were not received as works of inspiration. A revelation is, in its nature, a direct message from God to mankind, and the properties or particulars of it are such as involve the highest interests of the parties for whom it is intended. In order, therefore, to convince those who are the objects of it, that it comes stamped with the authority of Heaven, and cannot be resisted without the greatest guilt, it is indispensable that the messenger employed in the delivery of it, should be armed with credentials of a kind quite different to all other men's, and worthy of the Almighty Being by whom he is sent. The course of nature, therefore, must be changed; and as no one but the great Author of nature is able to invert or alter the works of his hands, whoever is qualified to do this, and professes to do it in his name, and in testimony of the authority which he has received from him, proves that he is the agent of providence, and that his works are the result of a divine invisible power to him immediately delegated.

Now Moses, the early historian of the Old Testament and the lawgiver of the Jews, stood precisely in these circumstances. He published to his countrymen a code of laws which he declared to have come to him from God, and in attestation of the truth of this declaration, he wrought, both before and subsequent to the delivery of that Law, the most stupendous miracles ever recorded to have been performed by man. These proved him, beyond all question, to be in direct communication with

God as his agent and instrument, and manifested, in the plainest terms, the authority with which he delivered the commands of the Almighty. So, likewise, Elijah and Elisha, by the miracles they wrought, claimed to be Prophets divinely inspired, and corroborated their testimony by signs following. It seems, then, that the evidence of miracles was the only satisfactory testimony that men could give of the truth of the revelations they made to the world, and that, without such evidence, it never would have been believed that they were appointed by God to instruct the world.

II. But, Secondly, let us consider the reasons of men for disputing and denying miraculous testimony. These are pride and self-interest.

The cause of pride is a vain notion of our own superiority and merit; and the object of pride is pre-eminence. Now, in whatever way a man travels out of the ordinary path, and fancies he has made discoveries which have been overlooked by others, he is flattered by his own feelings, and seems to stand on ground more elevated than the rest. He arrogates to himself a sounder and clearer judgment, and calls for notice as a superior character. But if this be true on moral, it is still more evident on religious grounds, because there the subject being of the highest importance, and reaching to a future life, any new discovery or particular line of observation, is interesting to mankind at large, and renders the inventor of it more conspicuous and remarkable.

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Sceptics, therefore, whenever they have been famed for talent, have always prided themselves on the originality of their views, or the sophistry of their arguments; and their objection to miraculous testimony has commonly proceeded on the ground that such testimony was not required, or that the miracles themselves may be accounted for on natural principles. The Apostle very pertinently remarks, "Ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called."

But besides the force of pride which has given to the world most of its deistical and sceptical writers, self-interest has a great sway upon all the opinions of men. If we look at the lives of men, how many are there whose interest it must be to discredit the truth of revelation. Though natural religion requires us to worship our Creator and not to injure our fellow creature, and though we might infer from it the probability of a world to come, yet it is the revealed word of God which declares our responsibility, and announces, in distinct and forcible language, a state of everlasting happiness to the righteous, and of everlasting misery to the wicked. A wicked man, therefore, who is given up to his bodily lusts, and is resolved to keep them at all hazards, must be exceedingly averse to the doctrines which render him accountable for his conduct, and glad to get rid of them on any terms. As God and Mammon cannot dwell together, so sin and belief must be irreconcileable with each other. If, therefore,

sin prevails and is encouraged;-if the mind is tied and bound with it, as a captive with his fetters;-if the word of God is seen as a sword that is ready to cut off the hopes and enjoyments of the wicked ;can it be wondered, that indifference, which brings a momentary balm to the wounded conscience, and infidelity, which follows close upon it, should take possession of the mind thus entangled and enslaved, and impel it to seek a refuge in the mazes of doubt, distrust, and unbelief? Where is the profligate and abandoned sceptic, whose interest has not suggested to him the expediency of doubting? Where is even the shallow pretender to sanctity, who, disputing the terms of the Christian dispensation, will not be found, on a close examination, to be ruled by interested motives? His external character may be smooth and his morals inoffensive to the world, but his inward man will be found a prey to selfishness, and his very religion unworthy of a servant of God. This was the case with the Pharisees of our Saviour's time. They wore a smooth outside, but within were full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Their objection and resistance to his ministry, doctrine, and influence, did not arise from the want of evidence to convince them, but from interested motives. The miracles which he wrought before their eyes were plain indisputable proofs of his being divinely appointed, and, consequently, of his speaking the words of God. But they were envious of his fame and popularity, and feared the loss of their own authority over the people; whilst, being notoriously hypocri

tical, and accused as such by our Lord himself, they united to defame his character, and to render him odious in the public esteem. For this end they charged him with being possessed by a devil; with working his miracles through the instrumentality of the Devil; with having recourse to the vilest arts of superstition, and submitting himself to the meanest falsehoods. It was this which called from him that severe judgment on their daring and presumptuous wickedness," Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men."

III. In the Third place, what then is the character of the sin against the Holy Ghost.

To any one who examines the transactions to which this sin gave rise, it will be manifest that it is of a very peculiar kind, and not calculated in any degree to alarm the timid conscience. It is, indeed, denominated the unpardonable sin, and, therefore, the character of it must be very malignant. But it is a sin of that nature which no honest believer in Jesus Christ can commit, and it is quite out of the reach of those who both assent to his doctrines, and humbly, however imperfectly, endeavour to obey his righteous laws. The Pharisees were his most violent opposers. They not only denied his authority as a teacher sent from God, but shut their eyes against the plainest indications of that divine authority and power. His constant appeal to them was, Though

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