must be confidered as a confirmation of his authority but admitting the force of all this, and fuppofing these things to be true, how and on what evidence, it may be asked, fhall we be convinced that they are fo? Some of them are established facts open and apparent to every eye: and our belief of the others we may fairly reft on the authority of the holy fcriptures, which the following, amidst other arguments, fix on the most folid grounds of credibility.

If the holy fcriptures were written at the time and by the perfons they are asserted to have been, as the writers had the fulleft opportunity of knowing the reality of the facts which they record, and those of the new teftament especially were under no imaginable temptation to publish them, nay had every inducement to conceal them, if they had not thought them true; wẹ cannot confiftently with our manner of ac

ting in all other serious concerns avoid acquiefcing in their teftimony. And that they were so written, is evinced by our enemies the Jews, who maintain the authority of one part of them, which is alfo confirmed by, and strengthens the credibility of the other. They are indeed fupported by all the evidence that can establish the credit of any writings, and abundantly more than any other, which are univerfally received, and whofe authenticity has never been queftioned. They were no fooner written, than copies of them were taken and difperfed throughout the feveral churches, and they were quoted and appealed to in the various controverfies which arofe in the early times of christianity both with friends and foes. It may be observed also, that not a few of the facts which they contain are supported by the concurrent teftimony of heathen authors. And if any of them had been falfe, there were not wanting enemies, who

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who cafily could, and with tranfport would have detected and expofed their falfehood, and at once have precluded the facred records from that glorious triumph, which they afterwards obtained, from the numberless persons of all ages and countries, who, with an unexampled conftancy, bore atteftation to the truth and value of them with their lives. In fhort, fo ftrong and fecure is the evidence, on which the authority of the holy fcriptures is founded, that amidst the daring attacks with which the christian religion hath been assaulted in every form which malice and ingenuity could fuggeft, few have been the attempts made to overthrow that evidence, though the fuccefs of fuch an effort muft have enfured the fall of the whole fyftem, and without which all other attacks could make but little impreffion.

THE

THE bible being thus firmly established as the revelation of God, it follows that it is incumbent upon all, without exception, to whom it is made known, first, to examine with care, and then to believe with reverence, and to practife with fincerity whatever it requires. Limited as our faculties. are, we cannot wonder that in a revelation given by infinite wifdom there should be fome things which exceed our reason, which, however, since they do not, when rightly confidered, contradict it, we are bound upon fuch a teftimony to receive as implicitly, and believe as firmly, as we do those truths which our reafon is competent to understand.

AND fince the Almighty created us at firft, and fupports us continually, and thus has an abfolute right to our obedience, he might with perfect juftice have prescribed to us any commands within our power to perform

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perform, And we could not have reason to complain of any want of goodness, what ever had been the conditions of obtaining his favor, fince he has propofed to us no lefs a recompence than eternal happiness, and promised us fuch affiftance as will enable us to attain it. Infinite wisdom and goodness certainly would not have eftablished the chriftian difpenfation, if it had not been proper and neceffary for mankind. But fince God has thought fit to establish it, he undoubtedly requires our compliance with it; and according to his constant denunciations, will refent and punish, as a moft affronting indignity, our neglect of it.

ABSOLUTE univerfal obedience to God in all respects, i. e. a total surrender to our Creator of our understandings, our hearts, and our lives, is what both fcripture and reafon dictate-doctrines the moft unconnected with the present state of things, and apparently