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publication of the sacred writings by the Apostles. Considering, therefore, the great number of these manuscripts, the distant countries in which they are found, and their agreement in their contents with the quotations made by the Christian teachers, as found in their writings from age to age, the genuineness of the books of the New Testament is beyond dispute ! There is every possible degree of evidence that the sacred books are authentic as well as genuine.

Regarding the books of the Old Testament, besides what has already been stated in relation to their genuineness, their authenticity is manifest beyond all doubt, from the whole contents of the five books of Moses, and the peculiarity of the institutions and laws established in Israel. And as to the other books of the Old Testament, their authenticity is proved, partly by the different degrees of purity in the Hebrew language in which they were written, and by their perfect agreement with, and their necessary dependence on, those institutions of Moses: these are confirmed by the united historical testimony of both Jews and Gentiles.

Regarding the contents of the New Testament, the authenticity of its books is established in a manner beyond all reasonable doubt. The case has been thus stated:"That an extraordinary person, named Jesus Christ, exercised the office of a public teacher in Judea, in the Augustan age, is a fact better supported and authenticated than that there lived such. men as Cyrus, Alexander the Great and Julius Cæsar. That he flourished in the reign of Tiberius,

emperor of Rome, and suffered death under Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator of Judea, are facts that are acknowledged, not only by the Jews of every subsequent age, and by the testimonies of several heathen writers, but also by Christians of every age and country, who have commemorated, and who still commemorate the birth, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, and his spiritual kingdom, by their constant and universal celebration of divine worship on the Lord's day, or first day of the week, and likewise by the two ordinances of baptism and the Lord's supper. These religious doctrines and ordinances they profess to derive from a collection of writings composed after the ascension of Jesus Christ, which they acknowledge to be divine, and to have been written by the first preachers of Christianity; and this collection of writings is published in a volume called The New Testament.' ”*

Every consideration proves the books of the New Testament to be authentic as well as genuine : this is evident from their remarkable preservation; from the impossibility of forgery; from various historical testimony; from the contents and harmony of the several books; from the character of the writers; from the peculiar language and style of the writings; and from the circumstantial minuteness of detail in reference to the persons, places and things, known to have existed at those periods in Asia, in Europe and in Africa.

In relation to the uncorrupted genuineness of the New Testament, many have, therefore, asked, in the *Horne's Introduction to the Scriptures. Vol. i., pp. 65, 66.

language of Dr. Whitby, "Who can imagine that God, who sent his Son to declare this doctrine, and his Apostles, by the assistance of the Holy Spirit, to indite and speak it, and by so many miracles confirmed it to the world, should suffer any wicked persons to corrupt and alter any of those terms on which the happiness of mankind depends! It is absurd to say that God repented of His goodwill and kindness to mankind, in vouchsafing the gospel to them, as that he so far maligned the good of future generations, that he suffered wicked men to rob them of all the good intended to them by this declaration of His holy will."*

Still, it may be remarked, that differences have been found in the text of many manuscripts of the New Testament. This is the fact; but it cannot affect the authenticity of the sacred books. Some persons may indeed be alarmed at the idea of various readings being found in different copies of the inspired writings; but this was to have been expected, unless a perpetual miracle had been wrought to preserve the transcribers from error or mistake. Considering the many thousands of manuscript copies of the Scriptures which must have been made, during the period of fourteen hundred years before the invention of printing, and that many transcribers were ignorant or careless, though skilful in the mechanical art of writing, errata might reasonably be expected. These persons were not supernaturally preserved in their work of transcribing; and mistakes in one copy would unavoidably be propagated in all that were * Preface to Commentary on the New Testament, p. 28.

taken from it, while each copy might have peculiar faults of its own; so that various readings in small matters, would thus be increased in proportion to the number of transcripts. Besides which, transcribers might increase various readings, by substituting, through ignorance, one letter or even word, for another; or, through inattention, omit a word, a line, or even a whole clause, as is found to be the case. These causes are such as are found still to operate in the same way in transcribing ordinary documents; and it cannot be a matter of surprise that in these different ways, reckoning all the minute diversities of single words, syllables and letters, that many thousands of various readings should have been discovered, in collating several hundred manuscripts of the whole, or parts, of so large a collection of writings as those of the Bible. Notwithstanding, it is most satisfactory to be assured, by those who have paid most attention to this branch of study, that all the various readings yet discovered, do not interfere with a single fact, or precept, or doctrine of Christianity!

CHAPTER VI.

DESIGN OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.

General design of the Scriptures-The happiness and improvement of mankind-Doctrine of Providence-The Redemption of the soul by Jesus Christ-The directory and rule of faith-Acquaintance with the Scriptures.

DIVINE Revelation in the Holy Scriptures, the inestimable boon from God to mankind, must have been given with the noblest and most benevolent design. Reason dictates this conclusion; and that grand design is acknowledged by every serious reader of the Bible. This cannot but regard the honour and praise of the blessed Donor, while it especially contemplates the improvement and happiness of a world of fallen creatures. Such a boon could not have been bestowed on man without an object altogether worthy of its heavenly origin. But the purpose for which the Holy Scriptures were given may be seen in every page. They are plainly adapted to manifest the glorious perfections and infinite moral excellencies of the blessed God; as they make the sublime discoveries of His divine nature in the holy commands and beneficial precepts which they enjoin; and show his gracious disposition in the "exceeding great and precious promises" which they offer to relieve the anxieties of sinners, and to make men

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