EVIDENCES FOR THE DIVINE

ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE.

In the following remarks, we purpose to show that there are abundant proofs for the truth and divine origin of the Scriptures.

If we try the Bible by all the tests which can be applied to any other book of antiquity, we find that no volume of half its age can be attested by such unquestionable evidence. The Jews have handed down the Old Testament from generation to generation with the utmost possible care. Before the time of Christ, they would not corrupt or alter it; and since that time, it has been watched by Christians as well as by Jews. The books of the New Testament have been preserved with similar care, both before and since the death of the apostles.

The leading facts of the Old and of the New Testament, are corroborated by allusions of profane writers to persons, places, and events, mentioned in the Scriptures. These facts were such as could not but be obvious to the senses of men, they could be seen, heard, and felt. They transpired under circumstances of extraordinary publicity, and were open to the severest scrutiny which their remarkable character might induce. There now exist institutions intended to commemorate these facts. And these commemorative institutions have been continued from the very time in which the facts transpired down to the present period.

Such is the character of the principal facts recorded in the sacred Scriptures; and, it is upon these facts that Judaism and Christianity are founded. Among the Jews, the ordinance of circumcision, the feast of the Passover, of Tabernacles, and of Pentecost, are all commemorative institutions. They were appointed when the facts to which they refer transpired, and they have been regularly observed in some form or other by the posterity of Abraham, throughout all generations, up to the present hour. Thus, the existence of the Jews, as a distinct people, having such peculiar institutions, amply attests the truth of the Old Testament.

Among Christians there are also commemorative institutions. The Lord's

Supper was appointed to preserve the perpetual remembrance of Christ's sufferings and death, as the only atonement for sin; and Christians, in all ages and nations, have commemorated the resurrection of Jesus Christ by the stated observance of the first day of the week. Now, these institutions not only perpetuate the memory, but also demonstrate the truth of the facts contained in the gospel history; because, unless the events which these institutious commemorate had actually occured it is impossible to conceive how such observances could have been so extensively adopted. So, then, in the very ordinances of the gospel, in the Christian sabbath and the Lord's Supper, we have a perpetual attestation of the truth and divine origin of our religion.

Again, if we try the Bible, so far as our limited powers can try it, by its contents, we find that the historical proofs, already mentioned, are corroborated and strengthened by internal evidence. We find every mark of truth and honesty in the writers. They are distinguished by openness and candour. They do not conceal their own faults, nor do they extenuate those of their friends. They pay court to none. They neither flatter nor misrepresent. We see in their writings no attempts at greatness, no ostentatious ornaments, no marks of fiction, no indications of weakness or pride, or enthusiasm. They write with equal ease on all subjects; and present the sublimest thoughts in the simplest language. Several of the writers lived in different and distant ages, yet all their writings combine in unfolding one great plan for the salvation of the human race through the atoning sacrifice of Christ. The accounts given by those of the sacred writers who lived at the same time, differ from each other, so far as to prove that they had not consulted together, and yet agree in the main particulars so harmoniously as to prove their truth. These writers gave a far purer, and more exalted view of the character of God than can be found in the writings of any of their most learned heathen contemporaries. And it is demonstrable, that there is not in the world at the present time, an individual who believes in one uncreated and infinitely perfect God, whose knowledge

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of this truth may not be traced directly or indirectly to revelation.

What the Scriptures contain respecting the character of man, accords exactly with all that reason and experience have been able to discover. And the morality of the Scriptures, especially that of the New Testament, is so pure and excellent that it never has been, and we believe never can be equalled. We are aware that some have denied the purity of the Scriptures, and have triumphantly affirmed that the Bible contains passages unfit to be read in public. But such objectors might be answered in the French proverb, "Evil will be to him that evil thinks;" or in the pointed language of the Apostle" to the pure all things are pure." For, there is nothing that is impure either in its nature or tendency, commended in the Scriptures. They condemn all that is unholy. And even if we admit that all parts of the Bible should not be read in promiscuous assemblies, we would at the same time avow our conviction, that there is no part of the Scriptures impure. The impurity is not in the Bible, but in the human heart, which is found by experience as described in the Scriptures, "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Were a holy angel reading the very passages, on which this objection is founded, to a company of the heavenly host, with what devout attention and holy reverence would those pure spirits listen to the words of their Creator? Where, it may be fairly asked, is the objector to the morality of of the Bible, whose wisdom or virtue has suggested any improvement of that system, which he rejects as imperfect? Or, if Infidels take away this holy Book, what can they give to supply its place? Or, if they deny its truth or its divine origin, how can they account for its wonderful contents and all its diversified and inimitable marks of verity? In fact, there is no rational way of solving this difficulty, but by admitting the testimony of the sacred writers themselves, who fully account for the matchless excellence of the Bible, by declaring that "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God."

