after Christ, St. Matthew wrote his gospel, there were still living a great number of those who had formerly been among the bitter enemies of Christ. How would they have attacked the apostle, had he taken upon himself to invent either facts or miracles concerning the life of Christ!
6. Thus the evangelists stand before us as absolutely reliable witnesses to the truth. And herein consists the secret of the beauty, simplicity, sanctity, and indestructible power of the holy Gospel. It is not the soul, the mind, the gifts of the writers that we find in them, but the soul, the mind, the thoughts, the maxims of Him who forms the subjects of their writings. Jesus lives in the gospels; He acts, He speaks, He touches the heart, He enlightens and sanctifies. Venerate, therefore, these wondrous pages ! Read them in a spirit of faith and with a heart overflowing with the love of God; for
In Holy Scripture God His truth displays,
And yet its pages, read in various ways,
Bring faith to some; cause doubt in other minds :
That one sucks honey, this one poison finds.
VII. Christ is Truly God
I. The heir of a mighty monarch once traveling incognito and unattended, visited a lonely mountain valley which belonged to his fathers dominions. In order that he might be suitably received, he told the inhabitants his name and his exalted rank. Since, however, no persons throughout the valley had ever seen the crown prince,
