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it might be useful to those readers who have neither the op portunity of accefs to, not leifure to perufe more voluminous and elaborate performances, I should not have confented to the publication. The chriftian religion is not like the fpeculations of the ancient philofophic fchools. Thefe were principally confined to the fchools in which they originated. The philofophers did not view themfelves as the inftructors of mankind at large, and the greatmafs of fociety was confidered by them, and confidered themselves as having little intereft in, or concern with their fpeculations; and, in general, the mysteries of the pagan. worship were known only to the priests and the initiated. But the gofpel is addreffed to man as fuch. It is one of the peculiar excellencies of chriftianity that it is an institution adapted to the great mafs of mankind; that it equally concerns all ranks and orders in fociety. Both the nature and evidences of the chriftian religion are equally the concern of every man. An attention to thefe evidences by all becomes more immediately neceflary, as attacks upon religion, which were, half a century ago, principally adapted to the fituation of the learned, have of late been conducted in a manner peculiarly calculated to corrupt the principles and deprave the morals of the great mass of fociety. Befides the confideration that the pages of revelation alone bring life and immortality to light, and open a door of hope to the guilty, by pointing out a way in which a tranfgreffor may be pardoned and restored to the favour and enjoyment of God, confiftent with the glory of all the divine perfections, an attentive obfervation of what has paffed in the world for the last twenty or thirty years, and an intercourfe with mankind, are fufficient to imprefs the mind of every observer with clearer and clearer evidences of its importance to fociety. Should the enemies of chriftianity fucceed in effecting its overthrow (an event of which, bleffed be God, there is no ground for fear, hecaufe Chrift will always defend his church) it would not only do irreparable injury to the fouls of men, by depriving the Chriftian of his best hope, and throwing an awful gloom over futurity, but would go far, very far, towards diffolving every tie which connects man to man in fociety,

The nature of the maxims of an infidel philofophy, as well as the views of the champions of irreligion, have become daily more and more manifeft, and their tendency has been telled in other countries by their pernicious fruits, and the deleterious effects of thefe principles, or rather of this entire proftration of every principle of morality and religion, have been both feen and felt in our land. The fubject of which an illustration is attempted in the following difcourf es has been fo often difcuffed, and is fo far exhaufted, that they who are acquainted with the learned works already extant, will probably be disappointed if they expect to find much originality in the following fheets. Indeed it is hardly to be expected that, at this day, much that is new or original can be either faid or written on the fubject. But as the attacks made of late upon chriftianity are not by urging any new arguments against it, but by the repetition and new modelling of old objections, which although often anfwered, are daily by an unufual share of effrontery, palmed upon the world for new arguments, it becomes neceffary to combat these objections anew, although it should be with old weapons. There is this advantage, alfo, attending new publications, i. e. fentiments and arguments which would lie neglected in an old book, written a century, or half a century ago, will oftentimes be attended to in a new publication merely because it is new. It is also an objection which many confider as of fome weight against many excellent works written in defence of chriftianity, that, from their fize or other confiderations, they find their way only into the libraries of the learned, and are rather calculated for their ufe than for general circulation. Other small works are, perhaps juftly, deemed too fuperficial to entitle them to the character of any thing like a general defence. Whether the following difcourfes will do any thing towards remedying this defect, or give something like a competent view of the evidences of christianity a more general circulation among those not favoured with the higher advantages of education, by putting them into an additional number of hands, muft reft with the candor

of the public. As it is not pretended that there is any great fhare of originality in these discourses, so not only

