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ESSAY V.

ON THE DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.

SATISFIED, as I trust we now are, of the divine origin of that holy religion, of which the Law was the introduction, and the Gospel the perfect revelation, it still remains for us to examine a very important question; namely, whether the record of our religion, contained in the Old and New Testaments is also to be regarded as of divine origin-in other words, whether the Holy Scriptures were given by inspiration of God?

It is much to be regretted that some persons, who acknowledge the truth of Christianity, nevertheless appear to entertain unsatisfactory views, or are at least perplexed with considerable doubt and obscurity, in reference to this subject. For my own part, I have long been persuaded that the important question now proposed may safely be answered, as the generality of Christian theologians have long been accustomed to answer it, with a clear affirmative. The grounds of that persuasion I shall endeavour concisely to unfold in the present Essay.

We are, in the first place, in possession of a strong antecedent probability of the divine authority of the Scriptures. The principal object of the revelations acknowledged by Christians was to unfold certain doctrines, and to promulgate certain moral principles. These doctrines and principles were, for the most part,

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intended for permanent and general use among men ; and Scripture is the principal means appointed, in the providence of God, by which they are handed down from generation to generation, and by which a knowledge of them is diffused over the world at large. Now, had the writers on whom it devolved to compose the various parts of this Sacred Volume been left to the unassisted exercise of their natural powers, and to the frailty of mere human memory, the revelations themselves, however certainly divine in their origin, would have become comparatively useless: the message of God could not fail to have been obscured and impaired by the infirmity and ignorance of those who delivered it; nor could we, under such circumstances, have been required to yield to it (especially in its deeper and more mysterious parts) that implicit belief and obedience, without which no one can participate in the blessings and privileges of true religion. Since, then, in order to the accomplishment of those ends to which revelation declares itself to be directed, the inspiration of the record, as one link in the chain, appears, on very obvious principles, to have been absolutely indispensable, and since, in the works of the Deity, there is no shortness and inconsistency, it must evidently be deemed in a very high degree probable, a priori, that the record was really inspired.

In considering the positive evidences, by which this antecedent probability is confirmed, and by which the divine authority of the Bible is, in my opinion, ascertained, I shall commence with the Old Testament.

I. We have already found occasion to remark, that, before the coming of the Messiah, the Hebrew Scriptures had been formed into a canon, were carefully preserved in the archives of the temple, and were publicly read in the synagogues of the Jews. Now, it is certain that the Sacred Volume, which was the object

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[Ess. v. of so much care and attention among that people, was universally considered by them to be of divine origin and authority. The reverence with which the early Jews regarded the Hebrew Scriptures was evinced, not only by the titles which they applied to them, such as "the books of holiness," "the holy thing of the Lord," but also by certain practices of a ceremonial nature. It was their custom to kiss the Bible on opening and shutting it, and ever to place it at the top of all other books; nor was it considered lawful to have recourse to it with unwashen hands: see Leusden, Philol. Hebr., diss. i, sect. 1. Philo, the Jewish philosopher, who was cotemporary with Christ, and was deeply versed in the books of the Old Testament, styles them, in various parts of his works, the sacred writings, the oracle of God; and in his numerous quotations from both the historical and prophetical parts of the Bible, he very generally notices the divine authority of that which he cites. Josephus also, in his work against Apion, has written on this important subject, in very decisive terms: "These writings," he says, in speaking of the Hebrew Scriptures, "contain an account of all time, and are justly held to be divine. It is proved, by experience, in what degree we have faith in the writings which belong to us; for, although so long a period has now elapsed since they were composed, no one has been so daring as to add any thing to them, or to take any thing away from them. But, it is a common principle, imbibed by all the Jews from their very birth, to consider them as the doctrines of God, to abide by them, and, if need be, willingly to die for them:" lib. i, cap. 8.

That the sentiments thus prevalent among the early Jews respecting the divine authority of the Old Testament were correct, appears from the testimony of Jesus Christ and his apostles-a testimony which

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relates to so plain a subject, which is so worked into the Gospel narrative, and which is so frequently and variously given, that its validity cannot be reasonably disputed by any persons who have already admitted that the New Testament is genuine and authentic, and that Christianity is the religion of God. The declarations of Jesus Christ, in reference to such a point, must be fully admitted to be true by all who acknowledge his divine mission; and, with regard to the apostles, without any consideration, in the present stage of our argument, of the fact of their inspiration, it is only reasonable to conclude, that they derived their doctrine on the subject from that celestial teacher, to whose service they were entirely devoted.

Our Lord, in his discourses, and the evangelists and apostles, in their writings, have made frequent mention of the Scriptures; and it must be evident, to every attentive reader of the New Testament, that, when they employed this term, they did not refer to writings in general, but solely to that particular collection of writings which was held sacred by the Jews, and which, by way of pre-eminence, was so denominated.

Now, from the manner in which they quoted from the Scriptures, it is easy to perceive that Jesus and his disciples fully coincided with the Jews, to whom, for the most part, they addressed themselves, respecting the divine authority of these sacred books. On various occasions, and more especially when his own person, character, and history, were the subjects of discussion, the Lord Jesus was accustomed to appeal to the contents of the Old Testament, as affording an unquestionable evidence of the truth. It was the Scriptures, he declared, which testified of himself: John v, 39. "These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you," said he to his disciples, "that all things must be fulfilled which were

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[Ess. v. written in the law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures:" Luke xxiv, 44, 45; see also Matt. xxi, 42. xxvi, 54, &c. Not only, indeed, did our Lord elucidate, by the declarations of the Old Testament, the events which were then occurring, but sometimes he described the events themselves, as happening for the very purpose that the Scriptures might be fulfilled : see John xv, 25, xvii, 12; comp. Matt. viii, 17, &c. Nor was it merely to the statements of the Old Testament, respecting himself, that Jesus appealed as prophetically true, and therefore of divine origin. There were occasions on which he cited Scripture, as the decisive authority, in reference to other points of doctrinal or practical importance. Thus, when discoursing with the Sadducees on the subject of a future life, he traced their error of opinion to their ignorance of Scripture, and then confuted them by citing a passage from the book of Exodus: Matt. xxii, 32. Again, when the Jews accused him of blasphemy, because he said he was the Son of God, he silenced their cavils by an appeal to the Sacred Volume, and added an emphatic and most important declaration: "The Scripture cannot be broken:" John x, 34, 35; see also Mark xi, 17; Luke x, 26.

The apostles and evangelists, in their method of citing from the Old Testament, have closely followed the example of their divine Master. Thus, when writing on the nature and importance of faith, Paul thus rests his argument on the authority of Holy Writ: "For what saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness;" Rom. iv, 3. So the apostle Peter, after enforcing the necessity of coming to Jesus Christ, as to a living stone, adds, "Wherefore also is it contained in the

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