders, its government was assumed by one of their leaders, 
 and Christians alone were allowed to dwell therein. Only 
 about eighty-eight years elapsed, however, before the cres- 
 cent of Mohammed was again planted upon the hill of Zion ; 
 where to this day, it has remained, with a single trifling 
 exception, undisturbed either by Jew or Christian. During 
 the seven centuries of this uninterrupted dominion of Ma- 
 hommedanism, Jerusalem has been captured and recaptured, 
 again and again by the various contending families and fac- 
 tions of the followers of the Arabian prophet. The desola- 
 tions of war ; the marches of contending hosts, have indeed 
 "trodden down" her melancholy hills. In the sixteenth 
 century, when Selim, the ninth emperor of the Turks, visited 
 the city, it lay, just as it had been seen by the famous Tamer- 
 lane more than one hundred years before, "miserably deform- 
 ed and ruined," inhabited only by a few Christians, who 
 paid a large tribute to the sultan of Egypt for the possession 
 of the holy sepulchre."! Its condition still, is thus stated by J 
 
 * Gibbon's Decline and Fall, vol. vi. p. 206, c. xlvi. 
 t Newton on Prophecy, ii. 319 334.
 
 244 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 a recent traveller : " At every step, coming out of the city, 
 the heart is reminded of that prophecy, accomplished to the 
 letter: l Jerusalem shall be trodden dmcn of tlie Gentiles. 1 
 All the streets are wretchedness ; and the houses of the 
 Jews more especially (the people who once held a sceptre on 
 this mountain of holiness) are as dunghills." " No expres- 
 sion could have been invented more descriptive of the visible 
 state of Jerusalem, than this single phrase, ' trodden down? w 
 " Not a creature is to be seen in the streets," says another 
 traveller, " not a creature at the gates, except, now and then, 
 a peasant gliding through the gloom, concealing under his 
 garments the fruits of his labour, lest he should be robbed of 
 his hard earnings by the rapacious soldier. The only noise 
 heard from time to time, in the city, is the galloping of the 
 steed of the desert."t " The Jerusalem of sacred history is, 
 in fact, no more. Not a vestige remains of the capital of 
 David and Solomon ; not a monument of Jewish times is 
 standing. The very course of the walls is changed, and the 
 boundaries of the ancient city are become doubtful."! 
 
 Thus, during a period of seventeen hundred and sixty 
 years, have the captivities, and dispersions, and oppressions 
 if the Jewish people, together with the desolate condition of 
 their city and temple, most signally attested the prophetic 
 character of our Lord. And shall we not hence be confident 
 that what remains of his prediction will be accomplished? 
 Will not the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled 7 Will not 
 Jerusalem continue, until then, to be trodden down of the 
 Gentiles ? And then, will it not cease to be subject to them ? 
 And does not the expression of the prophecy imply that it 
 will be again rebuilt and possessed by the Jews in the day 
 when "all Israel shall be saved?" "For what reason can 
 we believe that, though they are dispersed among all nations, 
 yet by a constant miracle, they are kept distinct from all, but 
 for the further manifestation of God's purposes towards 
 
 * Jowett's Researches, p. 200. t Chateaubriand, 
 
 t Modem Traveller, Palestine, 75.
 
 LECTURE VIII. 245 
 
 them ? The prophecies have been accomplished to the greatest 
 exactness, in the destruction of their city, and its continuing 
 still subject to strangers ; in the dispersion of their people, 
 and their living still separate from all people; and why 
 should not the remaining parts of the same prophecies be as 
 fully accomplished in their restoration, at the proper season, 
 when the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled ?"* 
 
 We have now exhibited the exact fulfilment of all the par- 
 ticulars of this remarkable prophecy, with one exception. 
 The Lord specified the time of those great events which he 
 so minutely foretold. " This generation shall not pass away 
 till all these things be fulfilled." Forty years had not 
 elapsed from the date of this prediction, before all things 
 referred to in it had taken place. 
 
 And now let me add but a few words in conclusion. 
 
 No charge can be brought against the prophecy which we 
 have been exhibiting, on the score of obscurity or ambigu - 
 ousness of expression. It is expressed in the plainest terms, 
 and admits of but one interpretation. Nothing can be said 
 in detraction from its claim to inspiration, on the ground of its 
 being general in its expression. It is singularly particular, 
 as well as comprehensive. Nothing can be said in denial 
 of the complete correspondence between these various pre- 
 dictions arid the history of the times and places to which 
 they refer. We have drawn the evidence from sources which 
 cannot be suspected of any partiality to the prophetic cha- 
 racter of Jesus. The History of the Wars of the Jews by 
 Josephus, the Jewish priest ; the Annals by Tacitus, a Roman 
 consul ; and the History of the Decline and Fall of the 
 Roman Empire by Gibbon, the English sceptic, are all the 
 vouchers we require. What, then, is the alternative to 
 which the student of prophecy is reduced? He must either 
 acknowledge that Jesus was possessed of the spirit of genuine 
 prophecy; or that he was so sagacious as to be able to fore 
 tell all these particulars, when no one else could see any sign 
 
 * Newton, ii. 336.
 
 246 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 of them ; or thai the Gospels containing these predictions 
 were written after the events. The first the sceptic is re- 
 solved at all hazards to deny ; the second he cannot suppose ; 
 the last he must assert or give up his cause. For the same 
 reason, therefore, that the heathen Porphyry, when he could 
 not deny the strict correspondence between the prophecies of 
 Daniel and the subsequent history of Egypt and Syria, rather 
 than confess that Daniel was a prophet, contradicted every 
 principle of historical testimony for the sake of pretending 
 that he must have written after the occurrence of what he 
 foretold. So have some modern Porphyries been driven to 
 assert that the Evangelists who relate this prophecy of Jeru- 
 salem must have written after the city was destroyed.* I 
 need not say that, the only reason pretended to in support of 
 this assertion is the very thing we have been labouring to 
 show, the strict agreement between the propJiecy and the 
 event. Their argument is neither more nor less than the fol- 
 lowing : If these words were written before the destruction 
 of Jerusalem, Jesus was a genuine prophet. But we will not 
 believe him to have been a genuine prophet. Therefore 
 these words were not written before the destruction of Jeru- 
 salem. A conclusion as shameless as it is senseless ; as oppo- 
 site to the faith of all history as to the rules of all sound 
 criticism, and the opinion of the learned of all ages. It 
 shows the strength of the argument from prophecy, as well 
 as the infatuated obstinacy with which the human heart is 
 capable of resisting whatever would bind it to the obedience 
 of Christ. 
 
 But let us not forget that the destruction of Jerusalem, 
 with its signs and tribulations, is set in the scriptures as a 
 type of an unspeakably more awful and momentous event 
 THE END OP THE WORLD. A day cometh when " the sun 
 shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and 
 the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the hea- 
 vens shall be shaken : And then shall appear the sign of the 
 
 * Voltaire. Watsnn's An. fiw iSiUA. Ifif).
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 son of man in heaven : and then shall all the tribes of the 
 earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the 
 clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall 
 send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they 
 shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one 
 end of heaven to the other."* When that day shall arise 
 on the world, knoweth no man. One thing we know, that 
 it will find us just as death shall find us. Death, to each of 
 us, will be virtually the coming of the Son of man. Then 
 our eternal state will be sealed. Therefore doth wisdom 
 utter her voice : O ye sons of men, prepare to meet your 
 God ! for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man 
 cometh. Watch ! walk as children of light. Embrace the 
 promises of the gospel, and live by faith in Christ Jesus the 
 Lord ! " Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when he 
 cometh, shall find so doing." 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 The following remarks on the subject of chance, in connexion with prophecy, 
 though in a measure anticipated in the quotation from Dr. Gregory, at the end 
 of the last lecture, are too valuable to be omitted, and constitute a most appro- 
 priate supplement to all that has been said on this most interesting branch of 
 the evidences of Christianity. They have been kindly prepared, at the request 
 of the author, by a friend and parishioner, who finds no incompatibility be- 
 tween a supreme devotion of himself to the faith and service of Christ, and 
 an eminent proficiency in mathematical and other human sciences. . 
 
 " The argument from the fulfilment of prophecy, which appears so strong 
 and conclusive in its affirmative aspect, is no less so when the negative mode 
 of reasoning is adopted. We may waive, for example, the idea of a divine 
 intelligence operating in the annunciation and fulfilment of prophecy, and 
 attempt to account for the facts mentioned in some other way. But upon 
 what other principle can we account for them! The prophetic scheme is evi- 
 dently too vast and multifarious for human agency ; and this excluded, there 
 remains only the hypothesis of chance- the negation of all intelligence, human 
 and divine. The law of events, under this supposition, is the same as that by 
 which probabilities are calculated in some of the pursuits and occupations of 
 life ; and an argument on this point, therefore, resolves itself into a mere 
 application of the theory of probabilities to the subjects of prophecy. If it 
 result from such application that the fulfilment was an event to be calculated 
 upon with some degree of reasonableness, independently of any intelligent 
 
 * Mat. xxiv. 29, 30, 31
 
 248 LECTURE Vlll. 
 
 supervision, then are we at liberty to adopt the philosophy of chance; bui 
 otherwise we are bound to reject it. 
 
 " The laws of chance, applicable to the case, may be briefly stated as follows: 
 When circumstances seem to determine an event equally, in two different 
 ways, the chances are said to be equal; and the expectation of either result is 
 expressed, with evident truth, by the fraction 1-2. But when the determining 
 circumstances are unequally divided, so that any proportion, more or less than 
 half of the whole number, operates in favour of a particular result, the chance 
 of that result is expressed by the corresponding fraction. If a ball, for exam- 
 ple, is to be drawn from a bag containing equal numbers of white and black, 
 the probability of a white one being drawn is expressed numerically by 1-2 ; 
 but if there be only one fifth of the whole number white, the ratio of expecta- 
 tion will be 1-5, and so for any other proportion: and this is the general law 
 of simple probability. 
 
 " The probability of a joint occurrence, when two independent events are 
 expected, is determined by the product of their simple ratios ; for there must 
 evidently be, in this case, a whole range of possible results, a$ regards one 
 event, corresponding to each possible result of the other ; and by a parity of 
 reasoning, the same truth is made evident for any number of events jointly 
 considered. If balls, for example, are to be drawn concurrently from two or 
 more bags, containing different proportions of black and white, the probability 
 of the whole result being while will be found in the compound ratio of all those 
 proportions: thus, if one contains 1-2 white, another l-5th, another l-8th, and 
 another l-10th, there will be one chance in 800 that, in drawing one ball from 
 each, the whole four will be white ; and this is the general law of compound 
 probability. 
 
 " With these premises let us open the book of prophecy, and select an ex- 
 ample from among the various remarkable events there predicted. We choose 
 one of so extraordinary a character as to place it among the most improbable 
 event* (humanly speaking) of any age or nation; but to be quite sure that 
 we do not over-estimate it, we suppose it to have an equal chance of general 
 fulfilment; expressed, as we have said, by the fraction 1-2. This does not, 
 however, include the particularities of time and place, both of which are com- 
 prehended in the terms of the prediction. With regard to time, we observe, 
 that as there is no natural circumstance to determine the event spoken of to 
 one age or period more than another, the probability of exact fulfilment in this 
 respect must be inversely as the whole number of ages in which it might have 
 taken place. This, if we allow forty years for the average duration of an 
 age, is about sixty ; and the fraction l-60th, therefore, expresses the contingency 
 of time in the case supposed. With regard to place, the probability of exact 
 fulfilment is evidently determined by the relation of the locality named to the 
 wnoie world. This, in the case referred to, is not greater than that of one to 
 100,000; and the fraction 1-100,000, therefore, is the numerical factor for this 
 element of probability. Combining these three ratios, we obtain an aggre- 
 gate of no less than twelve millions of chances against the fulfilment of Hit
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 219 
 
 assumed event at the time and place designated ; and this event is the personal 
 appearance of Jesus Christ upon earth as the Saviour of the world. 
 
 " Remarkably associated with this appearance in many ancient predictions, 
 was the continuance of the Jewish dominion, and of the temple at Jerusalem ; 
 the joint contingency of which, according to the principles explained, cannot 
 be rated at less than l-340th. A multitude of predictions are found, also, in 
 various parts of scripture, relative to extraordinary particulars in the life, 
 character, and death, of our Saviour, as well as with reference to the political 
 and social aspect of the times in which he appeared. Many of them are so 
 nearly miraculous in their nature, or so minute and circumstantial in their 
 details, as almost to preclude the idea of chance in any sense. And we are 
 very sure, therefore, that we do not assume too much in assigning to twenty 
 of them an average equal chance of non-occurrence. Proceeding upon this 
 ground, we find the probability of their joint occurrence opposed by a disparity 
 of more than a million of chances to one ; and it results from the combination 
 of all the ratios thus found, that the advent of our Saviour, in all its characte- 
 ristic circumstances and relations, could not have been calculated upon as a 
 matter of fortuitous occurrence, with more than one in four thousand millions 
 of millions of chances. The term probability can scarcely be applied with 
 propriety to a case so very remote; but the argument does not stop here. 
 
 " Our Saviour, at a time when all the calculations of human forethought 
 were diametrically opposed to him, predicted the general dissemination of his 
 gospel, and the consummation of prophecy with regard to the destruction of 
 Jerusalem, in the short space of a single generation: and so it turned out. By 
 the laws of probability, neither event had, at the utmost, more than one 
 chance in ninety of occurring at that particular time ; and there was, there- 
 fore, only one in 8,100 of their joint occurrence. 
 
 " The predictions relative to the siege of Jerusalem, tne subjugation of 
 Judea, and the dispersion and subsequent condition of the Jews, present many 
 particulars equally remarkable in character and fulfilment We select twenty 
 four, which have severally a degree of probability not greater than 1-2, and 
 the result is an aggregate of nearly seventeen millions of chances opposed to 
 their joint occurrence. 
 
 " The predictions of the Old and New Testament relative to the state and 
 condition of the church in various ages, and its influence upon the moral and 
 political welfare of mankind, furnish another class of particulars which have 
 been singularly verified. The individual probability of most of them would 
 be much less than 1-2; but we concede this, and limit ourselves to twelve 
 points, the aggregate contingency of which is about l-4000th. 
 
 "Finally, the prophecies of the Old Testament relative to the Gentile 
 nations around Judea, and the great empires Nineveh, Babylon, Tyre, Egypt, 
 &c., present about fifty particulars worthy of notice in this calculation. To 
 avoid, however, all possibility of error, we consider only half that number, 
 from which we deduce the expectation of their united fulfilment in about the 
 ratio of one to thirty-three millions. 
 
 21
 
 250 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 " There remains still a vast number of correlative and circumstantial details, 
 not reducible to any of the foregoing heads, which are found scattered through 
 the pages of scripture, and furnish a " thick array" of corroborative evidence 
 for the affirmative view of the subject; but we need not fear to waive the use 
 of them in the present calculation. The composition of the ratios already 
 determined gives an aggregate which it requires nearly forty places of figures 
 to enumerate, and which the utmost powers of the human mind may vainly 
 attempt to appreciate. If we should even assume a single grain of sand for 
 the numerator of the fraction, the whole globe of the earth, repealed many 
 millions of times, would scarcely suffice for its denominator; and such is the 
 extreme improbability of any consistent fulfilment of the scriptural prophecies 
 on the principles of chance. 
 
 " It will not be objected to this calculation that it regards the different sub- 
 jects of prophecy as parts of one and the same system; for although they 
 were in fact uttered by different prophets and in diffierent ages of the world, 
 they are all united by a common subject; and that with a degree of consistency 
 and harmony scarcely less wonderful than the fulfilment itself."
 
 LECTURE IX. 251 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 THE PROPAGATION OP CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 THERE is a peculiarity in the argument for the divine 
 authority of Christianity, which we cannot but notice in the 
 commencement of this lecture. While the several parts unite 
 with the utmost harmony and prodigious strength in the 
 construction of one grand system of evidence ; each is a 
 perfect argument in itself, and capable of furnishing, had we 
 nothing else on which to depend, an ample support for the ' 
 whole fabric of Christianity. We speak of the several parts 
 composing that general division to which these lectures are 
 restricted the external evidence such as the miracles ; the 
 prophecies ; and that on which we are now about to enter, 
 llie propagation of Christianity. The two former have been 
 discussed. We praise the subject, not the lecturer, in saying 
 that we have not only established on solid ground the genu- 
 ineness of the miracles of the gospel, and the prophetic 
 attestation to the divine mission of our Lord ; but that, in 
 having done thus, we have twice finished the proof of Chris- 
 tianity, as a divine revelation. It was complete when we 
 had shown that Jesus and his apostles were attended by the 
 credentials of genuine miracles. It was commenced again 
 and completed a second time, and by a course of argument 
 entirely different, when we had shown that Jesus was a 
 prophet, as well as the great subject of prophecy. We are 
 now to begin anew, hoping to prove a third time, and by a 
 coarse of evidence entirely different from either of the pre- 
 ceding, that the Gospel of Christ is none other than " the 
 glorious Gospel of the blessed God." Our argument will be 
 drawn from the rapid propagation of the gospel, in contrast 
 with the difficulties it had to overcome.
 
 252 LECTURE IX. 
 
 It was only forty days after the resurrection of Christ, that 
 he delivered to his little band of apostles the parting charge : 
 " Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every crea- 
 ture." " Go, teach (or disciple) all nations, baptizing- them 
 in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost" In other words ; Go, carry the war of the truth 
 into the midst of its enemies ; think not your work com- 
 pleted till you have planted the cross upon the high places 
 of the heathen, and have gathered together my elect " from 
 the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Such 
 was the work intrusted to those few, unlearned, despised 
 disciples, who formed almost the whole strength of the 
 Christian church in the day when their beloved Master was 
 received out of their sight, and ascended into heaven. Now 
 let us consider in the first division of this lecture : 
 
 I. THE DIFFICULTIES they had to surmount in executing 
 this command. Be it remarked, 
 
 1st. In the first place, that the idea of propagating a 
 new religion, to the exclusion of every other, was at that 
 time a perfect novelty to all mankind, with the exception of, 
 perhaps, a few individuals of the Jews, specially enlightened 
 in the prophetic declarations of the Old Testament scriptures. 
 The Jewish religion was, indeed, sufficiei tly exclusive; but 
 in its external organization it was neither designed nor adapt- 
 ed for extensive promulgation. Nothing could have been 
 more perfectly foreign to all the reigning opinions, prejudices, 
 and dispositions of that insulated nation, in the days of the 
 apostles, than the thought of attempting to convert even a 
 single city of the Gentiles to their unsocial system of reli- 
 gion. Their zeal was indeed extremely energetic in behalf 
 of whatever involved the security and honour of their faith ; 
 but, in regard to other nations, it was the zeal of jealousy to 
 keep them at a great distance, rather than of invitation to 
 bring them to a participation in their superior privileges. 
 
 The charge of the Saviour to his apostles was. if possible, 
 still more novel to the Gentiles than the Jews. Heathenism
 
 LECTURE IX. 253 
 
 IO -..vjver been propagated from place to place. In its innu- 
 meiVble forms, it had grown up out of the depraved disposi- 
 tions of human nature, all over the world ; as thorns and 
 thistles, though never sown by the husbandman, are found 
 every where on the face of the earth. Without a creed, it 
 was without principle ; and therefore had nothing to contend 
 for but the privilege of assuming any form, worshipping any 
 idol, practising any ritual, and pursuing any absurdity, which 
 the craft of the priesthood, or the superstitions and vices of 
 the people might select. It never was imagined by any de- 
 scription of Pagans that all other forms of religion were not 
 as good, for the people observing them, as theirs was for 
 them ; or that any dictate of kindness or common sense 
 should lead them to attempt the subversion of the gods of 
 their neighbours, for the sake of establishing their own in 
 their stead. So that nothing could have been more perfectly 
 new, surprising, or offensive to the whole Gentile world, than 
 the duty laid upon the first advocates of Christianity, to go 
 into all nations, asserting the exclusive claims of the gospel, 
 denouncing the validity of all other religions, ana 'abouring 
 to bring over every creature to the single faith of Christ. 
 Had Christianity been content to stand, without urging its 
 right to stand alone, the heathen nations might have allowed 
 it as much toleration as they were accustomed to yield to the 
 various systems of idolatry _among themselves. An altar 
 would, perhaps, have been vouchsafed, in many an idol 
 temple, to the Christian's God ; and an image, in honour of 
 Christ, might have been permitted a place among the divini- 
 ties of the Pantheon. But its character being rigidly exclu- 
 sive, and yet its spirit universally benevolent, the apostles 
 must have seen at once that they were charged with a work 
 not only perfectly new, but which would necessarily bring 
 them into conflict with all the institutions, passions, customs, 
 prejudices, and powers of all nations of the world.* 
 
 * A religion, under which all men could unite with one another, appeared 
 to the ancier.ta an impossibility. " A man must be very weak (said Celsus;,
 
 2.V1 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 2<1. But the difficulties to be surmounted by the apostles 
 were not confined to the novelty of their enterprise, and the 
 t.'xclusiveness of their faith. In the whole character of the 
 gospel, as a system of religious doctrine, and a rule of heart 
 and life, there was a barrier in the way of its progress, which 
 to human wisdom and power would have rendered their cause 
 perfectly desperate. To propagate any religion at the ex- 
 pense of every other, would have been to them, in their own 
 strength, destitute as they were of all earthly auxiliaries, a 
 hopeless task ; but to propagate the religion of the gospel, 
 was unspeakably more difficult. A system of doctrine par- 
 taking, in the least degree, of any of its characteristic quali- 
 ties, was a thing entirely unimagined among the Heathen, 
 and scarcely thought of, by one in ten thousand of the 
 degenerate posterity of Abraham. Religion, among the Gen- 
 tiles, was a creature of the state ; it consisted exclusively in 
 the outward circumstance of temples, and altars, arid images, 
 and priests, and sacrifices, and festivals, and lustrations. It 
 multiplied its objects of worship at the pleasure of the civil 
 authorities; taught no system of doctrine, recognised no 
 system of morality, required nothing of the heart, committed 
 the life of man to unlimited discretion, and allowed any one 
 to stand perfectly well with the gods, on the trifling condition 
 of a little show of respect for their worship, to whatever 
 extent he indulged in the worst passions and lowest pro- 
 pensities of his nature. Heathen religion, in all its forms, 
 was the most perfect contrast to every thing spiritual, holy, 
 humbling, self-denying. Nothing could have been more 
 foreign to every habit of thought, in the mind of a native 
 of Greece or Rome, than the scripture doctrine of the nature 
 and guilt of sin, of repentance, conversion, faith, love, meek- 
 ness, and purity of heart. Their languages had scarcely 
 expressions sufficiently approximated to these subjects to 
 admit of their explanation without the coinage of new words 
 
 to imagine that Greeks and barbarians, in Asia, Europe, and Lybia, can evei 
 iniu- ,.trW tb~ sr.r>i" system of religion "
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 255 
 
 for the purpose. And in many respects the whole race of the 
 Jews, degenerate as they were in the time of the apostles, 
 were as little prepared for a spiritual, heart-searching reli- 
 gion, as any people of the Gentiles. 
 
 Then imagine the incipient effort of the disciples of Christ 
 to gain over the nations to the obedience of the gospel. What 
 could they say to them by way of conciliation, of all their 
 systems of religion and habits of living, to which, from time 
 immemorial, they had been accustomed? Nothing but 
 unqualified, uncompromising reprobation. What could they 
 offer as a substitute, and with what recommendations could 
 they propose it ? The unity of God, to the extermination 
 of all idolatry ; the fall of man and his entire ruin and 
 condemnation by sin, to the utter subversion of all their 
 proud conceit of their own merit, and of the dignity of their 
 degraded nature ; the necessity of a new heart, including 
 repentance and holiness, and humility, and the diligent 
 pursuit of all godliness of living, to the complete breaking 
 up of all their philosophy ; the mortification of all their 
 pride, and the direct prohibition of all those unbridled pas- 
 sions and odious vices which then held such universal domin- 
 ion in the world. It was no aid to the work of the apostles, 
 that, besides the above unwelcome truths and requisitions, the 
 gospel stipulated for a habit of secret prayer, a life of faith ; 
 a heart animated with patience, gentleness, forgiveness, and 
 benevolence, to all mankind ; and, above all, a single reli- 
 ance for peace with God upon the death and intercession of 
 One who had been crucified as a malefactor, dcspistd and 
 rejected even by the despised nation of the Jews. 
 
 It is easy to perceive from this brief sketch of some of the 
 peculiarities of the gospel, in contrast with all that was loved, 
 and practised, and gloried in by the nations of the earth, that 
 while a new religion, willing to make terms with the habits 
 and corruptions of men, might, if aided by the fascinations 
 of eloquence, the enticements of worldly interest, and the 
 arm of secular povter. have gained some advancement
 
 253 LECTURE IX. 
 
 Christianity, with its uncompromising spirit ; its holy require 
 ments, and its twelve unlettered and despised apostles for its 
 whole earthly strength, must have perished in its infancy, had 
 not the " Mighty Ruler of the universe" been its friend. 
 
 3d. From what has been said, it is manifest that the 
 enterprise of the apostles must have arrayed against it all the 
 itiftucnce of every priesthood both among Jews and Heathens. 
 In the beginning of Christianity the priests of the Jews were 
 not only very numerous and degenerate, but exceedingly 
 influential in their nation. They were, in reality, the nobility 
 of Judea. The power of the magistracy was, in a great 
 measure, in their hands. The people were educated under 
 their charge. They held the reins of public opinion, and 
 headed all the great public movements of the community. 
 What tremendous resistance they were capable of making 
 to the advancement of Christianity ; how bitterly they replied 
 to those claims which pronounced the dissolution of their 
 priesthood, and the termination of their authority ; and with 
 what deadly concert they persecuted its blessed Author, 
 thinking they had put also his gospel, when they had put his 
 person to the cross, I need not remind you. 
 
 We turn to the priests of the Gentiles. The enterprise 
 of the apostles was directly at war with their dignities, their 
 influence, and their gains. What resistance they were capa- 
 ble of making, is obvious from a consideration of the exten- 
 sive establishment, the high official dignity, the wealth, the 
 political influence, and the superstitious veneration, attached, 
 in the first years of Christianity, to a heathen priesthood. 
 "The religion of the nations," says Gibbon, "was not merely 
 a speculative doctrine, professed in the schools or preached in 
 the temples. The innumerable deities and rites of polythe- 
 ism were closely interwoven with every circumstance of 
 business or pleasure, of public or of private life ; and it 
 seemed impossible to escape the observance of them without, 
 at the same time, renouncing the commerce of mankind. 
 The important transactions of peace and war were prepared
 
 LECTURE IX. 257 
 
 01 concluded by solemn sacrifices, in which the magistrate, 
 the senator, and the soldier were obliged to participate." The 
 Roman senate was always held in a temple or consecrated 
 place. Before commencing business, every senator per- 
 formed an act of homage to the gods of the nation. The 
 several colleges of the sacerdotal order, in the single city of 
 Rome the fifteen Pontiffs ; the fifteen Augurs ; the fifteen 
 keepers of the Sibylline books ; the six Vestals ; the seven 
 Epuli ; the Flamens ; the confraternities of the Salians and 
 Lupercaliaris, &.C., furnish an idea of the strong establish- 
 ment of the priesthood in an empire that embraced the known 
 world. The dignity of their sacred character was protected, 
 as well by the laws as the manners of the country. " Their 
 robes of purple, chariots of state, and sumptuous entertain- 
 ments, attracted the admiration of the people ; and they 
 received from the consecrated lands and public revenue an 
 ample stipend, which liberally supported the splendour of the 
 priesthood, and all the expenses of the religious worship of 
 the state." The great men of Rome, after their consulships 
 and military triumphs, aspired to the place of pontiff or of 
 augur. Cicero confesses that the latter was the supreme 
 object of his wishes. Pliny was animated with a similar 
 ambitio- ... Tacitus, the historian, after his prsetorship, was a 
 membe of the sacerdotal order. The fifteen priests, compos 
 ing the college of pontiffs, were distinguished as the com 
 panions of their sovereign. And as an evidence of what 
 accommodations paganism must have had in Rome in the 
 days of her glory ; the number of its temples and chapels, 
 remaining in the three hundred and eightieth year after the 
 birth of Christ, when, for more than three centuries, Chris- 
 tianity had been thinning the ranks of its votaries, and for 
 sixty years had been the established religion of the empire, 
 was four hundred and twenty-four* In connexion with 
 all this organization and deep rooted power of heathenism : 
 consider its various tribes of subordinate agents and interested 
 
 * Gibbon, vol. iv. c. xxviti.
 
 258 LECTURE IX. 
 
 allies ; the diviners, augurs, and managers of oracles, with 
 all the attendants and assistants belonging to the temples of 
 a countless variety of idols ; the trades whose craft was sus- 
 tained by the patronage of image-worship, such as statuaries, 
 shrine-mongers, sacrifice-sellers, incense-merchants ; consider 
 the great festivals and games by which heathenism flattered 
 the dispositions of the people, and enlisted all classes and all 
 countries in its support the Circensian and other grand 
 exhibitions among the Romans ; the Pythian, Nemean, Isth- 
 mian, and Olympic games, celebrated with great pomp and 
 splendour in almost every Grecian city of Europe and Asia 
 the pride of the people, the delight of all the lovers of 
 pleasure or of fame, intimately associated with, and specially 
 patronised by the religion of idols ; and therefore directly 
 attacked by all the eiforts of Christianity. Then say, what 
 must have been the immense force in which the several 
 priesthoods of all heathen nations were capable of uniting 
 among themselves, and with the priests of the Jews, in the 
 common cause of crushing a religion by whose doctrines 
 none of them could be tolerated. That with all their various 
 contingents, they did unite, consenting in this one object, if 
 in little else, of smothering Christianity in her cradle, or of 
 drowning her in the blood of her disciples, all history assures 
 us. How she survived their efforts ; how the fishermen of 
 Galilee could have overcome their whole array without the 
 help of God, is a problem which infidelity only shows its 
 own weakness by attempting to solve. 
 
 4th. But the authority of the magistrate was united with 
 the influence of heathen and Jewish priesthoods in zealous 
 hostility to the gospel. In all countries, the support of the 
 religion of the state was the duty of the magistrate. Toler- 
 ation, among the most civilized heathens, much as it has 
 been eulogized by infidels, allowed of no religion that would 
 not permit entire communion, on the part of its followers, in 
 the worship appointed by the state. On this condition it
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 259 
 
 countenanced the utmost latitude of belief and practice." 
 But to refuse conformity with the national rites, and worship 
 to the national gods, was an offence unpardonable, not only 
 to the gods, but to the civil authority. This it was that ex- 
 cited so much wonder among the Gentiles, and nerved the 
 secular arm with such deadly offence against the disciples 
 of Christ. " Keep yourselves from idols'' 1 was a precept that 
 met the pagan Greek and Roman whenever he beheld a 
 Christian. " What can be the reason (said a Roman prefect 
 to an Alexandrian bishop) why you may not still adore that 
 God of yours, supposing him to be a God, in conjunction 
 with our Gods?" ' We worship no other God" was the 
 Christian's answer ;t a declaration which, from the sword of 
 a heathen magistrate, could have no forbearance, and being 
 every where received as a characteristic principle of the 
 gospel, called out the whole power of the civil governments 
 of the Gentiles to unite with their priesthoods in its de- 
 struction. 
 
 5th. To these associated powers, were added the prejudices 
 and passions of all the people. These, among the Gentiles, 
 were powerful, not only in favour of their own idolatries, but 
 especially in aversion to a religion originating among Jews ; 
 still more to a religion advocated by Jews who were despised 
 and persecuted by their own despised countrymen ; and yet a 
 great deal more to a religion so spiritual and holy, so utterly 
 at war with vice and idolatry, as that of the gospel. 
 
 See. in the Epistle to the Romans, a picture from the pen- 
 cil of a master, of the fierce passions, the vicious debasements, 
 which universally characterized the Gentile nations in the 
 days of St. Paul. " Filled with all unrighteousness, fornica- 
 
 * " The Athenian notion of toleration is well described by Socrates, and 
 much resembles the opinion on that subject that many entertain, even in our 
 own tines. ' It appears to me, says Socrates, that the Athenians do no< 
 greatly care what sentiments a man holds, provided he keeps them to hvm,self 
 but if he attempts to instruct others, then they are indignant.' " 
 
 Douglas on Errors, &c. 219. 
 t Euseb. Hist. Eccl. vii. c. xi.
 
 260 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 tion, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness ; full of envy, 
 murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, 
 haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil 
 tilings, disobedient to parents, without understanding, cove- 
 nant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerci- 
 ful : Who, knowing the judgment of God, that they which 
 commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the 
 same, but have pleasure in them that do them."* This de 
 scription is borne out, to the letter, by the testimonies of 
 heathen writers. Paul has furnished a picture of the morals 
 of his own nation corresponding with it in all essential fea- 
 tures. What, then, could the gospel, with all its holy 
 duties and spiritual doctrines, encounter in such a world, but 
 a most violent opposition from the whole mass of the people ? 
 6th. But the wisdom and pride of the heathen philophers 
 were by no means the least formidable enemies with which 
 the gospel had to contend. Their sects, though numerous 
 and exceedingly various, were all agreed in proudly trusting 
 in themselves that they were wise, and despising others. 
 Their published opinions ; their private speculations ; their 
 personal immorality ; made iliem irreconcilable adversaries 
 of Christianity. It went up into their schools, and called 
 their wisdom foolishness, and rebuked their self-conceit. It 
 " came not with excellency of speech," or " the enticing words 
 of man's wisdom," " doting (as they did) about questions and 
 strifes of words ;" but knowing nothing among men save 
 Jesus Christ and him crucified, it just bade them repent, be 
 converted, become as little children, and believe in a crucified 
 Saviour for peace with God. This was, indeed, "to the 
 Greek foolishness" " What will this babbler say ?" "He 
 seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods" were the taunt- 
 ing words of certain of the Epicureans and Stoics when they 
 encountered St. Paul. Mockery was the natural expression 
 of their minds " when they heard of the resurrection of the 
 
 * Rom. i. 2932.
 
 LECTURE IX. 261 
 
 dead."* The apostles, therefore, in attempting to propagate 
 the gospel among the Gentiles, were opposed by all the wit, 
 and learning, and sophistry ; all the pride and jealousy, and 
 malice, of every sect of philosophers. And how formidable 
 was this hostility, is obvious, from the great credit, superior 
 e\ en to that of the priests, among the higher classes of society, 
 which those sects had obtained. "Whoever pretended to 
 learning or virtue was their disciple ; the greatest magistrates, 
 generals, kings, ranged themselves undtr their discipline, 
 were trained up in their schools, and professed the opinions 
 they taught."! 
 
 7th. In connexion with these powerful adversaries, con- 
 sider the character of the age in which the apostles under- 
 took the propagation of Christianity. It was distinguished as 
 one of profound peace among the nations, when the minds of 
 men were peculiarly capable of deliberately investigating the 
 claims of the gospel ; it was the Augustan age, when phi- 
 losophy thronged the cities with her disciples, and every 
 description of polite literature was in the highest cultivation. 
 Its peculiar feature was directly the reverse of credulity. No 
 age of the world, before or since, was so extensively charac- 
 terized by scepticism. While the great mass of the plebeians 
 were superstitiously given to idolatry, the patricians were no 
 less corrupted with opinions which went to the denial of all 
 religion. Among the various schools which then divided the 
 learned of the Roman empire ; those which declared openly 
 against the most fundamental truths of religion were much 
 the most numerous. Of this description were the Epicure- 
 ansl and Academics ; the former maintaining that the soul 
 was mortal, and that, if gods there were, they took no car 
 of human affairs ; the latter, that to arrive at truth was im 
 possible ; that, " whether the gods existed or not ; whether 
 the soul was mortal or immortal ; virtue preferable to vice, 
 
 * Acts, xvii. 18 32. t Lyttletons's Conversion of St. Paul, 
 t Cicero complains that of all sects of philosophers, this made the most 
 remarkable progress and gained the most adherents. De F^inibus. 
 
 22
 
 263 LECTURE IX. 
 
 or vice to virtue? could not be ascertained. These two 
 sects, the one atheist, the other too sceptical even to believe in 
 atheism, were the most numerous of all others in the age of 
 the apostles, and were particularly encouraged by the liberality 
 of the rich and the protection of the powerful.* From this 
 prevalence of philosophy " falsely so called," the age was dis- 
 tinguished for curious and bold inquiry ; the learned every 
 where, like those of Athens, spending their time in little 
 else but either to tell or to hear some new thing. ^ It was, 
 also, for the same reason, an age of special contempt for 
 whatever claimed to be received as supernatural. While 
 every city, through the influence of the priests and magis- 
 trates, was wholly given to idolatry, so far as the multitude 
 and the external aspect of all classes were concerned ; yet, in 
 the inner schools of philosophy and the private opinions of 
 the educated, it was almost entirely pervaded with scepticism. 
 Add to this, its necessary companion, the universal preva- 
 lence of unprecedented luxury and dissoluteness of living ; 
 and you will have a true outline of the character of the age 
 in which the apostles, by " the foolishness of preaching," 
 knowing " nothing among men save Jesus Christ and him 
 crucified," were to " destroy the wisdom of the wise," and 
 convert whole nations to Christianity. 
 
 Most evidently, was the age peculiarly and entirely unpropi- 
 tious. Nothing, on human calculation, could have been 
 more certain of utter rejection and contempt, at such a time, 
 than the simplicity, spirituality, and holiness of the gospel ; 
 especially its two cardinal points, humble repentance and 
 submissive faith. 
 
 8th. Consider, next, to whom the propagation of the 
 gospel was committed. Who were they that received the 
 commission, " Go preach the gospel to every creature," and 
 " make disciples of all nations ?" Men, adapted to such a 
 mighty work in no single qualification, except to show, in 
 their weakness, that their success was altogether of God ! 
 
 Mosheim's Hist, part I. 5 XXL t Acts, xvil
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 They were neither philosophers, nor orators, nor educated 
 men. They were from a class of mankind denominated by 
 the ruling nations, barbarians ; they were of that nation 
 among the barbarians, whom all the rest of the world parti- 
 cularly despised ; they were of that portion of the nation, 
 which was least esteemed by its own members. They were 
 poor, without the least worldly consideration or influence 
 They were acquainted with no craft but that of publicans 
 arid fishermen. They had never learned any language but. 
 that of Galilee, and yet they were to preach to people of ail 
 languages. Such were the men whose work it was to assault 
 the high and fenced walls of Judaism ; to break the power 
 of heathenism, though entrenched in the vices of the people; 
 upheld by the craft of their priesthoods ; defended by the 
 power of all nations ; and sanctioned by the traditions of 
 immemorial ages. Such were the men who were to go into the 
 proud schools of philosophy ; show their wisdom to be fool - 
 ishness ; teach their teachers ; bring out captives to trw 
 humble faith of the crucified Nazarene ; arid baptize then) 
 in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy 
 Ghost. 
 
 9th. Consider the circumstances of depression and discou- 
 ragement in which they commenced this work. The enemies 
 of their Master had just succeeded in putting him to the shame 
 of the cross, under accusation of capital guilt. Their taunt- 
 ing language to the agonizing victim : " Come down from the. 
 cross, if thou be the Son of God" shows what a death-blow 
 they supposed themselves to have given to his cause. All 
 his disciples had forsaken him and fled. The stone upon 
 the mouth of his sepulchre was not heavier than the weight 
 upon their hearts, when they beheld him dead and buried. 
 After a few days, they assembled together again in Jerusalem, 
 when an upper room contained the whole congregation of 
 those that believed in Christ. Their cause was universally 
 supposed to have died with its Master. The fact that he had 
 flot been saved by the power of God from the disgrace of
 
 '264 LECTURE IX. 
 
 crucifixion, was regarded every where as a perfect answer to 
 all his claims. Such was the beginning of the propagation 
 of the gospel. These were the desperate circumstances in 
 which the unfriended, unprotected, ridiculed apostles were to 
 set up their banner. What could they. do? 
 
