Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto every good work.” "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

When our Saviour was about to leave his disciples, he said to them, "The Comforter, who is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance." By the assistance of the Holy Spirit, they were enabled to remember and accurately to report those important instructions and facts which related to the kingdom of Christ.

The Psalm

Turn now to the Old Testament. ist says in reference to the Sacred Scriptures there written, "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes." God said to Joshua, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded thee." "To the law and to the

testimony," says Isaiah, "if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."

The inspiration of the Apostles is further evident from their office. They were chosen by Christ to be his witnesses and ambassadors, for the express purpose of promulgating his gospel. They communicated many facts respecting Jesus Christ and his religion, which they could not have learned but by divine inspiration.

The inspiration of the apostles proves the inspiration of the whole New Testament; because it was all written by the apostles, as we have previously shown. Mark and Luke were companions with Paul, and wrote under his instructions.

The inspiration of the New Testament proves also the inspiration of the Old; for both Jesus Christ and his apostles quoted freely from the Old Testament, and ascribed to it divine authority. If therefore, the Scriptures of the New Testament are divinely inspired, the Scriptures of the Old Testament are inspired also.

2. The facts of the Bible are incontestible proof of its inspiration. That is, they are such facts as can be accounted for in no other way but by admitting the special inspiration of God. Of these the most important in this connection are miracles.

A miracle is something out of the ordinary course

of nature. It is an effect produced by the special interposition of the Being who made and who controls the natural world. It bespeaks the immediate interposition of God. A religion therefore which has the sanction of a miracle, has the sanction of God.

Take for example the miracles of Christ. The design of them was to attest his Messiahship, and with it the divinity of his religion. Let us then instance his resurrection of Lazarus. The rumor of his arrival in Bethany had assembled a multitude, who followed him to the tomb. When Jesus ordered the stone to be removed from the door of the sepulchre, it was replied to him that the deceased person had been dead four days, and that it would be offensive to enter the sepulchre. They supposed that Jesus wished to look upon the corpse of his departed friend. He replied, "Said I not unto thee, if thou wouldst believe thou shouldst see the glory of God?" — That is, a glorious manifestation of God's power. "Because of the people who stood by I said it," says Jesus in his prayer, "that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth bound hand and foot with grave clothes; and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. Then many of the Jews who came to Mary and had seen the things which Jesus did,

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believed on him. But some of them went their way to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done."

Now here is an instance of the manifest interposition of that Being who controls all things; which proves the divine mission of Christ, and of course of his apostles whom he commissioned. If it is a fact that Christ raised Lazarus from the dead, then is the New Testament clothed with divine authority.

The historical evidence of this miracle is the testimony of a multitude of competent witnesses, transmitted to us by credible historians, and not denied even by the then living enemies of Christ. "They went their way to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done."

It has been asserted by Mr. Hume, that a miracle cannot be proved by testimony, because, as he assumed, it is contrary to our experience. But the assumption is false. A miracle is not contrary to our experience. We have never experienced such an event, nor have we experienced anything to contradict it. An inhabitant of the torrid zone has perhaps never experienced anything like ice; nor has he experienced anything to contradict the testimony that ice has somewhere or at some time existed. It is a thing beyond his experience, but not contrary to it. It is a thing therefore to be believed, if sufficiently attested. As a reasonable

man he is bound to believe that water has been congealed, although he never experienced anything like it himself, provided he has the credible testimony of those who have seen it..

If we were to suppose that two hundred witnesses were present at the time and place of the alledged resurrection of Lazarus, that one hundred of them saw him rise, and the other hundred, looking on at the same time, saw that he did not rise that would be a case of contrary experience impossibility. But if all present saw that he did rise, and this fact is made known to us, then we are called to believe something beyond our experi ence, but not contrary to it.

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That a miracle is something beyond the general experience of mankind, is implied in the very idea of it; since if this were not the case if nature were not uniform in her usual operation a miracle would cease to be such. If it were common for us to witness instances of resurrection from the dead, it would appear no more miraculous than it now does to see people die.

Nor, when we have shown the necessity and of course the probability of a divine revelation, does a miracle wrought in attestation of it require more testimony than any other event. Its credibility holds the same place with any other physical fact. Indeed it is rather to be expected; since it is the most natural, and perhaps the only way, by which