without cultivating the spirit of piety)-Germany is becoming weary and sick of her self-styled Rationalism, sighs again for the consolations of a Christian hope, and is ready to return to the faith of her great Reformer. Poor and pitiable is that spirit on this side the Atlantic, which would bolster itself up on the religious derelictions of Germany,―resting upon a baseless and sinking cause, boasting of a worldly wisdom which God has made foolish, and perishing, unconscious, in the arms of a giant literature, which, like Nebuchadnezzar's image, is dissolving and tumbling to ruins, for want of amalgamation and consistency in its parts; and the very materials of which, when scattered by such dissolution, shall yet be worked, and are even now working, by the grace and providence of God, into the true and abiding temple of Messiah's kingdom. Islamism too,-spreading its arms over so many millions of the human family, occupying and blasting so long the fairest regions of our globe, trampling on the holy ground, deeded by oath of God to Abraham and his posterity, and embosoming the city of the holiest solemnities which earth ever witnessed-a city now profaned and desolate-the place of Messiah's birth and agonies,violating the sepulchres of the holy dead, holding in its sacrilegious grasp the very tomb of Heaven's and man's atoning Priest, insulting God, insulting Christ, and butchering those who are called by his name,-Islamism—that proud, and mighty, and formidable engine of the Prince of darkness, which has wasted the earth so long, is even now, we hope, bending and falling before the retributive visitations of the Almighty. Every material corruption of Christianity, whether by detraction or superstition, is coming to be detected and exposed. Every form of paganism, which has been approached by pure Christianity, manifests a disposition to yield its claims over the human mind, and waits only for a well concerted and vigorous onset from the worshippers of the true God. Judaism too, so fearfully obstinate in unbelief, shows symptoms of selfdistrust, and its veil, so long "untaken away," is seen to be drawing aside by the hand of God. The purest forms of Christianity are growing more pure; reformation succeeds to reformation; and sound learning and Christianity have become the mutual assistants of each other,—a sure presage of the triumphs of both. And it may now be said, that "the whole world," Christian as well as pagan, "groaneth and travaileth in pain together, expecting deliverance. The world is tired of paganism, tired of infidelity, tired of the multiform corruptions of Christianity,-and nothing will avail to alleviate its uneasiness, but the pure religion of Jesus Christ. The field of Christian enterprise is the world, and that world is literally white for the harvest. With the present structure of society, and the prevailing moral temperament in all that portion of the world which is evidently destined to give character to the rest, -with the steady advancement of learning, which we think cannot

retrograde, but must go forward-Christians have only to rise in the strength of the Lord of hosts, and to press forward with the resistless energies of faith, and the world is their's-the world is Christ's.

The considerations which have been presented afford, surely, the highest encouragements to fervent prayer, and to vigorous action. Such, in the providence of God, is now the structure of society, and such are the workings of the moral world,-when everything good is striving to be better; when every particle of virtue becomes a purifying leaven, not only in the spirit of its own residence, but through that spirit, over others; when the human mind, after all the sad experience it has had of the workings of its own depravities, after long protracted and dismal cycles-cycles on cycles, of ignorance, depression, and slavery-having tried every method, but the only true one, of working out its own redemption-seems to have caught a glimpse of light from the heavens, in anticipation of a coming Jubilee, and now, as if by an inward consciousness of having passed the most dreadful periods of its own history, is rising in the majesty of hope and faith,—there seems to be a universal concert, that "the redemption of the world draweth nigh." A Christian cannot now offer a prayer, if it be a prayer of faith, but it blesses the world; he cannot lift his hand, if it be in the strength and in the cause of his Redeemer, but it is sure to advance some one of the great interests of Christianity.

I know there are oppositions, and strifes, and "distress of nations;" that the manacles of superstition, and infidelity, and of the Prince of darkness, are yet strong in their hold on the human mind; that great and mighty is the struggle which awaits the moral world, before its complete emancipation. But strong and mighty is He, who has instituted this redeeming process. His plan is deep, his counsels unsearchable, and his ways everlasting. "If the thing which I purpose be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people-in these days-should it also be marvellous in my eyes? saith the Lord of Hosts."

ANTIPAS.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

NO. III.

Mistakes to be avoided, and cautions to be observed.

Fifthly. It is not to be admitted as any argument against the doctrine of inspiration, understood even in the highest sense, that in writing the Scriptures, the sacred penmen evidently made use of their own faculties.

It would seem very probable, from the nature of the case, that if God intended to communicate instruction to the world, he would

employ human beings as his instruments; and that he would employ them, as intelligent instruments, and would use, or rather, would excite them to use, their intellectual and moral powers in making the communication. All that we have seen of the Divine conduct in other respects would lead us to expect this. And then, what possible objection can there be against it? A revelation from God, made in the manner here supposed, n.ay be as infallible, and in all respects as perfect, as if made in any other way that can be conceived. For surely God can so guide and superintend the mental and bodily powers of men, as to produce, through them, just such a writing as he wishes to produce, and just such as he would produce, if he employed no agency but his own. For example: He could exert such an influence and control over the mind of Isaiah and Paul, that the commands and promises, given by them, should be as perfectly agreeable to his will, and clothed with as high an authority, as though he had written them himself on tables of stone, as he did the Decalogue.

This being the case, it follows, that the abundant evidence which the sacred volume everywhere contains, that the writers made a diligent use of their own mental and bodily powers, furnishes no argument against the position, that they wrote as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Sixthly. It is no objection against the inspiration of the Scriptures, that they contain many things which are, in themselves, of little or no consequence.

