evidence of the miracles of Scripture, their absurdity, their equivocal nature, their total want of adequate evidence and of adequate object, have been again and again exposed. It is not, indeed, to be conceived, that the man who rejects the miracles of Scripture, believes in the truth of those by which they are counterfeited. His object is to bring suspicion on every thing of a similar kind, by artfully confounding the nature and evidence of what is palpably false, with what he wishes to show not to be true. By this confusion which he creates, the bulk of readers, through indolence, are deterred from further examination, and are led to give up the whole. But if ever the miracles of revelation shall be set aside as incredible, it must be by some other means than by endeavouring to exalt to an equality with them, counterfeits, the base ingredients of which it requires but a small portion of attention and honesty to detect. How differently do men act when their worldly interests are concerned! for who would refuse to make use of the money current in the land, because the coin of the realm, or the notes of the banker, had been imitated by the forger?

The sum of Mr Hume's Essay on Miracles, Dr Campbell has shown to be this, "that it is impossible for God Almighty to give a revelation attended with such evidence, that it can be reasonably believed in after ages, or even in the same age, by any person who hath not been an eye-witness of the miracles by which it is supported."-" Now, by what wonderful process of reasoning," he adds, " is this strange conclusion made out ?" He then proceeds to examine the reasoning in the Essay, and has not only convicted Mr Hume of begging the question, taking for granted the very point in dispute, but has shown that his favourite argument,

of which he boasts the discovery, is founded in error, managed with sophistry, and at last abandoned by himself.

Mr Hume, after having asserted that no testimony for any kind of miracle has ever amounted to a probability, much less to a proof, and again, that " we may establish it as a maxim, that no human testimony can have such force as to prove a miracle, and make it a just foundation for any such system of religion," adds, in a note, "I beg the limitation here made may be remarked, when I say, that a miracle can never be proved so as to be the foundation of a system of religion. For I own that otherwise there may possibly be miracles, or violations* of the usual course of nature, of such a kind as to admit of proof from human testimony." According, then, to Mr Hume himself, miracles may" admit of proof from human testimony," provided they be not brought in support of a system of religion. His exception, with respect to those miracles, which are made the foundation of religion, is not only untenable, but completely absurd. For whatever destroys the possibility of proving a miracle in the case of religion, must equally do so in every other case; and whatever shows that miracles in any other case admit of proof from human testimony, equally proves this in the case of religion.

Absurd, however, as Mr Hume's general position is, and untenable as the arbitrary limitation to which he resorts proves it to be, it is not surprising that such

* Mr Hume has defined a miracle to be a transgression of the laws of nature. The word transgression, as well as violation, is generally used in a bad sense, as implying a certain degree of vice. This circumstance, it is probable, recommended it to his choice, in order to give a keener edge to his reasoning on the subject.

efforts have been made on the subject of miracles by those who oppose the truth of the Christian religion; since the miracles to which it appeals are conclusive in its favour, and since "the religion of the Bible is, of all the religions that have subsisted, or that now subsist in the world, the only religion which claims to have been attended in its first publication with the evidence of miracles. For though in different ages and countries, numberless enthusiasts have arisen, extremely few have dared to advance this plea; and whenever any have had the boldness to recur to it, it hath proved the bane, and not the support, of their cause." Mr Hume asserts, in his Essay, that men in all ages have been much imposed on by ridiculous stories of miracles ascribed to new systems of religion. To this Dr Campbell replies, "that there is not the shadow of truth" in this assertion, and that he is utterly at a loss to conceive what should have induced Mr Hume to advance it. There is then no presumption, arising from the history of the world, which can in the least invalidate the argument from miracles in proof of the truth of Christianity. All miracles, except those wrought in support of the religion of Jesus Christ, have been engines of received superstitions, and artifices intended to keep alive the credulity of the people.

In Mr Hume's Essay, we see the greatest opponent of the credibility of miracles, compelled at last, by the conviction that came home to his own mind, to abandon his general position, and to surrender at once the whole value of that argument which he boasts he had discovered, to show that no testimony can amount to a proof of any kind of miracle, and to limit the whole force of his reasoning to the case of religion. For this limitation, it was out of his power to assign any sufficient reason.

When, on the contrary, the nature of religion, and its importance to man, are considered, there is no unprejudiced person but must be convinced, that the case excepted affords the strongest probability of the existence of extraordinary divine interposition, and even evinces the necessity of it; in other words, of the display of miracles. Is there any thing in the world so important as religion, which teaches the knowledge of God; in what manner man shall be freed from guilt, received into favour by his Creator, and enabled to render to him acceptable service; and on what grounds his happiness shall after this short and transitory life, be secured through eternity? This is religion; and no occasion can be conceived so important, and so worthy of the display of the Creator's power and interposition, in deviating from those rules by which he commonly proceeds in the government of the world, in order to lay a just foundation for a system of religion. Nor does it argue any defect in the Divine plans to suppose, that it should ever be necessary for God to make a special interposition: the conclusion, therefore, that no interposition should ever be made, is not warranted by any sound principle whatever. Miraculous interposition in such a case, as when man had sinned against God, and involved himself in ruin, in darkness, and guilt, discovers consistency in principle, instead of irregularity in government. The wisdom of God is equally evinced by that uniform course which he generally follows in the order of the world, and by those occasional deviations from it when they become subservient to the beneficent purposes of his moral government; while in both these modes of procedure the exertion of his power is the same.

After all, there must be miracles. Not only must we admit that they are both possible and credible, but

the absolute necessity of their existence forces itself upon us. "Whether the world had or had not a beginning; whether, on the first supposition, the production of things be ascribed to chance or to design ; whether, on the second, in order to solve the numberless objections that arise, we do, or do not, recur to universal catastrophes, there is no possibility of accounting for the phenomena that presently come under our notice, without having at last recourse to miracles; that is, to events altogether unconformable, or, if you will, contrary to the present course of nature, known to us by experience."

Above

The miracles which " lay a just foundation" for the Christian religion, were matters of fact, which could not be mistaken, and the knowledge of them is transmitted to us by testimony of the most unexceptionable description. They were not of a momentary nature, of which the proof is immediately withdrawn ; but were permanent in their effects. They were also numerous, were complete at once, and were performed in broad daylight, in the midst of multitudes. all, they were wrought before enemies, under a government and priesthood alike rancorous in their hostility to them, and to the system they supported. Had, therefore, any deception been practised, it must have been detected. But, on the contrary, the enemies of Jesus Christ were compelled to admit their reality, the Jews ascribing them to diabolical, and the Heathens to magical influence. And they were never denied in the age in which they were performed, nor for ages afterwards. So that we have the unanimous testimony of friends and of enemies for their truth; of persons on both sides whose interests were deeply implicated.

The miracles of Jesus Christ were worthy of him