The internal evidence of the Holy Bible; or, The Bible proved from its own pages to be a Divine revelation

THE

INTERNAL EVIDENCE

THE HOLY BIBLE

OR

THE BIBLE PROVED FROM ITS OWN PAGES

A DIVINE REVELATION.

BY J. J. JANEWAY, D. D.

PHILADELPHIA:
PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION

Entered according to Act of Congress, m the year 1845, by A
W. MITCHELL, M. D., in the Office of the Clerk of the District
Court for the Eastern Distr-"* r** Pennsylvania.

RECOMMENDATION.

PRINCETON, June 23d, 1845.

Reverena and Dear Brother,

I thank you for the opportunity which you have kindly
afforded me of looking over your remarks on " The Internal
Evidence of the Holy Bible." I have availed myself of this
opportunity with real pleasure ; and though constrained by
my avocations, and the state of my eyes, to make my peru
sal more cursory than I would have wished ; yet I have read
enough to make me desirous that the work should be pub
lished, which I feel prepared, without hesitation, to advise.
It is true that this department of the evidences of Christianity
has been frequently and ably treated ; but it appears to me
that there is yet room for further treatment ; and unless I
am greatly deceived, what you have written, will be deemed,
by the enlightened friends of the Bible, altogether worthy of
the public eye.

You have made it appear, beyond controversy, that the
spirit of the Bible, both in its doctrinal system, and in its
moral code, is far more rational, pure, benevolent, and adapt
ed to promote individual and social happiness than any other
ever proposed to human acceptance. It is impossible for
any thinking candid man to doubt, that any community in
which that spirit should be truly and thoroughly reduced to
practice, would be the happiest community in the world.
From what source could such a spirit come? From impos
ture 1 from falsehood ? Impossible ! As well might we
suppose darkness to produce light, or death life. No! Purity
so unmixed, benevolence so God-like, wisdom so consum-

4 RECOMMENDATION.

mate and unerring, a system in all its parts, so perfectly
adapted to refine and elevate man, must have come from
that infinitely great and holy Being, from whom every good
and perfect gift cometh down. After all the best products
of human wisdom, and human benevolence that we can col
lect, there is something in the Bible as much above them
all, " as the heavens are higher than the earth."

In addressing this letter to you, acknowledging my plea
sure in the perusal of your manuscript, and soliciting your
consent to its publication, I have two motives. One is dis
interested ; having for its object, to promote the giving to the
public, through the press, a work, which I trust will be the
means of doing good long after you and I shall have gone
to our eternal rest. The other is more personal, and what
some would, perhaps, call selfish. It is to place a record
on this humble page, which may inform my children that
the beloved and venerated author of this little volume was
their father's friend ; and that an unbroken and confiding
intercourse of nearly fifty years united us to one another,
and, as we humbly trust, in sanctified fellowship, in the
church of God.

That you may long continue to serve your generation by
the will of God, and to enjoy the consolations of that gospel
which you preach to others, is the unfeigned prayer of, my
dear sir, your affectionate brother in Christ,

SAMUEL MILLER.
REV. J. J. JANEWAY, D. D.

CONTENTS.

PART I.

CHAPTER I.

GOD'S PLAN FOR GIVING AND PRESERVING HIS REVELA
TION, Page 13

The Bible is composed of a number of smaller books, p. 14. Di
versity of the books, 14. Many writers, 15. Attestation of
revelation, 17. Revelation, how preserved, 21. Change in the
mode of worship, 23. No impostor would attempt such a change,
26. The change consonant to the wisdom of God, 27. Conclu
sion of the argument, 28.

CHAPTER II.

THE MIRACLES NARRATED, AND WROUGHT BY MOSES, 31

CHAPTER III.

ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES, 40

Remarks, 40. A fact assumed, 45. Reasoning on the supposi
tion that Moses's writings were received by his contemporaries,
46. Force of the Israelites' testimony, 53. Reasoning on the
opposite supposition, 55. Illustration, 57. Conclusion of the
argument, 59.

CHAPTER IV.

MIRACLES OF CHRIST AND HIS APOSTLES, 60

The gift of tongues, 67.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER V.

ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES, Jt'dge 68

Remarks, 68. Reception of the New Testament writings a proof
of the reality of miracles, 72.

CHAPTER VI.

PROPHECIES, 7*

Genesis iii. 14, 15 explained, 77. Genesis xv. 13, 14 explained,
81. Difficulties removed, 83. Gen. xvii. 5, 6, explained, 86.'
Gen. xlix. 8—10 explained, 87. Jericho, 89.

CHAPTER VII.

PROPHECIES, 90

The writer of the two books of Kings a credible witness, 90.
Proofs of his credibility, 91. Illustration, 93. Prophecies in
these books, 95. Review, 114.

CHAPTER VIII.

PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH, H6

Capture and burning of Jerusalem, 116. Restoration of the Jews,
118. Capture of Babylon, 119. Fulfilment of the prediction
about the Jews' restoration, 120. Review, 121.

CHAPTER IX.

PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST, AND THEIR FULFILMENT, 124

Sundry particulars, 124. Remarks, 133. The testimony and
proof, that all these prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus Christ
are ample, 136.

CHAPTER X.

THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST THE GREAT MIRACLE, 13?
Argument from his appearances, 139. Argument from tne won
ders wrought on the day of Pentecost, 144. Argument from the
conversion of the apostle Paul, 149.

CONTENTS.

PART II.
CHAPTER I.

WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES OF GOD, Page 159

It teaches the unity of God, 159. The eternity of God, 163. The
independent greatness of God, 164. The Omnipresence of
God, 165. The Omniscience of God, ] 65. The wisdom, power,
goodness, justice, &c., of God, 166. It reveals God as the Crea
tor, 167. As the Preserver and Benefactor of his creatures, 169.
As the Sovereign and Almighty Ruler of the Universe, 171. As
the Judge of the World, 172. Manner of the sacred writers, 174.

CHAPTER II.
WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES OP MAN, 175

The natural history of man, 175. The moral history of man, 177.
The future history of our race, 179. Inspiration of the sacred
writers, 182.

CHAPTER III.

THE MORAL CODE OF THE BIBLE, 184

The summaries of duty found in the Bible, 184. The details of
duty, 186. The spiritual nature Of the moral code, 188. Per
fection of the moral code, 190. The end of the moral system
inculcated in the Bihle is the glory of God, 194. The sanctions
of the Bible, 196. Examples of piety and obedience in the Bible,
198. Provision made for securing obedience to the moral code,t>00.

8 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IV.

ARGUMENTS FROM THE MORAL CODE, Page 202

The superiority of the moral system in the Bible, is evidence of
its divine original and authority, 202. Perfection of the moral
code a proof of its inspiration, 204. Its exemption from the de
basing influence of human depravity a proof of inspiration, 20G.
The provision made for obedience to its moral system, a proof of
its inspiration, 208.

CHAPTER V.

REDEMPTION THE WORK OF GOD, 213

The contrivance of the plan of redemption, 214. The develop
ment of this scheme, as taught in the Bible, 217. Its execution,
223. The application of redemption, 232. The benefits and re
sults of redemption, 233. The consummation of redemption,
234. Argument from a review, 236.

CHAPTER VI.

THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO THE WANTS AND NECES
SITIES OF FALLEN MAN, 240

The Bible dispels the darkness of the human mind in regard to
spiritual things, 240. Shows how human guilt may be removed,
244. Furnishes the believer a perfect righteousness, 246. Pro
vides for his deliverance, 251. The Bible inspires the believer
with a firm and unwavering belief of an overruling Providence,
255. Furnishes him with support and consolation under afflic
tions, 258. Delivers him from the fear of deoth, and inspires
him with a hope of immortality, 260.

CHAPTER VII.

THE BENEFICIAL INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE, 265

Influence in forming man's character, 265. In promoting man's
happiness, 274. Influence on domestic society, 279, Conclu
sion, 282.

INTRODUCTION.

THE BIBLE claims to be a revelation from God ; given as
a guide to our faith, and a rule for our conduct. It pro-
fesses to furnish us with instruction which reason could not
offer : to teach us the misery and danger of our condition as
sinners ; how to escape that danger, and how to obtain de
liverance from our misery. In a word, it professes to teach
the way of life ; how we may avoid eternal death, and secure
eternal life; how from being the heirs of everlasting misery,
we may become the heirs of everlasting happiness.

Can the claims of this book be sustained 1 Is it a revela
tion from God? Was it written under the inspiration of his
Holy Spirit ? Has it authority to regulate our faith and
practice ? Can it lead us in the path to heaven 1 These
are important questions ; worthy of the most careful investi
gation of every rational creature.

This book was put into our hands by our parents, who
told us that it was inspired, and contained a divine revela
tion. In deference to their authority, we, while in our
youthful days, and incapable of investigating its claims, re
ceived it as invested with the high and commanding charac
ter attributed to it by our parents.

But when the human mind is so far developed as to be
come capable of examining and appreciating evidence, it is
no longer our duty to remain satisfied with reliance on pa
rental judgment and authority. We are not only permitted,
but required to examine for ourselves the claims of the

9

10 INTRODUCTION.

Bible, to regulate our faith and practice. God treats us as
rational creatures. Whenever he addresses a message to
us, he will doubtless accompany it with evidence sufficient
to convince any candid and teachable mind, that he does
really speak to us.

The claims of the Bible will bear the most rigid examina
tion. Investigation will prove them to be well founded.
Its divine authority and inspiration can be evinced by evi
dence of the clearest and most convincing kind. Intelligent
men, in every age, have regarded the evidence as fully
satisfactory; and sufficient to render all who, through negli
gence, refuse to examine, or who, from love of sin, turn
away from it, utterly inexcusable.

The evidence that establishes the divine authority of the
Bible, is of two kinds ; external and internal.

The external evidence is derived from well authenticated
miracles, from the fulfilment of prophecies, from the writings
of heathen authors, and primitive Christians, and from the
establishment and preservation of revealed religion in the
world, amidst all the difficulties it had to encounter ; and
the wonderful success of the gospel, at the commencement
of its glorious career in the first centuries. A thorough ex
amination of this department of evidence, would demand
much time and extensive reading. It is worthy of the atten
tion of those who have leisure and ability for the investiga
tion. On this kind of evidence Christian writers have chiefly
dwelt, and have exhibited it with great force and strength.
Many volumes, small and large, have been published, filled
with convincing and powerful reasoning. They have corn-
batted with the enemies of the Bible, and defeated them.

The internal evidence of the truth of the Bible has not
been overlooked ; different portions of it have been discussed
with clearness and force, by able writers ; but in the author's
opinion, it has not been so fully discussed as the external.
lie has never seen this class of evidence exhibited in one

INTRODUCTION. 11

comprehensive view. Yet, in his judgment, it is by far the
strongest, most convincing, and best adapted to the popular
mind ; and indeed to every mind that can be brought duly
to examine and weigh it. Under this impression, while
teaching the evidences of Christianity to the students in
Rutgers College, he determined to prepare a course of lec
tures on the subject. In 1839, he had written five lectures,
or nearly one half of this volume ; but finding, owing to the
pressure of other studies on the students, no opportunity
could be had for reading them to the classes, he laid aside
his plan, and ceased the preparation of his intended course.

Towards the close of the last year, he was induced to re
sume his plan, with a view to its completion. In executing
it he has confined himself strictly to the internal evidence of
the divine authority of the Bible, which is derived from this
blessed book itself. So incorporated is it with the sacred
pages by its great Author, that it becomes more and more
convincing, just in proportion as a person studies the Bible,
and renders his mind familiar with its interesting contents.

All the works of God bear the impress of his adorable
perfections. In creation and providence we see such plain
and convincing evidence, that we cannot doubt that the
heavens and the earth were the production of an infinite
Being, and are upheld and governed by him to whom they
owe their existence.

If the Bible is the production of infinite wisdom and good
ness, it is reasonable to expect to find impressed on it marks
of the Divine hand, that guided the minds of the penmen,
who were employed to write its several portions. Accordingly,
on a careful investigation, the signature of its divine Author
will be found plainly impressed on its pages. To convince
the reader of this, it is proposed to exhibit, in the following
chapters, those internal evidences of the divine authority of
the Bible, which will, in the writer's judgment, be the most
satisfactory and convincing.

12 INTRODUCTION.

The argument will be distributed under the following
heads :

I. The Divine Plan, as exhibited in the Bible, for giving,
establishing, and preserving a revelation among men.

II. The Miracles recorded in the Bible.

III. The fulfilment of Prophecies recorded in the Bible.

IV. The contents of the Bible in regard to the perfections
and relations of God, and the history of man.

V. The moral code of the Bible.

VI. The wonderful work of Redemption.

VII. The adaptation of the Bible to the wants and neces
sities of fallen man.

VIII. The beneficial influence of the Bible in forming the
character and in promoting the happiness of man, and in
purifying and elevating human society.

THE BIBLE A DIVINE REVELATION.

CHAPTER I.

GOD'S PLAN FOR GIVING AND PRESERVING HIS REVELATION.

THE first argument in favour of the Divine authority
of the Bible, is derived from the plan exhibited in it
far giving, establishing, and preserving a revelation
in the world.

To prescribe how God ought to communicate a re
velation, would not become his erring and incompetent
creatures. But when a book is put into our hands
claiming to be his message to us, we are at liberty to
inquire how it was made; whether it was communi
cated in a way suited to his Majesty, and correspond
ing to our rational nature. Let us then look at his
plan as exhibited in the Scriptures.

On examination, we find the Bible to be composed
of a number of smaller books ; that these books were
written by many different persons ; that these writers
came successively one after another in respect to time,
and some at remote periods from each other; that
their commissions from heaven were attested by very
extraordinary proof; that for the preservation of God's
revelation, a whole nation wras selected and settled in
a favourable part of the world, and watched over by

2 13

14

PLAN

a singular and miraculous providence, for many ages,
till Messiah came ; and that, by the Christian revela
tion, a very remarkable change in the external form of
Divine worship was produced. Such are the outlines
of the Divine plan. Let us examine them more par
ticularly.

SECTION I.

THE BIBLE IS COMPOSED OF A NUMBER OP SMALLER BOOKS.

In various ways God might have furnished a reve
lation. The book might have been prepared in
heaven by the ministry of angels, and then sent down
to this world duly attested; or it might have been
written with his own finger, as the ten command
ments were engraven by him on tables of stone. But,
in making known to us. his mind and will, he was
pleased to employ the agency of men, writing, under
the inspiration of his Holy Spirit, their assigned por
tions of his revelation, to be collected in due time into
one volume.

SECTION II.

DIVERSITY OP THE BOOKS.

These various books, composing our Scriptures,
were written in various ways, and are characterized
by great variety of style.

The first five books contain a sketch of the world's
history from the creation to Moses's time ; laws, cere
monies, political arrangements, public addresses, and
an account of the formation and erection of a taber
nacle for Divine worship. The twelve books next
succeeding are made up chiefly of historical details of

FOR A REVELATION. 15

God's dealing, with his peculiar people. Then follows
the poetical book of Job; designed to illustrate princi
ples of Divine providence, to correct mistakes often
adopted in reference to it, and to show the duty and
importance of patient submission to affliction. Next
come the Psalms of David, which breathe such an
elevated spirit of poetry; abounding with such warm,
animated, and sublime songs of praise to Jehovah;
which have, for so many ages, directed, assisted, and
enlivened the worship of the pious. The Psalms are
followed by the writings of Solomon, replete with
very valuable maxims for regulating our conduct, and
furnishing his readers with a just estimate of temporal
enjoyments. To all which is added a large number
of books, filled with predictions, relating to the Jews,
to surrounding nations, to the church, and to the
world. Thus is that part of the Bible, which is deno
minated the Old Testament, constituted.

The New Testament is composed of several books
of biography and history, a number of epistles, didactic
and hortatory ; and at the close, the book of Revela
tion, containing a prophetic history of the church and
the world to the end of time. In this manner was the
Bible formed.

SECTION III.

MANY WRITERS.

Individuals of various endowments, both natural and
acquired, were employed as instruments for conveying
God's revelation to his church.

Some, like David and Isaiah, had elevated and com
prehensive minds, while others had nothing more
than plain, common understandings. Some, as Moses

16

GOD S PLAN

and Paul, were instructed in all the learning of the
schools, and others were uneducated and illiterate men,
taken from low and mean occupations of life.

Shepherds and kings, lawgivers and fishermen, are
to be found among the inspired writers. They lived in
different periods of time. Between Moses, who stands
at the head of the list, and John, who is found at the
close, intervened nearly sixteen hundred years. Thus
remote from each other as to time, and differing as to
occupations, it is obvious that, in respect to habits,
views, and sentiments, they must, in several things,
have differed much from one another. Yet these men,
thus differing in habits of life, in sentiments, in educa
tion, in natural and acquired endowments, and thus
living in different and distant periods of time, God was
pleased to employ as instruments to deliver his mes
sages of mercy and grace to the world, and to write
each his assigned portion of the Bible.

Here let us pause, and review this part of God's
plan. How perfectly obvious is it, that no single
impostor, designing to impose a forgery on the world,
would adopt this plan ; requiring by the number and
diversified characters of its professed writers, such
variety of style, as no one man could possibly furnish !
Is it not equally plain that no set of men wishing to
give currency to forged writings, would have repre
sented them as having been written in different ages,
and delivered to the same people, and consequently
known to that people from the date of the delivery of
each portion 1 Attempts to propagate forged writings
on such a plan, common sense would teach impostors
could not possibly succeed. The total ignorance of
the writings by the people, in whose possession they
were, on this plan, represented to have been, would be

FOll A REVELATION. 17

a public refutation of the assertions of the impostors
and proclaim to all their impudent pretensions.

But such a plan of communicating a revelation, was
perfectly proper to be adopted by a Being who lives
through all time; who can use the style of any writer,
and inspire and control any mind ; and who can make
messages delivered by diHerent men, in different pe
riods, and on different occasions, and to different gene
rations, all to harmonize in forming one consistent and
glorious system of divine truth.

SECTION IV.

ATTESTATION OF REVELATION.

The extraordinary proofs by which the commission
of inspired writers was attested, constitute an impor
tant feature in the Divine plan.

They were Miracles and Prophecy.

When Moses received his commission to deliver the
Israelites out of Egyptian bondage, he was authorized
to present miraculous signs to his countrymen to con
vince them of his Divine appointment, and to dispose
them to accept him as their deliverer, and to confide
in his power to act as such : and he was also empower
ed to work numerous and stupendous miracles to con
vince the king of Egypt of his Divine commission, to
break down and subdue his proud and obstinate spirit,
and finally to force from him a reluctant compliance
with the Divine command, to let the enslaved people
go from their cruel bondage.

When the Son of God appeared in human form on
earth, to set up the Christian dispensation, his descent
from heaven, and commission to act as God's ambas
sador extraordinary, \\vro attested by innumerable

18 GOD'S PLAN

miracles. He opened the eyes of the blind ; he un
stopped the ears of the deaf; he restored the withered
arm ; he gave feet to the lame ; he healed all manner
of diseases ; he raised the dead ; he controled, by his
word, the tempestuous wind, and the raging waves of
the sea. To his miracles he appealed as convincing
proof, that he had come from God. " Then came the
Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long
dost thou make us to doubt ? If thou be the Christ,
tell us plainly. Jesus answered, I told you, and ye
believed not: the works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me." " If I do not the
works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do,
though ye believe not me, yet believe the works : that
ye may know and believe that the Father is in me,
and I in him."*

When the Apostles were sent forth to preach the
gospel, they were empowered to prove their commis
sion, by working miracles. " And when he had called
unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power
against unclean spirits to cast them out, and to heal
all manner of sickness and all manner of disease."
— " And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of
neaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers,
raise the dead, cast out devils ; freely ye have re
ceived, freely give." " How shall we escape, if we
neglect so great salvation ; which at the first began
to be spoken by our Lord, and was confirmed unto
us by them that heard him ; God also bearing wit
ness both with signs and wonders and with divers
miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according
to his own will."f Not only were the Apostles
enabled to prove their commission by miraculous

* John x. 24, 25, 37, 38. f Matt. x. 2, 7, 8. Heb. ii. 3, 4.

FOR A REVEL AT JON. 19

signs, but their disciples also were honoured by similar
extraordinary signs of their union to Jesus Christ.
" And these signs shall follow them that believe ;" was
the Saviour's promise ; " In my name shall they cast
out devils ; they shall speak with new tongues ; they
shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly
thing, it shall not hurt them ; they shall lay hands on
the sick, and they shall recover."*

By working miracles many of the sacred writers
proved that they were sent by God to deliver his mes
sages. Others established their commission from hea
ven, by the fulfilment of some previously uttered pro
phecy ; or were recognized as being inspired to deliver
divine oracles, by prophets of established reputation.
The prophecies contained in the Bible are very numer
ous ; they spread through this sacred volume, from the
beginning to the end. Many of them have, we believe,
received an exact and wonderful accomplishment, while
others remain yet to be fulfilled.

Such are the singular and very extraordinary proofs,
which, according to scriptural representation, have
been offered to confirm the truth of that revelation
which the Bible contains. No other religion besides the
Jewish and Christian religions, was ever founded on
such proofs. Paganism and Mohammedanism have
indeed, after their establishment in the world, talked
of their miracles, and boasted of their wonders; but
certainly they were not introduced to the notice of
mankind by extraordinary displays of Divine power;
much less did they appeal, in confirmation of their
truth to miracles publicly wrought, and open to the
inspection of witnesses of every description. No im
postor would dare to put his pretensions to inspiration

* Mark xvi, 17, 18.

20 GOD'S PLAN

to such a test ; because it would soon expose his impiety,
and prostrate ail his hopes of succeeding in his at
tempts to impose on the credulity of mankind. Much
less would an impostor have the temerity to sustain
his claims to a divine commission, by plain prophecies
in relation to future events manifestly beyond the reach
of human foresight to be fulfilled in a short period ; be
cause he would know that the non-fulfilment of his pre
dictions would soon put him to shame, by proclaiming
his folly and wickedness.

But the Jewish and the Christian religions were
expressly sustained by miracles and prophecies. The
sacred writers, in support of their claims to inspiration,
boldly appealed to miracles which they wrought in
open day before multitudes, and to which they chal
lenged the attention of their enemies, as well as their
friends ; and they have left on record predictions that
were to be fulfilled, age after age ; and which invite the
scrutiny of all who feel inclined to expose their authors,
by refuting their truth.

Contemplate this singular proof. Does not the very
offer carry with it presumptive evidence of the truth
of the Bible, which rests its claims on proofs so far be
yond the power of man, and beyond the reach of the
human mind? Would any but individuals who felt
assured of being sent by Heaven, have dared to offer
such credentials ? Does not this part of the plan as
exhibited in the Scriptures, wear on its face the im
press of Divine wisdom and power? Such a plan
accords with the power of God, which can work mira
cles at his pleasure, and the wisdom of God, which
can utter prophecies certainly to be fulfilled at the ap
pointed time, whether in the course of a few years, or
in far distant ages

FOR A REVELATION. 2J

SFCTION V.

REVELATION, HOW PRESERVED.

Another constituent part of the Divine plan, is seen
in the wonderful provision made for preserving every
portion of revelation, as successively given to the
Church.

^ For its preservation a whole nation was selected by
God, and separated by peculiar laws from all other
nations, and watched over, guarded, and defended by
an extraordinary and miraculous providence. To
this singular people, the descendants of Abraham,
were committed the oracles of God; to be by them
preserved pure and entire, and handed down from
generation to generation, till Messiah should come.
When he came, he entrusted the keeping of his Scrip-
tures to the care and fidelity of the Christian Church,
collected by his apostles out of all nations. " And it
came to pass, when Moses had made an end of wri
ting the words of this law in a book, until they were
finished; that Moses commanded the Levites which
bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying, Take
this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark
of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be
a witness against thee. '* In like manner all Jther
portions of the Old Testament were delivered by their
authors to responsible persons of the Jewish people,
for preservation. In answer to a question, "What
advantage then hath the Jew ? or what profit is there
m circumcision?" the apostle Paul replies, "Much
every way: chiefly because unto them were committed
the oracles of God/'f

* Deut. xxxi. 24—26. f Rom. iii. 1, 2.

22 GOD S PLAN

That this people were faithful to their trust, wt
have ample testimony from history to satisfy us. They
were indeed a rebellious and wicked nation ; relapsing,
time after time, into idolatry and flagrant offences
against the God of their fathers ; but they were never
guilty of attempting to corrupt or mutilate his word.
No such charge was ever brought against them by their
prophets, who did not fail to reprove their sins in the
plainest and most pungent manner. The corrupt
glosses put on the sacred Scriptures by the Scribes and
Pharisees, the Redeemer exposed and refuted ; but he
never reproved them for corrupting or mutilating the
word itself.

The Jews preserved the written word, entire and
pure, with the most scrupulous care. They counted
all the letters of the Old Testament, that none might be
lost. Every copy of the Scriptures was carefully ex
amined by an appointed number of their wise men.

If on examination a copy was found to have four or
five faults, it was rejected and destroyed. But copies
found to be correct were treated with the highest reve
rence. When they took these perfect copies into their
hands, they kissed them with great solemnity; and
when they laid them down, they repeated the same act
oi high veneration.

It was, we are told by Philo and Josephus, instilled
into the minds of the youth of the Jewish nation, as a
principle, to run any danger, and to submit to a thou
sand deaths, rather than suffer any alteration or any
diminution of their sacred books.*

* Howe, vol. 2, p. 462.

FOR A REVELATION. 23

SECTION VI.

CHANGE IN THE MODE OF WORSHIP.

The great extraordinary change in the mode of con
ducting Divine worship that occurred after the advent
of Jesus Christ, forms another remarkable feature in the
Divine plan.

From the time of Moses till the coming of the Re
deemer, the worship of the Supreme Being was con
ducted with many ceremonies, and with great outward
pomp and splendour. In the wilderness, a tabernacle
with several apartments, was, by Divine direction,
constructed ; and afterwards the temple at Jerusalem
was built at great expense, and with the utmost magni
ficence, in accordance with an inspired plan delivered
by David to his son Solomon. At the tabernacle
first, and subsequently at the temple, all the sacrifices
of the nation were required to be offered. None
were allowed to be offered in any other place, under
pain of Divine displeasure. For the maintenance of
religion, and the conducting of Divine worship, a
whole tribe was set apart ; divided into Priests and
Levites, to whom were assigned distinct and appro
priate offices ; over whom presided the High Priest,
who alone was permitted to make the nearest ap
proach to the God of Israel, annually on the great
day of the atonement. Three times a year were
all the males of the nation, even from the most
distant parts of the land, required to assemble at the
sacred city, and present themselves before God, and
engage in the solemn acts of worship prescribed by
the Divine law. To this ceremonial, this costly, and
splendid outward worship, the Jews were habituated,

24

from age to age in their successive generations. It
was pleasing to their eye, and gratifying to their
imaginations. It addressed all their senses. Strongly
attached to it, nothing could reconcile them to any
change in its external splendour.

Yet, by the preaching of the gospel, and the intro
duction of the Christian religion, an entire change was
produced in the mode of conducting the worship of
Almighty God. The sacrifices were abolished. Jeru
salem was no longer to be the consecrated seat of
Divine service. The temple became unnecessary ; its
glory was departed. In any convenient place it was
lawful to erect a house for worship ; and every where,
without looking towards the far famed city, the dis
ciples of Christ might lift up clean hands and pure
hearts, in acceptable acts of devout adoration, thanks
giving and praise. The tribe of Levi was dismissed
from their long enjoyed and honourable employment of
ministering to God in holy things, for the benefit of
the nation. That honour was transferred to the
Apostles and their successors in the ministry of Jesus
Christ. Under the Christian dispensation, the worship
of God is conducted with great simplicity; divested of
all that outward show that attracted the veneration of
a carnal people, who were fond of ceremonies that
addressed their bodily senses.

Knowing that this change was appointed, our Re
deemer spoke of it to the woman of Samaria. " Our
fathers," said she, " worshipped in this mountain : and
ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought
to worship. Jesus said unto her, Woman, believe
me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this
mountain, nor yet in Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Ye worship, ye know not what ; we know what we

FOR A REVELATION.

25

worship : for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour
cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall
worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the
Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a spirit ;
and they that worship him, must worship him in spirit
and in truth."*

This great change was, we are informed, brought
about by Jews, who had, from their infancy, been
habituated to the splendid ritual of Moses, and the
magnificent ceremonies of the temple service. So much
were they under the influence of early instruction, and
long and deep rooted habit, that they required repeated
revelations from heaven, to free them from bondage to
the law of Moses, and to incline them to maintain the
liberty which Jesus Christ had imparted to his church.
Taught by the Spirit the meaning of ancient prophecies
and types, they saw that this remarkable change in the
mode of conducting Divine worship, had been foretold ;
although their nation had not understood the intima
tions of their prophets, nor the typical nature of the
Mosaic institutions.

On this point the author of the epistle to the He
brews has thrown the clearest light. He has discuss
ed the subject at full length, and proved that the
whole Levitical service was, by infinite wisdom, de
signed to be typical of the worship under the Christian
dispensation; and that the types, having received their
fulfilment, are unnecessary, and therefore properly set
aside. As a specimen, take the following quotation:
" For the law having a shadow of good things to come,
and not the very image of the things, can never with
those sacrifices which they offered year by year con
tinually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then

* John iv. 20—24.
3

26 GOD'S PLAN

would they not have ceased to be offered? because
that the worshippers once purged should have had no
more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there
is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For
it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats
should take away sins. Wherefore, when he cometh
into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou
wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared me; in
burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no
pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of
the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
Above, when he said, Sacrifice and offering, arid burnt
offerings and offering for sin thou wouldst not, neither
hadst pleasure therein, which are offered by the law ;
then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He
taketh away the first, that he may establish the
second."*

SECTION VII.

NO IMPOSTOR WOULD ATTEMPT SUCH A CHANGE.

How remarkable this feature in the Divine plan !
Examine it. Does it not wear the impress of infinite
wisdom ? Surely an impostor would not have attempt
ed to call off a people from outward forms and cere
monies to a worship, simple, pure, and spiritual. He
could not have conceived the idea of such a refined
mode of addressing the Supreme Being; a mode im
plying such correct and elevating conceptions of his
adorable perfections, implying a deep conviction of the
great depravity of human nature, and an encouraging
view of forgiving mercy, through a glorious Mediator.
Whence could he have derived such a conception?

* Hebrews x. 1—9.

FOR A REVELATION. 27

Nothing like Christian worship was found in the world.
The worship of all nations was addressed to the senses.
In such circumstances it was not possible for an impos
tor to form a conception of worship so simple, pure,
and holy, and offered in the name of a Mediator, so
divine. The idea is manifestly of heavenly origin.

If an impostor could have formed ideas so just, so
adapted to the condition of fallen man, and so conso
nant* to the claims of a holy, righteous, and merciful
God, two obstacles would have kept him from pro
posing and recommending such worship to the world.
In the first place, it would have appeared too pure
and holy to be relished by his own corrupt heart ; and,
in the second place, knowing how much men are under
the dominion of their senses, and how attached they are
to outward forms and ceremonies in religious worship,
he would have entertained no hope of succeeding in
establishing a divine service so entirely different from
all that prevailed in the world, and so uninviting to the
carnal imaginations of men, even if he had felt disposed
to make the attempt.

SECTION VIII.

THE CHANGE CONSONANT TO THE WISDOM OF GOD.

Can we not see in this feature of the Divine plan,
plain marks of infinite wisdom 1 Was not the mode
of worship prescribed to Israel suited to that state of
minority in which the church was before the birth of
Christ ? and is not the worship required by the gospel,
adapted to the church in her advanced period, in
which she is favoured with such superior light and
privileges'? The requisition for all the males to as
semble three times a. year, was practicable, while the

28

church was confined to one people; but since the
church has extended her dwellings far beyond the
limits of the land of Judea, it would be impracticable
to comply with the requirement. Was it not then
consonant to the wisdom of God, when he designed
to spread the influence of true religion in many and
distant parts of the world, to abolish a custom, origi
nally wise and beneficial, but soon to become unsuit
able, and to prescribe a worship more simple, more
spiritual, and more suitable to his own spiritual nature?
How becoming the infinite majesty of God is it for him
to require sinful men to approach the throne of his
grace, in the name of a Mediator appointed by himself,
and to renounce all dependence on their own works,
and to rely for acceptance and audience simply on the
merits of Him who died for sinners, and now lives to
intercede for them !

CONCLUSION OP THE ARGUMENT.

Having gone over the particulars of the Divine plan,
as exhibited in the Scriptures for giving, proving, and
preserving a revelation to men, let us recall them to
mind, that we may have before us a condensed view
of the whole plan.

The Bible is composed of a number of smaller
books ; — these books were written at different periods
and in different ways, and are characterized by great
variety of style; — men of various endowments, both
natural and acquired, living in different ages, some
far remote from each other, trained to different em
ployments, and brought under the influence of differ
ent habits, were used by God as instruments, in his
hands for conveying his revelation to the children of
men ; — the commission of these writers was attested

FOR A REVELATION. 29

by the most extraordinary proofs ; proofs which He
alone could furnish ; by prophecies fulfilled, and mira
cles the most astonishing. The most wonderful pro
vision was made for preserving and transmitting Divine
revelation from age to age ; a whole nation selec
ted and separated from the rest of mankind, was con
stituted the depositary of the heavenly oracles ; a people
whose interests were watched over and defended
by a singular, ever vigilant, and miraculous provi
dence; and, finally, after the Mosaic economy had
existed for ages, and the hearts of the people had be
come strongly attached to its outward forms of wor
ship and splendid ritual, it pleased God, soon after the
Saviour's advent, to introduce a great and unexpected
change in conducting Divine worship ; so that from
being splendid and magnificent in its ceremonies and
outward appearance, it became simple, refined, spirit
ual, and pure.

What human mind could have conceived such a
plan 1 How far beyond the power of any man, or
any association of men, the execution of such a plan !
Does it not proclaim itself the conception of the infinite
mind ? Surely it does not accord with the ignorance
and feebleness of depraved men, \vishing to impose
on the credulity of their fellow-men ; but manifestly
it does accord with the wisdom, purity, and benevo
lence of that infinite Being, who can enlighten and
control the minds of his creatures ; who lives through
all time, present, past, and future ; whose power sus
tains all nature, determines and changes its laws,
when and how he pleases ; and who knows how to re
gulate his own worship, so as best to correspond with
the state and circumstances of his creatures, and with
his owrn glorious perfections.

3*

30 GOD'S PLAN FOR A REVELATION.

When this wonderful plan is attentively and carefully
considered and examined, it appears impossible for any
unbiassed, unprejudiced mind to resist the conviction,
that it is impressed with the characters of truth, and
must have originated with that infinite Being from
whom it professes to have proceeded. Like creation, it
bears visible signatures of the wisdom and power of its
glorious and divine Author.

Let it be observed, that the evidence offered in this
chapter, is derived, not from assuming that miracles
were wrought, nor from assuming that prophecies
were fulfilled, but solely from a contemplation of the
Divine plan spread out before us in the sacred Scrip
tures ; a part of which is, that the truth of the Bible
rests upon miracles and prophecies. The fact that
miracles were really wrought, and prophecies really
fulfilled, remains to be proved. The weight to be
attributed to them, in the present stage of the discus
sion, is simply that they were adopted as parts of the
Divine plan, and are therefore presumptive evidence
of truth ; because no impostor would have dared to
adopt as parts of his plan for establishing the authority
of a forgery in the world, the working of innumerable
miracles in the most public manner, and in different
ages, and the uttering of a vast variety of prophecies
to be fulfilled at various times, some near to each
other, and some far remote in time. The plan exhi
bited in the Bible accords in all its parts with the infi
nite mind of Jehovah ; but is utterly unsuited to the
mind and weakness of a human being. This plan
God was able to carry on in a glorious manner ; but
if man had been able to conceive it, he would certain
ly have failed in its accomplishment.

MIRACLES. 31

CHAPTER IT.

MIRACLES NARRATED AISD WROUGHT BY MOSES.

IN the preceding chapter, the Divine plan for commu
nicating and preserving a revelation to this world, was
exhibited as found in the Scriptures. Miracles were
seen to form a part. The commission of the inspired
writers was attested by these marvels wrought by God
for the purpose. We glanced at their nature, number,
and circumstances. Let us now go into an investiga
tion of this important subject, and examine the evidence
furnished in the Bible to prove that miracles were
really wrought.

The first miracle which Moses showed before Pha
raoh, was this ; Aaron cast down his rod in the pre
sence of the king and his servants, and it became a
serpent. The magicians of Egypt attempted to vie in
power with the Lord's prophet ; but he triumphed over
them ; for we are told that " Aaron's rod swallowed
up their rods."*

The next miracle was greater. Aaron "lifted up
his rod, and smote the waters that were in the river,
in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his ser
vants ; and all the waters that were in the river were
turned into blood. And the fish that was in the
river died ; and the river stank, and the Egyptians
could not drink of the river; and there was blood
throughout all the land of Egypt, and the magicians
of Egypt did so with their enchantments."! But
whatever they did, must have been done on a very
small scale; for when the river had been turned into

* Exodus vii. 8—12. t Ib- vii. 19—25.

** MIRACLES.

blood, and there was blood throughout all the land of
Egypt, how small a quantity of water could have been
procured on which to operate with their enchantments I
and how far must the miracle of the Hebrew prophets
have transcended in greatness, any thing which the
magicians could achieve! The judgment continued
seven days.

The production of frogs over all the land of Egypt
in such vast numbers, that they went into the houses,
and bed-chambers, and on the beds, was the third
miracle. The magicians imitated in some sort this
miracle ; but so annoying was this calamity that Pha
raoh was compelled to promise to let the people of
Israel go, if Moses would intreat the Lord to take
away the frogs. Accordingly the time being set,
" Moses cried to the Lord because of the frogs which
he had brought against Pharaoh. And the Lord did
according to the word of Moses ; and the frogs died
out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the
fields; and they gathered them together in heaps; and
the land stank."*

The next miracle consisted in turning the dust of
the land throughout all Egypt into lice, upon man and
upon beast. The magicians attempted to imitate this
miracle with their enchantments, but they failed;
and, compelled to acknowledge their weakness, they
said to Pharaoh, " This is the finger of God."f And
had we been present, witnessing the displays of power
by Moses and Aaron, and compared the extent and
greatness of the wonders wrought by them, with the
trifling imitations attempted by their feeble and van
quished competitors; should we not have acknow
ledged the power of the God of Israel, and believed

* Exodus viii. 1 — 14. f Ib. viii. 16—19.

MIRACLES. 33

that Moses and Aaron were only instruments in his
hands for doing these marvels 1

In the succeeding miraculous judgments, a distinc
tion was made between the Egyptians and the Israel
ites : they were inflicted on the former, and not on the
latter.

When the swarms of flies were threatened, God
said, " I will sever in that day the land of Goshen in
which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall
be there ; to the end that thou mayest know that I am
the Lord in the midst of the earth ; and I will put a
division between my people and thy people: to-morrow
shall this sign be ; and the Lord did so ; and there came
a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh,
and into his servants' houses, and into all the land of
Egypt ; and the land was corrupted by reason of the
swarm of flies.* At the intercession of Moses this
calamity was removed.f

By the next judgment the cattle of the Egyptians
*vere destroyed, but not one belonging to Israel died :
and when the king sent to inquire he found it so.J

Again, when Moses "sprinkled the ashes of the
furnace up toward heaven," it became a boil, break
ing forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, and
the magicians could not stand before Moses because
of the boils ; for the boil was upon the magicians, and
upon all the Egyptians.^

Then came the terrible storm of thunder, hail, and
fire, which was more dreadful than any thing that
had ever occurred in Egypt ; but " in the land of Gos
hen, where the children of Israel were, was no hail."||
Again at the intercession of Moses this judgmem

* Exodus viii. 20-24. | N>. ix- 3~ 7- H Ib' ix' 22~ 26<
t Ib. viii. 25—31. § Ib. ix. 8—11.

31 itACLES.

ceased.* Passing by the next calamity, that of the
locusts which so terribly desolated the land, and was
removed at the intercession of Moses,f let us consider
the miracle by which darkness was brought over the
land of Egypt. It was a thick, palpable darkness ; a
darkness so great that the Egyptians could not see each
other, nor attend to their corr*non business. They were
compelled to remain unoccupied in their places for
three days, during which time the darkness continued.
But while this terrible darkness grievously afflicted the
Egyptians, the Israelites enjoyed the light of heaven in
all their dwellings.J

All these successive judgments, severe and painful
as they were, proved insufficient to humble the proud,
obstinate heart of Egypt's king. Jehovah, the God
of Israel, determined to inflict one more, which he
knew would extort from him an unwilling consent to
let the oppressed go free. But previously he instituted
the passover ; which was designed to remind his people,
in all future generations, of their protection, in that
dreadful night in which the strength of Egypt was
broken.

While the Israelites were, in obedience to Divine
direction, eating the paschal-lamb, " at midnight, the
Lord smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt,
from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne,
unto the first-born of the captive that was in the dun
geon ; and all the first-born of cattle. And Pharaoh
rose up at night, he, and all his servants, and all
the Egyptians ; and there was a great cry in Egypt :
for there was not a house where there was not one
dead."§ But in this tremendous slaughter, the chil«

* Exodus ix. 27—34. t Ib- *• 21—23.

f Ib. x. 12—19 § Ib. xii. 29, 30.

MIRACLES. 35

dren of Israel were safe. No first-born in their dwell
ings perished ; because their dwellings were sprinkled
with the blood of the paschal-lamb, according to
Divine direction. " And the blood shall be to you for
a token upon the houses where ye are : and when I
see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall
not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land
of Egypt."*

This terrible judgment proved effectual. The proud
heart of the obstinate and hardened king was abased.
Calling for Moses and Aaron by night, he said, " Rise
up, and get ye forth from among my people, both ye
and the children of Israel ; and go, serve the Lord as
ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds,
as ye said, and be gone ; and bless me also. And the
Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they
might send them out of the land in haste; for they said,
We be all dead men."f

Such were the miracles which Moses and Aaron
wrought in effecting the deliverance of Israel from
bondage. Pharaoh and the Egyptians, it is plain
from the narrative, regarded them as miracles : and if
we had been present at the time to witness such won
derful events, could we have resisted the conviction,
that they were the works of that Almighty power to
which all the laws of nature submit, and by which they
are sustained, controlled, and changed at pleasure ?

In this stage of the argument, let it be distinctly ob
served, I do not take for granted, that these miracles
were really wrought. We only wish the nature of
these singular occurrences to be observed, in connexion
with the circumstances in which they appeared, just
as they are stated in the narrative of Moses. The
* Exodus xii- 13. f Ib. xii. 31—33.

36 MIRACLES.

proof of their reality is yet to be exhibited. But whal
we request the reader to reflect on is this : whether,
on the supposition that these events really occurred as
narrated by Moses, he can entertain a doubt that they
were genuine miracles, produced by the Almighty to
effect the deliverance of his chosen people from cruel
bondage to the Egyptians.

New wonders succeeded those we have just no
ticed. On the march of Israel from Egypt, Jehovah
became their guide : " And the Lord went before
them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them in the
way ; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them
light ; to go by day and night. He took not away the
pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night,
from before the people."* In this miraculous manner
were the tribes of Israel led, during all their wander
ings in the wilderness, through the space of forty
years.

Repenting that they had let Israel go, Pharaoh and
his servants assembled in haste an army, and went
in pursuit of them, to reduce them to that state of
bondage from which they had been released. They
found them encamped at the Red Sea. Terrified at
the sight of their former masters approaching in hostile
array, " The children of Israel cried out unto the
Lord/' They murmured against Moses; who, in
reply to their ungrateful and unbelieving complaints,
said, " Fear ye not ; stand still, and see the salvation
of the Lord, which he will show you to-day: for the
Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see
them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight
for you, and ye shall hold your peace."f According
ly preparation is made for the fulfilment of this pro-

* Exodus xiii. 21, 22. f Ib. xiv. 10—14.

MIRACLES. 37

misc. The clouds assume a new position " The
iingel of God, which went before the camp of Israel,
removed and went behind them: and the pillar of
cloud went from before their face, and stood behind
them : and it came between the Egyptians and the
camp of Israel ; and it was a cloud and darkness to
them, but it gave light by night to these ; so that the
one came not near the other all the night. And
Moses stretched out his hand over the sea ; and the
Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind
all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the
waters were divided. And the children of Israel
went into the midst of the sea upon dry ground : and
the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand
and on their left."*

In defiance of past judgments and of present ap
pearances of Divine interposition in favour of Israel,
the infatuated king of Egypt dared to pursue them
into the passage made for their escape through the
sea. But how vain his mad design ! " The Lord
troubled the hosts of the Egyptians, and took off
their chariot wheels, so that they drave them hea
vily." At his command, " Moses stretched forth his
hand, and the sea returned to his strength when the
morning appeared."! The hosts of Pharaoh see their
folly. In vain they attempt to retreat from their im
pious pursuit. They arc overwhelmed and drowned
in the sea.

The sacred writer ascribes the dividing of the
waters of the Red Sea to the power of Almighty
God, interposing for the deliverance of his chosen
people, and for the destruction of their enemies. A
strong east wind was indeed employed to drive the sea

* Excdus xiv. 15—22. | Ib. xiv. 23-25.

4

38 MIRACLES.

back ; but no wind could pile up the waters like two
walls on both sides of the Israelites. The waters were
divided, when Moses, the Lord's servant, stretched out
his hand; and when he stretched it out again, the
waters returned to their former state, and overwhelmed
and destroyed the Egyptians.

