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Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet, saying?

And what does St. Peter teach us universally as to the inspiration of the holy prophets? Does he not distinctly, and in so many words assert, that what they delivered was by the Spirit of Christ speaking in them; and that they wrote, holy men as they were, not by their own will or judgment, but as they were guided, borne along, moved by the Holy Ghost? Searching what and what manner of time the Spirit of Christ that was in them did signify, when it spake before of the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.—The prophecy came not of old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

And what can be more completely decisive than the language of St. Paul in the text, where, enlarging the terms to the utmost latitude, but undoubtedly having an especial reference to the Old Testament, he declares that all scripture is given by inspiration of Godbreathed, communicated, inspired in a divine manner into the minds of the sacred writers? This then, in fact, determines the whole question. We are enquiring whether the New Testament is divinely inspired. We take it for

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granted, in this enquiry, that the Old and the New Testament are equally authentic and credible, are of the same divine authority, and equally consist of books written for the instruction and guidance of the church. We next find that the first division is expressly and repeatedly declared to have been written by this divine inspiration. What then follows? Is it not that the second division also was composed under the same guidance? For can it for a moment be imagined that such assistance was given to Moses and the prophets, as to make their writings absolutely free from error in every thing that relates to the revelation they contain, and that the evangelists and apostles were left destitute of the same assistance, in their still more important writings?

It is true we have no books of an additional and later dispensation to testify to the inspiration of the New Testament, as the New doth to that of the Old. The case admits not of that particular proof. Nor does it require it. The writers of the New Testament brought the same miraculous credentials of their mission with the penmen of the first Testament. If the credentials, then, of the economy of Moses included that inspired aid by which the Old

The testimony of the first Christians, and early Fathers, will be given hereafter.

Testament was written, we may assure ourselves that the case was the same with the credentials of the economy established by the only begotten Son of the Father.

This consideration acquires greater force, when we recollect that the New Testament dispensation, surpasses in all spiritual privileges and gifts, the Old. Among them that were born of women, there had not risen a greater than John the Baptist. He was a prophet, yea, and more than a prophet. And yet so much better are the promises, so much higher the gifts, so much clearer the light, so much greater the freedom, and especially so much more copious the effusion of the Spirit under the New Testament-he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. For if the ministration of death was glorious, how shall not the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory? If the Mosaic economy had its inspired writers, which was temporary, of which many blessings were earthly and figurative, under which the Holy Ghost was not given, in the emphatical sense of the term; which had, however, oracular responses at one period, and an extraordinary dispensation of Providence attending it through all its course; with a succession of divine prophets and teachers and continued miraculous powers, age after age; and which, after all, was

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a dispensation of a confined range of influence and exertion-if the Mosaic economy had inspired writers, has not the Christian dispensation much more its inspired writers-a dispensation universal and permanent, where all the blessings are spiritual-the last dispensation of God to man, and the fulfilment and accomplishment of the Jewish; under which the abundant effusion of the Spirit is bestowed; where, however, all extraordinary attendant aids are withdrawn-oracular responses, prophets, miraculous powers, the immediate government of the Almighty-and the whole church is left to this one single external source of truth in all successive ages? The Christian dispensation has surely a light at least equal to that of the dark and preparatory dispensation of Moses. It is not night to us as to an inspired scripture, when the legal economy had the day shining full upon it. We are not without writings with the will of God infallibly communicated in them, when the Jews had an unerring revelation of that will. We are not left to rely on the credit of books written merely by persons of sincerity and piety, whilst the Jews had, and still have, divinely inspired scriptures. No. We have not so learned Christ. The case is perfectly decisive. If we had no The law nade nothing perfect. Heb. vii. 19.

other arguments to adduce, we infer with undoubted certainty, that as the Old Testament was written under the superintendence and inspiration of God, the New was composed also with the same aid, and comes commended with the same features of infallible and unerring truth.

2. But this is not all. Our inference is strengthened by the distinct recognition of the New Testament as of equal authority with the Old.

The writers of the Christian books speak with the same authority as those of the Jewish, and evidently consider them as standing upon precisely the same footing of inspiration. If the prophets began with the solemn formula, Thus saith the Lord; the apostles begin with the same claim of a divine command; Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Saviour.

If the authors of the Old Testament denounce the judgments of God against those who disobey their authority, demand implicit obedience to their decisions, and in every part of their writings exhibit the unequivocal marks of divine inspiration, the authors of the New Testament do the same.

We shall hereafter consider the direct claims of the apostles to divine inspiration, indepen

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