Hara^^iiiii^wK BT 1210 .P73 K<2• LIBRARY ©heolofliciit J^cminavju PRINCETON, N. J. BT 1210 .P73 \ Plumer , William S. 1802- 1880. The Bibl .e true, and _^, infidel itv wic lead i > THE BIBLE TRUE, INFIDELITY WICKED BY WM. S. PLUMER, D. D. PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY 150 NASSAU-STREET, NEW YORK. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library http://www.archive.org/details/bibletrueinfidelOOplum ADVERTISEMENT. Nothing strictly new can be pertinently said on the subject of this little treatise. The reader will not, there- fore, expect originality. All that has been attempted is to group together the most important truths on the subject in a form more condensed than usual. The author has not written for the learned. It would have been much easier to satisfy himself with a more extended discussion of every topic ; but such a course would have been fatal to his chief object, which was, to furnish plain people, who have not much leisure, with a brief manual in a popular form. Such as it is, it is commended to God, whose blessing alone can make it useful. CONTENTS PACK. General observations, 7 The right spirit necessary, 7 Right use of reason, ....... 8 The human mind weak, 9 Different kinds of proof, 11 A mystery not a contradiction, .... 12 The Bible or nothing, 13 Our Scriptures genuine, 14 The Septuagint, 19 Testimony of opposing sects, 20 A Revelation reasonable, 21 Why were the Scriptures received as divine? . . 22 Miracles, 23 Miracles prove a revelation, 27 Mohammed, ........ 28 Popish miracles, 29 Prophecy, 29 Universal empires, 31 Cyrus, 31 Tyre, 32 The Arabs, . 32 Christ, 32 Jerusalem, 33 The Jews, 33 Bible True. 1 VI CONTENTS. Collateral Proofs, .... The Bible makes men better, . The Bible comforts, .... Voltaire and Halyburton, Gibbon and Paul, . The argument cumulative, Scientific objections, .... Astronomy, Geology, The Causes of Infidelity, Men do not gather grapes from thorns, Sinful ignorance, .... Bad temper of infidels, Pride, especially of learning, . Singularity, ..... Health and prosperity, Covetousness, . General licentiousness, Ambition, Lewdness, Depraved principles, .... Want of the love of truth, A general inference, .... Infidelity worthless, destructive, . A case, France, Deaths of infidels, .... The dying sceptic and the dying Christian, Remarks, . 35 36 . 37 38 . 40 42 . 43 43 . 47 52 . 53 54 . 55 57 . 58 60 . 61 61 . 63 64 . 64 65 . 69 69 . 71 72 . 73 76 . 77 THE BIBLE TRUE GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. IN WHAT SPIRIT SHOULD THE SUBJECT BE STUDIED 1 To satisfy the captious, to teach the wayward, to persuade the stubborn, and to please the malignant, are four impossible things. On the other hand, it is easy to teach the docile, to satisfy the candid, to guide the meek, and to solve honest doubts. In all investigations of truth, he, whose state of mind is best, will make the most progress. " A word enter- eth more into a wise man than a hundred stripes into a fool." We should not be surprised, therefore, when we find in religious inquiries the same variety and diversity of results, which are seen in the char- acter of those who make them. " Temper is every thing," is a saying as true in religion as in any thing else. Neither the kingdom of science, nor the king- dom of heaven, is open to those who have not the spirit of a little child. God reveals to babes, who are willinq- to learn, things, of which the wise and prudent remain ignorant through a haughty spirit. Let every man see that his heart is right. 8 THE BIBLE TRUE. RIGHT USE OF REASON. The power of reasoning distinguishes men from brutes, and the habit of reasoning distinguishes wise men from fools. The Bible never makes war upon right reason. On the contrary, it encourages and demands the best exercise of all our faculties. We are, indeed, to use our reason in a lawful manner, setting it no impos- sible tasks, and carefully distinguishing between the influence of prejudice or passion, and the dictates of a sound mind. The uses of reason in regard to a revelation are chiefly these : to ascertain whether God has given us a revelation ; and, if so, to learn what that revelation is. To inquire whether God should make known to us a given matter does not belong to the province of reason ; for if we knew be- forehand what ought to be in the Bible, we did not need a revelation. Indeed, that which is already known to a man, cannot be revealed to him. But we may ask, yea, we are bound to ask, Is the Bible from God ? and, under responsibilities as solemn as eternity, our reason is summoned to try that ques- tion. If we decide that question affirmatively, let us then ask, What is that revelation ? what does it teach ? what does it promise ? what does it threaten ? what does it require ? In these questions there is full scope for the exercise of all our rational facul- ties. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 9 THE HUMAN MIND WEAK. In prosecuting these and all inquiries on the sub- ject of religion, it is proper always to remember, that the human mind is feeble and very liable to err, and that sometimes " a painted falsehood in many respects bears the marks of high probability, and often tri- umphs over naked truth." "A mind which has no restraint from a sense of its own weakness, of its subordinate rank in the cre- ation, and of the extreme danger of letting the ima^- ination loose upon some subjects, may very plausibly attack every thing the most excellent and venerable. It would not be difficult to criticize the creation itself, and if we were to examine the divine fabrics by our ideas of reason and fitness, and to use the same method of attack by which some men have assaulted revealed religion, we might with as good color, and with the same success, make the wisdom and power of God in his creation appear to many no better than foolishness. There is an air of plau- sibility, which accompanies vulgar reasonings and notions, taken from