other, many who should be earnest workers in the ranks of believers are being sadly misled, and often without having had fair opportunity to understand what is involved in the temper which they have too much indulged, to their own detriment and to the hindrance of what society rightfully expects of them. Beholding so many young men and otherwise intelligent and well-meaning people thus drifting no one knows whither from proper anchorage on God's everlasting truth, the author of these Lectures was moved to make a special attempt to recall such of them as might be within his reach to an earnest and candid consideration of those great fundamental verities which they are disposed to ignore or regard with suspicion, but without which life and our entire civilization must become a wreck.

The author has no fears for the existence of Christianity. It has lived too long, imbedded itself too deeply in the world's heart, and is too solidly linked to imperishable truth, ever to be jostled out of its place by anything that possibly can happen. No matter what else on earth may change or perish, "the Word of the Lord endureth for ever." But for this very reason the pity is all the more affecting that gifted and cultured souls should be ruined, and that society should suffer the loss of their conservative activities, because of unreasonable prejudices,

groundless conceits, or the wrong impressions engendered by an agnostic scientism, a one-sided education, and a presumptuous materialistic philosophy. Hence these Talks, which numerous hearers have expressed desire to possess for more deliberate study and to have placed within the reach of the community at large.

The

The Lectures are given almost entirely as they were delivered. Liberty has been taken to add at number of notes and a few supplementary incidents, which it is hoped the reader will not omit. whole is now presented to the public in the same spirit in which the Lectures were originally prepared. And the earnest prayer of the author is that God may bless the publication to the increase of confidence in those immortal truths which served to regenerate diseased society in ages past, and on which the only hope of our ailing humanity rests. PHILADELPHIA, March 18, 1886.

BOOKS ON THE SAME GENERAL SUBJECT WHICH

HAVE BEEN CONSULTED AND USED IN THE

PREPARATION OF THESE LECTURES.

Pascal's Pensées, or Thoughts on Religion.

Luthardt's Fundamental Truths of Christianity.

Liddon's Bampton Lectures.

Christlieb's Modern Doubt and Christian Belief.

Fairbairn's The City of God, etc.

Bushnell's Nature and the Supernatural.

Leathes's Witness of St. Paul to Christ.

Young's The Christ of History.

Uhlhorn's Modern Representations of the Life of Jesus.

Farrar's Witness of History to Christ.

Schaff's Christ and Christianity.

The Great Problem, by a Student of Science.

Sartorius's Person and Work of Christ.

Trench's Hulsean Lectures.

De Pressensé's Study of Origins.

Moore's The Age and the Gospel.

Wiseman's Science and Revealed Religion.

Winchell's Reconciliation of Science and Religion.

Lotze's Microcosmus.

Popular Objections to Revealed Truth, by Sundry Authors.