It places before us the most important doctrines. For example, the doctrine of the Trinity of persons or substances in the Unity of the Godhead—the proper, supreme, and eternal divinity of Christ—the personality, divinity, and offices of the Holy Spirit—the great works of creation and providence—the fall of man from the mortal image of God—the necessity, nature, and extent of redemption—repentance toward God, and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ—justification through the blood of the cross—the witness of the Spirit in the soul of believers—regeneration by the Spirit of God—holiness in heart and life—the resurrection of the dead—the general judgment—and the eternity of future rewards and punishments.

It inculcates the highest morality. The love of God, and the love of our neighbor—the doing to others as we would they should do to us—the forgiving of our enemies—the living "soberly"—in the use of food, apparel, and all things relating to ourselves, "righteously"—in the performance of all duties towards our neighbors, and "godly"—worshiping God in a right manner—the checking of all impurity of thought and desire—the rendering of honor to whom honor, and tribute to whom tribute, is due—the cultivation of humility, meekness, gentleness, placability, disinterestedness, truth, justice, beneficence, charity, and other virtues—and the avoidance of pride, discontent, despair, revenge, cruelty, oppression, contention, adultery, suicide, and other vices and crimes which injure mankind.

It preserves from all error. It is an infallible rule of judgment and of practice, and clearly teaches what we ought to believe and what we ought to do—it enlightens the mind, informs the judgment, instructs the heart, and saves from those "faults in the life," which "breed errors in the brain." All error—false judgment of things, or assent unto falsehood—springs from ignorance of the Scriptures, Mark xii. 24; John vii. 17; 2 Tim. iii. 13-17.

It promotes holiness and peace here, as well as leads to happiness and heaven hereafter. "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?" Psalm cxix. 9, 103-105. "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul," Psalm xix. 7-11. What an eulogy is this on the perfection of the sacred writings! the perfection of their utility—their certainty—their purity—their value—their comforts—their peace—and their sweetness. And this eulogy was pronounced by a prophet, a poet, and a king—no common assemblage.

It secures to the lover of it, in a rich degree, the Divine favor. "Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word." "Such a heart," says Matthew Henry, "is a living temple of God; He dwells there, and it is the place of His rest; it is like heaven and earth, His throne and His footstool."

And it furnishes the most powerful motives to the practice of its precepts. For its rewards are such as "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard;" and its threats are eminently calculated to terrify offenders. The Bible everywhere abounds with an intenseness of zeal for the Divine glory, and with a depth of self-renunciation on the part of the writers. And what a contrast does it, in this respect, exhibit to all other productions of authorship! In Scripture, God is all in all: in other writings, man is always a prominent, and generally the sole claimant of praise and admiration. And no man can attentively peruse the sacred volume without being awe-struck. For O how solemn and inspiring! and how admirably calculated to restrain from sin, and to sublimate the views and feelings! We say, therefore, that no man can diligently read the Scriptures without becoming a wiser and better man. The celebrated John Locke, whose pure philosophy taught him to adore its source, said, with his dying lips, when tendering his advice to a young nobleman, "Study the Holy Scriptures, especially the New Testament; for therein are contained the words of eternal life: it hath God for its author—salvation for its end—and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter."

"It sweetly cheers our drooping hearts, In this dark vale of tears."

It does more—

"It sheds a lustre all abroad, And points the path to bliss and heaven."



"Tis for our light and guidance given." And O what a source of light, and strength and peace! How it clears the understanding, and fills the soul with sweet delight! How it quickens our inactive powers, and sets all our wandering footsteps right! And how its promises rejoice our hearts, and its precepts direct our lives!

"A glory gilds the sacred page, Majestic like the sun; It gives a light to every age, It gives, but borrows none."