By these various interpositions of Jehovah, the
Israelites were effectually delivered out of the hands
of their cruel masters. They constituted a vast mul
titude; amounting in all to three millions of human
beings. They are now in the wilderness : How are
they to be sustained? Whence will they obtain the
necessary food ? The Lord will not forsake them ; he
will provide. A new scene of wonders opens. Manna
descends from heaven every morning except the Sab
bath. On this heavenly food, the Israelites feed and
are sustained forty years. It ceased not to descend
till they had entered the land of promise, and could ob
tain its fruits for their support.

Passing by other miracles, let us look at the miracle
wrought at mount Sinai. Before this mount Israel
encamped ; and while there Jehovah was pleased to
exhibit his glory to them. They were instructed to
prepare to meet God. On the third day " there were
thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the
mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud ;
so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.
And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp
to meet God; and they stood at the nether part of
the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a
smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire ;
and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a
furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And
when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and

MIRACLES. 39

waxed louder and louder, Moses spake and God
answered him by a voice. And the Lord came down
upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount : and Moses
went up."*

In such circumstances of awful grandeur, and with
such terrific displays of his divine majesty, Jehovah
delivered, in an audible voice, the ten commandments;
which he was pleased afterwards to engrave on two
tables of stone, and give them to Moses for his people.
Not a doubt could remain on the mind of a single
Israelite that here a miracle was wrought, and that
God was present.

In all their journeys in the wilderness, the chosen
tribes were guided by a standing miracle. We have
noticed already the pillar of a cloud by day, and
the pillar of fire by night. At the erection of the
tabernacle these pillars assumed a new position. " On
the day that the tabernacle was reared up, the cloud
covered the .tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testi
mony ; and at even there was upon the tabernacle as
it were the appearance of fire, until the morning. So
it was alway : the cloud covered it by day, and the
appearance of fire by night. And when the cloud was
taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the chil
dren of Israel journeyed ; and in the place where the
cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their
tents. At the commandment of the Lord the children
of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the
Lord they pitched : as long as the cloud abode upon
the tabernacle they rested in their tents. And when
the cloud tarried long on the tabernacle many days;
then the children of Israel kept the charge of the
Lord, and journeyed not. And so it was, when th*

Exodus xix. 1G— 20 ch. xx.

40 MIRACLES.

cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle ; according
to the commandment of the Lord they abode in their
tents, and according to the commandment of the Lord
they journeyed." So particular is Moses in his narra
tive of this miracle ; and still more particular, as you
will find by turning to the ninth chapter of Numbers.

CHAPTER III.

ARGUMENTS ON THESE MIRACLES.

OMITTING notice of the other miracles narrated by the
Hebrew leader, we proceed, to make remarks on those
we have selected.

SECTION I.

REMARKS.

1. If these events actually occurred, at the time,
and in the circumstances, stated in the narrative, then
they must have been miraculous; real interpositions
of Divine power, out of the order of nature, by Jeho
vah, the God of Israel, to establish the mission of his
servant Moses, and to fulfil his promises to his chosen
people. It is utterly impossible to explain them by
natural causes. No one witnessing such events, in
connexion with the time and circumstances, could
resist the conviction, that they were produced by a
Divine power, operating out of the ordinary course of
nature, and designed to be, \vhat they are denomina
ted, miraculous events. They were of such a nature

MIRACLES. 41

that their character could not be mistaken. If they
were not miracles, miracles can never be wrought. It
only requires an examination of them to be convinced
of the truth of this remark.

2. These miracles were wrought before competent
witnesses.

They wrere exhibited in open day, not privately,
but in the most public manner; not in the presence of
a few selected individuals, but in the presence of vast
multitudes; before enemies as well as friends. The
Egyptians saw and felt them. The proud and obsti
nate king was compelled by them to acknowledge the
hand of the Almighty, and to let his oppressed slaves
go free. Israel saw and rejoiced in Jehovah's signal
interposition in their favour; and when He had car
ried them safely through the Red Sea, and placed them
beyond the power of their pursuing masters, they sang
his praises. Two nations witnessed these wonderful
events.* With the aid of his magicians, the king of
Egypt tried hard to disprove the miracles. But both
he and they were compelled to abandon the vain
attempt. They saw and acknowledged the finger of
God. Pharaoh was influenced by the strongest mo
tives to resist these miracles. He felt that the power
and glory of his kingdom were concerned. He did
resist long and obstinately. He was extremely un
willing to let the enslaved Israelites depart. Most
reluctantly did he consent at last to let them go ; and,
by so doing he gave the fullest proof that he believed
the events that terrified him, and desolated his king
dom, were produced by the power of Israel's God
for the express purpose of humbling his provd heart,

* Exodus xv.

4*

42 MIRACLES.

and compelling him to release them from his tyranni
cal oppression.

3. These miracles were wrought for an important
end.

Reason forbids us to expect miracles to be wrought
on trifling occasions. If God interpose in a miracu
lous manner, it must be to accomplish something worthy
of his interposition. And why were the miracles under
review wrought? To this question a distinct answer
is given by Moses. It was to fulfil the covenant en
gagements into which Jehovah had condescended to
enter with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the illustrious
fathers of Israel ; it was to deliver his chosen people
from cruel bondage ; it was to establish true religion
among that people ; it was to make them the deposi
tary of his heavenly oracles ; it was to set up and main
tain his worship in opposition to idol worship, in the
world ; it was to make known his great name in all
the earth. Such, according to Moses' statement, was
the design of these great and long continued miracles.
And surely no one can deny that the accomplishment
of such a design furnished ample reason for a miracu
lous display of Almighty power.*

4. The record of these miracles was written by
Moses, while the witnesses were still living, and while
some of the miracles were still exhibited before their
eyes.

Had the record stated that they had occurred ages
before ; had it been written long after the witnesses
had slept in the grave ; it would have merited very
little regard. It was far otherwise. The record was
made at the time of these wonderful occurrences, and
presented to that very people who had seen end heard

* Exodus iii. 1—18.

MIRACLES. 43

the signal and miraculous displays of divine power des
cribed. To them the sacred historian appealed in sup
port of the truth of his narration. " And know ye this
day : for I speak not with your children which have
not known, and which have not seen the chastise
ment of the Lord your God, his greatness, his mighty
hand, and his outstretched arm, and the miracles, and
the acts which he did in the midst of Egypt unto Pha
raoh the king of Egypt, and unto all his land ; and
what he did unto the army of Egypt, unto their horses,
and to their chariots ; how he made the water of the
Red Sea to overflow them as they pursued after you,
and how the Lord hath destroyed them unto this day ;
and what he did unto you in the wilderness, until ye
came into this place ; — and what he did unto Dathan
and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben : how
the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up,
and their households and their tents, and all the sub
stance that was in their possession, in the midst of all
Israel : but your eyes have seen all the great acts of
the Lord which he did."*

5. If the Israelites, who were witnesses, believed
these miracles, then it is reasonable that all to whom
their testimony comes, should believe them to be true
miracles.

They were competent witnesses. The miracles
were of such a nature as to require in these witnesses
nothing more than the exercise of sound bodily senses,
and of common understanding. In relation to such
events, an uneducated man could give as good a tes
timony, as a learned man. He could testify in regard
to the judgments that desolated Egypt ; he could tes
tify in regard to the passage through the Red Sea ; he

* Deuteronomy xi. 2 — 7.

44 MIRACLES.

could testify to the terrific displays of Divine majesty
at mount Sinai, to the food on which the people fed in
the wilderness, and the appearance and movements of
the cloud, by which their journeying and resting were
regulated. A man of common sense and sound bodily
senses, could not be deceived in respect to such events:
and it was utterly impossible for a whole nation to be
deceived by miracles that were seen with their eyes,
and heard with their ears ; some of which were daily
occurring for a long course of years.

Now, if we have the testimony of a whole nation,
of three millions of people, to events in regard to which
they neither w7ere nor could be deceived, is it not
worthy of all credit? Why should we hesitate to
receive it ? Hume replies, " such testimony ought to
be rejected ; because miracles are contrary to experi
ence" Contrary to experience ! Whose experience ?
The experience of Mr. Hume? And is his experience
the test of truth ? Can nothing be true which he has
not experienced 1 Shall his eyes and ears be consti
tuted the sole vouchers of truth 1 If Mr. Hume does
not mean his personal experience, whose experience
does he mean ? The experience of men of the age in
which he lived ? How can the fact that they never
saw miracles wrought, be brought forward as proof
that men who lived in the ages before they were born,
never witnessed miracles'? With equal propriety
might it be affirmed, that the latter could not see and
hear things which the former did not see nor hear ; and
thus with one dash of the pen might be blotted out the
entire history of past events !

But does the philosopher, by experience, mean
universal experience ? Does he intend to say, that no
man ever saw a miracle? This would be a philoso-

MIRACLES. 45

phical argument indeed ! It would be substituting the
dictum, the mere assertion of an infidel writer for
proof! If we take it for granted that no man ever saw
a miracle, why then all reasoning is useless.

But Moses, who lived many ages before Hume
was born, affirms that, by the power of the God of
Israel, he was enabled to work many and great mira
cles, in attestation of his mission to effect the emanci
pation of that people from Egyptian bondage. In
proof of his miracles, of which he gives a particular
account, be adduces the testimony of a whole nation ;
whom he delivered from the tyranny of Pharaoh, led
through the Red Sea, and conducted in their journeys
in the wilderness forty years, till they reached the
borders of the promised land. Now, to set aside the
testimony of this whole people, and to confute Moses,
by affirming miracles to be contrary to experience,
and that no man ever saw a miracle, is ridiculous in
the extreme.

The great question to be decided is this : Did the
Israelites really receive the writings of Moses as con
taining true history, and really believe the miracles
which he records as having been exhibited before
their eyes ? If they did, then we have their testimony
to the truth of these miracles; and it is perfectly
reasonable in us to receive their testimony, and to
believe that these miracles wrere really wrought by
Moses.

SECTION II.

A FACT ASSUMED.

Now, to settle this great question, we assume what
no one can deny, that the writings of Moses have
been, in ages past, and are, at this day, received, both

46 MIRACLES.

by Jews and Christians, as true and inspired writings.
How is this indisputable fact to be accounted for]
Why have these writings of the Jewish lawgiver been
thus honoured 1 No true solution of this question can
be given, unless we admit that the generation of Israel
ites who were contemporary with Moses, and were
led by him to the borders of the promised land, really
received him as divinely commissioned to effect their
deliverance, on the ground of the miracles he wrought
before their eyes.

Either they did thus accredit him or they did not.

SECTION III.

REASONING ON THE SUPPOSITION THAT MOSES's WRITINGS WERE
RECEIVED BY HIS CONTEMPORARIES.

If they did thus accredit him, then all that is stated
in the Mosaic history, is natural. " Moses and
Aaron," it is written, " went and gathered together
all the elders of the children of Israel: and Aaron
spake all the words which the Lord had spoken unto
Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.
And the people believed ; and when they heard that
the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and thaA
he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed
their heads and worshipped."* How natural! The
elders could not resist the evidence of the miracles;
they believed that Moses was commissioned by God to
effect their emancipation; they were willing to put
themselves under his conduct, and to leave the house
of their bondage.

It was however, the design of God to try their

* Exodus iv. 29—31.

MIRACLES. 47

faith, and not to deliver them till their bondage be
came more intolerable, and their faith strengthened,
by displays of new and greater wonders of his power.
Pharaoh will not obey the command of the Most
High. He sets himself in opposition to his will ; and
proudly replies, *« Who is the Lord, that I should obey
his voice to let Israel go ? I know not the Lord,
neither will I let Israel go."* He increased their op
pression, by requiring the same amount of bricks, while
straw was refused for making them. The officers of
the children of Israel set over them by their task
masters, were beaten, because the people had failed to
accomplish their impracticable task. They sought
redress from the tyrant king, but were spurned from
his presence, and ordered to repair to their work. In
these circumstances, meeting, on their return, w7ith
Moses and Aaron, they exclaimed, in the anguish of
their hearts, " The Lord look upon you, and judge ;
because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the
eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put
a sword in their hands to slay us."f Was not this
natural?

But the desolating judgments inflicted on Egypt,
and the protection afforded to the children of Israel,
soon revived their spirits, and convinced them that
Jehovah was stretching out his mighty hand for their
deliverance. On the eve of their departure, Moses, by
Divine direction, instituted the passover, as a comme
morative ordinance of what was shortly to happen ;
and commanded the people to prepare for it, and to
borrow of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of
gold. The people were obedient, and looked for the
promised deliverance.J

* Exodus v. 2. f Ib. v. 20, 21. J Ib. xi. 2, 3.

48 MIRACLES.

For wise and holy reasons, as well as to punish the
unbelief of his people, God was pleased, after he had
saved them from the pursuing Egyptians, by opening
for them a passage through the Red Sea, to keep them
wandering in the wilderness, forty years.

Now, if the miracles, narrated by Moses, wrere really
wrought ; if the Israelites were witnesses of the judg
ments that compelled Pharaoh to let them depart ; if
they really went through the Red Sea on dry ground,
while the waters were piled up like two walls on both
sides; if they beheld the terrific displays of Divine
majesty on mount Sinai ; if they felt the ground trem
bling under their feet, and quaked at the sound of the
mighty trumpet, waxing louder and louder ; if they
were fed with manna in the wilderness, and drank of
the water from the smitten rock that followed them in
their wanderings; if they were directed when to
journey, and when to pitch their tents, by the move
ments of the miraculous cloud ; If their feet did not
swell, nor their garments wax old : then it is seen how
such a multitude of people could be sustained, while
destitute of the ordinary productions of the earth ; then
the chosen tribes could not resist the evidence con
tinually before their eyes of a divine and miraculous
interposition in their favour; then Moses could, as he
did, boldly appeal to the miracles they had seen in
Egypt and in the wilderness; and the people were pre
pared to believe his words, and to receive all the laws,
and ceremonies, and institutions, and feasts which he
announced as divinely appointed.

In perfect correspondence with such a conviction
resting on the minds of the Israelites, Moses addresses
them, and boldly appeals to the miracles WTought,
and which he was assured none could deny. " And

MIRACLES. 49

Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O
Israel, the statutes and the judgments which I speak
in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and
keep them, and do them. The Lord our God made
a covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord made not
this covenant with our fathers, but with us, who are
all of us alive this day. The Lord talked with you
face to face in the mount, out of the midst of the fire,
(I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to
show you the word of the Lord : for ye were afraid
by reason of the fire ; and went not up into the mount,)
saying."* Having repeated the ten commandments,
Moses adds, " These words the Lord spake unto all
your assembly in the mount, out of the midst of the
fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a
great voice : and he added no more. And he wrote
them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto
me. And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice
out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did
burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, even all
the heads of your tribes, and your elders ; and ye said,
Behold, the Lord our God hath showed us his great
ness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of
the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk
with man, and he liveth. Now therefore why should
we die ? for this fire will consume us : if we hear the
voice of the Lord our God any more, then we shall
die. For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard
the voice of the living God, speaking out of the midst
of fire, as we have, and lived ? Go thou near, and
hear all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee ;
and we will hear it, and do it. And the Lord heard
the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me

* Deuteronomy v. 1 — 5.
5

50 MIRACLES.

and the Lord said unto me, I ha\re heard the voice of
the words of this people, which they have spoken
unto thee: they have well said all that they have
spoken."*

Moses exhorting the Israelites to obey the divine
commandments, urges especially their duty to their
children: "And thou shalt teach them diligently unto
thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest
in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way,
and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand,
and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy
house, and on thy gates.'?f " And when thy son ask-
eth thee in time to come, saying, « What mean the tes
timonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which
the Lord our God hath commanded you? then
thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bond
men in Egypt ; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt
with a mighty hand : and the Lord showed signs and
wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh,
and upon all his household, before our eyes; and he
brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in,
to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.
And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes,
to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that
lie might preserve us alive, as it is at this day."J
Again, in the 29th chapter of Deuteronomy, where an
account is given of the covenant made at Moab,
Moses appeals to the knowledge of the peop le : " Ye
have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in
the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his ser
vants, and unto all his land ; the great temptations

* Deut. v. 22—28. f Ib. vi. 1—9. J Ib. vi. 20—24

MIRACLES. 51

which thine eyes liave seen, the signs, and those great
miracles. Yet the Lord hath not given you a heart
to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto
this day. And I have led you forty years in the wil
derness : your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and
thy shoe hath not waxen old upon thy foot. Ye have
not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong
drink : that ye might know that I am the Lord your
God."*

Now on the supposition we have made that these
miracles of Moses were really wrought, all this is per
fectly natural. Moses could feel no hesitation in
making his appeals to the knowledge of the people he
addressed. He felt conscious he was speaking the
truth ; and he knew that no one could call in question
his statements. All is natural. These addresses of
the Jewish lawgiver carry the appearance of truth.
No impostor would dare to interweave his writings
with such bold appeals to the knowledge of those
whom he addressed. If he did, how could he hope
to escape detection 1

The generation of Israel who had witnessed all
these miracles, and to whose personal knowledge
Moses thus appeals, acknowledged of course his divine
commission, and received his writings as inspired and
revealing the will of God. They would naturally be
led to speak to their children of the wonders they had
seen. To be silent on the subject was not possible ;
they could not suffer their children to grow up in utter
ignorance of the wonders God had wrought, in effect
ing their deliverance from a cruel and degrading bon
dage, and in putting them in possession of the promised
land.

* Deuteronomy xxix. 1 — 6.

52 MIRACLES.

Yet there was room for exhortation and precept in
regard to this matter. The Israelites could not be
silent here : they would tell their children the wonders
they had seen. But they might fail in diligence, and
in taking pains to point out to their children the con
nexion between these miracles and the divine institu
tions. Hence Moses felt it necessary to press this
duty in his exhortations. To aid parents in discharg
ing their duty, and to assist those whose office it was
to teach the people, he wrote a succinct and accurate
history of the Lord's dealings with them ; and to keep
alive the remembrance of these things in all future
generations, the recollection of them was interwoven
with the ceremony of presenting annually the first
fruits of the land. On that occasion the Israelites
were required to say : " A Syrian ready to perish was
my father ; and he went down into Egypt, and so
journed with a few, and became there a nation, great,
mighty, and populous : and the Egyptians evil entreat
ed us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage :
and when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers,
the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our afflic
tion, and our labour, and our oppression : and the
Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty
hand, and with an outstretched arm, 'and with great
terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders : and
he brought us into this place, and hath given us
this land, even a land that floweth with milk and
honey. And now, behold, I have brought the first
fruits of the land, which thou, O Lord, hast given
me."*

All appearances go to establish the supposition as
*rue, that the Israelites saw and believed the miracles

* Deuteronomy xxvi. 5- -10.

MIRACLES. 53

recorded by Moses, and which he reminds them again
and again that they had witnessed.

SECTION IV.

FORCE OP THE ISRAELITES' ARGUMENT.

In the preceding section it was shown, that the
generation of Israelites who had witnessed Jehovah's
miracles, would certainly tell them to the next gene
ration. The great and unusual force of their testi
mony is worthy of special notice ; for it was the testi
mony not of a few or many competent witnesses, but
of a whole nation.

All had seen at least some of the miracles. All had
beheld the miraculous appearance of God on mount
Sinai. All had heard his voice uttering the ten com
mandments. All had felt the ground trembling under
their feet. All were terrified by the displays of Divine
majesty. Not one of the whole nation could resist
the evidence which the Almighty gave of his pre
sence. All saw and tasted the manna on which they
subsisted. No one could doubt of being fed miracu
lously by this heavenly food, any more than we can
doubt of being fed by the ordinary productions of the
earth. The pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of
fire by night, and its movements, were seen by all ;
and every individual of the nation had personal evi
dence that their journeyings and restings were regu
lated by this miraculous symbol of the Divine pre
sence.

Such a testimony, thus delivered by a whole nation
in regard to events about which there could be no
deception, no mistake, was invsistiblo. The generation

5*

54 MIRACLES.

of Israel to whom it was delivered could not reject it.
It was a moral impossibility. They received it with
full assurance. They certainly believed all the mira
cles related by their fathers ; they acknowledged the
divine mission of Moses ; they submitted to him as their
lawgiver, appointed to that office by God himself, and
received all his writings as inspired.

No event in the history of our nation is supported
by equal evidence. That, on the fourth day of July
in the year of our Lord seventeen hundred and seventy-
six, the old Congress signed, in their Hall at Phila
delphia, the declaration of American independence,
no one doubts. And what is the evidence that satis
fies the minds of all of the glorious fact? All our
fathers were not present to witness the signing of that
noble and patriotic document. Only a small number
could see the transaction. Yet on the testimony of
this small number, and of the members of Congress
who did sign, we are assured of the fact. We no
more doubt it, than we should, if we ourselves had
been present, and had seen the illustrious deed with
our own eyes. How then could that generation of
Israel to whom the miracles of Moses were reported,
admit a doubt in regard to things which all their
fathers assured them they had seen with their own eyes,
heard with their own ears, and tasted with their own
mouths'?

To these conclusions we are necessarily brought,
by admitting the miracles of Moses to have been real,
and that he was duly accredited as their divinely
appointed leader and lawgiver, by his contemporaries.

MJKACLES. 55

SECTION V.

REASONING ON THE OPPOSITE SUPPOSITK R.

Let us now take the opposite supposition. Let us
suppose that Moses was not thus accredited, and that
he wrought no miracles ; and see what will follow.
It will then follow that he did not emancipate Israel
from Egyptian bondage, nor conduct them through
the wilderness, to the borders of the promised land,
nor sustain them forty years in the wilderness, as
narrated in his writings. On this supposition it is im
possible to account for the fact of his being since
accredited as their leader and lawgiver, ond of his
miracles being believed as real both by Jews and
Christians. Indeed, if his writings were not received,
by his contemporaries, as inspired, on the ground of
his miracles establishing his character and commis
sion from heaven, they never could have gained
credit in the world. Select any period of time, any
generation of Israel, and it can be shown conclusively,
that, on the supposition now made, they never could
have been palmed on the world as genuine and in
spired.

Let us take the generation next succeeding his
time. It will then follow on the supposition made,
that when his writings appeared, they were entirely
ignorant of all the wonders recorded in them. They
had heard nothing of the desolating judgments on
Egypt; nothing of the passage of their fathers
through the Red Sea ; nothing of their sojourning in
the wilderness, forty years, and of their miraculous
support by manna during that long time; nothing of

56 MIRACLES.

the wonderful mariner in which the law was giuen
from mount Sinai ; nothing of the erection of the taber
nacle by divine direction ; nothing of the wonderful
cloud by which they had been guided in all their jour
neys through the wilderness. Yet when they read
these writings they find it asserted that they had been
delivered to their fathers ; that their fathers had been
perfectly acquainted with all the miracles recorded in
them ; that they had really been emancipated from
Egyptian bondage, by the judgments inflicted by
heaven, through the instrumentality of Moses; con
ducted by him through the Red Sea, and through the
wilderness, and sustained and guided in the miraculous
manner narrated ; and that their fathers had been com
manded by God to tell these wonderful things to their
children, and diligently to teach them the testimonies,
and statutes, and judgments delivered to them by his
servant Moses. Yet their fathers had never spoken to
them of these wonderful things ; they are utterly unac
quainted with them !

In such circumstances of utter ignorance, was it pos
sible for these writings, which imply their knowledge
of them, to gain credit? Was it not requiring people
to believe they had heard what they had not heard, —
knew what they did not know, — and observed facts
which they had not observed? or to believe their
fathers had witnessed the most astonishing and miracu
lous events, in which they and their children had the
deepest interest; and yet, in opposition to every
principle of human nature, and to the express com
mand of Almighty God, had observed a profound
silence ? to believe their fathers were in possession of
these inspired writings, and yet had cruelly concealed

MIRACLES. 57

them from their children ? Would an impostor have
been so infatuated, as to attempt to impose on any
pcopie such writings? Would he have been fool
enough so to frame his story, as to involve the supposi
tion that those whom he wished to deceive, actually
knew what both he and they were perfectly certain
they did not know ? A story so superlatively foolish
could not obtain credit from the most credulous. The
bold appeals of Moses to the personal knowledge of
those whom he addressed, could be adopted only by
one who felt conscious he was speaking the truth, and
who knew certainly his hearers could not deny his
statements.

SECTION VI.

ILLUSTRATION.

Let us illustrate this argument by referring to events
in the history of our own country. The union of the
colonies in opposition to the arbitrary laws of the
mother country, — the formation of a Congress to re
present the colonies, — the declaration of independence
by that Congress, — the appointment of George Wash
ington as commander-in-chief of the armies of the
United States of America, — the capture of Burgoviu1,
and his army at Saratoga, — the arduous struggle that
was carried on seven years against the armies and
navy of Great Britain, — the capture of Lord Corn-
wallis and his army, at Yorktown, Virginia; — are all
events in our history well known, and which btMii^
true could not fail to be known to the children of the
revolutionary patriots and heroes. No one entertains

68 MIRACLES.

any doubt of facts so notorious and so substantiated.
They will be handed down from generation to genera
tion, so long as this nation shall continue to exist.

Now, let us suppose these events had never occur
red ; that we had not been colonies of Great Britain ;
that no declaration of independence had been made
by Congress ; that no war of liberty had been carried
on seven years ; that George Washington had not been
appointed commander-in-chief of our armies; that
neither the army of Burgoyne, nor the army of Corn-
wallis, had been captured ; and consequently that we
had never heard of these remarkable events. Further,
let us suppose that a person, undertaking to w7rite a
history of this nation, should incorporate these events
as real parts of our history, would it be possible for
him to gain credit? We open the volume ; we read
a very surprising narrative; we read of events we
never heard of before; events of such a character that,
if they were true, we should certainly be familiar with
them ; but of which we have lived in utter ignorance.
Assuredly such a story, implying knowledge we do
not possess, could never gain credit. The writer
would meet with merited and universal reprobation for
his barefaced impudence.

Would such be the result of an attempt to impose on
us as portions of our history facts that had never oc
curred, and of which we were entirely ignorant ? And
when we consider the structure of the Mosaic history,
the knowledge it implies in the historian's contempo
raries, and in all succeeding generations, can we doubt
the impossibility of its being imposed, at any period, on
any generation, if it had been false ?

MIRACLES. 59

SECTION VII.

CONCLUSION OP THE ARGUMENT.

Thus, from the indisputable fact that the writings of
Moses have been, for ages, and still are, received, by
Jews and Christians, as genuine, true, and inspired
documents, we reason in favour of their truth and
divine authority. Admitting them to be what they
claim to be, all is natural; the miracles he records were
true miracles ; they were seen by the Israelites whom
he led out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and through
the wilderness ; and Moses could, with perfect confi
dence, appeal to their knowledge of all the signal and
miraculous interpositions of God in their favour. But,
on the supposition that his writings are not true, and
his recorded miracles false, it is impossible to account
for the undeniable fact, that his writings have been and
are received as inspired and true, and his recorded
miracles as real miracles. On this supposition they
could never have gained credit.

Thus we are compelled to believe, that the Mosaic
history was received as true by the writer's contempo
raries, on the ground of the miracles which he records,
and which they had seen and witnessed, as the only
•way to account for the fact that this history and its re
corded miracles are now, and have been for ages past,
received as true, both by Jews and by Christians. We
have then the testimony of a whole nation to the won
derful and numerous miracles recorded by Moses, as
wrought for the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt, and
their final settlement in the land promised by God to
their fathers.

60 MIRACLES OF CHRIST

CHAPTER IV.

MIRACLES OF CHRIST AND HIS APOSTLES.

As Jehovah had ushered into the world the commence
ment of his revelation in a manner so wonderful, and
established the mission and character of the first
writer of the Bible, by miracles so astonishing ; it was
unnecessary to accompany the mission of subsequent
prophets with the same overwhelming evidence. The
working of one or two miracles or the fulfilment of a
prediction previously delivered, was sufficient to estab
lish the reputation of a prophet, in the view of a people
for whom God had done such wonders, and whom
Moses had taught to expect a succession of inspired
teachers and prophets ; and especially to look for the
coming of that great Prophet to whom was to be the
gathering of the people.

When this great and long promised Prophet came,
a new and brighter scene opened on the world. Mira
cles more numerous and of greater variety were exhi
bited to attest the mission of Messiah, the Son of the
living God ; and afterwards the mission of the Apostles
whom he sent forth to preach his gospel, and to esta
blish his kingdom among all nation.

Let us examine these miracles.

The very first which our Lord wrought, was indis
putable. At a marriage feast in Cana of Galilee, when
the wine had failed, he changed a large quantity of
water into wine of so excellent a quality as to call
forth the marked commendation of the ruler of the
feast, who, at the time, was ignorant of the miracle

AND HIS APOSTLES. 61

by which it had been produced.* At a pool in Jeru
salem, called Bethcsda, Jesus healed an impotent man
of an infirmity under which he had laboured thirty-
eight years, and the cure of which he in vain sought
at this pool. To this unhappy man, Jesus said, " Rise,
take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man
was made whole, and took up his bed and walked. "f
On one occasion, with only five loaves of bread and
two small fishes, he fed five thousand men ; and there
remained twelve baskets of fragments : and on another,
with seven loaves and a few little fishes, he fed four
thousand men, besides women and children ; and there
remained seven baskets full.f

At Jerusalem Jesus opened the eyes of a man who
had been born blind. This miracle was critically ex
amined by the Jews, and could not be denied by
them.§ Moreover our Saviour healed all manner of
diseases. He gave feet to the lame; he unstopped
the ears of the deaf; he loosed the tongue of the
dumb; he opened the eyes of the blind. He walked
upon the sea ; he rebuked the winds and the waves,
and they obftyed him ; the tempest ceased, the waves
were settled. He gave life to the dead. Taking
by the hand the daughter of Jairus, ruler of a Jewish
synagogue, he said, " Maid, arise. And her spiri'
came again, and she arose straightway : and he com
manded to give her meat. And her parents were
astonished."|| He also raised from the dead a young
man of the city of Nain. Of this miracle we have the
following account : " Now when he came nigh to the
gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried
out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow:

* John ii. 1—11. t John vi. 5—13. Matt. xv. 32—38.

f Ib. v. 2—9. § John ix. 1—38. H Luke viii. 51— 5G.

6

02 MIRACLES OF CHRIST

and much people of the city followed with her. And
when the Lord saw her he had compassion on her,
and said to her, Weep not. And he came, and touch
ed the bier : and they that bare him stood still. And
he said, Young man, I say unto thee, arise. And he
that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he
delivered him to his mother. And there came a fear
on all : and they glorified God, saying, That a great
Prophet is risen up among us; and that God hath
visited his people. And this rumour of him went out
throughout all Judea, and throughout all the region
round about."* At the grave of Lazarus, who had
been dead and buried four days, and in the presence
of many Jews, Jesus stood and " called with a loud
voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead
came forth bound hand and foot with grave clothes ;
and his face was bound with a napkin. Jesus saith
unto them, Loose him, and let him go. Then many
of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the
things which Jesus did, believed on him. But some of
them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them
what things Jesus had done."f

In Matthew we find this record : " And when they
were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesa-
ret. And when the men of that place had knowledge
of him, they sent out into all that country round about,
and brought unto him all that were diseased ; and be
sought him that they might only touch the hem of his
garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly
whole."J

In confirmation of their commission from Jesus
Christ to preach his gospel, the Apostles were empow

* Luke vii. 11—17. t John xi 30—46.

J Matt. xiv. 34— 3G. See also Luke vi. 17—19.

AND HIS APOSTLES. G3

ered by him to work miracles. Miracles were their
credentials to be read of all men. " Then called he
his twelve Apostles together, and he gave them power
and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases."*
Subsequently our Lord appointed seventy other dis
ciples, to whom also he imparted the power of work
ing miracles in attestation of their commission from
him. He " sent them two and two before his face
into every city and place, whither he himself would
come :" and when they returned they said with joy,
" Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy
name."f

The power of working miracles was still further ex
tended. Not a few disciples, gained by the preaching
of the Apostles, received this gift. " Go ye into all the
world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he
that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall
follow them that believe : in my name shall they cast
out devils ; they shall speak with new tongues ; they
shall take up serpents ; and if they drink any deadly
thing it shall not hurt them ; they shall lay hands on
the sick, and they shall recover."J

The miracles wrought by the apostle Peter were
numerous and great. To a man lame from his birth,
and lying at the gate of the temple, he said, " Silver
and gold have I none ; but such as I have, give I unto
thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise
up, and walk. And he took him by the right hand,
and lifted him up; and immediately his feet and ankle-
bones "received strength. And he leaping up stood,
and walked, and entered with them into the temple,

* Luke ix. 1. f H>. *• 1—17. J Mark xvi. 15-ie.

64 MIRACLES OF CHRIST

walking, and leaping, and praising God. And all the
people saw him walking and praising God : and they
knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beauti
ful gate of the temple : and they were filled with won
der and amazement at that which had happened unto
him."* The next day, the Jewish rulers and elders,
the high priest, and his kindred, having arraigned
Peter and John before them, demanded, "By what
power, or by what name, have ye done this ? Then
Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye
rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, if we this
day be examined of the good deed done to the impo
tent man, be it known unto you all, and to all the
people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from
the dead, even by him doth this man stand before you
whole."f

The miracles wrought by Peter were signal and
numerous. Such an idea of his power was entertained
by the people, " that they brought the sick into the
streets, and laid them on beds, and couches, that at
least the shadow of Peter passing by might over
shadow some of them. There came also a multitude
out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing
sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean
spirits : and they were healed every one."J At Joppa
a very benevolent woman who had done much for
poor widows, died ; and as Peter was at Lydda, a
short distance from Joppa, the disciples sent for him.
He went, and when he saw the dead body of this
woman laid in an upper chamber, he " kneeled down
and prayed ; and turning him to the body said, Tabi-
tha, arise. And she opened her eyes : and when she

* Acts iii. 1—10. f Ib- iv. 1—10. { Ib. v. 12—16.

AND HIS APOSTLES.

*aw Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand, and
/ifted her up ; and when he had called the saints and
widows, he presented her alive. And it was known
throughout all Joppa ; and many believed in the

Lord/'*

Of the Apostles generally it is said, " And by the
hands of the Apostles were many signs and wonders
wrought among the people."f In regard to Stephen,
a deacon, it is recorded, " vStephen, full of faith and
power did great wonders and miracles among the
people."J " Philip, the evangelist, went down to the
city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And
the people with one accord gave heed unto those
things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the
miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying
with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed
with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were
lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that

city."§

The apostle Paul was signally honoured by the
power of working miracles. In the isle of Paphos,
Elymas, a sorcerer withstood Paul and Barnabas,
seeking to turn away Sergius Paulus,a Roman deputy,
from the faith. Paul, filled with the Holy Ghost, set
his eyes on him, and said, « O full of all subtlety and all
mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all
righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right
ways of the Lord ? And now, behold, the hand of the
Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing
the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on
him a mist and a darkness ; and he went about seek
ing some to lead him by the hand. Then the deputy,

* Acts ix. 32—42. t Acts vi. 8

t Ib. v. 12. § Ib- vi

0*

66

MIRACLES OF CHRIST

when he saw what was done, believed, being astonish
ed at the doctrine of the Lord."* At Lystra, "there
was a man impotent in his feet, being a cripple from
his mother's womb, who had never walked. The
same heard Paul speak; who steadfastly beholding
him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,
said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And
he leaped and walked. " And when the people saw
what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, say
ing in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down
to us in the likeness of men.f At Ephesus, Paul laid
his hands on certain disciples, and " the Holy Ghost
came upon them ; and they spake with tongues and
prophesied." In that city the Apostle continued about
two years preaching the gospel ; and the sacred histo
rian, informs us that " God wrought special miracles
by the hands of Paul : so that from his body were
brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the
diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went
out of them."J

" Truly," says Paul to the Corinthians, " the signs
of an apostle were wrought among you, in all patience,
in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds ;"§ and to the
Romans, •* I will not dare to speak of those things
which God hath not wrought by me, to make the Gen
tiles obedient, by word and deed, through mighty signs
and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God ; so
that, from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum,
[ have fully preached the gospel of Christ."]]

* Acts xiii. 6—12. J Acts xix. 1—12. || Rom. xv. 18, 10
^ Ib. xiv. 6—11. § 2 Tor. Tii. 12.

AND HIS APOSTLES. 07

SECTION II.

THE GIFT OF TONGUES.

In the preceding section we have given a brief ac
count of the miracles narrated in the New Testament.
We have dwelt somewhat on them ; because it is im
portant to the argument to be founded on them, that
the circumstances in which they were wrought should
be observed. Before proceeding, however, it will be
proper to notice that great miracle by which the apos
tles were qualified to enter on the discharge of their
high and honourable office of preaching the gospel.
No better account of it can be given than in the lan
guage of the sacred historian. " And when the day
of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one
accord in one place. And suddenly there came a
sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and
it filled all the house where they were sitting. And
there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of
fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were
all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak
with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout
men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when
this was noised abroad, the multitude came together,
and were confounded, because that every man heard
them speak in his own language. And they were alJ
amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold
are not all these which speak Galileans? and how
hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein \ve
were born ? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and
the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cap-
padocia, in Pont us, and Asia, Phrygiu, and Pumphy-

68 ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES.

lia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Lybia, about Cyrene,
and strangers of Home, Jews, and proselytes, Cretes,
and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues
the wonderful works of God. And they were all
amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another,
What meaneth this ?"*

CHAPTER V.

ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES.

SECTION I,

REMARKS.

On these miracles the following remarks are sub
mitted.

1. If the wonderful things recited were done, then
real miracles were wrought.

To define a miracle is unnecessary. These things
were so evidently beyond the operation of second
causes, that any one witnessing them would readily
attribute them to divine interposition, and acknow
ledge the instrument to be divinely commissioned.
The language of Nicodemus was the language of
truth and of common sense : " Rabbi, we know that
thou art a teacher come from God : for no man can do
these miracles which thou doest, except God be with
him."t

2. These miracles were wrought in public, and be
fore many competent witnesses.

They were exhibited, not in private, but in the

* Acts i . 1—12.' f John iii. 2.

ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES. G9

most public places ; by the way side, in villages, in
towns, in cities, at Ephesus, at Jerusalem, at Corinth ,
not before a few select friends, but in the presence of
enemies, as well as friends. Sometimes the spectators
were few in number; at other times they were a mul
titude. Jesus Christ wrought his miracles in Judea
and in Galilee. The Jewish capital beheld the dis
plays of his divine power. There too his Apostles
first exhibited miracles as the credentials of their
heavenly mission ; and afterwards in different parts of
the Roman empire, and of the world, in which they
preached the gospel. The impressions made by the
sight of them was great and remarkable. No one dis
puted their reality.

3. The design of these miracles was most important
and worthy of the special interposition of God.

To attest the character and mission of his own Son,
and of the Apostles ; to confirm his revelation ; to set
up the kingdom of Christ in the world, and to save
the souls of men — this was the great design. A
greater and more important design cannot be contem
plated.

4. The record of these miracles was published in the
very country in which they were exhibited, and while
multitudes who had witnessed them were living.

Such is the scriptural representation. Matthew's
gospel is supposed to have been written soon after the
resurrection of our Redeemer. The other three, and
the Acts of the Apostles, were published within thirty-
five years from the same event. Many of the epistles
were sent forth to the churches much sooner. We
have seen what a bold appeal Paul makes to the
Corinthians in regard to the miracles he had wrought
among them ; and how in his epistle to the Romans,

70 ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES.

by affirming the miracles that had attended his minis-
try, in various places, he invited investigation and
refutation. The resurrection of our Lord from the
dead, forms the basis of the gospel ; and every where,
and at all times, from the beginning to the end of their
ministry, the Apostles announced this fundamental
truth : for the gospel could not be preached without
its annunciation. The resurrection of Christ constitu
ted the theme of Peter's address to the multitude at
Jerusalem, when, on the day of Pentecost, he com
menced his public ministry. Standing up with the
disciples, he proclaimed his Saviour's resurrection.
" Ye men of Israel, hear these words : Jesus of Naza
reth, 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 ; him 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,
having loosed the pains of death : because it was
not possible that he should be holden of it. Men
and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the
patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and
his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore
being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn
with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins,
according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit
on his throne; he seeing this before, spake of the
resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in
hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus
hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and
having received of the Father the promise of the Holy
Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and

ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES.

71

hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens, but
he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou
on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool.
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly,
that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have
crucified, both Lord and Christ."*

A bold appeal! indicating the consciousness of
truth. What impostor, addressing an audience, would
dare to rest his cause on the personal knowledge of
his hearers; and appeal to them for the truth of his
statement of facts, affirming that they well knew the
miracles to which he referred had been witnessed by
them ? Surely no one could, in the presence of his
enemies, utter the language of Peter, but a man who
felt assured he was speaking truth, which could not be
contradicted.

5. The fifth remark is this : If these miracles were
really wrought and believed, the knowledge of them
must have been extensively circulated throughout the
world.

That the rumour of our Lord's miracles must have
been widely spread through all Judea and Galilee,
is too plain to be denied. Such wonderful works
could not have been done without becoming the sub
ject of general conversation among their inhabitants.
Luke tells us, that king Herod, who had heard of the
miracles of Jesus, was glad when Pilate sent him to
him, expecting he would work a miracle to gratify
his curiosity. The day of Pentecost, when the Spirit
was shed down on the Apostles, in so miraculous a
manner, was a festival that attracted Jews from all
parts of the world ; and on that occasion, " there were
dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every

* Acts ii. 22—36.

72 ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES.

nation under heaven ;" of which the sacred historian
has given a long list. Now these strangers, congrega
ted in the capital of Judea, who witnessed the wonders
of that day with such amazement, would not fail on
their return home, to speak of what they had seen
and heard with such astonishment to their friends,
and thus circulate the knowledge of the miracle very
extensively. Besides, the Apostles, wherever they
went, wrought miracles, to establish their character as
commissioned by Jesus Christ to publish his gospel to
all nations.

SECTION II.

RECEPTION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT WRITINGS A PROOF OF THE
REALITY OF MIRACLES.

Two facts appear on the very face of the New Tes
tament: 1. That the gospel was preached immediately
after the resurrection of our Lord ; — 2. That the
miracles of Jesus and of his Apostles were extensively
known in the world. From these facts the inference
may be conclusively drawn, that if the gospel had
not then been preached, and if the writings of the
New Testament had been forged and not published,
till after the apostolic period, they could not possibly
have gained credit in the world. In that case they
would have contradicted all facts; affirming men to
be in possession of knowledge which they themselves
were sure they did not possess; — churches to be in
existence which had no existence ; — Christians to be
found all over the world when none could be found ; —
and an order of men set apart to the ministry when
no such order was in being. Writings asserting such
barefaced falsehoods would have met with universal

ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES. 73

reprobation. They could not possibly have gained
credit.

But the New Testament writings have gained credit,
and are at this day revered as the word of God,
written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And
from this undeniable fact we may, with confidence
infer, that they must have been written and received
in the period in which they profess to have been writ
ten ; for in no other period could they have obtained
credit. Penned and published for general instruction,
it was impossible for them to lie concealed, if Chris
tianity had obtained the success in the world which
they affirm. Prized by Christians as containing an
accurate record of the facts, doctrines, precepts, and
institutions of their religion, copies of them would
soon be multiplied, and circulated through all the
churches, read and studied by all capable of reading,
and especially by the ministry. Books implying all
this, could not hope to obtain credit, while they rested
their claim to truth, by appealing to the knowledge of
readers which they did not possess, and by pretending
to a great degree of notoriety, at the very time they
were unknown. Success in these circumstances, we
repeat it, was impossible. At no period except the
apostolic period, the period in which the gospels and
the epistles of the New Testament profess to have
been written, could they have been received. And
that they were then received as genuine, authentic,
credible, and divine, follows conclusively from the fact
that they are now, and have been for ages, re
ceived as possessing such high claims to credit and
veneration.

But it may be inquired, On what grounds did primi
tive Christians receive the sacred Scriptures as the

7

74 ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES.

inspired standard of their faith and practice? One
ground evidently was the miracles wrought by Chris!
and his Apostles. Our blessed Lord sustained his
character, by appealing to the writings of Moses, and
to his own miracles. To the Jews he said, " Had ye
believed Moses, ye would have believed me : for he
wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how
shall ye believe my words ?'* On another occasion
he appealed to his works, and said to them, " If I do
not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I
do, though ye believe not me, believe the works : that
ye may know and believe, that the Father is in me, and
I in hirn."f Miracles were evidently the Apostles' cre
dentials, to prove their commission from heaven, as
God's ambassadors, to negotiate a treaty of reconcilia
tion with rebellious men. They were signs of the
apostleship. So we are taught by Paul, who, writing
to the Corinthians, says, " Truly the signs of an apostle
were wrought among you, with all patience, in signs
and wonders and mighty deeds."

By their miraculous powers the Apostles established
their commission to instruct mankind, to bear to them
the messages of divine grace, and to declare infallibly
the will of God. On the ground of miracles, primitive
Christians acknowledged the authority of the Apostles
to teach them, and received their writings as infallibly
true.

