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not, a deviation from its course, Miracles, therefore, are not, as some have represented them, ap peals to our ignorance. They

ledge of the course of nature; without which no proper judgment can be formed concerning them; though with it their reality may be so apparent as to prevent all possibility of a dispute.

he acts by stated rules. If he employs inferior agents to conduct the various motions from which the phenomena result, we have the same evidence that he has sub-suppose some antecedent knowjected those agents to certain fixed laws, commonly called the laws of nature. On either hypothesis, effects which are produced by the regular operation of these laws, or which are conformable to the established course of events, are properly called natural; and every contradiction to this constitution of the natural system, and the correspondent course of events in it, is called a miracle.

"Thus, were a physician to cure a blind man of a cataract, by anointing his eyes with a chemical preparation which we had never before seen, and to the nature and effects of which we are absolute strangers, the cure would undoubtedly be wonderful; but we could not pronounce it miracu

to us, it might be the natural effect of the operation of the unguent on the eye. But were he to recover his patient merely by commanding him to see, or by anointing his eyes with spittle, we should with the utmost confidence pronounce the cure to be a miracle; because we know perfectly that neither the human voice nor human spittle have, by the established constitution of things, any such power over the diseases of the eye.

"If this definition of a miracle be just, no event can be deemed miraculous merely because it is strange, or even to us unaccount-lous, because, for any thing known able; since it may be nothing more than a regular effect of some unknown law of nature. In this country earthquakes are rare; and for monstrous births, perhaps, no particular and satisfactory account can be given; yet an earthquake is as regular an effect of the established laws of nature as any of those with which we are most intimately acquainted: and, under circumstances in which there would always be the same kind of production, the monster is nature's genuine issue. It is there- "If miracles be effects contrary fore necessary, before we can to the established constitution of pronounce any effect to be a true things, we are certain that they miracle, that the circumstances will never be performed on trivial under which it is produced be occasions. The constitution of known, and that the common things was established by the Crecourse of nature be in some de-ator and Governor of the unigree understood; for in all those verse, and is undoubtedly the offcases in which we are totally ig-spring of infinite wisdom, pursunorant of nature, it is impossible ing a plan for the best of purto determine what is, or what is "poses. From this plan no devia

tion can be made but by Godderstandings that they might perhimself, or by some powerful be- ceive what is right, and to present ing acting with his permission. to them motives of sufficient force The plans devised by wisdom are to engage them in the practice of steady in proportion to their per- it. But the understandings of igfection, and the plans of infinite norant barbarians cannot be enwisdom must be absolutely per-lightened by arguments; because fect. From this consideration, of the force of such arguments as some men have ventured to con- regard moral science they are not clude that no miracle was ever qualified to judge. The philosowrought, or can rationally be ex-phers of Athens and Rome inculpected; but maturer reflection must soon satisfy us that all such conclusions are hasty.

"Man is unquestionably the principal creature in this world, and apparently the only one in it who is capable of being made acquainted with the relation in which he stands to his Creator. We cannot, therefore, doubt, but that such of the laws of nature as extend not their operation beyond the limits of this earth were established chiefly, if not solely, for the good of mankind; and if, in any particular circumstances, that good can be more effectually promoted by an occasional deviation from those laws, such a deviation may be reasonably expected.

cated, indeed, many excellent moral precepts, and they sometimes ventured to expose the absurdities of the reigning superstition: but their lectures had no influence upon the multitude; and they had themselves imbided such erroneous notions respecting the attributes of the Supreme Being, and the nature of the human soul, and converted those notions into first principles, of which they would not permit an examination, that even among them a thorough reformation was not to be expected from the powers of reasoning. It is likewise to be observed, that there are many truths of the utmost importance to mankind which unassisted reason could never have discovered. Amongst these, we may confidently reckon the immortality of the soul, the terms upon which God will save sinners, and the manner in which that all-perfect Being may be acceptably worshipped; about all of

"We know from history, that almost all mankind were once sunk into the grossest ignorance of the most important truths; that they knew not the Being by whom they were created and supported; that they paid divine adoration to stocks, stones, and the vilest rep-which philosophers were in such tiles; and that they were slaves to uncertainty, that, according to the most impious, cruel, and de- Plato, Whatever is set right, grading superstitions. and as it should be, in the present evil state of the world, can be so only by the particular inter, sition of God.'

"From this depraved state it was surely not unworthy of the Divine Being to rescue his helpless creatures, to enlighten their un

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when they are revealed, appear

heaven, therefore, was the only method by which infinite wisdom to have no necessary relation to and perfect goodness could reform any thing previously known? To a bewildered and vicious race. a bare affirmation that they had But this revelation, at whatever been immediately received from time we suppose it given, must God, no rational being could be have been made directly either to expected to assent. The teachers some chosen individuals commis- might be men of known veracity, sioned to instruct others, or to whose simple assertion would be every man and woman for whose admitted as sufficient evidence for benefit it was ultimately intended. any fact in conformity with the Were every person instructed in laws of nature; but as every man 'the knowledge of his duty by im- has the evidence of his own conmediate inspiration, and were the sciousness and experience that remotives to practise it brought velations from heaven are deviatihome to his mind by God himself, ons from these laws,an assertion so human nature would be wholly apparently extravagant would be changed; men would not be mo- rejected as false, unless supported ral agents, nor by consequence be by some better proof than the capable either of reward or of mere affirmation of the teacher. punishment. It remains, there- In this state of things we can confore, that, if God has been graci-ceive no evidence sufficient to ously pleased to enlighten and re-make such doctrines be received form mankind, without destroy-as the truths of God, but the powing that moral nature which man er of working miracles committed possesses, he can have done it on-to him who taught them. This ly by revealing his truth to certain chosen instruments, who were the immediate instructors of their contemporaries, and through them have been the instructors of succeeding ages.