 10th. Consider the mode they adopted. They sought no 
 favour from worldly influence ; courted no human indul- 
 gence ; waited for no earthly approbation ; paid as little 
 deference to rank, or wealth, or human learning, as to poverty 
 and meanness. They spake as men having authority ; as 
 ambassadors, commissioned from a throne, and sustained by a 
 power before which, they had a right to demand that priests, 
 and philosophers, and kings, should submit. " Not with 
 enticing words of man's wisdom," did they seek to advance 
 their cause ; but in simple reliance upon " the demonstration 
 of the Spirit." Instead of selecting such doctrines as would 
 best conciliate their hearers, and concealing the rest ; they 
 fixed their preaching most emphatically on what they knew 
 was the special topic of derision and mockery both to Jew 
 and Greek : glorying in nothing save in the cross of Christ. 
 Instead of seeking retired and ignorant people as the subjects 
 of their efforts ; instead of a double doctrine, as the philoso- 
 phers had one thing for the world, another for their disciples 
 a part for the novice the whole only for the initiated 
 they kept back nothing, any where; declaring boldly the 
 whole gospel in the most public places and before the greatest 
 enemies. "Jesus and the resurrection," were preached as 
 freely to Epicureans and Stoics in Athens, as to publicans and 
 sinners in Jerusalem. Instead of accommodating their declara- 
 tions in any degree to the vainglorious and vicious characters 
 of those whom they addressed ; they declared the wrath of 
 God to be " revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and 
 unrighteousness of men." To every soul that would be a 
 Christian, they issued the requirement, "depart from iniquity," 
 u crucify the flesh, with its affections and lusts," and be willing 
 to be esteemed a fool and persecuted to death for Christ's
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 sake. Such was the mode selected by these powerless Galir 
 leanSj by which to subdue the fierce opposition of the proud, 
 self-righteous Jews, and to make Christians out of Greeks 
 and Romans, alike devoted to degrading vices, and puffed up 
 with the conceit of superior wisdom. 
 
 llth. Now let us see in what manner the attempt to propa- 
 gate Christianity was received. It was met every where by 
 the most strenuous hostility, and the fiercest persecution 
 From the first discourse of the apostles, down to the three 
 hundred and fifth year of the Christian era, persecution never 
 entirely ceased, while its more public and general onsets fol- 
 lowed one another in such close succession, that the church 
 had hardly time to bury her dead before she was called to 
 prepare more candidates, by thousands at a time, for the 
 tortures and triumphs of martyrdom. The preaching of the 
 apostles began at Jerusalem, and there also persecution began. 
 Saul hunted Christians with the appetite of a bloodhound. 
 Stephen was the first victim. Soon the brethren were scat- 
 tered far and wide by the fury of the storm. James was 
 slain with the sword ; Peter, imprisoned for execution ; Paul, 
 scourged and stoned, and pursued so continually that, in 
 every city, bonds and afflictions awaited him. Whatever 
 Jewish hate, goaded on by a jealous priesthood, could do, was 
 put in requisition to crush the cause. All the devices that 
 Roman governors, seconded by the superstitions and passions 
 of the several nations of heathenism, could employ, were 
 united in the one business of driving back the advancing 
 cause of Christ. His disciples were calumniated as atheists; 
 enemies of man; murderers and devourers of their own 
 children ; and as guilty of the most loathsome and horrible 
 practices.* Instruments of torture were exhausted. Jews 
 and Gentiles, soldiers, slaves, governors, and emperors, racked 
 
 * " The Atheists," was the universal name for Qhristians. To the charge 
 of dire hostility to all religion, was added that of combined rebellion against 
 all law and all mankind. " Irreligiosi in Ctzsares, hastes Casarum, host** 
 pi *puii Romani" was their universal character, among their enemieo. 
 
 22*
 
 266 LECTURE IX. 
 
 their ingenuity to find out new ways of tempting Christians 
 to unfaithfulness, and, when they were steadfast, of increasing 
 their agonies without hastening their death. Every province, 
 and city, and village, was a scene of martyrdom. The great 
 principle of the ruling powers was, that this " superstition," 
 as they called it, must at all hazards be put down. Ci In a 
 short time, the punishments of death were so common, that, as 
 related by the writers of those times, no famine, pestilence, or 
 war, ever consumed more men at a time." The edict of 
 Trajan, commanding the presidents to inflict capital punish- 
 ment on all who would not renounce Christianity, was never 
 abrogated while heathenism reigned in Rome.* What perse- 
 cution was in the heart of the empire, it was also in Africa, 
 Persia, Arabia, Capadocia, Mesopotamia, Nicomedia, Phry- 
 gia, and in almost every place where the Christian name was 
 known. " Those who suffered for the cause of Christ, men, 
 women, youths of both sexes, were so numerous as to be 
 estimated only in the mass." "In torments they stood 
 stronger than their tormentors ; their bruised and mangled 
 limbs proving too hard for the instruments with which 
 their flesh was racked and pulled from them; the blows, 
 however often repeated, could not conquer their impregnable 
 faith ; even though they not only sliced and tore off the flesh, 
 but raked into their very bowels." Such is the description 
 given by one of those who thus endured to the end.t The 
 strong language in the Epistle to the Hebrews is eminently 
 applicable. Some " were tortured, not accepting deliverance ; 
 others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, more- 
 over of bonds and imprisonment : they were stoned, they 
 were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: 
 they wandered about in sheep-skins, and goat-skins ; being 
 destitute, afflicted, tormented : they wandered in deserts, and 
 m mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth."t 
 
 Christians were often the victims of popular fury, as well 
 as of public edicts and imperial authority. Every odious 
 
 * Lardner, iv. 300. t Cyprian. t Heb. xi. 3538.
 
 LECTURE IX. 267 
 
 slander was propagated against them for the purpose o 
 instigating the rage of the populace. The evidence of abject 
 slaves or of persons forced by torture to testify as an in 
 censed community desired, was used to justify the most 
 dreadful explosions of vulgar hate. Did a drought occur ? It 
 was a proverbial explanation, that " if God refused rain, the 
 Christians were in fault." Did the Nile refuse its annual 
 irrigation, or the Tiber overflow its banks ? Did earth- 
 quake, or famine, or any other public calamity, excite the 
 popular mind? A ready cause was in every mouth; the 
 anger of the gods on account of the increase of Christianity ! 
 A ready sacrifice to propitiate the offended deities was imme- 
 diately resorted to ; the slaughter of the Christians ! How 
 the better informed of society endeavoured to stimulate the 
 mob to these hecatombs of innocent victims, may be judged 
 from the fact, that "Porphyry, a man who wished to be 
 accounted a philosopher, found a cause for the inveteracy of 
 an infectious and desolating sickness in this, that Esculapius 
 could not exert any effectual influence on the earth in 
 consequence of the prevalence of Christianity."* 
 
 Such, then, were the obstacles which opposed the propaga- 
 tion of the gospel. Who, in their anticipation, must not 
 have said : " If this cause be .of man, it must come to naught?" 
 Either it must die a natural death in the obscurity of its 
 birth, or be torn to pieces at the first onset of its foes, or else 
 it must be of God, protected and advanced by His power. 
 
 Before proceeding to speak of the success of the apostles, 
 we may deduce, from the premises we have established, a 
 conclusive proof of the power by which they acted. 
 
 It is certain that they understood the difficulties, and anti- 
 cipated the dangers, of their work. As men of ordinary 
 understanding, they must have foreseen, while, by the pre- 
 dictions of Christ, they were distinctly apprised of, the obsta- 
 cles and. perils they would encounter. Nevertheless, with a. 
 perfect knowledge of their own weakness, they undertook 
 
 * Neander's Oh. Hist.
 
 268 LECTURE IX. 
 
 to propagate the gospel an .ong all nations. Why ? What 
 *was there in reproach and beggary, in racks and prisons, in 
 wild beasts and flames, so inviting? Must they not have 
 been sincere in their professions ? Could any thing short of 
 a thorough belief that Jesus was risen, .and had promised to 
 be with them in all their labours, have induced them to 
 undertake such an enterprise? It is impossible, without 
 ridiculous absurdity, to question their entire persuasion of 
 this. But is tin's a proof that Jesus was risen, and that, in 
 divine power, he was with them ? We do not pretend that 
 ill general, the fact of the advocates of a doctrine being con- 
 vinced, is valid evidence, of its truth. But in the case of the 
 apostles it should be thus regarded, inasmuch as they could 
 not have been deceived. Whether Jesus wrought genuine 
 miracles or not ; whether he had appeared to them " at sundry 
 times and in divers manners" after his burial ; whether he 
 had eaten with them, conversed with them, journeyed with 
 them, during the space of forty days subsequent to his death ; 
 whether they heard and saw him, at the end of those days, 
 solemnly give them their charge to propagate the gospel, and 
 the promise of his presence and power wherever they should 
 go ; they must have known. Consequently, when, with such 
 undeniable knowledge and unquestionable sincerity, they 
 went into all the world preaching Jesus and the resurrection, 
 neither deceived nor wishing to deceive, the evidence was 
 perfect that they laboured in the service of truth ; that then- 
 faith stood not " in the wisdom of men, but in the power 
 of God." 
 
 II. Let us now consider THE SUCCESS OF THE APOSTLES 
 
 IN EXECUTING THEIR MASTER'S CHARGE. Oil the fiftieth 
 
 day after his death they commenced. Beginning in Jerusa- 
 lem, the very furnace of persecution, they first set up their 
 banner in the midst of those who had been first in the cruci- 
 fixion of Jesus, and were all elate with the triumph of that 
 tragedy No assemblage could have been more possessed of 
 dispositions perfectly at war with their message, than that te
 
 LECTURE EX. 269 
 
 which they made their first address. And what was the 
 tenor of the address? "Jesus of Nazareth (said Peter), 
 being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknow- 
 ledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have 
 crucified and slain ; whom God hath raised up. Therefore 
 let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath 
 made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord 
 and Christ." One would have supposed that the same hands 
 that had rioted in the blood of his Master, would now have 
 wreaked their enmity in that of this daring and, to all human 
 view, most impolitic apostle. But what ensued? Three 
 thousand souls were that day added to the infant church.* 
 In a few days the number was increased to jive thousand ;t 
 and in the space of about a year and a half, though the gos- 
 pel was preached only in Jerusalem and its vicinity, " multi- 
 tudes, both of men and women," and " a great company of 
 the priests, were obedient to the faith ,"t Now, the converts 
 being driven, by a fierce persecution, from Jerusalem, " went 
 every where preaching the word ;" and in less than three 
 years churches were gathered "throughout all Judea, Galilee, 
 and Samaria, and were multiplied." About two years after 
 this, or seven from the beginning of the work, the gospel was 
 first preached to the Gentiles ; and such was the success, that 
 before thirty years had elapsed from the death of Christ, his 
 church had spread throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria ; 
 through almost all the numerous districts of the lesser Asia ; 
 through Greece and the islands of the ^gean sea, the sea- 
 coast of Africa, and even into Italy and Rome. The number 
 of converts in the several cities, respectively, is described by 
 the expressions, "a great number" "great multitudes," 
 "much people." What an extensive impression had been 
 made, is obvious from the outcry of the opposers at Thessa- 
 lonica, " that they, who had turned the world upside down, 
 were come hither also." Demetrius, an enemy, complained 
 of Paul that, " not only at Ephesus, but also throughout all 
 
 * Acts, ii. 41. t Acts, iv. 4. J Acts, v. 14; vi. 7. Acts, viii. 4; ix. 13.
 
 270 LECTURE IX. 
 
 Asia, he had persuaded and turned away much people."* 
 In the mean while, Jerusalem, the chief seat of Jewish ran- 
 cour, continued the metropolis of the gospel, having in it 
 many tens of thousands of believers.} These accounts are 
 taken from the book of the Acts of the Apostles; but as 
 this book is almost confined to the labours of Paul and his 
 immediate companions, saying very little of the other apos- 
 tles, it is very certain that the view we have given of the 
 propagation of the gospel, during the first thirty years, is 
 very incomplete. In the thirtieth year after the beginning 
 of the work, the terrible persecution under Nero kindled its 
 fires ; then Christians had become so numerous at Rome, 
 that, by the testimony of Tacitus, " a great multitude' 1 ' 1 were 
 seized. In forty years more, as we are told in a celebrated 
 letter from Pliny, the Roman governor of Pontus and Bythi- 
 nia, Christianity had long subsisted in these provinces, though 
 so remote -from Judea. " Many of all ages, and of every 
 rank, of both sexes likewise," were accused to Pliny of being 
 Christians. What he calls "the contagion of this superstition" 
 (thus forcibly describing the irresistible and rapid spread of 
 Christianity), had " seized not cities only, but the less towns 
 also, and the open country," so that the heathen temples 
 "were almost forsaken," few victims were purchased for 
 sacrifice, and " a long intermission of the sacred solemnities 
 had taken place."t Justin Martyr, who wrote about thirty 
 years after Pliny, and one hundred after the gospel was first 
 preached to the Gentiles, thus describes the extent of Chris- 
 tianity in his time : " There is not a nation, either Greek or 
 barbarian, or of any other name, even of those who wandei 
 in tribes and live in tents, among whom prayers and thanks- 
 givings are not offered to the Father and Creator of the 
 universe by the namfe of the crucified Jesus." Clemens Alex- 
 andrinus, a few years after, thus writes : " The philosophers 
 were confined to Greece, and to their particular retainers ; 
 
 * See Paley's Evidences. t Acts, xxi. 30. " ITWai pvpiafcs" 
 t Lardner, iv. 13 15.
 
 LECTURE IX. 271 
 
 but the doctrine of the Master of Christianity did not remain 
 in Judea, but is spread throughout the whole world, in every 
 nation, and village, and city, converting both whole houses 
 and separate individuals, having already brought over to the 
 truth not a few of the philosophers themselves. If the Greek 
 philosophy be prohibited, it immediately vanishes ; whereas, 
 from the first preaching of our doctrine, kings and tyrants, 
 governors and presidents, with their whole train and with 
 the populace on their side, have endeavoured, with their 
 whole might, to exterminate it, yet doth it flourish more 
 and more." 
 
 There is no reason for diminishing the wonder which this 
 rapid success of the gospel so necessarily excites, by the 
 supposition that all these conversions, or the greater part of 
 them, were little more than a change of profession and 
 name ; the substitution of a Christian church, for a heathen 
 temple a mere transition from one system of religious 
 ceremonial to another. In times of fierce persecution the 
 reality of a conversion is tried " as by Jire" There was 
 little during the first three hundred years of Christianity to 
 encourage a profession of its faith, except so far as the 
 heart had become sufficiently devoted to its holy and self- 
 denying duties, to be willing to suffer on their account the 
 loss of all things. Mere cold assent and dead formality 
 were not likely to put themselves in the way of being torn 
 by wild beasts, or buried in the mines. The change wrought 
 in the converts was, for the most part and notoriously, a 
 change of heart and of life, as well as an entire change of 
 opinion. The striking alteration in those who embraced the 
 gospel, bore a powerful attestation to its divine authority 
 Philosophers complained that men improved but little, in 
 goodness, under their instructions ; while Paul could say to 
 the Christians of Corinth, a city famous for the profligacy of 
 its inhabitants, " Such were some of you : but ye are washed, 
 ye are sanctified, ye are justified in the name of the Lord 
 Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God" " The doctrine of
 
 272 LECTURE IX. 
 
 Christ," says a writer of those times, "did convert the most 
 wicked persons who embraced it from all their debaucheries, 
 to the practice of all virtues."* So remarkable was the 
 difference between the Christians and those whom they had 
 once resembled, that Origen, defending their faith against the 
 attacks of Celsus, challenges a comparison between their 
 moral character and that of any other societies in the world. 
 Even the sceptic Gibbon unites in this testimony. Speaking 
 of these early converts, he says : " As they emerged from sin 
 and superstition to the glorious hope of immortality, they 
 resolved to devote themselves to a life not only of virtue, 
 but of penitence. The desire of perfection became the 
 ruling passion of their soul." " Their serious and sequestered 
 life, averse to the gay luxury of the age, inured them to 
 chastity, temperance, economy, and all the sober and domes- 
 tic virtues. The contempt of the world exercised them in 
 the habits of humility, meekness, and patience. The more 
 they were persecuted, the more closely they adhered to each 
 other. Their mutual charity and unsuspecting confidence 
 has been remarked by infidels, and was too often abused by 
 perfidious friends. Even their faults, or rather their errors, 
 were derived from an excess of virtue."t From all these 
 authorities, it is evident that the propagation of the gospel 
 was not only of great rapidity, but of great power in trans- 
 forming the hearts and lives of the multitudes who em- 
 braced it. 
 
 In connexion with the moral power and vast extent of 
 this work ; it should be considered, that among those who 
 were brought to the obedience of Christ, were men of all 
 classes, from the most obscure and ignorant, to the most 
 elevated and learned. In the New Testament, we read of an 
 eminent counsellor, and of a chief ruler, and of a great 
 company of priests, and of two centurions of the Roman 
 army, and of a proconsul of Cyprus, and of a member of 
 the Areopagus at Athens, and even of certain of the house- 
 
 * Origen cont. Celsum. t Gibbon, ii. xv. 1389.
 
 LECTURE IX. 273 
 
 hold of the emperor Nero, as having been converted to the 
 faith. Many of the converts were highly esteemed for talents 
 and attainments. Such was Justin Martyr, who, while a 
 heathen, was conversant with all the schools of philosophy. 
 Such v r as Pantaenus, who, before his conversion, was a 
 philosopher of the school of the Stoics, and whose instruc- 
 tions in human learning at Alexandria, after he became a 
 Christian, were much frequented by students of various 
 characters. Such also was Origen, whose reputation for 
 learning was so great, that not only Christians, but philoso- 
 phers flocked to his lectures upon mathematics and philosophy, 
 as well as on the scriptures. Even the noted Porphyry did 
 not refrain from a high eulogium upon the learning of 
 Origen.* It may help to convey some notion of the charac- 
 ter and quality of many early Christians ; of their learning 
 and their labours ; to notice the Christian writers who 
 flourished in these ages. St. Jerome's catalogue contains one 
 hundred and twenty writers previous to the year 360 from 
 the death of Christ. The catalogue is thus introduced: 
 " Let those who say the church has had no philosophers, nor 
 eloquent and learned men, observe who and what they were 
 who founded, established, and adorned it."t Pliny, in his 
 celebrated letter to Trajan, written about sixty-three years 
 after the gospel began to be preached to the Gentiles, expressly 
 states that, in the provinces of Pontus and Bythinia, mdny 
 of all ranks were accused to him of the crime of being 
 Christians.t 
 
 * Stillingfleet's Orig. Sac. 273-4. t See Paley, 346. 
 
 t The early advocates of Christianity, in controversy with the heathen of 
 Greece and Rome, were accustomed to dwell with great stress upon the argu- 
 ment from its propagation. Chrysostom, of the fourth century, writes : 
 " The apostles of Christ were twelve, and they gained the whole world." 
 " Zeno, Plato, Socrates, and many others, endeavoured to introduce a new 
 course of life, but in vain ; whereas Jesus Christ not only taught, but settled 
 a new polity, or way of living, all over the world." " The doctrines and 
 writings of fishermen, who were beaten and driven from society, and always 
 lived in the midst of dangers, have been readily embraced by learned and 
 unlearned, bondmen and free, kings and soldiers, Greeks and barbarians.' 
 
 23
 
 274 LECTURE IX. 
 
 We have now prepared the several facts that constitute the 
 materials of our argument. Here is an unquestionable his- 
 torical event. The rapid and extensive spread of Christianity 
 over the whole Roman empire in less than seventy years 
 from the outset of its preaching. Has any thing else of a 
 like kind been known in the world ? Did the learning and 
 popularity of the ancient philosophers, powerfully aided by 
 the favour of the great, and the peculiar character of the 
 age, accomplish any thing in the least resembling the success 
 of the apostles ? It is a notorious fact that only one of them 
 " ever dared to attack the base religion of the nation, and 
 substitute better representations of God in its stead, although 
 its absurdity was apparent to many of them. An attempt 
 of this kind, having cost the bold Socrates his life, no others 
 had resolution enough to offer such a sacrifice for the general 
 good. To excuse their timidity in this respect, and give it 
 the appearance of profound wisdom, they called to their aid 
 the general principle that it is imprudent and injurious to 
 let people see the whole truth at once ; that it is not only 
 necessary to spare sacred prejudices, but, in particular cir- 
 cumstances, an act of benevolence to deceive the great mass 
 of the people. This was the unanimous opinion of almost 
 all the ancient philosophical schools."* No further proof is 
 needed that such men were incapable of effecting any thing 
 approximating to the great moral revolution produced in the 
 
 " Though kings, and tyrants, and people strove to extinguish the spark of 
 faith, such a flame of true religion arose as filled the whole world. If you go 
 to India, and Scythia, and the utmost ends of the earth, you will every where 
 find the doctrine of Christ enlightening the souls of men." Augustine, of the 
 same century, speaking of the heathen philosophers, says : " If they were to 
 live again, and should see the churches crowded, the temples forsaken, and 
 men called from the love of temporal, fleeting things to the hope of eternal 
 life and the possession of spiritual and heavenly blessings, and readily 
 embracing them, provided they were really such as they are said to have been, 
 perhaps they would say : ' These are things which we did not dare to say to 
 the people ; we rather gave way to their custom than endeavoured to draw them 
 over to our best thoughts and apprehensions.' " 
 
 Lardner, ii. 614 and 597. 
 * Reinhard's Plan. n. 165. 6.
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 275 
 
 world by the power of the gospel. How different the apos- 
 tles ! boldly attacking all vice, superstition, and error, at all 
 hazards, in all places, not counting their lives dear unto 
 them, so that they might "testify the gospel of the grace of 
 God" But where else shall we turn for a parallel to the 
 work we have described 1 What efforts, independently of 
 the gospel, were ever successful in the moral regeneration of 
 whole communities of the superstitious and licentious ? 
 
 The only event in the annals of time that has ever been 
 s opposed to bear any resemblance to the propagation of 
 Christianity, is the rapid progress of Mohammedanism. But 
 a little reflection will show you that the single fact of its 
 rapid and extensive progress is the only point of resemblance ; 
 while, in every thing else, there is direct opposition. Th6 
 Koran based its cause upon no profession of miracles, and 
 therefore had no detection to fear. The gospel rested all 
 upon its repeated miracles, and, consequently, unless it had 
 beeu true, would have been certain of detection. Moham- 
 med was of the most powerful and honourable family in 
 Mecca, the chief city of his nation ; and though not rich by 
 inheritance, became so by marriage. Jesus was of a family 
 of poor and unknown inhabitants of an obscure village in 
 Judea, and had not where to lay his head. Mohammed 
 began his work among the rich and great. His first three 
 years were consumed in attaching to his cause thirteen of the 
 chief people of Mecca. Jesus commenced among the poor. 
 During his three years of ministry on earth, twelve obscure 
 Jews, many of them fishermen, all unlearned and powerless, 
 were his chosen disciples. Of the first thirteen apostles of 
 the Koran, all ultimately attained to riches and honours, to 
 the command of armies, and the government of kingdoms 
 Of the twelve apostles who commenced the propagation of 
 the gospel, all attained to the utmost poverty, contempt, and 
 ignominy ; and all, but one, to a violent death on account 
 of their cause. The age, when Mohammed set up his ban- 
 ner, was eminently propitious to his enterprise. " Nothing
 
 276 LECTURE IX. 
 
 can equal the ignorance and darkness that reigned in this 
 century."* Science, philosophy, and theology, had every 
 where declined into almost nothingness. The age when the 
 apostles of Christ began their work was eminently unpro- 
 pitious to any cause but that of God. It was the Augus- 
 tan age. Mohammedanism took its rise in an interior town 
 of Arabia, among a barbarous people, and its first conquests 
 were among the rudest and least enlightened of the most 
 ignorant regions of the world. Christianity arose in the 
 splendid metropolis of a populous and intelligent nation, and 
 achieved her earliest victories in some of the most polished 
 and enlightened cities of the world. In the town of Mecca, 
 where Mohammed opened his mission, there was no estab- 
 lished religion to contend with. In the city of Jerusalem, 
 where Jesus and his apostles began their work of love, 
 an established religion was powerfully fortified within the 
 triple wall of priest, magistrate, and people, and defended 
 by all the powers and passions of the nation. When 
 the prophet of Arabia appeared, his cause was favoured 
 by the feuds that prevailed among the Arab tribes around 
 him, and by the bitter dissensions and cruel animosities then 
 reigning among various sects of degenerate Christians ; dis- 
 sensions that filled the greater part of the east with such 
 enormities as rendered the very name of Christianity odious 
 to many. When the great Prophet of Christianity appeared, 
 the temple of Janus was shut, in token of universal peace, 
 so that all the schools of philosophy, all sects of superstition, 
 and all the powers and animosities of the nations were free 
 to combine against his gospel. Mohammed attempted to 
 conciliate the prevailing religion of the empire, by preaching 
 to the ignorant generation of Christians that his religion was 
 no other than what had been originally their own. The 
 unity of God, the prophetic character of the patriarchs and 
 prophets of the Old Testament, and the divine mission of 
 Jesus, he carefully and artfully asserted; pretending to restore 
 
 * Mosheim.
 
 LECTURE IX. 277 
 
 the purity, instead of attacking the foundations, of the reli- 
 gion they had taught. This was politic. The apostles, on 
 the other hand, attacked, boldly, and unsparingly, the religion 
 of all the world. While asserting the essential principles of 
 the religion of Moses, they aimed directly at the subversion 
 of its, then, degenerate institutions ; and, as to all Gentile 
 nations, pretended to nothing but uncompromising opposi- 
 tion. This certainly was any thing but politic. Moham 
 med, while he required nothing of his followers that called 
 for self-denial,* expressly sanctioned and promoted their 
 strongest passions. Impurity, revenge, ambition, pride, were 
 his cardinal and honoured indulgences. Thus he enticed 
 human nature. I need not say that the requisitions and 
 allurements proclaimed by the apostles of Christ were pre- 
 cisely the contrary. But thus they repelled human nature. 
 
 Even, with all these advantages in his favour, Mohammed, 
 at the end of the first twelve years of his enterprise, had not 
 extended his cause beyond the walls of Mecca, and had 
 gained but few disciples within them, because his efforts had 
 been confined to persuasion. While Christianity with all its 
 disadvantages, in half the time from the beginning of the 
 ministry of Christ, could number more than, ten thousand 
 disciples in Jerusalem, and churches throughout all Judea, 
 and Galilee, and Samaria ; and yet her efforts were also con- 
 fined to persuasion. But Mohammed, after twelve years 
 experience, discovered that, even with all his indulgence to 
 passion and pride, some argument much more cogent than 
 that of persuasion was necessary to convince the nations. 
 This was found at the edge of the sword. He sounded the 
 trump of war ; promised the spoils of nations, the fairest of 
 the captives, and the most luxurious arbour in Paradise, to 
 those who would join his standard. Then, proselytes were 
 multiplied. The roving Arabs, converted to the faith for the 
 
 * The prohibition of wine, the fast of Ramadan, and the pilgrimage to 
 Mecca, were no part of Mohammedanism until several years after its com- 
 mencement, when military successes had completely established its authortv 
 
 23*
 
 278 LECTURE IX. 
 
 sake of the plunder, flocked to his cause. Death or conversion 
 was the only choice of the idolater. " The Koran, the tri- 
 bute, or the sword," was vouchsafed to Jews and Christians. 
 Henceforward the demon of Mohammedanism was always 
 seated on the hilt of the sword, and made its way by force 
 and slaughter. How and why, it prevailed both rapidly and 
 extensively from this time, I am as little bound to explain, as 
 to account for the martial prowess of Napoleon, or of the 
 Goths and Vandals. It was the success of the warrior, not 
 of the prophet. 
 
 But I may not leave this subject, without turning what to 
 some may have seemed almost parallel to the success of the 
 gospel, into an auxiliary illustration of its superhuman power. 
 It is a strong fact, in evidence that God was on the side of the 
 apostles, that when they had every thing on earth to contend 
 with, they succeeded, by mere efforts of persuasion, in sub- 
 duing kingdoms, and bringing innumerable multitudes to 
 holiness of life ; while Mohammed and his apostles, in the 
 most favourable circumstances, were confined, as long as 
 they used no weapon but that of persuasion, to a few follow- 
 ers, and, had they never taken the sword, would probably 
 never have been heard of beyond the sands of Arabia. 
 
 But should it still be contended that the success of the 
 apostles may be accounted for without reference to super- 
 natural aid ; let the question be answered why, when the 
 same human means have since been employed in so many 
 instances, nothing even approximating to the same results 
 has ever ensued. Jews are found at present as numerous as 
 ever. Some of the strongest obstacles which opposed the 
 success of the gospel among them, in the apostolic age, do not 
 now exist. They have no religious establishment ; no regu- 
 lar priesthood ; no power to persecute. Christianity, on the 
 other hand, is established. Instead of appearing to the Jew 
 as a thing of yesterday, advocated but by a few obscure men, 
 as she did of old ; she now presents herself under the sanc- 
 tion of eighteen centuries, illustrated by the learning of he*
 
 LECTURE IX. 270 
 
 disciples, professed by all civilized nations. It cannot be said 
 that less human effort, in the aggregate, has been employed 
 for the conversion of the Jews, than was used by the twelve 
 apostles. Much more money has been expended; much 
 more learning has been devoted ; much more human power 
 has been exerted; many more individuals have been em- 
 ployed. The same gospel has been preached. The same 
 arguments have been urged. And why should not corre- 
 sponding effects appear ? " There is reason to think that 
 there were more Jews converted by the apostles in one day, 
 than have since been won over in the last thousand years."* 
 The simple explanation is and must be, that the great power 
 of God was with the apostles for the establishment of tht 
 truth, in a degree far greater than that in which it is now 
 vouchsafed to his ministers in promoting the wide extension 
 of the truth. 
 
 From the Jews turn to the heathens. There is no reason 
 to believe that the heathenism of the present day is any more 
 opposed to the propagation of Christianity, than that of the 
 world in the age of the apostles. Instead of twelve, there are 
 hundreds of labourers in this field men of education, talent, 
 indefatigable zeal, undaunted devotion. The art of printing 
 has furnished them with facilities of which the apostles, un- 
 less it be conceded that they possessed the miraculous gift of 
 tongues, were entirely destitute. The scriptures are now 
 circulated in full ; while in the days of St. Paul, the canon 
 being incomplete, they were circulated only in parts. In 
 addition to all this, Christianity is recommended among many 
 heathen nations, by the political importance of the countries 
 from which its preachers have gone, and in some, by the 
 actual co-operation of Christian powers ruling in the midst of 
 pagan institutions. With these important advantages ; what 
 is the success of present efforts among the heathen 1 Enough, 
 indeed, to reward all the zeal expended in their support; 
 enough to show that still the power of God is with the gospel, 
 
 * Bryant on the Truth of Christianity.
 
 280 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 and that ample encouragement is given for all the increase 
 of effort which Christians can ever bestow on the heathen ; 
 but notliing comparable with the success of the apostles. Paul 
 was instrumental in converting more heathens, in thirty years, 
 than all modern missionaries in the last five hundred. Ex- 
 plain this fact ! It is absurd to attempt it, in view of all the 
 circumstances of the case, except you admit the solution 
 given by Paul himself " I have planted, and Apollos water- 
 ed ; but God gave the increase." Without this grand truth, 
 " God gave the increase /' Christianity would have perished 
 on the cross of its founder. 
 
 I have now set before you a miracle, the evidence of which 
 no eye can be too blind to see: Christianity universally 
 propagated ; and yet propagated by no earthly influence but 
 that of the apostles. This is the miracle. It is as directly 
 contrary to the laws of nature and to universal experience, 
 as if, at the word of man, the desert of Arabia should bud 
 and blossom like a fruitful garden, or the sepulchre give up 
 its dead. As long as this one fact, the propagation of Chris- 
 tianity, shall remain ; the gospel will be supported by a 
 pillar of evidence which infidels can only remove by taking 
 away the foundation of all inductive evidence, and bringing 
 down the whole temple of human knowledge to their own 
 destruction. 
 
 Now, in conclusion, let us see what an unbeliever must 
 believe in consistency with his profession. He must believe 
 that the apostles were either such weak-minded men as to 
 imagine that their crucified Master had been with them, from- 
 time to time, during forty days after his burial, had conversed 
 with them, and eaten with them, and that they had every 
 sensible evidence of his resurrection, while in truth he had 
 not been near them, but was still in his sepulchre ; or else 
 that they were so wicked and deceitful as to go all over the 
 world preaching that he was risen from the dead, when they 
 knew it was a gross fabrication. Suppose the unbeliever to 
 rhoose the latter of these alternatives. Then he believes, not
 
 LECTURE IX. 281 
 
 only that those men were so singularly attached to this un- 
 truth as to give themselves up to all manner of disgrace, and 
 persecution, and labour, for the sake of making all the world 
 believe it, knowing that their own destruction could be the 
 only consequence ; but also, what is still more singular, that 
 when they plunged, immediately at the outset of their ministry, 
 into an immense multitude of those who, having lately cruci- 
 fied the Saviour, were full of enmity to his disciples ; they 
 succeeded, without learning, eloquence, power, or a single 
 conceivable motive, in making three thousand of them be- 
 lieve that he, whom they had seen on the cross, was indeed 
 alive again ; and believe it so fully, as to renounce every thing, 
 and be willing to suffer any thing, for the sake of it, and this 
 on the very spot where the guards that had kept the sepulchre 
 were at hand to tell what was become of the body of Jesus. 
 He must believe, moreover, that although in attempting to 
 propagate a new religion to the exclusion of every other, they 
 were undertaking what was entirely new, and opposed to the 
 views of all nations ; although the doctrines they preached 
 were resisted by all the influence of the several priesthoods ; 
 all the power of the several governments ; all the passions, 
 habits, and prejudices of the people ; and all the wit and pride 
 of the philosophers of all nations ; although the age was such as 
 insured to their fabrications the most intelligent examination, 
 with the strongest possible disposition to detect them ; although, 
 in themselves, these infatuated men were directly the reverse 
 of what such resistance demanded, and, when they com- 
 menced, were surrounded by circumstances of the most de- 
 pressing kind, and by opposers specially exulting in the confi- 
 dence of their destruction ; although the mode they adopted 
 was of all others most calculated to expose their own weakness 
 and dishonesty, and to imbitter the enmity and increase the 
 contempt of their opposers, so that they encountered everv 
 where the most tremendous persecutions, till torture and death 
 were almost synonymous with the name of Christian ; al- 
 though they had nothing to propose, to Jew or Gentile, as a
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 matter of faith, but what the wisdom of the world ridiculed, 
 and the vice of the world hated, and all men were united in 
 despising ; although they had nothing earthly with which to 
 tempt any one to receive their fabrication, except the necessity 
 of an entire change in all his habits and dispositions, and an 
 assurance that tribulations and persecutions must be his por- 
 tion : Yet when philosophers, with all their learning, and rank, 
 and subtlety, and veneration, could produce no effect on the 
 public mind, these obscure Galileans obtained such influence, 
 throughout the whole extent of the Roman empire, and espe- 
 cially in the most enlightened cities, that, in thirty years, what 
 they themselves (by the supposition) did not believe, they made 
 hundreds of thousands of all classes, philosophers, senators, 
 governors, priests, soldiers, as well as plebeians, believe, and 
 maintain unto death ; yea, they planted this doctrine of their 
 own invention so deeply that all the persecutions of three hun- 
 dred years could not root it up ; they established the gospel so 
 permanently that in three hundred years it was the established 
 religion of an empire co-extensive with the known world, and 
 continues still the religion of all civilized nations, This, says 
 the unbeliever, they did simply by their own wit and in- 
 dustry; and yet, he well knows that, preachers of the gospel, 
 with incomparably more learning, with equal industry, in far 
 greater numbers, and in circumstances immeasurably more 
 propitious, have attempted to do something of the same kind 
 among heathen nations, and could never even approximate 
 to their success. Still the apostles had no help but that of 
 their own ingenuity and diligence ! Such is the belief of 
 the unbeliever. To escape acknowledging that the apostles 
 were aided by miraculous assistance, he makes them to have 
 possessed in themselves miraculous ability. To get rid of 
 one miracle in the work, he has to make twelve miracles 
 out of the twelve agents of the work. The Christian takes 
 a far different course. " Paul planted, Apollos watered, but 
 God gave the increase." The weapons of their warfare 
 wer<i not carnal, but mighty through God, to the pulling 1
 
 LECTURE IX. 283 
 
 down of strong holds. To which solution, philosophy or 
 common sense would award the prize of rational decision, it 
 is easy to determine. 
 
 The argument from the propagation of Christianity is not 
 yet complete. Satisfactory already, it is yet to receive an 
 immense accession of strength. " The wilderness and the 
 solitary place," the immense regions of Pagan and Moham- 
 medan desolation, shall yet be.glad for the blessings of the 
 gospel, and "the desert rejoice and blossom as the rose." 
 Every nation and kindred shall be brought " into captivity 
 to the obedience of Christ," for the word hath gone forth out 
 of the mouth of the Lord: " I will give thee the heathen for 
 thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for 
 thy possession." How should every heart respond Amen ! 
 and pray : " Thy kingdom come ; thy will be done on 
 as it is in heaven !"
 
 284 LECTURE X. 
 
 LECTURE X, 
 
 THE FRUITS OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 IN our preceding lectures, we have followed the currents 
 of three independent arguments, each of which was found 
 sufficient to conduct us to a complete proof of the divine 
 authority of the gospel of Christ. That, to which we now 
 proceed, is especially capable of being " known and read of 
 all men," and deserves to be ranked in the highest class of 
 the evidences of Christianity. Our blessed Lord, speaking 
 of false pretenders to divine revelation, delivered the follow- 
 ing rule, by which they might be distinguished : " Ye shall 
 know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of 
 thorns, or Jigs of thistles ? Even so every good tree bring- 
 eth forth good fruit ; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil 
 fruit. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them" This 
 is a test universally approved of, and necessarily employed. 
 Its influence on our judgment is unavoidable ; and when 
 properly applied, its results are certain. The goodness of a 
 tree cannot be doubted, while we know the excellence of its 
 fruit. No more reason have we to question the holy charac- 
 ter and divine origin of religion, while its legitimate effects 
 on the lives and hearts of its genuine disciples are holy. 
 We may come to an erroneous conclusion by judging erro- 
 neously of the fruit ; by ascribing effects to causes which did 
 not produce them ; by charging upon religion a train of 
 consequences of which it was only the incidental occasion, 
 instead of the natural cause. But these are errors in the 
 application, and independent of the correctness of the test. 
 Whenever you have ascertained the true results of any sys- 
 tem of doctrine, you have found a plain and certain expres- 
 sion o f its intrinsic character. It is good in proportion as
 
 LECTURE X. 285 
 
 the fruit is good. If its fruit be godly, it must itself be 
 of God. 
 