the beaten circle of ordinary experience, that is'admirably suited to the narrow capacities of some, and to the laziness of others." There can be no greater error than a belief that human reason is of itself a sufficient light and guide in religion. The history of the world for several thousand years abundantly demonstrates this. All the wisest of the heathen acknowledged as much. 10 THE BIBLE TRUE. Dr. Young well describes modem infidels, when he says, " The sufficiency of human reason is the golden calf, which these men set up to be worshipped ; and in the frenzies of their extravagant devotion to it, they trample on venerable authority, strike at an oak with an ozier, the doctrine of God's own plant- ing and the growth of ages, with the sudden and fortuitous shoots of imagination, abortive efforts of an hour." Saurin says of such, "What surprises me, what stumbles me, what frightens me, is to see a diminu- tive creature, a little ray of light glimmering through a few feeble organs, controvert a point with the Supreme Being ; oppose the intelligence, that sitteth at the helm of the world ; question what he affirms, dispute what he determines, appeal from his decis- ions, and, even after God hath given evidence, reject all doctrines that are beyond his capacity. Enter into thy nothingness, mortal creature ! What mad- ness animates thee? How darest thou pretend, thou who art but a point, thou whose essence is but an atom, to measure thyself with the Supreme Be- ing, with him whom the heaven* of heavens cannot contain?" If the child cannot comprehend the wisdom of the plan by which a vast empire is governed, it is surely no great act of humility for creatures of a day to submit their understandings in matters relating to the government of the universe and the counsels of GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 11 eternity. Nothing is more proper than that the ignorant should be learners, and that the blind should have guides. KINDS OF PROOF. It is proper here, to make a few remarks upon the different kinds of evidence. Lord Bacon says, " The rigor and curiosity in requiring the more severe proofs in some things, and chiefly the facility in contenting ourselves with the more remiss proofs in others, have been amongst the greatest causes of detriment and hinderance to knowledge." Nothing is more unrea- sonable than mixing the different kinds of evidence. Geometry is a beautiful science, but its very nature confines it to magnitudes. No man can thereby prove that Victoria is queen, that Virgil wrote the ^Eneid, that air and water are compound substances, that a murder was committed, or a battle fought. So you cannot prove the Bible true or untrue, you can prove nothing on the subject of a revelation by the exact sciences. There is, therefore, amazinsr folly in the objection that the Bible lacks a species of evidence which is found to sustain some branches of knowledge. Whether the proof of a truth be drawn from con- sciousness, from sensation, from intuition, from de- monstration, or from testimony, is not to a wise man a matter of importance, provided it be ample and adapted to the nature of the subject. If Christian- 12 THE BIBLE TRUE. ity has all its appropriate evidences, we ought to be satisfied. If we cannot by demonstration or intui- tion prove it true, yet if its evidences are sufficient to satisfy the candid, who make war on their sinful inclinations, this is sufficient. Though you cast pearls before swine, they will but trample them under their feet. Though you give that which is holy unto the dogs, they will turn and rend you. Conviction from testimony is as philosophical and proper as from demonstration. A MYSTERY NOT A CONTRADICTION. Nor ought men to complain when asked to dis- tinguish between a mystery and a contradiction. He who believes in nothing which he cannot fully un- derstand, will certainly have a very short creed. He cannot believe in anatomy, in animal life, in gravita- tion, in vegetation, in electricity, if he refuses to assent to the existence of things mysterious. God himself is the greatest mystery in the universe, and he who rejects all mystery, must be an atheist. It is our duty carefully to ask, not whether we fully understand every thing belonging to what we believe, but whether the evidence, on which we believe it, is sufficient. An objection drawn from mystery alone is insignificant. A religion free from all mystery must be a human invention. But to establish a contradiction in any matter is to render belief impossible. No man can believe GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 13 that a thing exists and does not exist at the same time and in the same sense, nor that black is white, nor that a part is equal to the whole. If the Scrip- tures contained contradictions, we could not receive them as true, although in the mysteries of revelation we may even rejoice. There is no greater mystery than the love of God in giving his Son to die for us. We cannot give it up, simply because it transcends all human love and comprehension. THE BIBLE OR NOTHING. Whether we receive the Bible or not, it is clear that if we reject it, we have not on earth any sys- tem of religion worthy of reception. If we give up the divinity of the Scriptures, we seek in vain to affix the seal of God to any other form of belief and worship, known to men. If the volume, which we call the true light, be a fiction, man is left to grope his way to the judgment-seat of God without a lamp to shine upon his path. This fact invests our inquiry with the most solemn interest. The trial of the truth of the Bible is the trial of man for his immortal life, and all his highest hopes. If we give up this book, there remains to us nothing but the blindness of superstition and imposture, and a long series of overwhelming degradations. It is certainly a wild madness, which can lead any one to suppose that human nature can ever be elevated by proving it on a level with beasts, by