did; and also for the innocent blood that he shed, (for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood,) which the Lord would not pardon.* In their prophecies, while they foretold the heaviest calamities upon nations, their own and others, and viewing the hand of God in all, acquiesced in them; as men they felt tenderly for their fellow-creatures, even for their enemies: My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.-0 thou sword of the Lord, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? Put thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still. When Israel was exposed to calamities, all the neighbouring nations, who hated them on account of their religion, exulted over them, the prophets who foretold it were tenderly af. fected by it: I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah: I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh; for the shouting for thy summer-fruits, and for thy harvest, is falen. And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting: the traders shall tread out no wine in their presses: I have made shouting to cease. Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kirharesh.* The miracles which they record are distinguished from the signs and lying wonders of following ages, in that there is always to be seen in them an end worthy of God. The far greater part of them were works of pure compassion to the parties, and the whole of them of benevolence to society. There is nothing in the scriptures adapted to gratify presumptuous speculation or idle curiosity. Such a spirit, on the contrary, is frequently checked, and every thing is directed to the renovation or improvement of the heart. The account given of the creation of the sun, moon, and stars, is not intended, as Mr. Henry observes, to describe things "as they are in themselves, and in their own nature, to satisfy the curious; but as they are in relation to this earth, to which they serve as lights; and this is enough * 2 Kings xvii. 18. xxiv. 2—4. ↑ Jer. iv. 19. xlvii. 6. Isa. xvi. 9-11. to furnish us with matter for praise and thanksgiving." The miracles of Jesus were never performed to gratify curiosity. If the afflicted, or any on their behalf, present their petition, it is invariably heard and answered; but if the Pharisees come and say, Master, we would see a sign from thee; or if Herod hope to see a miracle done by him, it is refused.* When one said to him, Lord are there few that be saved? he answered, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.t There is nothing in the scriptures tending, in its own nature, to excite levity or folly. They sometimes deal in the most cutting irony; but it is never for the sake of displaying wit, or raising a laugh, but invariably for the accomplishment of a serious and important end. A serious mind finds every thing to gratify it, and nothing to offend it: and even the most profligate character, unless he read them in search of something which he may convert into ridicule, is impressed with awe by the pointed and solemn manner in which they address him. It may be said of the scriptures, and of them only, that they are free from affectation and vanity. You may sometimes find things of this sort described by the sacred writers; but you will never discern any such spirit in the descriptions themselves. Yet, as men, they were subject to human imperfections: if, therefore, they had not been influenced by divine inspiration, blemishes of this kind must have appeared in their writings, as well in those of other men. But in what instance have they assumed a character which does not belong to them; or discovered a wish to be thought more religious, more learned, or more accomplished in any way than they were? Nor were they less free from vanity than from affectation. They were as far from making the most of what they were, as from aiming to appear what they were not. Instead of trumpeting their own praise, or aiming to transmit their fame to posterity, several of them have not so much as put their names to their writings; and those who have, are generally out of sight. As you read their history, they seldom occur to your thoughts. * Matt. xii. 38. Luke xxiii. 8, 9. Luke xiii. 24. See also xxi. 5-19. Who thinks of the Evangelists when reading the four Gospels; or of Luke while reading the Acts of the Apostles? Mr. Paine weaves the laurel on his own brows, vainly boasting that he has "written a book under the greatest disadvantages, which no Bible believer can answer;" and that, with his axe upon his shoulder, like another Sennacherib, he has passed through, and cut down the tall cedars of our Lebanon.* But thus did not the sacred writers, even with regard to heathenism, because of the fear of God. Paul in one instance, for the sake of answering an important end, was compelled to speak the truth of himself, and to appear to boast; yet it is easy to perceive how much it was against his inclination. A boaster and a fool were, in his account, synonymous terms.t The sacred writers, while they respect magistracy, and frown upon faction, tumult, and sedition, are never known to flatter the great. Compare the fustian eloquence of Tertullus with the manly speeches of Paul. Did he flatter Felix? No; he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come; and Felix trembled. Did he flatter Festus or even Agrippa? No; the highest compliment which proceeded from him was, that he knew the lattter to be expert in all customs and questions among the Jews, and to maintain the divine inspiration of the prophets; which declaration, with the whole of this admirable apology, contained only the words of truth and soberness. They discover no anxiety to guard against seeming inconsistencies, either with themselves or one another. In works of impos ture, especially where a number of persons are concerned, there is need of great care and caution, lest one part should contradict another; and such caution is easily perceived. But the sacred writers appear to have had no such concern about them. Conscious that all they wrote was true, they left it to prove its own consistency. Their productions possess consistency; but it is not a studied one, nor always apparent at first sight: it is that consistency which is certain to accompany truth.