 Let infidelity be always tried by this equitable rule, so as 
 to receive the full credit of all the evils which may easily be 
 found to have grown upon its branches ; let it be stripped of 
 all those adventitious circumstances of a favourable kind for 
 which it is indebted to the surrounding influence of Chris- 
 tianity ; and few eyes will fail to see that the root is one of 
 bitterness, and the tree fit only to be cut down as a cumberer 
 of the ground. If men would judge Christianity also, by 
 the fair application of this rule, carefully separating from 
 her genuine productions all those of which, however enemies 
 may love to lay them to her charge, she is only the innocent 
 occasion ; it would require but little discernment to be con- 
 vinced of her heavenly origin, and of the duty of all to 
 spread the knowledge and acceptance of her divine revela- 
 tion. Such will be the object of the present lecture. Chris- 
 tianity may be known by its fruits. Christians are desirous 
 that their faith should be judged by this test, as well as by 
 every other that is just and equal. We set out, therefore, 
 with this question : What are the fruits of Christianity 1 
 In the examination of this subject, we will consider, 
 
 L THE EFFECTS OF CHRISTIANITY ON SOCIETY IN 
 GENERAL. 
 
 IE. ITS EFFECTS ON THE CHARACTER AND HAPPINESS 
 OF GENUINE DISCIPLES. 
 
 Reserving the latter of these divisions for another lec- 
 ture, we devote our attention at present exclusively to the 
 former. 
 
 In proceeding to illustrate the beneficial effects of Chris- 
 tianity on society in general, I know of no way so direct as 
 to consider in what condition the countries now blessed with 
 its influence would have remained, had they been left to the 
 several forms of religion under which they had previously 
 subsisted. Let us take a brief survey of the moral state of 
 the ancient world in the age when the preaching of the cross 
 
 24
 
 286 LECTURE X. 
 
 effected its wonderful revolution in the whole fabric of soci- 
 ety. And that we may not be accused of unfairness, let us 
 take into view, not the more distant and uncivilized pro- 
 vinces, but those<chief central states, where all the light and 
 moral vigour of the heathen world were concentrated. Let 
 our survey be confined to the society of Italy and Greece, 
 where philosophy held her court, and literature and the arts 
 were cultivated with the utmost devotion and success. Un- 
 fortunately for the interests of truth, the history of Greece 
 and Rome has fallen, for the most part, into the hands of 
 writers much more concerned with their intellectual and 
 martial prowess, than their moral attainments and social 
 virtues ; so that while the reader is occupied in admiring the 
 acuteness of their schoolmen, the taste of their poets, the 
 perfection of their arts, and the warlike character of their 
 soldiery, he is seldom called to look within the enclosures of 
 society, and inquire how they lived, what manner of men 
 they were in their families, in their social relations, in their 
 moral principles, and their private habits. 
 
 A certain eminent writer, who lived in the age to which 
 we refer, addressing the people of Rome, describes the heathen 
 population of the civilized world as given up to the vilest, 
 most unnatural, and beastly affections ; filled with all unrigh- 
 teousness and degrading wickedness ; full of envy, murder, 
 deceit, malignity ; disobedient to parents ; covenant-breakers, 
 without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful, not only 
 committing such things as were worthy of death, but having 
 pleasure in them that did them. Such, according to St. 
 Paul, were the polished Grecians and the sterner Romans.* 
 
 1st. Consider their religion. "Professing themselves to 
 be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the 
 uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible 
 man, and to birds and four-footed beasts, and creeping 
 things."t Deities were multiplied till there was a god for 
 every thing, and any thing answered for a god. Athens was 
 
 * Rom. i. 2933. t Rom. i. 22, 23.
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 287 
 
 full of statues dedicated to different deities ; those ol various 
 countries being so crowded together, that it was said to be 
 "easier to find a god than a man." There was the god 
 Caius Caesar, and the god Augustus Caesar, and the god Lu- 
 cius Caesar, and the goddess Julia, the profligate daughter of 
 Augustus, to whom the rulers of Athens ascribed the title of 
 Providence. The senate of the Areopagus, and that of the 
 six hundred, erected her statue, and enacted her divinity ; an 
 altar having been consecrated many years before, to " the 
 Unknown God" Rome exceeded Athens in tho number of 
 her gods, only by having, as the mistress of the world, all 
 nations to collect from, and all forms of paganism to counte- 
 nance. " The deities of a thousand groves and a thousand 
 streams possessed, in peace, their local and respective influ- 
 ence ; nor could the Roman, who deprecated the wrath of 
 the Tiber, deride the Egyptian who presented his offering to 
 the beneficent genius of the Nile. Every virtue and even 
 vice acquired its divine representative ;. every art and pro- 
 fession its patron, whose attributes in the most distant ages 
 and countries, wer j uniformly derived from the character of 
 their peculiar votaries. It was the custom (of the Romans ; 
 to tempt the protectors of besieged cities by the promise of 
 more distinguished honours than they possessed in their 
 native country. Rome gradually became the common tem- 
 ple of her subjects, and the freedom of the city was bestowed 
 on all the gods of mankind."* "In this mania for foreign 
 gods, the nobles and the emperors themselves set the most 
 corrupting examples. Germanicus and Agrippina devoted 
 themselves especially to Egyptian gods. So also Vespasian. 
 Nero served all gods with the exception of the Dea Syra. 
 Marcus Aurelius caused the priests of all foreign gods and 
 nations to be assembled in order to implore aid for the Roman 
 empire against the incursions of the Marcomanni. Commodus 
 caused himself to be initiated into the mysteries cf the Egyp- 
 tian Isis and the Persian Mithras. Severus worshipped 
 
 * Gibbon's Dec. and Fall, i. 32, 35, 36.
 
 288 LECTURE X. 
 
 especially the Egyptian Serapis ; Caracalla chiefly the Egyp- 
 tian Isis ; and Heliogabalus the Syrian deities ; though he 
 was desirous of becoming a priest of the Jewish, Samaritan, 
 and Christian religions."* 
 
 The traditions of the principal divinities of the ancient 
 heathen are a true guide to the vices of their worship. What 
 the gods were said to have been in their lives, their worship- 
 pers were actually in their service. " It is a shame," said one 
 who knew them well, " even to speak of those things which 
 were done of them in secret." The chief oracles of the hea- 
 thens appointed human sacrifices ; so that not only the barba- 
 rians, but even the Athenians, Lacedaemonians, and Romans, 
 were accustomed to worship idols in the blood of their fellow- 
 creatures. What must have been the state of public morals 
 when gods were patrons of vice, and their rites encouraged 
 both cruelty and obsceneness, it is easier to imagine than de- 
 scribe. " Eusebius is compelled to use language when de- 
 scribing the height of wickedness and impurity which the 
 worship of the heathens attained, such as no virtuous man 
 can read without shuddering." The gods were entreated, by 
 costly offerings, on splendid altars, to favour the indulgence 
 of unnatural lusts ; the perpetration of murders ; the robbery 
 of the orphan and the widow. Seneca exclaims : " How great 
 is now the madness of men ! They lisp the most abomina- 
 ble prayers in the ears of the gods. And if a man is found 
 listening, they are silent. What a man ought not to hear, 
 they do not blush to rehearse to God."t Well might St. Paul 
 describe them as "given up to uncleanness through tho 
 lusts of their own hearts "I 
 
 2d. Consider the spirit of cruelty that reigned among those 
 people. It was not solely owing to the madness and depravity 
 of a Tiberius, a Caligula, a Nero, or a Caracalla, that a cruel 
 and sanguinary spirit, in their day, was so universal. Had 
 not the whole mass, the peasant, the soldier, the citizen, and 
 
 * Prof. Tfcoluck on Heathenism. Biblical Repository, 
 
 Epist. 10 t See Potter's Antiquities, ii. 301.
 
 LECTURE X. 289 
 
 he senator, as well as the prince, been foully tainted, the 
 monstrous enormities of those vicious tyrants could never 
 have been perpetrated. Such was the cruelty of Romans to 
 their slaves, that it was not unusual to put the aged and use- 
 less to perish on an island in the Tiber ; and some masters 
 Would even drown them, as food for the inhabitants of their 
 fish-ponds.* Scenes of blood and slaughter were the public 
 diversions of the people. Witness the shows of gladiators in 
 the crowded amphitheatre, when to celebrate a birth-day or 
 gratify a popular whim, crowds of captives were set to mutual 
 slaughter, or else to contend with the fury of wild beasts. 
 What must have been the moral sensibility of those nations, 
 of which the most refined females delighted in such revolting 
 cruelties, criticising the skill of the ferocious swordsman, and 
 exclaiming with enthusiasm at the graceful stroke that opened 
 the heart of the vanquished, and poured out his lifeblood 
 upon the arena ! t St. Paul describes the heathen community 
 as full of murder and malignity. Hume, speaking of " the 
 
 * " The custom of exposing old, useless, or sick slaves on an island of the 
 Tiber, there to starve, seems to have been pretty common in Rome; and 
 whoever recovered after having been so exposed, had his liberty given him 
 by an edict of the emperor Claudius." " The ergastula, or dungeons, where 
 slaves in chains were forced to work, were very common all over Italy." " A 
 chained slave for a porter, was usual in Rome, as appears from Ovid and 
 other authors." The evidence of slaves " was always extorted by the most 
 exquisite torments." Hume on the Populousness of Ancient Nations. 
 
 t " Who," says Hume, " can read the accounts of the amphitheatrical en- 
 tertainments without horror? or who is surprised that the emperors should 
 treat people in the same way the people treated their inferiors ? One's hu- 
 manity is apt to renew the barbarous wish of Caligula, that the people had 
 but one neck. A man could almost be pleased, by a single blow to put an 
 end to such a race of monsters." Note to Essay on the Populousness of Ancient 
 Nations. 
 
 How Cicero, "the mildest of all pagan philosophers and orators" regarded 
 with an inhuman approbation the cruelties above named, may be seen from 
 his sayings, as quoted in Jortin's Discourses concerning the truth of the 
 Christian Religion. He states that the supplications of a poor wretch begging 
 his life, on the arena, only made the spectators, as a matter of course, the more 
 violent against him, and the more set upon his death. See the Oration fot 
 Milo. 
 
 .*? 24*
 
 290 LECTURE X. 
 
 most illustrious period of Roman history," says that " at that 
 t ime, the horrid practice of poisoning was so common, that 
 during part of a season a praetor punished capitally for this 
 crime above three thousand persons in a part of Italy, and 
 found informations of this nature still multiplying upon him ! 
 So depraved in private life," adds the historian, " were that 
 people whom in their history we so much admire."* Murder 
 was in common practice among all classes. " Such," says 
 Gibbon, " was the unhappy condition even of Roman empe- 
 rors, that, whatever might be their conduct, their fate was 
 commonly the same ; almost every reign is closed by the 
 same disgusting repetition of treason and murder." Suicide, 
 was not only extensively practised, but advocated as a right, 
 and commended as virtuous. Seneca pleaded for it. Cicero 
 was its advocate. Brutus, and Cassius, with many others, 
 both defended and practised it. Cato is praised by Plutarch 
 for having been his own murderer. These, in their day, 
 were among the lights of the heathen world ! What then, 
 must have been the awful deeds of darkness among the more 
 ignorant populace ! 
 
 They were "without natural affection." Nothing could 
 exhibit, in a more appalling light, their utter annihilation of 
 moral principle and natural affection, than the fact that "the 
 exposition, that is, the murder of new born infants, was an 
 allowed practice in almost all the states of Greece and Rome: 
 even among the polite and civilized Athenians, the abandon- 
 ing of one's child to hunger or to wild beasts was regarded 
 without blame or censure."t " This practice," says Hume, 
 " was very common ; and is not spoken of by any author of 
 those times with the horror it deserves, or scarcely even with 
 disapprobation. Plutarch, the humane, good-natured Plutarch, 
 mentions it as a merit in Attains, king of Pergamus, that he 
 murdered, or, if you will, exposed all his own children in 
 order to leave his crown to the son of his brother, Eumenes. 
 It was Solon, the most celebrated of the sages of Greece, that 
 
 * Essay on Politics. t Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiment*.
 
 LECTURE X. 291 
 
 gave parents permission by law to kill their children."* Phi- 
 losophers supported the custom by argument. Aristotle thought 
 it should be encouraged by the magistrates. Plato maintained 
 the same inhuman doctrine. It was complained of, as a great 
 singularity, that the laws of Thebes forbade the practice. 
 In all the provinces, and especially in Italy, the crime was 
 daily perpetrated. From one end to the other of the Roman 
 empire was stained with the blood of murdered infants. 
 Think of the state of domestic virtue, when such was a 
 prevailing inhumanity of parents ; and the learned defended 
 it as wise; the magistrate countenanced it as useful; and 
 public sentiment regarded it as innocent! Such was the 
 power of a father by the Roman law, that his adult children 
 might be sent to the mines, sold into slavery, or destroyed 
 at his will ; his daughter could be compelled, at his Discretion, 
 to forsake a husband whom he himself had approved, while 
 his wife could be dismissed at pleasure ; and for certain 
 crimes, some of them of a very trivial nature, might be put 
 to death. The authority of the father was that of a despot. 
 The subjection of his family was that of slaves. 
 
 3d. But the Greeks and Romans were as notorious for their 
 departure from the lowest grade of decency, as for their 
 savage disruption of all the ties of natural affection. Sallust, 
 speaking of the Roman youth in the time of Cicero, says : 
 "Luxury, avarice, and pride, enslaved them ; they wantoned 
 in rapine and prodigality ; undervalued their own, and 
 coveted what belonged to others ; trampled on modesty, 
 friendship, and continence ; confounded things divine and 
 human, and threw off all manner of consideration and 
 restraint." " Men and women laid aside all regard to 
 chastity."* We cannot name the degrading crimes which in 
 Greece were sanctioned by the public laws, and at Rome 
 were practised, in the time of Seneca, without shame. It 
 was considered a singular example in Athens, that the most 
 
 * Hume on the Populousness of Ancient Nations, 
 t Rose's Trarisl:;t.iin.
 
 292 LECTURE X. 
 
 moral philosopher did not indulge in them. Even Cicero 
 could speak, without any sign of disapprobation, of Cotta, 
 an eminent Roman, as having owned an habitual addiction to 
 the vileness we are alluding to, and as having quoted the 
 authorities of ancient philosophers in its vindication. There 
 was no species of degrading crime which had not its 
 attempted justification in the written doctrines, and its 
 shameless perpetration in the avowed practices, of the wise 
 men, and such as are usually supposed to have been the 
 good men, of the most civilized nations of antiquity. 
 Quinctilian, speaking of the philosophers of the first century 
 of the Christian era, says : " The most notorious vices are 
 screened under that name ; and they do not labour to main- 
 tain the character of philosophers by virtue and study, but 
 conceal tl^e most vicious lives under an austere look and 
 singularity of dress."* Such, also, is the acknowledgment 
 of Plutarch, with regard to the ancient philosophers in 
 general. While he owns that they were generally rioted for 
 a certain infamous vice which we cannot name ; he excuses 
 them by the plea that they unproved their minds at the 
 same time that they corrupted their bodies. Lucian and 
 others unite in this representation. Neither Seneca, nor 
 Xenophon, nor Plato, nor Aristotle, nor even Socrates, 
 whose morals have been extolled by infidels, as surpassing 
 any thing in the Bible, is excepted from the revolting 
 account of these writers. Granting that jealousy and 
 calumny, among the ancients, included some of those illus- 
 trious names under a charge so degrading; what must 
 have been the character of the great mass of the philoso- 
 phers, when calumny durst venture so far ?t 
 
 Such were the men whom our modern reformers would 
 hold up i/> the public as patterns of virtue. " They opposed 
 each other," says Voltaire, " in their dogmas ; but in morality 
 they were all agreed." " There has been no philosopher, in 
 all antiquity, who has not been desirous of making men 
 
 * Q,uir ctilian, Inst. Oral. t See M'Rnight on Rom. i. 23, 37-
 
 LECTURE X. 293 
 
 better." To the truth of the first assertion, we have no 
 reason to object. In a sense directly opposite to that in 
 which the writer intended it to be understood, they were 
 indeed in morality all agreed. As to their unanimous 
 desire of making men better, we can only say that they 
 adopted the most singular means of effecting it. A Roman 
 citizen, of the Augustan age, described them as those who, 
 being past feeling, had given themselves over unto lascivious- 
 ness to work all undeanness with greediness* 
 
 We have now exhibited some of the prominent features in 
 the moral character of the society of Greece and Rome, in 
 their most enlightened ages. From what has been stated, 
 we may form a conception sufficiently accurate of the condi- 
 tion of things in all those departments of morality on which 
 depends whatever is important to personal, domestic, and 
 public happiness. We have been speaking of the most 
 cultivated people of the ancient world. Unspeakably darker 
 and more appalling would have been the picture, had we 
 described the spirit, habits, and prevading crimes of any 
 other pagan nations. But we are content that a fair repre- 
 
 * Among the philosophers of the time of Cicero, the Cynics were held in 
 great repute, and were widely spread throughout the Roman empire. The 
 wise man of this school "gave up all human relations towards mankind; 
 contemned his country, his kindred, and the joys of wedded love, and sought 
 his consolation in a self-complacent beastliness. One might see these beastly 
 men half naked, moving about every where, with a great cudgel and a bread- 
 bag, performing the animal necessities of their nature before the eyes of all ; 
 thrusting themselves, with extreme rudeness, among the multitudes, and there 
 stepping forward as teachers of wisdom ; not in a regular discourse, but with 
 abrupt and broken language of vulgar sport and derision." And yet even the 
 New Platonic philosophers greatly revered Cynicism, and represented 
 Diogenes, its leader,as a godlike man. 
 
 Whoever may desire a more extended account of ancient, classic heathen- 
 ism, in regard to its gross superstition, its disgusting sensuality, its obscene 
 idols and ceremonies, its human sacrifices, its legalized cruelties, the odious 
 vices of those who conformed to it, and its utter impotency for all purposes 
 of moral improvement, is referred to an article, already quoted, OP. the Nature 
 and Influence of Heathenism, by Prof. Tholuck, of Halle, in Nos. vi. and 
 vii. of tke Biblical Repository, Andover.
 
 294 LECTURE X. 
 
 sentation of the best, should also be received as a good 
 1 ikeness of the worst communities of ancient heathenism. 
 
 We ask, what has become of all these deep rooted defor- 
 mities ? Look around upon the countries over which the 
 influence of Christianity has been exerted; those especially 
 where the religion of Jesus has been enjoyed in the greatest 
 purity, and cultivated with the truest devotion. Where are 
 the remains of the abominations we have described ! Crime 
 remains indeed; but only in hidden dens. It shuns the 
 ight. Laws do not afford it countenance. Public sentiment 
 drives it into concealment. What would the feeling of soci- 
 ety now say to a show of gladiators ; to the legalized expo- 
 sure of infants by the hands of mothers ; to the public, deli- 
 berate murder of worn out slaves ; to the justification of 
 suicide, and theft, and lying, and assassination, and the ac- 
 knowledged practice of the most odious sensuality, by those 
 who are looked up to as the moral teachers and examples of 
 society? How would idolatry, with all its cruelties and 
 obscenities ; its profligate deities ; its human sacrifices ; its 
 hidden mysteries of iniquity ; and its public ritual of vice, 
 affect the public mind, were its temples, and images, and 
 lascivious ceremonies now set up in our cities ? It .is not 
 enough to say that in countries where all these abominations 
 once rioted without restraint and in full sympathy with the 
 public taste, they have long since been driven away with 
 abhorrence. Positive blessings, in every form and for every 
 class of society, have risen up in their place. A measure of 
 virtue which would have singled out an ancient philosopher 
 as a wonderful exception to the rest of the world, is absolutely 
 necessary at present to a character of ordinary decency. 
 Benevolence, such as was not known in Greece or Rome, and 
 had it appeared, would not have been comprehended, is now 
 a matter of common, daily intercourse between man and 
 man. An incalculable improvement has been effected in all 
 departments of human affairs, from the administration of 
 national government down to the most retired relations of
 
 LECTURE X. 295 
 
 s 
 the family circle. What rulers would have been remarkable 
 
 once for not doing, the people would now expel them for 
 attempting. A spirit of equity, moderation, and respect for 
 the interests and happiness of the community, is required in 
 the governments of countries under the influence of Chris- 
 tianity, which was hardly conceived of by the nations of 
 antiquity, and, if it ever appeared, was a marvellous excep- 
 tion to general rule. Laws, regenerated in their principles, 
 are enacted in wisdom, and executed with a faithfulness 
 unknown to the heathen. Instead of the despotic harshness 
 with which a father was once permitted to rule his children 
 and his wife, as his tools and slaves ; universal sentiment 
 demands it, as necessary even to decency, that he shall be 
 kind to them as his own flesh, and as the rightful sharers in 
 all his comforts. Women have been elevated from the rank 
 of beasts of burden, to an equal participation in all the 
 refinements and blessings of society. The condition of the 
 dependant classes of the community has been raised from 
 that of contempt, and oppression, and utter ignorance, to a 
 level, in point of natural right, with all; while education 
 shines upon their dwellings, and religion seeks their souls, as- 
 worthy of all sacrifices which Christian benevolence caii 
 make for their salvation. 
 
 Efforts to provide for the sick, the destitute, the orphan, 
 the widow, were unknown among the ancients. Rome, 
 Athens, Corinth, contained no hospitals, no asylums, no pub- 
 lic charities, no systems of gratuitous education. Such deeds 
 of benevolence were impossible among a people who were 
 accustomed to look upon all forms of human suffering with 
 indifference, and to derive enthusiastic amusement from their 
 promotion. In vain are the writings of their moralists 
 examined for exhortations to any thing like an active con- 
 cern for the poor or the ignorant. An orphan child was no 
 object of public compassion in countries where orphans were 
 daily and deliberately made, and left to perish by cold-blooded 
 \bandonment on the part of their parents.
 
 296 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 But what new sympathies sprung up immediately where 
 the gospel prevailed ! It was made the duty of the whole 
 Christian community to provide for the stranger, the poor, 
 the sick, the aged, the widow, and the orphan. For this one 
 object, public contributions, at the time of divine service, 
 were established, and private donations were multiplied. 
 How much such benevolence was insisted on, may be judged 
 from a passage of Tertullian, where, speaking of the impedi- 
 ments which a Christian woman would encounter by mar- 
 riage with a heathen, he says : " What heathen will suffer 
 his wife, hr visiting the brethren to go from street to street, 
 into strangers', and even into the most miserable cottages ? 
 "Who will suffer them to steal into prisons, to kiss the chains 
 of martyrs ? If a stranger-brother comes, what reception 
 will he find in a stranger's house? If she has alms to bestow, 
 the safe and the cellar are closed to her." 
 
 What the gospel effected, in promoting benevolence, and 
 trampling down all the obstacles of selfishness and fear, 
 when good was hardly to be done but at the cost of life, may 
 be seen from the following representation of Dionysius, bishop 
 of Alexandria, who had an opportunity of observing the 
 contrast between heathens and Christians, when a terrible 
 pestilence was raging in that city. " That pestilence appeared 
 to the heathen as the most dreadful of all things, as that 
 which left them no hope ; not so, however, did it seem to 
 us, but only a peculiar and practical trial. The greater part 
 of our people, in the abundance of their brotherly love, did 
 not spare themselves ; and mutually attending to each other, 
 they would visit the sick without fear, and ministering to 
 them for the sake of Christ, they would cheerfully give up 
 their life with them. Many died, after their care had restored 
 others from the disease to health. The best among our 
 brethren, some priests and deacons, and some who were cele- 
 brated among the laity, died in this manner, and such a 
 death, the fruit of great piety and strong faith, is hardly infe- 
 rior to martyrdom. Many who took the bodies of their
 
 LECTURE X. 297 
 
 Christian brethren into their hands and bosoms, closed their 
 mouth and eyes, and buried them with every attention, soon 
 followed them in death. But with the heathen, matters stood 
 quite differently; at the first symptom of sickness, they drove 
 a man from their society ; they tore themselves away from 
 their dearest connexions ; they threw the half dead into the 
 streets, and left the dead unburied ; endeavouring by all the 
 means in their power to escape contagion, which, notwith- 
 standing all their contrivances, it was very difficult for them 
 to accomplish." 
 
 " In the same manner," writes Neander, from whose church 
 history the above is taken, " the Christians of Carthage let 
 the light of their love and Christian conduct shine before the 
 heathen in a pestilence which visited North -Africa a little 
 before, in the reign of Gallus. The heathen, out of cowardice, 
 left the sick and the dying; the streets were full of corpses, 
 which no man dared to bury ; and avarice was the only 
 passion which mastered the fear of death ; for wicked men 
 endeavoured to make a gain out of the misfortunes of their 
 neighbours ; and the heathen accused the Christians of being 
 the cause of this calamity, as enemies of the gods, instead 
 of being brought by it to the consciousness of their own guilt 
 and corruption. But Cyprian required of his church that 
 they should behold, in this desolating pestilence, a trial of 
 their dispositions. ' How necessary is it, my dearest breth- 
 ren,' he says to them, ' that this pestilence, which appears to 
 bring horror and destruction, should prove the consciences 
 of men ! It will determine whether the healthy will take 
 care of the sick, whether relations bear tender love ojie to 
 another, and whether masters care for their sick servants.' 
 That the Christians should show a spirit of mutual love 
 among themselves, was not sufficient to satisfy a bishop who 
 formed his notions after the model of the great Shepherd. 
 He therefore called his church together, and addressed them 
 thus: 'If we do good only to our own people, we do no more 
 than publicans and heathens. But if we are the children 
 
 25
 
 298 LECTURE X. 
 
 of God, who makes his sun shine and his rain to descend 
 upon the just and the unjust ; who sheds abroad his bless- 
 ings, not on his own alone, but even upon those whose 
 thoughts are far from him ; we must show this by OUT 
 actions, endeavouring to become perfect as our Father in 
 heaven is perfect, and blessing those who curse, and doing 
 good to those who persecute us.' Encouraged by this pa- 
 ternal admonition, the members of the church addressed 
 themselves to the work ; the rich contributing money, and 
 the poor their labour ; so that in a short time the streets were 
 cleared of the corpses who filled them, and the city saved 
 from the dangers of a universal pestilence."* 
 
 That the spirit of primitive Christians is still the charac- 
 teristic spirit of Christianity, in regard to all works of charity, 
 may easily be seen. Go where the gospel has attained the 
 greatest supremacy, and behold how every form of human 
 misery is met by the self denying diligence, and comforted by 
 the munificence, of the benevolent. What conceivable method 
 of removing distress, of preventing vice, and disseminating 
 happiness, has not been put in operation ? The whole Roman 
 empire had not one benevolent institution. The single city 
 of London counts her three hundred ! And why is so little 
 said or thought of them, except that the public mind has be- 
 come so accustomed to the noblest efforts of benevolence, that 
 they are now regarded almost as matters of course the 
 natural consequence of prevailing principles of brotherly 
 kindness and charity ? 
 
 It is not my design to exhibit any thing like a full length 
 portrait of the contrast between the civilization of modern, 
 and that of ancient nations. It is seen in all the relations of 
 life ; in the whole fabric of society, from the government of 
 the family, to that of the state ; from the tender cares of the 
 cradle and the mother to the wide concerns of communities 
 and rulers. Every thing has felt the change. Though not 
 perfect, it is immense. Much remains to be done, but mighty 
 
 * Rose.'* translation of TVfander's Ch. Hist.
 
 LECTURE X. 299 
 
 improvements have been effected. Were the whole work 
 undone should the sun, which now enlightens the moral 
 world, be commanded to go back, and suffer the classic 
 paganism of Greece and Rome to resume its sway ; every 
 joint in the mechanism of society would groan with pain ; 
 every corner in the household of civilized beings would be 
 filled with darkness ; the transition from the arts and litera- 
 ture of England to those of Hottentots or New Zealanders, 
 would not be greater than such a change from the moral 
 elevation of the present age, to the highest refinements of the 
 purest nations of antiquity. 
 
 Such is the fact. It remains to be accounted for. What 
 produced this change ? The religion of ancient heathens 
 pleads " not guilty" to the charge. It had no reference to 
 morals. The vilest crimes and the highest repute for piety 
 were perfectly consistent with each other, among heathens 
 of the Augustan age. It was no part of the business of then 
 priests to teach men virtue. No religion but that of the 
 Bible ever possessed or aimed at the power of reformation. 
 Equally clear are the literature, and philosophy, and arts of 
 antiquity from the imputation of this mighty revolution. 
 Never did they prevail so extensively among the heathen, as 
 in the first century of Christianity ; arid never weie they ac- 
 companied with such moral degradation. Philosophy had 
 as little disposition, as ability to reform. Whatever light it 
 may have possessed, it monopolized ; holding its truth in un- 
 righteousness, and studiously conforming its practice to the 
 worst abominations. " Cicero declares that the ancient phi- 
 losophers never reformed either themselves or their disciples ; 
 and that he knew not a single instance in which either th 
 teacher or the disciple was made virtuous by their principles."* 
 
 * Dwight on Infidel Philosophy. 
 
 " In their writings and conversation, the philosophers of antiquity asserted 
 the independent dignity of reason; but they resigned their actions to the com- 
 mands of law and custom. Viewing with a smile of pity and indulgence the 
 various errors of the vulgar, they diligently practised the ceremonies of their 
 fathers, devoutly frequented the temples of the gods ; and, sometimes conde-
 
 300 LECTURE X. 
 
 But ft may be supposed that, without any other cause 
 than its own natural fluctuation, the moral condition of 
 ancient nations may have taken a change, like the tides ol 
 the ocean, and begun to rise from the mere fact of being re- 
 duced to so low an ebb. Answer this by the present state of 
 those nations that continued under the native influence of 
 paganism. In which of them was such a thing ever known, 
 as a reformation of public morals '} Their unvaried history, 
 from the days of Moses to the present, settles the matter, that 
 heathenism has no power, but of progressive corruption ; 
 and, left to itself, can only reduce its votaries into deeper 
 and deeper debasement. Then, if the vast improvement in 
 question is neither -the consequence of the religion, nor the 
 philosophy, nor the arts, nor the literature, nor of any 
 natural reaction in the moral state of the ancient heathen ; to 
 what other cause must it be assigned ? History has but one 
 answer. Reason has but one answer. Christianity alone ; 
 single-handed, persecuted Christianity, by the agency of 
 twelve obscure Jews, began the wonderful change, and under 
 the favour of God, has accomplished its every step of ad- 
 vancement. Till such a thing as the religion of Christ ap- 
 peared in the world, a reformation of heathen society was 
 never dreamed of. Till Christians appeared among the 
 Gentiles, none had ever adventured, none were ever disposed, 
 to labour for the improvement of mankind. Christian writers 
 were the first that dared to drag the abominations of classic 
 antiquity to light, and brand them with the condemnation 
 of truth and righteousness. The first Christian emperor 
 
 scending to act a part on the theatre of superstition, they concealed the senti- 
 ments of an Atheist under the sacerdotal robes. It was indifferent to them 
 what shape the folly of the multitude, might choose to assume; and they ap- 
 proached, with the same inward contempt and the same external reverence, 
 the altars of the Lybian, the Olympian, or the Capitoline Jupiter." Gibbon's 
 History, i. 34. 
 
 A sorry tribute, by a philosopher, to the benevolence and honesty of his 
 ancient brethren. Paul would have drawn their picture with a darker pencil 
 stiii Paul's Master would have named them "hypocrites," "whiled sepulchres"
 
 LECTURE X. 301 
 
 issued the first prohibition of inhuman practices and amuse- 
 ments, which many centuries had sanctioned. Till the 
 gospel set up its churches and gathered its disciples, the 
 gentile world had never seen such a spectacle as that of a 
 society united by bands of love ; shining in the beauty of 
 holiness ; animated with zeal to do good at the expense of 
 self-denial and sacrifice. 
 
 How exclusively the happy effects of which we have been 
 speaking are the fruit of Christianity, is evident from the fact 
 that, when you take up a map of the world arid mark out 
 the boundaries of Christendom, you mark also the boundaries 
 of all civilization and refinement ; that as you approach the 
 regions where the Bible is best known and most obeyed, you 
 perceive a rapid increase of all the virtues, and charities, and 
 blessings of which the society of man is capable ; that the 
 highest elevation of the human character is where Chris- 
 tianity reigns in her purest form, and the blackest page in 
 the history of Christendom, the page most polluted with vice, 
 and red with cruelty and murder, is the record of the people 
 who trampled down the institutions of the gospel, decreed the 
 living God out of existence, and attempted to raise the deities 
 of ancient paganism from the dead. That many individuals 
 who deny the truth, and profess to be free from the influence 
 of Christianity, are decent men and far removed from the 
 condition of the heathen in point of moral precept, as well 
 as practice, is no evidence against our position. The light 
 of Christianity is all about them, and they cannot help seeing 
 by its aid. They have learned Christian truth from their 
 childhood, and it cannot be unlearned. Do what they may, 
 they cannot think or act without its influence. They may 
 boast the sufficiency of their own reason, but they can no 
 more exercise their reason without the aid of revelation, than 
 they can breathe the air of spring without the fragrance of 
 its flowers. " On all questions of morality and religion, the 
 streams of thought have flowed through channels enriched 
 
 vith a celestial ore, whence they have derived the tincture 
 
 25*
 
 302 LECTURE X. 
 
 to which they are indebted for their rarest and most salutary 
 qualities."* What a community of deists would be without 
 Christianity, can only be known by remembering what deists 
 were before Christianity came into the world, and what they 
 became, when in France they supposed they had almost ban- 
 ished her from the earth. 
 
 How remarkable are the confessions of infidels to the 
 excellent fruit and indispensable influence of the gospel ! 
 Bolingbroke acknowledges, " that Constantine acted the part 
 of a sound politician in protecting Christianity, as it tended 
 to give firmness and solidity to his empire, softened the fero- 
 city of the army, and reformed the licentiousness of the 
 provinces, and by infusing a spirit of moderation and sub- 
 mission to government, tended to extinguish those principles 
 of avarice and ambition, injustice and violence, by which 
 so many factions were formed." "No religion," says the 
 same opposer of Christianity, " ever appeared in the world 
 whose natural tendency was so much directed to promote the 
 peace and happiness of mankind. It makes right rdason a 
 law in every possible definition of the word. And therefore, 
 even supposing it to have been purely a human invention, it 
 had been the most amiable and the most useful invention 
 that was ever imposed on mankind for their good." Thus 
 even Rousseau : " If all were perfect Christians, individuals 
 would do their duty ; the people would be obedient to the 
 laws ; the magistrates incorrupt ; and there would be neither 
 vanity nor luxury in such a state." Such are the confessions 
 of many other writers of the same class. And yet these 
 men would run the ploughshare through the foundations of 
 the church of Christ, so that one stone should not be left upon 
 another. So much for the consistency, the virtue, and dis- 
 interested benevolence of infidelity ; or rather so much for 
 the contradiction between its head and its heart, its convic- 
 tions and its vices. 
 
 I know of nothing, in the way of fact, more strikingly 
 
 * Robert Hall.
 
 LECTURE X. 303 
 
 illustrative of the legitimate fruits of Christianity ; more com- 
 pletely in proof that all the social and moral blessings which 
 civilized nations at present enjoy, are to be ascribed to her 
 influence ; and that what she once was, as a tree of life to the 
 nations, she is now, and ever will be ; than the history of the 
 missions among the heathen, which protestant Christians are 
 now sustaining. Here we have experiments of her power 
 in all climates, over all habits and dispositions, and with all 
 classes of mind. She has gone in among the ice-bound in- 
 habitants of Greenland, whose intellect was as slow, and 
 sleepy, and creeping, as the seals they lived on ; and whose 
 hearts were as barren and cold as their perpetual snows. 
 She has entered among the inhabitants of the southern 
 extreme of Africa, the Hottentots, the very lowest gradation 
 of human nature, whose souls were supposed to be as incapa- 
 ble of enlightening and enlargement as the instincts of the 
 vermin that covered them. She has tried her powers among 
 the ferocious tribes of American Indians ; upon warriors 
 nourished with blood, and breathing a spirit of slaughter 
 which no sufferings nor dangers could ever tame. She has 
 lifted up her voice in the islands of the Pacific, among sav- 
 ages uniting with the most inhuman idolatry, the most beastly 
 vices and unnatural cruelties ; and from all this heteroge- 
 neous display of unshapen depravity, by the mere influence 
 of her truth and love, she has led forth a multitude of disci- 
 ples for the Lord Jesus, in whom are found precisely the 
 same distinctive features of meekness, humility, love, and 
 holiness. Look at the Sandwich, or the Society Islands ! 
 Within our own times were they universally pagan, having 
 no altars but those of daemons; no law but that of violence ; 
 no morals but those of unbridled passion. Theft was the 
 most national art. Polygamy ; crimes against nature ; the 
 murder of prisoners taken in war ; the destruction of infants 
 and the sacrificing of human victims, prevailed throughout 
 their population. What is the change ! Where are now 
 their idols ? In the museums of our missionary societies, as
 
 304 LECTURE X. 
 
 trophies of the victories of the cross ; or cast " to the moles 
 and the bats" ly those who once adored them. The plan 
 and mould of society have been recast. Laws, wisely 
 enacted and well admistered, keep the peace and promote 
 improvements. Crimes of all kinds are obliged to cease or 
 go into concealment. Marriage has given parents new affec- 
 tion for their children, and their children new ties among 
 each other. Benevolence, unknown before, has awakened a 
 desire to go about doing good. The Sabbath is reverenced 
 and widely kept for rest and worship. The arts of peace are 
 cultivated where formerly the only art desired was that of 
 war. The march of civilization is visible in all domestic 
 comforts and private affairs ; in agriculture, commerce, build- 
 ings, cleanliness, dress, manners, and government. Schools 
 are spread through the islands, and education is eagerly 
 sought by a large portion of the people of all ages and classes. 
 Such are the fruits of Christianity in our day. Nothing else 
 could have produced such fruits. Just after infidelity had 
 given the world a full length portrait, in the French revolu- 
 tion, of her power to tear down, and tear in pieces, and drown 
 in blood, whatever is lovely and of good report ; then Chris- 
 tianity set out, on the opposite side of the world, to furnish 
 a striking contrast, in the missions of the Pacific, of her 
 benign influence to exterminate whatever is odious and 
 depraved.* 
 
 * It is well known to the author that travellers and voyagers not unfre- 
 qaently bring back reports of the effects of missionary labours in the regions 
 they have visited, which stagger the minds of many sincere friends of foreign 
 missions. The accounts of what those honoured and devoted servants of 
 Christ, called missionaries, are doing, and of the-advances which the gospel 
 is making under their influence, may all be true; much more than they relate 
 may be true ; and yet it is very conceivable, yea, natural, that such men as 
 our ordinary visiters of foreign lands should return from those regions, having 
 neither seen nor heard any thing of the matter. Suppose a missionary were 
 accomplishing, with his schools and his preaching, among a tribe of Indians 
 in the centre of the state of New York, about as much as is reported of the 
 American labourers in the island of Ceylon ; how long might an intelligent 
 traveller, with no interest in religion, no relish for its intelligence, no love for
 
 LECTURE X. 305 
 
 Not only has the religion of the gospel produced such 
 fruits, but the experiment of eighteen hundred years is per- 
 fect proof, that in proportion as it shall ever be possessed in 
 
 the society of its disciples, no knowledge of its journals a man of fashion 
 and gayety, mingling only with the literary and worldly-minded; how long 
 might he reside in the fashionable circles of the city of Ne'w York, and sail 
 up the Hudson, and stop at Saratoga, and visit Niagara, and yet know abso- 
 lutely nothing of that diligent missionary and his usefulness? Men who 
 have lived all their days in a city which abounds in religious institutions and 
 Christian labours, without having become sufficiently informed to give a stran- 
 ger a correct account even of their respective characters, much less of their 
 real usefulness, will touch at a port in the Sandwich islands, see the port 
 population, go no further than the coast, inquire of none but the ungodly, and 
 then come home and report that the missionaries have done nothing to civilize 
 or convert the people. How should such men know ? On their principles 
 of judging, it might be reported, with equal reason, that Christianity has 
 secured no influence, and done no good, in the city of New York. An anec- 
 dote will illustrate how such authorities deserve to be regarded. A gentle- 
 man, not long since, returned to his native city in England, after having spent 
 some three or four years in India. The pious people of his acquaintance 
 (not considering the extent of the Indies, and his indifference to the cause of 
 Christ) supposed that of course he had seen the missionary stations, and 
 knew by his own observation all about the reported progress of religion in 
 that country. They inquired of him the state of things in this respect. He 
 assured them that the accounts they had read of missionary doings and suc- 
 cesses in the East had no foundation were mere traps to get contributions. 
 He had been in India, and travelled extensively, and had seen nothing of any 
 inroads upon heathenism, nor any changes among the people ; had scarcely 
 heard of tne existence of missionary stations. The people were amazed ! 
 Much harm was doing ; when a clergyman of the place, hearing of the mat- 
 ter, took an opportunity to converse with the traveller. Before disclosing his 
 object, he said to him : " You are probably familiar with the national 
 school system of instruction in this country. What do you think of it 7" 
 " Why no," answered the traveller, " I really am not acquainted with it." 
 " But you doubtless know that there is such a system, and have probably seen 
 its establishments, and heard much of its usefulness." " Why no, I have 
 never happened to do so, though I have a indistinct idea of the existence of 
 such a system." " Well," said the clergyman, "I will tell you. The national 
 school system has been established for several years in England. Its schools 
 are all over the country ; its pupils are many hundreds of thousands ; its 
 influence is universally felt. It maintains more than one school in your imme- 
 diate neighbourhood. Almost all your life has been spent in England, a 
 small country, and yet you know nothing of these interesting facts. You 
 have been a short time in the immense region of India, over which a few
 
 306 LECTURE X. 
 
 native soundness, and have room and freedom to spread its 
 roots and extend its branches, it will continue to bear such 
 fruit, more and more abundantly and perfectly, to the end of 
 time. This tree of life was planted to live through all ages, 
 and spread its shadow over all nations. The trials it stood 
 in its infancy ; the fierce assaults of every species of enmity, 
 which in every age of its subsequent growth have endea- 
 voured in vain to destroy it, are evidences that, as no human 
 power could have thus protected it, so no human opposition 
 can hereafter prevent its increase ; that it must grow, and 
 spread, and blossom, till time shall be no more. 
 