Ah! there are no words comparable to the Scriptures. None containing doctrines so useful—commands so reasonable—arguments so powerful. The lines of Scripture are richer than the mines of gold. How evidently suited to a sinful, sinning race! and how delightfully framed for the perfection of human happiness! What proofs of a Divine original! Show, if you can, in all this world, any one book of all that ever was produced in any age or nation, like the Bible. Ay, the Bible came from God; and it bears a moral resemblance to Him from whom it came. God is holy, just, and good; and the Bible is also holy in its nature, just in its requirements, and good in its provisions and tendency.



From its beneficial effects. It has wrought wonders in all ages, in all places, on all persons, and in all possible varieties of human life. Christianity—the religion of the Bible—has taught the great lessons of devotion, self-government, and benevolence. It has diffused and preserved literature—abated illiberal prejudices—produced humility, forgiveness of injuries, regard to truth, justice, and honesty, firmness under persecution, patience under worldly afflictions, and calmness and resignation at the approach of death—discouraged fornication, polygamy, adultery, divorces, suicide, and duels—checked infanticide, cruel sports, the violence of war, the vices of Kings and the assaults of princes—and rendered its sincere professors true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. It has improved the condition of females—reclaimed dissolute men—abolished human sacrifices—prevented assassinations of princes, and revolutions in states—encouraged hospitality to strangers—founded charitable institutions—emancipated slaves—abated the rigors of servitude—redeemed captives—relieved prisoners—protected widows and orphans—softened into tenderness and tears the hearts of despots—and given stability to thrones, wisdom to human laws, and protection to the people. Has it not done more for the honor of the prince and the weal of the subject than any other system?

It has been a blessing to every country into which it has been introduced. It has been a blessing to Britain. It has enwrapped in graceful robes the once naked inhabitants of this great country: it has built cities, cultivated forests, reared our temples, regulated our institutions, and rendered the country both powerful and happy. America has found in it her freedom and her peace. The wrongs of Africa have been mitigated and removed by its justice and generosity. Asia, and the isles of the sea, are waiting for its light and healing. In every Pagan country where it has prevailed, it has abolished idolatry, with its sanguinary and polluted rites; raised the standard of morality, and thus improved the manners of the people; and diffused far and wide the choicest blessings of heaven—freedom to the captive, light to the blind, comfort to the distressed, hope to the despairing, and life to the dying. Ask the people of New Zealand, of Taheita, of Tonga, cannibals, infanticides, murderers of whole islands, what it has done for the salvation of their souls. It is at once the desire of all nations, and the glory of all lands.

And it has produced the most happy effects on multitudes of men. It has enlightened the most ignorant; softened the most hardened; reclaimed the most profligate; converted the most estranged; purified the most polluted; exalted the most degraded; and plucked the most endangered from hell to heaven. What was it that transformed the persecuting and blaspheming Saul into a kind and devoted man? It was religion. What was it which brought the woman who was a sinner to bathe the feet of Jesus with her tears, and to wipe them with the hairs of her head? It was religion. What was it which produced the faith of Abraham, the meekness of Moses, the patience of Job, the wisdom of Solomon, the placability of Joseph, the penitence and zeal of David, the gentleness of Stephen, the boldness of the prophets, the undaunted zeal of Paul, the heroism of Peter, and the sweet temper of "the beloved disciple?" It was religion. What was it which produced such purity of life, and gave such majesty in death, in the cases of Grotius, Selden, Salmasius, Hale, Paschal, Boyle, Locke, Newton, Boerhave, Addison, Maclaurin, Lyttleton, and a thousand others? It was religion.

