though they named many, yet none was found that would bear the test. Nor could they find any supposititious book which had these four marks for its veracity, as the holy Scriptures have, which were commenced at the time they speak of, and were written by the actors of the facts they relate, or by eye and ear witnesses."

As the Deists who were contemporary with Leslie failed in all their attempts to answer the argument of his book, so those who have since endeavoured to grapple with it have been equally unsuccessful. Leslie's argument, which is so plain and easy that a child may understand it, is a knot which no unbeliever has been able to untie. Dr. Middleton, one of the most learned and ingenious of the fraternity, is said to have spent many years in the attempt, and at length abandoned it in despair.

The last tract in the series is a dialogue, written by the ingenious Dr. Mason, of NewYork. It presents a fair specimen of the character of many modern unbelievers,—profane, confident, superficial, flippant. Men who habituate themselves to an irreverent use of the divine Name manifest an impious levity of temper which ill qualifies them for the calm investigation of a question so important as

that of the divine mission of the Lord Jesus. The tract also shows the light grounds upon which some men reject the Gospel, and brave the fearful threatenings which it contains. Here was a person of education and refinement, openly denying the Lord that bought him, without a single argument to justify his conduct; and urging the pitiful plea, that the claims of Christianity are not substantiated by mathematical but moral proofs, the force of which he could not comprehend! His unbelief was not occasioned by any defect in the evidence of revelation, but by his own inattention, and his love of vice in one form or another. True wisdom is always serious, candid, and thoughtful.

Should the reader be desirous of further information concerning the great question of the truth of revealed religion, he will do well to consult, among other publications which may be easily obtained, Dr. Paley's Evidences of Christianity; Bishop Watson's Apology for Christianity, and his Apology for the Bible; with what relates to the same subject in the first volume of Mr. Hartwell Horne's Introduction to the study of the holy Scriptures, and in the first part of Mr. Watson's Theological Institutes.

The question which has been decided by

these able writers, and by many others who have employed their pens on the same subject, is, in its nature and consequences, the most momentous that can be conceived. If God has indeed spoken to men by his Son, and by Prophets, Evangelists, and Apostles; and if the communications which he has made to them of his mind and will are faithfully recorded in the book which Christians all believe to be of divine authority; then the claim which the Gospel has upon our belief and practical attention is absolute, and will admit of no compromise. The denial of any doctrine. which Christ and his Apostles have clearly and distinctly taught, is a denial of God's truth; and a refusal to comply with the requirements of their doctrine, is no less a crime than that of disobedience to the Almighty's will. Faith is a duty, binding upon the consciences of men as much as the precepts of the Decalogue; and the moralizing sceptic, who denies the divinity of our Saviour's mission, and rests in what he calls "the light of nature," whatever he may think of himself, and whatever others may think of him, is convicted of the atrocious sin of giving the lie to the God that made him. Resisting the evidence. which the Gospel miracles supply, he refuses

credence to the testimony which God hath given concerning his Son, and spurns all the mercies of redemption. Language fails to express the fearful amount of guilt which such conduct involves. What, then, shall be said of the open blasphemer of Christ, and avowed despiser of evangelical truth and blessings? On this subject the Son of God has not been silent; and the awful import of his words it becomes every man to ponder. Concerning infidels of all classes he has said, "He that believeth not shall be damned."

We have then evidence of the truth and divine authority of the Christian religion, the most decisive and convincing, and such as no man ever did or can disprove. This evidence has produced conviction in the minds of the most accomplished scholars, and the most profound thinkers, that ever lived; and all the objections that have been urged against it, whether in ancient or in modern times, have been fairly met and answered. Its direct and legitimate results are all demonstrably beneficial. This is matter of daily experience and observation; and it is matter of history. We conclude, therefore, that practical conformity to the religion of Christ is the highest wisdom, as it is the indispensable duty of every man.

Many unbelievers have died in agonies of guilt and despair, lamenting in the bitterest manner the sin of making light of Christ and his salvation. Many nominal Christians upon the bed of death have uttered the most affecting regrets, that their spirit and conduct had been at variance with their convictions; and that they had rested in the bare profession of religion, neglecting the assiduous cultivation of the true Christian character. But neverand this is a fact which deserves the profoundest attention-never was it known that a dying believer contemplated with shame and sorrow the devotion of his whole life to Christ. Faith in him creates no sorrow in the remembrance, and inspires no fear in regard to the future. Obedience to his commands lays no trouble upon the conscience, and excites no dread of the coming judgment. Verily his yoke is easy, and his burden is light.

There is something in Christianity which produces the most rich and solid satisfaction, both in life and death. It satisfies the understanding, by the discoveries which it makes concerning God; the creation of the universe; the origin, fall, redemption, and end of man; discoveries which the human mind in the highest state of cultivation could never of