The historical and internal evidences for the truth of the Scriptures, are corroborated by considerations arising from

the miracles which were performed by Moses and Joshua; and by Christ and his Apostles. The chief of these miracles have been testified by an unbroken chain of evidence which began when the miracles were performed, and has been continued to the present time. Those performed by Moses for the deliverance of the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt, are commemorated by the Jews in their annual feast of the Passover. The chief miracle of Christ, his own resurrection from the dead, is attested by the stated observance of the first day of the week. These miracles were numerous, of different kinds, instantaneously performed in the presence of enemies as well as friends; and,they were all worthy of the majesty, justice, and benevolence of God. They confirmed the messages of his servants, and attested the divinity of his Son. And so clearly is the truth and reality of these miracles proved, that a denial of them, in any way whatever, leads unavoidably to the admission of a series of real miracles of another kind. If we admit not the momentary miracles performed by Moses, Joshua, and the Prophets; by Christ and his Apostles, we must admit miracles extending through ages and centuries in the existence of Jews and Christians, in the life and conduct of the Prophets, Apostles, and succeeding promulgators and followers of the principles contained in the sacred Scriptures.

These different evidences for the divine origin of the Bible are further confirmed by the resemblances that may be traced between the Word and the works of God. But without attempting to give any summary of this extensive and important branch of the evidences of Christianity, we may refer to Butler's Analogy, as being, in many respects, according to the opinion of competent judges, an able and satisfactory work on this subject.

Another strong confirmation of our belief in the truth and divine origin of the Bible arises from prophecy. The Scriptures contain many predictions of events which no human sagacity could have foreseen, and which were exactly accomplished, long after these predictions had been committed to writing and published. As an evidence for Christianity, prophecy has peculiar

advantages. For, as a river, descending to the ocean, widens and deepens in its course, so the stream of prophetic evidence increases as it flows onward through time to the ocean of eternity. And, we doubt not, this stream will roll on with increasing strength until every vestige of Infidelity shall have been swept away by the might of its accumulated waters. Indeed, prophecy has been justly denominated, a miracle of knowledge; and every man, who reads a prediction, and perceives the corresponding event, "is himself the witness of the miracle; he sees that thus it is, and that thus by human means it could not possibly have been." Striking instances of the accomplishment of prophecy are so numerous, that we know not which to select.

The

birth, life, sufferings, death, and resurrection of Christ, are but the accomplishment of predictions given in the Old Testament many ages before. He appeared in our nature. There are also prophecies, in the Old Testament, concerning Ninevah, Babylon, Tyre and Egypt, highly deserving attention, not only because they are expressed in the plainest language, but also because the fulfilment of them has not been confined to one age, but has continued for thousands of years, and is as remarkable at this time, as in any former period." The prophecies given by Moses, in the twenty-sixth chapter of Leviticus, and in the twenty-eighth chapter of Deuteronomy, respecting the Jews, when compared with the past history and the present state of that astonishing people, afford an unanswerable argument for the divine origin of the Scriptures.