It appears, then, that we have the testimony of primi
tive Christians to the reality of the miracles wrought
by Jesus Christ and his Apostles. But it may be asked,
Were they not deceived, and may not we be deceived
by receiving their testimony 1

In reply to this inquiry, it may be observed, that in

* John v. 46, 47. t Ib- x- 37> 38'

ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES. 75

the nature of the miracles to which they testify, —
in the character of primitive Christians, and in the
vast importance of the question at issue — we find
abundant reasons for the conclusion, that there could
be no danger of their being deceived. The miracles
were of that kind, as to require only common sense
and a sound state of the bodily organs, to decide upon
their true character. An illiterate man was as com
petent a witness of our Saviour's miracles, and of
those of his Apostles, as a learned man. When our
Redeemer opened the eyes of the blind, unstopped the
ears of the deaf, gave feet to the lame, and speech to
the dumb, and raised Lazarus from the dead; and
when his Apostles performed similar wonders, by utter
ing a word in his name ; learning was not necessary to
enable spectators to know whether these were real
miracles. To see them was sufficient to convince the
witness of the fact that these wonders were effected by
a Divine power,

It is true that "not many wise men after the flesh,
not many mighty, not many noble are called ;" and
it is equally true, that among the disciples of our Lord
have, in every age, been found, not only men of sound
judgment and discriminating mind, but also men of
great learning and splendid genius. Convinced by the
miracles of our Redeemer, " many of the chief rulers
of the Jews, believed on him ; but because of the
Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should
be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise
of men more than the praise of God."* " A great com
pany of the priests, were obedient to the faith."f Paul
was a man of learning and genius ; and, although for
some time a bitter persecutor of Christians, from a

* John xii. 42, 43. t Acts vi. 7.

76 ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES.

belief that in shedding their blood, and putting forth all
his powers to crush the infant church, he was doing
God service, yet he became a convert to that cause
which had at first been the object of his deadly hate.

Besides, consider that Christians were hated both
by Jews and Gentiles, and that, by professing to be
the followers of Christ, believers exposed themselves
to great danger and sufferings. In such circumstances,
it is evident that none would make a profession of
faith in Christ, unless he was fully convinced of the
truth of Christianity. Nor can it be doubted that the
miracles of the Apostles were subject to a severe scru
tiny, and not believed to be real miracles, without the
fullest conviction. Many Christians became martyrs
to the faith : and their testimony to facts in regard to
which they could not be deceived, sealed with their
blood, is certainly of the best and surest kind, and
worthy of all credit.

In reviewing this extended argument it appears, —
1. That the miracles of our Lord and of his Apostles,
were of such a nature that their true character could
not be mistaken ; — 2. That these miracles were really
believed by primitive Christians to be true miracles; —
and 3. That the proof of this fact is their reception of
the sacred Scriptures, which contain a detailed account
of them.

Thus we have reached the conclusion at which we
aimed, THE REALITY OF THE MIRACLES of Jesus Christ
and of his Apostles.

Miracles being admitted, it will follow, that Christ
was what he declared himself to be, the SON OF GOD,
the SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD, and THE LORD OF GLORY ;
and that the writings of his Apostles are what they
claim to be, THE WOIID OF GOD, WRITTEN BY MEN IN-

SI'IUEI) BY THE HOLY rirililT-

PROPHECIES.

CHAPTER VI.

PROPHECIES.

SECTION I.

GENESIS ill. 14, 15, EXPLAINED.

77

IT was stated in a previous chapter, that the religion
of the Bible is founded on prophecies as well as on
miracles, and that by this proof of its Divine origin it
is distinguished from all other religions that have ever
gained a footing in the world. "The testimony of
Jesus," says John, " is the spirit of prophecy."* By the
fulfilment of clear and unequivocal prophecies recorded
in the Bible, he has established his claims to the chara
cter and offices which he assumed, as the Son of God,
the Saviour of fallen men, the Sovereign of all worlds,
and the Judge of quick and dead.

We now enter on the discussion of this singular and
convincing proof of the Divine authority and inspira
tion of the Bible. The plan we have adopted confines
us to prophecies that have been fulfilled, and the evi
dence of which we find in the Bible itself. Were we to
exhibit that class of prophecies, the evidence of whose
fulfilment is to be found in profane history, the proof
of the Divine authority and inspiration of the sacred
Scriptures, would be greatly accumulated ; but it would
require our discussion to be greatly extended. This
task is unnecessary; because it has been executed by
abler hands.

The first prophecy that falls within our plan, is
recorded in Genesis iii. 14, 15. " And the Lord God

* Revelations xix. 10.

7*

78 PROPHECIES.

said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thoh
art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of
the field ; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt
thou eat all the days of thy life : and I will put enmity
between thee and the wroman, and between thy seed
and her seed ; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt
bruise his heel."

It were absurd to interpret this passage as denoun
cing a punishment confined to the animal, called a
serpent. It is indeed stated in this chapter, that " the
serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field ;"
and that he conversed with and tempted our mother
Eve. But, let it be remembered that the serpent was
not a rational creature, nor endowed with the faculty
of speech, which distinguished man from all inferior
creatures in this world. We are, therefore, compelled
to look out for a superior being, who used the organs
of the serpent in speaking, and in conducting the
whole temptation. Aided by the light of holy Scrip
ture, we find no difficulty in detecting the true temp
ter ; who, through his subtlety, deceived Eve, and
through her, effected the fall of Adam, and his whole
posterity. It was the Devil. Every where in Scrip
ture he is represented as the great tempter of men ;
and in reference to the temptation of the first woman,
our Saviour, speaking of him, says, " Ye are of your
father the devil, and the lusts of your father will ye
do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and
abode not in the truth ; because there is no truth in
him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his
own ; for he is a liar, and the father of it."* In the
book of Revelation, John says, " And the great dragon
was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and

* John viii. 44.

PROPHECIES. 79

Satan, which deceiveth the whole world : he was cast
out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with
him."* Again, he says, " And he laid hold on the
dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan,
and bound him a thousand years ; and cast him into
the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon
him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till
the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he
must be loosed a little season."f

By the seed of the serpent are meant, wicked, unbe
lieving men, who are led captive by him at his plea
sure. Addressing the Pharisees and Sadducees, John
the Baptist exclaims, " O generation of vipers, who
hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come ?"J
Speaking of the same class of men, our Lord says, " O
generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak
good things ?' Again, " Ye serpents, ye generation of
vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell ?"§
But lest it should be supposed that only such notorious
sinners are to be regarded as the serpent's seed, we ad
duce the sweeping statement of John : " He that com-
mitteth sin is of the devil, for the devil sinneth from the
beginning." " In this the children of God are mani
fest, and the children of the devil : whosoever doeth not
righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not
his brother."||

By the seed of the woman is meant pre-eminently
the Saviour, who wras born in a miraculous manner.
lie had a virgin for his mother, but no human father.
Hence Paul says, " God sent forth his Son, made of a
But all renewed and sanctified men may

* Revelation xii. 9 5 Matt. xii. 34 ; xxiii.' 33.

f Ih. xx. 2, 3. See 2 Cor. xi. 3, 14. || 1 John iii. 8. 10.
t Matthew iii. 7. U Gulutiuns iv. 4.

80 PROIUIECIES.

be denominated the seed of the woman ; for enmity
does exist between the serpent's seed, and all true be
lievers. Our Lord teaches this mournful fact, when he
says, " If ye were of the world, the world would love
his own : but because ye are not of the world, but I
have chosen you out of the world, therefore the work'
hateth you."*

Bruising the serpent's head, in which lies his poison
and power to hurt, signifies the overthrow of Satan,
and depriving him of power to accomplish his ruin
ous designs. And was not all this eminently fulfilled
by Jesus Christ, the seed of the woman ? " For this
purpose," says John, " the Son of God was manifested,
that he might destroy the works of the devil."f Satan
assailed him in the wilderness, but he was defeated in all
his temptations. " Get thee hence, Satan," was his re
buke ; " and he departed from him."J " Forasmuch
then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,
he also himself likewise took part of the same ; that
through death he might destroy him that had the power
of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who
through fear of death were all their life time subject
to bondage."^ " Having spoiled principalities and
powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing
over them in it."|| Thus the seed of the woman bruised
the serpent's head; and he will do it still more effec
tually, when, having brought to eternal glory all his
redeemed people, he shall say to them on his left hand,
at the close of the judgment, " Depart from me, ye
cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and
his angels."1T

But, in accomplishing the work of redemption, and

* John xv. 19. I Matthew iv. 10. || Colossians ii. 15.

f 1 John iii. 8. § Hebrews ii. 14, 15. H Matt. xxv. 41.

PROPHECIES. 81

in destroying the works of the devil the Redeemer
humbled himself; submitting to poverty, reproach
and persecution, to scourging, condemnation, and
crucifixion ; and to the various assaults of Satan
and his legions, who assailed him, especially in his
last hours, with all their malice and fury. Thus was
his heel bruised by the serpent ; or in other words, he
suffered in his human, his inferior nature, in conflict
with fallen spirits.

In this manner was this first and grand prediction
fulfilled.

SECTION II.

GENESIS XV. 13, 14, EXPLAINED.

The next prophecy to which we shall direct the
reader's attention, is found in the fifteenth chapter of
Genesis. " And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety
that thy seed shall be a stranger in a strange land, that
is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict
them four hundred years ; and also that nation whom
they shall serve, will I judge ; and afterwards shall they
come out with great substance." How remarkably
was this fulfilled ! Did not God judge the Egyptians who
had enslaved and cruelly treated them ? Were they not
delivered by severe and desolating judgments on the
Egyptian people? Were not Pharaoh and his host,
who madly pursued them, all drowned in the Red Sea?
Were they not enriched by the gifts which they recei
ved from the Egyptians, just before they left the land
of servitude, and by the spoils which they gathered on
the shore of the Red Sea, after the destruction of their
enemies 1

The seed of Abraham were strangers in a strange

82 PROPHECIES.

land four hundred years. Isaac was sixty years old,
when Jacob was born. Gen. xxv. 26. Jacob was one
hundred and thirty years old, when he entered Egypt.
Gen. xlvii. 9. These sums make one hundred and
ninety years. Add to this two hundred and fifteen
years, during which period the Israelites dwelt, accord
ing to the calculations of chronologists, in Egypt; and
we have four hundred and five years, only five beyond
the four hundred specified in the prophecy, which was
delivered in round numbers to the exclusion of the five
that exceeded.

An objection, however, may be urged against the
fulfilment of the prophecy, by alleging the text, where
Moses says, " Now the sojourning of the children of
Israel who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and
thirty years ; even the self same day it came to pass,
that the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of
Egypt." Exod. xii. 40. This seems to present a diffi
culty. But it is easily removed, by observing that the
two texts do not refer to the same thing. This refers
to the sojourning of the children of Israel, wrhich will
be presently shown to have been four hundred and
thirty years ; but the other speaks of the seed of Abra
ham being strangers in a strange land, which was four
hundred years.

It may, wre are aware, be replied, Are not the chil
dren of Israel the seed of Abraham ? Strictly taken,
they are ; but we apprehend that, by the children of
Israel in this passage, the Israelitish people are to be
understood. " The Lord," says Moses, " did not set
his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were in
number more than any people; for ye were the fewest
of all people." Ueut. vii. 7. When did the Lord set
his love upon them, and choose them 1 He chose

PROPHECIES. 83

them in Abraham, and set his love upon them, when
he said to their illustrious father, "Get thee out of thy
country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's
house, unto a land that I will show thee : and I will
make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and
make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing."*
Taking this as the date of their sojourning, the time
will be exactly, as Moses states it, four hundred and
thirty years; for this date preceded the birth of Isaac
twenty-five years; (Compare Gen. xii. 4, with Gen. xxi.
5;) which added to the sum four hundred and five,
mentioned above, gives the precise amount.

SECTION III.

DIFFCULTIES REMOVED.

This interpretation of the text, given in the preced
ing section, by which the fathers are included under
the denomination, " The children of Israel," is not a
forced one. Were a historian to say, This nation have
inhabited the land they possess two hundred and
twenty-four years, we should be immediately carried
in our calculation to the year 1620 ; when the pilgrim
lathers planted their little colony on the rock of Ply
mouth. In the use of such language there would be
no impropriety, although we have not existed as a
nation more than sixty-eight years, when Congress
declared these United States of America a free and
independent people. Before that time we were depen
dent colonies, subject to the control of the mother
country. If then such historical language would
necessarily, without involving any abuse of language,
embrace, not merely the American people, while ex-

* Genesis xii. 1,2.

84 PROPHECIES.

isting as a nation, but their fathers who first settled in
this country ; may we not, with strict propriety, inter
pret the language of Moses, when he says, " now the
sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt,
was four hundred and thirty years ;" as referring not
merely to the individuals who were literally such, but
to their fathers, and their illustrious father Abraham;
who commenced this sojourning, by leaving at the
command of God, his native country, his kindred, and
his father's house, and dwelling in a strange land? No?
force is put upon the language of the Hebrew historian ;
nor is he to be censured as using any unusual latitude
of terms.

Dr. Clarke, in his commentary on this text, removes
the difficulty, by contending that the passage as it
exists in the Samaritan Pentateuch, is the true origi
nal. He translates it thus : " Now the sojourning of
the children of Israel, and of their fathers, which they
sojourned in the land of Canaan and in the land of
Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years." If this
be the true original, then even the appearance of diffi
culty vanishes. We, however, are satisfied with the
text as it stands in our Hebrew Bibles, and believe
the interpretation we have given above to be fair and
correct.

As a more serious difficulty in the way of our argu
ment from the fulfilment of the prophecy, it may be
alleged, that the record of the prophecy by Moses,
was posterior to its fulfilment. This we do not deny;
we admit that the event predicted had occurred before
he reduced the prophecy to writing. The question
then turns on the fidelity of Moses as a historian. He
has stated it as a fact that the prophecy was delivered
to Abraham. Did he state a truth or a falsehood 1 He

PROPHECIES. 85

had the means of learning the truth. If this predic
tion was delivered to Abraham, he certainly did not
fail to make it known to his son Isaac ; and Isaac
would not fail to transmit it to Jacob. Nor would Jacob
fail to make it known to his children. A tradition so
interesting could not but be handed down from genera
tion to generation. " And Israel said unto Joseph, Be
hold, I die; but God shall be with you, and bring you
again unto the land of your fathers." Gen. xlviii. 21.
Joseph certainly believed God's promise and prediction
on this subject; for he, when dying, assured the chil
dren of Israel, that God would certainly bring them to
the land of Canaan, and bound them with an oath to
carry with them his bones. Gen. 1. 24, 25. They ful
filled this oath. Exod. xiii. 19.

Such are the particulars in relation to this prophecy
which Moses has recorded. Were they forgeries ?
Was Moses an unfaithful historian? Do his writings
indicate any thing of the kind? Are not simplicity,
candour, fairness, and impartiality stamped on his
writings? We have an evidence of his truth in the
two passages compared. Had he been an impostor,
he would have guarded against the apparent incon
sistency between the two. Instead of saying, " The
sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in
F^ypt, was four hundred and thirty years," he would
have said, the sojourning of the seed of Abraham was
four hundred years; and thus have made out the ful
filment of the prediction. This he did not. Conscious
of speaking the truth, he discovers no anxiety to avoid
any apparent inconsistency; and, instead of showing
the fulfilment of the prophecy, he speaks of the so
journing of the children of Israel from the date of
Abraham's entering into the land of Canaan ; leaving

8

80 PROPHECIES.

it to his readers to calculate, from particulars recorded
by him, whether the prophecy was fulfilled or not.

Besides, it must be remembered that Moses had, be
fore he wrote his five books, fully established his divine
mission by the great and wonderful miracles he wrought,
and had been acknowledged by the Hebrew people as
their divinely appointed lawgiver, who received from
God the laws which he delivered to them, and was
inspired by his Spirit in writing his books, and so
preserved from all error. See second and third
chapters.

SECTION IV.

GENESIS Xvil. 5, 6, EXPLAINED.

The third prophecy claiming our attention, is record
ed in the 17th chapter of Genesis. There the name
of the patriarch was changed from Jlbram to Mra-
ham, in correspondence with the promise and predic
tion contained in these words, (verses 5, 6,) " For a
father of many nations have I made thee. And I
will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make
nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee."
When this record was written by Moses, Abraham
had already become the father of two nations. But
how have the natural descendants of this illustrious
patriarch since multiplied ! And when we consider
the true import of the prediction and of the promise,
in what an amazing manner have they been fulfilled !
Turn to the exposition which Paul gives (Rom. iv. 11,
12, 16, 17,) of the transaction recorded by Moses in
Gen. xvii.; and you will find, that Abraham was
constituted the father of all believers, whether found
among his natural descendants, or among converted

PROPHECIES. 87

heathen. A natural and a spiritual seed were pro
mised to Abraham ; and the promise has been more
eminently fulfilled in regard to the latter than to the
former. He is the father of all true believers, not only
among the Jews, but among the Gentiles. How has
his spiritual seed been multiplied, in the many centuries
that have rolled away from his day to the advent of
Christ, and from that great event down to the present
time! And what multiplied millions will, in successive
ages, be added to his spiritual family, from the present
time down to the end of the world ! So wonderfully
have the promise and the prediction been fulfilled. In
subsequent ages they will receive a still more amazing
fulfilment.

SECTION V.

GENESIS xli.X. 8 10, EXPLAINED.

In the forty-ninth chapter of Genesis, the expiring
patriarch Israel predicted the fortunes of his children.
Were we to undertake the task, we might show how
remarkably his predictions in regard to each of his
twelve sons have been fulfilled. But this would ex
tend our discussion too far; and we are constrained to
refer those who feel inclined to examine each predic
tion to commentators, who have shown how fully and
particularly each has been accomplished.* We shall
notice only that which relates to Judah. "Judah,
thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise ; thy hand
shall be in the neck of thine enemies ; thy father's
children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's

* Sec " The Prophetic Blessings Of Jacob and of Moses respect
ing the twelve trilu>s of Israel, explained and illustrated," a little
booU published by the Presbyterian Iknird of Publication.

88 PHOPHEC1ES.

whelp : from the prey, my son, thou art gone up : he
stooped down, he crouched as a lion, and as an old lion ;
who shall rouse him up ? The sceptre shall not depart
from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until
Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the
people be." Verses 8—10.

Here is clear.y foretold the pre-eminent dignity of
the tribe of Judah ; for it is of the tribes, and not of
his sons, that the dying patriarch speaks : (see verse
28 :) and every person acquainted with the Bible his
tory of the Hebrew people must know that, in various
ways, this tribe was signally distinguished above the
other tribes. In their encampment the first station
was assigned to Judah. (Numbers ii. 2 — 9.) The
prince of this tribe made his offering for the dedicating
of the altar, on the first day; (Numbers vii. 12;) Judah
had the first lot in the land of Canaan ; (Joshua xv ;)
and when, after the death of Joshua, the children of
Israel inquired of the Lord, who should go up for
them first against the Canaanites to fight against
them, He replied, "Judah shall go up: behold I have
delivered the land into his hand." (Judges i. 1, 2.)
David, that eminent saint and distinguished warrior,
who so successfully subdued all the enemies of Israel,
and put that people in full possession of the promised
land ; and Solomon his son, so famed for his wisdom
and the splendor of his reign, were both of the tribe
of Judah. Their descendants, for centuries, sat upon
the throne of Judah, and long after the ten tribes of
Israel had been carried away into captivity. Judah
too were afterwards sent into captivity, for their sins ;
but the Lord was pleased to restore them to their own
land and permit them to enjoy again their appointed
worship, and distinguished religious privileges.

PROPHECIES. 89

The other part of this prophecy was also eminently
fulfilled; the sceptre did not depart from Juduh, nor a
lawgiver from between his feet, till Sktloh, the Sent, the
Messiah, came. The Jews had been conquered by the
Romans, and were subject to their control ; but they
were governed by their own laws, and their own rulers,
with some restrictions. The sceptre was departing ;
but it had not wholly departed.

The prediction of this same patriarch in regard to
the two sons of Joseph, was, as scripture history clear
ly shows, manifestly fulfilled. Manasseh was the elder
and Ephraim the younger son. When, therefore, Joseph
saw his father place his right hand on the latter, he
was displeased and wished his father to place it on the
former, as the first-born; the patriarch "refused, and
said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall be
come a people, and he also shall be great ; but truly his
younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed
shall become a multitude of nations."* The prediction
was literally fulfilled : Ephraim became, in his posterity,
in their numbers, authority, and influence, far greater
than Manasseh.

SECTION VI.

JERICHO.

After the destruction of Jericho, Joshua said,
" Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and
buildeth this city of Jericho: he shall lay the founda
tion in his first-born, and in his youngest son shall he
set up the gates of it.'?f The exact fulfilment of this
prophecy is recorded in 1 Kings xvi. 34. " In his days"
(Ahab's) " did Kiel the Bethelite build Jericho : he laid
the foundation thereof in Abiram his first-born, and

* Genesis xlviii. 17 — :JU. f Joshua \ •

8*

90

PROPHECIES.

set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, ac
cording to the word of the Lord, which he spake by
Joshua, the son of Nun."

CHAPTER VII.

PROPHECIES.

SECTION I.

THE WRITER OF THE TWO BOOKS OF KINGS A CREDIBLE WITNESS.

THE two books, styled " The first and the second book
of Kings," contain a great number of prophecies, and
an account of their fulfilment. But these books were
written subsequently to their fulfilment. It will,
therefore, be necessary, previously to an examination,
of these predictions, to ascertain what reliance is to be
placed in the historical truth and accuracy of these
books.

It is admitted that the writer lived long after some
of the facts which he records. These books embrace a
period of four hundred and fifty years, or more. They
are attributed by some to Isaiah, by others to Jeremiah,
and by others to Ezra. The settlement of the question
in regard to authorship is not material. The main
question to be settled is, Was the author competent to
write a history of the transactions which he records,
and is his history credible ? If he be a competent and
credible witness of facts, we have a sure foundation on
which to rest our argument from prophecy, in favour
of the Divine authority and inspiration of the Bible.
To evince this, let the folloving remarks be well con
sidered and weighed.

PROPHECIES. 91

SECTION II.

PROOFS OF HIS CREDIBILITY.

1. Consider the CHARACTER of these books. They are
listorical; written with great plainness, simplicity, and
apparent candor and regard to truth. Marks of these
appear every where on their pages.

They contain a history, not merely of the political
affairs of the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel, but
especially of the divine interposition in these affairs ;
rewarding his people when obedient, and punishing
them when disobedient; and at length, after a long for
bearance with them, sending both kingdoms into capti
vity. No one can read these books without seeing and
acknowledging this fact.

2. Consider that these books have been RECEIVED,
loth ly Jews and Christians, as part of the canon of
their inspired writings.

We may then be sure they have been subject to a
severer scrutiny, than was ever applied to any unin
spired history ; because the highest interests of men
were concerned in deciding correctly the question of
their authenticity and inspiration. The commentaries
of Ca?sar, and the History of Tacitus, were never sub
ject to such an ordeal. Yet who doubts their authenti
city ?

3. Consider the DOCUMENTS to which the writer of
these books appeals.

He appeals in confirmation of his history first, to the
"book of the acts of Solomon;" (1 Kings xi. 41;)
secondly to " the book of the Chronicles of the Kings
of Judah;" and, thirdly to "the book of the Chronicles
of the kings of Israel.' To the book of the Chronicles

92 PROPHECIES.

of the kings of Judah, the writer refers thirteen times,
once at the end of each reign ; and in like manner to
the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel, he
refers nineteen times. His references are, in all the
places, expressed in nearly the same words; either in
the form of a question, " Are they not written in the
book of the Chronicles — V or in an affirmative sen
tence, " They are written in the book of the Chron
icles of — s"

From the manner in which the writer makes his
appeals, it is manifest that these books were then in
existence, and that they were received as containing
authentic history of the two kingdoms of Judah and
Israel. Had not these books been in existence in the
writer's time, or had they not been regarded as au
thentic history, an appeal to them could have afford
ed no confirmation to his own history, but would have
ruined its credit. No man in our day writing history,
could be so absurd as to hope to establish his veracity
as a writer, by appealing to writings that have no
existence, or that possess no historical reputation.
Equally absurd would it have been in the author of
these books to entertain such a hope, and equally ruin
ous to his character would his references have been.
And the fact that he did obtain credit to his writings,
is conclusive proof, that these books to which he ap
peals were extant in his day, and accredited as con
taining true history.

4. Consider the GREAT NUMBER of prophecies, the ful
filment of which is recorded in these books.

They contain more than twenty-seven predictions,
covering a period of four hundred and fifty-years.
They are found almost in every chapter. With the
r xception of a very few, they relate to kings : and

PROPHECIES. 93

were delivered in such circumstances that they could
not fail to be known, and to interest the public mind.
\Ve have no reason to doubt their record in the his
torical books to which the writer appeals. It' they
had not been thus recorded, his reference to these
books would have been of no avail to support the
credit of his own narrative; and if they were not
generally known to have been delivered and fulfilled,
the insertion of them in his history could not possibly
have gained them credit. The reply to such a writer
would have been this : " You tell us of prophecies and
of their fulfilment, relating to events of a nature so
interesting to the two nations, that if true they must
have been recorded and known long before your
time; and yet we neither know them, nor can we find
any record of them. Shall we, on your simple asser
tion, believe events to have occurred, affecting most
deeply the affairs both of Judah and of Israel, of
which we have no remembrance and can find no re
cord 1 Our fathers have not told them to their chil
dren; no one has reduced them to writing. Whence
have you derived your knowledge of these marvellous
events, which must have produced such great chants
in our national affairs?" These predictions and llieir
fulfilment must have been generally known, before this
history was written, or it would never have gained
credit.

SECTION III.

ILLUSTRATION.

Since the first settlement of our own country, no
prophet ever appeared to foretell what great events
would occur in our national affairs. Had prophets

94 PROPHECIES.

commissioned by heaven, appeared to our fathers, and
actually predicted time after time, the most important
events that have come to pass, their predictions would
have been recorded, and the exact fulfilment of them
would have excited attention, and established their re
putation.

Now let us suppose an author should undertake
to write a history of the United States, from the time
that Europeans first came to settle in this country ;
that he should interweave a spirit of prophecy with
every interesting occurrence in their affairs ; that he
should, at every important period, introduce a pro
phet, presenting himself to the chief men, and in a
public manner foretelling the events, with their cir
cumstances, just as they have occurred ; and that he
should show that the different prophets were accredited
by the chief men, as prophets sent from heaven, and
that they were at different times applied to for a dis
covery of coming events ; would such a writer gain
credit? Would not an appeal on his part to existing
and authentic histories, in confirmation of his history,
be utterly in vain 1 Would not his writings, so far as
relates to predictions, be rejected as altogether ficti
tious and false?

It is only on the principle, that the predictions record
ed in these two books, were true, and literally fulfilled,
and that a spirit of prophecy was known and believed
to exist, in Judah and Israel, that the reception of
these books, by the Jews as part of the canon of their
sacred Scriptures, can be accounted for. Admit the
existence of a spirit of prophecy, and the truth of the
predictions, and then we see abundant reason, why
these books were accredited as true and divinely in
spired ; but deny the truth of the predictions and

PROPHECIES. 95

the existence of a spirit of prophecy, and then their re
ception by the Jews cannot be accounted for. It would
have been impossible for them to gain credit.

SECTION IV.

PROPHECIES IN THESE BOOKS.

Let us now look at the prophecies recorded in these
books.

1. The first relates to Solomon. It is recorded in
these words : " Wherefore the Lord said unto Solo
mon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou
hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I
have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom
from thee, and will give it to thy servant. Notwith
standing in thy days I will not do it, for David thy
father's sake : but I will rend it out of the hand of
thy son. Howbeit I w7ill not rend away all thy king
dom ; but will give one tribe to thy son, for David
my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, which I
have chosen."* This prediction was repeated by the
prophet Ahijah, who assured Jeroboam that God
would take from Solomon's son ten tribes and set him
over them as king, and that Solomon's son should re
tain one tribe.f

This prophecy certainly became publicly known ;
for Solomon sought, on account of it, to kill Jeroboam,
and Jeroboam fled into Egypt. Of the fulfilment we
have an accurate recital in the following chapter.
The event occurred just as it had been foretold. In
that chapter we are informed, that, after Rehoboam,
the son of Solomon, had assembled an army of one

* 1 Kings xi. 11—13. f Ib. xi. 27—37.

96 .PROPHECIES.

hundred and eighty thousand chosen warriors, out of
the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, with a view of bring
ing back the ten tribes who had revolted from his
government, God interposed by his prophet Shemaiah ;
who, by Divine direction, forbade Rehoboam and the
two tribes to fight with their brethren the children of
Israel. They obeyed the heavenly mandate. See
verses 21 — 24.

2. The next is that remarkable prediction recorded
in the thirteenth chapter, against the altar which Jero
boam had built in an unlawful manner at Bethel.

The king was standing by the altar to burn incense,
when a man of God " cried against the altar in the
word of God, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the
Lord ; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of
David, Josiah by name ; and upon thee shall he offer
the priests of the high places that burn incense upon
thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee. And
he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign
which the Lord hath spoken ; Behold, the altar shall be
rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured
out." Verses 2, 3.

The circumstances attending the enunciation of this
prediction, certainly rendered it public and memorable.

The king was standing by the altar to burn incense; •

offended at the boldness of the prophet in uttering the
prophetic denunciation in his presence and hearinf,
he put forth his hand to seize him ; — his impious
hand was immediately " dried up, so that he could
not pull it again to him ;" — the sign of the truth of
the prediction came to pass, " the altar was also rent,
and the ashes poured out from the altar;" — the king
begged the prophet to entreat the Lord that his hand
might be restored to soundness; — "the man of God

PROPHECIES. 97

besought the Lord, and the king's hand was restored
him again, and became as it was before;" — the king
invited the prophet to go home with him to refresh him
self, and promised to give him a reward ; — but the man
of God refused to go ; because he had been forbidden
by the Lord to eat bread or drink water in that place.
Verses 4—10. Having left it, and going, according to
commandment, a different way from that he had tra
velled in coming to Bethel, he was overtaken on his
journey by an old and false prophet, who deceived
him, by pretending he was divinely directed to bring
him back. He returned to the place, and partook of
the refreshment provided ; but on his way homeward
he was, for his disobedience, met by a lion and slain.
Verses 11—25.

A prediction thus delivered and accompanied with
such circumstances, could not fail to become notorious
and matter of record.

In 2 Kings xxiii. 15 — 20, we have recorded the
exact and literal fulfilment of this singular prediction,
by Josiah, king of Judah. He broke down this altar,
which Jeroboam had made at Bethel, and " stamped
it to powder ;" and " he took the bones out of the
sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and pol
luted it, according to the word of the Lord which the
man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words."
After the lapse of three hundred and fifty years from
the date of the prophecy, the man of the house of
David, who had been predicted by name, appears,
and literally accomplishes it; and thus establishes the
fact that it was uttered by the prophet under divine in
spiration.

3. The fourteenth chapter of this book records the
prediction of Ahijah the prophet, whom the wife of

98 PROPHECIES.

king Jeroboam came to consult about his son, who
was sick. The prophet said to her, " When thy feet
enter into the city, the child shall die." Verse 12. In
the 16th verse it is recorded, "And Jeroboam's wife
arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah ; and when
she came to the threshold of the door, the child
died."

The same chapter contains a prediction of the utter
destruction of the house of Jeroboam, delivered by
the same prophet to his wife; (verses 6 — 11, 14 ;) and
in the next chapter, speaking of Baasha, who con
spired against Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, and smote
him, the sacred historian says, " And it came to pass,
when he reigned, that he smote all in the house of Jere-
boam ; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until
he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the
Lord, which he spake by his servant Ahijah, the Shi-
lonite." Verses 27 — 29.

4. The sixteenth chapter contains a prediction of
the prophet Jehu, denouncing the utter destruction of
the house of Baasha, the king of Israel, like that by an
other prophet against the house of Jeroboam. Baasha
died and his son Elah ascended his throne. He reign
ed only two years ; for Zimri slew him, and destroyed
the entire house of Baasha ; leaving not one of his
family to survive, and extending the work of extermi
nation even to his kinsfolk and friends. See verses
9—13.

5. In the seventeenth chapter we find two predic
tions of Elijah. The first foretold that for several
years there should be no rain : which was fulfilled ;
for the rain was withheld till the third year, when it
pleased God to send rain, (chap, xviii. 1,) in answer
to the prophet's prayers; (verses 41 — 46 ;) after the

PROPHECIES. 99

signal miracle which he wrought to convince the people
of Israel that Jehovah was the true God. See verses
18—40.

The second prophecy of Elijah was addressed to
the poor widow of Zarephath, that "the barrel of
meal should not waste," nor " the cruise of oil fail,
until the day that the Lord scndeth rain upon the
earth." Verses 10 — 15. The prediction came to pass;
" The barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruise
of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which
he spake by Elijah." Verse 1C. The poor widow had
in her house only a handful of meal and a little oil in
a cruise. She was gathering sticks, that she might
prepare for her and her son the last meal ; after par
taking of which she expected both would soon die of
hunger. But the meal and the oil were so miraculously
multiplied, that she, her son, and the prophet did eat
many days. Verse 15. The son of this poor woman
afterwards fell sick and died; (verse 17;) but the pro
phet prayed, » and said, O Lord, my God, I pray thee,
let this child's soul come into him again. And the
Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the
child came into him again, and he revived." Verses
21—24.

G. In the twentieth chapter we find five predictions.
The first engaged deliverance to the king of Israel
from the army of the king of Syria, who was besieg
ing Samaria: "And behold, there came a prophet
unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith, the Lord,
Hast thou seen all this great multitude? Behold, I
will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt
know that I am the Lord." Verse 13. The prophecy
was fulfilled by two hundred and thirty-two young

100 PROPHECIES.

men, and a small army of seven thousand men. Verses
14—21.

The second foretold the return of the Syrians the
next year, and advised the king of Israel to prepare to
fight them. Verse 22. They accordingly came. Verse
26. " The children of Israel pitched before them like
two little flocks of kids ; but the Syrians filled the coun
try." Verse 27.

The third promised to Ahab victory over this great
army of enemies. " And there came a man of God,
and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith
the Lord, Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is
God of the hills, but he is not a God of the valleys,
therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine
hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord." Verse
28. Seven days after this prophecy the battle was
fought ; the Syrians were completely discomfited and
routed. The small army of Israel slew of the numer
ous army of " the Syrians a hundred thousand footmen
in one day." Verse 29.

The fourth foretold the destruction of a man by a
lion, because he disobeyed the voice of the Lord in
refusing to smite the prophet who commanded him to
smite him. See the prophecy and its fulfilment in
verses 35, 36,

The fifth denounced ruin to Ahab and Israel for
disobedience. The prophet addressed him in these
solemn terms, " Thus saith the Lord, Because thou
hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed
to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his
life, and thy people for his people." Verse 42. The
fulfilment IR recorded in subsequent parts of this his
tory.

PROPHECIES. 101

SECTION II.

AIIAB'S FALL AT RAMOTH-GILEAD.

7. In the twenty-first chapter is recorded another
prediction against Ahab, and one against his wicked
and impious wife. The king of Israel wished to obtain
the vineyard of Naboth for a garden of herbs, lie
oilered to give a better vineyard in exchange for it, or
to buy it with money. Naboth refused to part with the
inheritance of his fathers. Grieved at the disappoint
ment, the foolish king " laid him down upon his bed,
and turned his face to the wall, and would eat no
bread." Verse 4. Jezebel, his wife, contrived, through
religious mockery, and perjured witnessess, to put
Naboth to death with the forms of law, as being guilty
of blasphemy against God and the king. Informed
by his wife of the death of Naboth he willingly fol
lowed her advice, and went and took possession of
his vineyard. By divine direction, Elijah the Tish-
bite went down to Naboth's vineyard, and thus ad
dressed the king: "Thus saith the Lord, Hast tln>u
killed, and also taken possession? Thus saith the
Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of
Naboth, shall dogs lick, thy blood, even thine." Verse
19. See the fulfilment of this prophecy in chap. xxn.
37, 38. " So the king died, and was brought to Sama
ria ; and they buried the king in Samaria. And one
washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria ; and the
dogs licked up his blood ; and they washed his arm
our; according to the word of the Lord which he
spake."

The prophet Elijah added a divine denunciation
9*

102

PROPHECIES.

against Ahab's house: "Behold, I will bring evil
upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will
cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall,
and him that is shut up and left in Israel. And I will
make thy house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of
Nebat, and like the house of Baasha, the son of Abijah,
for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me
to anger, and made Israel to sin." Verses 20 — 22.
Ahab humbled himself, and the Lord was pleased to
postpone the impending calamities till his son's days.
Verses 27 — 29. The fulfilment of the prophecy is re
corded in 2 Kings ix. 24, which narrates the slaughter
of Jehoram his son, by Jehu; and in 2 Kings x. 1 — 11,
which informs us of the destruction of seventy sons of
Ahab by the order of Jehu. It concludes thus: "So
Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in
Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinsfolks, and
his priests, until he left none remaining." See also
verses 25, 26.

Moreover the prophet Elijah pronounced the doom
of Ahab's wife, that wicked and idolatrous woman.
"And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, The
dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel." Verse 23.
How remarkably was this prediction fulfilled! By
order of Jehu she was thrown out of a window of the
palace, " and some of her blood was sprinkled on the
wall and on the horses : and he trode her under foot."
Having gone in, and eaten and drunk, he commanded
her body to be buried, because she was a king's
daughter. Those who went to execute his orders,
" found no more of her than the skull, and the feet,
and the palms of her hands." This being reported to
Jehu, " He said, This is the word of the Lord, which
he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

PROPHECIES. 103

In the portion of Jczrecl shall dogs eat the flesh of
Je/ebel." 2 Kings ix. 33—36.

8. The twenty-second chapter contains a prophecy
of tho fall of Ahab at Ramoth-gilead. The king of
Israel had persuaded Jehoshaphat king of Judah to
go with him to capture that city. He consented.
The false prophets flattered the wishes of Ahab, say
ing with one voice, " Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and
prosper ; for the Lord will deliver it into the king's
hand." Verse 12. At the suggestion of Jehoshaphat,
Micaiah a true prophet was called. At first he ironi
cally adopted the language of the false prophets.
Ahab understood him, and adjured him to deliver a
true message from God. Thus adjured, he uttered
his solemn message, which he well knew would be
unacceptable : " I saw all Israel scattered upon the
hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the Lord
said, These have no master: let them return every
man to his house in peace." Verse 17. The king was
displeased; but the faithful prophet went on with his
divine message, to show that the false prophets were
deceiving the king, and that he would fall by going
against Ramoth-gilead. The king commanded him
to be put in prison, saying, "Feed him with bread of
affliction, and with water of affliction, until I come in
peace." Verse 27. Hearing the order, the prophet ex
claimed, " If thou return at all in peace, the Lord hath
not spoken by me." Appealing to the people, as wit
nesses, he said, " Hearken, O people, every one of
you." Verse 28.

To save himself, the king disguised himself, when
he went into the battle. The pious king of Judah did
not ; and it had almost proved fatal to him : for
mistaking him for Ahab, the captains of the king of

1 04 PROPHECIES.

Syria directed, according to his orders, all their forces
against him ; but, perceiving their mistake, they turned
away from him to seek the king of Israel. At this junc
ture, a man among the Syrians drew a bow at a ven
ture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of
the harness. Verses 30 — 34. Being wounded he was
taken out of the host, but " was stayed up in his chariot
against the Syrians, and died at even ; and the blood
ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot."
Further to fulfil the prediction, " There went a procla
mation throughout the host about the going down of
the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man
to his own country." Verses 35, 36. How exact the
correspondence between the events and the language
of the inspired prophet ! How fatal to go in opposition
to the warning of Heaven !

9. The first chapter of the second book of Kings
records a prophecy of Elijah the Tishbite, and its ful
filment. Ahaziah king of Israel was sick in conse
quence of a serious fall through a lattice in his upper
chamber; and he sent messengers to inquire of Baal-
zebub, the god of Ekron, whether he should recover
of his disease. Verse 2. Directed by the angel of
God, the prophet went to meet the messengers, and
delivered his message for the king, saying, " Thou
shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art
gone up, but shalt surely die." Verse 4. The king
sent two captains with fifty men each at two separate
times, to apprehend Elijah ; but each company was
consumed by fire from heaven. The third captain
with his fifty men, begging for his life, was spared ;
and Elijah, in obedience to the command of the angel
of the Lord, went down from the top of the hill on
which he sat, appeared before the king, and repeated

PROPHECIES. 105

his doom ; saying, " Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch
as thou hast sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub,
the god of Ekron, is it not because there is no God in
Israel to inquire of his word? Therefore thou shall not
come down off that bed on which thou art gone up,
but shall surely die." Verse 16. The historian adds,
" So he died according to the word of the Lord which
Elijah had spoken." Verse 17.

10. The third chapter of this book contains a won
derful prediction of Elisha the prophet, that received a
speedy accomplishment, involving a signal miracle;
one of the most public kind, and one that could not he
forgotten by the army that witnessed its fulfilment.
The king of Israel, with Jehoshaphat king of Judah,
and the king of Edom, invaded Moab, and for want of
water was in danger of being destroyed by the Moab-
ites. At the instance of the pious king of Judah, the
three kings went to Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was
with the army, to consult him. He responded favour
ably : "Thus saith "the Lord, Make this valley full of
ditches* For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see
wind, neither shall ye see rain ; yet that valley shall
be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and
your cattle, and your beasts. And this is but a lighl
Ihing in the sight of the Lord : he will deliver the
Moabites also into your hands. And it came to pass
in the morning, when the meat-offering was offered,
that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom,
and the country was filled with water."

"And when the Moabites heard that the kincrs

D

were come up to fight against them, they gathered all
that were able to pul on armour, and upwards; and
stood in the border. And they rose up early in the
morning, and the sun shone upon the water ; and the

10G PROPHECIES.

Moabiles saw the water on the other side as red as
blood : and they said, This is blood : the kings are
surely slain, and they have smitten one another: now
therefore, Moab, to the spoil. And when they came
to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote
the Moabites, so that they fled before them : but they
went forward smiting the Moabites, even in their coun
try." Verses 16—24.

11. In the fourth chapter we find the prediction of
Elisha, that the woman of Shunem, by whom he had
been so kindly and hospitably entertained, should
conceive and bring forth a son. She accordingly, at
the set time, received this blessing. Verses 10, 17.
But when the child had grown, he fell sick and died ;
and this extraordinary prophet, who had received a
double portion of the spirit of his master Elijah, raised
him from the dead, and presented him alive to his joy
ful mother. Verses 18 — 37.

12. The fifth chapter records this prophet's predic
tion, by which the covetousness of his servant, in re
ceiving a reward from Naaman, the Syrian general,
whom his master had healed of a loathsome disease,
and from whom he had refused to accept of any recom
pense, was punished. "And Elisha said unto him,
Whence comest thou, Gehazi ? And he said, Thy ser
vant went no whither. And he said unto him, Went
not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again
from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive
money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and
vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and men-servants,
and maid-servants ? The leprosy therefore of Naaman
shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And
he went out of his presence a leper as white as snow."
Verses 25 — 27.

PROPHECIES. 1 07

13. The sixth chapter furnishes striking evidence
of the prophet's prescience. He saved the king of
Israel from danger several times, by showing him in
what places he would be exposed to the attacks of the
Syrians, if he passed through them. So well known
was the prophet's character, that one of the servants
of the king of Syria said of him to his master, " Elisha
the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel
the words that thou speakest in thy bed-chamber."
Verses 8 — 12. The chapter informs us too, how, at
the prophet's prayer, the people, who came with horses
and chariots from the Syrian king, to seize him, were
smitten with blindness, and then led by the prophet into
Samaria, and delivered into the hands of the king of
Israel. Verses 13—23.

14. The seventh chapter records a \vonderful pre
diction of this great prophet. Samaria, being besieged
by the king of Syria, was reduced to so severe a
famine, that " an ass's head was sold for four score
pieces of silver, and the fuurth part of a cab of dove's
dung for five pieces of silver;" and human flesh was
eaten. See chap. vi. 25 — 29. In these circumstances,
the prophet " Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the
Lord, To-morrow about this time shall a measure of
fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of
barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria. Then a
lord, on whose hand the king leaned, answered the
man of God, and said, Behold, if the Lord would make
windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he
said, Behold thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but
shalt not eat thereof." Verses 1, 2. The next day
this prophecy was literally fulfilled. Barley and fine
flour sold at the specified prices ; and the unbeliev
ing nobleman saw the abundance of provisions, but

108 PROPHECIES.

did not eat of it ; " for the people trode upon him in the
gate, and he died." See the fulfilment, and how it
came to pass. Verses 3 — 20.

15. The eighth chapter contains four predictions of
Elisha. — First, he foretells a famine of seven years'
duration, and admonishes the woman, whose son he
had raised to life, to sojourn wherever she could find
support for herself and household. She did so ; and
at the end of seven years returned, and applied to the
king of Israel to be put into possession of her house
and land. At the time of her application, Gehazi, the
servant of Elisha, was telling the king, at his request,
the great things his master had done ; and recognising
her, he said, " My lord, O king, this is the woman, and
this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life." The
woman on being addressed by the king, confirmed the
fact. Verses 1 — 6.

Secondly, The prophet foretells the death of Benha-
dad, king of Syria, although the prophet said he might
recover of his disease. So it came to pass ; for Hazael
suffocated him, by spreading over his face a thick cloth
dipped in water. Verses 10 — 15.

Thirdly, Elisha predicts that Hazael should become
king of Syria. Verses 13 — 15.

Fourthly, He foretells the great calamities he would
bring upon the children of Israel; Verses 11 — 13. See
the fulfilment in chap. xiii. 3, 22.

16. In the ninth chapter Elisha predicted that Jehu
would be king over Israel. Verses 1 — 3. See the ac
complishment throughout the chapter.

