truth, in confirmation of which they are wrought. See Heb. 2:4: "God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will."

3. There is a substantial and marvelous agreement among a great number of writers, recording a great number of facts, extended through a great number of years and spread over a great extent of territory.

4. There are such apparent, and yet not real discrepancies, among them, as to forbid the supposition of any collusion or common design among them to deceive their readers.

5. The integrity and manifest disinterestedness of the writers, in recording their own faults, are evidence of their credibility.

6. They could have no conceivable motive to impose upon mankind. They certainly could gain nothing earthly by it. And it is absurd to suppose that they could hope to gain a heavenly inheritance, by inducing mankind to believe a lie.

7. They were not only not interested to impose upon mankind, but were in the highest degree interested not to publish those writings especially, if they were untrue. Their publishing those doctrines was certain to make them great trouble in this world, and, if untrue, to bring down the wrath of God upon them in the next.

8. Their circumstances, their lives, and death, attest the sincerity of the writers, and that they really believed what they wrote to be true.

9. The facts were of such a nature, as that they could not be deceived in respect to their truth. They could be inspected by all their senses. The miracles which they recorded were not wrought in darkness, nor in secret, nor in the presence of only a few friends. They were performed in the most public manner and in the presence of all classes of persons. They were so various and of such a nature as to preclude the possibility of deception.

10. There is a marvelous internal correspondence, between these writings and all known facts of history, and philosophy, natural, mental, and moral.

11. The recorded facts are many of them confirmed by various and wide spread traditions, ancient medals, and inscriptions, confirmatory of their truth.

12. Another internal evidence of the truth of the Bible is its agreement with our moral nature and consciousness. Did it contradict our consciousness, or the express affirmations of our reason, we could not believe it. But it most perfectly accords with both; which is a most unaccountable circumstance, upon any other supposition than that the Bible is a revelation from God.

13. The Bible exactly describes the character of man, as established by the history of the world, and explains the otherwise inexplicable mystery of his present condition.

14. Another evidence of the credibility of the Bible is found in the fact, that it is exactly suited to the character and wants of mankind.

5

15. The Bible places the salvation of men upon a rational and practicable foundation, by rendering forgiveness consistent with a due administration of justice, and at the same time providing adequate means for the reformation of men.

16. The exact accordance between the facts and doctrines of the Bible and the works of creation, is a strong evidence that they both have the same Author.

17. The system of moral government revealed in the Bible, ought to be, and must be the law and government of God.

18. It explains and reconciles the providence of God, and the moral condition of this world, with his character and attributes as manifested in creation.

19. Its tendency to promote good morals, to support good and overthrow evil governments, are facts which strongly confirm its truth.

20. The tendency of the doctrines of the Bible to beget a happy life and a peaceful death, is felt and acknowledged by infidels themselves. It is a contradiction to say that falsehood could produce these effects. Falsehood is what is contrary to the nature and reality of things. But such effects can be ascribed only to what is according to the nature and reality of things, and therefore the Bible must be true.

21. The exact accordance of the Bible with the doctrines of natural religion when properly understood, is demonstration of its credibility.

22. The success of the gospel demonstrates its adaptedness to overthrow whatever is false, and contrary to nature and reality, and this is demonstration of its truth.

23. It challenges investigation, and triumphs in proportion to the scrutiny it receives.

24. The Bible was written by good men or bad men. If by good men, it is what it professes to be; for good men would not lie. If by bad men, then wicked men understood spiritual subjects, devised a system of religion sufficiently spiritual and powerful, and in such exact accordance with the nature and relations of things, as to overthrow all error and sin, and were the perfection of reformers and benefactors of mankind.

25. Many facts were published which might have been and certainly would have been disproved, if untrue, by both Jews and Gentiles. The miracles and resurrection of Christ, and the miracles of the Apostles, among the Gentiles, could have been and would have been disproved if untrue.

26. The writers of the Bible mention many facts as having occurred among those to whom they wrote, of which facts they must have had knowledge, or have known that the writers' statements were false.

27. The Acts of the Apostles is or was perhaps the most easily disproved, if untrue, of any book in the world. Yet no one fact, among the great number recorded in that book, has been disproved.

28. The numerous and manifestly undesigned coincidences of the Epistles and the Acts of the Apostles, strongly corroborate the truth of both.

29. The entire agreement of the two Testaments with each other, considering the circumstances of the case, is strongly confirmatory of their credibility.

30. The standing and increasing evidence from the fulfillment of prophecy, seems to put the credibility of the Bible beyond dispute.

REMARKS:

1. If this testimony does not establish the truth and divine authority of the Bible, there is an end of attempting to establish any thing by evidence.

