But, then, the Christian religion wants universality and greater clearness in its evidences-say the objectors, in the last place. Here, also, men's ignorance is the true source of the mistake! Are they any judges of the clearness and force of the evidences, which they have never examined ?—for if they had examined them, they could not overlook their immense force, and turn aside to speculate on the matters which we have been refuting. Have they ever spent one hour in weighing, with serious and candid minds, the mass of evidences which Christianity produces ? Have they not, on the contrary, neglected, passed over, despised our body of proofs, and flown off to vain reasonings, which can only bewilder the understanding and harden the heart? And what ignorance is it of the whole design of Christianity, to suppose that man may prescribe to the Almighty the degree of clearness which should attend the testimonies of Revelation! It is enough if the proofs are sufficient to satisfy a humble, sincere inquirer. To satisfy others is impossible. To make the evidences irresistible, would go to undermine all the moral agency of man, would be contrary to his estate of probation, would act upon him mechanically and forcibly, and destroy his moral and accountable nature. Yet the evidences, after all, are, I was going to say, irresistible—that is, they are so numerous, so powerful, so various, so attractive, they arise from so many quarters, they address in so many parts man's reason and affections, that to a fair and impartial student they are demonstrative, overwhelming, irresistible.

And as to the want of universality in the religion, what is the cause? Is it not the torpor and ingratitude of those who possess, but do not spread, its blessings; who neglect the last and most solemn command of its divine Founder, who act against its genuine spirit of diffusion, who are tame, feeble, and declining in their Christianity, instead of being bold,

ardent, and persevering? What was the spirit of the church in its early age, but dissemination? What was the last thing that withered before the blighting selfishness of the dark ages, but dissemination ? What has distinguished the revival of pure Christianity, but the zeal of missions?

And how, then, can the want of universality be charged as an objection upon our religion? It is designed to be universal, it is calculated to be so in all its parts, its followers are bound by every motive to render it so.

What reasons, unknown to man, there may be for Almighty God's permitting the present slow and limited range of this mighty blessing, it is not for us to say. Man's ignorance is here the best check on the rash impetuosity of our minds. We see in the natural world, that men's faculties, powers, advantages, are most unequally distributed. We see that benefits, and discoveries, and inventions of the most beneficial kind, are limited in their circuit. The most valuable discoveries in medicine, for instance, have been made only of late years, and are still confined to a few nations. To find, therefore, the benefits of the Christian dispensation extended only to certain nations, and not reaching to others, is no more valid as an objection to Christianity, than a similar order of things is to the natural government of God.16

"The work of God is begun," says Bishop Horsley, "is going on, and will unquestionably be carried to its perfection. The spirit of Christianity is gaining more and more of an ascendancy, and God's good work is tending to its consummation by that progress, by which, from the very nature of the means employed, the business must be expected to proceed. The means are not such as he might be expected to put in use, if his omnipotence alone were regarded,

16 Butler.

VOL. II.

R

but they are such as are consistent with the free agency of man; such as are adapted to the nature of man as a rational and moral agent, and adapted to the justice and wisdom and mercy of God in his dealings with such a creature. God's power is unquestionably competent to the instantaneous abolition of all moral evil, by the annihilation, at a single stroke, of the whole troop of rebellious angels and the whole race of sinful men, and the production of new creatures in their room. God's power is competent to the speedy abolition of moral evil, by the sudden execution of severe judgments on wicked nations, or sinful individuals. But God willeth not the death of a sinner; he seeks our obedience to his will founded less on fear than love. He abstains, therefore, from these summary, abrupt, coercive measures, and he employs no other means than the preaching of the gospel, that is, no other means than those of persuasion and argument, invitation and threatening. It is very obvious that ages must elapse before these means can produce their full effect. The progress of the work will not only be gradual, but liable to temporary interruptions; so that at times it may seem, not only to stand still, but even to go backward, as often as particular circumstances in the affairs of the world draw away the attention of men from the doctrines of the gospel, or raise up extraordinary opposition of their passions to its precepts. Instead of taking offence at the slow progress, we should rely on the promise of the prophetic word, and set ourselves to consider what may be done on our part, and what God may expect we should do, for the furtherance of his work and the removal of hindrances." 17

Thus vain and frivolous are the objections of infidelity when we come to consider them, which we have the rather done, because they are of the same nature

17 Horsley, Sermon xl.—a reference to one or two sentences of it is made, p. 201.

with the corrupt suggestions of the fallen heart of man, a resistance to which is a main characteristic of the wise and sincere Christian, whilst he that yields to them becomes the unbeliever. But that Christianity should be open to such difficulties, is indeed what might be expected when God, the infinite Creator, makes known a part of his ways to man, a feeble, corrupt, and perverse creature. We observe,

therefore

IV. That THESE OBJECTIONS ARE, UPON THE WHOLE, ONLY TRIALS OF OUR SINCERITY AND SUBMISSION OF HEART TO GOD, AND GO TO CONFIRM RATHER THAN WEAKEN THE CHRISTIAN EVI

DENCES.

For it is a part of our probation in this world, that we should be subjected to the consideration of difficulties, which we may make the occasion of objection and rebellion of heart, if we please, but which are designed only to put to the proof our sincerity and submission of mind to our circumstances and duties. To understand fully all the parts of the Christian system, might require, for any thing we can tell, divine capacities. Mystery is a necessary attendant upon the being and perfections of God, in the view of a finite creature like man. Similar difficulties and objections to those which men think they see in Revelation, they think they see in God's moral government of the world. Now if the very same sort of obscurities, grounds of irritation, partial light, limited range of influence, contradiction to preconceived expectations, unlooked for position of things-matters beyond and above our comprehension-do actually take place in a system of things which we acknowledge to be divine; then similar grounds of objection are no sound arguments against the Christian Revelation. The same objections as men bring against Christianity, may be brought against natural religion; and if they are of

no force in the one case, so neither are they in the other.18

It may, therefore, be the trial most appropriate to our state of probation, that some of the evidences of Christianity should be thought liable to objections, which, though trifling in themselves, when discussed, yet may puzzle an inexperienced mind, and may carry it off from truth and holiness.

The state of things as to the evidences of Christianity, is precisely what it is as to many of the most important truths of natural religion. They do not all lie upon the surface, some of them are open to many exceptions, they are collected only from the whole of a series of considerations, are of little weight unless men will be serious, devout, attentive; they are not seen, if men will begin on the side of objections. 19

Indeed, the human mind is so constituted, or is so weakened since the fall, that moral and religious truth can be received in no other way than by beginning with positive evidences, and overlooking objections and difficulties. The mind can always frame subtilties, perceive obstacles, present plausible sophisms. Something may always be said by a perverse or weak or over-curious disputant. But why did I say, in moral

18 Butler.

19 We see, in fact, from the Scriptures, that objections were ever made against truth. The history of the Jews is a history of the cavils and difficulties advanced by that people against Moses and Samuel, and the other prophets. The gospels abound with the discourses of our Lord against the objections of the Jews of his day. The Acts and the Epistles are much engaged in answering or silencing the vain disputations of men. The language of St. Peter, in the passage which I read as my text, is conclusive on the same subject. The scoffers are there described, first, in their moral state-they walk after their own lusts; and then in their objections against Christianityand saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they did from the creation of the world. All this goes to prove that vain reasonings are to be expected as a trial of our faith.