As to the writings of uninspired men, they are modern compared with the Holy Scriptures. The earliest profane history which is known is that of Herodotus, in Greek; which was written no earlier than the time of Malachi, the last of the Old Testament writers. Somewhat more ancient than Herodotus, are the poems of Homer and Hesiod: the period in which they were written cannot be correctly ascertained; hut those who allow them the remotest antiquity, place Homer only in the days of Isaiah the prophet, and Hesiod in the age of Elijah. It is not, indeed, agreed among the learned, whether there ever was such a person as Hesiod. The books of these ancient, uninspired writers are of a quite different character from the Holy Scriptures; they are filled with silly and absurd fables, and contain many impurities. They make no discovery of the just character of the only living and true God, though they contain much concerning religion. As to the history by Herodotus, it contains much that is merely fabulous and untrue; but as far as it records the transactions of his own age, or describes the things within the compass of his own observation, or details matters of fact of which he was correctly informed, his statements confirm the faithfulness and accuracy of the records contained in the holy and inspired word of the Lord.
Ch. III. — The Excellency of the Bible.
That the Bible is the best book, might be proved sufficiently from its sanctifying and transforming influence upon the minds of all its devout readers. But this is manifest more especially from the fact of its having God for its author: and that God is its author is evident, from its being the only book which teaches every thing that our Creator requires of us, either to know, or believe, or do, that we may escape his deserved displeasure, obtain his sovereign favour, and dwell for ever in the bliss of his immediate presence. 1. It opens to us the mystery of the creation; 2. The nature of God, of angels, and of