confounding Bible True. 2 14 THE BIBLE TRUE. good and evil, vice and virtue, by annihilating all expectation of righteous recompense. Maniacs never held a wilder sentiment than that piety was pro- moted by denying Providence, by shaking confidence in the justice, holiness, or goodness of God. The moment men forsake the Bible they are at sea without a compass. If Christianity be a fiction, it is infinitely preferable to the fictions of heathen- ism, or the dogmas of that class of modern writers, who publish themselves to the world as philoso- phers. If Christianity be a fiction, it must be con- fessed that it at least breathes a very remarkable spirit of good-will, and produces an incalculable amount of happiness to society, of quiet to the mind, and of pleasing hope for the future. On the other hand, the sum of all that infidelity clearly teaches is contained in this short creed, " I believe in all uncertainty." OUR SCRIPTURES GENUINE. In an argument on the subject of the truth of the Bible, the first question is, " Have we the same Scriptures which the early Christians had?" I answer affirmatively, and prove it just as we prove that any writing now in our possession is the same that went under the same name in former times, and just as men, w,ho shall live 1,800 years hence, if the world shall stand so long, will prove that they have the same Bible that we have now. Let a man prove OUR SCRIPTURES GENUINE. 15 that we have the Commentaries of Caesar, or the Orations of Cicero, and not some spurious works passing under their names, and by a thousand-fold stronger evidence shall it be proven that we have the genuine epistles of Paul, the genuine prophecies of Isaiah, the genuine gospels, and other sacred writings originally published by their authors. One way of proving that we have the same books which bore a given name in former days, is by com- paring modern with ancient copies. There lies before me a work first published in A. D. 1643. Now, if I should meet with a new edi- tion of that book, and should wish to know whether it were correct, I would compare the last with the first, and form my judgment accordingly. To ap- ply this argument, I would observe that we have manuscript copies of the New Testament, supposed to be as old as A. D. 500. These copies correspond in all points of fact or doctrine with our own Scrip- tures. Owing to the wasting persecutions which took place for the express purpose of exterminating Christianity, we have not any copies of the Scrip- tures in the Greek lano-ua^e more than about thir- teen hundred and fifty years old. Besides, the early Christians — and we are following their example — never thought of depositing in some sacred and secure place a copy of the word of God, for the purpose of giving to posterity an accurate copy of their sacred books. Indeed, no place intended as a 16 THE BIBLE TRUE. depository of Christian monuments would have been either sacred or secure. The attempt to have made it so would have excited both suspicion and malig- nity. Moreover, the art of printing not having been then invented, all books, sacred and profane, were scarce, and all copies were of necessity made out in the slow and expensive method of handwriting. Accordingly, complete copies of the Scriptures were possessed only by respectable churches, and by a few rich or learned men. Even down to the time of the invention of the art of printing, a complete copy of the Scriptures could not be procured in England at a cost less than the aggregate hire of a common laborer for thirteen years. It is, then, no wonder that we have not a larger number of ancient manuscript copies of the sacred writings. The wonder rather is, that we have any. The Bible, like the burning bush seen by the pa- triarch, has been in the midst of the fire, and has not been consumed. Spiritual and political despotisms have summoned kings and cabinets, armies and the rabble, to extirpate the word of God. It has often been a capital offence to be found possessing the Bible. Yet this book has lived. Many very ancient copies have come down to us, and these agree with our Scriptures. But this is not all, for in early times the Scrip- tures were translated into different languages. Of OUR SCRIPTURES GENUINE. 17 these translations I shall notice but one, namely, the Syriac. This translation, as learned men agree, has been in use in Syria ever since the second cen- tury. See Michaelis. The internal evidence, the traditions of the East, and many very ancient manu- script copies found in different places, establish for it at/ least a very great antiquity. About two hun- dred and thirty years ago, the Bishop of Antioch, in Syria, sent a copy of this translation into Europe to be printed, and since that time the work is found in the library of every clergyman of considerable learning. Several other translations have been made at different, though early periods of the Christian era ; and all of these contain the history and doc- trine of revelation, in a degree not equal indeed to the original, but in sufficient accuracy to prevent fatal mistake. Indeed, the ancient translations will well bear a comparison with an equal number of those that are more modern. So that, if we had no ancient manuscripts, and had to depend for our knowledge of the Gospel entirely on translations, we should have as correct sources of information as the mere English reader has of a history of France, originally written in the language of that country, and carefully rendered into English. Furthermore, all of the books of the New Testa- ment have been largely quoted, from early times down to the present, so that if every translation and every copy, written and printed, ancient and mod- Bible True. ■<• 18 THE BIBLE TRUE. em, were entirely destroyed, and all the books which have been written for fifteen hundred years were instantly burned up, the Gospel would not be lost ; for it might be gathered from books written within three hundred years of