17. In the tenth chapter it is foretold that Jehu's
children to the fourth generation, should sit on the
throne of Israel. " And the Lord said unto Jehu,
Because thou hast done well in executing that which

PROPHECIES. 100

is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of
Ahab according to all that was in mine heart, thy chil
dren of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of
Israel." Verse 30. His four successors are named in
the subsequent history ; and, then, at the end of the
reign of Zachariah the fourth in the line, whose throne
was usurped by Shallum, who slew him, it is written,
(chap. xv. 12,) " This was the word of the Lord which
lie spake unto Jehu, saying, Thy sons shall sit on the
throne of Israel unto the fourth generation. And so it
came to pass."

18. The thirteenth chapter records the predictions,
which Elisha uttered, when the king of Israel came
to visit him on his sick and dying bed. He foretold
he would smite the Syrians three times, (v. 19 :) and
verse 25 has the fulfilment. " Three times did Joash
beat him, (Benhadad,) and recovered the cities of
Israel." The twenty-first verse of this chapter re
cords a remarkable miracle; for a dead man was
raised to life, as soon as he touched the bones of
Elisha.

1(.). The seventeenth chapter contains a summary
of the great sins of Israel, committed against the re
peated warnings of successive prophets, calling them
to repentance. Their persevering obstinacy provoked
the Lord to remove Israel out of his sight, and send
them into captivity, as he had so often threatened, by
many prophets, to do: Moses, seven hundred and
thirty years before, had recorded for their warning
this alarming prophecy: "When thou shall beget ch£
dren, and children's children, and ye shall have re
mained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves,
and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing,
and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, to

10

110 PROPHECIES.

provoke him to anger : I call heaven and earth to wit
ness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly
perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan
to possess it ; ye shall not prolong your days upon it,
but shall utterly be destroyed. And the Lord shall
scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few
among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you."*
This prophecy, delivered seven hundred and thirty
years before the event it predicted, was literally fulfilled.
The ten tribes existed as a separate nation only two
hundred and fifty years ; and were then, on account of
their obstinate attachment to dumb idols, carried away
by the Assyrian king into captivity, in which they re
main to this day.

20. In the nineteenth chapter, we find a remarkable
prophecy of Isaiah. Sennacherib, king of Assyria,
had, as we are informed in the preceding chapter, in
vaded Judea and captured many fenced cities. Heze-
kiah in vain attempted, by a large present of silver and
gold, to induce the king of Assyria to depart. He
sent three of his generals with a large host to Jeru
salem, to deride the pious king of Judah, and to urge
him to surrender himself and people at discretion ;
telling him it was useless to trust in the Lord for de
liverance, as none of the gods of the nations had
been able to deliver their worshippers out of the
hands of the great Assyrian kings. Hezekiah hum
bled himself before God, and sent his servants to
Isaiah the prophet, expressing his hope that God
would graciously interpose, and urging him to pray
earnestly for the remnant of his people. Verses 1 — 5.
The prophet returned this encouraging answer : —
" Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the

* Deuteronomy iv. 25 — 21.

PROPHECIES. Ill

Lord — Be not afraid of the words which thou hast
heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria
have blasphemed me. Behold, I will send a blast
upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall re
turn to his own land ; and I will cause him to fall
by the sword in his own land." Verses G — 7. Rab-
shakeh returned to his master, and found him warring
against Libnah. Verse 8. While there the haughty
monarch heard that the king of Ethiopia had come to
fight him. Verse 9. Thus the prophecy began to be
fulfilled ; he " heard a rumour." Intending to return
with a view to meet his approaching enemy, he sent
to Hezekiah an insulting and blasphemous letter.
The pious king having received it, " went up to the
house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord," and
poured out his soul in fervent prayer to God, acknow
ledging the triumph of the kings of Assyria over the
idols of the nations, but intreating the Almighty to
show his power in delivering his people ; " That
all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou
art the Lord God, even thou only." Verses 14 — 19.
His prayer was heard. Isaiah delivered his message
from the Lord. Zion might despise the haughty mon
arch and laugh him to scorn, being confident of Jeho
vah's protection. Sennacherib had vainly boasted of
his powerful army and his past victories ; but he had
forgotten that he was only an instrument in the hands
of the Almighty, to accomplish his pleasure. Verses
20 — 27. To teach him his dependence and feeble
ness, and to punish his blasphemy, God said, "I will
put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips,
and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou
earnest." Verse 28. " Therefore thus saith the Lord
concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come

112 PROPHECIES.

into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come be
fore it with shield, nor cast a bank against it. By the
way that he came shall he return, and shall not come
into this city, saith the Lord. For I will defend this
city to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant
David's sake." Verses 32—34.

Such was the prediction. We have seen its inci
pient accomplishment. The king had heard a rumour
of his empire being invaded. Now comes the destruc*
tive blast, the entire fulfilment of the prophecy. It is
thus recorded : " and it came to pass that night, that
the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp
of the Assyrians an hundred and fourscore and five
thousand : and when they rose early in the morning,
behold, they were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib
went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh, and it came
to pass as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch
his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons
smote him with the sword ; and they escaped into the
land of Armenia." Verses 35 — 37.

21. The twentieth chapter records — 1. Isaiah's
prediction of Hezekiah's recovery from a mortal dis
ease, and the addition of fifteen years to his life ; and
the safety of his city against the designs of the Assyrian
king ; — 2. The miraculous sign that the prediction
would be fulfilled, the retrocession of the shadow on
the sun-dial of Ahaz ten degrees; — and 3. His predic
tion that all the treasures in Hezekiah's possession
should be carried away into Babylon, after his de
cease, and that his children should be made eunuchs
in the palace of the king of Babylon. Of the fulfil
ment of these prophecies, the Bible has given a parti
cular account.

22 The twenty-first chapter contains the predic-

PROPHECIES. 113

lion of the ruin of Jerusalem, and the Babylonish
captivity. It was delivered by various prophets
Verses 10 — 16. It uttered an awful warning. The
calamity was threatened on account of the sins of the
people, and especially the heinous sins of Manasseh,
by which a holy God was so greatly provoked as to
give his heritage to reproach. "Therefore thus saith
the Lord God of Jacob; Behold, I am bringing such
evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever hear-
eth thereof, both his ears shall tingle. And I will
stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the
plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jeru
salem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning
it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of
mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hands of
their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a
spoil to all their enemies." Josiah, the grandson of
the wicked Manasseh, who succeeded his father
Amon on the throne of Judah, became, we are in
formed in the next chapter, (xxii.) so alarmed by the
reading of the law, which denounced such heavy judg
ments on account of the sins of Israel, that he rent his
clothes, and sent confidential messengers to the pro
phetess Huldah, to inquire of the Lord concerning
these impending judgments. They brought back an
answer in some degree consolatory. God assured
Josiah, that the terrible judgments would be executed,
but that, in consideration of his penitent humiliation,
in view of his threatened indignation, he should not
be involved in them. " Behold, therefore, I will
gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be
gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes
shall not see all tho evil which I will bring upon this
place." Verse 20.

10*

114 PROPHECIES.

But the hour of vengeance came. The appointed
executioner of divine wrath received his commission
to do what God had determined to be done, to punish
a wicked, rebellious, and ungrateful people. The
great Nebuchadnezzar appeared as the scourge of the
Almighty. In the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth
chapters, the sacred historian tells how he besieged
and became master of Jerusalem ; how he rifled " the
treasures of the Lord's house, and of the king's
house ;" how " he cut in pieces all the vessels of gold
which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple
of the Lord ;" how he carried away into captivity
" all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, and
nil the craftsmen and smiths ;" and finally, how " he
burnt the house of the Lord, and the king's house, and
all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man's
house."

SECTION V.

REVIEW.

A review of the prophecies contained in the two
books of Kings, establishes two facts.

1. That a SPIRIT OF PROPHECY pervaded the whole
period comprised in the history contained in these
looks.

Eight prophets and one prophetess are named, be
sides several others not named, but styled each a man
of God. These books record more than thirty predic
tions delivered by these prophets, and narrate their ac
complishment ; all, with scarce an exception, being of
a public nature, and interesting more or less to the
whole community.

PROPHECIES. 115

2. Tliat the existence of a prophetic spirit
PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGED by the Israelites.

None doubted its reality. Kings regarded the
prophets as foreseeing future events, and inspired to
reveal them. Jeroboam the first king of Israel,
directed his wife to disguise herself, and apply to the
prophet Ahijah, that they might know the issue of
their son's sickness. Elijah, after his signal victory
over the prophets of Baal, and the signal miracle
which he wrought to convince both the king and his
people, that Jehovah was the true God, gained such
influence over Ahab, the wicked king, that he suffered
him to put to death the four hundred false prophets
of Baal. 1 Kings xviii. Jehoshaphat, king of Judah,
having no confidence in the false prophets who were
deceiving Ahab, urged him to look out for another ;
when Micaiah was, by order of the king of Israel,
brought forward ; who, we have seen, foretold his fall
at Ilamoth-gilead. On another occasion, Jehoram, his
son and successor, at the suggestion of Jehoshaphat,
consulted Elisha in relation to the dangerous condition
of their armies when going to war with Moab. Heze-
kiah, when threatened by the Assyrian king, had re
course to Isaiah to learn Jehovah's will; and his grand
son Josiah, when alarmed by the threatenings in the
books of Moses, sent a message to the prophetess
Hulda i, that he might know what would come to
pass.

116 PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH.

CHAPTER VIII.

PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH.

THE prophecies of Jeremiah are numerous. We select
a few, that relate — 1. To the capture and burning of
Jerusalem; — 2. To the restoration of the Jews; — 3.
To the capture of Babylon.

SECTION I.

CAPTURE AND BURNING OP JERUSALEM.

These may be ranged under the following particu
lars.

1. Jeremiah prophecies that " out of the north an
evil should break forth upon all the inhabitants of the
land ;" and that Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah
should be assailed by a powerful army. Chap. i. 13 —
16. Chaldea was to the north of Jerusalem. In chap.
v. 7 — 18, the wickedness of the people is assigned as
the cause of the impending evil ; and the prophet as
sures them it would certainly come.

2. Nebuchadnezzar having led his army to Jeru
salem, king Zedekiah sent messengers to consult Jere
miah. The prophet declares in the name of the Lord
that their opposition would be in vain ; that the city
would be captured, that the people would suffer from
famine, and pestilence, and sword; and that the re
mainder together with the king, would be delivered
into the hands of the king of Babylon : but he gave

PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH. 117

assurance that those who left the city and went to
the Chaldeans, would preserve their lives. Chap. xxi.
1—11.

3. In chap, xxvii. 12 — 15, the prophet exhorted Zede-
kiah to submit to " the yoke of the king of Babylon, and
serve him and his people;" that he and his people migh*
live, and escape the evils that would come upon them,
if, contrary to the Divine will, they should contend with
that mighty monarch, whom God had commissioned
to punish them and other nations.

4. Zedekiah had imprisoned Jeremiah for his fidelity
in declaring the alarming messages he had received
from the Lord ; but, unintimidated by persecution, the
prophet, in chap, xxxii. 27 — 36, reaffirms his predic
tions, and adds that the city would be burnt by the
Chaldeans.

5. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, marched his army to
assail the Chaldeans, who were besieging Jerusalem,
which induced Nebuchadnezzar to break up the siege,
and go to meet his enemy. High and confident hopes
were entertained by Zedekiah and his people, that
they would not return. But Jeremiah is directed to
tell them that their hopes were fallacious, that the
king of Egypt would afford them no effectual succour,
and that the Chaldeans would certainly return to the
siege, take the city, arid " burn it with fire." Chap,
xxxvii. 7 — 10.

6. Zedekiah again consults Jeremiah, who deliv
ers this prophecy : " If thou wilt assuredly go forth
unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall
Jive, and this city shall not be burnt with fire; and
thou shalt live, and thine house : but if thou wilt not
go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall
this city be given into the hands of the Chaldeans,

118 PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH.

and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not
escape out of their hands." Chap, xxxviii. 17, 18.

7. All this was fulfilled. The city was taken; Zede-
kiah fled by night out of the city ; he was pursued
by the Chaldeans, and overtaken in the plains of
Jericho; judgment was passed upon him by Nebu
chadnezzar ; his sons were slain before his eyes ; his
own eyes were put out ; and, being bound in chains,
he was carried to Babylon. " The Chaldeans burned
the king's house, and the houses of the people with fire,
and brake down the walls of Jerusalem." Chap, xxxix.
1 — 8. The people too were carried to Babylon.
Verse 9. See also 2 Kings xxv. 8, 9.

Thus were the predictions of Jeremiah literally ful
filled.

SECTION II.

RESTORATION OF THE JEWS.

1. The certain return of the captive Jews is foretold
in chap. xxiv. 4 — 7.

2. In a letter which Jeremiah sent to the captive
Jews in Babylon, he exhorts them to build houses
to plant gardens, to contract marriages, that they
might increase and not be diminished, and to seek the
peace of the city in which they were dwelling. Chap.
xxix. 1 — 7.

3. In the same letter the prophet foretells the dura
tion of their captivity, that it should last seventy
years ; and then reassures them that they should be
restored to their own land. Chap. xxix. 10 — 14.
Again, in chap, xxxii. 42 — 44, it is written, " Thus
saith the Lord ; Like as I have brought all this great
evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all

rnoniEciES OF JEREMIAH.

119

the good that I have promised them. And fields shall
be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate
without man or beast; it is given into the hands of the
Chaldeans. Men shall buy fields for money, and sub
scribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses in
the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jeru
salem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of
the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the
cities of the south : for I will cause their captivity to
return, saith the Lord." All this was fulfilled. See
Ezra and Nehemiah, and the fourth section.

SECTION III.

CAPTURE OF BABYLON.

1. This was most distinctly foretold. "The word
that the Lord spake against Babylon, and the land of
the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet. Declare ye
among the nations, and set up a standard : publish and
conceal it not ; say, Babylon is taken, Merodach is
broken in pieces, her idols are confounded, her images
are broken in pieces. For out of the north there cometh
up a nation against her, which shall make her land de
solate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove,
they shall depart both man and beast."* Again, "For,
lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon
an assembly of great nations from the north country :
and they shall set themselves in array against her ;
from thence she shall* be taken : their arrows shall be
as of a mighty expert man ; none shall return in vain.
And Chaldea shall be a spoil : all that spoil her shall
be satisfied, saith the Lord."f

2. The manner of its capture was foretold.

* Jeremiah 1. 1—3. I Ib. 1- 9, 10-

120 PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH.

" One post shall run to meet another, and one mes
senger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon
that his city is taken at one end, and that the passages
are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with fire,
and the men of war are affrighted."*

That Babylon was taken by Cyrus, who led his army,
composed of many nations, from the north, is well
known ; and equally well known is the fact, that he
took it by surprise, by diverting the course of the
Euphrates, which ran through the city, thus laying the
channel of the river bare ; by which means he was
enabled to lead his army from both ends of the city,
between the walls on both banks; and finding the gates
left open, he entered into the heart of the city, and soon
became master of it. How exactly this corresponded
with the prediction that " one post shall run to meet
another, and one messenger to meet another, to tell the
king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end !"
The city being captured at the extreme parts, the mes
sage from each part would be the same, the " city is
taken at one end."

SECTION IV.

FULFILMENT OF THE PREDICTION ABOUT THE JEWS' RESTORATION.

That the Jews did return from Babylon to their
own land is universally known. At the close of the
second book of Chronicles is this record: "Now in
the first year of Cyrus king of 'Persia, that the word
of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might
be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of
Cyrus king of Persia, that he made proclamation
throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing,

* Jeremiah li. 31, 32.

PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH. 121

saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the king
doms of the earth hath the Lord God of Heaven given
me ; and he hath charged me to build him an house in
Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among
you of all his people, let him go up."*

But what renders this proclamation the more memor
able is, the fact, that Isaiah had foretold, more than one
hundred and seventy years before the event, that Cyrus
should act thus, and actually called him by name ;
" That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall
perform all my pleasure ; even saying to Jerusalem,
Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation
shall be laid." " Thus saith the Lord to his anointed,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue
nations before him ; and I will loose the loins of kings,
to open before him the two leaved gates; and the
gates shall not be shut ;" meaning the inner gates of
Babylon.f

SECTION V.

REVIEW.

A review of the prophecies of Jeremiah will con
clusively establish the two following facts.

1. Ao lui m <in foresight did, or could frame them.

He began by predicting that nations from the north
would invade Judah, bring great evil on the land, and
besiege Jerusalem. Next when Nebuchadnezzar had
come against that city, he foretold that he would take
it and burn it, and that the king \vould not escape. —
Then, after the siege had been raised by the Chaldeans,

* 2 Chron. xxxvi 22, 33. Isaiah xliii. 28. f Ib- xlv 1-

11

122 PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH.

to meet the king of Egypt, he predicted their certain
return, and the certain capture and ruin of the city.
He foretold also, that the captivity would last seventy
years ; that Babylon, that impregnable city, would be
conquered, and that the Jews would certainly be re
stored to their own land. These things were beyond
the reach of any human foresight, and could be fore
known and revealed only by the omniscient Jehovah.

2. Nothing but an imperious and pressing sense of
duty induced Jeremiah to utter these predictions.

He well knew that they were in direct opposition
to the predictions of the false prophets, who flattered
the pride and strengthened the false hopes of the king
and his nobles. He suffered much for his fidelity.
So exasperated were the people against him, that it is
recorded, " all the people were gathered against Jere
miah in the house of the Lord ;" and " the priests
and the prophets " said " to the princes, and to all the
people, This man is worthy to die ; for he hath pro
phesied against this city, as ye have heard with your
ears."* The king imprisoned him on account of his
predictions ;f and when he had released him, he was
arrested and falsely accused of deserting to the enemy,
and punished by the princes, and thrown into a dun
geon. J The king, however, removed him from the
dungeon to the court of the prison, and gave him a
daily supply of bread ; until the princes besought him
that he might be put to death ; and the royal assent
being granted, that they might do as they pleased, he
was thrown into the dungeon in which was no water,
but mire. He sank in the mire, and would have
perished, had not a compassionate and pious eunuch

* Isaiah xxvi. 9 — 11. { Ib. xxxvii. 11 — 16; xxxviii. 4 -G.

T Ib. xxxii. 2, 3.

PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH. 123

entreated the king to save the life of the prophet.
Being directed by the king to take with him thirty
men, he drew the prophet out of the horrible dungeon.*

How overwhelming the sense of duty that constrain
ed the prophet in such circumstances, to utter, and per
sist in uttering, his most unwelcome messages ! How
strongly he expresses his feelings! "Woe is me, my
mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a
man of contention to the whole earth ! I have neither
lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; yet
every one of them doth curse me."f

Jeremiah found no pleasure in denouncing the ruin
of his country. He was a true patriot. With what
beauty and pathos does he, in his Lamentations, be
wail the calamities of his country and the desolations
of her sanctuary ! And with what force of language
does he set forth his own grief in view of the miseries
of his countrymen ! " Mine eyes do fail with tears,
my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the
earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my
people : because the children and the sucklings swoon
in the streets in the city."J

* Isaiah xxxviii. 7—12. f It>- xv- 10- t Lamentations ii. 11.

124 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST,

CHAPTER IX.

PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST, AND THEIR FULFILMENT.

SECTION I.

SUNDRY PARTICULARS.

THE prophecies relating to Christ recorded in the
sacred Scriptures, are very numerous. We shall select
a few as a specimen. His descent, — the time of his
coming, — the circumstances of his birth, — his miracles,
his life, — his sufferings, — his death, — the manner and
circumstances of it, — his burial, — his offices, — his re
surrection, — his ascension, — his gifts ; — were all fore
told, ages before the events occurred.

1. His descent. Christ was to be of the seed of
Abraham.* He was to be of the tribe of Judah.f He
was to be of the family of David.J Now, all these
predictions were manifestly fulfilled in Christ. See his
genealogy. Matt. i. That the Pharisees knew this was
to be the descent of their Messiah, is evident ; for when
our Lord proposed this question, " What think ye of
Christ? whose son is he?" they promptly replied, " The
son of David."§

2. The time of his coming. The patriarch Jacob
prophesied that He would appear before the govern
ment of Judah was entirely overthrown.|| When

* Genesis xii. 3 ; xxvi. 4 ; xxviii. 14. § Matthew xxii. 42.

f Ib. xlix. 10. Micah v. 2. || Genesis xlix. 10.

I Isaiah xi. 1. Jeremiah xxiii. 5, 6.

AND TIIIER FULFILMENT. 125

Christ came the sceptre was departing, but still the
Jews were governed in some measure by their own
laws.* Seventy years after his death their entire state
and nation were overthrown ; and, for ages past, the
tribes have been so confounded, that no Jew can tell
from which he is descended.

Daniel prophesied that seventy weeks or four hun
dred and ninety years were appointed for the purposes
specified in his prediction. He marks the date ; from
which calculations are made, that prove that Jesus
Christ is he of whom the prophet spake.f

Haggai says, " The desire of all nations shall
come." "The glory of this latter house shall be
greater than of the former."J So small was the
second temple when first built, that the ancient men
who had seen the first house " wept with a loud voice,"
when they saw the foundation laid.§ This inferior
house was afterwards greatly enlarged and beautified
by Herod ; but still it was much inferior to the house
built for God by Solomon. Jesus Christ appeared
while the second temple was standing; and, by his pre
sence, as the Son of God and Saviour of the world,
imparted to it a greater glory than that by which the
first was adorned.

3. The circumstances of his birth.

The place of his birth was designated in prophecy.
" But thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little
among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall
he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel ;
whose goings forth have been of old, from everlast-

* Luke ii. 1—8. \ Haggai ii. 6—9

t Daniel ix. 24—27. § Ezra iii. 12

11*

126 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST,

ing."* When Herod the king demanded of the chief
priests and scribes where Christ should be born, they
readily replied, "In Bethlehem," and referred as proof
of their opinion, to the passage quoted from Micah.
The fulfilment of this prediction was very remarkable.
Had he been born in the place where his mother lived
Nazareth would have been the honoured place. But
that the divine prediction may be fulfilled, the world is
set in motion ; a decree goes forth from the Roman
emperor that all the world shall be taxed. This order
rendered it necessary for Joseph and Mary to go to
Bethlehem. While they were there, she brought forth
her son.f How sure the words of God !

Isaiah foretold that Messiah would be born, when the
family of David was depressed, and deprived of their
former prosperity : " And there shall come forth a rod
out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out
of his roots."J He was to resemble a shoot springing
out of a tree that had been cut down. Such he was ;
for his mother and his reputed father were so poor,
that, when at Bethlehem, they could not command a
place in the inn. Although she was in a situation so
delicate, they were compelled to retire to a stable ;
and there was the Saviour, the Lord of glory, born.
He was " wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a
manger."§

4. His life. Isaiah prophesied, " The Spirit of
the Lord God is upon me ; because the Lord hath
anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek ;
he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to
proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of
the prison to them that are bound, "|| &c. How emi-

* Micah v. 2. J Isaiah xi. 1. [| Isaiah Ixi. 1 — 3.

f Matthew ii. 1—6. § Luke ii. 7.

AND THEIR FULFILMENT. 127

nently was this prediction fulfilled! "And, lo, the
heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the
Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting
upon him."* Returning from the wilderness where
he had fasted forty days, and had been tempted by
the devil, " he came to Nazareth where he had been
brought up: and as his custom was, he went into the
synagogue on the Sabbath day." The book of the
prophet Isaiah was delivered unto him. He opened it,
and read the passage just recited. " He closed the
book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat
down. And the eyes of all them that were in the
synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to
say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in
your ears. And all bare witness, and wondered at the
gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth."f

The same prophet foretold the miracles our Re
deemer would perform. Speaking of him, he says,
" Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the
ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the
lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb
sing."J John sent two of his disciples to Jesus to
inquire, " Art thou he that should come, or do we look
for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go
and show John again those things which ye do hear
and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame
walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the
dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel
preached to them."§

The same prophet predicted the humility, meek
ness, and compassion of the Redeemer. Of him he
speaks when he says, " He shall not cry, nor lift up,

* Matthew iii. 16. J Tsainh xxxv. 4 — 6.

f Luke iv. 16—22. § Matthew xi. 2 — 5.

128 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST,

nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A
bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax
shall he not quench."* The gospels bear ample testi
mony to the humility, the meekness, and the compas
sion of Christ.

While prophecy thus characterized the Messiah, it
spake of his zeal for God : " The zeal of thine house
hath eaten me up."f See the fulfilment in John
" Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and he found in the
temple those that sold oxen, and sheep and doves, and
the changers of money sitting : and when he had made
a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the
temple, and the sheep, and the oxen ; and he pourec
out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables ;
and he said unto them that sold doves, Take these
things hence ; make not my Father's house, an house
of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that
it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me

"P-"t

Prophecy says, " He was despised and rejected of

men, and we esteemed him not."§ The gospel history
says, He was despised and rejected by the Jewish
scribes, and pharisees, and people. " He came to his
own, and his own received him not."||

Prophecy says, •' I am a worm and no man ; a re
proach of men, and despised of the people."1T The
gospel history says, " Behold a man gluttonous, and a
wine bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners." " But
when the pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth
not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub, the prince of
devils." **

* Isaiah xlii. 1—4. t John ii. 13—17. |] John i. 11.

f Psalm Ixix. 9. § Isaiah liii. 3. U Psalm xxii. 6.

** Matthew xi. 19 ; xiii. 24.

AND THEIR FULFILMENT. 129

Prophecy says, " The kings of the earth set them
selves, and the rulers take counsel together, against
the Lord, and against his anointed."* The gospel his
tory says, " For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus,
whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius
Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were
gathered together, for to do what thy hand and thy
counsel determined before to be done."f

Prophecy says, "He was wounded for our transgres
sions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastise
ment of our peace was upon him ; and with his stripes
we are healed."J The gospel history, in showing its
fulfilment, points to the poverty of the Redeemer's life,
to the garden of Gethsemane, to the palace of the
High-priest, to the hall of Pilate, and to the hill of
Calvary.

Prophecy says, "He was oppressed, and he wns
afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth : he was brought
as a lamb to the slaughter ; and as a sheep before her
shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth."§
The gospel history says, " And when he was accused
of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.
Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many
things they witness against thee? And he answered
him to never a word ; insomuch that the governor mar
velled greatly." |1

5. His death, its manner and attending circum
stances. Daniel predicted, " And after three score and
two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for him
self." It is recorded by Matthew, "Jesus, when he
had cried with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.'IF

* Psalms ii. 2. § Isaiah liii. 7.

f Acts iv. 27, 28. || Matt, xxxii. 12—14.

\ Isaiah liii. 5. IT Daniel ix. 28. Matt, xxvii. 50

130 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST,

Prophecy said, " They pierced my hands and my
feet." " They shall look upon me whom they have
pierced." " He was numbered with the transgres
sors." The gospel history says, "And when they
were come to the place which is called Calvary,
there they crucified him, and the malefactors with
him, one on the right hand, and the other on the left."
" But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his
side."*

Prophecy says, " All they that see me laugh me to
scorn ; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head,
saying, He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver
him; let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him."
" They part my garments among them, and cast lots
on my vesture." " They gave me also gall for my
meat: and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to
drink."f The gospel history says, " They gave him
vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had
tasted thereof, he would not drink. And they crucified
him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it
might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet,
They parted my garments among them, and upon my
vesture did they cast lots." " And they that passed
by reviled him, wagging their heads, and saying, Thou
that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three
days, save thyself. Likewise the chief priests mocking
him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others;
himself he cannot save. If he be the king of Israel,
let him no-w come down from the cross, and we will
believe him. He trusted in God ; let him deliver him
now, if he will have him : for he said, I am the Son of
God."J

* Isa. liii. 12. Zech. xii. 10. Luke xxiii. 33. John xix. 34.
f Psalm xxii. 7, 8, 18, Ixix. 21. \ Matt, xxvii. 34, 35, 39—43

AND THEIR FULFILMENT. 131

6. Ills burial. Isaiah predicted, " And he made
nis grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his
death." Matthew records the fulfilment: "When
even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathea,
named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple ;
he went boldly to Pilate, and begged the body of
Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be de
livered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he
wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own
new tomb, which he had hewn out in a rock : and he
rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and
departed."*

7. His offices. Moses predicted, "The Lord thy
God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst
of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him shall
ye hearken." John and Luke record the accomplish
ment : " Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him,
We have found him of whom Moses and the prophets
did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
" And they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet
is risen up among us, and, That God hath visited his
people."!

David predicted, "Yet have I set my king upon my
holy hill of Zion;" and Zechariah, " Rejoice greatly, 6
daughter of Zion ; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem : be
hold, thy king cometh unto thee : he is just, and having
salvation : lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a
colt the foal of an ass."

Matthew records the fulfilment: "And all this was
done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by
the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Zion
Behold, thy king cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting

* Isaiah liii. 9. Matt, xxvii. 57—60.

f Deut. xviii. 15. John i. -J5. Luke vii. 16.

132 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST,

upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass." And the
multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried,
saying, Hosanna to the son of David : Blessed is he that
cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the
highest."*

Peter said on the day of Pentecost, " This Jesus hath
God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses. There
fore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having
received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost,
he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
For David is not ascended into the heavens : but he
saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou
on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool.
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly,
that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye cruci
fied, both Lord and Christ."f

The language of prophecy by David is, " The Lord
hath sworn and will not repent, Thou art a priest
forever after the order of Melchizedec ;" and by Ze-
chariah, " Behold the man whose name is the BRANCH
— he shall be a priest upon his throne." Paul re
cords the accomplishment. " Whither the forerunner
is for us entered, even Jesus made an high priest for
ever after the order of Melchizedec." " For such an
high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, unde-
fiied, separate from sinners, and made higher than the
heavens."J

8. His resurrection. The language of prophecy is :
" Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell ; neither wilt
thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." The
language of history : " And the angel answered ana

* Psalms 11. 6. Zech. ix. 9. Matt. xxi. 5, 9.

f Acts ii. 32—36.

I Psalms ex. 4. Zech. vi. 12, 13. Heb. vi. 20. vii. 26.

AND THEIR FULFILMENT. 133

said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye
seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here ; for
he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the
Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that
he is risen from the dead : and, behold, he goeth before
you into Galilee ; there shall ye see him : lo, I have told
you."*

9. His ascension into heaven. The language of
prophecy: "Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast
led captivity captive : thou hast received gifts for men ;
yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might
dwell among them." The language of fulfilment :
" And when he had spoken these things, while they
beheld, he was taken up ; and a cloud received him
out of their sight." " And he gave some, apostles ;
and some, prophets ; and some, evangelists ; and some,
pastors and teachers ; for the perfecting of the saints,
for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the
body of Christ."f

SECTION II.

REMARKS.

Here let the reader pause, and review these pro
phecies. By a careful inspection of them he will find
the following points clearly established :

1. Their great ANTIQUITY.

The predictions quoted were uttered and recorded
long before the Saviour was born. Zechariah, the
latest prophet referred to, lived more thar five hun
dred years before the advent of Jesus Christ. Haggai
lived about the same time; Daniel, earliei ; Isaiah

* Psalm xvi. 10. Matt, xxviii. 5—7.
f Psalm Ixviii. 18. Acts i. 9. Ephesians iv. 11, 12.
12

134 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST,

and Micah, nearly seven hundred ; David, more than
a thousand ; and Moses, more than fourteen hundred
years, before the event predicted.

2. These prophecies all relate to ONE AND THE SAME

PERSON.

The great prophet, and the seed of Abraham, in
whom all nations were to be blest, of whom Moses
spake ; — Shiloh, of whose coming Jacob foretold ; — the
Ruler, whose birth was to adorn Bethlehem Ephratah,
of whom Micah prophesied ; — Messiah, whose death
Daniel predicted; — The DESIRE of all nations, who
Haggai foretold would come to his temple ',—the ROD
out of the stem of Jesse, spoken of by Isaiah ; — the
ANOINTED ONE, and HE by whom such miracles wrere
to be wrought, and the SERVANT OF GOD, whose humility,
meekness, and compassion, were foretold by the same
prophet; — HE, whose sufferings, death, and burial,
were predicted, both by David and Isaiah ; — the PRO
PHET, the PRIEST, and KING, of whom Moses, David and
Zechariah spake, in the spirit of prophecy : — were all
ONE and the SAME PERSON, the MESSIAH ; for in him all
were fulfilled.

These predictions guided the expectations of the
Jews, and led them to look for the coming of the
Messiah, at the time when Jesus Christ was born.

3. These prophecies constitute a long and numerous
series, spreading through many centuries.

They relate to the descent of Messiah, — the time of
his coming, — the circumstances of his birth, — his
miracles, — his life, — and various particulars of it, —
his sufferings, — his death, — the manner and circum
stances attending it, — his burial, — his offices, — his re
surrection, — his ascension, — and his gifts. We have
quoted twenty-seven, and might have increased the

AND THEIR FULFILMENT. 135

number. They were delivered by eight different pro
phets, who lived centuries from each other.

4. Such a series of prophecies concerning contingent
events, that were to occur hundreds of years after the
death of the prophets, was unquestionably beyond the
reach of human foresight.

It was utterly impossible for the human mind in
one man to frame such a prophetic scheme of future
events; and much more impossible for different men,
living in a succession of many ages, to combine to
frame it. None but the Eternal, who lives through
all ages, the omniscient Jehovah, who sees through
all time, past, present, and to come; could inspire the
prophets to utter, and record these marvellous predic
tions.

5. M these prophecies have been manifestly fulfilled
in the person of Jesus Christ.

lie is the seed of Abraham; he belonged to the
tribe of Judah ; and he was of the family of David.
He was born at the time predicted by Daniel, and
when the family of David was greatly reduced. His
life, and death, and burial, all corresponded with the
prophecies. He was the Messiah, who Daniel said
would be cut off; the anointed one of whom Isaiah
spake, and who was to perform such great miracles.
He is the Shiloh of Jacob, to whom was to be the
gathering of the people; "the PROPHET of whom
Moses in the law, and the prophets did write;" the
PRIEST upon his throne, according to Zechariah ; the
PRIEST AFTER THE ORDER OF MELCIIIZEDEC, according to
David; the KING whom God has set in Zion. He is
the DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS, who Haggai prophesied
would suddenly come to his temple. All the predir
tions have been fulfilled in him.

136 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST,

SECTION III.

THE TESTIMONY AND PROOF, THAT ALL THESE PROPKECIES
WERE FULFILLED IN JESUS CHRIST, ARE AMPLE.

The descent of Jesus Christ from Abraham, in the
tribe of Judah, through the family of David, two
Evangelists prove, by appealing to the public regis
ters of the nation, that had been kept with the greatest
care. That he came before the expiration of Daniel's
seventy weeks, and that he appeared in the second
temple, will not be denied. His humble birth, as
recorded in the gospels, is readily admitted. His
life, his sufferings, his crucifixion, his death, and
his burial, are proved, not only by the Evangelists,
four independent witnesses, but by the Apostles,
who were eye-witnesses of these important facts.
They were certainly competent and credible wit
nesses. Men of sound minds, they could not be
deceived or mistaken in these plain matters ; and that
they were fuLy convinced of the facts to which they
testified, and did not intend, nor wish, to deceive any
by their preaching, is manifest from the labours to
which they submitted, and the sufferings they endured
through life, and by sealing their testimony with their
blood.

The miracles too wrought by our Redeemer are re
corded by the four Evangelists ; and they were pub
lished by the twelve apostles, wherever they went,
and confirmed by the miracles which they themselves
were enabled to work in his name. Their testimony,
as eye-witnesses of our Saviour's miracles, delivered
in the most solemn manner, and persisted in, notwith
standing the threats of Jewish priests and rulers, and
the persecutions of the heathen nations, ought to be

RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.

137

received and relied upon by every candid inquiring
mind. But for convincing arguments on the truth of
the miracles both of Christ and his apostles, the reader
is referred to the second section of the second and
third chapters.

CHAPTER X.

THE RESURRECTION OP CHRIST, THE GREAT MIRACLE.

ON this greatest of all the miracles recorded by the
Evangelists and testified to by his Apostles, the resur
rection of Jesus Christ from the dead, we wish here to
dilate.

The importance of this fact is easily seen. It lies
at the foundation of the Christian religion. If Jesus
Christ really rose from the dead, his religion is true,
and all who believe in him will be saved ; but if he
be not raised, then is our faith vain; we are yet in
our sins.

The Redeemer himself attached great importance
to this all interesting fact. He foretold his own re
surrection. " From that time forth," says Matthew,*
" began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he
must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the
elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and be filled,
and be raised again the third day." Again the same
writer says,f " And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took
the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto
them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem ; and the Son

* Matthew xvi. 21 f Ib. xx. 17—19.

12*

138 RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.

of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and
unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to
death ; and they shall deliver him to the Gentiles to
mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him ; and the
third day he shall rise again." " Therefore doth my
Father love me," says our Lord, " because I lay down
my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh
it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have
power to lay it down, and I have power to take it
again."* The Jews demanded a sign from Jesus,
saying, " What sign showest thou unto us, seeing
thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said
unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I
will raise it again." " He spake of the temple of his
body. When therefore he was risen from the dead,
his disciples remembered that he had said this unto
them ; and they believed the scripture, and the word
which Jesus had said."f " I adjure thee," said the
high priest, " by the living God, that thou tell us
whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus
said unto him, Thou hast said : nevertheless I say unto
you, hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on
the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of
heaven."J

Thus Jesus taught his disciples to look for his resur
rection ; and on his resurrection he rested his claims to
the character of Messiah, the Son of God.

Did Jesus Christ rise from the dead ? Important
question ! His resurrection was the counterpart of
his life. If he who wrought such miracles while
living ; who exercised a control over all the elements
of nature; who performed his miracles, not as the
rophets, but as God, in his own name, saying, " T

* John x. 17, 18. | Ib »• 19—22. J Matthew xxvi. 62, 63.

RESUKUECTION OF CHRIST. 139

will ; be thou clean ; ' if he had not risen from the dead,
it would have been wonderful indeed.

" And behold, there was a great earthquake : for the
angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came
and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon
it. His countenance was like lightning, and his
raiment white as snow : and for fear of him the keepers
did shake, and became as dead men."* This was the
prelude to our Lord's resurrection. It harmonized
with the occurrences at his death, when all nature
sympathized with the sufferer : " From the sixth hour
there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth
hour,"f a preternatural darkness; the sun ashamed
at the atrocious crime committed by wicked men, hid
his face, and refused to behold the awful scene. " And,
behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from
the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, arid the
rocks rent ; and the graves were opened ; and many
bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of
the graves after his resurrection ; and went into the holy
c-ily, and appeared unto many. Now when the cen
turion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus,
saw the earthquake, and those things that were done,
they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of
God."} This may be considered as an introductory
proof.

SECTION I.

ARGUMENT PROM HIS APPEARANCES.

In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn
toward the first day of the week, came Mary Mag
dalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And
the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear
* Matthew xxviii. 2—4. f Ib. xxvii. 45. | Ib. xxvii. 45, 51—55

140 RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.

not ye : for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was
crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said
Come, see the place where the Lord lay ; and go
quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the
dead ; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee
there shall ye see him : lo, I have told you."* This is
the first proof.

" But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weep
ing : and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked
into the sepulchre, and seeth two angels in white
sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet,
where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say
unto her, Woman, why w^eepest thou 1 She saith
unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord,
and I know not where they have laid him. And
when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and
saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou 1
whom seekest thou] She, supposing him to be the
gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him
hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will
take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She
turned herself and saith unto him, Rabboni ; which is
to say, Master. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not ;
for I am not yet ascended to my Father : but go to my
brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father
and your Father, and to my God and your God."f
" Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the
week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of
whom he had cast seven devils."J This is the second
proof.

" And as they went to tell his disciples, behold,
Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came

* Matthew xxvtii 1—7. f John xx. 11—17. t Mark xvi. 9.

RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 141

and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then
said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid ; go tell my bre
thren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see
me."* This is the third proof.

Additional proofs of our Lord's resurrection, arc
recorded for the confirmation of our faith. He ap
peared to Simon Peter; then to two disciples going to
Emmaus, to whom, after conversing with them as
they walked along, without knowing him, he revealed
himself, when "he took bread, and blessed it, ami
brake, and gave to them," and then " vanished out of
their sight."f In the evening of that day the eleven
being assembled together, and hearing the story of
the two disciples, "Jesus himself stood in the midst
of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you
But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed
they had seen a spirit, and he said unto them.
Why are ye troubled ? and why do thoughts arise in
your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it
is I myself: handle me and see; for a spirit hath not
flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when ho
had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and his
feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and
wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any
meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish,
and of an honey-comb. And he took it, and did eat
before them. And he said unto them, These are the
words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with
you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were
written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and
in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their
understandings, that they might understand the Scrip
tures ; and said unto them, Thus it is written, and

* Matthew xxviii 9, 10. f Luke xxiv. 3, 13—33.

142 RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.

thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and then to rise from
the dead the third day."*

Here are three different appearances: — 1. To Peter;
2. To the two disciples ; 3. To the eleven.

" But," says John, " Thomas, one of the twelve,
called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have
seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I
shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my
finger in the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into
his side, I will not believe."

" And after eight days, again his disciples were
within, and Thomas with them: Then came Jesus,
the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said,
Peace be unto you. Then said he unto Thomas,
Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands ; and
reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side : and
be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered
and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus
said unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me,
thou hast believed : blessed are they that have not seen,
and yet have believed."f

Here is another distinct appearance to the disciples.
Of another we have an account in the next chapter.
Peter, and six other disciples went a fishing. Verse
42. " That night they caught nothing. But when
morning was come, Jesus stood on the shore : but the
disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus
saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They
answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the
net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find.
They cast it therefore ; and now they were not able
:o draw it for the abundance of fishes. Therefore

* Luke xxiv. 33—46. f John xx. 24—29.

RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 143

the disciple whom Jesus loved, saith unto Peter, It is
the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was
the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was
naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. And the
other disciples came in a little ship ; (for they were not
far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits ;)
dragging the net with fishes. As soon then as they
were come to land, they saw a fire of coals, and fish
mid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith unto them, Bring
of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter
went and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an
hundred and fifty-three: and for all there were so many,
yet was not the net broken. Jesus saith unto them,
Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask
him, Who art thou '? knowing that it was the Lord.
Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them,
and fish likewise."

«* This is now the third time that Jesus showed
himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the
dead."*

In the preceding chapter, (verses 30, 31.) this Evan
gelist records this fact : " And many other signs truly
did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are
not written in this book : but these are written, that ye
might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ;
and that believing ye might have life through his
name."

Thus Jesus Christ proved to his disciples the truth of
his resurrection :

1. By the earthquake, the descent of an angel from
heaven, who rolled away the stone from the door of
the sepulchre, and terrified the Roman soldiers, by
the splendour of his appearance ; and by the different

* John xxi. 1—14.

144 RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.

visions of angels to the women, who assured them that
their Lord was indeed risen from the dead.

2. By the various appearances he made of himself
to his disciples, attended with various acts to satisfy
them that he was truly alive from the dead : — 1. To
Mary Magdalene, — 2. To the women, — 3. To Peter,
4. To two disciples, — 5. To the assembled apostles and
the two disciples, in the absence of Thomas, — 6. To
the assembled apostles, when Thomas was present, — 7.
To Peter, and six other disciples, who were fishing in the
sea of Tiberias. Paul adds, that Christ " was seen by
above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the
greater part remain unto the present, but some are fallen
asleep."*

All this accumulated evidence was surely sufficient
to convince his disciples that he was really alive from
the dead. They knew him, and could not be deceived.
That the apostles and others were fully convinced of
the great fact, that their Master had risen from the
dead, they gave undoubted proof in their future con
duct. All this, and additional evidence was in due
time spread before the Jewish people, by conversation,
by the preaching of the apostles, and by the gospels.
Previously to the publication of either gospel, or the
apostles' preaching, evidence of the most public kind
was given at Jerusalem.

SECTION II.

ARGUMENT FROM THE WONDERS WROUGHT ON THE DAY OF
PENTECOST.

Jesus Christ had repeatedly promised to his apos
tles the gift of the Holy Ghost. In his last conversa-

* 1 Corinthians xv. G,

RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 145

tion with them, before his death, he said, " Howbeit
when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide
you into all truth : for he shall not speak of him
self; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he
speak : and he will show you things to come. He
shall glorify me : for he shall take of the things that
are mine, and shall show it unto you. All things
that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that
he shall take of mine, and show it unto you.* After
his resurrection he repeated more than once the same
promise. In the Acts it is recorded, " To whom also
he showed himself alive after his passion by many
infallible proofs ; being seen of them forty days, and
speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of
God : and, being assembled together with them, com
manded them that they should not depart from Jeru
salem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which,
saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly bap
tized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the
Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they there
fore were come together, they asked of him, saying,
Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the king
dom to Israel ? And he said unto them, It is not for
you to know the times and the seasons, which the
Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall re-
ceieve power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon
you : and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jeru
salem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the
uttermost part of the earth. "f

This promise was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost
when the disciples " were all with one accord in one
place." And suddenly there came a sound from hea

* John xvi. 13—15. Sec also, 7—11. and xiv. 16, 17, 26
f Acts i. 3—8.

13

146 RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.

ven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the
house where they were sitting. And there appeared
unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon
each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy
Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the
Spirit gave them utterance."*

The wonders of this memorable day presented three
distinct and convincing proofs of the resurrection of
our blessed Lord.

