LECTURE VI.

THE ORIGIN, PERPETUITY, AND

HISTORY OF A SPECIAL

SOCIETY, DISTINCT FROM THE WORLD, UNIFORMLY CHARACTERIZED BY CERTAIN PECULIARITIES OF PRINCIPLE

AND PRACTICE, AND

CHURCH OF GOD.

DENOMINATED THE

PEOPLE, OR

A church now exists-Traceable to the times of the Cæsars -The succession of Christian believers unbrokenOrigin of the Christian profession in Judea-This country long the seat of the Jewish Church-Credibility of their Church History-Origin of this section of the church-Connexion with the Patriarchal-Religious and moral principles identical-What these were— Their transmission from Noah-Embodied and enlarged in the law-Identity of revelation through all its periods -A distinct society commenced in Abraham's familyPredictions respecting it—Jewish history indisputable— No conflicting evidence-Continuity of the church through all its periods-General observations on this succession-Identity of faith-Great events connected with this history-Preservation of the church a continued miracle- An objection considered-Transition from Judaism to Christianity-Evidence of inspiration

Vicissitudes enhance the proof-Adversities and corruptions - Often near extinction-Christian church-history -Infidel explanations-Their failure-Combination of worldly powers-The church still invincible-Severe discipline-Opposition foretold and over-ruled-Internal causes of decay counteracted-Its whole history implies supernatural influence-Triumph of divine principles in the heart-Contrasted in the case of infidelsBoth facts foreseen-Summary of the argument - Its connexion with the next Lecture.

persons

A church
now existing.

NONE will dispute the fact, that there exists, at LECT. VI. the present moment, a numerous body of in the world, distinguished, by their principles and practices, from all the rest of mankind; and that they consider themselves the people of God, Christians, or the church. They are separated from the rest of the world by their belief in the Christian revelation.

the times of

It cannot be doubted, that this fraternity can Traceable to trace its succession back to the days of the Roman the Caesars. Cæsars, even without referring to the Christian records. The history of this particular body of persons is so intimately connected with the history of the Roman Empire, both in its paternal seat, and all its affiliated colonies, that it would be just as easy to disprove the existence of that empire, as to disprove the existence of a Christian community in it, at the time specified. It is equally impossible to dispute, that this community has existed, uninterruptedly, from that time down

LECT. VI. to the present. It has preserved its continuity

The succession of Christians indisputable.

from the times of the Cæsars to the present moment; and every body knows, that it is still in existence, and flourishing. By its continuity, I intend, that the Christian profession, consisting in the belief of revelation, and in an external and visible conformity to its requirements, has been successively transmitted from generation to generation, ever since the time of Jesus Christ and his disciples.

No one, who reflects upon this statement, and is, at the same time, sufficiently informed upon the history of these successive ages, to be qualified to judge of the truth of our proposition, can entertain the slightest degree of hesitation concerning it. He could no more doubt, that there had been an uninterrupted succession of Christian believers, and that these have existed under some visible form of religious association, than that there had been a succession of human generations, without any break or interval, through all the ages we are contemplating. He could no more question the continuity of the Christian church, than the continuity of the human race. The profession of Christianity has been transmitted down from the times specified, as uninterruptedly as human nature from father to son. The proofs of the one fact are just as clear as the proofs of the other; and the very documents, antiquities, and remains of various kinds, which prove the one thing, prove the other. I am not aware, that

any well-informed infidels have ever disputed it, LECT. VI. and I am quite sure that most of them have, either tacitly or expressly, allowed it.

Christian church in

The continuance of the Christian profession, Origin of the from the time of Christ to the present day, being Judea. then admitted, our next step will be settled with almost equal facility. That is, the origin of this particular form and profession of revealed religion in the land of Judea. There is no fact of history more clear, or less disputed, than this. All ancient historians, who refer to the subject, agree, that Christianity first arose in the land, and among the people of the Jews. I shall only refer to the words of Tacitus, as quoted by Gibbon. "They" (the Christians) "derived their name "and origin from Christ, who, in the reign of Tiberius, had suffered death by the sentence

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of the Procurator, Pontius Pilate. For awhile, “this dire superstition was checked, but it again "burst forth, and not only spread itself over "Judea, the first seat of this mischievous sect, "but was even introduced into Rome." Thus, in ascending through distant ages, we very readily identify the Christian church in its origin with the religious system of the Jews. Their existence, therefore, at the time when Christianity arose, and their peculiar opinions, as embodied in the sacred doctrines of their religion, must be conceded, as the basis of the facts already admitted.

Further, the residence of the Jews in the land Judea long

Tacit. Annal. lib. xv. 44.

the seat of the Jewish church.

LECT. VI. of Judea, through many ages preceding the origin of Christianity, and the special features of their religious system, as essentially different from all the other forms of religious opinion then in the world, are facts as clearly ascertained by history, as those we have already noticed; and are all of them either admitted or stated in the classic authors of Greece and Rome. Allusions are frequently made to the nation of the Jews, their peculiarities, more or less, pointed out, their temple, their worship, and their history, so far noticed by the ancient classic writers, as to leave no doubt upon any of the general facts hitherto mentioned.

Collateral evidence of

this fact.

Credibility
of the Jewish
church-his.

tory.

Respecting the circumstances which, through a long succession of ages, brought them, as a nation, into that particular moral and religious condition, in which they were, when first noticed by the Greek and Roman authors, we find no testimony discordant with their own; and whatever facts can be collected from other sources, or have been preserved among the records of any other nation, fully corroborate their own. In the absence, therefore, of all conflicting testimony, their own account of their origin, history, and religion, deserves to be received as credible; especially when its facts and principles can be subjected to so many different kinds of tests as we have in the former Lectures already applied, and with results so uniformly favourable to their authority.

From the point at which we have now arrived, we must proceed to try the credibility of the