from any other writing of that age, we are imme-[ If we dispose our ideas in a different order, the diately sensible of the confirmation which it affords matter stands thus:-Whilst the transaction was to the Scripture account. Here is a new witness. recent, and the original witnesses were at hand to Now, if we had been accustomed to read the Gos-relate it; and whilst the apostles were busied in pel of Matthew alone, and had known that of preaching and travelling, in collecting disciples, in Luke only as the generality of Christians know forming and regulating societies of converts, in the writings of the apostolical fathers, that is, had supporting themselves against opposition; whilst known that such a writing was extant and ac- they exercised their ministry under the harassings knowledged; when we came, for the first time, to of frequent persecution, and in a state of almost look into what it contained, and found many of continual alarm, it is not probable that, in this enthe facts which Matthew recorded, recorded also gaged, anxious, and unsettled condition of life, there, many other facts of a similar nature added, they would think immediately of writing histories and throughout the whole work the same general for the information of the public or of posterity.* series of transactions stated, and the same general But it is very probable, that emergencies might character of the person who was the subject of the draw from some of them occasional letters upon history preserved, I apprehend that we should feel the subject of their mission, to converts, or to soour minds strongly impressed by this discovery of cieties of converts, with which they were connectfresh evidence. We should feel a renewal of the ed; or that they might address written discourses same sentiment in first reading the Gospel of Saint and exhortations to the disciples of the institution John. That of Saint Mark perhaps would strike at large, which would be received and read with a us as an abridgment of the history with which we respect proportioned to the character of the writer. were already acquainted; but we should naturally Accounts in the mean time would get abroad of reflect, that if that history was abridged by such a the extraordinary things that had been passing, person as Mark, or by any person of so early an written with different degrees of information and age, it afforded one of the highest possible attest- correctness. The extension of the Christian soations to the value of the work. This successive ciety, which could no longer be instructed by a disclosure of proof would leave us assured, that personal intercourse with the apostles, and the there must have been at least some reality in a possible circulation of imperfect or erroneous narstory which not one, but many, had taken in hand ratives, would soon teach some amongst them the to commit to writing. The very existence of four expediency of sending forth authentic memoirs of separate histories would satisfy us that the subject the life and doctrine of their Master. When achad a foundation; and when, amidst the variety counts appeared authorized by the name, and crewhich the different information of the different dit, and situation of the writers, recommended or writers had supplied to their accounts, or which recognised by the apostles and first preachers of their different choice and judgment in selecting the religion, or found to coincide with what the their materials had produced, we observed many apostles and first preachers of the religion had facts to stand the same in all; of these facts, at taught, other accounts would fall into disuse and least, we should conclude, that they were fixed in neglect; whilst these maintaining their reputation their credit and publicity. If, after this, we should (as, if genuine and well founded, they would do) come to the knowledge of a distinct history, and under the test of time, inquiry, and contradiction, that also of the same age with the rest, taking up might be expected to make their way into the the subject where the others had left it, and carry-hands of Christians of all countries of the world. ing on a narrative of the effects produced in the This seems the natural progress of the business; world by the extraordinary causes of which we and with this the records in our possession, and had already been informed, and which effects sub- the evidence concerning them, correspond. We sist at this day, we should think the reality of the have remaining, in the first place, many letters original story in no little degree established by this of the kind above described, which have been presupplement. If subsequent inquiries should bring served with a care and fidelity answering to the to our knowledge, one after another, letters writ- respect with which we may suppose that such letten by some of the principal agents in the business, ters would be received. But as these letters were upon the business, and during the time of their not written to prove the truth of the Christian reactivity and concern in it, assuming all along andligion, in the sense in which we regard that quesrecognising the original story, agitating the questions that arose out of it, pressing the obligations which resulted from it, giving advice and directions to those who acted upon it; I conceive that we should find, in every one of these, a still further support to the conclusion we had formed. At present, the weight of this successive confirmation is, in a great measure, unperceived by us. The evidence does not appear to us what it is; for, being from our infancy accustomed to regard the New Testament as one book, we see in it only one testimony. The whole occurs to us as a single evidence; and its different parts, not as distinct attestations, but as different portions only of the same. Yet in this conception of the subject, we are certainly mistaken; for the very discrepancies among the several documents which form our volume, prove, if all other proof were wanting, that in their original composition they were separate, and most of them independent productions.

