the angel's presence, and must equally have heard his words. But we find that frequently this was not the case. The angel that appeared to Balaam was seen by the ass for some time before he appeared to the master. The angel who appeared to Daniel by the great river was seen by him alone; and Daniel says, "I alone saw the vision; for the men that were with me saw not the vision, but a great quaking fell upon them," Dan. x. 7. At the conversion of St Paul, though our Saviour spoke to him in an audiblé manner, and conversed with him, yet he himself tells us, that "they that were with him saw indeed the light and were afraid, but they heard not the voice of Him that spoke to him," Acts, xxii. 9.

It is evident, then, that these apparitions were exhibited by an impression made upon the organs of some particular persons, and not of others who were equally present, which could not have been the case without another miracle, had they been performed by means of any assumed aerial body; and therefore it is most reasonable to conclude that they were immediate impressions made by those who appeared upon the organs of those who saw them.

This is further confirmed by the words of Scripture mentioning the appearance of any spiritual being to those who, though present, saw him not before; for the expression used on these occasions plainly implies an impression made immediately on the organs of those to whom the apparition is exhibited. Thus, though the angel had appeared for some time to Balaam's ass, yet he had never been seen by himself. At last "the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel," Num. xxii. 31. So also, when Elisha's servant expressed great fear on seeing the army of the Syrians, his master said, "Fear not; for they that be with us are more than they that be

with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray Thee, open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw; and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha," 2 Kings, vi. 16, 17. Shall we say here that all these angels took in an instant material bodies to appear to the young man, and not rather that the impression was made immediately on his eyes without the use of any material means? This is certainly the more natural meaning of the expression, "the Lord opened his eyes."

It seems most reasonable, then, to conclude, that spiritual beings can themselves make immediate impressions upon our outward senses, exciting in our minds the same ideas that bodily objects would, and can make objects appear to us which really have no existence. They can also, by acting on our internal senses, excite strong ideas in our imagination. When this is done by evil spirits for their wicked ends, it is called fascination; when by good angels, to communicate the will of God to His servants, it is a species of revelation. At the same time, these spiritual agents may occasionally make use of bodily instruments, as was probably the case with the angel that attended the people of God in the appearance of a pillar of fire and of a cloud, which was visibly seen by the people. From their strength and agility, also, they can doubtless present and take away bodily objects almost instantaneously, so as to render them imperceptible to those present, and by all these different operations perform things far above the abilities of natural agents. It is in one or other of these ways that several of the holy fathers and other learned men account for what the magicians of Egypt did by their enchantments.

XII. In these different ways spiritual beings act upon matter and exhibit various effects, real or apparent, to

our eyes. How far they can go in such operations we know not; but certain we are, as we shall afterwards see when explaining the criterion, that Almighty God will never allow wicked spirits to use this power so as invincibly to deceive us; and that whatever good angels do is only by authority from God for our benefit.

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CHAPTER III.

THE POSSIBILITY OF MIRACLES.

I.

T

O call in question the possibility of miracles seems strange to a true Christian, and ought, according to right reason, to appear absurd to any one who, believing the existence of the Deity, acknowledges the universe to be the work of His almighty power. Still, we know that in this enlightened age this is actually done; nay, not only is the possibility of miracles called in question, but plainly denied by many who, whilst they glory in the discoveries made in the works of nature, and boast of the improvement of the human intellect, show that their light is mere darkness, and that their pretended intellectual improvement serves only to make them more learnedly fools. This charge might seem severe, and justly expose me to the ridicule of the accused, did I pretend to support it only by the authority of revelation, which they deny. But this is not my intention, nor is there here any need of the aid of revelation. The possibility of miracles is so natural a consequence of their definition itself, and of the idea which we have given of them, that those who pretend to deny it must be determined to lay aside reason, and to act in direct opposition to its clearest light. Their case, however, is so far to be pitied, as it is necessity that drives them to these extremes—

the authority of miracles carrying with it invincible argument against their tenets. It is impossible to evade the weight of this authority if miracles be admitted to exist, and therefore to deny their possibility is the easiest method of escaping from a difficulty. But it is one thing to deny and another to prove. Those who deny the possibility of miracles do indeed offer something by way of justification of their denial, but a little attention will show how unreasonable are all their arguments.

II. We have seen above that miracles, considered in themselves, are of two kinds: first, such as consist in a suspension of the effects of some of the known laws of nature; and, secondly, such as are not contrary to any of these laws, but out of the ordinary course of nature, and require a power superior to that of any natural agent to perform them. Of the first kind are the following: if a stone should fly upwards; if the waters of a river should be divided, those below running down, and those above standing still or being gathered up; if the sun should stop in his course; if a man should walk on water, and the like: which are all contrary to the known laws of nature, and imply a suspension of their usual effects. It would be of the second kind were a man to cure diseases in an instant by only willing, by commanding, or by a simple touch; should a person know and foretell contingent future events; were a man to be raised from the dead, and suchlike. These two kinds of facts must be considered separately, in order to show, in the most distinct and convincing manner, that miracles are possible.

III. With regard to those of the first kind, or such as consist in a suspension of any of the laws of nature, it is evident that if miracles of this class be impossible, the impossibility must arise from one of three causes—either that these laws are in themselves absolutely immutable