1. The change wrought in the apostles.

When their Master was apprehended by his enemies,
they forsook him and fled ; and after his resurrection,
they kept themselves from public view, and assembled
together privately through fear of the Jews. But on
this memorable day, they suddenly laid aside all fear,
and, in the presence of a great multitude, brought
together by the rumour of the miracle wrought, they
boldly preached the gospel. Peter, with the greatest
intrepidity, not only explained the miracle, and show
ed it to be a fulfilment of a promise recorded by Joel
the prophet, in their Scriptures, many hundred years
ago, but affirmed the resurrection of Jesus Christ to
be the accomplishment of a prediction delivered by
David, and charged them with being his murderers ;
saying, «« Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and
with wicked hands have crucified and slain."f

So wonderful a change was instantly wrought in
the apostles ; not a transient or temporary change,
but one that lasted through life ; a change which no
threats of Jewish rulers, nor imprisonment, nor stripes,
nor dangers, nor sufferings, nor fear of death, could

* Acts i. 1—4. f Ib. i: 22-31

RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 147

overcome. Always retaining the same undaunted
spirit through life, they persevered in bearing testi
mony to the resurrection of their Lord, and in preach
ing his blessed gospel, till death terminated their minis
try. Marvellous change ! Is it not conclusive evidence,
that Jesus Christ lives and reigns in heaven ? Did he
not send down the Holy Ghost to work this change in
the hearts of his apostles? Was it not a fulfilment of
his promise? But how could he have fulfilled his pro
mise, and sent down the Holy Ghost from heaven,
if he were dead, and not alive, and reigning in
glory ?

2. The gift of tongues.

No one can read this chapter, especially from the
fourth to the twelfth verse with an unprejudiced
mind, and interpret it according to the natural force
and meaning of the terms used in narrating the miracle,
and yet doubt, that the sacred writer designed to re-'
cord it as a fact, that the apostles did receive the gift
of knowing and speaking languages which they had
not previously studied and learned in the usual way.
If any, notwithstanding this record, doubt the fact
itself, we refer them to the writings of the apostles in
the Greek language, which they never learned, as con
clusive evidence of the reality of the miracle recorded
in this chapter. Here is a second proof of the resur
rection and exaltation of Jesus Christ ; for who, but a
living and infinitely glorious person, could, by his
Spirit, communicate, in an instant, the knowledge of
foreign languages, to a number of human minds, so as
to enable them immediately to address, in an intelligent
manner, individuals to whom these languages were
native?

148 RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.

3. The third proof is the effect of the apostles'
preaching.

Amazement seized the multitude, when they heard
these Galileans speaking in languages which they had
not learned. Verses 7 — 12.

Conviction was produced in many minds, when
Peter assured them that God had made Jesus, whom
they had crucified both Lord and Christ ; so that they
exclaimed, " Men and brethren, what shall we do ?'
Verses 36, 37.

Three thousand embraced the gospel, and were bap
tized, that same day, " in the name of Jesus, for the re
mission of sins."

Nor was the change produced in these Jews tempo
rary. It was a permanent and blessed change, that
manifested itself in love to God and love to men.
" And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doc
trine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in
prayers." " And all that believed were together, and
had all things common; and sold their possessions
and goods, and parted to all men, as every man had
need. And they continuing daily with one accord in
the temple, and breaking bread from house to house,
did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of
heart ; praising God, and having favour with all the
people." Verses 42 — 47.

This was truly a wonderful change ! The men in
whom it was produced were Jews, strongly attached
to the Mosaic institutions, and violently opposed to the
Redeemer. Regarding him as an impostor and blas
phemer, they had a little before crucified him as such.
Yet in one day their enmity and prejudices were sub
dued ; their views of his character so changed that
they believed him to be the long promised Messiah,

RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 149

in whom, as their great Redeemer, they were willing
to trust for salvation ; and whom they openly confessed
as such, regardless of the opposition both of the people
and of their rulers. What could have produced so
wonderful a change in the multitude of unbelieving
.lews, who, the day before, were bitterly opposed to
Jesus Christ, whom they had crucified as an impostor,
but the power of that same Divine Spirit who wrought
the change in the apostles which we have noticed, and
conferred on them the gift of tongues ; that Holy Spirit,
whom the Redeemer had in fulfilment of his promise,
shed down upon his disciples to convince them more
fully that he was alive from the dead, and reigning in
glory at his Father's right hand 1

SECTION III.

ARGUMENT FROM THE CONVERSION OF THE APOSTLE PAUL.

Paul was certainly a great man. Both before and
after his conversion he displayed eminent talents. He
was born in Tarsus, a Roman citizen, but a Hebrew
of the Hebrews, being such by descent, both on his
father's and his mother's side. To complete his educa
tion, he went to Jerusalem, and there studied under
that celebrated master Gamaliel. He was a Jew in his
views, feelings, and conduct; a pharisee of the strictest
sect.

What a wonderful contrast appears in the life of
this man ! At first he entertained all the prejudices
of his countrymen against Jesus Christ. Before king
Agrippa, he said, " I verily thought with myself, that
I ought to do many things contrary to the name of
Jesus of Nazareth."* When Stephen, the first martyr

* Acts \\ \i. (J.
13*

150 RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.

of the Christian faith was stoned to death, Paul
consented to the bloody and wicked deed. With this
single act of unrighteous persecution he was not satis
fied, but growing in hatred of the Redeemer's fol
lowers, he shut them up in prison, punished them
oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blas
pheme ; " And being exceedingly mad against them,
he persecuted them even unto strange cities."* " Ho
made havoc of the church, and entering into every
house, and haling men and women, committed them
to prison. "f His malice unsatisfied by the miseries he
had brought on the church, by his bitter persecutions,
and still " breathing out threatenings and slaughters
against the disciples of the Lord," he projected a plan
for their extermination. He " went unto the high
priest, and desired of him letters to Damascus to the
synagogues, that, if he found any of this way, whether
they were men or women, he might bring them bound
unto Jerusalem.";); Such was Saul the persecutor.
How different from Paul the Christian and the Apostle !
So soon as he was convinced that Jesus was
the Messiah, he began to preach him as such,
and that he was the Son of God. This he did at Da
mascus, whither he had gone on his persecuting
errand ; and by the strength of his arguments he con
founded the Jews in that city. To save his life from
being destroyed by a conspiracy among the Jews, the
disciples let him down from the city wall, the gates
being watched day and night by the Jews who sought
to kill him. Having after this preached the gospel in
Arabia, he went to Jerusalem to see the apostles ; and
there he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus,
and disputed against the Grecians. To save his life

* Acts xxvi. 10, 11. f Ib- viii> 3- I Ib- ix- !» 9.

RESUll SECTION OF CHRIST. 151

" the brethren brought him down to Ccsarea, and sent
him to Tarsus/'* After this Paul, in company with
Barnabas, preached the gospel in many cities and
through a wide extent of country and with great sue
cess. Ultimately separating from Barnabas, and choos
ing Silas for his companion, " he went through Syria
and Cilicia, confirming the churches." Acts xv. 37—
41. His travels then in spreading the knowledge of
Jesus Christ, became extensive in Asia and Europe,
attended by the most laborious exertions, and constant
and great dangers and sufferings ; so that in his epistle
to the Romans, he could in truth say, " From Jeru
salem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully
preached the gospel of Christ."f

Of his labours and sufferings for his master, he has
given an impressive sketch in his second epistle to the
Corinthians. " Are they ministers of Christ ? (I speak
as a fool,) I am more ; in labours more abundant, in
stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in
deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty
stripes, save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods;
once was I stoned; thrice I suffered shipwreck; a night
and a day I have been in the deep; in journeyings
often, in perils of water, in perils of robbers, in perils
by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in
perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in
the sea, in perils among false brethren ; in weariness
and painfulness, in watchings often ; in hunger and
thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Be
sides those things that are without, that which cometh
upon me daily the care of all the churches."J

The spring of all these labours and sufferings, was

* Acts ix. 20-30 ; xi. 25, 2G ; xv. 37-41.

f Rom. xv. 19. j 2 Cor. xi. 23—28.

152 RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.

the supreme and fervent love which this great apostle
bore to Jesus Christ. The exalted views he entertained
of Him will appear from his own writings. To the
Hebrews he says, " Who being the brightness of his
glory and the express image of his person, and up
holding," &c. To the Colossians he writes, " Who is
the Image of the invisible God, the first born of every
creature," by whom "were all things created, that are
in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities,
or powers : all things were created by him and for
him : and he is before all things, and by him all things
consist." To the Philippians he says, " Who, being in
the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal
with God/'*

Entertaining these views of Christ, he told the
Corinthians, " I determined not to know any thing
among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified."
Writing to the Galatians, he exclaims, " God forbid
that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and
I unto the world." "I am crucified with Christ:
nevertheless I live; yet not T, but Christ liveth in me ;
and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the
faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave him
self for me."f

Entertaining such exalted views of Jesus Christ, he
held that his glory ought to be the great end of all
men : «« For none of us," says he to the Romans,
" liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For
whether we live, we live unto the Lord ; and whether
we die, we die unto the Lord : whether we live there-

* Heb. i. 3. Col. i. 14, 17. Phil. ii. 6.
f 1 Cor. ii. 2. Gal. vi. 14 ; ii. 20.

RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 153

fore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ
both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be
Lord both of the dead and living."*

Inflamed with love to Christ, and zeal for his glory,
nothing could divert this great man from the work to
which he was called. Wealth could not allure, nor
honour seduce, nor danger deter, nor sufferings with
draw him from his chosen course of obedience. "But
what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for
Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord : for whom I have suffered the loss of all
things, and do count them but dung, that I may win
Christ."f Thus sustained by his love to Christ, he per
severed, with unshaken constancy and unabated dili
gence, in his apostolic work, till he could say at the
close of life : " 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 righteous
ness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give
me at that day ; and not to me only, but unto all them
that love his appearing.''^

Such is the contrast between the two periods in the
life of Paul. How remarkable! How great! His
enmity to the Saviour was converted into the most
affectionate and devoted love ; his determined opposi
tion to his cause into the warmest and most unwaver
ing attachment; his bitter and malignant persecution
of his followers into the most earnest, laborious, and
persevering exertions to multiply them, both among
the Jews and the Gentiles !

How shall we account for this singular change in

* Rom. xiv. 7—9. f Phil. iii. 7—9. J 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8.

154 RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.

the mind, heart, and conduct of this great man ? The
cause must have been powerful. What was it? It
is stated in the Acts of the Apostles. It was a sight
of the Redeemer, and a conviction that He was alive
from the dead, and reigning in ineffable glory. While
Paul was on his persecuting errand to Damascus,
" breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the
disciples of the Lord," the Redeemer was pleased
to reveal himself to his malignant enemy. A light
from heaven, brighter than the sun, was thrown
around him. " He fell to the earth, and heard a voice
saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutes! thou
me 1 And he said, Who art thou, Lord 1 And the
Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutes! : it is
hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he,
trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what wilt thou
have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise,
and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what
thou must do."* He went to the city ; " and he was
three days without sight, neither did he eat nor drink."
Ananias was sent to him, that he might receive his
sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. He did re
ceive his sight, and was baptized. And being taught
the gospel by the revelation of Jesus Christ, he was
fully convinced that he was risen from the dead, and
that he was the Son of God ; and, therefore, without
conferring with flesh and blood, he began immediately
to preach him as the Son of God, the long promised
Messiah.f In his conviction that Christ was alive and
sitting at the right hand of God, Paul became still
more and more assured by the success of his preach
ing, by the miracles he was enabled to work in the

* Acts ix. 1— G ; xxvi. 13. f Ib. ix. 20 ; Gal. i. 11, 16.

RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 155

name of Christ,* by the abundant revelations made to
him,f and by the abounding consolation he received
from Christ.J

In these circumstances, and having such overpower
ing evidence of the truth, it was impossible for
Paul to doubt the resurrection of Jesus Christ, or that
he was indeed the Son of God. Paul was no deluded
fanatic; he had a sound, well balanced mind. His
whole life after his conversion proves this. On all
occasions he acted with propriety, wisdom, and
dignity. Does any one demand proof of this ? Let him
read his reply to the message of the magistrates at
Philippi, (Acts xvi. 37 ;) his address at Athens, (ch.
xvii. 22 — 31 ;) his inquiry of the centurion when
bound for examination by scourging, (ch. xxii. 25 ;)
his declaration by which he divided the Jewish
council, (ch. xxiii. 6;) his speech before Felix, (ch.
xxiv. 10 — 21 ;) his subsequent reasoning before the
same Roman governor, which made him tremble, (ch.
xxiv. 24, 25 ;) his speech before king Agrippa, (ch.
xxvi. 2 — 29 ;) and his noble address to the elders of
the church of Ephesus; «-Ye know, from the first
day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have
been with you at all seasons ; serving the Lord with
all humility of mind, and with many tears and temp
tations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the
Jews; and how I kept back nothing that was profita
ble unto you, but have showed you, and taught you
publicly, and from house to house, testifying both to the
Jews, and also to the Gentiles, repentance toward
God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And

* Acts xix. 11 ; Rom. xv. 18, 19. f 2 Cor. xii. 7. J Ib. i. 5.

156 RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.

now, behold, I go bound in spirit to Jerusalem, not
knowing the things that shall befall me there; save that
the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that
bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these
things move me, neither count I my life dear unto my
self, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the
ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to
testify the gospel of the grace of God. And now, be
hold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone
preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no
more. Wherefore I take you to record this day, that
I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not
shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God."*

This great and benevolent man was beyond all ques
tion, fully convinced of the resurrection and exaltation
of the Lord Jesus Christ, and every one that considers
the nature and the fulness of the evidence that wrought
this conviction in his mind, and the proof that this evi
dence was afforded to him, must come to the same
conclusion in regard to this great fact that lies at the
foundation of our holy religion.

Thus the resurrection of our Lord is proved by
signs from heaven, — by the visions of angels, — by his
various appearances to his disciples, — by the wonders
of the day of Pentecost, and by the conversion of Paul
the apostle.

Against all this accumulated evidence, what have
the Jews to offer ? The story which they bribed the
Roman soldiers to circulate : " His disciples came by
night, and stole him away while we slept."f Let us
iook at this story. The disciples of Christ forsook

* Acts xx. 17—27. f Matthew xxviii. 11—15.

RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 157

him and fled, when he was apprehended by his
enemies ; yet these timid men had the boldness to goat
night [o the sepulchre, which they knew to be shut up
by a great stone, well secured and sealed, and guarded
by a band of Roman soldiers ; and, in their presence,
break the seal, roll away the stone, and carry off the
dead body of their Master ! The disciples did not
understand what Jesus meant when he told them he
\\ould rise from the dead, nor did they expect this
event ;* yet they stole away the body of Jesus, with a
view to found upon the absence of his body from the
sepulchre a story of his resurrection ! It wras death
for a Roman soldier to sleep at his post, yet this Ro
man band were asleep ! They were asleep, and of
course could neither see nor hear what was doing
about them ; yet they affirm the disciples came and
stole away the body of Jesus ! How ridiculous the
story ! It will not bear examination.

It is conceded, that the body of 'Jesus, which had
been laid in the sepulchre, was not there on the third
day after his death. If his disciples had stolen it, the
Jewish rulers, by searching the city, might have reco
vered, and reproduced it; and thus convinced all that
Jesus had not risen from the dead. Why was not this
done ? How vain the attempts of men to frustrate the
purposes of heaven ! Jesus is risen from the dead, and
lives forevermore.

This great fact might be also established by con
sidering the great and rapid success of the gospel, sub
sequent to the day of Pentecost, both among the Jews
and among the Gentiles ; how a few unlettered men
(one excepted) without power, without influence,

* Luke xxiv. 21—24.
14

158 RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.

without patronage, subdued Jewish prejudices and un
belief, and Gentile scorn and idolatry, simply by pub
lishing the story of the cross ; although opposed by the
influence of the Scribes and Pharisees, the wisdom of
philosophers, the malice of priests, and the authority
and power of rulers. But we forbear.

PAET II.

IN the First Part, we have presented the argument in
favour of the divine authority of the Bible, derived
from a consideration of the plan adopted by God for
communicating and preserving his revelation; and
from the miracles and the fulfilment of prophecies
which the Bible records. In this part we shall exhibit
the argument that can be derived, from a considera
tion of its interesting instructions in relation to God
and man — from its moral code — from the great work
of redemption — from the adaptation of the Bible to the
wants and necessities of fallen man — and from its
beneficial influence on his character and happiness,
and on human society. A careful examination of
these points will prove the heavenly origin of this
v onderful book.

CHAPTER I.

WHAT THE BIBLB TBACUES OF GOD.

SECTION I.

IT TEACHES THE UNITY OP GOD.

IDOLATRY universally prevailed among all nations
when Moses began to write his portion of the Bible.
The chosen tribes of Israel were not free from this
degrading and stupid sin. They were polluted and

15U

1GO

UNITY OF GOD.

dishonoured by it. while dwelling in Egypt. So prone
were they to fall into it, that, even at the loot of the
sacred mount, after having beheld the awful and terri
fying displays of Jehovah's excellent majesty, and
while their leader was holding intercourse with Him,
and receiving the two tables engraven with the ten
commandments, they most foolishly and wickedly
committed this great offence. Every where our apos
tate race, surrounded as they were by the most mani
fest exhibitions of God's creating power, so as to leave
without excuse all who did not see and acknowledge
his eternal power and Godhead, " becoming vain in
their imaginations," and darkened in their foolish
hearts, instead of glorifying God, " changed the glory
of the incorruptible God into an image made like to
corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts,
and creeping things." Yet in the midst of this uni
versal darkness and prevailing idolatry, Moses lifted
up the lamp of truth to pour forth its heavenly light,
and asserted and proclaimed the UNITY and GLORY of
Jehovah.

This great truth appears in the first sentence he
wrote ; " In the beginning God created the heavens
and the earth." It is inculcated in all his writings.
" Hear, O Israel ; The LORD our GOD is ONE LORD."
" Thou shalt have no other gods before me." " That
thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; and
there is none else beside him."* All the sacred wri
ters proclaim the same great and fundamental truth.
"Neither is there any God beside thee." "I am the
first, and I am the last: and beside me there is no
God." " Before me there was no God formed, neither
shall there be after me." " Who is like unto thee, O

* Gen. i. 1. Deut. vi. 4. Exod. xx. 3. Deut. iv. 35.

UNITY OF GOD. 101

LOUD, among the gods? who is lik \ ihee, glorious in
ho':ness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?" "O
LOUD God of Isaac, there is no god like thee in heaven
above, or on the earth beneath." " Who in the heaven
can be compared unto the LORD." " The LORD is the
true God, he is the living God, and the everlasting
King." " The gods that have not made the heavens
and the earth, shall perish from the earth and from
under the heavens." There is none other God but
one." " To us there is one God and one Mediator."*
This is a brief specimen of the language of the Bible
in reference to the unity of the Supreme Being. Most
distinctly and harmoniously do all its writers concur in
teaching this first and fundamental principle of all true
religion. They pour contempt on idols, and lash
idolaters with the severest and most deserved ridicule.
How reasonable the instruction of the Bible on this
point ! Does not the unity of God commend itself to
enlightened reason? There can be but one infinite
mind, but one Supreme Being. The unity of design
discoverable in creation, the order and harmony of the
heavenly bodies in their courses, prove their Maker
to be ONE INFINITE INTELLIGENCE. And were not
the writers of the Bible who inculcated this great
truth, when men were so prone to abandon it, divinely
inspired to enlighten a benighted world? If they
were not, how shall their steady perseverance, for a
long course of ages, in inculcating on the minds of
their fellow-men, a truth, which their wricked hearts
inclined them to reject, be accounted for? Why
did they not like heathen philosophers, yield compli-

* 2 Samuel vii. 22. Isaiah xliv. 6; xliii. 10. Exodus xv. 11.
1 Kings viii. 23. Psalm Ixxxix. 6. Jeremiah x. 10, 11. 1 Corin
thians viii. 4. 1 Timothy ii. 5.

14*

162 UNITY OF GOD.

ance with the prevailing idolatrous worship ? Why did
they boldly maintain the truth, and denounce against a
people prone to run after idols the judgments of heaven?
Was not their magnanimous conduct proof that they
were under a divine influence, while asserting the ex
clusive claims of Jehovah to the worship of his people,
and speaking in his name 1

It is true we find inculcated in the Bible, the doc
trine of a Trinity; which is regarded by some as
militating with the divine Unity. But this is owing
to the erroneous views they take of the Trinity. By
this doctrine is not meant that there are three Gods.
Were this taught in the Bible, it would be irrecon
cilable with the unity of God. This however is not
the doctrine of the sacred writers. By a Trinity they
mean that there are three persons in one Godhead ;
three modes of subsistence in one undivided divine
essence. They do not teach that God is three and
one in the same respect, but that he is three in one
sense, and one in another sense. That there is in
this doctrine a mystery, is readily admitted. We can
not comprehend it. But there is in it no contradic
tion. Were a contradiction involved in this doctrine,
it could not be received by enlightened reason. But
to a mystery disclosed in a divine revelation, no well
informed mind can object; because mysteries ought
to be expected in such a communication from the
infinite Being. They are found in the volume of
nature ; they are the proper signatures of his incom
prehensible greatness and grandeur ! Does the first
book which the Creator has opened for the instruc
tion of his intelligent creatures, contain truths which
they cannot fully understand ? and wTould it not be
treasonable to expect that in another book, which

PERFECTIONS OF .BOD. 163

he has given to teach us more of his incomprehensible
nature, there should be found no mysteries, no truths
which we cannot fully understand 'I Mysteries, we
repeat it, are the signatures of his incomprehensible
greatness and grandeur.

SECTION II.

THE BIBLE TEACHES THE ETERNITY OF GOD.

He is without beginning and without end. Had
he begun to be, he would be dependent ; not the first
being, and consequently not God. His eternity is
celebrated in the sacred Scriptures. JEHOVAH, that
glorious name by which he is distinguished from all
creatures, and which they restrict to him, implies
eternity. It imports that he is, and always was. " I
am that I am," is his adorable name. How sublime
the language of the inspired writers ! " For thus
saith the high and lofty One, that inhabiteth eter
nity." " The eternal God is thy refuge, and under
neath are the everlasting arms." " The everlasting
God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth,
fainteth not, neither is weary." " Thus saith the
Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord,
of hosts ; I am the first and the last." " A thousand
years are in thy sight but as yesterday, when it is
past, and as a watch in the night." " Thou art the
same, and thy years shall not fail." " Now unto the
king eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise and
true God, be honour and glory for ever and ever.
Amen." " Who only hath immortality dwelling in
the light which no man can approach unto ; whom no
man hath seen, or can see : to whom be honour and
power everlasting. Amen." "Before the mountains

164 PERFECTIONS OF GOD.

were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the
earth or the world, even from everlasting to everlasting
thou art God."*

SECTION III.

THE BIBLE TEACHES THE INDEPENDENT GREATNESS OF GOD.

" Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and
the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that
is in heaven and in the earth is thine: thine is the king
dom, O Lord and thou art exalted as head above all."
" Who is so great a God as our God t" " O Lord,
my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with
honour and majesty." " Great is the Lord, and greatly
to be praised ; his greatness is unsearchable." " Who
hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
and meted out heaven with a span, and comprehended
the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the
mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who
hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his coun
sellor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel,
and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of
judgment, and taught him knowledge, and showed
him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations
are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the
small dust of the balance; behold, he taketh up the
isles as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not suffi
cient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a
burnt offering. All nations before him are as nothing ;
and they are counted to him less than nothing and
vanity."f

* Isaiah Ivii. 15. Deuteronomy xxxiii. 27. Isaiah xl. 38 ; xliv.
6. Psalm xc. 4 ; cii. 27 1 Timothy i. 17 ; vi. 16. Psalm xc. 2.
f 1 Chronicles xxix. 11. Psalm cxlv. 3. Isaiah xl. 12—17.

PERFECTIONS OF GOD. 16««

SECTION IV.

TIIR BIBLE TEACHttS THE OMNIPRESENCE OF GOD.

" Behold the heaven and the heaven of heavens can
not contain thee." " Am I a God at hand, saith the
Lord, and not a God afar off? Do I not fill heaven
and earth, saith the Lord ?" " Whither shall I go from
thy Spirit, and whither shall I flee from thy presence ?
If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there ; if I make
my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the
wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts
of the sea ; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy
right hand shall hold me."*

SECTION V.

THE BIBLE TEACHES THE OMNISCIENCE OF GOD.

" The Lord looketh from heaven ; he beholdeth ah
the sons of men. From the place of his habitation he
looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth." " His
eyes behold the nations." "O Lord, thou hast
searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my down
sitting and mine up rising; thou understandest my
thought afar off Thou compassest my path and my
lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord,
thou knowest it altogether. Such knowledge is too
wonderful for me ; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me ; even the
night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness
hideth not from thee ; but the night shineth as the day ;
the darkness and the light are both alike to thee."

* 1 Kii^s viii. 27. Psalm cxxxix. 7—10.

166 PERFECTIONS OF GOD.

" The ways of man are before the Lord, and he pon
dereth all his goings." " The eyes of the Lord are in
every place, beholding the evil and the good." " Can
any hide himself in secret, that I shall not see him 1
saith the Lord." The Lord searcheth all hearts, and
understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts."
" Known unto God are all his works, from the begin
ning of the world." " Neither is there any creature
that is not manifest in his sight; but all things are naked
and open unto the eyes of him, with whom we have to
do." " The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him
actions are weighed." " He is perfect in knowledge."
" His understanding is infinite."*

SECTION VI.

THE BIBLE ASCRIBES TO GOD INFINITE WISDOM, ALMIGHTY POWER,
BOUNDLESS GOODNESS, INFLEXIBLE JUSTICE, UNDEVIATING TRUTH,
UNWAVERING FAITHFULNESS IMMEASURABLE MERCY, THE RICHEST
GRACE, SPOTLESS PURITY, AND GLORIOUS HOLINESS.

To quote all the passages referring to these attri
butes would be tedious indeed. They are scattered
over the Bible ; and no one can read the sacred Scrip
tures with attention, without observing how the sacred
writers celebrate them. Let it be noted how they
dwell upon the holiness of God. He is every where
denominated, " The Holy One of Israel ;" and repre
sented as being incomparably pure. " Shall mortal
man be more just than God '? shall a man be more
pure than his Maker? Behold he putteth no trust in
his servants ; and his angels he charged with folly."

* Psalm xxxiii. 13, 14 ; Ixvi. 7 ; cxxxix. 1—6, 11, 12; Proverbs
v. 21 ; xv. 3. Jeremiah xxiii. 24. 1 Chronicles xxviii. 9. Acts
xv. 18. Heb. iv. 13. 1 iSamuei ii. 3. Psalm cxlvii. 5.

PERFECTIONS OF GOD. 1G7

" Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst
not look on iniquity." " And one cried to another,
Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts : the whole
earth is full of his glory. Then said I, Woe is me !
for I am undone ; because I am a man of unclean
lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean
lips ; for mine eyes have seen the king, the Lord of
hosts."*

Moreover, it is to be remembered, that Jehovah is
infinite and unchangeable in these and in all his perfec
tions. " I am the Lord, I change not." "Every good
gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh
down from the Father of lights, with whom is no vari
ableness, neither shadow of turning."f

Such are the glorious perfections which the Bible
ascribes to God. Does not the mind of the reader see
that they belong to the Supreme Being? Such too is
the mode which the sacred writers have adopted for
exhibiting them, and such a specimen of the language
they use in speaking of them. Could a fitter mode be
chosen for giving us a view of Jehovah's adorable per
fections, or better language used for their appropriate
exhibition?

The relations which God sustains to his creatures,
are distinctly and fully set before us in the Bible.

SECTION VII.

GOD IS REVEALED TO US AS THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE.

Heathen philosophers greatly erred in regard to the
origin of the world. Some attributed its production

* Job iv. 17, 18. Hab. i. 13. Isaiah vi. 3, 5.
f Malachi iii. 6. James i. 17.

108 PERFECTIONS OF GOD.

to a fortuitous concourse of atoms that had existed
from eternity; as if chance, which never built a
house, nor composed a book, could produce a world,
in which are found displays of design, intelligence
and wisdom, infinitely greater than can be found in
the most finished writings of man, or in the most
splendid and magnificent palace that ever adorned the
earth. Others maintained the world to be eternal ;
and thus contended for a position disproved by their
daily experience, by every change of wind, and by
the innumerable mutations that are incessantly occur-
ing in the world. What is eternal must be unchange
able. Had the world been eternal, and subject to its
present changes, the highest mountains would have
been levelled millions of ages past; the sun would
have expended his beams of light, and darkness would
have thrown over this habitation of man the pall of
midnight.

The sacred writers teach a sounder doctrine ; a doc
trine which commends itself to the human mind.
They exhibit a cause fully adequate to the mighty
work. They proclaim the infinite Jehovah as the
Creator of the universe ; as calling it into existence
with infinite ease. " He spake, and it was done ; he
commanded, and it stood fast."* "He created all
things by the word of his power." With what simpli
city and sublimity does Moses speak on this sub
ject ! " And God said, Let there be light, and there
was light. And God said, Let there be a firmament
in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters
from the waters. And God made the firmament, and
divided the waters which were under the firmament
from the waters which were above the firmament

* Psalm xxxiii. 9.

RELATIONS OF GOD. 1GO

and it was so. And God said, Let there be lights in
the firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from
the night ; and let them be for signs, and for seasons,
and for days and years: and let them be for lights in
the firmament of the heaven, to give light upon the
earth : and it was so. He made the stars also."* In
like manner speak the other sacred writers. " Thou,
even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven,
the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth,
and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is
therein] and thou preserves! them ail; and the host
of heaven worshippeth thee."f " Lift up your eyes on
high, and behold, who hath created these things, that
bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all
by names, by the greatness of his might; for that he
is strong in power: not one faileth."J "Thou art
worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour, and
power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy
pleasure they are and were created. "§

SECTION VIII.

GOD IS REPRESENTED IN THE BIBLE AS THE PRESERVER AND
BENEFACTOR OF ALL HIS CREATURES.

lie upholds all things. " The earth and all the inha
bitants thereof are dissolved : I bear up the pillars of
it." "Upholding all things by the word of his power."
" By him all things consist." " For in him we live, and
move, and have our being."||

The liberal provision which God has made to sup
ply the wants of all his creatures, and his great kind-

* Genesis i. 3, 6, 7, 14, 15. J Isaiah xl. 2(>.
f Nehemiah ix. G. § Rev. iv. 11.

|| Ps. Ixxv. 3. Hcb. i. 3. Col. i. 17. Acts xvii. 28.
15

170 RELATIONS OF GOD.

ness towards them are set forth in sacred scripture
with inimitable beauty. " Sing unto the Lord with
thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto God :
who covereth the heavens wdth clouds, who prepareth
rain for the earth, who rnaketh the grass to grow upon
the mountains. He giveth to the beast his food, and
to the young ravens which cry." " These all wait
upon thee ; that thou mayest give them their meat in
due season. That thou givest them they gather: thou
openest thy hand, they are filled with good." " O !
that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and
for his wonderful works to the children of men."
" How excellent is thy loving-kindness, O God ! there
fore the children of men put their trust under the sha
dow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied
with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt
make them drink of the river of thy pleasure. For
with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we
see light." "Consider the ravens: for they neither
sow, nor reap ; which have neither store-house, nor
barn ; and God feedeth them : how much more are
ye better than the fowls! And which of you by
taking thought can add to his stature one cubit ? If ye
then be not able to do that thing which is least, why
take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how
they grow ; they toil not, they spin not ; and yet I say
unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the
grass, which is to day in the field, and to-morrow is
cast into the oven ; how much more will he clothe
you, O ye of little faith 1 And seek not ye what ye
shall eat, and what ye shall drink, neither be ye of
doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations
seek after : and your Father knoweth that ye have

RELATIONS Or GOD. 171

need of these things. But rather seek ye the king
dom of God ; and all these things shall be added unto
you."*

SECTION IX.

GOD IS EXHIBITED TO US IN THE SACRED SCRIPTURE AS THE
SOVEREIGN AND ALMIGHTY RULER OF THE UNIVERSE.

With what sublimity is his government described
by the inspired writers ! " The Lord hath prepared
his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over
all." " Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever ; the
sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre." " Clouds
and darkness are round about him ; righteousness and
judgment are the habitation of his throne." " And
I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honoured
Him that liveth for ever; whose dominion is an ever
lasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation
to generation : and all the inhabitants of the earth are
reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his
will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants
of the earth : and none can stay his hand, or say
unto him, What doest thouT'f With what contempt
does God treat the insolence of the proud, blasphem
ing king of Assyria ; and with what perfect ease does
he defeat his impious designs ! " Because thy rage
against me, and thy tumult, is come up into mine ears,
therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my
bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the
way by which thou earnest. Then the angel of the
Lorcf went forth, and smote in the camp of the As
syrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand :

* Ps. cxlvii. 7—9 ; civ. 27, 28 ; cvii. 8 ; xxxvi. 7- 9. Luke xii. 24- 30
T Psalm ciii. 19 ; xlv. 6 ; xcvii. 2. Daniel iv. 34, 35.

172 RELATIONS OF GOD.

and when they arose in the morning, behold, they
were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king of As
syria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at
Nineveh."*

SECTION X.

GOD IS PROCLAIMED BY THE SACRED WRITERS AS THE FINAL,
JUDGE OF THE WORLD.

In this great truth the human mind finds relief from
the perplexities that are sometimes excited by con
templating the providence of God over the world,
and the unequal distribution of rewards and punish
ments. Looking to a future judgment the Christian
can account for the present prosperity of the wicked
and the present adversity of the righteous. Unbelief
may say, God has forsaken the earth ; he does not mind
the affairs of men : but faith can affirm the consoling
truth, " The Lord reigneth ;" and, looking forward to
a future judgment, see order rising out of confusion
and light out of darkness.

How plain and decisive the language of the Bible
in asserting the great truth of a future judgment ! " I
the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to
give to every man according to his ways, and ac
cording to the fruit of his doing." "And the times
of this ignorance God winked at ; but now com-
mandeth all men every where to repent : because he
hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the
world in righteousness by that man whom he hath
ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all
men, in that he hath raised him from the dead."
44 When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and

* Isaiah xxxvii. 29, 3G, 37.

RELATIONS OF GOD. 173

all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon
the throne of his glory : and before him shall be ga
thered all nations; and he shall separate them one
from another, as a shepherd divideth the sheep from
the goats." "For we must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive
the things done in the body, according to that which
he hath done, whether it be good or bad." " There
fore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord
come, who will bring to light the hidden things of
darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the
heart." " And I saw the dead, both small and great,
stand before God; and the books were opened: and
another book was opened, which is the book of life :
and the dead were judged out of those things which
were written in the books, according to their works."
" Then shall the king say unto them on his right
hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
world. Then shall he say unto them on his left hand,
Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire pre
pared for the devil and his angels. And these shall go
into everlasting punishment ; but the righteous into life
eternal."*

Such is God according to the Bible; these, his per
fections, and these, the relations he sustains to his
creatures. He is the eternal, independent, immense,
every where present, omniscient, and almighty Being ;
infinitely wise and good, righteous and holy, true and
faithful, merciful, gracious and forgiving: in a word,
infinitely great, good, and glorious; unchangeable in
his being and perfections, in his purposes, happiness,

* Jer. xvii. 10. Acts xvii. 30, 31. Matt. xxv. 31, 32. 2 Cor.
v. 10. 1 Cor. iv. 5. Rev. xx. 12. Matt. xxv. 34, 41, 46.

15*

174 RELATIONS OF GOD.

and glory. He is the Almighty Creator of heaven
and earth, who spake the universe into ex stence ; he
upholds by his power all worlds, supplies from his
bounty the wants of every creature ; he inspects and
controls the conduct of men, and overrules all their
actions; he will, in the last day, judge the whole
human race, bestow on the righteous everlasting life,
but condemn the wicked to everlasting misery. What
an awful, glorious, lovely Being ! How worthy of
the praise, and love, and obedience of all intelligent
creatures ! Must not every reasonable mind assent
to all this as true? Does it not accord with the judg
ment of our understanding, just as the light does with
the eye ? Does not this exhibition of the character,
perfections, and relations of God, carry with it its own
and irresistible evidence ? Is it not seen, in its own
light, to be true ?

SECTION XI.

MANNER OF THE SACRED WRITERS.

The manner in which the sacred writers have
delivered their instructions, is worthy of particular
consideration. No doubt, no hesitancy appears in it.
They speak with perfect confidence, as men fully
assured that they are speaking the truth. How is
this phenomenon to be accounted for? By whom
were these men instructed? Who taught them to
speak of God in a way so becoming his infinite
majesty? Not the learning of the day. When
Moses and the prophets wrote, when Paul and the
Apostles preached, the world was full of error in
regard to religion. Idolatry prevailed among all
nations, except the Hebrews ; and they frequently

HISTORY OF MAN. 175

were guilty of this stupid sin. The true knowledge
of God had become nearly extinct. Yet these men,
who live among a people, not remarkable for science
or literature, have, in opposition to prevailing errors,
written of God and his perfections, of his works and
government, in a way far surpassing the writings of
the wisest and most celebrated heathen philosophers.
How shall this be explained ? How can it be explain
ed, but by referring to the true source of wisdom, by
believing they were taught of God, and wrote under
the inspiration of the Holy Ghost ? Must not the book
which contains such heavenly and necessary instruc
tions be divine 1 Is it not the gift of God ?

CHAPTER II.

WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES OP MAN.

THE Bible furnishes us with the natural, moral, and
future history of man.

SECTION I.

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF MAN.

By Moses we are taught that, on the sixth day, it
pleased God to create out of the dust of the ground
the first human pair, and that he breathed into them
the breath of life ; that this happy and innocent pair
were placed in paradise, a garden planted by the
Lord with every tree and shrub that could beautify
and adorn it ; that they lived in this delightful garden,
till they were expelled from it, on account of their sin

176 HISTORY OF MAN.

in eating the forbidden fruit ; and that from this one
pair have sprung all the nations of the world, and
every human being. Cain and Abel were their first
two sons. Provoked by envy at the divine approba
tion of his brother's offering, Cain slew his righteous
brother, and brought on himself the curse of the
Almighty. Of this murderer the sacred historian gives
some account, and traces his descendants through se
veral generations. In place of Abel was born Seth,
whose posterity is specially noticed down to the time
of Noah ; when God, in his just wrath at the apostasy
and prevailing wickedness of the human race, brought
upon the world a universal deluge ; which destroyed
the whole race of man, with the exception of Noah and
his family. Noah became the great progenitor of the
postdiluvian race.

By his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japhet, was the
world, after the flood peopled. In the tenth chapter of
Genesis, Moses has given an account of their descen
dants ; from which learned men have, with much pro
bability, shown what portions of the earth were occu
pied by the different branches of Noah's family. Paul,
in his address to the Athenians, affirms that " God hath
made of one blood all the nations of men for to dwell
on all the face of the earth."*

Is not this natural history of man true? Who can
disprove it 1 Will difference in colour be urged as an
objection against the unity of the human family?
This difference, which is only external, can be ac
counted for by the effects of climiate, habits of living,
and other causes. But if adequate causes could not
be assigned, the common origin of our race ought not
to be questioned ; when we consider how alike all

* Acts xvii. 26.

HISTORY OF MAN. 177

men are in the structure of their bodies, in the faculties
of their minds, in their moral constitution, and in all
their essential points.

SECTION II.

THE BIBLE CONTAINS THE MORAL HISTORY OF MAN.

Man was, at his first creation, a perfect creature,
adorned with the moral image of his Creator ; perfect
ly free from sin, disposed and able to do the will of
God. With this holy creature, enriched with heavenly
endowments, and formed for immortality, the Most
High condescended to enter into a covenant ; promising
life to obedience, and threatening death to disobedience.
But endowed as he was with ample ability to keep the
divine law, and prompted by the most powerful motives
to obedience, he was, by the artifices of Satan, seduced
to eat of the forbidden fruit, and thus to transgress the
divine law, to the ruin of himself and all his pos
terity.*

Here is the origin of all the sin and misery in the
world. All may be traced to the first sin of man in
paradise. That sin opened a deluge of wickedness
and misery, that has never ceased to roll onward its
destructive waves. " By one man," says Paul, " sin
entered into the world, and death by sin ,• and so death
passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. By
the offence of one judgment came upon all men to
condemnation. By one man's disobedience many
were made sinners."f The sacred writers represent
our fallen race as being exceedingly depraved. " And

* See the first three chapters in Genesis, f Rom. v. 12, 18, 19.

178 HISTORY OF MAN.

God sjjw that the wickedness of man was great in the
earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of
his heart was only evil continually." " The carnal
mind is enmity against God : for it is not subject to
the law of God, neither indeed can be." " You hath
he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins."*
Is not this moral history of man true ? Does it not
commend itself to the reflecting mind ? Here is given
a rational account of the universal prevalence of de
pravity in the world. The fact that all men are sinners
is undeniable ; and the universality of the disease shows
it must have some common origin. But what that
origin was, the wisdom of the world could not disco
ver. Philosophers speculated about it in vain. They
were as ignorant in this matter as the common people.
But Moses and other writers of the Bible have reveal
ed the sad, but interesting truth. They have traced up
the universal depravity of men, of all ages, to one com
mon source, the apostasy of the first man, the father of
the human race. This explains facts, which, without
this information, could not be explained. This ac
counts for the early evidences of depravity seen in the
temper and conduct of children, prior to the time when
they feel the influence of example ; and for the fact that
infants suffer pain, sickness, and death. " Neverthe
less death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over
them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's
transgression, who is the figure of him that was to
come."t

* Genesis vi. 5 ; Romans viii. 7 ; Ephesians ii. 1.
f Romans v. 14.

HISTORY OF MAN. 179

SECTION III.

THE BIBLE HAS ALSO FURNISHED US WITH THE FUTURE HISTORY
OF OUR RACE.

The Bible teaches distinctly that man is immortal ;
that his spirit will survive the stroke of death, by
which the body is deprived of life and reduced to its
original elements, dust and ashes ; that we shall exist,
after death, in a state of happiness or misery, accord
ing to our conduct in the present life ; that the dead
will be raised in the last day, and all mankind be
summoned to appear before the bar of God, to undergo
a strict and impartial judgment ; and that the right
eous will be adjudged to everlasting blessedness and
glory, and the wicked condemned to everlasting
shame and misery. That this doctrine is exceedingly
interesting, can be denied by no sober and reflecting
man. And is it not true, as well as interesting?
None will venture to contradict it, but men whose
guilt dreads the thought of a future state, and whose
crimes induce them to wish to lose their existence in
the grave. Immortality accords with the nature of
man and the attributes of his Creator. Is it not
reasonable to believe that a creature endowed with
such noble faculties, so capable of constant and pro
gressive improvement, was designed to exist for a
much longer period than he is permitted to spend in
this world ] Is it not reasonable to believe that the
righteous Sovereign of the universe will hereafter cor
rect the apparent disorders prevalent in this distant
province of his universal empire, by a future judg
ment, when he shall give to every man his due ; when
the proud oppressor shall be put down, and the hum
ble and pious Christian freed from his cruel oppres-

180 HISTORY OF MAN.

sion, and exalted in honour? To the truth of this,
has not every man a witness in himself? What but
a judgment to come does conscience indicate, when it
rebukes the midnight transgressor, and makes him
tremble, when he commits in secret and in darkness
a sin that has been witnessed by no human eye 1 Is
not the impression of this belief on the public and
popular mind, a matter of the first importance to the
welfare and stability of human society? What can
be a better defence against the prevalence of destruc
tive crimes, and a more powerful inducement to the
practice of every virtue ? Extinguish this belief, and
what will human laws avail to secure the rights of
the weak against invasion, injustice, violence, and
wickedness ?

An indistinct impression of a future state of rewards
and punishments, was always prevalent, more or less,
among the heathen. Their poets sung of such a state,
and their philosophers reasoned on the subject, with
doubtful and wavering arguments. But the sacred
writers speak on the subject with the confidence of
men assured they were uttering the truth. They use
no feeble arguments; no doubt is discoverable in their
writings. They speak as eye and ear-witnesses de
liver their testimony. Hear their language. "Let
not your hearts be troubled ; ye believe in God, believe
also in me. In my Fathers house are many man
sions : if it were not so, I would have told you. I go
to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again, and receive you
to myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."
" For our light affliction, which is but for a moment,
worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory: while we look not at the things

HISTORY OF MAN. 181

which are seen, but at the things which are not seen :
for the things which are seen are temporal ; but the
things which arc not seen are eternal. For we know
that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dis
solved, we have a building of God, an house not made
with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we
groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our
house which is from heaven : if so be that being
clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that
are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened : not
for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon,
that mortality might be swallowed up of life/' " I
have fought a good fight ; I have kept the faith.
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of right
eousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge will
give to me in that day ; and not to me only, but to all
them that love his appearing." " For if we believe
that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also
which sleep in Jesus, will God bring with him. For
this we say unto you, by the word of the Lord, that
we which are alive, and remain unto the coming of
the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with
a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the
trump of God ; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
Then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught
up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord
in the air : and so shall we be ever with the Lord."
" But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the
night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with
a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent
heat ; the earth also and the works that are therein
shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things
shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye

16

182 HISTORY OF MAN.

to be in all holy conversation and godliness ; looking
for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God,
wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved,
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat ? Never
theless we, according to his promise, look for new
heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteous
ness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such
things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace,
without spot, and blameless." " Behold, I show you a
mystery ; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed ; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at
the last trump : for the trumpet shall sound, and the
dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed. For this corruptible must put on incorrup-
tion, and this mortal must put on immortality. So
when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption,
and this mortal shall have put on immortality,
then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written,
Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is
thy sting 1 O grave, where is thy victory 1 The sting
of death is sin ; and the strength of sin is the law. But
thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ."*

SECTION IV.

