LECTURES ON THE SHORTER CATECHISM OF THE WESTMINSTER ASSEMBLY OF DIVINES, ADDRESSED TO YOUTH.

LECTURE IV.

In our last lecture we entered on the discussion of the second answer in our catechism, in which it is affirmed that "the word of God, contained in the scriptures of the Old and New Testament, is the only rule to direct us, how we may glorify and enjoy him."

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It is not my intention to recapitulate any part of what was then delivered; as we shall need the whole of our time to discuss the important points to which it was intimated that attention would now be called. -These are, the nature and evidences of divine inspiration and revelation; -subjects which have filled volumes, and of which it will, of course, be practicable to give you, in a single lecture, (and more we cannot devote to them,) only a general outline-a summary statement of the principal matters which they embrace. It is hoped, however, that enough will be said, to enable every attentive hearer to give a reason for the hope that is in him; a reason why he is a Christian, and why he cherishes the high expectations which Christianity inspires.

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If we make a distinction between inspiration and revelation we may say, that by INSPIRATION derstand those divine communications which are made to the minds of VOL. I.-Ch. Adv.

individuals; by REVELATION, the same communications made known to the world, by those who receive them from God. Revelation is a generic, inspiration a specifick term. The Deity, usually, first reveals his mind and will to individuals, and then through them to the world. No one has a right to demand or expect that others should believe he has a direct communication from God, without verifying his pretensions by an undeniable miracle.*

* When this lecture was delivered, the author read to his audience a number of passages from "DICK's Essay on the Inspiration of the Scriptures," and recommended the careful perusal of the whole. That essay, in his opinion, is incomparably the best publication on the subject, which he has seen. DICK's explanation, in regard to the words or language of the sacred writers, is believed to be the only one

that can be defended as rational and satisfactory. The substance of it is contained in the following extract:

"A question of very great importance demands our attention, while we are ennotion of the inspiration of the scriptures; deavouring to settle, with precision, the it

relates to the words in which the sacred writers have expressed their ideas. Some think, that in the choice of words they were left to their own discretion, and that

the language is human, though the matter their expressions, as well as in their sentiments, they were under the infallible direction of the Spirit. It is the last opinion which appears to be most conformable to truth, and it may be supported by the following reasoning.

be divine; while others believe, that in

"Every man, who hath attended to the operations of his own mind, knows that we think in words; or that, when we form a 3 I

We have nothing to do with any other claims to revelation, than those which we make for what is contained in our Bible. In no other revelation, at present known to us, do we believe; and if this be not defensible, the pretensions of any other, cannot certainly be shown to be better founded.

1. Then, we can have no hesitation to assert, that a supernatural revelation from God is possible. I explicitly mention, a supernatural revelation, because God has unquestionably revealed himself to us in his works; and our reason, also, by which we make all just inferences and conclusions and many valuable discoveries, is his gift. But by the revelation of which we now speak, we mean some important discoveries, which the works of nature and all the exercise and ingenuity of human reason employed upon them, could never make. We here assert that such a revelation is possible. None who admit the being and attributes of God-and with those who deny them we do not now contend-will be likely to say that it is not possible for a Being of infinite power and wisdom to make a revelation, such as we have specified, to his creature man; and in such way as perfectly to satisfy the creature that the reve

train or combination of ideas, we clothe them with words; and that the ideas which are not thus clothed, are indistinct and confused. Let a man try to think upon any subject, moral or religious, without the aid of language, and he will either experience a total cessation of thought, or, as this seems impossible, at least while we are awake, he will feel himself constrained, notwithstanding his utmost endeavours, to have recourse to words, as the instrument of his mental operations. As a great part of the scriptures was suggested or revealed to the writers; as the thoughts or sentiments, which were perfectly new to them, were conveyed into their minds by the Spirit, it is plain that they must have been accompanied with words proper to express them; and, consequently, that the words were dictated by the same influences on the mind which communicated the ideas. The ideas could not have come without the words, because without them they could not have been conceived."

lation is from God. To deny this is, at once, to limit the power and the wisdom of the Supreme Being. It cannot, therefore, be denied. It not only involves no contradiction, or absurdity, but it is no more, in fact, than to assert that God, who has actually revealed himself to us in his works, can farther reveal himself by additional and indubitable communications.

