liberty of man is a subjection to his all-perfect Creator and Lord; the only genuine source of human happiness is the acquiescence of our will in the will of God.

All other advice is poison; all other means of elevation or happiness are the swellings of disease, and the perverse dictates of a rebellious nature.

Man's probation consists in this one point; Will he humble his reason before God's all-comprehending knowledge, and his heart and affections before God's all-holy and perfect commands?

Christianity is the highest reason; the purest morals; the only sound philosophy; the truest happiness of man.

All the discoveries in science illustrate the divine glory in creation; as all the researches of history, and all the testimony of experience, display the divine grace in revelation. Each new discovery adds something to the impression, though little to the obligation under which we lie to obey and love God; for this obligation is so deep-rests on so firm a foundationextends to so many points, and converges into so bright and luminous a centre, as to be little affected by a single argument, more or less clearly stated, or adequately perceived.

Soon will truth shine out without a cloud; soon will the folly of unbelief, and the wisdom of faith, be seen in other proportions than at present; soon will the moral obligation of obedience to such a revelation as Christianity, and the unutterable guilt of rejecting it, appear in their just characters; soon will all the passing objections and cavils of men be dispersed as the early dew; soon will the day of probation be terminated for ever; this world, and all its occupations fade away; and an end be imposed on the present scene of things. Yes, "the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth, also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up.'

Then SHALL THE RIGHTEOUS SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN IN THE KINGDOM OF THEIR FATHER."t

It is with the purpose of preparing your inquiring minds for this sublime and awful consummation, that I have addressed you in these Lectures; which, undertaken with great apprehension and self-distrust, I would desire to lay, as an offering, on the altar of the Christian faith, humbly beseeching the God * 2 Pet. iii. 10-12. t Matt. xiii. 43.

of all mercy to pardon the defects of the writer, and to bless and prosper what there is of truth in his statements and representations; and imploring that both author and readers may "find mercy of the Lord in THAT DAY.'

And now, after the example of my most revered predecessors in this argument, I would desire to conclude this my attempt, not in words merely, but from the sentiment of my heart, with that ascription of praise which the illuminating Spirit has himself left for our use:—

Τῷ δὲ δυναμένῳ φυλάξαι αὐτοὺς ἀπταιστους, καὶ στῆσαι κατενώ πιον τῆς δόξης αὐτὸ ἀμώμους ἐν αγαλλιάσει,

ΜΟΝΩ ΣΟΦΩ ΘΕΩ

σωτήρι ἡμῶν, δόξα καὶ μεγαλωσύνη, κράτος καὶ ἐξουσία, καὶ νῦν καὶ εἰς πάντας τοὺς αἰῶνας.

Αμήν.

* 2 Tim. i. 18.

ΙΟΥΔΑ, 24, 25.

INDEX TO THE WHOLE WORK.

Adaptation of Christianity to man. See Suitableness.

Address to the docile and sincere student, i. 148. Rulers and governors, in.
337. Ministers of Christ's church, 339. The humble and teachable, 342.
Advantages, which each individual has respectively enjoyed in a Christian
land, unspeakably augment the obligation to receive Christianity, ii. 304.
Alaric, soldiers under, a wonderful example of the power of Christianity over
the fierce passions of man, i. 241.

Apocryphal books of Old Testament, i. note, 123.

Apocryphal books of New Testament are destitute of the external proofs of
authenticity which belong to the canonical books, i. 91.

Apostles, the, of our Lord, were twelve separate witnesses to the gospel
facts, i. 117; had a full knowledge of the things they attested, 117; were
competent judges of the facts to which they bore testimony, 118; were of
transparent integrity of character, 118; men of sound minds, and by no means
credulous, 119; relate events at the spot where they occurred, and before
the multitudes who witnessed them, 120; their subsequent lives were dis-
tinguished by unparalleled benevolence and holiness, 120; and they had
nothing to expect for their testimony but temporal calamities and death, 120.
Gifts bestowed upon them by our Lord, 265.