the ascension of our Saviour. This is one of the highest kinds of proof appropriate to such a subject. Three writers, living in different countries, quote the same sentence from an old writer for purposes quite diverse. A man who never saw the original may reasonably believe that the agree- ing quotations are correctly made. This is the common practice of mankind, even in the most important matters. This kind of evidence increases with the number of quotations, with the distance of time and place at which they were made, and with the variety and contrariety of object had in view by those who made them. Our Scriptures have been quoted not only by three, but by many writers, at different times, for different purposes, some friendly, some hostile. These quotations con- tain the same things in substance. We can be at no loss for the substance of the (rospel. Numerous commentaries on the Scriptures, har- monies of their contents, and catalogues of them, similar to those found in modern authors, were early written and published. These constitute a mass of evidence, which it requires indeed learning and candor duly to estimate ; but which, when properly weighed, gives an overwhelming force to OUR SCRIPTURES GENUINE. 19 the argument for the genuineness of the sacred writ- ings. As to the books of the Old Testament, it is not necessary to dwell on the proofs of their genuine- ness. It is sufficient to state, that all history repre- sents the Jews as exceedingly careful in correctly preserving the sacred text. When a copy was made out, not only the number of words, but even the num.ber of letters in it was counted, and compared with the original, in order to prevent mistake. THE SEPTUAGINT. It is proper also to state, that the Jewish Scrip- tures were translated into Greek about two hundred and eighty- eight years before Christ, by order of that great patron of learning and of commerce, Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt; that the work was executed with great care ; that when com- pleted, it was deposited in the largest library then in the world, the Alexandrian; that Jesus Christ and his apostles quoted this translation ; and that it corresponds with our copies of the Hebrew Scrip- tures as nearly as any translation commonly does with the original. This work, called the Septuagint, 'has ever since been in the possession of scholars, and is highly esteemed by learned men ; so that if we had no Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament Scriptures would not be lost. 20 THE BIBLE TRUE. TESTIMONY OF OPPOSING SECTS. Before and since the coming of Christ, there were true and false teachers, and various controvertists and sects, widely differing from each other. And yet Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes, quoted the same copy of the Scriptures. Since the coming of Christ, the Jews and Christians, who differ on the Messiahship of Jesus of Nazareth, a doctrine con- fessed on both hands to be fundamental to Jheir respective systems, do still read, study, and quote the same editions of the Hebrew Bible. The Jews and Christians have closely watched each other ever since the days of the apostles, yet do they now agree in receiving the same sacred text. So heretics and Christians have watched each other in every age, yet no material corruption of the text of the Old or New Testament has taken place. It could not have been even attempted without an exposure which would have ruined the credit of any man or sect. Let me illustrate. A. B. dies, leaving a will and seven children. Each of the children takes a copy of the will, leaving the original in the hands of a common friend, whose house is destroyed and the will with it, before it is admitted to record. Each of the heirs produces his copy of the will in court ; the handwriting of each is different ; the spelling of some words is different ; the punctuation does not in all cases agree ; yet the true intention of the tes- tator is manifest from each copy. Whatever may A REVELATION REASONABLE. 21 be the decision of the judges in the case, surely the heirs cannot doubt what the will of the testator was ; and if they agree to divide the estate by it, surely his views and the ends of law and justice will be as well answered as if the original had been pre- served. Just so the millions of Christians appeal to the same copies of God's word, as containing the char- ter of their hopes, the rule of their lives, and the standard of their creed. Higher evidence of the genuineness of our Scriptures is not in the nature of things to be expected. No other records have ever been esteemed so sacred ; none have ever had so many safeguards to their purity. It is, there- fore, safe to conclude, that our Bible is the same which the early Christians had. A REVELATION REASONABLE There is nothing absurd in the supposition that He who made us should instruct us. It is to this day a question among scholars, whether language was at first a human invention or a revelation from God. Those who contend that it is a human inven- tion, have never argued that God could not, or if necessary, would not have revealed it to man. Surely, they would not have overlooked so obvious an argument if it had possessed any weight. 22 THE BIBLE TRUE. To use an illustration : I speak not of what God did, but of what he might have done. If God may, in the judgment of reason, have taught us language, may he not teach us the knowledge of himself ? If we are capable of communing with him, is he not full of condescension, and may he not commune with us ? If he teaches the ant and the bee to provide for winter, why may he not teach man to provide for eternity ? It is also according to the divine plan generally to teach truths gradually, and by a few men at first. The world stood nearly six thousand years before the use of the mariner's compass, the art of printing, the true system of astronomy, the use of steam, and the use of electricity were known. And when they were at last well known, it was by means of a few men. In revealing the divine will on religious subjects to a few men able to teach others, God is but following an analogy which runs through all his dispensations. WHY WERE THE SCRIPTURES RECEIVED AS DIVINE ? The question then arises, On what evidence were the books of Scripture received as a revelation from God ? On this subject many false things have been said by the enemies of revelation. In answer it may be stated, that the divine authority of the Scriptures was attested by numerous MIRACLES. 