In the primitive churches to which St. Paul addressed his ministry, the only recognized characteristic of a christian was "faith unfeigned." Were all, who are considered to be Christians at the present day, endowed with the grace of unfeigned faith; were their minds really impressed with a deep and habitual conviction of revealed truth ;—a conviction operating, daily and hourly, on their actions, tempers, dispositions, words and thoughts ;-how happy would be the social intercourse of mankind! There is no knowledge to be acquired from science, there is no gratification to be derived from literature; which can be compared with those blessings, which result from a thorough conviction of faith-from "faith unfeigned."-" Behold! the fear of the Lord -that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding." (Job xxviii. 28.) May the evidences of divine truth, which are set forth in this volume, tend in some degree to rouse the careless, to awaken the inattentive, and to cause that, which may have hitherto been a mere formal profession of faith, to become, in all the reality of deep conviction,-a "faith unfeigned." The intrusion of secular pens into the mysteries of holy things has, in many instances, been admitted, as not altogether useless. The Internal Evidences' of Mr. Soame Jenyns; the Practical View' of Mr. Wilberforce ;-the more important works of still greater men, of a Newton, a Locke, and an Addison ;-many modern productions, moreover, from secular hands of both sexes ;-bave not been rejected on account of their lay origin. The present writer shelters himself behind these examples, though his labours are immeasurably inferior to theirs. ; To the ministers of our church, if any such should condescend to look at these pages, he would say, with all the deference and respect which is due to their sacred calling, and to their far superior information on the subjects which he has ventured to discuss ;“ Would to God, you would bear with me a little and indeed bear with me. For we dare not make ourselves of (your) number, or compare ourselves :— not boasting without our measure of other men's labours-nor of another man's line of things."(2 Cor. x. 15.)-It is with this feeling that the writer has not affixed his name to this production of his leisure. He has ventured to give it publication, as it may possibly do good; and he humbly hopes, it can do no harm. He has withheld his name from the title-page, not because he is" ashamed of Him, and of His words, in a sinful generation;”——but because neither the writer's name nor station could give weight or authority to that which he has written. December, 1847. INTRODUCTORY SECTION. THE writer of the following pages hopes that he shall not incur the charge of presumption, by venturing, as a layman, to publish a treatise on the most sacred of all subjects. He has endeavoured to avoid controversial points of doctrine; and he trusts, that there is not an expression to be found in that which he has written, which could lead any one to imagine, that he intends, either openly, or covertly, to advocate or impugn the disputed opinions of others. The object of the following pages is, simply, if possible, to excite attention, (on the part of those, who may not hitherto have carefully considered the general scope of holy writ,) to the Unity of Divine Revelation. In connection with this view, he has also pointed out the wonderful attestation to revealed truth, which is comprised in the fulfilment, temporal and spiritual, of the Patriarchal and other Prophecies, Prophetic indications are by direct announce B |