tion: nor to convey information of facts, of which those to whom the letters were written had been previously informed; we are not to look in them for any thing more than incidental allusions to the Christian history. We are able, however, to gather from these documents, various particular attestations which have been already enumerated; and this is a species of written evidence, as far as it goes, in the highest degree satisfactory, and in point of time perhaps the first. But for our more circumstantial information, we have in the next place five direct histories, bearing the names of persons acquainted, by their situation, with the truth of what they relate, and three of them purporting, in the very body of the narrative, to be

This thought occurred to Eusebius: "Nor were the

apostles of Christ greatly concerned about the writing of books, being engaged in a more excellent ministry, which is above all human power."-Eccles. Hist. iii.

c. 24. The same consideration accounts also for the paucity of Christian writings in the first century of its era.

|

Now the fact of their early existence, and not only of their existence but their reputation, is made out by some ancient testimonies which do not happen to specify the names of the writers: add to which, what hath been already hinted, that two out of the four Gospels contain averments in the body of the history, which, though they do not disclose the names, fix the time and situation of the authors, viz. that one was written by an eyewitness of the sufferings of Christ, the other by a contemporary of the apostles. In the Gospel of Saint John, (xix. 35,) after describing the crucifixion, with the particular circumstance of piercing Christ's side with a spear, the historian adds, as for himself, "and he that saw it bare record, and his record is true, and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe." Again, (xxi. 24,) after relating a conversation which passed between Peter and "the disciple," as it is there expressed, "whom Jesus loved," it is added, "this is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things." This testimony, let it be remarked, is not the less worthy of regard, because it is. in one view, imperfect. The name is not mentioned; which, if a fraudulent purpose had been intended, would have been done. The

written by such persons; of which books we know, that some were in the hands of those who were contemporaries of the apostles, and that, in the age immediately posterior to that, they were in the hands, we may say, of every one, and received by Christians with so much respect and deference, as to be constantly quoted and referred to by them, without any doubt of the truth of their accounts. They were treated as such histories, proceeding from such authorities, might expect to be treated. In the preface to one of our histories, we have intimations left us of the existence of some ancient accounts which are now lost. There is nothing in this circumstance that can surprise us. It was to be expected, from the magnitude and novelty of the occasion, that such accounts would swarm. When better accounts came forth, these died away. Our present histories superseded others. They soon acquired a character and established a reputation which does not appear to have belonged to any other: that, at least, can be proved concerning them, which cannot be proved concerning any other. But to return to the point which led to these reflections. By considering our records in either of the two views in which we have represented them, we shall perceive that we possess a collection of proofs, and not a naked or solitary testi-third of our present Gospels purports to have been mony; and that the written evidence is of such a kind, and comes to us in such a state, as the natural order and progress of things, in the infancy of the institution, might be expected to produce.

written by the person who wrote the Acts of the Apostles; in which latter history, or rather, latter part of the same history, the author, by using, in various places, the first person plural, declares himself to have been a contemporary of all, and a companion of one, of the original preachers of the religion.

CHAPTER IX.

There is satisfactory evidence that many, professing to be original witnesses of the Christian miracles, passed their lives in labours, dangers, and sufferings, roluntarily undergone in altestation of the accounts which they delivered, and solely in consequence of their belief of those accounts; and that they also submitted, from the same motives, to new rules of conduct.

THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE SCRIPTURES.

