knees, resting his elbows on the tombstone and covering his face with his hands, he spake the following prayer.  O thou, by whose intercession so many miracles are said to be performed, if it be true that a part of thee surviveth the grave, and that thou hast influence with the Almighty, have pity on the darkness of my understanding, and through his mercy obtain the removal of it.”  Having prayed thus, “many thoughts,” as he sayeth, “began to open themselves to his mind; and so profound was his attention that he continued on his knees four hours, not in the least disturbed by the vast crowd of surrounding supplicants.  During this time, all the arguments which he ever heard or read in favour of Christianity occurred to him with so much force, and seemed so strong and convincing, that he went home fully satisfied of the truth of religion in general, and of the holiness and power of that person who,” as he supposed, “had engaged the Divine Goodness to enlighten his understanding so suddenly.” (Douglas’s Crit of Mir. p. 214.)

_________

PART II.

OF THE AUXILIARY EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY

CHAPTER I.

Prophecy.

Isaiah iii. 13; liii.  “Behold, my servant shall deal prudently; he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.  As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:  so shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him:  for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.  Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?  For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground:  he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.  He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:  and we hid, as it were, our faces from him:  he was despised, and we esteemed him not.  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows:  yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth:  he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.  He was taken from prison and from judgment; and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living:  for the transgression of my people was he stricken.  And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death;