dence which receives fresh confirmation as century after century witnesses their more perfect accomplishment, or brings to light the condition of the cities, countries, and nations to which they relate. 4. The miracles wrought in confirmation of the Divine mission of Christ and his apostles, which were sufficient in number and variety, so publicly wrought, and accompanied by such evidences of truth, as preclude all possibility of deception. 5. The marks which reveal themselves, on a close examination of the Book itself; the harmony between its different parts; the various tokens of candor and reliability to be found on every page; and still more convincing, the superiority of the system of doctrine and morality contained in the Bible, to any thing that had ever before entered into the mind of man; and so novel and peculiar that it could not have grown out of any thing previously existing; it could not have been contrived by poor ignorant fishermen—it must have been Divine.

We do not profess, however, to give even a satisfactory outline of this evidence. We shall be doing better service, by suggesting to those who desire to satisfy themselves of its sufficiency, and especially to those who have been disturbed by doubts, a course of reading, which can scarcely fail in their complete dispersion.

Let such an one begin with a little work written

by a man who was practically acquainted with the whole range of skeptical objection, and qualified to reply to it— Nelson on Infidelity. For a systematic survey of the entire field, perhaps, no single work is to be preferred to Paley's Evidences of Christianity; for a deeply interesting account of the fulfillment of the more important prophecies of the Bible, Keith on the Prophecies may be consulted; for a searching examination of the miracles of the Bible, Leslie's Short and Easy Method with the Deist; for a clear exhibition of the internal evidence of the Christian religion, the treatise of Soame Jenyns on that subject; and for a convincing argument, drawn from the undesigned harmonies and latent coincidences of the Bible, Paley's Hora Paulina. Has any mind been poisoned by the ignorant scurrilities of Paine, or the learned plausibilities of Gibbon, Watson's Apologies will be the antidote. Has any one been captivated by the spiritualistic skepticism, which we believe is the latest fashion in which the hatred of the human heart to the doctrines of the Bible has arrayed itself, he will find its incongruities exposed in the acute and ingenious Eclipse of Faith, by Henry Rogers. We might extend the list, till we had a catalogue sufficient for a respectable private library. But the books already specified are concise and easily accessible, and yet so ample is the evidence they furnish, that we are sure that no man of common candor can

read them carefully, without being compelled to say, This is the book of God. To reach this conclusion from the sources of evidence above indicated, needs only the use of a good natural understanding.

We rejoice that to such a man, whose mind has been perplexed by difficulties and objections, which are all founded on ignorance, and vanish before the light of truth, this evidence is eminently satisfactory. We owe a debt of gratitude to those who have labored with so much learning, zeal, and success, to build high and strong the outworks of the fortress of truth, and to repel the assaults of its enemies. We rejoice that both the external and internal evidences of the inspiration of the Bible are so strong that they cannot be shaken. We rejoice that the testimony of friends and of foes, the evidence of history to the fulfillment of its prophecies, and the astonishing success of its advocates, are so full and satisfactory. We rejoice that the evidence upon its own pages, that this is no cunningly devised fable—that such a system of faith and ethics could never have proceeded from the darkened mind and besotted heart of man, is so luminous and convincing. We rejoice that the objections against this system, that so naturally proceed from such a mind and heart, can all be triumphantly answered. In all this we heartily rejoice.

But after all, this is not the evidence on which most of us rest our persuasion that these glad tidings

of the Gospel are from God. It is not upon such grounds that we actually submit ourselves to God's direction. If any one asks the reason of the hope that is in us, we would not say, it is because prophecies have been fulfilled, and miracles have been performed. Our hearts have reached their conclusions in a more direct and more convincing way. A book of evidences, however valuable in its place, never yet softened a hard heart; it never indeed made the smallest opening in any man's heart, by which the truth might enter. In fact the main objections of man to the Bible, lie in his heart, and not at all in his head, and these the Bible itself must remove. The evidence upon which a Christian founds his strong convictions are not logical, nor philosophical, nor historical, but practical and experimental. “Evidences of Christianity," said Coleridge, "I am weary of the word. Make a man feel the want of it. Rouse him to the self-knowledge of his need of it, and you may safely trust it to its own evidence."

One may be fully satisfied that the Bible is a Di vine book, that its wonderful declarations concerning the coming and power of Jesus Christ are "no cunningly devised fable;" he may never have had a doubt upon the subject; he may have informed himself so thoroughly, as to be able to answer every plausible objection, and to expose every cunning lie; and yet, this very Bible may be the most wearisome and distaste

ful of all books; these are no glad tidings to his soul. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

But let that man begin to know more of his own nature; let him begin to perceive the hidden evil of his heart, which this medicine was intended to cure; let him hear the outcries of his conscience, in fear of "the wrath of God revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men;" let him become conscious of the deep yearnings of his soul after some infinite good, which not the whole created universe can satisfy, and then, this insipid, neglected volume, will become the most interesting of all books! Let the question once be started within him, "What must I do to be saved?" and his histories, his philosophies, his novels, will all be thrown aside, and the Bible will become his one, arousing, terrifying, condemning, or soothing, comforting, peace-speaking book. His soul is passing through a transition state. It is discovering other and better evidence that the Bible is of God. His faith will soon be established on surer ground, and will become a better and surer faith; and in the joyful discoveries which his soul shall make, he will be able to say to every anxious friend, "Now I believe: not because of thy saying, for I have heard him myself, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world."