 I am well aware, and I desire not to conceal, that it is very 
 common with infidels to ascribe wars, intrigues, bloodshed, 
 and persecutions, to the influence of Christianity, and to 
 assert that the world has been covered with slaughter by the 
 hand of the gospel. The truth is, that whenever any evils, 
 such as wars or persecutions, arise, though infidels by pro- 
 fession, or mere nominal Christians, are at the bottom of 
 them ; though originated and carried on out of direct enmity 
 to the gospel ; yet, because the Christian name is involved in 
 the contest, infidels set down the whole to the account of 
 a religion, which, nevertheless, their chief men confess, has 
 a direct tendency to make every body do his duty* and " to 
 promote the peace and happiness of mankind.^ But on 
 the other hand, whenever any good is done in society, such 
 as the banishment of the crimes and vices of heathenism ; 
 the promotion of virtue, peace, good laws, good institutions, 
 benevolence, domestic and public happiness; then infidels 
 nave great difficulty in seeing how these blessings are con- 
 nected with Christianity, even though, by their own acknow- 
 
 missionary stations are scattered, as drops upon a desert ; and because, in 
 visiting a few prominent places, you heard or saw nothing of their influence 
 upon the millions of heathen, you would persuade us that what we have read 
 is all untrue. How much more should we believe that the national school 
 system is a fable !" The traveller was silenced ; the people were satisfied. 
 * Rousseau. t Bolingbroke.
 
 LECTURE X. 307 
 
 ledgment, the life of Jesus " showed at once what excellent 
 creatures men would be, when under the influence and powei 
 of thai gospel which he preached."* 
 
 . It is freely granted that in countries called Christian, great 
 evils remain to be cured ; their history abounds with wars, 
 some of which have been on account of the Christian religion, 
 and have been accompanied with great slaughter and lasting 
 enmities. But before these deplorable facts can justly be at- . 
 tributed to the influence of the peaceful and gentle religion 
 of Jesus, a number of important questions, which we shall 
 presently name, must be decided. By the confession of one 
 of the most noted infidels : " We have in Christ an example 
 of one who was just, honest, upright, and sincere, and above 
 all, of a most gracious and benevolent temper and behaviour. 
 One who did no wrong, no injury to any man ; in whose 
 mouth was no guile ; who went about doing good, not only 
 by his ministry, but also in curing all manner of diseases 
 among the people. His life showed what excellent creatures 
 men would be when under the influence and power of that 
 gospel which he preached unto them."t But hear on this 
 head the eloquence of the profligate Rousseau, venturing for 
 once to speak the truth : " I will confess that the majesty of 
 the scriptures strikes me with admiration, as the purity of 
 the gospel has its influence on my heart. Peruse the works 
 of our philosophers with all their pomp of diction ; how con- 
 temptible are they compared with the scriptures ! Is it possi- 
 ble that a book at once so simple and sublime should be mert4y 
 the work of man ? Is it possible that the sacred personage 
 whose name it records, should be himself a mere man ? What 
 sweetness, what purity in his manner ! What sublimity in 
 his maxims ! What profound wisdom in his discourses ! 
 Where is the man, where the philosopher, who could so live 
 and so die without weakness and without ostentation ? If 
 the life and death of Socrates were those of a sage, the life 
 
 * Chubb's True Gospel, viii. 55, 6. 
 t Chubb's True Gospel, viii. 56, 57.
 
 308 LECTURE X. 
 
 and death of Jesus were those of a God.' 5 Such are the con- 
 fessions of a man whose vice and vanity constrained him to 
 say : " / cannot believe the gospel." No wonder, when at 
 the same time he was saying in his heart, I will not renounce 
 my debaucheries. 
 
 But such confessions abound in the writings of infidels, so 
 that " the whole Christian argument might be maintained on 
 the admissions of one or other of the leading infidel writers , 
 and no contest remain, unless, if it could then be called one, 
 with the miserable, ignorant ferocity of Paine and his asso- 
 ciates."* 
 
 On the ground of such acknowledgments, and of the ac- 
 quaintance which any who ever read the New Testament 
 must have with its principles and tendency, let the following 
 questions be answered : Is there any tendency in the princi- 
 ples of the gospel to the enkindling of strife, hatred, war, or 
 bloodshed ? Was the character of its founder ; were the 
 characters of the apostles and primitive Christians among 
 whom the native influence of Christianity was most unequivo- 
 cally exhibited, in any manner indicative of such a tendency 
 in its principles ? Is not the whole history of the purest ages 
 of the gospel, as well as every page in the New Testament, 
 directly in proof of the very opposite effect? Did not all the 
 evils of war and national dissension prevail much more 
 universally before the establishment of Christianity, than they 
 have done since ? Is not the influence of this religion plainly 
 visible in mitigating those horrors of war which she has not 
 exterminated? And as to those which have continued to 
 subsist, are they in direct consequence, or in spite of her in- 
 fluence ; the fruit of the tree, or the poisonous weeds at its 
 root, which oppose its growth ? Are the men who have been 
 concerned in promoting these evils, and who are called Chris- 
 tians, believed to have been real Christians ? Do not infidels 
 discriminate sufficiently between genuine and nominal reli- 
 gion, to understand that, in thus acting, they were departing 
 
 * Wilson's Lectures.
 
 LECTURE X. 309 
 
 from the principles of the gospel, and proving that they were 
 Christians but in name ? " Have not the courts of princes, 
 notwithstanding Christianity may have been the ^professed 
 religion of the land, been generally attended by a far greater 
 proportion of deists, than of serious Christians ; and have not 
 public measures' been directed by the counsels of the former, 
 much more than by those of the latter? It is well known 
 that great numbers among the nobility and gentry of every 
 nation consider religion as suited only to vulgar minds; and 
 therefore either wholly absent themselves from public wor- 
 ship, or attend but seldom, and then only to save appearances 
 towards a national establishment. In other words, they are 
 unbelievers. This is the description of men by which pub- 
 lic affairs are commonly managed, and to which the good or 
 the evil pertaining to them, so far as human agency is con- 
 cerned, is to be attributed."* 
 
 It is a favourite manoeuvre with infidels to charge Chris- 
 tianity with all the persecutions on account of religion, and, 
 at the same time, to speak in high terms of " the mild tole- 
 rance of the ancient heathens ;" of " the universal toleration 
 of polytheism ;" of "the Roman princes beholding without con- 
 cern a thousand forms of religion subsisting in peace under their 
 gentle sway."t Better information on this subject is greatly 
 needed in the community. Heathen toleration was any thing 
 but virtuous, and much less universal than its modern eulo- 
 gists would represent. It allowed all nations to establish 
 whatever description of religion they pleased, provided each 
 would acknowledge that all, in their several spheres, were 
 equally good. But pagan nations required of every citizen 
 conformity to the national idolatries. This yielded, he migh 
 believe and be, whatever he pleased. This denied, immedi 
 ately toleration ceased. Take a few examples. Stilpo was 
 banished Athens, for affirming that the statue of Minerva, in 
 the citadel, was no divinity, but only the work of the chisel 
 of Phidias. Protagoras received a similar punishment for 
 
 * Fuller's Gospel its own Witness. t Gibbon. 
 
 26
 
 310 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 this single sentence : " Whether there be gods or not, I have 
 nothing to offer." Prodicus and his pupil, Socrates, suffered 
 death for opinions at variance with the established idolatry 
 of Athens. Alcibiades and JEschylus narrowly escaped a 
 like end for a similar cause. Plato dissembled his opinions ; 
 and Aristotle fled his country, under the lash of the mild and 
 universal toleration of the Grecian mythology. Cicero lays 
 it down as a principle of legislation entirely conformable to 
 the rights of the Roman state, that " no man shall have sepa- 
 rate gods for himself; and no man shall worship by himself 
 new or foreign gods, unless they have been publicly acknow- 
 ledged by the laws of the state."* The speech, in Dion 
 Cassius, which Maecenas is said to have made to Augustus, 
 may be considered a fair index of the prevailing sentiment 
 of that polished age. "Honour the gods," says Maecenas, 
 " by all means, according to the customs of your country, 
 and force others so to honour them. But those who are 
 for ever introducing something foreign in these matters, hate 
 and punish, not only for the sake of the gods, but also because 
 they who introduce new divinities mislead many others into 
 receiving foreign laws also. Suffer no man either to deny 
 the ods, or to practise sorcery." Julius Paulus, the Roman 
 civilian, gives the following as a leading feature of Roman 
 law : " Those who introduced new religions, or such as were 
 unknown in their tendency and nature, by which the minds 
 of men might be agitated, were degraded if they belonged to 
 the higher ranks, and if they were in a lower state, were 
 punished with death." Under this legislation, many of the 
 governors endeavoured to compromise with Christians, by 
 allowing them to believe and honour what they pleased in 
 their hearts, provided they would observe outwardly the reli- 
 gious ceremonies ordained by the state.t 
 
 Examples to the same effect, might be greatly multiplied. 
 I have furnished enough to show in what sense the heathen 
 princes " beheld, icithmit concern, a thousand forms of reli- 
 
 * De Legibus, ii. 8. t See Neander's Church History.
 
 LECTURE X. 311 
 
 gion subsisting in peace under their gentle sway ;" and how 
 far Voltaire was accurately informed or honestly disposed, 
 when boasting that the ancient Romans " never persecuted a 
 single philosopher for his opinions from the time of Romu- 
 lus till the popes got possession of their power." 
 
 It is willingly conceded that persecutions on account of 
 religion were enormously increased immediately after the 
 promulgation of Christianity ; inasmuch as nothing had ever 
 before attacked the superstitions and vices of the heathen 
 with her undaunted, uncompromising spirit. But did Chris- 
 tianity persecute ; or was she the object of persecution ? 
 Was Jesus the persecutor of Pilate 1 Did Paul persecute tho 
 worshippers of the Ephesian Diana, or the heathen of Ico- 
 nium, or those who stoned him at Lystra ? By whose intole- 
 rance was it, that, for three hundred years, the Christian 
 church was continually overflowed with the blood of her 
 martyrs? Did the multitudes who perished for Christ's 
 sake, under the paw of the lion, and the sword of the gladia- 
 tor, and the screws of the rack did they persecute the hea- 
 then priests, and people, and magistrates Nero, and Trajan, 
 and Diocletian with their proconsuls, and governors, and 
 executioners? 1 grant that in the lapse of centuries the 
 guilt of persecution did attach to the church. Christian 
 powers, and ministers, and people have, in various ages, been 
 justly liable to this lamentable charge. But who does not 
 know that the church, before ever she began to persecute, 
 had manifestly degenerated from the purity of the gospel, 
 md become deeply poisoned with the spirit of the world, hav- 
 ing her chief places occupied by such men as infidels know 
 were not influenced by vital Christianity ?* Who is so blind 
 as not to see that wherever such evils have existed among 
 
 * The emperoi 1 Julian acknowledged that persecutions were the inventions 
 of the later Christians; that neither Jesus, nor Paul, nor any other of the 
 first preachers of the gospel, had taught men to kill others for being of a 
 different religion, or for differing about lesser matters among tbemselves.- 
 Lardner, iv. 337.
 
 312 LECTURE X. 
 
 any people called Christians, they have been because those 
 people had so little of the spirit of the gospel, and not because 
 they had any of it ? They have been directly the reverse 
 of the religion professed by such persons ; the fruits of theii 
 own native disposition, combined with the character of the 
 ages they lived in, assimilating them thus far to infidels, 
 who have always been persecutors in proportion to their 
 power. True Christianity desires but one favour : liberty to 
 preach "Jesus Christ and him crucified" Her whole 
 dependence is on " the "demonstration of the Spirit." " God 
 giveth the increase" 
 
 We have now applied to Christianity the test by which she 
 claims to be proved ; one universally employed as safe, and 
 approved as just ; the tree is known by its fruits. The 
 religion of the gospel we have seen coming into the world at 
 a period when every moral evil abounded. The grossest 
 idolatry, attended with the most inhuman and indecent rites, 
 prevailed among the most enlightened nations. Spectacles 
 of slaughter and suffering constituted the public amusements. 
 Parents without natural affection, children in slavery to their 
 parents, and at the mercy of their displeasure, the female sex 
 degraded to a rank of servile inferiority, murders and cruel- 
 ties characterized the age. Vices of the most beastly kind 
 were practised and avowed in the highest and most influ- 
 ential classes of society. What would now shame out of the 
 world the most degraded of mankind, could then be ac- 
 knowledged, even by a public teacher of morals, without 
 reproach. Public opinion, the thermometer of public virtue, 
 had no condemnation for habits not only against all the 
 securities of domestic happiness and social welfare, but 
 against every dictate of nature, and requiring for their per- 
 mission the lowest debasement of the moral sense of the 
 community. Among all the gentile nations, none possessed 
 the benevolence to attempt, nothing had power to effect, the 
 reformation of a world thus sunk in wretchedness, and para- 
 lyzed with vice. It was the era, indeed, of the world's wis-
 
 LECTURE X. 313 
 
 dom ; but of a wisdom by which the world knew not God. 
 For centuries, had the wise men after the flesh been teaching, 
 and writing, and boasting ; and as long had every wo been 
 increasing, and every school becoming more perplexed in its 
 doctrines, and more abandoned in the practice of its disciples. 
 No change, for the better, was hoped for from any human 
 source. Then appeared "the wisdom of God." Chris- 
 tianity, uninvited, un welcomed, rejected ; Christianity, perse- 
 cuted as intrusive, despised as foolishness, ridiculed as weak- 
 ness, commenced at this crisis the bold work of regenerating 
 the world. Wherever ;she gained acceptation the face of 
 society was renewed. Order, purity, benevolence, justice, 
 mercy, every personal, domestic, and public virtue increased 
 as her influence extended. Under her charge, immense com- 
 munities of men and women were formed, who soon became 
 famous in the world for their earnest self-denying benevo- 
 lence, and their devotion to holiness. No sooner was chris 
 tianity professed by the rulers of the Roman empire, than 
 idolatry, with every unnatural crime and cruel amusement, 
 was abolished from society, or compelled to deny its exist- 
 ence. In proportion as this religion has reigned in any age 
 or country, there has been a manifest increase of all the bless- 
 ings of civilization, all the arts of peace, all the virtues of in- 
 dividual character, all the securities of a wise and equitable 
 government. Nothing has retarded the growth of these 
 benefits but what has alike retarded the progress of Chris- 
 tianity. No Christian people have suffered on account of 
 any evil, which Christianity has not directly opposed. Pre- 
 sent efforts to spread this holy religion among the heathen 
 demonstrate that her natural force is not abated, nor her 
 influence changed. What she did among the pagans of the 
 first, she is accomplishing, though as yet by slower steps, 
 among those of the nineteenth century. Such has been 
 from the beginning ; such is now ; and such, we have every 
 reason to believe, ever will be the fruit of Christianity. By 
 this she is known. By this let her claims to truth and divine 
 
 26*
 
 314 LECTURE X. 
 
 original be judged. Every honest mind is capable of appre- 
 ciating the evidence, and of applying the law. It is a case 
 by itself. No party appears to claim the credit of what Chris- 
 tianity ascribes to herself. Philosophy and the light of na- 
 ture are joined to their idols and vices, and cannot come to 
 the trial, and must therefore be excused. Infidelity was 
 tried during the " Reign of Terror" in France, and received 
 its sentence at the guillotine, and therefore cannot come. 
 Either the blessings we have described must be adjudged, 
 according to the plea, to the gospel of Christ, or pronounced 
 to be effects without a cause. Do they belong to the gos- 
 pel, or to nothing ? We speak the language of every con- 
 science and of all common sense when we say, the gos- 
 pel alone produced them, and the gospel alone could produce 
 them ; and should the gospel be thoroughly conformed to in 
 all the world, the whole world would be morally renovated, 
 and all those physical evils which proceed from the vices of 
 mankind would pass away. 
 
 What, then, is Christianity ? " Do men gather grapes of 
 thorns, or figs of thistles ?" " Can a corrupt tree bring forth 
 good fruit ?" This religion is either a truth or a fable ; the 
 revelation of God, or the wicked and blasphemous contrivance 
 of man. If it be the work of human contrivance, it must be 
 unspeakably offensive to God, inasmuch as it ascribes all its 
 doctrines directly to His teaching ; exalts its Founder to the 
 dignity of the divine nature, calling him the Son of God, 
 and making him equal to the Father in power and glory. 
 Between its entire truth as a divine revelation, and its un- 
 paralleled audacity and impiety as a human imposture, there 
 can be no middle ground. The unbeliever, in rejecting the 
 former, must resort, if consistent, to the latter. Then let us 
 see how much he is bound to believe in maintaining his 
 position. He must believe that since the truth, according tc 
 his views, does not reside in Christianity, it does reside in 
 some or q.11 of the systems of religion, or of philosophy, or of
 
 LECTURE X. 315 
 
 infidelity, to which Christianity is opposed. His creed, there- 
 fore, is substantially the following: 'I believe that in pro- 
 portion as the world has ever been committed to the influence 
 of those antichristian systems among which the truth is to 
 be found ; it has been continually increasing in all moral de- 
 generacy, having in it no spirit nor power of reformation. 
 I believe, also, that in proportion as Christianity, which should 
 be regarded only as a human contrivance of the grossest 
 blasphemy and impiety, has reigned in the hearts and lives 
 of men ; the world has been morally renovated, society hu- 
 manized, benevolence invigorated, personal and public happi- 
 ness extended and purified. Consequently, I believe that a 
 God infinitely wise, holy, and true, has so constituted man- 
 kind, that for the improvement and well-being of society, we 
 are under the necessity of believing and promoting what is 
 not only false, but heinously offensive to Himself; truth must 
 be concealed because we learn by experience that its currency 
 can only be accompanied with the greatest evils to the morals, 
 the peace, the whole interest of mankind ; teachers of error 
 and darkness must be depended upon as instruments of hu- 
 man elevation, while teachers of the truth should be discounte- 
 nanced as capable of nothing but the unhinging of the whole 
 frame-work of private and public welfare.' These, I say, are 
 the articles of belief which, whether avowed or not, do lie 
 wrapped up in the rejection of Christianity. The proof of 
 this assertion is in the lecture we are now closing. I need 
 not say that it sets, in strong and shining relief, the truth of 
 the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, as a revelation from Him 
 who is the giver of every good and perfect gift. " For the 
 preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness : but 
 unto us which are saved it is the power of God. Where is 
 the wise ? Where is the disputer of this world ? Hath not 
 God made foolish the wisdom of this world ? For after that 
 in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, 
 it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them
 
 316 LECTURE X. 
 
 that believe ; for the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek 
 after wisdom : But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews 
 a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness : But unto 
 them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the 
 power of God and the wisdom of God."* 
 
 * 1 Corinthians, i. 1824.
 
 LECTURE XI. 317 
 
 LECTURE XI. 
 
 THE FRUITS OP CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 THE rule by which Christianity was tried in our last lec- 
 ture, is as philosophical as it is scriptural. It is the rule of 
 experiment, in distinction from all the whims of conjecture 
 and ingenious theory, and has an application, as legitimate 
 and conclusive, to the character of Christianity, as to that of 
 any tree, or food, or medicine. None can deny that the 
 experiment of the religion of Christ has been varied suffi- 
 ciently to put it to the fairest trial, and continued long enough 
 to develope its most hidden qualities. Exposed to all ex- 
 tremes of physical and moral temperature ; tried upon all de- 
 scriptions of human beings ; required to preserve its purity 
 amidst all contagions ; to display its energies under all con 
 ceivable burdens and bonds ; to bear its fruit under the most 
 blasting influences ; and to stand against all possible combi- 
 nations of enmity ; sometimes subjected to the action of the 
 fire, then of the rack, and then of the knife, of unrelenting 
 persecutors ; eighteen hundred years have measured out its 
 trial, during which, whatever could be effected by science 
 united with industry, malice united with power, or vigilance 
 united with hypocrisy, has been done unceasingly to torture 
 it into a confession or a display of something at variance 
 with divine original. The trial, therefore, is sufficient. The 
 tree has had time and ample opportunity to be known by 
 its fruits. If it may not be finally tried by this rule, in the 
 nineteenth century of its budding and bearing, the fault 
 must be sought in the rale itself, not in the subject of inquiry. 
 
 In our last lecture we confined our attention to the fruits 
 of Christianity in regard to society in general. In the 
 present we are to consider.
 
 318 
 
 LECTURE XI. 
 
 ITS FRUITS IN REGARD TO THE CHARACTER AND HAPPI- 
 NESS OP ITS GENUINE DISCIPLES. 
 
 It is not without reflection that I introduce this subject 
 into the department of external evidence. I am aware that 
 it is generally considered as belonging exclusively to the class 
 of arguments denominated internal ; but I see not with what 
 propriety. So far as any effects of Christianity on individual 
 disciples are incapable of being brought under the observa- 
 tion of others, being confined to the inward experience of 
 the true believer, they are unquestionably internal in their 
 character, and do not belong to our present department. But 
 if they be such effects as witnesses can take knowledge of; 
 if the proof of them may be seen and appreciated by those 
 that are without, and who can look only on the outward 
 appearance ; I see not but they belong, as appropriately, to 
 the external evidence, as any of the effects of Christianity 
 upon society at large. "Without further vindication of a 
 matter of mere classification, I proceed. 
 
 I. The moral transformations which the gospel, in all 
 ages, has notoriously wrought, and by unquestionable proofs, 
 exhibited to the world, in the characters of those who have 
 become its genuine disciples, cannot be accounted for, 
 but on the supposition of a divine power accompanying 
 its operation. 
 
 To illustrate my meaning, let me describe what has been 
 witnessed under the ministry of Christianity so repeatedly, 
 that hardly any who have been in the way of such things 
 can have failed to become acquainted with apposite examples. 
 Persons of all grades of society and of intellect, and of all 
 degrees of enmity to the religion of Jesus ; in circumstances 
 the most unpropitious to its influence on their hearts ; even 
 while they were filled with the spirit of malice and persecu- 
 tion against its truth and disciples ; have had their minds 
 suddenly arrested by some simple expression of the Bible, or 
 some unpretending statement of Christian doctrine or expe- 
 rience ; perhaps it dropped from the lips of a minister against
 
 LECTURE XI. 319 
 
 whom, at that very time, they were nerved with anger ; or 
 was read in a Bible, or a little despised tract, that seemed 
 accidentally to lie in their way, and at which, as if by acci- 
 dent they condescended to look. It told them nothing new ; 
 nothing but what they had often heard or read before without 
 the smallest effect. And yet, without any argument to shake 
 their ungodly principles, or special application, by any hu- 
 man being, of the word, thus heard or read, to their particu- 
 lar condition ; they felt their minds seized upon by an 
 influence from which no effort of infidel argument, nor strug- 
 gle of pride, nor drowning of thought, nor exertion of cour- 
 age, nor devices of company and amusement, could enable 
 them to escape. A hand seemed to be upon them which all 
 their efforts to shake it off only fastened with more painful 
 power. They could get no peace of mind till they submitted 
 to its arrest. They were induced to listen to the gospel of 
 Christ, even while deeply conscious of a cordial opposition 
 to its requirements. A conviction of sin and condemnation, 
 such as they had ever derided, soon brought them to a pos- 
 ture of body and a spirit of supplication before God, in 
 which, a short time before, they would not have been seen 
 for the world. Soon they submitted to the claims of the gos- 
 pel ; became believers in Jesus ; confessed him before men, 
 and appeared, to all that had known them before, in what 
 aspect ? As new creatures ! Only a few days have elapsed 
 since they were notorious scoffers, bold blasphemers, angry 
 persecutors ; of profligate habits, impure conversation, and 
 hardened hearts, armed at all points against religion ; im- 
 moveable, in their own estimation, by any thing Christians 
 could say, and regarded by almost all that knew them as 
 utterly beyond conversion. 
 
 Now behold the change ! It is a change not merely of 
 belief, but of heart. Their whole moral nature has been 
 recast ; affections, desires, pleasures, tempers, conduct, have 
 all become new. What each hated, a few days since, he now 
 affectionately loves. What then he was devotedly fond of.
 
 320 LECTURE XI. 
 
 he now sincerely detests. Prayer is his delight. Holiness 
 he thirsts for. His old companions he pities and loves for 
 their souls' sake ; but their tastes, conversation, and habits, 
 are loathsome to his heart. Feelings, recently obdurate, have 
 become tender. A temper, long habituated to anger, and vio- 
 lence, and resentment, is now gentle, peaceful, and forgiving. 
 Christians whose company and intercourse he lately could 
 not abide, are now his dear and chosen companions, with 
 whom he loves to think of dwelling for ever. The proud un- 
 believer is an humble disciple. The selfish profligate has 
 become self-denied and exemplary, animated with a benevo- 
 lent desire to do good. All these changes are so conspicuous 
 to others ; he has become, and continues to be, so manifestly 
 a new man, in life and heart, that the ungodly are struck 
 with the suddenness and extent of the transformation. 
 
 This is a drawing from life. That such cases have fre- 
 quently occurred, and have been followed by all the perma- 
 nent blessings of a holy life, in thousands of places, and 
 before witnesses of all descriptions, it were a mockery of 
 human testimony and of the faith of history to question. 
 There is scarcely a faithful preacher of the gospel, whose 
 ministry has not been blessed with such fruits. There is 
 scarcely a village in this country, whose inhabitants cannot 
 tell of many such examples. They began when Christianity 
 began. They have been repeated as pure Christianity has 
 been promoted and extended. Such a case was that of Saul 
 of Tarsus. One moment he was a furious enemy of Jesus ; 
 learned, talented, proud ; of high reputation ; of brilliant 
 prospects ; the champion of Judea against the gospel of 
 Christ ; bearing the commission, and full of the spirit of a 
 persecutor. The next, he was on his face on the ground, 
 calling upon Jesus in the spirit of entire submission and 
 deep repentance. In a few days, he was preaching Christ in 
 the synagogues, at the risk of life, having made a total sacri- 
 fice of all earthly prospects and possessions, and given him- 
 self up to reproach, poverty and universal hatred, for the
 
 LECTURE XI. 321 
 
 sake of the gospel. All his dispositions, affections, and ha- 
 bits, had in that short space undergone so complete a change, 
 without any human agency, that he had become, and con- 
 tinued to be, directly the opposite of his former character. 
 Many similar examples must have been included in those 
 three thousand converts of the day of Pentecost, who 
 although when the morning rose upon them they were filled 
 with all the enmity of Jews and of crucifiers of Jesus, before 
 the day was over, were bowed at the feet of the same Jesus, 
 as his baptized disciples. So changed were they in every 
 worldly disposition, that they "sold their possessions and 
 goods, and parted them to all men as every man had need ;" 
 and all this under no human influence, but that of the preach- 
 ing of men whom they began to hear with contempt, and of 
 a doctrine to which they began to listen with the most ran- 
 corous aversion. How many thousand cases of the same 
 kind would the domestic history of the first century of the 
 gospel furnish ! What volumes might be filled with similar 
 examples, which the annals of Christianity in the nineteenth 
 century, and especially in this country, would exhibit ! Who 
 has attended to the blessed effects with which the distribution 
 of tracts and bibles has been accompanied, and cannot call 
 to mind instances in which the wonderful changes that were 
 wrought in the Earl of Rochester, in Col. Gardiner, and iv 
 the once degraded, and afterwards excellent John Newton 
 have in all important respects been equalled ? Since I com- 
 menced the preparation of this lecture, a case in point has 
 come to my view. Called from my study, to see a man who 
 had come on business, I found in the parlour a well-dressed 
 person, of respectable appearance, good manners, and sensi- 
 ble conversation a stranger. After a little while, he looked 
 at me earnestly, and said : " I think, sir, I have seen your 
 face before." " Probably," said I, supposing he had seen me 
 in the pulpit. "Did. you not once preach, in the receiving 
 ship, at the navy-yard, on the prodigal son, sir ?" " Yes." 
 
 " Did you not afterwards go to a sailor sitting on his chest, 
 
 27
 
 322 
 
 LECTURE XI. 
 
 and take his hand, and say, 'friend, do you love to read youi 
 Bible ?' " " Yes." I,- sir, was that sailor ; but then I knew 
 nothing about the Bible or about God : I was a poor, igno- 
 rant, degraded sinner." I learned his history, in substance, 
 as follows. He had been twenty-five years a sailor, and 
 nearly all that time in the service of the British navy, indulg- 
 ing in all the extremes of a sailor's vices. Drunkenness, 
 debauchery, profaneness made up his character. The fear 
 of death, or hell, or God, had not entered his mind. Such 
 was he, a sink of depravity, when an humble preacher of 
 the Methodist denomination, one day, assembled a little con- 
 gregation of sailors in the ship to which he was attached, and 
 spoke on the text : " Behold, now is the accepted time ; be- 
 hold, now is the day of salvation." He listened, merely 
 because the preacher was once a sailor. Soon it appeared to 
 him that the latter saw and knew him, though he was sitting 
 where he supposed himself concealed. Every word seemed 
 to be meant for a description of him. To avoid being seen 
 and marked, he several times changed his place, carefully 
 getting behind the others. But wherever he went, the preacher 
 seemed to follow him, and to describe his course of life, as 
 if he knew it all. At length the discourse was ended ; and 
 the poor sailor, assured that he had been the single object of 
 the speaker's labours, went up and seized his hand, and said : 
 " Sir, I am the very man. That's just the life I have led. I 
 am a poor miserable man ; but I feel a desire to be good, and 
 will thank you for some of your advice upon the subject." 
 The preacher bade him pray. He answered, " I have never 
 prayed in my life, but that I might be damned, as when I was 
 swearing ; and I don't know how to pray." He was instruct- 
 ed. It was a day or two after this, while his mind was anx- 
 ious but unenlightened, that Providence led me to him, sitting 
 on his chest. He said I showed him a verse of the Bible, as 
 one that would guide him. I asked if he remembered 
 which it was. "Yes, it was, l Him that cometh unto me T 
 will in no wise, cast out. 1 " Soon after this, his mind was
 
 LECTURE XI. 323 
 
 comforted with a hope of salvation through Jesus Christ 
 His vices were all abandoned. He became, from that time, 
 a new creature in all his dispositions and habits ; took special 
 care to be scrupulously attentive to every duty of his station ; 
 gained the confidence of his officers ; and, having left the 
 service, has continued ever since (more than three years) 
 an exemplary member of society, and of the church of Christ. 
 He is so entirely renewed, that no one could imagine, from 
 his appearance or manners, that he had been, for twenty-five 
 years, a drunken, abandoned sailor. This case I have selected 
 only because it was at hand. It is by no means a solitary 
 case. Nor is it any the worse for being taken from among 
 the poor and ignorant. I know not that beastly vice is more 
 susceptible of removal, or that habits of drunkenness, de- 
 bauchery, and profaneness, are any more capable of being 
 changed into those of soberness, purity, and prayer, for being 
 seated in ignorance and poverty, than when associated with 
 learning, rank, and opulence. 
 
 Now, be it remarked, that the reality of such cases is a 
 matter of fact, which one may question with about as much 
 reason as he might deny the best established phenomena in 
 natural history. Be it remarked, also, that in all such effects, 
 the individuals concerned have ascribed the total change in 
 their hearts and lives to the direct influence of the word and 
 Spirit of God, as set forth in the gospel of Jesus Christ. They 
 have generally been able to tell the particular truth, or com- 
 bination of scriptural truths, that awakened them from the 
 death of sin, and led them to embrace the hope of Christ and 
 the life or righteousness. Be it remarked, also, that among 
 all the cases of such conversions in all ages, and regions, and 
 circumstances, and with all varieties of character, there has 
 been a wonderful identity. The same effects, essentially, 
 have ensued under the application of the same gospel in the 
 present century, as in the time of St. Paul ; in modern Europe, 
 as in ancient Greece and Rome ; in Hindoostan, as in North 
 America ; among Hottentots, and the islanders of the South
 
 324 LECTURE XI. 
 
 sea, and savages of our western borders, as among the polished 
 inhabitants of New York or London. While all these va- 
 rieties of age, climate, customs, and cultivation, give a natu- 
 ral and pleasing variety to what may be called, in a figure, 
 the complexion, and costume, in which the conversion 
 appears ; the great change itself exhibits, under all circum- 
 stances, the same characteristic and inimitable features ; 
 insomuch that if you draw the likeness of a genuine convert 
 to Christ in his chief peculiarities, as manifested in this coun- 
 try, and send it to Burmah, or to the Sandwich Islands, or to 
 Caffre-land, or to Whampoa in China, or to Greenland, it 
 will be considered a good likeness, in main points, of the 
 dispositions, affections, tempers, habits, and life, produced by 
 the converting power of the gospel in any of those widely 
 differing regions. A genuine convert to Christ, in China, or 
 in Africa, may come to this country, and find among genu- 
 ine Christians here precisely his own feelings, tastes, sympa- 
 thies, and labours, though he never saw an American or 
 European before ; and he will be more at home among their 
 Christian feelings, than he can be among the manners and 
 dispositions of the people among whom he grew up and has 
 always lived. Thus it is evident that, whatever be the cause 
 of these universally similar effects, it must be the same cause, 
 universally ; the same in all ages, and in all parts of the world. 
 Now whether the gospel of Jesus Christ produced these 
 great and invariably corresponding effects ; or whether they 
 proceeded from some other universal cause, of which none of 
 the subjects were ever conscious, and which was never 
 known where the gospel was not known, and never operates 
 but under the name, and by means of, the gospel ; no man 
 of any philosophical pretensions is at liberty to doubt. He 
 has precisely the same reason to be assured that the gospel, 
 and nothing else on earth, is the cause of these admirable 
 fruits ; as that any medicine is the cause of a sick man's 
 recovery to health ; or that any vine, rather than a thorn-tree, 
 produced the grapes obtained from its branches.
 
 LECTURE XI. 325 
 
 Then, since these effects unquestionably belong to the gos- 
 pel, how are they to be accounted for? It will not do to put 
 them aside, Under the unceremonious imputation of fanati- 
 cism or enthusiastic excitement. Words are not reasons. 
 Infidel cant is not philosophical argument. If the gospel be 
 untrue ; then, not only must these most excellent fruits be 
 attributed to a corrupt tree, and these wholesome streams to 
 a poisoned fountain ; but it must be supposed that such sud- 
 den and entire transformations of human character, from the 
 lowest debasement of nature, to the highest principles of 
 virtue and purity, are nothing more than the results of human 
 agency and natural means. But if this be the case ; if a 
 system of untruth in the hand of man has done all this, we 
 have reason to expect that some other systems of doctrine, 
 with the same agency, would be productive of equal effects. 
 How then can it be accounted for, that nothing has ever been 
 invented or heard of, in all the earth, to which any results of 
 a like kind could be ascribed ? Other causes have produced 
 strong excitements, but no transformation of heart and life, 
 from sin to holiness. Other means have improved the morals 
 of men, by slow and in small degrees ; but none ever took 
 hold of a human wreck, and lifted him up out of the mire 
 and dirt of his profligacy, and carried him at once across the 
 wide gulf that separated him- from pureness, and in a few 
 days placed him in a new moral region, with a new heart, 
 and, in all things, a new creature. How can this be ex- 
 plained, if the gospel be a human invention, and its effects of 
 human production? Why should not infidels be capable 
 with all their wisdom and eloquence, of getting up a set of 
 influences to rival these gospel wonders, and deprive Chris- 
 tians of this monopoly of the work of new creation and of 
 holiness ? How is it that in proportion as any church de- 
 generates from the simplicity and purity of the gospel, it 
 ceases to witness such changes in the people attendant on its 
 preaching ? It is nothing to say that many things called con- 
 versions eventuate in no good fruits, and are nothing more 
 
 27*
 
 326 LECTURE XI. 
 
 than the natural consequences of temporary excitement. This 
 is freely granted. But you do not condemn a whole orchard, 
 because some of the trees were not successfully grafted ; nor 
 all virtuous men, because some, under the profession of virtue, 
 are mere pretenders. It is sufficient that thousands and 
 thousands of these effects have been of the most radical and 
 permanently beneficial character. Were they of human pro- 
 duction, something of a corresponding kind would have 
 appeared from other sources ; by other hands than those of 
 Christians ; in other countries and ages than those enlightened 
 by the Bible. Inasmuch as this has never occurred, we are 
 fully warranted in concluding that it could not; consequently, 
 that these effects are above the reach of human power. To 
 wtwm then shall we go but unto thee, O Lord ! who hast 
 committed this treasure of the gospel to earthen vessels, to 
 feeble men, to dispense it ; " that the excellency of the power 
 may be of God, and not of us." That we cannot compre- 
 hend in what manner the power of God operates in the 
 hearts of men, to work such wonderful revolutions in their 
 characters, is no valid objection to the matter of fact. " The 
 wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound 
 thereof, but canst not tell whence i't cometh and whither it 
 goeth." The phenomena of the winds are incomprehensible, 
 and yet believed. " So is every one that is born of the Spirit. 1 " 
 
 Now, I think we may be content to pass from the position 
 with which we began that the moral transformations which 
 the gospel, in all ages, has notoriously wrought, and, by un- 
 questionable proofs, exhibited to the world, in the character's 
 of those who have become its genuine disciples, cannot be 
 accounted for, but on the supposition of a divine power accom- 
 panying its operations. 
 
