and common
experience bears witness to it as being a fact. We are not now saying
that the doctrines of the purity and holiness of God, the dreadful nature
of sin, the need of an atonement, the inability of man to present himself
before God in merits of his own, and others of a similar kind are true;
but we may properly say that, whether true or false, they are such as
frequently raise a strong feeling of opposition; and therefore that those
who examine them, with the view of ascertaining their character, stand in
_special_ need of the caution to preserve a calm and candid spirit.

It will not be out of place to introduce here another consideration which
has a bearing upon this part of the subject, namely, the _supernatural
aid_ which the Bible offers towards the understanding and acceptance of
its doctrines. It is quite conceivable that a state of things might
exist in which such aid would be wholly unnecessary. We might suppose a
case in which the nature of man was so entirely in harmony with itself,
and so exactly attuned to the truths of a Divine revelation, as readily
to accept it, when it was presented; but the question we have to decide
is, whether man's nature is actually in this state or not. Observation
leads us to believe that it is not. Whether we accept the scripture
statement of the fall or not, we must not shut our eyes to the fact that
it is difficult for virtue to force its way, while vice has many
votaries. However convincing, abstractedly, the reasons may be to
enforce the claims of virtue, it is evident that they possess but little
power to lead the large majority of mankind. History and experience
testify to this. Scarce any deny the evidence in favour of virtue,
although few are content to be governed by it. Now it may be fairly
presumed that any revelation which the Divine Being might make would be
in the interests of virtue; it may be reasonably expected too that it
would be supported by strong evidence: but, if, as actual observation
makes it clear is the case, the feelings of mankind are more inclined to
reject than accept the claims of virtue, the evidence, however strong,
will not produce the effect which it would, if the mind were more justly
balanced, and thus the revelation will be in danger of being rejected.
Such rejection, be it remembered, need not result from any deficiency of
evidence, but may arise from an indisposition to receive it. For our own
part we believe that the evi