Thirdly: The genuineness of the historical books of the New Testament is undoubtedly a point of importance, because the strength of their evidence is augmented by our knowledge of the situation of their authors, their relation to the subject, and the part which they sustained in the transaction; and the testimonies which we are able to produce, compose a firm ground of persuasion, that the Gospels were written by the persons whose names they bear. Nevertheless, I must be allowed to state, that to the argument which I am endeavouring to maintain, this point is not essential; I mean, so essential as that the fate of the arguiment depends upon it. The question before us is, whether the Gospels exhibit the story which the apostles and first emissaries of the religion published, and for which they acted and suffered in the manner in which, for some miraculous story or other, they did act and suffer. Nor forgetting, therefore, what credit is due to Now let us suppose that we possessed no other the evangelical history, supposing even any ne information concerning these books than that they of the four Gospels to be genuine; what credit is were written by early disciples of Christianity; due to the Gospels, even supposing nothing to be that they were known and read during the time, known concerning them but that they were writor near the time, of the original apostles of the re- ten by early disciples of the religion, and received ligion; that by Christians whom the apostles in- with deference by early Christian churches: more structed, by societies of Christians which the especially not forgetting what credit is due to the apostles founded, these books were received, (by New Testament in its capacity of cumulative eviwhich term "received," I mean that they were dence; we now proceed to state the proper and believed to contain authentic accounts of the trans-distinct proofs, which show not only the general actions upon which the religion rested, and accounts which were accordingly used, repeated, and relied upon,) this reception would be a valid proof that these books, whoever were the authors of them, must have accorded with what the apostles taught. A reception by the first race of Christians, is evidence that they agreed with what the first teachers of the religion delivered. In particular, if they had not agreed with what the apostles themselves preached, how could they have gained credit in churches and societies which the apostles established?

value of these records, but their specific authority, and the high probability there is that they actual ly came from the persons whose names they bear.

There are, however, a few preliminary reflections, by which we may draw up with more regularity to the propositions upon which the close and particular discussion of the subject depends. Of which nature are the following:

I. We are able to produce a great number of ancient manuscripts, found in many different countries, and in countries widely distant from each other, all of them anterior to the art of print

ing, some certainly seven or eight hundred years old, and some which have been preserved probably above a thousand years. We have also many ancient versions of these books, and some of them into languages which are not at present, nor for many ages have been, spoken in any part of the world. The existence of these manuscripts and versions proves that the Scriptures were not the production of any modern contrivance. It does away also the uncertainty which hangs over such publications as the works, real or pretended, of Ossian and Rowley, in which the editors are challenged to produce their manuscripts, and to show where they obtained their copies. The number of manuscripts, far exceeding those of any other book, and their wide dispersion, afford an argument, in some measure to the senses, that the Scriptures anciently, in like manner, as at this day, were more read and sought after than any other books, and that also in many different countries. The greatest part of spurious Christian writings are utterly lost, the rest preserved by some single manuscript. There is weight also in Dr. Bentley's observation, that the New Testament has suffered less injury by the errors of transcribers, than the works of any profane author of the same size and antiquity; that is, there never was any writing, in the preservation and purity of which the world was so interested or so careful.

hesitation about them: for, had the writings inscribed with the names of Matthew and John, related nothing but ordinary history, there would have been no more doubt whether these writings were theirs, than there is concerning the acknowledged works of Josephus or Philo; that is, there would have been no doubt at all. Now it ought to be considered that this reason, however it may apply to the credit which is given to a writer's judgment or veracity, affects the question of genuineness very indirectly. The works of Bede exhibit many wonderful relations: but who, for that reason, doubts that they were written by Bede? The same of a multitude of other authors. To which may be added, that we ask no more for our books than what we allow to other books in some sort similar to ours: we do not deny the genuineness of the Koran; we admit that the history of Apollonius Tyanæus, purporting to be written by Philostratus, was really written by Philostratus. IV. If it had been an easy thing in the early times of the institution to have forged Christian writings, and to have obtained currency and reception to the forgeries, we should have had many appearing in the name of Christ himself. No writings would have been received with so much avidity and respect as these: consequently none afforded so great temptation to forgery. Yet have we heard but of one attempt of this sort, deserving of the smallest notice, that in a piece of a very few lines, and so far from succeeding, I mean, from obtaining acceptance and reputation, or an acceptance and reputation in any wise similar to that which can be proved to have attended the books of the New Testament, that it is not so much as mentioned by any writer of the first three centuries. The learned reader need not be informed that I mean the epistle of Christ to Abgarus, king of Edessa, found at present in the work of Eusebius,* as a piece acknowledged by him, though not without considerable doubt whether the whole passage be not an interpolation, as it is most certain, that, after the publication of Eusebius's work, this epistle was universally rejected.t