 II. We proceed to speak of the fruits of Christianity, as dis- 
 played in the lives of its genuine disciples, in contrast with 
 those which notoriously characterize the lives of its opposers. 
 The virtues of true Christians have been the same in all ages 
 of Christianity. It was 'Swith well doing" that, in the days
 
 LECTURE XI. 327 
 
 of St. Paul, they were accustomed to silence their enemies. 
 Having become free from sin, they became servants of 
 righteousness, and had their fruit unto holiness. " Such were 
 some of you," saith St. Paul to Christians of that famous 
 brothel of all Greece, the city of Corinth; " Such were some 
 of you (partakers in all vice); but ye are washed, but ye are 
 sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, 
 and by the spirit of our God." The apostles could appeal to 
 whole communities, for evidence of their blameless character. 
 " Ye are witnesses and God also, how holily, and justly, and 
 unblameably we behaved ourselves among you." Even by 
 the testimony of the ancient and deadly enemies of the gospel, 
 the- lives of Christians had no parallel among any other 
 people. The early defenders of the faith publicly challenged 
 a scrutiny of their virtue. It was their remarkable steadfast- 
 ness in resisting the allurements of vice, and their heroic 
 patience, under all the tortures employed to break their attach- 
 ment to holiness, that often excited the bitterest hatred of their 
 enemies. Compare the purity, benevolence, and humility of 
 the apostles, with those of any philosophers of antiquity, or 
 any leaders in modern infidelity. Pliny, the Roman governor, 
 in the first century, having investigated extensively, and even 
 by torture, the moral character of the Christians, who filled 
 the province over which he presided, declares, in his cele- 
 brated letter to Trajan, that he could discover nothing more 
 against them than that " they were accustomed, on a stated 
 day, to meet before daylight, and to repeat among themselves 
 a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by an 
 oath not to commit any wickedness ; but, on the contrary, to 
 abstain from thefts, robberies, and adulteries ; also not to vio- 
 late their promise, or deny a pledge ; after which it was their 
 custom to separate, and to meet again at a promiscuous, harm- 
 less meal." Gibbon fully sustains this testimony. By his 
 description alone, the primitive Christians were lights of une- 
 qualled excellence in the midst of heathen darkness and 
 depravity What Christians were in primitive a^es, they still
 
 328 
 
 LECTURE XI. 
 
 remain, exactly in proportion as you have reason to believe 
 their hearts to be engaged in their faith. To say in this coun- 
 try that any one is a true Christian, is at once to give a 
 certificate that he is worthy of all confidence, and more than 
 usually virtuous : we could not desire a more complete proof 
 of public opinion as to the personal fruits of the gospel. The 
 bare fact that there are hypocritical professors of the Christian 
 character ; that bad men will put themselves to the self denial 
 of endeavouring to act and seem like Christians, for the pur- 
 pose of gaining confidence in their integrity, is a strong prooi 
 of the public estimation in which Christian virtue is held, and 
 of the genuine gold of which the character of a real disciple 
 of Christ is composed. Men never counterfeit a spurious 
 currency. Copper coin is too cheap to tempt a forgery. We 
 never hear of the wicked putting on the mask of infidelity. 
 to secure a character for honesty, soberness, chastity, faithful- 
 ness, arid benevolence. If Christian virtue were not in high 
 repute, and much more current in society than any other, 
 hypocrites would take care to choose a mask that would sit 
 more pleasantly upon their vicious propensities ; they would 
 select a cloak that would less confine, and smother their 
 sinful habits. It is notorious among us that no sooner do we 
 hear of an individual that he has become a communicant in 
 the church, than the presumption is that he is not only sober, 
 honest, and of pure morality ; but that he has adopted princi- 
 ples of a very elevated virtue and purity, and is more than 
 ordinarily benevolent. Whence this, but from the general 
 experience of what communicants are? What is it. that 
 makes a breach of truth and honesty, or an act of cruelty, or 
 a' violation of justice, or a departure from chastity or tempe- 
 rance, in a person professing to be a genuine Christian, so 
 immediately and generally a matter of particular notice and 
 surprise among all classes ? Is it not because such occur- 
 rences are singular, and little expected ? But they excite no 
 surprise, and but little attention, when attached to those who
 
 LECTUBfi XI. 329 
 
 reject Christianity; because among such people they are 
 neither singular nor unexpected. 
 
 Why is it that parents so universally prefer to have genu- 
 ine Christians intrusted with the education of their children? 
 that when places of trust and temptation are to be filled ; 
 when men have property to invest, or agents to engage, in a 
 business requiring special inflexibility of uprightness, they 
 feel it to be at once a heavy weight in the scale of a candi- 
 date, that he is a sincere and devoted Christian ?* Who are 
 the benevolent, disinterested, self-denied labourers in all good 
 works ? Where do the poor, and hungry, and outcast, apply 
 for assistance with the most confidence of finding a sympa- 
 thizing heart and a ready hand ? Go around to all the noble 
 institutions of charity ; to the asylums for orphans, for wid- 
 ows, for the blind, for the deaf and dumb, for juvenile crimi- 
 nals ; to the schools of gratuitous instruction. Take a list 
 of those who give money, and time, and toil, for their support. 
 What would become of them, were it not for the Christians 
 associated in all their concerns? Who are they that tread 
 the loathsome alleys, and dive into the wretched habitations 
 
 * The lecturer was once particularly struck with the evidence of this. He 
 was connected with the military academy at West Point. Two offices of 
 great importance to the discipline of the corps of cadets were to be filled from 
 its own ranks. The order of the academy had suffered materially for want 
 of officers in those places who would not swerve from duty out of deference to 
 the public opinion, the persuasions or threatenings of their fellows. Two ca- 
 dets were selected, who had recently become professors of religion. They 
 were assailed with all manner of influence to induce them to relax in favour 
 of certain indulgences to which a portion of the corps had been accustomed 
 at the hands of their predecessors. I need not say they mildly, but firmly 
 held to their duty. One day, as they were leading oat the companies to 
 which they were attached, for evening parade, I said to an officer of the insti- 
 tution who had been chiefly instrumental in their selection: "Why have you 
 chosen these cadets for such places ? One of them, indeed, has a fine soldierly 
 appearance; but the other is just the contrary, and has nothing of the soldier 
 about him." " Why (said he), the truth is, we required those who would do 
 their duty without regard to the wishes and expectations of others or to the 
 custom that has been prevalent in the corps ; and we knew they would be 
 firm." I never heard of this confidence, being disappointed.
 
 330 LECTURE XI. 
 
 of vice and poverty, in crowded cities, in cold winter, hunting 
 up the wretched subjects of disease and pollution, for the 
 purpose of relieving and reclaiming them ? Who put them- 
 selves to the painful work of begging for the poor, and after 
 bearing all the extreme unpleasantness of such a task, finish 
 their labour in the careful distribution of their hard earned 
 alms, asking no recompense but that of doing good ? 
 
 From Christians in general, turn your attention to their 
 leaders. Is it not well known that when a minister of the gos- 
 pel can be commended for nothing more than a moral life and 
 unblemished honesty, it is considered a positive condemna- 
 tion ? To give him the highest praise that a Deist can pre- 
 tend to, and then to say no more, is to leave his character 
 under a taint. It is expected that he will be more than 
 moral, and honest, and friendly. You look that he shall be 
 holy; eminently pure; full of active benevolence, going 
 about doing good. Prove that he is destitute of these distin- 
 guished virtues, and public opinion will adjudge him unwor- 
 thy of his name and profession. That all ministers are not 
 exemplary and devotedly holy men, only proves that the 
 sacred office, like all others, is liable to be intruded on by the 
 unworthy. Every body knows that such cases, instead of 
 being favoured by the influence of Christianity, are directly 
 opposed to it. But subtract from the number of the minis- 
 ters of the gospel, every one on whom the least suspicion of 
 a want of virtue ever rested ; leave none, but those who at 
 any moment can obtain, from all that know them, the praise 
 of being the excellent of the earth ; and what a host will 
 remain of men whose lives are conspicuous examples of 
 inflexible integrity and of exalted principles of purity and 
 holiness ; whose daily strength is laid out in efforts to benefit 
 their fellow-creatures ; and around whom, at the bare men- 
 tion of a charge implicating their characters, will be collected 
 the widow, the fatherless, the stranger, with those who have 
 been lifted up out of ignorance, or reclaimed from profligacy,
 
 LECTURE XI. 331 
 
 or delivered from wretchedness, in grateful defence of their 
 best earthly benefactors. 
 
 Now, for the sake of a contrast, let us turn to the lives of 
 infidels. I do not deny that there are instances of such men, 
 who have led what passes for a good moral life ; men of fait 
 dealing in business, and of sober, decent habits ; whom pub 
 lie opinion, the customs of society, intellectual occupations, 
 and prosperous circumstances, have preserved from the 
 slavery of low propensities and criminal deeds. But what is 
 there in such virtue, beyond a fair outside ? Is it formed 
 upon any foundation more meritorious than that of reputa- 
 tion, interest, and the expectation of society? Could you 
 trust its purity in the presence of strong temptation ? What 
 would become of it, should interest, reputation, and human 
 customs, withdraw their countenance, and preach a contrary 
 practice ? But we speak of infidels, as a body. The fact 
 that a few are singled out and marked as sober, honest, moral 
 men, only proves that such cases are exceptions to the cha- 
 racter of the heterogeneous body with which they are asso- 
 ciated. It is a general rule, that when you say of a man 
 " he is an infidel," it is to say that he is not a moral man : 
 not a benevolent man ; not a person to engage in any self- 
 denying labours for the purpose of doing good. This is pub- 
 lic opinion, the result of a long experiment of infidelity. Its 
 foundation may be seen in the whole history of criminal 
 jurisprudence ; in the records of our courts ; the annals of 
 our penitentiaries ; the police of large cities ; the inner 
 chambers of the gambling house and the brothel. Cases of 
 seduction, adultery, and suicide, are the authorities to which 
 reference should be made for the fruits of infidelity, as gene- 
 rally exhibited. 
 
 A French writer, addressing Voltaire, asks him: "Will 
 you dare assert that it is in philosophic families we are to 
 look for models of filial respect, conjugal love, sincerity in 
 friendship, or fidelity among domestics ? Were you disposed 
 to do so, would not your own conscience, your own expe-
 
 332 LECTURE XI. 
 
 nence, suppress the falsehood, even before your lips could 
 utter it?" An anecdote in point is related by Fuller. A 
 man of literary eminence, but an infidel, was accustomed to 
 converse with a brother sceptic where they were necessarily 
 heard by a pious but uneducated countryman. Afterwards, 
 it came to pass that the educated infidel became an humble 
 Christian. Feeling, now, a serious concern lest his conversa- 
 tion should have poisoned the mind of the countryman, he 
 inquired if such was the fact. " By no means," answered 
 the other ; " it never made the least impression." " No im- 
 pression ! Why you must have known that we had read 
 and thought on these things much more than you had any 
 opportunity of doing." "O yes," said the other; "but I 
 knew also your manner of living: I knew that to maintain 
 such a course of conduct you found it necessary to renounce 
 Christianity."* 
 
 It is well known how very seldom such a thing has occur- 
 red as the detection, in any penitentiary crime, of one who 
 had enjoyed the benefit, for a considerable period, of a Sun- 
 day school education ; although, during the last twenty 
 years, millions, in Great Britain and the United States, have 
 had that privilege. What if all these had been trained, with 
 equal diligence, in schools of infidelity ! How differently 
 would the effects of the system have been marked upon the 
 records of crime, and upon the peace, purity, and order 
 of society ! 
 
 The precise difference between the fruits of Christianity 
 and of infidelity, as exhibited in the general assemuly of their 
 respective professors, consists in this : There are those who 
 profess to be Christians, and yet are wicked men ; but they 
 are wicked in direct opposition to the influence of Christianity 
 as well as to the characters and influence of those with whom 
 they are connected. There are, also, those who profess to be 
 infidels, and yet are men of sobriety, and amiableness, and 
 moral deportment ; but they are such, in direct opposition to 
 
 * Gospel its own Witness.
 
 LECTURE XI. 333 
 
 the influence of infidelity, as well as to the characters and 
 influence of those with whom, as infidels, they are associated. 
 The former and the latter are alike exceptions to the general 
 rule. 
 
 But let us turn from infidels in general, to their teachers 
 and leaders. A stream is seldom purer than its fountain. A 
 ri ver rises no higher than its source. We may consider the 
 chief priests and scribes, the elders, and rulers, and cham- 
 pions of infidelity, who have constructed its various creeds arid 
 composed its books of scripture its Humes, and Tindals, 
 and Bolingbrokes, and Paines, and Voltaires, and Rousseaus 
 as affording, in the average of their character, a fair stand- 
 ard for the measurement of the moral stature of infidels in 
 general. What, then, was the moral worth of those re- 
 nowned leaders in the war against Christianity? Let w 
 look at their principles. 
 
 Herbert maintained that the indulgence of lust and anger 
 is no more to be blamed than the thirst of a fever, or the 
 drowsiness of a lethargy. Thus, every vicious propensity 
 was licensed. Hobbes, that every man has a right to all 
 things, and may lawfully get them if he can. Thus, all 
 theft was licensed. Again, that a subject may lawfully deny 
 Christ before a magistrate, although he believes Christ in his 
 heart. Thus, all hypocrisy was licensed. Again, that a 
 ruler is not bound by any obligation of truth or justice, and 
 can do no wrong to his subjects. Thus, all tyrannical op- 
 pression and cruelty were licensed. Again, that the civil 
 law is the sole foundation of good and evil ; of right and 
 wrong. Thus, moral principle is as various as climate and 
 country, and vice in one, may be exalted virtue in another. 
 Hume maintained that self-denial, self-mortification, and 
 humility, ire not virtuous, but useless and mischievous ; that 
 pride and self-valuation, ingenuity, eloquence, strength of 
 body, &c., are virtues ; that suicide is lawful and commenda- 
 ble ; that adultery must be practised, if we would obtain all 
 the advantages of life ; that female infidelity, when known,
 
 334 
 
 LECTURE XI. 
 
 is a small thing; when unknown, nothing. Bolingbroke, 
 that ambition, the lust of power, avarice, and sensuality, may 
 be lawfully gratified, if they can be safely gratified ; that 
 modesty is inspired by mere prejudice, and has its sole founda- 
 tion in vanity; that man's chief end is to gratify the appe- 
 tites and inclinations of the flesh ; that '- adultery is no viola- 
 tion of the law, or religion of nature ; that there is no wrong 
 in lewdness, except in the highest incest."* 
 
 These principles will suffice as specimens of infidel writers 
 in regard to moral obligation. It is fair to judge men by 
 their professions. Few rise above their opinions, in practice ; 
 none, in heart. When one contends that he may innocently 
 indulge his vicious propensities, we need not doubt that he 
 does indulge them. These writers either believed what they 
 professed, or they did not. If the latter, they were gross 
 hypocrites, endeavouring to spread what they knew was 
 deadly poison. If the former, then tell me what kind of 
 practice, what veracity, what honesty, what chastity, or any 
 other virtue, can be supposed to have dwelt in men who in 
 grave, philosophical discussions could publish such senti- 
 ments to the world ? Had we no other evidence of the lives 
 they led, we might conclude with certainty, from these pro- 
 fessed opinions, that, while one, here and there, may not have 
 carried them out to their full extent, none could have been, 
 in any sense, good men; while the generality must have 
 been without any regard to truth ; guilty of gross hypocrisy 
 and dissimulation ; willing to ofler any sacrifice at the shrine 
 of ambition and human praise; unbridled in temper and 
 passion ; seducers, adulterers, and corrupters of their fellow- 
 creatures. Such is the description which, so far as any 
 accounts of their private characters have been received, is 
 fully sustained by facts. 
 
 Hume pretended to a great diligence in search of truth 
 and spent all his powers against the gospel, and yet, says Dr. 
 Johnson, " confessed that he had never read the New Testa- 
 
 * See Dwight on Infidel Philosophy.
 
 LECTURE XI. 335 
 
 merit with attention." His friend in scepticism, Adam Smith, 
 considered him " as approaching as nearly to the idea of a 
 perfectly wise and virtuous man as perhaps the nature of hu- 
 man frailty will permit." But since, in his estimation, female 
 infidelity, when unknown, was nothing; one needs pretty posi 
 tive evidence to believe that he was specially pure.* 
 
 Gibbon's moral character is seen in his History of the 
 Roman empire ; a work full of hypocrisy, perversion, and 
 impurity ; the production of a mind as unchaste, as it was 
 insidious. When he could not find an occasion to insult 
 Christianity, he made it, by false glosses or dishonest colour- 
 ings. " A rage for indecency pervades the whole work ; 
 but especially the last volumes. If the history were anony- 
 mous, I should guess that these disgraceful obscenities were 
 written by some debauchee, who having from age, or accident, 
 or excess, survived the practice of lust, still indulged himself 
 in its speculations ; and exposed the impotent imbecility, after 
 he had lost the vigour, of the passions."t This was no 
 11 arrow shot at a venture." 
 
 * That Hume was virtuous, without chastity, is evident from his essays. 
 They contain passages, by way of wit or illustration, not only gratuitously 
 introduced, but forced in Ny a mere amateur taste of the writer, which a chaste 
 mind would not have thought of, and a man of chaste habits and principles 
 would have rejected, as both polluting to his pages and disgraceful to his cha- 
 racter. I cannot believe that one who could venture on such sentences before 
 the public eye, and show such pleasure and evident facility in grovelling inde- 
 cencies of writing, was free from unclean practice where no public eye was 
 to be encountered. And still, in Adam Smith's opinion, he may have been 
 " as perfectly virtuous as the nature of human frailly would permit" What 
 exceptions are included under this last clause, who can say 1 In an infidel's 
 creed, virtue has no more quarrel with unchasteness, than in the creed of the 
 Spartans, it had with theft. Among the latter, nothing was required to make 
 stealing virtuous but concealment. Among the virtuosi of infidelity, what 
 more is required to establish the innocence of impurity 1 
 
 The person who put out an edition of Hume's Essays in this country, dedi- 
 cating it to the president of the United States, and lauding Hume and his 
 principles to the skies, showed very plainly how he had profited by hii 
 favourite volume, at least by the Essay in defence of Suicide He killei) 
 himself by drunkenness ! 
 
 t Porson.
 
 336 LECTURE XI. 
 
 What gross hypocrisy and lying pervade the writings of 
 Herbert, Hobbes, Shaftesbury, Woolston, Tindal, Collins, 
 Blount. Chubb, and Bolingbroke ! One while they are 
 praising Christianity, exalting Jesus, professing to have the 
 sincerest desire that the gospel may be promoted. At another 
 time, they are scoffing at its essential doctrines ; charging its 
 Founder with imposture ; and diligently labouring to destroy 
 it. Hobbes affirms that the scriptures are the voice of God, 
 and the foundation of all obligation ; and yet that all religion 
 is ridiculous. Shaftesbury says that it is censurable to 
 represent the gospel as a fraud ; that he hopes its enemies will 
 be reconciled to it, and its friends, prize it more highly ; and 
 yet he represents salvation as ridiculous ; insinuates that the 
 designs of Christ were those of deep ambition, and his zeal 
 and spirit savage and persecuting ; that the scriptures were 
 an artful invention for mercenary purposes. Collins protests 
 that none are further from being engaged in the cause of 
 infidelity ; that he writes for the honour of Jesus, and the 
 defence of Christianity ; to advance the Messiahship and 
 truth of the holy Jesus, " to whom? he says, " be glory for 
 ever and ever, amen ;" and yet he casts the most scurrilous 
 reflections on this holy One, compares the gospels to Gul- 
 liverian tales, says they are full of absurdities, and must be 
 rejected, and the authority of Jesus along with them.* 
 
 Such are a few examples of the honesty of such men. 
 What if Christians should thus flatter infidelity, and next 
 revile it ? When would their opponents cease exposing their 
 hypocrisy ? The best of infidel writers cannot be trusted on 
 the score of veracity, when Christianity is in question. The 
 corruption of the texts of books, the misrepresentation of 
 facts, the grossest unfairness in citations, are accounted 
 lawful by their Humes and Gibbons in this controversy 
 One of their own fraternity may here be allowed to testify, 
 " If," says Rousseau, " our philosophers were able to discovei 
 truth, which of them would interest himself about it? 
 
 * Dwight on Infidel Philosophy.
 
 LECTURE XI. 33? 
 
 There is not one among them who would not prefer his 
 own error to the truth discovered by another. Where is the 
 philosopher, who, for his own glory, would not willingly 
 deceive the whole human race?" 1 need not spend time, 
 after all that has been exhibited, in showing that such leaders 
 in infidelity have evinced no spirit of benevolence, no 
 disposition to labour for the benefit of their fellow-creatures ; 
 but on the contrary, have lived unto themselves, and almost 
 without exception, cultivated the coldest selfishness. 
 
 But to speak more directly of the morals of leading infi- 
 dels. Bolingbroke was a libertine of intemperate habits and 
 unrestrained lust. Temple was a corrupter of all that came 
 near him, given up to ease and pleasure. Emerson, an 
 eminent mathematician, was " rude, vulgar, and frequently 
 immoral.' 1 " Intoxication and profane language were familiar 
 to him. Towards the close of life, being afflicted with the 
 stone, he would crawl about the floor on his hands and 
 knees, sometimes praying, sometimes swearing," The 
 morals of the Earl of Rochester are well known. Godwin 
 was a lewd man by his own confession, as well as the 
 unblushing advocate of lewdness. Shaftesbury and Collins, 
 while endeavouring to destroy the gospel, partook of the 
 Lord's Supper, thus professing Christian faith for admission 
 to office ! " Woolston was a gross blasphemer. Blount 
 solicited his sister in-law to marry him ; and being refused, 
 shot himself. Tindal was originally a protestant, then turned 
 papist, then protestant again, merely to suit the times ; and 
 was at the same time infamous for vice in general, and the 
 total want of principle. He is said to have died with this 
 prayer in his mouth: 'If there is a God, I desire that he 
 may have mercy on me.' Hobbes wrote his Leviathan to 
 serve the cause of Charles I. ; but finding him fail of success, 
 he turned it to the defence of Cromwell, and made a merit 
 Df this fact to the usurper : as Hobbes himself unblushingly 
 declared to Lord Clarendon."" Need I describe Voltaire ? 
 
 * D wight on Infidel Philosophy. 
 
 28"
 
 338 LECTURE XI. 
 
 prince of scoffers, as Hume was prince of sceptics ; in 
 childhood, initiated into infidelity ; in boyhood, famous for 
 daring blasphemy ; in manhood, distinguished for a malig- 
 nant, violent temper, for cold-blooded disruptions of all the 
 ties and decencies of the family circle, for the ridicule of 
 whatever was affecting, and the violation of whatever was 
 confidential ! Ever increasing in duplicity and hypocritical 
 management, with age and practice ; those whom his wit 
 attracted and his buffoonery amused, were either disgusted or 
 polluted by his loathsome vices. Lies and oaths, in their 
 support, were nothing to his maw. Those whom he openly 
 called his friends, he took pains secretly to calumniate; 
 flattering them to their faces, ridiculing and reviling them 
 behind their backs. Years only added stiffness to the 
 disgusting features of his impiety, coldness to his dark 
 malignity, and fury to his impetuous temper. Throughout 
 life, he was given up " to work all uncleanness with greedi- 
 ness." Such was the witty Voltaire, who, in the midst of 
 his levity, had feeling and seriousness enough to wish he 
 had never been born. 
 
 What shall we say of J. J. Rousseau ? a thief, and liar, and 
 debauched profligate, by his own " Confession." Educated a 
 protestant, he turned papist for "subsistence;" and afterwards 
 professed protestantism again at Geneva, that he might enjoy 
 the rights of citizenship, while all the while he was a foul- 
 mouthed infidel. He began life as an apprentice. Having 
 robbed his master and others, he fled and became a footman, in 
 which capacity, having again acted the thief, he tried to swear 
 the crime on a maid-servant, who lost her place by his villany. 
 Stealing he never abandoned, however abandoned himself. 
 Late in life, he said : " I have been a rogue, and am so still, 
 for trifles which I had rather take than ask for." Of his 
 intercourse with vile women ; how he took advantage of the 
 hospitality of friends to ruin the characters of those who re- 
 ceived him kindly ; how he coldly committed, one by one, 
 the offsprings of his base connexions to the charity of the
 
 LECTURE XI. 339 
 
 public, that he might be spared their trouble and have room 
 for more ; how utterly devoid was this talented infidel of all 
 natural affection, as well as all decency ; my lecture is too 
 modest to relate. To use his own language, guilty without 
 remorse, he soon became so without measure. Such was the 
 man whom infidels have delighted to honour. The friends 
 of Christ have reason to thank him for saying, " / cannot 
 believe the gospel." " For what communion hath light with 
 darkness ? And what concord hath Christ with Belial ?" 
 
 Nothing but the circulation attempted, of late, to be given 
 to the scurrilous writings of Paine, induces me to descend 
 low enough amidst " the offscouring of all things," to speak 
 of the life of that miserable man. His first wife is said to 
 have died by ill usage. His second was rendered so misera- 
 ble by neglect and unkindness, that they separated by mutual 
 agreement. His third companion, not his wife, was the victim 
 of his seduction, while he lived upon the hospitality of her 
 husband. Holding a place in the excise of England, he was 
 dismissed for irregularity ; restored, and dismissed again for 
 fraud, without recovery. Unable to get employment where 
 he was known, he came to this country, commenced politician, 
 and pretended to some faith in Christianity. Congress gave 
 him an office, from which, being soon found guilty of a breach 
 of trust, he was expelled with disgrace.* The French revolu- 
 
 * The statement in the text, the author is informed, is not precisely accurate. 
 Paine was not expelled from his office; but resigned it, to avoid expulsion. 
 The author is much indebted to the Hon. William Jay, for the following 
 valuable extract from a document found among the papers of his father, the 
 Hon. John Jay. The document was written while Mr. Jay was Minister to 
 Spain, about the year 1780, and was an introduction to an intended history 
 of his Spanish negotiations. The annexed extract would make a valuable 
 page in a history of Paine. 
 
 " It is proper to observe that Mr. Deane, in consequence of his recall, returned 
 to America in 1778 ; and that on his arrival, Congress went into an inquiry 
 into his conduct. Mr. Deane published a paper in the Philadelphia Gazette, 
 containing strictures on the delays of Congress respecting his affairs, and 
 heavy accusations against Mr. Arthur Lee, to whose machinations he attri- 
 buted the conduct of Congress towards him. This publication caused a ferment
 
 340 LECTURE XI 
 
 tion allured him to France. Habits of intoxication made him 
 a disagreeable inmate in the house of the American minister, 
 where out of compassion he had been received as a guest. 
 During all this time, his life was a compound of ingratitude 
 and perfidy, of hypocrisy and avarice, of lewdness and 
 
 throughout America, and very great heats in Congress. The public papers 
 teemed with publications for and against Mr. Deane and Mr. Lee. Among 
 the writers for the latter was a Thomas Paine, an Englishman, who had been 
 H hackney writer in London, and on his arrival in America, was employed by 
 Aikin in compiling and correcting papers for his magazine. In this capacity 
 his attachment to the American cause became suspected. He struck out several 
 passages in papers composed by Dr. Witherspoon, as being too free. He 
 afterwards became attached to some leading men who were most zealous for 
 American Independence. He published a pamphlet on that subject, called 
 Common Sense, and obtained much credit with the people for it. He was 
 afterward made Secretary to the committee for foreign affairs ; and when 
 General Washington was retreating before the enemy in Jersey, and the 
 minds of many were filled with apprehensions, he was again so suspected, 
 as that Congress became uneasy lest the Committee's papers in his custody, 
 should fall into the enemy's hands, and took their measures accordingly. The 
 success at Trenton gave things a new aspect, and new courage to Paine. 
 
 " On the present occasion, his zeal for his employers carried him too far. 
 The official papers had brought him acquainted with the state of American 
 affairs at Versailles ; and in his paper of the 2d January, he very imprudently 
 inserted the following paragraph : ' If Mr. Deane, or any other gentleman, 
 will procure an order from Congress to inspect an account in my office, or any 
 of Mr. Deane's friends in Congress will take the trouble of coming themselves, 
 I will give him or them my attendance, and show them in a hand writing 
 which Mr. Deane is well acquainted with, that the supplies he so pompously 
 plumes himself upon, were piomised and, engaged, and that as a present, 
 before he even arrived in France,' &c. 
 
 " The Minister of France, Mr. Gerard, being aware of the consequences 
 which would result from these assertions, and feeling veiy sensibly how much 
 the honour of France was wounded by a supposition of her having given 
 gratuitous aid to America, contrary to her assurances to Britain, did on the 
 5th January, 1779, present a memorial to Congress referring to this publica- 
 tion, denying the assertions they contained, and representing the propriety of 
 thsir being disowned by Congress. The day following, the memorial was 
 considered, and various debates, not proper to be specified here, ensued. Paine 
 and the printer were ordered to attend at the bar of the House. The former 
 confessed himself the author, and the latter the publisher, of the paper in 
 question. Many motions were made, debated and rejected, before the house 
 adopted the resolutions which finally took place. The subject was interesting 
 to tlu public, to the house, and particularly to the friends of the parties in
 
 LECTURE XI. 341 
 
 adultery. In June, 1 809, the poor creature died in this country. 
 The lady in whose house he lived relates that " he was daily 
 drunk, and, in his few moments of soberness, was always 
 quarreling with her, and disturbing the peace of the family." 
 At that time "he was deliberately and disgustingly filthy." 
 He had an old black woman for his servant, as drunken as her 
 master. He accused her of stealing his rum ; she retaliated 
 by accusing him of being an old drunkard. They would lie 
 on the same floor, sprawling, and swearing, and threatening 
 to fight, but too intoxicated to engage in battle. He removed, 
 afterwards, to various families, continuing his habits, and 
 paying for his board, only when compelled. In his drunken 
 fits, he was accustomed to talk about the immortality of the 
 soul* Probably much of his book against the inspiration of 
 the scriptures was inspired by his cups. Such was the author 
 of " the Age of Reason ;" such the apostle of mob-infidelity. 
 Unhappy man ! Neither he, nor Rousseau, nor Voltaire, is 
 dead, except in the flesh. Their immortal souls are thinking 
 as actively, at least, as ever. We and they will stand, on the 
 same great day, before the bar of God. How awful, in refer- 
 ence to such despisers and scoffers, is that description : "Be- 
 hold he cometh with clouds ; and every eye shall see him, 
 and they also which pierced him" 
 
 III. We proceed to speak, in the last place, of the fruits of 
 Christianity, as displayed in the deaths of its genuine disci- 
 ples, in contrast with those connected with infidelity. 
 
 There is no question to which the testimony of the death- 
 bed is so legitimately applicable, as that between infidelity 
 and Christianity; not only because the hour of death is 
 specially to be relied on, as an hour of dispassionate and con- 
 difference, as well as Mr. Paine's patrons; and, as is always the case on 
 such occasions, more warmth than prudence took place. The majority, how- 
 ever, were of opinion that Paine had prostituted his office to party purposes, 
 and therefore ought to be discharged. This did not long remain a secret to 
 him, and to avoid that disgrace he resigned." 
 
 P. S. Mr. Jay was a member of Congress at the time of the above occurcnces. 
 
 Cheetham's Life of Paine
 
 342 LECTURE XI. 
 
 scientious judgment ; but, particularly, because it is one of 
 the precious promises of the gospel, that true believers shaL 
 find the sting of death taken away, and experience rich 
 consolation and support, when heart and flesh are failing. 
 Infidelity, also, has published her promises in relation to the 
 trial of death ; and her disciples are not a little diposed to 
 boast how confidently and fearlessly they could meet the 
 king of terrors. Let us consult experience on this head. 
 Have Christians experienced the fulfilment of the promises on 
 which they trusted 1 Have infidels made good their boasts ? 
 With regard to Christians, it is a most impressive fact that 
 such a thing has never been known as any one being 
 sorry, in the hour of death, that he had embraced the gospel 
 of Christ. We have often seen and heard of persons, who 
 had spent their days in the careless neglect of religion, most 
 bitterly lamenting, when they found themselves near to 
 eternity, that they had not been devoted Christians. It is 
 invariably the case that genuine Christians, when they look 
 back on their lives, from the verge of the grave, are sorry that 
 all their days had not been spent in a much more zealous 
 consecration to the service of Christ. Professors of religion 
 are not unfrequently unhappy when they come to die ; not 
 because they are, or have been Christians, but only because 
 they see reason to fear that they have not been real Christians. 
 This unhappiness arises from the consciousness of being too 
 much like those who reject the gospel ; too little under the 
 influence of its spirit ; too much under the influence of 
 a practical unbelief. And they seek consolation, not by 
 endeavouring to banish the gospel from their minds, but 
 by pressing to the feet of Jesus, and seeking to have their 
 hearts filled by his spirit. But among all that ever named 
 Ihe name of Jesus, from the death of the martyred Stephen, 
 to the present hour; the millions upon millions of Christians, 
 who have died under all manner of tortures, and in all man- 
 ner of circumstances, calculated to try the strength of their 
 faith ; not a philosopher or peasant : not a noble or a beggar ;
 
 LECTURE XI. 
 
 343 
 
 not a man, woman, or child ; was ever known to repent that 
 his preparation to die was that of the faith of Christ. 
 
 On the contraiy, it has been the invariable effect of the 
 religion of Christ that those who, in the days of health, were 
 evidently devoted to its spirit and duties, when death ap- 
 proached, have been enabled to await the event with an hum- 
 ble, submissive, and cheerful mind, keeping a confident eye 
 " unto Jesus," as the Finisher, as well as Author of their 
 faith. They have felt it to be their most precious, their un- 
 speakable consolation that they had been persuaded to be 
 Christians. Nothing did they look back to with such thank- 
 fulness, as that, instead of having lived in indifference or 
 infidelity, they had lived a life of faith upon the Son of God. 
 They have felt that however solemn and, to the flesh, painful, 
 was death, to them it was not gloomy nor appalling, nor any 
 thing to be lamented ; but only a short valley in the way to 
 their everlasting and blissful rest with God on high. The 
 most timid by nature, have stepped down without fear or 
 doubt, believing in Jesus, and walking by faith. The affec- 
 tionate parent has found such an accession of strength, in 
 the act of separation from a beloved and helpless family, as 
 to be enabled cheerfully to take the last look, and leave his 
 fatherless children with God. The young man, in the prime 
 and promise of his years, with every thing that earth could 
 give to make life desirable, has had the prospect of a better 
 inheritance presented to his mind with such assurance, that 
 he had a strong desire " to depart, and be with Christ." The 
 nearer Christians have come to eternity, and the sharper the 
 trial of their faith, the nearer have they drawn to Chi ist ; 
 the more closely have they embraced his cross ; the more 
 necessary has seemed his death for their sins ; the more 
 precious and full of glory the whole plan of redemption. 
 Such is the 'medium statement of the testimony furnished by 
 the death-beds of the disciples of Christ, when disease 01 
 the suddenness of departure has not prevented them from 
 all testimony whatever.
 
 344 LECTURE XI 
 
 But, in innumerable instances, the facts are much more 
 positive. It is frequently the case that dying Christians, as 
 they draw near to eternity, seem to catch the song and share 
 the bliss of heaven. Their faith not only delivers them 
 from gloom and fear, but fills them with joy and triumph. 
 They are not only supported, but exalted ; unspeakably hap- 
 pier in the agonies of death, than ever they were in the 
 vigour of health. As the body sinks, the spirit rises in 
 strength of faith and confidence of approaching glory. A 
 smile of joy plays upon the djath struck countenance. The 
 tenderest affection, and the most benevolent interest for all 
 around them; earnest prayer that sinners may come to 
 Jesus, and that his gospel may be embraced in all the world, 
 occupy their latest moments. They die, thanking God, who 
 givelh them the victory through Jesus Christ. 
 
 This is no picture of imagination. It is drawn from facts 
 which the lecturer has frequently had the privilege of wit- 
 nessing ; facts such as have been often repeated in the obser- 
 vation of all whose duty has led them often to visit and con 
 verse with the dying, on the subject of religion ; facts of 
 which the domestic history of the gospel, in all ages, is full, 
 and of which no effrontery can attempt a denial. Paul, in 
 the near view of a painful death, exclaimed : " I am now 
 ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 
 I have fought a good fight ; I have finished my course ; I 
 have kept the faith ; henceforth, there is laid up for me a 
 crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, 
 shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all 
 them also that love his appearing."* Polycarp, when they 
 would have nailed him to the stake, said : " Let me remain as 
 I am ; for he who giveth me strength to sustain the fire, will 
 enable me also, without your securing me with nails, to remain 
 unmoved in the fire." Then, being bound for a burnt offering, 
 lie exclaimed : " O Father, I bless thee that thou hast counted 
 me worthy of this day and this hour to receive my portion 
 * 2 Tim. iv. 6, 7, 8.
 
 LECTURE XI. 345 
 
 in the cup of Christ." Bilney, putting his finger into the 
 flame of a candle, on the night before he was burned, repeat- 
 ed that promise : " When thou walkest through the fire, it 
 shall not burn thee ;" and said : " I constantly believe that, 
 howsoever the stubble of this body shall be wasted by it, yet 
 my soul shall be purged thereby ; a pain for the time, where- 
 on, notwithstanding, followeth joy unspeakable." Hooper, 
 going to the stake, being addressed by a papist in the lan- 
 guage of condolence, answered : " Be sorry for thyself, and 
 lament thine own wickedness ; for I am well, I thank God, 
 and death, to me, for Christ's sake, is welcome." Bishop 
 Bedell, apprehending a speedy dissolution, assembled his 
 family, and, with many other words, declared : " Knowing 
 that I must shortly put off this my tabernacle, I know also 
 that I have a building of God, a house not made with hands, 
 eternal in the heavens. Therefore to me, to live is Christ, 
 and to die is gain, which increases my desire, even now, to 
 depart and be with Christ, which is far better. I ascend to 
 my Father and your Father, to my God and your God, 
 through the all-sufficient merits of Jesus Christ, my Re- 
 deemer, who ever lives to make intercession for me." 
 Fletcher's continual exclamation, while dying, was, " God 
 is love! God is love!" He panted for words to express 
 what he felt in the utterance of that precious truth. Finley, 
 in the act of departing, used such language as this : " A 
 Christian's death is the best part of his existence." " Blessed 
 be God, eternal rest is at hand." " The Lord hath given me 
 the victory. I exult ; I triumph. Now I know that it is 
 impossible that faith should not triumph over earth and hell." 
 " Lord Jesus, into thy hands I commit my spirit ; I do it with 
 confidence ; I do it with full assurance. I knoio that thou 
 wilt keep that which I have committed to thee."* Said the 
 dying Payson : " While my body is thus tortured, the soul 
 is perfectly, perfectly happy and peaceful, more than 1 can 
 
 * See " Deaths of Hume and Finley Compared," by Dr. Mason ; in the 
 Tract. No. 190. of the American Tract Society. 
 