Apparent contradictions in man, accounted for by the Christian revelation,
ii. 25.
Authenticity of writings defined, i. note, 66; discovered by their contents, 73.
Authenticity of the Old Testament, connected with that of the New, i. 63. 121.
Authenticity of the books of the New Testament stands on the authority of
apostle Paul, i. 64; illustrated by that of the Book of Common Prayer, 66;
Doomsday Book, 67; Institutes of Justinian, 67; Ancient Classics, 67;
Manifest from their contents, 75; and, by analogy, from the conduct of men
respecting legal deeds, 76. The proofs of, which we possess, are irradiations
of the divine glory, 77; and demand our sincere confidence, 78. They con-
sist of the testimony of witnesses in succession, from the present day up to
the time of the apostles, 80; a specimen of their testimony, 84; of the pro-
gressive settlement of the sacred canon, 82; the admissions of heathen
and Jewish adversaries, 38; the number and antiquity of our manuscripts,
90; the style and manner of the books, 92; unexpected confirmations, 95.
Babylon, destruction of, i. 197.

Bacon's, Lord, remark on first flowings of Scripture, i. 292; on the office of
reason, ii. 252; on interpretation of Scriptures, note, 285.

Beneficial effects of Christianity. See Effects of Christianity.

Benevolence and compassion of Jesus Christ, ii. 90.

Benevolence, the cement of national virtue, ii. 338.

Boyle, the honorable Robert, the character and conduct of, ii. 215.

Canaanites, the history of, shows the fulfilment of prophecy concerning them,
i. 200.

Candid and sincere mind, all is light in Christianity to the, i. 303.
Canon of Scripture, the progressive settlement of, i. 82.

Cecil's Remains cited, i. 127.

Celsus, the heathen philosopher, admits the genuineness of the New Testa-

ment, i. 88.

CHRIST must be received into the heart, as well as the miracles he wrought

be believed, i. 149. The character and conduct of our LORD JESUS, ii. 79;
his claims, 80; his conduct as MEDIATOR, 82; the SON OF GOD, and the
SAVIOUR of the world, 82; a teacher and revealer of the will of GoD, as to
his manner, dignified and forcible, 84; yet mild and attractive, 84; as to his
matter, grand, and yet intelligible, 85; earnest, and yet wise, 85; in a state
of humiliation, 87; promising to his disciples a heavenly reward, 88.
As A
PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL, an example of human virtue, 89; piety and devo-
tion to his heavenly Father, 90; benevolence and compassion towards man,
90; meekness and lowliness of spirit, 92; superiority to the world, 92;
strict temperance, and command of the inferior appetites, 93; fortitude and
constancy, 93; prudence and discretion, 93; all these unalloyed with the
kindred failings, 94; opposite graces in equal proportion, 94; carried to
the utmost height, and continued in one even tenor, 95; with a peculiar
harmony, 95. AS THE FOUNDER of the Christian religion, 96; his suit-
ableness to the necessities of man, 96; the surprising novelty and sublimity
of his deportment, 97; the different parts of his character correspond
with his undertaking, 98; the impression and effect of his whole public
character, 99; the manner in which it is given by the evangelists, 100. The
argument in favor of Christianity springs from a fair presumption upon the
first statement of the case, 102; rises higher when contrasted with every
other pretension, 102; becomes a moral demonstration, 104; and bears
away the heart of every serious inquirer, 106.

Christian, the true, feels the necessity of revelation, i. 61.

Christians should take care that the good effects of Christianity be the result
of religious principles in themselves, i. 250; must not stop short in its temporal
benefits, 250; and will find its advantages in proportion to the development
of its strength and energy, 252. Young Christians should continue in the
things they have been assured of, 276.

Christian nations, the state of, shows that revelation was necessary, i. 57;
viewed in the sixteenth century, 57; at any period, 57; at the present day,
58. The advantages they possess, 61.

Christian revelation speaks a decisive language, ii. 19; unfolds all the myste-
ries of man's condition, 22; accounts for the apparent contradictions of his
state, 25; and addresses him on this footing, 25. Provides also a remedy
for all his wants, 26; and is calculated for universal diffusion, 30.
Christianity courts inquiry, i. 13; is not a speculation, 28; requires her students
to be of a meek and docile disposition, 30. The only religion set up and
established by miracles, 146. Effects of, 235. Admission of the inspiration of
the Scripture essential to the right reception of Christianity, 289. Connives
at no one vice, ii. 33. The sum of, Jesus Christ, 107; supposed to be uni-
versal, 130. What it is, and what it is not, 132. Directions for making a
personal trial of it, 159. Is so excellent in itself, that the slightest external
evidence is sufficient to oblige men to obey it, ii. 295.

Clement, bishop of Rome, A. D. 91 to 110, testimony of, to the authenticity of
books of New Testament, i. 84; to the inspiration, 275.
Coins, ancient, see Medals.

Common sense, it is an act of, to follow the proofs of Christianity, i. 299.
Common sense and the ordinary laws of human language assist us to the
right method of interpretation, ii. 272.