Things which are of small consequence, in themselves, may be of great consequence, when considered in all their relations. Great effects result from little causes. And these little causes acquire a relative importance, in proportion to the greatness of the effects resulting from them. A single thought, a dream, the motion of a finger, or a pebble, may occasion mighty events, and in a history of mighty events may deserve to be particularly mentioned. If small things are visibly connected with great, we perceive at once the propriety of their being distinctly noticed. And when they are not connected in any way which is at present visible to us; still there may be a connexion; and that connexion, which is always perfectly known to God, may ultimately become manifest to us. And those things which we are accustomed to consider as small, may be as important, as if their connexion with other things were now fully known to us; and it may be as important that history should record them. Indeed, it may be that, without recording them, history could not have a perfect agreement with the truth.— This leads to another view of the subject.

Do not small things actually occur in the course of human affairs? Does not the life of man consist chiefly of actions and events, which, taken by themselves, might be considered as of little consequence, or even as trifles? Let any one survey his own life for

a day, or a week, and see if this is not the case. It is so with the people of God, and even with prophets and apostles, as well as with others. There never was a man, whose life, from day to day, and from hour to hour, was chiefly made up of great actions and great events. This being the case, no history of human life can perfectly answer to the reality, without recording many little things. The writers of common history generally make a selection of a few actions and events which are remarkable and splendid, and omit others; and thus they make a representation, which is indeed flattering to human pride, but which, as a whole, is not according to truth. In this respect, the writers of sacred history have a manifest superiority over all others. They take no pains to give a splendor which is not real, to human characters and events. They honestly relate the little things which occur in human life, as well as the great; the dishonorable, the vicious, and even the disgusting, as well as the honorable, and virtuous, and lovely. The picture which they draw is true, answering to the original.

Now the question is, whether the Scriptures shall, to a greater or less extent, contain a history of human life; and if it contains a history, whether it shall be a true history, or a fiction. If a history of any portion of human beings, or of any period of the world, is necessary to the good of the church; then the benevolence of God must incline him so to influence the writers of the Bible, that they will produce such a history. And if God chooses to have a history of human affairs contained in his word, we have every reason to believe he will so assist and guide his servants, that they shall write a history exactly conformed to truth. And if conformed to truth, it must record things which are neither great nor honorable. The same remarks may be made on those parts of Scripture, which contain maxims or sentiments of small weight,-minute directions, little developements of thought or feeling. These things are evidently of real use. There are many cases of duty or difficulty, to which they are directly adapted, and for which we should not be well prepared without them. They are therefore important, as making a part of that book, which is intended to be a directory of human conduct. And who can doubt the goodness of God in causing a book to be written so as fully to answer the wants of man? And who can with any propriety say, that the Bible contains things too small to be worthy of the notice of God, when, in fact, those small things are essential to the perfection and the highest usefulness of a revelation? With just as much propriety might we object to the world's being the work of God, because it contains many little things; and we might ask, who can suppose that God would ever exert an agency or have any concern in things of such a nature? But we know that God has in fact created and sustained the world and all that is in it; and hence we infer, that it is perfectly consistent with his infinite majesty, that he should create,

sustain, and constantly regard little things, as well as great. And if God may consistently have an agency in the production of little things in the natural world; why not, in the production of little things in the sacred writings?

But if, after all, any one shall assert, that there are things in the Bible which are of no possible use as to the great ends of a revelation from God, and, therefore, that it is inconsistent to suppose that those who wrote them had the guidance of the Holy Spirit; I would desire him first to specify the things referred to, and then to produce his proof, that they neither have been, nor can be of any use. Suppose he fixes upon a passage which has often been referred to as of no possible consequence; 2 Tim. iv. 13, in which Paul directs Timothy to bring the cloak that he left at Troas, with the books, especially the parchments. I would ask him, what reason he has to think, that the direction was unimportant either to the comfort and usefulness of Paul, or to the interests of the churches?

Seventhly. It is no objection to the inspiration of the Scriptures, that the real and full meaning of some passages was not known at the time they were written, or even that it remains unknown to the present time.

In this respect, the same is true of the Scriptures, as of the natural world. There are many things in the creation, the nature and design of which lay concealed for thousands of years, and many which are, even at the present day, but.imperfectly understood, or not understood at all. Notwithstanding this, it is true that God created them, and preserves them; and it is doubtless true, that they are designed for some important end, and that they will ultimately accomplish that end. So, as to those things in Scripture which are not well understood; it may be that they will ultimately be understood, and that some special and additional good may result from them in consequence of their having been so long involved in obscurity. Even during the time they are not understood, they may be of use, in promoting among good men a humble sense of their limited knowledge, and in exciting them to diligent endeavors after higher acquisitions. And there is nothing inconsistent with the infinite wisdom of God in the supposition, that he should, by subsequent revelations, as well as by the course of his providence, and the well directed labors of his servants, explain that which was before left designedly obscure. This would evidently be analogous to the method of Divine instruction in other

cases.

If, therefore, we find ever so many things in the Bible, which we do not understand; we are by no means to regard them as any objection to the inspiration of the writers. Our not understanding them may be owing to a faulty ignorance in us; an ignorance, which persevering diligence might have removed. Or they may lie beyond the reach of our present capacity, and the capacity and means