‡ * Age of Reason, Part II. Preface, p. vi. and p. 64. "There is one argument," says Mr. Wilberforce, in Treatise," which impresses my mind with particular force. VOL III. 18 + 2 Cor. xii. his late excellent This is the great There is an inimitable simplicity in all their writings, and a feeling sense of what they write. They come to the point without ceremony or preamble, and having told the truth, leave it without mingling their own reflections. This remark is particularly exemplified by the four Evangelists, in narrating the treatment of their Lord. Writers who had felt less would have said more. There is something in all they say which leaves behind it a sensation produced by no other writings; something peculiarly suited to the mind when in its most serious frames, oppressed by affliction, or thoughtful about a future life; something which gives melancholy itself a charm, and produces tears more delicious to the mind than the most high-flavoured earthly enjoyments. By what name shall I express it? It is a savour of life, a savour of God, an unction from the Holy One. variety of the kinds of evidence which have been adduced in proof of Christianity, and the confirmation thereby afforded of its truth:-the proof from prophecy-from miracles-from the character of Christ-from that of his apostles-from the nature of the doctrines of Christianity-from the nature and excellence of her practical precepts-from the accordance we have lately pointed out between the doctrinal and practical system of Christianity, whether considered each in itself, or in their mutual relation to each otherfrom other species of internal evidence, afforded in the more abundance as the sacred records have been scrutinized with great care-from the accounts of cotemporary, or nearly cotemporary writers-from the impossibility of accounting on any other supposition than that of the truth of Christianity, for its promulgation, and early prevalence: these and other lines of argument have all been brought forward, and urged by different writers, in proportion as they have struck the minds of different observers more or less forcibly. Now, granting that some obscure and obliterate men, residing in a distant province of the Roman empire, had plotted to impose a forgery upon the world; though some foundation for the imposture might, and indeed must, have been attempted to be laid; it seems, at least to my understanding, morally impossible that so many species of proofs, and all so strong, should have lent their concurrent aid, and have united their joint force, in the establishment of the falsehood. It may assist the reader in estimating the value of this argument, to consider upon how different a footing, in this respect, has rested every other religious system, without exception, which was ever proposed to the world; and indeed every other historical fact, of which the truth has been at all contested."'* * Practical View, &c. pp. 361-368. Third Edition. Mr. Paine can see no beauty in the New-testament narratives: to him there appears nothing but imposture, folly, contradiction, falsehood, and every thing that marks an evil cause. And I suppose he could say the same of the things narrated; of the labours, tears, temptations, and sufferings of the Lord Jesus, and of every thing else in the New Testament. Mr. Paine, however, is not the only instance wherein men have lacked understanding. The Jews saw no beauty in the Saviour that they should desire him: and there are persons who can see no beauty in any of the works of God. Creation is to them a blank. But though the eyes of a fool are at the ends of the earth, for want of objects to attract them, If Mr. Paine can see yet wisdom is before him that understandeth. no beauty in the sacred pages, it does not follow that there is no beauty to be seen. Let any person of candour and discernment read over the four Evangelists and judge whether they bear the marks of imposture. If he have any difficulty, it will be in preserving the character of a critic. Unless he be perpetually on his guard, he will insensibly lose sight of the writers, and be all enamoured of the great object concerning which they write. In reading the last nine chapters of John, he will perceive the writer to be deeply affected. Though a long time had elapsed since the events had taken place, and he was far advanced in years; yet his heart was manifestly overwhelmed with his subject. There is reason to think that the things which Mr. Paine attempts to ridicule, drew tears from his eyes while he narrated them; as an ingenious mind will find it difficult to review the narrative without similar sensations. Mr. Paine is pleased to say, "Any person that could read and write might have written such a book as the Bible :" but nothing can be farther from the truth. It were saying but little, to affirm that he could not produce a single page or sentence that would have a similar effect. Stranger as he has proved himself to be to the love of God and righteousness, he could not communicate what he does not feel. The croaking raven might as well endeavour to imitate the voice of the dove, or the song of the nightingale, as he attempt to emulate the holy scriptures. Mr. Paine's spirit is sufficiently apparent in his page, and that of the sacred writers in |