Finally, to prove that the Bible was written under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we have another, and still more conclusive kind of evidence, namely, experimental, which arises from the peculiar efficacy of the Scriptures, especially the New Testament, in convincing, humbling, enlightening, purifying, and supporting all those who cordially embrace its truth. Genuine believers feel the superiority of the Bible over every human composition; they experience its transforming influence on their hearts, and its comforting power in the midst of tribulations, and in the prospect of death. Against those who enjoy this kind of evidence in

themselves, the cavils of the Infidel are directed in vain. The arrows of Infidelity rebound pointless from the shield of faith. To the hearts of believers the word of God has come home with power. Their lives attest the reality of their belief. They love God, and Christ, and man, and holiness. They hate nothing but sin. While they know that they are not themselves perfect, they know also that Christianity is a perfect system. And they have the Spirit of God witnessing with their spirits, that they are the children of God. Let us ever seek such evidence. For, if we have this kind of evidence for the truth of the Bible, whether we be learned or illiterate, rich or poor, we shall as soon believe that He who made the eye cannot see; that He who made the heart cannot know it; or, that He who made the planets did not make the sun, as that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are not the work and the gift of Him who created the heavens and the earth.

Such are a few of the considerations which convince us that the Bible was written under the direction of the Holy Spirit; and, that it ought, therefore, to be received as the message of God to fallen man. We profess only to have glanced at this extensive subject. The limits of an essay, or of ten essays, could not admit all that might be advanced to show the superiority of the Bible over every other book. Those who wish to investigate this important and interesting subject fully, may consult the writings of Lardner, Doddridge, Paley, and Butler, with those of Bogue, Keith, and Chalmers. These writings, and others on the same subject, contain a minute and satisfactory answer to all the stale objections which one race of Infidels after another have urged and repeated, and still repeat, against that Book to which they have never been able to find or form a parallel; and which, in despite of all opposition from pretended friends and avowed foes, is widening its way through the world, and leading men by the energy of the Spirit who inspired it, from wickedness and misery to righteousness and peace, and to a happiness which this world can neither give nor take away.

There is an exalted satisfaction, and no small confirmation of our faith, in

surveying the writings which evince the divinity and truth of Christianity. These are the out-works constructed to secure the code of Christian laws, and the charter of Christian rights from the enemy. Looking at these out-works, we may say in the language of triumphant confidence-" Walk about Zion, and go round about her; tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generations following." And may he who writes and those who read, be enabled to add, in the words of the Psalmist, with sincerity of heart and with personal assurance of its truth, respecting the Great Author of the Bible"THIS GOD IS OUR GOD FOR EVER AND EVER."

POPISH HISTORY.

S.

TWENTY POPES APPEARING AT THE GATE OF HEAVEN.

Supposed to be examined by their professed Head, St. Peter : compiled by a GERMAN GENTLEMAN, of the Lutheran Church.

[We have omitted several passages of this communication, as they are too indelicate to appear in our pages, though exhibiting in a glaring light the immorality of that system, of which the men described were the acknowledged heads.]--ED.

The following facts are collected to prove what sort of people the so-called

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holy fathers," these "vice-gerents of Christ," and " successors of St. Peter" have been. If they had made even a slight endeavour to earn such a title, we should not find one among them like those whose description is placed before the reader. It is not intended to give a mere work of fiction. The facts which the Popes are here stated to acknowledge are taken from history-that unrelenting judge of man. Should any one think these statements incredible (for so indeed they appear) he is referred to Spittler's History of the Popes, which is one of the best works of the kind, and of acknowledged reputation and authority. This will remove all doubt, and any one reading the work will find that much more might be said against the Popes, but this would too much extend our work. 1. DAMASUS.

Damasus. I salute thee, holy Peter, door keeper of Heaven. Be so good as to open the door to me.

Peter. But thou art stained with blood.

Damasus. And not a little either.
Peter. Whose is it?

Damasus. That of many men who were slaughtered at my election. Peter. How was that?

Damasus. I wished by all means to become a Roman Bishop, and so did Ursiccinus. He had numbers of the mob on his side; and so had I. Thus there was twice a bloody uproar at Rome, since neither of us would give way, and the churches where the elections took place appeared like murderers' dens. I, however, came off victorious. That's all. Now, pray open the door.

Peter. No such thing. Begone; and receive the punishment due to thy heavy misdeeds. This door remains closed to the ambitious man whose hand is stained with blood.

2. SERGIUS.

Sergius. Holy Peter, the Pope Sergius requests admission. Peter. Most willingly. No doubt, thou as Pope wert ever a blameless example of purity of manners to all Christians.

Sergius. Not exactly; but is that of any consequence ?

