which no other book can reach. Here prefides the majefty of pure and unfullied truth, which fhines in unadorned but awful ftate, and never turns afide to the blandifhments of flattery, or liftens to the infinuations of prejudice, or calumny. Here alone the invariably fupports the fame dignified and uniform character, and points with equal impartiality to Peter now profeffing his unalterable fidelity, and now denying his Lord;→ to the Apostles at one time deferting Chrift, and at another, hazarding their lives by the bold profeffion of his Gofpel. And these plain characters of truth afford the cleareft evidence of the infpiration of the facred books. The Holy Spirit, whofe affiftance was promifed to his difciples by their heavenly Mafter, guarded them from error in their narratives, in the statement both of their precepts and doctrines. Upon fuch momentous points, as contribute to form the rule and standard of faith and practice, they were guided by the divine wisdom, and thus are raised to a degree of authority and credibility unattainable by all other writers.

"It doth not appear, that ever it came into the mind of these writers, how this or the other action would appear to mankind, or what objec tions might be raised upon them. But without at all attending to this, they lay the facts before you, at no pains to think, whether they would appear credible or not. If the reader will not believe their teftimony, there is no help for it;

they

they tell the truth, and attend to nothing else. Surely this looks like fincerity, and that they published nothing to the world, but what they believed themselves "."

An inquiry into the authenticity of the books. of the New Teftament is of great importance. If they are as ancient as they are reputed to be; if they were certainly written by the perfons to whom they are afcribed, and have all the requifite characters of genuineness, we may venture to affert with confidence, that the facts contained in them are undeniably true. For fuppofing fuch actions as have been attributed to Chrift never to have been performed, fo great must have been the effrontery, as well as the ingenuity, of the fabricators of this ftory, if they proceeded to publifh as true what they knew to be falfe, as to exceed the bounds of belief: and if, even for the fake of argument only, we fuppose them to have combined in a confederacy for fuch a purpofe, what would have been the confequence? They would only have given the defired advantage to their acute, active, and implacable enemies, who would quickly have detected the falsehood, facrificed the abettors of it to their just indignation, and ftigmatized the Chriftian Religion for ever as an impofture and a fable.

In the prefervation of the New Teftament, we

Duchal, quoted by Paley, vol, ii. p. 182.

may

may obferve a very striking inftance of the fuperintendence of divine Providence, ever watchful for the happiness of mankind. Notwithstanding the various diffentions which have continued to prevail in the Christian Church, ever fince its first establishment, the Books containing the principles of the Religion itself, are come down to us who live at the distance of nearly eighteen Centuries from the time of their Authors, in a pure and unadulterated condition: fo that whenever the Chriftian faith has been corrupted, its deviation from a ftate of purity could always be detected by an appeal to the most indifputable authority. Nor has the stream of time merely conveyed to us this divine treafure, uninjured and fecure; but even in the midft of the most violent perfecutions, and the darkest fuperftition, the Chriftian faith has been fo protected by divine care, that it has never been wholly loft to the world. Some believers in every age have had the courage, like their divine Mafter, to witness a good confeffion, and let the light of their example fhine before their depraved contemporaries.

II. The Character of our Lord.

This character, as reprefented in the plain and energetic narratives of the Evangelifts, is marked by qualities the moft extraordinary, and the most tranfcendent. Every account of every other perfonage, whether portrayed by the fancy of

the

the poet, or defcribed by the accuracy of the hiftorian, leaves it evidently without an equal, in the history of mankind.

If the conduct of thofe who bear a refemblance to Chrift as the founders of religious establishments be examined, thefe affertions will receive the fulleft confirmation. They all accommodated their plans to human policy, and private interest-to exifting tenets of superstition, and to prevailing habits of life. The Chriftian Lawgiver, more fublime in his object, and more pure in his motives, aimed at no recommendation of his precepts by courting the prejudices, or flattering the paffions of mankind. The inftitutions of Numa the second King of the Romans, of Brama the Lawgiver of the various tribes of India, and of Confucius the great Philofopher of China, were evidently adapted to the exifting habits, and prevailing inclinations of their people. They feem indeed to have been founded altogether upon them. Mahomet, the great impoftor of Arabia, fuited the rules of his Koran, and the rewards of his paradife, to the manners and defires of a warlike and a fenfual people. In his character and conduct he prefented a ftriking contraft to Chrift. Ambition and luft were his reigning paffions. He maintained, that he received his Koran from heaven: but its frivolous and abfurd contents fufficiently indicate the falfehood of his pretenfions. With a degree of effrontery still more impious, he pleaded a divine authority for the boundless gratification of his fenfuality:

and

and unable to appeal to miracles which give the moft certain proofs of a teacher fent from God, he extended his faith by force, and reared his bloody crefcent amid captives, who were the victims of his paffions, and cities that were defolated by his fword".

In

The contrast between our Lord and the Prophet of Arabia is drawn in a style of fuch rich and appropriate eloquence by Archbishop Sherlock, that I cannot deny myfelf the pleafure of prefenting it to my readers.

"Make the appeal to natural religion, or, which is the fame thing, to the reason of man. Set before her Mahomet, and his difciples, arrayed in armour and in blood, riding in triumph over the spoils of thousands and tens of thousands, who fell by his victorious fword. Shew her the cities which he fet in flames, the countries which he ravaged and destroyed, and the miferable diftrefs of all the inhabitants of the earth. When fhe has viewed him in this fcene, carry her into his retire ments; fhew her the prophet's chamber, his wives and con cubines; let her fee his adulteries, and hear him alledge reve. lation and his divine commiffion to juftify his luft and oppreffion. When he is tired with this fcene, then fhew her the bleffed Jefus, humble and meek; doing good to all the fouls of men, patiently inftructing both the ignorant and perverfe. Let her fee him in his most retired privacies; let her follow him to the mount, and hear his devotions and fupplications to his God. Carry her to his table, to view his poor fare, and hear his heavenly difcourfe. Let her fee him injured, but not provoked. Let her attend him to the tribunal, and confider the patience with which he endured the fcoffs and reproaches of his enemies. Lead her to the cross, and let her view him in the agonies of death, and hear his laft prayer for his perfecutors; Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!—Whetr natural religion hath viewed both, afk her, which is the prophet of God?-But her anfwer, we have already heard, when

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