Even men who labored to erase out of the mind all respect for religion have acknowledged the importance and expediency of it. Bayle admits religion to be useful if men acted agreeably to its principles; and Voltaire says, expressly, that religion is necessary in every fixed community; the laws are a curb upon open crimes, and religion on those that are private. "No religion," says Bolingbroke, "ever appeared in the world whose natural tendency was so much directed to promote the peace and happiness of mankind as the Christian. The system of religion recorded by the evangelists is a complete system to all the purposes of true religion, natural or revealed. The Gospel of Christ is one continued lesson of the strictest morality, justice, benevolence, and universal charity.... Supposing Christianity to have been purely an human invention, it had been the most amiable, and the most useful invention that was ever imposed on mankind for their good." Hume acknowledges, that, "the disbelief in futurity loosens, in a great measure, the ties of morality, and may be supposed, for that reason, pernicious to the peace of civil society." Rousseau acknowledges, that, "if all were perfect Christians, individuals would do their duty, the people would be obedient to the laws, the chiefs just, the magistrates incorrupt, the soldiers would despise death, and there would be neither vanity nor luxury in such a state." Gibbon admits, that the gospel, or the church, discouraged suicide, advanced erudition, checked oppression, promoted the manumission of slaves, and softened the ferocity of barbarous nations; that fierce nations received at the same time the lessons of faith and humanity, and that, in the most corrupt state of Christianity, the barbarians might learn justice from the law, and mercy from the gospel. "To impute crimes to Christianity," says the celebrated King of Prussia, "is the act of a novice." His word may fairly be taken for such an assertion. And yet these unbelievers have been so vile and perverse as to decry a system which they acknowledge to be useful. How ungrateful! How reprehensible! Collect now the thoughts scattered under this branch of the subject, and be honest—heartily believe, and openly acknowledge, that God was the author of the Bible. What but a superhuman, a truly divine influence breathing in the Scriptures, can account for the energy and beneficence of their moral tendencies?

From its general reception. Vast numbers of wise and good men, through many generations and in different countries, have agreed in receiving the Bible as a revelation from God. Many of them have been noted for seriousness, erudition, penetration, and impartiality in judging of men and things. We might refer to Alfred, "replete with soul—the light of a benighted age"—to Charles V., Emperor of Germany—to Gustavus Adolphus, the renowned King of Sweden; to Selden, the learned and laborious lawyer and antiquary—to Bacon, "the bright morning star of science"—to Usher, the well-known archbishop of Armagh—to Newton, "the sun whose beams have irradiated the world"—to Boyle, celebrated for genius and erudition—to Milton, the prince of poets—to Locke, the man of profound thought—to Jones, one of the brightest geniuses and most distinguished scholars of the eighteenth century—and to many other deathless names. And if the evidence of the truth of the Bible satisfied men of such high intellectual capacity, ought it not to satisfy us? We do not wish to insinuate that we ought to believe in the Divinity of the Scriptures merely because they believed it. But we do mean to say that we ought not rashly to conclude against that which they received. They are acknowledged authorities in other cases; then why not in this? If we can place reliance upon them in their philosophical inquiries, why not in their religious ones? Surely the infidels of the present day, so far inferior to the believers of the former days, ought to express themselves with more modesty upon this important subject, and to hesitate before they openly profess their opposition to that book of religion and morals which has received the countenance of such honorable names as those which have been mentioned.