 29
 
 346 LECTURE XI. 
 
 possibly express to you. I lie here and feel these convul- 
 sions extending higher and higher, without the least uneasi- 
 ness ; but my soul is filled with joy unspeakable. I seem to 
 swim in a flood of glory, which God pours down upon me. 
 And I know, I know that my happiness is but begun. I can- 
 not doubt that it will last for ever." And what shall I say 
 more ? For the time would fail to tell of Latimer, and Rid- 
 ley, and Hooker ; of Romaine, and Newton, and Scott ; of 
 Swartz, and Buchanan, and Martyn ; of Oberlin and Rich- 
 mond ; of Evarts and Cornelius; leaders in the faith, "of 
 whom the world was not worthy." But should we go into 
 the more retired walks of Christian life, and consult the 
 annals of every village church, and gather out the examples 
 of holy patience in suffering 1 , and sublime faith, and deep 
 humility, and joy unspeakable in dying, which the eye of 
 God has seen among the poor of this world, in every age, 
 since the death of Christ ! what a cloud of witnesses would 
 compass us about, uniting their joyful testimony to Jesus as 
 " the resurrection and the life ;" to the gospel as in all its 
 promises, faithful and " worthy of all acceptation !"* 
 
 * A beautiful exhibition of the effects of the gospel is found in the Narra- 
 tive of the Loss of the Kent East Indiaman, in 1825. The account is given 
 by Major M'Gregor, who was not rendered the less capable of calmly observ- 
 ing the events he has recorded, or of firmly bearing his part in the dangers of 
 that awful crisis, in consequence of having his soul kept in peace by the pre- 
 cious hopes of a disciple of Christ. 
 
 While the ship was burning below, and the magazine was every moment 
 expected to blow up, and not a soul, out of more than six hundred, had a 
 thought but of perishing either by fire or the tempest; while some were stand- 
 ing in silent resignation, or stupid insensibility, and others were given up to 
 the most frantic despair; while "some on their knees were earnestly implo- 
 ring with significant gesticulations, and in noisy supplications, the mercy of 
 Him whose arm, they exclaimed, was at length outstretched to smite them ;" 
 and others had sullenly seated themselves directly over the magazine, that by 
 means of the expected explosion a speedier termination might be put to their 
 sufferings; "Several of the soldiers' wives and children, who had fled for 
 temporary shelter into the after cabins, on the upper decks, were engaged in 
 prayer, and in reading the scriptures with the ladies, some of whom were ena- 
 bled, with wonderful self-possession, to offer to others those spiritual consola-
 
 LECTURE XI. 347 
 
 Now, let us turn to infidelity. What confirmation has 
 resulted, from the death-beds of infidels, to the truth of their 
 faith, and its ability to support and comfort the souls of its 
 dying disciples ? Ah ! the change is like being translated 
 from the beauty, and fragrance, and joyful promise of spring, 
 into the coldness, and barrenness, arid gloominess, of winter. 
 
 Has infidelity ever exhibited a solitary example of that 
 high and delightful consolation ; that triumphant, unspeaka- 
 ble joy on the brink of the grave, of which Christianity can 
 cite innumerable instances ? It seems almost ridiculous to 
 be at pains enough to answer such a question. Infidelity has 
 no doctrine, no promise, out of which such a delightful frame 
 of mind could grow. Infidels feel themselves so infinitely 
 removed from it, that it seems to them, in the distance, as 
 something incomprehensible, or visionary, or fanatical. But 
 are there not examples of such persons dying without fear ? 
 Unquestionably there are ; but how few of them have any 
 application to the present argument ! The great majority 
 of them have been cases in which the lethargy or delirium 
 occasioned by disease prevented the patient from being sensi- 
 ble of his condition ; or his death succeeded so immediately 
 after the symptoms of his danger, as to allow no time for the 
 consideration of his eternal interests ; or his friends took 
 care that he should be kept in ignorance of the fatal cha- 
 racter of his disorder, until it was too late for any thing but 
 insensibility and dissolution ; or else the unhappy infidel, 
 
 lions, which a firm and intelligent trust in the Redeemer of the world appeared 
 at this awful hour to impart to their own breasts. The dignified deportment 
 of two young ladies in particular formed a specimen of natural strength of 
 mind, finely modified i>y Christian feeling, that failed not to attract the notice 
 and admiration of every one who had an opportunity of witnessing it. One 
 young gentleman, having calmly asked my opinion of the state of the ship, I 
 told him that I thought we should be prepared to sleep that night in eternity; 
 and I shall never forget the peculiar fervour with which he replied, as he press- 
 ed my hand in his, ' My heart is filled with the peace of God.' " Comment 
 would only mar such a beautiful testimony to the blessedness of a gosoel 
 faith. " Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee : 
 because he trusteth in thee." Is. xxvi. 3.
 
 348 LECTURE XI. 
 
 suspicious of his steadfastness when the trial should arrive, 
 surrounded himself with such companions as would guard 
 his bedside from the approach of any minister of better con- 
 solations, and keep his mind amused with trifles, and his 
 pride stimulated with the ambition of holding out to the last. 
 Undoubtedly there have been cases to which none of these 
 specifications are applicable ; cases of infidels, who, in quiet- 
 ness, with their intellects in sound and wakeful exercise, and 
 with a knowledge of their nearness to eternity, have died 
 without the manifestation of alarm. But this has nothing to 
 do with our point. We could speak of multitudes who be- 
 lieved Christianity, and had no idea that they were prepared 
 to meet their God ; but, nevertheless, died without alarm. 
 The question is, does infidelity sustain and comfort its disci- 
 ples in the hour of death 1 It can hardly be necessary to 
 assert, that whatever calmness any of them may have mani- 
 fested had no manner of connexion with their infidel princi- 
 ples. They might have had the same, as well without 
 infidelity, as with it. They did not pretend to draw strength 
 and peace from its barren breasts. "What was called, in their 
 case, resignation, was not the offspring of their principles, as 
 infidels, but of their doom, as mortals. They had to die, 
 and there was no use in complaining ; this is about the 
 amount of all their consolation. Most gladly would they 
 have entreated to live, could they have supposed that entreaty 
 would have succeeded. Death has never been regarded by 
 such men, except as a necessary evil in every respect, only 
 to be submitted to, because irrevocably appointed. Such is 
 the very best account we can give of the testimony of the 
 death-beds of infidels. It is dreary, desolate, cold. It whis- 
 pers something that should go to the heart of a sceptic. Its 
 dismal negativeness is positive condemnation. "Where, in al] 
 this region of emptiness, is the sweet serenity, the cheerful 
 resignation, the positive pleasure and happiness in prospect 
 of death, which so generally attend the dying Christian ? 
 Where is your parallel, in a single infidel, to the joyful wel-
 
 LECTURE XI. 349 
 
 corre which death has received, in a million cases, at the 
 lips of the followers of Christ, when they have felt themselves 
 almost home, and, in view of heaven, have longed to depart 
 and be with Christ ? 
 
 No case of a dying unbeliever has been made so much of, 
 by way of a set-off to the testimony of Christians, as that of 
 David Hurne. The evident object of Adam Smith, the nar- 
 rator, is to put up his friend for a comparison with believers. 
 Gibbon says : " He died the death of a philosopher." No 
 thing can be more affected, more evidently contrived for 
 stage effect ; or, even on infidel principles, more disgraceful 
 to such a mind as Hume's, than the manner of his death, 
 according to the account given by his friend. He knew his 
 end was near. Whether he was to be annihilated, or to be 
 for ever happy, or for ever miserable, was a question involved 
 on his own principles, in impenetrable darkness. It was the 
 tremendous question to be then decided. Reason and decency 
 demanded that it should be seriously contemplated. How 
 does he await the approach of eternity ? Said Chesterfield 
 (an infidel also) : " When one does see death near, let the 
 best or the worst people say what they please, it is a serious 
 consideration." Does Hume treat it as a serious considera- 
 tion? He is diverting himself! With what? With pre- 
 paring his Essay in defence of Suicide for a new edition ; 
 reading books of amusement ; and sometimes with a game 
 at cards ! He is diverting himself again ! With what next? 
 With talking silly stuff about Charon and his boat, and 
 the river Styx ! Such are a philosopher's diversions, where 
 common sense teaches other people to be, at least, grave and 
 thoughtful. But why divert himself? Why turn off his 
 mind from death ? Why the need of his writings, and his 
 cards, and his books of amusements, and his trifling conversa- 
 tions ? Was he afraid to let his mind settle down quietly and 
 alone to the contemplation of all that was at stake in the 
 crisis before him ? Whatever the explanation of his levity, 
 it was ill-timed, out of taste badly got up ; an affected piece
 
 350 LECTURE XI. 
 
 of over -acting, intended for posthumous fame, to say the best 
 of it. He died " as a fool dieth." Take his own views, as 
 thus expressed, at the end of his Natural History of Reli- 
 gion : " The comfortable views exhibited by the belief of 
 futurity are ravishing and delightful. But how quickly 
 vanish on the appearance of its terrors, which keep a more 
 firm and durable possession of the human mind? The 
 whole is a riddle, an enigma, an inexplicable mystery. 
 Doubt, uncertainty, suspense of judgment, appear the only 
 result of our most accurate scrutiny concerning this subject." 
 In his own estimation, then, futurity has its terrors. Doubt, 
 inexplicable mystery, hung over his future destiny ! Whether 
 he was not to be a child of hell for ever, his most accurate 
 scrutiny could only suspend his judgment-! In this tremen- 
 dous suspense, he plays cards, as it were, on his coffin lid ! 
 jests about ridiculous fables, as he steps down to the momen- 
 tous uncertainties, but eternal realities, of the future ! If a 
 finger had been about to receive its sentence, whether to be 
 
 O ' 
 
 amputated or not, he would at the least have been more 
 grave. How far such a death-bed scene is honourable to 
 philosophy or infidelity, or fit to be compared with that of 
 millions of Christians, I need not say. But this is the fairest 
 aspect of the matter on the side of infidelity.* 
 
 * There is reason to believe that, however unconcerned Hume may have 
 seemed in the presence of his infidel friends, there were times when, being 
 diverted neither by companions, nor cards, nor his works, nor books of amuse- 
 ment, but left to himself and the contemplation of eternity, he was any thing 
 but composed and satisfied. 
 
 The following account was published many years ago in Edinburgh, where 
 he died. It is not known to have been ever contradicted. " About the end of 
 1776, a few months after the historian's death, a respectable looking woman, 
 dressed in black, came into the Haddington stage coach, while passing through 
 Edinburgh. The conversation among the passengers, which had been inter- 
 rupted for a few minutes, was speedily resumed, which the lady soon found to 
 be regarding the state of mind persons were in at the prospect of death. An 
 appeal was made, in defence of infidelity, to the death of Hume, as not only 
 happy and tranquil, but mingled even with gayety and humour. To this the 
 latiy said: 'Sir, this is all you know about it; I could tell you another tale.' 
 'Madam,' replied the gentleman, 'I presume I have as good information us
 
 LECTURE XI. 351 
 
 We said, the case could not be mentioned of any one 
 having regretted, on his death-bed, that he had lived a 
 
 you can have on this subject, and I believe that what I have asserted regard- 
 ing Mr. Hume has never been called in question." The lady continued : ' Sir, 
 I was Mr. Hume's housekeeper for many years, and was with him in his 
 last moments ; and the mourning I now wear was- a present from his rela- 
 tives for my attention to him on his death-bed ; and happy would I have been 
 if I could have borne my testimony to the mistaken opinion that has gone 
 abroad of his peaceful and composed end. I have, sir, never, till this hour, 
 opened my mouth on this subject ; but I think it a pity the world snould be 
 kept in the dark on so interesting 1 a topic. It is true, sir, that when Mr. 
 Hume's friends were with him he was cheerful, and seemed quite uncon- 
 cerned about his approaching fate ; nay, frequently spoke of it to them in a 
 jocular and playful way ; but when he was alone, the scene was very differ- 
 ent ; he was any thing but composed ; his mental agitation was so great at 
 times as to occasion his whole bed to shake. He would not allow the candles 
 to be put out during the night, nor would he be left alone for a minute. I had 
 always to ring the bell for one of the servants to be in the room, before he 
 would allow me to leave it. He struggled hard to appear composed, even 
 before me. But to one who attended his bedside for so many days and nights, 
 and witnessed his disturbed sleeps and still more distm-bed wakings ; who 
 frequently heard his involuntary breathings of remorse and frightful starlings; 
 it was no difficult matter to determine that all was not right within. This con- 
 tinued and increased until he became insensible. I hope in God I shall never 
 witness a similar scene.' " Christian Observer, vol. xxxi. p. 665. 
 
 There is internal evidence of truth attached to the above. Hume had no 
 opinions with regard to God, or the future, except that all was doubtful. 
 Whether there was a God, a future state, a hell, or annihilation, he did not 
 profess to know. The future had its terrors, he acknowledged. To him they 
 were terrors of darkness and uncertainty. He spoke of " the calm, though 
 obscure regions of philosophy." He called the whole question as to man's 
 future destiny, " a riddle, an enigma, an inexplicable mystery." All he could 
 arrive at was, " doubt, uncertainty, suspense of judgment." In this state of 
 mind, nothing could have been more forced or unnatural than the levity de- 
 scribed by Smith. That was his stage-dress. If a man lay a hundred pounds 
 upon a game, he is anxious till the uncertainty as to its fate be removed. 
 But Hume knew that his ALL, FOR EVER, was at stake; and that he was uncon- 
 cerned, unanxious, when not diverted, is incredible. On the other hand, the 
 account presented above is exactly what nature and reason would expect from 
 the state of mind in which the philosopher described himself, as to all that 
 awaited him. Not to be penetrated with anxiety of the most painful kind, 
 when a few hours were to decide whether he was to be annihilated, or to be 
 carried to the judgment seat of God, and find all that he had ridiculed in the 
 gospel true, and be condemned to eternal misery- a destiny which, on his
 
 352 LECTURE XI. 
 
 Christian. We now say, that cases innumerable have 
 occurred of persons bitterly lamenting, when dying, that they 
 had lived in infidelity. Every where, such instances have 
 occurred. They are too notorious to need citation. The 
 boldest unbelievers have furnished the most numerous 
 examples. They have felt every foundation removed, when 
 heart and flesh began to fail. What they had boasted in 
 life, they found a miserable comforter in death. The earl of 
 Rochester, a scholar and a blasphemer, as deep in vice as in 
 infidelity, when he approached the end of life, became a 
 thorough penitent ; and, to one of his former companions, 
 said from his death-bed : " O, remember that you contemn 
 God no longer ! He is an avenging God, and will visit you 
 for your sins ; and will, I hope, in mercy, touch your 
 conscience, sooner or later, as he has done mine. You and 
 I have been friends and sinners together, a great while. 
 We have been all mistaken in our conceits and opinions ; our 
 persuasions have been false and groundless ; therefore I pray 
 God grant you repentance." To those who had been drawn 
 into sin, by his example and encouragement, he said: "I 
 warn them no more to make a mock of sin, or contemn the 
 pure and excellent religion of my ever blessed Redeemer, 
 through whose merits alone, I, one of the greatest of sinners, 
 do yet hope for mercy and forgiveness." 
 
 Hobbes could never bear to talk of death. His mind was 
 haunted with tormenting reflections. If his candle went 
 out in the night, while he was in bed, he was in misery. 
 As he descended to the grave, he said " he was about to take 
 a leap in the dark." 
 
 Struensee, prime minister of Denmark, and Brandt, the 
 companion of his disgrace and imprisonment, had both been 
 poisoned by the writings and society of Yoltaire ; and both, 
 in prospect of death, renounced infidelity with detestation, 
 and embraced the gospel as all their hope. 
 
 own principles, was as likely as any thing else could only be accounted for 
 on the supposition that disease or friends diverted his attention from the 
 decision approaching.
 
 LECTURE XI. 353 
 
 Shall I lead you to the horrible spectacle of Yoltaire, in 
 the arms of death, and expecting in a few moments to stand 
 at the bar of God. He has just returned from a feast of 
 applause in the theatre, to be laid on a bed of death, in the 
 agonies of an upbraiding conscience. The physician enters. 
 "Doctor," said the apostle of infidelity, with the utmost 
 consternation, "I am abandoned by God and man. I will 
 give you half of what I am worth, if you will give me six 
 months' life." The physician told him he could not live six 
 weeks. " Then," said he, " I shall go to hell." His com- 
 panions in guilt, D'Alembert, Diderot, and Marmontel, hasten 
 to keep up his courage, but meet nothing but reproach and 
 horror. In spite of the guard of infidels about him, he 
 sends for the Abbe Gautier to come as soon as possible. In 
 his presence, and that of other witnesses, he signs a recanta- 
 tion of infidelity, and professes to die in the church. It is 
 sent to the rector of St. Sulpice and the archbishop of Paris 
 for approval. The Abbe Gautier returns with it, but cannot 
 enter. Every avenue to the dying infidel is defended by 
 those who had shared in his conspiracy against Christianity, 
 They want to hide his terrors and their own shame. Now 
 it is, that D'Alembert, Diderot, and about twenty others, of 
 like character, who beset his apartment, never approach 
 him but to hear their condemnation. " Retire !" he often 
 exclaims, with execrations, "it is you that have brought me 
 to my present state ! Begone ! I could have done without 
 you all ; but you could not exist without me ! And what a 
 wretched glory have you produced me?" Then his con- 
 spiracy comes before him, and, alternately supplicating and 
 blaspheming, he complains that he is abandoned by God and 
 man, and often cries out : " Oh Christ ! Oh Jesus Christ !" He 
 is looking 1 on Him whom he pierced! He is drinking the 
 cup of trembling ! the foretaste of the second death ! The 
 Mareschal de Richelieu flies from the scene, declaring it "too 
 terrible to be sustained." The physicians, thunderstruck, re- 
 tire; declaring "the death of the impious man to be terrible 
 
 45
 
 354 LECTURE XI. 
 
 indeed." One of them pronounces that " the furies of Orestes 
 could give but a faint idea of those of Voltaire"* 
 
 We shall close these awful scenes, with a few glances at 
 the dying Paine. Once it was his boast that, during a 
 dangerous illness, he thought with new satisfaction of having 
 written the Age of Reason, and found, by experiment, that 
 his principles were sufficient to sustain him in expectation of 
 death. It was an empty boast ! Let us see him when 
 really dying. He would not be left alone night or day. If 
 he could not see that some one was with him, he would 
 scream till a person appeared. A female attendant more 
 than once found him in the attitude of prayer. Having 
 asked her what she thought of his Age of Reason, and 
 being answered that, from a conviction of its evil tendency, 
 she had burnt it ; he wished all its readers had been as wise, 
 and added : " If ever the devil had an agent on earth, I 
 have been one." An infidel visiter said to him : " You have 
 lived like a man ; I hope you will die like one." He turned 
 to others in the room, and said : " You see what miserable 
 comforters I have." The woman whom he had enticed from 
 her husband lamented to a neighbour her sad condition. 
 " For this man," she said, " I have given up my family and 
 friends, my property and my religion ; judge then of my 
 distress, when he tells me that the principles he has taught 
 me will not bear me out." Well might she be distressed, 
 when she heard his exclamations. "He would call out, 
 during his paroxysms of distress, without intermission, ' O 
 Lord help me, God help me, Jesus Christ help me, O Lord 
 
 * " The nurse who attended him, being many years afterwards requested 
 to wait on a sick protestant gentleman, refused, till she was assured he was 
 not a philosopher ; declaring, if he were, she would on no account incur the 
 danger of witnessing such a scene as she had been compelled to do at the 
 death of M. Voltaire. I received this account (adds the Right Rev. Daniel 
 Wilson) from the son of the gentleman, to whose dying bed the woman was 
 invited, by a letter now in my possession." 
 
 The above account is abridged from the " History of Jacobinism," by the 
 Abbe Baruel, and has been denied by no one of the many witnesses to the 
 :Jeath of Voltaire.
 
 LECTURE XI. 355 
 
 help me,' &c., repeating the same expressions without any, 
 the least, variation, in a tone of voice that would alarm the 
 house."* 
 
 And now what need be said in conclusion ? You have 
 seen the fruit of the trees. One produces corruption ; the 
 other holiness of life. One roots up ; the other nourishes 
 and cherishes whatever is good around it. The spread of 
 infidelity is that of vice, and disorder, and all confusion. The 
 spread of Christianity is that of purity, peace, and all the 
 virtues of the social state. The more thoroughly an indi- 
 vidual embraces infidelity, the more entirely does he become 
 the slave of sin. The more perfectly he embraces the gospel, 
 the more perfectly, does he become the example of whatever 
 is lovely and of good report. No infidel ever rose higher 
 than the chill composure of a Stoic's firmness, in the trial of 
 death. Multitudes and the chief of infidels have, in that 
 honest hour, abandoned their sentiments with horror. On 
 the other hand, no Christian ever regretted, when dying, 
 that he had believed the gospel ; all have only wished they 
 had followed it more diligently ; and, in cases innumerable, 
 disciples of Christ have risen to the most triumphant emo- 
 tions of joy and praise, and the most exulting assurance of 
 eternal life and glory, in the very act of departing for eternity. 
 
 Is a tree known by its fruits ? Then which of these is the 
 tree of life ? Which looks like truth ? Which is to be cut 
 down, and cast into the everlasting burning 1 
 
 The whole argument, of this and the preceding lecture, 
 may be well concluded with an applicable and true saying of 
 Hume. Being asked by a friend, to whom he used to refer 
 his essays, previously to publication, whether he thought 
 that, if his opinions were universally to take place, mankind 
 would not be rendered more unhappy than they were ; and 
 whether he did not suppose that the curb of religion was 
 necessary to human nature ; " The objections," answered he, 
 (< are not without weight, but ERROR NEVER CAN PRODUCE 
 * Cheetham's Life of Paine.
 
 356 LECTURE XI. 
 
 GOOD." Such is precisely the text of this and the preceding 
 lecture. " Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles ?" 
 " The tree is known by its fruits," said the Saviour. " Error 
 never can produce good," said the man who denied him. By 
 this, let the comparative merits of Christianity and infidelity 
 stand or fall. 
 
 How imperative, then, is the exhortation to all professors 
 of the religion of Jesus : " Let your light shine before men !" 
 " Be careful to maintain good works !" " Let your con versa 
 tion be as it becometh the gospel of Christ !" To you, is 
 committed the honour; on you, depends the character of 
 Christianity among the unbelieving and disobedient. Its most 
 legible and universally imposing evidences are found in the 
 living epistles of those who, under the influence of its saving 
 truth, are seen devotedly "following after righteousness, godli- 
 ness, faith, love, patience, meekness;" "using the world, as 
 not abusing it ;" looking for death, as not fearing it ; cheerful 
 in all duty, while they remain on earth ; happy when the 
 time comes for them to depart out of it unto the Father ? Ah ! 
 if all that are numbered among Christians were thus radiant 
 in the beauty of holiness, how soon would the whole earth 
 be filled with the praise of the Lord ! Then, indeed, would 
 the church put on strength. Then would the gentiles come 
 to her light, and kings to the brightness of her rising ; all 
 they that despise her should bow themselves down at the 
 soles of her feet ; and they should call her, " The city of the 
 Lord ; the Zion of the Holy One of Israel."* 
 
 * Isaiah, U.
 
 LECTURE XII. 367 
 
 LECTURE XII. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT, AND APPLICATION TO 
 OBJECTIONS. 
 
 IN the course of the preceding lectures, I have been ena- 
 bled, by a kind Providence, blessing me with a more ade- 
 quate measure of health than I anticipated, to spread before 
 you a, comprehensive view of the external evidences of 
 Christianity. Although one whole division of our forces, 
 and one of no secondary consequence, has not been brought 
 into the field ; and of that which has been employed, several 
 important subdivisions have been held in the back ground 
 for want of room to display them ; enough, I trust, has been 
 done to give you an impressive idea of what the strength of 
 the cause must be, when all the immense variety of auxilia- 
 ries composing its host are arranged together under command 
 of a mind capable of using them to the best advantage. It 
 would stand like the massive squares of British infantry at 
 Waterloo, to which the boasting enemy rode up again and 
 again, in the full confidence of sweeping them before the 
 impetuosity of their charge. But " their onset and reception 
 was that of a furious ocean pouring itself against a chain of 
 insulated rocks."* 
 
 Before relinquishing our course, it is important to take a 
 brief retrospect of the ground we have been over ; that wo 
 may gather into united and co-operating force the several 
 lines of argument which as yet have been employed only in 
 their separate efficiency. 
 
 After having divided the whole field of evidence into the 
 two general departments of external and internal, and sepa- 
 rated the former, as that to which our course would be con- 
 * Scott's Napoleon. 
 
 30
 
 3i>8 LECTURE XII. 
 
 fined, we proceeded to lay the foundation of all our subse- 
 quent reasonings by making good the AUTHENTICITY OP 
 
 THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, and the CREDIBILITY 
 
 OP THE HISTORY contained therein. In reference to the 
 question of authenticity, we instituted an inquiry whether 
 there is sufficient evidence that the several scriptures com- 
 posing the New Testament were written by the men whose 
 names they bear, the original apostles and disciples of Christ 7 
 For an answer to this, we pursued precisely the same method 
 as in determining the authenticity of any other writings. The 
 evidence required in such investigations was shown to be so 
 unaffected by time, that whether a book be ascribed to the 
 Christian era or to five centuries earlier or later, a similar 
 description of proof would possess a similar conclusiveness. 
 That for the authenticity of the books of the New Testament 
 was presented under the following heads : They are quoted 
 or alluded to by a series of writers extending, in unbroken 
 succession, from the present to the apostolic age. In the 
 earliest writers of this series, as well as the later, they are 
 treated with peculiar respect, as possessing an authority be- 
 longing to no other books, and as conclusive in all questions 
 of religion ; they were collected at a very early period into a 
 distinct volume ; were publicly read and expounded in the 
 assemblies of the primitive Christians; commentaries were 
 written upon them ; harmonies were formed out of them ; 
 different copies were carefully compared, and versions were 
 made into different languages, in the first centuries of Chris- 
 tianity. Hence it appeared that the agreement of the-ancient 
 church, as to what were the authentic books of the New 
 Testament, was complete, and was no more imperfect among 
 the various sects of heretics, than among the orthodox fathers. 
 None of these several heads of evidence attach to any of those 
 spurious writings commonly called Apocryphal Scriptures 
 while the marks of the spuriousness of these can be asserted 
 with regard to none of those which are esteemed as authentic. 
 I)i confirmation of the mass of testimony, adduced in support
 
 LECTURE XII. 359 
 
 of these propositions, we exhibited a most important collection 
 of proofs from the writings of the early adversaries of Chris- 
 tianity. The style and language of the New Testament 
 were spoken of, as in perfect agreement with the local and 
 other circumstances of its reputed writers ; as in perfect 
 haimony with their known character, and with the age and 
 country in which they lived ; and such as could not have 
 been produced in any age subsequent to theirs. In conclu - 
 ,sion of the whole argument, we endeavoured to show that 
 such was the necessity of detection, in case of a forgery, 
 during the primitive centuries, that had the books in question 
 been deficeient in the evidence of apostolic origin, nothing 
 less than a miracle in their aid could account for their early 
 und universal currency. The whole train of evidence con- 
 cluded with this result : that to suppose the New Testament 
 unauthentic or even questionable in this particular, is to 
 resign the authenticity of every other book of the least 
 antiquity ; yea, and the sufficiency of human testimony, in 
 its most conclusive form, to establish the authenticity of any 
 such work. Having come to this, it seemed no presumption 
 to proceed in our subsequent lectures, as if the question of 
 authenticity were answered in the affirmative with entire 
 satisfaction. 
 
 But in connexion with the apostolic origin, it was impor- 
 tant to look into the integrity of the New Testament scrip- 
 tures ; for the purpose of ascertaining to what extent they 
 have been preserved without mutilation or corruption. That 
 (hey have undergone no material alteration since they were 
 first published, was inferred from the perfect impossibility 
 of such a change ; from obvious agreement among the exist- 
 ing manuscripts of the New Testament; and from the har- 
 mony of our present text with the numerous quotations in the 
 works of early Christian writers, as well as with those ancient 
 translations which are still extant. 
 
 But in laying the foundation of our subsequent argument, 
 another question remained : Is the history, contained in these
 
 360 
 
 LECTURE XII. 
 
 authentic writings, credible 7 In answer to this, we assumed 
 that the credibility of the gospel history is to be ascertained 
 precisely like that of any other history. It appeared that, in 
 questions of this kind, the two great points to be proved are, 
 a competency of knowledge, and trustworthy honesty, on the 
 part of the historian ; did he know enough to write a true 
 account, and was he too honest to write any other account 
 than such as he believed to be true ? These points established, 
 the credibility of the history is settled. The first was easily 
 determined by the consideration that the amount of know- 
 ledge required for the writing of the gospel history was by no 
 means great ; that the narrative is extremely simple and un- 
 ambitious ; and that those who penned it were personal com- 
 panions of Christ, and eye-witnesses of almost all they related. 
 In reference to the second point to be made out, we took the 
 position that there is abundant evidence that the writers of 
 the gospel history were too honest to relate any thing but 
 what they believed to be truth. Taking the history as written 
 by St. John for a specimen, we discovered a strong internal 
 evidence of the honesty of the writer in the fact that it is in 
 a high degree circumstantial; and another, in the incidental 
 characteristic of the writer, that he takes no pains to convince 
 us of his honesty, and makes no parade about it, as if it were 
 possible to be suspected ; and another, in the circumstance, 
 that while he could not have been ignorant that he was relat- 
 ing many extraordinary and wonderful events, he betrays no 
 appearance of wonder in himself, nor any expectation of 
 wonder from his readers, thus evincing that he was conscious 
 of narrating events of universal notoriety. In addition to 
 these striking imprints of honesty ; we perceived another, in 
 the minute accuracy which distinguishes all the allusions ot 
 this narrative to the manners, customs, opinions, political 
 events, and circumstances of the times. 
 
 Having thus exhibited satisfactory evidence of the honesty 
 of one of the writers of the gospel narrative ; we produced 
 Heven other writers, each entirely independent of the rest, and
 
 LECTURE XII. 361 
 
 possessing all the internal marks of honesty discovered in St. 
 John ; all concurring in their statements so entirely that no 
 contradiction can be detected; and yet with so much inci- 
 dental variety, that the suspicion of a concerted scheme for 
 mutual support is as unreasonable as if they had lived in 
 different centuries. The fact that they were heartily interested 
 in the gospel ; that they so firmly believed what they wrote, 
 as to have lived in zealous devotion to Christ, even to the 
 sacrifice of life, was shown to be the strongest confirmation, 
 instead of the least abridgement, of their united testimony. 
 In their co-operating evidence, we have a proof of the honesty 
 of each writer, and of the credibility of the whole body of 
 facts contained in their pages, such as no history of any 
 individual of the world can equal. Four histories, written 
 by persons contemporaneous with the subject, are only found 
 in the case before us. When it is considered that the au- 
 thors were not only contemporaries but companions of the 
 personage whose history is given ; their mutual support and 
 internal evidences of honesty afford a body of proof which, 
 were their narratives untrue, would be morally impossible. 
 
 Here, we might have left the question of credibility. But 
 we proceeded to show, that to suppose these writers to have 
 published what they did not believe, is to suppose that 
 they acted not only without any conceivable motive, but in 
 direct opposition to all the motives by which the minds of 
 men are ever influenced. And finally, it was made to appear 
 that the gospel history has in its support, not only all the tes 
 timony that could fairly have been expected from its enemies 
 all of them yielding at least the evidence of silence, when, 
 hud they been able, they would assuredly have published a 
 denial ; but much stronger testimony than could fairly havo 
 been expected from enemies, since several of their most hos- 
 tile writers positively acknowledge all the facts that are 
 necessary to establish the divine authority of Jesus. But this 
 was not our highest reach of testimony. We found a great 
 cloud of witnesses to the truth of this history in the multi- 
 
 30*
 
 04 LECTURE XII. 
 
 tudes converted to the gospel under the preaching of the 
 apostles : witnesses who have this peculiar excellence, that, 
 from having once been enemies, they became devoted friends, 
 by the mere force of their conviction of the facts in question. 
 The whole argument for credibility was finished by showing, 
 from the very nature and circumstances of the history, that 
 had it not been true, its currency for a single year would have 
 been quite as miraculous, and more unaccountable, than any 
 thing related therein. 
 
 Having thus cleared our way to the New Testament, by 
 ascertaining the authenticity of its books, and the credibility 
 of its history; we were prepared to open the volume, and 
 investigate its contents. It professes to contain a revelation 
 from God, communicated to mankind by the Lord Jesus and 
 his apostles, as invested with a divine commission for this 
 very purpose. We asked for their credentials. They refer- 
 red us to their miraculous works. The appeal was confess- 
 edly fair. Miracles perfectly proved, are perfect evidence 
 of divine attestation. But, before proceeding to a direct in- 
 vestigation of the testimony in favour of the miracles of the 
 gospel, we found it necessary, on account of the desperate 
 efforts which enemies of Christianity have made to escape 
 this argument, to illustrate the following preliminary truths : 
 that there is nothing unreasonable or improbable in the idea 
 of a miracle in proof of divine revelation ; that the miracles 
 wrought for this purpose, in the first century, can be rendered 
 credible to us of the nineteenth, by no other evidence than 
 that of testimony ; that such evidence is perfectly sufficient 
 to prove a miracle ; that the testimony to the gospel miracles 
 has suffered no diminution of force by increase of age ; and 
 that we, who are restricted to such means of conviction, are 
 situated in regard to our state of probation and moral disci- 
 pline, more consistently than if we had been present when 
 the miracles were wrought, and could have proved their 
 reality by the test of our senses. 
 
 From these important propositions, we proceeded to the
 
 LECTURE XII. 363 
 
 testimony in regard to THE MIRACLES OF THE GOSPEL. 
 Here we might have stood upon the equitable assumption 
 that, in having established the truth of the narratives, we 
 had proved also the reality of the miracles, of the New Tes- 
 tament ; inasmuch as miraculous events are so essentially 
 interwoven with many of them, that to question the latter, 
 is necessarily an impeachment of the former. But as our 
 object was not merely proof, but variety and fulness of proof, 
 we proceeded to the fact that, the religion of the Bible having 
 been established by direct appeal to miracle, in evidence of 
 the divine authority of its teachers, stands alone in this res- 
 pect among the various religions of mankind ; after which, 
 we laid out the materials of our argument under the follow- 
 ing propositions. Supposing the wonderful works ascribed 
 to our Lord to have really occurred, they cannot be ascribed 
 to second causes, but must have been genuine miracles. 
 They were of such a nature as admitted of their being 
 brought at once to the test of the senses. They were per- 
 formed, for the most part, in the most public manner. They 
 were exceedingly numerous, and of great variety. The 
 success, in every case, was instantaneous and complete. 
 There is no evidence of such a thing, as an attempt on the 
 part of Christ or his apostles to perform a miracle in which 
 they were accused of a failure. For seventy years, the 
 miraculous gifts in question continued to be exercised, and 
 to be submitted to the inspection of mankind. During all 
 this time, it is a matter of certainty that they underwent the 
 most rigid examination from those who had every opportu 
 nity and every disposition to detect imposition. Every 
 advantage was afforded the adversary by their being pub- 
 lished and appealed to immediately after, and in the very 
 places where, they occurred. The persons who performed 
 them were of all others the least qualified, and the least likely 
 either to attempt a series of counterfeit miracles, or to suc- 
 ceed in passing them upon the Jewish and heathen world. 
 Notwithstanding: all that was done to break the constancy
 
 364 LECTURE XII. 
 
 and extort the confessions of those early Christians who 
 were eye-witnesses of the deeds of Jesus and his apostles ; 
 none were ever known to acknowledge they had been 
 deceived, or had found any thing but truth in the miracles 
 by which they were led to embrace the gospel. The benevo- 
 lent character and holy eifects of the miracles; the humble, 
 self-denying, unambitious spirit of those who performed 
 them, are irreconcilable with the supposition of any thing 
 selfish or deceitful. That they were genuine, and to the 
 people of that century undeniable, we have the plainest and 
 strongest confession from the primitive adversaries of Christ 
 and his cause. But confessions stronger, unspeakably, are 
 found in the history of great multitudes in Judea, and every 
 country of heathenism, who beheld in the miracles such 
 incontrovertible certainty as induced them to lay aside the 
 bitterest enmity to the gospel, and make the most painful 
 sacrifices of which human nature is capable, for the sake of 
 embracing the service of Jesus. If with all this evidence, 
 there is not reason to rely implicitly upon the reality of the 
 gospel miracles, we are driven to believe in the most unac- 
 countable violations of the laws of nature, of truth, and of 
 common sense, as necessary to account for the singular events 
 connected with their performance, and for their universal 
 acknowledgment in the era of their first publication. Hence 
 it was concluded that the credentials of Jesus and his apos- 
 tles were given from heaven; and, consequently, that the 
 New Testament, as an authentic record of what they deli- 
 vered, is the book of the revelation of God. 
 
 Here, with perfect safety, might the cause have been con 
 sidered as determined. But, unwilling to content ourselves 
 with once establishing the divine authority of the gospel, the 
 argument was commenced anew, substituting PROPHECY for 
 MIRACLE, as the source of evidence. Considerations were 
 stated which render the argument from prophecy specially 
 valuable : such as the continual increase of its strength, and 
 the important characteristic of many predictions, that their
 
 LECTURE XII. 365 
 
 fulfilment, being a matter of present existence, is evidence 
 before our eyes addressed to our senses. Before proceeding 
 to the proof of fulfilment, the fact that all other religions 
 have shrunk from attempting such dangerous ground as the 
 publication of prophecy, and yet that, however certain of 
 exposure in case of imposition, it is every where appealed to 
 and rested upon, in the Bible, was treated as a strong 
 presumptive argument that in the Bible is found what no 
 false religion can possess something to warrant it in ven- 
 turing where divine omniscience alone is able to tread 
 inspiration of God. We then glanced at the immense 
 extent, and vast embrace, and wonderful minuteness, which 
 characterize the scheme of scripture prophecy ; the many 
 ages included ; the variety of agents employed ; the numerous 
 particulars predicted ; and the harmony of all the details. 
 The undeniable fact was asserted, that between the least 
 prediction of the Bible, and any event of history, there is not 
 the smallest evidence of contradiction. We then demanded 
 whether it were credible that imposture would ever have 
 dared to commit its cause to a venture which could terminate 
 successfully only by such a hopeless series of miraculous 
 coincidences. 
 
 With all this presumptive evidence on our side, we too* 
 up a brief selection of important prophecies, and showed 
 their minute and wonderful fulfilment, from sources of 
 testimony to which there could be no exception. Your 
 attention was specially directed to a great variety of predic- 
 tions, by different writers, and in all ages of bible history, all 
 centering in Jesus, and determining the time and circum- 
 stances of his advent ; the character of his life ; the particulars 
 of his sufferings and death ; foretelling-his resurrection, and 
 the increase of his kingdom. After having thus showed the 
 fulfilment of prophecies, of which Jesus was the subject ; 
 we proceeded to others, of which Jesus was the author. 
 