2. Revelation is not only possible, but desirable; and if made, must be highly useful. Lord Herbert, the most learned of the English deists, has written largely and elaborately, to show that what he calls the light of nature is sufficient, without revelation, to teach us the knowledge of God and of our duty. He has been ably and triumphantly answered by several writers, especially by Hallyburton; but what is remarkable, he has virtually answered himself. Strange as it may seem, it is indubitably true, that he declares that he asked, and, as he believed, received, a revelation, or a miraculous intimation, to decide the momentous question, whether he should or should not, publish his book De veritate;— a book in which he sets himself to prove that all revelations, and all miracles, are unnecessary. You may find a fair transcript of the whole passage, in Leland's View of the Deistical Writers.*

*The passage referred to in the lecture is the following:-Speaking of a writer who had seen a manuscript life of Lord Herbert drawn up by himself, Leland says-" After having observed, that Lord Herbert's tract, De veritate, was his favourite work, he produceth a large extract relating to it in that Lord's own words, signifying, that though it had been approved by some very learned men to whom he had shown it, among whom he mentions Grotius, yet as the frame of his whole book was so different from what had been written heretofore on this subject, and he apprehended he should meet with much opposition, he did consider, whether it were not better for him a while to suppress it. And then his lordship proceeds thus:

"Being thus doubtful in my chamber, one fair day in the summer, my casement being open towards the south, the sun shining clear, and no wind stirring, I took

It does seem to me, that no candid deist, will refuse to admit, that it would be desirable, and so far as we can see, useful, that the Deity should, if I may so say, speak out, and tell us plainly the truth, or falsehood, of a great many important and most interesting points, about which human reason has been at a loss in every age of the world. For, as one has well observed, "whatever the light of nature could do for man, before reason was depraved, it is evident that it has done little for him since. Reason, though necessary to examine the evidence and authority of divine revelation (which is its proper office)

my book, De veritate, in my hands, and, kneeling on my knees, devoutly said these words.-0 thou eternal God, author of this light which now shines upon me, and giver of all inward illuminations; I do beseech thee, of thine infinite goodness, to pardon a greater request than a sinner ought to make: I am not satisfied enough, whether I shall publish this book: if it be for thy glory, I beseech thee give me some sign from heaven; if not, I shall suppress it. I had no sooner spoken these words, but a loud, though yet gentle noise, came forth from the heavens, (for it was like nothing on earth,) which did so cheer and comfort me, that I took my petition as granted, and that I had the sign I demanded; whereupon also I resolved to print my book. This, how strange soever it may seem, I protest before the eternal God, is true; neither am I any way superstitiously deceived herein; since I did not only clearly hear the noise, but in the serenest sky that ever I I saw,

being without all cloud, did, to my thinking, see the place from whence it came."" On this surprising but unquestionable fact Leland very justly remarks:-"I cannot help thinking, that if any writer, zealous for Christianity, had given such an account of himself, as praying for and expecting a sign from heaven to determine his doubt, whether he should publish a book he had composed in favour of the Christian cause; and, upon hearing a noise, which he took to be from heaven, had looked upon it as a mark of the divine approbation, and as a call to publish that book; it would have passed for a high fit of enthusiasm, and would no doubt have subjected the author to much ridicule among the gentlemen that oppose revealed religion. What judgment they will pass upon it in Lord Herbert's case I do not know."-Leland's View of Deistical Writers, vol. i. pp. 42-45.

yet is incapable of giving us all needful discoveries of God, the way of salvation, or the manner in which we may be brought into a state of communion with God." PALEY-certainly among the most candid and conceding of disputants-cuts the question before us short, in this manner-"I deem it (says he) unnecessary to prove that mankind stood in need of a revelation; because I have met with no serious person, who thinks that even under the Christian revelation, we have too much light, or any assurance which is superfluous."

