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in advance of the age in which they lived, that they have impressed their own individual charac ter upon large portions of human society around them, and upon their own nation, and perhaps, to some extent, upon the existing generation; though this last hypothesis may be seriously called in question. But where is the man whose mighty mind has diffused its vivifying rays, not over one country and nation, and generation of men, but whose thoughts and principles, whose strong and ardent affections and moral impulses have the same adaptation to man in whatever quarter of the world and in whatever age of time he is found? The work of man is a partial, relative, and limited work. But it is God alone that can perform a work, and reveal a religion that is equally adapted to every age, and place, and creature of this vast creation. If there is a religion revealed from heaven, it must possess the characteristics of universality and perpetuity. God alone can speak to the race. His love alone, overlooking all the peculiarities of time, circumstance, condition, and character, embraces the race, and makes its appeals to the heart of man wherever he is found. This is done by the religion of the Bible; and wherever such a religion is found, it comes from God. The religion of nature, so far as it goes, is for this reason from him; and the religion of the Bible, extending so far beyond the religion of nature, is, for the Is same reason, from the same divine source. there not a peculiarity in the Bible, in all these

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respects, which distinguishes it as the work of God?

Man can perform only the work of man. Whatever God does "exhibits such clear traces of the divine workmanship, as will distinguish it, at once, from the works of man. No No one, when he surveys a ship, or a steam engine, or a watch-the fairest specimens perhaps of human ingenuity, is in any danger of attributing either of them to the handywork of his Maker. But if we look at the works of creation; we cannot find a star in the firmament, nor a cloud in the sky, nor an animal, or vegetable, or mineral on the earth, nor atom in the sunbeams which has not written on it in letters of light, The hand that made me is divine. The same is true of the works of Providence. can trace the path of a planet, or the progress of an empire, or the life of man, or the fall of a sparrow, or the drop of a leaf, without discovering that all-wise hand which regulates their motions. Surely then, when God undertakes to reveal his thoughts to men, he can stamp on the revelation similar evidence that it is the work of the Divine mind.”* Does not the Bible carry with it a sort of intuitive evidence that it is the work of God? It has not been the object of these lectures to discuss the question of the divine origin of the Scriptures;

No man

S. E. Dwight's sermon at the installation of Rev. E. Jenkins.

and yet, may I not be allowed to ask, whether they do not furnish evidence of their divine origin which may not be hastily set aside? Honest inquirers after the truth we respect; but we care: little for the cavils of men who “ contend against their Maker." We may say to them all, "Who art thou that repliest against God?" It is no mat-. ter of surprise that so much patient and critical investigation has been bestowed on this great subject. No question in the whole circle of the sciences has received half the attention that has been devoted to this. Every inch of ground has been by turns defended and disputed; and had there been a weak spot in the defence, it had long since been discovered and assailed. This sacred Book has passed the ordeal of the severest examination and it is no assumption to say, that its claims have been established. Had it been possible, wicked and corrupt men had long ago swept it from the earth. Men have been forbidden to read it; more than once has it been publicly burnt by the common hangman; emperors and councils have been leagued against it; popes and priests have conspired to corrupt and destroy it; but the more it has been opposed, the better has it been known and loved. Other things grow old, and time detracts from their vigor, but the Bible is always new and always young. A tithe of the evidence, in relation to any other matter, which has been adduced in favour of the divine origin of the Scriptures, would have silenced and satisfied the world. If

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there are those who are sceptical and incredulous, and will not be convinced by the evidence which has so often been adduced in its favour, we doubt much whether evidence ever convinces them. The strong hold of infidelity is more often found in the heart than in the intellect. It has its throne in the corrupted affections. It finds its aliment in the love of sin. Men are not willing to believe the Bible is true because it requires with such infinite authority, and on such fearful penalties, a hóly life. Pride, luxury, ambition, voluptuousness, and secret sin are the enemies of the Bible. There is no opinion more erroneous than that infidelity is founded on an apprehended deficiency of the evidence which supports a divine revelation. "If they believe not Moses and the prophets, neither would they be persuaded though one rose from the. dead." Scepticism has other sources than want of light. "Light is come into the world, and men have loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil." Those who most resemble God are most likely to believe him. "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God." I will conclude by adding

IS NOT THE BIBLE WORTHY YOUR SERIOUS AND SOLEMN ATTENTION.? The real merit of objects. is not always discerned on our first acquaintance with them. The great design throughout these lectures has been to honour the word of God. Most sincerely do I wish they were a tribute more worthy of the great Book I have desired to exalt.

To me it has seemed that the Bible is not appreciated. How can it be when it is so little known? A familiar acquaintance with the sacred volume is the only way of ascertaining its true excellence. The Abbe Winkleman, perhaps the most classical writer upon the Fine Arts, after descanting with great zeal upon the perfection of sculpture as exhibited in the Apollo Belvidere, says to young artists, "Go and study it; and if you see no great beauty in it to captivate you, go again. And if you still discover none, go again and again. Go until you feel it; for be assured it is there." So say we of the Bible. You may not,-nay, you cannot discover its worth at a single reading. Though its great truths are perfectly plain and easy to be understood, it is not to be supposed that it requires no diligent mental exertion to comprehend so vast a book. It is, as we have already seen, one of its great excellencies, that it is essential to the clear discovery and highest enjoyment of its varied instructions that it puts in requisition the highest intellectual and moral powers of the human mind. It has excellencies, which, the more they are discovered, will the more lead you to say with one who was no indolent, or passive reader of its pages, "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wonderful things out of thy law!" All the treasures of this inexhaustible mine are not found upon its surface. After all that critics and theologians have explored, rich jewels will yet be found far below the ground. "Search the Scriptures."