23 MIRACLES. God gave sight to all who do see. Why can he not give it to a man born blind ? He gave life to all who live. Why can he not give it to the dead ? Against the existence of miracles there can lie no valid objection. It is reasonable that men, sent by God to teach their fellows, should be able to attest their commission in the most impressive manner. There is no absurdity in the belief of miracles. Mr. Hume, indeed, has said that miracles are con- trary to experience. If he means that miracles are contrary to our experience in this day, it is admitted. But if he means that miracles were contrary to the experience of the early Christians, he does but mis- erably beg the whole question. These men testified to the existence of miracles, and thousands of them, in proof of their honesty and sincerity as witnesses, joyfully suffered all the pains of martyrdom. It is not possible to find witnesses more competent for their intelligence and opportunities of observation, or more credible for their honesty, for the disinterested purity of their lives, and for their agreement among themselves. No man has ever detected any dis- qualification in the witnesses, or shown how better witnesses could be found among men. Neither is there any presumption against mira- cles from any lack of power in the Almighty. As Omnipotence has established, so it can suspend the 21 THE BIBLE TRUE. laws of nature. Nothing is too hard for God. The only question, which we can with propriety raise, is, " Whether God is willing, in any circumstances, to work a miracle ?" The truth on this point can only be learned by God's declaring that he is willing, or by his working the miracle. If he work the mira- cle, his declaration of his willingness to do so is unnecessary. When one of the ancients denied mo- tion, his adversary refused to argue the point ; but arose and walked across the room, thus silencing all sophistry. So, if a man deny that God is willing to work miracles, and he be answered by their exhibi- tion before his eyes, or by the sure records of his- tory, his doubts may properly cease. Matters of fact in things external to us can be known only in two ways, either by our own senses, or by the testi- mony of others. The miracles establishing the truth of Christianity were properly wrought at the time of its first prop- agation. Had they not been wrought until this day, all who have gone before us would have been desti- tute of sufficient evidence of the truth of the Gos- pel. And had miracles been so multiplied and con- tinued as that every man, down to our day, should have witnessed many of them, they would by their very commonness probably have lost their power over the human mind, and wicked men would have said that they proved nothing, because they were a part of the laws of nature ; or if their strangeness MIRACLES. 25 had still arrested the mind, it would have been kept in an awe amounting to terror, and thus freedom of choice would have been impaired. We are, there- fore, from the nature of the case, left to the testi- mony of others, who were eye-witnesses of the miracles wrought in attestation of the truth of the inspired writings. That Jesus Christ allowed the people to believe that he wrought miracles, no sober- minded man can deny. All history, whether by friends or foes, confirms this truth. His disciples abundantly testify to this point. Now, if Jesus Christ intended to make the people believe that he wrought miracles, he either did perform them, or he was an impostor. If he were an impostor, there never has been one like him. Never has malice found a flaw in his character. Infidels themselves, among whom are Paine and Jefferson, acknowledge that Jesus Christ was a benevolent and just person. Then, if he was good, he was not a deceiver, but a true and sin- cere man, and did all he claimed to have done. Yet he often claimed obedience to his authority, on the ground of his miracles. The enemies of Christianity admitted that Christ did do those things which we call miracles. The Jews, who witnessed them, admitted them, but as- cribed them to satanic power. Celsus, the first infidel writer, admitted them, but compared them to the tricks of the magicians. Porphyry, the second Bible True. 3 26 THE BIBLE TRUE. infidel, did not deny them, but said the Scriptures contained contradictions. Julian was emperor of Rome in the fourth century. He was an apostate from Christianity, and manifested a bitterness against it, which has hardly ever been surpassed, or even equalled. He used all his power and all his tal- ents — and both were vast — to oppose the word of God. In writing against the Christians, he does not pretend that no miracles had been performed by Christ. In two places he distinctly admits them to have been wrought. He admits that " he rebuked the winds, walked on the seas, healed lame and blind people," etc. Flavius Josephus, a Jew, who wrote about sixty years after the commencement of Christianity, speaking of a period some years previous, says, in his History, L. 18, cap. 3, sec. 3, "At that time lived Jesus, a wise man, if he may be called a man, for he performed many won- derful works. He was a teacher of such as received the truth with pleasure." This passage is in every copy of Josephus now extant. It may be safely asserted that there is not a fragment of history, either contemporary with Christ and his apostles, or extant within many ages of their time, which dis- proves, or tends to disprove the fact that those things, which we call miracles, were wrought to es- tablish the truth of Christianity, although some are found, who admit the facts, but attempt to account for them as caused by magic or by satanic influence. MIRACLES. 