3. If revelation be clearly possible, desirable, and if made, calculated to be highly useful, we think that we may fairly add, that it is also probable. It is fully admitted that the fact, whether this revelation has actually been made, must be determined by the proper and competent evidence. But it is of some importance, and is always so considered in alleging evidence, that we do not offer it to establish a fact improbable in itself. We think that we have no lack of evidence in the present case; but we wish it to be considered, whether probability is not clearly on our side at the outset. And we do think, that when we consider how needful and useful a revelation must be, and how the goodness of the Creator has provided for the wants and the happiness of all his creatures, the probability strongly is, that he has provided for this great want of his creature man-the creature who is certainly the head of this lower creation. We think that it is not analogous to all that we see of the divine goodness, in supplying the wants and natural desires of his other sensitive creatures, even of the lowest order, that he should leave the noblest of them with wants and desires which are not supplied, or provided for, if the revelation in question be not given. Here, too, it ought, in all fairness, to be mentioned, that a very large proportion of that light and knowledge in regard to the true God and his attributes, which modern deists possess, they have actually de

rived from that very revelation which they attempt to prove to be unnecessary. The truth of this matter may be learned-and can only be learned from the state of things among the heathen, even the best informed of them. They, indeed, it is manifest, derived some aid from traditionary revelation. But even with this aid, their ideas of the Deity, of his attributes, and of many important points of moral duty, were lamentably defective and erroneous. Among the mass of mankind, the ignorance which prevailed was awful and shocking in the extreme. It was emphatically true, according to the strong language of scripture, that "Darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the people."

It has, we are aware, been made an objection against the Bible, that while it claims to be a revelation of high importance, it is known only to a small part, comparatively, of those whom it ought to benefit. But if the true state of this fact be carefully attended to, it will be found exactly analogous to what takes place in the divine dispensations, in almost every other respect. Information of every kind, is but very partially communicated to the mass of mankind;-they remain in gross and grovelling ignorance. The precious blessing of civil liberty, likewise, is not enjoyed by a hundredth part of the inhabitants of the globe. Yet knowledge and civil liberty are the gifts of God, intended for the benefit of mankind, and in themselves unspeakably valuable. They make the world much better than it would be without them; and in due time, we hope and expect that the benefit of them will reach the whole human family. The case is the same-only a great deal stronger -with respect to divine revelation. It has introduced into the world, and continues in it, all the correct know ledge of God and of his attributes, and all adequate views of our duty to Him and to each other, which are possessed by our race. This know ledge has been, and now is, of incalculable use and benefit to the world.

To those who possess it fully, its value is inestimable: and we know that it is promised in this revelation itself-and certainly the signs of the times in which we live strongly indicate that the promise is now in a train of actual and rapid fulfilmentthat this knowledge shall "cover the earth as the waters do the seas;"that the sacred scriptures shall be read in every language under heaven, and their benign effects be experienced by the whole race of man.

Having thus, very briefly, shown that revelation is possible, desirable, useful, and probable, let us now consider the direct evidence that it has been given, and is contained in the scriptures of the Old and New Tes

taments.

The proof or evidence that the scriptures contain a divine revelation, has usually been divided into two kinds-external and internal. By external evidence is meant that which is not found in the Bible, without looking beyond it-evidence derived from what has taken place in the world, to prove that the Bible contains the revealed will of God. By internal evidence is meant, that which is furnished simply by a careful perusal of the scriptures themselves. There is certainly a just foundation for this division; and yet a rigorous regard to it, in so short a view of the subject as I am to give, might rather embarrass than assist my design. I shall, therefore, regard it only so far as may be found convenient.

Let us begin with the interval evidence, or that which appears to an attentive and impartial reader, on the very face of the scriptures themselves. Of this evidence a better summary statement cannot, I think, be made, than that which we have in our Confession of Faith, in these words-"The heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts, the scope of the whole, (which is to give all glory to God,) the full discovery which it makes of the only way of man's sal