so to place the truth before the minds of such, as to show the unreasonableness of their scepticism, lead them from the paths of error, and guide their feet into "the way of peace." And if this great object be realized in any one instance, I shall not only feel amply repaid for all my labour, but shall have abundant reason to rejoice, and to praise him who is the giver of "every good gift and every perfect gift.”

Let me, then, bespeak a candid interpretation, from my Christian friends, of the method which I shall pursue. Let them be neither surprised nor dismayed, if I appear to state hypothetically what they have long taken for granted as undeniable and important truth. Let them remember that the placing of any position as a question, in order to try the force of the argument which affirms or denies it, is never understood to imply any doubt or uncertainty in the mind of him who thus states it, much less any endeavour to induce others to doubt. No argument can well be conducted without such suppositions. Nor let any who revere the authority of scripture as decisive in all questions of morality and religion, wonder that it is not quoted in proof of what I advance. If those to whom I intend particularly to address myself received the inspired writings as authority, there would be no need of any reasoning; but as they do not believe the scriptures, a reference to them will answer no purpose. My Christian friends will bear with me, then, if I attempt to prove at some length what they fully believe; and if I do not give prominency to those truths of the gospel which are "the life of their spirits," let them remember that the benefit of others must be sought as well as their edification; it is not so much to the disciple of Christ as to the unbeliever and the doubting inquirer, that I shall now address myself.

To those of my congregation who have joined the ranks of infidelity I would say, give me your most serious attention.

C

The subject is one which, you cannot but admit, is of paramount importance. If you are in error as to the existence and character of God and your relations to him, it is an error of no trifling kind, its magnitude is awful, and its consequences alarming. Let me intreat you, therefore, to banish from your minds everything like levity, to hear as those who are listening to a topic in which their best interests are involved, and to judge as reasonable men.

Let me also request your candid attention. If you have any acquaintance with human nature, you must be aware of the tendency of prejudice to mislead the judgment. You may have seen much under the Christian name adapted to give very unfavourable impressions of Christianity; but if the appearance of hypocrisy has disgusted you, do not on this account come to the sweeping conclusion that there is no sincerity. If you have seen, in living instances, or in the page of history, religion made subservient to mere worldly ends, a means of gratifying ambition, of acquiring wealth or power, beware of the unfairness of attributing to it the abuses of wicked men; and ask whether such conduct is not branded with infamy, and such characters regarded with disdain, by that religion which is thus insulted and dishonoured. If, again, you feel hostile to religion, from an aversion to the restraints which it would impose on you, or the sacrifices which it would require of you, endeavour, while hearing, to divest yourself of this prejudice, and inquire only,— is it true?

Allow me also to suggest a caution. Do not hastily reject the whole of the statements or reasonings which will be presented to you, if you deem some particular part to be unsound. It would be doing yourselves a serious injury, if, because in a great variety of proofs and illustrations, you can single out some that appear unconvincing or irrelevant, you on that account refuse to admit the general body of evidence

adduced. It is but just to me, to the subject, and to yourselves, to judge by the whole amount of proof, and not by any insulated part.

On such an occasion, I should deem it a useless and injurious fastidiousness to affect originality. The inquiry should be, not what is original, but what is true? However great the similarity may be in substance, yet every one has his own way of stating a fact or conducting an argument, and, sometimes, what appears unconvincing in one point of view, when exhibited in another light, or in a different manner, succeeds in producing conviction.

I beg also to state, that while I cannot but consider infidelity to be an error of a most pernicious kind, I hold it right, in arguing with those who have embraced it, to avoid all harsh and irritating expressions, and to treat them as rational beings. Were I to do otherwise, I should act contrary to the spirit of that holy religion of which I am an humble advocate, which is itself "a reasonable service," and which commands us "in meekness to instruct those who are out of the way;"-I should act contrary to the object I have in view, sensible as I am that no man is ever converted by abuse, or enlightened by irritation;—and, I may add, I should act contrary to the feelings which have given rise to these lectures, as I trust I can appeal to the “searcher of hearts" for the benevolent, the affectionate concern, which I entertain for the welfare of those whose attention I have especially solicited to these lectures, and who, whatever may be their mistakes, have still, as our fellow creatures and our neighbours, strong claims on our sympathy and kindness.

But if I speak mildly and cautiously, I must not be understood as thinking lightly of the error which I am combating. Fidelity to the office which I sustain, as well as concern for the best interests of those whom I address, oblige me to state that I consider it as a moral poison, which must

work the most serious mischiefs;-that I view those who embrace it as being in imminent danger, in a state of actual rebellion against the Most High; and "fighting against God ;”—that, in a word, they are pursuing a course which, if persisted in, must terminate in everlasting ruin. And it is because I believe this, that I am affectionately concerned to gain their attention, and to lead their minds into the way of truth and peace.

My respected hearers will, I trust, excuse the length to which these prefatory observations have extended; I thought it right that we should have a clear understanding of our object, and the manner in which we shall proceed.

Our present controversy is with atheism, the system which denies or questions the being of a God. Atheistic writers, indeed, sometimes speak of a "God," a "divinity," a "cause of causes," but in all these cases they mean the material universe, the properties which it possesses, or, a mere abstraction. But this is a fallacious and deceptive use of terms; at least, whatever be the intention of the writer, it is such an employment of language as tends only to mislead the unwary. Our dispute with atheism is not whether there is, or is not, a universe of matter; but whether there is, or is not, a power distinct from the material system, which, with infinite wisdom, has created all, and governs all. Neither is the controversy whether the operations of nature are performed by general laws, connecting natural causes and effects in a way which may be perceived; but whether these laws are not the arrangements of a superior and presiding power,— whether there is not a cause of all these causes and effects, to which, as the great first cause, all others are, to be referred. Consequently, when atheism has proved that all the operations of nature proceed according to general laws, in which we can mostly trace the connexion of cause and effect-such as the falling of a stone by the power of gravity,

and the revolutions of the planets by the centripetal and centrifugal forces-it has proved nothing but what we admit; it has done nothing towards settling the controversy; it has not advanced one single step towards proving that there is no supreme, eternal, and primitive cause of all, himself alone uncreated and independent.

It must also be noticed, in considering the state of the argument between us, that the most successful efforts of atheistic reasoning could only reduce the point in dispute to uncertainty. However bold may be the assertions of the non-existence of an all-creating power, no man can know that there is not such a being;-no man has ever proved, or can prove that there is no God. The farthest point to which the most daring sceptic can go, without exposing himself to the charge of utter ignorance or the most presumptuous rashness, is to affirm that he sees no proof of the existence of a Deity. What atheist, who makes any pretensions to reason, would venture to affirm, that the existence of an eternal being, combining in his nature the attributes of wisdom and power, the cause of all causes, and the source of all existence, is, in the nature of things, impossible? Everything is possible that does not necessarily imply a contradiction. It is not possible that a past event should still be future; that what now exists, should not now exist; that two halves should make more or less than a whole; in each case there is an evident contradiction. But who will dare to affirm that a palpable contradiction is involved in the belief that there is an eternal being;-that all the causes which we now see in operation resulted from one great primitive cause—and that this original and uncaused being possesses the attributes of mind? Does this imply a contradiction so self-evident as to shock the reason of man, as soon as it is announced? Do we not all know and feel that the very contrary is the case? Would it not require all the