On the subject of the propagation of Christianity it has been eloquently said: "In spite of violent and accumulated opposition it diffused its blessings among the cities of Asia and the islands of Greece; over the deserts of Arabia and the European continent! From the hill of Calvary it speedily found its way to imperial Rome, gathering fresh laurels as it progressed, until it entered the palace and waved its banner over the proud dwelling of Caesar! With all the influence of priests and kings against it, and all the terrors of the gibbet or the flames, it rapidly overspread the extensive Roman empire and reached Britain, the little isle of the sea. With a power divine it achieved a triumph over mental and moral obliquity, surpassing all that the philosophy of Greece or Rome could boast; and still will it conquer, until the sun in the heavens shall not look down on a single human being destitute of the knowledge of Jesus Christ." And the Rev. Robert Hall, whom to mention is to praise, remarked: "We see Christianity as yet but in its infancy. It has not already reached the great ends it is intended to answer and to which it is constantly advancing. At present it is but a grain of mustard seed and seems to bring forth a tender and weakly crop, but be assured it is of God's own right hand planting, and He will never suffer it to perish. It will soon stretch its branches to the river and its shades to the ends of the earth. The weary will repose themselves under it, the hungry will partake of its fruits, and its leaves will be for the healing of the nations. Those who profess the name of Jesus will delight in contemplating the increase and grandeur of His kingdom. 'He must reign until He hath put all enemies under His feet.' The religion of Jesus is not the religion of one age or of one nation. It is a train of light first put in motion by God, and which will continue to move and to spread till it has filled the whole earth with its glory. Its blessings will descend and its influence will be felt to the latest generations. Uninterrupted in its course, and boundless in its extent, it will not be limited by time or space. The earth is too narrow for the display of its effects and the accomplishment of its purposes. It points forward to an eternity. The great Redeemer will again appear upon the earth as the judge and ruler of it; will send forth His angels and gather His elect from the four winds; will abolish sin and death; will place the righteous forever in the presence of his God, of their God, of his Father, and their father."

"As the waters the depth of the blue ocean cover, So fully shall God among mortals be known; His word, like the sunbeams, shall range the world over, The globe His vast temple, and mercy His throne."

Christianity, though not persecuting, has been bitterly persecuted; yet it has triumphed—and triumphed, too, in spite of all its foes. Like Moses' bush, it was unconsumable by fire; and rose up amid the flames and prospered. And like the eagle—the imperial bird of storms—it will continue securely to soar amid every tempest. All attempts to impede its progress will be as powerless and vain as attempts to drive back the flowing tide with the point of a needle. When infidels can grasp the winds in their fists, hush the voice of the thunder by the breath of their mouth, suspend the succession of the seasons by their nod, and extinguish the light of the sun by a veil, then, and not till then, can they arrest the progress of truth or invalidate the verities of the Bible. Unwise and unhappy men! they are but plowing the air—striking with a straw—writing on the surface of the water—and seeking figs where only brambles grow.

And compare not the propagation of Mohammedanism with the propagation of Christianity; for it is useless, if not absurd. Suffice it to say that the former was propagated by fanaticism, falsehood, pandering to the passions, promising a voluptuous paradise, and the frequent use of the sword; but the latter by sanity, truth, restraining the passions, promising a pure and holy heaven, and the use of no other sword but the sword of the Spirit, that is, the word of God. Christianity came—saw—and conquered. And all her victories have been bloodless—of untold advantage to the vanquished themselves. They have desolated no country—produced no tears but to wipe them away—and broken no hearts but to heal them. Now to what is all this to be attributed? Can we reasonably ascribe the general reception of the Bible and the consequent spread of Christianity to anything short of divine power? Is it not unprecedented? "Could any books," says an able writer, "have undergone so fearful and prolonged an ordeal and achieved so spotless and perfect a triumph, unless they had been given and watched over by the Deity?"

From its innumerable martyrs. "If a person," says Dr. Jortin, "lays down his life for the name of Christ, or for what he takes to be the religion of Christ, when he might prolong his days by renouncing his faith, he must stand for a martyr in every reasonable man's calendar, though he may have been much mistaken in some of his opinions." It has been calculated that since Christianity arose, not less than fifty millions of martyrs have laid down their lives for its sake. Some were venerable for years; others were in the bloom of life; and not a few were of the weaker sex. They were, for the most part, well-instructed persons. Many were learned and respectable men; neither factious in their principles nor violent in their passions. They were neither wild in their notions, nor foolishly prodigal of their lives. This may safely be affirmed of such men as Polycarp and Ignatius, Jerome and Huss, Latimer and Cranmer, Ridley and Hooper, Philpot and Bradford, Lambert and Saunders, and many others. Yet these so valued the Bible, that, rather than renounce it, and relinquish the hopes it inspired, they yielded their bodies to be burnt, or otherwise tormented, and "rejoiced and clapped their hands in flames," or the like. "All that a man hath will he give for his life." All account life sweet and precious. No man of sense and understanding will sacrifice his life, when he can preserve it, but for some deeply rooted conviction of truth or duty. In this view, Christian martyrs are entitled to our respect and esteem. For, they gave the strongest proof of sincerity of their faith: and no suspicion of fraud can reasonably be entertained against them. "We conclude," says Dr. Jortin, "that they were assisted by God, who alleviated their pain, and gave them not only resignation and patience, but exultation and joy. And this wonderful behavior of the former Christians may justly be accounted a proof of the truth of the Bible, and our holy religion, and we should deserve to be blamed and despised if we parted with it, and gave it up tamely on account of a few objections." "No man," observes Dr. Beattie, "ever laid down his life for the honor of Jupiter, Neptune, or Apollo; but how many thousands have sealed their Christian testimony with their blood!" What a moral victory! And whence but from heaven such a religion, having such attestation?