Compass, the Bible is the Christian's, i. 127.

Confirmations to the authenticity of the New Testament unexpected, i. 95.
A remarkable fragment discovered in 1740, 97.

Consolatory, the Christian doctrines are, ii. 51.

Constantine's, the emperor, attachment to sacred Scriptures, i. 87.
Contradictions of infidelity and paganism, ii. 48.

Converts. Men of the finest talents convinced by the Christian history, i. 114.
The moral and religious change wrought in the Christian, 223. Included
persons of all ranks, 224.

Conviction of the truth of Christianity is strengthened the more practically its
propagation is considered, i. 233.

1

Credibility of the Old Testament, i. 122.
Credibility of the New Testament defined, i. 104; illustrated, 105; established
by the authenticity of the books, 105; by the extraordinary prominence and
small number of the principal facts, 106; by the positive and various testi-
monies adduced, 107; by the testimony of the governors of Roman prov-
inces, 108; heathen writers, 109; Jewish historians, 110; by the conviction
produced in the minds of men of the finest talents, who, examining the pre-
tensions of Christianity, met its claims at first with prejudice and hatred, 114;
by silence of Mahomet, 114; by existing rights and usages, which sprang
out of the facts of Christianity, 114; by ancient and authentic monuments,
coins and medals, 114; by the character and circumstances of the sacred
writers themselves, 116; fifteen witnesses, 117; possessing a full knowledge
of the things they attested, 117; and of which they were competent judges,
118; being persons of the strictest integrity, 118; of sound minds, and by no
means credulous, 119; relating events at the spot where they occurred, and
before the multitudes who witnessed them, 120; their subsequent lives marked
by unparalleled benevolence and holiness, 120; while they had nothing to
expect for their testimony but temporal calamities and death, 120; no one
came forward to complain of an imposition, 121; if our accounts be false,
where is the true one? 121.

Depravity of the human heart the greatest obstacle to the full reception of
Christianity, i. 301.

Direction, the, which Christianity takes, ii. 111.

Directions for entering on a personal trial of Christianity as a matter of expe-
rience, ii. 157; study Christianity in the Bible itself, 160; trace out in your
heart and character the truth of the particular statements of the Bible, as to
the condition of man and his guilt before God, 163; pray fervently for divine
grace, 166; use the means which God has promised to bless, 169; keep
your eye fixed on the great object which Christianity reveals, 170; observe
how all the parts of it constitute a whole, and meet all the necessities of your

case, 171.

DIVINE AUTHORITY of Christianity established by miracles, i. 128;
prophecy, 151, 156; its propagation, 211; preservation, 34; beneficial
effects, 235; adaptation, ii. 13; doctrines, 37; morals, 58; example of
Christ, 79; and tendency, 108.

Docile hearers, address to, ii. 106, 342.

Docility necessary in a student of Christianity, i. 31, 168, 210; essential to a
sound interpretation of Scripture, ii. 267, 289, 290.

Doctrines of Christianity, definition of, ii. 37; enumeration of the chief doc-
trines, 37; their divine excellency pointed out, 44; they all emanate from the
character of God, 44; possess simplicity, 45; surpassing grandeur and sub-
limity, 46; and a harmony which stamps their divine authority, 47; meet
all the necessities of man, 49; and yet promote the ends of God's moral
government, 49; are deeply humiliating, 51; and yet sources of consolation,
52; they are the result of the great design of Almighty God, 53; augment
the inward evidence of Christianity, 56; and demand of the true Christian,
love and gratitude to God, 58.

Doddridge and Rousseau, contrasted, ii. 219.

Effects of Christianity a proof of its divine authority, i. 235; Chrisuanity im-
"plants good principles, 236; arouses conscience, 236; discourages vices, and
establishes contrary virtues, 236; mitigates insatiable ardor after worldly
possessions, 236; implants enlarged benevolence, 236; expels indolence, 236;
and elevates the whole character of man, 236; Christianity banishes an im-
mense mass of evils-idolatry, 237; murder, 237; exposing of infants, 238;
divorce and polygamy, 238; the degradation of the female sex, 238; the
cruelties of domestic slavery, 239; private assassination, 239; and a thousand
similar evils, 240; Christianity mitigates many other evils such as the
horrors of war, 241; the spirit of faction and party-animosities in states,
242; venality and corruption, 242; offences against temperance and chas-
tity, 243; and raises the standard of public opinion as to morals and religion,