DISCOURSE IX.

The Evidence of the Mofaic and Chriftian Religion.

PART I.

God, who, at fundry times, and in divers manners, Spake in time paft unto the fathers by the prophets, bath, in thefe laft days, Spoken unto us by his Son.

HEB. i. 1, 2.

In the preceding discourses I have endeavoured to prepare the way for the

proper evidence of revealed religion, by explaining the nature, and fhewing the importance, of the fubject, and by exhibiting a comparative view of the heathen religions, and that of the Hebrews, which is that branch of revealed religion which is most objected to by unbelievers. The systems of the heathen religions, especially those of remote ages, coeval with the Mofaic inftitutions, you have feen to

have been not only a confufed mafs of miferable fuperftition, arifing from a total ignorance of the laws of nature, but to have confifted in rites fhocking to humanity, good morals, and common decency, and that they were, in a great meature, the cause of the horrid depravity of manners which prevailed in the Gentile world. On the contrary, the tenets of the religion of the Hebrews, which has been fo much decried by Voltaire and others, were, in the highest degree, rational, worthy of the Supreme Being, leading to the greatest purity of heart and life, and peculiarly calculated to counteract the effects of the abfurd and mischievous religions of the neighbouring nations. Being, therefore, fo much fuperior to, and reverfe of, all the forms of religions, with which Mofes, or any of his countrymen, could have been acquainted, and even fuperior, as I have fhewn, to the principles advanced by the most celebrated of the heathen philofophers, there is the greatest antecedent probability that it came from God, the fountain of wisdom; who thought proper to make choice of one nation, in which to preferve the true knowledge and worship of himself, amidst the general defection from

it, and by that means to diffuse, in due time, the most falutary light to all his offspring of mankind. And it has already, in a great measure, effected this benevolent purpose, in the gradual unfolding of the plan, in the Chriftian revelation, which has a conftant reference to that of Mofes; fo that they are to be confidered as parts of the fame scheme; the proper evidence of which I fhall now proceed to lay before you. In order to do this as briefly as poffible, I fhall not confider the evidence of each feparately, but jointly; especially as I have done the former, and more in detail, in another fet of difcourfes, which are already before the public.

I fhall begin with obferving that the only proper evidence of the interpofition of God, as the author of nature, is an exhibition of fomething which he alone is capable of performing, that is, a proper miracle, or a controlling of the order of nature, which it must be allowed that no other than he who eftablished it, and who conftantly maintains it, can do. The medium of divine communications may be men, and where the instruction and reformation of men is the object, it is most naturally and properly fo; but the power

power by which it is effected, muft appear to be of God. Otherwife, there would be no reafon to fuppofe that there was any thing fuperhuman in the scheme.

It has, indeed, been the opinion of some, that proper miracles may be wrought by beings fuperior to man, though inferior to the Supreme God, and even for purposes oppofite to any that could be his, tending to mislead and injure mankind.' But this is an opinion which I am perfuaded will not be seriously maintained by any perfon at this day. It cannot, with any appearance of reafon, be fuppofed, that the Supreme Being would put it in the power of any malevolent demon (fuppofing fuch beings to exift) thus to deceive his creatures, and without referving to himself the power of undeceiving them. For if fuch beings as these were permitted to work real miracles, or perform fuch works as men were unable to distinguish from real miracles, it was all that himself could do; fo that the mifchief would be without remedy.

We muft, therefore, take it for granted, and I doubt not, it will be univerfally allowed, that if there be a real departure from the

order or laws of nature (which in the greater instances there is no danger of mistaking), it muft be by the interpofition of a power properly divine, and for a purpose worthy of divinity, of the great and good parent of the human race; for instance, to give them seafonable affistance in the discovery of interesting truth, and removing the causes of error, vice, and mifery, which muft otherwife have remained without remedy.

Miracles, then, being allowed to be the only, but a fufficient, evidence of divine interpofition, it will be afked, what is the evidence of their having been wrought, to those who are not themselves witneffes of them? For it is not pretended that miracles are exhibited before all perfons, but only occafionally. I answer, the testimony of those who were properly witneffes of them, but teftimony fo circumstanced, that the fuppofition of its being false would be more improbable on the whole than that of its being true; so that its being falfe fhall, by a fair estimate, appear to be a greater miracle, or a greater deviation from the ufual course of nature, than what is related as fuch. And certainly fuch cases may be supposed.