than wicked men. The latter habitually break the divine laws, oppose the benevolent purposes of God's government, and produce great disorder and misery on earth. Now, if this is not inconsistent with those ideas, which the scripture give us of the divine supremacy, neither is that doctrine, which attributes similar effects to spirits of a more elevated rank.

If the supremacy of God is not impaired, when a passionate man inflicts such a wound on his neighbor, as injures his health, or produces delirium, neither would it be impaired, if the same effects were produced by an invisible daemon.

Though the scriptures uniformly represent the Deity as presiding over the Universe, and every other creature as absolutely under his control, they are no less uniform in declaring, that the government which God maintains, is carried on through a great variety of means and subordinate agents. Angels are employed for purposes both of grace and severity. By an angel was David punished for numbering the people. By an angel was destroyed the vast Assyrian army. The angels of the Lord encamp about his saints. "They are all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to them, who shall be heirs of salvation." To promote the same general object, but in a capacity more humble and confined, he employs virtuous men. Men of a different character exist under his government, and are by no means inactive. Even them too, he often employs, in fulfilling the purposes of his infinite wisdom: not by impelling them to sin,-not by infusing into them evil desires; but by overruling, to the best purposes, those actions, which, without such impulse or infusion, they choose to perform.

Now, if there be vicious beings, of a rank, superior to men, it is strikingly analogous, that they too should be suffered to exhibit their characters, i. e. to perform vicious actions, and that these actions should be so restrained and overruled, as to advance those evil designs, which it was their tendency to impede, or render abortive.

But III. The doctrine of demoniacal possessions is said to be inconsistent with the proof of divine revelation, which arises from miracles. For if evil spirits can produce such effects, as this opinion ascribes to them, how can we be certain, that any system of religion is of divine origin, merely because it is accompanied by miracles.-To this I reply,

I. That from the perfections of God, and from facts, recorded in scripture, we may be confident, that no invisible agent will ever be permitted to exhibit such works in favor of falsehood, as are not accompanied with greater works in favor of the truth. We can by no means imagine, that God would remove restraints from invisible agents, with intention, that men should be deceived. If, therefore, visible effects are permitted, contrary to the established course of events, with design to confirm a lie, we may be confident, that greater effects will be produced, by which, such proof will be counteracted.-Accordingly we find, that when the magicians entered into contest with Moses, and either performed real miracles by infernal influence, or practised legerdemain with great dexterity, he, by the finger of God, was enabled to cover with shame, those, who instituted the competition.

11. There is another criterion of very great value; I mean the moral tendency of those doctrines, in favor of which the miracles are wrought. No external evidence would be sufficient to convince us of the divine origin of a system, enjoining, or decidedly allowing immorality.

But the objection, which we are now considering, whether brought against revelation, or against that particular tenet, which implies the influence of demons, is, I apprehend of very little practical importance. For, there is not probably a person on earth, tolerably enlightened, who would reject christianity, if once convinced, that those miracles, recorded in the Gospel, were in fact wrought.. Persons may pretend to disbelieve, and some do disbelieve, that the miracles attributed to Christ, were ever wrought; but for many centuries, no infidel, after acknowledging these, has

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rejected the Gospel. Such an absurdity, after all the proof, which has been given of the benign influence, which christianity has on the human character, will, it is probable, never again be witnessed.

But suppose you were to meet a person, of so extraordinary a cast of mind, as to allow the truth of evangelical history, so far as it relates to the expulsion of dæmons by our Saviour, and yet professed himself wholly uncertain, as to the moral character of Christ, and whether his miraculous powers were derived from above or beneath. Concerning the moral character of possessing dæmons, he could have no doubt. Their maliguity was rendered sufficiently plain, by the sufferings, which they occasioned, and by the torments, which, they acknowledged, were in reserve for them. The interest of Christ, it is evident, was opposite to theirs. To those, whom they afflicted, he restored sanity, both of body and intellects. Our Saviour himself showed the absurdity, as well as impiety, of the opinion, that he cast out dæmons by infernal influence. "If satan cast out satan, he is divided against himself: how then shall his kingdom stand?" With such an objector, as we have supposed, you have nothing further to do, than to ask, whether it be a matter of uncertainty, that the opposite of darkness is light; and the opposite of malignity, is benevolence? Whether a person in league with the powers of darkness, would have done more towards enlightening this world, not only than any individual, whether prince or philosopher, but incomparably more, than all uninspired men of every age? Whether a person, whose character was that of consummate falsehood, deceit, and impiety, as the character of Jesus must have been, if he wrought miracles by infernal power, would have set himself, summis viribus, against every vice, every prejudice, and corrupt propensity and, while he exhibited, in his own life, unparalleled and untarnished purity, he would have communicated to the world, a system of religion, which was never embraced by a nation, a community, or an individual, without produ

cing an extraordinary measure of happiness and virtue; a religion, whose votaries are the excellent of the earth, just in proportion, as they honor its author and conform to his precepts ?

But you will never, I am confident, have occasion to resort to this reasoning. You will never meet a person, who, after being convinced, that Christ wrought the miracles, which are attributed to him, will deny the truth and divinity of the Gospel. Whenever he acknowledges, that Jesus did eject dæmons, no doubts will be pretended, whether it were done by Beelzebub, or by the finger of God.

Now if a vast majority of christians, far from being stumbled at the doctrine of dæmoniacal possessions, believe christianity the more firmly on account of that power, which Christ displayed in counteracting them: and if infidels do never reason in the manner, which the objector supposes, and if they did, could be answered with perfect facility, how little ground does this objection afford for discarding the opinion, usually received?

LECTURE XXVIL

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On Demoniacs.

It is my present object to consider some of those pas sages in the New Testament, which relate to dæmoniacal pos sessions; that we may the better judge, whether they can be reconciled with the opinion, that nothing more is meant, than bodily distempers.

In giving an account of our Saviour's preparing his twelve apostles, for their ministry, St. Mark uses the following language," And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out dæmons." Here, you perceive, that the ejection of dæmons is clearly distinguished from the cure of diseases. Now, if dæmonized persons were merely under the influence of natural disorders, why should the sacred historian make this distinction? On this supposition, it is very evident, that the latter clause conveys no new idea at all: it only reiterates part of what had just been asserted. Say, if you please, that dæmonized persons had a particular kind of disorder. Be it so. The language will, however, be precisely similar to this, "He sent them forth to cure sicknesses, and to cure fevers." What conceivable need is there for adding the lat ter clause?