" wealth, and honour, so that he can glut his soul with “ what he desireth," yet if his wishes centre and terminate in these, “he cometh in with vanity and de“parteth in darkness, and his name shall be covered “ with darkness.” Instead of exhorting us to love virtue merely for its own sake, or for some other motive taken from the glory which will redound from the practice of it; the Hebrew teachers soar much higher, and exhort us to love virtue from love to God, and to rejoice not more at the remembrance of his mercy than " at the remembrance of his holiness." Does not this argue an emanation from the “ fountain of lights ? "

2. They do not write to gratify their own prejudices. Thus Moses believed that God had set apart the Israelites as his chosen people, depositing his oracles in their hands, and honouring them with his covenant. What other nation, says he, has God so dealt with ? Yet Moses speaks of Melchisedech, king of Salem, whom he calls a priest of the most high God, although he lived among other nations, and was not of the family of Abraham. Thus, also, what he relates of Abimelech, that he had feared God; and of Balaam, that he had received the gift of prophecy, though he had daily conversed with idolatrous nations, was equally repugnant to his prejudices. So again, Moses was a firm believer, and an unequivocal assertor of the unity of God. How is this reconcileable with Gen. iii. 22. xviii. 17– 20. Gen. xiv. xvii. xviii. xxviii. xxxi. xlv. xlix ? with Exod. iii. 1, 2, 14. v. 3. vi. 2, 3, &c. ? Jehovah is confounded with an angel ; a man is called Jehovah; creatures are invested with the attributes of the Creator

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of the universe; and this, in the writings of Moses, a man of great natural talents, enriched with all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and whose great design was to excite the Israelites to glorify God, nor “ever give “his glory to another.” Much that was said by Joshua and others is equally repugnant to all their opinions and prejudices : would they, could they, have thus run counter to themselves, but in consequence of an irresistible superior influence?

Then, 3dly. Not to dwell upon the repugnancies between the belief of the Jewish prophets, as to the Israelites being God's peculiar people, and their reiterated predictions of the kingdom of the Messiah, and the universal diffusion of divine truth and knowledge; let the attention be simply directed to a few predictions comprised in the Pentateuch. How, but in virtue of inspiration, properly so called, could it be announced in the time of Moses, nay, by Moses (for to ascribe his books to any other author is the refinement of absurdity), that God would raise a strange nation against the Jews, that they should be dispersed among other people, who should seduce them to idolatry during their captivity, that their cities should be razed to the ground, that in the extremity of famine some of them should feed upon their own children: but that they should be converted to God, and that God would then bring back the captives of Israel, and gather them from among other people ? All these particulars, with others which I do not now enumerate, are announced, as you will recollect, in one book, that of Deuteronomy. I should quite despair of bringing any arguments to

bear upon the mind, which is proof against the considerations to which I have thus adverted.

Here, then, may safely terminate our inquiry into the inspiration of Scripture. We have ascertained that it is the Word of God: and, if we read it attentively, we shall soon find it profitable “for doctrine, “ for instruction, for reproof.” Let us, therefore, my friend, believe and rejoice “ that the grace of God “ which bringeth salvation hath thus appeared to all

men ; to the end that, denying ungodliness and “ worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, " and godlily, in the present world ; looking for that “ blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of our great “ God, and Saviour Jesus Christ.” (w)

(w) Tit. ii. 11-13.

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LETTER XI.

On some of the most plausible Objections urged

against the Truth and Divine Authority of the Scriptures.

It has been my object, in the preceding letters, to convince you that the collection of writings received by Christians as sacred and authoritative, are indeed genuine, authentic, and inspired. I shall be happy if this great object be obtained. At all · events, I trust I have shown that the Christian religion has the strongest probability in its favour; and, if that be the case, you will at once see that the rejection of it is the height of folly. In the economy of human life we act almost entirely upon probabilities; and in most instances I believe it will be found that the more important the tendency or the result of a particular action or series of actions may be, the slighter need be the preponderance of probability to determine our adopting it. It is probable, for example, that we may be heirs at law to a valuable estate: therefore we examine into the legal instruments which ascertain our title to such estate.

It is probable a particular line of conduct will be successful: therefore we pursue it. It is probable a certain commercial speculation will be productive: therefore we put it in practice. It is probable a certain regimen will be highly injurious to our health : therefore we abandon it. It is probable a particular medicine will be beneficial to the constitution: therefore we have recourse

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to it. It is probable the house we inhabit will fall : therefore we quit it. And thus it might be shown in a variety of other instances, that where there

appears a presumption however low on one side of an inquiry, and none on the other, where there appears a preponderancy however slight in favour of one side,--this determines the point, even in matters of speculation, and usually impels to action in matters of practice. But alas ! this wise and prudential rule of conduct is only applied generally in regard to the things of the present world : for although it is probable, nay, infinitely probable, that the Christian religion is true, that the evils against which we are warned in the Bible will be our portion unless we “ flee from the wrath to

come,” that the ineffable and interminable happiness it promises believers may be ours, unless we thoughtlessly or contemptuously spurn it from us; yet, in direct opposition to the conduct discreet persons adopt in every other concern, men disbelieve the evidence, despise the warnings, laugh at the threatenings, reject the blessings, held out to them in the Scriptures, go through life wrapped in an impenetrable insensibility to eternal things; and at death “rush upon the thick “ bosses of God's buckler,” and plunge naked into “ fierceness and darkness," instead of bathing in those perennial “ rivers of pleasure” which flow from the throne of God, and to which the condescending Deity had invited them !

We do not deny that the scheme of revelation has its difficulties: for if the things of nature are often difficult to comprehend, it would be strange indeed if

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