 In the destruction of Jerusalem, and its subsequent history, 
 we had, prepared to our hands by the writings of unbelievers,
 
 366 
 
 LECTURE XII. 
 
 a most impressive accomplishment of a series of predictions 
 on the part of our Lord, in which the utmost plainness of 
 meaning is united with singular minuteness of detail. The 
 agreement between the predictions and the events admitted 
 of no denial. The supposition of chance was the only 
 explanation to which unbelief could flee. But it was stated, 
 on the authority of strict arithmetical calculation, that, 
 according to the principles employed in the computation of 
 what are called chances, the probability against the occurrence, 
 at the predicted time, of all the particulars embraced in the 
 prophecies of which we had spoken, exceeded the power of 
 numbers to express ; even without the consideration of the 
 providence of One who hateth iniquity, and especially when 
 i t is practised under pretence of his authority. The conclusion 
 was inevitable : that the Bible, in thus containing so many 
 genuine prophecies, scattered through its several books, 
 contains revelation from God, and exhibits satisfactory evi- 
 dences of divine authority ; and that Jesus Christ, being in 
 his character and office, as the Saviour of sinners, the great 
 theme of this system of prophecy, and being himself endued 
 with the spirit of prophecy, was, and is to come, no other 
 than what he claimed to be considered, the Son of God, the 
 . redeemer of men, King of kings, and Lord of lords. 
 
 Here again, we might have rested our cause. But unwil- 
 ling to withhold the interesting evidence remaining; we 
 commenced the main question anew, and set out to prove the 
 divine original, from the history of THE PROPAGATION o* 
 CHRISTIANITY. The difficulties in the way of its extensive 
 progress were manifest from considering that the enterprise 
 of propagating a new religion, to the exclusion of every 
 other, was perfectly novel, and universally offensive ; that 
 the whole character of the gospel, as a system of doctrine 
 and a rule of life, erected a barrier against its progress 
 which, to human force, would have proved insurmountable ; 
 that it necessarily arrayed against itself all the influence of 
 every priesthaod ; all the powers of every government ; all
 
 LECTURE XII. 367 
 
 the prejudices, habits, and passions of every peopk ; and all 
 the pride, wit, and influence of every school of philolophy 
 '.n the world. Add to this, that the character of the age was 
 peculiarly adapted to increase the difficulties above mentioned, 
 ind to put the truth of such a religion as that of the gospel 
 to the very closest and strongest trial. The agents intrusted 
 with the propagation of Christianity were of all others most 
 unfitted for their work, on the supposition that it was one of 
 imposture. They set up their banner when every thing visible 
 on their side only tended to inspire them with despair, and 
 every thing on the side of their enemies was considered as 
 triumphant. The mode they adopted was directly calculated, 
 on human principles, to increase and multiply all their 
 difficulties. They were encountered every where by the 
 fiercest persecution that the malignant ingenuity of enemies 
 could invent, and the principalities and powers of the earth 
 could execute. In spite of all these enormous combinations 
 of resistance, such was the rapid and mighty progress of 
 the gospel, that, in thirty years, the Roman empire was every 
 where pervaded with its influence, and even haughty 
 Rome could yield a great multitude, as her first fruits, for 
 the fires of persecution. The conversions, which ensued in 
 such numbers, were not changes merely of opinion, but of 
 heart and life ; they involved individuals of all classes of 
 mind, of learning, of rank, and of opulence. Nothing in 
 any degree corresponding to this work had ever been known 
 before, or has ever been witnessed since ; even though 
 efforts have frequently been made, in circumstances and 
 with means, on the supposition that the apostles were not 
 specially favoured of God, much more advantageous than 
 theirs. All these particulars combined, demonstrate that in 
 the labours of the apostles, none but " God gave the increase" 
 because none but God could give such increase. They 
 present a miracle as unquestionable, as if, at the bidding of 
 man, a. rock should become a fountain of water. 
 
 Thus, a third time, did we finish our proof. Here, again,
 
 368 LECTURE XII. 
 
 might the argument have been safely terminated. But the 
 FRUITS OF CHRISTIANITY presented a source of additional 
 evidence, too important to be omitted. We began, in this 
 department, with THE EFFECTS OF CHRISTIANITY ON 
 SOCIETY IN- GENERAL. We surveyed the moral condition 
 of mankind when the gospel era commenced. The most 
 polished, literary, and admired nations of the ancient world 
 were selected as, at least, favourable specimens of all others. 
 Their personal, domestic, and social virtues were placed in 
 comparison with those of civilized nations of the present age, 
 and especially with those which Christian influence has most 
 thoroughly pervaded. The contrast was exceedingly im- 
 pressive. The moral improvements effected in society have 
 been immense and inestimable. We found nothing in the 
 philosophy, or the religion, or the fluctuations, or any other 
 ingredient of the heathen or infidel world, to effect such a 
 change. No heathen nation, left to itself, has ever reformed. 
 The history of the world demonstrates that the whole work 
 must be charged to Christianity. The history of Christian 
 effort, among heathen nations of the present age, demonstrates 
 that she was capable, and ever will be capable, of accomplish- 
 ing such blessed results. 
 
 From the fruits of Christianity on society in general, we 
 turn to those exhibited in the character and happiness of her 
 genuine disciples. Undeniable and innumerable transforma- 
 tions, in moral character and habits, were pointed out, 
 which are utterly incapable of explanation, but on the 
 supposition of a divine power accompanying the gospel. 
 A comparison was drawn between the lives of genuine disci- 
 ples of Christ, and those for which unbelievers are notori- 
 ous. Another was instituted between the death-bed scenes 
 and testimonies of real Christians, and such as have been 
 witnessed in connexion with infidelity. It appeared that, 
 with a few exceptions, individuals are the slaves of sin, in 
 proportion as they become devoted to infidelity ; while it was 
 equally evident that, without any exception, they become
 
 LECTURE XII. 369 
 
 servants of righteousness, in proportion as their hearts are 
 surrendered to the influence of the gospel. It appeared that 
 while, on the one hand, no unbeliever ever advanced beyond 
 the negative and comfortless composure of a Stoic, under the 
 trial of death, and multitudes, and the very chief of tneir 
 profession, ha\e, in that hour, abandoned their sentiments 
 with horror ; it was never heard, on the other hand, that a 
 Christian regretted, in his death, having believed and obeyed 
 the gospel ; while innumerable disciples of that blessed faith, 
 in the very act of dissolution, have risen to the most triumph- 
 ant assurance of eternal life and glory. Such are the legiti- 
 mate fruits of the gospel of Christ. 
 
 On the wise principle, therefore, that " a corrupt tree cannot 
 bring forth good fruit," we must pronounce Christianity good ; 
 and since no religion can be good without being true, or as 
 Hume expressed it : " error never can produce good" we must 
 conclude that her assertion of divine authority is worthy of all 
 acceptation. Thus terminated the argument of the last lecture. 
 
 And now, while the retrospect, we have been taking^ is 
 fresh in your memories, consider : 
 
 1st. The plainness and simplicity which characterize the 
 evidences of Christianity. To understand the meaning, and 
 appreciate the force, of any or all of them, so far as is necessary 
 to a clear, intelligent, and impressive conviction of the divine 
 inspiration of the scriptures, and the divine nature and mis- 
 sion of the Lord Jesus Christ, is a work to which the mind 
 of any thoughtful individual of ordinary information is compe- 
 tent. Willingness to read, readiness to learn, humility to 
 submit to conviction, and an ordinary knowledge of the 
 meaning of words, are the only requisites for a satisfactory 
 investigation of the whole argument. How different, in this 
 respect, is the system of Christ, from all the speculating and 
 metaphysical systems of infidel philosophy ! What would 
 plain common sense people do, did their understanding of the 
 grounds of faith and duty depend upon such dark questions, 
 
 as the sufficiency of the. light of nature, the origin of evil, the 
 
 ol
 
 370 LECTURE XII. 
 
 metaphysical relations of cause and effect, the foundation of 
 virtue, the elements of accountability, the freedom of the will, 
 &c. ; questions which must be settled in our own minds, and 
 by our own reason, before we can consistently embrace any 
 other religion than that of revelation ; but about which ali 
 the philosophy on earth, if it reject the scriptures, may specu- 
 late to the end of time, without arriving at sufficient certainty 
 to satisfy a single conscience. The gospel requires no abstract 
 theories to explain its way of salvation, its principles of 
 obligation, or its rule of duty. It simply presents the evi- 
 dence that Jesus Christ, the Son and the Sent of God, came 
 into the world to teach and to save sinners; and then, to 
 every -sinner, .publishes this plain direction: Wliat Jesus in 
 his word has taught, believe; what he has there commanded, 
 follow; and, through his righteousness, thou shalt be saved. 
 
 2d. Consider the great variety and accumulation of the 
 evidences of Christianity. In the lectures to which you have 
 listened, were presented no less than four independent and 
 complete methods of proof, each of which is amply sufficient 
 to bear the whole weight of the gospel. The argument from 
 miracles is conclusive without the argument from prophecy. 
 The latter is in no wise dependent upon the former, or any 
 that succeeded it. The argument from the propagation is 
 complete in itself, as well as that from the fruits of Christian- 
 ity. But under each of these general heads, what a bound- 
 less variety of auxiliary evidences might have been adduced ! 
 Every single miracle ; every fulfilled prophecy ; a thousand 
 separate facts in the spread of the gospel, and innumerable 
 examples of its holy fruits in the hearts and lives of believers, 
 would have furnished us with so many effulgent centres, 
 from all of which rays of brilliant evidence are continually 
 meeting and harmonizing in a shining testimony to Jesus, as 
 the resurrection and the life. 
 
 But remember that one whole division, out of the two 
 which embrace the field of evidence, has been left untouched. 
 We have found an astonishing variety and accumulation of
 
 LECTURE XII. 371 
 
 proof; and yet the whole department of INTERNAL EVI- 
 DENCE, that which arises from the search of the New Testa- 
 ment itself its spirit, manner, dress, and beauty the sim- 
 plicity of its character ; the benevolence of its temper ; its 
 power over the conscience ; the suitableness of its contents 
 to the wants of man ; the excellence of its doctrines ; the 
 purity and elevation of its morals ; the character and con- 
 duct of Jesus, and the happy tendency of all his instructions : 
 this immense field of diversified evidence, secondary to 
 none in its influence upon the mind, and superior to all in 
 its direct appeal to the heart, we have not so much as en- 
 tered. Could we but see all the separate streams united in 
 one ; could we measure at once the force of that majestic 
 tide which collects its innumerable tributaries from all ages, 
 and all nations, and all hearts ; could we appreciate its 
 strength by an accurate estimate of all the obstructions with 
 which earth and hell, " the prince of the power of the air," 
 and " the rulers of the darkness of this world," have endea- 
 voured to resist its course the mountains of difficulty which, 
 in every century, it has rent asunder, or rolled away to clear 
 its course ; we should wonder, indeed, at what Divine Good- 
 ness has done to make us believers, and at" what human 
 obduracy has been able to withstand for the purpose of con- 
 tinuing in unbelief. 
 
 But this astonishing flood of evidence is perpetually in- 
 creasing. Every additional benefit which Christianity bestows 
 apon any portion of mankind ; every additional conversion 
 of a sinner to God ; every holy life that is added to the 
 shining ranks of the followers of Christ ; every new triumph 
 of Christian faith over the trials of life and the terrors of 
 death ; every increase in the fulfilment of prophecy ; every 
 advance in the conquest of the gospel over the darkness of 
 paganism ; every new year of victory over all the resistance 
 of pretended friends and unfaithful professors, of internal 
 divisions, and infidel enmity, is a new stream to swell the 
 many waters, which one day, like the deluge of old, will
 
 372 LECTURE XII. 
 
 drown unbelief in its last refuge, and make all nations and 
 kindreds know how precious, as an ark of safety, is He who 
 " came into the world to save sinners." 
 
 But who can ask for additional evidence? Did not the 
 question affect the darling idols of the heart ; were it one of 
 property, or of science, or of human life ; were it some new 
 medicine, to heal the maladies of the body, that laid before 
 us this immense mass of credentials from all generations ; or 
 were it a scheme for the acquisition of earthly gain that came 
 to us accompanied with such voluminous evidence of its 
 unfailing truth and wisdom; no man of common sense could 
 hesitate a moment to give it his unqualified belief. All men 
 are continually committing their dearest interests to evidence 
 unspeakably inferior. We intrust our lives to the care of 
 physicians, of whose skill, and wisdom, and carefulness, and 
 honesty, we have no assurance comparable to our proof of 
 Jesus, as the only Physician to save our souls, and as that 
 all-sufficient One, in whose hands none can perish. We 
 believe, without a question, in all the great events of history ; 
 and yet their evidence is so inconsiderable in comparison 
 with the proof of the gospel, that if you take away, as unes- 
 tablished, the great pillars of the argument of Christianity, 
 you pronounce the whole foundation of historical know- 
 ledge, unestablished ; yea, you rob mankind of the whole 
 fruit of human testimony, and write terra incognita over 
 almost the whole map of the generations and things of the 
 universe. 
 
 III. How impressive to the mind of every human being, 
 should the evidence of Christianity appear. If he take up 
 any system of faith which men have ever attempted to sub- 
 stitute for the gospel, and compare its evidences, how imme- 
 diately is it confounded by the contrast. If he attempt to set 
 aside any one of the great proofs on which the noble fabric 
 of Christianity is supported, how immediately are his efforts 
 defeated, and his weapons broken ? He may invent difficul- 
 ties, but the arguments of the gospel he cannot answer.
 
 LECTURE XII. 373 
 
 What, then, is the condition of the inquirer ? The religion 
 of Christ, thus solemnly and impressively attested, declares 
 him a sinner before a just and holy God ; condemned, under 
 sentence of the divine law, to eternal retribution and wo. It 
 tells him, that except he repent, he must perish ; except he 
 believe in and follow Jesus, as his Master and only Hope, he 
 cannot be delivered from condemnation. It declares, on the 
 other hand., that if he repent and believe on the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, he shall be saved ; the sting of death will be taken 
 away ; an inheritance will be given him " that is incorrupti- 
 ble, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away." All this comes 
 to him under the sanction of evidences innumerable ; for 
 none of which is he provided with an answer. History 
 informs him that the best and wisest men of all ages have 
 considered those evidences incontrovertible. Immense mul- 
 titudes assure him, that in embracing the gospel they have 
 experienced the truth of its promises, and realized the holy 
 and happy influence of its doctrines. The probability, to 
 say the very least, must seem immense, even to a sceptic, that 
 should he reject Christianity, he would reject the truth of 
 God, and incur eternal ruin. While, on the other hand, the 
 certainty is evident, that should he embrace it, not only would 
 he suffer no loss in case it should prove untrue, but he would 
 gain many precious consolations in this life, of which infi- 
 delity is entirely barren. In these circumstances, how serious 
 is the crisis, when he is making the choice whether to be an 
 infidel or a Christian ! Does he decide for infidelity 1 He 
 can gain nothing ; he certainly loses much ; and if the gos- 
 pel be true, he loses all for ever. Does he decide for Chris- 
 tianity ? He can lose nothing ; he certainly gains a great 
 deal ; and if infidelity prove to be true, he has nothing to 
 regret but that truth and happiness should be so directly 
 at war. 
 
 Then what a step does he take, who, notwithstanding all 
 the evidences of the religion of Jesus, determines upon its 
 denial ? What solemnity and carefulness of investigation :
 
 374 LECTURE XII. 
 
 what candour and impartiality of judgment ; what jealousy 
 over one's own inclinations and prejudices ; what long and 
 patient consideration ; what earnest prayer for divine guid- 
 ance and help, should precede such a decision ! One would 
 suppose that at least the maturest knowledge, and the coolest 
 temperament, and the most sober hours, would be waited for, 
 before coming to a point on which such tremendous conse- 
 quences are suspended. What, then, is our amazement to see 
 the stupid ignorance, or the senseless levity, or the lazy 
 thoughtlessness, or the intemperate enmity, with which this 
 momentous decision is almost always made ! How many 
 become infidels, not only without candid investigation, but 
 without any serious thinking; without so much as an inquiry; 
 without even a decent sobriety of mind ! To such persons, 
 I know not a more alarming occupation than that of read- 
 ing a well ordered exhibition of the evidences of Chris- 
 tianity. 
 
 Have the evidences of the Christian religion been ever 
 answered? Infidels have attacked Christianity. But any 
 thing may be attacked. They have slandered her doctrines ; 
 ridiculed her word ; reviled her precepts ; hated her holiness, 
 and influenced many to go and do likewise: but neither 
 hatred, nor reviling, nor ridicule, nor slander, is the test of 
 truth. Have infidels ever resorted to the one only fair and 
 honest mode of meeting, face to face, the whole array of 
 testimony which Christianity advances, and endeavouring 
 cooly to prove, as a matter of historical evidence, that the 
 authenticity of the New Testament, and the credibility of 
 its history, are not sustained ; that the miracles of Jesus 
 have not been supported with adequate testimony ; that the 
 prophecies of the scriptures have met their attestation in no 
 accurate histories ; that Christianity was propagated by 
 human force alone, and its fruits are those of a corrupt and 
 deceitful tree ? 1 answer, no. There is no such effort in the 
 lx)oks of infidelity. I read of speculations, opposed to our 
 facts, insinuations, in answer to our testimonies; sneers, in
 
 LECTURE XII. 375 
 
 reply toour solemn reasonings ; assertions, where wedemanded 
 arguments ; levity and presumption, where an advocate of truth 
 would have been serious and humble. But I know of no such 
 thing, as a book of infidelity in any sense corresponding in the 
 n alure, or grounds, or spirit of its reasoning, with such arguments 
 for Christianity as those of Paley, or Lardner, or Gregory, or 
 Wilson, and a thousand others, to which no man ever dared 
 to attempt an answer. Infidelity, like an insect on the pillar 
 of some stupendous temple, that can see no further than the 
 microscopic irregularities of the polished marble beneath its 
 feet, may busy itself in hunting for little specks in the surface 
 of the noble fabric of Christianity ; but has no such eye, and 
 takes no such elevated stand, as would enable it to survey 
 the whole plan, and judge of its pretensions by the mutual 
 adaptation of its parts, the harmony and grandeur of its 
 proportions. 
 
 IV. But there is a most important feature in all the 
 evidence we have been considering, to which I now direct 
 your special attention. It is strictly PHILOSOPHICAL. By 
 this I mean that the process by which we have arrived at 
 the truth of Christianity is precisely similar to that by wfyich 
 the astronomer arrives at the most certain truths of the 
 celestial bodies ; or the chymist determines the most funda- 
 mental doctrines of his important science. The grand 
 characteristic of the philosophy that Bacon illustrated, and 
 Newton so nobly applied, and to which all science is so 
 deeply indebted, is that it discards speculation ; places no 
 dependence upon theory ; demands fact for every thing, 
 and in every thing submits implicitly to the decision of fact, 
 no matter how incomprehensible, or how opposed by all the 
 speculations of the world. This is called inductive philosophy 
 in distinction from that of theory and conjecture. It collects 
 its facts either by personal experiments and observation ; or 
 by the testimony of those whose experiments and observa- 
 tions, and whose fidelity in recording them, are worthy of 
 reliance From these it makes its careful inductions,
 
 376 LECTURE XII. 
 
 determines the laws of science, with a degree of plain, 
 unpresuming authority, to which every enlightened mind 
 feels it ought to bow. The great principle of all Newton's 
 Principia, and that on which he set the ladder that raised 
 him to the stars, was this simple axiom : " Whatever is 
 collected from this induction ought to be received, notwith- 
 standing any conjectural hypothesis to the contrary, till such 
 time as it shall be contradicted or limited by further observa- 
 tions." But why is not this self-evident truth as fundamental 
 in religion, as in astronomy ? If Reid and Stewart have 
 been permitted, with universal consent and approbation, to 
 apply the simple principles of induction to the philosophy 
 of the mind ; on what possible ground can they be excluded 
 from the philosophy of the soul the religion of the heart ? 
 We beg as a favour, what is also demanded by right, that 
 Christianity may be tried by the strictest application of these 
 principles. You are called upon for no greater effort of 
 credulity : no more implicit reliance on testimony, in order 
 to receive the whole system of Christianity, as a divine 
 revelation, than you are obliged daily to exercise in believ- 
 ing those innumerable facts in natural science, which you 
 have not the opportunity of testing by your own experiments. 
 In regard to these, you simply ask, what is the statement? 
 Is it accurate'? Is it honest? However it may contradict 
 your previous ideas, or seem at variance with previous 
 phenomena, or even with well established laws, you only 
 investigate the testimony with the more carefulness. This 
 confirmed, you receive the facts ; and, instead of squaring 
 them by any of your old theories or speculations, you proceed 
 to measure the latter by their line, with as much submission 
 as if every mystery involved in them, were perfectly explained. 
 Only behave thus reasonably in the investigation of the 
 great question we have been considering. Apply to it the 
 measuring rod of sound philosophy. Let every speculation 
 as to its truth be blotted out. Let all conjectural hypotheses, 
 for and against it, be set aside. Let. the infidel and the
 
 LECTURE XII. 377 
 
 Christian sit together in the chairs of Bacon and of Newton ; 
 and with that stern rejection of mere theory, and lowly defer- 
 ence to fact, which so eminently distinguished those venerable 
 patriarchs of modern science, let the New Testament be 
 brought to the bar. It professes to be the authentic and 
 credible record of the life and doctrine of Christ. In it, 
 Christ professes to have been sent of God. Let the question 
 be put. Not, however, is this religion consistent with our 
 notions of what man wanted, and God might have been 
 expected to reveal ? Not, does it contain any thing strange, 
 or mysterious, or apparently contradictory to what we have 
 been accustomed to believe? But, let it be a plain question 
 of inductive philosophy. Is it supported by a competent 
 number of well certified facts ? Is there so mu'jn credible 
 testimony that we are warranted in determining that the 
 New Testament is authentic ; that its history is true ; that 
 Jesus did work miracles ; that his prophecies have been 
 fulfilled ? that no human power, unaided by that of God, can 
 account for the propagation of his gospel ; that no corrupt 
 imposture could ever produce the fruit with which its in- 
 fluence has blessed mankind? If there be, then all true 
 philosophy says : " Christianity ought to be believed, not- 
 withstanding any conjectural hypothesis to the contrary." 
 Only confine yourselves to this mode of investigation, and 
 submit yourselves to this simple law of evidence, and, like 
 Newton, you may mount a ladder set on a rock, and reaching 
 to the right hand of the throne of God. Proceed on any 
 other principle, and, like the heavenly vortexes and the 
 immense currents of ethereal matter in the philosophy of 
 Des Cartes, it can only lead you into inextricable confusion. 
 But, if you adopt the true principles ; what becomes of the 
 writings of infidels ? Buried amidst the rubbish of vain 
 speculations, and ingenious absurdities, and scholastic trifling 
 of the dark ages, when to get wealth by the hypothesis of a 
 philosopher's stone, instead of the homely, experimental 
 realities of diligence and common sense, was the great effort
 
 378 LECTURE XII. 
 
 of scientific ambition ! Infidelity is all speculation. Reduce 
 it to a residuum of inductive reasoning, and you bring it to 
 nothingness. Strip it of its several envelopes of ingenious 
 hypothesis, and bold assertion, and scoffing declamation, and 
 you find nothing left but a man of straw an ugly shape to 
 keep the hungry from the bread of life, which you need only 
 approach to discover that it is made of rags, and stuffed with 
 rottenness. 
 
 The argument for the divine authority of the gospel is all 
 composed of statements of undeniable facts, and of direct 
 inferences legitimately drawn from them. I defy the ingenuity 
 of the keenest critic to take up the course of reasoning to which 
 you have listened, and point out a single theory, or specula- 
 tion any thing, depended on for proof, but plain statements 
 of facts, established as perfectly, and bearing as directly upon 
 the point in question, as any of the observations of Newton's 
 telescope, or of Davy's crucible. Not a word have we said 
 as to what might be supposed or conjectured ; what is likely 
 or unlikely; what might have been expected or the contrary; 
 but have simply inquired, what is historically true. Let our 
 opponents do likewise. Whether any thing in Christianity 
 appears to them probable or improbable ; consistent or in- 
 consistent ; agreeable to what they should have expected, or 
 the contrary ; wise and good, or ridiculous and useless ; is 
 perfectly irrelevant. We can by no means consent to make 
 their judgments the standard in such matters. Infidels are 
 thought to entertain very absurd and inconsistent ideas of 
 absurdity and inconsistency, and of what should be esteemed 
 as both good and wise. We ask them to descend from their 
 flights of fancy and speculation, and condescend, in matters 
 of religion, to do what, in those of science, public opinion 
 would force them to, or laugh them out of countenance ; to 
 sit down to the plain investigation, on principles of common 
 evidence, of the facts which support Christianity, determined 
 *o believe what may be collected therefrom, notwithstanding 
 any of their conjectural hypotheses to the contrary. Such
 
 LECTURE XII. 379 
 
 was once the honest demand of astronomy and chemistry 
 upon all the tribes of theorists and conjecturalists, in those 
 departments of science. It is but a short time since our 
 present fundamental doctrines,on those subjects,\vere opposed 
 by philosophers whose speculations they rooted up, precisely 
 as the great doctrines of the gospel are still opposed by infidels 
 whose lives they condemn. By and by, it became irresistibly 
 evident that there is no way to science but by the slow and 
 humble path of experiment, obtained either by personal 
 observation, or by the credible testimony of others. As soon 
 as men of scientific minds shall learn to be consistent with 
 their own principles, and to reason philosophically, as well 
 when a law of religion, as a law of nature is concerned, then 
 the contradiction will no longer appear,of a philosopher loving 
 to investigate the works of God, but rejecting His word.* 
 In truth, the evidence of Christianity rests upon a basis 
 which cannot be condemned, without the downfall of many 
 of the most important works of science. The main facts and 
 reasonings of chemistry are considered undeniable, because 
 experimental. But who feels it necessary to make all the 
 experiments, or to see them made, before he will believe ? 
 Many of the most important, he receives, and must receive, 
 upon the testimony of others. Thus it is also in astronomical 
 calculations, Seldom are the facts obtained from our own 
 observations. Many of them, we believe, because they are 
 reported by credible witnesses. We come to a certain result, 
 by means of a number taken from a table of calculations 
 made to our hands, with as much assurance, and base our 
 reasonings upon it as confidently, as if we had obtained all 
 the elements by our own labour ; and yet the very corner 
 stone of our computation is a' mere matter of testimony. On 
 such reliance are eclipses predicted, and nautical observations 
 founded ; and yet a man of science who should evince any 
 scepticism with regard to events thus ascertained, would 
 
 * On the application of the inductive philosophy to the evidences or chrifl 
 tianity, see chapters viii. and ix. of Chalmer'e Evidences.
 
 380 LECTURE XII. 
 
 render himself no less an object of ridicule than if he should 
 cavil about the sun's rising to-morrow. What is a page of 
 logarithms, but a page of assertions, the whole value of which 
 is the faith of testimony ; and yet upon such data the most 
 momentous calculations in the exact sciences are based with- 
 out a question. 
 
 Pure mathematics are considered as involving complete 
 demonstrations. Mathematical reasoning is regarded as the 
 very perfection of certainty. And yet, in many of its most 
 important ^operations, elements, on which the whole chain 
 depends, are assumed on a basis not a particle more sure, to 
 say the least, than that on which our belief of the Christian 
 miracles is founded. " Who would scruple, in a geometrical 
 investigation, to adopt as a link in the chain a theorem of 
 Apollonius or of Archimedes, although he might not have 
 leisure at the moment to satisfy himself, by an actual examina- 
 tion of their demonstrations, that they had been guilty of no 
 paralogism, either of accident or design, in the course of their 
 reasonings ?"* And yet a result, however important, arising 
 from such an investigation, none would suspect. A philoso- 
 pher would rest his life upon its certainty. But have we 
 assurance of the accuracy and honesty of such men, to whose 
 testimony we thus implicitly yield, whether they be mathema- 
 ticians, or chymists, or astronomers, comparable in any degree 
 to our assurance of the competent knowledge and immovea- 
 ble honesty of those original witnesses of the works of Jesus 
 who have borne such devoted testimony to his miracles 1 Did 
 Apollonius, or Archimedes, or any philosophers of later times, 
 seal their honesty with their blood ? Did they suffer the loss 
 of all things hi maintenance of their doctrines ? Were they 
 willing to be accounted as fools for the sake of their testimony? 
 Did Galileo brave the torture of the inquisition sooner than 
 deny his astronomical discoveries ? We do not require such 
 extreme evidence of integrity even in the greatest questions 
 of scientific testimony. It were folly to expect it. We are 
 
 * Stewart's Philosophy, ii. 178.
 
 LECTURE XII. 381 
 
 satisfied with a far inferior degree of assurance. And yet 
 such, in ten thousands of instances, is the evidence by which 
 we know the honesty of those from whom comes our testi- 
 mony to the great facts of the gospel history. They did 
 suffer the loss of all things ; they did endure to be treated as 
 the offscouring of all things ; they did give themselves to the 
 i ack, and flame, and wild beasts, for the testimony c-f Jesus. 
 I mentioned, ir. the announcement of this lecture, that 
 besides a summary of the whole previous course, it would 
 contain an application of the argument to the principal 
 objections brought forward by infidels. This, in substance, 
 has been exhibited. We know of no objection of any im 
 portance which is not put to silence and buried, by an appeal 
 from what men think to what men have done ; from specu- 
 lation to testimony ; from the ideas of objectors to the facts 
 of witnesses. The simple application of the great principle 
 of inductive philosophy, that whatever is collected by observa- 
 tion ought to be received, any hypothesis to the contrary 
 notwitlistanding, is the smooth white stone in the sling of 
 David, which no champion of the Philistines, however 
 gigantic in intellect, or learning, or in the boast of either, can 
 stand. I am now speaking of the chief objections. I have 
 nothing to do with the ignorant ribaldry of such an antago- 
 nist as Paine. To this man, the purity of the gospel was its 
 chief deformity ; and its stern contradiction of his disgusting 
 vices, its most irreconcilable inconsistency. He studied the 
 Bible to defame it, and scraped the common sewers of infi- 
 delity for its very lowest and filthiest objections ; and then, 
 without honesty even to advert to the thousand answers each 
 had received in its day, served them up with his own dress- 
 ing of strong assertion and acrid ridicule, and advertised 
 them to the world as his own, and as unanswerable. Such 
 matters we must leave to the writings of those who have had 
 stomach to handle them. Ii> the answer of Bishop Wat- 
 son, you may see how entirely boasting is their strength. 
 They need but the light, to make all their show of argument 
 
 32
 
 382 LECTURE XII. 
 
 fade away. Their best answer is found in the profligate life 
 and despairing death of the poor, miserable man himself. 
 
 The mysteriousness of certain things in Christianity is 
 urged as a strong reason for the rejection of its divine author- 
 ity. Many will not believe the doctrine of the Trinity ; the 
 divinity of Christ ; his incarnation ; his atoning sacrifice ; 
 his resurrection from the dead ; his intercession in heaven ; 
 the influences of the Holy Spirit upon the hearts of men, and 
 our new creation unto holiness by his converting power, not 
 to speak of many other of the deep things of God, because 
 they are mysteries. Mysteries they are unquestionably, and 
 were intended to be so regarded. So far as we have need to 
 understand them, they are as intelligible as the plain truth 
 that man is the union of body and spirit. So far as we 
 are not concerned to understand them, they are as mysterious, 
 but not more so, than the nature of the union between body 
 and spirit in man. Religion must have mysteries. " Reli- 
 gion without its mysteries is a temple without its God." 
 
 Whither shall we flee to get beyond the region of things 
 incomprehensible ? They beset us behind and before. If 
 from revealed religion, we go to natural, they are there ! 
 The most essential doctrine of all religion, the existence of 
 God, is mystery to the uttermost. What explanation can be 
 given of his self-existence? His presence in all parts of the 
 universe at once 1 How he inhabits eternity, having no rela- 
 tion to time and immensity, having no relation to space ? 
 If from natural religion, we go to atheism, they are there 
 also ! He who denies the existence of God, plunges at once 
 into the most confounding of all mysteries. What in scrip- 
 ture is more incomprehensible than that this world had no 
 Maker ? that all its examples of wise and deep design had 
 no Designer ? Will you go from thence, to the experimental 
 certainties of natural philosophy ? Mysteries are there also ! 
 Explain the attraction of gravitation, the nature of electri- 
 city, the elastic power of steam, the secrets of evaporation. 
 What is vegetable, or animal, or spiritual life ? In mechan-
 
 LECTURE XII. 383 
 
 ics, we arrive at the utmost certainty respecting the relations 
 of force, matter, time, motion, space ; while, with the things 
 themselves, we have not the least acquaintance. They are 
 mysteries, as unsearchable to us, as the deepest things of re- 
 vealed religion. How force is communicated from one body 
 to another, is no more intelligible than how the influences 
 of the Holy Spirit are communicated to man. Matter, in 
 its changes, is as incomprehensible as grace in its operations. 
 " There are questions, doubts, perplexities, disputes, diversi- 
 ties of opinions, about the one as well as about the other. 
 Ought we not, therefore, by a parity of reasoning, to con- 
 clude that there may be several true and highly useful pro- 
 positions about the latter as well as about the former ? Nay, 
 I will venture to go farther, and affirm (says a devoted teacher 
 of science) that the preponderance of the argument is in 
 favour of the propositions of the theologian. For while 
 force, time, motion, &c., are avowedly constituent parts of a 
 demonstrable science, and ought, therefore, to be presented in 
 a full blaze of light, the obscure parts proposed in the scrip 
 tures for our assent are avowedly mysterious. They are not 
 exhibited to be perfectly understood, but to be believed. 
 They cannot be understood without ceasing to be what they 
 are. Obscurities, however, are felt as incumbrances to any 
 system of philosophy ; while mysteries are ornaments of the 
 Christian system, and tests of the humility and faith of its vo- 
 taries. So that if the rejectors of incomprehensibilities acted 
 consistently with their own principles, they would rather 
 throw aside all philosophical theories in which obscurities 
 are found and exist as defects, than the system of revealed 
 religion, in which they enter as essential parts of that i mys 
 tery of godliness' in which the apostles gloried."* 
 
 If from natural philosophy, we ascend to the higher 
 branches of pure mathematics, the regions of unmixed light 
 and certainty, where naught is tolerated but strict demonstra- 
 
 * Gregory's Letters.
 
 384 LECTURE XII. 
 
 tion, even there will mystery find ws, and its right hand 
 will hold us. 
 
 Explain the demonstrated fact that "there are curves 
 which approach continually to some fixed right line, with 
 out the possibility of ever meeting it ;" that " a space infinite 
 in one sense, may, by its rotation, generate a solid of finite 
 capacity ;" that " a variable space shall be continually aug- 
 menting, and yet never become equal to a certain finite 
 quantity." 
 
 These are depths which the mathematician can solve no 
 better than Christians can explain the great mysteries oi 
 redemption. But they do not hinder him. He can use, as 
 the elements of his calculation, doctrines thus incompre- 
 hensible, without feeling any diminution in the certainty oi' 
 the result. Why may not a Christian, with equal reason, 
 include among the articles of his belief doctrines no more 
 incomprehensible, without embarrassing his assurance of the 
 duties and consolations which result from them ? 
 
 If mysteries be valid objections to that which speaks of 
 God and his relations to man, why are they not at least as 
 formidable in all those branches of human knowledge in 
 which created and finite subjects alone are involved ? But 
 they are not treated as objections by the mathematician or 
 the philosopher. The former asks no question, but simply, 
 what is demonstrated ? The latter, what is proved, either 
 by experiment or by testimony 7 If phenomena be well 
 attested, he does not wait to understand their cause, or mode, 
 or effects ; he does not suspend belief till he has harmonized 
 their peculiarities with a favourite hypothesis, or with pre- 
 vious observations. He sets them down among the truths 
 of science, and believes ; taking for granted, that though he 
 may not understand them, there is One that does ; and though 
 he should never discover the theory by which such events 
 are shown to be in agreement with all others, there is still a 
 harmony which pervades " all things in heaven and earth, 
 and under the earth."
 
 LECTURE XII. 385 
 
 Such is the application of inductive philosophy to the 
 mysteries of nature. Let the mysteries of revelation be 
 treated with equal justice ; and instead of employing them 
 as objections to its truth, you will acknowledge them as 
 essential to its nature, and portions of its glory.* 
 
 But there are many who object to Christianity, not only 
 because they cannot understand the nature, but because 
 they cannot see the reason, of certain things contained in, 
 or connected with it. For example : It is well known that 
 God is gracious and merciful, and desireth not the death of 
 a sinner, and that He has all power to save whom He will ; 
 and yet it is revealed that without the sacrifice of Christ, and 
 without conversion and faith, the sinner cannot be saved. 
 Why, it is asked, this circuitous method, this expense of 
 suffering, when a word from the Almighty would save the 
 world ? An intelligent Christian could give many answers 
 to this question ; but what if he had none ? Would the 
 way of salvation, as revealed in the gospel, be in any degree 
 less credible ? Shall we refuse to believe the ways of God, 
 till he has laid all his reasons before us ? Why not as well 
 deny His works on the same indefensible ground ? Why 
 believe that a sick man cannot recover without a tedious 
 course of medicine 1 God can raise him with a word ! 
 Why cultivate the ground, and seek the mediatorial office of 
 the sun for the raising and ripening of your grain? God 
 can load your fields with harvests without such a circuitous 
 process ! Why His power is not exerted immediately for 
 these purposes, you can no more explain than why a sinner 
 cannot be saved but by faith in the sacrifice of Christ. Your 
 belief in the importance of intermediate steps depends as 
 little upon the reasons of the divine appointments, in one 
 case as in the other. 
 
 Again : you read that the gospel is of inestimable import- 
 ance to the happiness of man : a wonderful exhibition of 
 
 * See an admirable article on Mysteries in Religion, in Gregory's Let 
 ters, vol. i. 
 
 32*
 
 386 LECTURE XII. 
 
 divine grace to sinners ; and yet there are hundreds of mil- 
 lions who have never heard of it, and it is asked, why, since 
 God is infinitely good and merciful, as well as mighty, such 
 an immeasurable blessing has not been communicated to all 
 mankind ? This question is often put as a strong objection 
 to the divine origin of the gospel. Were it taught in the 
 scriptures that those who had never had the gospel will be 
 judged by its law, the objection would have force. But there 
 is no such doctrine. The objection is reasonable only so far 
 as there is reason in a creature's requiring the Creator to 
 explain His ways, and admit him to His councils, before he 
 will believe them. Does a philosopher stand on such grounds ? 
 Does he doubt the immense difference between the gifts and 
 blessings, the privileges and improvements, of a native of 
 England, and those of a savage of Kamtchatka, because he 
 knows not for what reason it was so ordained? Does he deny 
 that the former are inestimable, because not universal ? Will 
 one refuse to believe that he has a mine of gold in his field, 
 or that the gold is worth his seeking, because all men are not 
 equally favoured ? Shall a husbandman despise the genial 
 rain upon his grass, because his neighbour's fleece is dry ? 
 If God has not seen fit to reveal the reasons for which He 
 has distributed the gifts of nature, of providence, or of grace 
 with an unequal hand, I find nothing to complain of. I can 
 still believe that those gifts are from above, and are excellent, 
 and distributed under the guidance of infinite wisdom. 
 