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fentiments but fometimes entire paragraphs have been fe lected from authors, to fome of whom it is now out of my power to make particular acknowledgments, as extracts were made many years ago, and the books from which they have been made, are not now within my reach. I have therefore troubled the reader but little with refer ences and quotations. It is neceffary however to obferve in general, that for feveral remarks, particularly in the 2d, 3d, 4th, and 7th difcourfes, I feel indebted to Dr. Leland's excellent work entitled a view of Deitical writers, a book which, as I have not been able to find it in any bookftore, I have fuppofed to be out of print, at least in this country. From this I made several extracts many years ago, which I have freely used in this work, fome paragraphs perhaps nearly verbatim and others abridged. Some thoughts in the fourth difcourfe are alfo borrowed from Welt on the Refurrection; and the fixth is, in part, abridg ed from Dr. Newton's differtation on the Prophecies, and fome things lefs material are borrowed from other authors. It was not contemplated in thefe difcourfes to enter into any particular hiftorical detail, by collecting teftimony in favour of chriftianity from the writings of either Jews or heathens. However important this fpecies of evidence may be in itself, it was not conceived to be of that kind which is, from the nature of it, placed within the reach of the great mass of readers. Nor is it conceived to be that kind of proof which is calculated to bring home the most forcible conviction, either to the understandings or hearts of the majority of those who are interested in forming a correct decifion. It will be eafy with perfons who have a predifpofition to harbour doubts of the evidences of chriftianity, to call in queftion either the faithfulness or the validity of fuch teftimony. Befides, Paley's excellent treatise on the evidences of christianity, a work which is in many hands, is fo full on that part of the fubject that nothing needs to be added. The object which I had most immediately in view, in the following difcourfes, was to place the evidences of chriftianity and of the infpiration of the fcriptures in fuch a point of light, as to bring them within the comprehenfion, and render them obvious to the

view of common readers, fo as to enable them to judge of their force, without any laborious perufal of authors, or any recurrence to teftimony either Jewish or heathen. Tothis end it has been my study to draw the evidence of the divine authority and infpiration of the fcriptures principally from the fcriptures themselves. After all that can be said, and all the Jewish or heathen teftimonies which either have been or can be collected, if fufficient evidence of the divine original of chriflianity, and of the infpiration of the books of Mofes and the Prophets as well as of Chrift and his Apostles, is not to be found in the fcriptures themfelves, all proofs from teftimony will be inconclufive. But when the fcriptures themfelves are examined and fhown to contain fuch internal marks of a divine original as are fufficient plainly to diftinguish them from all human writings,. and to make it apparent, not barely that they are no human invention artificially contrived, but that it is impossible in the nature of things that fuch a book should exist, on any other principle than by admitting its divine. origin, this brings the evidence home both to the. common fenfe and the hearts of mankind. Happily. the fcriptures carry their own evidences within themselves. As the fun is feen by his own light, fo no other light is nec-effary to discover, the divine original of the fcriptures than that which is furnished by the fcriptures themselves. How far I have fucceeded in placing thefe evidences in a con-vincing point of view, muft now be fubmitted to the public to decide. The defign I am perfuaded is a good one,. and not unfeasonable at this time. All I can fay with › refpect to the execution is that if I had poffeffed more talents, and had had more leifure, it would have been more worthy of the fubject. The length of the following difcourfes, fo difproportionate to what is ufual in modern. printed fermons, may perhaps be confidered as requiring an apology. I have no other to offer, only that I conceived it expedient to finish what I had to fay on a particular branch of the fubject in a fingle difcourfe, which occafion-ed them to be protracted to a more than ufual length. Some of the more critical readers may perhaps take exceptions that the fame fentiment is fometimes repeated in dif

ferent difcourfes. This may be in fome measure owing to their being written piecemeal, or not only at different times, but after long intervals. Some of what might be called repetitions have been expunged in the prefent copy, and if any fhould fill remain, as they occur when taking different views of the fubject, I hope they will not be found either altogether ufelefs or impertinent. As it refpects the style of the work, the thing principally aimed at has been perfpicuity, and not to please the faftidioufnefs of criticifm. Such as it is, it is recommended to the bleffing of heaven and the candor of the public, by

THE AUTHOR.

Colraia, September 3d, 1810.

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