INSPIRATION OF THE SACRED WRITERS.

From these quotations it is apparent how much at
home the sacred writers are, when speaking of future
and eternal things. They speak of them as of things
with which they are familiarly acquainted. No

* John xiv. 1—3. 2 Cor. ir. 17,18; v. 1—4. 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8
1 Thess. iv. 14—17. 2 Pet. iii. 10—14. 1 Cor. xv. 51—57.

HISTORY OF MAN. 183

doubt, no hesitancy rests upon their minds. They
speak what they know. They are fully assured of
the truth. Whence did they gain this knowledge
and full conviction ? Not from the writings of heathen
philosophers. Such knowledge could not be found in
their schools. Philosophers needed to be taught these
great truths, as much as the common people. Nor did
they derive their information from the Jewish schools ;
for they never studied in them. Paul indeed was a
pupil of the celebrated Gamaliel ; and from him he may
have learned a future state of rewards and punish
ments ; for it was taught in the writings of Moses and
the prophets. But the light which he and his fellow
apostles threw around the things of a future world, was
far superior to that which Moses and the prophets had
imparted to the ancient church. Whence then did they
derive this superior light? Who made these illiterate
men wiser than heathen philosophers, and wiser than
all the teachers who had ever gone before them ? How
is this phenomenon to be solved ? Were not these men
taught from above? How could they speak of hea
venly and eternal things, with such propriety, confi
dence, and dignity, if they had not been inspired
with heavenly wisdom ? Inspiration from above they
claimed ; and do not their invaluable writings fully
sustain the truth of their claim ?

184 MORAL CODE.

CHAPTER III.

MORAL CODE OF THE BIBLE

THE moral code contained in the Bible, furnishes evi
dence of its inspiration and decisive authority.

It bears the impress of its heavenly origin. So ex
cellent, so reasonable, so pure, so holy, so spiritual, so
perfect is it, that it could have proceeded only from in
finite wisdom and goodness. Human minds, blinded,
depraved, and prejudiced as they are by sin, could not
be the authors of such a system of morals. That the
reader may be convinced of this, we shall lead him to
examine the moral code of the Bible, under the follow
ing heads.

SECTION I.

THE SUMMARIES OF DUTY FOUND IN THE BIBLE.

The first we meet with in reading the Scriptures is
the ten commandments ; which the Bible affirms were
engraven on two tables of stone by the finger of God,
and delivered by Moses to the children of Israel. The
first table contained the duties we owe to God; and
the second, the duties we owe to our fellow creatures.
Short as these commandments are, they are exceed
ingly comprehensive. They embrace the whole round
of duty.

That they are to be explained in the utmost lati
tude, is manifest from the nature of man, from the last
commandment, which prohibits covetousness, and
especially from the consideration that they prescribe

MORAL CODE. 185

the duties we owe to a Being of infinite knowledge and
purity. Besides, tiie Bible teaches us thus to interpret
the law. " Ye have heard that it was said by them of
old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery; but I say
unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust
after her, hath committed adultery with her already in
his heart." " Whosoever hateth his brother is a mur
derer."* How admirable this summary of duty !
Nothing like it can be found in all the writings of hea
then philosophers.

A still shorter summary is pointed out by our great
teacher, Jesus Christ. Being asked by a Jewish
lawyer, " Which is the great commandment, in the
law !" he replied, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all
thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments
hang all the law and the prophets."f These two
precepts comprehend, beyond doubt, every human
obligation and duty. From such love in the heart,
every act of duty to God and man, would as certainly
follow, as a pure stream would flow from a full and
pure fountain. No man can love God in this perfect
manner, and refuse to do any thing he requires. He
would delight to do his whole will. And equally
certain is it, that he would, under the influence of such
love to God, love his neighbour as himself: and loving
his neighbour in this perfect manner, he would
abstain from doing him any injury, and cheerfully
render to him whatever was due. The obedience
which God demands is the obedience of love. It must
spring from love. Love is the life and soul of obe-

* Matt. v. 27, 28. 1 John ni. !.->. f .Matt. xxii. 3(5—40.
10*

186 MORAL CODE.

dience. Destitute of this animating principle, all exter
nal acts of homage, how correct and beautiful soever
they may appear, are like a lifeless corpse.

Does not this summary of duty commend itself to
every human mind? Is it not seen, in its own light,
to be perfectly reasonable ? Who can deny that we
ought, in this manner to love infinite excellence and
loveliness ? Who can refuse to admit the justice of the
precept that requires us to love as ourselves our neigh
bour, who is "bone of our bone, and flesh of our
flesh?" To find in the volumes of pagan philosophers
any thing comparable to this summary of moral duty,
would be a vain attempt.

The Saviour's golden rule has been justly admired :
" All things whatsoever ye would that men should do
to you, do ye even so to them."* It sheds light to
dispel the illusions of selfishness, and brings convic
tion to the conscience. What a cluster of duties, most
attractively exhibited, do we see in that passage of
Paul : " Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true,
whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are
just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things
are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report ; if
there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think
on these things."!

SECTION II.

THE DETAILS OF DUTY.

In respect to God there are particular precepts re
quiring us to fear, to seek, to reverence, and to wor
ship him; to believe, to trust, to hope, to delight, and
to rejoice in him ; to honour, to obey, and to glorify

* Matt. vii. 12. f Phil. iy. 8.

THE MORAL CODE. 187

liiin. In respect to ourselves there are precepts enjoin
ing temperance in eating and drinking, chastity and
purity, contentment with our condition, activity and
industry, meekness and humility, resignation, patience
and fortitude. In respect to others, the precepts of the
Bible require us to love all men, without excepting our
enemies; to be honest in all our dealings ; to be just in
every transaction ; to live in peace with all men, as far
as it may be possible ; to be merciful towards the un
fortunate, giving alms to the poor, and relieving the op
pressed ; to be gentle in our deportment ; to love our
enemies, and to forgive them, to pray for and do them
good ; and to let our light shine before others, that they
may be incited to imitate our example, and constrained
to glorify God.

These and a variety of other duties are inculcated in
the sacred Scriptures. The duties, too, growing out
of the different relations of life ; such as the relation
between husband and wife, parents and children,
masters and servants, pastors and people, rulers and
citizens, are all particularly specified. But to exhibit
in quotations all the duties referred to, would require a
transcription of a large portion of the Bible.

Murk the wisdom manifested in this moral code.
The summaries. of duty can be easily committed to
memory, without burdening it; while the copious de
tails in the various branches of moral obligation, serve
to explain the meaning of the summaries, and to assist
us in applying the general rules to particular cases as
they rise in life,

188 SPIRITUALITY OP

SECTION III.

THE SPIRITUAL NATURE OP THE MORAL CODE.

The Bible does not overlook external conduct It
prescribes rules for the due government of our out
ward actions, and requires their submission to divine
authority. " Let not sin, therefore, reign in your mortal
bodies, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Neither yield ye your members as instruments of un
righteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto
God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your
members as instruments of righteousness unto God."*
Outward actions are an index to the inward temper.
" Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speak-
eth."f But external conduct will not satisfy the
claims of the divine law. It is inadequate to meet
its demands ; and it may be deceptive. A man may
give alms to be seen of men ; or he may pretend
great compassion for the needy and distressed ; he
may say, " Be ye warmed, and filled," but with
hold the necessary food and clothing. Here that cor
respondence between the state of the heart and the
outward actions, which the divine law requires, is
broken. The Bible connects principle and conduct
together, and insists on the obedience of both. It de
mands a pure heart and a holy life. But it insists
chiefly on the former. In the religion of the Bible,
the heart is every thing. The great claim which God
prefers is this : " My son, give me thine heart." While
this is withheld no offering can be acceptable. "There
fore also now, saith the Lord, Turn ye even unto me
will all your heart, and with fasting, and with weep-

*Rom. vi. 12, 13. f Matt. xii. 34.

THE MORAL CODE. 189

ing, and with mourning : and rend your heart, and not
your garments, and turn unto the Lord vour God :
for lie is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of
great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil." " The
sacrifices of God are a broken spirit ; a broken and a
contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." " Now
the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure
heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned."
" Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord 1 or who
shall stand in his holy place ? He that hath clean
hands and a pure heart." " Blessed are the pure in
heart for they shall see God."* Such importance
does the Bible attach to the obedience of the heart
It is the altar that sanctifies the gift. Without it no
homage, however profound, no sacrifice how costly
soever, no faith however strong, can avail to obtain
divine approbation. With what force and energy
does Paul assert this truth ! Love, in his view, has
pre-eminence over every other grace. He shows
it to be essential to the Christian character. «• Though
I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and
have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or
a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of
prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all know
ledge ; and though I have all faith, so that I could re
move mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor,
and though I give my body to be burned, and have
not charity, it profiteth me nothing." And then after
a beautiful description of charity (love,) the apostle
adds, " And now abideth faith, hopet charity, these

* Proverbs xxiii. 26. Joel ii. 12, 13. Psabn li. 17. 1 Tim. i. 5.
Psalm xxiv. 3, 4. Matt. v. 8.

190 PERFECTION OF

three; but the greatest of these is charity."* In
•what system of morals framed by human wisdom,
will you find such pre-eminence given to the heart 1
Men, untaught by the Spirit of God, turn away from
the true spring of obedience ; and instead of labour
ing to purify the spring, spend their efforts in endea
vouring to cleanse the streams. They assign the pre
eminence to manners and outward behaviour. Like
the Pharisees of old they wash " the outside of the
cup and of the platter," and pay but little or no atten
tion to the defilements within. The obvious truth
stated by our Lord is overlooked : " A good man out
of the good treasure of the heart, bringeth forth good
things ; and an evil man out of the evil treasure,
bringeth forth evil things."f As the Bible traces all
obedience to the heart, so it traces all disobedience to
the same source: "Out of the heart proceed," says
the great teacher, " evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies." The
heart forms, in the eye of God, the character of every
man. " Man looketh on the outward appearance,
but the Lord looketh on the heart." " All the ways
of a man are clean in his own eyes ; but the Lord
weigheth the spirits." " And all the churches shall
know that I am he that searcheth the reins and
hearts ; and I will give to every one of you according
to your works."J

SECTION IV.

THE PERFECTION OP THE BIBLE'S MORAL CODE.

No commutation of one du;y for another is allow
ed. To Saul who alleged he had obeyed the voice of

* 1 Cor. xiii. 1—3, 13. f Matt. xii. 35 ; xv. 19.

1 Sum. xvi. 7. Prov. xvi. 2. Rev. ii. 23.

THE MORAL CODE. 191

the Lord, Samuel replied, " Hath the Lord as great
delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying
the voice of the Lord ? Behold, to obey is better than
sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For
rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness
is as iniquity and idolatry." With what indignant
language did God rebuke his people by Isaiah his
servant? "To what purpose is the multitude of your
sacrifices unto me 1 saith the Lord. I am full of the
burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts ; and
I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or
of he goats. When ye come to appear before me,
who hath required this at your hands, to tread my
courts ? Bring no more vain oblations ; incense is an
abomination unto me ; the new moons and sabbaths,
the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with ; it is
iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons
and your appointed feasts my soul hateth : they are a
trouble unto me ; I am weary to bear them. And
when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine
eyes from you ; yea, when ye make many prayers, I
will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Wash
you, make you clean ; put away the evil of your
doings from before mine eyes ; cease to do evil ; learn
to do well ; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge
the fatherless, plead for the widow." How did our
Saviour detect and expose the hypocrites of his day !
" Woe unto you scribes and pharisees, hypocrites ! for
ye pay tithe of mint, and anise, and cummin, and have
omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment,
mercy, and faith ; these ought ye to have done, and not
o leave the other undone."*
No partial obedience that excepts to any precept,

* 1 Sam. xv. 22, 23. Isaiah i. 11—15. Matt, xxiii. 23.

192 PERFECTION OF

can obtain divine approbation. " If," said David, " I
regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear
me." The Pharisee went to the temple to pray, and
boasted of his goodness : " God, I thank thee that I
am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adul
terers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the
week ; I give tithes of all that I possess." Proud in
spirit, his prayers were not regarded. " Then," says
David, " shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect
unto all thy commandments." And by the Apostle
James it is laid down as an adjudged case in our
religion: "Whosoever shall keep the whole law,
and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." The
meaning is, he who allows himself habitually to break
one precept, breaks the whole law, of which it is an
essential part ; just as the man who wounds my hand,
inflicts a wound upon my whole body, of which my
hand is a member. He comes under the curse, by
which the whole law is. sanctioned ; and, by his wil
ful and habitual violation of one precept, shows that,
even in his apparent observance of the rest, he is in
sincere, and not influenced by the required principle,
and affectionate regard for that divine authority
from which the whole law has emanated. " Good
Master," said a promising young man to our Saviour,
" what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life ?
And Jesus said unto him — Thou knowest the com
mandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do
not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not,
Honour thy father and mother. And he answered
and said unto him, Master, all these things have I
observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him
loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest :
go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the

THE MORAL CODE. 193

poor ; and thou shall have treasure in heaven : and
come, take up thy cross, and follow me. And he was
sad at that saying, and went away grieved : for he had
great possessions."*

The law of God demands ENTIRE PERFECTION.

The very " thought of foolishness," is pronounced
by it to be " sin." It denounces a curse against every
transgression : " Cursed is every one that continueth
not in all things which are written in the book of the
law to do them." Christians are required to cleanse
themselves " from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit,
perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord." Having
expounded the law in its full and spiritual meaning,
and set aside the corrupt glosses, by which the Jewish
scribes had clouded, diminished, and altered its re
quirements, Jesus Christ subjoined this injunction-
" Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which
is in heaven is perfect." And Paul, with his great
attainments in piety, acknowledged his failing to
reach the high standard at which he wras aiming :
" Not as though I had already attained, either were
already perfect : but I follow after, if that I may ap
prehend that for which also I am apprehended of
Jesus Christ. Brethren, I count not myself to have
apprehended ; but this one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind, and reaching forth unto
those things which are before, I press toward the
mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus."f

* Psalm Ixvi. 18. Luke xviii. 11—14. Psalm cxix. 6. James
ii. 10. Mark x. 17—21.

f Prov. xxiv. 9 Gal. iii. 10. 2 Cor. vii. 1. Matt. v. 48. Phil
iii. 12—14.

17

MORAL CODE ITS EICD.

SECTION V.

THE END OP THE MORAL SYSTEM INCULCATED IN THE BIBLE IS, THE
GLORY OF GOD.

That a regard to our own reputation and advan
tage in leading a life of piety, is allowable, will ap
pear from the following passages in holy Scripture.
" By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused
to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing
rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than
to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season : esteeming
the reproach of Christ greater riches than the trea
sures of Egypt: for he had respect to the recompense
of the reward." And of one greater than Moses, it
is written, " Who, for the joy that was set before him,
endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set
down at the right hand of God."* Personal advan
tage is proposed in Scripture as a motive to religion :
"Get wisdom, get understanding; neither decline from
the words of my mouth. Forget her not, and she
shall preserve thee: love her and she shall keep
thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get
wisdom : and with all thy getting, get understanding.
Exalt her, and she shall promote thee; she shall
bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.
She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace ;
a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee." " Let
your loins be girded about," said our Lord, " and
your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto
men that wait for their Lord, when he will return
from the wedding, that, when he cometh and
knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.
Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord, when he
* Hebrews xi. 24—26 ; xii. 2.

MORAL CODE ITS END. 105

cometh, shall find watching : verily I say unto you,
that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down
to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if
he shall come in the second watch, or come in the
third watch, and shall find them so, blessed are those
servants." " Who will render unto every man accord
ing to his deeds : to them who by patient continuance
in well doing, seek for glory and honour, and immor
tality, eternal life." " Be thou faithful unto death, and
I will give thee a crown of life." •' To him that over-
cometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even
as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father
in his throne."*

But while we are permitted, in yielding obedience to
the divine commandments, to have respect to our own
personal advantage, and to expect to receive that hap
piness and glory which God has graciously been
pleased to promise for our encouragement ; we are re
quired to aim at his glory, as the ultimate end of all our
acts of obedience. This is expressly taught ; " Let
your light so shine before men, that they may see your
good works, and glorify your Father which is in hea
ven. For ye are bought with a price ; therefore, glorify
God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."
" Whether therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye
do, do all to the glory of God." Rebuking the impious
king of Babylon, the prophet said, " The God in whose
hand thy breath is and whose are all thy ways, hast
thou not glorified."f

How reasonable and just is this requisition ! The
Supreme being, who made, upholds, and governs us ;
who is infinite in his perfections, and compared with

* Prov. iv. 5—9. Luke xii. 35—38. Pom. ii. G, 7. Rev. ii. 10 ; iii. 21
f Mitt. v. 16. 1 Cor. vi. 20; x. 31. Dan. v. ^3.

SANCTIONS OF

whom, we, and all creatures are but as the dust of the
balance ; is certainly entitled to the first place in our
hearts, and to receive from us the highest possible
honour that we can offer 1 He certainly is worthy to
receive from us and all intelligent beings the noblest
ascriptions of praise, and honour, and power, and
glory : " For all things were created by him ; and for
his pleasure they are and were created."

SECTION VI.

THE SANCTIONS OF THE BIBLE.

These belong to its moral code. More weighty and
powerful sanctions than those which the Bible pro
poses, cannot possibly be conceived by the human
mind.

1. The law emanating from the Supreme Lawgiver
of the universe, comes to us clothed with his infinite
authority. Not man, not an angel, not the highest
creature in existence, but God, the Almighty Creator
of all worlds, speaks its commandments. He who is
possessed of infinite perfections; He who made, pre
serves, and blesses us ; He who is entitled to all possible
honour and homage — He has proclaimed his will in
the Scriptures. To disobey a law issuing from Him,
and coming enforced by his authority, is rebellion, the
most unjust and ungrateful, the most impious and
daring.

2. God, who has proclaimed his law, is represented
by the sacred writers, as constantly inspecting the
conduct of his creatures. " The Lord's throne is in
heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children
of men." " His eyes are upon the ways of man, and
he seeth all his goings." " The ways of man are be-

THE MORAL CODE. 107

fore the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his
goings." "The eyes of the Lord are in every place,
beholding the evil and the good." " Can any hide him
self in secret, that I shall not see him? saith the Lord."
" Thine eyes are upon all the ways of the sons of men,
to give to every one according to his ways, and accord
ing to the fruit of his doing." " All things are naked
and open unto the eyes of Him with whom we have
to do/'* In language so plain and forcible, is the con
stant and watchful superintendence of God over the
conduct of men asserted in the sacred Scriptures.

3. The rewards and punishments, by which obedi
ence to the divine law is enforced, are exceedingly
great. They are co-extensive with our being. They
pertain not only to this, but to the next world ; they
are eternal as well as temporal. Obedience is re
warded, not only by health and comfort, by prosperity
and honour, by peace of mind and joyful hope, in this
life, but by everlasting happiness and glory in the
world to come. Disobedience is punished, not only
1)\- afflictions and sickness, by trouble and disappoint
ment, by disquietude of mind and fearful apprehension
of future judgment, in the present state ; but by shame
and everlasting misery in the next world. " God wjii
render to every one according to his deeds; to them
who, by patient continuance in well doing, seek for
glory and honour, and immortality, eternal life; but
to them that are contentious, and obey not the trutn,
but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tri
bulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that
doeth evil." In the day of judgment the Jud^e will

* Ps. xi. 4. Job xxxiv. 21. Prov. v. 21. Jcr. xxiii. 24, xxxii. 19,
Heb. iv. 13,

17*

11)8 EXAMPLES OF

" say to them on his right hand, Corne, ye blessed of my
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world :" — and " to {hem on the left
hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire
prepared for the devil and his angels." " And these
shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the
righteous into life eternal."*

SECTION VII.

EXAMPLES OF PIETY AND OBEDIENCE, SET BEFORE US IN THE
SCRIPTURES.

How numerous, shining, and stimulating the ex
amples we find in the Bible ! Patriarchs and pro
phets, kings and priests, apostles and martyrs, who
have " fought the good fight, and finished their course
with joy," now form a cloud of witnesses to encourage,
to allure, and to quicken us, in our exertions to do
the will of God, and accomplish the work assigned
us by his providence. The piety of Enoch, who, in a
world filled with wickedness, «« walked with God;" the
faith of Abraham, who " when he was called to go
out in a place which he should after receive for
an inheritance, obeyed," and " went out, not knowing
whither he went ;" and who, when tried, offered up
Isaac, " his only begotten son ;" — the chastity of
Joseph, who, when tempted by his mistress, exclaim
ed, " How can I do this great wickedness, and sin
against God ?" — the meekness and magnanimity of
Moses, who declined the offered honour of having his
seed increased into a great nation, and prayed he
might not live to survive the destruction of his people ;
— the integrity of Samuel, who appealed to his coun
trymen to bear witness that he had never perverted

* Romans ii. 6—9. Matthew xxv. 34, 44, 46.

THE MORAL CODE. 199

justice; — the devotion of David, whose heart, in prais
ing God, glowed with seraphic fire; — Daniel, who, in
an idolatrous court, maintained the purity of religion,
and in defiance of the king's wicked decrees, prayed
to God, as usual three times a day ; not fearing the
threatened punishment of being cast into the lions' den;
— the zeal, the benevolence, the magnanimity of Paul,
who, in discharging the duties of his ministry, laboured
and toiled, and suffered so much, contributed so greatly
to the establishment of Christianity in the world, and
died so joyfully in his Master's service: — all these
examples of piety and every grace, which shed such a
lustre over the pages of the Bible, are set before us to
incite and encourage us to imitate them, by endeavour
ing to keep all God's commandments. We are cheer
ed too, by reflecting that the same grace which assisted
them, can assist us, and render our exertions success
ful in doing and suffering his holy will.

What can ancient paganism show, in the lives of
her philosophers and heroes, that can compare with
these worthies of the church? What philosophers
among pagans ever loved God supremely, and wor
shipped him in spirit and in truth 1 What philanthro
pist among them ever laboured and toiled to save im
mortal souls?

To all these bright examples of piety and virtue
exhibited in Scripture, is added the finished and per
fect example of Jesus Christ. All others were imper
fect. The life of no patriarch, no prophet, no saint,
no apostle, was faultless. All were more or less de
filed. But the life of Christ was faultless, and with
out a single blemish. He "did no sin, neither was
guile found in his lips." He " was holy, harmless,
undefiled, and separate from sinners." With confi-

200 PROVISION FOR OBEDIENCE

donee could he appeal to his malignant and watchful
enemies, "Which of you convinceth me of sin?" In
nothing, either in action, word, or thought, did he ever
offend God. His life was a perfect transcript of the
divine law.

With such an example, so pure and faultless, before
them, the disciples of Christ are required to aim at per
fection. In no attainment are they permitted to rest,
while they, in any degree, come short of perfection.
From one degree of holy obedience to another are they
to advance, till they reach that spotless purity to which
they are called in Christ Jesus; or to use the language
of Paul, " till we all come in the unity of the faith, and
of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect
man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of
Christ."* In the history of our Saviour's life we have
exemplified that perfection, which heathen philosophers
could neither describe in words, nor even conceive in
their minds.

SECTION VIII.

PROVISION MADE FOR SECURING THE OBEDIENCE OP FALLEN MAN
TO THE DIVINE LAW.

This forms a singular peculiarity in the moral system
of the Bible. In this it stands pre-eminent above
all other systems of morals. Untaught by divine re
velation, men merely lay down rules of duty, and
never think of strength derived from heaven, to
enable them to observe these rules. Heathen philoso
phers proudly relied on themselves, and boasted of
virtue as their own attainment. But the Bible
humbles the pride of man, by teaching us our native
weakness, and to regard God as the author of every
* Ephesians iv. 13.

TO THE MORAL CODE. 201

holy disposition, and of all upright conduct in fallen
men. To his grace and renewing power it attributes
regeneration, faith, repentance, a new heart, love, and
universal sanctifieation. In proof of this let the fol
lowing passages be attentively considered. " Create
in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit
within me." " Then will I sprinkle clean water upon
you, and ye shall be clean : from all your filth iness
and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new
heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put
within you: and I will take away the stony heart
out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of
flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and
cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep
my judgments and do them." " But as many as re
ceived him, to them gave he power to become the
sons of God, even to them that believe on his name :
which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." " For by
grace are ye saved, through faith: and that not of
yourselves ; it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest
any man should boast. For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God
hath before ordained, that we should walk in them."
" When they heard these things, they held their peace,
and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the
Gentiles granted repentance unto life." " But the fruit
of the Spirit, is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentle
ness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." " I am
crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I,
but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live
in the flesh, I live by the faith of Christ, who loved
me, and gave himself for me." "By the grace
of God, I am what I am." " Abide in me, and I

202 INSPIRATION OF

in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, ex
cept it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye
abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches : he
that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth
forth much fruit : for without me ye can do nothing."
" Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean : wash
me, and I shall be whiter than snow."*

This doctrine runs through the Bible ; it is found in
the Old Testament as well as in the New.

CHAPTER IV.

ARGUMENTS FROM THE MORAL CODE.

FROM the survey of the moral system of the Bible, in
the preceding chapter, several arguments in favour of
its divine original and authority, may be derived. Its
superiority to all other systems in the world — its per
fection — its exemption from the debasing influence of
human depravity — and the provision made for secur
ing its observance — will each furnish a good and con
clusive argument.

SECTION I.

THE SUPERIORITY OF THE MORAL SYSTEM IN THE BIBLE, IS EVI
DENCE OF ITS DIVINE ORIGINAL AND AUTHORITY.

Let the summaries and details of duty, in the Scrip
tures, be considered ; the spiritual natu/e of this code;
the perfection of its demands ; the ultimate end of its

* Ps. li. 10. Ezck. xxxvi. 25— 27. John i. 12, 13. Ephes. ii.
8—10. Acts xi. 18. Gal. v. 22, 23 ; ii. 20. 1 Cor. xv. 10. John
xv 5. Fs. li. 7.

THE MORAL CODE. 203

requisitions, the glory of God ; the sanctions by which
obedience is enforced; the bright and illustrious ex
amples set before us to stimulate and encourage obedi
ence ; and the singular provision made for securing the
observance of the divine law : let all these particulars
be duly considered, and the great superiority of the
moral system in the Bible, to all other systems that
were ever elaborated by human ingenuity and wisdom,
will clearly appear. All human systems have been
essentially defective. They have failed in regard to the
duties we owe to God ; they have been defective in au
thority, and enforced by inferior and feeble motives ;
and they have left fallen, sinful man to depend upon
his own strength in fulfilling his duty.

How is this great superiority of the sacred writers,
in stating and enforcing moral duties, to be accounted
for ? It is not to be ascribed to their superior genius
and learning ; for many pagan philosophers exceeded
some of them in both these qualifications. The peo
ple among whom these writers lived were not distin
guished by their attainments in the arts and sciences ;
they were generally occupied in agricultural pursuits.
Yet the sacred writers have delivered to the world a
moral code incomparably superior to all others. Is
not this singular fact evidence that they did, as they
affirm, derive their superior wisdom in teaching men
their duty, from the inspiration of God? If they were
indebted to themselves for their pre-eminence in wis
dom, why did they not take to themselves the praise ?
Why did they renounce the honour, by representing
themselves as humble servants, commissioned to de
liver the messages of their Lord and Master 1 They
all have spoken in the name of God. To his divine
illumination they ascribed their superior knowledge.

204 INSPIRATION OF

They have published to the world, not their invention
but the law of God, as they received it from the teach
ings of his Spirit. " All scripture," says one apostle,
" is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness : that the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works ;" and an
other, " Holy men of God spake as they were moved
by the Holy Ghost."*

SECTION II.

THE PERFECTION OF THE MORAL CODE IN THE BIBLE, FURNISHES A
STRONG PROOF OF HEAVENLY ORIGIN AND DIVINE AUTHORITY.

The perfection of the Bible system appears mani
fest from what we have already said. The ten com
mandments are evidently comprehensive of all the
duties incumbent on men. That supreme and intense
love to God, and love to our neighbour as ourselves,
on which the Redeemer teaches us that all the law
and the prophets hang, must be allowed to be the
principle of obedience in its utmost perfection : and it
is undeniably certain, that, if this principle were found
in our hearts in full vigour, it would prompt, incline,
and constrain us, most willingly and delightfully, to
every thing that is right, every thing that is lovely, and
every thing that is noble. Nothing injurious, nothing
impure, nothing sinful, could flow from such a source,
so pure and holy.

Now we ask, was it possible for fallen creatures,

with understandings darkened, and hearts defiled, by

sin, to recover the full knowledge of God's perfect

aw, by the researches of their unassisted minds?

* 2 Timothy iii. 1G. 2 Peter i. 31.

THE MORAL CODE. 205

This question is, we think distinctly answered by the
ignorance of the law that prevailed in the heathen
world for four thousand years, and that still prevails
in everv part of the world, where the light of divine
revelation does not shine. The distinction between
right and wrong, has never been obliterated from the
human mind; conscience has always, and still does
every where, condemn sin, more or less. Yet no
philosopher has ever arisen among heathen nations,
to furnish them with a system of duties approximating
in any degree to perfection. But Moses, who lived in
the idolatrous court of Egypt, and Jesus Christ, who
was brought up without education, in a despised city
of Galilee, have each presented the world with a com
prehensive and perfect rule of moral duty. Whence
did they derive their knowledge, so superior to that
of all other men? Were they not inspired by God,
and thus enabled to teach what no uninspired man ever
taught?

Unfallen creatures are perfect ; and being perfect,
they are acquainted with their duty in its full extent,
and must have possessed this knowledge from the
commencement of their moral agency. But how
could they have been thus informed from that early
period; except by divine teaching 1 The divine law
is adapted to the relation subsisting between the Crea
tor and his creatures ; and a perfect adjustment of the
law to this relation, requires a perfect knowledge both
of God and of his creatures. But such knowledge no
created being does or can possess ; and it will follow
as a consequence, that no creature, whatever may be
his intellectual endowments, could, by their exercise,
discover the law of God in all its perfections, lie
must be indebted for such knowledge to his Creator

18

206 INSPIRATION OF

If this be true in regard to unfallen, holy creatures,
must it not be true of fallen, sinful creatures? If holy
angels, and man in his primitive condition, were in
debted to God for the knowledge of his will, must it
not follow as a certain consequence, that fallen man,
with his mind darkened and conscience corrupted by
sin, could never have discovered that perfect code of
morals taught in the Bible, if it had not been revealed
by the Spirit of God I

SECTION III.

THE EXEMPTION OF THE MORAL SYSTEM CONTAINED IN THE BIBLE,
FROM THE DEBASING INFLUENCE OF HUMAN DEPRAVITY, IS AN
OTHER PROOF OF ITS HEAVENLY ORIGIN.

The depravity resulting from our apostasy from
God, has a pernicious influence over the minds, and
especially the hearts of men. It has impaired their
spiritual perceptions, stupefied their conscience, and
alienated their hearts from God. " The natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ; for they
are foolishness unto him : neither can he know them ;
because they are spiritually discerned." " The carnal
mind is enmity against God ; and is not subject to the
law of God, neither indeed can be." Such "is the
testimony of Scripture ; and universal experience
proves its truth. Now, it is easy to see that heathen
philosophers, writing under the influence of natural
depravity producing such pernicious effects ; men
blinded in their minds by sin, and living in estrange
ment from God, were not competent to compile a
code of moral duties that should correspond to all
the relations we sustain to God and to one another.
Accordingly their systems were grossly defective in

THE MORAL CODE. 207

respect to duties we owe to God, as well as deficient in
stating personal and relative duties. Nor was this
blinding influence of sin confined to heathen philoso
phers ; it has shown itself in the moral writings of
philosophers, who have enjoyed the advantage of living
under the light of divine revelation. Many social and
relative duties you will find well stated and illustrated
by them ; but you will not find inculcated in their writ
ings those lovely duties on which the sacred writers
insist : such as humility, meekness, gentleness, forgive
ness, and heavenly mindedness.

The system of moral duties exhibited in the sacred
Scriptures, is entirely free from this depressing influ
ence of human depravity. The doctrine of depravity
is distinctly and fully taught by the sacred writers ;
its influence in blinding the understanding, in pervert
ing the affections, and alienating the heart from God,
is insisted on by them. They had themselves expe
rience of this debasing influence ; being by nature as
depraved as other men ; living under the dominion of
sin, till it pleased God to deliver them by his grace,
and continuing, more or less, subject, through life, to
its misguiding influence: and yet they have presented a
code of moral duties entirely free from the perverting
effects of this powerful cause. No duty is lowered, so
as to accommodate it to the weakness of human nature
induced by the apostasy. Every one is exhibited in all
its commanding claims, as if addressed to unfallen crea
tures. We are required not only to love God, but to
love him with all our heart, with all our mind, with all
our soul, and with all our strength; and not only to love
our neighbour, but to love him as ourselves. In a
word, we are commanded to be perfect, as our Father
which is in heaven is perfect.

208 INSPIRATION OF

A singular phenomenon ! Sinful, fallen man, living
in a sinful, fallen world ; surrounded with darkness
and prevailing idolatry; publishing a code of laws,
that, rising above every unpropitious influence, re
quires the perfection in holiness, that was originally
demanded from unfallen man. Can this phenomenon
be explained without referring to divine inspiration ?
Are we not driven to the conclusion, that these holy
men wrote under the illuminating and guiding influ
ence of the Holy Spirit? Without this heavenly influ
ence how could they have perceived what other men.
did not, and could not perceive, and publish truths
which the apostasy had obliterated from the human
heart ?

SECTION IV.

THE PROVISION MADE IN THE BIBLE FOR SECURING OBEDIENCE TO
ITS MORAL SYSTEM, FURNISHES A STRONG ARGUMENT FOR ITS
DIVINE ORIGINAL AND AUTHORITY.

The sacred writers, we have seen, teach very dis
tinctly the doctrine, that the regeneration and sanctifi-
cation of the human soul, are the work of God ; that
all holy desires and heavenly dispositions come from
above ; that we are authorized to pray for promised
grace to assist us in doing the divine will; in a word
that the work of renovation is begun, carried on, and
consummated by grace derived from Jesus Christ.
This great and interesting doctrine of divine influence,
in recovering our fallen race from a state of sin to a
state of holiness, was familiar to the minds of the
sacred writers. They speak of it, not as a doubtful
matter, with hesitation, but as infallible truth, with
unwavering assurance. It is interwoven with all

THE MORAL CODE. 200

their writings. It is taught by them in a variety of
forms: as a doctrine and as a promise, as furnishing a
directory for prayer, and as prescribing a duty. The
whole lite of a Christian is described as originated, pre
served, and consummated by divine influence. Writing
to the Philippians, Paul says, " Being confident of this
very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in
you will perform it until the day of Jesus of Christ."
And, in his epistle to the church of the Thessalonians,
he says, "And the very God of peace sanctify you
wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and
body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you,
who also will do it."*

Whence did the sacred writers obtain this know
ledge ? IIow came their minds to be so familiar with
it ? And why did they inculcate the doctrine of divine
influence, so fully and with such confidence? Reason
was not their teacher : for if reason could peradventure
suggest that God might assist individuals struggling
with temptations, she could not possibly give assurance
that he would regenerate and sanctify a single soul.
The knowledge of the important doctrine of divine in
fluence, as stated and illustrated in the Bible, could
be derived from no other source than heavenly instruc
tions. Nothing but the teachings of God's Spirit could
furnish the apostles with such clear views of this in
teresting truth, as they manifestly possessed, and in
spire them with such unhesitating confidence in teach
ing it to their fellow men.

Had it been possible for impostors to conceive
such a doctrine, they would not have dared to make
it a part of their system, that God would give to their

* Phil. i. 6. 1 Thess. v. 23, 24.
18*

210 INSPIRATION OF

disciples a new heart, and enable them to lead a holy
life; because they might easily see, that no one of theii
disciples would receive grace to impart to him such a
character ; and consequently their cause would soon be
ruined by the failure of a predicted event.

The sabbatical year was a wonderful part of the
Mosaic institution. Had he not been assured that he
was divinely directed, Moses would never have com
manded the Israelites to let their land remain uncul
tivated every seventh year, much less would he have
announced the promise, that God would bless them
in the sixth year, and cause it " to bring forth fruit
for three years."* If the idea of such an institution
could have entered into the mind of an impostor, he
would not have been so superlatively foolish as to
adopt it, and to announce a promise which he knew
would not be fulfilled ; the failure of which would, in
the course of a few years, ruin his cause, and cover him
with shame. The institution of Moses carries on its
front the marks of its heavenly origin. Both in deliver
ing the command, and in uttering the promise, the He
brew lawgiver acted as one assured he was acting by
divine authority.

In like manner the doctrine of divine influence, as
taught in the Bible, carries on its front manifest tokens
of heavenly origin : for, if it were not true, it would
long ago have brought discredit on our holy religion.
If it had not been true, its effects would never have
appeared ; not a solitary individual would have under
gone the transformation of character which this doc
trine implies : and, if no individual had been trans
formed by divine grace, accompanying the preaching
of the gospel, how could the gospel have gained such

* Lev. xxv. 21.

THE MORAL CODE. 211

triumphs as it did in the apostles' day? How easily
could its enemies have disproved the wonders said to
have been wrought on the day of Pentecost! If no
such transforming influence attended the gospel, would
Paul, when addressing the Corinthian church, after
having spoken of the vilest characters of men, have
dared to appeal to them, and say : " And such were
some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sancti
fied, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord
Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God?" This was
not the language of empty boasting, but the language
of sober truth. Nothing but a divine influence could
have sustained the apostles and their converts against
that bitter and destructive persecution, which was
carried on, both by Jews and Gentiles, for the ruin of
Christianity. They felt it themselves, and their con
verts felt it ; and its cheering, supporting, and trium
phant power was seen by their persecutors, when the
victims of their malice cheerfully yielded their lives
in honour of their Lord and Saviour, and sang his
praises on the scaffold, and at the stake. Thousands
of such witnesses to the truth, bled and died. With
out fear of contradiction Paul could write to the church
at Thessalonica, " For our gospel came not unto you
in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy
Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what
manner of men we were among you for your sake.
And ye became followers of us, and of 'the Lord,
having received the word in much affliction, with joy
of the Holy Ghost: so that ye were ensamples to all
that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. For from you
sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Mace
donia and Achaia, but also in every place' your faith

* 1 Corinthians vi. 11.

212 INSPIRATION OF

to God- ward is spread abroad ; so that we need not
speak any thing. For they themselves show of us what
manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye
turned to God from dumb idols to serve the living
and true God ; and to wait for his Son from heaven,
whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which de
livered us from the wrath to come." " For this cause
also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye
received the word which ye heard of us, ye received
it, not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the
word of God, which effectually worketh also in you
that believe."* Is not this the language of truth?
Would Paul have written this, if he had not been as
sured he was stating facts ? Would he have appealed
to them as having felt and experienced an influence of
which they had no consciousness ? What could have
induced him to act with such supreme folly?

Divine influence in transforming the characters of
men, was not confined to the apostolic period. It has
pervaded the church, more or less, in every age. It
shone with lustre in the glorious reformation from
Popish ignorance and superstition ; when, by the
preaching of Luther and his associates, such a blessed
change was wrought in a large portion of Europe. It
has been manifested in the signal revivals of religion
which God was graciously pleased to vouchsafe to the
American churches; and in the formation of Bible
and Missionary, and Tract, and Sunday School, and
other religious societies of the present time. There
are multitudes of living Christians, and among them
thousands of talented and learned men, who profess to
have experienced the transforming grace of God, and
who give no doubtful evidence of the blessed change

* 1 Thcss. i. 5—10 ; ii. 13.

THE MORAL CODE. 213

that has been wrought in their temper and life. The
intemperate have become sober; the licentious, chaste:
the covetous, liberal ; the worldly, heavenly-minded ;
the revengeful, forgiving ; the depraved, holy.

CHAPTER V.

REDEMPTION THE WORK OF GOD.

CREATION bears the impress of the Creator's infinite
perfections. When an intelligent mind contemplates
the heavens and the earth, and the various orbs of
the firmament above ; the land and water, the moun
tains and valleys, the hills and plains, that compose
our earth ,• and carefully examines the relations which
the various parts of the heavens and the earth bear to
each other ; he cannot doubt that they are the work
of an almighty and infinitely wise and good Being. In
like manner, when he surveys the motions of the hea
venly bodies, the rising and the setting oi the sun, the
moon, and the stars, the ebbing and flowing of the tide,
the successive generations of men and other animals,
the return of the seasons, the adaptation of objects to
our various senses, the regular return of day and night,
and its correspondence to our nature, the food provided
for man and beast, and the manner in which it is pro
duced; he sees at once the providence of the Creator,
and that the world is upheld and governed by him who
made it. The Author of these works is seen in their
own light.

Just so, that great work of redemption of which the
Bible speaks, is known to be the work of God. Jt

214 REDEMPTION GOD*S WORK.

has the signature of his glorious perfections deeply
impressed on it. This will be seen, by contemplating
its contrivance, — its developments, — its execution, —
its application, — its benefits and results, — and its con
summation.

SECTION I.

THE CONTRIVANCE OF THE PLAN OF REDEMPTION.

When God created the different parts of the world,
he only spake his will. " And God said, Let there be
light, and there was light." "Let the waters under
the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and
let the dry land appear: and it was so." " Let the earth
bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit
tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself,
upon the earth : and it was so."* But when God was
about to create man, the lord of this world, there was
a consultation of the sacred Three : " And God said,
Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and
let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and
over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over
all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creep-
eth upon the earth."f

If a consultation between the sacred Three in the
Godhead occurred at the creation of man, we may
well suppose such a consultation held when the great
scheme of his redemption was devised. The Scriptures
indicate this as occurring in the counsels of eternity.
It is intimated that proposals and promises were made
by the Father to the Son ; and that these proposals were
acceded to by the Son, and a fulfilment of the pro
mises claimed by him on the accomplishment of his

* Gen i. 3, 9, 11. f Ib. i. 26

REDEMPTION GOD'S WORK. 215

work. " Ask of me," is the language of the Father to
the Son, " and I shall give thee the heathen for thine
inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for
thy possession." Again, " The Lord said unto my
Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine
enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of
thy strength out of Zion : rule thou in the midst of thine
enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of
thy power."*

The Son is represented as responding : " Sacrifice
and offering thou didst not desire : mine ears hast thou
opened : burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not
required. Then said I, Lo, I come : in the volume of
the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will,
O my God ; yea, thy law is within my heart."
When the Redeemer was on the eve of finishing his
work, he said, " I have glorified thee on the earth. I
have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own
self with the glory which I had with thee before the
world was."f

Of the scheme of redemption the sacred writers
speak as a great mystery originating in eternity. Paul,
in his epistle to the Romans, says, " Now to him that
is of power to stablish you according to my gospel,
and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the
revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since
the world began, but now is made manifest, and by
the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the com
mandment of the everlasting God, made known unto
all nations for the obedience of faith." The same
apostle says to the Corinthians, " But we speak the

* Ps. ii.8 ; ex. 1 -3. Isa. xlix. 1—9. f Ps. xl. 6—8. John xvii. 4, 5.

216 REDEMPTION GOD*S WORK.

wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom,
which God ordained before the world was, which none
of the princes of this world knew : for had they known
it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."
Again, writing to the Ephesians, he says, " Unto me,
who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace
given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the un
searchable riches of Christ ; and to make all men see
what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the
beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who
created all things by Jesus Christ : to the intent that
now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly
places might be known by the church the manifold
wisdom of God ; according to the eternal purpose
which he purposed in Christ Jesus : in whom we have
boldness and access with confidence by the faith of
him." And again in his epistle to the Colossians,
" The mystery which hath been hid from ages and from
generations, but now is made manifest to his saints : to
whom God would make known what is the riches of
the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles ; which
is Christ in you, the hope of glory." " That their hearts
might be comforted, being knit together in love, and
unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding,
to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God and of
the Father, and of Christ; in whom are hid all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge/'*

Such is the language of the inspired writers, when
speaking of the scheme of redemption. The strict
propriety of it will appear as we advance in our dis
cussion.

* Rom. xvi. 25, 26. 1 Cor. ii. 7, 8. Eph. iii. 8—12. Col. i. 2G,
27 ; ii. 2, 3.

REDEMPTION GOD S WORK. 217

SECTION II.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS SCHEME, AS TAUGHT IN THE BIBLE.

The development of the scheme of redemption oc
cupied lour thousand years. Shortly after the crea
tion of the world, and immediately after man's apos
tasy, intimation was given of a coming Saviour; and,
as ages rolled away, additional communications relat
ing to him and his work, were made to mankind.
During all this time the church was taught to look by
faith and holy expectation, for the advent of the Mes
siah. Indeed the glorious scheme will not be com
pletely developed, until time shall end, and eternity
epen upon the redeemed of the Lord in the highest
heaven; for the grand and glorious work of saving a
lost world will not be finished, till all who are to par
take of the great salvation, shall have been collected
around the throne of God and the Lamb, adorned
with their white robes, and crowns of immortal
blessedness. So sublime is this amazing scheme !
The wisdom of God deemed it proper to employ a
system of types to shadow forth something of the pro
mised Redeemer. It consisted of things, such as the
ark, that saved Noah and his family, the serpent
lifted up in the wilderness, for healing those who were
bitten by the fiery serpents, and the sacrifices appoint
ed to make atonement for sin ; and of such persons, as
Adam, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, and David. A system
of prophecy was also instituted for developing the
great scheme of redemption. Prophet after prophet,
in a long succession of ages, from Enoch, the seventh
from Adam, down to Malachi, under the Old Testa
ment, and John the last prophet under the New, were

19

218 REDEMPTION GOD*S WORK.

raised up and inspired of God to deliver their respective
messages concerning Christ and his kingdom. Light
increased more and more, till the Sun of Righteousness
arose, and shone upon the world, in all his brightness,
and " with healing under his wings."

