"the Comforter," the Holy Spirit,

"the

Spirit of Truth," who fhould teach them all things, and bring all things to their remembrance, whatsoever Chrift had faid unto them; and fhould and should guide them into all truth, and abide with them for ever (w). The aid of this heavenly Guide was affuredly not withheld from them, when they were engaged in delivering written instructions, whether in the form of Gofpels or of Epiftles, for the edification of the Chriftian church to the end of time. The very words of the promise, that it fhould abide with them for ever, contradict the fuppofition: and the more fo, as we know that the full infpiration of the Holy Ghoft was specially promifed always to attend them on a lighter occafion, namely when they were to make their defence before magiftrates (x). Now five of the writers of the New Teftament were of the number of the apostles, to

(w) John, xiv. 16–26.

(x) Matt. x. 19, 20. Mark, xiii. 11. Luke, xii. 11, 12. whom

whom all these promifes were perfonally made. Of the remaining three, St. Paul repeatedly afferts his own infpiration, and his equality in every point with all the other apoftles (y). With respect to the others, St. Mark and St. Luke, we cannot conceive that God, after infpiring the writers of two Gofpels, would leave two other Gofpels containing additional facts concerning the life of Chrift, and also a very important hiftory of the early Chriftian church, to be written by uninspired men: nor that thefe latter writings would have been immediately placed on a level with the former, as it has already been fhewn that they were, unless the early Chriftians had known, what they appear to have unanimously afferted, that St. Mark and St. Luke were filled with the Holy Ghoft. Even if it were fupposed, though there is no ground for the fuppofition, that these two writers were not actually inspired; but wrote, the one under

(y) Gal. i. 11, 12.-1 Cor. ii. 10-13.-2 Cor. xi. 5. xii. 11. I Thef. iv. 8.

the

the fuperintendence of St. Peter, the other of St. Paul; the Divine authority of the writings would remain the fame. Finally, the fulfilment of predictions recorded in the New Teftament forms an additional link in the chain of proofs, by which its inspiration is established,

That the Scriptures of the New Testament have defcended pure to our hands is evinced by the accordance of the early verfions with our prefent Greek text: by the collations which have taken place of great numbers of exifting manuscripts, some of them extremely ancient; which collations, while they fhew that mistakes, as it was to be expected, have been made in the individual manuscripts by the tranf cribers, prove thofe miftakes to be of trifling importance, and afford the means of correcting them and by the utter impoffibility that either negligence or defign could have introduced, without detection, any material alteration into a book difperfed among millions in widely diftant countries,

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countries, and among many difcordant fects; regarded by them all as the rule of their faith and practice; and in conftant and regular use among them all in public worship, in private meditation, and in their vehement and unceafing controversies with each other.

Receiving then, on these folid grounds of rational conviction, the Holy Scriptures with thankfulness and reverence as the word of God; regard and ftudy them daily as the rule to which you are to conform every thought and word and action: and as the rule by which all your thoughts and words and actions will be tried at the last day before the judgement-feat of Chrift.

CHAP. VI.

SUMMARY OF THE EVIDENCES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION.

I. Ir the authenticity and inspiration of the Scriptures have been established in the two preceding chapters; then the truth of the Christian religion has also been demonftrated. This propofition is felf-evident. Nay, if there had remained any doubt concerning the infpiration of the writers of the Old and New Teftament; if it had not pleafed God that the Bible fhould be able to claim a higher character than that of an authentic narrative written by uninspired men ; Christianity still would have been proved. If the predictions there recorded were actually delivered; if the facts there related actually took place; in other words, if the Bible had merely spoken truth through the aid of human information and veracity; the certainty of the Chriftian

religion