 That there are no difficulties connected with the scriptures, 
 and with the doctrines of revealed religion, it would be saying 
 too much for the intelligence, education, and study of the 
 general reader, to assert. Until all shall be candid, studious, 
 p>atient, and humble, some will find many difficulties in Chris- 
 tianity. If a child, instead of beginning arithmetic in the 
 elements, should dive at once into the midst of a calculation 
 of algebraic roots and powers, he would scarcely escape being 
 stifled with difficulties. Thus, however, do most objectors 
 to Christianity endeavour to appreciate its doctrines. Instead
 
 LECTURE XII. 38T 
 
 of learning first the first principles, they plunge without 
 ceremony amidst the deepest mysteries of the gospel. Is it 
 wonderful that they come out, exclaiming: "Who is sufficient 
 for these things?" It is well said: "Objections against a 
 thing fairly proved are of no weight. The proof rests upon 
 our knowledge, and the ejections upon our ignorance. It is 
 true that moral demonstrations and religious doctrines may 
 be attacked in a very ingenious and plausible manner, be- 
 cause they involve questions on which our ignorance is 
 greater than our knowledge; but still our knowledge is 
 knowledge ; or in other words, certainty is certainty. In 
 mathematical reasoning, our knowledge is greater than our 
 ignorance. When you have proved that the three angles of 
 every triangle are equal to two right angles, there is an end 
 of doubt; because there are no materials for ignorance to 
 work up into phantasms, but your knowledge is really no 
 more certain than your knowledge on any other subject." 
 
 If it be a valid objection to religion that, to some minds, it 
 presents difficulties which cannot be solved, then there is no 
 department of human knowledge that may not be legitimately 
 condemned. What is more certain than the existence of a 
 material universe? or of the necessary connexion of cause 
 and effect ? But even in these, wise heads have succeeded 
 in discovering difficulties which it would puzzle much more 
 sensible people to remove by a process of reasoning. That 
 matter is infinitely divisible, is assumed in science as funda- 
 mentally certain. That the doctrine, however, involves very 
 great difficulties, is palpable to all common sense, inasmuch 
 as, to suppose a foot measure divided into an infinite number 
 of parts, requiring an infinite number of portions of time to 
 pass over them, and yet to be passed over in a moment, is to 
 make a moment infinite, in other words, eternal ; for although 
 it should be said that the portions of time would be infinitely 
 small, still they would be portions of time, and an infinite 
 number of any portions of time must make an infinite dura- 
 tion. Who will pretend that in this, there is no room ft*
 
 388 LECTURE XII. 
 
 perplexity and doubt ? In the mean time, the operations of 
 science, in which the infinite divisibility of matter is assumed, 
 proceed with as much confidence as if there were no difficulty 
 connected with it.* 
 
 Much is said of the certainty of mathematical demonstra 
 tions ; but if difficulties that cannot be solved are sufficient 
 objections, even here also must sentence of condemnation 
 be pronounced. It might be shown how trifling are even the 
 definitions of geometry, the most exact of all the mathema- 
 tical sciences. Its definitions might be alleged, upon no 
 inconsiderable grounds, to be nonsensical and ridiculous ; its 
 demands or postulates, plainly impracticable ; its axioms or 
 self-evident propositions, controvertible, and controverted 
 indeed even by themselves. But why are not these things 
 objected to the truth of mathematics ? What is there in the 
 religion of Jesus more encumbered with difficulties ? 
 
 Were the dispositions of the human heart and the idols 
 of a sinner's devotion as much opposed by the demonstrations 
 of mathematics, as by the doctrines of Christianity, it would 
 be just as difficult to convince men of the truth of the former, 
 as of the latter. The folly of speaking of a something that 
 has length without breadth ; of a point that has no parts ; 
 of lines for ever approaching and never meeting, &c. ; the 
 futility of basing a certain demonstration upon elements so 
 unintelligible and impossible, would be trumpeted to the ends 
 of the world. The wicked would no more believe a pro- 
 position of geometry, than they will now, a doctrine of 
 redemption. The scoffer would find as much to ridicule in 
 Newton's Principia as in Paul's Epistles.j 
 
 * "The divisibility, in infinitum, of any finite extension, involves us, 
 whether we grant or deny it, in consequences, impossible to be explicated, or 
 made in our apprehensions consistent; consequences that carry greater diffi- 
 culty, and more apparent absurdity, than any thing that can follow from the 
 notion of an immaterial substance." Locke on Human Understanding. 
 
 t See an interesting piece of reasoning, apropos to the above, in one of the 
 tracts of the American Tract Society, entitled *' Conversation with a Young 
 Traveller," No. 203.
 
 LECTURE XII. 389 
 
 But we do injustice to the good cause in which we are 
 engaged by standing exclusively on the defensi /e. Infidelity 
 has too long been indulged with the privilege of attack. It 
 is the stratagem of weakness, to put on a bold front and 
 make a desperate assault. Any arm can strike, but not 
 every breast can repel a blow. It is high time infidelity 
 were accused and brought to the bar. What proof of a 
 single feature of doctrine or of moral principle can it 
 produce, after having rejected such evidence as that of 
 Christianity? What satisfactory argument for the obligation 
 of any thing connected with natural religion ; what reason 
 for believing in a future state; what proof even of the 
 existence of God, can be offered as worthy of reliance, 
 without a shameful inconsistency, by men who, in the 
 immense power of evidence sustaining the divine authority 
 of the gospel, can find nothing to convince them ? 
 
 We have shown that the argument for Christianity is 
 strictly philosophical, because entirely experimental. It 
 might easily be shown that every system of infidelity, so far 
 as it pretends to any religious doctrine or precept, is wholly 
 destitute of all claim to such a character. What a catalogue 
 of theoretical assertions, and unsustained conjectures, and 
 positive contradictions, and gross absurdities, and inexplicable 
 difficulties, might be drawn up against the mos; rational of 
 the infidel systems ! The Deist professes to believe that the 
 light of nature is sufficient for human guidance in all matters 
 of moral obligation ; and yet he believes that notwithstanding 
 such all-sufficiency, some among those who have attempted 
 to follow it have contended for the immortality of the soul, 
 and others have denied it ; some have maintained that God 
 created all things, others that matter is as much from eternity 
 as Himself: some, that He governs and will judge the world, 
 others that He does not concern himself about it ; some, that 
 God should be worshipped, others that all worship is <-veak 
 superstition ; some, that virtue is virtuous, and vice viuious, 
 others, that there is no distinction in principle between them ;
 
 390 LECTURE XII. 
 
 that sin is but a matter of custom and opinion, and that the 
 indulgence of the lowest passions is no more to be blamed 
 lhan the thirst of a fever or the drowsiness of a lethargy. 
 
 Some infidels deny that Jesus ever lived, and yet they 
 believe that the whole nation of the Jews, bitter enemies of 
 Christianity as they have always been, acknowledge that 
 they put him to death on the cross. Some confess that there 
 was such a person, but accuse him of a most barefaced 
 system of fraud and imposture ; and yet they cannot but 
 concede that his character was eminently pure and excellent. 
 Others, to escape such a contradiction, maintain that he was 
 a pure, but weak and visionary enthusiast; and yet they 
 acknowledged that he composed and inculcated a system of 
 morals very far superior to that of the wisest of the ancient 
 philosophers. Infidels profess to believe that the apostles of 
 Christ were instigated by mercenary considerations, and yet 
 that they willingly suffered the loss of all things ; by ambi- 
 tious considerations, and yet they submitted cheerfully to all 
 ignominy and shame ! According to infidels, they were 
 devoted to a selfish scheme of personal benefit, and yet were 
 always going about doing good, without the least regard to 
 their own convenience or pleasure. They were gross 
 deceivers, it is said, and yet they endured all sufferings, and 
 sacrificed their lives, in confirmation of their sincerity. They 
 were weak fanatics, and yet the strongest and most learned 
 minds could not resist the power and wisdom with which 
 they spake. Infidels deny that Jesus ever wrought miracles, 
 but cannot deny that his bitterest enemies, who had infinitely 
 better opportunities of judging than they can boast, confessed 
 the contrary. Infidpls pretend that the prophecies of the 
 Bible were nothing more than guesses, and that all corres- 
 pondence between them and subsequent history was a mere 
 matter of chance ; and yet they cannot find, among all the 
 guesses in the Bible, a single failure ; while they cannot deny 
 that many of its guesses have succeeded, in the minutest 
 particulars, in spite of a proportion of chances against them
 
 LECTURE XII. 391 
 
 too great for numbers to express. Infidels contend that the 
 gospel is against all reason and common sense, as well as 
 truth ; they laugh at the efforts of modern apostles to convert 
 the nations of heathenism to the faith of Christ, as visionary 
 and fruitless. Nothing seems to them more impossible than 
 that such an enterprize should succeed. And yet, according 
 to their wisdom, when only twelve missionaries, with none 
 of the education, or experience, or human support and 
 countenance ; with none of the facilities for multiplying 
 books, and disseminating knowledge, which modern labourers 
 possess ; when twelve despised, persecuted Jews, undertook 
 a similar work, not among ignorant barbarians, but polished 
 Greeks ; and when, in less than forty years, their cause 
 was coextensive with the known world ; then what is so 
 impossible now was nothing wonderful or unaccountable ; it 
 was a mere matter of human contrivance and enthusiastic 
 perseverance ; the work of men alone, and of weak, super- 
 stitious, credulous, simple, and deceitful men, though the 
 only work of the kind since the creation of the world ! 
 
 It were easy to proceed much further with this array of 
 the contradiction and difficulties into which men are neces- 
 sarily brought by rejecting the evidences of christianit] . 
 But we have said enough to show, that if infidels were put 
 upon the defensive a little more frequently, they would have 
 much less time to be creeping, with poisoned arrows, around 
 the outworks of Christianity. Let them point out, in the 
 belief of the gospel, any thing like the contradictions and 
 absurdities involved in a profession of infidelity, and it shall 
 be renounced as unworthy the countenance of a rational 
 beingr.
 
 393 LECTURE XIII. 
 
 LECTURE XIII. 
 
 INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES, AND CONCLUDING 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 THE external evidences of Christianity, as a system of 
 faith, divinely revealed, we consider to have been closed with 
 the lecture next preceding the last. On that subject, we 
 shall offer no additional argument. But there remains one 
 very important matter of inquiry. 
 
 Christianity and the scriptures are essentially associated. 
 Without the latter, we should not have received the former, 
 But however inseparable in the use of their benefits, they 
 are quite distinct in the proof of their infallible origin. It is 
 one thing to show that the doctrines taught in the scriptures 
 are divine ; and another, that the books containing those doc- 
 trines are divine. The former, we think, has been fully 
 established. The latter has not yet been attempted. We 
 have proved that the books of scripture are authentic and 
 credible ; the works of the authors whose names they bear ; 
 and correct narratives of such matters of fact as they profess 
 to relate. But were we to stop here, we should leave the 
 Bible on a level, in point of authority, with many other books 
 of the Christian religion which contain the truth, and, so far 
 as we can judge, contain nothing else ; and yet have no pre- 
 tension to any other than a human origin. In this case, we 
 should have no ultimate and sure appeal for either doctrine or 
 duty ; a door would be open for all manner of interference, 
 on the part of " man's wisdom," for the perversion and cor 
 ruption of the truth ; the most essential features of the gos- 
 pel, on the easy plea that the apostles, being men, may 
 sometimes have misunderstood their Master, would be acces- 
 sible to the most ruinous suspicions of overstatement or 
 misconception.
 
 LECTURE XIII. . 393 
 
 We have need, not only of a divine system of religion, 
 but of a divine teacher of that system. The latter was pos- 
 sessed by the apostles in the person of Christ, while he con- 
 tinued with them ; and subsequently in the special presence 
 and guidance of the Holy Ghost, whom the Saviour promised 
 as a Comforter, to lead them into all truth. In place of the 
 privileges thus possessed, what remains to which may con- 
 fidently be referred every question of religious doctrine and 
 duty, and by which our minds may be safely led to the whole 
 truth as it is in Jesus 1 Are the scriptures infallible ? In 
 other words, are they divine? Have they been "given by 
 inspiration of God T This brings us at once to the main 
 point of the present lecture THE INSPIRATION OF THE 
 SCRIPTURES a subject which, however eminently important, 
 has had so much done, preparatory to its consideration, in 
 our previous lectures, that it need not occupy at present a 
 large portion of your time. 
 
 The distinct proposition to which your attention is called, I 
 would express partly in the language of St. Peter : The 
 scriptures came not by the will of man : but holy men of God 
 wrote as they were moved by the Holy Ghost; or in the 
 words of St. Paul : " All scripture is given by inspiration of 
 God." 
 
 By inspiration is understood : " Such a communication by 
 the Holy Spirit to the minds of the sacred writers, of those 
 things which could not have been otherwise known, and such 
 an effectual superintendency, as to those particulars, concern- 
 ing which they might otherwise obtain information, as 
 sufficed absolutely to preserve them from every degree of 
 error in all things which could in the least affect any of the 
 doctrines or precepts contained in their writings, or mislead 
 any person who considered them as a divine and infallible 
 standard of truth and duty." 
 
 This definition is perfectly consistent with what a critic 
 would regard as a fault of style in a book of scripture ; or a 
 
 philosopher, as scientifically inaccurate ; or a rhetorician, as 
 
 33
 
 394 LECTURE XIII. 
 
 a departure from the rules of rhetorical writing. It is entirely 
 compatible with the evident fact of the several authors having 
 written in such various idioms and styles as their respective 
 talents, habits, associations, or circumstances rendered most 
 easy and natural : while, at the same time, it places all the 
 sacred writers, however various their modes and minds, on 
 the same footing of divine authority ; and gives to all portions 
 of the Bible an equal claim to be received as the oracles of 
 God. Thus, over the just interpretation of each single verse, 
 is written, infallibility. 
 
 In examining into the degree of authority to be attached 
 to the scriptures, we are favoured with a very direct appeal. 
 We may go to the scriptures themselves. Having already 
 established their credibility ; we have a full warrant to de- 
 pend on them for a true statement of the words of the Saviour 
 and his apostles. Having established also the fundamental 
 doctrine that the Saviour and his apostles were divinely sent 
 and attested, we have a right to rely implicitly on theii 
 words, as truth divinely sealed and certified. Our way, 
 therefore, is plain. We must search the scriptures for any 
 words of the Lord Jesus and of his apostles concerning the 
 subject before us. We have but one question to answer : 
 Does the New Testament bear witness that the several books 
 composing the Bible were treated or represented by th& 
 Saviour or his apostles as divinely inspired 7 This deter- 
 mined in the affirmative, the inspiration of the scriptures is 
 decided, until the whole argument of the preceding lectures 
 shall be proved inconclusive. 
 
 I. Let us divide the question, and begin our inquiry with 
 the Old Testament scriptures. 
 
 1st. It is undeniable that the Saviour and his apostles re- 
 garded the Old Testament with at least as much reverence, 
 as did the Jews in their day. They reproved the latter for 
 many errors of doctrine and of practice ; for mutilating the 
 scriptures by false interpretations ; and for making them of 
 none effect through their traditions ; but nowhere do we read
 
 LECTURE XIII. 395 
 
 the least insinuation of their having censured the Jews for 
 paying too much respect to the scriptures, or for allowing 
 them too much authority. On the contrary, they evidently 
 joined in, most earnestly, with the Jewish mind on this sub- 
 ject ; and, instead of attempting to unsettle, aimed directly at 
 increasing its habit of implicit submission to the Old Testa- 
 ment writings. But had the Jews been erroneous in that 
 high degree of reverence with which they regarded those 
 sacred books ; such countenance and example on the pirt of 
 our Lord and his ambassadors could not have been showed, 
 consistently with the perfect truth and openness which marked 
 all their dealings. 
 
 Now, be it observed, that the Jews, in the time of Christ, 
 considered the writings of the Old Testament as divinely 
 inspired ; not merely in respect to their doctrines, but their 
 whole matter and substance. Josephus says, that in his time 
 they were universally believed to have been written by men 
 " as they learned them of God himself by inspiration" and 
 were justly believed to be " DIVINE." He draws a wide distinc- 
 tion between the histories of the Jewish people which were 
 written since the time of Artaxerxes, and those contained in the 
 Bible, and gives, as a reason why the former had not been 
 received as having so much authority as the latter, that since 
 Artaxerxes there had not been a succession of inspired men. 
 ' How firmly we have given credit," he says, " to these books of 
 our own nation, is evident from what we do ; for during so many 
 ages as have already passed, no one hath been so bold as either 
 to add any thing to them, to take any thing from them, or to 
 make any change in them; but it is become natural to all Jews, 
 immediately and from their very birth, to esteem those books to 
 contain divine doctrines, and to persist in them, and if occa- 
 sion be, willingly to die for them."* Hence we see that 
 Jesus and his apostles, in coinciding with, and in employing 
 and promoting the current sentiment of the Jewish people in 
 their days, must be considered as having, really and in the 
 
 * Cont. Apion, b. i. 7, 8.
 
 3% LECTURE XIII. 
 
 broadest sense, espoused and confirmed the doctrine of the 
 divine inspiration of the Old Testament scriptures. 
 
 2d. But, unanswerable as is the above attestation, we have 
 a direct assertion on the part of St. Paul of still greater im- 
 portance. Having reminded Timothy, that from a child ho 
 had known " the holy scriptures" which were able to make 
 him wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, he 
 makes this positive and conclusive declaration : " All scrip- 
 ture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for 
 doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteous- 
 ness : that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly fur- 
 nished unto all good works."* 
 
 Here, then, is the plain testimony of one, whose know- 
 ledge and veracity we have ascertained, that whatever in his 
 time was included under the name of " scripture," or " holy 
 scriptures," was of divine inspiration. We have only to ask, 
 therefore, to what books Paul applied that name. It was a 
 name of common use in his day. Josephus and Philo fre- 
 quently speak of "the divine scriptures," and "the holy 
 scriptures." It is manifest, therefore, that Paul meant to be 
 understood as asserting the divine inspiration of that collec- 
 tion of sacred books to which the Jews notoriously applied 
 such names ; in other words, the books of the Old Testa- 
 ment. He regarded them all as scripture. He declared them 
 all inspired. 
 
 Now, that under the same title we have the same collec- 
 tion of writings is certain ; not only from the important fact 
 that on this head there is a perfect agreement between our 
 bibles and those of the whole Jewish nation at the present 
 day ; but also from the testimony of Josephus, who, although 
 he has not mentioned the names of the several books consi- 
 dered as scripture in his time, has given us their number, and 
 so described them that their identity with ours cannot be 
 mistaken. He takes care to speak of them "as of divine 
 .'<uthoriiv."t In addition to this, we have the testimony of 
 * 2 Tim. iii. 15, 16, 17. t Cont. Apion, b. i. 8.
 
 LECTURE XIII. 397 
 
 the New Testament as to the canon of the Old. For besides 
 the books of Moses, which the former expressly mentions as 
 of divine authority, it also specifies almost all the other books 
 of our Old Testament as belonging, in the time of Christ, to 
 the sacred canon of the Jews. Some are omitted, only 
 because the mentioning of any is incidental. Nothing but 
 a formal enumeration can be expected to be complete. That 
 none are excepted against, is proof that all were received by 
 the Lord and his apostles. 
 
 Hence, we are fully warranted to believe that " all scrip- 
 ture," in the mouth of St. Paul, meant all the books of the 
 Old Testament which Jews arid Christians at present unite 
 in receiving as divine oracles ; consequently, we have apos- 
 tolic authority in proof that they were all " given by inspira- 
 tion of God." 
 
 Much additional evidence to the same point might be 
 added ; but with any who acknowledge the argument of the 
 previous lectures, and thence believe that whatever St. Paul 
 asserted, as a doctrine of Christianity, is true, the above sim- 
 ple reasoning will be amply sufficient for the divine inspira- 
 tion of the Old Testament. 
 
 II. Let us proceed to the second division of our subject, 
 and carry our inquiry to the books of the New Testament. 
 
 1st. The inspiration of the New Testament may be natu- 
 rally and reasonably inferred from that of the Old. In this., 
 we argue by analogy. No reason can be given why those 
 holy men of old, who composed the books of the other Tes- 
 tament, should have written, not " by the will of man," but 
 " as they were moved by the Holy Ghost," that does not apply 
 with much greater force to the writers of the later volume. 
 The economy of the Old Testament was to cease at the 
 advent of Christ ; that of the New will endure to the end of 
 th 8 world. The former was intended only for a single nation , 
 and adapted but to a country of narrow boundaries. The 
 latter was framed to include all nations, and is intended of 
 God to be coextensive with the globe. The law had onlv
 
 398 LECTURE XIII. 
 
 " a shadow oi good things to come ;" the gospel has " the 
 very image of the things ;" the first was a system of types, 
 " which stood only in meats, and drinks, and divers washings, 
 and carnal ordinances imposed, until the time of reforma- 
 tion ;" the second (the time of reformation being come) is a 
 system of direct revelation ; the veil has been rent in twain, 
 so that it may be said, in comparison with the previous dis- 
 pensation, that we " no longer see through a glass, darkly, but 
 face to face." One grand distinction of the economy of the 
 gospel is, that it is the dispensation of the Spirit. That pecu- 
 liar feature in which its covenant is " a better covenant, estab- 
 lished upon better promises" " a new covenant" is found 
 in this, that it is a spiritual covenant ; its promises, its privi- 
 leges, its duties, its parties, are all spiritual. Its character, in 
 this respect, is seen in that stipulation of its Divine Author : 
 " I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their 
 hearts" So much, therefore, does this " ministration of righ- 
 teousness exceed in glory" all that preceded it, that although 
 there had never risen, under the Old Testament system, a 
 greater than John the Baptist ; yet " he that is least in the 
 kingdom of God (i. e. under the New Testament system,) is 
 greater than he." 
 
 Now, is it supposable that, under a dispensation so limited 
 In extent and duration as that of the law ; so carnal in its 
 ordinances ; so obscure in its revelations ; serving only " unto 
 the example and shadow of heavenly things ;" the sacred 
 books should have been given by inspiration of God ; and 
 yet, that under the far better covenant of the gospel, designed 
 for all mankind, and to stand while the world endures ; a 
 dispensation so eminently distinguished for the outpouring 
 of the Spirit ; for the spiritual gifts of its earliest ministers, 
 and the spiritual duties and blessings of all its members : we 
 should be left to a standard of truth and duty, dictated only by 
 the wisdom, composed only under the superintending care, of 
 fallible men ? Surely the inspiration of the New Testament 
 is naturally and reasonably inferred from that of the Old.
 
 LECTURE XIII. 399 
 
 2d. The same conclusion necessarily arises from the 
 evident inspiration of the apostles in their preaching 1 and 
 other official actions. 
 
 It was expressly promised by the Lord, that when they 
 should stand before enemies, in defence of the gospel, they 
 should speak by inspiration of God. In such circumstances, 
 their direction was: "Take no thought how or what ye 
 shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of 
 your Father which speaketh in you." " The Holy Ghost 
 shall teach you in that same hour, what ye ought to say." 
 "I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your 
 adversaries shall not be able to gainsay, nor resist."* We 
 have no reason to suppose that these promises of inspiration 
 were confined to the special circumstances referred to in the 
 passages above quoted. The apostles were to be placed in 
 many others for which they would be quite as needful. 
 Certain circumstances were particularly spoken of by the 
 Lord ; because in them the faith of his apostles would be 
 particularly tried. ' ''+ 
 
 But inspiration was promised by the Saviour, in terms of 
 the most comprehensive kind. A little before his crucifixion, 
 when the hearts of his disciples (Judas having left them) 
 were greatly troubled at the assurance that he was soon to 
 be taken from them ; he promised to send them a Comforter 
 the Holy Spirit who should abide with them for ever. 
 This blessed Person, he called repeatedly "the Spirit ol 
 truth." He was distinctly promised to the apostles, as a 
 substitute, in all respects, for the presence, the guidance, the 
 instructions of their Lord himself. The great consolation 
 of such a substitute consisted in his being to the apostles, 
 invisibly, just what Jesus had been to them, visibly ; so that 
 they might consider themselves to be divinely directed and 
 instructed under his influence, in a manner quite as direct 
 and infallible, as if they had still the Master's voice to hear, 
 and his footsteps to follow. They were assured that " the 
 
 Mat. x. 19, 20. Luke xii. 12; and xxi. 15.
 
 4 K) LECTURE XIII. 
 
 Spirit of truth" would teach them whatever knowledge their 
 duties might require. "He shall leach you all things" 
 " He will lead you into all truth" Had they forgotten any 
 portion of their Lord's instructions ? " The Spirit of truth" 
 said he, " shall bring all things to your remembrance what- 
 soever I have said unto you" " He shall take of mine, and 
 shall show it unto you." Even the knowledge of the future 
 was promised to the apostles, by the inspiration of the Holy 
 Ghost. "He will show you things to come" They were 
 directed to tarry in Jerusalem after his death, until they 
 should receive "power from on high." Now all these 
 promises are positive proofs that the apostles were inspired 
 in their ministry, as soon as their fulfilment took place. 
 Thus, when the day of Pentecost was fully come, and the 
 Spirit descended upon them, " they were all filled with the 
 Holy Ghost," and " began to speak as the Spirit gave them 
 utterance." By this inspiration, they were enabled to preach, 
 in all languages, the wonderful works of God. The sermon 
 of Peter, on that day, was spoken under this influence. By 
 the same help, he discerned the spirit of Ananias and 
 Sapphira. Their lie was unto the Holy Ghost, in as much 
 as, it was unto one whom the Holy Ghost inspired. Directed 
 by the same Spirit, Peter journeyed from Joppa to the house 
 of Cornelius, and first opened the door of faith to the Gen- 
 tiles. Paul, by inspiration, went forth on his mission from 
 Antioch to the lesser Asia ; being " full of the Holy Ghost," 
 lie searched the conscience of Elymas, the sorcerer, and 
 punished his wickedness with blindness. When the apostles, 
 and elders, and brethren were assembled in council about the 
 question sent up from Antioch for their decision ; they 
 consulted and determined as they were guided by inspiration 
 of God. " It seemeth good to the Holy Ghost" was the 
 solemn sanction annexed to their sentence. They claimed 
 to be always received, as inspired. Their speech and their 
 preaching, they asserted, were " in demonstration of the 
 Spirit ;" " not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth,
 
 LECTURE XIII. 
 
 401 
 
 but which the Holy Ghost teacheth." It is expressly declared 
 by St. Peter, that his brethren and himself " preached the 
 gospel with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven." All 
 these statements, and many others which might be adduced, 
 abundantly confirm the position, that the apostles, in then 
 preaching and other official actions, were in the highest sense 
 inspired. 
 
 Hence it would seem to be very naturally and reasonably 
 inferred, that when they wrote for the permanent guidance 
 of the churches, they were inspired also. Can it be supposed 
 that St. Paul, in preaching to the Ephesians or Corinthians, 
 spake as he was moved by the Holy Ghost ; and yet was 
 entirely bereft of that divine aid, when he sat down to the 
 much more important work of composing epistles to those 
 churches 1 When it is considered how entirely all the oral 
 communications of the apostles ceased to be remembered, in 
 a short time after they were uttered, except as they were 
 recorded in the scriptures ; and how their written communi- 
 cations to the churches have remained unmutilated, these 
 eighteen hundred years ; and are now circulated in upwards 
 of one hundred and seventy languages ; and will continue 
 to be the guide and treasure of the church to the end of the 
 world ; can it be believed that in these the apostles were left 
 to their own fallible wisdom, though guided in the others by 
 the inspiration of God ? Such an opinion would be absurd 
 in the extreme. 
 
 It seems to be a necessary conclusion, from the above 
 premises, that the authors of the New Testament were 
 divinely inspired, as well when writing for all people and 
 all ages, as when speaking to the congregation of a single 
 synagogue. 
 
 3d. If the apostles did not intend to impress the church 
 with a belief that they wrote by divine inspiration, they 
 adopted the very means that were most likely to lead its 
 members into a most important heresy. St. Paul, in an 
 epistle to Timothy, which he knew would be universally oir-
 
 402 
 
 LECTURE XIII. 
 
 culated, piulished the broad assertion: " All scripture it 
 given by inspiration of God." Now it is worthy of note, 
 that the epistle, containing this declaration, is generally sup- 
 posed to have been written after all the other works of St. 
 Paul, and but a short time before his martyrdom at Rome. 
 At any rate, it was one of his latest works. The Gospel of 
 St. Matthew had been written and circulated at least twenty 
 years. Those by St. Mark and St. Luke were already in 
 the possession of the churches. The same is true of the 
 Acts of the Apostles. We know of no part of the whole 
 New Testament that was written subsequently to the uttering 
 3f the above declaration, except the gospel, epistles, and 
 Revelation by St. John. 
 
 In connexion with this, be it observed, that when the 
 primitive Christians received an epistle or gospel from one of 
 the apostles or evangelists, they regarded it as a portion of 
 holy scripture. By this familiar name, it was universally 
 known, and with this high honour, it was always treated. 
 Precisely as the writers of the New Testament speak of the 
 books of the Old Testament, calling them the scriptures, do 
 the Christian writers, who were contemporaneous with the 
 apostles, continually quote their books. This cannot be 
 questioned. Then, consider the circumstances of the church- 
 es. They have in possession, and in daily use, a number of 
 writings which have been sent them by the apostles and 
 evangelists, the greater part of them by St. Paul himself. It 
 is well known to the latter, that those writings are universally 
 revered and read as holy scriptures. In these circumstances, 
 he declares that " all scripture is given by inspiration of God." 
 How are they to understand him? Shall they say: He 
 speaks in that passage only of the Jewish scriptures ? His 
 primary reference was unquestionably to them. But in what 
 sense can his assertion be true of all scripture, if so large a 
 part as that comprising the New Testament, and which was 
 universally denominated scripture, came only "by the will
 
 LECTUKE XIII. 403 
 
 of man ?" But this is not all that the apostles did to promote 
 the belief of the inspiration of their writings. 
 
 The Christian churches were accustomed to appeal to the 
 Old Testament as an inspired volume. A large number of 
 their members had been educated in the Jewish faith, and by 
 habit, as well as reflection, always associated the idea of 
 divine inspiration with that of a book of scripture. Conse- 
 quently, when the writings of the New Testament were 
 received ; when they came to occupy, in regard to the Chris- 
 tian church, a corresponding place to that of the Old Testa- 
 ment books in regard to the Jewish church ; when they were 
 honoured by universal consent, with the same title of " holy 
 scriptures" as was applied to the sacred books of the former 
 dispensation ; it was extremely natural that the churches 
 should treat them precisely as they treated the older books, 
 and believe them also to have been written by inspiration of 
 God. That they did thus regard them is indisputable. 
 Clement, bishop of Rome, a contemporary of the apostles, 
 says : " Look into the holy scriptures, which are the true 
 words of the holy Ghost. Take the epistle of the blessed 
 Paul, the apostle, into your hands ; verily he did by the 
 Spirit admonish you." The primitive Christians rejected 
 from the canon of scripture certain books, because, though 
 true and edifying, they were not inspired by the Holy Ghost. 
 They habitually spoke of the New Testament as " The 
 Word of God," " The Voice of God," " The Oracles of the 
 Holy Ghost." 
 
 Now, in such circumstances, how would the apostles, as 
 men of common honesty and candour, have acted in case 
 they did not consider their writings to be inspired ? Know- 
 ing the natural tendency and the actual state of public opin- 
 ion among the churches, could they have been even silent 
 on this subject ? Must they not have warned their discipies 
 against a disposition so dangerous, and a heresy so conspicu- 
 ous ? Would not the most ordinary measure of humility 
 and faithfulness ha^e impelled them to draw the line of dis
 
 404 LECTURE XIII.- 
 
 tinction, too plainly to be mistaken, between what they had 
 written by their own wisdom, and what holy men of old had 
 written "as they were moved by the Holy Ghost?" What 
 course do they pursue ? Not only do they allow the natural 
 disposition ol those accustomed to attach inspiration to the 
 scripture to have its way ; not only do they say nothing hav- 
 ing the least tendency to correct the universal impression of 
 the churches on so vital a point ; but they adopt the very 
 course which was calculated directly to confirm all their 
 prepossessions. They introduce their writings in a manner 
 of authority precisely similar to that of the inspired men of 
 older times. Witness the beginning of the Epistle to the 
 Galatians : " Paul an apostle (not of men, neither by man, 
 but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him 
 from the dead) unto the churches of Galatia," &c. Peter, 
 speaking of the epistles of Paul, as familiarly known among 
 Christians, expressly numbers them among " the scriptures" 
 and puts them upon a level with "the other scriptures"* 
 which Jews and Christians alike considered to have been 
 written by inspiration. Paul speaks of the writings of the 
 l ' apostles and prophets" as constituting together that good 
 foundation on which Christians were built, "Jesus Christ 
 himself being the chief corner stone."t And after Peter has 
 particularly included the epistles of St. Paul among the 
 scriptures, the latter publishes his declaration that " all scrip- 
 ture is given by inspiration of God." 
 
 If those holy men did not intend to promote the belief of 
 the inspiration of their writings; if they were desirous of 
 teaching the churches to make a wide distinction between 
 their works, as merely human and fallible, and those of 
 Moses and the prophets, as divine and infallible ; how singu- 
 larly did they mistake the way ! how exactly did they 
 inculcate what they wished to contradict, and build up what 
 they were bound to destroy ! 
 
 In what manner the primitive churches understood their 
 
 * 2 Peter, iii. 16. t Ephesians, ii. 90.
 
 LECTURE XIII. 405 
 
 instructions, is manifest; and on the supposition that the 
 apostles taught that their writings were not inspired, it forms 
 a singular proof of the great obscurity with which they must 
 have expressed themselves. Justin Martyr, a contemporary 
 with St. John, .says that " the gospels were written by men 
 full of the Holy Ghost." Irenaeus, a few years later, declares 
 that " the scriptures were dictated by the Spirit of God, and 
 that, therefore, it is wickedness to contradict them, and sacri- 
 lege to alter them." "The gospel," he says, "was first 
 preached, and afterwards, by the will of God, committed to 
 writing, that it might be, for time to come, the foundation 
 and pillar of our faith." 
 
 Enough, it is believed, has now been exhibited to satisfy 
 any reasonable mind that it was the intention of the writers 
 of the New Testament, and of their blessed Master, that 
 the church should regard their works as having been 
 dictated and rendered infallible by divine inspiration. To 
 those who acknowledge that Christ and his apostles were 
 commissioned and taught of God, this is perfect evidence of 
 the great doctrine at which we have been arriving. For those 
 who, after all that has been said in our preceding lectures, 
 shall still refuse to acknowledge the Lord Jesus and his 
 apostles as divinely commissioned and endowed, we have no 
 more argument. Much additional reasoning might be offered ; 
 but such is the conclusiveness of what has been adduced, that 
 it may be said without presumption, if they believe not upon 
 such evidence, " neither would they believe though one rose 
 from the dead."* 
 
 We may now conclude a course of lectures, which has 
 already extended far beyond the anticipations of the author. 
 Having arrived at the divine authority of Christianity, and 
 the divine inspiration of the scriptures, we have not only a 
 religion revealed from God, but an infallible expression of 
 
 * For a much more extended and able view of the inspiration of the New 
 Testament, see Dick on the Inspiration of the Scriptures, and Lectures on 
 the same by Leonard Woods. D. D., Andover. 
 
 34
 
 406 LECTURE XIII. 
 
 its doctrines and duties. We have the guide, as well as 
 the way, to everlasting life both equally certain, equally 
 divine. 
 
 Let us be thankful for such unspeakable gifts. Next to the 
 mercy of a Saviour able and ready " to save to tho utter- 
 most all that come unto God by Him" is the book of the 
 inspiration of God, which, as a lamp to our feet, and a light 
 to our path, conducts to such a Friend, and teaches us, with- 
 out mistake, all that we must do to be saved. 
 
 Let us consider our obligation to study this blessed book, 
 with most serious attention and care. What can be more 
 ungrateful, more disobedient, more sinful, in the sight of God, 
 than the total neglect, or the careless reading of a volume 
 which His own Spirit indited for our express guidance and 
 consolation ? " Search the scriptures !" is the injunction, as 
 well of our reason, as of the Lord Jesus. " Let the "word of 
 Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom," is a command as de- 
 lightful in its obedience, as it is authoritative in its declaration. 
 
 Let us yield implicit submission to the decisions of the 
 scriptures. In them we read the oracles of God the mind 
 of the Spirit infallible wisdom. As inspired pages, then- 
 authority is absolute. It is plain duty, therefore, to bring 
 every question of truth or practice to their judgment ; and to 
 bow, without a question, or a murmur, or the least reserve 
 of mind or heart, to whatever they require. To proceed on 
 any other principle ; to bring any thoughts of ours into the 
 least competition with the decision of the scriptures ; to sub- 
 mit to one portion of the Bible, more than to another ; to 
 withhold assent to any of its doctrines, till we can fully per- 
 ceive their necessity, or reasonableness, or their consistency 
 with certain notions of human wisdom, is a practical denial 
 of the divine authority of the whole volume, and deserves no 
 other name than that of unbelief. 
 
 Let us search the scriptures daily ; for they were made to 
 he daily " profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and in-
 
 LECTURE XIII. 407 
 
 struction in righteousness." It is only when taken as an 
 intimate companion and friend, that the Bible throws oft' its 
 reserve, and appears in all its excellence. Then it speaks to 
 the heart, and begins to develope treasures of consolation as 
 numerous as the wants of sinners, as endless as the grace of 
 their Saviour. We can well perceive the hand of God 
 in the general construction of Christianity, while standing 
 without, and looking only upon its walls and bulwarks ; but, 
 like the temple of Jerusalem, we must enter within the holy 
 place to " behold the fair beauty of the sanctuary ;" the fine 
 gold of its workmanship; and the glory of Him "who 
 dwelleth between the cherubim." " The secret of the Lord 
 is with them that fear him; and he will show them his 
 covenant." 
 
 Let us search the scriptures with prayer; " praying always 
 with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit," that we may 
 be " filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and 
 spiritual understanding." The key of the ark, in which are 
 laid up the tables of testimony, is prayer. By this alone can 
 we set into "the secret place of the Most High," and be 
 taught of God. He who, without prayer, should seek to 
 enter within the veil, and obtain a view of the divine glory 
 as it shines within the scriptures, would act no less pre- 
 sumptuously, than Aaron, the high priest, had he attempted, 
 without his brazen censer and his incense, to pass the veil of 
 the holy of holies, and stand before the mercy-seat. " My 
 son," saith the scripture, " if thou criest after knowledge, and 
 liftest up thy voice for understanding ; if thou seekest her as 
 silver, and searches! for her as hid treasures ; then shalt thou 
 understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of 
 God." 
 
 We began these lectures with prayer to God for his Holy 
 Spirit to guide our way and help our infirmities, that all of us 
 might see and embrace the truth. We recommended prayer 
 as one of the chief means to be used by ail who would study 
 the evidences of Christianity in a right spirit. We are now
 
 408 LECTURE xm. 
 
 just at the last words of a course, which, we trust, God has 
 not permitted to be heard by you without precious benefit, as 
 well in increasing your impression of the solemn claims of the 
 gospel upon your hearts and lives, as in strengthening your 
 conviction of its truth as a revelation from God for the salva- 
 tion of men. Take, we beseech you, the Holy Scriptures, 
 wherein God speaks, by his Spirit, to every generation, as 
 your unfailing guide, your most dear treasure, the appointed 
 means by which, as the inspired vehicle of God's truth, it is 
 His revealed purpose to carry on, through the inworking of the 
 Holy Ghost, the sanctification of them that believe in the name 
 of His only Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ! 
 
 " BLESSED LORD, who hast caused all holy scrip- 
 tures to be written for our learning, grant that we 
 may, in such wise, hear them, read, mark, learn, and 
 inwardly digest them, that by patience, and comfort 
 of thy Holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold 
 fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou 
 hast given us in our Saviour, Jesus Christ." Amen 
 
 THE END.
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 Form L9-32m-8,'57(.C8680s4)444
 
 BT 
 
 Mcllvai 
 
 1101 Evidences of 
 Ml8e Christianity 
 
 BT 
 
 1101 
 Ml8e 
 
 I"!!!! 11