27 By the undeniable character of the miracles wrought, not only were all doubts removed from the minds of Christ's immediate followers, but enemies were confounded and silenced, or put to rage and made to gnash their teeth ; and in tens of thou- sands of cases enemies were converted into friends, and died excruciating deaths rather than deny what they knew to be the truth. Our countryman, Rit- tenhouse, well observed, that all the miracles of Christ were benevolent ; and we know that they were wrought not only at night, but generally by day, in the open air, and under the light of heaven, not only in the presence of friends, but in the midst of shrewd, cunning, and deadly enemies. There was no room for deception. Legerdemain never gave sight to the blind, never made the lame man walk and leap, never raised the dead. MIRACLES PROVE A REVELATION. Admitting miracles to have been wrought, the question arises, " How do they become a proof of a revelation?" The answer is, that the argument is based on two suppositions, to deny either of which renders it impossible to reason on this subject. The first is, that none but God can work a miracle. The other is, that God. loves truth, and will not exert his power miraculously to establish error and falsehood. If a man think that any other, than the power, which ordained -the laws of nature, can suspend them, or 28 THE BIBLE TRUE. that a good, true, and loving God would suspend the laws of nature to confirm a fraud upon mankind, he is not prepared for any argument on the evi- dences of Christianity, but needs to be instructed in the first principles of natural religion, which show by innumerable proofs that God is good. He denies axioms in the argument, for Nicodemus expressed not only his own views, but the common sense of mankind, upon ascertaining the reality of miracles, when he said, " Master, we know that thou art a teacher come from God ; for no man can do the miracles that thou doest, except God be with him." MOHAMMED. "But," says one, "did not Mohammed work miracles, and thus establish his imposture ?" I an- swer, he did not. He said that God had wrought miracles enough by the prophets, and by Jesus Christ, and that God had sent him to teach. This would have been good reasoning, if he had taught the doctrines of Christ and the prophets. He did, indeed, assert that the Koran itself was a miracle. But this is evidently a play upon a word, and not a serious argument ; or, if it be the latter, then we disprove it by the Iliad of Homer, or the Paradise Lost of Milton, which are much more sublime, but which no man ever regarded as proofs of any thing beyond an elevated genius, and much careful study. PROPHECY. 29 Mohammed's great argument, as every well-informed man knows, was the sword, not miracles. On that he relied, as the history of his life shows. POPISH MIRACLE?. The miracles pretended to be wrought in the dark ages, and in more modern times, in support of superstition, are wholly destitute of the support of credible and competent testimony. They were wrought secretly, or in the presence of those only, who already embraced the superstition, which was intended to be supported by them ; or it took years to accomplish one miracle ; or when the miracle was pronounced complete, the effect said to have been wrought was imperfect and doubtful. On one or more of these principles, or on those equally valid, the spurious character of every miracle mentioned by Mr. Gibbon and other enemies of the truth may be easily shown. PROPHECY. Leaving this brief sketch of the argument from miracles, let us look at the argument for the truth of the Bible, drawn from prophecy. This argument, like the last, is based upon two suppositions, neither of which a reasonable man will deny. One is, that prescience belongs to God only. The other is, that God will 'not reveal the secrets of futurity for the purpose of misguiding his creatures. He, who grants 3* 30 THE BIBLE TRUE. these two truths, needs but to have a real prophecy presented to his mind, to be satisfied that its author speaks by the authority of God. Things in their very nature contingent, and, for their accomplish- ment, not dependent on any second cause now in existence, do, if foretold, imply foreknowledge in the being foretelling them. If he who prophesies expressly disclaims all honor as due to himself, and ascribes his prophecies to the teachings of God, and if they prove true, it is evident that God is with such a man. In the foregoing principles we have the necessary distinctions between inspired prophecy and that un- usual sagacity which is sometimes found in men. Soon after the battle of Waterloo, Mr. Canning said, " The next contest in Europe will be a war of prin- ciple." He had good reasons for saying so, drawn from the state of things known to all the world. His prediction was true, and was in a few years proved to be so. But he did not pretend that it was in- spired. It was the product of his own reasonings. The same gentleman, in 1826, pronounced the abolition of slavery in the British West Indies utter- ly impossible. Here he reasoned with perhaps as much accuracy on the principles and facts before him ; but he left out of view the public temper, which soon became much changed ; and his predic- tion failed. Had he claimed divine inspiration in the case, he would have been justly numbered among PROPHECY. 