II. An argument of great weight with those who are judges of the proofs upon which it is founded, and capable, through their testimony, of being addressed to every understanding, is that which arises from the style and language of the New Testament. It is just such a language as might be expected from the apostles, from persons of their age and in their situation, and from no other persons. It is the style neither of classic authors, nor of the ancient Christian Fathers, but Greek coming from men of Hebrew origin; abounding, that is, with Hebraic and Syriac idioms, such as would naturally be found in the writings of men who used a language spoken indeed where they lived, but not the common dia- V. If the ascription of the Gospels to their reslect of the country. This happy peculiarity is a pective authors had been arbitrary or conjectural, strong proof of the genuineness of these writings: they would have been ascribed to more eminent for who should forge them? The Christian fa- men. This observation holds concerning the thers were for the most part totally ignorant of first three Gospels, the reputed authors of which Hebrew, and therefore were not likely to insert were enabled, by their situation, to obtain true inHebraisms and Syriasms into their writings. The telligence, and were likely to deliver an honest acfew who had a knowledge of the Hebrew, as Jus- count of what they knew, but were persons not tin Martyr, Origen, and Epiphanius, wrote in a distinguished in the history by extraordinary language which bears no resemblance to that of marks of notice or commendation. Of the aposthe New Testament. The Nazarenes, who un-tles, I hardly know any one of whom less is said derstood Hebrew, used chiefly, perhaps almost entirely, the Gospel of St. Matthew, and therefore cannot be suspected of forging the rest of the sacred writings. The argument, at any rate, proves the antiquity of these books; that they belonged to the age of the apostles; that they could be composed indeed in no other.t

than of Matthew, or of whom the little that is said, is less calculated to magnify his character. Of Mark, nothing is said in the Gospels; and what is said of any person of that name in the

*Hist. Eccl. lib. i. c. 15.

† Augustin, A. D. 895, (De Consens. Evang. c. 34.) had heard that the Pagans pretended to be possessed of an epistle from Christ to Peter and Paul; but he had never seen it, and appears to doubt of the existence of any cient writer mentions it. He also, and he alone, notices, such piece, either genuine or spurious. No other anand that in order to condemn it, an epistle ascribed to Christ by the Manichees, A. D. 270, and a short hymn attributed to him by the priscillianists, A. D. 378. [cont. Faust. Man. lib. xxviii. c. 4.] The lateness of the writer who notices these things, the manner in which he notices them, and, above all, the silence of every preceding writer, render them unworthy of consideration

Acts, and in the Epistles, in no part bestows to place before the reader, in one view, the propopraise or eminence upon him. The name of sitions which comprise the several heads of our Luke is mentioned only in Saint Paul's Epistles,* testimony, and afterwards to repeat the same proand that very transiently. The judgment, there-positions in so many distinct sections, with the fore, which assigned these writings to these au- necessary authorities subjoined to each. * thors proceeded, it may be presumed, upon proper knowledge and evidence, and not upon a voluntary choice of names.

The following, then, are the allegations upon the subject, which are capable of being established by proof:

II. That when they are quoted, or alluded to, they are quoted or alluded to with peculiar respect, as books sui generis; as possessing an authority which belonged to no other books, and as conclusive in all questions and controversies amongst Christians.

VI. Christian writers and Christian churches I. That the historical books of the New Tesappear to have soon arrived at a very general tament, meaning thereby the four Gospels and agreement upon the subject, and that without the the Acts of the Apostles, are quoted, or alluded interposition of any public authority.-When the to, by a series of Christian writers, beginning with diversity of opinion, which prevailed, and prevails those who were contemporary with the apostles, among Christians in other points is considered, or who immediately followed them, and proceedtheir concurrence in the canon of Scripture is re-ing in close and regular succession from their time markable, and of great weight, especially as it to the present. seems to have been the result of private and free inquiry. We have no knowledge of any interference of authority in the question, before the council of Laodicea in the year 363. Probably the decree of this council rather declared than regulated the public judgment, or, more properly speaking, the judgment of some neighbouring churches; the council itself consisting of no more than thirty or forty bishops of Lydia and the adjoining countries. † Nor does its authority seem to have extended further; for we find numerous Christian writers, after this time, discussing the question, "What books were entitled to be received as Scripture," with great freedom, upon proper grounds of evidence, and without any reference to the decision at Laodicea.

