LECTURE I.

THE EXISTENCE OF EVIL SPIRITS.

remarks.

WE are indebted for a large proportion of our LECT. I. knowledge, to the information which we receive Introductory from others, that is, to testimony. Deprive the most active observers and acute reasoners of all the information, all the ideas which have been imparted to them in this way, how would their mental stores be diminished, how intellectually poor would they become! How narrow is the sphere of the experience, and personal observation, and original invention, of even those who have been the most restless rangers over the surface, and amongst the various countries of the globe; who have passed through the richest variety of instructive and impressive scenes, or who have thought and experimented for themselves with the greatest energy and success! Hence faith, or belief, presents to us a very in- Cinereteresting and momentous subject of thought and trasted.

Credulity

and dulity con

LECT. I. investigation. What are its foundation, its laws, its legitimate sphere and exercise, its influence and results? At our first entrance on life we are disposed (almost necessitated) to believe everything, to credit, unhesitatingly, the testimony of our senses, of external objects, and of our fellow men. To infancy and incipient childhood belongs the simplicity of believing "every word;" and no wonder, since the child feels his own ignorance, and the superiority, in knowledge and power, of his instructors; and since the kindness which is generally manifested to him by his parents, leads him to think that none clothed in a human form will ever deceive him; and how can he distrust his own senses? He has no idea of a lie, of any reason why it should be uttered, or of any end that can be answered by it. But how is he (or at least how would he be, if the scenes did not gradually unfold themselves to his view,) surprised and mortified to find that he is less or more deceived by everything; that false information is frequently given him by his fellow men, by his very senses, and by the various phenomena of nature, as he understands them. And hence, in some cases, from the extreme of believing everything, he passes to that of believing almost nothing. The being of a God, of a material universe, the difference between good and evil, between happiness and misery, have all been denied; nay, some appear not to have been quite sure of even their own existence. Now, of the two extremes,

believing everything, however lamentable may LECT. I. be the weakness, credulity, and folly which it implies, or believing nothing, it may well be questioned which is the more irrational and pernicious. Suppose two persons could be found, one of whom literally credited everything that was told him, and trusted entirely also to the testimony of his senses; and another who would receive as true only that of which he was assured by his own experience, or which could be proved by abstract reasoning and demonstration; which of the two would be more egregiously deceived, and would embrace the greater errors? which would be more extensively incapacitated to manage the affairs of time, or to prepare for the scenes of eternity? I am aware it has been asserted by no less an authority than that of Aristotle, that "incredulity is the foundation of all wisdom." And though this cannot by any means be granted, since its incorrectness may be demonstrated from both reason and facts, there is too much ground for the assertion," that credulity is the foundation of all folly,"* at least in its various species. For assuredly there is no kind of folly or absurdity in either theory, belief, or practice, into which credulity has not led. What a contrast is presented betwixt the unbelief of men when they have had the testimony of God, and their readiness to believe almost

* Sketches of Imposture, &c., p. 1.

LECT. I. anything on the testimony of men;-their proneness then to suffer themselves to be duped by the most ridiculous pretences, and to follow wherever the grossest impostor may lead the way. The father of lies has always found numbers ready to swallow and digest the greatest and most contemptible falsehoods that he could invent. What a humbling view of human nature is presented by only a few "sketches of imposture, deception, and credulity!" How often do they elicit from the inmost recesses of the astonished and agonized soul the exclamationsLord, what is man? What is truth?" And who can write their history in full, and do justice to its appalling facts? Still, perhaps, the verdict in the case just now supposed would be given, were the subject thoroughly investigated, against scepticism, and in favour of credulity. Some degree of the latter, or at least of a readiness to believe, is necessary to the acquisition of knowledge, nay, to the very being of society. Whatever may be in this, we cannot wonder, considering the state of human nature, and the part which men have acted, that the existence of evil spirits, or of fallen angels, should have been denied; and that learning, and mental ability, and extensive investigation, and argument, should have been put in requisition to prove that they are the creations of fancy, and the offspring of superstition; and that a belief in them has no foundation either in reason, or in the word of

God. It is, therefore, far from being unnecessary LECT. I. for those who entertain the common, and what are called the orthodox opinions on this subject, to assign their reasons for thinking that those malignant and unhappy beings do really, certainly exist.

the Bible on the belief re

spirits.

Now the subject, on the discussion of which Influence of we are entering, is obviously one of very great specting evil importance. It extends its influence, directly or indirectly, to almost every doctrine and every duty; to the whole sphere of our faith and practice. If it can be proved that there are no such beings as those whom we denominate evil spirits, or devils, then what grossly erroneous sentiments has the Bible led by far the greater part of its most devoted readers and students to form! Into what egregious, and even ludicrous errors has it betrayed them, in their faith, their devotional exercises, and their practice! And that not on subjects to which it alluded only incidentally, or which did not come within the sphere of its revelation and teaching, such as astronomy and geology, but on some involved in the purpose for which it was penned, and intimately connected with the religious faith and practice of the servants of God in all ages. It is not strange, it was naturally to be expected, it was even necessary, that popular language should be used in describing the revolutions of the seasons, the appearances of the heavens and the earth, and the formation and structure of our