31 the lying prophets. As it is, we only say his sa- gacity was not equal to his subject. He was not, he did not claim to be a prophet. Now, there are prophecies in the Scriptures, amounting to several hundreds, of so distinct and remarkable a character as to be inapplicable to any but the times, the places, or the persons, to which the Christian world generally applies them. UNIVERSAL EMPIRES. Some of these prophecies contain an outline of all the empires, called universal monarchies, which have ever existed. They describe their character, their extent, and their end, with a minuteness that leaves the historian little else to do than to fill up the out- line by the events, which are remarkably well known. Let any man read Rollin's Ancient History, and he must be sceptical indeed, if he does not rise from the perusal convinced of the truth of all here as- serted. CYRUS. Some of these prophecies relate to particular persons and places. Those respecting Cyrus and the taking of Babylon were written two hundred years before his time. They give his name ; they tell how he should take the city ; they describe the nature of its defences ; they foretell his decree for the return of the Jews, and all in the clearest manner. 32 THE BIBLE TRUE. TYRE. Perhaps no commercial city ever had greater wealth, or gave fairer promise of standing -while the world shall stand, than ancient Tyre, in the days of Ezekiel. Yet by that prophet God declared that he would "make her like the top of a rock," and that she should " be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea." Ezek. 26 : 4, 5. For cen- turies, every man who has visited the seat of ancient Tyre, and Volney among others, has seen no greater evidence of wealth than was found in the fish spread upon the rocks to be cured, and the nets spread to be dried. THE ARABS. The prophecies respecting the Arabs, the descend- ants of Ishmael, are in our day, as for more than three thousand years they have been, in a course of striking fulfilment. See Gen. 16 : 12. The Arab is still " a wild man." " His hand is still against every man, and every man's hand is still against him, and he still dwells in the presence of all his breth- ren," notwithstanding the mighty exertions which have been made to get rid of him. CHRIST. The prophecies respecting our Saviour predict his miraculous conception, the time and place of his birth, his lineage, his character, his miracles, his PROPHECY. 33 doctrine, his rejection by the Jews, the manner of his death, and his resurrection, with a minuteness in many cases truly surprising. Yet all was fulfilled, even down to the words and acts of mockery used by his enemies at his death, and the division of his apparel among his crucifiers. JERUSALEM. The prophecy of our Saviour respecting the de- struction of Jerusalem, limited that event to the gen- eration then upon the earth. Matt. 24 : 34. In that generation it perished. He also said that in that event there should "be great tribulation, such as had not been from the beginning of the world to that time, no, nor ever should be." Matt. 24 : 21. No candid man can read Josephus' account of that event without consenting to the assertion, that he never read, or heard, or conceived of such suffer- ing in any other case. See Jerusalem in her fallen condition for nearly eighteen centuries : " How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people ! How is she become as a widow, she that was great among the nations!" THE JEWS. Look, too, at the dispersed, distressed, distinct state of the Jews, concerning whom God said that all these things should come upon them. Scattered to the ends of the earth, persecuted for many cen- 34 THE BIBLE TRUE. turies, their children, in many cases, taken from them in early life, to conceal their origin and change their religion, they still remain a suffering people ; and to this day they are as distinct from all other people as when they lived in Judea. I need not dwell upon the prophecies concerning them. Let one of their own number tell their views on this matter. Rabbi David Levi speaks of the proofs of " the exact accomplishment of every event foretold by Moses as affording such clear and unequivocal proofs of divine inspiration, as to strike the Deist and Infi- del dumb." Again he says, "I am free to assert, no nation ever suffered the like, during a space of almost eighteen hundred years." Again, "If we enter into particulars, we shall find that punishments which he (Moses) denounced against them, (the Jews,) have been so exactly fulfilled in every par- ticular, that it is no wonder if infidels have recourse to the old hackneyed objections, that the facts were prior to the predictions, and that the prophecies were written after the histories." Having given a brief view of these prophecies and their fulfilment, he Bays, " I must freely acknowledge, that they not only convince, but astonish and amaze me beyond utterance."* On these two great pillars, miracles and prophecy, Christianity rests its weight. No friend of the truth * Defence of the Old Testament, pp. 11, 15, 16, and 33. COLLATERAL PROOFS. 35 ought for a moment to surrender either of them, or fail to defend them, when a proper opportunity of- fers. The merest outline of the argument from each has been given. If any one would know more on the subject, let him read several well-known works on miracles and prophecy. COLLATERAL PROOFS. But there are also many collateral sources of evi- dence, such as the majesty, the purity, the impar- tiality, and the harmony of the word of God. Each of these topics might be enlarged upon, and with much propriety. They are merely alluded to now for the purpose of saying that they are, in their place, important, and that they have summoned and won the confidence of thousands of the greatest and wisest men the world has ever seen. Sir Isaac Newton, having, by the application of known principles of science, made known the dis- tance and magnitude of the sun and many of his satellites, sat down to the study of the Bible, say- ing, "We account the Scriptures of God the sub- limest philosophy." Milton, of whose Paradise Lost Dr. Johnson says, " It is not the greatest of heroic poems, only because it is not the first," declares, " There are no songs comparable to the songs