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Scriptures the honour of their being a Divine Revelation. This claim has been made in every age by the Jewish people for the books of the Old Testament, and the same claim has been made for the books of the New Testament, as the imperishable productions of Infinite Wisdom, given by his inspiration.

Inexpressibly important to us are the precious subjects of the Bible. And claiming, as it does, to be the entire collection of "the oracles of God," every reflecting person must regard them with supreme concern. Duty and interest unite to render the claims of the Scriptures imperative; and their own testimony is most inviting and consolatory to the serious reader. Experience confirms the declaration of the Apostle, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." (2 Tim. iii. 16, 17.)

That Divine Revelation is indispensably necessary for man, appears from the nature of true religion, and from the prevailing superstitions of the heathen. Religious belief, to be really beneficial to its posstors, must arise from the true knowledge of God.

ligion springs from intelligent faith in the being and efections of the glorious Creator; and it consists in suy me respect, and sacred veneration, with are justly due from a rational being But this reasonable and holy service of the heart and life has never been rendered

filial love, whic.

to his Divine Pare.

to God by any nation, or by any individual, while destitute of Divine Revelation.

History is clear and full in its testimony to this fact. Passing over the popular notions entertained by the common people in the heathen nations, it may be observed, that the wisest philosophers of Greece and Rome were unable to give a rational account of the Divine Being, or a worthy representation of his nature and perfections, as the self-existent Creator.

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Dr. Adam Clarke, whose judgment few will call in question, thus states,-" The absolute necessity of a Divine Revelation is sufficiently established. If God be the sole fountain of light and truth, all knowledge must be derived from him. The spirit of a man may know the things of a man; but the Spirit of God can alone know and teach the things of God! That is, the human intellect, in its ordinary power and operation, is sufficient to comprehend the various earthly things that concern man's sustenance and welfare in social life; but this intellect cannot fathom the things of God; it cannot find out the mind of the Most High; it knows not his will; it has no just idea of the end for which man was made; of that in which his best interests lie; of his own nature; of the nature of moral good and evil; how to avoid the latter, and how to attain e former, in which true happiness, or the supreme ince of good consists. And these things it is the pre Divine Revelation to teach, for they hav taught or conceived by man.

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giving us a revelation

ever been

ebted to God for

his ILL

and of his WORKS!

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Is it possible to know the mind of God but from himself? It is impossible. Can those things and services which are worthy of, and pleasing to, an infinitely pure, perfect and holy Spirit, be ever found out by reasoning and conjecture? Never : for the Spirit of God alone can know the mind of God; and by his Spirit he has revealed himself to man, and in this revelation has taught him, not to know the glories and perfections of the creator, but also his own origin, duty and interest. Thus far it was essentially necessary th God should reveal his WILL; but if he had given a revelation of his WORKS, the origin, nstitution and nature of the universe could ner have been adequately This known. The world wisdom knew not God. is demonstrated the writings of the most learned heathens. They had no just, no raand intellige tional non of the origin and design of the universe. Mose alone, of all ancient writers, gives a consistent rational account of the creation, an account which has been confirmed by the investigations of the most accurate philosophers.'

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Every scholar knows that what the apostle declares concerning the sages of the greatest fame in the heathen world is perfectly justified by their writings which are most esteemed, and by their universal practice, that "the world by wisdom knew not God." (1 Cor. i. 21.) Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts,

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* Christian Theology, selected by Samuel Dunn, pp. 37, 38.

DIVINE REVELATION

and creeping things. Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen." (Rom. i. 22, 25.)

Shocking and monstrous as were the common practices of the heathen, here described, they were universally inculcated by their greatest teachers. And human wisdom, by the light of nature, however improved by learning and study, never was able to show in wist consisted the chief good of man. That light was too fehle to enable the wisest philosopher to determine what was the sacred rule of human

duty, or the motives by which the practice of moral virtues might be enforce it could not show the origin of human depravity, the means or possibility, of the pardon of sin, nor

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way of eradicating the evil propensities of our nat, nor yet of subduing their power; neither could it most anxious mind of man of the certainty, the probability, of a future life. Doubt, depravi crime and misery, necessarily arose from such a state of ignorance, in mortal beings; their terrified imaginations prompted them to seek relief, by cruel rites and solemn deprecations directed to imaginary divinities; and their superstitions, generated by their fears, led them to contrive-or to receive what designing rulers had contrived-representations of supposed deities existing only in their bewildered fancies, and thus to practice every form of the most abominable and debasing idolatry!

To remove these enormous evils, delivering us from ignorance so deplorable, we see the necessity

for a Divine Revelation.

And from the various ex

pressions of the Creator's kindness, in the innumerable blessings of his bountiful providence, such a favour might seem highly probable. This most

needed and precious benefit, as a gift to miserable man, appears altogether worthy of the infinite benevolence and grace of Almighty God.

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