Without such an examination, however, how can he be securely persuaded that its foundations were laid in imposture or delusion? How can he disbelieve the Scriptures in a rational certainty that he is not rejecting a communication from the Deity, and in danger of forfeiting the incalculable benefits which they offer him,-even the forgiveness of his sins and life everlasting? - And, whether the Scriptures be true or false, how can he appeal to the authority of his conscience to witness and justify his conclusions? We should not hesitate to press this warning on men of the most extensive knowledge and sharpest acumen in mundane matters; for no attainments in science or learning-no kind or degree of intellectual culture exempts a man from that darkness which falls upon the mind in its appreciation of religious and moral truth; and which the Author of our being has ordained shall punish a self-indulgent, unconscientious conduct of the understanding. In this, as in other instances, the great laws of the moral world, like those of the material universe, bring the ignorant and the wise, as we account them, to a common level.

But while the language of our Saviour forewarns us against a predisposition to re

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ject the evidence of the truth of the Gospel, it admonishes us also to watch against that which is, virtually and in the judgment of Scripture, much the same thing, and which, besides, is a more common example of unfaithfulness to the dictate of conscience-namely, a desire to evade the proof of any doctrine alleged to be affirmed in the Scriptures, or to discredit any particular construction of the word of God, because it may threaten the overthrow of some preconceived opinion, or disappoint any inclination which we have heretofore allowed and cherished: because it may oppose itself to the gratification of our passions, or cast a doubt on the efficacy of our religious principles; awakening a fearful but wholesome apprehension of the divine displeasure. It warns us that by admitting such a bias on our judgment, we are not only at present foregoing that inward satisfaction which is at all times the reward of a conscientious inquiry into the will of God, but we are incapacitating ourselves for prosecuting that inquiry in future. We are actually and increasingly disabling our faculties for the search of religious truth; blinding the understanding to the perception of its evidence, as well as hardening the heart to its

sanctifying and consoling power; and exposing ourselves to the worst effects of ignorance in the midst of knowledge.

The Jews expected a Messiah who should put an end to their inferior and subject condition, redeem them from the yoke of the Heathen to their indignant apprehension, a profane and sacrilegious usurpation-and enable them to take a signal and exulting vengeance on their enemies. They hoped, under his lead and auspices, to enrich themselves with the spoils of vanquished nations; and after a series of conquests, to sit down in established supremacy over the kingdoms of the earth. They nourished and pampered this imagination by giving their exclusive attention to the ancient prophecies of the Messiah's victories and empire - such as these:-"Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."*" He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and

* Ps. ii. 8.

his enemies shall lick the dust."*-When, therefore, Jesus of Nazareth presented himself as the promised Messiah, the very reverse and contrast of all they had dreamed of; bare of the symbols of power and sovereignty; clad in humble vesture, and attended by plebeian followers; "neither striving nor crying," "no man hearing his voice in the streets"+ proclaiming battle, or hurling defiance against the power that had subjugated them;-when they heard him calling upon them to subdue their enemies no otherwise than by forbearance and a long-suffering charity; exhorting them to no other victory over the world than was to be achieved by an indifference to its pleasures, and a contempt of its glory-a successful contest with themselves; and promising them no other riches and honours but such as were spiritual and future ;—when, instead of flattering the conceit of their own righteousness as a people, he addressed them in language of grave rebuke and solemn admonition, laid open the painted sepulchre of their religious profession, and exposed the inveterate corruption of their character:the ambitious, covetous, and vindictive nature, which had grown up and had been so long *Ps. lxxii. 8, 9. † Matt. xii. 19.

nourished within them, revolted at the acceptance of such a Messiah. Hence a critical and momentous trial--brought indeed upon them by their own misguided passions and unfaithful handling of the word of Godwhether any or what degree of fidelity to the Lord God of their fathers remained to them: whether they would deal uprightly with the pretensions of Jesus, or adhere, at any rate, to their fond prepossessions, and seek to compass, by whatever means, their own desires and expectations. They took the latter determination, and resolved to reject Him as the promised Messiah:-for the illiberal constructions and dishonest reasoning with which they encountered the instruction and miracles of our Redeemer, prove that it was no part of their intention to examine his credentials; but that they were eager only to discredit them-that the single determination by which they were actuated, was, that they "would not that He should reign over them." We know the punishment of their unbelief in this world: instead of regaining the eminence from which they had been degraded, they were pushed down the precipice of destruction, and broken to pieces as a nation.

*Luke xix. 27.