Peter. Certainly.

Sergius. That does not suit me at all; for I cannot deny that my manners on earth were not the most decent. Oh! I have spent many a happy hour in Marozia's arms.

Peter. Thou-a Pope-with the vow of chastity!

Sergius. Why, yes. Art thou astonished at that?

Peter. Who was this Marozia ? Sergius. The wife of Adalbert, marquis of Toscana.

Peter. Then she was the wife of another man!

Sergius. Certainly :, but only in name; and in the eyes of the world. 'Properly speaking, she was mine, and her children are my children.

Peter. Thus thou wert Pope and adulterer in one person!

Sergius. It may appear strange or improper to thee, but I assure thee I knew

well how to unite the two characters most happily; and Marozia's mother Theodora, herself, was made the mediatrix. Now, please, open.

Peter. Get thee gone from hence. Adulterers are not to inherit the kingdom of heaven.

3. JOHN XII.

John. Open the door, Holy Peter, open the door; my wounds pain me dreadfully.

Peter. Thou hast a horrid look. Thy blood is running in streams from fresh wounds. Who has treated thee so foully?

John. Ah! a flagitious ruffian. Peter. Hadst thou done him any wrong?

John. Not at all. He found me in the arms of his wife, and took this trifle so much amiss, that he at once crushed me in his fury. I did not find the sudden change at all delightful, I can tell thee. Peter. Who art thou?

John. I was Pope; and what is more was so from my eighteenth year. My name is John XII. Oh! how I have enjoyed my life. Voluptuousness was my goddess, and my palace her temple. I am mightily displeased at this perverse end of it.

Peter. Pope Sergius was here before thee. To judge from thy features, I suppose thou belongest to his family.

John. Just so. I am of his blood. He, too, knew how to make his life agreeable. Do tell me where I can find him.

Peter. He desired, like thyself, to enter at this door, but I rejected him as I must now reject thee; for "Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge."

4. GREGORY VII.

Gregory. One of thy successors, Pope Gregory the Seventh, stands before thee, Holy Peter, and expects of thee admission at this door?

Peter. Thou one of my successors! What dost thou mean?

Gregory. Wert not thou the first Bishop of Rome ?

Peter. I was an apostle of Jesus, my Lord and Master, till his death, but never and nowhere Bishop.

Gregory. Thou art, between outselves, certainly right; but this ground

less assertion has become an infallible doctrine of the Church, not for the sake of truth, but for our own advantage; for in this manner it is easy for us to justify any claim-any demand. But suppose it really were so, wouldst thou feel ashamed of a successor like me?

Peter. That is doubtful. Hast thou, who calledst thyself the vice-gerent of Christ, always acted according to the spirit and word of our Lord and Master? Gregory. I hope thou art not very particular in this respect.

Peter. What dost thou mean? It is a bad sign if thou hast cause to be afraid of just severity. Answer my question.

Gregory. My behaviour to the Emperor Henry IV., whom I treated like a common malefactor, might certainly have been milder and more forbearing.

Peter. Say, rather, that thou wert not at all entitled to call him before thy tribunal.

Gregory. Besides this; I dare say my connexion with Margravine Margaret, with whom I lived for years under one roof, has given offence.

Peter. As to the condition of this connection, thou hadst best ask thy own conscience. To speak of it as indulgently as possible, it was impossible, it was improper, equivocal, and unworthy of thy station.

Gregory Moreover, I shall perhaps be blamed for having made celibacy a law among the whole clergy.

Peter. And very properly so; for by this means thou hast brought into temptation men who by their station should be examples of purity of manners.

Gregory. And will the false oath which I have sworn be accounted a sin?

Peter. Thou hast sworn a false oath?

Gregory. Yes, I swore not to accept the dignity of Pope without the Emperor's consent, and yet I did accept it.

Peter. Thou hast thyself pronounced thy judgment. Thou art unworthy to enter at this door. Begone.

5. URBAN V.

Urban. Open the door, Peter ; I long for the joys of heaven.

Peter. Willingly, if nothing oppose it. Urban. Remember that I was Pope. Peter. And in consequence-- ? Urban. How canst thou ask? And in consequence, a saint.