3. This inward witness gives great support in hours of darkness and temptations of the devil, when such sudden thoughts shall be thrown into the mind even of a learned christian: “What if the scripture should not be divine? What if this gospel and the other epistle should not be written by inspiration? What if these should be merely the words of men, and not the very word of God?” The believer, who feels a renewed nature, and a divine life working within him, can boldly repel these fiery darts of Satan, with such a reply as this: “Though I cannot at present recollect all the arguments that prove Matthew, Mark, and Luke, to be divine historians, or Peter and Paul to be inspired writers; yet the substance and chief sense of their gospels, and their epistles must needs be divine, and God is the author of it, for it has begun the spiritual and eternal life in my soul; and this is my witness (or rather the witness of the Spirit of God within me) that Christ _is the Son of God, the Saviour of sinners_, and the religion that I profess and practice is safe and divine.” And though there are many and sufficient arguments drawn from criticism, history, and human learning, to prove the sacred authority of the bible, and such as may give abundant evidence to an honest enquirer, and full satisfaction that it is the word of God; yet this is the chief evidence that the greatest part of christians can ever attain of the divine original of the holy scripture itself, as well as the truth of the doctrines contained in it, _viz._ That they have found such a holy and heavenly change passed upon them by reading or hearing the propositions, the histories, the promises, the precepts, and the threatenings of this book: And thence they are wont to infer, that the God of truth would not attend a book, which was not agreeable to his mind, with such glorious instances of his own power and grace. Though it must be still confessed, that this argument is much stronger, and the evidence brighter for the general truth of christianity, than it can possibly be for the sacred authority of any one verse or chapter of the New Testament. I have dwelt the longer on this sixth property of the inward witness, because I think it of great importance in our age, which has taken so many steps towards heathenism and infidelity: for this argument or evidence will defend a christian in the profession of the true religion, though he may not have skill enough to defend his bible. [This sermon may be divided here, if it be too long.]