Apart from revelation, man is left in the condition described by Tennyson : "What am I? An infant crying in the night, Bacon says, "Sacred theology must be drawn from the Word of God, not from the light of nature or the dictates of reason. Not only does this hold good in those great mysteries of the Deity, of the creation, of the redemption, but appertains also to the moral law interpreted. For it must be confessed, that great part of the moral law is of that perfection whereunto the light of nature cannot aspire." Some educated Hindus assert that no Revelation is necessary, that the light of nature is sufficient ; but their own writings abundantly show their obligations to the Bible. Even if a system of religious truth could be collected from the works of Confucius, Manu, Plato, and others, it would want authority, Locke says, "What would this amount to, towards being a steady rule, a certain transcript of a law that we are under? Mankind might hearken to it or reject it, as they pleased, or as it suited their interest, passions, principles, or humours: they were under no obligation; the opinion of this or that philosopher was of no authority." Blessed be God, life and immortality are brought to light through the Gospel. XXVIII.-THE CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES. The need of a revelation has been shown. It cannot be denied that God can make known His will to man. To question this would be to suppose God to be weaker than His own creatures, who can communicate their thoughts to one another. Further, it may be argued that a Divine revelation is highly probable. All civilised nations of the present time profess to have sacred books. Though these differ widely, they bear testimony to the general expectation of mankind. To gain knowledge of any kind involves labour. Much careful inquiry and a long course of preparation are necessary before a man can be settled in life. He has to consider for what employment he is best fitted, and how he may obtain the requisite training. It is reasonable to suppose, that our welfare, not for a few short years but for eternity, will demand still more earnest investigation. There are four great religions of the world claiming to have written revelations,-Hinduism, Buddhism, Muhammadanism, and Christianity. Some knowledge of these different systems is desirable. Most Hindus are acquainted, more or less, with the creed of their country. No educated man can believe in its seas of sugar-cane juice, ghee, and curds. Though Buddhism rejects caste, in many other respects it is liable to the same objections as Hinduism. Muhammadanism has taken some great truths from the Bible; but its sensuality betrays its earthly origin. These three religions exist only among semi-civilised races. They are abandoned with growing knowledge. The Bible is the sole revelation accepted by the enlightened nations of the earth. The Christian Scriptures are composed of sixtysix different books, written by forty authors, at different periods of time, over a space of more than fifteen centuries. It is impossible, within the narrow limits available to treat of the many and varied arguments by which their truth is established. The following list, abridged from Mansel, includes only some of them :— "The genuineness and authenticity of the documents; the judgment and good faith of the writers; the testimony to the actual occurrences of prophecies and miracles; the character of the Teacher Himself; those rites and ceremonies of the elder Law, so significant as typical of Christ, so strange and meaningless without Him; the predictions of the promised Messiah; the history of the rise and progress of Christianity, and its comparison with that of other religions; the ability or inability of human means to bring about the results which it actually accomplished; its antagonism to the current ideas of the age and country of its origin; its effects as a system on the moral and social condition of subsequent generations of mankind; its fitness to satisfy the wants and console the sufferings of human nature; the character of those by whom it was first promulgated and received; the sufferings which attested the sincerity of their convictions; the mutual contradictions of conflicting theories of unbelief, and the inadequacy of all of them to explain the facts for which they are bound to account." On each of the above points, and on many of a similar character, elaborate treatises have been written. The student has already been referred to Dr. Mitchell's "Letters" as containing an excellent summary of the evidences, written expressly for Hindu youth. Paley's "Evidences," Sumner's "Evidences," and Butler's "Analogy" are also recommended. * The "Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation" explains the reasons for the gradual unfolding of Divine truth, and for the course adopted to train the Jews. * "Modern Scepticism," "Faith and Free Thought," and "The Superhuman Origin of the Bible,” by Rogers, are recent valuable works. The force of moral evidence depends largely upon the state of the person by whom it is weighed. No man who is living in known sin can justly expect to arrive at religious truth. The necessity of earnestness, humility, and prayer, have been noticed in a previous chapter. The most convincing evidence in favour of Christianity is its felt adaptation to our case. Let the reader try and see, and he will find it suited to his every want. This will be taken up again when the doctrines of Christianity have been further explained. While there are convincing proofs of the inspiration of the Bible, it must not be supposed that the truth of Christianity turns upon this point. If the account given in the Gospels of Christ and His teaching be true, all that is essential in Christianity is established. Raffaelle is acknowledged to be the greatest painter whose works are still in existence. His pictures, however, are not appreciated by the ignorant, who prefer to them mere daubs. In like manner, there are some persons who see little beauty in the Bible. The fault is in the readers-not in the book. The following are a few testimonies to the Christian Scriptures from some of the greatest writers and philosophers that have ever lived. The first notice the Bible apart from the question of its inspiration. Sir William Jones says,-" I have regularly and attentively read the Holy Scriptures, and am of opinion this volume, independently of its Divine origin, contains more sublimity and beauty, more pure morality, more important history, and finer strains of poetry and eloquence than can be collected from all other books, in whatever language they have been composed." Professor Huxley made the following remarks, when teaching the Bible in schools was considered by the London School Board:-" Consider the great historical fact that, for three centuries this book has been woven into the life of all that is best and noblest in English History; that it has become the national epic of Britain, and is familiar to noble and simple from John O'Groat's House to Land's End, as Dante and Tasso were once to the Italians; that it is written in the noblest and purest English, and abounds in exquisite beauties of mere literary form; and finally that it forbids the veriest hind who ever left his native village to be ignorant of the existence of other countries and other civilizations, and of a great past stretching back to the farthest limits of the oldest nations of the world. By the study of what other book could children be so much humanized and made to feel that each figure in that vast historical procession fills, like themselves, but a momentary space in the intervals between two eternities; and earns the blessings and curses of all time, according to its effect to do good and hate evil, even as they also are earning their payment for their work?" It will be seen that the study of the Bible is advocated even for its pure English and exquisite literary beauties. There are so many allusions to the Bible scattered throughout English literature, that no one can thoroughly comprehend it without a good acquaintance with the Scriptures. But the Bible has far higher claims. Bacon says, "Thy creatures have been my books, but Thy Scriptures much more: I have sought Thee in the courts, fields, and groves, but I have found Thee in Thy temples." "There never was found in any age of the world, either philosophy, or sect, or religion, or law, or discipline, which did so highly exalt the public good as the Christian faith." "There are no songs," says Milton, " comparable |