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Their attention may be raised, and a sense of awe quickened, as they read of Christ speaking words and doing works, such as never man spake or did ; especially, if goodness runs along with power, (as was explained above*,) in the works of Christ, men may discern them more evidently to be signs of one coming forth from God; and the greater the manifestation of Divine authority thus given, the greater must appear the danger of rejecting one whom God has thus honoured as a Saviour. We have dwelt less on this argument with you, because your neglect of the boundaries between history and poetry renders you less critical in such things, and you do not discriminate facts accu- rately enough, either to be aware how rare are certain signal workings of Divine Providence, or to appreciate them duly, when they are presented to you. It was out of a desire to awaken such a critical instinct, that I went through all that history, in which we found the literature of India so plainly fail. But you may consider the matter thus. The working of your own minds in India shews the need which men have of religion. The various forms which religion has taken with you, though un- satisfactory in themselves, point forward to something more perfect, which it might be hoped you would one day reach. But much more, the unity of idea, which we saw dominant in Hebrew history, prepared the way for a fulfilment, such as we found in Christ, The prophets and psalmists bear witness to Christ, either by literal prediction of the events of His life, or • See above, pp. 356 — 7. 550 PREDICATION OR PREDICHON. WONDERS OR 8IGNS. (as I humbly suggest) by anticipations of a better kingdom of God, such as He has brought about, and speaking out something of the principles which He brought into clear light, and so by little foretastes of the Holy Spirit which dwelt in Him without measure. Thus the witness of belonging to Jesus is having the spirit of prophecy*. But in whatever way a man regards the prophetic element in the Old Testament, if he considers it at all true, he must acknowledge it Divine. To me it seems that this, like other things spiritual, must be spiritually discerned ; and I follow St Paulf in laying less stress upon correspondencies of place and time and genealogies after the flesh, than some Chris- tian advocates think wise. But in whatever way any one, after comparing the Old Testament with the New, believes this argu- ment from prophecy, it becomes a direct supernatural proof of the Divine origin of Christianity. Join now to this all the won- derful works of Christ, as done before multitudes, as written down by contemporary witnesses, as having more than human power, and a Divine goodness ; then (without here dwelling on the wisdom of His words, which speak rather to the conscience, and win that witness before spoken of,) consider, if in such works you have not clear signs of a mission from the God who upholds nature, and as He governs it always, so in rare in- stances gives signal manifestations of His government, and of the good ends to which He directs it. Thus in prophecy and miracle, or in truth-telling and wonderful signs, you have what are generally thought the most direct and clenching evidences, that God sent His Son and coetemal Word into the world, that all mankind might have faith in Him, and having faith, might have life. Certainly no marvels or prodigies ascribed in legend to Crishna, or Sakya, or any other Hindd, will bear comparison with the works of Christ, either in the testimony by * See RevelatioDS xix. lo, where the Angel declares that his speaking forth the words of God is no sign of a right to be worshipped, but rather of being a fellow* servant with Christians, who have as witness of Jesus the spirit of prophecy. Com- pare I Thess. i. 5, Eph. i. 17, 18, Gal. v. 22, 13, vi. 12, 13. + On St Paul's treatment of prophecy, see above, p. 379. GOSPEL MOST ATTRACTIVE AS A WHOLE. 551 which they are delivered to mankind, or in the Divine blending of goodness and power which speaks in them, or in the wonder- ftd significance of their lessons, when taken in connexion with the blessed words, and the life, and character, of our Saviour. I do injury to onr argument, by breaking it, for distinction's sake, into triple form. For all the life of Christ on earth, and the prophecies of Him, and His works of healing and words of wisdom, and His death, and His rising again, and the life with which by His Holy Spirit He still pervades His Church or even mankind, and the witness of true hearts answering for ever to His doctrine, and putting forth fruits in life by works such as He wrought on earth, may be distinguished in idea, but in fact are one thing, and that is the power of Grod, making men wise to salvation. No part of the whole can be cordially admitted, without in a way inferring, or joining on to, the rest; and as they altogether lead up to God, so whoever has by natural piety the purest belief in God, will be most apt in turn to see their force, and to accept the faith of Christ as an eternal design. If ye had believed in Moses, said Christ, ye would believe in me : for Moses spake, (I suppose he means,) of that eternal Spirit which came forth in Christ, though with more of grace and truth, saving men from evil. "Hence, let me fourthly observe, while for yourselves, and for strangers in general, I think it easiest to begin with appealing to your conscience, and by asking what tliere is in the faith of Christ to which your purest affections or most devout aspirations do not bear a kind of witness, and whether anything really prevents you from accepting this Divine message so much as a fondness for the sins it forbids, or a shrinking from the holiness it requires, I still wish you to take the Gospel as a whole, rather than fasten on any single aspect. Whatever little varieties may be among Christians, (such as Hindis with their enormous discrepancies of belief and caste cannot consistently make an objection to us,) we all agree in propounding the faith of Christ as the great means of salvation. Have therefore faith 552 PRACTICAL INVITATION. in .he only wise God; lay hold on the hope of eternal life; practise all virtues akin to it in this life ; learn to hate the sins which unfit you for it ; carry the fear of Grod into honest dealings with men; speak truth one to another, since we are all members of one body; read the Holy Scriptures as books divinely in- Bpired, and written for your learning; receive the sacmments as instruments and pledges of the Divine mercy; grudge not a little selfdenial as the great safeguard of innocence; quicken your mental gaze to faith in an everpresent Helper ; keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace ; acknowledge a 'weight of persuasion in the good order and counsel of the Church, as having to Reason a sort of authority; and the better you combine all these, the more perfect will be the practical harmony of your faith and life; but whichever aspect or part suits you best, begin with that sincerely ; so all Christians will unite to wel- come you into the fellowship of saints, and of spirits made per- fect; and we may with hope unite in prayer, that the £temal Spirit will lead you into the entire truth* Nor am I afraid of adding, that even if such faith and prayer are as yet too much for you, yet a consideration of what things in your religion have been permitted to resemble ours, and a putting away from your- selves and others of what you acknowledge to come of darkness and passion, might be tlie beginning of a growth in goodness. " But fifthly, I must add that all the above triple argument should strike you more strongly, if you compare it "with the miserable bewilderment of your own system, both as regards its want of any attestation of Divine authority, and its inherent barrenness of any power to save the soul from evil. We have seen its history as an external warrant of immutable infallibility break down. It has no Divine authority, except such as parts of it may by their partial truth persuade the conscience to admit You acknowledge its weakness as a moral instrument, by your despair of improving men of low caste, or of unteaching them even idolatry. But that fancied wisdom in which you look down upon the ignorant, without effort to teach them, leaves SUPERIORITY OF GOSPEL TO HINDUISM.