These considerations are not to be neglected: but of an argument concerning the genuineness of ancient writings, the substance, undoubtedly, and strength, is ancient testimony.

III. That they were, in very early times, collected into a distinct volume.

IV. That they were distinguished by appropriate names and titles of respect.

V. That they were publicly read and expounded in the religious assemblies of the early Christians.

VI. That commentaries were written upon them, harmonies formed out of them, different copies carefully collated, and versions of them made into different languages.

VII. That they were received by Christians of different sects, by many heretics as well as catholics, and usually appealed to by both sides in the controversies which arose in those days.

VIII. That the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, thirteen Epistles of Saint Paul, the first Epistle of John, and the first of Peter, were received, without doubt, by those who doubted concerning the other books which are included in our

IX. That the Gospels were attacked by the early adversaries of Christianity, as books containing the accounts upon which the religion was founded.

X. That formal catalogues of authentic Scriptures were published; in all which our present sacred histories were included.

This testimony it is necessary to exhibit somewhat in detail; for when Christian advocates merely tell us, that we have the same reason for believing the Gospels to be written by the evan-present canon. gelists whose name they bear, as we have for believing the Commentaries to be Caesar's, the Eneid Virgil's, or the Orations Cicero's, they content themselves with an imperfect representation. They state nothing more than what is true, but they do not state the truth correctly. In the number, variety, and early date of our testimonies, we far exceed all other ancient books. For one, XI. That these propositions cannot be affirmwhich the most celebrated work of the most cele-ed of any other books claiming to be books of brated Greek or Roman writer can allege, we pro- Scripture; by which are meant those books which duce many. But then it is more requisite in our are commonly called apocryphal books of the New books, than in theirs, to separate and distinguish Testament them from spurious competitors. The result, I am convinced, will be satisfactory to every fair inquirer: but this circumstance renders an inquiry necessary.

In a work, however, like the present, there is a difficulty in finding a place for evidence of this kind. To pursue the details of proofs throughout, would be to transcribe a great part of Dr. Lardner's eleven octavo volumes: to leave the argument without proofs, is to leave it without effect; for the persuasion produced by this species of evidence depends upon a view and induction of the particulars which compose it.

The method which I propose to myself is, first

* Col. iv. 14. 2 Tim. iv. 11. Philem. 24. † Lardner, Cred. vol. viii. p. 291, et seq.

SECTION I.

The historical books of the New Testament, meaning thereby the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, are quoted, or alluded to, by a series of Christian writers, beginning with those who were contemporary with the apostles, or who immediately followed them, and proceeding in close and regular succession from their time to the present.

*The reader, when he has the propositions before him, will observe that the argument, if he should omit the sections, proceeds connectedly from this point.

Beside this passage, there are also in the epistle before us several others, in which the sentíment is the same with what we meet with in Saint Matthew's Gospel, and two or three in

lar, the author of the epistle repeats the precept, "Give to every one that asketh thee;" and saith that Christ chose as his apostles, who were to preach the Gospel, men who were great sinners, that he might show that he came "not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” †

THE medium of proof stated in this proposition is, of all others, the most unquestionable, the least liable to any practices of fraud, and is not diminished by the lapse of ages. Bishop Burnet, in the History of his Own Times, inserts various ex-which we recognise the same words. In particutracts from Lord Clarendon's History. One such insertion is a proof, that Lord Clarendon's History was extant at the time when Bishop Burnet wrote, that it had been read by Bishop Burnet, that it was received by Bishop Burnet as a work of Lord Clarendon, and also regarded by him as an authentic account of the transactions which it relates; and it will be a proof of these points a thousand years hence, or as long as the books exist. Quintillian having quoted as Cicero's, that well-known trait of dissembled vanity::"Si quid est in me ingenii, Judices, quod sentio quam sit exiguum;"

the quotation would be strong evidence, were there any doubt, that the oration which opens with this address, actually came from Cicero's pen. These instances, however simple, may serve to point out to a reader, who is little accustomed to such researches, the nature and value of the argument. The testimonies which we have to bring forward under this proposition are the following:

I. There is extant an epistle ascribed to Barnabas, the companion of Paul. It is quoted as the epistle of Barnabas, by Clement of Alexandria, A. D. cxcIv; by Origen, A. D. ccxxx. It is mentioned by Eusebius, A. D. cccxv, and by Jerome, A. D. cccxcii, as an ancient work in their time, bearing the name of Barnabas, and as well known and read amongst Christians, though not accounted a part of Scripture. It purports to have been written soon after the destruction of Jerusalem, during the calamities which followed that disaster; and it bears the character of the age to which it professes to belong.