At first the knowledge of the Redeemer was deliv-

O

ered orally, and transmitted, from generation to gene
ration, by tradition from father to son, till the preva
lence of wickedness and idolatry, rendered it necessary
to reduce it to writing, and to commit it to the keep
ing of a separate and peculiar people. God, therefore,
was pleased to choose Abraham and his descendants
for this high and distinguishing trust. When they
were multiplied into a nation, He delivered them from
Egyptian bondage, " by a mighty and outstretched
arm ;" conducted them through the Red Sea, on dry
ground ; led them through the wilderness, where he
was pleased to keep them forty years, sustaining them
daily by manna from the skies, and water that flowed
from the flinty rock, smitten by the rod of Moses.
And when they were in due time settled in the land
of promise, he watched over them by an extraordi
nary and miraculous providence, till the Messiah
came. To this singular people the prophets were
sent, and all their written predictions and messages
were delivered.

The development of the scheme of redemption re
lated to the person, — the offices, — and the work, of the
Saviour.

1. His person was foretold. An indication of it
was given in the first promise recorded in the Bible.
In passing sentence on Satan, God said, " I will put
enmity between thee and the woman, and between
thy seed and her seed ; it shall bruise thy head, and

219

ihou shall bruise his heel."* This passage has
already been explained ; (pages 77, 78,) and we now
advert to it, to show that it intimated to our first
parents that the Redeemer would be more than man.
A man he was to be ; but a mere man could not bruise
the serpent's head, or destroy the works of the devil.
This achievement transcended the ability of any man,
and of all men. One greater than the seed of the
woman, than a mere man, was required to endure the
sufferings expressed by the bruising of his heel by the
serpent. This might have been inferred by our first
parents from the promise. Light was thrown upon
its meaning by the institution of sacrifices. Between
the death of a dumb animal and the sin of a rational
creature, there is no connexion ; so that the prevalence
of animal sacrifices can be accounted for only on the
ground, that they were at first instituted by divine
appointment. Abel, Moses tells us, offered "of the
firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof; and God
had respect unto Abel, and to his offering." And Paul
says, " By faith Abel offered unto God a more excel
lent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness
that he was righteous, God testifying of his gift : and
by it he being dead yet speaketh."f If sacrifices were
not divinely instituted, Abel could not have offered his
in faith, nor would God have accepted such unprescri-
bed worship. Sacrifices from the beginning pointed to
the grand sacrifice to be offered in future time by the
promised One.

By David the church was taught that the Redeemer
was the Son of God ; for it is written in the second
psalm, " I will declare the decree ; the Lord hath said
unto me, Thou art my Son ; this day I have begotten

* Gen. iii. 15 f Ib. iv. 4. Heb. xi. 4.

220 REDEMPTION GOD*S WORK.

thee." This the Jews rightly understood as teaching
the divine nature of the Saviour. When our Lord
assumed this title, they charged him with blasphemy
in making himself God.* Isaiah proclaimed both his
miraculous conception and his divine nature. " Be
hold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall
call his name Immanuel." Again, " For unto us a
child is born, unto us a son is given : and the govern
ment shall be upon his shoulders : and his name shall
be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the
everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." How sub
lime these titles ! They belong to none but the Su
preme Being. Again, the same prophet, in the most
animating language, announces his Godhead, by styling
him not only God, but Jehovah, that incommuni
cable name : " O Zion, that bringest good tidings,
get thee up into the high mountain: O Jerusalem,
that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with
strength ; lift it up, be not afraid ; say unto the cities
of Judah, Behold, your God ! Behold, the Lord God
(original, Jehovah) will come with strong hand, and
his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with
him, and his work before him. He shall feed his
flock like a shepherd : he shall gather the lambs with
his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall
gently lead those that are with young." Malachi says,
" The Lord (Jehovah) whom ye seek, shall suddenly
come to his temple, even the messenger of the cove
nant, whom ye delight in : behold, he shall come, saith
the Lord of hosts. "f

But in the New Testament we have the clearest in
struction, as to the natures, and person of our blessed
Lord. There we are distinctly taught to believe that

* John x. 33—36. f Isa. vii. 14 ; ix. G ; xl. 9—11. Mai. iii. 1

J.EDEMPTION GOD's WORK. 221

he is truly man, having the soul and body of a man,
and truly God, in one person ; there is ascribed to hi n
every divine name, every divine attribute, every divine
work, and every divine honour.

2. The offices of our Redeemer were revealed to
God's ancient church. lie was exhibited as the great
prophet, the great high priest, and the glorious king of
his people.*

3. The work to be performed by Messiah in these
offices was distinctly foretold.

His work as a prophet is predicted by Isaiah : " The
Spirit of the Lord God is upon me ; because the Lord
hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the
meek ; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of
the prison to them that are bound ; to proclaim the
acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance
of our God ; to comfort all that mourn ; to appoint unto
them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for
ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise
for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called
trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he
might be glorified."f

His work as high priest, Daniel foretold when he
said Messiah should " be cut off, but not for himself;"
and that he was " to finish transgression, and to make
an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity,
and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal
up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most
Holy."}

The Redeemer's work as king, is set forth by David,
as taking vengeance on his enemies, as subduing them

* Deut. xx. 18, 19. Ps. ex. 4 ; ii. 6. f Isa. Ixi. 1—3. { Dan. ix. 24, 26.

19*

222 REDEMPTION GOD*S WOKK.

to his control, and ruling over a willing people.* Isaiah
celebrates the glory of our king and of his kingdom,
in the most animating strains. " But with righteous
ness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity
for the meek of the earth : and he shall smite the earth
with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his
lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness
shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the
girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with
the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid ;
and the calf and the young lion and the fatling toge
ther; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow
and the bear shall feed ; their young ones shall lie
down together : and the lion shall eat straw like the
ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of
the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on
the cockatrice's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy
in all my holy mountain : for the earth shall be full of
the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the
sea."f " Arise, shine ; for thy light is come, and the
glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold,
the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness
the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and
his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles
shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of
thy rising. Lift up thine eyes, round about, and see :
all they gather themselves together, they come to thee :
thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall
be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow
together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged :
because the abundance of the sea shall be converted
unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto
lhee."J

* Ps. ii. 110. f Isa. xi. 4—9. I Isa. Ix. 1—5.

REDEMPTION GOD*S WORK.

David had before the time of Isaiah, set forth the
blessedness of king Messiah's reign : " He shall come
down like rain upon the mown grass; as showers
that water the earth. In his days shall the righteous
flourish; and abundance of peace, so long as the moon
endureth. He shall have dominion also from sea to
sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.
They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before
him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. The kings
of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents; the
kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all
kings shall fall down before him : all nations shall serve
him."*

Micah, subsequently to David, said of this great
king: "He shall judge among many people, and re
buke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their
swords into ploughshares, and their spears into prun
ing hooks : nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall
sit every man under his vine and his fig tree ; and none
shall make them afraid : for the mouth of the Lord of
hosts hath spoken it."f

Such is the language of ancient prophecy in regard
to the work which Messiah had to perform, in the offices
he assumed for accomplishing his glorious enterprise
of saving a lost and ruined world. It will appear more
clearl) and distinctly, by considering

SECTION III.

ITS EXECUTION.

In the revolution of ages the time arrived, when
all things which " were written in the law of Moses

* Psalm Ixxii. 6—11. f Micah iv. 3, 4.

REDEMPTION GOD'S WORK,

and in the prophets, and in the psalms," concerning
the Redeemer, were to be fulfilled. " Then when the
fulness of time was come," says Paul, " God sent forth
his Son, made of a woman, made under the law to re
deem them that were under the law, that we might re
ceive the adoption of sons."* The glorious Redeemer
was the Son of God before he was born, and came into
the world. He existed from eternity as the Son of
God ; and in time he assumed human nature into per
sonal union with his divine nature. So the truth is ac
curately stated by the same apostle in his epistle to
the Philippians, where he says of Him, " Who, being
in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal
with God : but made himself of no reputation, and took
upon him the form of a servant and was made in the
likeness of men."f

Having voluntarily assumed the nature of man, to
execute the great work of redemption, he became, in
all things, subject to the law by which man was go
verned, that he might fulfil all righteousness. He was
circumcised in his infancy; and subsequently he obser
ved all the rites and ceremonies of divine worship. He
attended both the service of the temple and of the syna
gogue.

Being baptized by John, and having received from
heaven the attestation of his Messiahship, he pro
ceeded immediately to discharge the duties of his
prophetic office, by teaching in the synagogues. In
the synagogue at Nazareth, he applied to himself a
signal prophecy of Isaiah, (Luke iv. 14—22) and drew
forth the admiration of all who heard him speak his
gracious words. From that time he, as the great
prophet of the Church, persevered to the end of his

* Gal iv. 4, 5. f Phil. ii. 6, 7.

REDEMPTION GOD'S WORK. 225

life, in teaching wherever he went; in the temple at
Jerusalem, in the synagogues throughout Judea, in
Galilee, on the mount, by the way-side, on the sea
shore; and wherever the people assembled around him
to hear his heavenly wisdom. His labours in teaching
were incessant. When his public instructions were
ended, he taught his disciples in private ; explaining to
them what they did not understand, and thus preparing
them for discharging the functions of that high office
to which he had called them.

2. But under this head our attention must be
directed especially to the Redeemer's execution of his
odice of High Priest, by which he wrought out our
redemption in the way of a purchase. The Apostle
Paul teaches, that we were redeemed with a price :
" For ye are bought with a price : therefore glorify
God in your body, and in your spirit, which are
God's"* Peter tells us what the price of our redemp
tion was : " For as much as ye know that ye were
not redeemed (f^vt^^^tt) with corruptible things, as
silver and gold, from your vain conversation received
by tradition from your fathers ; but with the pre
cious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish
and without spot."f The price of our redemption
was the precious blood of Christ, the lamb sacrificed
for us.

To describe the sufferings of our Redeemer, and
their various sources, is here unnecessary. Every
one who reads his life as recorded by the Evangelists,
will see that they were great and multiplied. But it
is important to learn from the Bible their true charac
ter and design. Let us then inquire, why Jesus
Christ suffered. The inspired writers reply to this

* 1 Cor. vi. 20. f Heb. vii. 26. 1 Tet. i. 18, 19.

226 REDEMPTION GOD'S WORK.

question, that he did not suffer for himself; for says
one, He was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate
from sinners;" and another, he "did no sin, neither
was guile found in his mouth." On his own account
he could not suffer. There existed no reason for his
suffering. Paul referring to his innocence, says,
" Who needed not daily, as those high priests, to offer
up sacrifice, first for his own sins."* The sacred
writers tell us distinctly that Christ suffered for us :
" Forasmuch then as Christ has suffered for us in
the flesh, arm yourselves with the same mind :" and
that he suffered for our sins : " For," says this
apostle, " Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the
just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God ;
being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the
Spirit." And this they consider as a special exhibition
of divine love : " But God commendeth his love to
wards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us."f

But in what sense did the Redeemer suffer and die
for us, and for our sins? Was it merely for our
benefit, as a martyr to the truth, and as an example
for our imitation 1 He did indeed die as a martyr to
the truth ; and in his life we find the best example for
imitation, when enduring affliction, and especially
when called to suffer persecution for our faith.. But
this was rather incidental to his humiliation and suf
ferings. Had our redemption required nothing more,
than a testimony to the truth and an example of
patience under suffering, no sufficient cause would
have existed for the mission of the Son of God into
the world. A mere creature sustained by divine
grace, would have been adequate to the work, and

* 1 Pet. ii. 22. Heb. vii. 27. f 1 Pet. iv. 1 ; iii 18. Rom. v. 8.

REDEMPTION GOD'S WORK. 227

might have become our Redeemer. More than this
the Bible teaches us, was required to save our lost
and ruined race. While we thankfully admit that the
benefits mentioned result to us from the sufferings and
death of Christ, we are not to overlook the great fact,
that he suffered and died to procure for us far greater
blessings than these, and to accomplish a work, which
no mere creature could possibly accomplish. The true
character and design of the sufferings and death of the
Son of God, as exhibited in the Bible, is this: They
were offered to God as an expiatory sacrifice for sin ;
designed to satisfy his justice, turn away from us his
wrath, and procure for us the remission of our sins,
and reconciliation with his offended majesty. All this
will appear from the passages to be quoted. Paul says,
" Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for
us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smell
ing savour :" and again, " For even Christ our passover
was sacrificed for us."*

In the latter text we are taught the passover was a
type of Christ. What was the passover, and what its
design? It was a lamb without blemish slain by
the congregation of Israel, the blood of which was
sprinkled " on the two side posts, and on the upper
door posts of the houses," to protect them against the
destroying angel : " and the blood shall be to you for
a token upon your houses where you are : and when
I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague
shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite
the land of Egypt."f Now, as Christ was our pass-
over sacrificed for us, he has done for us really what
the type signified ; his blood sprinkled upon us effectu
ally protects us against that wrath of the Almighty

* Eph. v. 2. 1 Cor. v. 7. f- Ex. xii. 3—13.

228

that will fall on those on whom it is not sprinkled,
when he shall come to punish all the workers of
iniquity.

The same great truth was typically taught to God's
ancient church, by all the expiatory sacrifices that
were offered under the law, and especially by the
transactions of the great day of atonement. The
high priest was a type of Christ ; and what he did on
that great day, was a typical of what our High Priest
did for us. So we are distinctly and fully taught by
Paul in his epistle to the Hebrews. See ch. v. 1 — 5.
viii. 1 — 5. ix. 1 — 15. x. 1 — 14. In Leviticus xvi., we
have a particular account of the ceremonies, transac
tions, and sacrifices of that day, when the high priest
" made an atonement for himself, and for his house
hold, and for all the congregation of Israel." verse 17.
But what is particularly worthy of notice, is the state
ment contained in verses 21, 22. "And Aaron shall
lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and
confess over him all the iniquities of the children of
Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, put
ting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send
him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilder
ness : and the goat shall bear upon him all their ini
quities unto a land not inhabited." How was this
tvpe fulfilled in Christ? He was at once the High
Priest who offered, and the victim that bore away our
sins. Our sins were laid upon him; for says the
prophet, " He was wounded for our transgressions, he
W7as bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of
our peace was upon him : and with his stripes we are
healed. "All we like sheep have gone astray; we
have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord

229

Oath LAID ON HIM THE INIQUITY OF US ALL."* With thJS

language of the evangelical prophet accords that of the
apostle, when speaking of Christ, he says, " Who his
own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that
we being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness :
by whose stripes ye were healed."f

The truth is uttered in language still more emphatic
by Paul. " For he hath made him to be sin for us,
who knew no sin; that we might be made the right
eousness of God in him."J How was the sinless Re
deemer made sin for us 1 He was not made sin in
the abstract, he was not converted into sin. But lie
was, some will say, made a sin-offering. Well, what
will this imply? Many animals were slain for food
in Judea ; but they were not sin-offerings. To render
an animal a sin-offering, it was necessary for a trans
gressor to take his intended victim to the temple.
There, when he had confessed his sin over the head of
the animal, and thus laid upon it his sin, it was slain
by the priest. So, if our sins had not been laid on the
Saviour ; if he had not been held responsible for them,
and borne the penalty due to them, he could not, ac
cording to the import of the types, have been a sin-offer
ing. That our sins are taken away by this great expia
tory sacrifice, is taught with great plainness and fulness.
" But Christ being come an High Priest of good things
to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not
made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by ///>
turn blood he entered in once into the holy place,
having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the
blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer
sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of

* Isa. liii. 5, 6. f 1 Peter ii. 24. | 2 Cor. v. 21.
20

230 REDEMPTION GOD'S WORK.

the flesh, how much n ore shall the blood of Christ, who.
through the eternal Spirit, offered himself to God, purge
your conscience from dead works, to serve the
living God?" How clearly this teaches us that the
blood of Christ takes away the guilt and stain of works
deserving the punishment of death ; and so enables us,
with freedom and confidence, to worship and serve
God ! " The blood of Jesus Christ his Son," says John,
" cleanseth us from all sin."*

The whole truth is comprehended in a single
passage, in Paul's epistle to the Romans : " But now
the righteousness of God without the law is manifested,
being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even
the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus
Christ unto all, and upon all them that believe : for
there is no difference : for all have sinned, and come
short of the glory of God ; being justified freely by his
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus :
whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through
faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the
remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance
of God ; to declare at this time his righteousness; that
he might be just, and the justifier of him which belie veth
in Jesus."!

Having completed the execution of his priestly
office on earth, our Redeemer rose from the dead, as
cended on high, passed through the heavens, and
appeared in the presence of God, as our advocate.
There he ever lives to present the merits of his great
sacrifice, and to intercede for his Church.J What
was typified by the entrance of the Jewish high priest
i.ito the most holy place on the great day of atone-

* Heb. ix. 11— 14. 1 John i. 7.

f Rom. iii. 21—26. J Heb. iv. 14 ; vi. 20.

231

ment, to sprinkle the blood of his sacrifices upcii and
before the mercy-seat, and to cover it with the cloud
of the burning incense, was realized by our great High
Priest. Lev. xvi. From this fact the apostle draws an
interence full of consolation : " Wherefore, he is able
also, to save them to the uttermost that come unto God
by nim, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for
them."*

3. When the Redeemer had entered into heaven as
our great High Priest, he took his seat at the risrht
hand of God, and was invested with all the powers
and honours and prerogatives of universal King. He
was made head over all things to his Church.f
There he reigns, and will reign for ever. Thence he
sends down his gifts and blessings on his Church; the
first displays of which were given on the day of
Pentecost, and wrere continued, in a greater or less
degree, during the apostolic period: so that the gospel
triumphed over all opposition, and converts were
greatly multiplied in Jerusalem, and Judea, and
throughout the Gentile world. The divine influences
of the Holy Spirit, which began on that memorable
day to be shed down on sinful men, were continued
till the Roman empire became Christian, and the cross
was seen upon the throne of the Cassars. His gifts
were indeed suspended, in a great measure, during
the dark ages; but, when the period of the glorious
Reformation arrived, they were again bestowed in
rich abundance, for effecting the revival of religion
that then blessed the world with the return of light
and grace and truth. The Redeemer still reigns in
glory ; he still gives to our wretched world the tokens
of his power and love; he still maintains his kingdom

* Ileb. vii. 25. f Hcb. i. 3. Pliil. ii. 9—11. Eph. i. 20—23.

232 REDEMPTION GOD S WORK.

on earth : and when the time shall arrive fcr its univei
sal extension, he " will pour out his Spirit on all flesh,
that all men may partake of his grace, and behold his
glory. " His rest shall be glorious."*

SECTION IV.

APPLICATION OF REDEMPTION.

On this point, but little need be said. The word is
the means, the ministry the instrument, and the Holy
Spirit the agent in applying salvation to the souls of
sinful men.

The word read and preached is the appointed
means. It regenerates and sanctifies sinners.f By
the word they are convicted of sin, and learn their
lost and ruined state by nature and by practice;
by it they are taught the gracious provision God has
made for their salvation through the mediation of his
Son ; and by it they are led to repentance, faith, and
holy obedience.

The ministry is the appointed instrument for preach
ing the gospel, and is used for converting sinners, and
for building up believers in their most holy faith and

love.J

But it is never to be forgotten, that both the word
and the ministry depend, for all their efficiency and
success, on the accompanying influence of the Holy
Spirit. Without his almighty aid Paul is nothing, and
Apollos is nothing, and the word is a dead letter.§
The gift of the Spirit was promised by the Redeemer
to render the gospel successful ; and it is his to con
vince " the world of sin, and of righteousness and of

* Joel ii. 28. Isaiah xi. 10. f 1 Pet. i. 23. John xvii. 17.

I 1 Cor. i. 24 ; iv. 15. 2 Cor. iii. 6. Eph. iv. 11—13.
§ 1 Cor. iii. 5—7 ; ii. 14.

REDEMPTION OOD's WORK. 233

judgment.''* It is his efficiently to renew and sanctify,
to adorn believers with every grace and virtue, to sus
tain and comfort them through their whole course on
earth, and to bring them at last to glory.

SECTION V.

TH? BENEFITS AND RESULTS OF REDEMPTION.

They arj numerous, and unutterably important. Of
these benefits only a bare enumeration will be pre
sented. They are forgiveness of sin, reconciliation
with God, regeneration and sanctification, restoration
of the lost divine image, justification and peace with
God, adoption into his family, and filial intercourse
with him as a father, the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit to sanctify us, to bear witness with our spirits
that we are the Lord's, to be an earnest in our hearts
of the heavenly inheritance, to comfort and sustain
us in every affliction and trial, to seal us unto the day
of redemption, victory over death, admission into
heaven, a glorious resurrection of our bodies from the
dead, acquittal in the day of judgment, and eternal lii'e
and glory.

The results of redemption are a glorious exhibition
of the perfections of God; of his infinite wisdom in
the contrivance, of his spotless holiness and inflexible
justice in the execution, and of his infinite mercy,
grace, and love, in the application of this wonderful
scheme for saving a lost and ruined race. All these
perfections are more gloriously displayed in the work
of redemption, than they are in the work of creation,
or in the work of providence. This might be shown,
but it would require a long discussion. Hear the lan
guage of Scripture on the subject : " In whom are hid
* John xvi. 8—11.

234 REDEMPTION GOD*S WORK.

all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." " To
the intent that now unto the principalities and powers
in heavenly places might be known by the church the
manifold wisdom of God." "O the depth of the
riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God !
how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways
past finding out!" "But God, who commanded the
light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our
hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ." " That Christ
may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being
rooted and grounded in love, may be able to compre
hend with all saints what is the breadth, and length,
and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ,
which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with
all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to
do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or
think, according to the power that worketh in us : unto
him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus, throughout
all ages, world without end. Amen."*

SECTION VI.

THE CONSUMMATION OF REDEMPTION.

There is a destined consummation of this great
work on earth. It is predicted by the prophets in the
most glowing strains. " And I saw in the night
visions," says Daniel, " and behold one like the Son
of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to
the Ancient of days ; and they brought him near be
fore him. And there was given him dominion, and
glory, and a kingdom, that all people, and nations

* Col. ii. 3. Eph. iii. 10. Rom. xi. 33. 2 Cor. ir. 6. Eph. iii. 17—21.

REDEMPTION GOD's WORK. 235

and languages, should serve him : his dominion is
an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."
"And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness
of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be
given to the people of the saints of the Most High;
whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all
dominions shall serve and obey him. " The kingdoms
of this world," says John, "are become the kingdoms
of our Lord and his Christ; and he shall reign for ever
and ever." " And J heard as it were the voice of a
great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and
as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia :
for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad
and rejoice, and give honour unto him : for the marriage
of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself
ready."*

But the entire consummation of the work of re
demption, is reserved for the next world. When time
shall end, and the last saint shall have been brought

o

into the church, and fitted for heaven, then will the
great Redeemer complete his glorious work of salva
tion. Then his temple will be seen rising in all its
beautiful proportions and grandeur, to the admiration
of an assembled universe. The appointed hour ar
rived, " the Lord himself shall descend from heaven
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and
with the trump of God ; and the dead in Christ shall
rise first."t Seated on the throne of his glory, and
attended by all his holy angels, he will separate his
redeemed people from the wicked, and place them,
collected out of all nations, from the beginning to the
end of time, on his right hand ; and at the close of

* Dan. vii. 13, 14, 27. Rev. xi. 15 ; xix. 6, 7. f 1 Thcss. iv. 16.

236 REDEMPTION GOD'S WORK.

the final judgment, pronounce their acquittal and adju
dication to eternal life. And when the unnumbered
millions, redeemed by the blood of Christ, arrayed in
the white robes of righteousness, and adorned with their
crowns of immortality, purified from all the guilt and
stain of sin, saved from all the miseries of an eternal
hell, and exalted to all the happiness and glory of an
eternal heaven, shall be presented to the Father, and
surrounding the throne shall, in the highest heaven,
ascribe " blessing, and honour, and glory, and power
unto him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Larnb,
for ever and ever;"* then will be consummated the
glorious achievement which the Son of God under-

o

took, and accomplished by his humiliation, sufferings,
and death.

SECTION VII.

THE ARGUMENT FROM A REVIEW.

Such is the work of redemption. So it is described
in Holy Scripture. Take again a comprehensive
view of it. It originated in eternity. Its develop
ment required four thousand years, a system of types
and of prophecy running through that long track of
ages. The predicted Redeemer was exhibited as the
Son of God, the mighty God, the everlasting Jehovah,
the prophet, priest and king of the church. In fulfil
ment of the promises and predictions he came in the
fulness of time, and assumed our nature into personal
union with his divine nature; and thus, as our Im-
manuel, executed the offices of prophet, priest, and
king. His great salvation is applied by his word, and
ministry, and Spirit; the blessings of which, bestowed

* Revelation v. 13.

REDEMPTION GOD'S WORK. 237

on unnumbered millions of our race, are elernal hap
piness and endless glory. Its result is the highest glory
of God, and a vast increase of happiness to all intelli
gent and holy beings. Such is the representation of
the work given in the Bible. Is it not worthy of God ?
and is it not seen, in its own light, to be his work ?
Was not the conception of this plan far beyond the
reach of the human mind ?

Man had four thousand years in which to contrive
a scheme of salvation, and what was the work of his
philosophy and learning? What could man offer as
an atonement for his sins ? Slaughtered animals, and
costly gifts to idol gods. On what did he depend for
acceptance with God? On his poor polluted deeds, his
superficial virtues. The idea of a gratuitous salvation
never entered his mind. He felt indeed the need of
mercy ; but only as an auxiliary to his own works, on
the merits of which he still relied. The whole history
of divine providence could not furnish him with evi
dence, that pardoning mercy was an attribute of the
Divine nature. That God is merciful, there were abun
dant proofs to be seen. No one could doubt the truth.
But that he can exercise pardoning mercy, could not
be learned from his dealings with our race; because
the last act that terminates his providence in this world,
is an awful act of justice, destroying our mortal frame,
and hurrying away our souls to judgment. Indeed, as
the perfections of God are discovered either from his
works, or from his revelation, we may believe his holy
angels could not know pardoning mercy to be an attri
bute of his nature, before they had seen it exercised
in the forgiveness of sinners, or had received a revela
tion announcing to them the cheering and delightful
truth.

238

To devise a scheme of redemption was beyond the
power of the human intellect. To be qualified for this
would require a full knowledge of all the divine perfec
tions, and the whole extent of evil done by sin to God's
moral government ; for, without such knowledge, no
creature could tell, what punishment the honour of his
offended majesty, and of his government, required to
be inflicted on the transgressor ; or by what means
divine displeasure might be turned away from him,
and his sins remitted, consistently with the demands
of justice, and the stability and honour of God's govern
ment.

Much less could -man conceive the amazing scheme
of redemption revealed in the Bible. How could the
thought enter into his mind, that his offended Sove
reign should love guilty, vile, polluted, and rebellious
creatures so much, as to send his own and well be
loved Son into this fallen world, to take upon himself
the form of a servant, to humble himself, to suffer,
and to die upon a cross, to redeem a lost race
from deserved punishment, and to bestow on them
the enjoyment of eternal happiness. In this glorious
scheme there is displayed such infinite love in the
Father giving his own Son ; such infinite grace in the
Son, giving himself as a sacrifice; and such infinite
condescension in the Holy Spirit, applying salvation
and dwelling in our polluted hearts, as to place the
conception of it far beyond the reach of the human
intellect. The very fact of our possessing the idea,
proves that it must have been revealed ; so that being
found in the Bible expanded in all its dimensions and
parts from the first incipient discovery of the scheme
to its execution and progress towards its final con
summation, it evinces the Bible to contain a revelation

REDEMPTION GOD S WORK. 239

There is another view of this wondrous scheme
that leads us to the same conclusion. We have
seen that the person of our Redeemer is divine,
and that he unites in his own person both the human
and the divine natures. This amazing constitution of
his person qualified him to be our Saviour. As man he
became subject to the law, and obeyed its precepts and
suffered its penalty. As God he sustained his human
nature under an immense load of punishment, and im
parted to his sufferings an infinite value ; so as to ren
der what he endured, in a given time, equivalent to the
everlasting punishment of all that shall be redeemed by
him. But what mind could have formed the concep
tion of such a person, thus combining the human and
the divine natures, if it had not been revealed? Is it
not plain, that, without a revelation, the conception
would have transcended far the limited powers of the
human mind 1 and is not the record of our Redeemer's
person in the Bible a conclusive proof of its divine
original?

The work of redemption, then, like all the other
works of God, is seen, in its own light, by considering
its contrivance, development, execution, application,
benefits and results, and final consummation, to be the
work of infinite wisdom, power, and goodness. The
Bible that reveals it, is God's book. He has stamped
his own image upon its inspired pages.

THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO

CHAPTER VI.

THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES
OF FALLEN MAN.

ONE of the strongest arguments to prove that the
world was created and is governed by an infinitely
wise and benevolent Being, is derived from the num
berless and evident marks of design, so apparent in all
its parts. How plainly does design appear in the
position of the sun, which imparts light and heat to
the earth ; in the correspondence between the ascend
ing vapours and the clouds they form ; between the
showers of rain and the growth of vegetables; between
our senses and corresponding objects ; the eye and
light; the ear and sounds; the taste and food; between
the structure of our limbs and the movements they
perform !

The same kind of argument may be used in proving
the inspiration and authority of the Bible. How mani
festly adapted is it to the wants and necessities of our
fallen nature ! Let us contemplate the wants and ne
cessities of man, and see how effectually and admirablv
the Bible meets and removes them.

SECTION I.

THE BIBLE DISPELS THE DARKNESS, AND REMOVES THE IGNORANCE
OF THE HUMAN MIND IN REGARD TO SPIRITUAL THINGS.

Fallen as man is, his intellect is still strong and
vigorous. In the discoveries of science, in the inven
tion of the various arts, and in the cultivation of litera
ture, its vigour and strength have been displayed. But

THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF MAN. SI

in the knowledge of divine things its great weakness
is mournfully apparent. To be convinced of this
humbling truth, you are not to look at Christian nations,
who enjoy the light of divine revelation, the reading of
the Bible, and the ministry of the gospel, by which
they have been raised to that enviable condition in
which they rejoice. They know and acknowledge the
true God. They are acquainted with the manner in
which he is to be worshipped. To them the way of
salvation has been shown ; immortality brought to
light ; and a future state of rewards an.d punishments
made manifest.

Beyond these favoured nations you must look, and
contemplate the gloomy condition of heathen nations.
How different! How deplorable! What darkness
covers them! How ignorant are they of the very
first principles of religion ! They are ignorant of the
God who made, sustains, and feeds them. Behold
them prostrating themselves before dumb idols, gods
of silver and gold, which their own hands have fash
ioned. See them worshipping these contemptible
gods, with unclean and demoralizing rites. Egypt
had her thirty-thousand gods, and Rome her Pan
theon, which was open not only to her own, but to the
rdols of other nations. Some indeed among the an
cient heathen "knew God; but they glorified him not
as God, neither were thankful ; but became vain in
their imaginations, and their foolish heart was dark
ened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became
fools; and changed the glory of the incorruptible Hod
into an image made like to corruptible man, and to
birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things/'*
All the ancient philosophers degraded themselves, by

* Romans i. 21—23.
21

242

THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO

complying with the prevailing idolatry, and thus keep
ing the common people in their stupid ignorance.
Even Socrates, the divine Socrates as he has been
styled by admiring infidels, directed that a cock should,
after his death, be sacrificed to Esculapius. In his last
moments, instead of committing his soul to a faithful
Creator, he placed it under the protection of an idol-
god, who could neither hear his prayers, nor afford
him help. He died, offering by his stupid idolatry, a
gross insult to the true God.

Ignorant of God, the heathen are ignorant of his law.
Its great principles are indeed written on their hearts ;
so that they feel the workings of an accusing and ex
cusing conscience. Still, however, their moral sense is
sadly perverted. They are ignorant of many of their
moral obligations. Blinded by sin, they often call evil
good, and good evil. Of the manner in which God is
to be worshipped they are entirely ignorant. The
grave is shrouded in darkness. Not a ray of light is
seen in the dark valley of death. The future world is
entirely unknown. At death the heathen man plunges
into a dark and awful abyss.

Such is the ignorance of all heathen nations. Our
condition would have been as dark and gloomy as
theirs, had not God in mercy given us the Bible. To
its luminous and inspired pages we owe it, that we
differ from them so greatly. The light beaming
around our path came, not from human reason, but
from divine revelation. From our infancy we have
been pupils of the Bible. Through every period of
life it has followed us with its heavenly instruction.
How sublime its lessons in religion ! It has taught
us that there is but one only living and true God ; the
Father, the Son, and Holy Ghost; three divine persons

THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF MAN. 243

in one Godhead, the same in substance, equal in power
and glory. It has spread before our admiring eyes all
the infinite perfections and glories that belong to Him,
as the eternal, independent, and immutable One. It
has exhibited him to us as the Almighty Creator, who
laid the foundations of the earth, and spread abroad
the heavens like a curtain; as the Sovereign Ruler,
who upholds and governs all things ; as the bounteous
Benefactor, who opens his hand and satisfies the wants
of every living thing ; and as the infinitely merciful
Redeemer, who has provided salvation for a rebellious
and ungrateful race of creatures. It has revealed the
law of God, not only in compendious summaries, but
in details of particular duties. It has taught us how
to approach infinite Majesty in an acceptable manner,
and to worship Him in spirit and in truth. It has dis
pelled the darkness and gloom that rested on the tomb,
and unveiled to the eye of faith all the blessedness and
glories of the next world.

But more than external light is required to meet the
necessity of our case. A man may be familiarly ac
quainted with the Holy Scriptures, and collect from
them a correct, harmonious, and beautiful system of
theology, and be able to discourse ably and eloquently
of its heavenly doctrines ; and yet, with all this specu
lative knowledge, be in spiritual darkness; blinded by
his depravity, so as not to be able to see the beauty
and excellency of divine truth. " The natural man
(i. e. the unrenevved man,) receiveth not the things of
the Spirit of God : for they are foolishness unto him :
neither can he know them; because they are spiritu
ally discerned."* The Bible does not overlook this ne
cessity of our case. It teaches us how spiritual dark-

* 1 Cor. ii. 1-1.

"244: THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO

ness can be removed, and how spiritual light may be
obtained. It leads us to the Holy Spirit, the fountain
of light, and directs us to implore his gracious assist
ance in our extremity. It teaches us to adopt the
prayer of David : " Open thou mine eyes, that I may
behold wondrous things out of thy law."* It is the
office-work of the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of our
understanding, to enable us to discern the beauty and
excellence of divine truth. When he is pleased to
illuminate our minds, then the different portions of
divine truth stand forth to view ; just as the various
objects of the new created world were seen in all their
loveliness and proportions, when the Creator com
manded the light to shine out of darkness.f The soul
thus illuminated by the Spirit finds itself in a new
world, the objects of which it gazes upon with wonder
and delight. With ineffable pleasure it looks on the
cross of Christ, where the glory of God beams forth
with the brightest splendour. " I thank thee, O Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these
things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed
them unto babes. Even so, Father : for so it seemed
good in thy sight." " But ye have an unction from
the Holy One, and ye known all things."J

SECTION II.

MAN IS GUILTY, AND THE BIBLE SHOWS HOW HIS GUILT MAY BE
REMOVED.

Man has committed innumerable violations of God's
holy law; and he stands condemned by that law to
suffer its tremendous penalty. Awakened to a sense
of his guilt, the sinner will, under the pungency of

* Ps. cxix. 18. f 2 Cor. iv. 6. I Matt. xi. 25. 1 John ii. 20

THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF MAN. 245

deep convictions, exclaim, in the language of the
prophet, " Wherewith shall I come before the Lord,
arid bow myself before the high God 1 Shall I come
before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year
old f Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of
rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall
1 give my first born for my transgression, the fruit
of my body for the sin of my soul?' How vain all
the efforts of man to extricate himself from his over
whelming difficulties ! How contemptible all his
"Ueriiujs to atone for his sins ! God, his oflended

O

Sovereign, alone can deliver the wretched transgres
sor. We have seen that He has provided an ample
atonement. He " so loved the world that he gave
his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
" The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from
all sin ;" for " he is the propitiation for our sins, and
not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world."*
Hence the apostle was authorized to say to the anxious
and convicted jailor, who, trembling with anguish, fell
down before Paul and Silas, and said, "Sirs, what
must I do to be saved?" "Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."
Such is the sovereign efficacy of the Redeemer's blood
in taking away sin and all its fearful consequences,
that the same apostle affirms, " There is therefore now
no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
To him let every convicted sinner (the chief of sin
ners not excepted) come for deliverance from his
heavy burden of guilt; for, says Paul, "This is a faith-
^ul saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ
f Micah vi. 6, 7. John iii. Hi. 1 John i. 7 ; ii. 5?

246

THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO

Jesus came into the world to save sinners ; of whom
I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy,
that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long
suffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter
oelieve on him to life everlasting."*

SECTION III.

THE BIBLE FURNISHES THE BELIEVER WITH THAT PERFECT AND
SINLESS RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH THE LAW OF GOD DEMANDS, AND
OF WHICH SINFUL MAN IS UTTERLY DESTITUTE.

Man was created in the image of his Maker, in
righteousness and true holiness. His heart was free
from every moral stain, and filled with love to his
Creator. The law under which he was placed requir
ed him to preserve his moral purity, and to continue
in love to God ; and, as a test of his obedience, he
was commanded to abstain from the fruit of only one
tree, in that beautiful garden planted and adorned for
his residence. He fell where he had full power to
stand ; he failed in that obedience which he had ample
ability to render. On fallen man the law acquired a
new demand ; satisfaction for the dishonour done to its
authority by sin. That the law urges this demand on
all his fallen descendants, is perfectly plain from Holy
Scripture ; " for it is written, Cursed is every one that
continueth not in all things which are written in the
book of the law to do them."f The conscience of
every awakened sinner admits the truth and the justice
of this demand.

But, let it not be forgotten, that this new claim of
the law for satisfaction for disobedience, did not set
aside the original claim for perfect obedience. By no
means; that claim remains in all its primitive force.
* Acts xvi. 28—31. Rom. viii. 1. 1 Tim. i. 15, 16. f Gal. iii. 10.

THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF MAN. 247

The law is not relaxed in its demands, to accommo
date itself to the feebleness and depravity of our fallen
nature. It prefers to us depraved creatures the same
claims that it presented to our first parents, when they
stood robed in innocence, and with hearts glowing
with the warmest love and gratitude to their Creator.
The language of the law is now the same that it was
from its first announcement: "Thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and
great commandment. And the second is like unto it,
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these
two commandments hang all the law and the pro
phets."* Nothing more than this can be required.
Here is perfection. Sin is incompatible with such
love. Were this love- reigning in our hearts, there
could be no defect in our temper or conduct. We
should act and feel towards our fellow creatures, just
as we ought to feel and act ; and we should render
unto God that devout homage and spotless service,
which we ought to render.

A perfect, sinless righteousness, then, be it remem
bered, is now, as it ever was, demanded from all
men. Without such a righteousness no man ever did,
or ever will enter into heaven. But can sinful men
furnish this righteousness; and, arrayed in such spot
less robes, go to the throne of their Judge, and claim
the promised reward? By no means. A clear
stream cannot flow from a polluted fountain. A sinner
cannot be a righteous man on the ground of his
own works. Hence the irresistible conclusion of the
sacred writer, " Therefore by the deeds of the law
there shall no flesh be justified in his sight : for by the

* Matt. xxii. 37—40.

248

THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO

law is the knowledge of sin."* The law that convicts
a man of sin can never pronounce him righteous, 01,
in other words, declare him to be free from sin. The
Jews made the vain attempt to justify themselves on
the footing of their own obedience : for of them the
apostle speaks, when he says, " For they being igno
rant of God's righteousness, and going about to estab
lish their own righteousness, have not submitted them
selves unto the righteousness of God."f Many have
imitated their example. Refusing to accept the gra
tuitous method of justification revealed in the Bible,
they have, in the pride of their hearts, relied on their
own worthless righteousness for acceptance with God,
and obtaining eternal life. Of course they have failed,
and lost the prize. Man has not, nor can he work out,
a righteousness sufficient to justify him in the sight of
a holy God. Here he is a helpless creature.

The Bible meets this necessity, and offers us ample
relief. It exhibits the spotless, finished righteousness
which the great Redeemer wrought out, not for him
self, but for us. This is called the righteousness of
God, as in the passage quoted above, and in other
places. It is thus denominated, for several reasons ;
because it was devised, revealed, offered, and is ac
cepted by God, and was wrought out by his Son, who
is God. The necessity and the bearing of this right
eousness on our salvation, will appear from the follow
ing texts : " But now the righteousness of God with
out the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law
and the prophets ; even the righteousness of God,
which is by faith in Jesus Christ unto all and upon all
them that believe : for there is no difference, for all
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God ; being

* Romans iii. 20. f Romans x. 3.

THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF MAN. 249

justified freely by his grace through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus. Whom God hath set forth to
be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare
his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past,
through the forbearance of God: to declare, I say, at
this time his righteousness; that he might be just, and
the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."*

That the righteousness spoken of is the righteous
ness of Christ, is evident; for it comes to believers
through faith in him : and it will appear more evident
from other passages. " Yea doubtless, and I count all
things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of
Christ Jesus my Lord : for whom I have suffered the
loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that 1
may win Christ, and be found in him, not having
mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God by faith." " For Christ is the end
of the law for righteousness to every one that be
lieveth." The scope of the law is to lead sinners to
Christ for righteousness. " For he hath made him to
be sin for us, who knew no sin ; that we might be
made (become) the righteousness of God in him."
2 Cor. iii. 21. " For if Abraham were justified by
works, he hath whereof to glory ; but not before God.
For what saith the Scripture ? Abraham believed
God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned
of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not.
but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his
faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David
also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom
Got*, imputeth righteousness without works ; saying,

* Romans iii. 21—26.

250 THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO

Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and
whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom
the Lord will not impute sin." " And being fully per
suaded that what he had promised, he was able also to
perform. And therefore it was imputed unto him for
righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake

o

alone, that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to
whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that
raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was de
livered for our offences, and was raised for our justifi
cation."*

Let it be observed that Christ is exhibited in these
passages as the great object of faith ; that we are jus
tified freely by grace through his redemption ; that he
is the end of the law for righteousness to every be
liever; that Paul counted all things but loss for the
knowledge of him, and desired above all things to be
found in him, having that righteousness which is
through the faith of Christ : that we are made, (be
come) the righteousness of God in him; and it will
be seen, that, when it is said that faith is imputed,
/'counted,) for righteousness, we are not to understand
the sacred writer as teaching that faith, as a work, is
our righteousness; for he excludes all works of our
own from the ground of our justification ; and it would
be absurd to regard a single work as the ground of
our justification, when all others are rejected. Faith
is merely the bond of our union with Christ, which
gives us an interest in all his merits ; the hand that
accepts his righteousness for our justification: and
in this sense it is counted or imputed to us for right
eousness. A deed for a large tract of land might be
set down as one portion of a man's wealth ; although

* Phil. iii. 8, 9. Rom. x. 4 ; iv. 2—8, 21—25.

THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF MAN. 251

;t is not the deed, but the possession of the land that
really constitutes his wealth. So faith is set down as
a believer's righteousness, and justifies him ; not be
cause it really constitutes his justifying righteousness,
but because it accepts and appropriates the righteous
ness of Christ for which he is justified. Here is the
righteousness by which, as a glorious robe, the believer
is covered and adorned. This hides all his sins; and
for this righteousness God can justify him, and yet be
just, while he declares an ungodly man righteous ; not
righteous in himself considered, but considered as united
to Christ by faith, and having on his glorious righteous
ness, that has fulfilled all the demands of the law, and
purchased for him eternal life. "The gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ." "Where sin

O

abounded, grace did much more abound : that as sin
hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign,
through righteousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ
our Lord."*

All this accords with the great principle of repre
sentation, which God was pleased to adopt in his
dealings with our race from the beginning. So we
are taught to believe by the apostle, who says, " For
as by one man's disobedience many were made sin
ners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made
righteous."!

SECTION IV.

THE BIBLE PROVIDES FOR THE DELIVERANCE OF THE BELIEVER.

4. That we are not what we ought to be, none will
deny. But while men are ready to admit the exist
ence of the disease, few are aware of its fatal charac-

* Pom. vi. 23; v. 20, 21. f Ib. r. 19.

252 THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO

ter. In fact no book ever described it fully and cor
rectly, but the book of God, who thoroughly knows
the human heart, and all its windings and workings.
There we find a lamentable description of its dreadful
depravity.