Other arguments might be added tending to demonstrate the truth of our proposition; but surely, enough have been produced to establish the authority of the Bible on an immovable basis. "Forever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven. I esteem all Thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way." "All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away; but the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the Gospel is preached unto you."

"The proudest works of Genius shall decay, And Reason's brightest lustre fade away; The Sophist's art, the Poet's boldest flight, Shall sink in darkness, and conclude in night; But Faith triumphant over Time shall stand, Shall grasp the Sacred Volume in her hand; Back to its source the heavenly gift convey, Then in the flood of Glory melt away."

THE END.

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FOOTNOTES:

[23] The most ancient hieroglyphs, according to M. Pierret, which can be seen in an European museum, are those on the statues of Sefa and Nesa in the Louvre; they date from a period anterior to the fourth dynasty. The lintel of the door of the tomb of one of the priests of Senat, fifth King of the second dynasty in the Ashmolean Library, Oxford, exhibits, however, hieroglyphs of an earlier date.

[24] King James' Bible is that now commonly used in this country and Great Britain.

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- Typographical errors corrected in text: Page 103: 'composed af two' replaced with 'composed of two' Page 134: victorius replaced with victorious Page 174: saccrifice replaced with sacrifice Page 204: Telemachos replaced with Telemachus Page 270: 'suits of rooms' replaced with 'suites of rooms' Page 280: significance replaced with insignificance (see Chevalier's book "Remarks on the production of the precious metals, and on the depreciation of gold" on page 28. http://www.archive.org/details/remarksonproduct00chevuoft) Page 292: maratime replaced with maritime Page 334: Dionysaic replaced with Dionysiac Page 393: Ilaid replaced with Iliad Page 446: admiting replaced with admitting Page 475: uninterupted replaced with uninterrupted Page 484: oblelisks replaced with obelisks Page 515: 'THE SLEEP OP ENDYMION.' replaced with 'THE SLEEP OF ENDYMION.' Page 525: chieftan replaced with chieftain Page 561: glimmmer replaced with glimmer Page 568: Grogon's replaced with Gorgon's Page 653: 'rendering of drapery so as to show the forms underdeath' replaced with 'rendering of drapery so as to show the forms underneath' Page 698: 'the name of the artist worked in it' replaced with 'the name of the artist who worked in it' Page 712: Sacred replaced with Scared Page 754: Egyptain replaced with Egyptian Page 837: Egytians replaced with Egyptians Page 874: 'of porphyry and and other rare' replaced with 'of porphyry and other rare' Page 882: cemetry replaced with cemetery Page 888: Chiristians replaced with Christians Page 929: 'instantaneously, and and not by degrees' replaced with 'instantaneously, and not by degrees' Notes on Unusual Words: Page 88: The poem on page 88 really does say: "His hugy bulk on seven high volumes rolled" Page 105: coutch is a legitimate variant spelling for couch Page 659: 'sil' means yellow ochre. -

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