would, indeed, be fully adequate to the purpose; for if there were nothing in the doctrines themselves impious, immoral, or contrary to truths already known, the only thing which could render the teach"Let us suppose this to have er's assertion incredible would been actually the case, and con- be its implying such an intimate sider how those inspired teachers communion with God as is concould communicate to others eve-trary to the established course of ry truth which had been revealed things, by which men are left to to themselves. They might easi-acquire all their knowledge by the ly, if it were part of their duty, deliver a sublime system of natural and moral science, and establish it upon the common basis of experiment and demonstration; but what foundation could they lay for those truths which unassisted reason cannot discover, and which,

exercise of their own faculties. Let us now suppose one of those inspired teachers to tell his countrymen, that he did not desire them, on his ipse dixit, to believe that he had any preternatural communion with the Deity, but that, for the truth of his assertion.

he would give them the evidence of their own senses; and after this declaration let us suppose him immediately to raise a person from the dead in their presence, merely by calling upon him to come out of his grave. Would not the only possible objection to the man's veracity be removed by this miracle? and his assertion that he had received such and such doctrines from God be as fully credited as if it related to the most common occurrence? Undoubtedly it would; for when so much preternatural power was visibly communicated to this person, no one could have reason to question his having received an equal portion of preternatural knowledge. A palpable deviation from the known laws of nature in one instance, is a sensible proof that such a deviation is possible in another; and in such a case as this it is the witness of God to the truth of a man.

"Miracles, then, under which we include prophecy, are the only direct evidence which can be given of Divine inspiration. When a religion, or any religious truth, is to be revealed from heaven, they appear to be absolutely necessary to enforce its reception among men ; and this is the only case in which we can suppose them necessary, or believe for a moment that they ever have been or will be performed.

"The history of almost every religion abounds with relations of prodigies and wonders, and of the intercourse of men with the gods; but we know of no religious system, those of the Jews and VOL. II.

T

Christians excepted, which appealed to miracles as the sole evidence of its truth and divinity. The pretended miracles mentioned by Pagan historians and poets are not said to have been publicly wrought to enforce the truth of a new religion contrary to the reigning idolatry. Many of them may be clearly shewn to have been meré natural events; others of them are represented as having been performed in secret on the most trivial occasions, and in obscure and fabulous ages long prior to the era of the writers by whom they are recorded; and such of them as at first view appear to be best attested, are evidently tricks contrived for interesting purposes, to flatter power or to promote the prevailing superstitions. For these reasons, as well as on account of the immoral character of the divinities by whom they are said to have been wrought, they are altogether unworthy of examination, and carry in the very nature of them the completest proofs of falsehood and imposture.

"But the miracles recorded of Moses and of Christ bear a very different character. None of them are represented as wrought on trivial occasions. The writers who mention them were eye-witnesses of the facts; which they affirm to have been performed publicly, in attestation of the truth of their respective systems. They are, indeed, so incorporated with these systems, that the miracles cannot be separated from the doctrines; and if the miracles be not really performed, the doctrines cannot possibly be true. Besides all this,

they were wrought in support of quently repeated would not be revelations which opposed all the received as such, and of course religious systems, superstitions, would have no authority; because and prejudices, of the age in it would be difficult, and in many which they were given: a circum-cases impossible, to distinguish stance which of itself sets them, them from natural events. If in point of authority, infinitely they recurred regularly at certain above the Pagan prodigies, as well intervals, we could not prove as the lying wonders of the Romish them to be deviations from the church. known laws of nature, because

for the other; for the regular succession of preternatural effects, as for the established constitution and course of things.

"It is indeed, we believe, uni-we should have the same experiversally admitted, that the mira-ence from one series of events as cles mentioned in the book of Exodus, and in the four Gospels, might, to those who saw them performed, be sufficient evidence of the Divine inspiration of Moses "Be this, however, as it may, and of Christ; but to us it may we shall take the liberty to affirm, be thought that they are no evi- that for the reality of the Gospel dence whatever, as we must be- miracles we have evidence as lieve in the miracles themselves, if convincing to the reflecting mind, we believe in them at all, upon though not so striking to vulgar the bare authority of human tes-apprehension, as those had who timony. Why, it has been some- were contemporary with Christ times asked, are not miracles wrought in all ages and countries? If the religion of Christ was to be of perpetual duration, every generation of men ought to have complete evidence of its truth and divinity.

and his apostles, and actually saw the mighty works which he performed. Mr. Hume, indeed, endeavoured to prove, that no testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle;' and the reasoning employed for this purpose is, chat a "To the performance of mi- miracle being a violation of the racles in every age and in every laws of nature, which a firm and country, perhaps the same objec- unalterable experience has estab tions lie as to the immediate inspi- lished, the proof against a miracle, ration of every individual. Were from the very nature of the fact, is those miracles universally received as entire as any argument from as such, men would be so over-experience can be: whereas our whelmed with the number rather experience of human veracity, than with the force of their au- which (according to him) is the thority, as hardly to remain mas-sole foundation of the evidence of ters of their own conduct; and in testimony, is far from being unithat case the very end of all mira- form, and can therefore never cles would be defeated by their preponderate against that experifrequency. The truth, however, ence which admits of no excepseems to be, that miracles so fre-tion.' This boasted and plausible

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