2. If all this testimony can exist and yet the Bible fail to be true, it is the greatest miracle in the universe.

3. If the Bible be true, every thing is plain, and the whole mystery of our existence and circumstances is explained. If the Bible is untrue we are all afloat. The existence of the universe, the existence, and character, and destiny of man, are highly enigmatical, and we are left in the most distressing darkness and uncertainty, in regard to every thing which we need to know.

LECTURE VII.

INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE.

FIRST. What is not implied in the inspiration of the Bible.

SECOND. What is implied in it.

THIRD. How a question of this kind cannot be proved.

FOURTH. HOW it can be proved.

FIFTH. Prove that the Bible is an inspired book.

SIXTH. Answer objections.

FIRST. What is not implied in the inspiration of the Bible. 1. It is not implied in the inspiration of the Bible, that the several writers received every thing which they recorded by direct revelation from God. Many things which they recorded may have been known by them, irrespective of divine inspiration. In these cases inspiration was concerned only in directing them what to write and how to write.

2. The inspiration of the scriptures does not imply that the writers were passive instruments, without using their own powers of moral agency in writing.

3. It does not imply that the sacred writers did not preserve their own style and peculiar manner of writing and expressing their thoughts, for this would naturally be true under the direction of the omniscient Spirit of God, whether he merely suggested the thoughts, and left them to the selection of their own words, or whether he suggested the words as well as the thoughts. For in employing human agency, it is as easy for the Spirit of God to conform himself entirely to the habits, education, and natural style of the writer, as to dictate in any other manner. And this would be just what we should expect him to do, to accommodate himself to the habits of that mind which he employed, rather than to set aside those habits.

4. Nor does the inspiration of the sacred writers imply, that they recorded no circumstance of comparatively little importance; for if they were really inspired by the omniscient God, it might be expected that they would write in a very natural and easy manner. And if the connection or circumstances demanded it, that they would mention some things which in themselves are of comparatively little importance.

5. Nor does the inspiration of the Bible imply that no various readings have crept into the text through the carelessness of transcribers.

6. Nor does it imply, that every part of the Bible is equally intelligible to beings in our circumstances.

7. Nor does it imply, that we shall be able infallibly to understand in this age of the world, every thing which they wrote.

8. Nor does it imply, that the writers themselves understood, in all cases, the import of what they wrote.

9. Nor that the different writers would of course notice the same particulars in recording the same transaction. For in relating the same occurrence, some might naturally notice some particulars of the transaction and others other particulars.

10. Nor that we may not, in our circumstances, find some difficulty in some instances in reconciling the different writers with each other. But

SECOND. The inspiration of the Bible does imply:

1. That there is a real substantial agreement among all the writers, and that when rightly understood, they do not in any thing contradict each other.

2. It implies, that the several writers always wrote under such a degree of divine illumination and guidance, whether of suggestion, elevation, or superintendence as to be infallibly secured from all

error.

3. That they not only wrote nothing false, but that they communicated authoritatively the mind and will of God.

THIRD. How not proved.

1. A question of this kind cannot be settled by an appeal to tradition.

2. Nor by an appeal to history.

3. Nor by an appeal to the miraculous power of the writers, independently of their own assertions in respect to their inspiration. Miracles are God's testimony that what they say is true. But the question is, what do they say?

4. Nor can this question be settled by the assertion of the several writers, unless they were endued with miraculous powers. It has been common in every age of the world, for men to be deceived in regard to their own inspiration. Should those writers therefore insist upon their own inspiration, and should their perfect honesty be admitted, it would not conclusively prove their inspiration of God, without the power of miracles, for they might be deceived.

5. The inspiration of the Bible cannot be proved by any appeal to the elevated and what might seem to us super-human style, in which different parts of it may be written; for that might seem super-human to us, which after all was only the effect of a highly excited though natural state of mind.

6. Nor can the inspiration of the Bible be proved by an appeal to the doctrines it contains.

7. Nor can it be proved, independently of the style and doctrines. Both the style of the sacred writers, and their doctrines, may be and ought to be taken into the account, in the discussion and decision of this question. But neither of them by itself would amount to proof. For if the dotrines were true, and it were admitted that they are the truths of God, it would no more prove the inspiration of the writers of the Bible, than the fact that thousands of other men have written the truths of God, would prove that they were inspired.

FOURTH. How this question can be proved.

1. The question in respect to the inspiration of the Bible is not a controversy with professed infidels, but with Unitarians, and those who profess to believe the truth of the Bible.

2. In discussing this subject with them, the authenticity, genuineness, and credibility of the Bible may be taken for granted. 3. The integrity of the several writers may also be taken for granted.

4. Not only may these things be taken for granted, but let it be remembered, that in the preceding lecture, on the divine authority of the Bible, these points have also been proved.

I will now remark, that the proof of this question may be made out with entire satisfaction, by showing:

1. That Christ promised his Apostles both the gift of miracles and of inspiration.

2. They actually possessed miraculous power.

3. They affirm their own inspiration.

4. Their admitted honesty.