Moses writing the history of the antediluvians,
says, " And God saw that the wickedness of man was
great in the earth, and that every imagination of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." And
after the deluge, the reason assigned by God why he
would not destroy the earth again in the same man
ner is this : " For the imagination of man's heart is
evil from his youth." David, centuries after Moses,
says of himself, in his penitential confessions, "Behold,
I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother
conceive me ;" and of his race he records this sad
testimony : " The Lord looked down from heaven
upon the children of men, to see if there were any
that did understand, and seek God. They are all
gone aside ; they are all together become filthy : there
is none that doeth good, no, not one." The prophet
Jeremiah, four hundred years after David, charac
terizes our nature thus : " The heart is deceitful
above all things, and desperately wicked : who can
know it?" The apostle Paul entertained the same
views of human nature ; for he says of Christians,
" And you hath he quickened who were dead in tres
passes and sins; wherein in time past ye walked
according to the course of this world, according to the
prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now
worketh in the children of disobedience: among
whom also we all had our conversation in times past
in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the

THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF MAN. 253

flesh and of the mind ; and were by nature the child
ren of wrath even as others."*

The Bible is the only book which has given a true
description of our fallen nature. No man untaught
by the Spirit of God, could have written on this sub
ject, as the sacred writers have done. He alone knows
perfectly the heart of man, and could disclose to them
its hidden abominations, and the depth of its depravity.
The description is graphic, and is seen to be so, by
every one whose eyes have been opened to discover
the secret workings of his own evil heart. The linger
of God appears in detecting and exposing the dreadful
disease of our nature ; and it appears too in describing
the nature of the cure.

Unenlightened men, sensible in some degree of the
depravity of man, inculcate the necessity of repentance
and reformation. Defective in their views of the
malignity of the disease, they prescribe a cure alto
gether inadequate ; just as a physician who, mistaking
the malady of his patient, applies mild remedies, that
serve only to allow it to gather strength, and break
forth with new and greater violence. True, the Bible
says, "Amend your ways and your doings;" and
" Wash you, make you clean ; put away the evil of
your doings from before mine eyes ; cease to do evil ;
learn to do well ; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed,
judge the fatherless, plead for the widow." But it
says more ; it says, " Cleanse your hands, ye sinners ;
and purify your hearts, ye double-minded." "Make
you a new heart and a new spirit." " Jesus answered,
and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, lie
cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That \\liich

* Gen. vi. 5 ; viii. 21. Ts. li. 5 ; xiv. 2, 3. Jer. xvii. 9. Eph. ii 1—3.

22

254 THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO

is born of the flesh is flesh ; and that which is born of
the Spirit is spirit." " Awake thou that sleepest, and
arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light."*

The cure prescribed in the Bible corresponds with
the deep and malignant nature of the disease. That
prescribed by unenlightened reason is totally inade
quate. A man may repent and reform ; he may be
sorry for the evil consequences of his sins, and break
off from those that are disreputable and injurious to his
health or estate: the intemperate man may become tem
perate; the licentious, chaste; the fraudulent, honest;
the niggardly, liberal ; the passionate, mild ; and yet
remain under the unbroken dominion of sin, destitute
of spiritual life, devoid of love to God, and at enmity
with him ; and consequently unfit for that heaven into
which the unclean shall not enter.

But how is this cure to be obtained ? In the pride
of their heart men may imagine they can effect their own
cure, whenever they shall determine to put forth their
native strength. The Bible speaks a different language,
and lays the pride of man low in the dust.

Let the reader look at the passages just now quoted,
and he will see, that the new creation of which
they speak is God's work ; the new heart his gift ; and
that he alone makes one man to differ from another.
If therefore, we desire to be cured of the dreadful dis-
sease of sin, and to live a new life, we must seek the
necessary blessing from God, by earnest, importunate
prayer, offered in the name of Jesus our Redeemer.
We must pray for the gift of his Holy Spirit, that he
may produce in us a new heart, quicken us to a new
and holy life ; and that, having begun in us a good

* Jer. vii. 3. Isa. i. 16, 17. James iv. 8. Ez. xviii. 31. John
li. 5, 6. Eph. v. 4

THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF MAN. 255

work, he may carry it on till it be finally consum
mated in glory. To encourage such prayer, the Sa
viour says, " If ye then being evil, know how to give
good gifts unto your children; how much more shall
your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that
ask him?'*

SECTION V.

THE BIBLE INSPIRES THE BELIEVER WITH A FIRM AND UNWAVER
ING BELIEF OF AN OVERRULING PROVIDENCE.

Reason is sufficient to lead to the reception of this
great truth. The belief of it lies at the foundation of
all religious worship. But reason is not sufficient to
sustain the mind against those shocks of unbelief,
which arise from daily occurrences. We look abroad
and see what may call up the question, Does infinite
wisdom and impartial ju.^tice preside over the affairs
of mortals 1 Vice triumphs, and virtue is depressed ;
piety mourns, while impiety rejoices ; the oppressor
tramples on the rights of the widow and the fatherless.
Does God behold these scenes, and not interpose his
mighty hand to correct such disorders] A thought
like this, is sometimes painful to a good man. Asaph,
under its pressure, was tempted to say, " Verily, I have
cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in
innocency !"f

The Bible comes to the relief of the tempted and
doubting believer, by the clear and strong manner in
which it asserts the great and consoling truth, " The
Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitudes
of the isles be glad thereof. Clouds and darkness are

* Ezck. xxxvi 2f>— 27. John i. 12, 13. Eph. ii. 10. Luke xi. 13.
f Psalm Ixxiii. 13.

256

THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO

round about him : righteousness and judgment are the
habitation of his throne."* With what inimitable
beauty and force does the Redeemer teach the extent
of divine providence ! " Take no thought for your
life what ye shall eat ; neither for the body what ye
shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the
body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens : for
they neither sow nor reap ; which neither have store
house nor barn ; and God feedeth them. How much
better are ye than the fowls. And which of you
with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?
If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least,
why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the
lilies how they grow : they toil not, they spin not ;
and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory, was
not arrayed like one of these. If then God so
clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to
morrow is cast into the oven ; how much more shall
he clothe you, O ye of little faith ? And seek not ye
what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye
of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations
of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth
that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye
the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added
unto you."f

Further, the Bible not only asserts, in language so
strong and emphatic, the certainty and the extent of
divine providence, but cautions us to guard against
the unbelief, springing from occurrences that God is
pleased, for wise reasons, to allow to come to pass.
" Fret not thyself because of evil doers ; neither be
thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For
they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither

* Psalm xcvii. 1,2. f Luke xii. 23—30.

THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF MAN. 267

as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good ; so
shall thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shall be fed.
Delight thyself also in the Lord ; and he shall give thce
the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the
Lord ; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass.
And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light,
and thy judgment as the noon day. Hest in the Lord,
and wait patiently for him : fret not thyself because of
him who prospercth in his way, because of the man who
bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger,
and forsake wrath : fret not thyself in any wise to do
evil. For evil doers shall be cut off': but those that
wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For
yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea,
thou shall diligently consider his place, and it shall not
be. But the meek shall inherit the earth ; and shall de
light themselves in the abundance of peace."*

Asaph tells us how he was delivered from his un
believing and perplexing thought. He went into the
sanctuary of God : he saw their end ; and exclaimed :
"surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou
castedst them down into destruction. How are they
brought into desolation as in a moment! they are
utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one
awaketh ; so, O Lord, when thou awakesl, thou shall

despise their image/'f

How salutary and consoling these admonitions!
How encouraging lo a cheerful and confiding Irusl in
divine providence! In darkness the believer has
light. In circumstances the most appalling to others
he has reason to rejoice. Faith in the doctrines and
promises of the Holy Scriptures certainly authorizes
the adoption of the language of the prophet: " Al-

* Psalm xxxvii. 1—11. t Ib- lxxiii- 18—20.

22*

258 THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO

though the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit
be found in the vine ; the labour of the olive shall fail,
and the field shall yield no meat ; the flocks shall be cut
off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the
stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the
God of my salvation."*

SECTION VI.

THE BIBLE FURNISHES THE BELIEVER WITH SUPPORT AND CONSOLA
TION UNDER AFFLICTIONS.

Afflictions are the sad inheritance of the human
family. " Although affliction cometh not forth of the
dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;
yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly up
wards.'^ None can escape afflictions. Placed in
such circumstances a wise man will look out for sources
of support and consolation. What can reason say to
the afflicted? Afflictions are to be expected. They
come upon all. We must submit. Impatience will
only increase their pain. How superior the consola
tions of the Bible ! Hear its instructions and assur
ances. " For the Lord will not cast off for ever : but
though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion,
according to the multitude of his mercies. For he
doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of
men." " My son, despise not thou the chastening of
the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him :
for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth
every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chasten
ing, God dealeth with you as sons ; for what son is
he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be
without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then

* Hab. iii. 17, 18. f Job r. 6, 7.

THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF MAN. 259

are ye bastards and not sons. Furthermore we have
had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we
gave them reverence : shall we not much rather be in
subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live ? For
they verily for a few days chastened us after their own
pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be par
takers of his holiness."*

As afflictions come from the love which God bears
to his people, so they are moderated and accommoda
ted to their weakness. " In measure when it shooteth
forth, thou wilt debate with it: he stayeth his rough
wind in the day of the east wind." " Like as a father
pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear
him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth
that we are but dust." « God is faithful, who will not
suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able : but
will with the temptation also make a way to escape
that ye may be able to bear it."f

Afflictions too are beneficial. "Now no chasten
ing for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous :
nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit
of righteousness to them that are exercised thereby."
"And not only so, but we glory in tribulation also:
knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and pa
tience experience; and experience hope; and hope
maketh not ashamed ; because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is
given unto us." " Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though
now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness
through manifold temptations: that the trial of your
faith, being much more precious than gold that perish-
eth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto

* Lam. iii. 31—33. Ilrb. xii. .1— 10.

f Isaiah xxvii. 8. Ps. ciii. 13, 14. 1 Cor. x. 13,

260 THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO

praise and honour and glory at the appealing of JeMiS
Christ My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into
clivers temptations; knowing that the trying of your
faith worketh patience. But let patience have her per
fect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting
nothing."*

The righteous shall be delivered out of all their
afflictions, and obtain a glorious reward for their
patient endurance. " The Lord knoweth how to de
liver the ungodly out of temptations, and to reserve the
unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished."
"Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver
thee, and thou shalt glorify me." " For all things are
for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through
the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
For which cause we faint not ; for though our outward
man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment,
worketh out for us a far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory : while we look not at the things which
are seen, but at the things which are not seen : for the
things which are seen are temporal ; but the things
which are not seen are eternal."f

SECTION VII,

THE BIBLE DELIVERS THE BELIEVER FROM THE FEAR OP DEATH, AND
INSPIRES HIM WITH THE HOPE OF A BLESSED IMMORTALITY.

A man endowed with constitutional courage, may
in the field of battle, brave death. But reason, though
aided by strong and iron nerves, can deliver no man
from the fear of death. Death is the king of terrors;

* Heb. xii. 11. Rom. v. 2, 3. 1 Pet. i. 6, 7. James i. 2—4.
f 2 Pet. n. 9. Ps. 1. 15. 2 Cor. iv. 15—18.

THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF MAN. 261

and when he advances towards us, on a sick bed,
with sure and steady steps, the bravest, unsupported
by the hope of the gospel, will secretly quake, even
while they affect an outward tranquillity, to hide from
others their inward fears. Nothing but the gospel of
Jesus Christ can strip death of its terrors, and inspire a
dying man with a heavenly triumph in the final con
flict. This the gospel can do; and it has done it in
innumerable instances. One design of the death of
Christ was to free his disciples from the distressing
fear of death. So the author of the epistle to the He
brews teaches us : " Forasmuch then as the children
are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself like
wise took part of the same ; that through death he
might destroy him that had the power of death, that
is the devil; and deliver them who through fear of
death w^ere all their lifetime subject to bondage."*
Death is the wages of sin ; and as Satan tempted our
first parents to sin, and brought death into our world,
so he obtained the empire of death, and rejoices in its
destructive ravages. Christians must die like other
men ; but the nature of death is changed as to them.
He comes to them as an angel of light, to deliver them
from the calamities and sins of this life, and not as the
king of terrors, to hurry them away to the place of
torment. Believing in Christ their sins are all par
doned; his blood has cleansed them from all their
guilt. They are also delivered from the law (which
is the strength of sin) as a covenant of works, though
not as a rule of life: being no longer under obligation
to obey the law with a view to merit the favour of
God; for this has been secured to them by the obedi
ence of the Redeemer: but they observe it, because

* Hebrews ii. 14, 15.

THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO

they delight in it, and present their obedience to God,
as a testimonial of love and gratitude to him for his
redeeming love.* In these circumstances believers
are authorized to indulge a well founded hope of hap
piness in the next world. " Being justified by faith
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom we have access into this grace
wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of
God." " Wherein God, willing more abundantly to
shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of
his counsel, confirmed it by an oath ; that by two im
mutable things, in which it was impossible for God to
lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled
for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us:
which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both
sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within
the veil ; whither the forerunner is for us entered, even
Jesus made an high priest after the order of Melchi-
zedec." Being thus justified by faith, having peace
with God, and enjoying so sure and stable a hope, the
Christian has no reason to fear death ; but confiding
in the merits of his blessed Redeemer, and relying on
his grace, he may welcome death, and sing the
triumphant song : " O death, where is thy sting 1 O
grave, where is thy victory? For the sting of death
is sin ; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks
be to God, which giveth us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ."f

Believers need not fear to enter the next world ;
for there their Saviour reigns, and has prepared man
sions for them. How cheering his language on this
subject ! " In my Father's house are many mansions :
if it were not so, I would have told you ; 1 go to pre-

* Horn vii. 4, 6. f Ib. v. 1, 2. Hcb. vi. 17—20. 1 Cor. xv. 55—57.

' THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF MAN. 2G3

pare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again, and receive you to myself,
that where I am there ye may be also." Nor need they
fear the judgment; for the Judge will be their friend. He
will place them on his right hand ; and at the close of
the judgment he will say to them, " Come, ye blessed of
my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you, from
the foundation of the world." "The righteous shall go
away into life eternal."*

Thus we have seen how adapted the Bible is to the
wants and necessities of our fallen nature. It has
dispelled the darkness, and removed the ignorance
that rests upon heathen minds, in regard to spiritual
things; and it provides for that spiritual illumination,
which is as necessary as an external revelation. We
are guilty, and liable to condemnation by that holy
law which we have violated; but the Bible assures
us, that, by believing in Christ, we shall receive full
remission, and be delivered from condemnation. We
are destitute of that perfect righteousness, without
which there is no admission into heaven ; but the
Bible furnishes us with the spotless and finished right
eousness of the Redeemer, which is given to all who
believe and accept the all-gracious offer. We are
deeply depraved, and destitute of spiritual life; but
the Bible teaches us how we may obtain spiritual life,
how our corruptions may be subdued and mortified,
and how a work of sanctification may be begun and
carried on, till it be perfected in glory. The Bible is
the only book which has given a true description of
depraved human nature ; the only book which teaches
the full and radical cure of the dreadful malady, and

* John xiv. 2, 3. Matt. xxiv. 33, 34. 4G.

2G4 THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO, ETC.

where that cure is to be found, and how it is to be
applied. We need to have our minds firmly and un
waveringly settled in the belief of an overruling pro
vidence ; and the Bible produces this desirable belief.
We need support and consolation under afflictions; and
the Bible supplies us with ample support and rich con
solation. We need deliverance from the fear of death,
and the hope of a blessed immortality in the coming
world ; and the Bible affords this deliverance, and in
spires this blessed hope.

How admirably is the Bible adapted to our wants
and necessities, as fallen, sinful, and miserable crea
tures ! What palpable marks of design in its provi
sions, and what bright displays of wisdom in its doc
trines ! Is it not God's book 1 Does it not bear the
impress of his image? What but infinite Wisdom
could have devised a scheme so suited to our condi
tion, and so full of hope and blessedness to fallen man?
An intelligent man, a legal character, one of the
judges of Pennsylvania, who had been inclined to
scepticism, said, on his dying bed, to the writer, " The
doctrines taught in your church, are not the doctrines
of man. They are too full of wisdom to be the pro
duction of the human mind. They came from infinite
wisdom. They are divine." And so will every one
say who studies the Bible, and desires to know the
truth.

INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE, ETC. 265

CHAPTER VII.

THE BENEFICIAL INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE.

THE influence of the Bible on the character and hap
piness of man, is most salutary and powerful. It is
felt on all his relations, and on human society in all its
forms. The consideration of this subject will furnish
another evidence of the heavenly origin of the sacred
Scriptures.

SECTION I.

INFLUENCE IN FORMING MANT's CHARACTER.

The Bible contemplates man as a fallen, sinful, and
miserable being ; alienated from God, and lying under
the condemnatory sentence of his violated law. To
recover him from this deplorable condition, it begins
its benevolent work, by calling him to repentance and
faith. In preaching his gospel, the Redeemer said,
" The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at
hand : repent ye, and believe the gospel."* To lead
sinners to repentance, the Bible sets before them that
most holy law which they have broken, in all its spiri
tuality and extent, and thunders out that terrible curse
by which its honour is guarded. It reveals the ma
jesty and grandeur, the holiness and justice, the power
and jealously of that Lawgiver, whom the sinner has
dared to insult. It tells him how deeply he has be
come depraved ; that he has lost every spark of holi-

* Mark i. 15.
23

266 INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE.

ness and spiritual life, and is so enslaved by sin, that he
cannot deliver himself from its dreadful bondage; and
yet it continually sounds in his ears the great com
mand, " Repent, and believe the gospel."

When the sinner is awakened, and becomes sensi
ble that he cannot save himself, and feels constrained
to put forth the anxious inquiry of the Philippian
jailor, " What must I do to be saved ?' the Bible
gives the same reply which Paul gave to that convicted
heathen, " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou
shalt be saved." And to encourage him to believe,
it discourses to him of the character and offices, of the
work and sufficiency of the great Redeemer, of his
love and compassion. It addresses to him the tender
invitation of Christ, " Come unto me all ye that labour
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest ;" and
the assurance, " wherefore he is able also to save
them to the uttermost that come unto God by him ;
seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them."*
When he is oppressed with a sense of utter unworthi-
ness, it discovers the entire freeness of the gospel, and
that no merit is required of the sinner: " Ho, every one
that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath
no money ; come ye, buy and eat ; yea, come, buy
wine and milk, without money, and without price."
" And the Spirit and the bride, say, Come. And let
him that heareth say, Come. And whosoever will, let
him take of the water of life freely." " This is a
faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners ; of
whom I am chief." " He is the propitiation for our
sins , and not for ours only but for the sins of the

* Matt. xi. 28. Heb. vii. 25.

IN FORMING THE CHARACTER. 267

whole world."* Still further to relieve his weakness
and helplessness, the Bible tells the desponding sinner,
that as faith is the gift of God, he may implore this
gift from God, and beseech him to work it in his
heart.f

Believing in Christ, the sinner now most heartily
repents. In the cross he sees the odious and malig
nant nature of sin ; his heart breaks, and melts with
in him; he feels the operations of that "godly sorrow
that worketh repentance unto salvation not to be re
pented of."J

Having repented and believed on Christ, the sinner
is freely forgiven. All his sins are blotted out. He
is reconciled unto God, and fully restored to his favour
and friendship. Placed in this state of gracious ac
ceptance, freed from condemnation, and rejoicing in
God, he cannot but exclaim from the fulness of a grate
ful heart, " What shall I render unto the Lord, for all
his benefits towards me?' In reply the Bible presses
on him the great commandment, which requires us to
love God supremely with all our powers ; and directs
him to contemplate his glory shining in creation and
providence, and especially in redemption, that he may
see how infinitely lovely are the perfections of God,
and how infinitely worthy he is of the warmest and
most ardent affections of the human heart. It ad
dresses him in the language of Paul: "Likewise
reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin,
but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Let not sin reign in your mortal body, that ye should
obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your
members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin:

* Isa. lv. 1. Rcr. xxii. 17. 1 Tim. i. 15. 1 John ii. 0.
f Eph. ii. 8. I -2 Cor. vii. 10.

208 INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE

but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive
from the dead, and your members as instruments of
righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have domi
nion over you : for ye are not under the law, but under
grace." " What ! know ye not that your body is the
temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye
have of God, and ye are not your own ? For ye are
bought with a price : therefore glorify God in your
body, and in your spirit, which are God's." " For
none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to him
self. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord ;
and whether we die, we die unto the Lord : whether
we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to
this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that
he might be Lord both of the dead and living." " Whe
ther therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do,
do all to the glory of God/'*

Thus distinctly is set before the penitent believer the
great end of his being and existence, the glory of God ;
and he feels, that to promote this end he is sacredly
bound to spend his time, to employ all his powers and
influence, and to arrange all his affairs. In commenc
ing this work, he feels constrained to make an open
and public profession of religion. He cannot leave it
any longer in doubt where he stands, whether on the
Lord's side, or on that of the world. Assuming the
requisite courage, he breaks through all opposition in
doing the necessary act of renouncing the world, and
of declaring himself a disciple and follower of the
Lord Jesus Christ. He does it by participating in that
special ordinance instituted for this purpose, and to be
a badge of discipleship.

* Rom. vi. 11—14. 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20. Rom. xiv. 7—9. 1 Cor. x. 31.

IN FORMING HIE CHARACTER. 269

Thus devoted to God, and reconciled to him through
Jesus Christ, the believing Christian will carefully at
tend to the discharge of all the duties which he owes
to God. Mere outward homage, whether shown in
family or public worship, will not satisfy his conscience.
Tie knows that God claims the worship of the heart :
for the Redeemer has said, " God is a Spirit: and they
that worship him, must worship him in spirit and in
truth." lie will therefore cherish and cultivate that
reverential fear, that submission to the divine will, that
trust in the care and protection of God, that delight in
him, that holy love, which the Scriptures require. Sus
taining the relation of a son to God, he will endeavour
to feel and act in a way, that will correspond to this
endearing and ennobling relation. In his private devo
tions he will try to make that near approach to God
which he graciously allows to his children, by enter
ing into the holiest of all, "through the rent veil, the
flesh of Christ ;" and there, with filial boldness and be
lieving confidence, chastened with profound reverence,
to converse with infinite Majesty, seated on the mercy
seat, and implore for himself and others all needed
blessings. He will not forget what the Saviour said,
" They are not of the world, even as I am not of the
world ;" but will endeavour to furnish a convincing
proof of its truth, by a practical regard to the apostolic
exhortation: «« Be not conformed to this world : but be
ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye
may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and per
fect will of God."*

There are personal duties inculcated in the Bible.
By disposing a Christian to the practice of these, it

* Heb. iv. 14— 1G; ix. 8. John xvii. 1C. Rom. xii. 3.

270 INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE

carries on the formation of his character. To remark
that it prohibits the violation of the marriage bed, and
all sexual intercourse not sanctified by the marriage
contract, would be saying little in favour of its pure
morality. It goes much further ; it condemns those
secret desires and lusts which the morality of the
world overlooks. " Ye have heard that it was said by
them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but
I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to
lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already
in his heart."* Thus the Bible forms a chaste charac
ter, by enjoining as a duty, the suppression of the first
rising of lustful desire.

Temperance, as taught in the Bible, does indeed
say, " Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your
hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunken
ness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon
you unawares."t But it demands much more. It
teaches us in eating and drinking to use no more than
the proper nourishment of our physical frame may
require; not to take any quantity that would impede
the due operations of the mind. Taught by the holy
Scriptures, a Christian will, if he sees that he can pro
mote the best interests of others, and save the intem
perate, abstain from the use of all intoxicating liquors
as a beverage.J

That industry is commended and commanded in
the Scriptures, is well known to all who read the
Bible. But while we attend diligently to the busi
ness of our calling, we are to prosecute it without
anxiety ; leaving it with God our heavenly Father, to

* Matt. v. 28. f Luke xxi. 34.

I Rom. xiv. 20, 21. 1 Cor. viii. 13.

IN FORMING THE CHARACTER. 271

dispose of our affairs as his infinite wisdom may judge
best. " Be careful for nothing ; but in every tiling, by
prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your
requests be made known unto God. And the peace
of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep
your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ."*

Contentment with our lot and circumstances is es
pecially required as a duty in the Bible. " Let your
conversation be without covetousness : and be content
with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will
never leave thee, nor forsake thee." A Christian
may be poor, and thus be led to fear he may not ob
tain his daily food ; but the Saviour says, " Seek not
ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither
be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the
nations of the world seek after; and your Father
knoweth that ye have need of these things." And
his apostle says, " Godliness with contentment is great
gain."f

The Bible reminds us that our life on earth is a pil
grimage, that we are " sojourners as were all our
fathers :" and on this ground we are directed to " set
our affections on tilings above, and not on things on
the earth ;"-" looking for that blessed hope, and the
glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour
Jesus Christ."J

Finally ; universal purity is enjoined by the Bible.
" Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let
us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and
spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.''§

In regard to the duties we owe to others, were we
to present all the details which are found in the Bible,

* Phil. iv. 6, 7. f Hcb. xiii. 5. Luke xii. 29, 30. 1 Tim. vi. 6.
1 Chron. xxix. 15. Col. iii. 2. § 2 Cor. vii. 1

272 INFLUENCE OP THE BIBLE

the quotations would become tedious. Only one or
two general rules will be noticed. There is th^t com
prehensive one which enlists our selfishness on the
side of others, and sheds so clear a light on our path :
" Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men
should do to you, do ye even so to them." Justly is
this denominated the Saviour's golden rule. But no
mere outward performance of duties, however suffi
cient to satisfy the claims of the world's code, will
satisfy those of the Bible. This sacred book requires
a right state of feeling, as well as a right train of
action, towards our neighbour. " Thou shalt love
thy neighbour as thyself, is the second great com
mand." By that inimitable parable concerning the
good Samaritan, our Saviour has taught us who is
our neighbour ; that the ter comprehends all sects
and nations; and that our love is to be withheld from
none, but extended even to our enemies. " But I say
unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse
you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for
them which despitefully use you, and persecute
you; that ye may be the children of your Father
which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on
the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and
on the unjust."*

Among Christians there exists a peculiar relation.
United to Christ by faith they form one body, and are
members of the same family, in whom dwells the same
divine Spirit. Duties corresponding to this near and
endearing relation, are enjoined in the Bible. " A
new commandment," said Jesus, " I give unto you,
that ye love one another, as I have loved you." This
dutv is repeatedly urged by his apostles. " Let bro-

* Luke x. 25—37. Matt. v. 44, 45.

IN IORMIXG THE CHARACTER. 273

therly love continue," says Paul ; and Peter, " Love
as brethren ;" and John, " This is his Commandment,
that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus
Christ, and love one another, as he gave us command
ment." Brotherly love is, by the Redeemer, exhibited
as the badge of discipleship: " By this shall all men
know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to
another :" and by his apostle John, as an evidence of
regeneration : " We know that we have passed from
death unto life, because we love the brethren. lie that
loveth not his brother abideth in death. So strong
should this love be as to render us willing, when called
to the sacrifice by divine providence, " to lay down our
lives for the brethren."*

Such is the character which the Bible impresses
more or less upon all who sincerely and cordially be
lieve its heavenly truths. By its powerful influence on
their minds and hearts, they are inclined to cultivate
the graces, and to practise the duties we have noticed.
Is not this truly a lovely and excellent character?
What a delightful summary of Christian duties in one
comprehensive sentence has Paul given! "Finally,
brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever
things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatso
ever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely; if
there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think
on these things."f

This truly excellent and lovely character, is formed
instnt/Hciitd/Iy by the precepts of the Bible ; enforced
by the most powerful motives, and recommended by
the bright examples exhibited in the lives of eminent

* John xiii. 34. Hcb. xiii. 1. 1 Pet. iii. 8. 1 John iii. 23. John
xiii. 35. 1 John iii. 14 ; iii. 16.
Phil. iv. 8.

274 INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE.

saints, and the finished and most perfect example of
our Lord and Saviour: but efficiently created by the
grace of that Holy Spirit, whom the Bible reveals ;
and to whose gracious aid we are directed by it to
look for a new heart, and every grace and virtue that
can adorn the Christian character.

SECTION II.

INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE IN PROMOTING MAI*'s HAPPINESS.

The Bible presents to the believing Christian numer
ous sources of enjoyment. The change produced by
faith in his relative state, his sanctification, his adop
tion, his trust in God, his support and consolation under
afflictions, his hope of heaven, are all so many sources
of pure enjoyment.

1. The change produced in a sinner's relative state
by failh.

This is truly great and wonderfal. He was an
enemy to God, but he is now his friend ; God is recon
ciled to him. He was condemned, but now he is freely
and fully pardoned, and delivered from the dreadful
sentence of condemnation. He was an alien from the
family of God, but now he is an adopted member of it.
He was a slave to Satan, but now he enjoys the free
dom of Christ. He was standing on the brink of per
dition, but now his feet are treading the path of life.
He was destitute of hope, but now he has the hope of
heaven. What a wonderful change ! Has not every
one who has experienced it abundant reason to rejoice?
A criminal who, on the day appointed for his execu
tion, receives a pardon, and is permitted to depart from
his prison, rejoices greatly. But much greater reason
has a pardoned sinner, set free from the condemnatory

IN PROMOTING HAPPINESS. 275

sentence of the divine law, to rejoice. Sometimes, in
deed, individuals passing through this great change,
have such vivid impressions of things, such terrific ap
prehensions of their danger, and are delivered so sud
denly, and have so strong a conviction of their deliver
ance, and such an assurance of God's reconciled favour
and forgiving love, that they rejoice with joy unspeak
able and full of glory. This high degree of joy will
indeed subside. But reflection on this change will be
a source of pleasure.

2. The Christian's sanctification is another spring of
enjoyment.

Sin has disturbed the peace of the soul, and intro
duced into it the war of conflicting elements. The
harmonious movement of its power is gone. Wicked
and disorderly passions have been gendered, which
awaken and irritate conscience. These passions are
the cause of continual unhappiness. Pride exposes a
man to constant disappointments and mortification.
Envy corrodes peace of mind. Hatred revolves dark
and gloomy thoughts. Revenge fires the soul with
desperate designs and bloody deeds. The Bible con
demns these wicked passions, and requires their subju
gation and final extirpation ; and just in proportion as
a Christian is sanctified, their subjugation is effected,
and their extirpation carried on ; and in their place are
substituted the opposite affections of benevolence, for
giveness, love, humility, and meekness ; so that while
the Christian escapes the pains produced by the indul
gence of wicked passions, he receives the pleasurable
emotions that spring from the opposite affections which
he cherishes and cultivates. These are, in their own
nature, delightful, and at the same time well pleasing
to God. "A meek and quiet spirit" is an ornament

276 INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE

" in the sight of God of great price." " Be clothed
with humility," says Peter; "for God resisteth the
proud, and giveth grace to the humble."

3. The Christian's adoption into God's family is a
fruitful source of enjoyment.

"Behold," says John in holy admiration, "what
manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that
we should be called the sons of God : therefore the
world knoweth us not. Beloved, now are wre the sons
of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be :
but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be
like him ; for we shall see him as he is." To assure
believers of their adoption, " the Spirit itself beareth
witness with our spirits that we are the children of
God ;" " and because ye are sons, God hath sent forth
the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba,
Father."* Astonishing grace ! Wonderful condes
cension ! Admirable relation! Is not this happiness?
A believing sinner is permitted to look up to the great
Jehovah, the Creator and Possessor of the universe,
and call him Father ! Being a child he has access to him
at all times ; and may daily enter into the holiest of all,
and converse by prayer and thanksgiving and praise,
with infinite Majesty on the mercy-seat, with the free
dom of a child, and with the confidence of faith. He
may ask what he will, and if he believe, he will receive
a gracious answer.f What expectations may not a
man indulge who has for his Father, the King of the
universe !

4. The Christian's trust in God is another source of
enjoyment.

He believes that the Lord reigns, over this and
all worlds ; that he knows and sees all things and

* 1 John iii. 1, 2. Rom. viii. 16. Gal. iv. 6. f John xiv. 13, 14.

IN PROMOTING HAPPINESS. 277

events; and that nothing can take place without
his sovereign permission. Promises of the most en
couraging kind are given to inspire his heart with a
believing confidence. " Trust in the Lord, and do
good ; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou
shall be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord ; and he
shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy
way unto the Lord ; trust also in him: and he shall
bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy right
eousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noon
day." " For the Lord God is a sun and shield : the
Lord will give grace and glory : no good thing will he
withhold from them that walk uprightly. O Lord of
hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee." " Be
careful for nothing ; but in every thing by prayer and
supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be
made known unto God. And the peace of God which
passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus."* By such gracious and
condescending promises does God encourage his chil
dren to put their trust in him, at all times, and for
every thing they need. With what believing confidence
may they repose themselves on his care and kindness?
What a source of comfort and enjoyment is trust in
their heavenly Father !

5. The support and consolation which the Bible
affords to believers under afflictions, is another spring
of enjoyment.

In a preceding chapter, it was shown that it teaches
us to regard afflictions as coming from the love which
God bears to his people ; that they are needful to
them ; that they are wisely suited to their state, and
are proportioned to their strength ; that they are de-

* Ps. xxxvii. 3—6 ; Ixxxiv. 11, 12. Phil. iv. 6.
24

278

INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE

signed for their spiritual benefit and improvement,-
and that, after believers have endured them for a time,
they will be delivered from them. Here is ample
support ; here is rich consolation. It is not without
reason that James says, " My brethren, count it all joy,
when ye fall into divers temptations ; knowing this, that
the trying of your faith worketh patience."*

6. Finally, the hope of future happiness is a rich
source of pure enjoyment.

In illustrating this particular we refer the reader to
John xiv. 1-3. 2 Cor. iv. 17, 18. chapter v. 1-4; quoted
in chapter ii. page 181 ; and only add what follows the
last. " Now he that hath wrought us for the self same
thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest
of the Spirit. Therefore, we are always confident,
knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we
are absent from the Lord: (for we walk by faith, not
by sight :) we are confident, I say, and willing rather
to be absent from the body, and to be present with the
Lord/'f

So firmly is the foundation laid for a believer's hope
in regard to the next world, and so confidently may he
indulge the hope of seeing the Lord, and entering on
" the inheritance of the saints in light." What a sup
port is this blessed hope against the fear of death !
Death can do a Christian no harm. Does it deprive
him of his earthly wealth ? It puts him into possession
of heavenly and eternal riches. Does it remove him
from his friends? It connects him with better and
nobler friends. Does it take him from the church on
earth 1 It brings him to the church in heaven. Does
it separate him from the means of grace? It conveys
him to a place where he will not need these means.

* James i. 2, 3. f 2 Cor. v. 5—8.

ON DOMESTIC SOCIETY. 279

Docs it remove him from this sinful world 1 It leads
him to a world of glory. " O death, where is thy
sting I O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of
death is sin : and the strength of sin is the law. But
thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ."

SECTION III.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE ON DOMESTIC SOCIETY.

Its influence on domestic society is certainly most
salutary and happy. In Christian countries the change
produced by the sacred Scriptures, is very perceptible
and most beneficial. The Bible, wherever its autho
rity is admitted, has put an end to polygamy. This
is eminently conducive to domestic happiness. The
injurious effects of having more than one wife, appeared
in the families of Jacob, Elkanah, David, and Solomon.
This custom always has been destructive to domestic
peace and comfort, and always will be so. Strife and
contention will exist not only between the rival wives,
but also between the sets of children. No man can
love two or more wives, as he ought to love his wife;
nor can he render to them the duty which he owes to
one wife. At the original institution of marriage, one
woman was given to one man ; and the reason assigned
by the prophet for this, was a regard for the instruction
and training of children. " And did he not make one ?
Yet had he the residue of the Spirit; and wherefore
one 1 That he might seek a godly seed."*

Another safeguard thrown around domestic life,

by the Bible, is the wise restriction laid on divorce.

No man is allowed to put away his wife, except for

one cause, and that is fornication.f Wherever the

* Mai. ii. 15. t Matthew v. 32.

280 INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE

liberty of divorce is extended beyond the limits set by
our Saviour, the purity, peace, and happiness of the
married life, are impaired. Marriages will be con
tracted without due reflection; divorces will multiply,
and draw down upon children all their evil conse
quences. But when it is known that a dissolution of
the marriage contract can be obtained only for one
cause, greater care will be taken in selecting partners
for life ; severer restraints will be laid on wandering
desires ; more forbearance will be exercised by hus
band and wife, and kinder feelings will be cherished
toward each other.

The relative position both of the husband and of the
wife, is clearly defined by the sacred. Scriptures, and
their duties accurately stated. Submission, reverence,
and obedience, are the duties enjoined on the wife.
Love, tenderness, and honour, are required from the
husband towards the wife.*

The authority attributed to parents over their chil
dren, by the Bible, is sufficient for the exercise of due
government ; but it is limited. Parents are required
to provide for their children, to correct them, to avoid
provoking them to wrath, to bring them up in the nur
ture and admonition of the Lord.f Children are re
quired to honour and obey their parents, to listen to
their instructions, and to observe their command-
ments.J

In like manner the sacred Scriptures state distinctly
the duties of masters towards their servants, and of
servants towards their masters. How obviously these
precepts accord with the relations on which they are

* Ephcs. v. 22—24, 25—33. Col. iii. 12. 1 Pet. iii. 7.

f 1 Tim. v. 8. Prov. xiv. 18. Ephes. vi. 4.

I Ephes. xx. 12. Prov. i 8 ; iv. 1 ; vi. 20. Ephes. vi. 1.

ON DOMESTIC SOCIETY. 281

founded, and how eminently conducive are they to
secure the peace, comfort, and happiness of domestic
life!

Suppose the different members of a family, husband
and wife, parents and children, the heads and domes
tics, were all, under the influence of religion, to prac
tise carefully their respective duties, as enjoined in the
Bible, what a blessed family would it be ! Peace and
harmony, love and kindness, would reign in it; discord,
contention, and strife would flee away. It would be
an image of heaven.

Extend the supposition. Suppose all the members
of a community were faithfully to practise the duties
enjoined on them in the Bible, would not that com
munity be but a larger and blessed family 1 Extend
the supposition to a nation, and you see a still larger
family of love and happiness. Carry the supposition
around the globe, and you have one blessed family
spread through every quarter and clime of the earth;
all united by the bonds of brotherly love ; all dwelling
in peace and happiness ; all worshipping the same
universal Parent and Creator; all rejoicing in the same
blessed Redeemer; all exulting in hope of the same
glorious inheritance. Where now are wars and gar
ments rolled in blood? They have ceased. Where
are prisons and dungeons, bars and bolts and chains?
Become unnecessary, the former are demolished ; the
latter, converted into other forms, are used for agricul
tural purposes.

Is not that book, which imparts to a believing man
a character so benevolent, so elevated, so noble, and
which is so conducive to his personal happiness; a book
which so guards the purity, the peace, the comfort, the
happiness of domestic life ; a book, which, if it were

24*

282 CONCLUSION, AND

believed and duly regarded by all men, would convert
the whole earth into a paradise of peace, innocence,
and love — is not this book divine? Is it not the work
of infinite wisdom and goodness? Is it not the pre
cious gift of God to his erring, sinful, wandering, and
wretched creatures ; to reclaim them from their wan
derings, to lead them in right paths, and to conduct
them to heaven? Truly said Paul, "All scripture is
given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doc
trine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in right
eousness; that the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

CONCLUSION.

Let the reader now take a brief comprehensive
view of the proofs, that have, in this volume, been
presented, of the truth and divine authority of the
Bible.

1. We have considered the plan which infinite wis
dom was pleased to adopt, in communicating a reve
lation to our fallen race. The Bible is composed of
numerous smaller books, written by men of various
habits of life, and various culture of mind ; living in
different periods, and some many ages apart. The
books of the Old Testament, when written, were
delivered to the Jewish nation for safe keeping, and
those of the New Testament, to the Christian church.
The truth of God's revelation was professedly estab
lished by miracles and by prophecies ; a test to which
no other religion that has gained a footing in the world,
was ever subjected. Such a plan suited the divine
Author of our holy religion, who lives through all time,
and can control and use as he pleases all minds ; but

REVIEW OF THE ARGUMENT. 283

was wholly unsuited for the establishment of an impos
ture; a plan which no individual impostor, nor combi
nation of impostors, would dare to adopt; because they
could not possibly act on it with success.

2. The miracles wrought by Moses, and by Jesus
Christ, and his apostles, were plain and palpable mira
cles, astonishingly great and innumerable. They were
wrought, not in private, before a few select friends,
but in the most public manner, and before enemies as
well as friends. They challenged investigation. No
one could discover any fallacy in them. Enemies
could not contradict them. All who saw them were
compelled to admit their reality. They furnished
those who wrought them with the clearest and most
indisputable evidence, that they were commissioned
by God to act as his ambassadors, and to deliver his
messages.

3. A spirit of prophecy pervaded the church, from
Moses to Malachi, the last prophet under the Old Tes
tament ; and from our blessed Redeemer to John, who
wrote the book of Revelations. We have seen the
recorded fulfilment of many predictions, and the ful
filment of that class of prophecies concerning our
Saviour Jesus Christ, found in the law of Moses, in the
prophets, and the psalms of David.

4. We have seen how interesting and important are
the instructions contained in the Bible in regard to
God and rnan ; and that what it teaches of the divine
perfections, and of God, as the Creator, Preserver
Sovereign, and final Judge of the world, and of the
natural, moral, and future history of man, is all con
sonant to the dictates of enlightened reason. These
instructions were delivered by men living in different
ages, and in circumstances widely different, some of

CONCLUSION, AND

them plain unlettered men ; and yet all harmonize in
what they teach, and deliver their messages without
hesitation, and with the confidence of men assured they
are speaking the truth. The matter, the manner, and
the harmony of their communications, all prove they
were inspired by the Holy Ghost, to deliver God's mes
sages to his sinful and erring creatures.

5. The moral code of the Bible is truly admirable
and divine. It is so elevated and spiritual, so pure
and holy, so compendious, and yet so particular, that,
from its superiority over all other systems, from its per
fection, from its exemption from the debasing effects
of human depravity, and from the provision made for
securing its observance, we have derived conclusive
arguments in favour of its divine original and au
thority.

6. The work of redemption, as exhibited in the Bible,
in its origin in the eternal counsels of the Holy Trinity,
in its development, in its execution, in its application,
in its benefits and results, and in its final consumma
tion, evidently bears the impress of its divine Author;
and, like all his other works, is seen, in its own light,
to be the work of God. The conception of it never
would nor could have entered the human mind, if it
had not been revealed.

7. The adaptation of the instructions and doctrines
of the Bible to the wants and the necessities of man
kind, furnishes clear proof that it came from infinite
wisdom, goodness, and mercy.

8. And finally, the beneficial influence of the Bible
in forming the character, and in promoting the hap
piness of man, and its beneficial influence on domestic
life, and human society, in all its forms, clearly points
to I he great and heavenly source from which this

REVIEW OF THE ARGUMENT. 285

sacred influence comes, and proves the Bible to be
divine.

Now, when all these proofs are combined into ono
view and dwelt upon, do they not conclusively and ir
resistibly evince the Bible to be God's book, written by
men under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; and that
we are bound to praise him for this heavenly light,
which he has thrown upon our path, to guide us to
eternal life and happiness?

To these questions the reader may be ready to give
an affirmative answer. He may have a deep, un
wavering conviction of the divine truth and authority
of the Bible ; he may sincerely believe that it contains
a revelation from God ; and yet be destitute of that
faith which saves the soul. A speculative faith may
be of service to him in this world, in restraining the
corrupt propensities and evil passions of his nature;
but it will not put him in possession of that great sal
vation which the Bible reveals and offers. The reve
lation of God demands a different reception; it must be
embraced with the heart. Reader, you may study the
Bible, so as to become well acquainted with its inter
esting and varied contents ; you may so learn its doc
trines as to be able to state them in a clear and con
sistent manner, and to defend them ably and success
fully ; and yet be blind to the beauty and excellency
of divine truth. " The natural man (that is, the un re
newed man) receiveth not the things of the Spirit of
God ; for they are foolishness unto him : neither can
he know them ; because they are spiritually discern
ed." To see the beauty, excellency, and glory of
divine truth, spiritual illumination is needed. To un
derstand the doctrines of divine revelation, in a saving
manner, they must be taught by the Holy Spirit in the

286 CONCLUSION.

inner mind. It is his province, like the rising sun to
throw a glorious light over the firmament of divine
truth, and to show every object in that firmament
clearly and distinctly. In this internal and heavenly
light, you must see and contemplate the doctrines of
the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thus seen, they will ap
pear wise, lovely, and captivating. In this light }Mi
must see yourself, and discover your sinfulness and
guilt, your wretchedness and helplessness. In this
light you must see the excellency of that law which
you have violated, the infinite majesty of the Lawgiver
whom you have insulted, and the dreadful nature of
that curse which you have incurred. Thus convicted,
confounded, and abashed, you must prostrate yourself
in the dust of humiliation, and sincerely repent of all
your sins. In this light you must contemplate the
Saviour, and see his fulness and loveliness, his suitable
ness and all-sufficiency. Caotivated with the view,
you must commit yourself into his hands ; taking him
to be your prophet, priest, and king ; relying on his
atonement and righteousness for acceptance with God,
and justification in his sight ; willing to be saved by
him on his own terms and in his appointed way, and
to give all the glory of your salvation to his free, rich,
and sovereign grace.

This is the faith which the Scriptures require; a
faith wrought in the soul by the blessed Spirit ; a faith
that unites to the Redeemer, and secures an interest
in all his merits and grace; a faith that " works by
love, purifies the heart, and overcomes the world."
Thus believe, and you will be assured by your per
sonal experience that the gospel is true : for says the
apostle, " He that believth on the Son of God hath

CONCLUSION. 287

the witness in himself."* Be satisfied with no inferior
faith. Beseech God most earnestly and importunately
to work, by his Holy Spirit, this faith in your heart.
For " he that believeth on him is not condemned : but
he that believeth not is condemned already ; because
he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten
Son of God/'f

* 1 John T. 10.

THE END.