of Zion." 36 THE BIBLE TRUE. A volume might be filled with similar testimonies to the unparalleled excellence of the sacred writings, which, as Mr. Locke says, "have God for their author, salvation for their end, and truth without any mixture of error, for their matter." On this branch of the subject I take pleasure in recommending to the reader a work, published by the American Tract Society, entitled, " The Bible not of Man." THE BIBLE MAKES MEN BETTER. There are two effects produced by the Bible on the hearts of those who embrace it, which are pe- culiar to revelation. One is, elevated purity. " The law of the Lord converteth the soul." This effect is not confined to the less vicious part of mankind, but is witnessed also in the desperate, and outra- geous, and lawless, who are brought under its power. Men as fierce as wild beasts, as cruel as death, as ungovernable as a storm, have often felt its purify- ing power. This has been the case from the first. An early Christian writer says, " Give me a man of a passionate, abusive, headstrong disposition ; with a few only of the words of God, I will make him gentle as a lamb. Give me a greedy, avaricious, tenacious wretch ; and I will teach him to distribute his riches with a liberal and unsparing hand. Give me a cruel and bloodthirsty monster ; and all his rage shall be changed into true benignity. Give me COLLATERAL PROOFS. 37 a man addicted to injustice, full of ignorance, and im- mersed in wickedness ; he shall soon become just, pru- dent, and innocent." Lactantius, Inst., 1. 1, c. 26. Such has ever been and still is the power of the Bible on the heart. The history of the true church of God, if correctly written, would be very much a succession of narratives of the power of Bible truth in converting and sanctifying the hearts of men. This effect is not produced by the Bible in common with other moral writings. Cicero was eloquent and studious. He wrote concerning the nature of God and the duties of life. But history has never yet recorded that his works converted one sinner from the error of his ways. The Bible alone, and books which embody the truths of the Bible, have this wonderful efficacy. The human heart seems to say, " Paul I know, Jesus I know ; I feel the force of their teachings ; but who are ye, that come to me with your philos- ophy, and splendid poems, and powerful eloquence ? I may admire, but I will not obey you." Must not such a book be from God ? THE BIBLE COMFORTS. Another excellency of Christianity is, its power to console the afflicted mind. Compared with all other systems, and especially with infidel systems, how cold, and dark, and cheerless are they, and how quieting, animating, and enlivening is Christianity ! 4. 38 THE BIBLE TRUE. It tells us a thousand things to make us not only patient, but triumphant ; not merely in some of the minor afflictions of life, but even when the cup of bitterness is full, and we are called to drink its dregs. Instead of dealing in generals, allow me to state some cases. VOLTAIRE AND HALYBURTON I will contrast the feelings of the prince of infi- delity with those of an humble yet learned and pious servant of God. Voltaire says, "Who can, without horror, con- sider the whole world as the empire of destruction ? It abounds with wonders ; it abounds also with vic- tims. It is a vast field of carnage and contagion. Every species is without pity pursued and torn to pieces through the air, and earth, and water. In man there is more wretchedness than in all other animals put together. He loves life, and yet he knows he must die. If he enjoys a transient good, he suffers various evils, and is at last devoured by worms. This knowledge is his fatal prerogative. Other animals have it not. He spends the transient moments of his existence in diffusing the miseries which he suffers ; in cutting the throats of his fel- low-creatures for pay ; in cheating, and being cheat- ed ; robbing, and being robbed ; in serving that he might command ; and in repenting of all he does. COLLATERAL PROOFS. 39 The bulk of mankind are nothing more than a crowd of wretches equally criminal and unfortunate ; and the globe contains rather carcasses than men. I tremble at the review of this dreadful picture, and find it contains a complaint against providence itself. I wish I had never been born." This is the testimony of him whom kings courted and nations flattered. This is the sum of all to him, " I wish I had never been born." Turn we now to Halyburton, a good man, who loved his Maker and his Maker's word. In the midst of pain, he said, " I shall shortly get a very dif- ferent sight of God from what I have ever had, and shall be made meet to praise him for ever and ever, O, the thoughts of an incarnate Deity are sweet and ravishing. 0, how I wonder at myself that I do not love him more, and that I do not adore him more. What a wonder that I enjoy such composure under all my bodily pains, and in the view of death itself. What mercy, that having the use of my rea- son, I can declare his goodness to my soul. I long for his salvation. I bless his name that I have found him, and I die rejoicing in him. 0, blessed be God that I was born. that I was where he is. I have a father and mother, and ten brothers and sisters in heaven, and I shall be the eleventh. 0, there is a telling in this providence, and I shall be telling it for ever. If there be such a glory in his conduct towards me now, what will it be to see the Lamb in 40 THE BIBLE TRUE. the midst of the throne ? Blessed be God that I was horny Here is a contrast indeed — a contrast in which the blind themselves may discern between the righteous and the wicked, the man that loves and the man that hates the word of God. ANOTHER CONTRAST. Take another example of each kind — Gibbon the historian, and Paul the apostle. Both of these men were accomplished scholars ; both had great energy of character ; both had given to the world writings which they had a right to expect woul