prophet." And yet so much better are the promises, so much higher the gifts, so much clearer the light, so much greater the freedom, and especially so much more copious the effusion of the Spirit under the New Testament-" he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." .." For if the ministration of death was glorious, how shall not the ministration of the Spirit exceed in glory?" If there were inspired writers under the Mosaic economy-which was temporary, of which many blessings were earthly and figurative, and under which the Holy Ghost was not given, in the emphatical sense of the term-has not the Christian inspired writers also? If the Old Testament had oracular responses at one period, and an extraordinary dispensation of Providence attending it through all its course; with a succession of divine prophets and teachers, and continued miraculous powers, age after age; though it was, after all, a dispensation of a confined range of influence and exertion-are there not inspired teachers under the Christian dispensation ?—a dispensation universal and permanent, where all the blessings are spiritual -the last dispensation of God to man, and the fulfilment and accomplishment of the Jewish ;* under which the abundant effusion of the Spirit is bestowed; where, however, all extraordinary attendant aids are withdrawn-oracular responses, prophets, miraculous powers, the immediate government of the Almighty-and the whole church is left to this one single external source of truth in all successive ages? The luminous and permanent dispensation of Christ has surely a light at least equal to that of the dark and preparatory dispensation of Moses. It is not night to us as to an inspired Scripture, when the legal economy had the day shining full upon it. We are not without writings, with the will of God infallibly communicated in them, when the Jews had an unerring revelation of that will. We are not left to rely on the credit of books written merely by persons of sincerity and piety, whilst the Jews had, and still have, divinely inspired Scriptures. No. "We have not so learned Christ." The case is perfectly decisive. If we had no other arguments to adduce, we infer, with undoubted certainty, that as the Old Testament was written under the superintendence and inspiration of God, the New was composed also with the same aid, and comes commended with the same features of infallible and unerring truth.

2. But this is not all. Our inference is strengthened by "The law made nothing perfect." Heb. vii. 19.

the distinct recognition of the New Testament as of equal authority with the Old.

The writers of the Christian books speak with the same authority as those of the Jewish, and evidently consider them as standing upon precisely the same footing of inspiration. If the prophets began with the solemn formula, "Thus saith the Lord," the apostles begin with the same claim of a divine command: "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Saviour."

If the authors of the Old Testament denounce the judgments of God against these who disobey their authority, if they demand implicit obedience to their decisions, and in every part of their writings exhibit the unequivocal marks of divine inspiration, the authors of the New Testament do the

same.

We shall hereafter consider the direct claims of the apostles to divine inspiration, independently of any reference to the Old Testament. We now assert merely that their writings are considered by themselves as equal in authority, and as having the same measure of divine inspiration, as those of Moses and the prophets.

Further, when the apostles speak of the books of the first covenant, they class those of the second with them, as constituting together the one unerring standard of divine truth. "Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets.""That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Saviour.”

Again, they cite without distinction the Old and New Testament by the peculiar and decisive name of Scripture. "For the Scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn; and the laborer is worthy of his reward:" where the first part of the authoritative citation is taken from the law of Moses; the second from the Gospel of St. Luke.*

And yet more fully in our text, the apostle classes the Old and New Testament in common, under the title of DIVINELYINSPIRED SCRIPTURE. For though undoubtedly, as I have said, he more expressly refers to the Old Testament, yet he appears also, by the general cast and comprehension of the whole passage, to include those books of the New which were then extant, (which was almost the whole volume,) as well as those that might be added to the canon by himself and his * 1 Tim. v. 18; Deut. xxv. 4; Luke x. 7.

fellow apostles. For he first addresses Timothy, as having "from a child known the Holy Scriptures;" and exhorts him to "continue in what he had learned and been assured of." He then joins this "with faith in Christ Jesus, as able to make him wise unto salvation." Surely this directs him to the Gospels and Epistles, of which some probably had then been published ten or twenty years.*

But this becomes more evident, if we consider that the apostle, after thus speaking of faith in Christ Jesus, goes on to say, enlarging his terms, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God;" as if he intended purposely to comprehend those books which expounded the life and doctrine of the Son of God, in whom Timothy was to believe. He next declares that the effects of "doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness" would flow from it; which are surely, in the latitude in which they are here taken, the inseparable adjuncts of the brighter light of the New Testament. Much more, when the apostle adds, "That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works," a result which can only be produced by the last revelation of the Almighty. Bishop Warburton accordingly thinks that "St. Paul, in the general proposition that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God,' necessarily includes the Scripture of the New Testament; what it predicates of all scripture, taking in the New as well as the Old; as well that which was to be written, as that which was already collected into a canon. For the term SCRIPTURE, as the context leads us to understand it, is general, and means a religious rule, perfect in its direction for the conduct of human life in belief and practice; it being under this idea, he recommends the Scriptures to Timothy. The assertion, therefore, is universal, and amounts to this, That divine inspiration is an essential quality of every Scripture, which constitutes the LAW or RULE of a religion coming from God."+

The Second Epistle of Timothy is of the date of A. D. 66; St. Matthew's Gospel of A. D. 38. The First Epistle to the Thessalo nians, A. D. 54. Timothy may be supposed to have been born about A. D. 46. The whole New Testament was extant in A. D. 66, except the books written by St. John and St. Jude.

