18 THE ELEMENTS OF CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. Q. 52. What follows as a necessary consequence of man's accountableness to God? A. It follows necessarily that there will come a day of resurrection, and of judgment, when the righteous shall be made happy, and the wicked punished for ever. (a) (a) John v. 28, 29. The hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. Matt. xxv. 46. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal. Q. 53. By whom will mankind be judged? A. By the Lord Jesus Christ. (a) (a) Acts x. 42. And he commanded us to preach unto the (Acts xvii. 31; Rom. xiv. 10; 2 Tim. iv. 1; 2 Cor. v. 10; Phil. ii. 10, 11.) wards and punishments; of acting as under the eye of an invisible observer, and with reference to the future season of retribution. From these premises we infer with absolute certainty, that the allwise Creator has thus constituted our minds, and conferred upon us these distinguishing powers, in order to render us capable of religion, for the purposes of his own glory, and of our own felicity, in connexion with that of our fellow-creatures."-Pref. to Scott's Bible, 3rd ed. 19 PART THE SECOND. OF THE DIVINE INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE.* Q. 54. You have said, that the only true standard of moral good and evil is the will of God; and that the will of God may be known completely by the Holy Scriptures: pray tell me now what proofs you have that the Holy Scriptures, commonly called the Bible, contain a revelation of the will of God; or, in other words, Can you tell me what are the proofs or evidences, that the Old and New Testaments were written under the superintendence of divine inspiration. A. The proofs of the divine inspiration of the Bible are very numerous, and of different kinds; but one and all of them infallibly demonstrate the Bible to be in truth the word of God-a revelation of his will to mankind. * The substance of this section has been gathered from the preface to Scott's Bible, though differently arranged. Q. 55. How would you distinguish the different kinds of these proofs ? A. I would divide them into two classes, viz. EXTERNAL and INTERNAL. Q. 56. What do you understand by these terms ? A. By external proofs, I mean those which may be established independently of what the Bible contains in itself: and by internal proofs, I mean those which arise immediately out of its contents, and which the mind receives from the study of the Bible. Q. 57. Can you mention some of the external proofs of the inspiration of the Bible? A. Yes; there are many external proofs of this, which might be mentioned; but four only shall now be stated:- First;* The Bible has ever been received by all wise and good men through successive generations, as the inspired word of God; and has never been doubted, except by some few wicked men and infidels, who yet could never disprove its divine origin and inspiration. -Secondly; That the writers of the Bible were inspired of God, is evident, from the undisputed miracles * It is not even pretended that these, or any other proofs of the point in question, are not liable to the objections of deistical cavillers, who will be satisfied with nothing short of mathematical demonstration, of which the nature of the question does not admit ; nor is it presumed that they are, in this compendious abridgment of Scott's, in all respects complete. But if they are sufficient to satisfy the minds of youth, their object will be answered; if not, let the doubtful inquirer, with humble prayer, study his Bible, with Scott's Preface, where he will find all the arguments here stated, with many others, more fully and clearly set forth. (Acts xiv. 3—20) which they wrought, and which are acknowledged by contemporary writers, who were themselves enemies to the contents of the Bible.-Thirdly ; The complete fulfilment of prophecies delivered by the sacred writers, in some cases, (especially those respecting the Messiah,) many hundred years before the events took place."-Fourthly; The salutary effects which the sacred Scriptures have produced on mankind in reforming their lives, and regulating their conduct, and affording them happiness in life, and consolation in death, wherever they have been received as the oracles of God. Q. 58. What are the internal proofs of the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures? A. These also are very numerous; but four only shall be stated:-First; The Bible, and the Bible only, contains just notions of God; or reveals his moral perfections and attributes, and correctly describes the real state, and true character of man.t-Secondly; It reveals doctrines the most sublime and interesting, such as no other book does, and such as could not otherwise have been conceived; such, for example, as the Trinity in unity, immortality, and judgment to come. Its precepts and promises also, are such as tend to make mankind happy in this life, and to prepare them for a happy eternity. And it especially shows the method by which, * See § 3, on the name CHRIST. + It will be necessary to explain to children that many books contain the same truths as the Bible, but that these truths are all originally derived from the Bible, the real source of all divine truth. consistently with the honour of God, mankind may be redeemed from the curse occasioned by the fall of their first parents a truth which it also reveals-and thereby explains the origin of moral evil in our world.—Thirdly; The perfect consistency and agreement of all the writers of the different parts of the Bible, who were men of very different talents in other respects, and of various ranks and employments, and who wrote in different countries and languages, and at very distant times, afford the clearest demonstration that they all wrote under the guidance and superintendence of divine inspiration that "holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." (2 Pet. i. 21.)-Fourthly; The satisfaction and happiness which every one feels in his own soul, who really believes the Bible to be a revelation from God, and who studies to conform his conduct in all things agreeably to its holy precepts. "He that so believeth, hath the witness in himself." (1 John v. 10.) * Q. 59. Are there no mysteries in the Bible, or doctrines which are beyond our comprehension ? A. Yes; the Bible contains many truths which our * The young student of the Holy Scriptures will frequently be astonished at the exact description he will therein find, of the workings and feelings of his own heart, which none but God can discern and reveal. Hence he will be constrained to acknowledge the Bible to be indeed the word of God. This remark is here added as a specimen of the manner in which the Catechist may fill up what is wanting in each proof, and improve in like manner every part of the subject as he proceeds. (See also Q. 240.) |