II. We are in possession of an epistle written by Clement, bishop of Rome, whom ancient writers, without any doubt or scruple, assert to have been the Clement whom Saint Paul mentions, Phil. iv. 3;" with Clement also, and other my fellow-labourers, whose names are in the book of life." This epistle is spoken of by the ancients as an epistle acknowledged by all; and, as Irenæus well represents its value, "written by Clement, who had seen the blessed apostles, and conversed with them; who had the preaching of the apostles still sounding in his ears, and their traditions before his eyes." It is addressed to the church of Corinth; and what alone may seem almost decisive of its authenticity, Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, about the year 170, i. e. about eighty or ninety years after the epistle was written, bears witness, "that it had been wont to be read in that church from ancient times."

ye mete, with the same shall it be measured to you.' By this command, and by these rules, let us establish ourselves, that we may always walk obediently to his holy words."

This epistle affords, amongst others, the following valuable passages:-" Especially remembering the words of the Lord Jesus which he spake, teaching gentleness and long-suffering: for thus he said S Be ye merciful, that ye may obtain mercy; forgive, that it may be forgiven unto you; as you do, so shall it be done unto you; as you give, so shall it be given unto you; as ye judge, so shall ye be judged; as ye show kindness, so shall In this epistle appears the following remarka-kindness be shown unto you; with what measure ble passage:-' "Let us, therefore, beware lest it come upon us, as it is written; There are many called, few chosen." From the expression, "as it is written," we infer with certainty, that at the time when the author of this epistle lived, there was a book extant, well known to Christians, and of authority amongst them, containing these words:"Many are called, few chosen.' Such a book is our present Gospel of Saint Matthew, in which this text is twice found, ‡ and is found in no other book now known. There is a further observation to be made upon the terms of the quotation. The writer of the epistle was a Jew. The phrase "is written," was the very form in which the Jews quoted their Scriptures. It is not probable, therefore, that he would have used this phrase, and without qualification, of any books but what had acquired a kind of Scriptural authority. If the passage remarked in this ancient writing had been found in one of St. Paul's Epistles, it would have been esteemed by every one a high testimony to Saint Matthew's Gospel. It ought, therefore, to be remembered, that the writing in which it is found was probably by very few years posterior to those of Saint Paul.

* Quint. lib. xi. c. i.

† Lardner, Cred. edit. 1755, vol. i. p. 23, et seq. The reader will observe from the references, that the materials of these sections are almost entirely extracted from Dr. Lardner's work;-my oflice consisted in arrange. ment and selection.

¡Matt. xx. 16; xxii. 14.

Again; "Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, for he said, Wo to that man by whom offences come; it were better for him that he had not been born, than that he should offend one of my elect; it were better for him that a mill-stone should be tied about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the sea, than that he should offend one of my little ones.'"'ll

In both these passages, we perceive the high respect paid to the words of Christ as recorded by the evangelists; "Remember the words of the Lord Jesus;-by this command, and by these rules, let us establish ourselves, that we may always walk

*Matt. v. 42.

+ Matt. ix. 13. Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p. 62, et seq.

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy," Matt. v. 7. "Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven; give, and it shall be given unto you," Luke vi. 37. 38.

"Judge not that ye be not judged; for with what judg

ment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what inea

sure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again," Matt. vii. 1. 2.

Matt. xviii. 6. "But whoso shall offend one of these litle ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a mill-stone were hanged about his neck, and that he were cast into the sea." The latter part of the pas sage in Clement agrees more exactly with Luke xvii. 2: "It were better for him that a mill stone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that be should offend one of these little ones