Works, viii. 271. Besides Bishop Warburton, I am indebted to Bishops Horsley, Tomline and Van Mildert, especially to the last; also to the works of Calamy, Horberry, Abadie, Boyle's Style of Scripture, Williams, and Blackall's Boyle's Lectures, Campbell, Jortin, Bennet, Hartley, Jacquelot, Hey's Lectures, Houteville, Jenkins, Seed, Gregory, Dick, Benson, Franks. But the works most practical, and which

But, if any doubt rest on the above argument, it is removed by St. Peter, who calls the epistles of St. Paul by the solemn title of Scriptures, considers them as parallel with the writings of the prophets, declares they were indited by a wisdom more than human, and classes them with the inspired writings which the ignorant and unstable wrest. And he does all this incidentally, as if the inspiration of the New Testament were a point of acknowledged truth. He does it also when writing to "stir up the pure minds of the first Christians, who knew, and were established in the truths of the gospel;" and, with the view of their being “able, after his decease, to have his instructions always in remembrance." He does it further, after he had expressly declared, that "the gospel had been preached, with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven." And he concludes his epistle with the remarkable words, "I have written briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which ye stand." Surrounded with such concomitant declarations, we find the following language : "Account that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation, even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to THE Wisdom GIVEN UNTO HIM, hath written unto you; as also in all his epistles, speaking of these things in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also THE OTHER SCRIPTURES, unto their own destruction." Thus we have the divinely-inspired authors of the Christian revelation, endowed confessedly with miraculous gifts bearing a solemn testimony to the inspiration of the New Testament Scriptures, and classing them with those of the Old. Can any one hesitate, then, to admit, that our Christian books are, strictly speaking, inspired of the Holy Ghost?

But to proceed. We not only certainly infer the inspiration of the New Testament from that of the Old; but we appeal, in further proof of our position,

II. To the PROMISE MADE BY OUR LORD TO THE APOSTLES, And to the GIFTS AND QUALIFICATIONS which they received in consequence, on the day of Pentecost.

1. For did not our Lord's promise of the Spirit directly

have given me most satisfaction, are Lamotte, Dr. Lowth, Doddridge, and Scott in his preface to his Commentary. Perhaps, if I were to select one work only, it would be Lamotte's Inspiration of the New Testament asserted and explained. 1694,

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relate to the qualifications which were to render them infallible teachers of the Christian doctrine? Did it not especially comprise the Holy Spirit as a "Spirit of truth," who should guide them into all truth," who should "glorify Christ,' who should "take of the things of Christ, and 'show them unto them;" who should "bring all things to their remembrance, whatsoever he had said to them;" who should "teach them all things, and show them things to come, and abide with them for ever?"-who, in a word, should be the great Comforter, Advocate and Instructer of the church? Observe, I entreat you, that the Holy Ghost is not here promised as a Spirit of miracles, but as a SPIRIT OF TRUTH—an expression three times repeated, and which, connected with the other numerous terms just cited, manifestly includes an unerring direction in the exposition of the truth of the Christian religion. Further, the Spirit's " abiding with them for ever" must, undoubtedly, import constant operation, without change or intermission, whenever they should be engaged in the execution of their office. Again, the Spirit's being "another Comforter," Adviser or Advocate, to supply their Master's personal presence, to "glorify him, and "to take of the things which were his, and show them unto them," must imply plenary inspiration and direction. The assurance, moreover, that, by the agency of this Comforter, their Lord "would not leave them comfortless," destitute or orphans, but " come unto them," must include more than this: it must import that they should speak and write under the immediate guidance of the Spirit of their Master and Lord, as if he himself was still with them, instructed them as to every part of their doctrine, and indited every word they uttered. And, accordingly, that they might be prepared to receive much new information in the mysteries of the gospel, our Saviour expressly adds, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now; howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth,”

Thus this illustrious promise embraces the very qualifications which would constitute infallible doctors and teachers of the church.

But we have, further, a description of the extent of assistance implied in this promise, by a declaration of Jesus in reference to an occasion, important, indeed, but apparently far less so, than when rules of faith were to be drawn up for "When they bring you unto the synagogues, and

all ages.