given us of the creation and fall of man, as ⚫ the best he could collect from tradition. You add, in my opinion there are also many marks

of its being a very lame account, and far 'from folving the difficulty which it feems intended to answer, namely, the introduction of death and calamity into the world.-The 'prophets and apoftles,' Dr. Horne continues to remark, certainly do not inform us, at every turn, that they have received 'from God that information which they

are about to communicate to us: but we are affured, 2 Pet. i. 21. that holy men "Spake of old as they were moved by the holy ghoft; and 2 Tim. iii. 16. that all fcripture is given by inspiration of God.'

What is the juft idea of the infpiration of the facred writers. The certain ground upon which we go in this way of confidering it ; it; and its advantages. Dr. Horne's great error with respect to the particular infpiration of the writer of the epiftle to the Hebrews.

As the kind and degree of divine influence, or inspiration, under which the fa

cred writers compofed their respective books, is the hinge on which this accufation turns, I fhall endeavour to lay before you fuch an account of the matter, as may be of fome affiftance to form your own. judgments upon it, before I confider the ticular allegations, which you are fuppofed to bring against Dr. Priestley.

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The facred writers of the New Testament, (and what is faid of them is applicable, cæteris paribus, to the writers of the Old Teftament,) had not the matter they treat of, nor the words, dictated in a fupernatural manner to them, by which they were to exprefs themselves, in penning down their refpective hiftories of the gospel of Chrift; but were left to collect facts from their proper fources, and to tell them in their own way.

Thus St. Luke, in the preface to his gofpel, defires that his account of things may be received by the friend to whom he addreffes it, as worthy of credit, for his diligence in gathering it from those who had been eye-witneffes, and minifters of the word. If he had believed that infpiration had been neceffary to give credit to his narrative, he would not have failed to have mentioned,

that

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that he had his knowlege and information immediately from God.

The fame may be faid of all the evangelifts, with respect to the different fubjects which they record. And had it occurred to them, as it did to Luke, to take notice of this circumstance; they would have told us, that they had been careful to put down with fidelity and exactness, what they had seen and heard themselves, refpecting their divine master Jesus, as also what they had learned from other competent witneffes.

The four evangelifts therefore, after having acquainted themselves, in the best manner they could, with the life, miracles, and difcourses of Christ, compiled their several gofpels, in the form we now have them; with great judgment confining themselves intirely to the representation of facts, without mixing their own opinions, or defcanting upon

them.

This has been, and I believe is, the fentiment of judicious chriftians, on this nice fubject: whilst others have pleaded for what they call, a plenary inspiration of the facred writers; i. e. that both in the things related,

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lated, and the language in which they conveyed them, they were under an immediate divine influence and direction.

In the preface to his harmony of the four evangelifts, Dr. Priefley has fhewn, that this high notion of the inspiration of the fcriptures, of the gospel in particular, the fubject he is treating upon, is contrary to fact; the narratives of the different evangelifts being not written with that perfect confiftency and agreement with each other, which fuch a fuppofition neceffarily requires.

And moreover, as it feems to have been the plan of divine providence, never to furnifh miracles, where natural caufes were fufficient to procure the defired effect;" fuch a prodigious divine apparatus of a particular infpiration of cach facred writer was wholly unneceffary in the prefent cafe, as all the great ends of the gofpel, and its credibility,. are fatisfactorily fecured by the teftimony of men of the most unquestionable integrity, who were about our Saviour's perfon, or of others who converfed with them; who drew up different relations of the fame facts concerning him, difagreeing only in fuch mi

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nute particulars as might be expected from men who wrote without communication with each other, and fuch as ferves to corroborate and confirm their general and agreeing teftimony to every thing of importance. And he remarks in the fame way, that fince providence has thought proper to intruft this valuable depofit of the fcriptures in human hands, to the fidelity of uninfpired transcribers and printers for near 1800 years, it cannot be thought inconfiftent with the fame plan, to have it conveyed to us in a fimilar manner from the beginning: the apoftles being naturally as capable of relating and writing an account of what they heard and faw, as other perfons would be to copy the account after them.'

In Section xi. of Obfervations prefixed to his Harmony of the evangelifts,' Dr. Priestley has fuggefted a probable account, how these facred writers might be poffeffed of an exact knowlege of the things related by them, though their narrative of them was drawn up feveral years after the events themselves; and be qualified to compofe their hiftories, fuch as we now have them.

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