have, either in one way or another, borrowed from revelation, and their writings would be ftript of every just moral or religious fentiment, and nothing would be left but the moft melancholly evidence of the truth of that maxim of holy writ, which was the theme of the first of these difcourfes, that The world by wisdom knew not God. The Pfalmift had a different view of God's word from many of the pretended wife men of the prefent day. He chofe it for a light unto his feet and a lamp unto his path. He esteemed God's ftatute as more precious than gold, yea, than much fine gold; yea, as sweeter than the honey comb. Let us never be found either defpifing or neglecting this treasure, but let us be converfant with it all the days of our lives.

DISCOURSE VIII.

ISAIAH, xli. 21.

Produce your caufe, faith the Lord; bring forth your frong reafons, faith the king of Jacob.

IT is an important observation of a writer of the laft century, on the fubject of revelation, that if the christian religion is true, it is tremendoufly true. There are many points of mere fpeculation, relating to ancient hiftory, philofophy, and the feveral arts and fciences, which are controverted, in relation to which it is a matter of very little importance which fide of the queftion we efpouse. A man is nothing better if he happens to embrace the truth, nor any thing the worfe for a mistake. His error can endanger neither his prefent peace and comfort, nor his future hope. But with refpect to the religion of the Bible, it is far otherwife. If God has given to man a revelation of his will, it is of the utmost importance to believe the truths it contains, and practise the duties it enjoins. If we have fufficient evidence that the Bible itself is a fyftem of truth, then we muft, of course, admit the truth of fuch maxims as these, which are contained in its pages. He that believeth shall be saved, but he that believeth not fhall be damned. He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotton Son of God. If we fin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more facrifice for fin. And many other paffages of the fame import. The Christian ought, it is true, to have good grounds and reafons for his faith. He ought to be always ready to render a reafon of the hope that is in hin, with

meeknefs and fear. But fhould he even prove to be in an error, he errs on the fafe fide. If it fhould turn out that there is nothing in religion, and the fcriptures fhould prove to be only a cunningly devised fable, as the infidel wishes to represent them, nothing would be gained by infidelity. But fhould the chriftian religion prove to be true, i. e. fhould the Bible be found to contain a collection of writ. ings divinely inspired, it is far otherwife with the infidel. The rejection of revelation must then be attended with the moft awfully ferious confequences. Nothing fhort of abfolute demonftration, that the whole is a fiction, can juftify its rejection. The reafons for difcarding revelation ought to be infinitely stronger than those which would justify a prudent man in believing and receiving it. But is any thing like demonftration so much as pretended? Where fhall the man be found who even pretends to be able to prove, beyond the poffibility of a doubt, either that there is no God, or no providence, or no future ftate, or that if there is a God he has never given to men a revelation of his will; or that in giving a revelation he either did not or could not so attest that revelation, as to render it reafonable, or even a duty indifpenfable, to believe and receive it? Doubts and cavils without number are propofed, and a multitude of objections raised. But notwithstanding all thefe, for aught that the objectors themfelves know to the contrary, the fcriptures may be true. Yet nothing short of abfolute demonftration, that the Bible is a forgery, can juftify a perfon in rejecting christianity. To fuch as are difpofed to reject revelation, therefore, the challenge in our text may with propriety be applied. Produce your caufe, faith the Lord; bring forth your ftrong reafons, faith the king of Jacob. The caufe of the ancient infidels was idolatry. They did not abfolutely deny the existence of all religion. The point in controverfy was, whether Jehovah was to be worshipped agreeable to the platform laid down in the Jewish fcriptures? or whether the idolatrous worship of the furrounding nations was the true worship? God challenges the votaries of idols to produce their strong reafons in defence of idol worship, and try whether they were of equal weight with thofe which could be brought

in favor of the worship of the true God. The controverfy between the chriftian and the infidel is not a controverfy between christianity and another religion laying claim to a divine original; nor even between chriftianity and a digefted fyftem of natural religion. It is evident that the infidels of the prefent day have no fuch fyftem. They wifh to ftrip us of christianity without fubftituting any thing in its place. The controverfy is, therefore, whether christianity or abfolute irreligion is moft eligible. In favour of the latter, infidels may be confidered as challenged by Jehovah to produce their ftrong reafons. Taking this difcourfe in connexion with those which have preceded it, what I fhall attempt will be to ftate and diftinctly confider a few of the principal objections which are urged against the fcriptures. Several difficulties have been obviated, and objections answered, in the preceding difcourfes, and it is not my intention in this to notice or reply to every cavil which is urged, especially, against particular detached paffages of fcripture: As the talk would be endlefs, so it would reward the trouble of neither the writer nor the reader. If it can be made to appear that the positive evidences in favour of revelation are clear, convincing and conclufive, and the principal objections unfounded, it will be fufficient. The former has, I truft, been done in the preceding difcourfes, the latter I fhall attempt in the pref

ent.

1. It is objected that many parts of fcripture are obfcure and unintelligible, and that to fuppofe God to offer uniotelligible propofitions to his creatures, under the name of a revelation of his will to men, is to fuppofe him a mere trifler. This is an objection much infitted upon by the enemies of revelation. It is faid that, as certain as a being of perfect rectitude gave a revelation to his creatures, it must be found equally true that no propofition contained in that revelation can be faid to be unrevealed. Hence the idea of unrevealed propofitions in a revelation has become the theme of very copious ridicule.

Before I proceed directly to anfwer this objection, it may not be amifs briefly to notice fome of the extraordinary methods of reafoning to which unbelievers refort,

with a view to difcard revelation. If any truth in the Bible is plain and obvious, and, at the fame time, correfponds with that conception of things which they call rational,— this must pafs for a common notice infcribed on the mind of man by the beneficent creator; but it is one which is discoverable by the mere light of nature, one for the knowledge of which men are not at all indebted to divine revelation. On the other hand, should any thing be found to be fo obfcure or hard to be understood as not to be immediately comprehenfible by their reafon, it muft pafs for an unintelligible notion, an unrevealed propofition, fufficient to invalidate the authority of the whole.

But I believe it will be found, on a candid examination of the fubject, that, fuppofing the obfcurities in fcripture were greater, or more numerous than we find them, it would be no fufficient caufe for questioning their divine authority. Revelation is addreffed unto man as a rational creature, and calls for the exercife of the rational powers. We may therefore reasonably expect it to be given in fuch a manner as to require the application and exercise of those rational faculties which are alfo God's gift. Can we therefore fuppofe it probable that, in giving a revelation to his creatures which was to be the exprefs image of himself, God would unfold nothing but what could be instantly comprehended by poor fhortsighted worms of the duft, while there are fo many mysteries in the works of nature and of providence, that man, fo far from being able to take a comprehenfive view of the whole works and ways of God, cannot comprehend his own existence, or the exiftence of the meanest creature, and feracely the principle of vegetation in a single ear of corn or blade of grafs ? That revelation contains the deep things of God, fo far from being an argument against its authority, is one of the strongest and cleareft evidences of its original. Seeing there are fo many deep and myfterious things in God's works, it would be wonderful indeed should there be none in his word, especially, as it gives us a view of himself the greatest of all myfteries. The Bible contains plain truths, truths adapted to the capacity of the weakest, and deep things fufficient to engage the attention of the ftrongest

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