his will has identified itself with the will of
God. Hence the prophet is called a man inspired by God, for it is the
Divine Spirit that pervades, agitates, and directs him; it is the Divine
Spirit that found in him an instrument for its operation, an organ for
its manifestation, a medium to carry out its high designs, a
representative of God on earth, who shall recall men to their Divine
origin, and lead them on to their ultimate destination.

XL. From the foregoing exposition of the characters of prophecy it will
appear obvious, that those are greatly mistaken, who think that the
exclusive or even the principal ministry of the prophet consists in
foreseeing and foretelling future events. The prophet may occasionally
find it necessary to his ends to predict some events, which he does by
virtue of the Divine spirit infused in him; but this is for him only an
accessory means to the chief object, which is to propagate and promote
among men divine knowledge and religious life. With an all-wise
provision, God disposed that, as a rule, the future shall remain hidden
from mortals, that they may exert themselves to render it propitious by
their good actions; and if He sometimes permitted, as an exception, that
it should be revealed to them through the dispensers of His word, it was
not to gratify an idle curiosity, but to excite men to worthily conform
their works to coming events.

CHAPTER VI.

XLI. THE preliminary notions hitherto set forth are to be regarded as
placed in the vestibule leading to the temple of Revelation. Now, before
we cross the threshold, it may be well to meet at once an objection
which will possibly be offered by modern incredulity. It is fashionably
said, that rational man can admit nothing as true except that which is
proved to him by logical demonstrations; and as for the acceptance of a
revealed religion faith is a necessary element, and this must exclude
(as commonly pretended) every kind of proof, therefore all reasoning is
out of the question, and the very basis of that which is sought to be
inculcated as a truth, renders it inadmissible. Such an objection,
however erroneous in reality, has too grave an appearance, and its
consequences would be too lamentable, to permit us to disregard it. It
becomes, therefore, indispensable, before entering the sanctuary of
Revelation, to remove the obstruction of such an error, even at the cost
of a digression from our path, in order to consider th